Posts Tagged "Teen Romance"

Ever since Mrs. Amberson, the former-aspiring-actress-turned-agent, entered Scarlett Martin’s life, nothing has been the same.

She’s still in charge of the Empire Suite in her family’s hotel, but she’s now also Mrs. Amberson’s assistant, running around town for her star client, Chelsea – a Broadway star Scarlett’s age with a knack for making her feel insignificant.

Scarlett’s also trying to juggle sophomore year classes, her lab partner who is being just a little TOO nice, and getting over the boy who broke her heart.

Poor Scarlett. It’s the start of her sophomore year, and instead of escaping into her schoolwork and friends in an effort to get over her breakup with college student/actor Eric, she’s stuck sucking up to her boss’s new client, Chelsea, who comes with an overbearing stage mom and a brother who’s making Scarlett’s life even more miserable.

Scarlett Fever is the sequel to Suite Scarlett, a charm of a read from Maureen Johnson, which follows Scarlett and her family (older brother Spencer, an actor; older sister Lola, who’s taking a year off of college to figure out her life; and younger sister Marlene, a cancer survivor who makes no secret that Scarlett is her least favorite sibling) as they run a failing, falling-apart Manhattan hotel. It’s okay if you haven’t read Suite Scarlett, though, as Scarlett Fever fills the reader in nicely with the important backstory and still manages to succeed as a standalone title.

Here’s what you need to know: Scarlett works for Mrs. Amberson, a woman-about-town who’s now established her own agency for actors and has Scarlett at her beck and call. Meanwhile, Scarlett is still obsessed with Eric, the actor (who worked with Spencer) and ended up breaking her heart. And now, as Mrs. Amberson courts a new client, Scarlett is forced to “keep an eye on” Max, the would-be client’s older brother. Too bad he’s a total pain in the neck.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of the Scarlett books is Scarlett’s relationship with Spencer. They are allies, and their banter and tension rings really genuine. Spencer also provides some serious LOLs in Scarlett Fever, including a notable scene involving a boat-shaped cake. His plotline plays an important role in the book, too, though: having just finished a successful run as Hamlet (staged in the lobby of the hotel), Spencer spends the first third of the book auditioning for everything his agent – Scarlett’s boss – can get for him until finally landing a plum guest spot on a beloved television show. Unfortunately for him (though fortunately for us readers), his acting gig makes him the target of every television fan in New York.

I liked Scarlett Fever a lot, as I like all of Maureen Johnson’s work. Scarlett is accessible and easy to like; her sisters each have credible back stories that are easy to sympathize with; and of course, Spencer and Mrs. Amberson are hilarious. That said, this sequel kind of left me hanging. It ends a bit abruptly (there’s a planned Book 3, last I heard, so that explains that) and it feels really obvious that the real character arcs are being saved for the next book. But overall, Scarlett Fever is a light-hearted, smart read, and you’ll find yourself looking forward to spending more time with the Martin family and their bleak hotel.

Pages:352

Publication date: February 2010

Rating::

Teaser quote: “It was six-thirty in the morning, and Scarlett felt herself falling under. But before she gave up and just let the sleep come, she said to herself, out loud, ‘I am making a new start.’”

Caleb Becker left Paradise eight months ago, taking with him the secret he promised to take to his grave. If the truth got out, it would ruin everything.

Maggie Armstrong tried to be strong after Caleb broke her heart and disappeared. Somehow, she managed to move on. She’s determined to make a new life for herself.

But then Caleb and Maggie are forced together on a summer trip. They try ignoring their passion for each other, but buried feelings resurface. Caleb must face the truth about the night of Maggie’s accident, or the secret that destroyed their relationship will forever stand between them.

When Caleb left Paradise eight months ago, he thought he was doing the right thing. For himself, for Maggie, for his family. Paradise was full of bad memories, and trouble seemed to find him wherever he went. Turns out, trouble seems to find him no matter where he is. Caleb is one of those accidental bad boys – he does everything he can to keep his nose in line, but somehow, he always ends up in the middle of the most horrible situations.

That’s how he wound up on this stupid summer program. Although he wasn’t dealing, he ended up in the middle of a drug bust – a huge miscommunication that he couldn’t talk his way out of – and it was either back to juvenile hall (for yet another crime he didn’t commit) or attend this program for kids affected by drunk driving. Caleb chooses the program.

What he didn’t expect, though, was to come face to face with Maggie – his ex. He never really got over Maggie, and he thought that leaving Paradise would be the best thing for her, but standing in front of her now, actually looking into her eyes, Caleb realizes he let the one good thing that’s ever happened to him go. What a blustering idiot. But Caleb, being Caleb, doesn’t try and make things right with Maggie in the conventional way. He antagonizes her, constantly offends her, and insults her again and again and again. But that’s Caleb for you – emotionally stunted.

When Caleb shows up on the program, Maggie almost can’t believe her eyes. Where has he been for the last eight months? Why didn’t he call to say that he was safe? How could he have just left her like that? In the wake of Caleb’s departure, Maggie fell into a deep depression, but she made it through the other side and forced herself to move on. Move on from Caleb, move on from everything they shared together.

But standing in front of him right now … God, how could this be happening?

While Caleb and Maggie air their dirty laundry in front of their group members, they realize that they’re still very much in love. They’re hurting, and stumbling blindly through each day, but they still love each other. That should be all that really matters, but the big question is, how can they possibly make it, when the entire world is stacked against them?

I’ve said this before, and I’m sure I’ll say it many times again – Simone Elkeles rocks my yaReads socks off! I fell in love with Caleb in Leaving Paradise, but now I’m completely beyond help. I am a Caleb addict. He is, without a doubt, my favorite Elkeles character to date. He’s so messed up, so emotionally deficient, but at the same time, he knows exactly who he is, what his limitations are, and where his strengths lie.

During this novel, Maggie becomes a force to be reckoned with. She was meek, shy, and lacked any kind of confidence in Leaving Paradise. It’s clear she’s grown a whole lot since Caleb left, and she’s got her boxing gloves on, ready to go as many rounds as she needs to get the absolution and the closure that she so desperately wants. She’s strong, intelligent and utterly believable in everything she does. When it comes to the crunch, though, Maggie’s underlying essence is still there, and she follows her heart – even when she probably shouldn’t.

There’s only one thing you need to know about this book: it’s absolutely fabulous in every single way.

Simone Elkeles is fast becoming on my fave YA authors around.

Publication Date: August 2010

Pages: 285

Rating::

Teaser Quote: I remember the times we spent together working at Mrs Reynolds house, when we fooled around in the gazebo and I ran my hands over her smooth, milky soft skin. “You knew I didn’t hurt you, but you let me go along thinking that you did. How could you?”

From the author of Saving Juliet comes a romantic comedy that is good to the last drop. When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down.  Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won’t leave until he can reward Katrina’s selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be . . .

Currently, life sucks for Katrina. Since Java Heaven opened up shop next to her Grandmother’s Scandinavian coffeehouse, business has pretty much come to a screeching halt. The bills are piling up, no customers are walking through the door, and yet Katrina and her grandmother must find a way to make ends meat. Katrina is sixteen years old. She should be worrying about boys, her homework, and what she’s going to do on the weekend. Instead, she gets up before school every morning to work in the coffeehouse, and promptly returns after classes have finished to do much of the same.

To make matters worse, her best male friend, Vincent, starts hanging around with Heidi Darling. Katrina thinks this is bad for many, many reasons, but mainly she’s ticked off because Heidi is Mr Darling’s daughter, and Mr Darling owns Java Heaven – the very reason Katrina and her Gran are struggling so much. Where is Vincent’s loyalty? How could he do that to Katrina?

But that’s not where the crazy ends. Katrina finds a strange boy passed out in the alley behind the coffeehouse one morning. Although she’s a bit freaked out by him, she mistakes him for a homeless person and in an act of pitying kindness, she leaves a coffee and a stale pastry for when he wakes up. But then he keeps showing up, saying that her act of kindness must not go unrewarded, and promises to fulfill her greatest desire. Katrina thinks he’s a nut job at first, but then things start happening that make her think there’s more to this strange boy than meets the eye.

Coffeehouse Angel is a super easy read and I totally dug being in Katrina’s head. When she ached, I ached. When she hurt, I hurt too. But mostly, I was impressed that I didn’t become irritated by her jealousy – and believe me, she spends a good chunk of this novel impersonating the green-eyed monster. Usually, I have little tolerance for such unrelenting self-pity, but I felt like I could empathize with her situation a little. I think all of us have had to deal with the kind of friendship problems Katrina goes through in this story. I was super happy that, at the end, she seemed to learn her lesson, though, and tucked her green-eyed monster impersonation away. I was exceptionally surprised by the outcome of the conflict that arose with Vincent, though. I thought the whole thing was going to turn out very differently. While I’d love to discuss my reasoning for this in this review, that’d be giving away the ending – and we can’t have that!

I drank way too much coffee while reading this novel. Must have been something about the constant mention of Java goodness.

Coffeehouse Angel is a lovely read. As good as red velvet cupcakes, if you ask me.

Pages: 276

Publication: 2009.

Rating::

Teaser Quote: “There’s a handy chart in here. It says the most common thing people ask for is fortune. But Katrina didn’t want that. She gave it to her friend. The second most common thing people ask for is fame.” Lars and Malcolm turned and looked at me. Yep, that’s right, I was still standing there. I don’t know why, I should have left those two idiots in the dust. “Could fame be what you most desire?” Malcolm asked.

Here Comes the Bride — If She Can Pass Chemistry.

Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She’s really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That’s the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can’t wait to get away from her “family” for good.

Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He’s sweet, funny, everything she wants — and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. She falls head over heels in love, and when he proposes marriage, she joyfully accepts. But is Jared truly what she needs? And if he’s not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lilywhite do?

At its heart, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else is about 18-year-old Bronwen’s quest for identity – who she is, where she comes from, what she wants. And, perhaps most importantly, what she doesn’t want – yet.

Bronwen has a long-held theory that she was actually switched at birth. It’s the only way she can explain the differences between her and her family, especially her distant, blond mother (a fact that screams through the pages every time Bronwen calls her “Mother” instead of “Mom”). Her stepdad is okay, though, despite his failure to officially adopt her after the death of her father. And her brother, nicknamed Jesus, is away at college and really isn’t too bad, as long as Bronwen remembers to bow down to him the way her mother does.

When Jared Sondervan comes into Bronwen’s life, though, she thinks she’s finally found the person—and the family—that gets her. Jared may be four years older, but they fall in love, and Bronwen quickly finds herself embraced by his loving family and his picture-perfect collegiate friends. Finally, she’s a part of a family that talks openly, laughs loudly, and loves each other unconditionally—unlike her own, in which the evening news is the only safe topic of conversation and an annual trip to color Bronwen’s naturally-brown hair blond (to match her mother’s) is the only bonding activity. It’s not long before Bronwen finds herself completely immersed in the Sondervan family, feeling fully accepted in spite of her quirks. And soon enough, she and Jared are engaged, and Bronwen couldn’t be happier. Or so she thinks.

The writing style of debut author Erin McCahan is swift and tight; the book is almost entirely comprised of small scenes – some spanning less than a page, some spread out over three or four – and are ordered in such a way that makes for easy, pleasing reading. The setting travels swiftly from Bronwen’s home to high school, to Jared’s home and college environment, and even to Bronwen’s favorite vacation spots. There’s snappy dialogue and witty banter, and a nice pace that kept me reading and eager to learn the outcome.

This book did raise some issues that I think are important to analyze in YA literature, particularly when it comes to romance and relationships. Now, I love me a good romance, and YA is ripe with some excellent examples; with Bronwen and Jared, though, the reader doesn’t really get a chance to see how or why they fell in love. Their relationship felt so rushed (which, admittedly, may have been the point), and I had a hard time believing a college senior would be so ready and willing to enter into a committed relationship with a high school student who’s barely left her small town in Michigan. I also took issue with the “romantic” gestures that Jared leaves for Bronwen, most of which I found not just unrealistic, but also a bit too old-fashioned and (dare I say it?) bordering on creepy and somewhat patronizing for my tastes. In short, I suppose I just never trusted Jared as a character, which meant I had a hard time liking Bronwen for falling so deeply in love with him.

However, Bronwen has a definitive and satisfying character arc throughout I Now Pronounce You Someone Else which was executed wonderfully. Her issues with her identity, her stepfather, her still-lingering grief over her father’s death, and her strained relationship with her mother are all believable, relatable, and fully developed by the various supporting characters and plotlines, while crumbs of foreshadowing are littered throughout to help the reader understand (and accept) the book’s climax.

Part of being a teenager is about finding your identity, and I appreciated Bronwen’s path as she uncovered the secret sadnesses within herself and took the necessary steps towards resolving them. Her decisions and motivations made sense, and while I am still not entirely happy with the outcome, overall, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else was a breezy and lighthearted yet ultimately thought-provoking read.

Pages: 272
Publication Date: June 2010
Rating::

Teaser quote: “After that weekend, I was on the fast track to becoming what I had wanted to be for so very long – Bronwen Someone Else, with a Real Family all my own.”

In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love — the light and the dark, the warm and the cold — in a way you will never forget.

When Linger kicks off, Sam finds himself in quite the situation. Their temperature is still cold enough to keep the wolves tied to the forest – and Beck, his father-figure-type – is still lost to the wolves as well. So is Grace’s friend, Olivia. So when a wolf/kid shows up in his house well before winter’s grasp should have let him go, Sam can’t help but wonder why.

Cole is brash, outspoken, conspicuous, and not exactly what Sam wants around right now. Not that there is ever a right time for someone like Cole to come crashing into your life, but it just seems that Sam’s patience has worn a little thin of late. Cole is charming in that in-your-face-annoying kind of way, but he won my heart in no time, just like he won Isabel’s.

In the absence of her brother, Isabel is going through some stuff in this novel and finds comfort in the least likely of places. Cole irritates the hell out of Isabel (and just about everyone one else, too) but she’s unable to resist his charm. Will they get together? Well, that depends on your perspective, and your definition.

But I know that you’re all dying to hear about Sam and Grace. Sam and Grace keep that innocence that makes their relationship so unique, but at the same time, they take their relationship to a new place of finality, a new place of permanency. For me, reading about Grace and Sam has always felt more like I was reading about two adults, rather than two hormonal adolescents. This time around, though, I think its safe to say that Grace and Sam make choices that very much resemble the stubbornness that teen relationships are so often littered with. It was great to see them in such a way.

I guess you’d probably act all crazy if you thought you were losing the one person you love more than life, too. And that’s exactly how Sam sees it. That’s exactly how Grace sees it. It’s exactly how I saw it.

Linger is a solid second chapter in what is possibly the best young adult werewolf tale of our generation. Grace and Sam stay true to their characters, and we even get to see them grow a little, too. It’s always so great to learn new things about your favorite characters after you thought you already knew everything there was to know. These characters will touch your heart, make you weep, and hollow you out on the inside all at the same time.

Although she’s still a fairly young and fresh writer, Maggie Stiefvater’s prose reads like that of an age old pro. Her imagery and descriptions paint a picture so vibrant and colorful I felt like I was sitting front and center in a cinema. There are four points of view in this installment, and each character’s voice is unique and distinctive enough that following their individual journeys is easy as eating pumpkin pie.

A very impressive novel from a very impressive writer.

Pages: 368

Publication date: July 2010

Rating::

Teaser Quote: “If being a wolf was scientific, not magical, then it had to follow rules and logic. And the fact that the new wolves changed at different temperatures at different times… it didn’t make sense.”