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Book Review: A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G.Drews

Title: A Thousand Perfect Notes

Author: C.G.Drews

Published: June 7th, 2018

Publisher: Orchard Books

Rating: 🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

Find the Author: Goodreads 


Disclosure: I received this ARC in exchange for an impartial review. As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.


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An emotionally charged story of music, abuse and, ultimately, hope.
Beck hates his life. He hates his violent mother. He hates his home. Most of all, he hates the piano that his mother forces him to play hour after hour, day after day. He will never play as she did before illness ended her career and left her bitter and broken. But Beck is too scared to stand up to his mother, and tell her his true passion, which is composing his own music – because the least suggestion of rebellion on his part ends in violence.
When Beck meets August, a girl full of life, energy and laughter, love begins to awaken within him and he glimpses a way to escape his painful existence. But dare he reach for it?

First Thoughts…

I was so freaking excited to read A Thousand Perfect Notes that I actally asked BKMRK for an ARC. I’m pretty sure I did a happy dance when they said yes! Cait has long been one of the best bloggers I know and her tweets are literally *exactly* how I’m feeling 100% of the time. She just gets it, you know? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out her perfect tweets right here. 

My Review…

The story in itself is quite unique. Beck is this painfully beautiful character created by Cait, who pretty much hates his life. But more importantly, his evil mother. She’s violent and aggressive and makes him play the piano for hours on end until the cycle repeats, and he hates his life over and over again. His mother can no longer seek her own dreams of playing the piano, since illness has struck her career down the drain, but she was once world renowned for her talents. So the energy that she has, that passion for playing, she’s forced on her son, Beck. I truly felt for his character, having to suffer in the shadow of his mother. All he wants is to compose his own music, but even the minor mention of doing so is ended with clap-back from his mother, often violently and hurtfully. Throw in the fact that he wants to protect his younger sister from secondhand violence, and you have a reason for Beck to continue the torturous playing over again.

Beck soon meets August (can I just say, I ship these two SO MUCH, it’s insane!), a girl with this spark that follows her wherever she goes. She’s got this special kind of soul, full of smiles and love and something within her dwells perfectly with Beck. Her family needed more scenes! I truly, truly loved how their kindness was the complete opposite of Beck’s family. The more time he spends with August, the spark between them developing into a loving bond, the more he can finally see a future without his Mother’s violence ruling his life with an iron fist. The romance is slow-burn, but I mean, that slow-burn could light up fireflies. It’s so precious and just effortless.

Overall, A Thousand Perfect Notes is in a word, perfect. Everything boils down to an epic finale and it really surprised me! I didn’t see it ending in that way…or that conclusion, but it makes sense. It makes perfect sense. The musically-fueled pain reeled me in, but the healing when Beck met August kept me reading, turning the pages faster than I could blink. I was in awe at just how beautiful Cait has made these characters and made me connect on such a deep level to them, Beck especially. This beauty isn’t out until June, but ohmygosh, if you don’t read this when it’s out: you’re missing out on one perfect note of a story (couldn’t help the pun). Five cats!


Have you heard of A Thousand Perfect Notes or read it?

What did you think?

Let me know in the comments, on twitter @LittleMemoirs or on Facebook!

happy reading!
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Book Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Title: The Truth About Alice

Author: Jennifer Mathieu

Published: March 8th, 2018

Publisher: Hodder’s Childrens Books

Rating: 🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

Find the Author: Goodreads 

Disclosure: I received this ARC in exchange for an impartial review. As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.


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From the author of Zoella Book Club book MOXIE comes a startling book about stereotypes, slut shaming and the battle for popularity. 
Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party.But did you know Alice was sexting Brandon when he crashed his car?It’s true. Ask ANYBODY.
Rumour has it that Alice Franklin is a slut. It’s written all over the ‘slut stall’ in the girls’ bathroom at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumours start to spiral out of control.
In this remarkable novel, four Healy High students – the party girl, the car accident survivor, the ex best friend and the boy next door – tell all they know. 
But exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there’s only one person to ask: Alice herself.
‘Should be required reading for anyone in high school’ Bustle

First Thoughts…

I am guilty of not having read MOXIE, but still a huge fan. It stands for everything that I do and why I haven’t got around to it…I have no excuse. I’m bookishly guilty! I own a copy that I bought on holiday in Exeter and it’s still sitting in my TBR. So when Hodder reached out with The Truth About Alice, I threw myself at the chance. After all, it was published before Moxie, so maybe I could read them back to back? I went in with the highest of hopes and wasn’t disappointed.

My Review…

The story starts with a bang. Quite literally the most startling opener I’ve read in a while. We get pulled into the mystery from the get-go and everything revolves around, you guessed it, Alice Franklin. There’s rumors, and then there’s downright vicious-meets-huge rumors, which is what Alice has under her belt. It’s written in bathroom stalls in the Girls’ bathroom, the talk of the School and spirals a web of mystery when Brandon Fitzsimmons, star quarterback, dies in a car accident. People say it’s Alice’s fault. But is it really? Because no one really knows the truth about Alice (quite like the title) other than Alice, herself. So we start with four tell-all’s from four different students at Healy High, who spill their version of the truth and the consequences that lead us down a treacherous path. 

When we finally delve into the heads of the different characters, the truth crawls its way out. I was really taken aback by some of the things Alice’s “so called” friends said behind her back, the rumors that they spread without knowing the truth, and the way the town paraded the fallen football star as a hero, despite his poor treatment of women. Whenever we get a story like this, there’s always so much going on beneath the surface that it’s a sense of relief to delve into the truth and not have this barrier of reader-meets-character. Knowing the outcome of The Truth About Alice (no spoilers, it’s *so good* and you need to read it yourself) was like the perfect sheet of ice being shattered by a sledgehammer, truth – or freedom – at last. 

Overall, The Truth About Alice was incredible. I can see why people love Jennifer’s novels and I’ll definitely be picking up Moxie as soon as I can. There’s so much depth and character to this novel, and it’s got something for YA and older readers to gain something from. The character development was on point, and in particular Alice. Truly such a remarkable read that I don’t want to say too much about for fear of spoiling you all. Do yourselves a favour and go read this ASAP – you’ll thank me later. 



“The truth.” Dumbledore sighed. “It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.” 💛🌻 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ _________ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hello book lovers! I’m back! Sorry I was gone so long. I was in one of those lack of inspiration moods and taking pictures just wasn’t turning out right. But now that we’re here together, I wish you the sunniest, happiest week and HAPPY SPRING to my fellow Spring babies. I was born in April (prime springtime) so my favourite flower is the Daisy! What’s your favourite flower? 🌻🌼🌸🌷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ •⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bookstagram #bookish #thetruthaboutalice #whatbeccaread #yalit #books #booknerdigans #booklover #ya #bookworm #reading #📚 #bookphotography #bookaholic
A post shared by becca › 21 › wales 🌻🐝 (@whatbeccaread) on Mar 6, 2018 at 1:00am PST

Have you had the chance to read The Truth About Alice?


What did you think?


Let me know what you thought in the comments, on Twitter or Facebook!


happy reading!

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Book Review: In Search Of Us by Ava Dellaira

Title: In Search Of Us 

Author: Ava Dellaira

Published: March 6th, 2018

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Rating: 🐱🐱🐱🐱

Find the Author: Goodreads 


Disclosure: I received this ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an impartial review. As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.


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The author of the beloved Love Letters to the Dead returns with a parallel story of a mother and daughter each at age seventeen. Marilyn’s tale recounts the summer she fell in love and set out on her own path. Angie’s story is about her search for her unknown father.
This sweeping multi-generational love story introduces readers to mother-and-daughter pair Marilyn and Angie. To seventeen-year-old Angie, who is mixed-race, Marilyn is her hardworking, devoted white single mother. But Marilyn was once young, too. When Marilyn was seventeen, she fell in love with Angie’s father, James, who was African-American. But Angie’s never met him, and Marilyn has always told her he died before she was born. When Angie discovers evidence of an uncle she’s never met she starts to wonder: What if her dad is still alive, too? So she sets off on a journey to find him, hitching a ride to LA from her home in New Mexico with her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Along the way, she uncovers some hard truths about herself, her mother, and what truly happened to her father.

First Thoughts…

I only just recently bought Love Letters To The Dead, Ava’s previous novel, but couldn’t help requesting this gorgeous book on Netgalley. There was something so entrancing about the synopsis that screamed READ ME, BECCA!

My Review…

The striking thing about In Search Of Us is that I wasn’t expecting for it to move me so much. I picked it up thinking it would be a lighter read than it was, and it totally threw me off my game (in an amazing way, somehow.) Angie, our main character in one of the alternate chapters, has never known who her Dad is. She was raised solely by her Mother, Marilyn (who is our other narrator, taking us into the past). See, Angie is mixed-race, something her Mother can’t understand, as a white woman. She knows her dad was African-American, but here she is in the middle, not knowing where she fits in. Marilyn never planned to raise Angie alone, this we find out in the past scenes, and tells Angie that her real Dad has passed. But when Angie realizes that her Mother might have been lying, she sets out for a sense of belonging. Angie searches for her family ties in L.A., intertwining to where past-Marilyn meets James – Angie’s father.
I loved the mirrors between Angie and young Marilyn. They had so many things in common (that they didn’t even realise) and that lay subtly between the lines. I think that the message in In Search of Us is hugely important, especially for mixed-race people who don’t look like one/their Parents. Ava handles this with such care and transparency that was so effortless. But with the highs in a story come the lows, like the whirlwind love story of James and Marilyn, leading to disastrous ends between their families. These tie-up scenes toward the end really tugged at my heartstrings and I felt myself poring out emotion onto the pages.
Overall, though it is a moving and heartfelt read, it’s more than that: it’s modern, important and oh-so-amazing. I love that the lines of the truth toward the end were blurred so that we might not know everything that happened in the past, especially considering every novel isn’t meant to be tied-up neatly at the end. This was such a boomerang of a novel, coming out of nowhere and just stealing my heart. While the chapters bounced oddly, I still can’t think of anyone I wouldn’t recommend this to. I’ll be getting a paperback very soon – it’s that good. Four-and-a-half, brilliant stars!


What did you think of In Search Of Us?

Let me know in the comments, on twitter @LittleMemoirs or on Facebook!
happy reading!

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Book Review: The Unpredictability of Being Human by Linni Ingemundsen

Title: The Unpredictability of Being Human

Author:  Linni Ingemundsen

Published: December 28th, 2017

Publisher: Usborne Publishing

Find the Author: Goodreads 


Disclosure: I was sent this ARC from the Publisher in exchange for a review. As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.


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Meet Malin, a fifteen-year-old who sees the world differently. Malin knows she couldn’t change much about her life, even if she got to play God. Her dad would still yell all the time – especially as Malin is still friends with Hanna, the girl she met shoplifting. Her mum would still say a glass of wine is good for her heart – and Mum needs it, with Malin’s brother, Sigve, getting into trouble all the time. And Malin would still be Malin. Because she can’t be anybody else. 


In a voice bursting with immediacy and truth, Malin shares the absurdities of growing up and fitting in as her family struggles with the buried pain of mistakes made and secrets kept.


Profound, compassionate and as funny as it is dark, Malin’s story is an offbeat examination and celebration of the brutal, bizarre and beautiful unpredictability of being human.


If you love the freshness and honesty of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the emotional depth of John Green, and the irreverent wit of Little Miss Sunshine, push this to the top of your TBR pile. 

First Thoughts…

The first thing that crossed my mind when The Unpredictability of Being Human appeared in my lap was that it had that certain je ne sais quoi. It reminded me of something John Green might write, but with a spirited twist. I was so eager to get into this but I was swarmed with TBR books around the holidays that I didn’t get a chance to read this until early February! 

My Review…

Malin, straight away, is quite an unusual main character. Her point of view and inner monologue on the world is striking, bordering on painfully honest. She sounds much older than her age, fifteen, throughout her POV. Malin’s family are a huge part of her troubles and bigger picture on life. There’s the situation surrounding her Mom’s drinking, her Father’s temper and brother’s troublesome behaviour. These things make Malin overwhelmed by these trusting, innocent ways to cope with not being able to change what her life is. 
What’s different about The Unpredictability of Being Human is that there is no solid plot. But in that way, it’s even more interesting, if that makes sense. It’s a crack into the universe inside Malin’s mind and a teenage life. And just a glimpse into her world is bittersweet, relateable and addictive. She’s to-the-point and there’s no messing about with her thoughts on everyday life, so there’s that same, definite maturity to her point of view that definitely made me feel like I was reading about someone a few years older (but not in a bad way). 
Overall, I flew through the pages SO FAST. I think it was over three nights that I read this before bed and it was such a refreshing, slice-of-heaven that I think it’s one of those books I could pick up again in months time and re-read. The writing does take some time to get used to in Malin’s ways of talking to us as readers, but it’s honestly such a great read that I can’t think of anything that was negative about The Unpredictability of Being Human. If you love feel-good YA or similar to the John Green demographic, you’ll adore this book. Amazing read – four stars!

Have you read The Unpredictability of Being Human?

Let me know what you thought in the comments, on Twitter or Facebook!

happy reading!
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Book Review: Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga


Title: Here We Are Now

Author: Jasmine Warga

Published: November 7th, 2017

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Rating: 🐱🐱🐱🐱

Find the Author: Goodreads 


Disclosure: I was sent this book for review. As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.


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‘Funny and heartfelt… fans of Sarah Dessen or Rainbow Rowell will adore this novel’ – Culturefly

‘Fans of High Fidelity and Nick + Nora, get your hands on this book ASAP’ – Popsugar

Despite sending him letters ever since she was thirteen, Taliah Abdallat never thought she’d ever really meet Julian Oliver. But one day, while her mother is out of the country, the famed rock star from Staring Into the Abyss shows up on her doorstep. This makes sense – kinda – because it turns out Julian Oliver is Taliah’s father…

When Julian asks her to go with him to his hometown to meet the family she has never known, Taliah embarks on a three-day voyage of discovery – of her father, of the past her mother has never shared with her, and of herself.

From the bestselling author of MY HEART AND OTHER BLACK HOLES, this is a beautiful and heartwarming novel of music, family, and friendship.

First Thoughts… This is definitely new territory for me. My first review with a sparkly new blog design! I am so honored that Jasmine’s was the first to be featured with the new outlook on Pretty Little Memoirs’ future as a YA Blog. I own Jasmine’s previous book, My Heart and Other Black Holes, but haven’t read it just yet. I’ve heard amazing things, but because I bought it myself and it didn’t go straight into my ARC pile, it got lost somewhere along the way. So when the lovely people at Hodder sent me Here We Are Now, I was over the moon.

My Review… I had major cover crush while reading this. It’s lively and modern and So. Freaking. Cute. So that was enough to pick it up the other day and read a couple chapters before going to sleep. A few chapters turned to reaching the middle of the book, the realization, and the happy shrug to delve back in anyway. The night became darker but the storyworld Jasmine had created only grew brighter. For Taliah, meeting Julian Oliver sounded like a dream. Well, it was a dream. He’s a famous rock star, so why would she ever think meeting him would be imaginable? Even though she’s been told her Dad is dead, something inside her can’t help wondering if maybe it was Julian. With her Mother away out of the country, Taliah’s world is shook-up when Julian shows up on her doorstep. After all, he is her father. 

Despite her not knowing where she belongs in his world – or life – Taliah goes with him to say goodbye to her dying Grandfather. The tangled feelings around this are muddled for Taliah. She’s not sure how to feel about a Grandfather – and father – she never knew existed. There’s a lot that she has to go through and figure out for herself, reading in between the lines of the past and to Julian. There is a romance element (slight instalove, but it didn’t take away from the real meaning of the story) and although that wasn’t a huge part I liked, it did show another side to Taliah, away from the chaos of her newfound life. 

Overall, I thought that Here We Are Now was one of those books that I would tell my friends, “Hey, this is a great book. You should read it”. I find myself telling this to friends of mine on a regular basis, so it’s a high regard to have if it’s one of them (and I don’t say it about a lot of them!). The true message of the book wasn’t about Taliah’s love life or drama, but one about family. And I think that’s a pretty amazing thing to read about. Also, can I just say, major plus points for a YA book including diverse characters in this book?! Definite applause (and about time it wasn’t so rare in mainstream YA). I am so glad to have read this.

Have you read Here We Are Now?

Let me know what you thought on Twitter, Facebook, or by commenting below!

happy reading!
                                                       

Book Review: Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Title: Every Last Word

Author: Tamara Ireland Stone

Published: June 6th, 2017

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Find the Author: Goodreads 


Disclosure: TRIGGER WARNING* (read below). I was sent this book for review. As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.

A New York Times Best Seller


If you could read my mind, you wouldn’t be smiling.


Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can’t turn off. 


Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn’t help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she’d be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam’s weekly visits to her psychiatrist.


Caroline introduces Sam to Poet’s Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more “normal” than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

First Thoughts

*Firstly, if you are triggered by any kind of talk about OCD and Anxiety or Depression, please be cautioned that this review talks about all three of these things, because they relate to the theme of the book.*

Review

The thing about books that touch upon OCD and other illnesses alike, is that they tend to be very hit-and-miss. Nowadays, it’s very much required that an author does very thorough research into the illness before writing about it, because otherwise it’s not portrayed as lifelike as it should be. In Every Last Word, Tamara does capture what it’s like inside the mind of someone with purely-obsessional OCD. There are many kinds of OCD that vary from mind-to-mind, so it’s always an intricate thing to get just right. As someone who suffers with a few of the types of OCD (Intrusive Thoughts related), Social Anxiety and previous Depression, I was reeled into Sam’s story. 

She’s different from other main characters I’ve read about in typical High School books. Although she is popular and has tons of friends, she hides behind the facade of her popularity to mask her pain. She reminded me of Lydia Martin from Teen Wolf, pretending to be someone else to be loved, out of fear of not being understood. Her popular friends will never understand her OCD, she knows this for sure, because one wrong move and she would be kicked off her pedestal. But when she meets Caroline and is introduced to everyone in Poet’s Corner, Sam finally starts to feel normal (even though having OCD doesn’t make her not-normal). They understand her and make her heart sing. But things take a turn, deeply rooted into everything to do with Sam’s newfound happiness, and she’s left hanging by the moment in a fight or flight reaction.

Overall, Every Last Word is a refreshing and welcomed read. Although I would have liked it to be a little more realistic, it did hit the perfect note and captured what it’s like to live with a certain type of OCD. But of course, in real life there isn’t a true happy ending to having this illness and having that reflected would have been a great addition. But that said, this novel truly was a breathtaking read, dealing with complex issues that were handled with grace. Tamara has always been one of the best voices in YA and it took me so long to get around to reading Every Last Word, but now I wish I had picked it up a little sooner. Four stars!

Rating & Recs

For fans of Contemporary YA. 


Have you read Every Last Word?


What did you think?


Let me know in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!


happy reading!

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Book Review: “The Fall of Butterflies” by Andrea Portes

Title: The Fall Of Butterflies

Author: Andrea Portes

Published: May 10th, 2017

Publisher: HarperTEEN

Find the Author: Goodreads 


Disclosure: I was sent this book for review purposes. As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.

We Were Liars meets Looking for Alaska in a uniquely funny and heartbreaking teen novel about a passionate-yet-doomed friendship, set against a backdrop of wealth and glamour.


Willa Parker, 646th and least-popular resident of What Cheer, Iowa, is headed east to start a new life. Did she choose this life? No, because that would be too easy—and nothing in Willa’s life is easy. It’s her famous genius mother’s idea to send her to ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive Pembroke Prep, and Willa has no intention of fitting in. But when she meets peculiar, glittering Remy Taft, the richest, most mysterious girl on campus, she starts to see a foothold in this foreign world—a place where she could maybe, possibly, sort of fit in. When Willa looks at Remy, she sees a girl who has everything. But for Remy, having everything comes at a price. And as she spirals out of control, Willa can feel Remy spinning right out of her grasp.


Andrea Portes, author of Anatomy of a Misfit, spins a similarly incandescent, heartfelt story that explores the meaning of friendship, new beginnings, and the precarious joy and devastating pain of finding home in a place—a person—with wings.

First Thoughts
When a book is described as We Were Liars meets Looking for Alaska, you don’t think about reading it – you just do it. That’s the first thing that stood out for me, aside from the gorgeous autumnal cover and provoking blurb. I just want to take a moment to thank Harper360 and the whole team for their amazing opportunities that they give me to read these incredible books. I feel so much more than blessed to get to read these books ahead of time (even though most of my reviews are late, so sorry!) and really get to hold these characters so close to my heart. It’s one of the best feelings in the world!

Review
Willa is somewhat of a misunderstood character. She lives with her Dad, but her whole academic life has been put under close and precise orders by her famously smart Mother. She’s not popular, far from it, and she’s consumed in a cloud of never-ending depressive clouds above. Her life in Iowa is simple and consistent, but then her Mother decides that Willa will be attending a new school: a high-class, exclusive prep school that cost more than Willa can contemplate thinking of those kinds of numbers. 
Pembroke Prep is different. Willa meets Remy there, a highly popular girl with more than a few problems of her own. When Willa sees Remy, this girl who has everything she could ever want in the world, she can’t understand why she would ever need to feel this troubled. But Remy knows the true price of having everything she could ever want, and it’s not pretty. They start a twisted, borderline crazy friendship that brings Willa’s live to turmoil as she follows a crowd that she shouldn’t be in. Pembroke Prep isn’t like Iowa, and it’s more than clear that it has it’s deep, dark secrets. 
I just loved this book so much that it’s hard to think of a time when I hadn’t been consumed by these characters and this friendship. It’s not your usual kind of friendship – it’s borderline doomed, on the verge of complete failure. But Willa finally feels a part of her is home, and that changes everything. Remy is out of control most of the time and Willa can feel their connection slipping in parts, despite their unbreakable bond. Still, there’s something magnificent about this book, a feeling that makes me want to cry and smile and just fall into the pages over and over. 
Overall, The Fall of Butterflies will make your heart soar with compassion. The POV is a different kind, but it just makes it all the more unique. I was really going to give this book such high standards to live up to the books it’s compared to and although it didn’t blow them out of the water, it landed right among the greats perfectly. So much love for this book! 
Rating & Recs
I’d recommend this book to YA readers that loved Jessi Kirby, E. Lockhart and John Green.

Have you read The Fall of Butterflies?


Let me know what you thought in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!


happy reading!

Book Review: “The Movie Version” by Emma Wunsch

Title: The Movie Version 

Author: Emma Wunsch

Published: October 11th, 2016

Publisher: Amulet Books

Find the Author: Goodreads 


I received this book for review on my blog! As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.

A whip-smart, heart-wrenching debut YA novel about first love, first loss, and filmmaking that will delight fans of Jandy Nelson and Jennifer Niven

In the movie version of Amelia’s life, the roles have always been clear. Her older brother, Toby: definitely the Star. As popular with the stoners as he is with the cheerleaders, Toby is someone you’d pay ten bucks to watch sweep Battle of the Bands and build a “beach party” in the bathroom. As for Amelia? She’s Toby Anderson’s Younger Sister. She’s perfectly happy to watch Toby’s hijinks from the sidelines, when she’s not engrossed in one of her elaborately themed Netflix movie marathons.           

 

But recently Toby’s been acting in a very non-movie-version way. He’s stopped hanging out with his horde of friends and started obsessively journaling and disappearing for days at a time. Amelia doesn’t know what’s happened to her awesome older brother, or who this strange actor is that’s taken his place. And there’s someone else pulling at her attention: a smart, cute new boyfriend who wants to know the real Amelia—not Toby’s Sidekick. Amelia feels adrift without her star, but to best help Toby—and herself—it might be time to cast a new role: Amelia Anderson, leading lady.

First Thoughts

This has been on my shelf for so long and I’m not sure why I haven’t read it yet. Maybe because of the huge stack of ARC’s that I’m slowly, but surely getting through, but either way this book just spoke to me. So I decided to dig in and see what it’s all about! 



Review

I’m always for a YA Book in the Springtime (and almost Summer!) so The Movie Version sounded like a breath of fresh air. The book starts with Amelia, our heroine, coming home from a while away over the Summer. It’s more than obvious that Amelia is a strikingly honest character from the get-go. She knows in the Movie Version of her life, her brother Toby is the shining star. He’s everything that she’s not; popular and ever-so-charming. He’s not obnoxious, either, because of his popularity with everyone – he’s a genuinely nice guy and Amelia can’t help but feel shifted from the spotlight. 

But suddenly, her bubbly brother turns into a shell of himself, changing into someone she no longer recognises as the Movie Version Toby. He’s not hanging out with the same people or acting the same way, and Amelia can’t help but try to uncover the reasons why he’s not himself, leading her to the chilling conclusion of Toby’s real feelings going on inside his mind. 

Honestly? This book just blew my expectations out of the water with the raw honesty of the mental illness topics that it covered in a very educated manner. Amelia treads carefully, knowing not much about mental illnesses, so at first she’s very confused by it, not knowing the correct way to talk or let alone deal with it. But the more that she listens to Toby, she turns a leaf, learning and understanding what it truly means to suffer from a mental illness. Despite some of the topics surrounding Amelia not knowing what to say and in parts, maybe coming across a little naive to the situation, I think Emma Wunsch is definitely an Author to watch.

Overall, The Movie Version was a hopeful, emotional and downright honest YA book that deals with subjects that so many people are afraid to speak up about. No one should ever be ashamed of Mental Illness, whether it’s anxiety, OCD, depression or anything. As someone who has dealt with these topics personally, I think Emma has completely handled them with delicate and beautiful outcomes. The Movie Version is a four-star read – and a must read. 


Rating 


Have you read The Movie Version?


What did you think?


Let me know in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!


happy reading!

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Book Review: “All About Mia” by Lisa Williamson

Title: All About Mia

Author: Lisa Williamson

Published: February 2nd, 2017

Publisher: David Fickling Books

Find the Author: Goodreads 


I received this book for review on my blog! As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.

One family, three sisters.

GRACE, the oldest: straight-A student. 

AUDREY, the youngest: future Olympic swimming champion. 

And MIA, the mess in the middle. 


Mia is wild and daring, great with hair and selfies, and the undisputed leader of her friends – not attributes appreciated by her parents or teachers. 

When Grace makes a shock announcement, Mia hopes that her now-not-so-perfect sister will get into the trouble she deserves. 

But instead, it is Mia whose life spirals out of control – boozing, boys and bad behaviour – and she starts to realise that her attempts to make it All About Mia might put at risk the very things she loves the most.

First Thoughts

I first heard about Lisa on the bookish scene when The Art of Being Normal came out and even though it was high on my TBR list, I haven’t quite got around to reading it. But when All About Mia arrived on my doorstep, something about it screamed READ ME, BECCA! I know that listening to that inner reader is always super important and even though it took me two months (really, Becca?!) I finally got around to delving into the pages.

Review

Mia Mia Mia. What a character. When I first got into the book, I was worried I might not totally identify with her because she is a middle child and I am the youngest child of my family. But even though we were different in that aspect, I totally loved her character and her presence in the story and identified with her in other ways. Mia sometimes feels like the mess of her family – the one who doesn’t have it all together. Her sisters; Grace (older than Mia and oh-so-perfect marks at School, never steps out of line) and Audrey (younger than Mia, destined to be an Olympic swimming genius), are totally different to her. Mia is outspoken and leads her friends into ambitious and creative ideas with carefree thoughts. She’s a selfie queen, loves styling hair and is a shining and beautiful mess – but all her teachers and Parents see is the mess part. 

We all know a girl like Mia, or did at school. The girls who are loud and laughing and in your face. Mia should be unlikable, but it’s part of those intricate ways of her personality that grows over the course of the book that make us love her. Grace, Mia’s older sister, comes home one day with very abrupt news that sends All About Mia into a spiralling-out-of-control picture. It’s when Mia finds that it’s her time to shine, now that the attention is off her perfect sisters, that the truth about her raw character reveals itself. She isn’t the overly confident and wild person we were led to believe, but hiding a host of feelings herself about being left out and unheard. 

If there’s any book that did a complete 180′ and made me totally question everything while I was reading, it would be this one. At first, I didn’t know what to think of Mia, but by the end, I just wanted to tell her that she was going to be okay. This is the kind of book you need. I thoroughly adored the family points, the character development and of course, Mia. 5 stars completely!

Rating 

Have you read All About Mia?


What did you think?


Let me know in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!


happy reading!

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Blog Tour: “Because Of The Sun” by Jenny Torres Sanchez 🌞

BECAUSE OF THE SUN BLOG TOUR 


Title: Because Of The Sun

Author: Jenny Torres Sanchez

Published: January 3rd, 2017

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Find the Author: Goodreads 


I received this book for review on my blog! As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.

From the backyards of suburban Florida to the parched desert of New Mexico, Because of the Sun explores the complexity of family, the saving grace of friendship, and the healing that can begin when the truth is brought to light.
Dani Falls learned to tolerate her existence in suburban Florida with her brash and seemingly unloving mother by embracing the philosophy Why care? It will only hurt. So when her mother is killed in a sudden and violent manner, Dani goes into an even deeper protection mode, total numbness. It’s the only way she can go on.
But when Dani chooses The Stranger by Albert Camus as summer reading for school, it feels like fate. The main character’s alienation after his mother’s death mirrors her own.
Dani’s life is thrown into further turmoil when she is sent to New Mexico to live with an aunt she never knew she had. The awkwardness between them is palpable. To escape, Dani takes long walks in the merciless heat. One day, she meets Paulo, who understands how much Dani is hurting. Although she is hesitant at first, a mutual trust and affection develop between Dani and Paulo, and Dani begins to heal. And as she and her aunt begin to connect, Dani learns about her mother’s past. Forgiving isn’t easy, but maybe it’s the only way to move forward.

First Thoughts 

Because Of The Sun drew me in from the cover. Although I try not to judge a book by it’s cover, it reminded me so much of a dusty sunset with the swirls of rich-meets-pastel colours. The blurb itself seemed just as inviting and I was eager to get started and see if it was just as beautiful on the inside..

Review

I read Because Of The Sun in two sittings, both after midnight (when I should have been sleeping, but fellow insomniatics know it can be very hard) and devoured this incredible story with twists, emotional turmoil and the power of grief. 

Dani has never really had a perfect relationship with her Mother, in fact, Dani’s Mother has acted fairly hostile toward her, moving them from place to place and drowning herself in alcohol and men. But then, out of the blue, Dani’s Mother is killed by a bear in a very unique plot twist. The situation forces Dani to go deep within herself and become a numb version of herself, the qualities of grief definitely showing. She is sent to live with an Aunt that she had never heard of, let alone knew existed, in New Mexico. 

At first, their relationship is strained and awkward. Dani doesn’t know her or how to act around her, or feel inside about this whole situation. After taking long walks in the excruciating heat, she met Paulo. He doesn’t have a major part of the story, but his character was a welcome and fitting part in Dani’s life. He knew how Dani was feeling, even if she didn’t quite yet, and knowing that someone else had been going through the same thing makes her come out of her shell a little more. The more time that she spends with Paulo and her Aunt, the more she can feel a different self coming around to the idea of healing and forgiving. 

Overall, Because Of The Sun is an undeniably vivid and sincere read. Dani’s character development is flawless, because she is flawed, herself. The enormity of the situations she is put in and the steps that she takes toward happiness again is meaningful and realistically on point. Jenny has written such a powerfully eloquent novel that I am so thankful to have read. This is a book that you must have on your bookshelf this year. Five stars completely – the easiest I’ve given. 

Rating

About The Author

JENNY TORRES SANCHEZ is a full-time writer and former English teacher. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived on the border of two worlds her whole life. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and children.

Have you read Because Of The Sun?


What did you think?


Let me know in the comments! Check out the rest of this blog tour by tracking #BecauseOfTheSun on twitter!


happy reading!

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Blog tour: EVERYONE WE’VE BEEN by Sarah Everett (+Giveaway!)

Title: Everyone We’ve Been

Author: Sarah Everett

Published: October 4th, 2016

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Find the Author: Goodreads | Twitter


I received this book for review on my blog! As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.



 Addison Sullivan has been in an accident. In its aftermath, she has memory lapses and starts talking to a boy that no one else can see. It gets so bad that she’s worried she’s going crazy.

Addie takes drastic measures to fill in the blanks and visits a shadowy medical facility that promises to “help with your memory.” But at the clinic, Addie unwittingly discovers it is not her first visit. And when she presses, she finds out that she had certain memories erased. She had a boy erased.

But why? Who was that boy, and what happened that was too devastating to live with? And even if she gets the answers she’s looking for, will she ever be able to feel like a whole person again?

From the premise, Everyone We’ve Been sounds like everything I love in a book. There’s a potential mystery boy, the element of an underlying mystery that has to be solved and a sense that there’s a whole lot of adventure lying between the pages. I was lucky enough to be asked to be on the blog tour and I couldn’t wait to get started reading as soon as it landed in my lap.

Addison, or Addie, has been in an accident that will change her life drastically. At first, she’s worried she’s seriously going crazy. She can see a boy no one else can see and I know that realistically, if that were to happen to me, I would be freaking out. In the time after her accident, Addie begins having these dips in memory that can’t be explained, twisted into the fact that this boy that only her eyes can see is forged into them. 
Everyone We’ve Been is told in the before and afters of Addie’s accident which really gives the story another dimension of truth and normalcy. It keeps the plot steadily paced and engrossing and I found that slowly, as the truth of Addie’s accident, her memory gaps and the mystery boy came to light, I began to piece together the puzzle and underlying illusive aspect that seems to tie into her memory loss. Addie was straight away relateable. I love characters that feel like friends and someone you can just get as they tell you their story. The alternating past and present times really captured Addie’s character development and I found that because of this, it made her all the more real to me and I could connect with her so much better and feel like I was on the journey with her the whole way, too. 
Overall, Everyone We’ve Been is a powerful, magnetic story bursting with potential and perfection. I found myself hooked to the pages at two a.m., compelled by the storyline that just seemed to ooze “keep reading me” qualities. Addie was a star character and I was rooting for her the entire way, with each new unveiling of information I found myself falling further into the skillful plot that keeps you guessing. Underneath the beautiful cover there is an even more lively story just waiting to be read and now that I have, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Everyone We’ve Been is one of the best hits of 2016 and I’m so glad that I had the chance to read it. Five stars aren’t high enough.

 Young Adult readers!






Sarah Everett remembers growing up in enchanted forests, on desert islands and inside a magical wardrobe. She would only ever erase her memory of past karaoke performances and certain fashion choices. She was born in west Africa but currently resides in Alberta, Canada where she attends graduate school and writes YA novels. Visit her on Twitter at @heysaraheverett.

Thanks to Random House Children’s Books, I get to give away a FRESH NEW copy of Everyone We’ve Been! OPEN TO USA RESIDENTS ONLY.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


 


Stop by the other days on the Everyone We’ve Been Tour!

Monday through Friday, October 10th – 14th 2016
Monday, October 10: Novel Ink
Tuesday, October 11: A Midsummer Night’s Read
Wednesday, Octboer 12: Addicted 2 Novels
Thursday, October 13: Pretty Little Memoirs
Friday, October 14: Rose Gold Class

Have you read Everyone We’ve Been?

What do you think of it?

Let me know in the comments or at @LittleMemoirs on twitter!

happy reading!

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🌹 UNDER ROSE TAINTED SKIES 🌹

Title: Under Rose Tainted Skies

Author: Louise Gornall

Published: July 7th, 2016

Publisher: Chicken House

Find the Author: Goodreads | Twitter



I received this book for review! As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.


Agoraphobia confines Norah to the house she shares with her mother.

For her, the outside is sky glimpsed through glass, or a gauntlet to run between home and car. But a chance encounter on the doorstep changes everything: Luke, her new neighbour. Norah is determined to be the girl she thinks Luke deserves: a ‘normal’ girl, her skies unfiltered by the lens of mental illness. Instead, her love and bravery opens a window to unexpected truths …

An important and uplifting debut from a British author, which tackles mental health issues such as agoraphobia and OCD.

As soon as I heard about URTS a few months ago on Twitter, I felt a magnetic pull to find out what it was about and what was beneath the beautiful floral cover. When I saw it dealt with things such as agoraphobia, OCD and anxiety, I was compelled even more. These things are hardly touched upon in the YA community, so many heroines being potrayed so unlike real life. I was excited to get involved anyway that I could and I was over the moon that I got the chance to read URTS and be a part of the tour.

Norah is undeniably honest, this I know from only opening the book just a crack. She talks about her mental health; her agroaphobia, OCD and depression/anxiety so bravely, reminding me in parts of my own struggles with social anxiety and OCD that I still have to this day. Norah’s anxieties and problems affect her every day and the way that Louise captured the qualities of the feelings and thoughts was unerring. Norah is housebound from her illnesses, only ever getting air at her front door on occasions, life outside like a different world completely. It’s there that she meets Luke, who moves in next door. Her anxieties don’t stop or halt when she meets him and love doesn’t conquer all her problems, but he tries to help in different ways, like trying to alter her way of looking at things and her thoughts. She can’t help but feel like he deserves someone “normal”, though. Nevertheless, her poignant and charming narrative of trying to cope with letting someone in whilst going through an inner battle with herself is as vulnerable and honest as a reader can observe.
Not only does Norah feel real, but her story is one I’ll never forget. URTS feels real because Norah’s mental health problems are real world things that can hold us back, shape our lives and try to change who we are. It’s her sheer determination and enthralling, heart-felt voice that reminds me that it’s okay to be different and to not be “normal” and sometimes need help along the way.
Overall, Under Rose Tainted Skies is in a word; phenomenal. It’s powerful, moving, heartwarming and sincere. Norah and Luke’s connection was written beautifully, as was Norah’s courageous journey through the pages. I was overwhelmed at how effortlessly I fell into the story and wrapped around the characters, feeling as if they were my friends and that I knew them. URTS is a breathtaking debut that is going to sky-rocket and it deserves every amazing thing that happens. Louise has written what I can gladly say has been my favourite book of the year so far. Five stars completely.

 Everyone.




Louise is a graduate of Garstang Community Academy, and she is currently studying for a BA (Hons) in English language and literature with special emphasis on creative writing. A YA aficionado, film nerd, identical twin, and junk food enthusiast, she’s also an avid collector of book boyfriends. Her debut novel, Under Rose-Tainted Skies, will be published in July 2016..

The YA community and finding a place! 

by Louise Gornall


Stepping into the world of writing was jarring. Admittedly, I knew nothing when I arrived. A query letter? What’s that? Books have word counts? I just thought you were supposed to stop when you ran out of story. No?


Luckily, I signed up to Twitter and bumped into the lovely Heather Marie, who was also writing books for teens. I think it took just one quick chat with Heather to discover how complex writing YA was, and how dangerously I lacked in direction. 


Cut to four years later, and a vast community of YA writers, several of whom I consider among my best friends, have taught me how to be the best writer I can be. And not just technically with the querying and the word counts and the character building and all that other stuff. The YA community is an amazing source of support, because, real talk, this business is tough. You will be rejected more times than you can count. You will feel crappy and worthless and like you want to quit, at least once a month (if not once a week). And people outside of publishing won’t get it, as wonderful as family and friends can be, if they don’t know shhh about the industry, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll be needing support from someone who knows exactly how it feels. That’s just science.


Plus, you know, there are perks to being BFF’s with YA writers, apart from them being lovely human beings, who, for the most part, really understand the importance of pyjamas and junk food, and that’s exclusive reading privileges.

Have you read Under Rose Tainted Skies?


What did you think?


If you were affected by any of the issues in the book, MIND and the Mental Health Foundation are available.

happy reading!

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