BEA YA Reviews: Let's Get Lost

Signed YA ARCs that I received at BEA 2014

So, I decided to try and review my BEA books in some kind of order that actually made a little sense... both to me and hopefully to all of you! I've already covered the picture books, an early reader, and a middle grade title, and though I haven't finished all my younger books yet, I really wanted to read this summery looking YA book, so.... here you go! 


Let's Get Lost 
by Adi Alsaid

Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost. 

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. 

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love. 

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way. (Description from Goodreads.com) 

This book is sort of a perfect summer read.  It's easy to read.  Alsaid has a fluid, funny, poignant writing style that had me flying through the pages. And yet, as I read, I found myself wanting to linger.  Alsaid has a magic way of capturing small moments.  The ones that we usually only have a second to appreciate before we have to move on, and making them feel important and lasting.  

Leila is a catalyst in this book, driving the five teens who meet her to consider the larger things in life.  What's great about the book, though, is that even while she's changing them, drawing them into a better, deeper place in their own lives, she's gleaning things from them, as well.  Reading I found myself thinking, whistfully usually, about life and the relationships we build in it.  It was almost philosophical and done in such a way that felt natural and not at all pointed or studied.  

I loved the way that Alsaid was able to explore what could be such heavy, emotionally-laden chapters in these characters lives and yet managed to keep the whole tone of the book uplifting.  Engrossing and enjoyable. This is the type of book you want to read while enjoying the summer sun. 

About the Author:

Photo by Peter Ross.

Adi Alsaid was born and raised in Mexico City. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas. While in class, he mostly read fiction and continuously failed to fill out crossword puzzles, so it's no surprise that after graduating he packed up his car and escaped to the California coastline to become a writer.

He's now back in his hometown, where he writes, coaches high school and elementary basketball, and has perfected the art of making every dish he eats or cooks as spicy as possible.

In addition to Mexico, he has lived in Tel Aviv, Las Vegas and Monterey, California. A tingly feeling in his feet tells him that more places will eventually be added to the list.

I was lucky enough to meet Adi Alsaid at the 2014 Book Expo in New York City this year.  He was super nice and now that I've read Let's Get Lost, I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes out with next!

Full disclosure: Signed ARC received at 2014 BEA 

BEA Middle Grade Reviews: Sisters

The four great early reader and middle grade books I got at BEA 2014. 

So, I decided to try and review my BEA books in some kind of order that actually made a little sense... both to me and hopefully to all of you! Since I've covered my picture books, the next few blog posts will all be about the early reader and middle grade books that I received at BEA, then we'll move on to some of the YA and adult titles. Enjoy!

Sisters

by Raina Telgemeier 

Companion to Smile

Raina can't wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things aren't quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but she's also a cranky, grouchy baby, and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn't improve much over the years, but when a baby brother enters the picture and later, something doesn't seem right between their parents, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all.

Raina uses her signature humor and charm in both present-day narrative and perfectly placed flashbacks to tell the story of her relationship with her sister, which unfolds during the course of a road trip from their home in San Francisco to a family reunion in Colorado. (Description from goodreads.com)

I was so excited to read this follow-up book to Smile.  It once again showcases Raina's ability to recapture her youth in a fun and engaging way.  I'm sure that lots of readers will connect with this book, though it was not my favorite of hers.  I liked it, don't get me wrong, but I felt that both Smile and Drama were perhaps a little stronger.  

Raina does a wonderful job capturing the relationship between growing siblings, though. I had to laugh when I realized that Raina, her sister Amara, and her baby brother were almost exactly the same ages apart as myself, my brother, and my baby sister are respectively.  I have recollections of very similar moments with my brother stealing my toys, feeling left out when I didn't want to talk to him, and fighting...sometimes it felt like all the time!   I can remember, too,not feeling like I could relate to my little sister because she was SO much younger than me. I'm sure anyone with brothers or sisters will have some portion of this book that they can relate to directly.  

In the end, I liked how the sisters banded together again and found common ground.  Even though their family wasn't perfect, Raina's family obviously cared hugely about one another and I love seeing strong families in books.  All in all a good, quick, entertaining read. 

Full disclosure: Received from publisher at BEA 2014.

Paper Towns

Paper Towns

by John Green

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew. (description from Amazon.com)

I was a little disappointed when I read this book. Don't get me wrong. It was good....but, I had heard SOOO many people rave about this book that I think my expectations became just a little too high.

There were some funny scenes. It was very well written. I liked the characters. I loved the idea of Q coming to the realization that even though he'd worshipped Margo from afar for years, he never really knew her.

The road trip scene was my favorite part of the book. I laughed aloud quite a bit, but then when they actually found Margo I was somewhat disappointed. Overall, I think I'm going to try and balance out my disappointment by trying An Abundance of Katherines next. I really loved his writing with David Levithan in Will Grayson, Will Grayson!

Going Bovine

Going Bovine
by Libba Bray

All sixteen-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school - and life in general - with a minimum of effort. It's not a lot to ask. But that's before he's given some bad news: he's sick and he's going to die. Which totally sucks.

Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure - if he's willing to go in search of it. With the help of Gonzo, a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf, and a yard gnome who just might be the Viking god Balder, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America of smoothie-drinking happiness cults, parallel-universe-hopping physicists, mythic New Orleans jazz musicians, whacked-out television game shows, snow-globe vigilantes, and disenfranchised, fame-hungry teens into the heart of what matters most.

To be totally honest, I kept picking this book up and then putting it back down. It was a vicious cycle...check it out from the library...return it...check it out from the library...return it. Ugh. I really couldn't get past the cover! I felt weirded out by the image of the steer carrying a yard gnome. Even now having read the book, I still personally would have liked a different cover.

Okay, that being said...I am SO glad I finally read this book. I thought it was funny, poignant, heartbreaking, uplifting...so many things. There were a lot of little quirks that Libba Bray threw into the book that made me giggle; I love when I can pick out the exact "thing" that an author uses to create the world in a book. For example, the CESSNAB cult was so funny, yet so derivative of where our culture is heading in regards to materialism... it was a little eerie...even as I was giggling at the ridiculousness. I can't even get into the YA partyhouse/MTV correlation!

The characters were wonderful in this book! I loved Cameron. He felt...real. His relationships with his sister, his mother, and his father all felt genuine. I loved how he eventually bonded with Gonzo. Balder...Balder, Balder, Balder. I think that Balder was my favorite character of all. Although, there is also Dulcie...awesome punk rock angel extraordinaire.

Take it from someone who originally gave this one a pass based on looks. DON'T DO IT HERE! This is a book that is WORTH the read!!

Full disclosure: Copy obtained from Publisher (though I did check it out from the library first...twice!!)