Oblivion by Sasha Dawn {Review}

{Synopsis: courtesy of amazon.com}: 

Lisa McMann's Dead to You meets Kate Ellison's The Butterfly Clues in a psychological thriller full of romance, intrigue, and mystery. 

One year ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment, scrawling words on the wall: "I KILLED HIM. His blood is on my hands. His heart is in my soul. I KILLED HIM." But she remembers nothing of that night or of the previous thirty-six hours. All she knows is that her father, the reverend at the Church of the Holy Promise, is missing, as is Hannah, a young girl from the parish. Their disappearances have to be connected and Callie knows that her father was not a righteous man.

Since that fateful night, she's been plagued by graphomania -- an unending and debilitating compulsion to write. The words that flow from Callie's mind and through her pen don't seem to make sense -- until now. 

As the anniversary of Hannah's vanishing approaches, more words and memories bubble to the surface and a new guy in school might be the key to Callie putting together the puzzle. But digging up the secrets she's buried for so long might be her biggest mistake.

{Review}: 

I received this ARC courtesy of Netgalley.

Wow.

Just wow.

I haven’t read a book like this since I went through my Ellen Hopkins binge phase last year, where I literally read every book she ever published.

Sasha Dawn has done an amazing job of putting us right in the thick of Callie’s thoughts, fears, and the incredible journey of someone who suffers with graphomania {a compulsion to write}. The book is written in a way where you’re not 100% sure where the next turn is going to take you, but I promise it’s all resolved at the end. Callie’s thoughts are leading her to figure out the events that happened a year ago: when she was found in the apartment she lived in with her mother, with muddy footprints with the words “I killed him” all over the walls, written in red felt-tip marker.

There is obviously more of a storyline than just the graphomania that is gripping poor Callie. There’s some romance, some drama with her foster sister over said romance… but it’s all very natural and doesn’t feel at all forced {where I think some of the newer YA books DO feel forced}. I did feel at times that I was waiting for the book to finally come to a close, or finally come to the conclusion that we, as readers,  needed to come to, but I’m a VERY impatient person. It’s worth the wait to see the ending to this one. Absolutely 100% worth it.

There were two things I adored in this book: 1. The romance. It wasn’t “overly” done. There are also some mentions of rape/molestation, but it’s never blatantly put out there as far as what they’re doing… readers need to do a lot of inferencing about what is happening.

2. That this is a story not only that’s interesting and a good read, but is also about a compulsion. SO many young adult readers struggle with different compulsions: OCD behaviors, cutting, etc…. that I am enjoying more and more that there are books out there that make these kids feel as though they have a voice, and that they aren’t alone.

{Where can I buy this?}: 

I’ll bet your local bookstore may have it in stock.

Amazon: 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1606844768/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d10_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0Y5V86QYYRTXEWRV37Z4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

B & N:

 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/oblivion-sasha-dawn/1116816979?ean=9781606844762

{What would I rate it?}:

 4.9/5. Practically Perfect in Every Way.

{Who would I recommend this book to?}: 

 I think that kiddos in grade 8+ would be okay with this book. Or anyone who wants to read an awesome-sauce book!

Words Wound by Justin Patchin & Sameer Hinduja

Review:

I received an ARC of Words Wound courtesy of Netgalley. I was very interested in what this book had to say about cyberbullying. Working my days in a school with kindergarten through 5^th graders, I (thankfully) don’t usually have many instances to use knowledge of cyberbullying, primarily because my students aren’t old enough to really use a lot of social networking. Many students have Instagram, but very few have Facebook or twitter at this stage in the game. However, being aligned with many students who were a little older, the book was of interest to me, and I really wanted to see what it had to offer.

I DID very much feel the entire time reading this book, that while its intended audience might be of the teenage variety, it really was written as if it was directed more toward their parents and educators. This isn’t to say that the whole book is a wash—there were some awesome suggestions to be made to students who are bullying and/or witness bullying of others, but the book was filled with a lot of facts and figures—things I’m not sure would appeal to a reading audience of teens. The book definitely had instances of teens giving feedback as to experiences that they had had with cyberbullying, which was refreshing to hear the “real life” stories of teens standing up to bullies, and standing up for their friends--- it was sometimes hard to get through with the hypotheticals, and I personally wished that there would've been more feedback from teens throughout the book.

The book dealt with some very real situations that students don’t think about. I personally, know of a teen whose Facebook account was hacked because he gave his password to an ex-girlfriend, and he dealt with the repercussions of a night of completely inappropriate musings--- he got into trouble at school, with family members, and with friends.

I felt as if the most important chapter of the book (how to bring cyberbullying down in your school by forming groups/making pledges to stop cyberbullying), were very well written, and provided a ton of great ideas to begin something in your own school district.

One piece of the book that I definitely LIKED, was that the book outlined some court cases involving cyberbullying, and how even online behavior off campus (or outside of school), can still definitely affect you INSIDE the walls of a school. It's important that students and teens understand what could happen because of their online behaviors, and that there still are consequences within the four walls of the schoolhouse, for things that might have been said in the heat of the moment online.

Where can I buy this?: Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Words-Wound-Delete-Cyberbullying-Kindness/dp/1575424517

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/words-wound-justin-patchin/1114971564?ean=9781575426020

What I think of it: 4/5 (again, if it was written more for a teenaged audience, this would’ve been a clear 4.5/5)

Who would like to read it: I think EVERY parent of a teenager in this day and age should definitely read this book. Educators who work with teens should definitely look into it as well.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wordswound

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Alright.

I judged a book by its cover.

I simply HAVE to stop doing that.

I had seen the cover to the book a gazillion times.

I had been turned onto J. Spinelli, after reading Wringer (another amazing tale!). I read this book because I wanted to teach it to my 5th grade guided reading group, so because of this, I had to make sure that I read it ahead of time.

Wow.

We meet Stargirl (Susan), through the narrator Leo. He's awestruck at this bohemian, larger-than-life girl with a heart of gold. She is constantly doing for others--whether it's sending a birthday card, providing people with small tokens on their desks... she's always looking to please other people.

For nothing in return.

And because of this SO out of the ordinary behavior--she gets totally shunned by the entire student body. People absolutely DESPISE her. 

And for what? 

Being who she IS.

Before I took the books to my classroom, a fellow teacher said to me: "You're going to be amazed at the conversation this book elicits from these kids, even in 5th grade. They'll begin to look at themselves differently, they'll look at each other differently, and they'll be able to see things from a whole new perspective once they finish this book."

He was right. I'm an adult, and it absolutely changed mine.

Where can I buy this? Anywhere books are sold--I saw some in my local B & N 

OR Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stargirl-Jerry-Spinelli-ebook/dp/B000QCSAIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396727980&sr=8-1&keywords=stargirl

What I think of it: 5/5 stars

Who would like to read it: People of all ages. I think the male perspective brings it to many more males than it would if it were written from a fellow female, and I also think that the story itself is happening around our country every day. In every school. In every town. 

All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry

 

Okay.

 

I'm going to be totally blunt and honest.

 

I received this ARC from a goodreads.com giveaway.

{The ONLY reason I put in for it was that I loved the cover, and the title of the book}.

 

Now, with that said, I had VERY high hopes.

While some of the story is a bit scattered {something I believe the author did on purpose, as to leave room for interpretation in the second book}, it was a beautifully written, well-versed book---a great read for any adolescent. It's a very coming-of-age novel, with main characters the narrator (who is anonymous, something that again-I believe the author did on purpose as to make this more about the story than about the character who is going through the motions IN the story), her best friend Aurora, and the narrators love interest, Jack, a mysterious musician.

 

Because of the style of book this is (being from the young adult genre), you expect a sort of style when reading a text from an adolescent perspective, and in my honest opinion, Sarah NAILED it.

 

I am SUPER excited to read book #2!

Stars: 4.999999/5 {it was nearly perfect IMO}

You'd like this book if you like: Any sort of young adult literature. There is so much to love about this book: first loves, friendship, losing people close to you, drug use, musicianship, etc.

How long did it take to finish this novel: about 1.5 days of serious beach reading.

 

Where can I buy it? http://www.amazon.com/All-Pretty-Songs-Sarah-McCarry/dp/125002708X