Review: I'm Glad I Did

I'm Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil
Grade: B
Release date: January 27, 2015
This e-galley was provided by Soho Teen and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and songwriting legend Cynthia Weil's extraordinary YA debut opens the secretive doors of the Brill Building-the hit factory that changed history. Part Mad Men, part Grace of my Heart, part murder mystery, I'm Glad I Did is a coming-of-age story at an unforgettable cultural tipping point: the summer of 1963.

JJ Greene, a gifted 16-year-old songwriter, defies her lawyer parents by secretly applying for a job in the famed Brill Building-the epicenter of songwriting for a new genre called rock-n-roll. But their warnings about the evils of the music industry prove far darker than she imagined when she finds herself at the heart of a cover-up that involves hidden identity, theft, and possibly murder.


The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: I'm always looking for good historical fiction, particularly when there's good historical accuracy. I'm Glad I Did provided a great look into the music industry of the 1960s without info-dumping. I was interested throughout the entire book. JJ was a fun character, and she felt realistically like a teenager (with perhaps a bit too much freedom, but that's typical of many YA books). Her romance with Luke was sweet and developed a bit too fast in areas, but it was cute and made me think about movies set during this era. The mystery hinted at in the synopsis doesn't fully start until 30% in, but after that, it's firmly woven through the rest of the story, along with songwriting, romance, and family dynamics. One of my favorite moments was the following quote (taken from about 13% into my e-galley):

"...You can't always get what you want."

"That sounds like a song title," I grumbled.

She laughed again. "Nah, too negative. Bobby likes positive songs."

The foreshadowing in that moment was funny and perfect. (In case you don't know, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a Rolling Stones song released in 1969.) There are some interesting twists, and I think I'm Glad I Did was enjoyable overall.

One final note, though: the Greenes' Latina housekeeper is described as having pale coffee skin. It's irksome that people's physical appearances are still described using food terms, particularly when it only happens to POCs.

There was mild language, mild romance, talk of drinking and drug use. 

The Verdict: If you enjoy historical fiction or books about music or mystery stories, this is definitely a book you'll want to read!

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble
Will I be adding this book to my library?: Quite likely. My shelves always need more historical fiction, and I enjoyed this one enough to reread it.

Review: All Fall Down

All Fall Down by Ally Carter
Grade: A-
This ARC was provided by Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Grace can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.

Now, at age sixteen, she's come back to stay - in order to solve the mystery of her mother's death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Holy whoa. I don't even know where to begin with this review. Ally Carter has created another fascinating world. She's gone from spies and thieves to diplomacy and the children/grandchildren of ambassadors and other officials. Grace Blakely is quite a different character from Cammie Morgan and Kat Bishop; she's broken and hurting and in a much darker place than both girls. But like two of my favorite heroines, she's a partial orphan (her mother is dead) and she can't resist adventure. Grace is more reckless than Cammie and Kat, which helps set her apart. She also shoves people away a lot more than either of Carter's previous heroines do. Grace has a heck ton of secrets - some that she doesn't even remember. Carter has woven a completely fictional world. Apart from the very real countries that have embassies in Adria, the setting is completely made up and very easy to envision. I loved getting to know the ins and outs of places like Embassy Row and Adria, and I was kept interested by the many people. No one is safe from suspicion in this novel (at least in my mind), but I definitely didn't see the plot twist coming until it was about to be revealed. Back to the secondary characters, though, there's about half a dozen that are extremely important - Ms. Chancellor, Noah, Rosie, Alexei, Megan, and Ambassador Vincent. The Scarred Man is the presumed antagonist, and you'll want to pay a lot of attention to him, too. I found myself with a soft spot for Rosie and rooting for Grace and Noah's friendship. There are hints of romance in All Fall Down, but they're rare. I can tell Grace's concerns are her mental health and her mother's death. I have hopes for a romance to blossom in future books in this series, but I know it will likely never be the main plot - which is good. 
My few problems with All Fall Down consist of the following. I found some of the exposition to be tedious and a bit obvious. Ms. Chancellor shows Grace around the embassy, and Noah takes Grace on a tour of Embassy Row - even though she repeatedly tells both of them that she's been there before. I could tell it was mostly for the readers' benefit, to set the scene. Additionally, the writing style didn't flow well for me all the time. While the voice was very much still Ally Carter's, there were spots where the phrasing seemed like it was meant for a slightly younger YA audience (Gallagher Girls and Heist Society never felt like that to me). Finally, that cliffhanger was a bit too incomplete for me. Obviously, I'll read the rest of the series because I adore Ally Carter and her books, including this one, but I think such a cliffhanger is unnecessary.
My last note is this: as always with Carter's books, language is very clean. Like I said, romance is nonexistent. Violence isn't very graphic.

The Verdict: This is a must-read. If you liked Carter's previous series, then you definitely need to read All Fall Down. If you've read none of her books, then you need to get on that!

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: Already did. Joseph-Beth had signed copies early!

Random Friday: Would You Rather...

Want to participate in Random Fridays? Just do the following: 

• Include the above image in your post and link back to my post.
• Blog about this week's topic.
• Add the link to your Random Friday at the bottom of this post.

The following post contains a few "Would you rather...?" questions. I've answered them, and feel free to do the same - whether in the comments or your own post!

1. Would you rather go to Panem or the world of Divergent?

I'm gonna go with the world in Divergent.

2. Would you rather read/reread the Matched trilogy or The Selection trilogy?

Definitely The Selection trilogy.

3. Would you rather go back in time to The Book Thief or Grave Mercy?

Grave Mercy, as long as I could be an assassin nun.

4. Would you rather be a Gallagher Girl or go to Hogwarts?

Be a Gallagher Girl, without a doubt.

5. Would you rather be sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw?

I'm gonna say...Ravenclaw.

6. Would you rather spend your wish on Disney World or Amsterdam?

I'm gonna be cliche and say Disney World. Sorry, Gus.

7. Would you rather date Captain Thorne or Levi from Fangirl?

Levi, definitely.

8. Would you rather go on an adventure with Hermione or Cinder?

Danger seems to follow Cinder everywhere, so I'll go with Hermione.

Review: This Side of Home

This Side of Home by Renee Watson
Grade: A-
Release date: February 3rd, 2015
This ARC was provided by Bloomsbury USA Childrens in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Identical twins Nikki and Maya have been on the same page for everything—friends, school, boys and starting off their adult lives at a historically African-American college. But as their neighborhood goes from rough-and-tumble to up-and-coming, suddenly filled with pretty coffee shops and boutiques, Nikki is thrilled while Maya feels like their home is slipping away. Suddenly, the sisters who had always shared everything must confront their dissenting feelings on the importance of their ethnic and cultural identities and, in the process, learn to separate themselves from the long shadow of their identity as twins.

In her inspired YA debut, Renée Watson explores the experience of young African-American women navigating the traditions and expectations of their culture.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: I'm not going to pretend to relate to most of the issues Maya, Nikki, and most of the characters face in This Side of Home. Sure, I understand the pre-college struggle and growing up and what-not, but I didn't grow up in a community like theirs. However, I found their community and school to be incredibly realistic, and I liked that. There were some stereotypes and cliches, but of course some are true (just not as often as people think they are). I don't entirely have the words to react to this book but let me say that it seemed to address racism in the present day well. There's nothing overly reminiscent of Ferguson or the Eric Garner incident; This Side of Home addresses everyday racism more. I enjoyed learning several new names, people who fought for civil rights in remarkable ways. I also appreciated how everything didn't end happily.
My main criticism is that Maya's voice sometimes sounded more like 14 than 17. The majority of the chapters were short, which added to the younger feel. Also time jumps were large and didn't always make sense. I'm not sure that I have much else to say. This was a delightful read that I thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed.
Language is mild. There is one use of the n-word, but only to emphasize a point. It isn't gratuitous. Romance is clean, as is violence.

The Verdict: Definitely a worthwhile read. A bit more literary than some YA, but I liked that.

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble
Will I be adding this book to my library?: Most definitely! I haven't preordered a copy, but I'll probably buy one shortly after it's in stores.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read in 2014

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

*sigh* I read a heck ton of books in 2014...but not the ten I'm about to list.

1. Return to Me by Justina Chen

Somehow, I managed to read A Blind Spot for Boys before Return to Me, even though the latter has been out longer.

2. Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally

I read the first two and the fifth in the Hundred Oaks series, but my library doesn't have this one or book four, so I'm still waiting... I haven't checked, but I'm hoping the public library near my university has them.

3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I'm such a failure. I put this on my fall TBR list and everything, and I even checked it out of the library at one point.

4. Legend by Marie Lu

Same excuse as Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

5. Deception by C.J. Redwine

I blame my library for this one. They don't have a copy, and although I snagged my own copy through Book Outlet, I had tons of other books I needed to read over my Christmas break instead.

6. The Archived by Victoria Schwab

I borrowed it from the library, even read a few pages, but it just didn't happen.

7. Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

In my defense, this book released after I started college and therefore books were harder to acquire.

8. You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith

Once again, this is a case of the library doesn't have it. I'm the type of person who is very wary of buying books she hasn't read. I've been burned too many times before.

9. Venom by Fiona Paul

I quite enjoyed The Art of Lainey, so I want to read more of Paula Stokes's writing. I promise to get to this one soon!

10. Minion by John David Anderson

I read Sidekicked over the summer and even borrowed Minion from the library. However, it was only a week or two until I went to college and I had other books that were top priority.

Let me know which book(s) you think I need to make top priority!

Review: Ensnared

Ensnared by A.G. Howard
Grade: B
This ARC was provided by Read Between the Lynes in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: After surviving a disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained perspective. She’s determined to rescue her two worlds and the people and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a final battle of wills and wiles . . . and even if the only way to Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the looking-glass world—-a parallel dimension filled with mutated and sadistic netherling outcasts.

In the final installment of the Splintered trilogy, Alyssa and her dad journey into the heart of magic and mayhem in search of her mom and to set right all that’s gone wrong. Together with Jeb and Morpheus, they must salvage Wonderland from the decay and destruction that has ensnared it. But even if everyone succeeds and comes out alive, can they all truly have their happily ever after?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: What an adventure Ensnared was. It was what I expected and yet very much not. If you haven't read Splintered and Unhinged in awhile, you may want to do a quick reread before you dive into the third book. I hadn't read either in months and there were a few things I felt a bit lost on. However, A.G. Howard does a good job of reviewing many key plot points without seeming tedious. It helps that Ensnared is just as twisted and creepy as the first two books in the trilogy. Wonderland is not a light, happy place.
Alyssa isn't the girl we met in Splintered. Her choices are rarely selfish, and she's very much human despite her netherling side (well, for most of the book considering something that happens 75% of the way through. She tries her best to outsmart the tricky netherlings and come out on top. I promise to spoil nothing in this review, but let's just say Alyssa meets a much happier fate than many YA heroines these days. Jeb, however, is a character that changes dramatically. Wonderland has made him a much different young man, and after Ensnared, I'm still not Team Jeb. Morpheus is twisted and manipulative, and I believe he's the character who has changed the least. He remains relatively the same in Ensnared as he was in Unhinged but that's not a bad thing. He isn't technically human, so how should we expect him to grow and mature?
My main problem with this final installment, however, lies with the plot. I'm pretty certain the majority of Ensnared takes place over about a week or less. Much of that time is spent, not in action, but planning, or brooding, or Alyssa moping because Jeb is being an idiot (albeit, an idiot because of Wonderland, but he's still being kind of stupid). I needed more action from this book and more scenes in Wonderland with Alyssa's mom, Alison, and Queen Ivory because they seem pretty awesome.
The love triangle resolves quite nicely, and it was good to see Alyssa own up to her feelings and do it in a way that I don't believe many other YA heroines have. I feel pretty happy with that ending.
Language was pretty clean. Violence and gore, not as much. Romantic content never fully crossed any lines but some conversations got pretty hot and heavy, in my opinion at least.

The Verdict: A satisfying trilogy ender. The Splintered trilogy is good for fans of Dorothy Must Die, The Madman's Daughter, and Shadow and Bone.

Buy

Splintered: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Unhinged: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Ensnared: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: Definitely. 

Rewind & Review #29

Hosted by Shae Has Left the Room.

Well, as you're reading this, I'm back in Kentucky, likely having one last outing with my parents until March. Or perhaps I'm hanging out with my friends or roommate or getting ready for classes to start tomorrow. My break was great. I didn't leave the house all that much, which - for an introvert like me - was just what I needed. I'm mostly happy to be going back to school and I'm very excited to see what God has in store for my second semester. I'm nervous about my classes (there's a lot more participation and even some presentations required, and the thought of both gets my heart racing), and I'll be starting a job, which is exciting and a bit nerve-inducing all at the same time. The primary exciting news of my weekend was that I got a library card for the county library, so I can finally start checking out books!
No book haul video, but I did unbox my Book Outlet order on camera for y'all.

Books I Received

The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler (via Sourcebooks Fire/NetGalley)
The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale (via Bloomsbury USA Children's/NetGalley)
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord (via Bloomsbury/NetGalley)
Rogue Wave by Jennifer Donnelly
All the Rage by Courtney Summers
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (via Read Between the Lynes)
All Fall Down by Ally Carter (via Scholastic/the Ally Ambassador campaign)

Books I Bought

Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne
Emma by Jane Austen
Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman
Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan
Golden by Jessi Kirby
Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George
All Fall Down by Ally Carter
Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan

Books I Read

Parallel by Lauren Miller (reread)
Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson (reread)
Ensnared by A.G. Howard
Zodiac by Romina Russell (3 stars)
No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown (3 stars)
Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer (reread)
The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer (4 stars)
Paper or Plastic by Vivi Barnes
A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (5 stars)
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen (reread)
Thursdays with the Crown by Jessica Day George (4.5 stars)
Rogue Wave by Jennifer Donnelly
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers (reread)
Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams (4 stars)
#16thingsithoughtweretrue by Janet Gurtler (2.5 stars)
Famous Last Words by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski (reread)
Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn (3 stars)
Gilt by Katherine Longshore (3.5 stars)

Blog Posts You Might've Missed

   (From 12/29-1/3)

• Review: Emeralds & Ashes by Leila Rasheed (4.5 stars)
• 2014 End-of-the-Year Survey: Blogging and Looking Ahead
• Happy New Year Giveaway
• Random Friday: Favorite Pieces of Art
• Awkwordly Emma's 2014 Book Awards Finalists

   (From 1/4-1/10)

• Rewind to 2014: Best Debut Authors
• Review: When by Victoria Laurie (4 stars)
• Top Ten Tuesday: 2015 Debuts
• From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen: Malenchki Dumplings
• A Bookish Swiftie's Recommendations Part 3

Upcoming Posts in the Next Few Weeks (subject to change)

• Review: Ensnared by A.G. Howard
• TTT: Books I Meant to Read in 2014
• Review: This Side of Home by Renee Watson
• Random Friday: Would You Rather... 
• Review: I'm Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil
• TTT: Books I Need to Add to My Library
• Winter/Spring 2015 Classes
• Awkwordly Emma's 2014 Book Awards Results

A Bookish Swiftie's Recommendations Part 3

Y'all have no idea how I'm excited to do another of these posts, particularly since I can finally include songs from 1989. Ready for this?

"A Place in This World" ~ the main character trying to find where she belongs

Wildflower by Alecia Whitaker

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

"Begin Again" ~ moving on from a relationship/crush

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

"Shake It Off" ~ light, fun reads

Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

"Out Of The Woods" ~ fairytale retellings

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson

"Welcome To New York" ~ books set in NYC

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

All Four Stars by Tara Dairman

Random pairings

"Treacherous"

Like No Other by Una LaMarche

"How You Get the Girl"

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Stay tuned for the next (and probably last) Bookish Swiftie post! Hope you enjoyed all these recommendations.

From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen: Malenchki Dumplings

The servants called them malenchki, little ghosts, because they were the smallest and the youngest, and because they haunted the Duke's house like giggling phantoms, darting in and out of the rooms, hiding in cupboards to eavesdrop, sneaking into the kitchen to steal the last of the summer peaches.

I found a Grisha trilogy cookbook online that someone had put together and this recipe was in it. Dumplings with cinnamon and peaches sounded amazing. If you haven't read the Grisha trilogy, you should get on that!

Goodreads  Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

I was all set to make the dumplings when I discovered our can of peaches had disappeared from the shelf. I was in a bit of a quandary when I realized we had apples and they wouldn't be a bad substitute. So I still need to make the dumplings with peaches, but apples taste just as good!

Malenchki Dumplings

1 1/2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 c. milk

a few teaspoons cinnamon

sugar

sliced peaches

Whisk all of the dry ingredients together first. Add the milk slowly, whisking continuously until the dough is soft and smooth. Fill a wide pan with water and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Bring to boil. Then lower heat in order to keep the water simmering. Drop batter in liquid in spoonfuls, one at a time and well-spaced apart. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes (ours cooked for about 13). Remove dumplings (they should rise to the top and be swollen) and let cool. Serve with peach slices, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and top with whipped cream, if you so desire.

And here's the end product! They tasted really good, although I think using canned peaches would definitely affect the flavor in a good way.

Have recipe/book suggestion for From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen? Email it to MDBCnumber1fan [at] gmail [dot] com.

Top Ten Tuesday: 2015 Debuts

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Out of all the books releasing in 2015 that I'm looking forward to, a surprisingly small number are debuts. And of course I had to narrow my list down even further for this post (I promise to feature more as the year goes on). So here are 10 2015 debuts I'm looking forward to!

1. The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne

One of the books that made my first Fifteen 2015 Reads post. I'm super excited that it's almost here.

2. Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

Historical fiction! Please don't let this be just another pretty cover.

3. 5 to 1 by Holly Bodger

Another book that made the first Fifteen 2015 Reads post! I'm very excited for this one.

4. Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

I'm always down for spy protagonists.

5. Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

I'm sensing a theme here with all the books that I first featured almost a year ago... This one also made my end-of-the-year survey post, so you'd better believe I'm highly anticipating Hello, I Love You.

6. A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery

I'm always down for a slightly tragic romance, and I'm hoping for a strong sister relationship.

7. Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira

I think I just found another kindred spirit.

8. Lock & Mori by Heather Petty

I'm dying for this one to have a cover, full synopsis, and release date soon. It's been on my TBR list since November 2013.

9. First & Then by Emma Mills

Sounds cute.

10. Everything That Makes You by Moriah McStay

Alternate realities (ala Pivot Point and Ask Again Later) are always really cool, so I hope this ends up being a good book.

What debut titles in 2015 are you looking forward to?