Author: lamadelynw

Turtles All the Way Down follows Aza Holmes as she navigates her life as a 16 year old. Aza is dealing with her anxiety and OCD, she often has intrusive thoughts or is distracted by overwhelming thoughts about bacteria. With the possibility of a $100,000 reward, her best friend Daisy pulls her along to investigate the possible fraud committed by a missing billionaire. Searching for the truth Aza gets closer to Davis, the billionaire’s son and begins to wonder if she should keep searching. As Aza receives more clues about the billionaire’s location she must also balance her relationship with his son, and wonder if she has the possibilities in her life to have both.

The first time I read this book I did not like it. I could not even finish it. I now realize the topics were too real for me to handle at the time. Now that I have reread Turtles All the Way Down I enjoy it more than I first did. While it is still not my favorite book, and I don’t always enjoy books by John Green, I can now say it is not a terrible book.

The book ends with Aza realizing she has endless possibilities in her life and she is not controlled by anything other than herself. This is a good book of self-discovery and growth. John Green also navigates teenage relationships and the conflicts that come with well. Turtles All the Way Down may appeal to those who also struggle with anxiety or OCD that can find themselves in Aza’s character. Anyone who enjoys a personal growth story as well as a mystery would enjoy this book.

Looking for Alaska is a very sad book. It follows Miles Halter as he navigates his new life at Culver Creek boarding school. Miles quickly becomes friends with Alaska Young, who introduces him to a new style of living he has never known; her style. Alaska is reckless, and Miles must be reckless too in order to keep up with her.

At Culver Creek Miles is thrust into a new environment and must adapt quickly. Quite different from the safe life he knew. Miles needs to figure out how far is too far, and when he has crossed the line into true danger. Only a death can bring Miles back to the brink of reality.

The ending is depressing. It is real, and depressing. Looking for Alaska brings forth the harsh reality of many people’s lives through a sad viewpoint. It is not the full circle, typical ending, it is surprisingly cruel. This is a good book for people who enjoy cruel realism.

Looking for Alaska is a winner of the Michael L. Printz Award. In my opinion it is an okay book. It is one of John Green’s better books for it was easier to disassociate myself from the ongoing situation. However, like many of his books I have read, it was just depressing. Looking for Alaska would not make my list of top books.

Liv Rodinsky had her life on track, until she punched another girl on the rival softball team. With the loss of her scholarship as backlash Liv is suddenly forced to switch to the rival school, Northland High. Already on bad terms with her new coach, Liv needs to show she can be a team player, and who better to help her than the coach’s son, Grey.

Grey is suffering an injury and is sidelined to start his senior football season. Along comes Liv, and Grey can’t help but think her arm could save the season. As Liv and Grey navigate their newfound alliance turned friendship, they must determine if it can lead to more or if it will hurt them both.

Throw Like A Girl follows Liv and Grey as they navigate high school, sports, and romance. It is a good book that handles serious topics such as lies and injuries. Henning made Liv a relatable character who can appeal to many people. Both Liv and Grey are relatable, realistic high school characters.

Henning ended with a full circle moment that brought Liv back to where it all started. Only this time she is playing against her old team. It was a very satisfying ending as both Grey and Liv ended up happy and winning in their positions. It was a typical romantic ending for all.

I would recommend Throw Like a Girl to anyone who enjoys a well-written sports romance novel. Mostly focusing on the sports aspect of the story line, the romance part doesn’t overtake the whole book. It is a good balance between reality and the forbidden romance trope.

The book One Great Lie by Deb Caletti focuses on Charlotte, a young aspiring writer’s journey to Venice, Italy. In Venice, Charlotte gets to spend the summer with other writers in the esteemed author Luca Bruni’s writers’ program. Charlotte is also on a mission of her own in Venice, to learn more about her Great Great Grandmother Isabella di Angelo, a now forgotten poet of the 1500s.

Whilst in Venice Charlotte befriends the others in the program. As well as forming a romantic connection with Dante, whom she meets in Venice. All the while each student forms a connection, good or bad, with Luca Bruna and are able to form their own opinions on the supposedly great writer.

One Great Lie was a well constructed and well written book, however to me it was not a great book. At times it was difficult to continue reading when nothing was happening in the story line. There was little character development and only a couple strong events that peaked my interest. Overall it was a good book, just not one I would choose to read again.

The ending was very pleasing. Charlotte was able to find what she had been searching for and reunite with Dante. It was a good, typical ending for most romance novels.

I would recommend this book to readers that enjoy a typical romance trope, girl goes to Italy and falls in love, all the while striving towards her dreams. It might also appeal to people who can relate to Charlotte. To get to a pedestal mark point in your dreams only to watch that pedestal crumble, and then rebuild from there. One Great Lie is a good book to please readers.

This article provides both sides of the argument on whether adults should read YA literature. For the larger part of the article author Josh Thompson focuses on other writers’ statements and opinions on why adults should not read YA literature, that it is childish. Later in the article Thompson turns the view towards writers who support adults reading YA literature and justify it, including himself. Thompson includes valid points for both sides of the argument, yet closes strongly with his opinion on how Harry Potter had the greatest influence on adults reading YA. He states that the Harry Potter generation as well as the one before and after it were greatly impacted by the series and will forever look for a way to be a part of that world. Thompson touches on a very relevant topic as there is still controversy over adults reading YA literature, especially between writers.

Thompson makes his viewpoint very clear by stating he is a part of the Harry Potter generation and felt a part of his childhood died with the last book. He advocates for adults to read YA literature to keep their childhood alive, but to also use it as a way to cope. Thompson claims that the typical worlds in YA are the same as the one we live in, just with different outcomes. He relates each series, such as Divergent and The Hunger Games, to real life topics, and says adults read YA literature to relate and cope with those problems.

I believe Thompson makes a valid point that adults should be able to read YA literature without judgement. While I sometimes tire of the same dystopian theme in many YA books and look for something different to read, it can be a nice escape to be in a different world. I believe adults should be able to enjoy any book they choose, and it is not wrong for them to explore the world of reading.

Thompson, Josh. “Harry Potter and the Adults Who Read YA.” Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Jennifer Stock, vol. 511, Gale, 2023. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/XWSYGM545666542/GLS?u=maine&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=580bcc9a. Accessed 12 Jan. 2023. Originally published in Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Culture, edited by Amie A. Doughty, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016, pp. 261-272.

The Goal by Elle Kennedy is a romance novel that follows the lives of two college students at Briar. The chapters switch between the perspectives of Sabrina James, a dedicated law student, and John Tucker, an important member of Briar’s hockey team. As the two navigate their unexpectedly tangled lives things become more complicated. Sabrina being dead set that she can manage her future on her own must now grow accustomed to Tucker’s constant efforts to be a part of her life. They both must figure out how to make their very different lives work together, for their sake and others’.

I really enjoyed this book as it showed how quickly your whole life can change, and how you must adapt to that. Elle Kennedy showed two very different types of dedication through different characters, which made them each more relatable. It felt as if I was along for the ride with Sabrina and Tucker while they figured things out. I feel a good book should pull you into the story, make you feel a part of it, as I did while reading The Goal.

The ending was very full circle and typical, however it felt comforting. Knowing the characters, the ending gave just enough compromise on both characters’ parts to be happy with each other. It was a well-written ending that showed maturity.

If you like the typical happy ending romance novels this is a good book for you. It shows the characters coming of age and growing together. The Goal portrayed realistic events for many people in a relatable way. It is a good book to get lost in an alternate yet realistic world.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll is a suspense novel set in 2015. However every other chapter is a flashback to 2001, TifAni’s first year at the Bradley school. Now 28 and a writer for The Women’s Magazine, Ani has the perfect life. Perfect, job, wardrobe, friends, and the perfect fiance. As the book goes on the truth starts to unravel about Ani’s previous life, before she made it to New York. Doing the documentary on the incident at the Bradley school seems to be the only way she can get her side of the story out. No matter who or what it may hurt.

I enjoyed this book very much and couldn’t put it down. Going back and forth between chapters trying to balance Ani’s new life and piece together the secrets of her old life kept the book very interesting. It was a good, well-paced book that didn’t give too much at once but kept me reading. I loved the character development for Ani as she grew to accept the not so idealistic things in her life. There were many choices made throughout the book that frustrated me with how they impacted the story line.

I made the mistake of watching the movie after reading the book. The differences were too great for me to ignore. The movie was well adapted, but lacked so much of the gory detail Knoll gave in the book. It irked me how much was missing and how much played out differently than it did in the book.

The ending to the book showed great character development. For Ani it was the perfect ending as she established her independence. It was a satisfying ending that touched well with all aspects of Ani. Brimming with suspense and gory details Knoll doesn’t hold back in creating the story of TifAni FaNelli.

If you don’t have a weak stomach and can handle brutal truths of the reality we live in, this book is perfect to read and gain a sense of the world through a scarred woman’s view. Readers looking for something to get them thinking, both to piece together the past and the future, will enjoy The Luckiest Girl Alive.