Faerie

Faerie, by Eisha Marjara is a quick yet emotional real about a 17 year old named Lila, who is hospitalized with an eating disorder. Lila is about to turn 18, about to become an adult, but is stuck in the trenches of Anorexia Nervosa. This novel is brutally honest, and doesn't spare the reader any details. Throughout the novel, we learn of how Lila came to develop an eating disorder, are are alongside her while she receives treatment. Marjana forces you to experience every emotion and heartbreak that Lila is feeling, and does a great job in inviting you into Lila's head. In Faerie, we learn why she is so driven to become a waif-like faerie who defies nature. We see her finally make a friend at Four East, someone else battling Anorexia. In Faerie, you can't help but root for Lila to get better and recover. But can Lila break out of the grasp of her eating disorder and overcome her mental illness? Or will Lila's battle end in heartbreak, a much too common fate for many people suffering from an eating disorder?

Lessons in Falling

Savannah is a high school senior who until recently had plans on going to college on a gymnastics scholarship. But then she blew out her knee at a regional competition, needed reconstructive surgery and retired from gymnastics. She put it all behind her in order to finally pass her driver's test, spend more time with her best friend Cassie and have an awesome senior year.

However, everything comes to a standstill when Cassie attempts suicide unexpectedly, and is found by the boy she's been flirting with who might be her boyfriend. She saw no warning signs and blames herself, thinking that the should of known since she's Cassie's best friend. With Cassie in the hospital, Savannah starts hanging out more with Marcus and discovers a different side of herself.

With help from Marcus and a crumbling relationship with Cassie, Savannah returns to the gym. She tells herself she just wants a proper goodbye to gymnastics, one on her terms. But with Savannah blossoming with Marcus and away from Cassie, Savannah starts reevaluating her future. Will Savannah and Cassie's relationship survive this new life Savannah has created for herself?

I really enjoyed Lessons in Falling by Diana Gallagher, but had a few issues. For one, the topic of suicide wasn't addressed properly in my opinion. I've had friends attempt and commit suicide, and it's a lot more life changing and pervasive to one's life than Gallagher makes it out to be in the novel. It almost makes it out to be that Savannah is the villain in the story, when in fact Cassie is the one holding Savannah back and constantly putting her down. Also, as a former gymnast, the return to gymnastics isn't that realistic. I know for the story's sake it kind of had to be this way, but one can't return from reconstructive knee surgery to competing at level 10 after taking a "retirement" break doing nothing. Savannah would of never been able to return to competition that fast, regardless of how often she practiced or how hard she worked. Overall I enjoyed the novel but found too many holes to give it five stars.

Lessons in Falling by Diana Gallagher was published on February 7th and is on shelves now!

MIA

-brushes off the blog's dust-
Needless to say, I've been gone for quite some time. My health was all over the place, and I spent a few months in the hospital. I moved states, moved back states, and took a break from blogging. Regardless, I kept on reading but took a break from blogging. I am back now, hopefully for good. Over the time I was gone, I read some AWESOME books. I'll post some covers of a few I've really enjoyed, with a blurb from the author.

 

It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago. [Goodreads]

Thrillers and missing person cases are getting super popular right now, and I've jumped on the bandwagon. They hold your attention and always keep you guessing, and All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda is one of my favorites so far. ''

Still mourning the loss of her beloved grandmother and shaken by her mysterious, dying request to “find the baby,” Abbi has just arrived at UW Madison for her freshman year. But on her second day, she wakes up to a different world: 1983. That is just the first stop on Abbi’s journey backward through time. Will is a charming college freshman from 1927 who travels forward through time. When Abbi and Will meet in the middle, love adds another complication to their lives. Communicating across time through a buried time capsule, they try to decode the mystery of their travel, find the lost baby, and plead with their champion, a kindly physics professor, to help them find each other again ... even though the professor gets younger each time Abbi meets him. [Goodreads]

I'm pretty sure I enjoyed this book so much just because of how different it is. A lot of time-travel books are way too gimmicky for me, but Waking in Time by Angie Stanton really worked for me. It's a fast read, exciting and well written.  

 Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene? [Goodreads]

It's no secret to anyone that I know that I adore Jodi Picoult's novels. I patiently wait each year (and a bit longer for this one) for her novel, buy it the day it comes out and devour it. Small Great Things was no different. Picoult chooses controversial topics and send you on a wild ride that you never want to stop. 

The Game: Get ready for Zero Hour as 200 geniuses from around the world go head to head in a competition hand-devised by India's youngest CEO and visionary. [Goodreads]

I love competitions, reality shows and the like. Genius: The Game by Leopoldo Gout was right up my alley for these two reasons. I'm just hoping that the fact it says #1 in Goodreads means that this is a series and there's more to come.

Can one girl help others find closure by slipping into the identities of their loved ones? [Goodreads]

The Program series by Suzanne Young is one of my favorite series in recent years. The Epidemic plays into the series by coming before The Program occurred. It's fantastic, no questions necessary. 

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal. [Goodreads]

A contemporary young adult novel dealing with mental illness is right up my alley. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia does a great job at talking about schizophrenia in an non-intimidating, relateable way and I love it for that reason and so many more.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off...Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

Another contemporary young adult novel dealing with mental illness; this time Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I really loved this novel, even though it say on my to be read pile for a long time. The novel takes you through a huge slew of emotions, is hopeful and feels realistic.

Since her twin brother, Eddie, drowned five years ago, sixteen-year-old Elsie Main has tried to remember what really happened that fateful day on the beach. One minute Eddie was there, and the next he was gone. Seventeen-year-old Tay McKenzie is a cute and mysterious boy that Elsie meets in her favorite boathouse hangout. When Tay introduces Elsie to the world of freediving, she vows to find the answers she seeks at the bottom of the sea.
 I volunteer for a grief camp, Comfort Zone Camp, and therefore grief has a very special place in my heart. The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander addresses grief eloquently. I loved this book so much and hope you do as well.

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There were more excellent books I read, but I'll leave it at that for now. Just finished a new book and want to get that review out soon as it's being published very soon.

With love, Britt