“Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)" by Sarah Mlynowski

I have yet to come across a novel by Sarah Mlynowski that I haven’t enjoyed by Ten Things We Did (andProbably Shouldn't Have) just might be my favorite.  Granted, a certain amount of disbelief is needed for this novel.  You have to be willing to believe that a seventeen-year-old girl would be allowed to stay behind when her father and stepmother move to Cleveland (after her mother got remarried and moved to Paris).  Of course, the parents don’t know that said friend’s mother stars in a play in another town and the two girls are living completely on their own.  You also have to believe that said father would deposit $1000 per month into his daughter’s bank account each month to cover “expenses” and doesn't realize that she is spending her income on things such as a hot tub.  Once you can believe these things, this is an awesome book!

This book has many laugh out loud moments.  As April learns to live on her own she makes discoveries such as what kinds of soap can go in the dishwasher (as you can imagine, she learns this the hard way) and which people in her life truly care about her and which ones don’t.  As I was reading, I felt that April was a very real character.  As the story progresses she takes the sort of risks that is to be expected when a girl her age is left completely unsupervised, but she learns so much from the decisions and by the end of the novel has completed one of the best character arcs I have seen in this genre.  There is one discover that April makes that I had to applaud Mlynowski for writing (trying not to spoil something incredibly plot important here).  I have run tons of YA lit, but I cannot really recall a writer that has put a main character in that situation.  I was blown away but so pleased that Mlynowski wrote that into her novel (Confused?  Again, don’t want to spoil anything, but if you email me, I’ll let you know which bit I am talking about). 

I really loved this book.  I am sad that it took me so long to get around to reading it.  After all, I love the Magic in Manhattan series, Gimme a Call and Monkey Business.  If you like girly books, this one is an absolute must!

Happy Reading!

-Melly

"Purity" by Jackson Pearce

I'm a little conflicted about this book.  I heard a lot of good things about it which is why I picked it up.  Maybe I was expecting something a little different (actually, I think I was expecting it to be similar to Kate Brian's The Virginity Club) but I found the story a little over the top but also a little bland.  

In Jackson Pearce's Purity, Shelby has been living her life on the edge ever since her mother passed away.  Before she passed, Shelby's mother made Shelby promise three things: 

1. To listen to her father
2. To love as much as possible
3.To live without restraint

These promises led to a list of life goals that include things such as traveling... and stealing a car.  She crosses things off this list with the help of her best friend, Jonas.  This part of the book makes total sense and is actually kind of sweet.  Shelby lives her life according to these promises and never does anything to potentially break them.  But then her father is put in charge of planning the town's Princess Ball and wants her to partake in the tradition of vowing to lead a pure life.  She now has to make a decision- which promise should she break?  She finally manages to find a loophole- she will lose her virginity before the ball.  The rest of the novel is dedicated to her search for a potential sex partner and the planning of the dance.

The first part of the novel is great.  It's wonderful to see that Shelby is so dedicated to her mother that she will do anything in her power to keep her promises.  However, I don't see how rushing to lose her virginity and trying to find some guy that she is more or less using helps to keep that promise.  Unless she had put on the list something along the lines of "have pre-marital sex" I don't see how taking the vow and following it would go against her mother's wishes.  Maybe I am putting to much thought into it, but I can't help but feel this way.  It almost felt like this was just an easy way to push the plot along.  This wasn't necessarily a bad novel, it just would have been better if I could read without thinking about how the plot could have been better.  It's a decent piece of chick lit that I don't regret reading but will likely not make it onto my list of books to reread..

Happy Reading!
-Melly