Today I have three mini reviews of HarperTeen titles with heartfelt covers for you. LOVE AND OTHER THEORIES by Alexis Bass and NO PLACE TO FALL by Jaye Robin Brown were released in December 2014. And SOLITAIRE by Alice Oseman is coming out in late March 2015.
NO PLACE TO FALL is set in a small town, where Amber lives with her perfect family. Or at least it is supposed to look that way. The truth is, her mother is smothering Amber, her father is never there and her sister and her husband are dealing drugs, living in a trailer in their backyard. Her familiar background and the relationships to her parents and sister are a big part of her story.
No wonder Amber yearns to just leave with the backpackers coming through her little town every summer. All she wants is a shot at freedom and happiness. Her story is one of longing and wanting to find her own place in life.
I was totally into the music dream Amber had and I really believed in her to make her dream come true.
Amber and Will, her best friend's big brother, are both great musical talents. Will helps Amber practice for her big audition at a music school. They are also singing sweet country songs to each other, singing duets and totally getting each other. Their love story doesn't begin the conventional way and there are some things making their romance very difficult at first. When they are practicing together you really can see the chemistry between them. Theirs is a great love story to warm many readers hearts.
4/5 **** NO PLACE TO FALL - This read is like your favourite country song! A small town, big dreams and a sweet love story!
Amber's story is about growing-up and moving on. About being honest and making every effort to make your dreams come true. NO PLACE TO FALL is a very darling YA contemporary read for everyone with love for music in their hearts!
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publishing Date: December 9th 2014
Length: 368 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, romance, music
Source: Edelweiss
Goodreads Summary
No Place to Fall Excerpt
Author's Homepage
Solitaire by Alice OsemanWhen you read the summary for Alice Oseman's debut novel, you won't get much information about the story itself. Just vague information and statements. And that's the way it continues in the book. In my opinion SOLITAIRE is no match for John Green and Rainbow Rowell books like it says in the summary!
Tori is a loser. Her life in high school is unfulfilling and without real meaning for her. Michael Holden is her rescuer. One day Tori discovers a post-it note, leading to another, and another...until she finds the link to a mysterious site called Solitaire. Solitaire suddenly gains many supporters and has a big social impact on school and private life of Tori and other students. It speaks directly to Tori, involving her in this new game. Everything gets out of hand and until the end I couldn't really think of Tori as a friend, but more a person who seriously needed help. It was the same with Michael Holden. He was a person I couldn't see through. Because he was so untransparent, it was hard to engage in his obsessive interest in Tori. Nevertheless, I have to admit that their romance has its own nice moments.
Things with Solitaire turn violent and dangerous and pretty insane towards the end. I just wanted to get through the story and be done with it.
2/5 ** SOLITAIRE - YA rating status - it's complicated.
Our protagonist Tori is drawn into a flow of dares, protest actions and dangerous movements invoked by unknown delinquents. Teens are really getting out of control here. SOLITAIRE is a book for readers interested in unraveling confusing plots supporting an obscure story. A story that was just too much for me.
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publishing Date: March 30th 2015
Length: 368 pages
Keywords: YA, thriller,romance, friendship,
Length: 368 pages
Keywords: YA, thriller,romance, friendship,
Source: Edelweiss
Author's Homepage
Aubrey and her best friends are the guys in a relationship. They decided to play it cool when things get serious in a relationship and never attach themselves emotionally to their dates in order to avoid heartbreak.
This logic just smells like relationship drama. And I hate when it is the drama that dominates a story. Unsurprisingly, despite the girls' plan to avoid any trouble and fights, there are in fact a lot of those. I hated the promiscuity and that the girls thought a boy wouldn't like them if things got too serious and honest. This book communicates an important message young teenage girls shouldn't even have to learn. Self-respect yourself and your feelings and never pretend to be someone you aren't in order to make someone like you.
The story begins when Aubrey meets the new guy in town and starts dating him. Nathan and Aubrey's love story seemed sincere and like it would be their love that would prove Aubrey's best friend Shelby wrong, but in the end it was just another casualty to the incinserity between the friends. But there's another boy waiting for Aubrey to realize her feelings for him, too.
Once he came into the love triangle things started to look up for me liking LOVE AND OTHER THEORIES much better. That other guy was funny and put Aubrey's comfort and her feelings before anything else. I wasn't entirely convinced with the ending to Aubrey's story though. There's still the chance for a sequel.
This logic just smells like relationship drama. And I hate when it is the drama that dominates a story. Unsurprisingly, despite the girls' plan to avoid any trouble and fights, there are in fact a lot of those. I hated the promiscuity and that the girls thought a boy wouldn't like them if things got too serious and honest. This book communicates an important message young teenage girls shouldn't even have to learn. Self-respect yourself and your feelings and never pretend to be someone you aren't in order to make someone like you.
The story begins when Aubrey meets the new guy in town and starts dating him. Nathan and Aubrey's love story seemed sincere and like it would be their love that would prove Aubrey's best friend Shelby wrong, but in the end it was just another casualty to the incinserity between the friends. But there's another boy waiting for Aubrey to realize her feelings for him, too.
Once he came into the love triangle things started to look up for me liking LOVE AND OTHER THEORIES much better. That other guy was funny and put Aubrey's comfort and her feelings before anything else. I wasn't entirely convinced with the ending to Aubrey's story though. There's still the chance for a sequel.
3/5 *** LOVE AND OTHER THEORIES - A true high school drama with complicated friendships and surprising romances.
I liked LOVE AND OTHER THEORIES in general. The story had a few touches to it that I found irritating, connected to the girls' theories about love that are central the Aubrey's story. But between all the carlessness and aloofness there might even be honest feelings for friends and boys buried that would have deserved to find greater notice.
I liked LOVE AND OTHER THEORIES in general. The story had a few touches to it that I found irritating, connected to the girls' theories about love that are central the Aubrey's story. But between all the carlessness and aloofness there might even be honest feelings for friends and boys buried that would have deserved to find greater notice.
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publishing Date: December 31st 2014
Length: 384 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, romance, friendship
Length: 384 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, romance, friendship
Source: Edelweiss
Author's Homepage
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