Review: Dear Cassie

Author: Lisa Burstein
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pages: 352
Source: NetGalley
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Summary:  What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?

Why I Loved It:  I have been pretty clear on this blog that I LOVE Lisa Burstein.  Pretty Amy won my heart, and "The Next Forever" and now Dear Cassie have made sure it stays won.  Her writing style is just so... so... perfect.  Well perfect for me.

Dear Cassie, a companion novel to Pretty Amy, picks up a little after Pretty Amy.  This time the book is set with Cassie's POV *which is amazing* a little after Pretty Amy left off.  Cassie is off to "rehab" which is actually a wilderness training kind of place.  Personally, rehab sounds much better because at least it's indoors with a toilet that flushes and a shower with warm running water.  Cassie finds herself at a place that used to be a summer camp for kids that is now hosting seven messed-up kids who have an array of issues from stealing and compulsive lying to drug addiction.  Sounds awesome right?  

The thing is Cassie has more than that infamous night of prom to regret.  For those who read Pretty Amy, Aaron is going to pop up again in this book.  And you will hate him more than you already do.  It's just going to happen.  Trust me.  There is so much more to this story than a month in the wilderness.  There is so much more to Cassie than just a tough girl who doesn't take anyone's stupidity.

Ms. Burstein once again clearly depicts that all people are broken.  We all have something royally messed up in us that we have to find a way to get past.  If we haven't come across the event that will do us the pleasure yet, we will.  The characters surrounding Cassie make the book so much more real and relatable and awesome.  Each one has a role to play, a life to live.

The character development in Ms. Burstein's books is just... my gosh.  It's amazing.  There are few authors I know that do what she does in her books.  Cassie, even though she will drive you nuts, is so incredibly deep *as many people really are* and everything she is appears among these pages.  I was pulled in, emotionally put through the wringer, and left feeling emotionally exhausted but incredibly satisfied.  This author is one who will make you think, feel, and above all enjoy the riding she is taking you on.

As the teacher I am, I will say that there is a lot of language in this book.  It's not something I would put in the hands of my middle schoolers, but there are a lot of high schoolers who would relate with what Cassie is going through during the book.  Teenagers need authors like Ms. Burstein, and us adults get to enjoy her too.

     

Review: The Next Forever

Author: Lisa Burstein
Release Date: January 13, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pages: 96
Series: Pretty Amy #1.5
Source: NetGalley
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Summary:  One night in college can change everything…

Away at college, Amy just wants one night alone without her high school sweetheart, Joe. So when he invites her to go to the library, she heads off on her own instead. How she ended up at a house party with the mysterious bad-boy Trevor is another story…

Joe so isn’t going to the library. He needs space from Amy, too, so he’s decided to rush a fraternity, to get back the swagger he had in high school. But it doesn’t take long for the brothers to invite him to the real rush here the beer is flowing and one particular girl has set her eyes on Joe.

Over the course of one wild night, both Amy and Joe will have to decide if their futures belong with two new people, or whether the next forever will have their first loves in it.

My Favorite Lines:

""No, but I'm doing the same thing, finding my worth in someone else's eyes.  I guess I was just making sure that for once you were my decision."
"And?"
She waited a beat, pulled the bun out of her hair, and knotted it back up.  She turned to me, her eyes so big, so beautiful.  "You were always my decision.  You will always be my decision.""

Why I Loved It:  Oh Amy and Joe.  There has been some serious growing up on their part.  Ms. Burstein's adult novella is missing some of the grit of Dear Amy, but the romance is there in full force.  Once again this is real romance.  When you are in a serious relationship, most people doubt, question, and fear what the commitment means.  Ms. Burstein shows her power as a writer in her ability to recreate parts of growing up that everyone experiences.

Many of us won't go as far as Amy or end up walking home half-naked girls wearing your clothes leaving you in turn half-naked like Joe.  But we doubt our love, mentally explore other options.  Once we leave the honeymoon stage of the relationship getting older can be a scary reality along with the reality of depending on someone else to love you.  Once again Amy's decisions frustrated me, left me emotionally spent as she made on little stupid decision after another.  But I understood.  I got her and Joe.  They are very relatable characters.

College and feelings of loneliness that come were captured perfectly.  Love and hope were so perfectly portrayed that I wonder at the magical pen Ms. Burstein must have.  Just kidding, she is just a literary genius.  This novella, after Pretty Amy, has put her on my auto-buy list.  She's just that good, in my opinion.  

Who Should Read It:  Definitely a must for people who loved Pretty Amy.  I think you could probably read this one on its own even if you have not read her first book.  I think people who love reality portrayed in a book, complete with a happy ending, will love this book.

      

Review: Pretty Amy

Author: Lisa Burstein
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pages: 304
Series: Pretty Amy #1
Format: eBook
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Summary:  Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she’s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when the girls get stood up for prom and take matters into their own hands—earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx — Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating “rehabilitation techniques” now filling up her summer. Even worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing — like she is nothing.

Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it’s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy. Bringing readers along on an often hilarious and heartwarming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.

My Favorite Lines:

"You do a poll and I would say that most people would choose to be somewhere else, doing something else, and if they really had the option, being someone else."

"There's nothing sadder than faded red, because it always seems like it's trying so hard to be red again."

""It really isn't, " I said, feeling my throat catch, close up.  Feeling the rest of the words I didn't want to say fall back down it, the letters scrambling in my stomach like Scrabble tiles."

"I'd wanted the words to be perfect.  It seemed like they should be profound or something for as long as everyone had been waiting to hear them, but all I could say was yes.  I guess sometimes saying what you mean is enough."  

Why I Loved It:  There is no fluff in this book.  And in all honesty, the story is not about a romance.  Which was strangely refreshing.  The closer Valentine's Day gets the less thrilled I get about romance.  *It's because books have ruined me.  I may have to make that the topic of my V-Day post*  The book was dark and depressing and frustrating and emotional with a humor that I wish I had the ability to create on paper.

Amy doesn't do prom the way most of us do it.  Her two friends and herself got stood up on the night of prom, and then they end up getting arrested.  That arrest seriously turned her life upside down, mostly because her mom saw it as a cry for help.  Amy was sent hurtling along to find a path that was hers and no one else's.

I think in a way, this book is so powerful because we all have inner Amy's.  Granted, most of our inner Amy's don't lead us to jail for drug possession.  But many of us suffocate under the stifling label that is average.  Middle children probably suffer even more.  Amy hates just being average and awkward, being invisible among the masses.  She wants something to make her special.  Being a bad girl with Lila and Cassie represented being unique to Amy.  There are few of us that have not done something stupid just because we longed to be unique.  Or to stand out to someone.

The book delves into how Amy adjusts to this new life including a crappy job, a therapist, and a lack of connection to her friends.  She is surrounded by people that want more for her life.  The problem is so many times, people don't feel they deserve more.  Amy is like any teenager that hits a bump and decides that is the end.  Life.  Over.  And this book depicts that life reality with a clarity full of soul and *sometimes a tad dark* humor that I quite enjoyed.

The mother in this book.  Yeah she was one of my favorites, even if she drove me nuts.  There are some mothers than can be like that, making your problems and screw-ups all about them.  Beware, she may drive you nuts, but that is part of the joy of reading.  Amy's decisions are frustrating and stupid and bizarrely like what I probably would have done in high school *I was a bit naive* but it was refreshing for the protagonists to act real.

Lisa Burstein's writing is uncompromisingly real with a touch of grit that all great real-life books should have.  It's refreshingly honest with the right amount of humor.  Seriously, this woman is crazy good at writing humor into her story.  I waited so long to read this book, but it was exactly what I needed this past week.

Who Should Read It:  If you are the light-hearted romance type of reader, you might want to just test the waters first.  I think anyone that loves Ellen Hopkins or Patricia McCormick would probably appreciate it.  Granted, it's not that dark or gritty.  But people who love those books have the right appreciation for real.

        

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jilly at Breaking The Spine.   It features each blogger's most anticipated books.  This week, my pick is Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein.  

Summary: Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she's somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association.  But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands-earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx-Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating "rehabilitation techniques" now filling up her summer.  Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing-like she is nothing.

Navigating unlikely alliances with her new co-workers, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it's worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy.  Bring readers along on an often hilarious and heart-warming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.  

Why I Can't Wait:  As I was drifting through reviews on Goodreads, I started picking up on key words that I look for in contemporary novels.  Gritty.  Raw.  I love those words.  Ok other than the incredible reviews for the book, I think that the idea of a girl sitting in a jail cell in a prom dress is an awesome image.  I'm seeing it right now.  I can't wait to dig into this book, possibly be reminded of high school, and figure out just who this Amy is.  The cover is just so pretty too.  I can't help it.  I love covers.  I'm so excited about this debut from Lisa Burstein.  

Expected Publication: May 15, 2012 by Entangled Publishing