Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tyngas Reviews.
This meme allows us to share the books we've recently added to our
shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books
you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or
the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! *Clicking the
link of a book's title will take you to Goodreads.
This is already getting some pretty dismal reviews, but I'm still going to give this Japanese set book about pictures that come to life a shot. (Isn't this cover better than the US version?)
I have the e-galley of this, but couldn't get into it. It sounds like it would be the perfect summer book, so I'm hoping having it in physical form and seeing that pretty cover will help.
Lots of good books this week. Surely one of these will be the one to get me out of this slump.
So what did you add to your shelves this week? Link me up!
*Comments and followers are welcome
and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please leave me your link
so I can come visit you. I will always try to follow those who are
following me, but if I somehow miss you, please just let me know. Happy
reading!*
Arriving at her new college, Beca (Anna Kendrick) finds herself not
right for any clique but somehow is muscled into one that she never
would have picked on her own: alongside mean girls, sweet girls and
weird girls whose only thing in common is how good they sound when they
sing together. When Beca leads this a cappella singing group out of
their traditional arrangements and perfect harmonies into all-new
mash-ups, they fight to climb their way to the top of college music
competitions.
MY THOUGHTS:
The other night I found myself watching Pitch Perfect for the second, and what will definitely not be the last, time. This will certainly be a movie I will eventually end up owning. I absolutely adore this cute and funny movie. It follows Beca (Anna Kendrick) during her Freshman year of college. Beca has her heart set on moving to LA to become a DJ, but because she lacks the funds to do so, she is attending the university at which her father is a professor. The two make a deal: If she joins one campus group and truly makes an effort to belong and have a typical college experience for one year, he will pay for her to follow her DJing dreams. This is how Beca finds herself joining the all-girl a cappella group, The Barden Bellas.
At this (I believe) un-named school, a cappella groups are all-the-rage. An all-male group, lead by the hilarious Adam DeVine (of Workaholics fame) are rock stars at their school. Another group is made up of stoner kids. In a world where Glee kids are usually the misfits and outcasts of society, I loved that, in this world, these kids are revered.
What makes this movie are the characters and the actors who play them. Beca plays the "alternative chick" who doesn't care what anybody thinks and who walks through life with headphones on. Anna Camp plays, the Queen Bee, Aubrey. After literally blowing (chunks) last year's competition when she was a junior, she is determined to go out a winner in her last year. This means playing it safe. She is, of course, threatened by Beca's fresh take on music and does whatever she can to reign her in. Brittany Snow plays Chloe, Aubrey's second in command. She is the one who "discovers" Beca in a wonderfully hilarious shower scene where the two harmonize beautifully to David Guetta's Titanium. (I've embedded the scene below.) Chloe loves the direction Beca wants to take the Bellas. Finally, Rebel Wilson plays self-coined Fat Amy. (She calls herself that so twig bitches don't call her fat behind her back.) I've said it before and I'll say it again: Rebel Wilson is one of the funniest humans on this planet. She steals every scene that she is in. Honestly, I loved every single actor in this movie. Anna Kendrick is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorites and I loved Brittani Snow and Anna Camp in this, as well. The other members of the Bellas are also funny (if not mostly just in the background) especially the little Asian girl who speaks so softly nobody can ever hear what she is saying. This time while watching I found myself rewinding and blasting the sound to hear her and what she is saying is often hilarious, like: I ate my twin sister in the womb and I start fires to feel good about myself. The cameos of Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins as The Best in Show-type-commentators at the competitions was just icing on the cake.
I loved the burgeoning romance between Beca and Jesse (who sings for the competition), but was happy that it never took center stage. This movie is about the ladies and the bonds the girls in the group form. The songs are wonderfully done. These girls can seriously sing.
Overall, I really can't recommend this movie enough. It is cute and funny. The dialogue is very well-written and extremely witty. If you are looking for a fun movie this weekend, this is the one you should pick up.
What do you think? Have you seen this movie? If so, did you like it?If not, do you think it's something you would? Sound off below.
I love summer books. I love the romance of summer. I love
books about different vacation spots. I love books about road trips. I love
seeing the beach on the cover of a book. To celebrate this lovely season, every
Thursday I'm going to post a book and review of a summer book I'd recommend
reading by the pool, at the beach, while driving across America (or whatever
country you call home), in a hammock, in a cabin, on a boat, or at home as you dream of vacation.
Happy Summer, everyone!
This week's summer book is:
Past Perfect
Author: Leila Sales
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Number of Pages: 306
All Chelsea wants to do
this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice
cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her
heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical
Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too.
Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even
when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.
Maybe Chelsea
should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment
village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present,
and her new crush seeming all too off limits, all Chelsea knows is that
she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn
from the past are doomed to repeat it…
Past Perfect by Leila Sales is a perfectly cute book about a girl,
Chelsea, who works at Essex Historical Village, a reenactment village
depicting the American Revolutionary War. The book starts at the
beginning of the summer with work at the village just starting. Both of
Chelsea's parents also work at the village, so Chelsea has always worked
there. This year her best friend, Fiona, and her ex-boyfriend, Ezra,
are also employed by the village. The action of this book follows the
'War' between Essex and the reenactmentland across the street, that
focuses on the Civil War. The setting for this novel is fun and
different and the idea of fighting reenacters is hilarious, but
believable.
Chelsea is distressed when she learns that Ezra is
going to be around all summer. She is still hurting from their break-up
and didn't know he would be at Essex. Things start looking up, though
when she meets Dan the cute Civil Warrior who works for the enemy. This
makes their romance complicated and a little star-crossed with the 'War'
getting in the way of their developing relationship.
Chelsea's
friendship with Fiona is funny and spot-on. It definitely reminded me of
some of my high school friendships. The relationship with her parents,
especially her father, was also very realistic.
My favorite part of this book was definitely the inside look of working at a reenactment village. I was feel so bad for people who work at these types of places just because I can't even imagine having to be dressed like that all summer. I loved how working at the village was a normal part of Chelsea's family life. I really liked the description of the different jobs and getting to know the people who would chose this as their summer job. Overall, I
enjoyed Past Perfect. It is light, easy read that has the novelty of a
different setting to set it apart from other YA books while also having
enough depth to keep it from being too sweet. On a somewhat unrelated
side note, I can't help but think that the white splotches on the
cover look like something besides rain. Sorry, but that doesn't look like rain. It looks like she's auditioning for a porno. Have you read this book? What did you think? Have you ever seen a war reenactment? What's your favorite summer read? Sound off below.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. Click the link to see the original post plus a whole slew of links to other blogs. After you read this one, of course.
3:59 Author: Gretchen McNeil Publisher: Balzer + Bray Release Date: September 17, 2013 Synopsis from Goodreads:
Josie Byrne's life is
spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick
has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When
she's betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things
can't get worse.
Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.
Jo's
life is everything Josie wants: she's popular, her parents are happily
married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they're just
dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy
image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.
Josie and Jo
realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that
overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo's perfect
world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch
places for a day.
But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only
is Nick not Jo's boyfriend, he hates her. Jo's mom is missing, possibly
insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.
By
the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But
there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this
dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?
From
master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously
eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might
kill you.
Why I'm Excited:
I wasn't completely sold on McNeil's last novel, 10, but I found the writing to be fast-paced and the book was relatively enjoyable. (I think maybe she just bit off more than she could chew in trying to recreate an Agatha Christie novel.) I'm definitely willing to give her another shot and this looks sounds ah-maz-ing! I love the idea of the mirror as portal (Through the Looking Glass, anyone?). This book looks awesome and I can't wait to have it in my greedy little hands. September is shaping up to be an amazing month for books. It almost makes me want to skip summer. Almost.
What are you anxiously waiting for this week? Link me up!
*Comments and followers are welcome
and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please leave me your link
so I can come visit you. I will always try to follow those who are
following me, but if I somehow miss you, please just let me know. Happy
reading!*
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme/original feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
Click the link to go to their site to see the original list for today
plus links to a whole slew of other blogs. After you read mine, of
course.
Today's Topic is: Favorite Beach Reads
This topic is right up my alley. I absolutely adore those fluffy, summery, beach-y reads that come out every summer. In no particular order, my top "ten" (I suck. I know. Pretend there are only 10) are:
A murder mystery by Jennifer Weiner! Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
I love this whole "series" of books (very loosely related) told in mostly in emails. So cute. This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
A boy and a boat. That actually is what my happy looks like. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Why, yes, I am aware that this book makes most of my lists. I love it. Girls Night In by The Best Authors in Chick-Lit
This compilation of short stories is the perfect beach read.
This was seriously hard. I could have done a top 50 easily. I'm going to stop second guessing myself now (how do I not have any Jane Green or Emily Giffin on here?) and post this.
What are your favorite beach reads? Link me up!
*Comments and followers are welcome
and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please leave me your link
so I can come visit you. I will always try to follow those who are
following me, but if I somehow miss you, please just let me know. Happy
reading!*
Everybody
loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny...but she's never been one of
those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on
top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a
tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty
(with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).
Lexi's sick of
it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of
getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan.
She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And
she's sick of having all her family's money wasted on a phony pursuit of
perfection.
The time has come for Lexi to step out from the
sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what
hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game - and she's in it
to win it.
A cute, quick read set in the world of little-girl beauty pageants.
So
over Christmas break my sister made me watch some child pageant reality
show on TLC or whatever, not the Honey Boo-Boo one (which, I'm sorry,
is truly the most despicable thing on TV--the show, not the girl), but
some other show that follows a group of child pageant contestants, but
is really about the crazy moms and families (my sister is a perfectly
intelligent woman btw, she just has horrible taste in TV shows). So I
watched this show in absolute horror as these poor little girls in these
atrocious outfits and way-too-much makeup danced around the stage while
their mothers mirrored their dances in the aisles. I was saddened by
the way the mothers and "trainers" cut up the competition. Calling the
other little girls names and just in generally being totally trashy to
one another. A little girl shouldn't be judged by her looks (and neither
should women, of course). Kids should be able to play and discover
and...whatever else kids do these days, without having to worry about
what they look like. I'm not saying that some of those pageant girls
don't enjoy doing the pageants, but I'm sure that a good portion of them
do not like them, but do them anyway to please their pageant mothers.
Anyway, I'm just against the whole thing. That's pretty much what this
rant was trying to say.
Anyhoo, Revenge of the Girl with a Great Personality
follows Lexi, a smart, funny teenaged girl who lives with her mother
and little sister, Mackenzie. Mackenzie, who I believe is 9, is a little
pageant girl, and their mother is the epitome of a pageant mother.
Their mom is a hugely-overweight, lives-in-a-trailer,
spends-all-their-money-on-pageants pageant mother. All she seems to care
about is Mackenzie and her pageants, ignoring Lexi unless she is needed
to sew a costume or take Mackenzie somewhere. And Lexi is sick of it.
Lexi
has spent the past few years dressing down in an effort to separate
herself from her family. She never wears make-up and is always in
something baggy and comfortable, but that changes after she makes a deal
with her best friend, Benny. If Benny asks out the boy he likes, then
she will start making an effort in her appearance--wearing make-up and
dressing up nicer. To her surprise, the transformation actually garners
her some attention from both nice guy, Taylor and from her mega-crush
Logan, who happens to have a pageant queen girlfriend.
I enjoyed Revenge of the Girl.
Like Ms. Eulberg's previous books, this one is fast-paced, light, and
easy to read. I really liked Lexi's character and enjoyed her journey
and I loved Benny and their third friend, Cam. I didn't love the
characterization of her mother--I'm so sick of the trailer-park mom
stereotype. I mean, for real, not everyone who lives in a trailer is a
fat, horrible person. Why are there so few good parents in YA books
these days? However, to be fair, part of the story is definitely about
the problem with pageant moms...so I understand why she had suck.
Also, I couldn't help but think about this scene in this one movie--Not Another Teen Movie--where the sister of the boy who made the bet about the unpopular girl (spoofing on She's All That)
comes over to do a makeover and literally just takes off the girl's
glasses and takes her hair out of the ponytail and then says, "There I'm
a genius." I'm kind of skeptical that just putting on a dress and some
make-up would make the entire popular clique stand up and take notice of
somebody. Pretty girls are pretty without makeup...that's why they are
pretty. But whatever.
Overall, I did enjoy this book--even with
these little gripes and would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a
quick, cute YA contemporary. I really enjoy Elizabeth Eulberg's writing
and will continue to look out for her next book.
*I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.*
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tyngas Reviews.
This meme allows us to share the books we've recently added to our
shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books
you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or
the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! *Clicking the
link of a book's title will take you to Goodreads.
This was a bit of a slow week for me. I'm not complaining since I have sooooooo many ARCs and library books (not to mention my physical books overflowing on my shelves) from past weeks that I still need to get through. I've been going through a major slump lately. I've must have started, no exaggeration, 15 books these last couple of weeks, but just haven't been able to get into any of them. I hate slumping. I have so many pretty books on my shelves (although having so many to chose is at least half the problem). Anyway, I'm excited to see everyone's epic BEA hauls.
I'm such a sucker for beach covers. I'm honestly not sure why I requested this one as I can't usually make it through books in which a husband has died.
I'm kind of torn about this book, but I've always loved that cover and after a reading a couple of recent very positive reviews I decided to check it out. My TBR pile is ridiculously out-of-control and this book isn't that high on my list.
What did you add to your shelves this week? Link me up!
*Comments and followers are welcome
and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please leave me your link
so I can come visit you. I will always try to follow those who are
following me, but if I somehow miss you, please just let me know. Happy
reading!*
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Stacking the Shelves (10)
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tyngas Reviews. This meme allows us to share the books we've recently added to our shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! *Clicking the link of a book's title will take you to Goodreads.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Pitch Perfect (Movie Review)
Director: Jason Moore
Writer: Kay Cannon (screenplay), Mickey Rapkin (based on the book by)
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Ben Platt, and Rebel Wilson
DVD Release Date: December 18, 2012
Synopsis from Amazon:
Arriving at her new college, Beca (Anna Kendrick) finds herself not right for any clique but somehow is muscled into one that she never would have picked on her own: alongside mean girls, sweet girls and weird girls whose only thing in common is how good they sound when they sing together. When Beca leads this a cappella singing group out of their traditional arrangements and perfect harmonies into all-new mash-ups, they fight to climb their way to the top of college music competitions.
MY THOUGHTS:
The other night I found myself watching Pitch Perfect for the second, and what will definitely not be the last, time. This will certainly be a movie I will eventually end up owning. I absolutely adore this cute and funny movie. It follows Beca (Anna Kendrick) during her Freshman year of college. Beca has her heart set on moving to LA to become a DJ, but because she lacks the funds to do so, she is attending the university at which her father is a professor. The two make a deal: If she joins one campus group and truly makes an effort to belong and have a typical college experience for one year, he will pay for her to follow her DJing dreams. This is how Beca finds herself joining the all-girl a cappella group, The Barden Bellas.
At this (I believe) un-named school, a cappella groups are all-the-rage. An all-male group, lead by the hilarious Adam DeVine (of Workaholics fame) are rock stars at their school. Another group is made up of stoner kids. In a world where Glee kids are usually the misfits and outcasts of society, I loved that, in this world, these kids are revered.
What makes this movie are the characters and the actors who play them. Beca plays the "alternative chick" who doesn't care what anybody thinks and who walks through life with headphones on. Anna Camp plays, the Queen Bee, Aubrey. After literally blowing (chunks) last year's competition when she was a junior, she is determined to go out a winner in her last year. This means playing it safe. She is, of course, threatened by Beca's fresh take on music and does whatever she can to reign her in. Brittany Snow plays Chloe, Aubrey's second in command. She is the one who "discovers" Beca in a wonderfully hilarious shower scene where the two harmonize beautifully to David Guetta's Titanium. (I've embedded the scene below.) Chloe loves the direction Beca wants to take the Bellas. Finally, Rebel Wilson plays self-coined Fat Amy. (She calls herself that so twig bitches don't call her fat behind her back.) I've said it before and I'll say it again: Rebel Wilson is one of the funniest humans on this planet. She steals every scene that she is in. Honestly, I loved every single actor in this movie. Anna Kendrick is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorites and I loved Brittani Snow and Anna Camp in this, as well. The other members of the Bellas are also funny (if not mostly just in the background) especially the little Asian girl who speaks so softly nobody can ever hear what she is saying. This time while watching I found myself rewinding and blasting the sound to hear her and what she is saying is often hilarious, like: I ate my twin sister in the womb and I start fires to feel good about myself. The cameos of Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins as The Best in Show-type-commentators at the competitions was just icing on the cake.
I loved the burgeoning romance between Beca and Jesse (who sings for the competition), but was happy that it never took center stage. This movie is about the ladies and the bonds the girls in the group form. The songs are wonderfully done. These girls can seriously sing.
Overall, I really can't recommend this movie enough. It is cute and funny. The dialogue is very well-written and extremely witty. If you are looking for a fun movie this weekend, this is the one you should pick up.
What do you think? Have you seen this movie? If so, did you like it? If not, do you think it's something you would? Sound off below.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Past Perfect (Summer Series Book Review)
Past Perfect
Author: Leila Sales
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Number of Pages: 306
Synopsis from Goodreads:
All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.
Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present, and her new crush seeming all too off limits, all Chelsea knows is that she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it…
Chelsea is distressed when she learns that Ezra is going to be around all summer. She is still hurting from their break-up and didn't know he would be at Essex. Things start looking up, though when she meets Dan the cute Civil Warrior who works for the enemy. This makes their romance complicated and a little star-crossed with the 'War' getting in the way of their developing relationship.
Chelsea's friendship with Fiona is funny and spot-on. It definitely reminded me of some of my high school friendships. The relationship with her parents, especially her father, was also very realistic.
My favorite part of this book was definitely the inside look of working at a reenactment village. I was feel so bad for people who work at these types of places just because I can't even imagine having to be dressed like that all summer. I loved how working at the village was a normal part of Chelsea's family life. I really liked the description of the different jobs and getting to know the people who would chose this as their summer job.
Overall, I enjoyed Past Perfect. It is light, easy read that has the novelty of a different setting to set it apart from other YA books while also having enough depth to keep it from being too sweet. On a somewhat unrelated side note, I can't help but think that the white splotches on the cover look like something besides rain. Sorry, but that doesn't look like rain. It looks like she's auditioning for a porno.
Have you read this book? What did you think? Have you ever seen a war reenactment? What's your favorite summer read? Sound off below.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Waiting on Wednesday (10) 3:59
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Josie Byrne's life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she's betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can't get worse.
Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.
Jo's life is everything Josie wants: she's popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they're just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.
Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo's perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.
But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo's boyfriend, he hates her. Jo's mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.
By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?
From master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might kill you.
Why I'm Excited:
I wasn't completely sold on McNeil's last novel, 10, but I found the writing to be fast-paced and the book was relatively enjoyable. (I think maybe she just bit off more than she could chew in trying to recreate an Agatha Christie novel.) I'm definitely willing to give her another shot and this looks sounds ah-maz-ing! I love the idea of the mirror as portal (Through the Looking Glass, anyone?). This book looks awesome and I can't wait to have it in my greedy little hands. September is shaping up to be an amazing month for books. It almost makes me want to skip summer. Almost.
What are you anxiously waiting for this week? Link me up!
*Comments and followers are welcome and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please leave me your link so I can come visit you. I will always try to follow those who are following me, but if I somehow miss you, please just let me know. Happy reading!*
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Top Ten Tueday (10) Favorite Beach Reads
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme/original feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Click the link to go to their site to see the original list for today plus links to a whole slew of other blogs. After you read mine, of course.
Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
I love this whole "series" of books (very loosely related) told in mostly in emails. So cute.
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
A boy and a boat. That actually is what my happy looks like.
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Why, yes, I am aware that this book makes most of my lists. I love it.
Girls Night In by The Best Authors in Chick-Lit
This was seriously hard. I could have done a top 50 easily. I'm going to stop second guessing myself now (how do I not have any Jane Green or Emily Giffin on here?) and post this.
What are your favorite beach reads? Link me up!
Monday, June 10, 2013
Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality (Book Review)
Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Publisher: Point
Number of Pages: 272
Release Date: March 1, 2013
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Don't mess with a girl with a great personality!
Everybody loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny...but she's never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty (with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).
Lexi's sick of it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan. She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she's sick of having all her family's money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection.
The time has come for Lexi to step out from the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game - and she's in it to win it.
A cute, quick read set in the world of little-girl beauty pageants.
So over Christmas break my sister made me watch some child pageant reality show on TLC or whatever, not the Honey Boo-Boo one (which, I'm sorry, is truly the most despicable thing on TV--the show, not the girl), but some other show that follows a group of child pageant contestants, but is really about the crazy moms and families (my sister is a perfectly intelligent woman btw, she just has horrible taste in TV shows). So I watched this show in absolute horror as these poor little girls in these atrocious outfits and way-too-much makeup danced around the stage while their mothers mirrored their dances in the aisles. I was saddened by the way the mothers and "trainers" cut up the competition. Calling the other little girls names and just in generally being totally trashy to one another. A little girl shouldn't be judged by her looks (and neither should women, of course). Kids should be able to play and discover and...whatever else kids do these days, without having to worry about what they look like. I'm not saying that some of those pageant girls don't enjoy doing the pageants, but I'm sure that a good portion of them do not like them, but do them anyway to please their pageant mothers. Anyway, I'm just against the whole thing. That's pretty much what this rant was trying to say.
Anyhoo, Revenge of the Girl with a Great Personality follows Lexi, a smart, funny teenaged girl who lives with her mother and little sister, Mackenzie. Mackenzie, who I believe is 9, is a little pageant girl, and their mother is the epitome of a pageant mother. Their mom is a hugely-overweight, lives-in-a-trailer, spends-all-their-money-on-pageants pageant mother. All she seems to care about is Mackenzie and her pageants, ignoring Lexi unless she is needed to sew a costume or take Mackenzie somewhere. And Lexi is sick of it.
Lexi has spent the past few years dressing down in an effort to separate herself from her family. She never wears make-up and is always in something baggy and comfortable, but that changes after she makes a deal with her best friend, Benny. If Benny asks out the boy he likes, then she will start making an effort in her appearance--wearing make-up and dressing up nicer. To her surprise, the transformation actually garners her some attention from both nice guy, Taylor and from her mega-crush Logan, who happens to have a pageant queen girlfriend.
I enjoyed Revenge of the Girl. Like Ms. Eulberg's previous books, this one is fast-paced, light, and easy to read. I really liked Lexi's character and enjoyed her journey and I loved Benny and their third friend, Cam. I didn't love the characterization of her mother--I'm so sick of the trailer-park mom stereotype. I mean, for real, not everyone who lives in a trailer is a fat, horrible person. Why are there so few good parents in YA books these days? However, to be fair, part of the story is definitely about the problem with pageant moms...so I understand why she had suck.
Also, I couldn't help but think about this scene in this one movie--Not Another Teen Movie--where the sister of the boy who made the bet about the unpopular girl (spoofing on She's All That) comes over to do a makeover and literally just takes off the girl's glasses and takes her hair out of the ponytail and then says, "There I'm a genius." I'm kind of skeptical that just putting on a dress and some make-up would make the entire popular clique stand up and take notice of somebody. Pretty girls are pretty without makeup...that's why they are pretty. But whatever.
Overall, I did enjoy this book--even with these little gripes and would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a quick, cute YA contemporary. I really enjoy Elizabeth Eulberg's writing and will continue to look out for her next book.
*I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.*
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Stacking the Shelves (9)
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tyngas Reviews. This meme allows us to share the books we've recently added to our shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! *Clicking the link of a book's title will take you to Goodreads.
This was a bit of a slow week for me. I'm not complaining since I have sooooooo many ARCs and library books (not to mention my physical books overflowing on my shelves) from past weeks that I still need to get through. I've been going through a major slump lately. I've must have started, no exaggeration, 15 books these last couple of weeks, but just haven't been able to get into any of them. I hate slumping. I have so many pretty books on my shelves (although having so many to chose is at least half the problem). Anyway, I'm excited to see everyone's epic BEA hauls.
About Me
-
Natalie @Natflix&Books
View my complete profileGFC Followers
Follow with Bloglovin
BlogLovin' Followers
Grab My Button
Currently Reading
More of Natalie (Natflix&Books)'s books »
Goodreads Reading Challenge
2017 Reading Challenge
Blogs I Love
Blog Archive