RENDEZ - VOUS: contemporary

Geeky and Candid: The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

Balzer + Bray Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The Boyfriend App
by Katie Sise
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: April 30, 2013
Source: Copy gifted by Author (Thanks, Katie!)

Author's Website | Goodreads

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.

But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

When I saw the blurb for The Boyfriend App, I knew I had to have it. I’m not the ‘overly techie, always up to date with the latest gadgets’ guy, nor the ‘over caffeinated, sleep-lacking’ computer programmer, but I felt a certain attraction towards the idea of the story. Turned out, it was everything I hoped it would be, and a little more.

1. Audrey

What I Liked: What a complex main character! Her messy thoughts plus her faults made her a very relatable human. Her mistakes bridged a connection between the reader and the story. I was able to empathize to the problems (and there was a lot) Audrey was going through.

Not so much: At the beginning of the 2^nd half of the book, my mouth gaped open at the drastic change in Audrey’s character. Her desire to win the contest (which also somehow means power and fame) became so overwhelming, to the point that it made her do far-reaching means—quite malevolent ones, even. It made room for her development as a person, but during that time, I can’t help but shake my head.

2. The Characters

What I Liked: As the story went on, I really came to love the characters more each turn of the page. As I knew more about them, I became more attached to each one. Even to the “side” characters that were supposed to be just that—“side”, I felt for all of them.

Not so much: Well, some of Audrey’s supposedly friends weren’t constant. They seemed to have no resolve at all. And it didn’t seem to bother Audrey that much; they made up so easily. I wish there was more drama to that friendship aspect of the story.

3. The Plot

What I Liked: The not-seriousness of the story. At first, I thought it will be a not-so-humor-filled story; I was more wrong than ever. I loved that it was comical, candid, and hilarious. It’s a nice break from all those tear-jerkers I came to love (sadist much?). This was something new and fresh to me.

Another, I also wanted to comment on the geeky, technical side of The Boyfriend App. I don’t know a lot about programming (the farthest I got to it is making a simple calculator XD), but I regard the effort Katie put in integrating these hacking/programming stuff in TBA. Programming is complex, but she was able to explain it really efficiently.

Not so much: The absurdity of things. Yes, I loved the comedy and humour incorporated in the story, but some things went a little bit too far for a contemporary story. Some things verged to the point of fantasy, I guess? Still, as I mentioned, it’s what made the story unique and refreshing.

4. The Romance

What I Liked: It was awkward, cute, undeclared, and unrushed.

Not so much: At some point in the book, Audrey’s quench for revenge/redemption made her appear slutty. It was like she would hook up with the nearest guy (that she has always liked) available and willing. She was… confused and undecided. However, it was a bit plausible—given all the setbacks she had to face.

Also, aside from the genuine (and too common) kindness of Aidan, there wasn’t much in him that stood out for me.

To Summarize: I thoroughly enjoyed the fun-ness and funniness of TBA. Definitely a recommend, to geeks and otherwise alike!

THE NUB AND GIST: 4.5 STARS

Buy the book from: Amazon US / The Book Depository / Kindle

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Hit Hard, Hit Early: My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi

contemporary Tuesday, September 24, 2013

My Life After Now
by Jessica Verdi
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Published: April 2, 2013
Source: Publisher

Author's website | Goodreads

Lucy just had the worst week ever. Seriously, mega bad. And suddenly, it's all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a whole new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of.

And now her life will never be the same. Now, how will she be able to have a boyfriend? What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family?

Now her life is completely different...every moment is a gift. Because now she might not have many moments left.

I couldn’t describe my feelings towards this book any better than saying it was “pleasantly surprising.” Yes, I was anticipating it because of the positive reviews I’ve been seeing, but I didn’t expect it to exceed my expectations. It’s like when you rip open a present with something in mind, but you completely get another item inside the box—in a very good way. This was totally that. I became more engrossed in the story every turn of the page.

The best word to describe Lucy’s character is realistic. She gets downed by life’s circumstances and is terribly affected by them, but she strives to bounce back every time. I really felt for her especially in the beginning of the book. She seemed to have no one—everybody and everything from her past all suddenly lost—in her life anymore, and the emotion hit me like we had two souls woven together. Her character also developed greatly. I was like watching a soap and constantly doing fist pumps because the MC was making better and better decisions as the story progressed.

I liked Evan—he’s really an admirable love interest—but like my issue with other books, I was looking for more character. Again, this, I think, is because of lack of exposure throughout the novel. Still, he’s on my list of “thumbs-up-lead-guys”.

Another, the supporting characters were absolutely great! I hate it when a character appears in one scene and then totally disappears after that—but thankfully this wasn’t the case with My Life After Now. They played their roles well and contributed fairly (if not extremely) to the story.

The plot was so gooood. More than the romance, I was hooked unexpectedly by all the drama going on. Despite the dwindle in the amount of romance, I found myself turning each page more eagerly than the previous. I just thought that the pacing in the beginning was particularly fast, but from that point it only got better.

And, most importantly, this book was an eye-opener. The reality that the people you thought you knew could be so cruel and indifferent to you in a blink of an eye was really disturbing. I learned A LOT of things about the certain sensitive issues discussed in the book. Jessica Verdi wasn’t afraid to tackle these things, and I do admire her for that.

Raw, thought-provoking and real—you, guys, need to read this book now.

THE NUB AND GIST: 4.5 STARS

Buy the book from: Amazon / The Book Depository UK

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Poignant and Sarcastic: The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

contemporary Saturday, September 07, 2013

The Probability of Miracles
by Wendy Wunder
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication date: December 8, 2011
Source: Bought/Own copy
Author's website | GoodReads

A dying teen learns to live in this heart-wrenching debut, perfect for fans of If I Stay

Campbell Cooper has never been in love. And if the doctors are right, she'll never have the chance. So when she's told she needs a miracle, her family moves 1,500 miles north to Promise, Maine--a place where amazing, unexplainable events are said to occur--like it or not. And when a mysterious envelope arrives, containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies, she finally learns to believe--in love, in herself, and maybe even in miracles, as improbable as they may seem.

I’m such a sucker for tear-jerkers and protagonist-with-cancer--themed YA novels. That’s why I decided to grab The Probability of Miracles off its shelf out of impulse. Just as I was reading its synopsis, I already felt something “heavy” in between the pages of this book, dawning on me. And it was worth it. TPOM was a hilarious, fun, and light-hearted profound read—if that makes any sense.

Sometimes all we need is a good cry, and TPOM gave just that—a good, deserving cry. I learned so many things about living from it. Now, don’t think that this book would leave you bawling your eyes out and drowning in your own tears (or maybe it would?). It was a flawless fusion of good humour and thought-provoking themes.

“The present moment can be chopped into infinitely smaller present moments. This moment is forever. And it is all that matters.”

Cam was a weird and amusing character. Her definition of fun (and life) was crazy, and she’s very adventurous. She’s such an active character, always coming up with the most bizarre antics. Cam’s mind was full of peculiar thoughts that were witty and hilarious. Also, I loved her jesting by deadpanning. No book has ever made me laugh out literally loud this many times!

Cam’s growth throughout the novel was truly amazing. However, despite all those, I found her a little bit insubstantial. I’ll be honest; she isn’t that remarkable for me. I love her character, but I wanted to see a little more struggle from her in the predicaments she was going through. Aside from that, she’s definitely amazing.

Asher was sort-of like a mysterious entity in the book. He seemed to be there but not at the same time. It was weird for him to be in there. I mean, the book could have been as good (if not better) even if he wasn’t included at all. He lacked exposure and backstory, but exposure mostly. Good side: the romance didn’t become the focus of TPOM. Well, if the author was actually trying to do just that (not putting the spotlight on the love story), it wasn’t so successful.

“If you believed that thoughts were energy and energy is matter (∑=mc²) and matter never disappears, then a person can never truly leave you unless you stop thinking about them. Everything you shared with a person is still there swirling around in the universe. Love, Cam had to admit, might be real. And love endures. Relationships endure. Because thoughts are energy, energy is matter, and matter never disappears.”

The plot was simple, yet various scenes were quite (or maybe very) absurd. But the hilarity of them was extreme that it made me just accept and believe that those kinds of things could really happen to people in real life. The pacing didn’t engage me so much, but it had some few bits here and there that kept me reading.

To sum up, this book really has something to offer. Its complexity wasn’t too deep, but rather a very humorous and witty read. However, despite all the sarcasm and deadpan jokes, it would make you ponder and think of how you’re living your life now, and how you’re going to live it tomorrow.

“People keep talking about this unfolding. I can't trust the unfolding, okay? If there is some higher power making origami out of the universe, it hates my guts. I was a fat kid whose parents got divorced, whose father died, and then who got cancer herself. So no. I don't trust how things are going to unfold.”

THE NUB AND GIST: 3.5 STARS

Buy the book from: Amazon US / The Book Depository UK / Kindle

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Your Dream French Kiss: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

6 stars Saturday, August 17, 2013

Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Speak
Publication Date: July 16, 2013 (reissue)
Source: Bought/Own copy
Author's website | GoodReads

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Ohmygod, guys. OH. MY. GOD. THIS BOOK.

I am so glad that Anna and The French Kiss took off to a very awesome start right from its first page. You might think that with that, it would have nothing left to offer as the story went on. But NO. It was like a symphony of birds singing a melodious and harmonic song that constantly rose and rose to a crescendo until it reached its final climax with a bang. I devoured this book and flipped each page more hungrily than the previous. It’s so.. *searches through the whole Oxford English Dictionary* Nope. Not even a single word to describe how good this book is.

First, let’s talk about the setting. In the beginning, I was like, “Oh, okay. Paris, then.” But as I read on, I became like, “I WANT TO FLY TO PARIS NOW!” Stephanie Perkins made “The City of Light” even brighter and “The City of Love” lovelier and more romantic *sighs dreamily*. She took me to a vacation tour but made it so much more.

It was also so nice to see the story unfold from Anna’s eyes. She was clumsy, awkward, a movie-junkie, hilarious, humble, shy, and she was real. Anna was real in a sense that what she feels, she feels. Although Anna may not say those thoughts aloud (which caused a bit of a conflict and misunderstanding a couple of times), she is true to herself. She tries to deny them sometimes but deep inside she knows what she really wants. She’s a strong and down-to-earth person who loves and protects her friends no matter what. I found Anna a really remarkable character.

Étienne St. Clair. Just the name itself is cool, right? There’s so much more, though. English/French/American St. Clair’s funny, caring, protective, compassionate, has perfect hair(!), jealous(!!), and afraid of heights(!!!). He wasn’t any of the stereotyped bad boy jock, goody two-shoes, or the dark and mysterious guy with a tragic and secret past. He was.. Étienne. He was unique and definitely one of the best guy protagonists I have met yet.

Now put Anna and Étienne together, my feels =

Seriously, their attraction towards one another and their relationship were absolutely endearing. The small moments and gestures they shared together were so cuuute, as well as the way they tried to dodge each other despite the very strong pull! Étienne’s tiny affectionate actions towards Anna were totally romantic. Another thing I also mentioned was Étienne’s jealousness. Yes, I love how jealous he could become because of Anna! I totally want to share EVERYTHING or at least MORE but that would be spoilery. You have to read this for yourself. (I literally mean for yourself. If you care about your own welfare, you will read this!)

The writing was easy and familiar, and it made the plot go on effortlessly. The pacing was seamless, and the timing and placement of events were perfect. The story didn’t only keep me from reading, but left me craving for more. The way Anna and Étienne overcame their problems was admirable. Also, I want to have friends like Rashmi, Meredith, and Josh! It would be totally awesome to be part of their circle! However, I thought that there were still some unknotted loose ends by the end of Anna and the French Kiss. Both Anna and Étienne’s family issues felt unresolved. Although aside from that and LOTS of Anna- Étienne scenes, I couldn’t ask for more.

I am just so frustrated over Anna and the French Kiss because of the length! [Okay.. that’s not fair. Haha.] If the length was longer than the whole LoTR trilogy, that would be totally fine with me because, guys, it’s Stephanie Perkins! I finished this book 2 days ago and I’m still in a hangover. Like, I don’t think I can read another book after this one’s awesomeness.

I’m not even close to justifying this book right now. Nope, not at all. All I can say is that I want to reread it already! XD And if there’s one book I would like to be with me in my casket or in my grave, it would be this. I'm actually considering rearranging my Top YA Contemporary list *waggles eyebrows*. Also, why did I put it off for this loooooong?!

To sum up, this book is what you call a Young Adult Contemporary Romance! Perkins was able to capture the true essence of teenage love and being broken-hearted, and accomplished it in writing. The next book, Lola and the Boy Next Door, is more of a companion novel rather than a sequel. I was truthfully saddened by that, though I heard there still would be Anna- Étienne scenes. As long as I can read more of them, I’m totally buying that! What did you think of Anna and the French Kiss and/or Lola and the Boy Next Door? Have you read them or not yet?