I tried really, really hard to enjoy this book. I got this on a day out with my aunt and was really excited to read it because I heard a girl talk about how much she loved it. Now, the same girl thought One of Us is Lying was good, so I don’t know why I listened, but I did.

Ellery and Ezra are twins who lived in California until their wannabe actress mom got put into rehab and they were forced to move in with their grandmother who lives in a small town named Echo Ridge. Echo Ridge was “put on the map” when a girl named Lacy was murdered a few days after she was crowned homecoming queen. The prime suspect in the murder investigation is a guy named Declan. Declan has a younger brother named Malcolm. Malcolm is a shy, introverted guy who just wants to be left alone and put out of the spotlight. Unfortunately, he gets pushed into the spotlight pretty often, and as soon as mysterious threats start and a girl goes missing, people assume it was him. Mainly because of his brother and the fact he was supposedly the last person to see her alive.

I was trying to think of something I genuinely liked about this book, and I spent days, weeks even trying to find something I thought was good but I honestly can’t. The most “redeemable” parts of this book were the Pretty Little Liars vibe, and how she somehow managed to make everything “click”.  Besides those two things I can’t think of anything to label as good. One of Us is Lying was definitely better and if you want to read anything by McManus please don’t read this.

There is too much I disliked about this book to put into words.  The plot was ok..ish but I felt like I was reading fanfiction and somehow nothing at the same time. the first 100 pages literally took me three weeks to read because it felt so slow. The next 223 pages were eh. Basically, the book from start to finish was slow, the “climax” was basically three pages of “will I reach the paper clip and the door in time?” and the “resolution” was some sort of party thing. It got confusing. The entire book Ellery was talking about how she is obsessed with true crime but she never really referenced cases like I hoped she would. Malcolm never really did anything other than sitting there and pointing out the obvious. I also feel like McManus really limited how much of the story we could have gotten. I know it’s exhausting writing from multiple perspectives because you have to get into the headspace of each character, but would it have killed her to let us see from Mia or Ezra’s perspective? In One of Us is Lying, she wrote from the perspective of like four or five people. Adam Silvera wrote from the perspective of two main characters while throwing in the perspectives of smaller characters to add to the story. There are so, so many ways she could have incorporated more perspectives and personalities.

The entire time I was reading this all I could think is: when will this end. I don’t normally use the word hate in my reviews, but I really hate this book. I recommend this to no one, ever, unless you want 323 pages of boredom and torture. I expected more.

 

 

If you want to read this book you can get a copy from the lovely Barnes and Noble

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We are also now on Instagram out the name is 2crazybookladies we post updates on the books we read and when reviews come out.

This book was not at all what I expected. Then again, I barely knew a thing about it when I got it. It was one of my good friends who repeatedly asked, and practically begged me to read it.

All the Bright Places is about Finch and Violet. Finch is known as a freak fascinated with music and death. Violet is a popular ex-cheerleader with a bright future in writing. The book opens with Finch up on a ledge he claims is six stories up at his school, for a while, he doesn’t realize there is a girl on the ledge with him. Violet becomes known as a hero for talking finch off the ledge even though they both know it was the other way around. This book explored the relationship that grows between them as they work on a project based on wandering their state.

First, I think there was a lot of good in this book. I really truly do, but I hate almost everyone in it. Violet, who I thought I was going to get attached to and really learn to love, ended up making me angry. I loved how they showed her grieving over the loss of her sister (not a spoiler since I’m pretty sure the information is in chapter one or two). Violets anger and grief definitely blinded her and kept her from making important connections and decisions throughout the story. I also really hated how everyone still treated Finch horribly after he was on a ledge six stories up yelling about wanting to jump. I don’t know if I’m reading the situation wrong, or if everyone is actually that stupid but, when someone says they wanna jump, and they are six stories up, they usually really wanna jump. Literally, everyone called him a freak repeatedly and many others ignored various cries for help. The distaste and hatred for all the characters was intensified by their complete neglect. There was a lot, and I mean A LOT of behaviors and  signs of depression. From obsessions with death to reckless behavior. It honestly worried me how much characters dismissed and over looked these things saying its “just how teens act.” Because no, “normal” teens are not thinking and reciting suicide notes constantly and writing them on sticky notes to put on their wall.

I generally try to start with positives but I figured why not switch it up. I loved how Violet grew with Finch. Together, Violet and Finch became better people. I also loved watching Violet get new and better friends. I didn’t love Violet, and I don’t exactly approve of her actions, but I honestly loved watching how new and old people in her life affected her and how she saw the world. I also really, really loved that Finch was a vegetarian. Maybe I’m just bias, okay, I definitely am but, having vegetarian representation in literature warms my heart.

In the end, I really did love this book. I look forward to reading Holding Up The Universe over the summer. I would recommend this book to any and all my friends that need a quick read that both disappointed and exceeded my expectations.

check out more reviews on Goodreads

you can buy a copy at Barns & Noble

Cover from goodreads

There were a few different reasons I was drawn to this book. What really pushed me in the direction of this book was how many people I know who loved it. 3/5 people I know who have read the book (and talked with me about it) said it was amazing, the other two said they couldn’t put it down, but they didn’t enjoy reading it.

One of Us is Lying is about four students who are suspects in the murder of Simon Kelleher. Simon created a gossip app/blog in his sophomore year of high school and used it to expose his classmate’s secrets. As someone who loved watching Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, Breakfast Club, and various forensic shows I thought I would love this. After all, how bad could it be?

So the book opens with “A sex tape. A pregnancy scare. Two cheating scandals. And that’s just this week’s update.” which 1. Definitely not uncomfortable at all (sarcasm), 2. That’s one way to hook your readers and 3. What the heck is happening at your school. Next, I would very much like to know why Addy was such a doormat/pushover, I get wanting to show how much she has “grown” but there are a lot of better ways of getting a character to grow without making them a doormat and putting them in toxic relationships. If you haven’t read this book I wouldn’t recommend starting it. The book not only had unlikable and poorly developed characters, but it’s ending was terrible. I’m not going to spoil it, because I’m not a terrible person, but I felt disappointed and dissatisfied. Along with my disappointment in the ending, I also feel like the book failed to send good message/set a good example on dealing with depression, death, cheating, toxic relationships, and/or murderous rage. Sure, this style writing generally doesn’t “set good examples”. It’s a murder mystery. But, it felt wrong how they let people get away with such serious issues like lying and cheating and glossed over topics that definitely could have been explored further.

Though definitely not my favorite book, I must give Karen McManus credit for keeping me entertained and guessing. One of Us is Lying always managed to keep my attention, whether it was because I was screaming at Jake (he is sexist and stupid and controlling) or coming up with a new theory for the mystery of who killed Simon. I do appreciate that this wasn’t another predictable, failed attempt a teen/YA mystery novel. I need another positive for this book so shout out to the lizard. I stayed for Stan the lizard. The one and the only character who managed to find its way into my heart. Sadly, Stan was only mentioned 4 times.

As much as I disliked this book, and its ending I really did “enjoy” reading something different. One of Us is Lying kept me engaged and interested to a point I didn’t was to put it down, but in this case, I feel like the cons outweigh the pros. This book was not my cup of tea, and probably never will be. I personally wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone, but if you liked it, or think that its something you would like, that’s good for you.

 

If you want to purchase this book you can click here.

For more information/reviews click here.

Also, for those of you who enjoyed this book, there is a sequel, for more information click here.

Spring is here, and if haven’t already had your spring break, I have got a few books you should read.

First up is a personal favorite of mine called Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, this one follows the story of Sam Kingston. Sam Kingston is one of the girls that (almost) everyone dreams of being. Sam is the kind of girl who is pretty, popular and has popular friends. In the book, Sam is forced to relive the day she died multiple times. Before I Fall is unique because it tells the story of one day that changes based on whatever variable Sam changes. Certain parts of the day stay the same like, how she wakes up and how the day ends. However, she has the option to change things like how she answers questions in class, or if she goes to the party. I love Before I Fall because is more than the story of a self-centered popular girl breezing through life, it’s the story of a girl trying to right her wrongs, and learning from her mistakes.

For information on where to buy Before I Fall click here.

Second, a book I read for the first time this summer, The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The Perks of being a Wallflower is told through a series of letters written by a high school student named Charlie. Charlie is trying to cope with the suicide of his friend Micheal (thus the letters). Over the course of the book, Charlie finds a mentor (his English teacher) and becomes good friends with Sam and Patrick (a pair of step-siblings) who drag Charlie into a more adult world and teach him how to stand up for himself along the way. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an emotional journey where you watch each character grow and develop. I hope someone is able to love this book as much as I do.

For information on where to buy The Perks of being a Wallflower click here.

The third and final book is Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green, and David Levithan. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is about two people both named Will Grayson, confusing right? Will Grayson (the first one) is dealing with the stress of his friend “Tiny” and his musical called Tiny Dancer, along with that, Will likes Jane (Tiny’s friend). One day, Will, Jane, and Tiny decided to go to a concert, but Will’s fake ID failed. Meanwhile, Will Grayson (the second one) “fell in love” with Isaac, a boy that he has only talked to online. When Isaac and Will decide to meet in person, the paths of the two Will Graysons’ meet.

For information on where to buy Will Grayson, Will Grayson click here.

I hope at least one of these books caught your eye, but if they didn’t you can always check out the Quick Reads for Winter Break for more suggestions. Happy Spring!

 

You ever just look at a book, just the cover. You haven’t read anything about it, not reviews or the blurb on the back, you look at the cover and say “Yes.” The first book I read by Robyn Scheider was: The Beginning of Everything. I saw the cover and I knew it would probably be full of stereotypes about teens and how we live or act. When I first saw Extraordinary Means and the phrase above the title “Life goes on until it doesn’t” I was intrigued.

 

Extraordinary Means is exactly what I was promised in every review I read after finding it. I was promised pain and loss and adventure. The main character Lane has an incurable strain of TB (Tuberculosis) and is forced to go to Lanthium (a sanitorium) and sees a girl Sadie he met a few years before at a summer camp. Sadie and her friends are described as the center of the cafeteria, the group everyone wants to be a part of.  Throughout the story, we watch Lane become a newer and more carefree person.

one of my favorite things about this book is also one of my favorite things about The Begining of  Everything. Most YA books these days in someone “having nothing” or who has a more reserved or shy personality become popular through a boyfriend or girlfriend. Robyn Schneider writes the opposite. Schneider shows how fragile people’s lives are, how an illness or car accident can change everything. In Extraordinary Means, Lane does follow the typical pattern of being a more reserved person, and he is sort of pushed into popularity at Lanthium he also seemed to have a lot of friends at his old school.  Another reason I really loved this book: Puns. I just really love puns, like I don’t know how anyone can hate a pun. Schneider uses puns and dark humor to show how the characters cope with their situation.

In case you haven’t noticed, I really loved this book. That being said, I did not love all the characters. For example Nick. I found Nick to be rude, jealous, and a bad influence on almost every character. When he was first introduced I thought he was funny, I assumed he would become good friends with Lane (which he kinda did), and I assumed his character would grow and that he would be a better person then he turned out to be. In addition to characters I found unlikable, I really hated the way this ended. I expected the outcome because of reviews but it felt impersonal and distance. I was told this was like Looking for Alaska or  Fault in Our Stars, and in a way it was. It had an incurable disease and a  tragic ending, but it failed to show the characters grieve.

 

Hey, you should totally check out Robyn Schnieders website here or buy the book at Barnes and Noble

Side note: I kinda have a problem. I need to stop choosing books I know will end badly, but at the same time, I really love them.

As you can probably tell based on my previous literary choices, non-fiction/memoirs are not typically what I go after. I’m drawn towards fiction because of the “space” I have with it. When reading a non-fiction text everything is set in stone, everything is real. I like tragic fiction (and fiction in general) because it’s fiction, what happens in the book hasn’t actually happened in real life, and you have space for imagination and interpretation. Despite my dislike of non-fiction, I decided it was time to spice things up a bit.

Derailed on the Bipolar Express is about Joie Edson and her two sons with bipolar disorder. Edson tells stories about her sons, their manic episodes, and how their mental state and physical actions affect her life, her son’s life, and other people that she and her sons have met along the way.

One of my favorite things in this book was after Edson shared an example of one of her son’s manic episodes. Edson asks you as a reader to keep an open mind, she asks that you not judge her or her sons, she reminds you that they are people, real people, they have lives, and flaws, and good days, and bad days. This small portion of the book is what kept me going, it made me feel something in my gut or my heart or my brain that just screamed “Keep going! Keep reading!” Something else I really love about this book is how honest Edson is talking about the different hospitals and mental health centers and state facilities that she has gone through with her children. Edson describes horrific events and sights she has seen through her journey dealing with her son’s mental health, and the loop-holes she has had to jump through.

Although I loved that Edson shared her story, I dislike the lack of variety in her writing, she constantly repeats sentences or phrases words in a way that made her writing less enjoyable and more “slow”. The repetition and lack of variety in her sentences wouldn’t have been an issue but, the way Edson’s words flow, they are thoughtful and precise, she tells her story calmly and slowly so you can absorb all the information (which I really loved because I find it difficult to process information sometimes), but by moving so “slow,” mixed with the repetition and lack of variety you can tell Edson’s main purpose in life was not being a writer. Another part of the book that pushed me away was when Edson would to skip/skim over parts of her life, or mention events before giving backstory. For example, “Birdman”. Birdman was something that one of her sons made up, Edson began a story mentioning Birdman without telling readers who Birdman was, at first I thought I had missed a page or skipped a line or two but, a page or two after she explains who birdman is and how Birdman helped her son through a difficult time.

In the end, I really did love this book, I think it was both personal and impersonal,  and for the most part easy to follow. This was a good story to hear, and I would recommend this to anyone who thinks they would be able to handle listening to/about the manic episodes of Edson’s son and the effect they had on her and her life.

 

If you are interested in purchasing this book you can buy it at Barns and Noble or Amazon

 

My sister and I are not best friends, we never have been. We never spent much time together growing up so, every memory I have of us on the couch playing sims or watching TV means a lot. I picked out this book because of the show Parks and Recreation. Amy stars in the show as Leslie Knope, a crazy and stubborn government employ. Yes Please by Amy Poehler caught my eye because it reminded me of my sister, and the time we spent watching Parks and Rec.

Yes Please tells the story of Amy Poehler’s life, she writes about her adolescent years, how she got into theater and improve, the jobs she took to help her career, skits she did on SNL, and both of her pregnancies.

When I opened this book I was excited.  I loved how it felt like she was reading it to me. I loved how through the words on the pages, I could hear her. Not only could I hear Amy, but I could also hear Leasly through the pages. I could hear their stubbornness and immaturity and energetic personalities. another thing I enjoyed about this book was honest she was. Most celebrities hide from their problems or wait for the next scandal to happen so everyone forgets. Amy was honest about the things she had done wrong and how she has used those experiences to become a better and more aware person.

I’m disappointed. Before reading this book I loved Amy, or at least I loved her work in Parks and Rec. The first few chapters I was reminded of why I loved Amy Poehler, but then she began talking about some things she has done during her career. No one is perfect, that’s just part of life. We act like celebrities are gods, we shine a light on them and act like they can do no wrong until the day they do, and then someone else screws up and we forget. My problem is not with her making mistakes, my problem is how she was too stubborn to apologize for what she had done. I loved her honesty and transparency, but I wish some things had remained buried.

I don’t plan on recommending this book, it tainted some fond memories I had made with my sister, and to quote one of my friends: “seemed to say a whole lot of nothing.” I’m disappointed in Amy, and I’m sad this book made me dislike her.

 

If you would like to purchase this book, you can look at  Barnes&Noble

A few months back I was visiting some family out of state in a rural area. Whenever I go there I always end up reading like 2 books a day, after a long time of lugging around a bag of books, I remember I have a nook! After resetting my nook to escape all the childish books like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, I browsed the nook store and stumbled upon this new book. I bought it in a desperate attempt to get in as much reading as possible. I do not, nor will I ever regret this decision.

The Begining of Everything is about Ezra Faulkner, a boy who had everything: Prom King, captain of the tennis team, smart, popular, has a girlfriend who is also popular. Basically, he has a “perfect life”, that is until one fateful night at a party where he discovers his girlfriend was cheating on him, and he tries to leave the party when a reckless driver crashes into him shattering his knee and his perfect life.

Ok, first I just wanna say puns are the key to my heart. Ezra, who narrates this story constantly thinks of different puns he could use in different situations and I loved that with all my heart. Second, I love how this book (as unrealistic as it can be) tries to show how there are not always happy endings. It’s important (in my humble opinion) that people understand that life is not all rainbows and puppies, stuff happens, mistakes are made, and not everything is a perfect rom-com.

Time to talk about flaws because everything has at least one. First I wanna talk about Ezra’s ex-girlfriend: Charlotte Hyde. Charlotte is a huge problem. I found her character offensive because of all the stereotypes used to make her, her. I did however like that her character was used as a villain and someone I could dislike without any guilt because there was basically no attempt to humanize her. Second, I was disappointed with how certain character handled situations (I can’t really go into specifics because I hate spoilers). Sometimes people would overreact and other times they would under-react. To me, it seemed the author was trying to even out the reactions of characters but it just wasn’t working.

I definitely recommend this book to everyone, its a quick read (and I even put it in as a quick read in a previous post). The Beginning of Everything is one of my favorite books ever and I hope everyone can find a book that fills them with as much happiness and sadness that this book fills me with!

This book can be purchased at Barnes and Noble, and to find more reviews/information the link to Goodreads is here! Have a grand day/night!