How To Be Brave

Although I was given an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review, all opinions remain my own.

This book is a fictional young adult novel. It is from the viewpoint of Georgia, a high school senior who recently lost her mom, trying to figure out how to "be brave" as her mother told her to do. 

It goes back and forth between the story and memories. The memories are all in a more poetic format, broken short lines. I found it a refreshing break between the story of her senior year.

Set in Chicago, most of this story revolves around Georgia and best friend Liss and new found friend Evelyn. It also involves a bit with Georgia's father and classmates. I found the characters very relate-able and easy to understand. Being that Georgia had recently lost her mom, she became a character I was very attached to, able to relate to and understood what she was going through.

I think at it's core, this book is about making mistakes and learning from them and finding a way to live each day bravely.

As I mentioned above, having recently lost her mother, Georgia's story really got to me. There were parts of this book that were hard for me to read, it almost felt like the author was there when my mom died. This made the book really emotional to me.

There are a few parts of this book that I wanted to remember and also share, parts that really touched me. This is a part of Georgia's memory of her mom's final days.

And then, in the CCU that last time:
the glare of the cold white walls from the long fluorescent bulb that fell hard against her grey skin against the cold metal and plastic wires.
The mask on her face the steady, careful pulse of machines, monitors,
mechanical boxes that lived for her that sustained whatever was left.
Her body was broken.
She was like a butchered animal with her arms limp and her chest heaving with the push of the machine.
Her eyelids shifting, her feet trembling.
Automatic responses, they're called.
I wonder what was there, inside, the moments before her heart stopped.
I wonder if she could hear what I said how sorry I was just so deeply sorry.

This memory of Georgia's was so like my own that I actually had to stop reading for a while. The memories I have of that time with my mom were awful. Just thinking about another person going through that, made me feel a little less alone. Even though realistically I know that this is a fictional character. The author's insight was just so vivid. It was remarkable and a very life like story.

Life without mom is a little like that. At first, it was all pain and tears. Every day was hard. I'd wake up and the sun was there, still shining in the sky, but the world didn't make sense anymore. Then little by little... that pain faded even more. I cried only once a week instead of every day. And then I stopped crying. I moved forward.

Again, so much like my own experience that it gave me pause. Made me think of how much I have moved forward.

The book ends with this statement from Georgia:
I'm doing it all, mom. Even more than you could have ever imagined.
For me, and for you.

Again echos how I am feeling now. I want to live my life to it's fullest for me and for mom.

This book is a must read. Even if you haven't suffered a loss like me, I feel it gives you an insight into what grief really feels like. Georgia is forced to basically do it on your own. By reading this book, I feel like it gives you a little more of an idea of how someone might be feeling. There is so much more going on in people's lives, you need to stop and pay attention, give them grace. We all make mistakes, we also all need to learn how to move on and learn from them.

Adventures In Funeral Crashing

This book is from the viewpoint of 16 year old Kait, self proclaimed "weird girl." Since her mother's death the year before Kait has a weird hobby of crashing funerals but aside from that seems like a typical teenager. 

When she crashes the wrong funeral, she is found out by the most popular (and cute) guy in school. What follows is her trying to solve a murder mystery while staying out of danger herself. I found this book to be quite enjoyable. 

The final chapters ended the book almost too quickly. I would have liked to see more reaction of the "aftermath" at school. Seemed like no one cared what happened to Kait when it would have been a pretty big deal if it happened in my high school! 

Anyway, the only other thing that bothered me was the way Kait described her food, constantly describing it with "yum-yum" and other such nonsense. I would rather that just be left out, but maybe that's just my personal preference. 

I did purchase book 2, so that tells you a bit about how I liked book 1.

Thirteen Reasons Why

You can’t stop the future.
You can’t rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.

TW: Suicide, minor alcohol consumption, sexual violence

I don't even know how to rate this... Suicide is a very real problem in this county (and the world). According to the CDC there is one death by suicide every 11 minutes. 

Even knowing all the signs, somehow everyone in Hannah's life didn't see what she was feeling. The further I got in the story, the more I saw the warning signs (often pointed out by the narrator, Clay) but it was all too late. 

You read Hannah's story through tapes. Tapes she recorded in the last days of her life, telling her 13 reasons why. Its easy to see how this teen girl felt so trapped by life that suicide felt like the only way out.

If you are experiencing difficult thoughts call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255

You can even text if phone calls aren't your thing, Text HOME to 741741 - available in the US anytime.

You can even contact the above if you are concerned about someone else. They have resources and can give advice.

I gave this four out of five stars on goodreads 

TW: cheating, death, family separation, forced pregnancy, hanging, oppressive government, prostitution, rape, sexism 

I don't know what I though this book was going to be, but this wasn't it. I guess I was thinking it was more "old timey" but this is like a look at a future possibility of the world. Scary! Not sure if I will continue this series or not. If I do, I think I will pick up the actual book versus listening. I didn't love the narrator's voice. 

I gave this book three stars on goodreads.

TW: I can't think of any, it does have cross-dressing in it. It brings up the question of gender identity. 

I loved this graphic novel. It is a classic story told in a beautiful new way. I borrowed this book from my local library but plan on buying a copy for my bookshelf at home. BEAUTIFUL! 

I gave this FIVE stars on goodreads.

TW: Rape, suicide, war, death, cancer. 

Although it is a work of fiction, you can sometimes lose yourself so much in the story that you forget. I can imagine this kind of story happens every day... It was so real I often had to remind myself it was a work of fiction. I wanted to know where are they now?? But, they aren't. They aren't real. 

I can see why this book is on the list. Some of the scenes are quite graphic, including the sexual assault of a child by other children. Still don't agree with the "decision" because it is the life some children are living. 

TW: Ableism, alcoholism, underage drinking, bullying, child abuse and marijuana use. 

I read Eleanor and Park in February of 2017. Here is my review from then: The ONLY thing I didn't love about this book was the ending. Felt like I was ripped off when I got so involved in the characters lives.

This is another of the books that jumps back and forth viewpoints between Eleanor (awkward, poor new girl) and Park. At first, it is just the story of the two of their lives and how they circled around each other. From the first pages, I had a feeling there was something deeper then Eleanor was letting out, but that info wasn't revealed until late in the book.

Loved this story. Love that it wasn't a perfect "love story" or even a perfect story. Love almost every page of this book.

Gave this book four stars on goodreads. 

This post partially inspired by: 

PS I Like You

Signed, sealed, delivered…

While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue!

Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out…

My review: 4 of 5 stars

I received a signed copy of this book in my August UpperCase box. At first, I wasn't too excited. Really slow to start with but once I got about a third of the way in, I was hooked. This is a high school romance as told through letters between two students, unknown (at first) to each other.

The Characters: Lily was a character I found easy to like. She has a big crazy family and spends a lot of time helping with her younger brothers (babysitting). A music lover, who isn't all that in to the mainstream, she marches to the beat of her own drum. This book is from her viewpoint. Lily constantly writes in her notebook. Doodling, writing her own song lyrics, just writing. Anyway, I just love Lily.

The Plot: While predictable at times, this story was just original enough to keep me reading. What starts out as Lily writing on her desk, a few song lyrics, turns into a pen-pal type relationship. Her and another person exchange letters, hidden in the underside of the desk of her chemistry class. The pace in this was quick enough that I didn't get bored. Also there were parts of the book that were the actual letters. I love it when they do that in books!

Overall I thought this book was adorable. My mom would have called it popcorn reading. Nothing too hard to think about, nothing to weird or scary, just light an fluffy and fun.

Eleanor & Park

“Bono met his wife in high school,” Park says.
“So did Jerry Lee Lewis,” Eleanor answers.
“I’m not kidding,” he says.
“You should be,” she says, “we’re 16.”
“What about Romeo and Juliet?”
“Shallow, confused, then dead.”
“I love you,” Park says.
“Wherefore art thou,” Eleanor answers.
“I’m not kidding,” he says.
“You should be.”

Set over one school year in 1986, Eleanor & Park is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

TW: Ableism, alcoholism, underage drinking, bullying, child abuse and marijuana use.

I read Eleanor and Park in February of 2017. Here is my review from then: The ONLY thing I didn't love about this book was the ending. Felt like I was ripped off when I got so involved in the characters lives.

This is another of the books that jumps back and forth viewpoints between Eleanor (awkward, poor new girl) and Park. At first, it is just the story of the two of their lives and how they circled around each other. From the first pages, I had a feeling there was something deeper then Eleanor was letting out, but that info wasn't revealed until late in the book.

Loved this story. Love that it wasn't a perfect "love story" or even a perfect story. Love almost every page of this book.


Gave this book four out of five stars on goodreads.