Review: Project VanLife by Trevor DeRuise and Sierra Davies

Title: Project VanLife

Author: Trevor DeRuise and Sierra Davies

Publication date: October 31, 2014

Summary:

Get inspired and come along on the adventure of a lifetime. Learn what it takes to step outside of your comfort zone in order to live a life fueled by passion. Join a 22-year-old professional mountain bike racer and his girlfriend as they enter into the world of entrepreneurship in order to keep their dreams and passions alive while they transition from “college life” into the real world. Following their hearts, these two dreamers set out to chase the largest professional mountain bike series in North America during the summer of 2014. The epic journey has them living out of a used van for 90 days as they drive over 15,000 miles on an almost inexistent budget. All the while, they struggle to run several business and philanthropic endeavors from their rolling office in order to fulfill the vision they see for their lives. This book illustrates the devastating heartbreak of defeat and the heavenly thrill of triumph only available to those who dedicate their lives to a purpose greater than themselves. Let these young adventurers motivate you as they lay it all on the line to prove, firsthand, what VanLife is all about.

Review:

A little different from my normal reviews, this book is non-fiction and somewhat autobiographical, as well as being self-published. But stay with me here, because I have nothing but amazing things to say about this book.

While following the adventures of Sierra and Trevor as they trek across the country living out of the back of a van, I laughed, I cried, and I came out the other side feeling wholly inspired and alive. Project VanLife chronicles the stories of two seemingly everyday twenty-somethings with a thirst for adventure, and the determination to make their dreams a reality.  It felt like reading an awesome novel about a summer roadtrip with great characters, but one where you're like, "This would never happen in real life..." - but that's the awesome thing about this book, is that these are two everyday REAL people just trying to get by, while carving out a meaningful existence for themselves. 

This book has a little bit of everything - enthusiasm, adventure, comedy, love, and inspiration.  And by the end, you'll be ready to jump off the couch and go tackle your own projects, make your own dreams a reality. In a time where it seems like all we hear about is the mountains of debt, poor economy, lack of jobs, and generally negative outlook for twenty-somethings today, this book is a refreshing reminder that with a little bit of motivation and determination, you really can do what you put your mind to. Recommended for anyone who has even an inkling of a dream inside that they want to pursue, anyone who wants a little inspiration, or anyone looking to live an amazing adventure vicariously through others ;)

Review: Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Title: Going Bovine

Author: Libba Bray

Publication date: September 22, 2009

Summary: 

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

Review:

Oh, man. This book is amazing. It starts off normal enough, with your typical unmotivated high school boy being lazy, smoking weed, sneaking around, etc. I almost stopped reading as I thought, "Oh great, this is going to be one of those depressing books about some unappreciative slacker kid who barely passes high school and ends up nowhere in life." But there was something about the style of writing that told me I should hang in there and it would be worth it, and it most definitely was. After a couple of bad hallucinatory experiences, Cameron discovers he has mad cow disease, and from then on the book just explodes with imagination adventure and takes you on a completely wild ride where you're unsure what's up and what's down.  

While filled with plenty of humor and adventure and a plot that will make you wonder if you might be tripping on something or going crazy as well, Going Bovine also made me take a look inside my own life, at the importance of LIVING instead of just existing, and how the relationships and experiences you encounter can make all the difference. When reading this book, you will laugh. You may cry. You will scratch your head at the absurdity of it all. Ultimately, you will likely come away from it with a new appreciation for life itself, and if like me this is your first time reading a Libba Bray book, you will have found yourself a new favorite author. 

Characters: 9/10

Plot: 9/10

Originality: 10/10

Writing: 10/10

Overall grade: A

Review: Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

Title: Almost Perfect

Author: Brian Katcher

Publication date: October 13, 2009

Summary: 

Logan Witherspoon recently discovered that his girlfriend of three years cheated on him. But things start to look up when a new student breezes through the halls of his small-town high school. Sage Hendricks befriends Logan at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. Sage has been homeschooled for a number of years and her parents have forbidden her to date anyone, but she won’t tell Logan why. One day, Logan acts on his growing feelings for Sage. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she’s actually a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage and disowns her. But once Logan comes to terms with what happened, he reaches out to Sage in an attempt to understand her situation. But Logan has no idea how rocky the road back to friendship will be.

Review:

I could relate to this book in many ways, namely growing up in a tiny town and having a best friend who was transgendered. Overall this was a great read about the kinds of things that people who fall under the LGBTQ spectrum have to put up with on a daily basis, both from parents and the community around them. 

But I think this book had the potential to be a more powerful read if it hadn't focused so much on Logan's point of view and transphobia. I do think it is very important to address the perspective of those who are homophobic or transphobic, and eventually he does come around, but for the majority of the book I found myself almost hating Logan. There is something to be said for honesty, and I admire that, but it seems like he kept flipping back and forth between being completely closed minded and then changing his mind and wanting to rescue and be with Sage. I think he provided a much needed source of support for Sage at times, but ultimately his wishy-washiness and hesitance caused her to stray away from him, and I can't blame her. 

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book for all the topics it addresses (self harm, suicidal ideations, transgender/gay issues) and for dealing with all of the feelings involved in both being transgender and how it feels to have fallen in love with someone who is undergoing a gender transition and dealing with so much pain and criticism from all directions. The emotions and pain from both Sage and Logan were so real that I found myself hurting for both of them, and while the ending wasn't completely satisfying, it made sense in a way. I would have liked to see more of the story from Sage's viewpoint because I found it completely fascinating.

Characters: 8/10

Plot: 8/10

Originality: 9/10

Writing: 8/10

Overall grade: B

Review: Rosebush by Michele Jaffa

Title: Rosebush

Author: Michele Jaffe

Publication date: December 7, 2010

Summary: 

Instead of celebrating Memorial Day weekend on the Jersey Shore, Jane is in the hospital surrounded by teddy bears, trying to piece together what happened last night. One minute she was at a party, wearing fairy wings and cuddling with her boyfriend. The next, she was lying near-dead in a rosebush after a hit-and-run. Everyone believe it was an accident, despite the phone threats Jane swears were real, but the truth is a thorny thing. As Jane's boyfriend, friends and admirers come to visit, more memories come to the surface not just from a party, but from deeper in the past. With nearly all her friends a suspect, Jane must unravel the mystery before her killer attacks again. Along the way she's forced to examine her life and change it.

Review:
Although I didn't care too much for the main characters, most of who were the popular, rich, snobby type, I still found myself hooked into reading this book. It starts with a scene from the end and then goes back to the night of the party so we can watch the story unfold. This is one of those books that will keep you on your toes, just as eager as Jane to figure out who's after her and whether or not the strange phone calls and messages she gets are real or just delusions.

Without giving too much away, I'll say that the ending was a real surprise. The person who ended up being the killer didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, especially because I could think of at least two other people who seemed like they had better, more solid reasons. I mean, I don't like predictable books where I can tell who the culprit is right from the start,  but I also like things to make sense, and this ending was slightly confusing in my opinion, but definitely a shocker. It was also slightly annoying how Jane would jump from guy to guy so quickly, especially when she had a boyfriend. Okay, some of them did sound pretty cute, but come on. As her mom says at the end, "That's the third boy she's kissed this week!"

However, putting all of the little annoyances I had with this book aside, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a thrilling novel with many questions to be answered. Even if you're tired of reading about stuck-up popular teenagers like I am, it still makes for an exciting read that you'll have trouble putting down.

Characters: 7/10

Plot: 8/10

Originality: 8/10

Writing: 8/10

Overall grade: B

Received from Book Divas for review.

Giveaway winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered my 150 followers giveaway! The winner that was selected by Random.org is: 

Gabrielle Carolina from The Mod Podge Bookshelf! 

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Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Publication date: September 27th, 2011

Summary:

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong.

Review:

With all the hype surrounding this novel, I was afraid that I'd be going into it with my expectations set too high, but I was definitely not disappointed. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer not only lived up to my expectations, but exceeded them. This novel is absolutely beautiful and has just about everything you could want in a good book. Mystery, suspense, romance, sarcasm, wit... I could go on and on. There's the intriguing mystery that starts with Mara waking up in a hospital bed, unable to remember why she's there or what happened to her friends that night, which then slowly unravels in bits and pieces throughout the book. There's the budding romance between Mara and Noah, filled with so much chemistry and tension that you just want to explode. Noah is completely swoon-worthy. I really disliked him at first, but grew to love him by the end. Reading about all of Mara's experiences with her PTSD, flashbacks, nightmares, and confusing actions was a pleasant surprise for me as well. It definitely filled my appetite for all things psychological.

This novel was amazingly well-written, consumed every bit of my attention, and then kept lingering in my mind while I was doing other things. The ending is a huge cliffhanger, which I wasn't expecting, but then again the whole novel was so unpredictable that I should have learned not to expect anything! I absolutely can not wait for the next book and will heavily recommend this one to anyone looking for a captivating read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but it was pretty darn close and is a novel I will definitely be reading again.

Characters: 9/10

Plot: 9/10

Originality: 9/10

Writing: 10/10

Overall grade: A+

Review: Hush by Eishes Chayil

 Title: Hush

Author: Eishes Chayil

Publication date: September 14, 2010

Summary:

Inside the closed community of Borough Park, where Brooklyn's Chassidim live, the rules of life – everything from how to dress to whom to marry – are very clear, determined to the last detail by an ancient script written thousands of years before. Then young Gittel witnesses an unspeakable act of violence against her best friend, Devory, an act that goes against everything she's been taught as a Jew. For the first time in her life, there are no guidelines to tell her what to do, so she remains silent. But even inaction has consequences, and sometimes they are deadly...

Now a teenager, Gittel is racked with guilt over the choices she made and those that were forced upon her by the community she once trusted. She must question everything about herself – her own innocence, her memories of the past, and the beliefs of her sect – to find peace for Devory and for herself.

Review:

Honestly, I almost put this book down after the first 15 or 20 pages because it just didn't interest me. Most of chapter two was spent talking about a hat, and filled with sentences that made me feel like I was reading in a foreign language, which left me disinterested and confused. But I made it over that speed bump and continued reading, and I am so, so glad I continued reading. This is easily one of the best books I've read this year.

Part one of the book alternates between Gittel telling the story as a 9-year-old and as a 17-year old, which I felt worked wonderfully as it let the reader get the background story on her childhood but also let us see the kinds of things she struggled with presently. Part two of the book tells about Gittel's life as she gets married and lives with her husband.

Not only did Gittel's story deal with heavy issues such as her best friend's suicide, the unspeakable violence that she witnessed, and her grief for many years to come, but it also took the reader deep into the inner workings of a culture that I knew almost nothing about before reading this book. It was fascinating just to see how children are raised in a community that has such a completely different way of life than most are accustomed to.

While the heavier issues took precedence, there were also many happy moments as it tells the story of Gittel growing up from a mere 9-year-old to graduating high school and getting married. I felt like the author managed to give the book a great balance of heavy subject matter versus everyday life, serious versus enjoyable, and it was all-around a well-written story. Overall, Hush is a powerful, unique book that will stay with you long after you've finished reading.

Characters: 8/10

Plot: 9/10

Originality: 9/10

Writing: 7/10

Overall grade: A