Mental Health + Instagram + Friendship // REVIEW: How To Disappear by Sharon Huss Roat

Title: How To Disappear
Author: Sharon Huss Roat
Publication Date: August 15th 2017
Publisher: Harper Teen
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Harper Collins India (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Amazon US || Amazon UK || Barnes and Noble || The Book Depository || Wordery || Flipkart || Snapdeal || Kobo || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Vicky Decker has perfected the art of hiding in plain sight, quietly navigating the halls of her high school undetected except by her best (and only) friend, Jenna. But when Jenna moves away, Vicky’s isolation becomes unbearable.
So she decides to invent a social life by Photoshopping herself into other people’s pictures, posting them on Instagram under the screen name Vicurious. Instantly, she begins to get followers, so she adds herself to more photos from all over the world with all types of people. And as Vicurious’s online followers multiply, Vicky realizes she can make a whole life for herself without ever leaving her bedroom. But the more followers she finds online, the clearer it becomes that there are a lot of people out there who feel like her— #alone and #ignored in real life.
To help them, and herself, Vicky must find the courage to face her fear of being “seen,” because only then can she stop living vicariously and truly bring the magic of Vicurious to life.
In this beautiful and illuminating narrative, Sharon Huss Roat shines a light on our love of social media and how sometimes being the person you think you want to be isn’t as great as being the person you truly are.

I have highly mixed thoughts about this book. While I loved it and I just wanted to get inside and give our main character, Vicki Decker, a hug I also felt like the ending gave the impression that mental illness like Social Anxiety was curable with the right friends and boyfriend, and it ISN’T.

So while the book was EASY and FUN to read and had a lot of important messages, I feel like the most important message of ALL – awareness and understanding of Social Anxiety - was glossed over and I CAN ONLY WISH IT WASN’T.

I’ve been holding onto this GORGEOUS hardcover that Harper Collins sent me and I just wanted to shout out a HUGE thank you their way for giving me the chance to read this book.

Let’s break down what I loved and what I didn’t:

THINGS I LOVED:

1.       VICURIOUS AND ALL IT STOOD FOR: We live in an Instagram age. You probably have an Instagram account (or two, or three), discuss in GREAT DETAIL what someone else posts on theirs. Instagram is Huge. Vicurious is out protagonist, Vicky Decker’s Instagram account where she photoshops a girl with purple and orange hair into the most ridiculous photos. And while Vicurious initially started off as something else, it turned into a safe spot for anyone feeling alone in the world to be seen, and I loved it.

2.       THE ACTUALLY NICE HIGH SCHOOL PEOPLE: If you watch an American movie, TV show or read a book set in a US high school, you’ll know that the “Mean Girls” are almost always prominently featured or at the very least, mentioned twice. Which was why How To Disappear made for SUCH a welcome CHANGE with genuinely nice popular people, all portrayed as people who had problems regardless of how ‘perfect’ their lives looked on the outside.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE ALL THAT MUCH:

1.       THE ‘CURABILITY’ OF SOCIAL ANXIETY: While it wasn’t mentioned in those exact terms, as I reached the end of the book, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something CURABLE in the way social anxiety was being portrayed with Vicki suddenly having all her friends and her trouble saying ‘hi’ to someone in the hallways VANISHED. It seemed like an unrealistic portrayal and I WISH IT WASN’T SO.

2.       WHAT ARE BEST FRIENDS, REALLY? Honestly, if a book claims that one character and another are best friends, I expect that bond to be something REAL. I’ve had two best friends for the better part of my entire life and friendships mean something to me, and this book totally ruined that for me. If you’ve seen me on Twitter, I’m always talking about how much I miss the best friend that left home and well, How to Disappear had the worst kind of best friendship. All it took was ONE SINGLE (horrible) comment and then their whole friendship disintegrated and IT MADE NO SENSE TO ME AT ALL, because FRIENDSHIP DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY.

While there were SO MANY good things about How to Disappear, including some great characters and using social media in an actually positive way, it could also have been SO MUCH BETTER. 3 stars. 

Sharon Huss Roat grew up in Lancaster County, Pa., and now lives in Delaware with her husband and two children. She is the author of HarperTeen novels BETWEEN THE NOTES (June 2015) and HOW TO DISAPPEAR (August 2017). Visit her online at www.sharonroat.com, on Twitter @sharonwrote, or Instagram @sharonhussroat.

What are some of the best books on mental health that you've read?

Have you had the chance to read How to Disappear? What did you think of it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

Oodles of Drama // REVIEW: Royce Rolls by Margaret Stohl

Title: Royce Rolls

Author: Margaret Stohl
Publication Date: April 6th 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 || Snapdeal || Infibeam || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Kobo || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Sixteen-year-old Bentley Royce is the wild child of a super-glam reality TV dynasty. She has it all – designer clothes, a fancy school and an actual Bentley to drive around in. Her ambitious mum Mercedes has dragged the family from trailer park to Hollywood stardom. But Bentley wants out – she wants to go to college, escape her own storyline, be NORMAL – but Royces don't do normal (or college).
Rolling with the Royces is running out of ways to keep viewers hooked and suddenly the show is threatened with cancellation. Bentley faces an impossible choice. Without the show, she could live the college dream – but her family would crumble (they are already twenty million dollars in debt). Bentley Royce has a mission. She must use her brains to save the show; if she saves the show, she can save her family – and she'll do whatever it takes

Actual Rating 3.5 Stars

As I sit here, typing out this review a few days after I finished reading Royce Rolls, I’m realizing that I STILL don’t know what I feel.

It took me a three days to get through the first half of this book, mostly because it took me a while to get used to everything about this book – the car names that the characters had, how disconnected they were and how much I struggled to connect with any one of them but the book did get better and I read the last half in a matter of two hours!

LET ME EXPLAIN:

1.       When I say the word Royce’s, think Kardashians. Royce Rolls opens with their reality show on Hiatus, and the renewal of their sixth season seriously in doubt. The family is in a state of panic, except for the middle child, Bentley Royce who just wants a normal life and to go to college.

2.       The book started off well enough, giving you a standard shocking ending in the first chapter and then going back in time and showing you how the characters reached there but getting used to the characters was a bit of a task for me. Honestly, these aren’t my type of people – I’m definitely more grounded but that doesn’t mean I don’t like reading about the rich and the famous (Case in Point: Gossip Girl)

3.       I liked Bentley. I sympathised with Bentley. She was probably my favourite character with her ultra-scheming mind and her dreams to just be normal. I LIKED THIS GIRL WITH THE RAINBOW HAIR (Because HOW COOL IS RAINBOW HAIR?) but *SPOILER* How could she not recognize that the TWO BOYS SHE WAS PINING OVER WERE THE SAME? (I’m sort of shocked, honestly, and highlights that on some level, she was a very superficial character)

4.       Porshe (Bentley’s older Sister), Mercedes (Bentley’s mother) and Bach (Bentley’s Brother) were pretty much who I expected them to be and hence I actually enjoyed reading their hysterics and manipulations. Their dramatic lives were so Reality TV worthy!

5.       I ABSOLUTELY ADORED THE ENDING. I didn’t expect to end on such a high note, to be honest but it was cute and more importantly, IT TOOK ME BY SURPRISE. I love Diego Sanchez and Asa and Venice and Bentley. It was this amazing ending which I didn’t expect from a book I wasn’t LOVING left me smiling as I closed the book.

If you’re into hysterical manipulations, famous families and boatloads of drama Royce Rolls is probably the book for you.

Definitely worth at least one read to experience the madness that is “Reality TV” 

Margaret co-wrote the first of the internationally bestselling Beautiful Creatures novels (published in nearly fifty countries, named Amazon’s top teen book of 2009, short-listed for the ALA’s 2009 Morris award, and released as a feature film from Warner Brothers) on a dare from her three daughters, she fell even more in love with teen culture. Her first sci-fi series, Icons, is now in development as a feature film with Alcon Entertainment. Her Black Widow series from Disney Publishing (Black Widow: Forever Red and Black Widow: Red Vengeance) is a welcome chance to rock a strong female character and to return to her beloved Marvel roots. She is also writing the Mighty Captain Marvel comics.   

If asked, Margaret will tell you that the Women of Marvel panel at New York Comicon was the greatest single hour of her life, and that she fangirls all girls who read comics. As a co-founder of YALLFEST, the biggest YA book festival in the country, and its offspring YALLWEST, Margaret believes her readers are her kindred spirits and her tribe. 

Margaret lives in Santa Monica with her husband, who builds drones and robots, and her three daughters, who are competitive epee fencers—and who, like Natasha Romanov, have always known how to rescue themselves. 

Are you an avid watcher of Reality TV? What are some of your favourite shows? 

What are some of your favourite books turned into TV Shows? 

Have your read Rocye Rolls? What did you think of it?

Where Was The Integrity? // ARC Review: At First Blush by Beth Ellyn Summer

Title: At First Blush

Author: Beth Ellyn Summer
Publication Date: April 4th 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: The Publisher via NetGalley (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon US || Barnes and Noble || Kobo || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Who would have thought that a teenager could have a successful career creating makeup tutorial videos on YouTube? For Lacey Robbins, this dream has been her reality. An up-and-coming YouTuber, she has thousands of fans and can't wait for the day when her subscriber count reaches the one million mark. And when she is offered a high school internship at On Trend Magazine, she figures that this could be the make it or break it moment.
But sometimes your dream job isn't all that it seems. Her editor is only interested in promoting junk products, and her boss in the Hair and Makeup department introduces her to the larger world of makeup artistry, making her wonder if making tutorials online is all she is meant to do. To top it all off, when the magazine's feature subject , musician Tyler Lance, turns his broodingly handsome smile her way, falling for him could mean losing her fans, forcing her to make a decision: her YouTube life or her real life?
Fans of Zoella's GIRL ONLINE will fall right into the world of this YA DEVIL WEARS PRADA and stay hooked from the first blush to the last glossy kiss.

I went into this book not quite knowing what to expect. I don’t do makeup – well, not a lot of it at least. I bought my first eyeliner tube about three months ago, and before that, I had one tube of red lipstick, one pink, and a few lip gloss tubes.

That’s it.

So if you said things like foundation and highlighter and contour, I might know what they were, but I’d have never used them on my own skin.

Still, a book like this always sounds intriguing, and so I was so happy when Bloomsbury approved me to read an eARC of this title on NetGalley.

My Thoughts:

1.      This book was definitely better than I expected it to be. Most books that contain bloggers, or internet content creators, don’t take the time to express what their lives are like – especially ones with a big audience. What I mean to say is, that books with bloggers and vloggers usually just say ‘I quickly typed up a post’ or ‘after a little editing’ and don’t properly explain the life like they would for say – a jock. At First Blush definitely wasn’t like that.

2.       I liked Lacy. I liked her, but she had no personality – NOTHING at all that made me think that she was a real person. She was a little good girl – a vanilla girl – with nothing about her personality that made her pop. She just was, if that makes any sense

3.       I think more than anything, I was slightly mad that Lacy was willing to rep a company that was sup-par just because it was every YouTuber’s dream to be sponsored. I felt like it’s ALL about integrity. Shouldn’t she have at least tried the company’s products before trying to represent and promote them? Is that not basic sense? Why wasn’t SHE, the content creator, given the option to choose whether she wanted to rep them or not? It felt unrealistic.

4.       I liked Tyler, but once again, there was nothing special about him as well.

I guess my main problem with this book was the lack of the characters having anything other than a one-track personality. I liked the book, but if the main part of the plot was her YouTube channel, why was she okay to compromise on it?

3.5 stars. 

What is your opinion on makeup? Do you use it a lot, very little or not at all?

Who are some of your favourite Youtubers? I feel like I don't watch enough and I need to start! Give me some great recs!

An Ode To Geekdom // REVIEW: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Title: Geekerella

Author: Ashley Poston
Publication Date: April 4th 2017
Publisher: Quirk Books (Penguin Random House)
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: eARC from Quirk Books (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Amazon US || Amazon UK || The Book Despository || Wordery || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Kobo || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books || Barnes and Noble

Blurb Description: Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.
Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.
Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. 

“We’re all geeks here.”

Before I start, I should say that I’m a little wary going into fandom novels. I have this irrational fear that the protagonist is only a fangirl or a fanboy as a quirky side story and that it’s not at all given enough importance.

And yet, after about ten minutes of reading Geekerella, I knew I was didn't need to be wary of ANYTHING. 

Danielle – Elle – lives with her horrible stepmother (*ahem stepmonster*) and her two equally horrible stepsisters. Her mom died at a young age, and her father in an accident a while later. In a home that used to be hers and her father’s, she feel like an outsider. She’s made to do the chores and the cleaning and she also has a job – she’s a modern day Cinderella, only without a Prince Charming.

Until she gets a call from a strange number, for what used to be her dad’s number for the Convention he used to organise, and a conversation sparks with a boy she’s never met and knows nothing about. A boy she’s also spewing hate about on the Internet for his new role in her favourite show’s reboot.

And her geeky fairy tale is just about to begin.

“All me had was a moment. Just a moment in an impossible universe waltzing that beautiful, impossible waltz.”

I LOVED ALL THE GEEKY AND ADORABLE THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK.

Told from the dual perspectives of Elle (Cinderella) and Darien (Prince Charming), Geekerella is EVERYTHING a fairy tale retelling with a fangirl twist should be.

Let me list it all out:

1)      THERE ARE ALL THE FANDOM REFERENCES AND PUNS AND YOU WILL GET THEM AND IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’VE COME HOME

2)      Darien is Elle’s Fictional Crush in a reboot of her favourite TV Show, and he is SO perfect and insecure and I LOVE HIM ACK.

3)      DID I MENTION THAT DARIEN IS A FANBOY? He was a Prince Charming FANBOY. SAVE ME.

4)      Sage (Elle’s best friend/ co-worker) with her Green hair and attitude to match is AWESOME and you will fall in love. (Totally think she deserves her own book)

5)      It’s such a Cinderella retelling with the BEST KIND OF TWIST.

The only reason this isn’t a five star read for me is because in the end of the book, Elle and Darien were MAGICALLY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER. I understand having feelings/ being deep on the crush end but I DIDN’T GET HOW THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER.

A hilarious, adorable tribute to fairy tales and fandoms that you NEED TO GET YOUR HANDS ON!

ASHLEY POSTON loves coffee, moving castles, and starry night skies. A graduate from the University of South Carolina, she earned a degree in English and became a scholar in procrastination. When not in search of her next great adventure, she lives with her bossy cat in rural South Carolina. They are both firm believers that cosmic princesses can be space pirates, too.

Sometimes, you can catch her lurking around in coffee shops where she reads copious amounts of fanfiction and plays a lot of video games. Oh, and she writes nerdy books for young adults.

For rights inquiries, please contact Holly Root of the Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.

What are some of your favourite fandom inspired books?

Have you read any of Ashley Poston's previous books? What did you think of them?

Who is your favorite Disney Princess? 

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?