Review: The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

"Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother. 
After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists. 
With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?
Annaliese? Or herself?"

Title: The Unquiet

Author: Jeannine Garsee

Release Date: July 17, 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 388, Hardcover

The Unquiet reminded me a lot of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.

Kind of.

Besides the ghosts and all that in this novel, there was definitely that psychological thriller aspect in there. Yes, the ghost-part was a little scary, but no, the psyc.-thriller part wasn't as awesome as Mara Dyer. In fact, The Unquiet left me really, really disappointed. Furthermore, the novel was way too stretched out for me, and I think it could've been shorter. Or maybe that's just me, wanting the story to be over.

The characters completely fell flat for me. None of them stood out. I didn't like Rinn, the main character, because I just couldn't connect. Sure, she was different than most characters because she is bipolar and almost committed suicide, but okay. Alrighty. Now what? And at first, I liked Nate (the love interest) a lot but then I just grew really bored of him. And all of Rinn's "friends"? Shaaalllooww. Why would you ever be friends with them?

Also, the concept didn't even make much sense. There was a LOT of things going on. I understand that it had the psychological thriller-type thing going, and the point is to blow your mind, but some areas just could have been elaborated more. For example, the Voice(s). It was pretty much described in one sentence. And the shadows. I would have loved to hear more of the history behind that.

Lastly, the ending was just disappointing. UM, HELLO. Isn't the conclusion of a novel supposed to be AWESOME since it's kind of what the reader remembers? Well, in this case, it just kind of ended for me. They were supposed to figure out the whole ghost business. They did, but in a way that I wasn't expecting (in a bad way). I was expecting so much more EPIC from it. The build up and tension right before the conclusion was so great, and then it sky-dived suddenly into a shallow pit that left me extremely disappointed.

The ONLY reason why I could finish this book was the creepiness. Yes, I do love me some creep-factor! I was pretty scared. Yeah, I liked it. It kept me up on my toes, and the suspense was really heavy at some points!

In the long run, The Unquiet was a shudder-some novel that wasn't exactly for me, simply because the characters didn't stand out, the concept left me perplexed, and the result fell short of my expectations.

Nonetheless, if you like creepy ghost and thriller-type novels, I'd recommend giving this one a try.

Grade: C+

Source: Publisher via Netgalley--thank you Bloomsbury! 

Review: A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

"We all want to be remembered. Charlotte's destiny is to be Forgotten...
Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth, who feels the Need—a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger.
But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility. What she wants is to help her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend's arms forever. But as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on Charlotte. And who she was, is, and will become--her mark on this earth, her very existence--is in jeopardy of disappearing completely.
Charlotte will be forced to choose: Should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny--no matter how dark the consequences."

Title: A Need So Beautiful

Author: Suzanne Young

Release Date: June 21, 2011

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Pages: 267, Hardcover

A Need So Beautiful wasn't exactly what I expected. I originally thought that it was about angels, but I am...way off. Sort of. Suzanne Young was able to create a unique spin on the paranormal genre, which I thought was totally fun to read about. However, my overall opinion of the book is kind of low. While the concept was fantastic, the characters and plot were lacking for me.

Charlotte Cassidy lives a secret life. On the outside, she's just a normal girl who goes to a private school, and lives with a foster mom. But on the inside, she's not normal like the others. She feels the Need, which is the compulsion to help others, and do what is right. The Need also includes something like an asthma attack, which is exactly what she uses, always as the excuse. Charlotte is of the Forgotten. Monroe, her clinic doctor, helps her along the way to figure things out. In the end, Charlotte must choose between the light, and the evil.

The plot was a huge problem for me. In literature class, I'm sure everyone has learned that in a story, there has to be 3 main parts: a beginning, climax, and solution. Now, I did not find myself at a climax, ever. If you were looking at the story through a line graph, you'd see a flat line. Pretty much, for all I see, the plot was about different scenarios in which Charlotte had to give into her Need and help someone out. And then towards the end, FINALLY something happened. And then the story just ended.

Despite the insufficient plot, Suzanne Young DID do a great job with a twist in the end. I kind of saw it coming, but I did love it; it left me hanging. It makes me want to check out A Want So Wicked.

Onto the characters. They were all extremely shallow, except for maybe Mercy. Charlotte just seemed whiny ALL THE TIME. And I hated how she was never truthful to Harlin! Ever! That makes a very weak relationship. And Harlin, I didn't see what was so good about Harlin. He didn't stand out to me, in the sea of YA boys. He was alright, I guess. And Monroe, goodness, Monroe. I did not care for him at all. He was so vague and it annoyed the crap out of me! He didn't tell Charlotte anything for a long time when she clearly needed answers! Even Charlotte's best friend, Sarah was… *shudders*. Not the best friend you would ask for.

The only thing that I really favored was the concept. It is extremely unique, and I do love myself some creativity every once and a while! Not the same old, same old.

To conclude, I wasn't disappointed with this read, because I hadn't expected too much out of it. A Need So Beatiful wasn't my type of read, but I do recommend trying it out. I suggest reading it, not listening to it on audio, because I think that also affected my overall enjoyment of the story. I am still undecided on whether I want to pick up A Want So Wicked. Maybe someday!

Audio Performance: As mentioned above, I recommend not to listen to it on audio. The reader killed Monroe's British accent--it kind of scarred me for life. I wish I had read the book.

Grade: C

Source: Online library (audiobook)

Review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

"Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling..."

Title: Shut Out

Author: Kody Keplinger

Release Date: September 5, 2011

Publisher: Poppy

Pages: 273, Hardcover (Read: Audiobook)

I've heard so many great things about Kody's novels, such as The Duff. When I saw that this one was available for audiobook, I immediately jumped at the chance, because, well, it was my first audiobook and it was Kody Keplinger. I have never read any of her books yet, and I decided to start out with this one. However, after finishing the book, I was definitely letdown a little. I wasn't expecting too much out of this one, as it IS a quick and easy fluffy read, but I think it could have been a lot better.

Lissa and her boyfriend, Randy, have been dating for quite awhile. But there relationship is hanging by a thread, all because of the school rivalry. Not with another school, but within the school sports teams, football and soccer. So Lissa gathers the girlfriends of these boys to start a sex strike until the rivalry is over. But when things don't go as planned, things unravel and the sex strike Lissa planned with the other girls goes in a completely different direction Lissa wasn't expecting.

First, the characters definitely bothered me. The main character especially. And if I can't like a main character in the novel, there is a high percentage that I won't enjoy the novel much, either. Lissa definitely had her flaws, and usually I like my character's flawed, but with Lissa, it seemed like she never really learned from them, even in the end. She was really indecisive and never seemed to know what to do. And when she DID decide something, it would always be the wrong choice. She wasn't the brightest, either. Why would she go out with a guy like Randy? To me, she just seemed to date him for popularity. I couldn't see past that fact. And Randy? Don't even get me started. I hated him with a fiery passion.

Suddenly, after about halfway through the book, Randy just disappears, and in pops Cash. Cash was awkward for me. He was supposed to be "perfect" according to Lissa, but all I could picture in my head was big chunky guy who talked in a too-deep voice. Not the best imagery there. The only character that I could enjoy was Chloe, even though she was a brat. She was hilarious and so out there that it was entertaining for me to read about her.

The next biggest problem was the plot. I thought the plot started out really strong in the beginning. A sex strike to end a school civil war? Sounds great. But the problem of the book just CHANGED dramatically when it soon became about Lissa's love life. I understand that the sex strike started out with Lissa and Randy's relationship, but the fact that there was an extreme change in plot & characters was just not for me.

The writing was really nothing special. There was a lot of profanity as well, which I definitely am not the biggest fan of. I did like the connection with the Lysistrada play. You could say that Shut Out is somewhat a retelling of that story.

All in all, Shut Out was quite the disappointment. There was hardly anything that I actually liked. However, I did not think once about putting it down or setting it aside. It is definitely readable. Although I didn't enjoy Kody's second novel as much as I had hoped, I am still looking forward to try her other novels.

Audio Performance: Since I "read" this book on audio, I would like to mention a few things. The reader was a little too perky, which suited Lissa's voice, but at times it just got on my nerves. Which, may just have contributed to my dislike of this book. Then again, I am glad that it wasn't some older lady who was ready a high school story…

Grade: C-

Source: Online library (audiobook)