I Was Here by Gayle Forman

I Was Here by Gayle Forman
"When her best friend, Meg, drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, and some secrets of his own. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question."- summary from Amazon

You can't go wrong with a Gayle Forman book and she does it again with her latest. It's a poignant look into the aftermath of suicide and how it affects various people. Forman handles this subject matter very beautifully, as she always does. Cody is an interesting main character and there's a lot going on in her life even before this whole thing happened and this event changes everything.

As you can tell by the summary, a guy factors into her healing, but I believe the romance is mainly on the backburner for most of this novel as it should be. Romance can definitely help healing but it is not the only reason Cody is able to move past this trauma and become better. Uncovering what Meg went through and seeing what her life was like at college helped her understand more and heal.

Overall, Forman is just amazing and I cannot wait to read more from her. I highly recommend this latest book from her.

FTC: Received ARC from friend (Thanks Courtney!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Blog Tour- The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson

A heartbreaking yet uplifting story of grief about a boy who has lost everything, but finds new hope drawing in the shadows of a hospital. Features a thirty-two-page graphic novel.

Andrew Brawley was supposed to die that night, just like the rest of his family.

Now he lives in the hospital, serving food in the cafeteria, hanging out with the nurses, sleeping in a forgotten supply closet. Drew blends in to near invisibility, hiding from his past, his guilt, and those who are trying to find him. His only solace is in the world of the superhero he’s created—Patient F.

Then, one night, Rusty is wheeled into the ER, half his body burned by hateful classmates. Rusty’s agony calls out to Drew like a beacon, pulling them both together though all their pain and grief. In Rusty, Drew sees hope, happiness, and a future for both of them. A future outside of the hospital, and away from their pasts.

But to save Rusty, Drew will have to confront Death, and life will have to get worse before it gets better. And by telling the truth about who he really is, Drew risks destroying any chance future.

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I am so glad I took part in this tour because this book was simply amazing. If you want to know more, keep reading; if just my saying that it was amazing is enough for you, then stop reading this review and go get this book (and then come back and leave a comment)! I could not put this book down. First off, Hutchinson writes so beautifully and inhabits the character of Andrew so extremely well that he feels so real and so easy to sympathize with.

Not only that, but he writes such an engaging and cute romance. Andrew and Rusty's romance isn't necessarily big sweeping gestures or a love tour de force, but rather one that builds slowly through a few quiet moments together as Rusty recovers and as Andrew becomes more involved with the people in Rusty's life. Also, that ending? Have a few tissues ready because the ending was so perfect and emotional and while I am not usually a person who cries while reading a book, I did cry at this one.

The added aspect to this book is Andrew's comic book, which he discusses in the book and which we as readers also get to see snippets of throughout the book, which really adds a fantastic dimension to the story as a whole. It really gives the reader a sense of who Andrew is and how he thinks.

Overall, again, simply a fantastic book and, while I already wanted to read Hutchinson's previous books, this made me want to even more. Please go get this book, read it, and spread the word. It's such an unconventional book but deserves so much praise and is a wonderful new entry to the list of GLBT YA books.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m Shaun David Hutchinson, you can call me Shaun. Or Hutch. I’ll respond to anything. I’m the author of books for young adults, the first of which was The Deathday Letter, and the most recent of which are The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley (out 1/20/2015) and the anthology Violent Ends (Fall 2015).

I was born in West Palm Beach, FL, and grew up in Jupiter, FL where I’ve lived most of my life save for a couple of adventures in Atlanta and Rhode Island. I always knew I wanted to be a writer but it took me a long time to figure out I could be one. I’ve been a database developer, managed a wine company, slung coffee at Starbucks, and once spent a creepy month working in a statuary. Luckily, that was before I’d seen the Weeping Angels on Doctor Who. I studied literature in college where I fell in love with Beowulf and Chaucer and gothic literature. I also studied emergency medicine at one time and insurance at another. Currently, I work in IT and fill my remaining hours with freelance web design, database design, and editing.

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A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd
"After killing the men who tried to steal her father's research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet's secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor's own walls.

Then she uncovers the truth about the manor's long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—which forces her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. Juliet must decide if she'll follow her father's dark footsteps or her mother's tragic ones—or make her own."- summary from Amazon

Shepherd really knows how to end a series- this final book in the Madman's Daughter trilogy goes out with a bang and she pulls no punches when it comes to the plot and the characters we've grown to love over the past two books. I could not put this book down; Shepherd's writing is just so compelling and beautiful. It was wonderful to be back with these characters again as they continue on their crazy journey, now in the Scottish moors. Elizabeth's mansion there is suitably creepy and reminiscent of Frankenstein a bit (of course). This final book is full of twists and turns and readers will be on the edge of their seats trying to turn pages as quickly as they can.

Overall, absolutely loved the ending and I highly recommend the entire trilogy if you're a fan of historical fiction (or even if you aren't, as I'm not but love these books). I can't wait to read Shepherd's next book, the first in a new trilogy which will be out in May!

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

Complete Nothing by Kieran Scott

Complete Nothing by Kieran Scott
"True is not exactly loving New Jersey. Banished from Mount Olympus and tasked with helping couples find love without using her powers, the goddess-formerly-known-as-Cupid is having a tough time. Especially now that True’s immortal love, Orion, has also appeared at her New Jersey high school—but with no memory of their relationship.

To distract herself from seeing Orion flirt with another girl, True focuses her efforts on making a match: Peter and Claudia. Peter is the star quarterback and the most popular guy in school. But he’s insecure about his future, so he preemptively dumps Claudia, his girlfriend. (If she won’t want to be with him later, why stay together now?) Claudia doesn’t take the breakup too well, and she’s ready to show the quarterback of their rival school just how ready she is to get over it.

But True sees something in these two seniors. She believes they should be together—but can she help them find their way back to each other (and get herself closer to home)? Or have things already spun too far out of control?"- summary from Amazon

I am a huge fan of Scott's books and I absolutely adored this follow-up to Only Everything. I loved seeing True and Orion slowly getting to know each other (and usually at the embarrassment of True). The couple that True works on in this novel are wonderful and I think the way that Scott writes these books really helps. It goes between three different characters- True, and then the boy and girl of the couple being worked on. This really allows the reader to get into the heads of these characters and see exactly what they are thinking and feeling and why they are doing what they're doing. Scott really gets into the heart of different kinds of relationships through these books and it makes me eager to see what happens in Book 3.

Overall, such a great second book in this trilogy and it's going to be sad when I finish the final book.

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

Zodiac by Romina Russell

Zodiac by Romina Russell
"Rhoma Grace is a 16-year-old student from House Cancer with an unusual way of reading the stars. While her classmates use measurements to make accurate astrological predictions, Rho can’t solve for ‘x’ to save her life—so instead, she looks up at the night sky and makes up stories.

When a violent blast strikes the moons of Cancer, sending its ocean planet off-kilter and killing thousands of citizens—including its beloved Guardian—Rho is more surprised than anyone when she is named the House’s new leader. But, a true Cancrian who loves her home fiercely and will protect her people no matter what, Rho accepts.

Then, when more Houses fall victim to freak weather catastrophes, Rho starts seeing a pattern in the stars. She suspects Ophiuchus—the exiled 13th Guardian of Zodiac legend—has returned to exact his revenge across the Galaxy. Now Rho—along with Hysan Dax, a young envoy from House Libra, and Mathias, her guide and a member of her Royal Guard—must travel through the Zodiac to warn the other Guardians.

But who will believe anything this young novice says? Whom can Rho trust in a universe defined by differences? And how can she convince twelve worlds to unite as one Zodiac?"- summary from Amazon

This book was such a fantastic debut and Russell's writing is amazing and compelling. I loved following Rho's journey as her life is turned upside-down by this mysterious force and as it propels her to grow up very fast and make some huge decisions. I also really loved the characters of Mathias and Hysan and her complicated relationships with both as the three of them travel the Zodiac together and figure out what exactly is going on.

Russell's world-building here is so good and I really enjoyed learning all about the Zodiac world and how it works as well as its mythology and the differences between each of the Houses. It's extremely clever and makes for an interesting read.

Overall, I really enjoyed this debut and I'm looking forward to seeing where the rest of the series goes from here.

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