Book Review: Glad I Did It by Cynthia Weil

Title- Glad I Did It

Author- Cynthia Weil

Release Date- January 27th, 2015

Amazon- http://goo.gl/FCgfCN

Book Summery:

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and songwriting legend Cynthia Weil’s extraordinary YA debut opens the secretive doors of the Brill Building-the hit factory that changed history. Part Mad Men, part Grace of my Heart, part murder mystery, I’m Glad I Did is a coming-of-age story at an unforgettable cultural tipping point: the summer of 1963.

JJ Greene, a gifted 16-year-old songwriter, defies her lawyer parents by secretly applying for a job in the famed Brill Building-the epicenter of songwriting for a new genre called rock-n-roll. But their warnings about the evils of the music industry prove far darker than she imagined when she finds herself at the heart of a cover-up that involves hidden identity, theft, and possibly murder.

My Review:

I’m Glad I Did It was such a nice, clean young adult story; I thought it was extremely age appropriate. I was originally draw to the cover of this book and only skimmed the book summery. This made me a little surprised when I stumbled upon the mystery element, which I really enjoyed reading. I just found it a little unrealistic that two recently high school graduates would be able to investigate a murder without getting in trouble. Also, it bothered me that it never seemed like JJ was actually working, she seemed to be caught up in Luke and a murder case.

While reading this story I kept forgetting it didn’t take place during the 2000s, I kept asking myself, “Why does she have to get all her phone calls at the office? She doesn’t have a cell phone?”. I think it’s great that the author stayed true to the time period of the 1960s; she had demos cut on records and addressed race differences in a very tasteful way. There was a wide range of issues that were talked about that might allow a wide range of children to relate to, even though it took place in a different time period.

I would recommend this book to the older children I know and tutor with hesitation.

Read Me Friday: The Forgetting by Nicole Maggi

Title- The Forgetting

Author- Nicole Maggi

Publisher- SourceFire Books

Release- February 3^rd, 2015

Amazon- http://goo.gl/yPMw72

Rating- Four Stars

BOOK SUMMERY:

Georgie Kendrick wakes up after a heart transplant, but the organ beating in her chest doesn’t seem to be in tune with the rest of her body. Why does she have a sudden urge for strawberries when she’s been allergic for years? Why can’t she remember last Christmas?

Driven to find her donor, Georgie discovers her heart belonged to a girl her own age who fell out of the foster care system and into a rough life on the streets. Everyone thinks she committed suicide, but Georgie is compelled to find the truth – before she loses herself completely.

BOOK REVIEW:

Nicole Maggi did a great just writing about a girl who has just had a heart transplant. I personally know someone who has recently had a heart transplant and the main character in this story reminded me of her. Although, there were some parts that were a little unbelievable. I do believe that after a transplant the person feels like something doesn’t belong, and the recipient starts to think if they deserve it or they can feel that the heart isn’t beating the way their old heart did, but the whole seeing visions of the past owners life is a bit of a stretch.

The issues the story touched upon were interesting and not ones that I have read about before. This was the first time I read a story that involved sex trafficking. There were someone good points in the story and I love that Nicole Maggi wrote about ways to help these children involved. She was able to intertwine these ways into the story perfectly through Georgie. This was also the first book I read that involved a transgender, I thought the struggles she was going through with family were quite believable, not all family are accepting.

I would recommend this book for young adults that aren’t really looking for a realistic fiction. I think that teens would enjoy reading it!

Book Review: Play of Light by Debra Doxer

Title- Play of Light

Author- Debra Doxer

Synopsis

At fourteen, my life was perfect. The beach was my playground, and the boy who stole my heart lived just around the corner. But perfect never lasts. In one horrifying moment, I lost it all. My family was destroyed, and the boy I believed in turned his back on me. Paradise became a nightmare.

That was five years ago. Everything changed when we moved from our home by the sea. I’ve changed, and I don’t like who I’ve become. I miss the smiling, carefree beach girl who disappeared that terrible night. I want to find her again. I want to face the people we ran from so long ago. Most of all, I have to face Spencer. So I can prove that when he broke my heart, he didn’t break me.

But when I see him again, Spencer Pierce is no longer the boy from my memories. He’s now a man who could devastate me if I let him. He watches me when he thinks I’m not looking. There’s regret written on his face when he’s near. Each time I see him, my heart aches for what might have been, and I think his does too. How can I convince myself I’m over him when I suspect he never got over me?

MY REVIEW

Play of Light was a story about Sarah and Spencer whom shared a past, not only did the story dive into the characters present life, but also the past. Most stories that I read in this genre speak about the past relationship two people have together, but do not it really show what went on or events that conspired. Play of Light on the other hand spent several characters showing how Sarah felt about Spencer and how their relationship grew from strangers to friends. I think this allowed me to grow an attachment to both Spencer and Sarah.

There was a lot of mystery while reading this story; we never really knew what was going on with spencer and his uncle. I also like how at the end of the story there were a couple of events that I knew was coming. I kind of thought I knew what Spencer’s BIG secret was, but boy was a wrong and I am very glad I was.

This was definitely a nice simple romance novel and worth the read!

Book Review: Nothing but Trouble by J L Hammer

Title- Nothing but Trouble

Author- J. L Hammer

Publisher- Entangled Publishing

BOOK REVIEW:

Nothing but Trouble kept me on the edge of my seat! Frankie works at a gentlemens club, Glitz, as a server who made a deal with the wrong person, a loan shark, Domino. When Domino approaches Frankie to star in porn in order to settle her debts, Frankie gets nervous and flees. She decides to go to her Uncle’s, but on the way she crashes her precious Mustang. Frankie then tries someone to help her and she finds a cabin, where she literarily falls into Wes’ cabin. The first meeting between Frankie and Wes was too funny, him in the bath tub, while she is hanging from the celling that she just crashed through. Wes is a cop who thinks Frankie is up to something, but then again Wes has trouble trusting women after his ex cheated on him. It seems the more Frankie stays with him the more trouble finds her, and every time you think Frankie and Wes are in the clear something always seems to follow.

There was a very interesting cast of characters all of them unique in their own way; Lily is Frankie’s next door neighbor who can stand her own, Ginger whose son has leukemia and will do anything to help him, Jim and Wayne who are Wes’ next door neighbors, both interesting in their own way and so many more!!

This story combined suspense, romance and humor and I loved all three together!!!