We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt

From the publisher: Rob Coates feels like he’s won the lottery of life. There is Anna, his incredible wife, their London town house and, most precious of all, Jack, their son, who makes every day an extraordinary adventure. But when a devastating illness befalls his family, Rob’s world begins to unravel. Suddenly finding himself alone, Rob seeks solace in photographing the skyscrapers and clifftops he and his son Jack used to visit. And just when it seems that all hope is lost, Rob embarks on the most unforgettable of journeys to find his way back to life, and forgiveness.

We Own the Sky is not my usual kind of reading. It’s contemporary fiction with an issue. I accidentally requested an electronic advance reader copy from Netgalley, and since my goal is to read and review every e-ARC I request, I read it.

I’m glad I did. It’s hard to believe it’s a first novel. It’s well written and easy to read. Anna and Rob are characters with depth. Both have traits that made me like them and traits that aren’t particularly attractive. Jack was not as well drawn.

Some of the story is told through forum messages, and I found those a little tiresome at times. Also, the technical details of how Rob hacked into a forum and an email account were probably not necessary. But those are minor complaints about a great story.

The narrative moves back and forth in time – we watch Anna and Rob’s courtship, their struggle to have a child after miscarriages, and their relationship with their child. The book is sad, moving, and believable.

The author wrote this book after being diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 36, and he successfully channeled his feelings of fear, frustration, and loss into his book. If you enjoy contemporary literature, you may enjoy We Own the Sky. It is scheduled to be published on April 3 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed

Genres: Contemporary, YA
Release Date: March 24th, 2015

Source: Checked out from GPL

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This heart-wrenching novel explores what it is like to be thrust into an unwanted marriage. Has Naila’s fate been written in the stars? Or can she still make her own destiny?

Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. And until then, dating—even friendship with a boy—is forbidden. When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now! Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew. Her only hope of escape is Saif . . . if he can find her before it’s too late.

Written in the Stars is the kind of book that I should have loved but I didn't. Diversity? Check. Forbidden romance? Check. A female lead you want to root for? Check. So why didn’t I love it? For starters, it is written in a very simplistic middle grade style which is odd given the age of the characters and the things happening.

I also think the book is a lot more rushed than it should be. It takes a lot of time to build to the climax but not enough time is spent providing readers with a detailed resolution. We find out what happens in the epilogue but given the risk and the issues at hand, it would have been a lot nicer if more time were spent actually hashing that bit out.

I also struggled a lot with the cruelty of her parents because even though this is SUCH AN important issue and it happens a LOT, I also feel like the way the community was represented as a whole could have been done better? Not all south-east asian parents are trying to marry their kids off at the youngest age possible and are super conservative. If we got more positive depictions, I think it would have helped highlight the issue even more without stereotyping an entire community.

That said, I do think the author did a good job with exploring the issue of forced arranged marriages and how horrible they can be. In the second half of the book, Nalia’s emotions become so real and her pain  and it hurts. 

So overall, I would recommend this book to readers because the right people will fall in love and every story needs to be told & read.

Bold Tricks by Karina Halle

Series: The Artists Trilogy #3
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Adult
Release Date: December 14th, 2014

Publisher: Forever
Source: Won in Giveaway

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The faster they live, the harder they fall...

Raised by con artists, Ellie Watt has a lot of crazy childhood memories - but none more so than being scarred with acid by crime boss Travis Raines. Now Travis has kidnapped her good friend Gus as well as her mother. And Ellie has only one chance of getting them out alive - using two dangerous men who love her to death...

One is Camden McQueen, a talented tattoo artist who's made a permanent mark on Ellie's heart. The other is Javier Bernal, her fiery ex-lover. From the streets of Mexico City to the jungles of Honduras, this unlikely trio forms an uneasy alliance in the deadliest game of all - a battle to the finish that will pit enemy against enemy and lover against lover. And Ellie must choose the right man to trust...or die.

After putting off reading this book for over a year, I decided it was time (plus it was just sitting there on my shelf, waiting to be read so I HAD to.) Bold Tricks; however, just wasn't as good as its predecessors.

I am not one for angsty novels but if there is anyone who can make me enjoy one, it’s Karina Halle. She knows how to make angsty situations come off as realistic rather than annoying and bothersome. It’s what sold this series to me in the first place.

Camden, Ellie and Javier have always been complex characters. There is no black and white when it comes to them, only the grey. And for some readers that won’t work. I didn’t think it would work for me! But Halle has a way of making it work which was why I gobbled up the first two books in this series in spite of the things that frustrated me.

This time around, Camden and Ellie still had some awesome moments but most of their moments were cheesy and cringeworthy. Like REALLY cringeworthy. Also given some of the things that happened in the previous book, you’d think Ellie would do some grovelling but she kind of just expects things to go back to normal because she lurves Camden.

Javier was the highlight of the book. And me saying this is kind of a big deal since I never liked him in the first place. He is such a complex character and even though you know not to trust him, sometimes, like Ellie, you’ll find yourselves doing exactly that. He is a sketchy character but his moves aren’t always predictable (even if they aren’t surprising.)

The plot aspect of this book was well done and Bold Tricks was just as addicting as its predecessors. I loved the hunt and I loved how those things wrapped up.

Overall, I’d say Bold Tricks was a decent conclusion to the series but I would have liked it better had Ellie and Camden not turned into cheesy goop around each other(I only like cheese in/on my food, not my books.)

Joyride by Anna Banks

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult

Release Date: June 2nd, 2015
Publisher: Fewiel & Friends
Source: ARC from Publisher

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A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.

It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.

Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.

All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.

It's been SO SO long since I felt this bothered by a book. 2015 seemed to be a good year for me book wise and then this book came along. I think this is my first DNF of the year?

Now I don't usually get ranty but here are just a couple of my thoughts because I am SO FRUSTRATED.

• Why does this book vomit a bunch of stereotypes on us? Don't get me wrong, I ADORE diversity but I feel like it's cheating if the characters are such basic caricatures. 
• I could get over the stereotypes though; what really bothers me is that there doesn't seem to be enough focus on the VERY IMPORTANT issue of immigration that the book claims to deal with.
• THE CHARACTERS. I CANNOT EVEN. Carla reminds me of those cliched female leads in PNRs that try to stay under the radar until they meet 'the guy', except this is all happening in a very contemporary and real setting. Also ARDEN. Her reasons for not liking him are so pathetic and basically revolve around her trying not to feel attracted to him. We don't know if she really noticed him before the magical moment of him noticing her! I definitely have more reasons for not liking him than she seems to. For starters, he obviously doesn't take anything seriously and thinks it's funny to prank people (AND THERE WERE GUNS INVOLVED). *shudders* 

That's basically how far I managed to get. Maybe if I had given this book more of a chance I could have seen it bloom into something I might have liked but.... THIS ISN'T GOING TO WORK. BYE BOOK. Maybe a while from now you may get another chance but today isn't that day.  

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle

Series: Austin Family #5
Genres: Magic Realism, Contemporary, Young Adult

Release Date: May 1st, 1980
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux (BYR)
Source: Library

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After a tumultuous year in New York City, the Austins are spending the summer on the small island where their grandfather lives. He’s very sick, and watching his condition deteriorate as the summer passes is almost more than Vicky can bear. To complicate matters, she finds herself as the center of attention for three very different boys.

Zachary Grey, the troubled and reckless boy Vicky met last summer, wants her all to himself as he grieves the loss of his mother. Leo Rodney has been just a friend for years, but the tragic loss of his father causes him to turn to Vicky for comfort—and romance. And then there’s Adam Eddington. Adam is only asking Vicky to help with his research on dolphins. But Adam—and the dolphins—may just be what Vicky needs to get through this heartbreaking summer.

A Ring of Endless Light is one of my all-time favorite books. I first read it many years ago and when I got the opportunity to re-read it, I was terrified. I worried that even though I had loved this book so many years ago, I wouldn’t feel the same way years later. I was wrong. I feel like I need to bang my head on a wall for ever underestimating this book but there it is. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read and upon re-reading, I can reaffirm that conviction.

I want to keep this short because I have already fangirled enough to last a while but let me just say that this is such an important coming to age novel. Given that it’s set in the 80s, some parts of it may strike some readers as odd but for me, it is still relatable for the 'modern day' reader.

It deals with common issues teenagers have to deal with growing up but it also deals with bigger issues of life and death.

Vicky is a young girl who, during the particular summer this book is set in, is surrounded by death. What she needs, is to find hope amidst all the death and learn to let go and look at the brighter things in life. She needs to rise from her despair and grow as a person but also cross that awkward bridge between teen and adult. It's so great to experience the journey with her because it is so realistic and so relevant but also Vicky is also just a great female lead. I love that she isn’t perfect and sometimes hides from the truth but she is also just fantastic.

This book also comes with an entourage of great family members and great secondary characters (INCLUDING DOLPHINS).

This is a powerful book and one I will continue to recommend 20-30 years from now because it will still be relevant and  will still be important. I  just want to shower the book with all the love because it's so special to me. Definitely a book I’d recommend for ALL readers. So you know, check it out? 

Unexpected by Sharon Creech

Genres: Contemporary, Magic Realism, Middle Grade

Release Date: September 4th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Library

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Humorous and heartfelt, this is a story of pairs—of young Naomi and Lizzie, both orphans in present-day Blackbird Tree, USA, and of Sybil and Nula, grown-up sisters from faraway Rook's Orchard, Ireland, who have become estranged.

Young Naomi Deane is brimming with curiosity and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. She knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. Just like that. A strangely charming Finn boy. And then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed—three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy—and soon Naomi and Lizzie find their lives changed forever.

As two worlds are woven together, Creech reveals that hearts can be mended and that there is indeed a gossamer thread that connects us all.

As gorgeous as this book was, I felt let down. Sharon Creech is one of my favorite childhood authors and I’ve been wanting to read this book forever, since it came out to be precise. I remember the excitement I felt when I found out Sharon Creech had a new book out. I added it to my Goodreads, to-read list but like the case with a lot of other books that I placed on the list, it found it’s way to a place on the list that I don’t often check.

When I finally got my hands on the book, I was excited to dive in and I was disappointed when it started to seem that this middle grade book had a situation where two young girls were being torn apart because of there shared interest in one guy. I mean realistically, it’s quite possible. We all had our crushes when we were young, but I just don’t expect stuff like that in middle grade books so I was shocked.

My shock aside, after pondering about the situation a bit, it made me think. Shouldn’t middle grade books also explore certain concepts like this? After all there are young tweens that might read these books looking for some kind of reassurance they aren’t on their own or that the way they feel isn’t abnormal or that boys don’t actually have cooties (we all went through that phase :P)!

Lizzie and Naomi are both wonderful characters and I adored being inside of Naomi’s head. It’s clear that in spite of the way she may present herself, she does want to be loved and doesn’t just want to be a ‘burden’ to Nula and Joe. She wants to know that she matters to them too and it's obvious she was too scared to ask the right question. Especially after seeing the kind of affect Lizzie’s obviously high expectations had on her. Naomi was just such a lovable character and you wanted to hold her and reassure her that everything would be okay. 

Lizzie was slightly overwhelming at first but I came to adore her too. She talked a lot and there were times where you, like Naomi, just wanted her to zip it but her innocence made it obvious that she never thought anything but the best of everyone and would never want to hurt anyone. Most of all, Naomi.

I loved the magic realism in this book. It definitely made the book more exciting but at the same time, I wanted so much more. This book is full of so much potential and when I compare it to some of Creech’s other works, I cannot help but find the book lacking.

To add to that, the ending to this book just seemed so unlike Creech. The other books I’ve read by her always ended in a sweet but realistic manner but the ending to this book bordered on unrealistic. There were elements to it that made me smile but other parts of it made me cringe with their perfectness.

Don’t be confused by what I said though, this book still has it’s brutal parts and while I wish they had been given more attention, they do manage to break your heart.

All in all, while I feel a little let down by this book, it’s still a fantastic read and one I won’t hesitate to recommend (unless it’s your first time reading Creech in which case, I’d say start with Walk Two Moons).