Month: May 2019

Title: Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Praised by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Myracle as “hilarious, moving and flat-out fun,” and Kirkus as a “pitch-perfect rendering … of the teen experience,” Ten Things I Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have) has captured the hearts of critics and readers alike. Fans of Sarah Dessen, E. Lockhart, and Maureen Johnson will love this hilarious and heartwarming tale of a girl on her own for the first time.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn’t jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe “opportunity” isn’t the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: “Lied to Our Parents”). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up “Skipping School” (#3), “Buying a Hot Tub” (#4), and, um, “Harboring a Fugitive” (#7) is a mystery to them.

To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn’t-have-done at a time.

Review:

This book surprised me. It wasn’t as light as other Sarah Mlynowski books I’ve read. There were some heavy topics in this high school story.

April moves in with her friend while her dad moves away to Cleveland during her junior year of high school. They got up to lots of trouble, since her friend’s mom was out of town as well. I can’t imagine moving in with friends because my parents moved out of town. Some parts of that storyline were sad, since both of April’s parents moved away from her, rather than keeping her with them.

There were different kinds of relationships explored in this novel. There were new secret romances that some people didn’t want to share. There were also affairs and cheating. Lots of people denied their feelings. I don’t want to give away exactly what happened, but it made for some serious scenes. It got kind of dark and depressing near the end, which I was not expecting.

This book wasn’t like other Sarah Mlynowski books, which usually have a cheerful theme. However, if you like teen romances, this would be a great book for you.

What to read next:

I See London, I See France by Sarah Mlynowski

Have you read Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)? What did you think of it?

Title: The Center of the Universe
Author: Ria Voros
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: KCP Loft
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 2, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Grace Carter’s mother — the celebrity news anchor GG Carter — is everything Grace is not. GG is a star, with a flawless wardrobe and a following of thousands, while Grace — an aspiring astrophysicist — is into stars of another kind. She and her mother have always been in different orbits. Then one day GG is just … gone. Cameras descend on their house, news shows speculate about what might have happened and Grace’s family struggles to find a new rhythm as they wait for answers. While the authorities unravel the mystery behind GG’s disappearance, Grace grows closer to her high school’s golden boy, Mylo, who has faced a black hole of his own. She also uncovers some secrets from her mother’s long-lost past. The more Grace learns, the more she wonders. Did she ever really know her mother? Was GG abducted … or did she leave? And if she left, why?

Review:

I loved this story! It had suspenseful elements, but it had a heartwarming ending.

The first half of the story was about the mystery of Grace’s missing mother. There were so many questions as to why she left or if she was taken. I enjoyed this mystery, because I couldn’t guess what would happen next. Even when that mystery was solved, there was still a lot more to the story.

Science was a major theme in this book. Grace is interested in astrophysics, and she has even been mentioned in an article as the founder of an exoplanet. There is an interview with the astrophysicist Elizabeth Tasker at the end of the book, and she is featured as a character in the novel too. This is great representation for young adults who are interested in pursuing a career in science.

I also liked that this story was about more than just Grace’s missing mother. This story explored the mother/daughter relationship between Grace and her mother, as well as her mother and grandmother. I think this was actually the main point of the story. Grace had to look for a way to find her mother, both literally and figuratively.

This is a great new story!

What to read next:

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Have you read The Center of the Universe? What did you think of it?