The D.U.F.F.

Written by Kody Keplinger

Goodreads Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.
But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

My Confession: I think I decided to buy this book because the title was so in-your-face. I mean, "Designated Ugly Fat Friend," really? My finger was poised over my Nook--I was just looking for a quick, fun read. I wasn't totally in the mood for a story that was going to "teach me a lesson" about body love. But then I realized how many times I identified as a DUFF, and I pressed "purchase." Yes, Barnes & Noble, I'm okay with you charging my credit card $7.99 for this ebook. I want to read what this brave teenager (yes, the author is a teenager) has to say about this topic.

Okay, so who hasn't felt like the ugly, fat one in their group of friends? If you haven't, then you can stop reading here. Because I have--almost every day of my twenty-three year existence. And I can count on one hand how many times I've read a character like this--someone simultaneously smart, sassy, and completely uncomfortable in their own skin because of what society perceives as "pretty." And not once have I ever believed that a legitimately attractive male would fall for someone with a little junk in the trunk. But I believed Wesley's genuine affection for Bianca, not because of what she looked like, but what she brought out in him. In never trying to please Wesley, Bianca is herself--she doesn't worry about her body or image. And in doing so, she finds a peace within herself and everything she has to offer. I think it adds a little truth to the adage that you can never love someone without truly loving yourself first. In many ways, I don't think you can ever be truly loved until you love yourself enough to show all of yourself to that person, until you realize you have nothing to hide. That's how Wesley and Bianca fall in love with each other's true self. And that's why it feels so real. Wesley never really loses his edge, and Bianca never really loses that cynicism, but they find a way to soften the other.

But I think this can be more than a feel-good story for girls who have always felt marginalized for not fitting into a size 2. I was really impressed with the eighteen-year-old author's concept of storytelling and building character. A lot of this book was very believable, and Bianca's voice was strong and consistent. There were a few points where I winced or grimaced, mainly in the moments when Bianca equates Wesley to a drug, the way she uses him to avoid facing her home issues. I get where the author was trying to go with this--I just don't think it totally got there.

Recommendation: This was a really cute read and a page-turner in its own way. The characters are three-dimensional and I really enjoyed reading a truly relatable female voice, someone who wasn't at the top of the high school food chain. Bianca's not a blonde, perky cheerleader (even though one of her best friends is); she doesn't have "tragic beauty" that she just doesn't realize. She's 100% normal, American teenager who is just trying to survive adolescence. Her uber-popular friends really love her, and it was utterly refreshing to read about how perception really is reality. And a little self-love and confidence never hurt anyone.

Rating: 3.5/5

280 pages, published by Poppy (Sept. 7, 2010)

The Fault in Our Stars

Written by John Green

Goodreads Synopsis: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors in her lungs...for now. 
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too: post-high school, post-friends, and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumors tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

My Confession: Every so often, I come across a book that gets me really excited. Really excited about the fact that I can stumble across something that causes me to miss valuable hours of sleep because I've become physically incapable of putting the book down. Really excited about the idea that one person could make up a story so enthralling, so emotional, and so enchanting that it reminds me once again why I am a writer, and why I spend countless hours reading other people's words.

This is one of those books.

It's hard to put into words everything this book will make you feel. It is one of the most beautiful, well-crafted stories I've ever read. It's stunning and heartbreaking, and the raw honesty and bare reality literally took my breath away at times.

I had a moment with this book. I connected with this book. I have never felt quite so gutted, quite so drained after finishing a book, and then immediately felt the urge to pick it back up and read it all over again.

Augustus and Hazel have a connection that doesn't need glitz, glamour, or paranormal activity to portray the strength of true love. Their interactions are specific and intellectual, their banter witty and humerous. The added notion that they both battle(d) cancer adds a note of irony and maturity to their relationship, but you never forget that these are kids, kids who just happen to see the world a whole lot differently than most people do.

This is not a story about cancer and what it takes away. This is a story about finding love and transcending both time and circumstance. It's a story about life and what you do with it; love and whether you choose to believe it; hope and how you dare to feel it.

Recommendation: If you call yourself a book lover, or like myself, a bookaholic, then you cannot--cannot--miss this book. It is one of the most powerful things I've ever read. Everyone should feel the simultaneous, beautiful confliction of bone-rattling, earth-shaking love and knee-breaking, heart-wrenching sorrow that The Fault in Our Stars makes you experience in its breathtaking 300 pages. Read it. It's a rollercoaster worth riding.

Again and again.

Rating: 5/5

318 pages, published by Dutton Juvenile (Jan. 10, 2012)

Sisterhood Everlasting

Written by Ann Brashares

Goodreads Synopsis: From #1 New York Times Bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.
Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn't take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can't seem to shed her old restlessness.
Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever--but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

My Confession: I couldn't pick this book up fast enough. First of all, I didn't know for months that it even existed. After reading Forever in Blue, the final book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, I thought these characters were done. I'd seen the movies, lamented their abbreviation of three-books-into-one method, and made peace with the characters I'd grown up reading. I'd accepted their ending. I was okay with where they were. It made sense to me. I moved on.

And then this book happened.

I wasn't ready for what I was about to read in these pages. All I knew was that I wanted to read about Carmen, Bridget, Lena, and Tibby one more time. I loved these girls. I, myself, am one of four friends who've managed to stay close after high school. I could identify with Lena's shyness, Bridget's occasional depression, Tibby's need to create something bigger than herself, and Carmen's compassion and maternal desire to keep everyone together. I was excited knowing that this book would take place ten years after the fourth book, putting all four women close to their thirtieth birthdays. I'm hedging on 22, so I can't say that I can relate completely, but I expected them to have stayed mostly the same. Characters so deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of girls everywhere couldn't have changed much, right?

Wrong: I was so wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. There were moments where I felt like I didn't know these girls at all. Bridget was still restless? I couldn't believe that at almost 30, she was still poised to throw away her life with Eric (who she spent the entire series chasing, losing, loving, gaining, and taking for granted) to become the "wild child" she'd been at 16. For some reason, my tolerance for her antics reached a breaking point. I know it sounds cliche, but during her part of the narrative, I shook the book and wanted to yell grow the eff up! numerous times. Even worse, Carmen, the girl I probably related to the most throughout the series, was utterly unrecognizable. Now a big-shot actress, she's engaged to a decade-older, bald, cold-fish man who's everything the hopelessly romantic Carmen who fell in love with Win would never have given a second look. She's forced her voluptuous Latin body into a size 0, talks down to her mother, seems burdened by her newly-widowed father, and acts like a selfish, self-centered beeyotch. I hated her. And then I hated myself for hating her. She'd been my favorite. But, in this book, I didn't know her.

The only one who stayed the same was Lena. Lena, Lena, Lena. Still lamenting over never getting together with Kostos, which is, of course, her fault. She continually ignored his numerous overtures until, understandably, Kostos threw in the towel. But never fear! This star-crossed couple isn't finished. It was mildly satisfying to watch Lena grow something resembling a spine, and Kostos is as gentle and giving as he always was. But while the other two girls seemed forcibly altered, it was Lena who could have used the aging. She was still trapped in her nineteen-year-old mentality. Her insecurity, like it does in the previous books, gets old very quickly.

And then there's Tibby, the whole reason I cried continuously throughout this book. I won't tell you why--it's too big a spoiler. [If you want to know what happens but don't want to pick up the book, contact me and we can chat.] I was angry at Ann for changing the dynamic between the friends this drastically, in this particular way. I'm not sure that it was necessary. I felt a certain detachment from this book that I hadn't felt from the previous four. Maybe it was because I wish many of the events in the book hadn't occurred  or more importantly, that they hadn't occurred to these four people. I loved them too much. I was too attached. I wanted their futures bright, happy, open. This book wasn't where I pictured them ending up.

Recommendation: I won't be able to stop you from picking this book up if you've read the previous four and are just itching to read more. That's what led me to this purchase. It's what led me to crack the cover even though I had a feeling of trepidation. Just let me warn you: if you're looking for the girls you grew up with, you won't find them here. Not really. There are glimpses, cracked windows into the adults that could be the Sisterhood all grown up. The story is dark, the plot a vacuum that leaves you feeling drained, sad, and tired. It wasn't the future I wanted for them. In some ways, a few ends were tied up nicely. But there's a hole--a big, gigantic one--that forms in this book, and it's never filled. I ended up feeling a disconnect from this book entirely, and it felt like a stand-alone novel with characters who only happened to be named Bridget, Lena, Tibby, and Carmen. Read it if you can't stop yourself. Stop yourself if you're happy with the ending that Forever in Blue leaves you with. That's how I'd rather remember those girls: giddy, fun, close, and ready for the future.

Rating: 2.5/5

368 pages, published by Random House (June 14, 2011)

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Written by Jenny Han


Goodreads Synopsis: Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.


My Confession: This was a really sweet read. From the carefree prose to the breezy descriptions of the delectable shore line, this story felt light. As someone who has treasured summers down the shore, I felt like this book really captured the atmosphere of the otherworldly sensation of sand between your toes and young love in your heart. I don't know about you, but I'm always more optimistic when I'm at the beach. It's always been my safe place, my home-away-from-home. When it's time to leave, you usually have to drag me away (kicking and screaming is not just for toddlers, you know). Having tried to write about my love for and connection with the shore, I know how hard it is to create that special emotion and convey it to a reader. Han, however, does a pretty good job with it.


I enjoyed how the book was formatted. By starting in the present and then jumping back and forth in time (you're given fair warning, so the transitions are smooth instead of jerky), you get a real feeling for why Belly is so in love with the shore--and Conrad. Belly, who's only 16--even though there are moments when she seems much older--has been in love with the older Conrad her entire life. Even though he's brooding, moody, and never seems to acknowledge her as anything more than a pest, she turns to mush inside whenever he's around. Knowing this right up front, I was a little leery that this book would turn into Belly-pining-for-Conrad-and-Conrad-never-noticing-Belly. 


I was pleasantly surprised.


Early on, it becomes clear that Conrad does notice Belly as something more than a younger sister, but something keeps him from acting on it. And Belly, not one to turn down a good opportunity, meets a boy that summer and pursues a relationship. While Conrad remains in the back of her mind, it was refreshing to see that she didn't spend her entire summer doing her hair all pretty so Conrad might notice. Even though I never doubted (and I think this is the point) just how deep her feelings for Conrad run. She really does love him, but something holds her back, too. 


A Fresh Breeze: This YA novel has many layers. On the surface, it seems like a superficial love-triangle story of a pretty girl torn between two boys (brothers, no less). But that's not exactly how this plays out. Friendships are explored--between the kids as well as the adults--and serious issues, such as cancer, are dealt with out in the open. Belly proves herself to be a rather un-shallow character, and her summers revolve around more than boys. She has a close relationship with her family and feels extremely linked to Susannah, Jeremiah and Conrad's mom. And while her love life took up a significant amount of the book, there was enough substance that keep this story from getting annoyingly pubescent. 


My Recommendation: It's pretty much the perfect summer read. It's light, airy, and fun. It delves slightly deeper than you might expect, and every time you think you've just about had enough, something new happens that takes the plot down a different road. The Summer I Turned Pretty is the first book of a trilogy, so the ending has almost no resolve. Personally, I'd be interested to see where Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah go from this point in their story. Han does a great job of creating multi-faceted characters that are easy to invest in and root for. Yes, it's classified as YA lit, but I think anyone who knows what it feels like to spend a summer down the shore will enjoy this. 


Rating: 4.5/5


276 pages, published by Simon & Schuster (May 5, 2009)