Review: THE SUMMER I FOUND YOU by Jolene Perry

Title: THE SUMMER I FOUND YOU by Jolene Perry
Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ARC received via NetGalley from Albert Whitman Teen in exchange for an honest review.
Dannie says: Good but not as great as I'd hoped.

All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction.

Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life. When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all?

WHAT I LIKED 

Aiden--I think he could have been more realistic of a young soldier. The elements are there, but they all sort of came through in superficial ways for me. Of the two MCs, he's definitely the more three-dimensional. For me what it felt like was that the author researched online what it's like to be a combat veteran, what it's like to be an amputee, and included those details without taking her research any further. For me, having worked with people with disabilities for a long time, and knowing a lot of combat veterans both personally and professionally, a lot of small details went overlooked. His characterization didn't feel as organic as I'd hoped, making Aiden a like rather than a love for me.

The interplay between the two MCs individual journeys. I think there was great potential for the conflict between the amputation Aiden can't hide and the diabetes Kate is desperate to deny. But for me, I didn't feel this theme was explored thoroughly enough. The resolution of this issue came too late structurally and felt sort of glossed over as a consequence. I felt like the author missed a huge opportunity to enhance their emotional chemistry by having them struggle to face their disabilities as a couple. But I really, really liked where she was headed with this. It's an awesome theme I'd love to see more of in YA/NA. 

WHAT I LOVED

The concept--love, love, love this idea. First and foremost, hurray for main characters with disabilities in stories that aren't just about having a disability. Juvenile diabetes is a seriously under-explored issue for young people in YA lit and I loved that Jolene explored the denial aspect of late diagnosis so thoroughly. 

WHAT I WANTED MORE OF 

A stronger, more engaging FMC. I didn't feel grabbed by Kate as much as I'd hoped, and I really really hoped! I think she's got the makings of a really interesting character arc, but it fell sort of flat for me. She felt underdeveloped, both in terms of her progression of coming to grips with her disability and her personality in general. She didn't really pop off the page for me and I found myself genuinely disliking her toward the end of the book rather than empathizing with her. She felt very superficial and shallow and consequently, I didn't buy her taking interest in a guy with one arm. I'm not sold on being squeamish with needles but okay with a huge scar-filled gape where an arm should be--and I don't say this to be insensitive. Amputation is painful, life-altering, and can create a lot of day to day difficulties beyond not being able to drive a car with a stick shift. I didn't believe a girl with Kate's characterization would love someone like him so easily. 

A  better title and cover. I was really, really confused by the presentation of this book. For one, the story doesn't even take place during the summer. It takes place in the spring, in the months leading up to Kate's prom and graduation. If the implication is that they're going to get together during the summer after the book is over, then maybe it's a good title for a sequel, but it doesn't fit this plot at all. The cover, too, doesn't really fit the content, and beyond that it looks too similar to Sarah Ocklar's TWENTY BOY SUMMER, which is actually about a summer vacation. So writer-to-writer, I wanted more for the author here. 

More thorough explanation of the themes and conflict. Like I said, there is so much potential running around in this manuscript. Really and truly. But I felt like it started in the wrong place and ended too quickly. I wanted to fall in love with this book because the concept totally grabbed me. When I saw it on NetGalley I said "I MUST READ THIS BOOK NOW!" I was quite grabby-hands about the whole thing. But I left the last page feeling disappointed and a little confused. 

But don't take my word for it. Read and let me know what you think!

Review: SILENT ECHO by Elisa Freilich

SILENT ECHO by Elisa Freilich 

Publisher: Diversion Books

ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review 

Dannie says: Not for me. More below.


Rendered mute at birth, Portia Griffin has been silent for 16 years. Music is her constant companion, along with Felix, her deaf best friend who couldn t care less whether or not she can speak. If only he were as nonchalant about her newfound interest in the musically gifted Max Hunter.

But Portia s silence is about to be broken with the abrupt discovery of her voice, unparalleled in its purity and the power it affords to control those around her. Able to persuade, seduce and destroy using only her voice, Portia embarks on a search for answers about who she really is, and what she is destined to do.

Inspired by Homer s "Odyssey, Silent Echo: A Siren s Tale" is an epic story filled with fantasy, romance and original music.

WHAT I LIKED

The quirkier scenes involving the Gods and Goddessess were fun. I worked to suspend my disbelief for a few things, but the author's enthusiasm for this aspect of her story was obvious, and for me that made it fun to read.

The verse. But this was barely a like for me. A few reasons contribute to that, the main one being I'm not a fan of novels in verse as a general concept. I've only read one that I can say I really loved. For me this also meant that this book felt verse-heavy, and while some of it was quirky and fun, I felt that on the whole it was taken too far and utilized too much. 

WHAT I LOVED

Max--Le sigh. Sign me up for cultured, creative types with great empathy for a parent experiencing mental illness. There's a lot to like about Max. I was rooting for him the whole way through (but I won't spoil the ending for ya!)

The concept. I got sucked in by the synopsis for sure. I think if you like campy stories about mythological characters set in modern times there's a lot you'll enjoy about this read. It will probably appeal to fans of Percy Jackson and Oh My Gods.

WHAT I WANTED MORE OF

Narrative voice that sounded more teen. Between references to Teen Beat (a magazine I've never seen in the hands of a HS teen, much less a present day one--the last issue came out in 2007) and language that bordered on high scoring SAT words, the narrative voice felt out of touch with modern teens for me.

Less sexual tension with Felix. The love triangle felt forced to me. There was great conflict and tension between them based on their friendship and mutual experience of sensory disabilities. For me, that would have been enough. 

Less head-hopping: I'm a firm believer in multiple POVs, however I also think that alternating between them has to be strategic and well-executed. The sudden switch to, not only a new POV, but a non-teen POV 30% into the story was a complete buzzkill to the momentum created by the tension between Portia, Felix, and Max

More original tale and less mythological backstory. Massive chunks of italicized narrative that pulls me out of the story present made me put down the book for several days. It felt unending.

More consistent POV and narrative voice. I think even in third person it's cheating to head hop within a scene. Particularly when we switched to backstory on the Gods or the school nurse's POV I felt a strong disconnect to Portia and her story. For me those scenes felt derailing.

More organic use of humor throughout. Humor writing 101: if you have to explain a joke it's either not funny or not amusing to your target readership. 

Less (and by less i mean none) use of the word "handicap". The word jarred me out of the story every single time. On a related note I strongly dislike (colossal understatement) the implication that Felix's deafness "ruined his life." (Chp 39) I think youth readers in the Deaf community would strongly resent this implication. I'm not deaf, and I sure as hell do. 

Yes, people with disabilities face obstacles other people do not. Do they ruin their lives? 

Hell no. And unless the author has personally experienced said disability and experienced her own life being ruined by it, she doesn't have the fucking right to insinuate in narrative that it does so. It's one thing for a character to believe his life has been ruined by deafness. It's another thing entirely for the author to have the POV narrator and so-called heroine of the story (and therefore the author, unless the sentiment is otherwise disputed) agree with them. Especially if that book is written for children or teens.

That's a deal-breaker for me, kids. 

Top Ten Tuesday for October 1, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.Check the link to learn more and join the blog hop!

TOP TEN BOOK TURN-OFFS

For me these are book, non-negotiables. Many of them will make me cease and desist reading immediately. Some may lead to ranty blog posts or reviews on GoodReads. Though I usually list books in no particular order I'm listing these literary crimes from least to greatest offense. 

10. Historical Fiction--I make an exception for roaring 20's themed historicals but otherwise, not so much for me. 

9. Unreliable Narrators--if I can't trust a narrator then I can't emotionally invest in his story, which is a deal breaker for me.

8. Large blocks of backstory/telly narrative. For me a story is about relationships between characters, which is best shared through dialogue. I am unlikely to fully invest otherwise and tend to skim pages that lack conversation 

7. Loose ends. Especially at the end of a series I've invested several books' worth of time and money in. If you can't wrap up the loose ends in a series, you've got no business writing a series to begin with. 

6. Narrative Moral Judgments. Particularly when you're writing for children or teens. Keep your morals out of the narrative. I'm not much of a fan of being preached to as an adult, but I sure as hell wasn't as a teenager. And on a related note...

5. Blatantly politicized fiction targeted toward young readers. I think the longer people can go without thinking about and understanding politics the better they will be. Let kids be kids--don't try to suck them into ulterior motivated nonsense. That's what adulthood is for.

4. Use of the n-word and all it's little friends. Hate is hate, whether that hate is authentic or not. 

3. Careless presentation of risk-taking behavior in books targeted toward teens. Let your adult characters in an adult novel skip the condom whenever they want, but if you're writing for kids, I feel like there's an ethical obligation to do what you can to model responsible behavior in characters with whom you expect young, impressionable readers to identify. 

2. Inauthentic Presentation of Mental Health and/or Substance Abuse Disorders and Treatment. Not all therapists are terrible and not all treatment centers are shady and corrupt. And honestly, I'm tired of literature geared toward kids that will make them wary of seeking help when they need it. Don't make me sic NAMI on your ass. I'm not kidding. 

1.  Uneducated or misinformed representations of people with disabilities. And if you use the word handicapped you can expect to get a history lesson and an earful from me.

So, yeah. This is one I'm pretty opinionated about. What are your literary deal-breakers? And what do you think of mine? Let's debate this!