Mini Reviews: 2017 Edition

As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, one of my reading goals was to try to stay current when it came to YA releases. I've done a pretty good job, if I do say so myself, and because I've read so many new books this year, I thought I'd do you all a favor by summing up my thoughts for each book. This way, you can pick out which books look best to you and flail around with me.

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

4/5

WOW. #1 underrated book of the year. I can't believe I didn't see more hype for this because it's so good??? This is one of those stories where you'll never have all the information. You pretty much spend the entire time confused as hell and you'll thank the author for it. It's a chilling mystery masked as a contemporary. Mary is an unreliable narrator due to the trauma she's experienced, which makes every important event blurred. It's infuriating and addicting. The ending leaves something to be desired in the sense that the general conclusion is genius, but I think it was executed poorly. However, you'd be missing out if you didn't pick up this dark, gritty, raw, gripping, and shocking tale that will haunt you for days.

Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer

5/5

Iko is my precious android warrior, which made this spinoff of the Lunar Chronicles series all the more enjoyable. The illustrations added another depth to my perception of the characters, other than Wolf, who I always imagined to look more human than wolfish. Not only do you get to spend the whole time watching Iko kicking butt and possibly setting up a budding romance for herself, but you also get more than a taste of Cress and Thorne. They were the secondary stars of the show, and with good reason, since you can't help but love how adorable they are together.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

5/5

This is a tough read right off the bat, but it's well worth it. You know how sometimes new YA books get so much hype that when you finally get around to reading it, you're disappointed? That's not the case with this one. Angie Thomas is the master of weaving important issues into a compelling story. It's not preachy and it's not eye-rollingly forced. I enjoyed every page, mostly because the characters were so well-written. I loved to love some of them and I loved to hate others. The family dynamics were realistic, something that's not always prevalent in YA fiction. It's painful and raw at times and fluffy and funny at others, but most of all it's a perfect blend of all of those things.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

5/5

Becky Albertalli has done it again! How is she so good at creating relatable teens who we're able to fall in love with? My heart. You guys. This was so darn cute. I just want to curl up between the pages of the book and take a nap in the sun. Molly's voice was so addictive and conversational. It was nothing fancy, but it was honest and funny. I felt like I was settled directly inside her brain with her every thought. Plus, she's obsessed with Pinterest and has a massive crush on Lin-Manuel Miranda, so what's not to love about her? And the food. I was craving Cadbury mini eggs as much as I craved Oreos when I read Simon. Also! Family dynamics! Siblings! PARENTS WHO ARE ALIVE AND HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR CHILDREN. Molly and her twin sister Cassie interacted like real life siblings. And I LOVED seeing a healthy, non-sexualized, loving, committed, normal relationship between two women (who were awesome moms, no less!). And for all you Simon fans out there, Simon and Abby make cameos! The only teeny tiny thing I had an issue with was the fact that I found the love triangle to be a bit too predictable. I knew first thing who Molly would end up with, if she ended up with anybody. But that didn't make the romance any less cute or fun. Readthisbookreadthisbookreadthisbook.

Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

3.5/5

Imagine Pride & Prejudice except with Hamilton and the Schuyler sisters. If this sounds like your cup of tea, it probably is, and you should definitely go make a cup right now to go with your new reading material. This book has so much fluff, I contemplated making a few stuffed animals with it. While I am no enemy to fluff and romance, it was slow at times when there was no reason to be. There were plenty of chances for far more exciting chapters, but instead we got detailed descriptions about the gowns Angelica and Peggy wore. Clearly it was written at the perfect time to capitalize on the "Hamilton" craze, which I didn't mind, but that meant I was disappointed by Angelica's portrayal in particular. Everything I've read about her relationship with Hamilton, especially from the Ron Chernow biography, said that she and Hamilton shared an intense sibling-like bond due to their passionate natures and razor-sharp wit. In Alex & Eliza, though, Angelica comes off as rude, snobby, and mean. Hamilton and Eliza did come off exactly how I imagined they would, though, which made up for it.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

3/5

Buckle up, kids, because I have more conflicted feelings about this book than Harry Potter fans do about Severus Snape. This is the perfect example of a case where the hype for a book left me disappointed. Very little kept me reading to the end, and that was because I 1. had invested so much time already in the book already and 2. was a little curious what happened because I did still like the characters well enough. First of all, personal issue here, but I think using the third person for a YA contemporary romance is super odd. We hardly ever see anything but first person when reading YA contemporaries these days. Third person only works if you can still make me feel really connected to the characters, and I was about as connected to them as a spotty WiFi signal. Sometimes I was super into them and their relationships and other times I found myself zoning out. The dialogue was so unnatural. There were whole conversations that took place simply because it moved the plot forward, which is what dialogue is supposed to do, but it's also supposed to do that without the reader realizing it. Grr. I did love the diversity! It was really cool to read about Indian culture from two American-Indian teenagers with two very different perspectives! Buuuuut, it dealt with these issues in a really preachy, awkward way. Sandhya Menon could learn a thing or two from Angie Thomas. I've talked with my teenage friends about social issues. We don't talk like that. The nerdiness was great and I loved the concept of a coding camp where everyone's in a competition to create an app, but for the whole six or so weeks they were at the camp the author? Never?? Once??? Showed them???? In class????? Why. Why why why. That could've made things way more interesting and added a ton more tension (which was sorely lacking) rather than sending Dimple and Rishi to various restaurants for lunch every day. I love food, but food does not make up for a slow plot that wanders and repeats itself. One of the big saving graces to this book was that, however unrealistic several parts of it were, the romance was cute! Downright adorable! I totally shipped it. I mean, when a girl flings her iced coffee at a boy during their first meeting, it's all uphill from there. As you can see, I have a lot of feelings (mostly mixed) about this book, but it wasn't terrible.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

5/5

This author has a gift for taking my heart, pulverizing it, blending it into a pain-flavored smoothie, and handing it to me in a way that I'll happily slurp the whole thing down. (Like that imagery?) It wasn't quite Aristotle and Dante levels of wow, but WOW. My interest was held throughout an unusually long contemporary with little plot, largely due to how good these characters were written. I love his characters, every single one of them. The friendship, the family dynamics, the love of dogs (dogs who don't die, might I add!), and the food (homemade tortillas . . . *drools*) made this story something I missed reading when I was doing something else. It was such a cozy book to curl up with before bed, even if it made me cry like twelve times. (Probably more. Definitely more.)

Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

5/5

Why, hello there, book that was made expressly for me. I totally identified with Eliza as an introverted fangirl who spends lots of time online and on my phone, but, like Eliza, I'm actually being very social online! Some of my best friends were made through fan-fiction and forums, and they live in other states and countries and time zones, but they're still great friendships. The romance was super cute and unconventional and the story reminded me a lot of Fangirl if it were set in high school. Read this if you're looking for something to whip through in a single day.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

5/5

Hats off to Lara Liz who recommended this to me, because otherwise I never would have heard about it! I can't figure out for the life of me why more people haven't shouted about this one from the rooftops. So. Many. Plot twists. I really should've seen some of them coming, but I didn't, and that's largely due to the really freaking great use of four unreliable narrators. Seriously, they're written so well that you can't help but love them and simultaneously suspect they're murderers. I heard it's being developed into a TV show, too, which is an excellent choice, because I binged this book late into the night and enjoyed every second of it.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

4/5

Leigh Bardugo, my girl, killing it over here like the real Wonder Woman. The snark, the plot, the diversity, the conflict, the pain, all of it. Just all of it. Diana and Themyscira were portrayed exactly as I expected them to be while still remaining fresh and interesting. As always, Bardugo is the queen of dialogue (along with Rainbow Rowell--I could sit around all day listening to their characters talk), which added a layer of humor to a tense plot. While authors complain about "the dreaded middle" of any novel they write, this fabulous author right here completely nailed it. Funnily enough, my only complaints are with the beginning and the end. I found the beginning a little too slow and the end a little too jolting (this is mostly because of a plot twist I had a hard time believing, but I'm willing to forgive that since the rest of it was so darn good). Let's give it up for badass women!

More 2017 releases I'm looking forward to reading . . .

What 2017 releases have you loved so far? What are you still looking forward to? Leave a comment!