Sharks and Boys by Kristen Tracy Review

Title: Sharks and Boys

Author: Kristen Tracy

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Page Count: 272 pages

Publish Date: June 28, 2011

Book Type: ARC that I won and e-galley from NetGalley

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

ISBN: 9781423143543

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: When 15-year-old Enid Calhoun follows her boyfriend Wick to Maryland for a party, fearful that he might be intending to cheat on her, she finds herself sneaking on board a houseboat where Wick and his friends plan to have a wild night. But before the boys discover their stowaway, a hurricane strikes, and the teenagers are carried miles from the shore and shipwrecked. What follows is a harrowing, yet heartwarming, story of survival, as the teens battle hypothermia, dehydration, man-eating sharks--and along the way, confront their own deepest secrets, including their catalytic roles in the disaster.

My Review: This book is part of the Contemps reading challenge. The cover for this one is really cute. I love how blue the ocean is and after reading the book, I really appreciate the shark fin in the water. Also, I love how the green bracelet from the book made it onto the cover. It’s always fun when the cover for a book actually matches the content of the novel. It doesn’t always happen.

I honestly had a love/hate relationship with many of the characters in this book. I don’t want to go as far as telling you their fates (because this is a main part of the story), but Kristen Tracy really made me feel bad for some of them...and not feel bad for other ones. It’s funny... I think the characters I liked the most were not really the main focus of the story. I liked Munny and Landon way more than I liked Enid and Wick. Munny was a “fact box” and was always telling everyone random stories and statistics. I often wish I retained so much knowledge where I had a fact I could throw into every situation. [tangent ] Much like Dr. Spencer Reid on “Criminal Minds.” If you don’t watch “Criminal Minds,” you probably should. Reid is amazing. Garcia is such a techo-nerd that I absolutely love her. [ /endtangent] Landon seemed like such a genuinely good person. I wish he was real! Enid, at times, was very needy and insecure, but with what has went on in her life, I feel like it is natural for her to be a bit insecure. I don’t really know how to express my feelings for Wick. So, I’m just going to let everyone form their own opinions on him.

I love how the characters were all twins and that they met through a study at a college. I always find anything involving twins fascinating. I found myself thinking about what happened to these characters well after I was finished reading. This may be because Tracy ended the novel very abruptly. Some people may not like this, but I found it kind of nice.

Tracy did an excellent job of describing the locations and effects of being shipwrecked. I felt as if I was lost at sea while reading. It’s definitely not a situation I want to be in anytime soon. 

What is your favorite shipwrecked/stranded at sea novel? Sometimes, I enjoy a really good pirate novel!

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers Review

Title: Fall for Anything

Author: Courtney Summers

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Page Count: 230 pages

Publish Date: December 21, 2010

Book Type: Library Paperback

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

ISBN: 9780312656734

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: From the author of Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are comes a gripping story about one girl’s search for clues into the mysterious death of her father. 

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

My Review: This book is part of the Contemps Reading Challenge. I love the cover for this. The font is excellent, as is the color scheme. The photos hanging on the line in the background rock. I also love how her head is slightly turned down, as if in sorrow.

Courtney Summers had a different writing style and I really appreciated it. I’ll be really interested in checking out another book written by her. Eddie is trying to deal with the aftermath of her father’s suicide and Summers created Eddie in such a way that all of her reactions seemed completely real. The characters are by no means perfect, which, in my mind, makes them perfect. For me, it’s no fun to read about a character who is absolutely, 100% perfect. Eddie’s mom reminded me quite a bit of Katniss’ mom from The Hunger Games. She basically shuts herself out from the rest of the world, including her daughter. Fall for Anything really showcased how everyone deals with grief differently.

Milo, Eddie’s best friend, is one of my favorite characters and I wish we could see more of him. I would even love a spin-off novel about his character. Can this happen, Courtney Summers....please? Culler slightly creeped me out from the beginning. There was just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way and I’m interested to see if others had this feeling as well.

This is not a “rainbows and butterflies” read. It’s heavy, raw, and thought provoking. I’m not going to say if Eddie ever finds the answers to her questions, but I think that we can all relate to wanting certain questions about life answered. If you’re looking for a happy read, this one definitely isn’t for you, but I know sometimes I just crave a heavier read.

I’m really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one!

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt Review

Title: Sean Griswold’s Head

Author: Lindsey Leavitt

Genre: Contemporary Young Adult

Page Count: 288 pages

Book Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books

ISBN: 9781599904986

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: According to her guidance counselor, fifteen-year-old Payton Gritas needs a focus object—an item to concentrate her emotions on. It's supposed to be something inanimate, but Payton decides to use the thing she stares at during class: Sean Griswold's head. They've been linked since third grade (Griswold-Gritas—it's an alphabetical order thing), but she's never really known him.

The focus object is intended to help Payton deal with her father's newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis. And it's working. With the help of her boy-crazy best friend Jac, Payton starts stalking—er, focusing on—Sean Griswold . . . all of him! He's cute, he shares her Seinfeld obsession (nobody else gets it!) and he may have a secret or two of his own.

In this sweet story of first love, Lindsey Leavitt seamlessly balances heartfelt family moments, spot-on sarcastic humor, and a budding young romance.

My Review: I absolutely love this cover. The chalkboard, his outfit and his hair all work excellently. It’s one of my favorite covers I have seen in awhile. Also, I’m glad that the narrator was not the person on the cover. Usually this isn’t the case for me, but it worked with this book.

Ever since I started seeing Sean Griswold’s Head around the blog world, I knew I wanted to read it. I was basing this on pretty much only the title and cover. Sometimes this can lead to disappointment, but this time I was not disappointed. I loved the simple and innocent relationship between Payton and Sean. Watching them develop their relationship was really cute. Sean just seems like such a nice boy. Sometimes I just wanted to shake Payton, but I understand where she was coming from. 

Even though this a fairly emotional coming of age story, there are some pretty funny parts as well. When Payton retells the story about her first encounter with Grady the Goth I laughed out loud. Payton’s best friend, Jac, is also really funny. These bits of comic relief were nice to have throughout the story.

Also, this book kind of made me want to go ride a bike....which I never want to do. Lindsey Leavitt describes the feelings of riding a bike as so freeing. It was awesome!

Have you read this one? What were your thoughts?

The Contemps Reading Challenge

In addition to the 2010 Debut Author Challenge, I have decided to participate in the Contemps Reading Challenge as well. This contest/challenge is running from now until August 15, 2011, so you practically have a whole year. You must promise to read at least 18 of the 21 Contemps books and one lucky participant will win all 21 books! That’s just amazing. Here is the list of books and I will link to my reviews as a read them (there will be a link at the top of my page to keep up with this post):

1. Losing Faith by Denise Jaden (September 7, 2010)
2. The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger (September 7, 2010) to be reviewed...
3. Girl, Stolen by April Henry (September 28, 2010)
4. Freefall by Mindi Scott (October 5, 2010)
5. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (November 2, 2010)
6. Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler (December 15, 2010)
7. Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers (December 21, 2010) 
8. Trapped by Michael Northrop (February 1, 2011)
9. Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer (February 15, 2011)
10. Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt (March 1, 2011)
11. Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard (March 8, 2011)
12. Family by Micol Ostow (April 26, 2011)
13. Back When You Were Easier to Love by Emily Wing Smith (April 28, 2011)
14. Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott (May 24, 2011)
15. The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder (June 28, 2011)
16. Pearl by Jo Knowles (July 19, 2011)
17. Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker (July 19, 2011)
18. Sharks and Boys by Kristen Tracy (Summer 2011)
19. Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman (August 2011)
20. Saving June by Hannah Harrington (November 2011)
21. Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind by Brent Crawford (Spring 2012)

Sounds pretty cool, right? Be sure to check back for my reviews!