Book Nerds Across America

Jane Smith has survived three years of high school without making a single enemy, all by keeping a low profile. Not even her three best friends, Kenzie, Corey and Isobel, can say the same. But with Corey dating the lead singer from ReadySet and Kenzie in a relationship too, being invisible tends to be lonely. But now she's written an article for her school newspaper that has accidentally snagged the attention of some celebrities. Turns out, people get really upset when their innermost secrets are splashed all over the front page. And new her well-ordered life is being blasted to hell, with results that are wildly unexpected. (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review
Awkward was this surprise gem of a book for me, so I've been looking forward to Invisible for awhile now. My overall synopsis: It was cute. 

Jane was kind of annoying me at the beginning. This girl is super dramatic -- in her head. She can definitely obsess about the littlest seeming thing on and on and on. The start of her transformation from being Invisible felt really quick to me. She is content to hang back and has been doing it for years, then all of a sudden she slugs a jock? That's a very dramatic change. I think a subtle change would have been much more realistic, but then maybe that would have made the book too long. 

But something in me couldn't stop reading this. I got past my annoyance with Jane and found myself really wanting to see exactly how her article would end up catastrophically and how she would find herself together with Scott. There were some great scenes with those two, and her play audition and date? LOL! I think I enjoyed the new characters -- Jane's boss and new detention friend among others -- better than the old ones, but it was nice to see Corey, Kenzie and Logan again. I must say, I happy with how Jane acted in the end and how everything went down for everyone. If you enjoyed Awkward, then you should pick this one up as well when it comes out in August. 

(Thanks to Netgalley for providing me the ARC of this one.)

Holly Dayton is about to go way out of her comfort zone. . . Spending Christmas vacation on a cruise with her two cousins from hell isn't Holly's idea of a good time. And when in a moment of seasick-fueled desperation she lurches into an open suite--she's greeted with an eyeful of pepper spray. The culprit? A gorgeous guy calling himself Nick. But when Holly goes to make her exit, she gets the shock of her life: a corridor crammed with screaming teenage fans. Because Nick just happens to be Dominic Wyatt, drummer for ReadySet--one of the hottest bands in America. Suddenly rumors are swirling, and Holly's face is captured on countless phones and plastered all over the Internet. But the band can't risk a scandal destroying their family-friendly image, so Dominic convinces Holly to be his fake girlfriend--just for two weeks. How bad could it be to be fauxmantically involved with one of the cutest rockstars on the planet? Holly's about to find out. . . (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review
So, you may remember that I was lucky enough to get a random ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of Marni Bates' book Awkward, which I read in one sitting and absolutely fell in love with. So when I had the opportunity to get Decked With Holly, I was on it like Buddy the Elf is on Christmas spirit.  But I'm not quite sure what I think of this book and exactly how to place it. So this review may be a little all over the place.

Okay, first -- I love that this is a holiday story and the main characters are named Holly and Nick. Cheesy, but cute. Especially since Nick is actually Dominic, and he was already a character from an earlier book! Did Marni already know she was going to do that, or did it just end up happening that way?! Hmm....we may have to have a guest interview with Marni on the blog and ask her. If you can think of any other questions, leave them in the comments. If we have enough, I'll ask her. 

But back to the review. The story took place over the holidays, but something was missing to give it the holiday feel. I know that Holly was not all about Christmas spirit and that it takes place on a cruise ship, but still. I kind of feel like if it's going to take place during the holiday season, I should get that holiday feeling from it. I also wasn't really into some the sweeping generalizations/stereotypes of different types of people. Nothing hateful, of course, and a lot were definitely taken to the extreme to be funny parodies, but still there were several instances in the story that kind of made me go, "Hmm..." And, on a minor note, I don't think Holly should have been a ReadySet fan. I think the way she reacted to Nick initially and afterward was not the way a fan would react to meeting a celebrity they knew and liked. I think it would have worked better if they were Jen's favorite band -- or even her cousins. Also, the hated and interactions between Holly and her cousins seemed a little too over the top. Again, I understand that they made her life miserable, but I don't think even that would make "showing them" first on the list of reasons to fake date a celebrity, ya know? With the "oh yeah, and my best friend and I will be popular" or "I'll be famous" factor to come in second. 

All that being said, I can't say I disliked the book. Once I picked it up, it was very hard for me to put down, and I read it in two sessions. Like Awkward, Marni Bates again had great transitions between chapters that compelled you to keep reading. And even though you knew what was going to happen between Holly and Nick, it was fun to keep reading with anticipation of the time when they both would finally realize their feelings.

"Mackenzie Wellesley has spent her life avoiding the spotlight. At Smith High, she's the awkward junior people only notice when they need help with homework. Until she sends a burly football player flying with her massive backpack and makes a disastrous - not to mention unwelcome - attempt at CPR. Before the day is out, the whole fiasco explodes on YouTube. And then the strangest thing happens. Suddenly, Mackenzie is an Internet sensation, with four million hits and counting. Sucked into a whirlwind of rock stars, paparazzi, and free designer clothes, she even catches the eye of the most popular guy at school. And that's when life gets really interesting... "(from Goodreads)

I was lucky enough to win this ARC from the publisher on Twitter. It arrived at my apartment during the holiday break and I set it on my coffee table. One day, in the height of my laziness (hey, what is break for?!), I was lying on my couch and grabbed it to read simply because I didn't want to get off the couch to find my Kindle. I loved it! Now you tell me laziness doesn't pay off?!? ;-p (Kidding, y'all.)

Awkward was just very refreshing. I flew through it in the span of about one day. Marni Bates has great chapter transitions, always along the lines of, "And then it got worse." And you're thinking, "How does it get WORSE?!?!" And you keep on reading. I loved Mackenzie's best friends Jane and Corey, who stood by their friend no matter what. I loved her little brother who is in middle school, yet is still not as socially awkward as Mackenzie. I enjoyed ReadySet and the twist with the lead singer and HIS crush. (I soo support that couple!) And I loved loved loved Logan, the cool kid who could have the most popular girl in school as his girlfriend, but is instead crushing on his very unaware history tutor. He may make my list of fictional boyfriends.

Awkward was a cute, fun and easy read. Any book that can hold my complete and absolute attention and make me not want to put it down until it's some crazy time in the A.M. and I've actually finished it rates high on my list.

Jane, Mackenzie's friend, pretty much faded out of the story in the middle. I am interested to learn more about her in Invisible, which will be her story and comes out next year.

~Flo~