Review and Giveaway: Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Geek + runway = a hilarious runaway hit! This bestselling UK debut is full of humor and high-fashion hijinks—and now it’s coming to America.

Harriet Manners is tired of being labeled a geek. So when she’s discovered by a modeling agent, she seizes the chance to reinvent herself. There’s only one problem: Harriet is the definition of awkward. Does she have what it takes to transform from geek to chic?

Geek Girl is the first book in a hilarious new trilogy. It was also the #1 bestselling YA debut of 2013 in the UK, where it was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Best Book for Teens. With all the humor and fabulous shenanigans of Louise Rennison’s Confessions of Georgia Nicolson and Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries, Geek Girl is about to become an international superstar.

Best Bits: I love a good British comedy, so when I read comparisons to Louise Rennison's books I was itching to pick this up. In some ways it met my expectations, and in others it fell flat. The thing that I enjoyed most was, surprisingly, the conflict between Harriet and her best friend Nat (who wants to be a model, and is not spotted). I think it was realistic that there would be conflict between the two after Harriet gets chosen to be a model, despite having zero interest in fashion. The friendship drama was more about honesty, rather than jealousy. It was sort of refreshing to read a book where the main character is gaining maturity in a friendship, rather than dealing with a best-friend-turned-mean-girl.

I also really appreciated the family support that Harriet has throughout the book. Sure, both adults are a big misguided, but it's apparent that they care about Harriet and her happiness. This is particularly true of Annabel, Harriet's stepmother. Throughout the book we see her trying to make decisions in Harriet's best interest. This doesn't mean that she's a perfect character, as she sometimes bases her assumptions and decisions on what she believes Harriet would want, rather than asking her. I think that may be one of the overall messages of this book. Every character has their flaws, but that's acceptable. None of the characters are meant to be perfect. That's always a good message to send.

Nit Picks:  At times I felt like Harriet was a middle-grade character. She is dealing with your typical teen issues (aside from being spotted and turned into a model), yet she reads more like a child. I had an internal debate about whether this was due to being overly sheltered...but it's hard for me to believe that a character can be so naive. At some points in the read it drew me out of the story.

Geek Girl 
By Holly Smale
Published by HarperTeen
384 Pages
Received for Review

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Book Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

 Best Bits: You know, this book was really entertaining. I've heard positive and negative things about it, and I think that's why it's taken me so long to cross it off my to-read list. So, I was pleasantly surprised by how fast it went. I liked the dynamic between the girls (see the nit picks section, though). Sure, some fell into their tropes, but it was nice to see that some girls weren't after love, they were after power.

Sorry, I'm not usually a gif person, but I couldn't resist. I did like the development of Maxon. Despite his out-of-touch upbringing, he's genuinely willing to attempt change for his country. It's the sign of a good ruler (omg, now I'm worried he won't live through the series. Excuse me while I go breathe in a paper bag).

Nit Picks: I can see why this one was hit or miss for people, because it stayed at the surface for most things like character motivations (beyond America), and delving into why the rebels are fighting back against the government. The love triangle seemed a bit wonky, too. I think that's because the book gives us such a positive look at Maxon. I felt ho-hum about Aspen, who I'm sure I'm supposed to feel something for. 

The Selection 
By Kiera Cass
Published by  HarperTeen
336 Pages

Waiting on Wednesday (February 5)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

Published by HarperTeen
Release Date: July 1, 2014

Mini-Reviews

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this one, but what I got was dark, twisted, and riveting. I first heard about this one on the TeaTime weekly book chat, and it lived up to my expectations. It was creepy in the right way, and I can honestly say that I was not expecting the twist at the end.

The themes that the book focused on were great. Selfishness, consequences to actions, life's purpose...okay I know I'm doing a really bad job selling them. To summarize: the book may be dark and violent, but Quinn has a purpose for all of those scenes.

Overall: It was hard to sleep after this one, but it left me with some great existential questions.

Published by HarperTeen

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Well, I knew with all the Twitter outcry that the ending was going to be brutal. I somehow managed to avoid spoilers, and I'll do so here. What I will say is that I found the ending to be emotional (I totally cried), and satisfying.

There was some great twists, some scenes that caused me to scream "why" dramatically (my cat was not impressed by my dramatics), and the exploration of relationships between the characters really kept me engaged.

Overall: A nice wrap-up for the series. Can't wait for the movie, and for whatever Roth writes next!

Published by Katherine Tegen Books

 Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I'm so behind in this series, but everything that I've read about it has been positive. It took me a while to adjust to the writing style, but once I did I couldn't set it down. I had to know what happened to Juliette, and I wanted to learn more about The Reestablishment.

The world that she lives in isn't a good one (in fact, I actually expect it to get worse in subsequent books). She's been imprisoned and abandoned, and oh my gosh is there a steamy romance. I will be grabbing the next in the series ASAP.

Overall: I understand the hype, and love the new covers (the cover to the left is the original).

Published by HarperTeen

Teaser Tuesday (January 14)

What is teaser tuesday?
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

"Back on the bus we pass around the charred remains of my peanut butter tasties. Everyone's being pretty nice to Davey, trying to make light of what happened, even though they saw him freak out in a child's corn maze." 
-No One Else Can Have You, Page 242, by Kathleen Hale

Stacking the Shelves (January 11)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews! It's a way to highlight the books that everyone got throughout the week.

Purchased (with a birthday gift card, so it doesn't break my book buying ban...see how I am justifying that?)

 No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 689 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.

Published by HarperTeen

Don't Miss: Cress Review and Giveaway
Monthly Comment Contest: Every time you leave a link on a non-meme post you're entered to win your choice of any of the books I've reviewed that month!

Stacking the Shelves (June 2)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews! It's a way to highlight the books that everyone got throughout the week.

Purchased: 

Transparant by Natalie Whipple

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

Published by HarperTeen

How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer

From Sarah Strohmeyer, author of Smart Girls Get What They Want, comes this romantic comedy about one girl's summer job from hell. Think The Devil Wears Prada set in Disney World.

When cousins Zoe and Jess land summer internships at the Fairyland Kingdom theme park, they are sure they've hit the jackpot. With perks like hot Abercrombie-like Prince Charmings and a chance to win the coveted $25,000 Dream & Do grant, what more could a girl want?

Once Zoe arrives, however, she's assigned to serve "The Queen"-Fairyland's boss from hell. From spoon-feeding her evil lapdog caviar, to fetching midnight sleeping tonics, Zoe fears she might not have what it takes to survive the summer, much less win the money.

Soon backstabbing interns, a runaway Cinderella, and cutthroat competition make Zoe's job more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. What will happen when Zoe is forced to choose between serving The Queen and saving the prince of her dreams?

Published by Balzer & Bray

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three year deadline she gave herself to succeed. But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job. She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates-Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sci-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material-and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works. 

Meanwhile, she dreams of doing "important" work, but only ever seems to get auditions for dishwashing liquid and peanut butter commercials. It's hard to tell if she'll run out of time or money first, but either way, failure would mean facing the fact that she has absolutely no skills to make it in the real world. Her father wants her to come home and teach, her agent won't call her back, and her classmate Penelope, who seems supportive, might just turn out to be her toughest competition yet. 

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a funny and charming debut about finding yourself, finding love, and, most difficult of all, finding an acting job.

Published by Ballantine Books

Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates

Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.

While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells!

When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer..

Published by Signet

(Seriously, it has magic, a cat, and baked goods on the cover...how could I say no?)

What did you get this week? 

Waiting on Wednesday (May 8)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

Parallel by Lauren Miller

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice—taking a drama class her senior year of high school—changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten.

With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach.

Published by HarperTeen
Release Date: May 14, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday (April 16)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

 The Taming of the Tights (Tallulah 3) by Louise Rennison

There's no official synopsis yet, but I imagine there will be more adventures in Irish comedy dancing, Wolfe boy drama, some fabulous owls, and me bursting with laughter at socially inappropriate times. Hilarity, full speed ahead.

Published by HarperTeen
Release Date: August 13, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday (December 19)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

Mind Games by Kiersten White

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways… or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

Published by HarperTeen
Release Date: February 19, 2013

Mini-Reviews

 Vanish (Firelight 2) by Sophie Jordan

This was an interesting follow-up to Firelight, although quite a long time had passed between when I read the first book and when I picked this one up. What I really enjoyed was how it altered my perceptions of characters. In the first book we see Cassian as a jerk who Jacinda needs to escape. In Vanish, however, I began to sympathize. Jacinda, I'm sorry to say, became a bit more annoying to me. I still felt for her character, but  Lots of action and excitement, and I couldn't wait to grab the final book in the trilogy, Hidden.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: B

Hidden (Firelight 3) by Sophie Jordan

I read this directly after finishing Vanish, and I flew through it. I was fairly certain I knew what was going to happen, but Jordan still had quite a few twists thrown in. The love triangle wraps up in a predictable way, but the rest of the story wraps up nicely. I wasn't sure how things could work out (would Jacina stay/leave, what about Cassian, hello...the hunters are stalking them), but everything left me satisfied as a reader.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: B

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

I've had Bittersweet on my shelf for quite a long time, and now that the winter weather has started in I thought it would be a fun read. I enjoyed the cupcake titles/descriptions at the start of each chapter (although it made me crave sweets) but the story didn't quite live up to my expectations after Twenty Boy Summer. There was a lot going on story-wise that I don't think necessarily needed to be there and being pulled between them made the main character seem self-centered when I should have empathized with having to make tough decisions about where to spend her time. Still, I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from Ockler.
Published by Simon Pulse
Rating: C