" The Geography of You and Me" by Jennifer E. Smith

I have been a horrible blogger as of late. I am going to try to get back into the grove of a post a day since several months of not writing is not okay. Can I use the excuse that I have been researching for my novel?

When the power goes out in New York City, Lucy and Owen accidentally cross paths. The two meet when their elevator gets stuck. Once freed, the two spend the rest of the night together, but without power everything is little different. Things return to normal when power is restored, but the two of them will never be the same. Owen is adjusting to life without his mother who has recent;y passed away. He and his father are trying to figure out how to live in a world without her. Lucy wants to see the world. Her parents are often traveling, but they seem to prefer to leave their children out of the mix. The two have very different plans for their lives, but someone they just can't be apart. When both of their lives take unexpected turns, they do their best to stay together, but will it be enough? The Geography of You and Me  takes readers through the very realistic development of a love story and you won't be able to help falling in love with these characters.

I am beginning to adore Jennifer E. Smith. The scenarios that play out his books work so well that I can really see these characters and picture them actually existing. I really felt for Lucy and Owen. Though my teen years were very different from theirs, I could relate. Smith knows how to write teenage characters that you can't help but root for. I've said before how much I need to read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and this book has only intensified that need. I am certainly going to seek out Smith's future books as well.

Happy Reading!

-Melly

"Delerium" by Lauren Oliver

This book was on my TBR list for far too long. While I wouldn't say it's the best dystopian I have read, but it was still a quality book. Lena cannot wait to be 18 and to get "cured." The government cures every adult of amor deliria nervosa, or "the deliria" keeping the population from being infected with love. Lena's mother could not be cured though she had the procedure many times, and Lena is anxious to get the risks of love behind her. As you can guess, Lena is going to meet a boy, find out that her heavily controlled world isn't the safe sanctuary she always believed it to be and is going to fall in love (this seems to be the general plot of most YA dystopians anymore, the difference this time around is that it's love that it forbidden). 

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but, unfortunately, I found the book as a whole a little dry. Once the plot got rolling it was entertaining, but I thought that it took a little too long to get started seeing that it's not at all surprising that Lena is going to end up changing her priority of getting cured. This could possibly have happened to me because I have read enough in this genre that I'm picking up on the patterns they often follow  (plus I might have been a little spoiled by how strong Lauren Oliver's other book, Before I Fell is). However, even though I thought the story was slow to start, the second half of the book was engaging and kept me turning the pages. I certainly plan on finishing this series and am hopeful that now that the plot and characters have been established, there will be plenty of story to make this a solid trilogy. It's no surprise that those that enjoyed The Hunger Games, Matched, Divergent, and so many others also love Delerium. If you like any of the books mentioned, then you will likely enjoy this book as well.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"This Is What Happy Looks Like" by Jennifer E. Smith

Graham and Ellie met over the internet completely by accident (I think this is the PSA moment where I tell you to be careful about meeting people over the internet. Or something) when he misspelled an email address and ended up emailing Ellie instead, therefore starting their conversation. A few months later, Graham is in Ellie's small Maine town filming a movie. After months and months of emails he figures that there is something blossoming between them. Too bad Ellie is less than impressed when they meet in real life. This is What Happy Looks Like is the story of two teenagers that you know are going to fall in love but it is going to take some time for them to get there.

I hate that I haven't gotten around to The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight yet (this is partially due to how often is checked out at the library, which tells me that it has got to be a great book) but I feel a little less guilty about this since finishing Happy. I really enjoyed this book. I liked how it integrated Graham and Ellie's emails into the story and feel that Smith uses this technique to further enhance the story. It's also very interesting to see how Graham and Ellie's relationship forms, especially from Ellie's point of view. At the beginning of the novel it's clear that she values her online relationship with Graham, but since she doesn't actually know who he is, it's funny that she is annoyed by the presence of the famous celebrity in her town. She becomes quite conflicted and has to figure out which emotion will overcome.

Both teens have many struggles they must face in this book, primarily struggles with their families. Both grow and mature so much throughout the course of this book and their stories really show how a short amount of time can still make you a better person. Unfortunately it is winter because I would recommend this book as a great beach read. You could save it for summer, but I don't think it would be worth waiting that long to read this book.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"The Geek's Guide to Dating" by Eric Smith

How I could not read this book? The title alone intrigued me. Full of references to a plethora of geeky and nerdy references, The Geek's Guide to Dating has lots of tips and tricks for finding (and keeping) one's true love. While I had quite a bit of fun reading this book, I'm not sure how much I would actually use it as a guide for real life dating. I enjoyed the fun references, the art style and just the overall nerdiness of the book, but I don't think I would necessarily use it to get real advise (this coming from someone in a relationship, so I could be totally wrong). However, even if you aren't seeking relationship advise, this book is just fun. I spend a lot of my time with various geeks, nerds, and other insert-correct-sysnonym-here and a good chunk of that time is spent either staring blankly until they explain the reference or getting way to excited because I actually knew what they were talking about. I also do this while watching Gilmore Girls. So that part of the this book that I enjoyed the most was seeing which references I understood (and researching the ones I didn't).  This is definitely a book to read if just for the entertainment purposes. However, I would absolutely love to hear if anyone is able to put the advise in this book to use in their real life too!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Wild Cards" by Simone Elkeles

Simone Elkeles has written yet another winner! She is one of those authors that I just love everything that she has written, and Wild Cards is no exception!  Derek and Ashtyn have nothing in common- except for the fact that they now have to live together. Derek's stepmother is Ashtyn's sister so when Brandi decides that she is going to move back home, Derek has no choice but to go with his stepmother and stepbrother. Little does he know that his entire life is about to change. Recently kicked out of his prestigious boarding school, Derek is still learning how to live in a world without his mother who passed away from cancer. Ashtyn (is awesome) is the the kicker for her school's football team and (naturally) is dating the quarterback, Landon, but everything with their relationship isn't quite what it seems. When Derek shows up and adds some extra testosterone to the mix, things start to go crazy. 

Since Elkeles often writes about unlikely couples and because the cover includes kissy faces, it's no surprise when Derek and Ashtyn start to have feelings for each other, but I really like how Elkeles handles their relationship. In the beginning, the two don't want to fall for each other and at different points throughout the novel both fight their feelings. Both characters are so realistic it's crazy. Their emotions and actions come off the page like they are real people. It's very rare that I hope for sequels, but I really want to see more books in this universe (Elkeles' website says "series" so I am allowing myself to be excited for for more books). If you have read any of the books by Elkeles (and if you haven't, why?) you will love this book too. 

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell

So here's the process that led to me reading Rainbow's Rowell's (who, by the way, would win my best named author award if I did such a thing) Eleanor & Park. Rainbow was the writer of the one of the NaNoWriMo updates and she talked about her book, Fangirl. My brain was sparked because it sounded really good and it's a NaNo book, but since my library doesn't have it yet, I decided to read Eleanor & Park instead. Now I was aware of it, I'd seen it on display at the library and knew that it was getting great reviews. It ended up somewhere on the list of books I hope I find time to read before I die. Thankfully it ended up making it's way to the top of said list because it is really good!

Eleanor has just moved back in with her family after originally being kicked out by her stepfather. They live in a too small house with too many people and live in fear of his temper. Park is part Korean, part nerd and 100% awesome. The two meet on the bus when Eleanor has no where else to sit and ends up next to sitting next to Park. Slowly their relationship begins to develop. At first, she reads comics over his shoulder, then they start reading said comics together. Soon Park starts making mix tapes for Eleanor; she loves music but has no means to go out and buy her own (and note that I said mix tape. This book is not set in the present day but instead takes place in the mid 80s). As time goes by, their relationship grows stronger, but so does the need for Eleanor
to keep all of this a secret. You will fall head over heels for these characters and this book has an ending you won't soon forget.

I loved how natural this book felt. It felt like these two could easily walk out of the pages of the book and be actual people. Every event that took place in the book was also very realistic. Never once did I have the though 'there's no way that would happen.' Once I started this book, it was extremely difficult to put it down. Rowell has created a real gem and I am looking forward to reading more of her books.

Happy Reading!
-Melly