Epic Fail

It's a bit fluffy, but I really enjoyed this. I thought the story was sweet and a nice translation of Pride and Prejudice to a high school setting. Much better that Prom and Prejudice, in my opinion. Everything just felt so much more logical and real. This book may be based on a book written in Regency Era Englad, but the teenagers in this book actually acted like teenagers. I'm finding that what I like in a retelling of a classic story is a fresh take. Not every plot line has to be followed with rigid perfection. Not every character has to be included. So, Epic Fail doesn't feel like bad fan fiction, it feels like an original modern story with echoes in a long-time favorite. I liked it. A quick, fun read.

Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List

From Goodreads:
Sixteen year-old Jessica dreams of Hollywood fame, and when Jordan moves into her small town, she dreams of him too. He’s a movie star’s son, and hey, he’s gorgeous to boot. Jordan has always wanted to get out from the shadow cast by his superstar father, but now that he and his mother have moved so far away from LA, how can he get his divorced parents back together? Jessica convinces Jordan the way to get his father to come for a long visit is to be a part of the school play. And if she’s “discovered” in the process, all the better. Things go wrong when she lets Jordan’s secret identity slip, and grow even more disastrous when the principal tries to change West Side Story into a gangfree, violence-free, politically correct production. 

Ok. I must have the mentality of a high school student; I absolutely loved this book. But then, it's Janette Rallison! Her writing style just clicks for me. I read this as part of my quest to read all of her books, and I think I really need to just buy them all because they make me happy. The magic is not lost after Fame, Glory, etc... 

This book made me laugh out loud multiple times. It is light and maybe a little immature and just a bit fluffy and cliche, but I can't help it; I love it. Janette Rallison has a knack for hilarious and embarrassing situations and the first chapter in this book is so funny. But of course, the end of the book is even more so. I love drama and plays and musicals (and am a fan of West Side Story). I've been backstage and behind the scenes plenty of times and Janette Rallison has really captured (and amplified) some of the funny things that happen in a play. Ok - it was worse than that. West Side Story was completely butchered in this book and I was rolling on the floor. I got lots of weird looks from my kids, which is always a sure sign that I've found a winner. This book made my week. Love, love, love. 

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Summary:

Emily Benedict has come to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, not only wishing to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also dreaming of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

Delightful! And delicious. :D This is a perfect light, for-fun read. What really took me by surprise in this book is the brushes of magic. I was expecting it to be all contemporary and to find logical explanations for everything. Instead, Sarah Addison Allen left me just a bit enchanted, wishing something magical would happen in my life.

This book follows the stories of two women (with intertwined lives). I liked that it combined a teenager's story of finding answers about her mother's past and an adult woman's story of reconciling her past with her hope for the future. So in a way, it's both an adult and a YA book. I liked all the characters really, and though this feels like a fluff read, some of them are going through very real and serious problems. In some of the flashbacks we have to face depression, cutting, suicide, and teen pregnancy. Instead of turning this book into a downer, though, these elements help ground a story that would otherwise be a bit too fanciful and sickly-sweet. Sometimes I felt like the plot got a bit soap-opera-y, but then I decided that with a book like this, the trick is to not overthink it and just enjoy the ride.

Which I did. And now I want to make a cake. Mmmmm.... I promise this book will make you crave cake.