Short and Simple Reviews: The Rest of the Story, Swing, and Technically, You Started It

This is a place for books that I didn't fully review.

Maybe I listed my likes and dislikes, had a little short paragraph, or a few sentences to convey my feelings on the book, but whatever the "review" is, all of them are short and simple. (hence the clever name)

Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges.

Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable…until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family—her grandmother and cousins she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is divided into two people as well. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well.

For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her will win out?

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Review

I love Sarah Dessen's books and while I can't mark this one as an all-time favorite, it is certainly high up there! I think Dessen is oftentimes misrepresented as a romance writer and while her books do contain a little romance, her books are focused on the MC, a teenage girl with real problems. Romance is never a focus in her books and if there is ever romance, it is dealt with in a realistic way and comes in the very end of the story. The Rest of the Story is primarily about Emma Saylor and her spending the summer with the half of her family that she never got to know until now. I loved seeing her interact with her "new" family and how close they become in just a couple of weeks. I also loved how the book dealt with the two sides of her life. At home, she is called Emma, but with this "new" family, she is called Saylor. At home, her father and grandmother have more money, but in with this "new" family, she is shown a different side where she works hard. This is true as well with the two sides of the lake, the working class North Lake and the Lake North resort. It was all written incredibly well and I just loved diving back into a new Sarah Dessen book. Overall, this new book did not disappoint.

 I hereby give this book

4 Stars

Meaning: It was amazing

Things usually do not go as planned for seventeen-year-old Noah. He and his best friend
Walt (aka Swing) have been cut from the high school baseball team for the third year in a row, and it looks like Noah’s love interest since third grade, Sam, will never take it past the “best friend” zone. Noah would love to retire his bat and accept the status quo, but Walt has big plans for them both, which include making the best baseball comeback ever, getting the girl, and finally finding cool.

To go from lovelorn to ladies’ men, Walt introduces Noah to a relationship guru—his Dairy Queen-employed cousin, Floyd—and the always informative Woohoo Woman Podcast. Noah is reluctant, but decides fate may be intervening when he discovers more than just his mom’s birthday gift at the thrift shop. Inside the vintage Keepall is a gold mine of love letters from the 1960s. Walt is sure these letters and the podcasts are just what Noah needs to communicate his true feelings to Sam. To Noah, the letters are more: an initiation to the curious rhythms of love and jazz, as well as a way for him and Walt to embrace their own kind of cool. While Walt is hitting balls out of the park and catching the eye of the baseball coach, Noah composes anonymous love letters to Sam in an attempt to write his way into her heart. But as things are looking up for Noah and Walt, a chain of events alters everything Noah knows to be true about love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.


In Swing, bestselling authors Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (Solo) present a free-verse poetic story that will speak to anyone who’s struggled to find their voice and take a swing at life.

  

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Review

I don't have a rating for this book because this is just one of those books where I don't think I could translate my feelings for it into a rating. To be honest, I have no idea how to feel about this book. When I first heard about it, it sounded like a typical read--a boy trying to get out of the friend zone--but it turned out to be more than that. The characters felt so real and I found myself loving their interactions. The ending is a big surprise, it really does come out of nowhere, and while it feels out of place, I understand why the book ended the way it did and why so much of the book was focused on showing us the wonderful characters. I did listen to this on audiobook so I feel like I likely missed out on some of the verse elements. Based on the sound, it seems like the poetry got much more stylized in the end and I feel like I missed some of that impact. But, it was still great on audio. 

I hereby give this book

?????

Meaning: I don't know what to think of this

When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you're talking to. Except there's two of them (it's a long story), and Haley thinks she's talking to the one she doesn't hate.

A question about a class project rapidly evolves into an all-consuming conversation. Haley finds that Martin is actually willing to listen to her weird facts and unusual obsessions, and Martin feels like Haley is the first person to really see who he is. Haley and Martin might be too awkward to hang out in real life, but over text, they're becoming addicted to each other.

There's just one problem: Haley doesn't know who Martin is. And Martin doesn't know that Haley doesn't know. But they better figure it out fast before their meet-cute becomes an epic meet-disaster . . . 

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Review

I wanted to read this book because it looked like a fun rom-com and I loved the premise of chatting with someone via text but not knowing who it is because there are two guys at school with the same name (you can blame Catfish for that). I was surprised to learn that this is entirely made up of text messages with isn't really my cup of tea. When I first started the book it threw me off, not being able to get further information of the character or see outside what they mention via text, but as the book continued I grew to like the unique layout. We do learn a lot via the messages and it kind of gives insight on the relationship because that's all they really know of each other (at least from Haley's side). The texts didn't really feel realistic at times, but I'll give some creative license there because this is trying to tell a story. I was disappointed by the "mystery" because it was very predictable. I knew right away who Haley was texting and I bet anyone else who reads this will too. It made some conversations interesting but it also made me very frustrated with Haley because it took her a loooooooooooooong time to figure it out. Overall, not as great as I hoped it would be, but it was an entertaining read.

 I hereby give this book

3 Stars

Meaning: I liked it.