Tonight The Streets Are Ours by Lelia Sales

Tonight The Streets Are Ours by Lelia Sales

Release Date:September 15, 2015

Publisher: Farrar Straus And Giroux

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 352  

Summary: From the author of This Song Will Save Your Life comes a funny and relatable book about the hazards of falling for a person you haven't met yet.

Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom.

Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.

During one crazy night out in NYC filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn't exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn't exactly who she thought she was, either.

My Thoughts: I wanted to love this one, I really did. But, I just liked it. It was just okay in my opinion.

We are introduced to Arden who has her whole life ahead of her. She’s not really sure what she wants to do yet. She has dreams and goals but she’s not 100% on anything yet. She has an amazing boyfriend who she adores but just doesn’t feel “right” for her. She also has a crazy best friend who seems to get her into trouble a lot.

Arden finds a blog about a boy named Peter. Peter seems sincere and caring and he seems like someone Arden can admire and be more like.

Well, one day Arden isn’t having the best day so she decides to go to NYC to meet said blogger Peter. She finds him pretty easy really. Yes, she knows the basic information I guess, but it was just tooo easy!!! haha! At first Peter seems so caring and realistic and sincere and everything she thought he would be. She spends the course of the night getting to really “know” him.

But things aren’t always what they seem and Arden realizes nobody is perfect.

I really liked Bianca for some reason. She at least seemed to tell mostly the truth and was upfront to Arden. And, I liked Arden but I feel as though she was easily blinded.

I loved that she just up and went to NYC. I loved that she got in her old beat up car and just drove.  But I never really connected to the story and the characters as much as I hoped. I didn’t really liked her boyfriend or Peter very much.

Overall: This one was still a cute fun read. It was light and a fun read for a summer day. It just wasn’t my favorite read of the summer! I’ll continue to read more by Sales and see if there is a book I like more!

Cover: Like it! Its so bright and colorful and I love it!

What I’d Give It:

What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler

What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler

Release Date: September 22, 2015

Publisher:  HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 336

Summary: Kate Weston can piece together most of the bash at John Doone’s house: shots with Stacey Stallard, Ben Cody taking her keys and getting her home early—the feeling that maybe he’s becoming more than just the guy she’s known since they were kids.

But when a picture of Stacey passed out over Deacon Mills’s shoulder appears online the next morning, Kate suspects she doesn’t have all the details. When Stacey levels charges against four of Kate’s classmates, the whole town erupts into controversy. Facts that can’t be ignored begin to surface, and every answer Kate finds leads back to the same question: Where was Ben when a terrible crime was committed?

This story—inspired by real events—from debut novelist Aaron Hartzler takes an unflinching look at silence as a form of complicity. It’s a book about the high stakes of speaking up, and the razor thin line between guilt and innocence that so often gets blurred, one hundred and forty characters at a time.

My Thoughts: This is one I probably wouldn’t normally read but I did it on a whim one day. And, I thought it was good but I just didn’t find myself too into it or the actual plot. It just wasn’t the right one for me I think.

We are introduced to Kate who has liked a boy for a while. His name is Ben and she’s known him a long time. In her eyes, Ben is perfect. But he always seems to have a girlfriend and Kate is just the “friend.”  One day, Kate gets really drunk and gets a ride home from Ben from a party. At this party, a picture is taken of another girl. The picture makes its rounds, and the girl files a rape claim. Of course, in this town the school and most of the town turn against the girl. Kate doesn't know what to think. Kate wasn’t really there and she wants to stay away from the situation.

Of course, Kate ends up getting in the middle and she has some tough decisions to make. I don’t want to say the whole plot of this one. Or what happens. Part of me was surprised by the ending, the other part, not so much. I had a feeling that was what was going to happen.

This was a good one, it just wasn’t the right one for me. I like cookie cutter happy endings where everything makes sense. This one was just ARRGGGG.

Overall:  This one will definitely make you think about things. I rooted for Kate and for her to do the right thing. And she deserves a really great guy! I'd say this is probably a 3.5 rating for me.

Cover: Like it! Love the door handle! It fits!

What I’d Give It:

All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1) by Ally Carter

All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1) by Ally Carter

Release Date: January 20, 2015

Publisher: Scholastic Press  

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages:  320

Summary:  This exciting new series from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter focuses on Grace, who can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world, and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.

Now, at age sixteen, she's come back to stay--in order to solve the mystery of her mother's death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.

My Thoughts:  I’ve read other books by Ally Carter and I enjoyed them! And I just loved All Fall Down!

We are introduced to Grace who has spent most of her summers roaming Embassy Row! With her mother gone, and her dad away she is forced to spend another summer at Embassy Row with her grandpa.

Grace just wants to be left alone. She’s been having some problems in her past and now they follow her around and are always on her mind. She’s coping with her mother’s death and with the scarred man she believes killed her. Grace sees him again on Embassy Row and is determined to prove his guilt. She also meets a few friends along the way. Oh man, I liked the two girls she gets to know better and the boy. Actually, the two boys. I liked them both. They are both worth mentioning but of course I liked Alexei the most.

Alexei was funny but also witty but also annoying at times. I really liked him from the get go. And the beginning of the book I laughed my butt off.

I kind of figured out how things were going to go down from the beginning. I had a feeling the ending was also going to happen. I kind of guessed the major plot points in this one but I still enjoyed reading it a lot. I laughed a bunch of times and I liked it. I still think I liked the Gallagher series a bit more though.

Overall:  I really liked Grace and her cast of friends, or more like a bunch of dorks! They are all a little dorky but also funny and neat! This one is probably a 4 cupcake rating for me. I thought about 5 but I didn’t like it as much as her other series.

Cover:  I’d definitely pick it up! Like it!

What I’d Give It:

The Wrath And The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

The Wrath And The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Release Date: May 12, 2015

Publisher:  G.P. Putnams Sons Books For Young Readers

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages:  416

Summary:  One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

My Thoughts:  I’m not really sure what to say about this one. I’m a little bit torn. We are introduced to Shahrzad whose best friend has been murdered. She was one of the girls who became Khalid’s wife and was murdered just as many girls before her had been.

I really did enjoy it. I however had a hard time getting into it. The first half I just felt like dragged on. I wasn’t into the plot or the characters very much. I just didn’t relate to them and I didn’t care for them.

But by about the midway point I started getting sucked right into the story and I had to know what was going to happen next. I enjoyed Shahrzad getting to know Khalid and seeing a side of him she did not expect.  I liked their encounters. I also liked all the side characters as well. They each were so bright and beautifully written.

I just had a feeling there was more to Khalid’s story than what everyone thinks and I was very right. I knew it would be something like that even though I wasn’t sure what.  

Overall: I found myself really enjoying this one even though I had a hard time with the beginning.

I started to care about the characters and by the time the story ended, I wished I had the second book. I really liked all the characters even the not so good ones. I also want to know what happens next.

Cover:  It’s not too bright and colorful but if I had seen it in on the shelf, I’d probably pick it up!

What I’d Give It:

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Release Date: September 15, 2015

Publisher: Balzer And Bray

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 384

Summary:  Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . . until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine— Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

My Thoughts: No matter how much praise I give Dumplin, I’ll never do it enough justice. I really loved it a lot. I already read Murphy’s debut, Side Effects May Vary and enjoyed it too.

Growing up, I was always normal sized but never really overweight. Once, I got a little older I gained some weight. I knew how Dumplin feels. I know the daily struggles she goes through and how she wants to just be herself and she wants others to look at the inside of her, not the outside.

We are introduced to Willowdean who is in high school. She works at the local fast food joint alongside a boy named Bo. Oh, Bo. I really loved him a lot. Willowdean and Bo have a sort of secret relationship and this worked for them, at first. It was never outright said it was a secret so when it seemed like he really did want to hide Willowdean, she kind of went the other way for a while. She starts seeing a boy named Mitch. I liked Mitch but I never got the chemistry between Mitch and Willowdean. It just really wasn't there.

Willowdean enters a beauty pageant that her mom is involved in. At first, Willowdean does it just to prove a point. That she can. And that she deserves it just as much as anyone else.

I really loved all the girls we meet and the things they do with her. I loved the friendships, even the ones that weren’t perfect.

I feel like I could just type this review forever but I think this is just one of those books you have to read on your own and experience and one that will keep you up all night long.

Overall:  I really really loved this one. It made me smile and laugh yet at the same time really made me think about things. It was heartbreaking yet sweet. Add this one to your Fall TBR now!

Cover:  Love it! It just fits. Cute enough to draw me in but not overly cute where it looks tacky.

What I'd Give It: