Review- Tell Me Three Things (Julie Buxbaum)

Synopsis

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.
In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?
Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends. 

                     - Goodreads.com

My Review 

This was a nice fluffy contemporary perfect for my vacation in the tropics. As many YA’s start, we have a girl who’s moved to a new school for some reason or another. In this case, after Jessies mother’s death her father remarries, dragging them across country to move in with his new wife in LA and Jessie is thrown into a world she knows nothing about.

“Not feeling like I belong anywhere has made me crave constant motion; standing still feels risky, like asking to be a target.” 

- Julie Buxbaum (Tell Me Three Things)

One of the downsides of the book was its easily transparent ending. From the start I knew who S/N was and I’m no genius. It just felt all a bit too easy, like the author didn’t have enough faith in the readers to figure it out on their own along the way,  (or maybe the lack of patience in today’s society led her to believe we couldn’t wait till the end for the big reveal.). So she gave us large clues, which took a bit of the mystery out of it.

However in saying that, the book was still plenty enjoyable and worth the read. It touches on some important life events, like the death of a parent and dealing with the remaining parent remarrying, including the difficulties of becoming a blended family, changing schools, starting over and of friendships; old, new, and growing apart.

My rating: 3/5

Review- Firsts (Laurie Elizabeth Flynn)

Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.

Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, FIRSTS is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.

                     - Goodreads.com

My Review 

Firsts is a difficult novel to review. While I went into this expecting something light (think along the lines of Easy A with Emma Stone), it actually presented some hard to swallow topics. The writing itself was god enough to keep me reading, and the story was ‘entertaining’ for lack of a better word.

The idea of the book seemed a little far-fetched when I first read the synopsis, but the more I read the more I could see how a young person may get themselves into this type of situation. I’m not saying that it’s a common occurrence in today’s youth (although what the hell do I know, really) but I feel that many teens, male and female develop warped views of sex and sexuality. 

"Virginity is supposed to be something a girl gives up only when she is ready and feels comfortable, something a girl discusses at length with her friends and flip-flops over a million times in her mind before actually doing it. A guy is expected to be born ready."

- Laurie Elizabeth Flynn (Firsts)

Now Mercedes, didn’t exactly go about things the right way. The issue I have with what she did, is not that she was having sex (or even the fact that she was doing it with other people’s boyfriends- although I highly frown upon that), I mean at least she was practicing safe sex…right? The problem in question is that she only thought she was doing it for herself, when really it was an escape, just like alcoholics use booze in attempt to gain control over an aspect of their life, Mercedes used sex. The truth is, she really had no control over it, and she was doing it for all the wrong reasons despite telling herself differently. Add to the fact that teen boys can’t keep their mouth shut after they get laid and you have a whole range of problems ahead.

“The doorbell rings and I sink into a heap on the carpet. With any luck, whoever is down there will just go away.  But I’m just starting to think nothing goes away, no matter how deep you try to bury it.” 

- Laurie Elizabeth Flynn (Firsts)

In contrast to the heavy topic and the drama inevitably surrounding Mercedes once the shit hit the fan (because obviously it’s going to… no spoiler here), some really important themes around friendship and relationships are presented. Not just romantic relationships either, Mercedes and her mum’s tumultuous relationship plays an important part in many of Mercedes decisions, along with her lack of a father figure. 

Overall, this is an eye opening book. In a way it teaches us to be responsible for our own happiness, and that seeking solace through other means rather than facing the real issue is the equivalent to putting a band aid on a severed limb. 

My rating: 4/5

Series Review- Y- The Last Man (Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra & José Marzán Jr)

Synopsis

"Y" is none other than unemployed escape artist Yorick Brown (his father was a Shakespeare buff), and he's seemingly the only male human left alive after a mysterious plague kills all Y-chromosome carriers on earth. But why are he and his faithful companion, the often testy male monkey Ampersand, still alive?

He sets out to find the answer (and his girlfriend), while running from angry female Republicans (now running the government), Amazon wannabes that include his own sister (seemingly brainwashed), and other threats. The Vertigo team of Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and José Marzán Jr. have given us a great read!

                     - Goodreads.com

My Review 

This is a graphic novel of epic proportions… but I wouldn’t expect any less from the man that brought us Saga.

In the first volume we are introduced to Yorick our main man (literally). He’s in his early 20’s and like many of us is having trouble ‘adulting’ and getting his life together. Beth, his college girlfriend has just moved to Australia to continue her passion for anthropology, and while Yorick struggles to find his way after college, he keeps himself occupied with his escape magic (think Houdini) and a pet capuchin who he is training to be a helper monkey.

So anyway on the  July 17, 2002 all the men in the entire world die, and not in a slow way so anyone can find out what’s wrong or do something to preserve the human race, I’m talking bleeding out of every orifice dead within seconds kind of death…you know except for Yorick. Who is the last remaining man on Earth… and so begins our journey.

Yorick’s ultimate goal is to find Beth and reunite with her. However these things aren’t as easy as they seem, being the last man on earth comes with its challenges. There are Amazons; an extreme feminist group of woman seeking out to destroy anything in relation to men, Israeli soldiers who want Yorick as a spoil of war, secret society agents, really horny woman and obviously the weight of the worlds future on your shoulders since you’re the only one left with a Y chromosome.

So I completely loved this series. Not only is Yorick an endearing character that you come to love, but you also become very attached to all the secondary characters. The main plot delves and dives bringing in more characters including threats and allies. It’s a great story of a ‘boys’ transition to manhood, in an epic setting.

My final words are READ THIS NOW. 

My rating: 4/5