What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard

What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard
"Allie Kim suffers from Xeroderma Pigmentosum: a fatal allergy to sunlight that confines her and her two best friends, Rob and Juliet, to the night. When freewheeling Juliet takes up Parkour—the stunt-sport of scaling and leaping off tall buildings—Allie and Rob have no choice but to join her, if only to protect her. Though potentially deadly, Parkour after dark makes Allie feel truly alive, and for the first time equal to the “daytimers.”

On a random summer night, the trio catches a glimpse of what appears to be murder. Allie alone takes it upon herself to investigate, and the truth comes at an unthinkable price. Navigating the shadowy world of specialized XP care, extreme sports, and forbidden love, Allie ultimately uncovers a secret that upends everything she believes about the people she trusts the most."- summary from Amazon

I'm going to say this upfront- I HATED this book's ending. When I started this book, I thought it was a stand-alone. I mean, it's a mystery, so the mystery should be wrapped up by the book's end, right? I know there are mystery series, but there's the overarching plotlines and then there's the mystery which is solved at the end of the book with a new one cropping up in the next book. But that's not how this series works; instead, Mitchard stretches out this mystery to fill up however many books there will be, so this book ends rather abruptly and with no real conclusion. Now I have to wait a year to find out how this mystery either ends or continues. You find out who the murderer is, but with no evidence by the end of the book, he's not arrested. Do you hear that? NOT. ARRESTED. OMGWTFBBQ?!!?! Even just writing this up, I'm getting angry all over again. There was absolutely no need to stretch out this mystery; it should've and could've ended with this book.

I could go on and on about the ending but I'll stop because I've said enough. You get the point. On to some good things. I liked the whole idea of the kids having XP, which I'd never actually heard of and Mitchard does a good job of explaining it and showing us how it works and how it affects these kids. I liked their interactions and seeing the romance bloom between Allie and Rob. Throwing in the sport of Parkour made things even more interesting. I enjoyed reading about their various adventures doing it and learning more about the sport.

The mystery too is intriguing and kept me reading, which I think is part of the reason why I'm so angry about the ending. I had expectations (valid ones, I should point out) and was disappointed when they didn't come to fruition. Instead, the reader is given a brief sample of the second book, which doesn't do much of anything in the 12 pages or so that I read.

Overall, this book was good up until the ending, which really left a sour taste in my mouth and ruined the whole book for me. If you want to give it a shot, wait until all the books are out and read them back-to-back.

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

From What I Remember... by Stacey Kramer and Valerie Thomas

From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas
"KYLIE: Mexico? What a nightmare! I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY! Wait! Is this a wedding band on my finger??

MAX: It started with Kylie's laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics and it ended in Ensenada. It was hot, the way she broke us out like some chick in an action movie. But now we're stranded here, with less than twenty-four hours before graduation.

WILL: Saving Kylie Flores from herself is kind of a full-time occupation. Luckily, I, Will Bixby, was born for the job. And when I found out she was stuck in Mexico with dreamy Max Langston, sure, I agreed to bring their passports across the border but there's no reason to rush back home right away. This party is just getting started.

LILY: This cannot be happening. It's like some cruel joke. Or a bad dream. I close my eyes and when I reopen them, they're still there. Max and Kylie Flores, freak of the century. In bed together. If Kylie thinks I'm giving him up without a fight, she's dead wrong."- summary from Goodreads

I took so long to read this book and I'm berating myself for it! It's such an awesome contemporary read that's perfect for summer. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives, though most of the book is narrated by Max or Kylie, as they're the main characters and stuck together on this journey before anyone else shows up. Will and Lily show up quite a bit too, and there's also the occasional chapter narrated by Kylie's brother Jake, who has Asperger's so it was interesting to read those chapters and see how the authors dealt with portraying it.

It's just a roller-coaster ride of a read and the characters are deeply layered. While the whole jock-falling-for-the-brain may be a bit cliché, Kramer and Thomas do a good job of making it believable and giving the characters depth and a real connection. Seeing the events from all different perspectives helped keep the book moving too and I was never wanting to put the book down. I'd always be surprised at how far I got in just one sitting. I also loved the character of Will (I'm gay too, what can I say?) and wanted to see more of him, but I loved getting to see his journey too.

Overall, a perfect summer read and a great contemporary. I can't recommend it enough!

FTC: Received hardcover from authors. Link above is an Amazon Associates link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

The Wonder Bread Summer by Jessica Anya Blau

The Wonder Bread Summer by Jessica Anya Blau
"In The Wonder Bread Summer, loosely based on Alice in Wonderland, 20-year-old Allie Dodgson has adventures that rival those Alice had down the rabbit hole. Or those of Weeds’ Nancy Botwin.

Allison is working at a dress shop to help pay for college. The dress shop turns out to be a front for drug dealers. And Allison ends up on the run—with a Wonder Bread bag full of cocaine.

With a hit man after her, Allison wants the help of her parents. But there’s a problem: Her mom took off when Allison was eight; her dad moves so often Allison that doesn’t even have his phone number…"- summary from Amazon

I absolutely loved Blau's debut and I really enjoyed this book too. I like the time period of the 80s for this book- Blau likes using different decades for her books and it's fun reading a story that's set not too far in the past just to see how things were back then.

This was just a fun, crazy story, though it's a bit misleading calling it "The Wonder Bread Summer" when the events of the book take place over a period of less than a week, it seems. But that doesn't really matter, lol; just made me expect something a little different.

I had no idea this was loosely based on Alice in Wonderland until I found the summary for this post, but I can totally get that from the book. It's a wild ride and makes the story very compelling, keeping the pages turning. Allison meets a LOT of interesting characters while on her journey (including a famous rocker), and there's some intriguing twists and turns through the book.

Overall, another wonderful summer read from Blau and after reading this, it really makes me want to read her second book which I never got a chance to get a hold of. I miss her wonderful, breezy writing.

FTC: Received e-galley from Edelweiss. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison

Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison
"Olivia Tithe was excited for the summer and spending it with her best friend, Stern. But that was ruined when he was mur­dered...by Olivia's mother. Flashing forward, Olivia's life has been transformed since that awful night.

After her mother's incarceration, Olivia must move on, but she hates her father's new fiancée, Heather, and with her dad's new real estate development (she calls it Ghost Town) in the works, she barely sees him. But a new boy, Austin, has kindled feelings inside her that she hasn't felt since Stern's death.

Arriving at the same time as this new guy is a mysterious note that brings Stern's murder back to the forefront; Olivia knows that she must discover the truth behind her friend's death once and for all."- summary from Amazon

I absolutely adored Ellison's debut The Butterfly Clues (and also may have scared her with my enthusiasm for it at last year's BEA) and was excited to read this sophomore effort from her. It's seriously just as good as her debut- there's a great, atmospheric feel to Ellison's writing that just really pulls you in. The mystery at the center of it too really helps as well; it's very intriguing and has so many layers to it. The ending was absolutely amazing.

Olivia is a great main character, and I liked seeing her interactions with Stern and Austin. It's nice also seeing the girl have a male best friend (albeit a dead one) and a separate love interest (although probably mainly because her best friend is dead, but still!). It showed some depth to her character and different sides of her when dealing with both.

Overall, definitely a book to check out and if you haven't read The Butterfly Clues, get on it!

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Defy the Dark edited by Saundra Mitchell

Defy the Dark edited by Saundra Mitchell
"The seventeen original stories in Defy the Dark, an eerie, mind-bending YA anthology, could only take place in darkness.

Open the pages and discover: A creepy guy who stares too long. The secrets of the core of the earth. Dreams of other people’s lives. A girl who goes mad in the darkness. Monsters in Bavaria. A generational spaceship where night doesn’t exist. And other mysteries and oddities.

The contributors to the enthralling collection are: Sarah Rees Brennan, Tessa Gratton, Rachel Hawkins, Christine Johnson, Valerie Kemp, Malinda Lo, Myra McEntire, Saundra Mitchell, Sarah Ockler, Jackson Pearce, Aprilynne Pike, Dia Reeves, Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan, Jon Skovron, Courtney Summers, and Kate Espy, winner of the Defy the Dark new author contest."- summary from Amazon

I figured the best way to do this was just go story by story. Enjoy!

Sleepstalk- OMG CREEPY. Summers does a wonderful job setting this story up and unraveling every layer as the story goes on and it ends just on the right disturbing note.

Nature- Interesting premise from Pike, but the story didn’t connect with me. It was just okay.

The Dark Side of the Moon- This made me want to read Reeves’ sophomore novel which I haven’t gotten around to yet. She goes back to her world of Portero (and may even be using characters from her novels but it’s been so long I don’t recall their names) and I loved it. It was creepy, absurd, out-of-this-world insane, and a fair amount of humor too.

Ghost Town- I love how Lo set this story up, starting at late in the evening, then going back through events of the night. It starts out creepy and ends VERY creepily. I was actually reading this while alone in a house that wasn’t my own (I was pet-sitting) and it may have caused me to turn on a few more lights.

Eyes in the Dark- Hawkins’ tale is interesting, starting out as a fun, romantic little thing of a story then takes a turn for the scary mid-way through. It was a nice little twist.

Stillwater- I liked the idea of this, but I hope this is the beginning of something more from Kemp. There’s something wrong with a town but we never figure out what it is or why it’s like that, so it felt like there should’ve been more exploration. It was an interesting story, but fell a little flat for me because of that.

I Gave You My Love By the Light of the Moon- I don’t really have much to say about this, but it was a cute little story from Rees Brennan with a shape-shifting twist to it (dealing with were animals).

Night Swimming- This is a prequel story to Revis’ Across the Universe trilogy and I liked getting a little glimpse into this event that’s mentioned in the books. It was nice getting to learn a bit more about some characters before the events of the trilogy.

Almost Normal- This story was just okay for me. I also may be getting a bit tired of seeing Ryan always doing zombie stories. I know that’s what she’s known for and what she likes writing, but I kinda want to see something new and different from her; I did feel the same way about Revis’ story, but not as much since it’s the first short story I’ve ever read from her. This is like the 3rd or 4th that I’ve read from Ryan.

There’s Nowhere Else- I absolutely love Skovron’s novels (so excited for his upcoming one!) and so was happy to see a short story from him included in this anthology. It did not disappoint. I loved the concept behind it and the story takes an unexpected turn in the end, which was fun to read. I liked the characters and flew through this story.

Naughty or Nice- I really liked the focus on Krampus in this tale- don’t really see much of it, so it made the story interesting. I thought it was a bit cute, but the ending was very abrupt and the action too short. Everything happened in like two paragraphs, and then the story was over. I wish there had been a bit more to the climax.

Shadowed- I’ve never read anything by Johnson before, but heard wonderful things and now I see why. I’m usually not a fan of historical fiction, but I really liked this story. It had some quick action scenes that were written well, a spooky concept at the center of it, and a killer ending.

Now Bid Time Return- This was a very intriguing and wonderful ghost story. Mitchell did a great job building up the world and we learn things as the main character Dacey learns them. The ending had a fun little twist to it.

The Moth and the Spider- It’s an interesting story and told in a compelling way, which was really fun since it’s been a while since I’ve read anything from Ockler (though this is different from what she normally does). But I’m not quite sure I really grasped what was going on in the story and I just had questions after finishing it. I thought there could have been more to it.

Where the Light Is- A new kind of paranormal creature is explored in this story and I love Pearce for introducing the reader to it and for giving something new. It’s an interesting story with a little romance at the center of it. I really liked it.

This Was Ophelia- Gratton’s story is fascinating and I really need to read more from her stat, after finishing this story and reading a bunch from her in The Curiosities. It’s a different kind of story too and ends with a twist that I didn’t expect to see. I really liked what Gratton did with this story.

There’s a 17th story from the winner of the Defy the Dark contest, which was not included in the advance copy though they had picked a winner by the time it went to print, I believe, so not sure why they didn’t include it. But anyway, I haven’t read it so I cannot comment on it in this review.


FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.