Screwed by Laurie Plissner

My Thoughts:

I love reading books about teenage pregnancy and reading how an author handles this delicate situation. Screwed was a compelling and entertaining story about a girl who fell pregnant at the age of 17. I enjoyed this book, however I did feel like some of these characters were a bit stereotypical.

Grace has always done the right thing, she never talked back to her parents, always did her homework, never broke the rules and listened to her parents. Until one night where she finds herself in the backseat of Nick’s car and ends up pregnant. Her parents are extremely religious so when they try to force Grace to have an abortion, she is beyond surprised, this goes against everything her parents have taught her over the years. Refusing to have an abortion Grace is kicked out of home with nowhere to go. Thankfully her generous neighbour Mrs T., takes her in and there she meets Charlie, Mrs. T’s great nephew. Along with her the help from her best friend, Mrs T. and Charlie, Grace tries to find a way to deal with her pregnancy, her parents and the arrogant Nick who got her pregnant in the first place.

Grace was a brilliant character. I felt that she had a head screwed tightly onto her shoulders and even though at times she knew she was doing things against her parents’ wishes, she still decided what was ultimately right for herself and her baby. Grace was a girl who was smart, had a bright future but ultimately needed something else in life, which was the feeling of being loved and needed. Even though Grace fell pregnant at the tender age of 17, which brought on many challenges, she still made the best of her situation and I admired her for this.

The people that I hated the most in this book were Grace’s parents. In the beginning they seemed cold and distant. All they seemed worried about was how they would appear to others, so therefore they concentrated on Grace’s grades. But when their daughter came to them and told them she was pregnant, they were disgraced and ashamed. Of course this could be a normal parents reaction, but ultimately parents should help their children in this situation but Grace’s parents teamed up and forced Grace to have an abortion and when she refused they kicked her out in the street to try and make her change her mind. I thought they were just heartless and awful parents and don’t deserve a daughter as brilliant, smart and caring as Grace is.

The romance in this book was so sweet and cute that you couldn’t help but love it. I’m not talking about Grace’s romance with Nick because that was barely a romance, it was more of Nick adding another girl to his list of conquests. I’m talking about the sweet friendship between Grace and Charlie. Charlie was always there for her, and ended up falling for her too. He was a kind, caring, smart and someone who was perfect for Grace.

This book has so many hidden messages and I loved it. It teaches you how one little decision can change your life forever but not always in a bad way. Also that people don’t always appear to be what you thought they were and that some people just put on an act in order to impress others. Some people are hypocritical. Teenagers can just be plain mean. There will always be someone or some people out there that care for you, you just have to be open to it.

So if you enjoy books about teenage pregnancy or sweet romances then this book is for you. I definitely would recommend for people to read it.

Thanks to Merit Press for this review copy!

For more information about the author, Laurie Plissner, visit her at her official site at goodreads here.

For more information on the book go to Goodreads.

Parallel by Lauren Miller

My Thoughts:

This book will have you hooked. It was something new and different and it’s a book that will have your mind reeling. This book was awesome and just plain brilliant. I loved the writing style, the romance and the concept of parallel worlds.

Abbey has always known how her life will turn out. She will do well in her senior year and go to North-western to study journalism. However one little event at the beginning of senior year changed her world and on the day before her eighteenth birthday she found herself on her own movie set and partying with the Hollywood A listers. But then the day of her birthday she wakes up in a different bed and in a different room in which she didn’t fall asleep in. She finds out that she is in a Yale dorm room and seeks out her best friend to figure out what happened the past year.

Towards the beginning of this book the author was explaining all the scientific theory around parallel worlds and what might have happened in Abbey’s situation. I enjoyed reading about this, however I found that it lagged on a little too long with the descriptions and sometimes shorter is sweeter. This is the only issue that I had with this book, otherwise I thought it was amazing.

Everyday Abbey woke up to face a new day filled with drama and confusion. Each time her parallel persona in the past made a new decision, it affected the Abbey in present time. I know it sounds confusing but it isn’t. Lauren Miller cleverly weaved the past and present Abbey together to form a story that was captivating and easy to follow. I loved reading the past and present lives of Abbey and how each one affected the other.

The romance was a prominent part of this book and I loved it. I’m not going to give away anything about the guys in this book, but I’m am going to say that I was rooting for one of them throughout it and hoped that Abbey would end up with him. The romance of course wasn’t without it’s drama and complications but it was also sweet and cute and I loved it.

This book is definitely a must read. It was fun, exciting, intriguing, unique and captivating. I will be buying a copy for my book shelves for sure.

Thanks to Harper Teen for this review copy!

 

For more information about the author, Lauren Miller, visit her at her official site here.

For more information on the book go to Goodreads.

May TBR

So today I’m showcasing the books that I plan to read in the month of May. 

This month I’m planning on getting through some review books and some library books. Some of them I’m about half way through and I should have a review up very soon. I can’t wait to read School Spirits and Sapphire Blue. 

If you have read any of these books, let me know in the comments below what you thought of them and also tell me what you plan to read in the month of May. 

 

Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike

My Thoughts:

This book was amazing! I could not put it down, and I definitely judge a book by its ability to keep me captivated and engrossed in the story. Life After Theft was different from what I was expecting it to be in a good way. This ended up being a YA paranormal / contemporary type novel with a male POV, which I love!

Jeff has moved to a new town, which means a new private school for him. So when he arrives the first day and sees a girl blowing bubbles with her gum and lazily sitting against the lockers, he is surprised that everyone is just passing by her and one guy almost steps on her. Kimberlee ends up being dead (or a ghost) and the worst part is that Jeff is the only one that can see her. She asks Jeff to help her and make amends for her Klepto tendencies when she was alive. Jeff agrees not knowing how large his promise is and then when he meets Sera, a beautiful redhead who hated Kimberlee, things start to get complicated.

Kimberlee was this snarky, rich girl who was a kleptomaniac. She didn’t have any remorse for what she did but felt that if she gave everything back that she had stolen that she might go wherever the dead go when they are at peace. Kimberlee is probably one of the bitchiest and meanest girls that I have read about, she just did things to certain people because she felt like it. Not only was she snarky and mean in real life, as a ghost she is equally as mean and snarky, especially to Jeff who is the one person helping her out.

Jeff on the other hand is a laid back guy, who is funny, kind and just plain awesome. I loved reading the story from his point of view. Jeff ends up falling for the one girl, Sera, that Kimberlee hated and the feeling is mutual for Sera. I found the romance to be sweet but of course it wasn’t without it’s drama. The romance never overpowered the story and I enjoyed this aspect of the book. There were also minor characters that had stories of their own and I enjoyed learning about how these stories connected to Kimberlee and her dark past.

I loved that this book wasn’t just about a klepto who needed to return items in order to go into the afterlife, it was so much more than this. I highly recommend this book, it was witty, fun, inspiring and a brilliant read. This is a book where I’ll be definitely buying myself a copy for my shelves.

Thanks to Harper Teen for this review copy!

For more information about the author, Aprilynne Pike, visit her at her official site here.

For more information on the book go to Goodreads.