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Book Review: Written in the Stars by Carly Syms

Cute, young-adult, chick-lit novel

Written in the Stars by Carly Syms

Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Pages: 326 pages
Source: Purchased
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

When 17-year-old Kate's long-time boyfriend Zach breaks up with her, he swears it isn't because he's fallen for someone else. He claims she doesn't have enough pizazz and she doesn't follow through on anything. Kate is devastated, but she's convinced that if she doesn't give up on him, Zach will take her back. She just has to figure out how to make that happen.

Her best friend Anna has been obsessed with reading her daily astrological horoscope for years, but Kate has always thought it was nonsense until she reads her horoscope the day of her boyfriend debacle and jumps on it as a lifeline, because it seems to point the way for how she can win back Zach. Every day she looks to her horoscope for guidance in achieving her goal, taking its rather cryptic messages as literal directives. Then one day she decides it is written in the stars for her to join a gym, and a handsome trainer only a few years older than she is takes her under his wing, becoming an important new friend.

This is a cute, chick-lit novel with a nice romance subplot as well. Poor Kate has a hard time accepting that the boyfriend who, up until now, has been quite good to her, has turned from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde--even when it becomes more than obvious he was lying through his teeth about not dumping her for another girl. While taking the horoscopes much too literally gets Kate into some comic mishaps, it also becomes a means for her to broaden her horizons, grow, and mature as a person.

This is a feel-good story with, as is the case for all comedies, a happy ending. It's a "clean read," suitable for teens of all ages, and a treat for adults who enjoy YA comedy.

I purchased the Kindle edition of this book. It is well formatted and edited.

I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 4

Subcharacters: 4

Writing: 4

Chick-Lit Plot: 4

Romantic Subplot: 4

Overall: 4

Book Review: Cinderella Steals Home by Carly Syms

Fun YA/NA contemporary romance

Cinderella Steals Home by Carly Syms

Reading Level: Young Adult/New Adult
Release Date: June 27, 2013
Pages: 402 pages
Source: Purchased
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Ten years ago, Holly was 8, her brother Justin 11, and their mother and father had a happy marriage. Or so Holly thought, until her father, a wealthy, pro baseball player, fell in love with another woman and asked her mother for a divorce. The family split in two, Holly leaving with her mother to live in Pennsylvania, and Justin staying behind with their father in Arizona. During the intervening years, Holly has seen her brother rarely and her father only once, when she attended his wedding to his long-time lover five years ago. Currently, Holly has just graduated high school, and has come to live with her father as a last resort, because her mother has married an Italian count and moved with him to Italy and Holly has no desire to live outside the US. Justin, her father, and her newly pregnant stepmother all welcome Holly to their home. But Holly feels alienated from all of them, especially her father, whom she has never forgiven for betraying her mother and destroying their family.

Just before she arrived at her father's home, Holly had spotted a handsome, reckless young man drag racing in his truck on a public street. Enraged at his endangering other people, Holly had scolded him loudly when they both pulled up at a stop light. She is surprised and dismayed when he shows up minutes after she reaches her father's house and joins a party Justin is having at the huge pool in the back yard. She learns the young man's name is Doan, and he's a good friend of Justin. Doan is also a talented college pitcher with a good chance at being drafted into the pros--if he can overcome his reckless behavior.

Doan makes it obvious that he is interested in Holly, but she refuses to go out with him, in spite of her unwilling reciprocal attraction to him. Then her father and Justin strongly urge her to participate in the summer baseball league her father coaches for a group of college players, two of whom are Justin and Doan. In spite of her unresolved resentment toward her father, and her desire to resist temptation by staying away from Doan, the chance to play baseball is too hard to resist. During her childhood before she parted from her father, she played baseball constantly and was quite good at it, and she longs to play again.

Holly and Doan are two wounded souls, but they compensate for their pain in opposite ways. Holly needs to feel in control at all times, and in Holly's opinion, Doan seems to prefer to be out of control at all times.

There is plenty of sexual chemistry between Holly and Doan and lots of fun repartee as they move from antagonists, to mutual respect, and very gradually to romance. I enjoyed their relationship very much, and though initially in this novel both Holly and Doan have a lot of rough edges, it soon becomes evident that each of them has a huge capacity for love, a great deal of loyalty, and an innate depth of emotional courage. The author does a terrific job of conveying Holly and Doan's romantic journey from distrust to trust as they gradually confide their deepest secrets and fears to each other and risk being emotionally vulnerable to one another as they never have to anyone else.

The subplots of the baseball league and Holly's relationship with her father and brother are very well done. I also appreciated the chance to reconnect with Natalie and Shane, the protagonists from Cinderella in Skates, as they live out their happily ever after. Natalie attends college and works in the same town as Holly's father and brother, and Shane, who attends college in California, comes to visit her.

Though the protagonists are "new adults" rather than teenagers, I think this book could be classified as both YA/NA, since the subject matter is appropriate for older teens 17 and above. The hallmark of most NA these days seems to be a lot of raunchy sex, foul language, heavy drinking and sometimes drug use, and the story lines are often very dark. That kind of "edginess" is not as apparent in this book. Yes, there is some swearing, and occasional heavy drinking, but there is no consummated sex, only very sweet, affectionately passionate kissing between the protagonists.

The writing in this book overall is excellent. The characters are sharply drawn, the setting in Arizona is vividly conveyed, and the scenes with baseball are quite interesting, even for people like me who are not big fans of that particular sport. Best of all, Carly Syms is terrific at writing romance. I have read all her YA/NA contemporary romance novels so far, and I look forward to reading anything else she offers.

I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 5

Hero: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Romance Plot: 5

Baseball Subplot: 5

Family Drama Plot: 5

Writing: 5

Overall: 5

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Book Review: Finding You by Kristen Kehoe

Young adult, contemporary romance

Finding You by Kristen Kehoe

Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: December 15, 2012
Pages: 176 pages
Source: Purchased
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Eighteen-year-old Sloan had an ideal family until her father's death three years earlier, when grief at the tragedy tore her family apart. Her formerly involved mother became cold and distant, spending more and more time away from their home in Lake Tahoe, commuting to a job as an attorney in San Francisco to avoid living at the scene of her loss, and ultimately moving out of the house entirely early in the current school year. As a result of her mother's abandonment, Sloan has felt impelled to act as a substitute parent to her anxious, depressed, fifteen-year-old sister, who has recently begun skipping school, staying out half the night drinking, and engaging in underage sex with a callous, egotistical jock who broke Sloan's heart two years before. In the midst of Sloan's increasing despair at her inability to save her sister and her mother's refusal to admit there is a problem, a new student shows up in Sloan's senior class, the principal's handsome son, Grady. Sloan is too emotionally exhausted for romance, but kind, sensitive Grady proves impossible to resist. Both Sloan and Grady are highly sympathetic protagonists, filled with compassion, loyalty and integrity. I was delighted that this young-adult romance allows us to get to know both of them deeply by following in the long-standing tradition of adult romance novels, telling the story from both of their points of view. Sloan and Grady have in common that they are wounded loners, with deep-seated family issues, and each feels isolated in their pain until they meet each other, initially getting to know each other through the school swim team that they are both part of. The journey of character growth of every well-done romance novel is from distrust to trust, and one of my favorite versions of that is what occurs in this novel--the romantic protagonists have the unique ability to see each other clearly, understand each other's pain, and help each other be happier and healthier people.

Kristen Kehoe is a wonderful writer. The way that she puts words on the page is lush and lovely, and yet she never allows the language itself to upstage her deeply moving story. Instead, she uses her writing gifts to make her protagonists come alive on the page and allow her readers to intensely share the powerful emotions of Sloan and Grady as they bravely strive toward a positive resolution to their family issues and their growing love for each other.

Finally, I am happy to report that there is no romantic triangle in this romance novel, nor does it resort to "insta-love" or defining unhealthy obsession as love. The relationship between Sloan and Grady begins as friendship and develops gradually, naturally, and believably over time.

I rate this novel as follows:

Heroine: 5

Hero: 5

Romance Plot: 5

Family Drama Subplots: 4

Writing: 5

Overall: 5

Book Review: Since You Asked... by Maurene Goo

Young adult, multicultural, "clean read" chick lit

Since You Asked... by Maurene Goo

Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: June 25, 2013
Pages: 272 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: NetGalley
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Holly is a fifteen-year-old Korean-American whose three best friends are a geeky boy who is Chinese-American, a beautiful, rich girl who is Persian-American, and a Euro-American girl whose parents are hippie types. They attend a public high school in San Diego, and Holly writes a snappy column in her school newspaper about surviving life as a sophomore.

This humorous, chick-lit, multicultural, young-adult novel alternates between Holly's school life and her home life in a large, extended Korean family. Holly has a quite assertive temperament, and she is constantly butting heads with her mother, who is even more forceful and stubborn than Holly. Like most teenagers, Holly is striving to discover her own unique personality and life goals, something that the American culture of individualism strongly encourages. Unfortunately, her mother, as a first-generation immigrant from a country with a more communal approach to life, feels that Holly's desire to be independent is a slap in the face of the values of respect and obedience that her mother prizes.

I had an opportunity some years ago to form friendships with young women who had recently immigrated to the US from Korea and others whose mothers were first-generation Korean immigrants. Based on that experience, from my perspective, the portrayal of Korean-American family life in this novel seems accurately and sympathetically done. I also see some fascinating resemblances in Holly's parents to my own German-American grandparents, who were the offspring of immigrants and who taught values to their children similar to those of Holly's family, loyalty and strong interconnection between the members of their large, extended family of 12 children and over 50 grandchildren. Like Holly's family, we frequently got together to socialize, and my aunts and uncles were a constant support network to each other. As the saying goes, we are a nation of immigrants, and a story like this is a vivid and fascinating reminder to all of us of our own first-generation-American roots.

I found Holly's relationships outside her family to be of great interest as well. Her snarky observations of high school life in general are humorously entertaining, and I really enjoyed her close connections with her three best friends.

This book is G-rated enough for preteens in that it avoids foul language, sexual situations, drinking and drugs. However, I would not therefore assume it is a "middle-grade" novel, as I've noticed some YA reviewers tend to do for any teen novel that is not "gritty" in its subject matter. This is definitely YA fiction, with a story line that is interesting enough that readers of all ages will enjoy it.

I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 4

Subcharacters: 4

Family Dramedy Plot: 4

School Reporter Plot: 4

Writing: 4

Overall: 4

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Book Review: Open Minds (Mindjack Trilogy, #1) by Susan Kaye Quinn

An exciting, action-packed, YA, SF Thriller

Open Minds (Mindjack Trilogy, #1) by Susan Kaye Quinn

Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: October 3, 2011
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Pages: 328
Source: Digital Copy from Author
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Human beings have evolved into a telepathic race, and Kira stands out as abnormal because she cannot transmit or hear thoughts. Her best friend, kind and handsome Raf, wants very much to be more than a friend, but Kira cares too much for him to allow him to drag himself down by connecting himself to a social outcast like her. Then one day he attempts to kiss her, and her overwhelming desire to avoid his kiss, in order to prevent heartbreak for both of them, translates into the intense, mental command, "Stop!" Kira is horrified when Raf doesn't simply pull back from his attempted kiss, he topples over, knocked out cold. Soon after, Kira learns from Simon, a boy even more handsome than Raf who is one of the most popular people in school, that she, like Simon, has a very rare, mental talent that the larger population knows nothing about. She is a "mindjacker," someone who can control the thoughts and behavior of "readers," ordinary mindreading people. Simon makes Kira an offer that is difficult to refuse--training in the use of her frighteningly powerful ability.

I read this book in the Kindle version. The book is well designed, well-edited, and visually a pleasure to read. The book itself is extremely well written. Though there is a romantic subplot, the primary plot is a science-fiction thriller, thus teen boys should enjoy this book as much as teen girls, and adults will find this a fascinating read, too. The story never lags, and yet there is strong attention to developing the personality, backstory and emotional needs of the very sympathetic heroine.

I have a pet theory as to the core, most significant element of a good action plot: the protagonist is what I call a Positive Warrior. He/she is ethical and can be counted on to defend the weak and back up anyone who is a fellow Warrior who needs support. Any protagonist like this is instantly sympathetic and compelling. Kira is very much this type of heroine, and as such she fits into the best of this tradition in action stories. Fans of adult, paranormal action/thriller stories with this type of protagonist, such as Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson books, the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, and The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, may well find this series a worthwhile read.

I was contacted by the author directly for a review as a top reviewer on Amazon. I don't accept many such requests because my time is fairly limited. But this story's premise intrigued me so much, I agreed to read it. I'm glad I did. I asked the author what her plans are for this book, since this seems ripe to be a series. She told me the following books and short-stories are part of the series in this recommended reading order:

Mind Games (Mindjack Origins), a short prequel to Open Minds in Raf's POV
Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy)
Closed Hearts (Book Two of the Mindjack Trilogy)
The Handler (Mindjack Origins), a short story from the POV of the character Julian from Closed Hearts
The Scribe (Mindjack Origins), a short story from the POV of the character Sasha from Closed Hearts
Free Souls (Book Three of the Mindjack Trilogy), a projected December, 2012 release

I am looking forward to reading all the books and stories in this wonderful series.

I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 5

Writing: 5

Action-Adventure Plot: 5

Romantic Subplot: 4

Overall: 5

Book Review: Forevermore by Cindy Miles

Delightful, YA, ghost-story romance set in gorgeous Scotland

Forevermore by Cindy Miles

Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: June 25, 2013
Pages: 293 pages
Publisher: Point
Source: Purchase
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

When sixteen-year-old Ivy Calhoun's widowed mother falls in love with and marries a rich Scottish laird vacationing in America, Ivy has no choice but to move from her lifelong home in Charleston, South Carolina to the Scottish Highlands where her new stepfather, Niall, lives. Ivy is sad to leave her home country, but she decides this is her chance to make a fresh start. Perhaps she can form new friendships with teens her age who don't remember how bright and outgoing she used to be before her father died three years ago and will accept her as the quiet introvert she has become.

Ivy's hopes for friendship are soon realized when she connects with a girl her age named Emma. Ivy is also thrilled to learn that there will be a grand music festival in the area where she is now living with a contest for young violinists that she can compete in. Her father introduced Ivy to the violin when she was only three, and she is a virtuoso player, frequently composing unconventionally beautiful music of her own.

Unfortunately, there are some major downsides of her new home. Her step-grandmother clearly despises her, and the enormous, ancient castle that is Niall's home is physically intimidating and, according to local legend, haunted. Ivy doesn't believe in ghosts, but it is hard not to be terrified--and concerned for her sanity--when she distinctly hears a voice from an invisible source ordering her to leave.

This is a beautifully written young-adult, paranormal romance. Logan Munro, the ghost, is a wonderful hero, and the course of the romantic relationship between him and Ivy is slow and steady, rather than "insta-love," which many readers of YA romance, as I did, will find a refreshing change. In addition, there is plenty of exciting, magical villainy afoot, and I highly enjoyed the beautifully written local color of the Scottish setting.

This book is in the same magical universe as an adult romance by this author, Highland Knight, which contains a similar story theme of ghostly romance. Readers who enjoyed that book will be delighted to experience the heroine and hero of Highland Knight and multiple other important subcharacters in this novel.

This is a "clean" read with no drinking, drugs, wild parties or sex. I would not, because of that, however, classify it as a "middle-grade" novel. The publisher, in fact, is marketing this novel as YA fiction for readers age 12 and above, and I agree with that designation. I also think that female readers of all ages will enjoy this book, particularly existing fans of the author's adult romances.

I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 5

Hero: 5

Highland Setting: 5

Paranormal Elements: 5

Romance Plot: 5

Writing: 5

Overall: 5

Falling Hard (Roller Girls #1) by Megan Sparks

Terrific, YA, girl-power sports adventure suitable for all ages

Falling Hard (Roller Girls #1) by Megan Sparks

Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: July 2013
Pages: 256 pages
Publisher: Capstone Pr Inc
Source: NetGalley
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Annie is the fourteen-year-old daughter of an American father and a British mother, who met and married when her father was a student in London. When their marriage recently ended, Annie opted to move with her father to Liberty Heights, Illinois, the small town where he grew up. Though Annie misses her mother and all her friends in London, she couldn't bear the thought of being separated from her father, who is sweet, funny, and has always been more nurturing than her mother, who is an emotionally distant, workaholic attorney.

Annie decides to use the move as an opportunity to explore American culture while helping her father fulfill his dream, opening a cafe where he serves as both owner and a talented chef, specializing in British tea and pastries. Annie's father has chosen as his cafe's location an old diner which was a favorite hangout for teens in his youth, but which has been deserted for many years.

Annie's grandparents are currently living in Florida, and she and her father have taken over his childhood home. Its old-fashioned furnishings definitely need updating, but it is the dilapidated diner that needs the most work. Annie's father is so good-natured, and the two are so close, though, they make a game of all the hard work involved in refurbishing the house and completely re-doing the diner.

Annie is really good at gymnastics and participated in it for years until over the past year a tremendous growth spurt increased her height to 5-foot-11-1/2 inches, which is too tall to be a gymnast. Her father suggests she try out for cheerleading because it could give her a chance to use her gymnastics skills. Annie has made friends with a girl from her neighborhood, Lexie, a brilliant artist, and Lexie is appalled that Annie would want anything to do with the cheerleaders, who are rude snobs who take their cue from the head cheerleader, Kelsey, who has been consistently mean to Annie from the first moment they met.

In addition to gymnastics, Annie has had a hobby of inline skating for many years and is quite good at it. When she learns there is a contact sport called roller derby which is dominated by girls and women and utilizes skating, she signs up immediately for a free training class and falls in love with the sport. Unlike cheerleading, which has a harsh, every-girl-for-herself mentality, the girls she meets in roller derby are all for one, and one for all in their attitude. When Annie learns she's been accepted for both cheerleading and roller derby, and their schedules conflict, she is forced to choose between them.

This book is extremely well written. Annie is an engaging heroine with amazing athletic abilities, and she has one of the best dads in YA fiction I've encountered. It's terrific to see their warm, loving relationship. The descriptions of Annie's cheerleader and roller derby experiences are both authentically and excitingly written.

All in all, this is an excellent example of the girl-power, athletic-competition type of YA book. It is a "clean read," with no swearing, drinking or sexuality, making it suitable for preteens as young as nine, up to and including girls of 14. However, this is such a fun book, anyone who enjoys sports stories with scrappy heroines will love it.

There is no romance plot in this book, but I understand this is going to be a series, and the author has introduced two possible future romantic interests, a cute, nerdy boy around Annie's age who announces for the roller derby games at the skating rink, and a handsome, sixteen-year-old jock who is obviously interested in Annie, and whom the queen bee cheerleader covets.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book through NetGalley.

I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Girl-power plot: 5

Writing: 5

Overall: 5

Book Review: Haunted (Mediator #5) by Meg Cabot

Review of abridged audiobook

Haunted (Mediator #5) by Meg Cabot

Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: May 27, 2003
Publisher: Imagination Studio; Abridged edition
Source: Purchase
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

I rate the actual book, Haunted, at 5 stars. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the abridged audiobook, which I rate at only 2 stars.

This is book 5 in the Mediator series, starring Susannah (Suze) Simon, a 16-year-old, high-school girl who encourages (and sometimes forces) recalcitrant ghosts to move on to the afterlife and stop bothering the living. Suze's powers include the ability to not only see ghosts but touch them. Which is a blessing when she can be hugged, and once or twice kissed, by the gorgeous ghost Jesse, who died in 1850 and haunts her bedroom in a restored, historic house in Carmel, California. Being touched by ghosts is not so great when they beat her up, hold a knife to her throat, or throw her off the roof of her home.

In this book, Cabot introduces a romantic triangle, when 17-year-old Paul Slater, who is also a mediator, and whom Suze met in Darkest Hour (The Mediator #4), enrolls in Suze's school. Paul is almost as gorgeous as Jesse, and he has the further advantage of being alive and intensely interested in becoming romantically involved with Suze--which Jesse seems sadly reluctant to do. The problem is, Paul is an amoral jerk who blackmails Suze into spending time with him based on the threat of exiling Jesse to the spiritual realms where Suze will never see him again.

As is the case in the previous four books of this series, Cabot has written an enthralling, action-filled, paranormal mystery novel with strong romantic subplots. Suze is a very strong, active, sympathetic heroine, and there is a great deal of humor based in Suze's self-deprecating, dry wit and her toe-to-toe repartee with multiple other characters, most especially her clueless stepbrothers, whom she dubs Dopey and Sleepy. The paranormal elements are well done, and Jesse is a wonderful love interest. Paul is a multi-layered antagonist who is both sexy and obnoxious, a fascinating combination.

Sadly, unlike the audio recordings of the other five books in this series, for some unfathomable reason, this one has been abridged. I do *not* recommend experiencing this book in this manner. The abridging makes the reader lose out on many important plot details. In addition, this is a different narrator than the one employed for the other five books, and she completely misinterprets Jesse, making his tone seductive when talking to Suze, which is never the case for gentlemanly Jesse, who is very protective of Suze's virtue. It's as if the narrator got Jesse confused with Paul.

Overall rating:
Meg Cabot's original book (which is butchered in this abridged edition): 5 stars
Audiobook abridging: 1 star
Audiobook narration: 2 stars