Review: I Swear by Lane Davis

Review: I Swear by Lane Davis

Pages: 288

Published by: Simon & Schuster

Received from: Pittsburgh Library System

From Goodreads: Who’s to blame when bullying leads to suicide? A gripping exploration of crucial importance seeks answers in and out of the courtroom.

After years of abuse from her classmates, Leslie Gatlin decided she had no other options and took her own life. Now her abusers are dealing with the fallout. 
When Leslie's parents file a wrongful death lawsuit against their daughter's tormenters, the proceedings uncover the systematic cyber bullying and harassment that occurred. The ringleader of the accused girls, Macie, maintains they are innocent. In her mind, Leslie chose be the coward they always knew she was.
Jillian, Katherine, and Beth try to keep their stories straight and shift the blame, as Jake, Leslie's only true friend, tries to make sense of what happened. As the events leading up to her death unfold, it becomes clear that Leslie may have taken her own life, but her bullies took everything else.
Told in alternating perspectives and through well-paced flashbacks, this timely novel sheds light on both the victims of bullying and the consequences bullies face.

One of the things that I love most in a novel is intensity, and let me tell you, this book brought that. I Swear was an extreme look into the lives of people who bully and show that, maybe, some sympathy is required for them. This novel explores in-depth into what people will do to prove that they belong, inadvertently hurting somebody else. There is a difference between the people who realize that they've done something wrong and the people who realize the same thing, but really don't care. This novel did a very good job at shining a light onto that.

Davis's writing is extraordinary and the task of switching between five different narrators could not have been an easy one, but she did it amazingly well. Her character's voices were so formed that I didn't get confused about who was narrating at any point in the book. I Swear was also an incredibly real and believable novel, which made it that much better. The characters were lovable, even when you may want to hate them for how they treated Leslie. Davis made it difficult to hate anyone, besides a select few, showing that there are always ways to sympathize, even when someone's made a mistake.

I loved this book! The only reason I wanted it to end was so that I could be shown exactly what happened, which Davis was playing with from the very first page. This is kind of book that you can easily dive into. It's not easy to put this book down, but if you must, it sucks you back in quickly. 

I Swear is full of gut-wrenching curiosity that will keep you reading until the very last page. It is a 2012 debut and definitely one to be given a try. Lane Davis is now an author on my Don't Miss This Author list. I can't wait to see what she writes about next!

Review: The Sweetest Thing

Review: The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski

Pages: 330

Publication Date: May 10, 2011

Counts for: Completely Contemp Challenge

Published by: EgmontUSA

Received from: Pittsburgh Public Library system

From Goodreads: In the world of Sheridan Wells, life is perfect when she’s decorating a cake. Unfortunately, everything else is a complete mess: her mom ran off years ago, her dad is more interested in his restaurant, and the idea of a boyfriend is laughable.
But Sheridan is convinced finding her mom will solve all her problems—only her dad’s about to get a cooking show in New York, which means her dream of a perfect family will be dashed.

Using just the right amount of romance, family drama, and cute boys, The Sweetest Thing will entice fans with its perfect mixture of girl-friendly ingredients.

Despite the fact that it took me almost two weeks to finish this book, I absolutely adored it. Just as the inside cover promised, I was a good book for someone who loves Sarah Dessen. We can now put Christina up on the list with Sarah, Susane Colasanti, Elizabeth Scott, and all our other great contemporary romance authors.

I loved the growth of the characters, of how Sheridan grew into her own and was finally able to come out of her mother's shadow.

The book had several key factors of a great contemp novel: The super hot boy, the best girl friend with the endlessly different boyfriends with the heart of gold, the father that only wants to connect with his daughter, the absent mother, the amazingly funny grandmother, the family bakery in the small town, the conflict of moving to a big city,  and the cute and quiet male best friend.

I cannot say more about how much this book made me feel. It made me cry, and it made me happy. It made me want to punch some people in the face, and it made me want to hug them.

And then there's the whole part where, somehow, my friends and I picked up Supernatural references out of no where. You know how I feel about that? I ain't even mad. Having a priest named Crowley was something that had my friends and I rolling over, laughing, last Saturday. 

In conclusion, this book is amazing and you should all read it as soon as possible. I don't know how anyone could not get warm gum paste butterflies in the pit of their stomach from happiness.

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Pages: 452

Published: September 27, 2011

Received from: Pittsburgh Public Library

From goodreads:

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

Oh my goodness. This book! I can't even explain what it is about this book but I loved it so much! I loved the characters, the writing, the story was incredibly original and interesting. I honestly think this may have been the best book I've read since I started college in August. Mara was such a page turner that will keep you guessing until the very end, and beyond. I've never wanted a sequel more than I want this one, right this freaking second. I must know what happens! Oh and the romance, man, it is sizzling! You HAVE to read this book. If you're a fan of romance, mystery, drama, humor, thriller, horror, you will honestly love this book. It is paranormal, but it is done in a way that seems very realistic. Michelle's writing is real and very readable. Definitely my favorite paranormal book ever. I think if I don't stop writing now, I won't ever stop praising this book. I loved it!