Audrey Reviews All Fall Down by Ally Carter

Audrey Reviews All Fall Down by Ally Carter

All Fall Down was the beginning of the Embassy Row series, which follows Grace and her search for revenge on her mother’s murder. All Fall Down was well-written and it really made you think. The flashbacks in the story made Grace’s struggle with trauma realistic and Ally Carter has made the fictional country of Adria seem real. I gave this book 4/5  stars because it was interesting and realistic. I am planning on reading the other two books in the series at a later time, but I am going to hold off on reading them right now because I have other books that are about to expire from the library.

Both Gilbert Girls review Jenny Han's Lara Jean Series

This week, Audrey and I finished reading Jenny Han’s Lara Jean book series: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, P.S. I Still Love You,  and Always and Forever, Lara Jean. We will admit that the upcoming Netflix movie, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, inspired us to read the series. The movie will come out on August 17.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before tells the story about Lara Jean Covey and the chaos that unleashes after her secret love letters are sent out. The second book, P.S. I Still Love You talks more about Lara Jean and her now not-fake boyfriend Peter Kavinsky. The third book, Always and Forever, Lara Jean, is set a year later and outlines the stress of senior year.

Audrey’s take: The whole series is really funny and cute. I read it because I thought that it would be a fluff read, but I realized that you can’t judge a book on it’s title. While it was quick, and at some points, a little fluffy, it was actually really substantive and interesting. Lara Jean was like a real person. Some authors don’t develop their characters well, but Jenny Han did an excellent job. Han also incorporated references to famous rom-coms, which made the books even more lovable. The series was great all around. I gave the series an average four stars because the characters were well developed and the story was cute and funny.

Elly’s take:  I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed all three, especially the first and second books. I would give the series as a whole four out of five stars, even though the third book didn’t quite give me the ending I was hoping for. What I liked most about the series was how much it reminded me of books I read in middle school, especially my beloved Judy Blume books and the Linda Berman series (We Hate Everything But Boys, etc) by Linda Lewis. I have to wonder if Jenny Han, who grew up around the same time I did, read these, too! They had a sweet, nostalgic feel. I felt like Han had a good ear for teenage dialogue, and she dealt realistically with problems facing teenagers, while still preserving Lara Jean’s inherent values. I enjoyed Lara Jean’s evolution and would love for Han to give us a glimpse of her college adventures, but Han says she is finished with the character, so I’ll just have to imagine grown up Lara Jean on my own!

Elly reviews WORDS WE DON'T SAY by K.J. Reilly

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of K.J.Reilly's forthcoming young adult novel,
Words We Don't Say, hitting bookstores in October. I rated this 4/5 Stars...More like 3.5 stars, but I’ll round up this time because Joel’s struggle and character development worked for me. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to love this book but I felt compelled to see it through and I am glad it did. I appreciated Joel’s evolution from having so much inside him that he couldn’t share...so very like many young people I know and work with. The author’s use of saved text messages brought this age old struggle beautifully into the present. I loved  the PTSD/veteran storyline but I will confess that I didn’t love the darkness that the gun brought to the story. That alone will give me pause in recommending this to students. Otherwise, it was a powerful commentary on the curse of PTSD that taught me much about a problem that needs to be better addressed in our society.

Audrey reviews Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Henry and Rachel have been friends for ten years, but when Rachel moved to Sea Ridge, their friendship weakened. Rachel lost her brother, Cal, along with her old self. Henry found out that his girlfriend doesn’t actually love him. When Rachel moves back to Gracetown and starts to work at Henry’s family’s bookshop, Howling Books, they try to rekindle the flame of their friendship but end up finding something more. 
Along with the main story of Rachel and Henry in Words in Deep Blue, there were the side stories of George and Cal, George and Martin, and Amy and Henry, which all fit in perfectly with the main story, and didn’t distract from Henry and Rachel. Because much of the story takes place in the bookstore, the author, Cath Crowley, was able to tell the some of the side stories in a unique format. George and Cal got to know each other through letters in the Letter Library, a place where anyone could leave notes in books for other people to read. George and Martin became friends through the letters as well. Amy and Henry's relationship was the obstacle that Henry helped to realize that he was meant to be with Rachel.

The author's use of the Letter Library created a format that gave the story an interesting twist. Through the letters, we got to know the characters better than we would have without them. Whether they were letters left by the characters in the book or by random readers, they gave us an inside look into what people think about while they read. 
Words in Deep Blue was much like a journey. A journey from grief and tragedy. A journey to find old friendship. A journey to find love. Rachel was overcome by grief from the death of her brother, Cal, and Henry has just found out that the “love of this life” didn’t actually love him. This book dealt with the subjects of grief, love, and friendship so well, that it was like you were living along with Henry and Rachel as they were experiencing them.
I recommend this book for fans of Rainbow Rowell and John Green. Anyone who likes books about people who enjoy reading, or geeky characters, would find this book relevant and meaningful. People who are grieving might find this book comforting as well. I gave Words in Deep Blue a five-star rating because it’s funny, interesting, and thought-provoking.

Elly reviews Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers

3/5 Stars

I received an ARC of this book. Pros: Loved the podcast frame of the narrative. I also enjoyed the bond between the sisters and May Bell. Reasons for so few stars? I felt like there were dots that didn’t connect for me, especially at the end. I just felt like some parts were just thrown in for red herrings or to shock the reader. It just didn’t click for me. Also, I teach advanced students in middle and high school and I don’t know that I would recommend it for young adults, even though it is branded YA. It was just a bit too dark and trigger filled for most of my kids.