Well, y’all…See I’m kinda sorta in a reading slump, so I can’t provide y’all with a full book review today – BUT! I have decided to at least update y’all on the last few books I’ve read by writing micro reviews. In those I’m basically just going to give y’all the basic info about the books and write a few sentences about what I thought of them! For this post I chose three YA Contemporary novels that, I bet, a lot of you know and have read!
Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines
Main info:
Author:Â Abbi Glines
Title:Â Until Friday Night
Published:Â August 25th, 2015
Series:Â Field Party #1
Version:Â Amazon Kindle Version, Simon Pulse (336 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â pages)
Would I recommend it:Â Yes
Rating:Â 4 Stars
Synopsis from Goodreads:
To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside heâs battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.
Two years ago, Maggie Carletonâs life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasnât spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldnât draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.
As Westâs pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his fatherâso in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows wonât tell anyone else.
West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldnât control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his ownâor for them to form a connection so strong that he couldnât ever let her goâŚ
My thoughts:
So far I have read a few other series/books by Abbi Glines and I quite enjoy her writing style, as she brings the feelings of her characters across very well! I found the premise of this story very interesting because on the one hand I can understand Maggie for not speaking but on the other hand I can’t imagine what it must be like to never speak. I imagine it must be very lonely and this feeling is mentioned a lot in the first part of the novel. I really liked Maggie a lot and think she is an awesome character, who just needed a little help to help herself! Actually I could relate better to West though – not in all aspects of course but I had to watch a person that was very close to me die from cancer as well, so I can understand that part of West. He tried to close this part of his family of from everyone else and therefore got lonely on the inside as well! The story of this book is nicely timed and the forming of Maggie and West’s relationship was well-timed and had really interesting elements in it. Those combined with the everyday craziness of teenage life made a really nice contemporary book that I rated 4 Stars and which I can definitely recommend for YA Contemporary fans as a nice read in between!
Adorkable by Cookie O’Gorman
Main info:
Author:Â Cookie O’Gorman
Title:Â Adorkable
Published:Â March 31st, 2016
Series:Â Standalone novel
Version:Â Amazon Kindle Version (214 pages)
Would I recommend it:Â Yeah, for fun between other reads
Rating:Â 3.5 Stars
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Adorkable (ah-dor-kuh-bul): Descriptive term meaning to be equal parts dorky and adorable. For reference, see Sally Spitz.
Seventeen-year-old Sally Spitz is done with dating. Or at least, she’s done with the horrible blind dates/hookups/sneak attacks her matchmaking bestie, Hooker, sets her up on. There’s only so much one geek girl and Gryffindor supporter can take.
Her solution: she needs a fake boyfriend. And fast.
Enter Becks, soccer phenom, all-around-hottie, and Sally’s best friend practically since birth. When Sally asks Becks to be her F.B.F. (fake boyfriend), Becks is only too happy to be used. He’d do anything for Sal–even if that means giving her PDA lessons in his bedroom, saying she’s “more than pretty,” and expertly kissing her at parties.
The problem: Sally’s been in love with Becks all her life–and he’s completely clueless.
This book features two best friends, one special edition Yoda snuggie, countless beneath-the-ear kisses and begs the question:
Who wants a real boyfriend when faking it is so much more fun?
My thoughts:
So this book ventures more in the funny direction of YA Contemporary, therefore the book has a very light tone and doesn’t deal with serious issues except for the typical High-School things like first love, friendship and such! I like the main characters Sally and Becks a lot, even though both of them are a little dense at times đ
I liked the writing style, as the book is fast paced and a quite fast read in general! As you see I liked most of the book a lot but there’s one thing – person- that I can’t stand at all: Hooker! I cannot stand that girl’s personality AT ALL! I don’t think that it’s in any way okay to not accept you best friend’s (!) request to stop setting her up and I feel like Hooker completely ignores her best friend’s feelings! In my opinion Hooker puts her own “hobby” of matchmaking above her best friend, even though she is the one suffering from this ridiculous hobby, and I don’t recall her ever feeling sorry for this behavior at any point in the book. Sally’s mom doesn’t help either… I give this book 3.5 Stars because I had my issues with some characters and the book didn’t make up for that constant annoyance! I’d still recommend it though, because apart from two characters it’s still a fun read!
P.S. I Like You by Kasie West
Main info:
Author:Â Kasie West
Title:Â P.S. I like you
Published:Â July 26th, 2016
Series:Â Standalone novel
Version:Â Amazon Kindle Version by Point (336 pages)
Would I recommend it:Â Yes
Rating: 4 Stars
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Signed, sealed, delivered . . .
While zoning 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.
Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on lettersâ sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes sheâs 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 canât always be spelled out . . .
Kasie West brings irresistible wit, warmth, and sparkle to this swoon-worthy story of love showing up when you least expect it.
My thoughts:
This was my second favorite from these three books. While this book didn’t cover topics as serious as those from “Until Friday Night” it also wasn’t as easy as “Adorkable” and still dealt with family issues, just not as intense as in the first book. This was a great median with not too much but also not to little drama! One of my favorite story elements was the music incorporated into the story! Not only is the female lead very interested in songwriting and “weird” music but the leads also bond over this interest in unusual music. I love that because music also plays an important role in my live and since I suck at songwriting (believe me, I’ve tried) I like reading about others that actually might have a talent for it. I could relate to the female lead very well, even though I don’t have a big family, and could mostly understand where her actions where coming from. I had a few problems with the make lead at first but those kinda disappeared when I started seeing the character through the letters and other people’s eyes, because the Lily is definitely biased… The story line in this book is just an everyday High-School story but is made more interesting through Lily’s charming family and of course the letters exchanged between her and the male lead! I can definitely recommend this book if you want some YA Contemporary that’s not too light but doesn’t make you bawl out your eyes either and I rated it 4 Stars!
Thank y’all for reading and I hoped you enjoyed doing so, even though those reviews were very short! I hope I can get a “real” review out again soon but I’m sorry if I can’t – I am in a reading slump, have mercy!!
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a word about books 