Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross

* * * *

Available January 27, 2015

An edgy fairy tale retelling of "Snow White" set in the world of Kill Me Softly for fans of Once Upon a Time and Grimm.

Faced with a possible loophole to her "Snow White" curse, Viv goes underground, literally, to find the prince who's fated to rescue her. But is life safe in the Underworld worth the price of sacrificing the love that might kill her?

Tear You Apart is follow up to Kill Me Softly and is the second in the Beau Rivage series. Ever have it happen where you’re done with a book, thought it was good and don’t think about again until months later?  That’s my experience with Kill Me Softly. I thought it was such a creative but frightening spin on those age-old stories, wrote my review and that was it. Months later it popped into my head and I found myself wanting more from this crazy town of Beau Rivage where people live out their fairy tale curses. Some manage to break them. Some find loopholes. Others succumb to them.

It took me a few pages to get back into the rhythm of this bizarre town. It seems like any average modern town except here, everyone is looking over their shoulder for the inevitable to happen.  Viv has the unenviable Snow White curse and has known this forever. It wasn’t so bad at first especially since her boyfriend Henley, who's also been her best friend since childhood, had sworn to protect her from the huntsman who would eventually come for her. So guess who turned out to be that Huntsman? Yep. Talk about ill-fated. Each page seems like another punch to the gut as you see what Viv has to endure – fear of being killed and by whom, her wicked stepmother Regina, who’s had it in for her, her own father who’s about as affectionate as a rock.

It’s easy to get annoyed with Viv at times because she’s not the sweet, innocent Snow White we know from folklore. No, in this rendering she is paranoid, obstinate and confused. And I had to remind myself that I couldn’t blame her for being that way. Worst yet are her unresolved feelings for Henley. They’re so in love but neither can deny that the curse hangs over them. She’s in constant fear that any day now she’ll die at the hands of the huntsman and fate being as cruel as it has so been far, it’d be at the hands of Henley. It’s a tug of war between these two lovers throughout the story as they fight their feelings and one does what they think is right to protect the other.

Viv jumps at a possible solution head first without really thinking it through and you know how that goes. I won’t spoil the rest but she does her best to work out her curse to see if she can find any gaps in it that she can use to her advantage. What I did like to see was her change in attitude – from being victim to having a say in her own fate. 

When you analyze fairy tales closely, they’re freaking disturbing. We don’t see that as kids but as we get older, that realization becomes more apparent. Obviously we need to remember the context they were originally written in. Which is why I have to hand it to Sarah Cross for undertaking this task of reimagining folklore and giving it new life, especially when it comes to giving young girls voice and strength in a medium that has historically been undermining of the female gender. She achieved this in Kill Me Softly, and Tear You Apart is perfect for anyone who wants to experience an even more twisted side of these fairy tales and see how these characters rescue themselves. It's very dark and grim with plenty of dysfunctional relationships happening. But getting lost in this world of Beau Rivage and its people is absolutely magical!

~ Bel

Get Happy by Mary Amato

* * * 1/2

In this poignant, realistic, contemporary YA by a state master list star, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Gayle Forman, a young songwriter builds a substitute family with her friends in place of the broken family she grew up with.

A hip high school girl who loves music, writes songs, and is desperate for a ukelele, learns to her shock that her father did not abandon her years ago and has been trying to keep in touch. She begins to investigate him, only to discover that he has a new life with a new family, including the perfect stepdaughter, a girl who Minerva despises.

Set in Evanston, just outside of Chicago Get Happy is a delightfully quirky and heartwarming story that I think many people will enjoy. Minerva and her best friend Finn have that typical teenage banter that’s filled with dry humor and endless sarcasm – all things that I love.

It's her birthday and all Minerva wants is this ukele that she's been eyeing for ages. She doesn't get it. Instead she receives a sweater from her mother - so not an uke. She also receives an unexpected gift from her absentee father that sends her into a tailspin and she's not quite sure what to make of it. She doesn’t disclose any of this to her mother who has an “off limits” attitude about the topic of her father.  That same day, Finn convinces her to try out for Get Happy with him. It’s a welcome distraction to audition for this business where they dress up as characters and sing for kids birthday parties. At the audition, Minerva and Finn meet Hayes and Cassie. These four are such a funny group together led by the business owner Joy who’s a bit of a character herself.  Some of the funniest stuff stuff in the book happens during the Get Happy birthday parties and Minerva’s first experience is hysterical!

I really liked Minerva, a remarkable songwriter who pours her emotions into her words. Her curiosity about her father overshadows a lot of the book and brings out the insecurities she has felt all this time but never admitted aloud. She’s curious but she can’t bring herself to reach out to him directly. Since her mother refuses to discuss him, she operates covertly to find any information she can about him. The more she finds, the more confused she feels about him. It all comes down to a very uncomfortable scenario that forces Minerva to confront her family for the truth. It's a painfully crushing experience that had me feeling so badly for her. 

One thing I can say is that not everything is resolved in the book and I’m good with that. It’s more the breakthrough that’s the important event in Get Happy. Minerva does have to survive the damage that's left when the truth finally comes out and the impact that it will have on her life. Even with the upheaval that ensues, Get Happy is enjoyable and the many mentions of different places in and around Evanston and Chicago made me smile extra, especially the description of riding the El which Amato nails perfectly!

~ Bel

Get Happy also features some of Minerva's amazing songs at the end of the book. Here's one of them performed by Jamey Geston:

To hear more fantastic songs:

Song from Get Happy performed by Jamey Geston

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A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin

* * * * 

A hint of Recovery Road, a sample of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and a cut of Juno. A Really Awesome Mess is a laugh-out-loud, gut-wrenching/heart-warming story of two teenagers struggling to find love and themselves.

Two teenagers. Two very bumpy roads taken that lead to Heartland Academy.

Justin was just having fun, but when his dad walked in on him with a girl in a very compromising position, Justin's summer took a quick turn for the worse. His parents' divorce put Justin on rocky mental ground, and after a handful of Tylenol lands him in the hospital, he has really hit rock bottom.

Emmy never felt like part of her family. She was adopted from China. Her parents and sister tower over her and look like they came out of a Ralph Lauren catalog-- and Emmy definitely doesn't. After a scandalous photo of Emmy leads to vicious rumors around school, she threatens the boy who started it all on Facebook.

Justin and Emmy arrive at Heartland Academy, a reform school that will force them to deal with their issues, damaged souls with little patience for authority. But along the way they will find a ragtag group of teens who are just as broken, stubborn, and full of sarcasm as themselves. In the end, they might even call each other friends.

A funny, sad, and remarkable story, A Really Awesome Mess is a journey of friendship and self-discovery that teen readers will surely sign up for.

You never know quite what you’re in for when you take on a book like this. Cook and Halpin have given Emmy and Justin very distinctive voices that have made this a fun read.  I was struck by Emmy’s flat out cynicism and disdain for her surroundings from the first page. She doesn’t feel connected to her family and thinks everything is a perpetual reminder of how she doesn’t fit in. Justin presents his story with immense but appealing sarcasm, feigns nonchalance and is perpetually angry about something or other. Both sides of their experiences are written with such humor and honesty, this book just may be one of my favorites of the year.

I enjoyed everything about this. Both Emmy and Justin are hysterical, dry and complicated kids who are too stubborn to search within themselves and admit to what has brought them to Heartland Academy in the first place. They’re surrounded by peers with their own bizarre issues: one is in for his constant need to create and live out different identities and another who has selective mutism. Things get very interesting when their counselor suggests that they would be rewarded for good behavior if they work together as a group to hold each other accountable for an entire week. With this carrot stick dangling in front of them they reluctantly fall in line. Forcing them to be accountable to each other gives them a chance to get out of their self-absorbed worlds and focus on a shared end goal.

Some of these kids start out so jaded and lost within their own pity party. But since being forced to work together these misfits find camaraderie and a safety zone. Plenty of hilarious scenarios take place, including a ridiculous one involving a pig, that will have you laughing until your belly hurts. Then there are quiet, profound moments such as this one that has stuck with me where Justin describes his depression kicking in: 

"I didn't know what it felt like for other people with this diagnosis.  For me, it was like somebody squeezing my stomach with a cold iron fist. Except it wasn't really a physical pain. It was just like the act of being alive hurt so freaking much that if anybody touched me I thought I might shatter into a million pieces."

It is a very honest and vulnerable moment captured so eloquently. I also like how there's no neat ending tied up with a lovely bow as the book draws to a close. While Emmy and Justin eventually have their breakthroughs there's still a lot of hard work ahead. The quick pace, brilliant writing and charismatic characters are so engaging which make me want to add A Really Awesome Mess to my shelf because it really is awesome!

~ Bel

Thank you to Egmont USA and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title.

One Moment by Kristina McBride

* * 1/2

"This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie's life. Now it's the one she'd do anything to forget.”

Maggie remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party. She remembers climbing the trail with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can't she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below-dead?
As Maggie's memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?
The latest novel from the author of "The Tension of Opposites," "One Moment" is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.

The Good: 

Although predictable, the story moved along well and kept my interest.  Also, I think this story ended up being a good lesson on how it is normal and okay to be angry with someone you have lost.  Something that is difficult for people of any age to learn and accept. 

The Bad: 

Even having read the synopsis, I was not ready for the first chapter of this story.  In my experience, stories about trying to discover the truth of a tragedy don’t usually start out by showing you the tragedy. Usually you will learn pieces along the way.  Not so with One Moment.  The first chapter builds up the scene well.  And although there are pieces missing that you will learn later on, you see enough in that first chapter to make you feel sad and sick to your stomach.  Not a feeling I enjoyed. Granted I fully admit that I am a bit sensitive.

I also felt that the first chapter sets everything up for the story a little too well.  When I say “too well”, I mean that the reader can easily predict everything that will happen in the book.  It’s fairly easy to figure out what everybody’s secrets are.    

This book gets just shy of 3*’s from me.  If you are looking for a similar story I would also recommend Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf.

Nat

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

* * * 1/2

 

Mira has never known her parents or much about her secretly shrouded past. When she runs away to Beau Rivage, the town of her birth, on the cusp of her sixteenth birthday, she’s hoping to find her parents’ graves and not much more. But she's stumbled into – or been drawn to the place where the Märchen, the Marked, play out to try to resist their roles. Here, Grimm fairytales come to life, curses and gifts are awakened, and Mira is destined to meet her fate, whatever it is.

Kill Me Softly is simply delightful! From the moment I started reading, I was glued to every page especially because the first few chapters provided some “what the heck?” moments. That's what makes this book so enchanting because you’re just following the breadcrumbs to get to the bottom of the story.

As describe above, Mira finds herself in Beau Rivage a few days before she turns 16. Since her past is a complete mystery to her, she decides that she will discover the truth on her own. Once in Beau Rivage, she encounters some pretty interesting personalities like Blue, an abrasive rocker and his best friend, Freddie. Blue insists that she yleave and never come back, convinced it's for her own safety. But when she meets Felix, Blue’s nicer, older brother, she plans on sticking around. Felix not only offers to help her find her parents’ graves, he also offers to put her up at the hotel casino that he runs – much to Blue's chagrin.

Over the next few days she comes to realize that many people in this town are fairytale characters, living out their fairytale in various forms. It's like the TV show Once Upon A Time except in Beau Rivage, these people know that they’re fairytale characters and are waiting for the transformation to take place when they are fated to live out their roles in whatever tale they’re in.

I was surprised that for someone so sheltered Mira didn’t seem too unfazed by all the people she was meeting and disturbing things she was learning. Her interaction with both Blue and Freddie are tense, fun and downright ridiculous. Her instant attraction to Felix will have some readers swooning. The focus of the story does change from looking for her parents’ graves to unraveling secrets and discovering the truth about these fairytales. And there are times when her stubbornness gets in the way of her seeing the big picture which honestly can be quite maddening. I mean, when someone tells you so many times that something isn’t good for you, don’t you think you should at least take them seriously, even if for a little bit?

Kill Me Softly is a darker take on some of the more famous fairytales. It may be a little twisted but it’s imaginative, and I had fun putting together the pieces to guess which fairytale was being played out that Mira had unwittingly immersed herself in ... oh and I guessed right!

~ Bel