{Review} The Loop by Shandy Lawson

The Loop
Author: Shandy Lawson
Release Date: April 30, 2013
by, Hyperion
Source: *a copy was provided by the publisher & author for review purposes*
Pages: 208

Ben and Maggie have met, fallen in love, and died together countless times. Over the course of two pivotal days—both the best and worst of their lives—they struggle again and again to resist the pull of fate and the force of time itself. With each failure, they return to the beginning of their end, a wild road trip that brings them to the scene of their own murders and into the hands of the man destined to kill them.

As time circles back on itself, events become more deeply ingrained, more inescapable for the two kids trapped inside the loop. The closer they come to breaking out, the tighter fate’s clutches seem to grip them. They devise a desperate plan to break free and survive the days ahead, but what if Ben and Maggie’s only shot at not dying is surviving apart? {Goodreads}

~Review:
  Let me tell you, when I got this book in the mail I was surprised by its size. It's only like 270+ pages. Now when stories are that short I always worry on how it's going to work out. Will 270+ pages be enough to satisfy me? Will it call short? Will it be too rushed? Will enough information be provided? Sometimes it does fall short. Others are lucky enough (well maybe it's not luck) to push past all my fears and prove to be really good!  The Loop was one of the lucky (or not lucky...) ones.

  Shandy Lawson is a great writer. For it being so short you didn't really feel it. And it's not like it dragged on either. It was a normal speed book. He found the happy medium and I loved it. Not only is his writing really good but the story he came up with was amazing. It's the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet but stuck in repeat. Like a broken record it just keeps repeating its tragic events. Maggie and Ben are meant to meet, fall in love and then meet their terrible end only to repeat it all over again as soon as their lives end. Maggie is able to remember it each time but Ben...Benjamin can't almost every time. Certain things come to him like déjà vu but that's as far as his memories of the events go. Each time they hope to break free of the time loop. Each time they fail. They fight against fate every time.

  Reading the story from Bens POV is probably my favorite thig. I love when we get the males POV. It doesn't happen often so it's always a sweet treat when we get one. Well at least I think so!! Most of the time Ben was lost especially when it came to a new loop. He had no recollection of what had happened and had to start over each time. Again some times he got little déjà vu feelings but he had to rely on Maggie to save him from time to time and explain it all. His memory loss didn't cause the book to be slow or confusing. In fact I found it pretty fast pace as far as action and thrill went. I felt as if I was the one with time breathing down my neck waiting for death to take me! I felt what they felt. The romance was adorable. The fact that Ben couldn't remember and still was willing to face death at the end because he really liked her was endearing. I was cheering for them from the beginning!!

 Fast paced, haunting, heart-breaking and absolutely wonderful! I loved The Loop through and through! I was hooked from page one, unable to put it down. Romeo and Juliett at its finest with that sci-fi twist. I finished it within a day and not because of its size. I was turning the pages faster than I could account for and before I knew it, it was over. The ending didn't leave me hanging. It ended wonderfully. Some authors just give a perfect ending and this was one of them. Shandy Lawson has a great career in Young Adult ahead of him and I can't wait to read more from him! Do I suggest you try this book out?? Well, uhm.....DUH!!!! ;P
~Rating:

4 of 5 stars!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hope you all have a splendid day! ;D

~Jaiden

{Review} The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher

The S-Word
Author: Chelsea Pitcher
Release Date: May 7, 2013
by, Gallery Books
Source: *a copy was provided by the author for review purposes*
Pages: 304

First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.  

But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie's looping scrawl.  

Lizzie’s reputation is destroyed when she's caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn’t deserve to keep living.And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie's own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High—and she might not be able to pull herself back out.

Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for—even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.{Goodreads}

~Review:
  Chelsea Pitcher is one of those authors you read from and think, KNOW that they were born for that exact reason. To steal readers breath and capture, squeeze and tear your heart. To shower us with such an abundance of love for the words they are so blessed to create and we are lucky enough to read. The story just flows as if it was as easy as breathing for them. Her writing is flawless and gorgeous. I have no words to even come close to delivering justice to the amount of talent of Miss Pitcher and the riveting story we call The S-Word.

  I was completely transfixed in this book!! I couldn't put it down and it literally pained me....PAINED ME to have to put it down for those silly little thugs like sleep and homework. I didn't WANT to put it down. I wanted to read it all the way through and at the same time, go as slow as possible just so the amazingness could never end....then again I wanted to know the end. This book was filled with bitter sweetness.
 
  The characters!! Oh the characters!! Some instantly click with you (Jesse) and others take more time to grow on you or well in some cases reveal their true selves. Woah!! How many twist and turns were there? How many times was I side swept!!?? Let me tell you...way too many!!! But it was so good!!! Sometimes I would read those little surprises and close the book, breathe in, breathe out, lay back and just die a little. The notes. The notes were what pained me the most. It actually hurt. My stomach and heart were pained by the pain of memories and the horrid words spoke, and the actions made.

  I literally have no clue what else to say other than read this book when it comes out. Please. I need everyone to read it. It's so worth it and amazing and fantastic and everyone who can read needs to experience the wonder that is The S-Word. I have become such a huge monster fan of Chelsea Pitcher because of this book. Her writing is extraordinary and her ability to master a story like this is beyond this world. I literally kissed the book after I turned the last page. I didn't want to read anything for about 3 days just because of the amount of impact the book had on me. It needed breathing room. I....I think I should just go now.

  Read the book ok guys? The S-Word is a 2013 you don't want to miss. I'm not even joking. This is one of the rare 5 star books. I don't give 5 stars unless they are rightly deserved. This book belongs to my need-in-order-to-breathe book shelf. It is one that I will make sure to carry around with me wherever I go during my life. One that I will read from beginning to end the rest of my life. One that I will never tire of. Thank you. Thank you Chelsea Pitcher for being the genius you are and writing The S-Word so all of us could experience your genius and one of the greatest stories ever written. I seriously would put it up with John Greene and his The Fault in Our Stars. Like TFOS, The S-Word had me feeling so many feels it was ridiculous!!! Also, if you have vet read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher...this book is a must!! I can't wait to see where Chelsea's career in the Young-Adult literature life takes her. I am starving for more of her work! Hear that? Get crack-a-lackin!! ;D Ok ok so NOW I'm done!!!

~Rating:

Need-In-Order-To-Breathe!!! <3 (the highest of the highest)

Thanks for stopping by!!

Have a great Monday!!! :D

~Jaidden 

{Review} Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To
Series: Pushing the Limits #2
Author: Katie McGarry
Release Date: May 28, 2013
by, Harlequin Teen
Source: Netgalley

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."  

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....  

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all.... {Goodreads}

~Review:
  Asdfghjkl!!!!!!!!! Where do I even start!!? Ok how about how I jumped up and down squealing like a little girl and dancing like an absolute freak when I got approved on Netgalley for this? Ya, I totally went fan girl crazy on this and let me just say....I wasn't in the privacy of my own home so I earned a few weird "is she ok?" Looks! ;P

  You guys have no clue how much I loved Pushing the Limits (the first book in this companion series). It was absolutely till isn't and gut wrenching and ya I think you get my point. It was definitely one of my top five contemporaries of 2012! Katie McGarry quickly became one of my favorite contemporary authors. Hands down. She just has this amazing way with words. She takes whats so broken and fixes it with love. Her stories are so touching. Katie has got talent that we oh so thankfully get to take a look at. Her characters, writing, word choice, story plotting, everything of Katie's books are a little slice of heaven. And I am not exaggerating at all.

  Dare You To may have just beat my love for Pushing the Limits. Do you know what that means? It means that my love for this book would have to be freaking HUGE!!! And it was. This book was impossibly great! Ryan, Isaiah, Beth, the little bits we got to see of Noah and Echo, it was all brilliant. Katie just has this way of reaching into your hearts through her characters. If you have read Pushing the Limits you know that Beth has a pretty messed up life and we get to see every inch of just how messed up it is. It's your typical story of broken girl meets seemingly perfect boy. The match that seems so unlikely but ends up being so perfect.

  How many stories like that do we get in YA contemporary? How easy would it be to create a replica and it not stand out at all? To just be a blah story? Let me tell you...easy. Way to incredibly easy. I have read many and none of them stand out as much as Katie's. Dare To You will blow you away and steal your heart. If you have yet to read Pushing the Limits I suggest you read it first. It's not necessary but you will thank me. It just gives you a look at where it all began I guess. Either way. Which ever way you choose to read these companions....it's a must. I want every young adult reader to read these books. They truly are some of the best contemporaries you will ever read. Don't hesitate for a moment when you are browsing through your local book store and see one of the two. Buy it. You need these books k? ;D

~Rating:

5 of 5 stars!!!!!! <3

Thanks for stopping by!!

Have a great Wednesday!! :D

~Jaiden