Blog Tour Stop: Alyssa B. Sheinmel

In celebration of her recent release The Beautiful Between, Alyssa Sheinmel is giving us a glimpse into closet of her main character, Connelly. If you haven't yet, check out my review of this fantastic work here.


In The Beautiful Between, Connelly talks about her clothes – sometimes a lot. I know different readers will interpret this trait differently, but personally, I never intended for this to be a shallow part of her character. Connelly does indeed focus on her outfits after hearing bad news, she obsesses over what would be appropriate to wear to a funeral: wearing the right clothes was the one thing that Connelly believed she could do right when she was otherwise powerless to do anything to help. Connelly isn’t often comfortable expressing herself out loud, so clothing is a way for her to show the people around her a little bit of who she is. It’s a way for her to fit in, and – I think maybe someday – it can also be a way for her to stand out.

And, clothing is part of Connelly’s relationship with her mother; her mother taught her from a young age that whether or not she knew the right things to do or say, she could at the very least look the part. When her relationship with her mother began to grow distant, they could still always shop together. It reminds me of stories about men watching sports with their otherwise closed-off fathers. They had baseball; Connelly and her mother had shopping.

And so, now, a glimpse inside Connelly’s closet. It’s a long skinny closet, and Connelly tries to keep it organized. On the left, she hangs her jeans – and she has a lot of them. Jeans are her standby: the right pair can allow her to blend in with the crowd, or stand out from it. She has boot-cut, straight-leg, skinny and distressed boyfriend-style. They’re mostly dark blue, so she can dress them up or down.

Next to the jeans are her college interview outfits. Even though Connelly knows that wearing the right outfit to her college interview is not quite as important as her grades and entrance essays, she still thinks it’s essential to make the right first impression with just the right outfit. Shopping for the right outfit made her feel a bit like Goldilocks: too casual, she thinks, and she’ll look cocky, like someone who believes she doesn’t have impress anyone to get into school. Too dressy though, and she’ll look like she’s trying too hard, and won’t fit in with the rest of the student body. She has one pair of gray slacks that fit close around her hips and are loose around her ankles. She can wear them with a white t-shirt and a boyfriend blazer or cardigan sweater and look just right.

In the middle, she has some hanging shelves with stacks of sweaters. Connelly hates being cold. She has lots of cardigans, including a huge wool one that Jeremy lent her (and which she promptly decided to keep), when they were standing outside once and she got cold. The cuffs hung down over her wrists and she burned cigarette holes around the edges.

On the far right of Connelly’s closet hang two dresses: Prom dresses. A junior, Connelly knows that prom is still a year away, but when she saw these dresses, she knew she had to have them. One is white, and strapless. It has a fitted bodice and then puffs into a short skirt with layers of crinoline underneath. Her favorite thing about it: It has pockets. The second is black, and also short. It’s bodice is fitted, too, but it’s one-shouldered. The material is soft and silky, and it’s covered from top to bottom with elaborate pleating. When she tried it on, she felt like a movie star. (And for the record, she bought both on super-sale: like me, Connelly loves a good bargain.)

Outside Connelly’s closet is a chest of drawers. Two drawers are dedicated entirely to pajamas. Connelly spends a lot of time in The Beautiful Between in her pajamas, since Jeremy mostly comes over after she’s gotten ready for bed, so she has plenty of soft cotton pajama pants and sweatpants that she pairs with tank tops and tee shirts.

So there you have it, a small glimpse into Connelly’s Closet. I can tell you that as she gets older, she becomes more adventurous with her clothes, and more sure of her fashion sense. This will lead to the occasional disastrous experiment (e.g. leg-warmers over skinny jeans), but eventually, she gets the balance just right: classic pieces with the occasional funky accessory to make the look pop. (I only hope to master this myself one day.)


Thank you Alyssa and everyone, be sure to pick up your copy of The Beautiful Between soon! You can continue to follow this tour over at Hollywood Crush tomorrow.

Book Review + Contest/Tour Stop: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

SUMMARY: Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew—just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road—diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards—this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

OPINION: 5 STARS A zealous blend of angst and fun, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour is an involved tale of two teens branching out on their own. With seamless transitions between decisions and clear motivations, this book puts the reader right in the car with these two as they travel across the country. What begins as a trip neither wants to take shifts into something friendly and enjoyable before either can recognize the transition.

Lost in a state of despair resulting from the loss of her father, the displacement of her brother and a moved forced by her mother, Amy avoids people as much as possible. Used to her life of solitude for the past month while her mother is already across the country in Connecticut , Amy finds herself wondering how she is supposed to handle 4 days in a car with a boy she played with as a kid but barely remembers. The initial character we meet is a highly sympathetic one, struggling with burdens coming from multiple directions. Guilt wracks her powerfully, the causes of which are slowly unfolded to the reader in a way that allows them to piece together a timeline of events that have led to her current mental state.

Roger, on the other hand, is harboring his own despair but from a different source than Amy’s and his overall state of being is carefree and easy. He is likable from the start and though Amy notices immediately he is attractive, it isn’t something she harbors on or spends hours thinking about. He’s attractive but he’s still stuck driving her across the country to her soon to be new home, leaving everything she’s ever known behind in California.

Though their route is mapped out, the pair decide to make the trip their own. The trip across the country is an incredibly engaging one, written with beautifully crafted imagery to let the reader know what they see, encounter, and how they handle everything. From Yosemite to Kentucky and up to Philly, a wide range of stops come up. Though hours are spent in the car, the pace rarely drags. Long stretches of time can be boring but Matson keeps things entertaining as Amy and Roger get to know each other- as well as slowly tell their darker stories.

This is, overall, a light and airy read with a fantastic amount of local culture thrown in with each stop. From Derby transitions in Kentucky to the In-N-Out franchise of the west coast along with Chic-Fil-A and Krystal on the mid and eastern states, there is a bit of learning that can happen for any reader along with an appreciation for what they know as standard while is completely foreign to someone not from the region. How much thought went into what the pair encountered, where they dined, and the hotels they stayed at helped bring this book to life. The cities, towns, and interstates traveled were as much a part of the story as the interactions between Amy and Roger.

Although this is a teenage girl and a soon to be sophomore college boy, romance and physical attraction are not a high priority. The entire book is not a lust fest although there are several humorous, very teenage, awkward moments that arise. On the flip side, however, it is certainly logical the pair grows closer and more attuned to each other as their adventure progresses and Matson has blended the aspects beautifully. The character growth and development for Amy is phenomenal and written so smoothly, the reader won’t immediately realize some of the leaps made until Amy herself recognizes them. It is a very realistic portrayal of what a road trip like that can do to someone.

Overall, this is a great read with a bold mix of angst and drama interspersed with lightheartedness and fun. The stops and route chosen pull the reader along for the ride, making them feel as though they are right beside the pair. A wide range of people are encountered, each with their own lasting effect on Amy. She is a character with a ride range of facets, holding a few different sides that come out at variable times but each one distinct and understandable as she tries to come to terms with everything.

More Information On The Book

Quotes About the Book
“This is an incredible book—heartbreakingly funny and utterly un-put-down-able.”
—Lauren Myracle, New York Times Bestselling author of Thirteen and TTYL

"One of the most touching, irresistible, and feel-good road trips I've been on in a long, long while. AMY & ROGER’S EPIC DETOUR is a book to love."
—Deb Caletti, author of Honey, Baby, Sweetheart; The Queen of Everything; The Nature of Jade, and more!

About the Author:
Morgan Matson received her MFA in Writing for Children from the New School. A road-trip veteran, she has driven cross-country three times...so far. She currently lives in Venice, California. Follow Morgan on Twitter at @morgan_m.

Want your chance to win a copy of Amy and Roger's Epic Detour + A $10 Starbucks giftcard? Fill out this form. US mailing addresses only. Contest ends June 7.

FTC disclaimer: This book was received free of charge in support of this promotion for review.

Book Review: Compromised by Heidi Ayarbe

SUMMARY:

Maya's life has always been chaotic. Living with a con-man dad, she's spent half her life on the run. Whenever her father's schemes go wrong, Maya finds a scientific way to fix it. But when her dad ends up in prison and foster care fails, Maya grasps at her last possible hope of a home: a long-lost aunt, who may not even exist.

So Maya formulates a plan, and with her wits, two unlikely allies, and twenty dollars in her pocket, she sets off in search of this aunt, navigating the unpredictable four hundred miles from Reno to Boise. Life on the streets, though, becomes a struggle for survival—those scientific laws Maya has relied on her whole life just don't apply. And with each passing day, Maya's definitions of right and wrong are turned upside down when she's confronted with the realities and dangers of life as a runaway. She can't help but wonder if trying to find her aunt—and some semblance of stability—is worth the harrowing journey or if she should compromise and find a way to survive in her own.


OPINION: 5 STARS

Searing, potent and unflinching, Compromised is a uncharted look into life on the streets and what it means to be pushed aside by society. Torn between her love of her father and her anger at being betrayed by him, Maya finds herself thrust into a world unimaginable to anyone not in it. Though her life has been less than ideal, she would easily take the cons and quick escapes to an orphanage.

Maya is a reverberating character, holding a powerful mix of courage and fear. Her character dynamic and progression is painfully realistic with her initial reactions to becoming a warden of the state to her decision to leave and try on her own. Holding a certain level of naivety, Maya's struggles are undeniably believable. Despite her anger at her father, she is unable to turn her back on him completely. Many of her reactions are wrenching to read but pull out the true nature of this story. With her penchant for science and a constant need to develop a hypothesis and procedure, Maya's character is pitched in a unique way. Though she has a large vocabulary, her school intelligence is not likely to cause a dissonance with readers.

Sick of being passed around to foster families that don't care, Nicole goes with Maya. Their companionship is both endearing and entertaining, the two tied together by a tragic cause. With nicknames understood only in context, they forge a friendship seen by the reader before the girls recognize it. The softer sides of both shines through, lurking beneath the forced rough exterior they must have to survive not only in foster homes and orphanages but on the streets as well. With an affliction for mobsters, much akin to Maya's science obsession, Nicole's character is as strongly defined and developed as Maya's. Strengthening the overall effect more, the banter between these two provides relief from the overall dark air of the book.

Further along their way, the two girls find a young boy also living on the streets. His character is as noteworthy, memorable and heartrending as Nicole and Maya, all three pulling the reader's compassion and emotions. With his own quirks and habits, Klon adds a strong dynamic to the girls, mixed further with his unique way of viewing things. He tugs Maya and Nicole between being motherly towards him and their own obligations to themselves. The battle between putting themselves first and helping the group comes up often, interspersed with their growing desperation to survive and the things they are willing to do to make it happen.

In a society where people on the streets, young and old alike, are written off and ignored, Compromised will pitch a jarring look into the other side. How wrong is stealing, when a cheap bag of cough drops could mean the difference between a night of pain and some sort of relief? How hurt is the diner who's stuck with a bill for some pancakes and coffee when it means some homeless teens have food in their bellies for the day? These questions and more are thrust forward in Compromised, ensuring the reader will rethink their state of mind on many things that have become accepted as normal.

With an unerringly strong voice and writing, Compromised pulls the reader in from the start and doesn't let them go even after the book has finished. A dark and depressing overall air mixed with innumerable twists, this is a gripping read unlike any other. The reader will constantly question the fate of all three kids, wondering if they will find a way to their goals or end up dying, frozen on the streets like many others. Death is lurking constantly around them, reminding them in countless ways. Intensely developed and defined characters, a guttural world created, and echoing writing, this terrifying look at events still taking place in our modern world is sure to pack a punch and remain with the reader.

Details:

Source: ARC received from author free of charge in exchange of an honest review
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen; 1 edition (May 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061728497
ISBN-13: 978-0061728495

Author's Website

In My Mailbox

Not a bad week for me book wise again. Got some great titles in, and won some amazing prizes on the Do The Write Thing For Nashville Auctions. There's still 3 more days of auctions left to close out with the last set of auctions to be posted today. There are some fantastic prizes donated by various people in the writing/publishing industry and all proceeds go to a charity to support the Nashville Flood Victims. As they come in, I'll be featuring my prizes in future IMM posts.

For Review:
Forget You by Jennifer Echols (Signed!)
The Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll
Saving Max by Antoinette Van Heugten
(Special thanks to Jennifer Echols, Second Story Press, and Phenix & Phenix publishers for these books)

Bought from Amazon with gift cards won:
Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer
Brutal by Michael B. Harmon

From Library:
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Win from Reading With Tequila
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

That was my week. What did everyone else get?

IMM is hosted by The Story Siren.

Book Review: The Secret To Lying by Todd Mitchell

SUMMARY:

A teenage boy’s self-reinvention gets out of control in a sharp, funny, poignant, and compulsively readable novel that gives a familiar theme a surprising twist.

James was the guy no one noticed — just another fifteen-year-old in a small town. So when he gets into an academy for gifted students, he decides to leave his boring past behind. In a boarding school full of nerds and geeks, being cool is easy. All it takes is a few harmless pranks to invent a new James: fighter, rebel, punk. Everyone’s impressed, except for the beautiful "Ice Queen" Ellie Frost and the mysterious ghost44, an IM presence who sees through his new identity. But James is riding high, playing pranks and hooking up with luscious Jessica Keen. There’s just one thing awry: he’s starting to have vivid dreams of being a demon-hunting warrior, a thrill that is spilling over into dangerous and self-destructive acts while he’s awake. As he’s drawn deeper into his real-life lies and his dream-world conquests, James begins to wonder: What’s the price for being the coolest guy around?


OPINION: 4 STARS

A train wreck waiting to happen and an artful blurring between reality and fantasy, The Secret To Lying masterfully delves into one teen’s struggle to be noticed. The boy who was often forgotten, James finds himself at a new school with a fresh start. With opportunity ample before him, he holds nothing back in the stories he comes up with regarding his past- until it becomes too much even for him.

On a shallow level, this book is about lying and reaping what’s been sown. On the deeper level Mitchell incorporated, this book is the epitome of teenage confusion and a struggle to find one’s self. A coming of age novel mixed with moralistic questions, The Secret To Lying is a refreshing read for any age. James’ internal struggles, debates and fears aren’t hidden, clearly driving much of his actions throughout the book. Unable to see far enough in the future to realize the path he is on and resistant to help, James does nothing but continue to delve deeper into the darkness that threatens to engulf him.

James is masterfully done, making a complete character change early on as soon as he starts at his new school before developing through great strides by the end of the book. There are three different characters seen throughout centered with this one person and Mitchell has created a unique, memorable and promising method to bring about each one. Subtly touching on many areas of psychological, rationalization and motivations, James is a character any teenager- male or female- will relate to. Even the most outwardly confident teen will find some consolation in James’ struggles and from an outside perspective, his decisions and chosen methods to deal with the demons battling inside him can easily be identified as inept. From inside James’ head, however, the reader can easily understand the drives behind his lying and other things he does. Mitchell holds nothing back when he puts this character on display, creating a strong emotional connection between reader and damaged character.

In his journey to finding himself, James encounters a range of characters and because of the ASMA school setting, the social groups are different. This is a place where the geeks can be bold without repercussion, the nerds can be popular and being smart is idealized rather than ostracized. In some ways, James attending a boarding high school is much like a college freshman, suddenly rapt with new opportunities and no parental supervision. While some handle it smoothly, others go overboard and given his mental state starting at the school, James’ actions are easily understood.

Enter Jess, a punk style girl who shows interest in him and though an attraction is there, it is clear to both the reader and even James other things are off and missing. This relationship is a fluid example of teenage emotions, torn between a desire to be with someone and confusion over what they should be feeling. A lack of one thing and an upsurge of another create turmoil within James, pulling the reader along for the ride and leaving them as unsure about the outcome as James. Confounding James further is his inexplicable reactions and feelings towards Ellie, a popular girl dubbed as The Ice Queen. He is both annoyed and infatuated by her, unable to sift through and understand his reactions. James’ interactions with both Jess and Ellie are enjoyable though at times painful and help pull the plot and character development along beautifully.

Mixed in with the lies and uncertainty are numerous scenes of teenage pranks, banter, and companionship. There are several humorous scenes throughout the book, breaking up the serious aspect of the book. From shopping trips with his mother to an entire scene played out in the cafeteria as a stand against the food, James and his friends find themselves in some very entertaining situations that remind the reader of the characters' ages and though they are at a school for math and science, they are still teenagers.

Hosting a wide variety of characters with some interesting nicknames- from Cheese to Heinous to Muppet- The Secret To Lying is a smooth read along a tumultuous road rapt with rises and falls. The description and detail of James’ dreams paints a magnificent picture for the reader and the slow shifting of that world into James’ waking one is handled seamlessly. The integration of the actions of his dreams into the real world events is a brilliant method to tie everything together. Bold writing that gives a very strong mental voice to this smart but confused and unmotivated main character coupled with an endearing plot that very cleverly manipulates the lines between dreaming and awake, fiction and reality create a perfect novel for an emotional ride the reader is guaranteed to remain on until the ending.

Details:
Source: ARC received from author/publisher, free of charge, for an honest review
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (June 8, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0763640840
ISBN-13: 978-0763640842

Author's Website

Book Review: Crossing by Andrew Xiu Fukuda

SUMMARY:

A loner in his all-white high school, Chinese-born Xing (pronounced “Shing”) is a wallflower longing for acceptance. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend, the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee. Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives. Amidst the chaos surrounding him, only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances, he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However, as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck. While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name, Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax


OPINION: 5 STARS

Complex and reverberating, Crossing pulls together several seemingly unrelated elements and weaves them together to create a complex and engaging tale. With intelligent writing, a unique main character and a “who done it” premise, Fukuda has put a memorable spin on both bullying and murder mysteries. A phenomenal world has been built, central to the main character, cataloging the struggles that happen in the present day for a teenage boy who has immigrated from China to the United States . Additional struggles come from the community he lives in- a very white one.

Xing, otherwise known as Kris, is a freshman in high school, holding all the same insecurities as his peers but troubling him more is how ghostlike he truly is. Though he doesn’t blend with his classmates in terms of looks and certainly sticks out with is ethnic background, Kris goes unnoticed apart from one student- the only other Chinese girl. Kris is not only the son of two Chinese parents- he was born and spent the first several years of his life in China . He recounts when Naomi first arrived, the two thrust together while she still didn’t understand English only to learn she has surpassed him in that she no longer holds a thick accent like he does.

This thick Chinese accent sets him further apart from his peers. The writing, however, is strong and shows a very firm grasp of the English language, driving him a very bold point that though the words coming out of his mouth aren’t ideal, he most certainly understands. Kris is not ignorant, actually holding a better grasp of English with a wider vocabulary than some of his peers. This was one of the most notable and defining aspects of the book, making the character very realistic.

Xing is both bullied and ignored; a boy who has slowly changed and hardened over the years at the hands of his classmates. This aspect of the story alone drives the plot but adding another layer is the mysterious serial killer targeting teens at the school. As tension builds and the community grows more scared, just how far apart Xing is from everyone else becomes clearer. The elements continue to pulse and shift until they finally come together for a very startling and gripping ending.

My initial reaction to the ending was dumbfounded, primarily because readers, in general, have an inherent desire for everything to be wrapped up and tied off. This is not the kind of ending presented here- but the one provided is far more powerful. It is one that takes a little while to fully sink in and will remain with the reader for days after. The full scope of things will astound the reader, rendering it astounding and brilliant.

The lasting effects are eye opening and Fuduka has pulled in real world events that have happened in the past few years to drive both the overall points home as well as build the story. Though set in the perspective of a Chinese immigrant, any reader from any background will be able to relate to Kris. There are several surprising plot twists and left hooks thrown. Adding more elements is Kris’ journey to find himself, primarily through music and the rediscovery of his ability to sing. Fukuda has artfully weaved together a few different plot lines, all separate and strong enough to create their own story ideas but culminating in remarkable ways.