The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

I picked up The Sky is Everywhere a few years ago because Jandy Nelson's second novel, I'll Give You the Sun, is one of my favorite young adult titles of all time. I was hoping that I would fall in love with this story the same way I fell in love with the other one. As a result, I started reading with my expectations sky-high. I bet you can already tell where this is going, but first, a summary.

The story follows Lennie Walker, a high school student living in Northern California with her older sister Bailey, her grandmother, and her uncle. At the beginning of the novel, it is revealed that Bailey has unexpectedly died from a heart condition. This death absolutely devastates the family and throws Lennie into a deep depression. The girls had an extremely close relationship and Lennie doesn't really know how to function without her sister in her life. She can't fathom a future in which Bailey isn't there.

Lennie tries processing her grief through writing scraps of poetry about her sister and leaving them in random places around town. These poems are sprinkled throughout the novel and help to develop the depth of her grief. This practice helps her a little, but she is still hurting inside and stuck in a kind of living purgatory. It feels sad and disrespectful to move on with her life when her sister can't do the same. In her despair and confusion, she begins a physical relationship with her sister's boyfriend Toby, who is just as lost and depressed as she is. Far from providing comfort to her, this relationship feels like a monstrous betrayal to the memory of her sister. However, she can't seem to control herself around Toby, and is unable to give him up. She believes he is the only one who understands what she is going through, and is thus drawn to him.

To further complicate matters, Lennie also develops feeling for a new boy at her school named Joe Fontaine. Joe never knew Bailey, so the times they spend together aren't plagued by memories of her sister. His companionship helps to alleviate some of the heavy feelings she is struggling with. The pair soon fall into a deep, storybook kind of love with each other, but Lennie can't bring herself to let go of Toby. Her continued secret liaisons with him threaten to disrupt the relationship she has with Joe.

Sadness, guilt, confusion, and love swirl around in Lennie's head all at once. When Joe finally catches her with Toby and breaks up with her, she must find a way to sort out her feelings and put things right again. Learning to live with her grief and apologize to those she has wronged will be difficult and perhaps impossible, but Lennie is realizing that she needs to try if she ever wants to move on and live the life her sister would have wanted for her.

This book was beautifully written and I did enjoy it, but I struggled a bit with how sad it was. Lennie's grief is a palpable force in this novel, and pages and pages are spent on her despair. It was difficult to read. I usually like sad books, but this one was hard for me. It might have been a little too much. I stopped several times while reading and remarked on how bleak it was. Anyone who has ever lost someone they were particularly close to will probably have difficulties making it through the text. I don't think its emotional elements were necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely put me in a sad mood while reading.

Lennie's relationship with Toby also made me uncomfortable. I accept that grief can make people do rash things sometimes, but I found it unlikely that Toby, who is around 20 years old, would think fooling around with his dead girlfriend's 16 or 17 year old sister was remotely okay. There was a difference in power and agency between the pair that felt wrong.

The overall message of the story and its ending, however, were wonderful. I liked how Lennie ultimately processed her grief and came to terms with Bailey's death. I wish there had been a bit more to the plot, but what was there was interesting and felt genuine. I probably would have rated this novel higher if I had read it before I'll Give You the Sun. I went into this with my expectations too high. Knowing what Nelson is capable of achieving made me like this story a little less. Regardless, The Sky is Everywhere is a solid read. Sad, but solid. I'll definitely be interested in reading more works by this author in the future.


Challenge Tally
TBR Challenge (previously owned): 58/60

Total Books Read in 2017: 73

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

The Beginning of Everything is yet another young adult novel that I picked up on impulse from Barnes and Noble. I decided to give it a shot this month to help chip away at my TBR challenge. The summary on the back promised a John Green-esque adventure, so I figured I was in for a treat.

The plot centers around Ezra Faulkner, a high school student living in a wealthy suburb in California. He leads a pretty charmed life; he is a popular at school, lives in a beautiful home, is class president, and is the star of the school tennis team. He expects to head to college on a tennis scholarship when he graduates. This carefree existence, however, is turned on its head when he gets into a car accident at the end of his junior year. His knee is shattered, ending his athletic aspirations (and his hopes of a free ride to college). He has to walk with a cane, and his new lack of mobility depresses him. He also begins drifting away from his popular jock friends as they prove to be rather shallow companions without sports to tie them together. He begins his senior year under a cloud, with every aspect of his life turning out to be quite different than he was envisioning.

Things begin to turn around when he meets Cassidy Thorpe, a new student at his school. He feels an instant attraction to her quirky, free demeanor and before long, they begin to date. She helps Ezra connect with a different group of friends and begin to enjoy his life again. However, as time passes by, he realizes that some things about Cassidy don't make sense. She won't let him inside her house, he's never met her family, and there's some sort of unpleasantness surrounding the last school she was at that she won't explain. He's torn between wanting to know the truth about her and wanting to just live in the moment and enjoy his relationship. When Cassidy unexpectedly begins to pull away from him, Ezra must learn how to carry on without having her as his crutch. The Beginning of Everything is a story about growing up, falling in love, and finding your place in the universe after you go through a traumatic event.

I am struggling mightily to write this review, because The Beginning of Everything really missed the mark for me. It's not that it was bad. It was just okay. It was so okay that I don't have much to say about it. Some of that stems from my lack of connection with the main characters. Ezra is, to put it plainly, a spoiled rich kid who alternates between feeling sorry for himself and fantasizing about Cassidy. Neither of these modes was particularly intriguing to read, so I could never bring myself to feel invested in his situation. Cassidy was nothing more than your typical manic pixie dream girl with an impossibly eccentric personality. She was essentially kidnapped from a John Green novel. I think I may be reaching my limit for reading this type of character, because she started to grate on my nerves immediately.

The pacing felt off throughout the story too. Things moved very slowly. The writing was never completely terrible or boring, but there were long stretches where not much happened besides Ezra and Cassidy making out. When the ending did arrive, the revelations about the characters were too unlikely and needlessly sad, which caused me to finish my reading on a down note. I can understand how other readers might really like this novel, but I just didn't connect with it. I'm surprised at that fact, because this is generally the type of book that I love.

So unfortunately, The Beginning of Everything wasn't for me. I found it to be a rather bland serving of overused young adult lit tropes. It wasn't the worst novel I've ever read, but it was far from the best. I did, however, find its overall message to be quite compelling in the end. After sifting through all the teenage drama, Ezra eventually arrives at the realization that he is in control of his own destiny, and he was giving Cassidy too much credit for the transformation he went through during his senior year. He largely took care of himself and made his own choices. I think that theme is a good one, especially for teen readers. It's too bad I wasn't a bigger fan of the execution.


Challenge Tally
TBR Challenge (previously owned): 57/60

Total Books Read in 2017: 72

The Good Sister by Jamie Kain

The Good Sister was one of those young adult impulse purchases from Barnes and Noble that I'm so fond of making. I saw it, thought it sounded interesting, bought it, stuck it on my bookshelf, and forgot about it for years. When I was looking for some quick reads to finish off my TBR challenge, this one seemed to fit the bill. It also had the bonus of including a family member term in the title, so I could use it to finish off my Popsugar challenge bonus categories as well.

Much like one of the last young adult books I read, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, this one ended up surprising me. From the description on the inside flap, I was expecting a standard teen drama. What I got was surprisingly emotional and authentic.

The plot is told from the viewpoints of three teenage sisters growing up in a dysfunctional family. Their parents, Lena and Ravi, lived on a hippie commune when they were babies. Eventually, the commune fell apart and the family was forced to move to a normal house in Northern California. Both Lena and Ravi are unsuited to be parents, and when their oldest daughter Sarah is diagnosed with leukemia, the stress of going through her treatment and her subsequent relapse break them up. The girls live with their mother for the most part, but she often is out with her various boyfriends, so they are on their own a lot.

Sarah, who defied the odds and survived two bouts of leukemia, is the glue of the family. She is kind, responsible, and looks out for her sisters. Rachel, the middle daughter, is wild. She doesn't get along with anyone in her family and engages in very risky behaviors. She's always felt left out, because she was both the typical middle child, and wasn't a genetic donor match for her sister. She fell into the background of the family a lot growing up, and doesn't feel particularly connected to anyone now. Asha, the youngest sister, is a bit of a lost soul. She is extremely close with Sarah due to her being a genetic donor match. She donated bone marrow to her growing up and feels a deeper connection to her than most sisters have. She also has her best friend Sinclair to keep her grounded, but she still doesn't have a lot of self confidence or plans for what she wants to do with her future yet. The girls are essentially on their own, drifting around without the normal authority and structure most families have.

At the beginning of the story, tragedy strikes when Sarah is killed in a mysterious and seemingly random accident. Without their "good" sister to hold everything together, Rachel and Asha spiral deep into their grief. It turns out that there's more to Sarah's death than meets the eye, and each sister holds a key to explaining what really happened. As the narration skips around from girl to girl, including Sarah, who speaks from the afterlife, the sisters must deal with the secrets, guilt, and fear they are carrying inside of themselves and try to come to some kind of peace.

This book had me hooked from page one. The pace of the story was excellent, with Kain dropping just the right pieces of the puzzle at just the right times for the reader to put the complete story together. Her writing felt very genuine too, with each sister having a unique voice and motivations. None of the characters were all that likable, but they were undeniably human. As I found out more and more about them, I became invested in their stories and wished for them to pull themselves together and find some happiness. When I found out the truth of what happened with Sarah, it was a punch to the gut, and complicated enough to make me really think about how blame, guilt, fear, and secrets can all combine in terrible ways.

The idea to have Sarah help narrate from the afterlife was also well done. Her sections have a different gravity to them than the others, and aren't cheesy or overly sentimental. I liked being able to see her perspective even though she was no longer with her sisters. It fit perfectly within the story. Like all people who are considered to be "good," she has her own set of flaws, and being able to see her thoughts added a lot to the development of her character.

I enjoyed the vast majority of the book, with the only one notable exception - the treatment of Asha's friend Sinclair. He is initially described as having a very fluid sexuality. He switches between wearing traditionally male and female clothes, and feels attracted to both men and women at different points in the story. I like to see diverse characters included in young adult fiction, so I thought that he was great. He was an amazing friend to Asha throughout the story, and was there for her in a way her family members were not able to be. My issue came in at the end of the novel, when it becomes clear that he has some romantic feelings for Asha. Before he makes his feelings known, Kain has him stop wearing female clothing and switch to "normal" boy clothes and hairstyles. At one point, Asha comments that "all he wears these days are normal guy clothes." He also professes to being "confused" before about liking boys or girls before settling on Asha. I felt like this was a bit of a cop out on an interesting character. He should be able to love Asha when he is wearing a dress just as well as when he is wearing jeans. If he's bisexual, he shouldn't have to say he was just "confused" to date a girl. He should still be bisexual. These changes just hit me wrong. I didn't like that he morphed into a straight male at the last minute.

Nevertheless, The Good Sister ended up being a complex and emotional story that I enjoyed a lot. The intricate plot, unique narration style, and beautiful writing combined to create something quite special. This isn't a happy book. Rather, it is a book that looks very honestly at the imperfections in people and the messiness of human relationships. It examines how hurt, jealously, revenge, guilt, and pain can come into our lives and drive our actions in ways we don't expect. It is raw, gritty, and wonderful, often at the same time. This was a very moving read that I'm glad I happened to pick up.



Challenge Tally
Popsugar Bonus Challenge (a book with a family member term in the title) 12/12 - Complete!
TBR Challenge (previously owned): 56/60

Total Books Read in 2017: 71

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

One of the last remaining categories in my Popsugar challenge is to read a book that I got at a used book sale. I had to go out special to find a novel for it, because I don't generally buy used. I like to keep my bookshelf looking neat and clean, so I usually buy new. I'm not adverse to books looking like they've been loved and read, but creases, stains, and tears of unknown origin kind of freak me out. Luckily for me, I live close to the biggest used bookstore in the state of Florida, Haslam's. The shop is gigantic, so I could really be picky about the condition of the used books I was interested in.

After a little while searching, I found a copy of Bud, Not Buddy in pretty good shape. Judging by the perfectly smooth, not-at-all-creased binding, I doubt it had ever been read. The only indication it wasn't new was that the pages were a bit yellowed. As this was a children's classic that I hadn't gotten around to yet, I decided that this would be my pick. I paid a whopping $3.95 for it and got started reading.

The story is set in Depression-era Flint, Michigan, and follows a young African American boy named Bud Caldwell. Bud's mother passed away four years prior to the novel's start, and since his father has never been in the picture, he's bounced between group homes and foster families ever since. He was six when his mother passed, so his memories of her are a bit fuzzy. He carries around all he has left of her in a battered suitcase - a picture of her from when she was a kid, a few smooth rocks with indecipherable writing on them, and a stack of four flyers advertising a jazz show starring "Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!!"

After Bud gets into a fight with a boy at his latest foster home, he decides to run away from the system and seek his fortunes elsewhere. At first, he considers trying to make his way to California, where he could get a job picking fruit. After those plans fall through, however, he starts thinking about the flyers in his suitcase, The only reason for his mother to hang onto those old jazz show advertisements, he reasons, must have been because Herman E. Calloway is his father. It makes perfect sense in his head, so he sets off on a journey to find Mr. Calloway and start living with a real family again.

Curtis' writing is a pleasant mix of upbeat humor and more serious emotions. The entire story is narrated from Bud's eleven-year-old point of view, meaning that the reader has to fill in the blanks and connect the dots between events that he doesn't understand. This process doesn't feel like a chore, however, because Bud is such a cute and likable character. He lives by several rules he made up, called "Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself." These rules show off how perceptive and fun-loving Bud is, despite his lack of knowledge about the world. Two of my favorites were Rule 83, which states that, "If an Adult Tells You Not to Worry, and You Weren't Worried Before, You Better Hurry Up and Start 'Cause You're Already Running Late" and Rule 16, which says, "If a Grown-up Ever Starts a Sentence by Saying, 'Haven't You Heard,' Get Ready, 'Cause What's About to Come Out of Their Mouth is Gonna Drop You Headfirst into a Boiling Tragedy."

As Bud moves around from town to town, he encounters some of the hallmarks of the Depression, including a Hooverville, the formation of a worker's union, redcaps working at train stations, big bands, and (unfortunately) some racism. As this is a true middle grades novel, nothing described is too graphic or intense, and Bud interprets everything he comes across as an interesting adventure rather than a social problem. Adult readers will be able to pick up the underlying issues and sadness in the situations Bud discovers, while younger readers will learn a little bit of history. Curtis' writing walks that fine line between being truthful and being depressing with skill, which is probably why this novel is the recipient of so many young adult literary awards.

Alongside the historical aspects of the novel are the emotional aspects of Bud's story. His search for his family is so earnest and innocent that it tugs on the reader's heartstrings and makes you cheer him on. When he finally finds Herman E. Calloway, things don't turn out exactly how he was envisioning, and the twist in the storytelling is clever and touching. This is, simply put, a nice book that makes you happy.

The only aspect of it that bugged me a little had more to do with my age than with anything Curtis did as a writer. Bud, Not Buddy is most definitely for children. As I mentioned earlier, adult readers will be able to pick up on the underlying tensions and issues in the plot, but even with that available to me, I felt too old to be reading this. Everything that happened was so sanitized for kids that the story felt too lighthearted for what it was describing. This was a three star read for me, but it's a four or five star read for a child. I would probably have a much deeper appreciation for this novel if I had come across it at the right age.

Even so, I did enjoy Bud, Not Buddy, and I understand why is it considered one of the classics of children's literature. Its blend of humor and emotion create a nice backdrop for a story about a boy who just wants to find where he belongs in the world. Bud's eternal optimism and determination will make me remember this heartwarming little read for a long time.


Challenge Tally
Popsugar Bonus Challenge (a book you got at a used book sale) 11/12

Total Books Read in 2017: 70

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

I found myself in a rare situation this week - I finished my reading goals for November a few days early. I didn't want to start in on my December picks until it was officially December, so I grabbed one of the many unread young adult books off my shelf and settled in for some pure fluff reading. I ended up with Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before. I figured that I was in for a light, fun read, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised with the thoughtfulness and charm of this one.

The plot follows sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song. Lara's mother passed away when she was a little girl, so she lives with just her dad and two sisters. Her old sister Margot has taken on a lot of the jobs a mother would typically do around the house, and has become the glue that holds the family together. Her younger sister Kitty is opinionated and outgoing. She is nine, and the baby of the family. Lara herself is the middle child. She enjoys quiet hobbies like scrapbooking and knitting. She's shy as well - she's never had a boyfriend before. Instead of approaching boys she likes, she writes letters to them in which she pours her heart out. She addresses the letters, but never sends them. She keeps them in a box in her closet as a reminder of her feelings.

All three sisters are extremely close to each other and have an unspoken pact to be well-behaved in order to make life easier on their dad. This becomes a bit more difficult when, at the beginning of the story, Margot heads off to college overseas. This means that Lara now has to take on a lot of the housekeeping and childcare duties that Margot used to do. To make mattes worse, while in the midst of sorting out her feelings over this big adjustment, Lara's box of love letters disappears from her closet. Before long, she realizes that someone found them and actually mailed them.

As the recipients start receiving their letters, Lara's quiet life is suddenly turned upside down. As all the boys she's ever loved start approaching her, she is forced out of her comfort zone and ends up in several sticky situations. In order to put things right again, she has to build up her confidence and face up to feelings that she's had locked away in her heart for a long time. To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a sweet coming of age story about how we deal with the beautiful, crazy, cringe-inducing, and absurd aspects of love.

I liked this novel a lot more than I initially expected I would. It was just so darn genuine and nice! I really related to Lara's character. We both like the same hobbies and have the same general demeanor, so it was easy to get engaged in the story. I liked Lara and wanted her to figure everything out. I also liked the fact that she was a biracial protagonist. Her mother was Korean and her father was white. Throughout the story, there are a lot of small references to Korean foods, traditions, etc. These details helped add depth to Lara's character. Most of the young adult fiction I have read stars white characters, so I appreciated the diversity.

I also appreciated the fact that while To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a teen romance, many other themes are covered. Self-confidence and family relationships are just as central to this story as the romantic elements were, which helped make it more realistic. Lara is a teenager with teenage problems to sort through at home and at school. I couldn't help but compare this to the last young adult novel I read, The Song Will Save Your Life, which featured a cynical protagonist that drifts from one unlikely scenario to another. All the Boys, with its kindhearted protagonist and normal family, was a breath of fresh air in comparison.

I would heartily recommend this novel to my students and to any fans of young adult fiction. It features a cute plot, realistic characters, and worthwhile themes. It's sweet without being too saccharine and emotional without being too sappy. It strikes just the right notes and makes you feel happier after reading it. This was a surprise hit for me. 


Challenge Tally
TBR Challenge (previously owned): 55/60

Total Books Read in 2017: 69

December 2017 Reading Plan

It feels difficult to believe, but the last month of 2017 is here. My focus for reading will be two fold this month - first, I need to finish up my reading challenges. Second, I need to plan out what I want to read in 2018. I did well sticking to my plan throughout this year, and I really enjoyed my challenges. I think I want to do something a bit less structured next time around. I'm still marinating on that though. Whatever I decide, my planning posts will be coming.

For now, here's the plan for how I want to finish up 2017. I need to read six more books for my TBR Pile Challenge and I have to read two more for the Popsugar bonus categories. Here's the plan:


1. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

• Popsugar Challenge (bonus category): A book you got at a used book sale

2. The Good Sister by Jamie Kain

• Popsugar Challenge (bonus category): A book with a family member term in the title
• TBR Challenge: previously owned

3. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

  
4. The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

5. Firecracker by David Iserson

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

6. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

7. These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

This is more reading than I usually plan for, but all of these titles are young adult fiction, so I'm thinking I should be able to make it through them all. I will have finished everything I set out to do in 2017 if I can make it!

November 2017 Reading Wrap Up

November has come and gone and, happily, I had a pretty good reading month. Here's the breakdown:


1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (4/5 stars)

• Popsugar Challenge (bonus category): A book from a genre/subgenre that you've never heard of - Mannerpunk
• TBR Challenge: previously owned

2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman (5/5 stars)

• Popsugar Challenge (bonus category): A book based on mythology
• TBR Challenge: previously owned

3. Pointe by Brandy Colbert (4/5 stars)

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

  
4. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall (3/5 stars)

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

5. Boys Don't Knit by T.S. Easton (3/5 stars)

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

6. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales (2/5 stars)

• TBR Challenge: previously owned

My current challenge status is:

• Classics Club: 20/100 (on track to end 12/31/21)
• Back to the Classics:  12/12 - Complete
• Popsugar 2017: 40/40 - Complete
• Popsugar 2017 Bonus Categories: 10/12
• TBR 2017: 54/60

I have read 68 books so far in 2017!

I had two very strong reads this month, and both were from the fantasy genre. American Gods and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell were both long, intricate books that were totally worth the time. I've moved away from reading fantasy novels in recent years, and these two stories pulled me right back in and reminded me of what I liked about the genre.

My least favorite read this month was The Song Will Save Your Life, which contained some truly illogical plot points. It stretched the boundaries of my disbelief way too far, and featured an unlikable protagonist to boot. 

December is going to be a sprint to the finish for me - I'm very close to completing everything on my original goals list for the year, but I'm going to have to read a whole bunch to make it happen. Luckily, I will have my winter break to fit more books in.