Tag: Cedar Fort

Review: Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett.

Posted December 8, 2011 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Main Character: Jennifer Clark
Love Interest: Trever Hoffman
Series: None, that I know of
Author: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Jen’s life of partying and sneaking out has grown stale. So on a whim, Jen makes a bet to turn Trevor, a goody-two-shoes geek, into a “bad boy.” As she hangs out with Trevor, however, she finds it’s actually kinda fun being a geek. But when Trevor finds out about the bet, Jen must fight for the things she’s discovered matter most: friendship, family, and, above all, love.

I got this book for review on NetGalley but the publisher archived it before I got around to reading it but I bought it and read it and am so freaking glad that I did because I adored it.

This book follows Jennifer Jones as she becomes Jennifer Clark. Jennifer Jones is a bitter young teenaged girl who doesn’t think much about the world around her and the people in her life. She’s been burned far too many times and lived through some things that nobody should ever live through, especially someone as young as her and in an effort to deal with her life, she keeps people at arms lengths and never lets anyone get too close to her because she doesn’t plan on sticking around. She’s really goth and describes herself as “the freak”. She drives people away by being hard to be around and her friends Beth and Ella aren’t really friends. In an effort to entertain herself and her friends, she bets her friends that she could bring the geekiest geek at school to the dark side.

Only thing is, instead of her bringing him to the dark side, he brings her into his world and she finds that she likes it in his world and wants to stay.

This book was a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I mean, I went into this book thinking that I would get something cute and fluffy but what I got was a story about a girl who needed someone to be there for her. She needed some guidance and a family and whether she knew it or not, she was dying for a family of her own and a place to call home. In this book, we get all of that and more.

Jen was one of those kids that you can’t help but adore. She was rough around the edges at the beginning but over the course of the book, you see her come out of her shell and find out who she really is and what she’s capable of. You learn about her as she’s learning about herself and you come to care for her character even when she takes forever to come clean about the bet with Trevor. You cheer her on and you want whats best for her throughout it all because she feels so real. Her problems, her background and her past, they all felt so real.

My favorite part of this book was of course, Trevor. Trevor was the kind of guy that anyone would want to be better for. He was kind and he was sweet and just nerdy enough to freaking love. He was the best part of this book for me. I adored getting to know him because it was so much fun. He made the story a little brighter every time he came onto the scene. The way that he was around everyone, how loyal he was to his friends, his family and then to Jen- it was fabulous. I adored him, his family (even his crackhead Mom) and I loved his brother Todd. I loved the way he showed Jen that he loved her for the person she was and the person he knew her to be. Even when he was being a bonehead and taking too freaking long to forgive Jen, I adored him. I just couldn’t help myself.

Another thing that I loved about this book was how well written it was. It’s not always perfect and sunshiny, when the crap hits the fan, it really hits the fan. When Trevor turns into a bonehead, he really turns into a bonehead and don’t even get me started on how dumb Jen was throughout a whole lot of this book but what I liked is that despite all of that, Cindy C. Bennett kept writing a story that I wanted to continue reading. She kept writing about characters that I wanted to know more. When I finally closed this book, I was a little sad because I had grown quite attached to these characters. From Jen and Trevor to Jane and Brian, the Clarks and even Mary Ellen. This was such a well rounded story that it brought out all of the emotions out in me. I loved being happy, being sad and being all over the place emotionally with this story. It was great. An all around fabulous read that I can’t recommend more.

Kudos to Cindy C. Bennett for writing a story that kept me locked in right from the very beginning. I loved it!

..and that’s your scoop!

Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

2 Comments

Tagged: 5.0 Reviews, Cedar Fort, Cindy C. Bennett, Contemporary, Netgalley, Reviews, Rowena's Reviews, Young Adult

Review: The Next Door Boys by Jolene B. Perry.

Posted October 25, 2011 by Rowena in Reviews | 6 Comments

Main Character: Leigh
Love Interest: Hmm.
Series: None, that I know of.
Author: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

With her body still recovering from last year’s cancer treatments, Leigh Tressman is determined to be independent. Despite the interference from her overprotective brother, physical frustrations, and spiritual dilemmas— not to mention the ever expanding line of young men ready to fall in love with her— Leigh discovers what it actually means to stand on her own and learns that love can be found in unexpected but delightful places.

I picked up this book because I saw that Leigh (the main character) was headed to BYU and so I knew that the characters were going to be Mormon. I haven’t read too many LDS fiction books and wanted to change that (mostly I haven’t read more LDS fiction because they’re so stinking expensive and I’m cheap) and then add to that, the blurb for this story painted a cute story with a main character who is a cancer survivor and I was immediately drawn to it.

I’m glad that I read it because reading this book and seeing Leigh interact with the people around her took me back to when I was in the youth. All the activities, the Family Home Evenings when I went to the Institute, all of the good times made me smile while I was reading this book.

This story follows Leigh Tressman as she goes from being the sick girl to the college girl. Leigh had ovarian cancer and is now in remission and while her parents and doctors wanted her to wait another semester before going back to school, Leigh was ready to go now and so she did. Getting back into the real world after living in a bubble where you dealt with cancer and chemo therapy and just being sick isn’t as easy as Leigh thought it was going to be but more than anything, Leigh wanted her own space and going away to college was the only way that she would get that. She didn’t even mind that her brother Jaron was living next door, she just needed space away from her worried parents so that she could breathe.

Getting to know Leigh was a bag of mixed emotions for me. There were times when my heart went out to her and then times when I wanted to strangle her, she frustrated me so but I’m glad that I didn’t let my frustrations with Leigh keep me from finishing this book because Perry did a wonderful job of sucking me into Leigh’s story and keeping me invested in her and in the other characters. Most especially, Brian and Nathan. I loved getting to know Brian and the more I learned about him, the more I wanted to learn about him. Nathan was an adorable addition to an already charming cast of characters and I loved him too.

Seeing the friendship between Leigh and Brian grow from the beginning of the book to the end of the book made me all giddy inside because it wasn’t fast and passionate, it was slow and steady and at the end, so so real. There was nothing about their relationship that felt forced or in anyway rushed. I had absolutely no doubts at the end that they were meant for each other and when Leigh finally realized it, I about shouted, “FINALLY!” because it was a long time coming and I thought it was just too cute for words.

This is a Christian fiction book as the characters are Mormon (Latter Day Saints) and they were pretty strong in the Church as well. It was good to see that like myself, all Mormons are not perfect. They struggle with their beliefs and they struggle with staying on the straight and narrow but they also know that the work they put in will always be worth it.

For me, this book was a reminder of everything that I grew up with. The teachings, the people and it took me back to happier times when I was young, carefree and just happy. Now, I lose sight of everything because I’m super stressed about bills and money and other worldy things but it was nice to read this book and be reminded of the little things that can bring me such happiness. I enjoyed getting to know both Leigh and Brian and I thought the rest of the cast were all well rounded, fleshed out characters that I enjoyed getting to know.

This book was an enjoyable Christian fiction book and I’m glad that I read it. I will definitely be buying this book for my daughter because I know that this is something she would enjoy.

…and that’s your scoop!

Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com