Showing posts with label Delacorte Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delacorte Press. Show all posts

Friday, May 29, 2020

Book Review: Say Yes Summer by Lindsey Roth Culli


Say Yes Summer
By: Lindsey Roth Culli
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: May 12, 2020
Add to Goodreads
Source: eARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest review
Book Summary:

Perfect for fans of Morgan Matson and Netflix/Hallmark Channel rom-coms, this is the story of a girl who decides to give in to the universe and just say yes to everything, bringing her friendship, new experiences, and, if she lets her guard down, true love. 

The perfect book to kick off summer! For as long as Rachel Brooks can remember, she's had capital-G Goals: straight As, academic scholarship, college of her dreams. And it's all paid off--after years of following the rules and acing every exam, Rachel is graduating at the top of her class and ready to celebrate by . . . doing absolutely nothing. Because Rachel Brooks has spent most of high school saying no. No to dances, no to parties, and most especially, no to boys. 

Now, for the first time in her life, there's nothing stopping Rachel from having a little fun--nothing, that is, except herself. So when she stumbles on a beat up old self-help book--A SEASON OF YES!--a crazy idea pops into her head: What if she just said yes to . . . everything? 

And so begins a summer of yes. Yes to new experiences and big mistakes, yes to rekindled friendships and unexpected romances, yes to seeing the world in a whole new way. This book is a fresh and fun take on the coming-of-age novel that explores the quintessential themes of growing up: taking risks, making mistakes, and, of course, love. And who knows? Lindsey Roth Culli's hilarious and heartwarming debut may just inspire your own SAY YES SUMMER.


My Thoughts:


Say Yes Summer was a delightful treat of a story!  Rachel Brooks has always been a responsible, dedicated and hardworking student and daughter.  As she's delivering her Valedictorian speech, she realizes that she doesn't know her classmates that well, and has missed out on a lot of fun during her high school years.  

When at home, she comes across a book that inspires her to say "yes," to every new experience and opportunity that comes her way.   What follows is an entertaining, fun, and lighthearted story about growing up, friendship, dating, and coming into your own.

I happily turned the pages on my Kindle, as this story just flew by!  It was exciting to see what new adventure would await Rachel as each new day begun.  It was a joy to see her grow as a character as she ventured out of her comfort zone, and had new experiences.  Best of all was a friendship rekindled, as well as the time Rachel spent with Clayton, her high school crush, and Miles, her co-worker and childhood friend.  A word of warning, there is a love triangle is this story as Rachel finds herself growing feelings towards both guys, as she spends time with them.

If you are looking for a light-hearted, fun, and easy going read, check out, Say Yes Summer by Lindsey Roth Culli!






About the Author:

Lindsey Roth Culli earned her MFA in creative writing in 2010. She writes books for teens and people who used to be teens. Though she currently calls Baltimore, Maryland home, a part of her heart will forever be hidden among the cornfields of Illinois where she grew up. She is Team Oxford Comma.



Monday, May 20, 2019

Blog Tour: Hope and Other Punch Lines by Julie Buxbaum


Hope and Other Punch Lines

By:
Julie Buxbaum

Published:
May 7, 2019

Publisher:
Delacorte Press

Pages:
320

Format:
Hardback, eBook, Audiobook

Add To:
Goodreads

Source:
eARC from publisher for a honest review

Book Synopsis:

Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future. 

Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the picture, Abbi (aka "Baby Hope") wears a birthday crown and grasps a red balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is collapsing. 

Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away. She's psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of whom have ever heard of Baby Hope. 

Too bad Noah Stern, whose own world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure it's a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of them ready to hear the answers?


 

My Thoughts:

I absolutely love the gorgeous book cover of Hope and Other Punch Lines.  I was attracted to this story when I read the book synopsis.  I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on September 11th, 2001.  I was twenty-one, and I remember the feelings of shock, fear, vulnerability, anger, and deep anguishing sadness as I watched news of the terrorist attacks. I realized that I was officially a part of history, and that while students would one day be reading about what had happened; I actually had experienced it. September 11th having made such an impact on me, is what made me want to read this story.

Hope and Other Punch Lines is about Abbi Hope Goldstein and Noah Stern.  Abbi lives in a small town, and is recognized as "The Baby Hope," wherever she goes.  A photograph captured her on her first birthday wearing a crown, balloon in hand, as one of the trade centers collapsed.  Since that fateful day, she has become an icon and symbol of hope.  However, she just wants to escape this label, and live her life as a normal teenager.  When Abbi starts having trouble breathing and gets the cough, she knows that she has developed, "911 Syndrome," and her time left is limited.  She hides her cough from her parents and gets a job in another town as a summer camp counselor, so she can escape being "Baby Hope."

Unfortunately, Noah Stern, a fellow camp counselor, immediately recognizes her.  He approaches her, because he works for a school newspaper and needs her help locating all of the people that were in the photograph with her, to see where they are today, and if they will let him interview them.  While Abbi, is adamant about not wanting to participate in Noah's investigation; he won't take "no" for an answer.

As a character, Abbi, felt very "real" to me.  In many ways, she came across as a typical teenager, who just wants to truly live and enjoy her life.  Abbi hopes to make new friends at summer camp, since her ex-best friend Cat, decided to stop being her friend. She wants to go to parties, and is interested in meeting cute boys. 

However, we also see how the events of 911 have shaped her in many ways.  She is mature for her age, and has had to grow up quickly.  She feels the responsibility to enjoy her life and be appreciative of the fact that she survived, when many others did not.  She has had to mourn the loss of Connie, a family friend who rescued her when she was a baby; and consequently died from 911 syndrome.

Initially, Noah, came off as pushy, when he approached Abbi, with his own agenda.  He wouldn't give up, until she conceded.  However, I suspected that there was a deeper reason for why his investigation was so important to him. 

As Abbi and Noah embark on tracking down and interviewing the other 911 survivors in the photo, they begin to get closer to one another and experience the excitement of first love.  Noah, who wants to become a stand-up comedian when he grows up, will do anything to make Abbi laugh, and she enjoys spending time with him.  

The first half of the story was pretty slow moving, but the second half moved really rapidly and as the story picked up, so did my enjoyment of reading it.  I liked reading all of the factual information on 911 and found that to be the hook of the story for me.  The romance/love part of the story was okay.  I enjoyed the message that it's important to be able to laugh and find humor in the middle of tragedy.  When life gets us down, we can either choose to laugh or cry, and in this story, our main characters Noah and Abbi chose to laugh.

I liked that the chapters were short and told in the alternating viewpoints of Abbi and Noah.  I really liked the secondary characters.  My favorite was Noah's best friend, Jack.  Abbi's parents and Noah's mother and step-father added to the story, as did, Julia, Abbi's new friend and fellow camp counselor.  I shed some tears in this book, and it really did tug on my heart strings.







Purchase At:

Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Audible | iBooks | Kobo | TBD 



About the Author:

Julie Buxbaum is the New York Times best selling author of Tell Me Three Things, her young adult debut, What to Say Next and the forthcoming Hope and other Punchlines (out May 7, 2019.) She’s also the author of two critically acclaimed novels for adults: The Opposite of Love and After You. Her work has been translated into twenty-five languages. Julie’s writing has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times. She is a former lawyer and graduate of Harvard Law School and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two children, and more books than is reasonable. Visit Julie online at www.juliebuxbaum.com and follow @juliebux on Twitter.





Blog Tour Schedule:
Week One: 
5/1/2019- Dani Reviews Things- Review 
5/2/2019- Lone Tree Reviews- Review 
5/3/2019- Lifestyle Of Me- Review   

Week Two: 
5/6/2019- Jena Brown Writes- Review 
5/7/2019- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review 
5/8/2019- Ex Libris- Review 
5/9/2019- Here's to Happy Endings- Review 
5/10/2019- Struck by Stories- Review   

Week Three:
 5/13/2019- Belle's Archive- Review 
5/14/2019- BookHounds YA- Review 
5/15/2019- Life of a Literary Nerd- Review 
5/16/2019- Savings in Seconds- Review 
5/17/2019- Resch Reads & Reviews- Review   

Week Four: 
5/20/2019- A Bookish Escape- Review (You Are Here) 
5/21/2019- Book-Keeping- Review 
5/22/2019- Pacific Northwest Bookworm- Review 
5/23/2019- The Book Dutchesses- Review 
5/24/2019- Popthebutterfly Reads- Review   

Week Five: 
5/27/2019- Down the Rabbit Hole- Review 
5/28/2019- Do You Dog-ear?- Review 
5/29/2019- Two points of interest- Review 
5/30/2019- We Live and Breathe Books- Review 
5/31/2019- The Clever Reader- Review


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