You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Title: You Against Me
Author: Jenny Downham
Release Date: 4th January 2011
My Rating: 3/5
Blurb:

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right?If If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel.

When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skilfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another.

My Review:
I'm really sorry to say that You Against Me fell short of my expectations. I know I will be in the minority for saying this so I will make this quick. While I do think it was a relatively good book, by the time I finished it I just thought, "Oh". That was it. It didn't leave an impression on me. I wasn't left thinking about the story and turning it over in my head. To me, it just lacked that certain something to make it stand out from the crowd.

As you can tell from the blurb, the incident that brings Micky and Ellie together is an alleged rape. This however is not the primary storyline. Instead, it focuses on how the siblings of the victim, Karyn, and the accused, Tom, are effected. Of course we do still see how both Karyn and Tom are handling things but it isn't the main focus. This is very unique and as well as examining the stress it puts on family loyalties, it highlights that there are consequences to the choices you make, including what happens when you fall for someone you know you shouldn't.

My favourite parts of the book were the times that Mikey and Ellie spent together; at the party, down at the river, in the cottage during the rain. Having said that, I'm honestly not a big fan of Ellie's. I like how she sort of spirals out of control as the things she has tried so hard to block out keep coming back to her. It's very real. But I still don't really like her, in the scheme of things, it's too little too late. She annoyed me. I had trouble warming to most of the other characters as well, including Karyn and Jacko. I did like Holly and Dex though, and I could fall for Mikey in a heart-beat.

I would also like to point out that I think the book title is fantastic, as is the black and white image with the yellow strip on the front cover. The scratches make it look, and feel, raw just like the subject matter.

So yes, I have mixed opinions about this book. I do however highly recommend you check out Jenny Downham's debut novel Before I Die, which is absolutely heart-wrenching, but amazing.

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Title: Fixing Delilah
Author: Sarah Ockler

Release Date: 1st December 2010 (US), 1st May 2011 (Australia)

My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:

Things in Delilah Hannaford's life have a tendency to fall apart.

She used to be a good student, but she can't seem to keep it together anymore. Her "boyfriend" isn't much of a boyfriend. And her mother refuses to discuss the fight that divided their family eight years ago. Falling apart, it seems, is a Hannaford tradition.

Over a summer of new friendships, unexpected romance, and moments that test the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, Delilah must face her family's painful past. Can even her most shattered relationships be pieced together again?

My Review:
The story starts with Delilah's mother Claire receiving news from her sister Rachel that their mother has died, someone none of them have seen in eight years. The reason for their separation is unknown and is the underlying storyline throughout the book. As Delilah and Claire head back to Claire's childhood home for the funeral and to wrap up the estate, family feuds resurface, old friends appear and relationships are tested as secrets are slowly uncovered, leading to a shocking climax.

Delilah is not happy that her summer has been hijacked and that she now has to spend it preparing her grandmother's house for an estate sale with her mother and Aunt Rachel, but when childhood friend Ricky, now the very crush-worthy Patrick, and new friend Emily show up, things look a little less bleak. On top of that, Delilah starts to delve into why her family has been estranged for so many years, why no one will give her answers and why no one talks about her aunt Stephanie, who died when she was only nineteen.

What did I like about the book? I liked that I wasn't able to guess the exact details of the big mystery.Usually I guess these things pretty early on but this time I only guessed half of the secret so that element of surprise made me very happy. I really loved Delilah's new friendship with Em. So rarely do books have summer friendships, usually they just revolve around the boy the girl meets so I really liked how Em and Delilah strike up such a strong friendship and become so close.The description of the setting was perfect. I felt like I was actually there, maybe standing on the other side of the jetty, watching everything unfold. And of course, Patrick.

Fixing Delilah is a classic teen read about the mother-daughter dynamic, family secrets and lies, guilt and misunderstandings, rebuilding relationships, a swoon-worthy boy, lessons to be learned and journeys of self worth and self discovery. An easy summer read.

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Title: The Eternal Ones
Author: Kirsten Miller

Release Date: 30th August 2010

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:
Have you ever fallen in love at first sight? Do you long for a place you've never been? Do you often experience the sensation of deja vu?

Ever since Haven Moore can remember, she's experienced visions of a previous life as a girl named Constance, whose love for her soulmate Ethan ended in tragedy.

And then the sight of the world's hottest movie star, Iain Morrow, brings Haven to her knees. She knows she has met him before. Is Iain her beloved Ethan?

Unable to deny her past any longer, seventeen-year-old Haven flees to New York to find him - and an epic love affair begins. But it is both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Can Haven unlock the deadly secrets hidden in her past lives - and loves - before all is lost and Ethan disappears again...forever?

My Review:
The Eternal Ones was one of those books that generated a lot of hype, and for this reason I did not read any reviews of it so I could avoid being influenced by others. I still haven't read any now that I have finished the book so I have no idea if people are loving or hating it.

That said, I loved it. After reading the blurb and drawing assumptions from the title, I was under the impression it was going to be another vampire story (because they all seem to be) which is why it has taken me so long to get to it, but I was so pleasantly surprised when I started it and realised that is not the case at all. The Eternal Ones is based on the concept of reincarnation or past lives if you prefer. This is not something that gets explored a lot in YA fiction so I was very intrigued.

I thought the novel was very well written with a love story and a couple of murder mysteries, spanning across time with many different points of view. Because we as the reader, and Haven, didn't know who was lying and who was telling the truth, the suspense was at an all time high, you just never knew what was going to happen next. I really liked this aspect because I am usually able to guess what is going to happen in a story, so it was a nice change!

The characters were really interesting but it felt like there were lots of characters when really there weren't. This is because of all the past lives and the characters revisiting their memories of those. The supporting 'cast' of those without past lives was made up of strong characters who provided a stable point in contrast to the 'busy-ness' of all the past lives. Haven has grown up in a small southern town and she has never fit in, especially with her visions causing her to pass-out randomly. The scene and towns people have been created perfectly, I felt like I was Haven, living in this small town, dealing with all the small-mindedness that surrounded her and her best friend Beau.

One thing I would like to point out is that the majority of the novel is set in Manhattan, and I found this very surreal because I am currently in New York on holiday and a lot, if not all the places and neighbourhoods that are mentioned, are places that I have walked past. I could picture very clearly, for instance, when Gramercy Park was being talked about because, only the day before I started reading this, I went to Gramercy Park and wandered around the streets there. It was very, very surreal and I wonder if this is how it is for people who live in cities that stories are often set. I suppose it is the same for T.V. shows. I live in Perth, Australia which very rarely gets featured in anything (ironically enough the previous book I read was actually set in Perth!) and for me to actually be able to fully visualise a location, and not have to rely as heavily on the author describing it, was very exciting.

The Eternal Ones finishes with a twist, but not a cliffhanger and so I was a little surprised, but happy, to hear that there is going to be a sequel. I don't feel it needs one so it will be interesting to see what Miller does with it. No news yet as to when but as soon as I know, I will put it up on my Coming Soon page.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver

Release Date: 1st April 2010 (Australia)

My Rating: 5/5

'They say that when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how it happened for me'

Sam Kingston is dead. Except she isn't.

On a rainy February night, eighteen-year-old Sam is killed in a horrific car crash. But then the impossible happens: she wakes up in her own bed, on the morning of the day that she died. Forced to live over and over the last day of her life - the drive to school, skipping classes, the fateful party - she desperately struggles to alter the outcome, but every morning she wakes up on the day of the crash.

This is a story of a girl who dies young, but in the process learns how to live. And who falls in love...a little too late.

I truly loved ‘Before I Fall’ and read it in one sitting. For a debut novel it is amazing! I laughed, I cried, it completely blew me away.

Each day, Samantha learns something new about the type of person she is/has been, as well as discovering new things about those around her. She has seven days to try and fix her own fate and those of the people around her and as she learns along the way that maybe the purpose of her do-overs are not to save her own life, but the lives of her peers.

I have seen in some other reviews that some people feel the book is too long, especially as Sam repeats her days, but I disagree. I find that each day gets told differently as Sam discovers new things and decides to play the day differently, especially day four.

This is a great YA book as it deals with issues that teens are constantly surrounded by; friends, bullies, awkwardness, high school, the highs and the lows, relationships, drinking, sex, drunk driving, drama, pain, love and hate, secrets and lies. It may also help readers dealing with their own insecurities, pain, or identity. It is a story that reminds us what really matters in life and that everyone has their own problems, even if they are not visible on the surface.

Sometimes the smallest action against someone can truly affect them and change their life forever.

**Major Spoiler Alert**
I would have loved a final chapter or epilogue to find out how the characters Sam helped along the way deal with her death. This is probably because when you find a story and/or characters that you really enjoy reading, you never want it to end, but I also recognise the fact that the aftermath is not what the story is about. Still, I would love a follow up book that comes from the perspective of Juliet, starting as she heads to the party (on Sam’s seventh day).

When I Was Joe by Keren David

Title: When I Was Joe
Author: Keren David

Release Date: 1st March 2010

My Rating: 4/5

It's one thing watching someone get killed. It's quite another talking about it.

But Ty does talk about it. He names some ruthless people and a petrol-bomb attack forces him and his mum into hiding under police protection.

Shy loser Ty gets a new name, a new look and a cool new image. Life as Joe is good. But the gangsters will stop at nothing to silence him. And then he meets a girl with a dangerous secret of her own.

When I Was Joe is a very well written book about 14-year-old Ty, who witnesses a murder and then has to go into the Witness Protection Program. Ty becomes Joe. But things are never that easy.

This book deals with plenty of teenage issues from peer pressure, depression, self harm and bullying to friendship, relationships, fear, change, truth, lies and manipulation. And one hell of an emotional roller-coaster.

I am really, really looking forward to the sequel 'Almost True'.