Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Title: My Life Next Door

Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Electric Monkey

Publication date: January 7 2016

Source: I bought this book.

What it's about: My Life Next Door is about a girl named Samantha who has always been fascinated by the Garrett family who live next door. One night, Jase Garrett sneaks up onto her roof and they have a conversation that changes everything. Sam becomes involved with the Garretts, unbeknownst to her highly strung mother. Swoon worthy romance at it's best.

What I liked: I read this book in less than a day! The female protagonist, Samantha, is wonderful. Despite her wealth, she comes across as a normal, down to earth seventeen year old girl. I was quite fond of her. Jase is the best book boyfriend I've read about in a long time. I was so happy whenever he was in a scene. He's a fun, confident character and a stand up guy.

The best thing about My Life Next Door is that it has a huge cast of characters. Jase has lots of siblings; Joel, Alice, Andy, Duff, Harry, George and Patsy. Each one of them was unique. I especially loved George. She was just too cute. Sam's man, Debbie, is a very complex woman and I've never read about a character like her before, so that was interesting.

I really enjoyed the plot. I was really invested in the story. There's a plot twist that makes the story that bit more serious and it really added to the novel as a hole. I read this by the pool while I was in Spain and it's the perfect summer read.

Rating: 5 stars

Favourite quotes: "They say you never know what you would do in a hypothetical situation. We'd all like to think we'd be one of the people who gave up their life jackets and waved a stoic good-bye from the slanting deck of the Titanic, someone who jumped in front of a bullet for a stranger, or turned and raced back up the stairs of one of the towers, in search of someone who needed help rather than your own security. But you just don't know for sure if, when things fall apart, you'll think safety first, or if safety will be the last thing on your mind."

"... And the way he does look at me makes me feel absolutely beautiful."

This picture is mine. Instagram @courtneysbooks

Review: You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

Title: You Know Me Well
Author: Nina LaCour and David Levithan
Publisher: Macmillan

Release date: June 2nd 2016
Source: I received an ARC from My Kinda Book.

What it's about: Goodreads: Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is, until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other—and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

Told in alternating points of view by Nina LaCour and David Levithan, You Know Me Well is a story about navigating the joys and heartaches of first love, one truth at a time.

What I thought: I must say that I enjoyed this novel immensely. The two main characters, Mark and Kate, are part of the LGBT community, so I really enjoyed that as I haven't read very many books with gay people as the main characters. This novel follows the characters in their final year of high school, so it deals with themes such as friendship, family, responsibility, love and heartbreak.

I loved reading from Mark's point of view. Before he befriends Kate, he only really has one true friend called Ryan, who breaks Mark's heart at the beginning of the novel when he learns that the love he feels for him is unrequited. I loved his friendship with Kate and how he supports her and his character growth over the course of the novel.

I adored Kate. Kate has a crush on her friend's cousin Violet, who she has only met online. Kate is nervous about what their relationship holds so on the day they meet for the first time in real life, she takes off and heads to a bar, where she sees Mark dancing on the countertop and their friendship  blossoms from there. I loved Kate's passion for art and I also enjoyed reading about her growing away from her best friend, because at that age it is common to outgrow your childhood friends.

I couldn't out this down! It was very well written and the transition between the perspectives was flawless. I have read and enjoyed many of David Levithan's books already, so I shall definitely pick up some of Nina LaCour's books in the future.

Rating: 5/5

The picture is from Goodreads.

Review: Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

Title:  Extraordinary  Means
Author:  Robyn  Schneider
Genre:  Young  adult,  contemporary
Publisher: Katherine  Tegen  Books

What  It's  About:  Extraordinary  Means  is  about  a  seventeen  year  old  boy  named  Lane  who  after  contracting  an  incurable  form  of  tuberculosis,  finds  himself  at  Laytham  House,  a  care  centre  for  teenagers  like  him.  Lane  was  top  of  the  class  at  school  and  he  struggles  with  not  being  able  to  keep  up  with  the  work  or  fill  out  his  Stanford  application.
One  day  in  the  cafeteria,  he  spots  Sadie,  a  girl  he  went  to  summer  camp  with  a  few  years  ago.  Lane  notices  that  Sadie  and  her  friends  stand  out  from  the  other  kids  at  Laytham.  They're  funny,  intelligent, sarcastic,  and  well,  alive.  By  befriending  them,  Lane  learns  that  there's  more  to  life  than  applications  and  deadlines,  and  that  sometimes  you  just  have  to  go  with  the  flow  and  see  where  the  road  takes  you.

What  I  Thought:  This  is  my  second  Robyn  Schneider  book  and  I  think  that  I  liked  it  even  more  than  the  first  one,  The  Beginning  of  Everything  or  Severed  Heads  and  Broken  Hearts.  I  listened  to  the  audiobook  and  I'd  really  recommend  it.  The  narrators  did  a  fantastic  job.
I  liked  Lane.  I  understand  the  pressure  that  he  put  himself  under  at  school  and  how  he  always  looked  to  the  future  instead  of  living  in  the  present.  I  loved  watching  him  grow  and  try  new  things  as  the  book  went  on.  He  had  great  character  development.
I  quite  liked  Sadie,  the  female  protagonist.  She  was  brave,  snarky  and  I  was  interested  to  learn  about  her.
It's  obvious  from  the  get  go  that  this  is  a  love  story  about  two  ill  teenagers  who  fall  in  love,  and  I've  heard  it  compared  to  John  Green's  The  Fault  In  Our  Stars,  but  it's  not  The  Fault  In  Our  Stars.  It's  different,  so  don't  let  that  put  you  off  giving  it  a  try.
I  enjoyed  the  writing.  I  liked  how  it's  a  dual  perspective  novel  and  how  we  got  to  see  both  Lane's  and  Sadie's  side  of  their  story.  Robyn  Schneider  had  some  important  messages  in  here  about  enjoying  life  and  breaking  rules  and  how  there  is  more  to  life  than  essays  and  textbooks.  At  times,  it's  really  funny  and  makes  you  laugh,  and  other  times  it's  serious  and  makes  you  tear  up  as  you  think  about  what  the  characters  are  going  through,  and  how  you  would  act  it  were  you.
The  plot  is  good,  but  also  rather  typical  of  these  kinds  of  stories.  There  are  some  surprises  that  made  me  want  to  keep  listening  and  I  was  completely  invested  in  the  story.
I  have  to  say  that  I  was  impressed  by  this  book  and  I'm  looking  forward  to  future  books  by  Robyn  Schneider.

Rating:  4/5  stars

Picture  =  Goodreads

Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Title:  The  Testing  (The  Testing  #1)

Author:  Joelle  Charbonneau

Genre:  Young  adult,  dystopian,  science  fiction

Publisher:  Templar  Publishing

What  It's  About:  The  Testing  is  about  a  sixteen  year  old  girl  named  Cia  who  must  compete  against  other  graduates  from  her  village  and  beyond  to  get  a  place  in  the  University  and  help  to  run  the  country.  At  first,  Cia  is  delighted  to  be  chosen  and  considers  it  a  great  honour,  but  after  a  talk  with  her  father,  she  is   worried  when  he  tells  her  that  he  can't  remember  anything  from  his  own  Testing.  What  would  the  government  want  him  to  forget?

What  I  Thought:  I  very  much  enjoyed  reading  The  Testing,  and  I  wasn't  expecting  to  at  all,  considering  that  dystopian  books  aren't  really  my  cup  of  tea,  and  I'm  not  the  biggest  fan  of  The  Hunger  Games  books.
I  really  liked  the  protagonist,  Cia.  She  was  smart,  strong,  honest  and  loyal.  It  was  very  interesting  to  see  her  reactions  to  the  situations  she  was  in  and  I'm  excited  to  read  more  about  her  in  future  books.
There  is  a  romance  between  Cia  and  other  graduate and  I  think  it  was  well  done.  It  was  realistic.  As  far  as  I  can  tell,  there  is  no  love  triangle.
The  book  has  a  rather  large  cast  of  characters,  and  I  feel  that  I  got  to  know  them  quite  well.  I  was  never  sure  who  I  could  trust,  so  that  kept  things  interesting.
The  plot  is  great.  It  was  very  fast  paced  and  each  time  I  put  it  down,  which  wasn't  often,  I  always  wondered  what  would  happen  next.
I'm  definitely  going  to  continue  on  with  this  trilogy  really  soon.

Rating:  4.5/5  stars

Instagram:  @courtneysbooks

This  picture  is  mine.