family dysfunction – Page 18 – Down the Rabbit Hole

Review: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

May 7, 2015May 26, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

When Gia Montgomery’s boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she’d been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it’s not the real Bradley she’s thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn’t even know. But tracking him down doesn’t mean they’re done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend’s graduation party — three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

4.5 Drink Me Potions

The synopsis makes this story sound like it’s some light, fluff piece, but it’s so much more than that. The Fill-In Boyfriend follows Gia Montgomery, a girl whose life seems as normal as it gets. Popular, president of student council, has some close girlfriends and a family that hasn’t been torn apart by divorce. Everything looks perfect on the outside. That all started to change with the fill-in boyfriend (aka FIB) who is rather insightful.

Breaking from Perfection
With the arrival of the lies starting at prom, Gia’s life starts to unravel into imperfection. I love how it explores the family dysfunction in a way that’s different from other stories. Sure, her parents and brother get along fine with each other, but maybe, that’s the problem. When things don’t get resolved in order to maintain peace and have the appearance of perfection, you start to hide emotions deep inside and only work with surface emotions in every relationship. Who knew that not getting punished enough for something could cause just as many problems in a family? It also prevented Gia from being able to talk to her parents when her life was falling apart. Too emotional, right? And that would require admitting that something in her life wasn’t working just perfectly.

Outgrowing friendships
There was just so much emotion in Gia’s story. With a frenemy that was out to get her, it was awesome to have someone to hate. Sometimes, I find stories like to give redemption to those that may initially seem awful. Not this one. I absolutely can’t stand her friend who is so hell-bent on destroying Gia’s close friendships. And all for a reason that is rather lame. Although the story concludes without the neatly wrapped up ending, I was a little sad that there wasn’t as much closure with her friends. There was hope, but I guess the message is that sometimes, you outgrow even lifelong friends who may become different people as the years go by.

Finding out who you are
Besides family and friends, this story touches so much on Gia’s journey into opening up to people and finding out who she wanted to be. I love character development and this story focused so much on this gradual change that was working its way through her. By the end of it, she had grown so much that it literally brought tears to my eyes. My favourite advice was something the fill-in boyfriend’s mother had told Gia when her world started to fall apart. She was asking about how to truly gain life lessons and find herself when nothing terrible has happened to her. This is the wisest thing I’ve heard yet to answer such a question.

“We rarely find depth by looking inside of ourselves for it. Depth is found in what we can learn from the people and things around us. Everyone, everything, has a story. When you learn those stories, you learn experiences that fill you up, that expand your understanding. You add layers to your soul.”

Love, of course
Speaking of tears, The Fill-In Boyfriend definitely had a lot of romantic chemistry going on there. He brought so much insight into Gia’s life, that even though they were only going to spend just two nights together, it was hard to get him out of her life and mind. I’m so glad that there was this simmering attraction between them that was so tangible, I almost felt like I could reach out and touch it. It wasn’t only the attraction that was enjoyable, but also their witty banter that was hilarious to read. The path to romance doesn’t always have to have constant staring and romantic lines, but it may very well lie in a deep-rooted friendship. The ups and downs to their relationship was beautifully written. Falling for someone for real while pretending to only be each others’ dates definitely complicates things.

Although Kasie West’s On the Fence wasn’t as huge of a favourite with me, The Fill-In Boyfriend has quickly shown me that this author has so much to offer in YA literature. This is a beautiful story of finding who you are in the imperfections while falling for the very person who challenges all those cracks in your life and learning to let go of emotions. A definite must-read.

Overall Recommendation:
The Fill-In Boyfriend is so much more than its synopsis limits it to be. It’s a remarkably well-written story about finding love in the unexpected, seeing the beauty in life’s imperfections and staying strong when your world starts to crumble from the lies in your past catching up to you. This is Gia’s journey in finding herself, and all I can say is that it’s heart-warming and almost brought me to tears as it is so relateable in so many ways. I highly recommend this book to anyone to read. It’s way more than just fluff.

Review: The Body in the Woods by April Henry

March 3, 2015May 25, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Point Last Seen #1

In this new series told from multiple perspectives, teen members of a search and rescue team discover a dead body in the woods.

Alexis, Nick, and Ruby have very different backgrounds: Alexis has spent her life covering for her mom’s mental illness, Nick’s bravado hides his fear of not being good enough, and Ruby just wants to pursue her eccentric interests in a world that doesn’t understand her. When the three teens join Portland County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, they are teamed up to search for a autistic man lost in the woods. What they find instead is a dead body. In a friendship that will be forged in danger, fear, and courage, the three team up to find the girl’s killer—before he can strike one of their own.

This first book in April Henry’s Point Last Seen YA mystery series is full of riveting suspense, putting readers in the middle of harrowing rescues and crime scene investigations.

1.5 Drink Me Potions

I wasn’t expecting too much when I started The Body in the Woods. Yet, I still found myself wanting to stop reading every here and there. Let me dive into the exact reason why I didn’t necessarily enjoy it too much.

The characters
I understand that these days all protagonists seem rather monotonous. “They’re all so unoriginal”, people would say. And yes, I do agree that sometimes, changing the name of the protagonist of one book to the name of another girl in a second book would show that their personalities are almost hilariously identical. BUT, I think there’s a fine line to how far authors can change the protagonist’s attitudes to something so original and unique before they become unrelatable/unlikeable.

There are 3 protagonists in The Body in the Woods and here is what I thought of them.

Nick wants the attention of others. He wants to be a hero, like his deceased war hero father. He seems to be attracted to every single girl at his darn school, and when he gets the slightest inkling that others think Alexis might be into him, he’s suddenly all gung-ho on her possible attraction to him as well (which is just a no, if you ask me). Yeah, I get that he’s not perfect, but it’s just unattractive to want to gain some attention as the “guy who found a dead girl in the woods”, dropping hints to his classmates to talk about his part in the case. Some respect for the poor girl, dude. No need for the attention to be on YOU.

And Alexis? She was the most enjoyable character of the 3, in my opinion. She’s terrified of others finding out that her mom has a mental illness. I guess that’s understandable, but that makes her distrust anyone who tries to get too close. Sometimes I just want to shake her and tell her to LET SOMEONE HELP YOU, or at least trust them with this burden.

…And that leaves Ruby. Where do I start with Ruby? She’s…a gem of a character. Found a dead girl in the woods? Pfft, let’s go examine it and recall what every crime show CSIs do when inspecting a crime scene. She also adopts different personas for different occasions to benefit her situation. For example, she feels she needs to “get close” with her fellow SAR friend, Alexis, so she adopts her “Best Friend” role which she gathered information from watching shows or observing other people. If she wants to get out of trouble from her parents, it’s the “Good Daughter” role. It’s a little eerie, to be honest. Sure, she may have Asperger’s syndrome or something like it (which by the way, the author never explicitly mentions) but this is borderline stereotypical “I can’t feel or empathize with a single person or thing in this world”. Saying she’s eccentric is by far an understatement .

Her love of random things is kind of quirky, I’ll admit. It’s interesting the way she describes how society builds these “boxes” or “unspoken rules” that supposedly everyone should know and stay within, but she apparently is clueless about them.

And there were so many rules….
Don’t stand too close.
Don’t stare.
Take turns.
Don’t assume everyone is interested in the same things you are, even if those things are fascinating.
Don’t talk about sex.
Don’t talk about surgery.
Don’t talk about anything that happens in the bathroom.
But the biggest taboo was death.

She is arrogant though for assuming that what she knows/has to say/her interests are more important than others. It was terribly annoying hearing her ask the cops so many things and seemingly implying that she knew more of what she was doing than they do. It may not be her fault being as she is, but it doesn’t DO anything to lessen my annoyance.

Now onto what was enjoyable about it
Because the protagonists are how we as the readers view the story, it’s hard to enjoy it when we’re limited to their views and attitudes. The mystery wasn’t all that original either. Come on, a dead girl in the woods. Cool. Now what? Maybe I’m just expecting too much as I absolutely ADORE mysteries. I grew up on them. And now I even watch crime shows to death. So it’s hard to match up to some very well-written mysteries.

I will say that I did have to guess for a while for the culprit. I feel that Henry wrote too many scenes from the culprit’s POV (point of view) that really made the identity guessable by the middle of the book. Of course, it was interesting to figure out the WHY so at least something kept me going.

I won’t go on much longer. I think I’ve ranted enough. Apparently there will be more in this series, starring all 3 protagonists still. Yay….(not quite sure if I can stand reading more of their POVs). Who knows? I may give it a try, but if you just want a mundane mystery and don’t mind annoying characters, go for it. The Body in the Woods wasn’t terrible but even with lowered expectations it wasn’t en par.

Overall Recommendation:
With a cast of protagonists that bugged me endlessly and an unoriginal mystery that didn’t keep me guessing for long, The Body in the Woods could’ve been better in a lot of areas. Personally, I’m an avid mystery reader so I guess lower expectations are still somewhat high. It might just be a “it’s me and not so much the book” kind of thing. Who knows? If the protagonists don’t make you want to hit them over the head at some point within the first 40 pages, then this may be a decent read for you.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

February 26, 2015May 26, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. Having missed her flight, she’s stuck at JFK airport and late to her father”s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

4.5 Drink Me Potions

What if you missed your flight by 4 minutes?
What if you hadn’t been able to find a seat in the next flight out?
What if your seat didn’t happen to be next to a charming British guy you met earlier in the airport?This is the kind of story that is charming and romantic in the way it set up its premise. Fate and chance brought two strangers together by tiny threads of connection. If any of the above things hadn’t happened, Hadley and Oliver would’ve never met. That is the kind of story I am completely a sucker for. And this time around, Jennifer E. Smith didn’t disappoint me.

The chemistry between Hadley and Oliver was amazingly believable. Sometimes I find it hard to believe in the connection between the people who are supposedly “attracted” to each other. I just can’t feel it. This wasn’t the case here. Yes, the story takes place over the course of 24 hours but it wasn’t completely like they fell in love immediately. There was this cute teasing and banter they had throughout the flight that really softened me up to both of them. They even teased each other about how they “became a couple” when an old lady sitting next to them mistakenly assumed they knew each other prior to arriving at the airport.

“So,” the woman asks, “how did you two meet?”
“Believe it or not,” Oliver says, “it was in an airport…I was being quite gallant, actually, and offered to help with [Hadley’s] suitcase. And then we started talking, and one thing led to another….”
Hadley grins. “And he’s been carrying my suitcase ever since.”

Oliver particularly helped, being the funny and adorable guy that he is. Their conversations or Hadley’s memories of them later in the story were my favourite part.

“Which was your favourite? Of all the places you’ve been?”
Oliver seemed to consider this for a moment before the telltale dimple appeared on his face. “Connecticut. What about you?”
“Alaska, probably. Or Hawaii…I’ve been to all but one [state], actually.”
“So which one have you missed?”
“North Dakota.”
“So if you could go anywhere else in the world, where would it be?”
Hadley thought about this for a moment. “Maybe Australia. Or Paris. How about you?”
Oliver had looked at her as if it were obvious, the faintest hint of a grin at the corners of his mouth. “North Dakota,” he’d said.

See how easy it is to love them together? That being said, this book isn’t all centred around their romance. In fact, a lot of it dealt in Hadley’s anger at her father for leaving her mother so out of the blue for another woman he met while away for a semester in Oxford. Smith did a very good job of making me feel as broken as Hadley did over what her father did, and the new life he was about to finalize for himself. Half way around the world, leaving the life he did have with her back in America.

I liked that by the end, she was able to deal with the mess of things that had been tossed her way. Love is an illogical thing , quoteth both of Hadley’s parents. Even when things end, there may be good out of it all.

All in all, it was very romantic and heartfelt. Both about learning to love your family no matter what may happen or the distance between them, and taking chances before there is no time left for them. I wished the book hadn’t ended so fast, yet at the same time, the way it concluded left an air of magic and uncertainty to it. In fact, the uncertainty of the future made it all the better because it leaves room for us to imagine how things would play out past this 24 hour mark. An absolutely great story, and definitely worth the 4.5 stars!

Overall Recommendation:
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is as unique as its name, and definitely lives up to its implications. With two sweet characters that are both troubled with family issues, Hadley and Oliver makes it believable when it comes to sparking a connection so deep that they’d be willing to find each other in the heart of London again after one amazing transatlantic flight together. Filled with witty banter and the heartache of letting go of anger, there is no other book I’d rather recommend in this genre.