Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and a friend who’s a girl. One of them loves him; the other one needs him. When he snapped a picture of a street person for his photography homework, Blake never dreamed that the woman in the photo was his friend Marissa’s long-lost meth addicted mom. Blake’s participation in the ensuing drama opens up a world of trouble, both for him and for Marissa. He spends the next few months trying to reconcile the conflicting roles of Boyfriend and Friend. His experiences range from the comic (surviving his dad’s birth control talk) to the tragic (a harrowing after-hours visit to the morgue).  In a tangle of life and death, love and loyalty, Blake will emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot of himself. - Goodreads

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Flash Burnout was very disappointing for me. The storyline seemed very intriguing when I first read the book jacket at the library and the dialogue between the characters was great, but there were some things in this book I just couldn't let slip by. First though, let me start out with a few things I did like about Flash Burnout. Blake's passion for photography made the book different, it became a sort of unique aspect. Every chapter came with a photography tip from either a camera handbook or Blake's photography teacher which I thought was neat, and although I didn't always care for Blake's sense of humor, it gave him a strong personality that would set him apart from the other male characters. 
Now for the things I did not like. First of all the "intriguing" part of the book talks about how Blake accidently finds Marissa's mother is actually eliminated within the first couple of chapters and leaves more than half of the book to go... nowhere. Marissa is also the main focal point of the story and is suppose to be Blake's "best friend"; of course you can tell there is obviously something else going on between them just from reading Blake's innermost thoughts. The question I had was where the heck was this story going? After reading exactly midway through Flash Burnout, the my question was answered with one of the most shocking topics I desperately try to stay away from: another distorted adult view on teen sex. Without going into much detail, I will just explain a few things that the reader should know before they choose to touch the cover of this not-so-fun book. I did not like it (nor agree) when Blake's dad told Blake that he could have sex as long as he took the right precautions. That's just like an invitation to disaster. Heck, that's like saying that teen sex is okay. Despite what this book might claim, despite what the media says, there is something terribly wrong when it comes down to a situation where a parent says to a fifteen year old boy "it's okay to have sex". To me that is just wrong. And yes, this book wasn't written by a teen author either–L. K. is an adult. I can't help but wonder if her parents told her the same thing when she was fifteen? Anyway, I would not recommend this to teens and especially not to anyone younger than fourteen. There's bad language, sexual references, and other crude behavior throughout Flash Burnout. Remember, just because something is promoted by adults (or even other teens) doesn't mean it's always the right thing(s) to put into your head. You decide.

Recommendation: Would not recommend whatsoever; it's a bad example for teens.


Content: Sexual references, sexual scene, crude humor, and language. If this was a movie it would have a hard time getting into the PG-13 slot. Ages 16+.


The Last Straw: "There's not any grey areas, Blake." - Blake's dad. Yeah, whatever. At least it wasn't promoting drugs.

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|Pages: 336|Published: October 2009|Publisher: Houghton Mifflin|
|Genre: Contemporary fiction|Price: Pbk. $7.99/ Hard. $16.99|
|Age Group: YA, ages 16+|Content: Very mature teen (PG-13 or R)|
|Enjoyed It: 2/5|Content: 1/5|Cover: 4/5|
|Overall: 2/5|







➲ Please read before commenting: If you disagree with my review, please do not say anything irate or downright mean. If you want to state an opposite opinion please do so in a intelligent matter–I don't mind opposing opinions, just not something that is provocative. Also, anonymous comments containing angry opinions will be deleted. Feel free to leave your blog address even, it's not like I'm going to hunt you down.



Review is copyrighted© 2010 by Books and Literature for Teens

Breathless by Jessica Warman

When Katie Kitrell is shipped off to boarding school by her distant father and overbearing mother, it doesn’t take her long to become part of the It Crowd. She’s smart, she’s cute, and she’s an Olympic-bound swimmer who has a first class ticket to any Ivy League school of her choice. But what her new friends, roommate, and boyfriend don’t know is that Katie is swimming away from her past, and from her schizophrenic older brother, Will, who won’t let her go. And when he does the unthinkable, it’s all Katie can do to keep her head above water. - book jacket

****

Breathless is an extremely emotional, edgy memoir-like story about a girl who's brother is mentally ill and frankly, it's a not worth the eye strain. If the topic doesn't make you sick, then the characters will. Katie is filled with anger for her parents and is deeply embarrassed by her brother. All katie wanted was attention and since her parents were never around, her brother should have been there. But he wasn't. Will is a complete mess and constantly finds ways to try to kill himself. After Katie is sent away to a prestigious boarding school, she experiences even more messes.

The entire book covers Katie's last three years of high school where she manages to become the swim captain, cheats on her boyfriend, and finally forgives her parents.

Breathless is all over the place and there is no definite plot. I really disliked how Warman referred to drinking, smoking pot, etc. as "normal teenage stuff". Define normal again for me please?

I can't figure out why you would want to go and publish a book about nothing but junk for teenagers! We have to deal with this kinda of stuff in everyday life and you want us to go and read about it too? No thanks.

All in all, Breathless may sounds like a "good" read, but it is not. It's full of sad, depressing things and I would not recommend to teenagers or even adults.

Read: 311 Year Published: August 2009 Publisher: Walker

Genre: Contemporary, teen romance, drama

Content: Teen drinking, drug references,some sexual situations, and

language

Enjoyed It:1/5 Rating: 1/5

Hidden Voices by Pat Lowery Collins

The renowned Opsedale della Pieta in Venice takes in abandoned baby girls and teaches them to sing or play an instrument. Though the orphanage cares for their every need and much more, the only thing that truly matters to the hearts of the Pieta girls is finding true love. And for Luisa, Annetta, and Rosalba, real love is far from what they expected.

******

I was quite shocked frankly. I had such high hopes that this book was going to be good, but it ended up being rather disappointing and a waste of time. After reading a few pages of the book, my first thought was that it was going to be a loooong week because the book moved so slow. I got exactly halfway through when it happened! The disaster event. Rosalba thought she could just pick a "suitor" and things would act out like a play. Instead she got herself raped and ended up giving another "orphan" back to the Opselade. The book also ended a far cry from "happily ever after", which in this setting, such a thing only happened in plays.

The entire book switched off between the three girls, Luisa, Rosabla, and Annetta, (whew all those Italian girl names all end in "a"!!) which made it rather interesting, but since the story kept dragging on, the character changes didn't really make it any better. Hidden Voices could have been a somewhat nicer story, but the rape details were uncalled for. Either the author was just explaining what could happen to you if you made Rosalba's silly decision, or she was simply just writing about the orphan girl's unhappy endings. I'm sorry to sound this way because an author's book(s) are his masterpiece(s)-no matter how the sad the story is-but I just could not recommend this book. Hidden Voices was released May 12th, 2009.

Special thanks to Candlewick Press and Flamingnet for sending me this book.

Pages: 340  Year Published: May 2009   Genre: Historical, 1700s

Age Group: YA, ages 15+    Recommend? No

Content: Sexual references and rape     Use in Classroom? No

               Rating:

Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell

From the book jacket:

Riley Rose, atheist and bad girl, has been tricked into attending Spirit Ranch, a Christian camp. There she meets Dylan Kier, alumni camper and recent paraplegic, who arrives with a chip on his shoulder and a determination to perfect all of his bad habits. United in their personal suffering and in their irritation at their fellow campers, they turn the camp inside out as they question the meaning of belief systems, test their faith in each other, and ultimately settle a debate of the heart.

I read two reviews on Shelfari and both people loved this book. Me, well I couldn't finish it (I skipped to the end just to see what happened, I know naughty me). The main character, Riley, was happy with herself one minuet and treated her soul like trash the next .She was too arrogant and really needed to stop mimicking Chloe-you could definitely tell this girl had a problem. Thankfully that problem was solved in the end (except she still followed Chloe around). The only other thing I had a problem with was that Riley (and the other characters) made sexual references like they were talking about their cute puppy or something. I could see someone who could relate to Riley reading this, but the remarks and the events that happen in this book isn't that great of advice.

On the other hand the characters themselves were very well developed, the writing precise, and the setting was believable. The book took place at a so-called "christian" camp that had too many secrets stashed away and some kooky people were running it. Um, that doesn't sound like a Christian camp, just some weird place to stash unwanted kids/teens. Anyways, I wouldn't recommend reading Everything Beautiful because its really not worth it. Nuts, I wish the book had been better since Howell seems like a pretty good writer.

  Rating & Reviewer Enjoyment:

Pages: 292   Year Published: 2008    Fiction: Realistic/Contemporary

Level: YA (ages 16+)   This Book is For: Mature girls

Should I Waist My Eyes on This? No    Buy or Borrow: Borrow [NEW]

 

Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway

I had heard a lot of good stuff about this book, so naturally I wanted to find out what the fuss was all about. Now, though, I am going to stick even more to the fact that just because a book is popular, doesn't mean it's any good.

Don't get me wrong, the plot was fresh and I can't count how many times I laughed out loud, but seriously, we can do without all the cuss words thank you very much!

Audrey's character was likable and seemed like she was going to be different and not have some clone personality. Er, so I thought until she goes and makes-out with a rock-star at random. I mean gosh, at RANDOM? Sounds like some Hollywood reality show stunt or maybe all that loud music was affecting Audrey's thinking?

I could see why some people really love this book. It's your average fantasy love story gone-wrong gone-right or the tale of an unexpected ride to fame. Some people-like me-might not enjoy this book because it had too much language. 

Either way, Audrey Wait! was still a disappointment [sniff] (especially after I won this book in a contest) and I won't be recommending it. Next time, Benway, please write something that won't make your ears ring every time a character says the "f" word.

             Rating:

 

      Reviewer Enjoyment:

 Pages: 313     Year Published: 2008    Fiction: Realistic/Contemporary 

Level: YA (16+)     This Book is For: Girls   

Should You Waist You Eyes on This? No

The Luxe by Anna Godbergson

From the book jacket:

From the book jacket:

Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. But when the girls discover their family's status is far from secure, suddenly everyone is a threat to their golden future. Set in a world of luxury and deception, this thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.

Where do I start?

First of all this book was stupid. I mean who would want to read about some rich snobs gossiping, creating scandals, and ruining their lives?!

The plot sounds like something out of a Desperate Housewives episode (not that I watch that show) and how could anyone like the characters? They're silly and fake and just so you know, the average person living in 1899 would not be involved in scandals like these girls; or if they were, they would go to the grave without telling a soul. I got halfway through the book and just couldn't finish it.

The only thing that I found that I liked was the detailed descriptions of the balls and the mansions. Other than that, it was a waste of paper and a good cover picture. My view of historical fiction is that it should be exciting, enjoyable, and you actually get something out of the book, like say a bit of history? There are tons of books out there that are worth your while, but The Luxe isn't one of them-no matter what your friends say or the media says.

Rating:           

Reviewer Enjoyment:

Pages: 388       Year Published: 2007      Level: YA (16+)    

Fiction: Historical       Time Period: Early 1900s/Victorian Era    

Should I Waist My Eyes on This? No