Review: Me, Him, Them, and It

Me, Him, Them, and It

by Caela Carter

Book Description:  

When Evelyn decided to piss off her parents with a bad reputation, she wasn't planning to ruin her valedictorian status. She also wasn't planning to fall for Todd-the guy she was just using for sex. And she definitely wasn't planning on getting pregnant. When Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn's not sure where to go. Can a distant mother, a cheating father, an angry best friend, and a (thankfully) loving aunt with adopted daughters of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow?

 

Review:

This book was just what I needed to get me out of my mini reading funk. I think I'd read too many fantasy based book recently, so I knew I needed some good realistic fiction. Me, Him, Them, and It fit the bill perfectly!

 

Carter depicts a teenage girl who makes a mistake and then must pay the consequences for it. I really liked how Evelyn was not just some "bad" girl who accidentally winds up pregnant...she is a future valedictorian rebelling against her parents in the worst possible way. She felt like a hugely well-rounded character to me. In fact, I loved most of the characters. They were flawed and realistic and even if some might not have been fully developed, they at least represented a really varied cast of characters.

 

Seeing the confused and scared way that Evie reacts over the nine months felt "real." I couldn't imagine what I would have done in that situation and I thought Carter did an excellent job conveying all the emotional turmoil that erupted in Evie's life. This is a book that pulls no punches emotionally. I cried my way through the ending. Heartbroken, awed, and then optimistically, yet cautiously joyous.

 

I found myself comparing this book to Holly Cupala's Tell Me a Secret. They both cover an unexpected teen pregnancy in a very realistic and emotionally evocative way. If you liked that one, check this one out...and if you like this one, check out that one next!

Review: The Prisoner of Cell 25

The Prisoner of Cell 25

by Richard Paul Evans

Michael Vey, book one

Book Description:

My name is Michael Vey, and the story I’m about to tell you is strange. Very strange. It’s my story.

 

To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is an ordinary fourteen-year-old. In fact, the only thing that seems to set him apart is the fact that he has Tourette’s syndrome. But Michael is anything but ordinary. Michael has special powers. Electric powers. Michael thinks he's unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor also has special powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up this way, but their investigation brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric children – and through them the world. Michael will have to rely on his wits, powers, and friends if he’s to survive.



Review:

If you love adventure and people with crazy powers, you need to check out this book. I was surprised how easily I was drawn into it. I found myself turning pages faster and faster...

Michael was a good character. Not perfect, by any means, and he acknowledges that... but he loves his friends and his mom with everything he has, and he tries to do the right thing whenever he can. He also has the crazy power to shock people, like an electric eel! Wowza! I kept thinking how much it would hurt to get shocked by him. *shudders*

Though I've never read anything by this author before (his adult books are a different style), I will definitely be making time sometime this fall to squeeze in book two, Rise of the Elgen.

*Terri also loved this book. She even booktalked it at the Middle School this year for some of our suggested reads for this summer...I'm sure some of you remember, LOL! Next week, I'll be adding her thoughts here, so check back!*

Review: How to Save a Life

How to Save a Life

by Sara Zarr

Book Description:

Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.

Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?

 

As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy--or as difficult--as it seems. 

Review:
Want a tearjerker?  Here you go. 

This book was so good. It made me laugh and it made me cry.  Both girls come from a family situation that is just not working any more.  Both girls find, surprisingly enough, just what they really needed in the other.

This was one of those books that really touched my heart.