Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland || BOOK REVIEW

Book: Our Chemical Hearts

Author: Krystal Sutherland

Release Date: October 2016

Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books

Genres: YA Contemporary 

Format: Hardback

Pages: 313

Goodreads Description

This. Book. Was. AMAZING! 

I breezed through this book in almost one sitting which isn't very common for me. I haven't read a physical book from start to finish since July and this was one I could not put down! 

From debut author, Krystal Sutherland, comes this amazingly realistic love story. Our Chemical Hearts is not your typical YA love story and I think that's one of the reasons I loved it so much! The characters, the plot, the geeky references; they all make this book so amazing. 

On goodreads, the first line of the description is as follows: "John Green meets Rainbow Rowell in this irresistible story of first love, broken hearts, and the golden seams that put them back together again." I was excited for this book because of this quote and it did not let me down. 

Our Chemical Hearts follows Henry Page and his senior year of high school. This year, more specifically the first few months, are filled with first love, being editor of the newpaper, and dealing with life that involves more than playing video games with his friends and grades. One day a new student walks into his drama class late, walking with a cane, and dressed completely like a boy. This student is Grace Page. When Grace and Henry are both chosen as editor of the school newspaper Henry starts falling for this mystery girl. 

We see the ups and downs of a new crush and the beginning stages of a relationship. We also see the anxiety of liking someone and not knowing if they like you back as well as the anxiety and worry about someone you care deeply for. We also get to see heartbreak. Unlike a lot of YA contemporary books this book takes you through a range of real emotions and makes you think. 

Having met Krystal and listening to her talk about this book made me enjoy it that much more! I loved the wide range of characters we got with this book. The overly Aussie Australian, the biracial lesbian best friend, the wacky and loving parents, the once beautiful now strange girl and our leading man, the intelligent boy who loves his friends and family. 

Henry's parents were my favorite in this book! They're so loving and understanding to their son and are also completely weird and embarrassing to him as well. 

Grace Town is very mysterious and suffering internally. I won't go into it much but I really appreciated her character and loved the complete arc that she had. 

Lola, La, is one of Henry's best friends and is completely awesome! She's there for Henry and Murray, Muz, but she also knows when she needs to step in and do something. Murray is the overly dramatic friend who lathers on the fact that he's originally from Australia. I love him and his relationship with Henry. I also love the fact that between these three friends they are all equally open with each others families as well. 

And then we have Henry Page. Oh Henry. How I adore you sweet Henry Page. Henry is very caring and very nerdy. I fell in love with him from the first moment we met him and I feel for him so much. 

There is so much more I could say about this book, but I'm going to leave it here to avoid spoilers. This book very quickly became one of my favorites and I am already looking forward to rereading it at some point in the future! It's emotional, it's heartbreaking, and it's everything I didn't know I wanted!! 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher || Book Review

Book: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Release Date: October 2007

Published: RazorBill - Penguin Books

Genres: YA Contembory 

Format: Audiobook

Narrator: Debra Wiseman and Joel Johnstone

Length: 6 hr. and 24 min

Pages: 336

Goodreads Description

This book has been on my radar since it first came out when I was in high school. Because of the subject matter I was always put off and unsure of how it would handle the subject. I finally picked this up for a couple of reasons; everyone loves it and Jay Asher is coming to town on tour of his new novel, of which I read the first chapter and adored. 

Thirteen Reasons Why tells the story of why Hannah Baker killed herself. Our main character, Clay Jensen, receives a box full of audio tapes and when he starts listening to them he discovers that they are tapes that had been recorded by his crush Hannah shortly before she died. 

This book is told from Clay's point of view but we get inside of Hannah's mind through being able to listen (or read) to her tapes. I would completely recommend this on audiobook because it is narrated by both a male voice and female voice, meaning the tapes are in a female voice making the connection to Hannah having made the tapes much stronger. 

Hannah is very clear in tape one that there are thirteen reasons, or people, that ultimately shaped her mind into wanting to kill herself and that she would address each of them in the tapes. She is also clear that each person is to send the tapes to the next person on the list and if they did not a second set of tapes would be released exposing the secrets of all those mentioned. 

The book takes us through an entire night of Clay listening to the tapes and following what Hannah wants the listeners to do while giving us insight to his feelings and insight to Hannah's mind. 

I completely loved this book! I can see why so many people love it and call it a favorite. It's emotional and makes you think. I appreciate the look into the mind of a person who is severely depressed and that it makes you think. This book does a really great job of showing you not to judge someone by the rumors you hear and to pay attention to the warning signs, you never know what someone could be going through. 

The only downside I had to this book was listening to it at work, it was hard not getting emotional and I had a few people ask me what was wrong. Other than that I really loved it and cannot wait to meet Jay Asher next week! 

Overall I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good emotional read, just know what the subject matter is going into it and be in the right head space. 

   

The Girl from the Sea by Shalini Boland || BOOK REVIEW

Book: The Girl from the Sea

Author: Shalini Boland

Release Date: June 9, 2016

Published: Adrenalin Books

Genres: Mystery Thriller

Format: Audiobook

Narrator: Gemma Dawson

Length: 7 hr and 17 min

Audio Published: Tantor Audio

Pages: 306

Goodreads Description

Overview:

Waking up on the beach not knowing who she is or what happened to her, our main character begins her journey of trying to figure out what use to be her life. 

Mia is a 25 year old woman who has amnesia throughout the majority of this story. It takes a few chapters to learn her name and start learning a few details about who she is. It's her boyfriend that claims her and brings her home feeding her details about who she is and where they are at in their life. 

Very quickly Mia feels unease with her boyfriend and wants to him to leave her alone. After she contacts her mother and sister she starts feeling like everyone is lying to her when things aren't adding up. 

Through wondering around town and finding a friend she can confide in Mia slowly starts having flashbacks and feelings of who she use to be. This story is a gripping thriller of figuring out who you once were and if that person is who you want to be now. 

Characters:

Our main character, Mia, is sweet and innocent essentially experiencing things for the first time. She reaches out to her family and some friends she thinks she can trust all the while wanting to be alone to try and remember who she once was. For the most part Mia is an enjoyable character and I really found my self rooting for her throughout the story.

Her boyfriend, Piers, is a truly unlikable character. From the moment we meet him I didn't trust him and thought he was hiding things from Mia. He came to the hospital claiming to be her boyfriend then keeps letting himself into her home with his set of keys and forcing her into social situations that she is not ready for. I found myself getting uncomfortable and tense anytime he was in the scene. 

We really don't get to see a whole lot of Mia's mom and sister, which is a disappoint because I did enjoy the few scenes we got with them. 

The only other main character worth mentioning is Jack. Jack is a friend of Mia's from the rowing house and really the only person she is comfortable with after her accident. He helps her keep calm when anxiety arises and takes her out rowing to give her some sense of normalcy.

What I liked:

So much! I really enjoyed this psychological thriller. It kept me guessing and I only was able to figure things out moments before they were revealed. I enjoyed Mia as a main character, she wasn't miserable as some psychological thriller characters can be. The author does a good job of giving the reader just enough info to let you in on the secret but also keeps you guessing just as our main character is figuring out who she is. 

What I disliked:

The one thing I had trouble with is believing our main character is 25. Maybe because the narrator sounds older but also because it felt like her life was too well formed for a 25 year old, almost like everything seems too convenient and falls right into place for her.  Sure, it can happen but I kept imagining her being in her late 20s/early 30s, not 25. The ending also was a bit lack luster for me, but still enjoyable and unpredictable.

Conclusion:

Overall I really enjoyed this book! It's been awhile since I've read a decent psychological thriller. I loved the mystery of this and how the author gave mystery in the form of the main character having amnesia. I didn't figure out the end until right before it gets revealed and with books like these I try to figure out the mystery as early as possible. The final chapter was a little lacking for me but it doesn't really take away from the overall story. In the end I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick mystery/thriller read!