Every Last Word by Tamera Ireland Stone Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Disney Hyperion 
Source: Conference
Stand Alone
If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.
Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off. 
Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.
Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

Review
Boy did I love this story! Guys this book is absolutely amazing in every way possible! There wasn't a single thing I didn't enjoy. 

Sam has a servers case of OCD that she's hidden from all her friends. One day she mets Caroline who introduces her to the Poets Corner. 

I really enjoyed Sam. I loved getting to see her discover new things. She really struggled and we got to see her overcome her problems. She was very easy to relate too. The Poets made the story for me. They were absolutely amazing secondary characters. I loved that they were such a family and so welcoming. 

This is a really moving story. Not only does it showcase someone overcoming a disease, it shows the power of good friends and words. I might be a little obsessed with this story. I just connected with it so well! I couldn't put it down to save my life. It was emotional while still being fun. It was super easy to relate too. It had tons and tons of cause behind it. I was incredibly impressed. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend! 

Waiting on Wednesday: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

****"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.****

My pick this week is:

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Expected publication: October 6th 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin

Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.

We all know that Rainbow Rowell is amazing. I've been so excited for this story ever since I first heard about it. It sounds absolutely amazing!

Let me know in the comments what you guys are waiting on!

The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Conference
Stand Alone
Before Matt, Ella had a plan. Get over a no-good ex-boyfriend. Graduate from high school without any more distractions. Move away from Orlando, Florida, where she’s lived her entire life. 
But Matt—the cute, shy, bespectacled bass player who just moved to town—was never part of that plan.
And neither was attending a party that was crashed by the cops just minutes after they arrived. Or spending an entire night saying “yes” to every crazy, fun thing they could think of.
Then Matt abruptly left town, and he broke not only Ella’s heart but those of their best friends, too. So when he shows up a year later with a plan of his own—to relive the night that brought them together—Ella isn’t sure whether Matt’s worth a second chance. Or if re-creating the past can help them create a different future. 
In alternating then and now chapters, debut author Lauren Gibaldi crafts a charming, romantic story of first loves, lifelong friendships, uncovered secrets, and, ultimately, finding out how to be brave.

Review
I really enjoyed this story. I loved the concept so very much. It was super fun and cute!

This tells the story of Ella. One day Matt swooped into her life and made everything better. Another day he swooped out without a word. Now he's back and has lots of questions to answer. 

I didn't connect with Ella as well as I did with all the secondary characters. She was still a great character! I loved Matt. I loved getting to see everyone deal with their problems with him. This story had a lot of real life problems and character development. I really loved all the secondary characters in this story. They were so enjoyable! 

I found this story super unique. It had a lot of fun aspects and adventure. I loved the way the past and the present connected. This one was pretty hard to put down. I couldn't wait to see how it all wrapped up. It was very unpredictable. It ended up being a one sitting read for me. Overall to really enjoyed this story. It was the perfect summer read! 

Joyride by Anna Banks Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Source: Conference
Stand Alone
A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.
It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.
Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.
All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.

Review
I was a little hesitant to read this because I had seen some mixed feelings. I thought this was a very enjoyable read! It was super original and fun. 

This tells the story of Carly. She's had to work her life away ever since her parents got deported. Arden is in need of a new accomplice and he has his eye on Carly. 

I found the characters to be very unique. I loved how down to earth Carly was. I loved getting to see her grow and fight for herself. Arden had an amazing go lucky personality. I loved how protective he was over Carly. He was very sweet to her. I loved seeing him pull her out of her shell. Family played a huge role in this story. I loved how complicated the family situations were and seeing them get resolved. 

This story takes awhile to get going. Once you figure it out, it's difficult to put down. It had tons of adventure. There was lots of tension between characters and mystery. This was a shorter read that was very difficult to put down. It had a ton of aspects I really enjoyed! Overall I thought this was a great read! 

The Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Conference
Stand Alone
Before: It was the perfect summer of first kisses, skinny-dipping, and bonfires by the lake. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe knew their final summer at Camp Okahatchee would come to an end, but they swore they’d stay friends.
After: Now, two years later, their bond has faded along with those memories.
Then: That is, until the fateful flash of a photo booth camera transports the four of them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen—the summer everything changed.
Now: The girls must recreate the past in order to return to the present. As they live through their second-chance summer, the mystery behind their lost friendship unravels, and a dark secret threatens to tear the girls apart all over again.
Always: Summers end. But this one will change them forever.


Review
I wasn't so sure how I was going to feel about this. But by the end, I had really enjoyed it. It took awhile to get going but was very a very fun summer read.

This tells the story of Joy, Tali, Zoe, and Luce. They're grown apart but a photo booth at a reunion has forced gem back together. They've been sucked into a past year at summer camp. They must make it through that week of camp to make it back to present day. 

So I'm not gonna get much into characters since there's so many of them. I really enjoyed all of the girls and their unique personalities. We really got to see them grow not only individually but together. I loved how different each girls story was. 

So I really didn't know what to expect from this story. I found myself getting a little bored at times. I loved the fun, summer camp setting. I loved that I couldn't predict the story at all. This story really had a lot of value behind it. While being at camp the girls really had to deal with some real life problems. The character growth was fabulous. Even though I was hesitant I really enjoyed this story! It was definitely a perfect summer read!

Waiting on Wednesday: Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

****"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.****

My pick this week is:

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

Expected publication: August 4th 2015 by Harlequin Teen

Never date your best friend Always be original
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken
Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids—the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, ever do in high school.
Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, never die your hair a color of the rainbow, or #7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he's broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It's either that or break rule #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember.
Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they've actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.

Doesn't this sound so fun? I loved Let's Get Lost with all my heart. This one sounds just as amazing if not more. I actually have this pretty and plan on reading it ASAP!

Let me know in the comments what you guys would pick!

Top Ten Tuesday (85)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists
This weeks topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for 2015. This will probably be mostly sequels but that's okay :).

1. Winter by Marissa Meyer (November).
2. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (September).
3. Six of Crows Leigh Bardugo (September).
4. The Rose Society by Marie Lu (October).
5. Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch (October).
6. The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick (August).
7.  Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (December).
8. Ten Thousand Skies Above You Claudia Gray (November).
9. Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson (September).
10. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy (September)

I cheated with a few of these because I've already read some of them. I'm still excited for them to come out! Let me know in the comments what you guys would pick!

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Source: Conference
Stand Alone
Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?
Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.
The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.  


Review
I have so much love for this book. Not only was it super fun but it had so much value to it. I was very impressed! 

This tells the story of Sydney. Things haven't been easy for her since her brother was placed in prison. She's trying for a new start and the Cathams are exactly what she needs. 

I really enjoyed Sydney. I loved how honest she was. She always made the best of things. I loved seeing her deal with her problems and find herself. Family was such a huge aspect of this story. I found it very relatable. This has a pretty fabulous set of secondary characters. I absolutely adored the Cathams. 

This has a way serious storyline. I loved the meaning behind it. I loved how unpredictable it was. I loved that even while being serious it had so many fun moments to it. Once you get into this story, it's impossible to put down. I don't think there was a single thing I didn't enjoy. Sarah Dessen has done it again!