I Expected More // REVIEW: Instructions for a Second Hand Heart by Tamsyn Murray

Title: Instructions for a Second Hand Heart
Author: Tamsyn Murray
Publication Date: November 1st 2016
Publisher: Usbourne Publishing
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Usbourne Publishing (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Amazon US || Amazon UK || The Book Depository || Wordery || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Kobo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Jonny isn't like "normal" teenagers. Every day he wakes up in hospital, kept alive by a machine. Every day he wonders if this is the day they'll find a donor match for his heart. Every day he wonders if this is the day he'll die.
Every day, Niamh fights with her "perfect" brother Leo. Every single day, Leo wins. Every day, Niamh dreams of a life without Leo. But all that changes on the day of the accident: the day EVERYTHING falls apart.
This is a story about facing the future no matter how frightening. This is a story about healing your heart, no matter how much it hurts. 

If I could sum up this book in one sentence, it would be: I expected more.

I flipped close the last page a few hours ago and I’ve spent that time being so mad at what a horrible friend Jonny was and how there was such a lack of chemistry between Jonny and Nimah.

So, let’s break it down:

Plot

I liked how this sounded, I did. Your new romantic interest is the boy who has your dead brother’s heart? Sign me up.

As soon as I read the description, I knew it was a book I’d want to read one day. It certainly is a unique plot, and I thought it would be fun to read.

I should also mention that I could see the amount of research Tamsyn put into the book. It never once felt like the information or the medical treatment that the characters were going through was anything less than 100% accurate.

Story

While the plot was good, the actual execution wasn’t that great.

For starters, there was no chemistry between Jonny and Nimah. All I could tell was that Nimah fell for the first guy or even person that paid her any attention and Jonny for the first girl he had a reason to talk to. There texts were bland, and HOW THEY MET WAS SO STRANGE.

More than that, the story progressed rather strangely. The way Nimah behaved with her parents, the way there was this random bout of depression and suicide that were sped over SO SO FAST with vague “we spoke for days about it” and “my family that never spoke to each other meaningfully will now never lie to each other”

If you’re going to handle grief, you should handle it well. If you’re going to put in suicidal thoughts and depression, it shouldn’t be glossed over.

Characters

I hated how Jonny came into contact with Nimah, and then wouldn’t tell her the truth about how he found her. There were a series of horrible lies that had me cringing. And then Nimah was jealous of a poor girl suffering on a hospital bed and said she would “allow” Jonny to speak to his friend.

Jonny ABUSED the fact that he had been given a heart, stopped taking his medicines and HUNG OUT WITH A BUNCH OF SMOKERS? It just contradicted everything he went through all so that he would make friends. I was SO SO MAD.

I really hated how he treated Em. She was always there for him, but he didn’t once understand that he might be jealous that he’d gotten better and pretty much thought her irrational when she thought he was jeopardizing his new chance at living. ALSO, HOW THEY ENDED HER STORY LINE MADE ME SCREAM. NOT COOL.

And then Nimah managed to get JEALOUS about it. I was so done.

Conclusion

Basically, I expected this book to be so much more. 2.5 Stars at best. 

Hertfordshire-based writer of books. Lives with one husband, one daughter, one son, one mad chocolate labrador, one aged tabby cat, five gorgeous bunnies. Likes animals (no, really?), Marmite and messing about on stage. Dislikes spiders, celery and arrogant people.

Have you read any harrowing books on Organ Donation? 

Who are some of your favourite fictional siblings? 

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Refreshingly Cute // REVIEW: The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

Title: The Names They Gave Us
Author: Emery Lord
Publication Date: June 1st 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Bloomsbury India (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Amazon US || Amazon UK || Barnes and Noble || The Book Depository || Wordery || Infibeam || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Kobo || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: From acclaimed author Emery Lord comes a vibrant, compelling story of love, loss, faith, and friendship.
Lucy Hansson was ready for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses” their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle. Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?
Emotionally-charged and unforgettable, Emery Lord’s storytelling shines with the promise of new love and true friendship, even in the face of life’s biggest challenges.

Thoughts/ Opinions before Reading:

   1)      This is only my second Emery Lord book – the first being When We Collided that was NICE, but not all I expected it to be

   2)      I’m a little wary to be reading a book about faith and Christianity (I’m agnostic, and books that incorporate a lot of religion aren’t necessarily my favourite)

3)      THIS COVER IS SO SO BEAUTIFUL THAT I HAVE TO OWN IT.

Thoughts after reading the book:

Short and Sweet: The Names They Gave Us surprised me in the best way – it had all the goodness of a summer romance, had just the right amount of family and faith, it handled all the issues it took on perfectly and was so real I couldn’t help but fall in love.

·         Lucy Esther had one of the best character growths I’ve seen in a while. She started off as your standard good girl, a little naïve, a little set in her ways (cue terms like *hippie camp* and *heathens*) but by the end of it, she’d definitely grown as a person and I loved witnessing it.

·         I LOVED LUCY’S FAMILY. I’m ALWAYS, ALWAYS complaining about how families just aren’t portrayed enough in YA contemporaries and how that makes them so unbelievable because HELLO – minors and high school? Lucy’s family was just the right amount of present, they were constantly in her thoughts and well, THEY MATTERED IN THIS BOOK. Thank you, Emery for bringing the perfect amount of family life to a YA Book.

·         SUMMER CAMP! I’ve never been at a month long camp, and I haven’t really thought about what it would be like, but I really truly loved the atmosphere of this camp. It had a bunch of kids with difficult lives trying to be kids and I loved everything about it! I loved the counselors and the banter they had among themselves, and the fact that these humans were real friends

·         FAITH. Or, more specifically, the way faith was handled. Like I said in my ‘before’ thoughts, I’m agnostic (not an atheist, not religious) and so books with their content as religion aren’t my favourite. For the first time, I not only didn’t mind it, I felt like it really tied the whole book together, making Lucy a character that was so much more life-like.

A cute, refreshing, swoon-worthy, family filled summer read from one of the masters of contemporary young adult literature! 5 stars!

Hi! I'm Emery. I'm the author of four novels about teenage girls: OPEN ROAD SUMMER, THE START OF ME & YOU, WHEN WE COLLIDED, and THE NAMES THEY GAVE US. 

​

I was born near a harbor on the East coast and raised near a beach, an ocean, a great lake, and the Ohio River. I'm a longtime Cincinnatian, where we love good beer, good music, and our public library. 

​

I'm married to a scientist who shuts down every wedding dance floor, and we are owned by two rescue dogs. I believe in the magic of storytelling, Ferris wheels, and you.  

Have you read any of Emery Lord's other books? What did you think of them? 

What are some of your favourite contemporary novels? 

Who are some of your favourite teen protagonists? I can't wait to hear from you!

An Intense Emotion Filled Ride // REVIEW: Life In A Fishbowl by Len Vlahos

Title: Life In A Fishbowl
Author: Len Vlahos
Publication Date: January 12th 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Bloomsbury India (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Amazon US || Amazon UK || Wordery || Barnes and Noble || Google Play Store || Infibeam || The Book Depository || Kobo

Blurb Description: Fifteen-year-old Jackie Stone is a prisoner in her own house. Everything she says and does 24/7 is being taped and broadcast to every television in America. Why? Because her dad is dying of a brain tumor and he has auctioned his life on eBay to the highest bidder: a ruthless TV reality show executive at ATN.
Gone is her mom's attention and cooking and parent-teacher conferences. Gone is her sister's trust ever since she's been dazzled by the cameras and new-found infamy. Gone is her privacy. Gone is the whole family's dignity as ATN twists their words and makes a public mockery of their lives on Life and Death. But most of all, Jackie fears that one day very soon her father will just be . . . gone. Armed only with her ingenuity and the power of the internet, Jackie is determined to end the show and reclaim all of their lives, even in death.
Told through multiple points of view--including her dad's tumor--acclaimed author Len Vlahos deftly explores what it really means to live in this brilliantly written tragicomedy.

A terminal cancer patient SELLING his life to the highest bidder? 

And that bidder is a television network that intends to make a reality TV show about his death? 

SIGN ME UP.

When I heard about this books from the lovely people at Bloomsbury, I knew that I had to have it. 

And now, about half an hour after I finished, I'm... Befuddled? A mix of emotions I can't decipher? And I can't tell if I'm in love with this book, or just wish it was more. 

Jared Stone was a normal man. A part time graphic designer and part life longish father two two teenage daughter, his life was perfectly normal. Until, that is, he finds out about the high grade multiforme glioblastoma growing in his brain that has given him only three months left to live. 

And so, to ensure that his family will be well provided for without him there, he puts up his life for sale on eBay which gains the attention of a cyber-savvy nun, a billionaire looking for anything that will give him a high, people trying to help and a TV network. 

Soon, the Stone household is infested with cameras, crew, producers, directors and the eyes of millions of Americans all of whom are trying to watch a man fade from all that he is into nothing. 

Told in multiple points of view - Jared Stone, Sherman Kingsborough (the billionaire), Sister Benedict, Ethan Overbee (the producer) Deirdre, Jackie and Megan Stone and the tumor, Life in a Fishbowl is one roller coaster that will leave you a blubbering bundle of emotions.

While the book started off rather lightly, switching between viewpoints so fast I could barely keep up or feel anything for the characters, I soon got used to it, and the book was an intense portrayal of loss in the eye of the camera. One of the things I REALLY LOVED was that Jared's TUMOR had its own viewpoint that was actually quite unique and interesting.

The only part of the book I didn't understand was the lack of focus on the emotional ending. All we really heard about the Stone family's decisions was that they cried. And then they cried some more, but there was NOTHING else, and I wish there had been. 

I also sort of felt bad for the crew and the network? I've seen the show UnReal and I realise that what they were trying to do makes for good TV, but the family did sign a contract and well, I guess that since there was SO MUCH going on REBELLING against the network just didn’t seem really realistic. After all, CONTRACTS are BINDING?

All in all, it was a very unique book that was emotion filled that is DEFINITELY worth a read. 4 stars.

My first novel, The Scar Boys -- it's labeled as Young Adult, but I've never really liked labels -- published January 2014. It is, not surprisingly, a rock and roll coming of age story. No vampires or dystopian future, just a messed up boy and his guitar. (I have nothing against vampires or dystopian futures. I loved The Passage, The Hunger Games, and The Road.)
Scar Girl, the continuation of The Scar Boys' story, is due out from Egmont USA in fall 2015. 
I live in Connecticut with my super awesome wife Kristen, and our six year old son Charlie, and three and a half year old son, Luke, and I spend my days working at a small book industry non profit. 

What was the last "Reality TV" show that you watched? Are you a reality TV person, a documentary person or a fictitious TV watcher?

What was the last book on cancer that you read?

What do you think of Life In A Fishbowl? 

Beautifully Constructed // Home, Perilous Home (ReMade Season 1 Episode 3) by Carrie Harris

Title: Home, Perilous Home (ReMade Season 1 Episode 3)
Author: Carrie Harris
Publication Date: September 28th 2016
Publisher: Serial Box Publishing
Part of a Series?: Yes, Episode 3/15 of ReMade Season 1
I Got A Copy Through: The Publisher (THANK YOU!)

Buy Links: Episodes are available in text and audio and can be enjoyed through the Serial Box App, at SerialBox.com, or wherever eBooks are sold.

Blurb Description:You live. You love. You die. Now RUN.
Every minute, 108 people die. On October 14th, 2016, from 9:31-9:32 p.m. EDT, 23 of those deaths will be teenagers. Now they are humanity’s last hope for survival. Awakened in a world they barely recognize and hunted by mechanical horrors, these teens search for answers amidst the ruins of civilization. Fate, love, and loyalty face off in this adrenaline -pumping YA adventure.    Team-written by some of today’s most popular YA authors, ReMade is brought to you by Matthew Cody (Super), Andrea Phillips (Revision), Kiersten White (And I Darken), Gwenda Bond (Girl on a Wire), Carrie Harris (Bad Taste in Boys), and E. C. Myers (The Silence of Six).

Waking up in a strange and scary new world isn’t necessarily the worst thing, especially when you are grateful to wake up at all. When Nevaeh opened her eyes to find no hospital bed, IV drips, or cancer riddling her body she counted her blessings and sang for joy – happy to face the deadly jungle, killer robots, and (if she’s honest, perhaps the most disheartening) disgruntled companions. They say smiling is the best medicine, but does it still work after death?

This episode written by Carrie Harris. 

 Season One will unfold across 15 episodes beginning September 14^th, with a new installment dropping every Wednesday until the season finale on December 21^st. Jump into this digital serial, available in both text and audio, and find out what the future of fiction holds.

Before you start this review, you should download you FREE copy of Book One in this AWESOME season here.

Or, you can read my review of Episode 1, Shadows and Dreams, written by Matthew Cody here and Episode two, Hungry by Andrea Philips here.

Do you know that feeling you get when you meet an old friend, or get back into an old book?

That warm feeling filled with comfort and excitement?

That is what opening every episode in ReMade feels like; like I’m going back to something familiar and lovely.

Despite that these episodes are never longer that fifty pages, each author (and the story) has the ability to pull you in, show you the world in another, completely different person’s point of view, learn something about the ReMade world, and give you a plethora of new questions!

In the first episode, Shadows and Dreams, we see what all the ‘ReMade’ children experience on the space shuttle. They are plagued by dreams of mechanical spiders and pain, are woken up in a leaking room, found by a lady named Umta, joined by two to three others and sent down from space, to the planet below them.

In the second, Hungry, we hear from an overachiever who has gotten stuck in this warped reality about how the teenagers are surviving in this unfamiliar environment, how they got there and about how all their flaws (like allergies or bad vision) have been eliminated by the caretakers in the space station, making them ReMade.

Which brings us to episode three, which is told from another point of view. Nevaeh is happy to be here. She’s probably the only one, but the feeling of being healthy, the smell of anything other than hospital disinfectant and the feel of the sun on her face are all things she can’t help but being happy about. Not letting her die is the greatest gift the caretakers could have given her.

As she helps with the effort of making a home on this clearing in the forest, Home Perilous Home takes us deeper into who all the characters are, and gives you a clearer picture of what the world is now like.

I love getting into the heads of such different characters – it makes me feel like I really know them, and then seeing them after from someone else’s perspective is EVEN MORE REFRESHING.

AND THAT ENDING, GAAH.

ReMade is a beautifully constructed series that has the ability to make you fall in love, even with a thousand questions on your mind! 5 stars!

 ReMade is a serial presented episodically in 15 parts by Serial Box Publishing.

In one moment the lives of twenty-three teenagers are forever changed, and it’s not just because they all happen to die.  Remade in a world they barely recognize – one with robots, space elevators, and unchecked jungle – they must work together to solve the mystery and stay alive. They came from different places, backgrounds, and families, and now they are our only hope. Lost meets The Maze Runner in this thrilling serial that combines contemporary YA with classic Science Fiction to fling you headfirst into adventure.

Carrie Harris was born in Chicago but if you ask her, she’ll say she’s from Ohio. Her interests include English Literature, brains, and hot geek boys. She has held a string of very incongruous jobs but in between autopsies and studying mad cows, she wrote for various tabletop roleplaying games and textbook companies. These days she writes books for teens, tweens, and adults while also being the Marketing Director for Evil Hat Productions. Her published works include Bad Taste in Boys, and Demon Derby. CarrieHarrisBooks.com. @CarrHarr.

Serial Box produces and publishes fiction serials, blending story production and distribution practices from television, book publishing and narrative podcasting. These team-written original serials span a range of genres including sci fi / fantasy, espionage, contemporary and historical drama, post-apocalyptic, etc. Serial Box delivers episodes to fans’ digital devices every Wednesday over the course of 13-16 week seasons. Each episode is available in ebook and audio and takes about 40 minutes to enjoy. Learn more at Serial Box.com. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and our blog. 

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Have you heard of Serial Box Publishing? What do you think of Episode Books, and would you read them? 

What do you think of ReMade? 

I think this is all SO COOL, and I'm dying for more!

BLOG TOUR: Neverland by Shari Arnold- Review & Giveaway

Title: NEVERLAND
Author: Shari Arnold
Release Date: April 7th, 2015

Blurb Description: It’s been four months since seventeen-year-old Livy Cloud lost her younger sister, but she isn’t quite ready to move on with her life — not even close. She’d rather spend her time at the Seattle Children’s hospital, reading to the patients and holding onto memories of the sister who was everything to her and more.

But when she meets the mysterious and illusive Meyer she is drawn into a world of adventure, a world where questions abound. 

Is she ready to live life without her sister? Or more importantly, is she brave enough to love again?

In this modern reimagining of Peter Pan, will Livy lose herself to Neverland or will she find what she’s been searching for?  

BOOK LINKS: Goodreads || Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shari Arnold grew up in California and Utah but now resides in Connecticut, with her husband and two kids, where she finds it difficult to trust a beach without waves. She writes Young Adult fiction because it's her favorite. And occasionally she takes photographs.

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Blog

GIVEAWAY

One winner will get a signed copy of Neverland and a $10.00 Amazon Gift card.
Open to US only.

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**MY REVIEW**

Live as if they are going to tell stories about you."

Livy lives in a large penthouse, has private tutors, her own roof to be her private place, and everything a teenage girl could want...

Except her younger sister, Jenna. Who is dead. So, what really, is the point to Livy's life- other than mourning her sister, eating her sisters ice cream flavour, and spending all her time at the children's hospital, where Jenna died. How can she move on, and love, when the most important part of her has disappeared?

And so, she leads a bleak existence, with two inattentive parents, and just one friend. Until she meets Meyer.

Meyer who isn't like anyone she's ever met- who lives life like its one big adventure. Meyer, who she knows nothing concrete about except the fact that he has eyes as green as emeralds, and that he makes her feel things she's never left before. 

But Meyer is more than meets the eye, and for the first time, Livy feels like she is alive again. No more numbing pain, no more feeling inconsequential. No more living like she's not really alive. 

Neverland may seem like a beautiful place with its unlimited supply of wishes, but are wishes enough when you can’t share them with the ones you love?

This book is in two words- INTENSELY BEAUTIFUL! I've never seen a book that is So serious and yet has the ability to make you love and hope and want to see more, and feel more, than this BRILLIANT Peter Pan retelling by Shari Arnold!

A modern twist to a classic, that will leave you spellbound! Family, letting go, moving on, love, adventure, and what it means to be alive- you're about to start the journey of a lifetime!

100 Followers Day 3: A Safe Space by E.M.Tippets- Review, Interview & Giveaway

Author: Emily Mah Tippets
Publication Date: July 12th 2014
Part of a Series?- Part #4 in the Someone Else'es Fairy Tale Series
Review Copy: Courtesy of the author via NetGalley
Blurb Description: Everyone needs a safe space.

For Lizzie Warner, that space has always been in front of the camera on her hit show, or on stage to a sold out concert arena. Since before she can remember, she’s been a star, but that may be about to change.

She’s nineteen. Her show has been cancelled and now she’s going to play the lead in a new prime time drama series, but is the world ready to take her seriously, or will she be typecast as the cute tween queen forever?

Her network has decided to be aggressive and has invested millions of dollars in an ad campaign for her show, money she’s not sure she can earn back. Her co-star can’t stand her, and the writing for the show turns out to be poor at best. The only reason Lizzie didn’t walk away from the job offer to begin with is because she’s broke, the victim of a decade of bad money management.

Then there’s Devon, the personal trainer at her gym. Arrogant and abrasive, he’s the last guy she should ever find attractive, but she has a hopeless crush on him anyway, and he doesn’t seem entirely disinterested either. In fact, sometimes he’s downright sweet to her. If only he weren’t an untamable bad boy who uses and dumps women like they’re nothing. Though Lizzie’s friends warn her to stay away, he’s the only person who can create what she needs: a safe space. But is there any way she can break him of his years' long habit of being a user?

**GIVEAWAY**

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**INTERVIEW**

1. The cheesiest line you've ever heard: 

Hard to say. People rarely feed me lines, but I was in a play in middle school and we went on tour. The principal of one of the schools we performed at got up on stage afterwards and gave a speech that seemed to last for an hour, but was probably just ten minutes, in which he said things like, "The characters in this play represent YOU. You are like these students experiencing all these things." It was line after line of pure cheese.

2. Your favourite TV show, actor and actress:

I don't have just one. The last series we watched from beginning to end was Breaking Bad. It was filmed here in New Mexico, so it was entertaining to see all the local touches. 

3. 3 of the weirdest (or funniest) things about you:

1. I took archery lessons for years and never could hit the broad side of a barn. I was so bad at it.

2. I've got a sleep disorder so I have at several times in my life had waking hallucinations. I don't recommend those!

3. Even though I grew up in New Mexico and am American, I have lived in the UK for a total of eight years, including the last two years of high school (6th form) and college (uni). Because I did part of my education over there, I still have trouble keeping American and British sayings straight. People point to lines in my books and say, "That's British, Emily. No one over here says that."

4. This Or That:

-- Pianos or Guitars - Neither - I'm terrible at playing both!

-- perfumes or deodorants - Deodorants. I'm actually allergic to perfumes so I can't even wear products with perfume in them.

-- Italian or Chinese - Okay, that is too funny because those are my most dominant ethnicities. My dad's family is from China and my mother's father's family is from Italy. I can't choose between these without denying part of myself ;-)

And now, onto your masterpiece:

5. What inspired you to write A Safe Space? Especially the cancer aspect?

When I started the book, I got a phone call from Be The Match, which is a bone marrow database, that I'd been matched with a four year old girl. I was so excited for the chance to donate and give her a shot at beating her cancer, but a couple of weeks later I got an email telling me that she "was not eligible". That can mean she recovered, but it often means the patient is too sick, their insurance won't cover a transplant, or they've passed on, so I'll always wonder what happened to her.

The concept of a safe space was explained to me by friends of mine who act. A lot of people assume actors are self confident extroverts, but quite a few aren't. The trick is knowing that the stage is a safe space.

So it was those two ideas coming together that made the backbone of this plot.

6. Tell us a little about your main characters, Lizzie and Devon?

One thing about indie writing is that you write a lot of books back to back, which means a lot of the themes and characters will be similar - not the same, but similar. Lizzie's got a lot of strong similarities to many of my heroines. She's introverted, self sufficient, and a late bloomer when it comes to romance. There are SO many books out there that get into the characters' sex lives in a graphic way. I don't see the need to add to that, so I choose to keep cutting against the grain.

Devon is a guy who had a loving family, but he saw it get torn to shreds, and that haunts him. He's not quite sure who he is or where he belongs. When I came upon this idea for a tough, bad boy who binge watches a Hannah Montana type of show when he's depressed, the idea wouldn't let me go, and the characters wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote their story.

7. Will be be getting any more if Lizzie, or a new standalone after?

I should write one more standalone to make a trilogy, but it'll be after the next several projects are cleared off my plate. Lizzie, as Kyra's roommate, will appear in the Someone Else's Fairytale books. 

8. If A Safe Space was turned into a movie, who would your dream cast be?

I have no idea! If that happened, I wouldn't have a say in the casting. I would hope the role would go to a young woman in the process of transitioning from being a child actress. There are plenty of actresses with this real life experience to draw from. Devon could be played by any one of the "it" guys of the moment (if I got lucky with the film). The hardest person to cast, in my opinion, is Kyra because there aren't a lot of roles for young Latina actresses. Hence whoever it was would likely still be pretty unknown.

**MY REVIEW**

For the record, this cover will TOTALLY put you off. The book, on the other hand, is EXTREMELY Good!

I didn't know what to expect, going into A Safe Space- with the cover portraying a girl that relied on sex appeal, and the blurb giving me another impression...

The Cover, although pretty, is VERY misleading! Lizzie Warner is your resident good girl- in HOLLYWOOD! With a conscious and heart that even I at sixteen don't possess, she was a whole new character, rather refreshing, to the book-y world! She was sweet when nobody else would be, cared when she didn’t have to and is also a nineteen year old TV show star, that has NEVER been kissed!

I mean, when was the last time you came across someone like her? In the real world, or ones you and I wish were?!

There were so many things about this book that I loved- ESPECIALLY Lizzie and Devon’s relationship- that just made me go “AWWW!” Veronica Mars, with pigtails and a whole pink entourage? Excellent!

On the other hand, I wish that there was more of certain elements of her story- like her roommate and best friend together, and perhaps, even a more sensitive mother. Anyhow, I will try my level best to get my hands on the stand- alone prequels to A Safe Space

My Verdict: 

Give it a go! Recommended!