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June Chapter Chats

I received one or more of these books to read for free in exchange for my honest review.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a reading round up and I was honestly putting it off because I was so ashamed of how little I read over the last couple of months! I’m so behind in my reading goal! However, I’ve received a few requests for some summer read recommendations, so I knew it was time to have a “June Chapter Chat.”

Winners:

Firecracker by David Iseron: ★★★★-4 stars. This book is written by the same guy who writes for New Girl and SNL, so, as you can expect, it’s funny. It’s not pee your pants funny, but it is highly entertaining. Astrid Kieger is the main character, a very rich girl who is also a huge trouble maker and who gets kicked out of private school and lands in public school. There she must navigate a whole new world while trying to figure out who set her up and got her kicked out. Anyone who liked e. Lockhart’s Frankie Landeau Banks book will love this.

Marcelo in the Real World by Fransisco Stork: ★★★★-4.5 Stars. This story is about a 17 year old boy named Marcelo who struggles with Aspergers. He currently attends a school for special needs children, but his father wants him to work the summer in the mail room at his law office. This book is quirky and does an amazing job explaining how a person with Aspergers processes things. It’s really easy to root for Marcelo, who is faced with complicated choices and social situations and to watch his character grow.

EH’s:

Where She Went by Gayle Forman: ★★★-3 Stars. This is the sequel to If I Stay and picks up several years after Mia’s accident. It’s from Adam’s point of view and while it has some really profound moments, I found some of it to be kind of unrealistic. The ending was a nice way to tie up the series. If you read the first one, it’s worth to read the second one.

Cookie Love by Mindy Segal: ★★★-3 Stars. c/o Blogging for Books. This is a cookbook that I got from blogging for books and I was so excited about it! The photography in here is drool-worthy and I loved that there were in depth explanations on how to create such divine cookies. The first section; drop cookies, made me really hopeful because all of the cookies looked relatively easy. I tried the snickerdoodle one and it was pretty dang good. However, the rest of the recipes increased in difficulty and in random ingredients that are hard to find, so that was pretty off-putting. The shortbread cookie section was my least favorite; I don’t like a lot of shortbread cookies to begin with, so I was disappointed that there were so many recipes specifically for that kind of cookie.

Kissing Ted Callahan by Amy Spaulding: ★★★-3 Stars. c/o Net Galley. Riley and Reid make a pact to help each other find others to date and write back and forth in a journal to keep each other up-to-date on their dating adventures. This story is summarized as “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist meets Easy A” and many people said it was the funniest book they ever read. While it did have some moments that made me giggle, I didn’t find it that funny, and it definitely wasn’t as funny as Easy A. Not at the top of my recommendation list, but one I wouldn’t say no to, either.

Losers:

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini: ★★★ 3 Stars. This book follows a young high school student named Craig who has gotten into a prestigious business high school. The stress of the school starts to wear him down and he becomes depressed. After a near suicide attempt, Craig finds himself in an adult mental ward (the teenager one is closed for construction) and works through his issues. A lot of people raved about this book, but there was something off about it for me. While it was interesting to read from the point of view from someone who is depressed, I found Craig’s character a little annoying at times and the setting to be a little too good to be true.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr: ★★ 2 Stars. Jennifer and Cameron were bffs in elementary school until one day, Cameron disappears. Years later, after Jennifer reinvents herself (popular, pretty, boyfriend) Cameron reappears and they work through their “issues.” Jennifer was whiney. There really wasn’t a plot. There wasn’t really a romance. Some good points about domestic abuse, but that’s about it.

Summary:

You should read: Firecracker or Marcelo in the Real World

You should avoid: Sweethearts.

What have you been reading lately? Any good recommendations? Have you read any of these books? Be my friend on Goodreads!