Book Review: "Hope and Other Punchlines" by Julie Buxbaum

"I know better than anyone that you can't always draw a straight line from the who you once were to the who you are now."

Abbi Hope Goldstein celebrated her first birthday on September 11, 2001. While that doesn't make her completely unique, one fact does: on that fateful day, a photographer captured her, wearing a birthday crown and holding a red balloon, while the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed behind her.

That photo, entitled "Baby Hope," became an iconic symbol of that day. It truly gave people hope, and as Abbi grew older, she continued to be the subject of intense media curiosity. Strangers would stop her on the street and hug her, crying, sharing their memories of 9/11. It's hard to be infamous for something you didn't have any control over, and living in the New Jersey town that experienced the greatest number of casualties outside of NYC that day, she can never seem to escape the legacy of "Baby Hope."

But this summer, just before she turns 17 and starts her senior year of high school, she's determined to do something for herself. She signs up to be a counselor at a day camp two towns away, where no one will know her as anyone but Abbi. It's the perfect plan before she has to confront some issues she's dreading.

It turns out that Noah Stern, who is one year behind her in school, has decided to be a counselor at the same camp. Not only does he know that she is Baby Hope, he believes it was his destiny to meet her. His life changed, too, on 9/11, and he convinces/blackmails Abbi into helping track down the other people who were in her iconic photo. But neither of them is being completely honest about the impact of that day on their lives.

As they work to carry out Noah's plan, their relationship begins to deepen, but the secrets that both are hiding could be a barrier too great to overcome. Hope and Other Punchlines is a powerful, poignant story about trying to move away from the shadow of your past, and finding the strength to make a fresh start. But at the same time, the book shows us that everything that occurs in our life makes us the person we are, even if we'd rather not acknowledge those things and their effect on us.

"Something happens when the story you tell yourself turns out not to be your story at all. You have to figure out what to replace it with. Something needs to grow in the space left behind."

I found this book absolutely beautiful—it's emotional but it's funny, too. Even when I thought there really wasn't another angle by which to approach 9/11, Julie Buxbaum found a gorgeous story which sprung from those left behind. The burden that these kids carried on their shoulders, for different reasons, really moved me, and I was completely invested in this story from start to finish. In fact, I read the entire book in just a few hours.

I had never read any of Buxbaum's books before although I've always meant to, since I'm such a YA fan. Now for sure I'll definitely be picking her earlier books up. But I can't recommend Hope and Other Punchlines enough. It's a story of family, friendship, love, loss, guilt, grief, and, of course, hope.

Book Review: "One Small Sacrifice" by Hilary Davidson

"Instinct's not a superpower. It's made of experience and memory and belief."

Alex Traynor was a famous photojournalist known for capturing pictures of some of the world's most brutal and haunting scenes of conflict and unrest. But after he was kidnapped, he began suffering from PTSD and turned to drugs to help quell the visions he seemed to see whether his eyes were open or closed.

At the end of his rope and high on drugs, he decided to kill himself. Yet at the end of the night, Cori Stanton—his friend and drug-dealer—was the one who wound up dead. Alex doesn't remember a thing about what happened, but while there certainly were signs that something suspicious might have happened to her, the police never were able to prove that Alex was responsible for her death, so it was ruled a suicide.

NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling has never stopped believing Alex killed Cori, and she's never taken her eye off him, despite warnings to the contrary. Even one year later, she's the Inspector Javert to Alex's Jean Valjean, waiting for the moment when she can sneak in and snag him.

When Alex's fiancée, Emily, a dedicated doctor, goes missing shortly after having a loud argument with Alex, Sterling is sure that he had something to do with Emily's disappearance. Alex's stories just don't seem to add up, or they have a lot of missing pieces, and Sterling knows all too well how much of a ticking time bomb a person with PTSD can be.

Alex doesn't understand what could have happened to Emily, but he can't understand why she'd leave him. Did she really think he was responsible for Cori's death and could no longer be with him? Was she being intimidated by someone else? Or was she somehow involved in some other scheme, and could that have put her in trouble? The problem is, Alex isn't sure where to turn to figure out the truth behind Emily's disappearance, since he knows the police don't trust him. How can a man with PTSD and a shaky memory find answers?

The more Sterling and her partner investigate Emily's disappearance, the more muddled things become. Could her instincts have been wrong all this time, or is Alex better at hiding his tracks than she thinks? And if Alex wasn't responsible for Cori's death and isn't responsible for Emily going missing, who was?

Hilary Davidson's One Small Sacrifice is a mystery full of twists and turns, as well as fascinating characters. At first I wasn't sure if I liked Sterling's character and what appeared to be her single-mindedness, but as the story picked up I realized there was more to her—and to many of the characters—than I initially suspected.

I don't know if anything in the book really surprised me, but I still really enjoyed the way Davidson teased out the plot, throwing out lots of information that complicated my ability to figure out what really happened.

This is apparently the start of a series (the second book is due out in 2020), and I'll definitely pick up the next book, as well as check out some of Davidson's earlier work, because she created a compelling story. There were a lot of interesting side-plots in the book which made the story even richer.

Thomas & Mercer and Amazon First Reads provided me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

The book will be published June 1, 2019.

Book Review: "The Simple Wild" by K.A. Tucker

I'll admit, I have a straight-up obsession with Alaska. Of course, I'm far from the roughing-it type, so my appreciation of the "Last Frontier" comes from the pictures I've seen from those on Alaskan cruises, books like The Great Alone or The Smell of Other People's Houses, and movies.

I must say, that when a character in K.A. Tucker's book The Simple Wild said she loved Alaska because of what she saw in the movie "Into the Wild," I actually laughed out loud, because I felt seen.

Anyway, all this preamble is just to say that The Simple Wild already had a bit of a head-start with me because of its setting, but Tucker's story of romance, family dysfunction, forgiveness, and desperately trying not to make the same mistakes your parents did really blew me away. I've been on a bit of a roll with romance/rom-com novels lately, and this one was just as spectacular as everyone told me it was.

Calla Fletcher is a bit out of sorts—she's just lost her job and her relationship with her boyfriend seems to be going nowhere. Then she gets a phone call that her estranged father, Wren, has cancer. Calla hasn't seen her father since she was two years old, when she and her mother left their rural Alaska home because her mother could no longer handle the isolated lifestyle. And while she talked to her father periodically throughout her childhood, they haven't spoken in a number of years, and she essentially felt he chose his life in Alaska over her.

With nothing really going on in her life, and the opportunity to try and get to know her father before it's too late, Calla decides to head to the Alaskan wilderness, where he runs a charter plane company. She is utterly unprepared for how different life is in Bangor, Alaska from her life in Toronto—the spotty wi-fi, the constraints on water usage, how much everything costs—but she is captivated by the beauty of the place. But her father is very guarded, and she can't seem to understand why he keeps avoiding her. She's only in Alaska for a week—shouldn't he be taking the time to get to know her again? Or doesn't he care that she came all this way?

Little by little, Calla begins to understand why Wren could never uproot his life, even for her and her mother. She gets to know the people he's chosen to surround himself with, especially Jonah, the cocky pilot with the chip on his shoulder, and a host of incorrect assumptions about Calla. He's convinced she's too pampered to last in Bangor, and is ready to fly her home at the first sign of distress—if she can ever get her luggage in the first place. She doesn't understand why Jonah resents her so much, although he does encourage her to get to know her father.

Determined to prove Jonah wrong, and realizing that the time she has with her father is truly limited, Calla begins to settle in to Alaskan life, and starts to form a relationship with her father again. She learns more about his relationship with her mother, and how they never truly stopped loving each other, even though she has gotten remarried and built a new life. More and more, Calla's combative relationship with Jonah begins to soften into friendship, with hints at something more intense. But Jonah will never leave Alaska, and like her mother, Calla cannot fathom a life here. She's determined not to make the same mistakes her mother did, no matter how much her hunger for Jonah grows.

While nothing surprising happens in The Simple Wild, I was completely hooked from start to finish, and devoured the book in just a few hours. I was totally invested in these characters and their lives, and found myself getting emotionally invested right along with them. Granted, I have a lot of emotional vulnerability regarding my own father's death five years ago, but this book really touched me. I love books which celebrate both the families we choose along with those we're born into.

Far from just being poignant, however, this book is funny, ridiculously sexy, and a love letter to Alaska. Tucker is a great storyteller, but she painted such vivid pictures of the beautiful surroundings as well as the mundane parts of rural, small-town life. She also did a great job capturing the exhilaration and the danger associated with flying such small planes in unstable conditions. It really added another dimension to the story.

If you're looking for a book that is both a story of family relationships and a love story, pick up The Simple Wild. Hopefully you'll marvel at Tucker's storytelling and the absolute charm of this book as much as I did.

Book Review: "Drawing Home" by Jamie Brenner

"Someday you will find your own superpower."

Henry Wyatt was once one of America's most famous artists, but after years of success he decided he was more interested in a quieter life in beautiful Sag Harbor, where he could enjoy fishing, spending time with good friends, and being a regular at the bar at The American Hotel.

Choosing this life over a life of celebrity and excitement in New York City wasn't something his good friend and former business partner, Bea Winstead, ever understood about Henry, and it strained their decades-long relationship.

When Henry suddenly dies while sitting at the hotel bar at the start of Memorial Day weekend, Sag Harbor's residents are saddened by the loss of their most notable neighbor. Much to the surprise of everyone, Henry leaves his entire estate, including the beautiful waterfront home he designed himself, to Penny Mapson, a teenage girl and the daughter of The American Hotel's front desk manager, Emma, who grew up in Sag Harbor and has practically been in the hotel her entire life.

While over the last few years, Henry and Penny had struck up a friendship of sorts, and he gave her drawing lessons at the bar, no one understands why he would make such an impulsive decision about the disposition of his estate. Bea is the most aggrieved party, since Henry had once promised her the house and all of his work, and she descends upon the town, determined to right this most grievous wrong. She's convinced that somehow Emma had gotten her hooks into Henry and defrauded him, and she'll stop at nothing to prove that she's right—no matter who gets hurt in the process.

As Emma tries to figure out what this utterly unexpected windfall could mean to her and Penny's life, everything else seems to be falling apart. Henry's death has made it even harder for Penny, who is struggling with OCD and is becoming more rebellious to express her displeasure at being stuck in this small town. Her boss is unhappy with the burst of publicity that is following Emma as a result of Henry's bequest to Penny. And to top it off, her ex (and Penny's dad) resurfaces, suddenly wanting to be closer to his daughter. (Could it have anything to do with the house she just inherited?) The last thing Emma has energy for is to battle Bea over Henry's will.

In her effort to prove her suspicions, Bea combs through Henry's work that he had done since settling in Sag Harbor. She finds that Henry has left sketches scattered all around the town, and she's convinced that if she tracks all of them down and studies them, she'll find some clue that explains Henry's actions. It isn't until she gets Penny involved, and begins understanding what Henry was working on in his last days, that she starts to realize what Henry's intentions really were.

Jamie Brenner's Drawing Home is a wonderfully compelling story about friendship, love, art, and both the positive and negative aspects of small-town life, not to mention how the family we choose sometimes means more to us than the family we're born into. It's a book about the importance of communication, of second chances, and of not being afraid to lean on others when we're at our most vulnerable—as well as actually admitting we're vulnerable in the first place.

This is the first of Brenner's books I've read and I really enjoyed it. This was such a captivating, beautiful story, full of emotion and even a little intrigue, as I wondered what would possess Henry to leave Penny his estate? I will admit I found two of the characters in particular immensely annoying through a good portion of the book, but in the end, I really appreciated the progress they made.

I've never been to Sag Harbor, but Brenner's use of imagery really helped me envision it, and it couldn't have been more appropriate for a holiday weekend! She is an excellent storyteller, and I'm definitely going to check out some of her earlier books, because I can see why so many people are fans of her work!

Book Review: "Twice in a Blue Moon" by Christina Lauren

I wish I could bottle the feelings I experience when I'm reading a book by Christina Lauren. First there's anticipation, as I've now read eight of their books, and I just love the way they tell a story. Then there's excitement, as the main characters encounter one another and begin the awkward dance of attraction and emotion, tinged with the reluctance of acknowledging their feelings.

Excitement gives way to complete emotional immersion, and I find myself rooting for the characters to find their happily ever after. Then, of course, there's satisfaction, which quickly gives way to sadness...because I realize I'll have to wait at least six months for their next book! (Boy, am I fortunate they've been giving us two books a year lately!)

Their newest book, Twice in a Blue Moon, has now become my favorite. There's a love story, of course, but it's coupled with complicated family issues and the added appeal of the entertainment world. It's ironic, too, that a book which in part takes place on a movie set is one of the books I'd most love to see adapted for the big or small screen!

Tate Jones and her grandmother are on a trip to London to celebrate Tate's 18th birthday and her impending departure for college. Apart from the early days of her childhood, Tate has lived with her mother and grandmother in a small Northern California town, where everyone knows everyone and tourists are plentiful in season. She's always longed for more, but since she bears a secret that the world would die to know—she's the long-lost daughter of a famous film actor—she has always had to live life quietly.

While Tate enjoys everything about London, early on in her trip she meets Sam Brandis, a handsome college student on a similar vacation with his grandfather, who raised him. Tate and Sam are drawn to each other immediately, and over the course of a few late nights spent talking (and more), they fall in love with each other. Tate gives Sam her heart, and at the same time, shares the secret of who her father is, and all of the facts and feelings she's kept hidden deep inside. Within a day or two, her truths are exposed for the world to see, and she never sees Sam again.

Fourteen years later, Tate has made a name for herself as an actress. She's been lucky professionally, but romantically, not so much. She is set to make a movie with her father for the very first time, a movie she believes might change the course of her career, and perhaps the dynamics of her relationship with her father. And when she steps on to the set, one of the first people she sees is the one who betrayed her trust all those years ago, leaving her life and heart in turmoil.

Twice in a Blue Moon is a story of whether love can withstand anything thrown in its path, and whether a second chance is really ever possible. It's a story of the complicated relationship between fathers and daughters, particularly when both are in a business where image is everything, as well as a story of the sacrifices parents are willing to make for their children. The book also explores the idea of whether there's really one true love out there for everyone, or whether you can find it in yourself to move on.

Christina Lauren's books are always full of humor, emotion, steamy sex, chemistry, and an immense amount of heart, and Twice in a Blue Moon is no exception. Most importantly, though, the way they tell a story (Christina Lauren is the pen name for the collaboration of two writers who are best friends) is so compelling that I can never seem to tear myself away, even though I know I might be left without one of their books for a while.

I can't recommend this or any of their other books enough. Love and Other Words was my favorite until now, mainly because, like this book, I tend to like love stories that have some emotional history to them. But every single one of their books that I've read have left me in awe of their talent and left me a little teary-eyed at the end.

NetGalley and Gallery Books provided me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

This book will be published October 22, 2019.

Book Review: "The Missing Season" by Gillian French

Clara is used to being the new girl, as her family moves quite often to follow her dad's construction jobs. But she's never a big fan of the adjustment period, waiting to see how people will treat her, whether she'll be the loner with no friends or be lucky and make a friend or two, only have to abandon the relationship when she moves away again. It never fails.

When she moves to Pender, a depressed New England town, she expects it to go the same way it always does. She's surprised when she strikes up a friendship with Bree and Sage, and they start including her in things, like cutting out of school to grab lunch, hanging out at the skate park to watch the boys—even some high-level pranks. She and Bree even have a crush on the same guy—the mysterious Kinkaid, who comes and goes as he pleases, breezing by on his skateboard.

The thing about Pender, though, is that kids have disappeared, or have been found dead through the years, particularly around Halloween. While the adults in town have a perfectly good explanation for these tragedies—drug overdose, getting hit by a freight train, running away from town—the kids have another explanation. They believe it's the work of the Mumbler, a monster man who lives out by the marshes, for whom they leave offerings from time to time.

People—including Kinkaid—say they've seen the Mumbler, but Clara doesn't believe the legend is true. However, she's starting to think something isn't quite right in town, especially when another girl from school disappears. In the midst of the chaos, she finds herself unable to resist Kinkaid's appeal, despite the problems it might cause in her friendship with Bree. But her desire to help Kinkaid solve his own problems may prove to be what harms the potential for their relationship to go anywhere.

As the town tries to figure out an explanation for the latest disappearance, Clara is starting to feel more afraid, but she doesn't know whom to fear—the Mumbler, or something worse, someone more real? And when another girl even closer to home goes missing, Clara finds herself in the middle of a dangerous situation—one she might not survive.

I thought The Missing Season had a very Stephen King-like vibe when I started reading it. You know, small New England town, unexplained disappearances, grisly deaths, etc.? But the book is more than just a story of a potential monster—it's a complex story about growing up, friendship, love, family, and the decision whether or not to speak up when things don't seem right.

I felt this sense of impending doom as I read this book, and French really did a great job with her imagery, as the whole book seemed very dark and creepy. Like I do with most mysteries and thrillers, I suspected absolutely everyone, and while I'll admit I wasn't thrilled with the ending, I thought this was a really compelling read. I liked the balance of YA and mystery/thriller very much.

This is scary but not too scary, and a good story to boot. If you like this genre, pick up The Missing Season. And stay away from the marsh!!

Book Review: "How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom" by S.J. Goslee

Even though it reminds me of the late 1990s/early 2000s movies like She's All That, She's the Man, or 10 Things I Hate About You (albeit with a gay twist), S.J. Goslee's new book, How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom could easily be made into a movie right this second and still feel totally relevant and fresh. It's a sweet, slightly goofy book that's not perfect, but it's definitely a fun read.

Nolan Grant Sheffield is a slightly eccentric high school junior who would be more than happy just to ride the school year out without making any waves. He's perfectly happy hanging out with his best friend Evie, working at a greenhouse, and drawing, as well as tolerating (okay, maybe even enjoying) his adoptive family's ultra-competitiveness. Sure, he gets bullied a bit at school (gym class is torture), and he's not-so-quietly nurturing a crush on Si O'Mara, a gay football player at his school who is also president of the Gay-Straight Alliance.

However, he's never kissed anyone, much less been in a relationship. And his older sister Daphne is determined to change that—and much of Nolan's life—before she heads off to college in the fall. But Daphne's take-no-prisoners style isn't something Nolan is ready for when it comes to his life, especially his (lack of a) love life.

"Technically, to any outsider, this might look like Daphne is doing a favor for me. Technically, any outsider would be wrong."

Daphne wants to be sure Nolan is prepared for college, so she encourages/forces him to get involved in some extracurricular activities. And then, when her own relationship status changes, she essentially threatens him to find a date to the upcoming Junior-Senior Prom—or she'll find one for him.

From this point on, things go totally awry for poor Nolan. Suddenly he finds himself in the midst of fake dating, a menacing ex-girlfriend, an after-school art program with younger kids, and volunteering to help with the art for the prom as well as the after-prom party. And all the while, he's utterly confused about his feelings for two guys, confusion that bubbles over to Daphne and others as well.

How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom is a little bit zany but certainly a little bit predictable as well, although Goslee definitely kept me guessing until the very end with a few things. But while I liked the twists, one major one confused me, because the characters never fully discussed their feelings until the very end, and even then I wasn't sure what precipitated that. (I'm being purposely vague because I don't want to spoil things, although other Goodreads reviews do give more plot away.)

Goslee's books (I also enjoyed her first book, Whatever) are utterly charming, fun reads. They're not full of angst like so many other YA books, and they definitely treat sexual orientation in a matter-of-fact way rather than as a cause for drama. (Even an instance in which a male character begins dating another male after a two-year-relationship with a female character is met with confusion, but not ridicule.) Her dialogue is fresh without being pretentious or so sarcastic you think you're listening to stand-up comedians rather than high school students.

While I do wish that the characters were a little more fleshed out here so I could understand why they behaved the way they did, I enjoyed How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom quite a bit, and read the book in one day. It really charmed me, reminded me a little bit of my high school days and, at the same time, made me wish they resembled the book a little more, too.