Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

Summary: Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.

But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.

By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they’re determined to keep the banner planes flying.

Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly.
Review: Such a Rush is the first Jennifer Echols book I've read and it certainly won't be the last. The fun thing about this book for me is that it is set in South Carolina, and guess where I live? Yep. South Carolina. I don't have a lot of pride in SC, but it's always fun for me to read a book set here because I can visualize it better. I liked the characters well enough, but none of them stood out for me. That's probably the biggest problem I had with Such a Rush. Leah is a great main character and I enjoyed reading her, but I didn't relate to her until closer to the end. I loved the interaction Leah had with Mr. Hall, Grayson, and Alec. It's always interesting to see a family with different perspectives like that. Even though they were all part of the same family, they all had different things driving them. The story was neat. I wasn't sure how I would like it because I don't know much about planes (and by much I mean I don't know anything about planes), but the story wasn't a bunch of pilot speak. I remember seeing a lot of love for Such a Rush when it first came out, and I understand why. This is a really cute book. I can't wait to add more of Jennifer's books to my library.

4 howls

Harken by Kaleb Nation

Summary: After surviving an assassination attempt, teenager Michael Asher discovers that he is at the center of a worldwide conspiracy reaching higher than any earthly power. A supernatural organization desperately wants him dead. He doesn't know why. Everyone who might have the answers has already been killed.

Tumbling into a web of international secrets, Michael is forced to fight back and dig up the truth. He begins to question how much of the world is truly as people are led to believe it is. Are there things that humanity is not being told? Who is the puppet master? And how far into the maze can he venture before he is lost forever?
Review: I was super excited for Harken to be released, and it was worth it! Michael was an excellent character. My only big flaw with him is his attitude. He made statements like, "I'm never wrong" and similar ones too. That's all well and good, but it made him sound full of himself. If he said, "I haven't been wrong yet" or something similar, then I would have liked him more. He wasn't my favorite character, but I liked him well enough. I have a three-way tie for my favorite. Alli, Thad, and Callista. Their attitudes were superb. I smiled every time I saw them on the page. Of course, since I have three favorites, I'm expecting there to be a lot of hurt in the next book. Authors are mean like that. *glares at Kaleb*

The story was great! I was nervous/excited to see how Kaleb does in the YA genre, and I think he did a great job. The beginning of the story moved along very quickly which I loved. The fact that Michael's birthday was a big deal and only in a matter of days made the beginning of the story move fast. *I don't think this is a spoiler* That being said, it did seem like everyone was making a big deal out of Michael's birthday. When it actually happened, it seemed to be more of an afterthought. I was expecting something more dramatic to happen. I don't know how I feel about the priest swearing either. Don't get me wrong, Harken isn't laden with swear words, and what is in the book is done well. I've seen religious people swear, but I've never seen a priest/pastor do it though. That's the only thing that felt off to me while I read Harken. I think that's the only criticism I have of Harken. I absolutely recommend this book!

5 howls

Every Day by David Levithan

Summary: Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Review: Every Day definitely took me by surprise. It shouldn't have. I've heard nothing but great things about this book, but it's only my second David Levithan book so I didn't know what to think. I liked A as a character. Sometimes he came across as selfish, but for the most part he handled his situation well. I greatly disliked Rhiannon. Her attitude was one of the worst things ever. I think the worst part was that she wasn't overly hostile about certain things, but her reaction in some parts of Every Day got to me. All of that being said, she might have been the most honest character in the entire book. I don't want to spoil anything, but reading Rhiannon made me respect David Levithan so much as a writer. I can't imagine it was easy to write her out the way he did, but he did an excellent job of showing Rhiannon's opinion. With a book like this, where so many characters are introduced, I don't have a "favorite". The character I related to the most was Kelsea. That's all I'm going to say.

I loved the story. Absolutely loved. The idea was unique, and it was done very well. What's funny is I had a bunch of questions about A that I figured would be answered somehow, and suddenly Rhiannon was asking all the questions I wanted answers to. I love when authors do that. To me, this story read like a "find your skin" kind of novel. Obviously, A didn't have his own skin as he kept switching, but it still felt like that kind of book. I liked how the different characters had variety. Single people, people in relationships, pretty people, not pretty people, happy people, and people with issues. This book was phenomenal. I definitely recommend it.

5 howls

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Summary: Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. 

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. 

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
Review: Smoke and Bone is a book that I kept picking up and looking at, but the summary never grabbed me so I never bothered to buy it before. I finally grabbed it since it was out in paperback. Yes I'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner. I liked Karou well enough. Sometimes she bothered me, but she was a strong character and I respected her a lot. Akiva was interesting. I liked him a little, but I didn't swoon for him. He has 2 more books to grow on me. I loved Brimstone and Issa. They are probably my favorite characters even though demons are rather gruesome. I loved the story. The story is set (mostly) in Prague. I didn't know how I would feel about that because I don't know anything about Prague. I've never had an urge to go to Prague. I can now say that I would love to travel there and try to experience Prague the way Karou has. I liked the way you could visualize the way Karou grew up. It helped you sympathize with her family. The end was sad. I expected it, but it was still hard to read.

4 howls