Exile by Kevin Emerson

Title: Exile

Author: Kevin Emerson
ISBN: 9780062133953
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Released: April 29, 2014
Page #: 320
Source: ARC from the publisher

Blurb:
"Summer Carlson knows how to manage bands like a professional - minus the whole 'falling for the lead singer of the latest band' part. But Caleb Daniels isn't an ordinary band boy - he's a hot, dreamy, sweet-singing, exiled-from-his-old-band, possibly-with-a-deep-dark-side band boy. She also finds herself at the center of a mystery she never saw coming. When Calbe reveals a secret about his long-lost father, one band's past becomes another's present, and Summer finds it harder and harder to be both band manager and girlfriend. Maybe it's time to accept who she really is, even if it means becoming an exile herself..."
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First Lines: (Quotation from the galley, check final book for edits.)

"Just after dinner on the night before the start of senior year, Dad polishes off his guacamole garden burger, looks at me seriously, and asks, 'So, now what, then?'"
Page 1
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Review:

Summer has managed a band before - and she lost them to a big label. Now she has to start fresh and scope out new talent at her performing arts school. It's pretty easy to find someone new, but she has to contend with a lot of baggage. More baggage than she realized. But that also sets the new band up for future successes and a pretty epic treasure hunt. And quite a few shady characters mill around making things all mysterious.

I'm not a band girl. Well, not a rock band girl. I was the other kind of band girl...
Anyway, there's is a whole mindset of this book that is a little above my head. I mean, I get the basic concept. I understand the draw of the band. And I even can imagine the insane personalities that you encounter. But all of the rock references... yep, didn't get those. Something about Zepplin? Erm. A Beatles record? Okay. So I feel like there was something I missed out on a little bit, but it didn't keep me from enjoying the book.

I wasn't expecting the epic mystery element of this story. I think my expectation was just a cute story about musicians and touring and all that. Instead, this is a story about family and learning about what's important in life. I was a little impressed at how much deeper things went. Of course, you have to have the love triangle (which gets blown up) and the dramatics between the band members. And that there are several people who aren't who they say/think they are?! Gotta love that piece of intrigue!

There were a few times that I really wanted to strangle Summer. I get that she feels like she can't be herself around her parents. My parents were very understanding about things, so I have a hard time believing that her parents wouldn't understand her wanting to be a band manager. But that's just because of my own life experiences. I know a lot of families are more like hers, but it was hard to watch. I just wanted her to be truthful and loving. Instead she snuck around and lied to her parents. Oh god... does me noticing this make me old? Probably. But she's also constantly worrying about things and talking about how bad of an idea it is to date a band boy. And she does it anyway.

One very cool thing about this book - there is music that comes with it. Check it out: http://www.kevinemerson.net/2014/04/the-exile-soundtrack-is-here-three.html
I'm all about an interactive reading experience. No, the music isn't my taste (I'm an EDM fan), but it's still really cool. I know that sometimes authors put out soundtrack lists... but I haven't seen it done like this. I imagine that a lot of readers will really go for this.

All in all, this was a fun, entertaining story that I think people will really enjoy. I'm sure some of you will want to shake Summer as hard as I do, but the overall story is redeeming. This may be perfect for your beach reading this summer. (get it? summer? yolo.)
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Other Blog Reviews:

Nerdy Book Club
Candace's Book Blog
Snuggly Oranges
Books YA Love
The Book Hookup
The White Unicorn
The Storybook Kingdom
Reviews from a Bookworm
YA Romantics
Sarah Elizabeth's Bookshelf

Out This Week (April 27-May 3)

There are some really amazing books coming out this week - and some that I'm excited to finally get my hands on. Take a look:

5.1.14 Hunter (Super Human #4) by Michael Caroll

4.29.14 The Taking by Kimberly Derting

 4.29.14 Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson

5.1.14 The End or Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis

5.1.14 Scan by Walter Jury and Sarah Fine

4.29.14 Tease by Amanda Maciel

 4.29.14 Exile by Kevin Emerson

5.1.14 Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan

 4.29.14 Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike

5.1.14 Shattered (Slated #3) by Teri Terry

5.1.14 A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

4.29.14 The Treatment (Program #2) by Suzanne Young



Tease by Amanda Maciel

Title: Tease
Author: Amanda Maciel
ISBN: 9780062305305
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Released: April 29, 2014
Page #: 321
Source: ARC from the publisher

Summary:
"Emma Putnam is dead, and it's all Sara Wharton's fault.
At least, that's what everyone seems to think. Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that lead to Emma's shocking suicide. Now Sara is the one who's ostracized, already guilty according to her peers, the community, and the media.

In the summer before her senior year, in between meetings with lawyers and a court-recommended therapist, Sara is forced to reflect on the events that brought her to this moment - and ultimately consider her role in an undeniable tragedy. And she'll have to find a way to move forward, even when it feels like her own life is over.

 

In this powerful debut novel inspired by real-life events, Amanda Maciel weaves a narrative of high school life as complex and heartbreaking as it is familiar. Tease is a thought-provoking must-read that will haunt readers long after the last page."
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First Lines: (Quote from the galley - see final copy for official quote.)

 

"'Did you ever have a physical confrontation with Miss Putnam?'

'Did what?'

'Did you ever have a-'

'Oh. Yeah. Uhm, yeah, I guess there was that one time in the locker room.'

The lawyer writes this down, even though the tape recorder is on, has been the whole time."

Page 1

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Review:

 

Hearing the story from the perspective of the bully is pretty intense. She's torn about what's right and what's wrong - especially when there are lawyers telling her what she has to think.

 

Sara is being charged with harassment because her classmate committed suicide after being bullied by her. She's not the only one - her best friend is also being charged, along with some guys who went out with the girl. They all have various charges, but it amounts to them being responsible for the girl who hung herself in her family's garage. The problem is that none of these people actually think they're to blame. They're not allowed to see or speak to each other, so Sara feels very alone in all of these meetings and therapy sessions and getting through summer school.

 

It was really hard for me to like Sara. And Emma. And Brielle.

Okay, so maybe I wouldn't want to be friends with ANY of the characters in this book. It seems like everything they do is petty and stupid. And I'm not just talking about the bullies - yes, they act horribly towards Emma and don't care about anything. But Emma also does some pretty horrid stuff herself. I mean, assuming all of the rumors and stuff were true. It's hard to feel for someone who seems so weepie and possibly-slutty.

 

I know, I know. The story is being told from the perspective of a bully. That means we probably aren't getting an accurate picture of what Emma is actually like. But without that other side of the story, it's hard to feel compassion towards any of them. Maybe in the last, like, five pages. But throughout the entire story, I didn't know what to think. Was Sara bullied into doing the bullying? Did Brielle make her do those things? Maybe she's just as much a victim.

 

All of that being said, this book seems extremely close to real life. I can imagine all of these things happening in a high school right now. Which is sad for many reasons, obviously. It might have been nice to have more of the post-trial story. How did Sara pull herself together after all of this? What will she change about friendships and boyfriends in the future? There's a little glimpse of that, but it might have been helpful (for teens reading this book who are looking for some guidance on the "what next.").

 

It's a pretty raw book emotionally. I appreciate that Sara is not immediately apologetic for the things that happened. She deals with things in a very real and logical way. She can't see how she can be blamed for someone else's actions. It's a hard thing to grasp, for sure. The way she is written and the thought process she takes is really wonderful. Again... real life. That's definitely where this author excels.

 

I can't say that this was my favorite book of the year or anything, but I think it will be worthwhile for people looking for books about bullying. It's such a hot topic right now and I know a lot of schools are dealing with it in various ways. Hopefully the title of this book won't hinder anyone from getting it for a school. The perspective is worth it and is something that people need to read. Seeing things from the bullied standpoint is also very important, but it's nice to have something that explains the other side a little more.

 

So, good book. Worth a read. Be prepared to struggle with liking the characters. But it's a story that will stick with you long after you put the book down. There's a lot to chew on.

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Other Blog Reviews:

 

Mab is Mab

The Young Folks

Xpresso Reads

The Irish Banana

As the Crowe Flies (and Reads!)

Social Potato

Great Imaginations

Me, My Shelf, and I

Lit Up Review

Looking for the Panacea

Out This Week (April 13-29)

Some of my YA favorites and some newbies have books coming out this week. Have a look... 

•  4.15.14 Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• 4.15.14 Frozen (a Taken novel) by Erin Bowman

•  4.15.14 What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick
• 4.15.14 To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

• 4.15.14 Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
• 4.15.14 Sunrise by Mike Mullin

• 4.15.14 The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
• 4.15.14 House of Ivy and Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

Title: Sex and Violence
Author: Carrie Mesrobian
ISBN: 9781467705974
Publisher: CarolRhoda Lab
Released: October 01, 2013
Page #: 294
Source: copy from my public library

Summary:
"At first you don't see the connection.
Sex has always come without consequences for seventeen-year-old Evan Carter. He has a strategy - knows the profile of The Girl Who Would Say Yes. In each new town, each new school, he can count on plenty of action before he and his father move again. Getting down is never a problem. Until he hooks up with the wrong girl and finds himself in the wrong place at very much the wrong time.

And then you can't see anything else.
After an assault that leaves Evan bleeding and broken, his father takes him to the family cabin in rural Pearl Lake, Minnesota, so Evan's body can heal. But what about his mind?

How do you go on when you can't think of one without the other?
Nothing seems natural to Evan anymore. Nothing seems safe. The fear - and the guilt - are inescapable. He can't sort out how he feels about anyone, least of all himself. Evan's never really known another person well, and Pearl Lake is the kind of place where people know everything about each other - where there might be other reasons to talk to a girl. It's all annoying as hell. It might also be Evan's best shot to untangle Sex and Violence.

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First Lines:

 

"You'd think the most fucked-up part of the last year would be the moment when I read this and thought, 'Yeah, that. That sounds like the way to go.'"

Page 1

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Review:

 

Didn't actually mean to start reading this book, but it was sitting on my desk and I started to skim. Can you believe I got totally sucked in and decided I had to give it a full read? I feel like this book was a little bit of a reach for me - more real and intense than what I'm used to. But I'm very glad I picked it up because there's a lot to digest!

 

Evan knows how to find the girls who will be up for anything. He's good at it. And finds them in every new town they live in. Unfortunately, he finds the wrong girl at his latest boarding school. After being beaten beyond recognition, his father moves them to a tiny lake town in the middle of nowhere. He has to re-learn how to talk to people, how to be around people, how to trust people - if he ever did before.

 

I'm wavering a little bit about whether I really liked this book or not. On one hand, I loved it. I thought it was real and gritty and true to the brain of a 17 y/o guy. The things he learns about himself and other people are done in the slow, calculating way that makes sense to real life. I was just super impressed about how things were handled - and it was almost never the easy way. Evan is skeptical about pretty much everything and spends his life trying to project the right image. I just really found myself rooting for him to man up and figure things out.

 

On the other hand, Evan is a gigantic douche. Seriously, he has finding the right girl for sex down to a science. And not relationships, either. Just physical... one-time things, usually. The sluttiest person on the planet. A womanizer in the making. It makes him really hard to like in the beginning. Luckily, there is a lot of introspection and therapy after the beating, so Evan really starts to redeem himself. A lot of this has to do with the people he meets and befriends - which is something really new to him.

 

This is probably the grittiest book I've read in a while. YA Lit is usually so sugar coated and sweet - even things from guy perspectives. Which is fine for most things, but it sort of hits you hard when you read a book that is so realistic. I thought it was well done and the voice of Evan just washes over you. There's a bit about parenting fails, too. His dad doesn't know what to do with him, so effectively doesn't talk to him about anything. And Evan realizes that his dad is dealing with his own demons - ones that are slowly coming to light during their time at the lake.

 

Now, a little bit of warning... this book is chock full of drug use, sex, language, violence, and more. A lot of hard-hitting topics are dealt with here and nothing is skimmed over. Imagine the brain of a teenage boy... yep. You've got it. All of it. So, while this book is written for teenagers, I would have a hard time giving it to someone under, like, sixteen. Maybe. It's one of those "use your own discretion" books. But you've got fair warning here.

 

I guess that's one other thing that sort of bothered me about this book... the blase drug use. The whole, "It's no big deal. It's just pot." mindset was a little interesting. I get that's how it probably is... not in my life... but I can imagine how it's totally normal for some. There's also the scenes with the shrooms. I guess I was sort of hoping for someone to have a bad reaction to something and have that "drugs are bad!" moment. But it never happened. Guess that might be old-school YA talking?

 

Anyway, all in all I think I loved this book. It's definitely stuck with me and I think it will for a long time. There's a lot to chew on, so give it a good solid week. :) I'm definitely interested to see what this author comes out with next.

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Other Blog Reviews:

 

YA Books Central

Into the Hall of Books

Annette's Book Spot

Books and Beautiful World

Ivy Book Bindings

Once Upon a Bookcase

Stacked Books

Waking Brain Cells

The Reading Date

Teen Librarian Toolbox