It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) by Jenny Han

It's a little bit ridiculous that a YA novel can bring out all the FEELS in me, but Jenny Han, you've done it again. My heart was an emotional mess after reading The Summer I Turned Pretty last year. I immediately read It's Not Summer Without You, (the second book in the Summer trilogy), anxious to keep reading about Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah, but then, like usual, I got distracted and neither read the last book in the series or wrote a review of this one. Then, the other day while I was working, I popped into the library and I saw It's Not Summer Without You on audio* and checked it out. What better way to refresh my memory than by driving around in my car while trying to hold back the tears this book demands of me? Seriously - don't read this book while driving.

This book was all kinds of sad - heart-wrenching, blink-back-the-tears-while-driving sad. And it wasn't just about the relationship between Belly and Conrad and Jeremiah. There was so much more to this book. There's young-love, old-love, the love and bond between life-long best friends, the relationships we have with our parent's at an emotionally-charged young age, and the relationships between the parent's themselves. I love how the summer books don't solely focus on the teens in this book. Susannah and Adam - Jeremiah and Conrad's parent's, and Laurel - Belly and Stephen's mom, weren't just side-line characters: they were pivotal to the entire story, providing that parental presence that I often find is lacking (or unbelievable) in teen stories.

This book also had the addition of some of the chapters being from Jeremiah's point of view. Sigh...sweet, loveable, Jeremiah. He and Conrad couldn't be more different if they tried. This is what makes them both so likeable in their own ways. Jeremiah is fun, goofy and wears his heart on his sleeve. Conrad, on the other hand, is his usual quiet, brooding self. He's as closed of a book as they come.

In this book, the summer's of their childhood spent at Cousins beach are no more. Belly, Stephen, Conrad and Jeremiah are growing up and fast becoming adults themselves. But something happens this summer that brings them together at the beach house to fight for something they all need. And along the way, Conrad and Jeremiah become more transparent to Belly than they have ever been, and she has decide once and for all: follow her heart or hold on to the past? How do you choose between two people you love so completely differently? 

“It’s all relative, I suppose. You think you know love, you think you know real pain, but you don’t. You don’t know anything.”

I loved this book just as much as the first and I have promised myself not to waste anytime jumping into the last book in this series, even though I know I'm not ready to say goodbye to Belly, Conrad, Jeremiah OR Cousins beach. 

*This book was fantastic on audio. I really enjoyed the narrator and I found she did an amazing job portraying all the emotions and feelings this book is bursting with.

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots, by Abby McDonald

 

Jenna may hail from the ’burbs of New Jersey, but Green Teen activism is her life. So when her mom suggests they spend the summer at Grandma’s Florida condo, Jenna pleads instead to visit her hippie godmother, Susie, up in rural Canada. Jenna is psyched at the chance to commune with this nature she’s heard about — and the cute, plaidwearing boys she’s certain must roam there. But after a few run-ins with local wildlife (from a larger-than-life moose to Susie’s sullen Goth stepdaughter to a hot but hostile boy named Reeve), Jenna gets the idea that her long-held ideals, like vegetarianism and conservation, don’t play so well with this population of real outdoorsmen. A dusty survival guide offers Jenna amusing tips on navigating the wilderness — but can she learn to navigate the turns of her heart?

I picked up this book while browsing the bargain shelves at Chapters one day. Something about the main character being an environmentalist and choosing to spend her summer in some far-off, rural town in British Columbia, Canada had me wanting to read more. It’s not every day that I read a book that’s set in Canada, let alone in an area that I know quite well. And I’ve always enjoyed a good summer story where the kids (or teen in this case) get to go off and spend their entire summer somewhere fun and exciting! I mean, seriously, we were never sent anywhere in the summers, save for a week at a summer camp.  

This book was great for so many reasons. You have your main character Jenna, who is passionate about something other than just boys and summer tans.  Her enthusiasm over being eco-friendly was over the top at times, but you couldn’t help but love her for it. Jenna’s identified herself as a ‘Green Teen’ for a few years now so it’s “who she is”, but can she find a way to fit-in and still be true to herself and her values? Then you have the polar-opposite of Jenna, in her godmother’s stepdaughter, Fiona – a sullen, snotty girl if I ever have met one.  I couldn’t stand her at times, but she does grow on you as her character evolves. While I am the type of person that would probably get on the next plane back home rather than deal with the likes of a person like Fiona, I admired Jenna for her perseverance in not backing down to Fiona’s hostile attitude. And while there is an unfolding love story in the pages, Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots is about so much more than falling in love.  The teens in this book felt real because the circumstances in their lives dealt with real issues – and often – relatable issues.

And then we also have the outdoors! And not just the outdoors, but activities in the outdoors! There’s hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, and mountain climbing – it definitely made me homesick for the beautiful outdoors of BC. And as inexperienced as Jenna was with these activities, she didn’t let it stop her from tagging along. She even goes so far as to purchase a wilderness survival guide which will help her navigate the great outdoors, as much as it will her personal life.  

The only thing that bugged me about this book was the moody and unwelcoming attitude of the boys that Jenna tries to befriend when she first arrives in BC. I expect this attitude from girls, but not from guys. I’ve always found it easier to make friends with guys, so I think this is why it bugged me as I couldn’t relate to their hostile attitudes. As we learn more about these characters, you can sort of see why they are the way they are, but I still think it was a bit extreme. 

Thankfully, every character gets a chance to grow in Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots.  And while the argument could be made that too much character development happened too quickly, I for one do believe that sometimes all it takes to change a young teen, is the length of the summer. Think about many times you would go back to school in the fall and the friends you thought you had and knew, had completely changed. 

Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read, one that made me nostalgic for summers past and the “great outdoors” of beautiful British Columbia.

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1) by Jenny Han

Summer, the beach, tans, parties, first crushes, first kisses, first loves, forever loves. This book had it all. I felt physically and emotionally transported back to when I was 16 years old and experiencing all the emotions and changes that Belly the main character was going through. When her heart pounded in her chest, so did mine. When her eyes filled with tears out of frustration and anger, so did mine. When her heart was broken, swollen with love, or hurt, I felt it all too. I have never been so physically affected by a book as this one. It was like experiencing life at 16 all over again. The heartbreak, the crushes, the yearning - it was all my heart could handle. At 29 and happily married, it’s easy to forget about the whirlwind of emotions that you go through in your younger years, when you’re discovering first loves and all that comes with it. Would I want to go through it again? No, I wouldn’t, but I had an amazing time escaping in it. 

Belly and her brother Steven, and Conrad and his brother Jeremiah, have spent every summer of their lives at Cousin’s beach. Conrad and Jeremiah’s mother Susannah, is best friends with Belly and Steven’s mom, Laurel. It’s technically Susannah’s beach house, but during the summers, it is home to them all. Belly, the youngest of the four, has always been the “baby”, the first one to be left out, and the first one to be teased. But this summer is destined to be different. Belly is almost 16. She’s no longer a little kid and she has a pretty good feeling that this may just be their last summer all together at the beach house. She’s determined to make it the best summer yet, or at least the most unforgettable. 

I loved all the characters in this book. While Belly could be annoying or immature at times, her actions and reactions were understandable given she was the youngest and of the age where your emotions are so strong, it’s impossible not to let them show through your words and actions. And who can blame her – she had no real girlfriends during the summer – no one to over-analyze every little feeling or thought like girls are known to do.  

And then there’s Conrad and Jeremiah. I have no words. It’s no wonder Belly loved them both - I loved them both! My heart melted when Conrad was introduced. Dark and brooding, there was something about him and the way Belly reacted when around him, that had me swooning from the get-go. Even when he was being a jerk, he was easy to forgive.  Jeremiah – Conrad’s polar opposite – was goofy and charming and so loveable. He was Belly’s best friend, closest confident - the guy she could totally be herself around. It was impossible to pick a favourite. 

Even their mom’s had a large, welcome presence in this book. There’s Laurel, your typical mom – kind, protective, and annoying in front of your friends. And then there’s Susannah.  The mom everyone wishes there mom was like.  She was a breath of fresh air every time she appeared on the page -so gentle and full of love and kindness. I wanted to know her in real life. 

I really can’t rave more about this book. It sucked me in from the beginning and had me bawling my eyes out by the end. Even if you aren’t a fan of YA or love-triangles, this one was so different, and so real. While I can’t wait to get started on the next book in this trilogy, The Summer I Turned Pretty didn’t leave me on a cliff-hanger, or make me want to throw the book across the room. Sure, I want to keep reading about Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad (how could you not?!), but I can honestly say that I closed the book after reading the last page with a satisfied sigh, and tears running down my face.

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

*somewhat spoilish if you haven’t read this book or the previous two books in this series. 

I’ve been putting off talking about this book for a few weeks now. Partly because, what can I possibly say about this book that hasn’t already been said? (So I'm going to keep this short). But mostly because, sometimes I think timing is everything when reading a book. I started Mockingjay at night, before I went to bed, and I was tired. (Worst time to start a book FYI). I continued to pick up this book at night, already tired and therefore only getting through a chapter or two at a time. This is my least favourite way to get into a book. It makes the reading experience disjointed, and it’s hard to recall what you read the night before. Instead of worrying about how I wouldn’t get any reading done in a few days span unless I tiredly read a chapter each night, I should have just stopped and picked up Mockingjay when I had a good hour to get into it. 

I found the first half of the book slow, confusing and a little boring. I felt like all I was reading was Katniss roaming the halls in a drug-induced fog. I couldn’t figure out where this book was going to go. I didn’t like how Katniss would pass-out and wake up days, even weeks later, only then to find out what had happened in her absence. I felt like so much of the story line was told from the aftermath viewpoint instead of from the present. This was disappointing because Collins is so good at telling the story from the front-lines (like when the games are going on). 

Hunger Games was definitely my favourite of the trilogy. But I AM SO GLAD that Collins tied up the loose ends in the story. I needed to know who Katniss would end up with, whether they had children, where they would live, etc. And Collins gave me that. It might not have been the ending I envisioned or thought I wanted, but it made sense. I could accept it. My heart swelled when I read the last few pages and tears brimmed in my eyes. I didn’t want to say good-bye to Gale, Prim, Katniss, Peeta or Haymitch, but at least I never have to think “oh my god, but THEN what happened?!” 

So after, when he whispers, “You love me. Real or not real?”

I tell him, “Real.”

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

It seems silly to “review” a book that I’m pretty sure I’m one of the last to have read. Plus, chances are, if you read The Hunger Games, you don’t need much convincing to read the second book in this trilogy. But if you haven’t started this series yet, you may want to skip this post as it contains a few spoilers, and go read The Hunger Games. Right now!

We tell everyone at the bookstore who comes in to purchase The Hunger Games, that we’d bet money on them coming right back when they’re done to purchase the 2^nd book. After I read HG, I didn’t feel this overwhelming urge to run upstairs, grab Catching Fire and jump right in. I think I loved The Hunger Games so much because it could have been a powerful book all on its own, without the need for a sequel. Sure, I was interested to find out what happened after the games were over, but there definitely was not this huge cliff hanger at the end of HG like there is in Catching Fire. 

Catching Fire, while it moves a bit slowly in the first half of the book, definitely picks up pace and intensity in the second half. Just when I didn’t think the Capitol could get more evil, I was proven wrong. I was horrified by some of the awful things that happened to some of my favourite characters - Gale, Cinna - but found myself in awe of how well Collins described some of the gruesome wounds, especially Gales. The pain and torture, both physical and emotional, inflicted throughout this book was palpable. 

The few things that bugged me about this book were:

1) The author’s need to interject plot points from the first book (do people really read series not in order?) 

2) Several times, Katniss and her mom make reference to how they are running short on medical supplies and medicine. Is Katniss not allowed to purchase said supplies with the mass quantities of money she receives each month from the Capitol?

3) Near the end of the games, when Johanna has instructed Katniss to “stay down”, Enobaria and Brutus run over to Katniss, declare she is as “good as dead” just by looking at her and move on. Don’t all the tributes know that the sound of the cannon goes off as soon as someone is dead? These tributes are victors - they should definitely know this!  

But I digress. This was still an amazing book in what I already know is going to be an amazing trilogy. There’s a part of me that wants to hold off reading the 3^rd instalment, Mockingjay, just so it doesn’t end and I don’t have to say good-bye to Katniss, Gale and Peeta. Plus, seriously, I NEED to find out who Katniss chooses: Gale or Peeta? (Team Gale!) And I need to know that Cinna is okay. There - I’ve just convinced myself to go finish the last few pages of my current book and start Mockingjay!

Tell me: are you Team Peeta, or Team Gale? I won’t judge. 

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Why am I so stubborn??! When a book or book series gets overly popular, I have this tendency to refuse to read it. I don’t really know why I do this. I guess I just like to be the last one to jump on the bandwagon. (Confession: I still haven’t read the entire Harry Potter series!) Usually, as soon as I get wind that a movie adaptation of a book I do actually plan to read one day is coming out, I make a conscious effort to finally read that book. (Confession #2: When at all possible, I will always read the book before seeing the movie. Confession #3: I haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter movies either.) 

It’s probably also important to note that working in a bookstore and having not read The Hunger Games made me feel a little left out amongst my co-workers. It’s also really hard to convince someone to buy the book just because you’ve heard it’s “really, really good.” So I finally did it; I read The Hunger Games. In less than a day. It truly was that captivating. 

The Hunger Games is a set in a post apocalyptic North America. The world as we know it today is no longer, all that remains is the nation of Panem, a wealthy Capitol, surrounded by twelve outlying districts. In order for the Capitol to keep the districts in line and discourage rebellions, each year, every boy and every girl ages 12-18 are entered into a lottery known as The Reaping. One boy and one girl are randomly chosen from each district to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a nationally televised event. Here, 24 contestants fight to the death. There can only be one survivor, one winner.  Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen’s 12 year old sister’s name is drawn for the 74^th Hunger Games. Without missing a beat, Kat volunteers herself in her sister’s place. From the moment Prim’s name was called, my heart was racing and I still get goose bumps when I think about it.

I was immediately pulled in from chapter one of this book. I was enraptured by this dystopian world and found the preparation of the tributes leading up to the actual games fascinating and intense. And it was such a pleasure to read a young adult novel that had a strong and resilient female as the main character. I am so glad I waited until I had a day off where I could read the entire book in one sitting.

I am so pumped, albeit quite nervous, to see this book come alive in the theatre! 

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

When I was 16, I was living a life that revolved around doctor and hospital visits, experimental drug trials, IVs, numerous medications and many missed days of high school. I will not even remotely begin to say that I have any idea what it’s like to have cancer, but, I do know what it’s like to be so sick that the hospital is your second home. I know what it’s like to be poked and prodded, to feel alienated from your peers, to have nothing in common with your best friend anymore, to be a part of depressing support groups, to resist falling in love.  John Green did an amazing job conveying all these ideas and issues in this book. He made my heart cry for these characters. He got it spot-on.

In The Fault in Our Stars, we meet Hazel and Augustus, ages 16 and 17 respectively, who meet at a support group for teenagers with cancer. Hazel has Stage IV thyroid cancer that has metastasized to her lungs. She has always been Terminal, but an experimental drug has added a few more years to her life. Augustus, with a diagnosis of osteosarcoma, appears to be in a state of remission. Their attraction is instant, their banter contagious and their friendship just seems meant to be. But Hazel resists falling in love:

“I’m like. Like. I’m like a grenade, Mom. I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?” 

They are both witty and clever beyond their years. You root for them throughout the book, both independently and as a couple, the whole time wishing they had never been diagnosed with cancer in the first place. (But then I guess I never would have met either of them as there would be no book).  

 “What a slut time is. She screws everybody.” (p. 112)

Ohhh, time. There’s never enough of it.  And as I get older, it feels like it’s passing too quickly. We’ve all wished, at one time or another, that we could change time: “If I could only go back in time...”, “If I had more time...”, “...I would change this...” etc, etc. There’s no escaping it though. Time passes us whether we want it to or not. For some, it’s a death sentence. Hazel and Augustus know they are running out of time. Literally. But this doesn’t stop them from being teenagers, from flirting, and loving each other with all their hearts. 

This is not a cancer book even though the pages are dominated with cancer. The main characters just happen to have cancer, “a side effect of dying," as Hazel would say. Hazel and Augustus do not let the cancer define them. Sure, it adds ammo to their never-ending witty banter, but this book is void of self-pity and “woe is me” fluff. Instead, we are reminded of true love, a love so strong that it doesn’t matter if someone is sick, or has to be on oxygen 24/7, or accidentally pees the bed one time. It’s about making the most of the time you do have. It doesn’t matter that you might only get another year to be in love with this person, all that matters is that you got to love another person and be loved in return. Life is short and every minute should count. 

John Green has a video blog (vlog) and so I've included the vlog of him reading the first chapter of The Fault in Our Stars:

Now go give someone a hug and tell them you love them.  Oh, and then go read this book.