The Naughty List by Suzanne Young

Book review #30
The Naughty List by Suzanne Young
Rating: Four stars (refer to the rating system on the right)

Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility!

Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!

When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it? 
 
The Naughty List was one of the cutest books I've ever read. Although cute, adorable, sweet, and light just make up one part of the book. The other half consists of, crime-busting, hard-core spying, and cheater reports. The two aspects combined created a fun and unique book. The Naughty List contained just the right amount of everything making it a perfect light read.

Tessa is the captain of the Smitten Kittens cheer squad, which is also secretly spies for hire which catches cheaters in action. And when I say in action I mean actually in action, as in staking out houses in the middle of the night, spying on dates, and so on. Everything's going great until Tessa's boyfriend, aka one of the few boy not the naughty list, starts acting suspicious. Then Christian and Chloe, the two new kids, start to shake things up.

Tessa was a bit over the top at times, with trying to be perfect all the time, but she really was a sweet person. It's hard to imagine not liking Tessa. She's just one of those people who wants the best for everyone. Her and Aiden were too adorable together. I really liked Aiden and even though he showed some sneaky behavior, I always rooted for him. Let's just say I had high expectations for him. I really don't know why, but I liked Christian, the "bad" kid. I kind of wanted Tessa to like him as well.

I loved the crime fighting  scenes! They were so fun. It was kind of crazy how far they went at times, but that's what made it so enjoyable. It was really refreshing to see some type of report (donation form, cheater report, suspects etc.) at the beginning of each chapter. I really can't stop gushing from how cute this book was! I think I've already mentioned that a couple of times. It was really funny how Tessa used other words instead of cuss words such as cinnamon toast crunch, gingersnaps, queen of sheba, and then of course there's strawberry smoothie. Some people might get annoyed by this, but I was very entertained.

The ending wasn't too perfect, it was just right. I'm so happy there's going to be a sequel! I can't wait to see what happens next. This is definitely a very unique story. You are definitely going to become very attach to all the characters and the plot.  It will be very hard to put down. Why wouldn't you pick this one up?

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Book Review #20
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Rating: Four stars (refer to the rating system on the right)

Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

My name is Sophie.
This book is about me.
It tells
the heart-stoppingly riveting story
of my first love.
And also of my second.
And, okay, my third love too. It's not that I'm boy crazy.
It's just that even though
I'm almost fifteen
it's like
my mind
and my body
and my heart
just don't seem to be able to agree
on anything.

Over the course of about forty-five minutes I have laughed, smiled, and ached along with Sophie. What My Mother Doesn't Know contained a lot of firsts for me. It was the first book I read in verse and who knew reading in verse was so awesome. I became so engaged in the book after I point I forgot I was reading. I literally couldn't put the book down. What My Mother Doesn't Know was also the first time I have laughed that hard while reading book. It was written beautifully through poems, deep inner thoughts, journal entries, and short stories.

Sophie is an almost 15-year old girl that is officially boy crazy, as in one of the most boy crazy characters I've ever read about. Sophie has great friends, is funny, artistic, and pretty likable. The novel takes us along her love life and relationships. Sophie finally gets asked out by Dylan, the boy of her dreams, and totally knows it's true love. At first everything's perfect, she couldn't be happier, but then then she starts noticing weirdness. Sophie doesn't feel right about Dylan, but she isn't sure what to do. On the side, Sophie begins an online romance, and you'll just have to see how that turns out. Sophie is finally ready to move on. She meets Murph, the class dork, unattractive to say the least, and just not cool. She finds herself falling for Murph and having feelings unlike any she's ever had. But how is she going tell her friends that she likes the biggest loser in school? On top of that her parents aren't getting along and her relationship with her mother is getting more complicated everyday.

Sophie and most of the characters in the book were so realistic, it was almost scary. Sophie had those crazy, almost stalkerish moments and thoughts that most teenagers have. Her dreams and fantasies were hilarious, at times a bit too much, but don't we all experience some of those? To say the least the book was very honest. The author doesn't hold back on describing real teenage life, even if weird at times. She was extremely infatuated, to the point where she once said- "I wish I could drink a magic potion and shrink way down until I was small enough to fit into his shirt pocket and live there tucked near to his heart listening to it beating in rhythm with mine every minute of every day."

Along with her love life, Sophie has a complicated relationship with her mother. Her mom doesn't know her daughter as much as she thinks she does. Sophie does the kind of things that her mother would never expect her to do. She is a different person at school and at home. A lot of the situations Sophie experienced with her family were so realistic, you could probably picture yourself going through the same things. Sophie always compares her mom and family to her two best friends' family, longing for what they have. Even though Sophie and her mom get into plenty of fights, Sophie comes to realize that even though she hates her mother at the time, she hates hating her even more.

Most importantly, together with Sophie we learn that there us a huge difference between love and lust and that real love can hide itself behind the most unexpected things. Sophie realized loving someone, really loving someone not just their looks, brings out their beauty and amazing features even more. Sones really captures the feelings you get when falling in love with a guy, trusting yourself,and finding the strength to put your heart above everything else. What My Mother Doesn't Know is a quirky, fun, touching, and fast read that everyone should pick up. Oh and I just found out there is a sequel (What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know), which is already waiting for me on the hold shelf. :)

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Book Review #18
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Rating: Five stars (refer to the rating system on the right)

Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."
"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

I've only heard great things about this book, but I never expected it to become one of my favorite books. Twenty Boy Summer basically took all the things I love and wrapped it up in this one book: a summer read, amazing characters, romance, the true meaning of friendship, loss, and learning how to let go. A perfect quote to describe Twenty Boy Summer would be "Breaks your heart and puts it back together again (Jo Knowles)." I have to admit, I teared up twice, sad tears in the beginning and happy tears at the end. I don't think I can really describe how I feel about this book, heart-warming, amazing, isn't even the beginning.

Anna, Frankie, and older brother Matt, have been best friends and neighbors since as long as Anna can remember. Anna tells almost everything to Frankie, except the little fact that she is in love with her older brother and best friend Matt. On Anna's fifteen birthday Matt returns the feelings with a magical kiss. The two share a secret relationship, stealing away every free moment alone. Matt agrees to tell Frankie the truth when they went on vacation, making Anna promise to keep this secret. During a tragic accident, Matt dies leaving a hole in Anna’s heart, as well as a huge secret to keep. For a year now Anna has been keeping their secret.  As the months pass, Anna hides her true feelings and is always there to help Frankie. Anna is invited to go along with the Frankie and her family to California for the summer. Frankie comes up with the twenty boy summer thinking Anna kind find her first love, Anna can't do anything but go along.

Anna and Frankie were great main characters, they were realistic 16 year old lifetime best friends. Ockler created a friendship with ups and downs but always strong during the struggling hardships and arguments. I could really relate to the almost sister friendship Anna and Frankie shared. I felt all of the emotions Anna went through, from crying, laughing, and even feeling that giddiness and excitement she gets when she meets someone that makes her think she can actually let go. From Anna's experiences you learn so many useful life lessons, such as finding out that new memories can't erase the old ones.  

Although Matt was not alive for most of the book, he is still a huge part of the story. I clung onto each part of  every memory and bits of information describing Matt. Matt seemed like a really great person. At times I found myself wishing he would just come back. Ockler created the perfect way of showing the constant struggle to pretend to be OK, wishing to remember the past but still letting go what needs to be done. You receive enough information about Matt that leads you to really understand  the pain and grief the characters go through.

The setting of the book, made it just that much better. The girls spend their summer vacation in California for the "Absolutely Best Summer Ever" or ABSE for short. The summer isn't picture perfect, it reminded me of my actual experiences I had when I went to the beach. The descriptions and writing really makes you appreciate the beauty of the ocean and beach. Unlike other books, the descriptions literally make you feel. I could almost hear the sound of the ocean, the breeze in the wind, and the warmth on my feet as I walked around the sand.

There are so many more great things I loved about this book, but it would seriously take me forever. There are so many memorable quotes-even passages- that I won't forget. At times they were even lyrical such as,"I just swallow hard. Nod and smile. One foot in front of the other. I'm fine, thanks for not asking" (Ockler 273) and "I really don't even know you and yet in my life you are forever entangled to my history inextricably bound" (Ockler 266).Whew, that was one of the longest reviews I have ever written, which just shows how strongly I feel about this book. There aren't any complaints I can think about this one, just a warning that there are some more mature concepts in the book for younger readers to look out for. Just thinking about Twenty Boy Summer makes me smile. If you haven't read this one yet, I strongly recommend that you do. Don't let the title fool you, this book is definitely not just a beach read.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Book Review #8
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Rating: Four stars (refer to the rating system on the right)

Summary:
 Belly, her mother, and her older brother Steven spend every summer at the beach house with her mother's best friend Susannah and her two teenage boys (Jemimah and Conrad). Jeremiah and Conrad have been everything to Belly, they have been her brotherly figures, her crushes, and everything in between. Belly, being the only girl, was used to being left out, but during her 16th summer everything changes. Belly isn't treated like one of the boys anymore, she's pretty, and everyone is noticing. Belly isn't used to all the changes and gets confused. Belly battles growing up, love, and family issues all at the same time. 

The Summer I Turned Pretty is one of my favorite kinds of books, a literal beach/summer read.Jenny Han did a great job describing summer and childhood friendships making it a wonderful novel. I really liked this book, there were a couple of things I really enjoyed such as: the flashbacks of previous summers, realistic characters who have real problems,the let down of summer romances, hard core issues that make it something more than just a summer read, and the coming of age storyline (I could could on and on...). I absolutely can't wait for the sequel to come out (Its Not Summer Without You). I would recommend this book to everyone, especially for Sarah Dessen fans.