Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: March 1st 2012
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Point of View: 1st Person & Masculine
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Fast
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, High School, Friendship, Cancer, Humor

BLURB:

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

Review: The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Stranger by Albert Camus

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: 1942
Publisher: Vintage International
Point of View: 1st Person & Masculine
Recommended Age: 16+
Genres &  Themes: Adulr, Classic, Life, Psychological

BLURB:

Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed “the nakedness of man faced with the absurd.”

Review: Fracture Me (Shatter Me #2.5) by Tahereh Mafi

Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: bought
Publication Date: December 17th 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genres & Themes: YA, Dystopia, Novella, Masculine POV

BLURB:

In this electrifying sixty-page companion novella to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, discover the fate of the Omega Point rebels as they go up against The Reestablishment. Set during and soon after the final moments of Unravel Me, Fracture Me is told from Adam’s perspective.

As Omega Point prepares to launch an all-out assault on The Reestablishment soldiers stationed in Sector 45, Adam’s focus couldn’t be further from the upcoming battle. He’s reeling from his breakup with Juliette, scared for his best friend’s life, and as concerned as ever for his brother James’s safety. And just as Adam begins to wonder if this life is really for him, the alarms sound. It’s time for war.

On the battlefield, it seems like the odds are in their favor—but taking down Warner, Adam’s newly discovered half brother, won’t be that easy. The Reestablishment can’t tolerate a rebellion, and they’ll do anything to crush the resistance . . . including killing everyone Adam has ever cared about.

Fracture Me sets the stage for Ignite Me, the explosive finale in Tahereh Mafi’s epic dystopian series. It’s a novella not to be missed by fans who crave action-packed stories with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu.

Review: Bliss by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau

Bliss by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: NetGalley
Publication Date: August 18th 2014
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Pacing: slow
POV: 3rd person & masculine
Genres & Themes: M/M romance, Dystopian, Adult, Dark, Secrets, Control.

BLURB:

They’re always happy.

Rory James has worked hard all his life to become a citizen of the idyllic city-state of Beulah. Like every other kid born in the neighboring country of Tophet, he’s heard the stories: No crime or pollution. A house and food for everyone. It’s perfect, and Rory is finally getting a piece of it.

So is Tate Patterson. He’s from Tophet, too, but he’s not a legal immigrant; he snuck in as a thief. A city without crime seems like an easy score, until he crashes into Rory during a getaway and is arrested for assaulting a citizen. Instead of jail, Tate is enrolled in Beulah’s Rehabilitation through Restitution program. By living with and serving his victim for seven years, Tate will learn the human face of his crimes.

If it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is. Tate is fitted with a behavior-modifying chip that leaves him unable to disobey orders—any orders, no matter how dehumanizing. Worse, the chip prevents him from telling Rory, the one man in all of Beulah who might care about him, the truth: in a country without prisons, Tate is locked inside his own mind.