Like We Care

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     Like We Care is hard to review, because it is about an interesting subject, but also could use more editing, so the contrast between the two makes it hard to review.

     The story is about a teenager, Joel Karstan, who is going to go to college on a baseball scholarship, but then he gets in the hospital because he was hit by a ball to the temple, and what he does when he comes back. After school, all the teens hang out around the Happy Shack, and get alcohol, cigarets, and adult magazines, and Joel is the king of it all. Until he tries a cigarette for the first time after he get out of the hospital, and realizes that it tastes nasty.

     At first he thinks that it is just a bad cigarette, but then his friend, Todd, helps him figure out that they are all nasty. From there, Todd realizes that companies are just making money off of their rebelliousness, and convinces Joel to convince the gang to boycott the Shack. This causes a big stir-up, and eventually, a person from a rap company, R2Rev, comes out to interview and it all goes viral. Next they try to elect their teacher, and get other places to do the same. They start up a website, and their message spreads and – Spoilers!

     I never thought that I would like a book that had 8 F words in the same paragraph. I know the author was trying to make a point, however, teenagers don’t talk like that. Also, the book could have used more editing, so the plot was clearer, and (at least) non-dialog parts had correct grammar.

    The book was told mostly from first person, and I found that to be frustrating, because as far as I know, no person thinks in the way they do.

     However, I think the message of the book, that a group of people working together can change things, is important, and that was the best part of the book. While it was not well-written, the story was good, and the message was better.

The Seventh Level

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     The author of this book also wrote The Gollywhopper Games. This book seemed to me like a worse version of that.

     Travis Raines doesn’t try to get in trouble, it just finds him. And he found a ton of trouble when a blue envelope appears in his locker, telling him that he could be part of the Legend. Legend is the secret society on his campus that puts on amazing events, and everyone wants to be part of it. All Travis has to do is solve seven puzzles and not get caught. Sounds easy, right. (I attempted to write this in the style of the book)

     I liked the premise of a secret society behind the school, and also solving puzzles. I loved the 39 Clues for this reason, and I really liked that aspect of this book. I also like how Travis changes through the book, losing his enemy, and getting to like the principal more.

     Travis was described as a good kid who just gets blamed for things, but he actually did do bad things. His parents told him he was grounded and to not use the phone or leave the house and the next thing he does is use the phone and leave the house.

     Parts of the book were slow because the puzzles that took me a minute took him days to solve. I know it is targeted at 5th-6th graders, but still, they are described as “mind-bending on the inside flap, and they were not.

     I found the ending to also be strange, because so many things were described at once, it was hard to figure out what was going on, but once I figured it out, I enjoyed it.

     I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you really like puzzle books, and even then, if you thought this sounded interesting, I recommend The Gollywhopper Games instead.

Where She Went

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     I loved If I Stay  and I loved this just as much, if not more.

     After Mia awoke from the coma, she spent some time with Adam, and then left, to become a professional cellist. Adam is heartbroken and alone, and writes music, for his band, Shooting Star. The music has all the feeling of his heartbreak, and it becomes insanely popular, propelling Adam to rockstar status. Even though Adam is considered to have everything, he feels empty inside and hates being a celebrity, and is depressed, and longs for Mia. When one day he goes to their lives change forever.

     The book was absolutely amazing. It was haunting, and the grief was real and I felt the pain of Adam. If you can only read one book, read this.

Here are some great quotes from the book:

I needed to hate someone and you’re the one I love the most, so it fell on you.

You were so busy trying to be my savior that you left me all alone.

But still, I find the need to remind myself of the temporariness of a day, to reassure myself that I got through yesterday, I’ll get through today.

But I’d do it again. I know that now. I’d make that promise a thousand times over and lose her a thousand times over to have heard her play last night or to see her in the morning sunlight. Or even without that. Just to know that she’s somewhere out there. Alive.

The Snowball Effect

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     Lainey Pike has a crazy life. Her dad died in a motorcycle accident, she has an insane adopted brother, and her mom doesn’t really take care of her. And then her mom, the therapist, hangs herself, and it is up to her and her long lost sister Valerie to take care of Carlos. The only thing she has going for her is her perfect boy friend, Riley. And then they break up – on her birthday.

    Lainey starts dating a boy, Eric, who she met randomly at an ATM, who sold newspapers to the whole neighborhood until he found her. He introduces her to a more rough side of life (hickeys, living in his parent’s basement, and dumpster diving), and they become closer and closer. He has all these philosophical sayings, and eventually he tells her about “The Snowball Effect”. Side note: When I first started reading this, I thought “The Snowball Effect” how things tumble out of control, and was surprised that it wasn’t.

     The Snowball Effect came about when every day Eric had a cherry snowball (like a snowcone), but then one day, he tried something different, and it was amazing, but he will never get it again, because he thinks it won’t be as good. Lainey makes him eat it again, and he thinks it is disgusting. Laniey apologizes for messing up his memory, and goes on to apply this to her life.

     I liked the book overall, Lainey was very real, and so was her loss. The book was written in flashbacks, which I found kind off irritating. Also, it bugged me that it was “The Snowball Effect”, because the snowball didn’t affect anything, it was more of a theory. Overall, great book, I recommend it.

To the readers of this blog: Do you think the snowball effect is true?

The Lack of Reviews

Hi all eight of you wonderful people who get to hear my attempts at writing book reviews. As my name says, I am a student by day and a reader all night. However, for most of May, I became a student all night also, which didn’t keep me from reading, but did stop me from writing reviews as I was studying, researching, writing, and so many other stressful things. I apologize for this gap, and I am now reviewing all the books I have read and not reviewed (eight!). Now that it’s summer, I’ll be posting them every other day, as not to overwhelm you, and then once I clear those I will post a review at least every week. Thanks for sticking with me.

Is there anything besides reviews that you think I should do? Book hauls? Tags? (I know some of you do those, I would be thrilled if you picked me =)  )