Tag: 5 stars

Sunshine is Forever – Kyle T. Cowan

Um, is it politically incorrect to say you enjoyed a book about depressed teens who have attempted suicide? Oh, well, here goes … I really enjoyed reading Sunshine is Forever.

Growing up reading The Baby-Sitters Club books I was determined to go to camp in America and have fun with a bunch of new friends from camp like Kristy and co. Even after watching all of the Friday the 13th movies I still wanted to be a camp counsellor. Much to my dismay I never went to camp as a kid or counsellor, but find me a book about teenagers going to camp, any camp, and I want to read it.

So, here we are at Camp Sunshine which incidentally leaned closer to Friday the 13th (minus the sex) than BSC. In fact, had Jason shown up to deal with Asshole Jim around the time of his introduction I probably would have happily provided him with directions and a mug shot.

I would hope that Camp Sunshine would never get accreditation to open in the first place because other than half an hour of token therapy a day, the workers may as well have been singing Kumbaya with the kids for all the good they were doing. A padded cell used as punishment? Really??? I kept thinking as I was reading this book, ‘please don’t let this resemble the way mental health is dealt with in America’, but having seen some documentaries about American LGBTQ conversion therapy I wondered how far from the truth it actually was.

My time reading this book was divided between smiling at Hunter’s observations and monikers he chose for his family, friends and prison guards (oops, sorry, therapy staff) and sadness at the situation all of these teenagers were in. With themes including guilt, forgiving ourselves and others, and taking responsibility for our actions there were obviously going to be portions of the book that were very difficult to read but like witnessing an imminent train crash I couldn’t look away. I had to know if the crash was going to happen or if there’d be a near miss.

Hunter’s conviction that it was only through Corin’s love and acceptance of him that he could be happy was both sad and believable. It’s much easier to assign roles for other people to attempt to make them responsible for the outcome of our lives than to look inside and take responsibility for ourselves.

I spent most of the book waiting as patiently as possible to find out what secrets were hidden in Corin’s thick green file and wasn’t surprised at their theme when all was revealed. However hard it was to read I did like the symmetry it set up between Corin and Hunter. While the noose around Hunter’s stomach was guilt, Corin’s noose was shame.

I loved the point made that you get out of therapy what you’re willing to put in to it. I would’ve really liked to have read that miscalculations had been renamed at the end in conjunction with Hunter taking responsibility for his actions, but that’s essentially nitpicking.

I liked that some things were left undone at the end. It wouldn’t have worked as well if everything was wrapped up with a pretty bow. Life’s messy and while we’d love to believe in them, Insta-Fixes aren’t as plentiful as we’d like to think.

I felt this one sentence summed up depression better than the DSM-5 could ever hope to:

“If you knew me, you probably wouldn’t like me, either.”

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Inkshares for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

After a life-changing decision, Hunter decides that he can’t go on …

… which lands him in Camp Sunshine, a rehab center for depressed teens. Hunter is determined to keep everyone there out of his head, especially his therapist. But when he meets Corin, a beautiful, mysterious, and confident fellow camper, all Hunter wants to do is open up to her, despite the fact that he’s been warned Corin is bad news.

When Corin devises a plan for them to break out of the camp, Hunter is faced with the ultimate choice — will he run from the traumatic incident he’s tried so hard to escape, or will he learn that his mistakes have landed him right where he’s meant to be?

Sunshine is Forever captures the heartbreaking spirit of The Fault in Our Stars, the humor of Orange is the New Black, and the angst of Catcher in the Rye.

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I Love a Book – Joe Rhatigan

Illustrations – Olga Ivanov & Aleksey Ivanov

What’s not to love about a book about loving books?! I Love a Book is adorable! This book could singlehandedly grow a new generation of bookworms, introducing them to the portable magic found between pages.

I would have loved reading this as a child and was delighted reading it as an adult. While other adults have coffee table books that make them seem more cultured than they probably are, my coffee table books consist of children’s books and I look forward to adding this one to them.

The words flow so well and the illustrations complement the poetry beautifully. The illustrations are extraordinary! Brightly coloured and detailed, they captured my imagination. Each time I look at a page I see something new. There are stories to be discovered in each of the illustrations. I both want to tell those stories and hear from children the adventures they see taking place on each page.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – MoonDance Press for the opportunity to read this book. I’d happily recommend this book for child and adult bookworms alike.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

This is a celebration of books, reading, and our imaginations, I Wish I Could Write a Book opens with a list of types of books and where to find them. The simple, lyrical prose then becomes more frantic as a young reader encounters pirates sailing the sea, a classroom of monsters “learning math with their paws,” and even an animal doctor making house calls in a helicopter.

With lavish illustrations nearly spilling off the page, the young reader finally makes a startling discovery about his own imagination and creativity. This book is for anyone who loves books and wants to instill this passion in the next generation.

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The Lost Causes – Alyssa Schwartz & Jessica Etting

I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved this book! Jessica and Alyssa, please write a sequel. Also, if you could possibly start talks with some TV networks to commence work on The Lost Causes Season 1 that’d be awesome.

The Lost Causes shouldn’t have worked so well … but it did. It took on so many themes and genres that it should have read like a book that couldn’t make up its mind what it wanted to be when it grew up … but it worked. Now this isn’t exhaustive by any means but we had murder, conspiracy theories, addiction, child abuse, abandonment issues, trust issues, mystery, humour … yet it was cohesive. How is that even possible?! Did Jessica and Alyssa use the serum on themselves to work this magic, and where can I get some?

I was so conflicted reading this book. I wanted to read slowly because I didn’t want to miss anything yet I wanted to rush through it to see how it wrapped up. I wanted to know who we could trust but the suspense was so much fun I wanted it to last. I wanted to find a character I hated or bored me but it wasn’t to be.

I can’t think of another book where I’ve made it to the end and still haven’t decided who my favourite character was. This book was primarily written in segments focusing on each of the five Lost Causes – Z, Sabrina, Andrew, Justin, and Gabby. Now, this usually annoys me in books because I find it can disrupt the flow and make the book feel disjointed … but it worked here. It started with Z and I immediately bonded with her, partly because of her attitude and partly because she was rocking my hairstyle. I was sure she’d be my favourite character. Then I discovered that my favourite character was constantly changing, depending on who I was reading about at the time. So at this point, I give up. They’re all my favourites!

The banter between the five was realistic and I loved that their growing bond wasn’t all sunshine and roses. They annoyed and didn’t always understand each other, and why should they? They had such diverse personalities. They had no reason to become Insta-friends. Also, I cannot give enough praise for the fact that the teenagers actually spoke like teenagers!

I don’t want to give away any spoilers but suffice it to say that the plot kept me guessing, I wanted to know what happened next with both the plot and the relationships between the characters and I had so much fun reading this book. I even half expected Mulder and Scully to walk in and join the investigation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the opportunity to read this book. In case you missed it the first time, Jessica and Alyssa, please write a sequel!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Misfits. Outcasts. And the only ones who can find a killer.

They’re the last people you’d ask to help with anything, much less a murder investigation. The rich girl, the obsessive, the hypochondriac, the addict and the hot-tempered athlete—people think they’re beyond help. Lost causes. But where the world sees losers, the FBI sees its only hope.

With the help of a dangerous serum, the FBI erases the teens’ past problems and unlocks a psychic ability within each of them. In return, all they have to do is help find the killer who’s turned their small town upside down.

But as they close in on a suspect, they expose a conspiracy that puts them directly in harm’s way and makes them wonder who—if anyone—they can really trust.

If anything happens to them, will anyone even care?

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Waste of Space – Gina Damico

As soon as I read the blurb for Waste of Space I knew I was in for a fun time and couldn’t wait to start reading. I started smiling within the first few pages and I’m not sure I stopped until after I realised the book was over. Although my smiles at the beginning related to the absurdity of the situation the characters were unwittingly getting themselves into, the last smile was due to the satisfaction that came from imagining the beauty and perfection of that final image.

Reality shows are such guilty pleasures. I’ve felt squeamish during Survivor‘s food challenges, eaten chocolate while watching The Biggest Loser, experienced the horror akin to watching a car crash unfold every time something disgusting is found during a Hoarders episode and revelled in feeling boringly normal each time a new My Strange Addiction unfolds on my TV.

I love that Gina Damico took a satirical spin on reality shows. I’m not usually a fan of books that feature transcripts as I generally find them quite incohesive but was pleasantly surprised with how well my attention was maintained throughout the transitions between transcripts of video footage and phone calls, and the intern’s commentary.

I haven’t read one of Gina Damico’s books before but found her writing to be very visual. With the descriptions of the people, locations and situations I could easily watch mini movies in my mind of all of the action. If The Asylum were to take it on I could see this book being made into a really fun B grade comedy/drama/action movie. I’d definitely watch it!

Waste of Space took me longer to read than I’d expected because I kept stopping to go find someone to read a funny passage to, such as the explanation of what went wrong in the season four finale of Alaskan Sex Igloo. I loved the concepts of the other reality shows described in this book as well, including America’s Next Top Murderer and The Real Housewives of Atlantis. I had to try to suppress a giggle when reading about these because I’m sure if they were real I’d be settling in to binge watch them as we speak.

That said though, beneath all of the fun and some silliness there were some deeper truths to be found about conquering your fears, not judging a person solely by the image they portray on the surface, facing the painful events in your past and the impact they continue to have on you, and the value of trusted friends.

I was intrigued by both Nico and Titania from when I first met them and looked forward to seeing how their characters unfolded throughout the book. Watching their characters interact with their fellow Spaceronauts and each other was entertaining and I liked discovering the defining moments in their pasts that eventually led them on board the Laika. As much as I liked both Nico and Titania, my favourite character ended up being Kaoru, the girl who consistently told it like it was … albeit in Japanese which none of the other Spaceronauts understood.

What I wanted to eat while reading this book:

  • Bacon (sorry, Colonel Bacon!).

If I were to nitpick:

  • I was a bit annoyed by some crude scenes that I didn’t think were necessary and added nothing to the plot or character development.
  • I kept waiting for the disclaimer saying this book was sponsored by IKEA.

What I’ll be doing once I finish writing this review:

  • Researching Gina Damico’s other books to add to my ever growing to be read pile and working out which one I want to read first.

I know I’m going to want to reread Waste of Space and highlight all of the passages that made me laugh so I can easily find them again when I feel the need to randomly quote them.

Catchphrase forever!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Cram ten hormonal teens into a spaceship and blast off: that’s the premise for the ill-conceived reality show Waste of Space. The kids who are cast know everything about drama—and nothing about the fact that the production is fake. Hidden in a desert warehouse, their spaceship replica is equipped with state-of-the-art special effects dreamed up by the scientists partnering with the shady cable network airing the show. And it’s a hit! Millions of viewers are transfixed. But then, suddenly, all communication is severed. Trapped and paranoid, the kids must figure out what to do when this reality show loses its grip on reality.

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