For Emery (For You #4) by J. Nathan

* * * 1/2

A STANDALONE New Adult Sports Romance in the For You series. Each book follows a new couple.

Emery
I’ve loved Jordan Grady since I was eight.
Since he became my protector.
Since he became my safe haven each night.
But I was younger.
Off limits...
Until high school when he finally kissed me.
And for a few fleeting moments, everything was right in the world.
Then I was forced to do the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do...
Disappear from his life without a trace.

Grady
I’m Alabama’s star right tackle—and a real prick.
I live my life by a few solid truths.
Life isn’t fair.
Don’t let anyone get too close.
And those who claim to care about you can up and leave.
But you know what they say about things that disappear...
But Emery Pruitt had never been mine.
Even if she had returned after four years.
Older.
Confident.
And more beautiful than the night she vanished.
But it didn’t erase the fact that she’d left me.
So, why find me now? 

Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review


Whenever I've read one of J. Nathan's books I've always enjoyed it. I see her as including just enough angst without being too overwhelming which is just the right combination for me.

For Emery is a story about the ultimate kind of friendship that's forged from the earliest and most influential years in a young child's life. Grady first meets Emery when her family moves in next door. Unfortunately, Emery's family life is a mess and she finds solace in hanging out in Grady's bedroom. He makes her feel safe and protected, and maybe it's hero worship that makes her declare that they'll be boyfriend and girlfriend, and even marry one day. Grady doesn't take her too seriously as far as that's concerned since she's a few years younger than him, but it doesn't change how deeply he cares about her and wishes he could fix everything for her. She disappears from his life abruptly and doesn't hear from her again until she shows up at as a freshman at college where he's a star on the football team. Seeing her again is a complete shock and brings up many years worth of pent up bitterness. Still, he's not letting her out of his sight. Now they just have to learn how to become friends all over again.

Be warned that this story involves domestic violence and Grady has some anger issues as well. Grady's behaviour feels a bit off to me only because the Grady in the younger years is extremely kind and protective, whereas the college-age Grady can be a jerk. It is inferred that Emery's disappearance is the cause of the shift in his attitude but I felt still felt as if I was missing something there.

This was an engaging but tough read because of the subject matter, and it's hard not to be overcome by some of the details. They're not terribly graphic, it's more the fear that Emery has lived with for so long and how she must be careful to protect herself. The upside is that two people who thought they'd lost the most meaningful connection to another person they've ever had, find each other again. And it's no an exaggeration to say that their friendship is a lifesaver. J. Nathan tells a good story and I recommend this one if you're up for it.

~ Bel

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

* * * * *

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true.

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world. 


Source: advance e-galley provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review


Beartown takes a look at the dynamics of a small town and its residents who live in the woods. The town's entire culture and psyche is centered on that of the junior hockey team. Their identities along with their goals, their economics, their purpose in life are tied up in it. Think Friday Night Lights but more intense. Backman introduces us to several people  - adults and teenagers - who are directly or indirectly involved with the hockey team and shows us how their lives are impacted by it. It takes a few pages to meet all of them but as soon as he's set that up he's the director having the camera slowly pan out, giving us a wider scope of the town. The result is that we see what hockey means to these individuals, what they've done for it, sacrificed for it and ultimately created because of it. Beartown is another testament to Backman's amazing ability to write about people's flaws and strengths, bringing their humanity to the forefront. What he's done here is show us that sometimes that thing that unites a community can also be something that pits one against the other. In this case, it's a sports culture that makes celebrities out of those who aren't ready, and how bringing them to cult-like status can create heroes and villains.

The beauty of Beartown is that we get to be inside the minds of all the characters and see how they affect one another. It's such a lovely advantage as a reader to be able to have that within reach but it's also an imposing thing as the story takes on a dark turn. You're an eyewitness to these events as the chips fall into place, coming to a climax that you're anxiously awaiting. Backman lays it out perfectly, weaving together their histories and keeping you guessing as to what's next. All the while, these characters feel real and their struggles or insecurities are relatable. You can recognize those things in them which makes this story an interesting study in human psychology and relationships.  

I'm not going to delve into plot specifics because the effect won't be as impressive if you're not watching it unfold yourself. The first page did startled me. It had me wondering as I continued when Backman would bring me back to that very moment on that first page. The anticipation gave me a rush! Because there are so many characters, there are a several storylines and for the most part they do intersect. By the way, there are some triggers but in order to avoid spoilers I've included them in the labels so please refer to them if you'd prefer to know ahead of time. 

I've wanted to read Beartown for months ever since I saw it was out in Backman's native Sweden. Sadly or rather inconveniently, I don't speak Swedish so I've had to wait patiently for it to be released in the US. As I've come to expect it's another outstanding novel from a master storyteller. The surprise though was the type of story this was and how serious it became. But it's the various twists and revelations that make Beartown a must-read now and a must-have addition to your bookshelf!

~ Bel

The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M. Parker

* * * 1/2

In this gripping YA debut, high school senior Zephyr Doyle is swept off her feet—and into an intense and volatile relationship—by the new boy in school. THE GIRL WHO FELL is a powerful and important read that School Library Journal calls, “(a)n invaluable addition to any collection. (SLJ *STARRED REVIEW* January 1, 2016)

His obsession.

Her fall.

Zephyr is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and leaving her small town for her dream school, Boston College.

But love has a way of changing things.

Enter the new boy in school: the hockey team’s starting goaltender, Alec. He’s cute, charming, and most important, Alec doesn’t judge Zephyr. He understands her fears and insecurities—he even shares them. Soon, their relationship becomes something bigger than Zephyr, something she can’t control, something she doesn’t want to control.

Zephyr swears it must be love. Because love is powerful, and overwhelming, and … terrifying?

But love shouldn’t make you abandon your dreams, or push your friends away. And love shouldn’t make you feel guilty—or worse, ashamed.

So when Zephyr finally begins to see Alec for who he really is, she knows it’s time to take back control of her life.

If she waits any longer, it may be too late.

Zephyr Doyle seems like the well-adjusted high school senior with a bright future to look forward to. She’s co-captain of her field hockey team, doing great at school and has two of the best friends anyone could ever want. Only problem is that her father recently left their family. The sting of betrayal from the abandonment throws shade over an otherwise wonderful school year. Her feelings all in a flux go haywire when the new boy at school, Alec shows interest in her. She falls in love with him, fast. As things gets more intense and Alec becomes more demanding, Zephyr loses herself not realizing it’s happening. When she does, everything crashes in on her.

Regardless of if the author was attempting to convey a message, she does an outstanding job of methodically outlining the rapid intensity and disintegration of the relationship as Zephyr is forced to gradually force out important people from her life along with relinquishing her dreams. The whole affair was disconcerting and made me twitchy but that’s me speaking from a reader’s point of view. From her point of view, Zephyr is young, inexperienced and most importantly, emotionally vulnerable. This trifecta makes her susceptible to manipulation. It’s terrifying how easily Alec messes with her mind through mere suggestion and emotional bribery to make her feel as if she’s the one who’s always committing the wrong doing, slyly painting himself as the innocent victim. Jealousy and insecurity are masked as love. He has an arsenal full of tricks to get her doing what he wants. Equally upsetting is how she forgives or even excuses his behaviour under the misguided idea of what an ideal partner should be. Without a doubt, reading this descent into dysfunction is disturbing.

My only reservation about the book is the sometimes overly descriptive language such as when Zephyr describes how she’s feeling. I found it distracting, and thought that had it been simplified without all the flourishes, the point would've still come across. My minor issue with it notwithstanding, I was still caught up in the story and anxious to know where things were headed.

The Girl Who Fell provides much food for thought by highlighting a serious problem that carries social stigma. It's a discussion that needs to be had especially with those entering the unfamiliar terrain of their first relationship. I still shudder when I recall some of the details and at how easily one can fall into the traps. It’s a gripping story that gains more urgency as the plot thickens. I do believe this is one to add to your TBR pile.

~ Bel

Breakable (Contours of the Heart #2) by Tammara Webber

* * * * *

 

He was lost and alone. Then he found her.  

And the future seemed more fragile than ever.

As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed.

All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy…

As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.

Easy was so phenomenal that if you were like me wondering how it could possibly get any better, it does! Webber imbues a special kind of magic in telling Lucas' story by creatively showing us two aspects of his life: as Landon, a young teenager on the verge of becoming a full-on juvenile delinquent and then the disciplined, hardworking Lucas we're familiar with. Each chapter starts with Landon whose particular storyline parallels what Lucas is going through. The differences are apparent.

BiblioJunkie Nat (who I begged to hurry up and read this) and I discussed the many elements of this book that make it outstanding. For one, she employs the subtle use of language to draw the contrast between the younger Landon and older Lucas. Nat pointed out for example where Landon, as a typical teenage boy would refer to his make out partner’s anatomy as “tits” while Lucas’ would refer to Jacqueline’s “breasts”. To quote Nat, “it’s a tiny change that shows a certain level of growth”. Seeing this growth is what makes Lucas all the more endearing.

What is a revelation to me is his anger which turns out to be one constant throughout his life so far. His potential for violence is only hinted at in Easy in specific instances where he rescues Jacqueline the first time and comes to her aid the second time. I thought it was just a reaction to the events or a rush of adrenaline. But young Landon is a lost, miserable mess with issues at school, involved with drugs and beats up on people. It’s heart-wrenching that he and his dad are both going through so much pain but so disconnected from each other. They're both in denial while Landon carries the weight of responsibility for what happened to his family. He's so detached and numb that his moments of violence are cathartic releases for him. When it happens one final time, he's forced to make changes and that shift comes about in a bizarre, unexpected way. Years later, he's hyper aware that he needs to keep himself in check which explains why he's so disciplined and focused as an adult.

Third, the older Lucas may come off as smooth but he's so inwardly awkward around Jacqueline that it’s freaking hilarious! Thank goodness because we need that to balance some of the heavy emotional stuff. His crush on Jacqueline has him doing things that are out of character. Remember that hot bar scene where he asked her to dance? His thoughts leading up to that are hysterical. I actually read that bar scene side by side with the one from Easy. On it's own it's hot. But reading both together will have you fanning yourself! And it’s all the little things he notices about Jacqueline from her scent to her subconscious mannerisms that will have all the girls in a tizzy. No doubt, Jacqueline wasn't even aware of this about herself which makes it all the more romantic that Lucas keyed into them. 

This brings me to the fourth thing to love about Breakable: it's not a rehashing of events but also a movement forward.  Easy implies a sense of closure and healing. Breakable show us how he gets there including reparation of his relationships. The moments that are retold like when he approaches Jacqueline in class for her phone number and she responds by asking him if he needs help with his homework, become funnier the second time around because we know what's going on now. 

At some point, I considered if Breakable could be read as a stand alone. After rereading it again (are you surprised?), I've concluded that the answer for me at least, is a no. Without knowing the events in Easy through Jacqueline's experience, Lucas' angle won't have quite the same emotional intensity. Not only are we learning about Lucas' past but we're also privy to his internal struggle. It's not just this dual identity thing he has going with Jacqueline that has him so guilt-ridden and worried. Deep down, this awesome guy is still a grieving little boy who hasn't managed to fully process all that he's been through.   

I've also concluded that there must be something embedded in the font because Breakable, just like Easy, begs for multiple readings. Oh and hold yourself together for that special surprise he has for Jacqueline at the end. Let's just say that things come full circle ;-)

~ Bel

Uninvited (Uninvted #1) by Sophie Jordan

* * * * 1/2

The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan's chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer.

When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.

Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.

This has to be one of my favorites reads for the latter half of 2013 for a couple of reasons: one, it's slightly dystopian-ish without being full on dystopian and two, this is unlike anything of Sophie Jordan's I've read so far. 

There’s definitely a very futuristic feel to Uninvited but what’s described in here could very well take place today. May be that's what makes this whole story so unnerving. Davy starts out a very normal girl living a very normal life, going to school and hanging with her friends and her boyfriend.  At this point we’ve all been conditioned to know that when the “I love you’s” are declared, something will inevitably go wrong.  And so it does.

The government-mandated HTS test that everyone must take to determine if they have the “killer”  gene comes back positive for Davy. As a result, she is kicked out of her private school and has to attend a local public school.  What makes it worse is that because she has been deemed a potential killer, she’s not even allowed to attend classes with the rest of the school population. She is essentially locked up in a cage with other future offenders.  As if that isn’t enough, her friends from her former life have completely abandoned her, including her boyfriend. What follows is Davy’s very painful and lonely introduction into this new world of second-class citizenship where she is eyed with disdain and suspicion. The wrong move on her part can lead to bad repercussions for her. Her dreams of going to Juillard are over. Any hope of a successful career in any field is impossible. Even the simple act of walking down the street is now a dangerous venture for her.

As I read this I couldn’t help but think that this story offered a fantastic opportunity to discuss the whole nature vs nurture debate.  I came up with a few questions:

Can predicting someone’s potential as a killer actually prevent a tragedy from happening? Os is that just damning someone to an uncertain fate?

        

        Doesn’t ostracizing an entire group of people and treating them as scum only create animosity and bitterness in them?  Wouldn’t that trigger a violent reaction in some because they were pushed in that direction?

       What is the role of rehabilitation in this and can you rehabilitate someone who hasn’t yet demonstrated a penchant for violent behavior?

Okay, I know this is sort of heavy stuff but all these questions and more flooded my mind as I read Uninvited at an amazing speed.  I felt so anxious for Davy and her new friends, growing more concerned for her during the second half of the book as she morphed into a different person. That change is thanks in part to the government and its questionable agenda for all the HTS carriers.

All I can say is that Uninvited had me wound up the entire time. To me it was such an interesting concept that stimulated a lot of thought and considering how things have played out so far, there’s certainly plenty of room to maneuver in the sequel. There is a love angle in there too but that doesn’t consume the story at all. Davy is her own rock and she’s gearing up to face what’s next.

~ Bel