The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

First of all this is a Horror book so you might want to be wary of it. It is not spooky it's Horror. I had to stop midway through because stupid me started it as soon as I woke up. It can kick you down in the middle of the morning. I needed to get out of my head for a little while because it's not bad it's just something you shouldn't immediately wake up to. After coming back to it I was fine. The rest of the book I was fine too. It just got into my head a little bit too much. So with that rambling portion done let's get on to the book shall we?

So this town is crazy because I would have moved out way before I had a kid. Because they steal your kid. And replace it with one of their sick... creatures. And Mackie is one of those creatures. His family knows it but it's something they don't talk about. His "sister" is pretty devoted to him even though there is that underlying problem where he isn't really her brother. It's actually kind of odd to me how much they care and how he got friends because he was really sick in the beginning and everything was going wrong with him. I'm surprised. He wasn't a barrel of laughs if you know what I mean.

He stays in the background because everyone knows what he is but they deny it. But whenever something bad happens like oh say a girl in your class's sister dies he needs to keep his head down before he's bludgeoned to death. It wasn't even her sister Tate says. She's desperate to talk to him because he's the obvious choice. It's not like anyone else would know. So he avoids her. But with a person like Tate that isn't going to last very long.
This is where everything goes awry with Mackie's seemingly good life but truth is he's dying and there is only one place he could get help so of course there is a catch. Now Mackie has to make a choice. The life he's always known or the life he should have had.

Again so creepy but so good in the same sense. I know I keep on saying it and I know I'll probably say it the rest of my life concerning books but I didn't expect this book to be this way. I know what it was about actually in this case which I usually don't or don't remember before I start reading it.... But the characters were so different then what I expected. I didn't expect Mackie to be so... gloomy. And such a background type of guy. He was scary just because of how he acted and then he was not really human so that added to his odd vibe. I seriously could not have kept him if I were his mom. That's just depressing but whatever. Mackie was still quite interesting in his own way and I sort of warmed up to him. I know I must sound weird but this book was really good. If you've read it or if you are going to read it then you'll understand why I can't really describe that it was really good... it was just odd too so that's why I keep tripping over my words. So if you like Horror books I recommend this one and if you know of any others please tell me.

Rating: 4 stars

Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott

Amy's tired of her parents acting like they actually care about her and not there ever loving relationship. She's always felt alone in her life. She's had friends before Julia. Friend's that treat her like crap and now it's Caro a.k.a. Corn Syrup who gets the abuse of her former leader Beth who could ruin your life in a second. Amy's so thankful she had Julia but now that she's gone she doesn't know what to do. She still hears her mother's whisper Murderer and knows that is what she is she'll never escape it. Now her life is After Julia. She has to deal with Laurie with her questions and pen clicking. As well as Mel who just talks and talks. Patrick is there too. Her almost... he's always quiet and she wonders what his sadness and anger mean. Love You Hate You Miss You is about choices in our life and whether or not we can forgive ourselves.

This was a pretty good book. Amy got to me when she started to describe their way of life. Alcohol, drugs, and sex. And maybe I don't know the people who do that and maybe Julia was a nice person but seriously I look at the people at my school and can't think beyond what I see. I really need to stop doing that. But the way they talk... so that was that. I felt bad for her. She was lonely because her parents were the opposite of what other books and actual people portray. They love each other a lot. To the point they are making out. Ugh. It's cool that they love each other so much but she was like a burden to them. I'm glad they were trying at least.

I actually liked Patrick and all his weirdness. I'm surprised other girls didn't. Girls like guys that they can "fix". But that wasn't it. He had a tough time and you know he saw life completely different. A way where you can have conversations with him that mattered. It was really weird that they just touched and were going to do it. That can't be realistic. Also the whole sex thing in high school... whatever. But it was a good book. I liked it. It was different then what I expected but again it was still good. I'm happy that I read it.

Rating: 3 stars

A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley

Charlie is the quiet type of girl who is awesome at singing the blues but can never get up on stage to show it. She was nine when her mom died. Her father has never gotten over it. He went from cool quiet everything under control to just quiet and never around. Whenever she tries to talk to him about something important he looks at his hands and gives her money so she'll go away. She used this so she can get some recording equipment. She works at a music store and sometimes gets singing lessons from one off the owners as well as guitar lessons from the other. The book has songs in the pages so you get sort of the feel of what she is like and what she sounds like even if it's only in your head. She has all this recording equipment but she never sings in front of people. Not even her dad.

Rose is always with her boyfriend Luke and friend Dave. Luke is always getting in trouble and Dave and her always get dragged down with him. Dave more than anyone because his dad has always given him a hard time... Well Rose wants more than anything to get away to the city. She got this scholarship to go to this science school but she never can tell her parents. Her parents who are going nowhere fast. Who gave up in life. She wants so bad to leave even if it means leaving Luke and Dave. She gives Charlie a hard time because all she does is stare at the group. But this "summer" which is during Christmas time??? It's Australia but I still don't understand. Well this summer she's figured out a way to get out of this miserable old town. She's going to make friends with Charlie. She'll be doing her a favor. She's going with her when she leaves.

Charlie is beyond likable. I was always angry at Rose because IF SHE DARED HURT HER! She would be in some real trouble with me. I mean she has like no friends and is just dangerously shy. Her two "ghosts" that follow her are her Grandma and Mom. She talks to them and it's so sad because those are the only two she could ever really talk to and now they're gone. Her father was killing me. NOTICE YOUR CHILD. I would be suffering too though. Seven years and I know I would be like him but seriously if I had a kid I hope I wouldn't act so stupid all the time.

God Rose. Finally I started liking you because you actually saw her. You were very irritating you know. Dave was cool. He was so sweet. I LOVE him. And then he's hurting too and you want to give him and Charlie a big old hug. I absolutely loved this book. It was beautiful. I think it's going to be in my favorites pile. It's that good. Read this book. You will fall in love too.

Rating: 5 stars

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

Jennifer Harris now Jenna Vaughn and Cameron Quick used to be best friends as children. They were the outcasts. Jenna used to be bullied for her lisp and because he was chubby. She would cry a lot which inevitably gave the bullies more fuel to their fire calling her Cry Baby. She like Cameron had a tough home life. Well maybe not as much as Cameron... Jenna's mom is never home. She spent hours without her and when she really needed her she couldn't go to her. She has no father and no one else. She is alone.

Cameron has a similar situation in which he is also alone. His home life is tougher. You get a piece of it when Jenna slowly starts to tell you the story of her ninth birthday at his house with his father. And then soon afterwards he disappeared. Just. Like. That. But now he has suddenly reappeared. That boy who loved her. That boy who cared for her. That boy who made her feel safe. But now Jennifer is Jenna. She has a stepdad and she lives in a nice house, has friends, and even has a boyfriend. She's also skinny and will always watch her weight, what she wants to say (mainly that she's not always happy like her boyfriend wants her to be), and that she always smile even when she wants to cry. She is shocked when discovering that Cameron's back. He's supposed to be dead. And with him comes a whole set of feelings that she thought was left behind with her nine year old self. And now he wants to relive it.

This was a great book. When you finish it you start to contemplate life. But there is also this wanting more at the end. It had some "unfinished business" that needed to be addressed. First Jenna herself. She completely changed her name and at the end it was like she was okay with it. Maybe now that I think about it it did address it a little. It did say that maybe this was her now. But it was very vague. Also the food. She did start to eat more when Cameron came and let herself indulge in some things but it also was not really addressed. Those things could have added more to this otherwise great book. But I have to complain about the end before I continue. Well.. I have to be more specific now. The relationship at the end. It was so ridiculous how it ended. Can't say more without giving anything away.

So other than that it was quite good. There was the mystery of what happened on her birthday, her mother frustrating the hell out of me, and Cameron himself. Cameron was so weird. But I think he was always quiet like that. It was just weird seeing him in Jenna's world. The ring was odd too. It sent mix signals for the obvious reasons as well as it was kind of stalkerish creepy... Now Jenna and her boyfriend.... she spoke her mind once. Everything she said I was totally agreeing with her on. It was a pretty memorable moment that would make all women out there go "yeah!" So even though I've complained a bunch about the book know that all around it was really great.

Rating: 4 stars

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Briony Larkin is wicked. She must always remember what she did. She sent a wind to knock her twin, Rose, down and she lost her wits because of it. She sent a wave to hit her stepmother which broke her spine which would have killed her if the arsenic didn't kill her first. She didn't kill herself though. Her stepmother loved life. She always protected her. Protected her from what she was. Warned her never to go to the swamp because her and the swamp are dangerous. They cause fire, water, and wind to come up and hurt everything and everyone she loves.. well she can't really say loves because she doesn't love anyone. She hates herself so how could she love anyone? It all comes down to jealousy. Jealousy of her stepmother spending more time with Rose. And for what? She ended up killing her. It ended up killing a part of her.

Now comes in the knight in shining armor right? Well sort of. Eldric the man-boy comes in with his golden mane of hair and his bad boy attitude. He becomes a friend. He actually makes her smile. He is there for her. But she's a witch. Unable to even cry much less feel that way. But why is it that he makes her want to cry?

As I got into this book I couldn't help comparing it to Plain Kate which I reviewed before. The difference was originally while I was reading that it was Plain Katey but easier to swallow. But it's more than that. The language was a bit hard to get into in the beginning especially with the self deprivation she had against herself. But I got into the story easily after that because it was unlike Plain Kate. It was about a girl who hated herself. A girl who was in pain. I just loved the story after that. I loved the tales of Wolfgirl and Lionboy. When he actually saw her it was truly magical. When she let a part of her let loose it was just fantastic. I never really thought about this till I got to the end. And oh how I loved how it just twisted into a direction completely opposite of where it said it was going. I had an inkling towards the end about what would happen but still. It unfolded beautifully.

I don't know what else I can say. Something cliched like it cast a spell on me perhaps? I guess I should go into the swamp. That's the most terrifying swamp I've ever heard of. It can just eat you up! The creatures that only she could see well.. also the Chime Girl who was no girl at all but an old woman. She had one foot in the shadow? world. The spiritual world I guess you'd say better. I just couldn't fathom from first reading this book how fantastic it was going to be. It was just that. Fantastic. I praise Billingsley with all my might! This was truly fantastic!

Rating: 5 stars

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Snarky Bianca Piper couldn't be more different than her two friends. They are the tall, all legs, blond hair, bubbly, cheerleading type of people. It doesn't matter really. She's known Casey since Kindergarten after she defended her from schoolyard bullies and she has been doing the same ever since because Bianca likes to bottle things up so she worries about her. Jessica is always as sweet as can be and is unaware that her brother caused her pain many years ago.

Her real problems consist of a mother who never is home and a father who might break if she doesn't.Things start to get tough at home and her pure hatred towards the slut Wesley turns into desperation because he can offer her an excuse, an escape... distraction but when he starts to be a little more bearable and a little more understanding actually listening to her she questions whether or not she has feelings other than hatred towards the guy.

Honestly, I must have skipped the part where it says friends with benefits because that is NOT what I thought this would have. I thought they would just kiss or something... I guess my mind is a little bit innocent. Well not too much because I read it and may I add liked the book. First of all I was so happy that the problems in her life didn't feel fake. One thing I hate is when authors say how hard their characters life is but doesn't provide the emotion for it. Ahem *coughs* Perfect Chemistry...

Oh the most important thing I forgot to mention.  The DUFF stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend. It's a nickname Wesley dubbed her. He explains that there is one in every group and you are considered The DUFF when you meet the description of the DUFF and you have really hot friends. He continues to say that if her friends see him with her he will win points with them and will have a better chance of getting them in bed. This little speech forces her to dump a cherry coke in his face. For good reason.

Why did I decide to read this you ask? Well you know how bad boys never change in real life? In books they do and I love when that happens. You may roll your eyes at me but I don't care. I can dream right? Wesley turns out all right in the end. There is a certain moment that you see the change and I absolutely loved it. It's a fist in the air type moment. Bianca unfortunately gets a little and I mean a little bit irritating. Her comments and the way she acted was kind of getting old towards the end but then the book ends so I didn't have that feeling for very long. Casey also kind of got on my nerves because she liked to poke around in Bianca's business way too much. She wanted to save her it felt all the time. Like she was that kindergartener that needed help from getting her pigtails from being pulled or whatever it was. I would be annoyed with her too if I was Bianca but Casey changed my mind and by the end I was liking her. Authors are always changing my mind at the end of books.

Speaking of authors. This one? Kody Keplinger? I always read the authors summary at the end of the book and really? REALLY!? You are 19 and are on your THIRD book? How I envy you... I have a bad feeling thought that Shut Out which I really want to read is going to be exactly like this one. We'll see I guess. Hopefully she stays on this promising author run.

And the end you learn a lesson. Haven't had a lesson laid out to me like that since I don't know when. So be prepared.

                                      Rating: 4 Stars