Review: Summer Boys by Hailey Abbott

Genre: young-adult, romance, woman's fiction(chick-lit)

Published: June 1st 2004

Pages: 214

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks

                                                                                

            Synopsis(from Goodreads)

It's summer. It's hot. And it's time to hook up.

Cousins Ella, Beth, and Jamie are at the family beach house, and there gearing up for the wildest time of their lives. Sassy Ella is majorly crushing on a cute older boy--who happens to be her sisters boyfriend. Meanwhile, practical Beth is surprised when she finds herself falling for her best friend, George. And shy, creative Jamie gets her heart broken when her summer love abandons her.

Three girls, too many boys, and some seriously stormy romances... it all adds up to one unforgettable summer.
                                                                                                                               

                                                                  Thoughts 

 I wanted to end off my "beachy" summer romance reading in the most appropriate way possible. So when it was time to pick which book to read, I went straight for this one because I knew this would be a decent summer book to read to end the "summer" reading for the year.
 I sort of thought this book was going to be the typical summer read. But, it turned out to be completely different from what I originally thought. It was full of drama, full of craziness, and full of cute boys.

Three cousins, Ella, Beth, and Jamie Tuttle, go to Pebble Beach with their families for the summer in Maine.
Ella- She is the sassy, flirty, confident girl out of the three cousins. She feels like she can get any guy she wants, and that she can take advantage of any opportunity she has. Now, in my opinion I didn't like Ella very much. A part of me wanted to slap her across the face, because it seemed to me that she was being slutty(excuse my profanity,but it is true) around the guys. Then of course as we all know for whoever has read this book, she develops a crush on her older sisters BF Peter.  She tried way to hard to impress him, and just was downright a whore towards him(excuse my profanity, again).Truthfully, it was not necessary for Ella to do any of the things that she did, she could of just been herself without her "sluttiness" and her immaturity. However, at the same time I liked Ella because she was very confident with any situation that she was faced with. Which was what I appreciated about her.

Beth- She is the practical, sporty, mature girl out of the three cousins. She feels like no guy has ever really paid attention to her in the way that she'd like. She also feels like she doesn't need to care about her appearance as much as everyone else. I really liked Beth, she was my favourite out of the three of them, and it was nice just to read about someone who is a little bit more mature for there age. In this book, Beth starts to fall for her best guy friend George. It seemed as if  he didn't really return her feelings, but it was nice to find out in the end that he indeed did like her back. I loved the fact that she was the most relatable person, and that she was reserved as well. Beth was one of those characters where she "thought before she acted" on something, which is what I think all girls should be like. 

Jamie- She is the shy, creative, independent girl out of the three cousins. She feels like she's in her own little world, plus she feels that certain romances or situations are going to last forever. I had a love-hate relationship with Jamie. One part I loved her, but then the next part, I hated her. I liked Jamie, because of her love for writing, and for the arts in general. I hated her because certain things she did were extremely immature. In the book, she feels heartbroken about the fact that Ethan, who was her previous summer love, is distant, and in the end breaks up with her. She is constantly trying to find ways to get over him, but she doesn't really do a good job  it at first, but she ends up getting the hang of it as the book progresses. I liked that she was trying to move on from Ethan, and not try to win him back. It was also nice how, she ended up with Scott, who is one of Ethan's friends. She realizes(thank god) that not all relationships throughout her life are not going to last forever.

The guys that the girls were interested in, were very different from one another. Peter, was the punk, jerk, and rude one. While George, was the kind, sweet, and sensitive one. Lastly, Ethan was a mix of both Peter's and George's personalities.

The book itself was good. I wouldn't say I loved it, but I wouldn't say I hated it either. I still found it to be a quick and easy read for me to get through. I don't 100% recommend this book, but if you want to read it, I suggest you do.
                                                                                                                      

                                                                        Rating


                                                                            3/5

The Book I'm Currently Reading At The Moment

Hello everyone it's Nicole Henderson here, and I know I haven't posted anything new in awhile but I am just really busy with school, and to be quite honest I haven't been reading anything new. But just recently I started to get back into it with a fantastic new book I will be showing you today. Actually, I did start reading Summer Boys by Hailey Abbott, but I'm literally 5 chapters away from finishing it. So, there's really no point in doing a blog post on what "I'm Currently Reading".But, I promise you I will do a book review for Summer Boys in my next blog post.
 The book that I'm reading right now(which I will show you now), is The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler. I will summarize to you on what it's mainly about in my own words, and then express my thoughts on the book.
Summary: Jude Hernandez, has been influenced by her 3 older sisters that the Vargas brothers are a bunch of heart breakers. But, that all changes when her father decides to hire Emilio Vargas to fix an old motorcycle of his(along with Jude's help). But then Jude starts to fall for Emilio, and wonders if her sisters might be wrong about the brothers.

Thoughts: Now, Sarah Ockler is one of my favourite authors of all time, so I loved her previous books. But, with this book, I wouldn't say this is an all time favourite, however, it is on the list to being one of my favourites( Do you see what I'm saying?).
 I really do like the plot, it's very original, and very different from her other books. I like all of the characters; there not super annoying, but not boring either, they are just right.
   I am enjoying this book a lot. It's making me super emotional, and super happy all at the same time.
 Since I am halfway done, I haven't made a final decision on rating it yet, or my full complete thoughts on this book. Alright, those are my main thoughts on the book so far, and I will post a full review soon. So until then, goodbye everyone.

Book Review:The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells

The Summer of Skinny Dipping

Genre: young-adult, romance, contemporary

Published: June 1st 2010

Pages: 295

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire


                                                                                                      

                 Synopsis(from the book)

Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish, But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before it seem like it belonged to another life. My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything.  

                                                                                                                                                         
                   
                                                                      Thoughts

I know that everyone who has read this book, has said in their reviews, that they were expecting a light and drama free read. Well, there not wrong. I could actually agree with those people and say "yes, I was expecting a light read out of this book", which is true. I was. But, I got the complete opposite instead. Which is what everyone else had said about it too.

 I'm really having a hard time collecting my thoughts about this book. It's hurting my head just thinking about it. However, I'm still going to write this review as planned. So, let's begin:

Mia was a very well developed character I thought. I found that she wasn't super annoying or anything like that. But she did kind of seemed always sad and never happy(and I'm seriously talking about all throughout the book) Okay, I shouldn't say that necessarily, she was happy(when she was with Simon), but it's just that it didn't seem very realistic to me. It was as if she was an angel from heaven and saying that she's happy and free. Angels are not real you know (and I'm talking about mythical angels, not our guardian angels). In the aspect to relating to Mia, I couldn't relate to her, at all. I don't love the ocean, I don't have a dysfunctional family, and I never had a boyfriend who died from a tragic event. Also, with her thought process, I didn't relate to her there either. I really did feel sorry for Mia though, when she finds out Simon(which i will talk about next) had gone through a tragic experience which lead to death. What did upset me though about that, was when Mia thought Simon drowning, was a JOKE. I'm like: "Mia, your so dumb, he's actually drowning, and you think this is one of his pranks?" Even I would've known he was drowning, if I were there. Like my god Mia, get your head together.

Simon, was not like any male character I have ever read. He was witty, wise, charismatic, and charming. And of course he was kind, sweet, and wonderful. Simon was very different, from anyone else; he had his own personality, his own values and beliefs on life. I really loved Simon a lot. Even though he didn't seem to be the most attractive guy ever, he was definitely the smartest guy I have read about in a book, and that's a good thing. However, towards the end he got rebellious and I was kind of turned off by that a little bit, but I knew where he was coming from with it. I still really enjoyed Simon though.

The book itself was really good and I enjoyed it, but there was a problem that kinda ticked me off just a bit; which was, the amount of usage of alcohol, and cigarettes (plus drugs), was terrible. Some of the characters smoked and drank, and it happened very frequently. Personally, Amanda should not have done that, it was like she was trying to promote smoking, drinking and doing drugs to teens. Which I was NOT okay with. It pissed me off very much. If that didn't happen, then I would of been fine.

It was a very emotional, dramatic, and life-lesson-type read. It was one of those books where you're taught a valuable lesson. I definitely realized that life-lesson which(to me) was: don't be afraid to take chances, and to take some risks. Always follow your dreams and stick to them; and that sometimes it may not work out for you, you just gotta try again and never give up.
                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                     Rating

                                          
                                                                      4/5
                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                 Last Words

I recommend this book to people who are looking for a surprising, wise, life-learning, emotional, and dramatic book. So, that concludes this review. Until the next one, goodbye everyone!

The Book I'm Currently Reading

Hello everyone, it's Nicole Henderson here, and I know I haven't been blogging in a bit, and I'm really sorry about that. I was so busy with being on vacation and getting ready for going back to school. I really hope I am able to manage my time with school, the homework, life, and also with this blog. If not them I'm very sorry, but that's life. So, back onto today's blog. The book I'm currently reading at the moment is called The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells. Like in my last blog that I did about this, I will summarize it in my own words on what it's about, and then tell you my thoughts about the book so far.
Summary: A 16 year old girl named Mia Gordon, goes away from home to spend the summer in the Hamptons. At first she is looking forward to it, but when her cousin Corrine becomes distant, she is disappointed about her cousin's new lifestyle and friends. But everything changes when she meets a boy named Simon at a party. And things take an unexpected turn for the better and for the worst.

Thoughts: I have to say I do like this book, but I wasn't expecting
what I read to actually happen when I first picked it up.(spoiler alert) There's drinking and partying, and drugs are being used, I was pretty shocked. However, I do understand this because I have realized that people I know actually do party and drink and smoke weed. And it's not my cup of tea to do any of those things. Now, I'm not hating on this book, I really do like it. It was perfect for me to read half of it  while on vacation on the beach because I really got the feeling of the setting and what it was actually like. So, I can't make the final verdict. But I am enjoying this book so far.

So, that is about it for this blog. I really do hope you guys like seeing my thoughts. I really do want to be done with this book, so I can do a book review on it, and also start on another book as well. So,until the next one. Goodbye everyone.

Book Review: Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

Sixteenth Summer

Genre: young-adult, romance, contemporary

Published: May 3rd 2011

Pages: 283

Publisher: Simon Pulse

                                                                                         

               Synopsis(from the book)

Anna is dreading another tourist-filled summer on Dune Island that follows the same routine: beach, ice-cream, friends, repeat. That is, until she locks eyes with Will, the gorgeous and sweet guy visiting from New York. Soon her summer is filled with flirtatious fun as Anna falls head over heels in love. But with every perfect afternoon, sweet kisses, and walks on the beach, Anna can't ignore that the days are quickly growing shorter, and Will has to leave at the end of August. Anna's never felt anything like this before, but when forever isn't even a possibility, one summer doesn't feel worth the promise of her heart breaking...

                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                      Thoughts

At first I had no intentions of reading this when I first saw this book on Goodreads,  but then I had this sudden urge of wanting to read it and have it in my hands really badly. It just happened one day.  So when I finally purchased it, I was super excited to read this. I did and I literally fell in love with this book. I loved everything, and I mean everything about this book. It played out so nicely. Just the way the story flowed with no "bumps in the road" was just simply amazing.  The characters were great, I loved the setting, which was on a beach (I love beaches).

Anna, was a fantastic character. I loved Anna. She wasn't mean, selfish, snobby, or  a total bitch. She was nice, happy, positive, in love (like most characters are). If she were a real person, I would love to be friends with her. Yeah, that is how much I adore her. Anna is literally, everything I want in a character when I write my own book someday. I found that I could relate to Anna a lot in this story. With how she felt, and the way she thinks is how I would think too if I were ever in her situation. There are honestly no more words for me to describe her, but to only say that she was an amazing character.

Will, was another fantastic character. He was sweet, and nice. He treated Anna well, which is what all guys should do in young-adult books. He was everything I wanted in a guy. Generous, genuine, kind etc.. I'm pretty much just repeating myself before with Anna.

Sixteenth Summer is an amazing book, and one of my favourite books of all time. Just because it was so light, beachy, and romantic. It was anything anybody would want in a summer book. It was absolutely perfect. I love Michelle's writing style, and how it flows along with the story.

                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                    Overall Rate


                                                                            5/5
                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                   Last Words

I really felt happy while reading this, I hope other people have read this, and have felt happy as well. Michelle Dalton is one of my favourite authors now. I recommend this book for people who want a perfect book to read on the beach. Of course, for people who want a summer romance, so wonderful. That's it for this review, until the next one, goodbye everyone! 

Book Haul (1)

Hello everyone, it's Nicole Henderson here. You know, I like to go to used book stores from time to time. The reason being is because, the books are cheaper, and even though there used books, they still look in good condition. Anyways, today, I went to a used book store, because....well I don't know why, I just needed new books for myself. And I go into the store not knowing what books were going to be there, and the total amount of books I bought were 4 books. I will give info. on the books, give you a summary on them, and tell you why i picked them up. Here we go:

The first book I bought was Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. It is an older young adult vampire book, being published in 2008. The whole saga was made into movies(like you guys obviously know that already).  
I won't give away too much because this is the last book to the Twilight Saga. It's pretty much about Bella Swan experiencing a love-triangle between Edward Cullen, who is vampire, and Jacob Black, who happens to be a werewolf. After getting married, Bella ends up becoming pregnant, with Edward being the father. Once the child is born, the baby is mistaken for some reason I cannot remember, but you guys have most likely seen the movie, if not, then go to Wikapedia, and read the full plot, or get the movie on DVD. And the story pretty much goes on from there (and I'm sorry I couldn't really help you out). 
I picked up the book because I have not read the whole series because, I have not had the whole series in my collection of books. I have only read the first two books in the Twilight Saga, even though i own Eclipse, I have yet to read it, including Breaking Dawn. I honestly, wanted the whole saga already, 'cause it has been way to long.

The second book I bought, was Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz. It was published all the way back in 2007. It is another paranormal vampire series, and it consists of 7 books. This is the first book to the series.
This book is about a teenage girl named Schuyler(interesting, yet confusing name) Van Allen, goes to this prestigious private school in New York City. Then her life changes, when the death of a popular classmate happens, and it haunts her. Then Jack Force, who the most popular boy in school, takes interest in her. Plus she discovers that the most exclusive social circle are inhuman. Blue Bloods(hence the title of the book), are a group of vampires, and have been for centuries. But something is preying on the group, and Schuyler wants to find out "the truth".
I picked up this book mainly because, I wanted to start reading vampire books again, and i needed a new series, with a new story line, new characters, and a new setting. I just needed something new and different. Of course, I was curious so, I bought it.

The third book I purchased, was The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells. This a contemporary summer novel, that was published in 2010.
This is about a 16 year old girl named, Mia Gordon, who has the best summer of her life, at Indigo Beach, with a boy with pale skin, and how it deals with the ups and downs of first love.
I picked this book up because, I needed another summer read, and I thought it was quite mysterious sounding. I have heared that this is quite an emotional book, but I am willing to keep an open mind on it and see how it turns out to be.

The last book I ended up purchasing was Summer Boys by Hailey Abbott. It was published 10 years ago, which was back in 2004. And it is part of a series called Summer Boys(which is the title to this book by the way). The series consists of 4 books, with this book being the first one.
The plot of the book is about three cousins, Ella, Beth, and Jamie and they all end up having potential summer romances, but something has to get in the way for all these girls to get the man of their dreams. Ella has a crush on a boy, who happens to be her sister's boyfriend. Beth is starting to fall for her best friend. And, Jamie, fell for a boy the summer before, but ends up getting her heart broken, by him. There is going to be lots of drama, this summer.
I have heared of this book before, plus a good friend of mine actually owns this book. So I definitely wanted to own this book for myself.  I have read some of Hailey's books before, so I know what her writing style is like. I picked it up today because  I needed just a light summer book that was going to fly by quickly, but still also have a little bit of drama. I'm quite excited to read this book. It will be a perfect beach read for me.

So that is it for my first book haul on this blog, and I will do a lot more of them. I am still trying to get better at this whole blogging thing, I am still new to all this, and it will take some time for me to be an expert on this. Anyways, back to the books, I am really happy about my purchases and I look forward to reading them sometime soon. That is it for this book haul, until the next one. Goodbye, everyone.

Book Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Second Chance Summer

Genre: young adult, romance, drama, contemporary

Published: May 7th 2013 (Paperback)

Pages: 468

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

                                                                                                       

                         Synopsis(from book)

Taylor Edwards had a tendency to run away when things get tough. But when her father is diagnosed with stage four cancer, Taylor knows this is one situation she can't outrun. To have one last summer together, Taylor's parents decide to take the family back to their old lake house in the Poconos. Even though Taylor was twelve the last time she went to Lake Phoenix, the people she left behind are still there-like her former best friend Lucy, who's still hurting from a long-ago betrayal, and her first crush Henry, who's gotten five years cuter. With nights full of fireflies and fireworks, the summer holds the possibility of forgiveness, and maybe even love. Taylor wants to hold on to the moment instead of walking away, but she knows the end of the summer is getting closer-and that time is running out to make the most of her second chance.

                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                          Thoughts 

I have wanted to get my hands on this book since, the summer of 2012. Yes, since LAST SUMMER. But now that i finally own it(and this is my first book review ever with a book i own), i was able to read it, finally after so long of wanting it. I felt good when i started reading this book, even though i knew it was going to be a emotional book. I really adored this book from start to finish.

Taylor was an easy, and likable character. I found that i could relate to her, with certain thoughts that she had. Actually, I could honestly just relate to her in general. She was one of the more normal characters i have read, not to plain, not to dramatic, but just in between. The way that Taylor dealt with  situations, was actually a proper and mature way to deal with them. Not like those other characters, that are like:"I'm sad, this is too hard, I can't do this, I'm leaving." God, I hate characters like that. When Taylor wanted to run away, she didn't. She was brave enough to deal with it, instead of being a chicken, and running off. Like she has the tendency of doing. I was very proud, of Taylor, in that sense. I found to be sympathizing for Taylor and her family, and their emotions that went along with it.

This book was a complete, emotional roller coaster. One part, it was happy, the other part was sad, then happy again and so on and so forth. I didn't cry however, but it was definitely heart wrenching for me. I was so depressed about what had happened to her father, I was absolutely devastated. I can't imagine, in reality, what it must be like for people who are going through the exact same problem as the Edwards family. I have had family members die of cancer, but it didn't really effect me too much, but it must of effected other people, like their wife, or sister, a best friend, it could be the husbands too who are suffering.

I adored this book 100%. I really loved this book all throughout, without complaining or getting annoyed with any of the characters. It is one of my favourite books of all time, that is literally how much I loved it. It truly moved me, in a way that it made me think about cancer differently. It was a wonderful book.

                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                Overall Rating


                                                  5/5
                                                                                                            

                                            Last Words

Like, I mentioned before, it was a fantastic book, and I really enjoyed it. I recommend this book to people who are looking for a summer read, but it is still a heavier, dramatic, emotional read. That concludes my review, until the next one. Goodbye, everyone!