When I Cast Your Shadow - Sarah Porter

My rating: ⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Dashiell Bohnacker was hell on his family while he was alive. But it’s even worse now that he’s dead…

Ruby. Haunted by her dead brother, unable to let him go, Ruby must figure out whether his nightly appearances in her dreams are the answer to her prayers—or a nightmare come true…

Everett. He’s always been jealous of his dashing older brother. Now Everett must do everything he can to save his twin sister Ruby from Dashiell’s clutches.

Dashiell. Charming, handsome, and manipulative, Dash has run afoul of some very powerful forces in the Land of the Dead. His only bargaining chips are Ruby and Everett. At stake is the very survival of the Bohnacker family, bodies and souls…"

I was kind of on the fence about how to rate this because the genre isn't my favorite. I went back and forth for a bit because did I not like it because it simply wasn't my bag or did I not like it because it wasn't as good as other books? Ultimately, I have read other books in genres that I don't particularly love and enjoyed them, and more specifically I have read books of this genre that I didn't expect to enjoy and did...so I went with the two-star rating. This book had some promise, but I just couldn't get into it. 

My issues with the book. For starters, I am a huge baby when it comes to scary stuff, and this struck zero fear into my heart. It was obviously supposed to have some creep factor to it, but it did nothing for me, and I'm sorry but if it did nothing for me, the person who was terrified out of her mind by Signs, of all movies, then it wasn't scary. Second, the whole premise of what was going on was just so convoluted and weird that I couldn't get into it. Give me something to follow, man. Anything. Finally, there was way too much mention of how incredible and charming and wonderful Dashiell was and what podgy, lumpy, boring assholes Ruby and Ever were in comparison. Hard pass on reading a repeat of that every other chapter for an entire book. We get it. People thought Dashiell was hot and Ruby and Everett don't compare. Move on. 

I know I said finally, but just as a bonus--there was some really weird incestuous shit thrown in, which.......ew. Why? Not the best read ever. 

Foolish Hearts - Emma Mills

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn't supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn't know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they're both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia's ever seen. As Claudia's world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for."

Alright...I loved this book, but I am going to preface it by saying that it could be the white-girl version of The Way You Make Me Feel. It was a little bit weird because I read both of them at the same time, and there were legit times where I confused something from one book with something from the other. Don't get me wrong, they were both unique and wonderful in their own ways...but the basic plot was remarkably similar, and I thought it was an insane coincidence that I happened to start reading both of them on the same day.

That being said--adorable. It's hard to get into my thoughts on the book without spoiling stuff, but it was pretty much just sweet from start to finish. Watching old relationships evolve and new relationships grow, seeing friendships between people who had known each other for all or most of their lives...wonderful. The fact that Claudia plays an MMORP game with her best friend, older brother, older sister, and brother-in-law as a way for them to all "spend time" together even though they may not actually be together? LOVE. Claudia's humor was the perfect level of sarcastic, and Gideon Prewitt was so goofy and hilarious that there were moments in the book that had me literally laughing out loud. This book was easy to get lost in, I had a hard time putting it down.

The Way You Make Me Feel - Maurene Goo

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn’t so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?"

I read an advanced reader copy of The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo (chosen partially because of the beautiful cover!), and now I can't wait to read her other books. Her characters, especially Clara and her dad, are incredibly well-developed. I loved the Gilmore Girls comparison between Clara and her dad because it was so accurate and their relationship, even when they were upset with each other, was wonderful to read about. Goo's writing felt so real--the clashes between two high school girls, the awkwardness of a new crush, the struggle as you form new relationships and outgrow others...all fantastic. As an added bonus, the food descriptions made me wish the KoBra was a real foodtruck. Do not read while hungry. ;) 

Love and First Sight - Josh Sundquist

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐


From the cover:

"On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right?

As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a sweet but shy girl named Cecily. And despite his fear that having a girlfriend will make him inherently dependent on someone sighted, the two of them grow closer and closer. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn’t meet traditional definitions of beauty—in fact, everything he’d heard about her appearance was a lie engineered by their so-called friends to get the two of them together. Does it matter what Cecily looks like? No, not really. But then why does Will feel so betrayed?"

I stumbled across this book by Josh Sundquist when on the hunt for a new audiobook, and I was immediately intrigued. I've never read a book where the main character was blind before, and I was interested to read a story from the perspective of a person without sight living in a sighted world. I wanted to love it. I really did. 

I didn't.

There was nothing inherently wrong with the story...Will is nervous starting at a mainstream school after attending a school for the blind for most of his life. His first day, as demonstrated by the summary, gets off to a rocky start. Fortunately, that rocky start leads to his making friends--yay! These friendships develop throughout the story, and as they do, he develops a crush on one of them--awesome! Cecily is nice and intelligent but also shrouded in mystery because people bully her and his friends get super weird when he asks what she looks like. GULP! The drama...the intrigue! What's wrong with Cecily?! (Seriously though...I felt like the "what does Cecily look like?!" storyline vastly overshadowed the "holy shit, I have a chance to get a surgery that has only ever worked on like twenty people" storyline)

Ultimately, my biggest issues with this book were 1. that I found Will insanely unlikeable and 2. that the ending was incredibly sugary sweet. I'll also throw in the minor third issue that in family that is pretty clearly super rich (dad gets home from work early at the beginning of the book, so they just go out and buy a Tesla, for god's sake), Will's mom sold her car for money to fund a road trip. For real?! "My ATM limit wasn't that high." Go inside, fool...you could easily have gotten enough money to pay for gas and hotels without selling your damn car. Not my favorite book ever.

Nightingale - Kristin Hannah

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another. 

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah takes her talented pen to the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime."

Oh, Kristin Hannah, you know how to paint a word picture. I'm not going to go into great detail on the plot of this book...it's about World War II, I think we can all extrapolate the gist of the plot. All I'm going to say is that every second of the book was full of emotion and that if you're a fan of historical fiction or books that make you feel sometimes horrible and sometimes wonderful feelings, you should read it. Seriously. Read this book!

Now a Major Motion Picture - Cori McCarthy

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Unlike the rest of the world, Iris doesn't care about the famous high-fantasy Elementia books written by M. E. Thorne. So it's just a little annoying that M. E. Thorne is her grandmother—and that Iris has to deal with the trilogy's crazy fans.

When Iris gets dropped in Ireland for the movie adaptation, she sees her opportunity: if she can shut down production, the Elementia craze won't grow any bigger, and she can finally have a normal life. Not even the rascally-cute actor Eamon O'Brien can get in her way.

But the crew's passion is contagious, and as Iris begins to find herself in the very world she has avoided her whole life, she realizes that this movie might just be amazing…"

I received an advanced reader copy of Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy and was intrigued by the description, although after reading it I feel like the summary kind of buries the lead and doesn't really prepare the reader for what to expect. Iris is forced to take her younger brother to Ireland for the filming of Elementia's first movie after his therapist thinks it's a good idea and her father doesn't want to take him. More than just finding it "a little annoying," Iris is angry and openly hostile toward anything to do with the fantasy world...so how will she react when she finds herself surrounded by a cast and crew that, for the most part, is composed of devout "Thornians," as Elementia fans refer to themselves? As it turns out, not well...but the closer she gets to the cast and the film's director, the more she finds her attitude shifting. Unfortunately, filming is fraught with issues and the movie does not seem to have the support of the film studio backing it. Will Iris have a change of heart in time to appreciate her time in Ireland? Or will the studio cancel filming before she has a chance to realize how precious it is?

Things I loved about the book:

-Iris and Eamon were great characters. Eamon was intriguing from the start, and even when Iris was at her most pessimistic and unlikable I still found myself understanding where she was coming from and sympathizing with her.

-Cate and her strong-woman agenda. I will admit that it got a little over-the-top at times, but overall, I'll give a resounding "hell yeah" to a strong, confident woman who commits herself to teaching another young woman the importance of being strong, speaking up, and lifting other women up.

-The relationship between Iris and her brother and the way that it evolved as the story went on. I loved seeing him get more independent and watching them gain a new appreciation for each other after everything they had been through together.

Things I was a little more meh about:

-The fantasy element. In a world where mind-blowing fantasy worlds exist, it always seems risky to me when a book creates a bestselling fantasy series compared to the works of real-life fantasy bestsellers. The Elementia descriptions included in the book didn't necessarily detract from the story for me, but they also didn't add much to it. The book/movie could have been about anything and provided the same element to the story. 

-The ending, man. I'm not going to give anything away, but things wrapped up a little too neatly for me, especially after the overblown ups and downs throughout the book. Speaking of...

-The overblown ups and downs throughout the book. I like a book with some drama. Ask anyone in my book club, and they'll tell you I love a story that makes me emotional. But holy hell, the wild swings from "everything is perfect" to "the world is falling apart" from page to page practically gave me whiplash. Toning it down a notch would have gone a long way to making the characters' experiences more relatable.

Overall, I think this is an ok read. There were things I didn't particularly love about it, but for the most part I enjoyed it. It gets into emotional stuff without getting too heavy, makes you love the characters, and is perfect if you're looking for a light, quick read.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found - Moira Fowley-Doyle

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the front cover:

"One stormy Irish summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hairclips and jewelry, but soon it's clear that Rose has lost something much bigger, something she won't talk about, and Olive thinks her best friend is slipping away.

Then seductive diary pages written by a girl named Laurel begin to appear all over town. And Olive meets three mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in an abandoned housing estate. The trio are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too—and like Rose, they're holding tight to painful secrets.

When they discover the spellbook, it changes everything. Damp, tattered and ancient, it's full of hand-inked charms to conjure back things that have been lost. And it just might be their chance to find what they each need to set everything back to rights.

Unless it's leading them toward things that were never meant to be found..."

When I discovered that Moira Fowley-Doyle had another book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I loved The Accident Season, so I had high hopes for this book. Spellbook of the Lost and Found definitely lived up to my expectations. The book focuses on three groups of friends--Olive and Rose, Laurel, Ash, and Holly, and Hazel, Rowan, and Ivy--in the aftermath of their town bonfire as everyone discovers their things are going missing. As diary pages start popping up all over town and the lives of these three groups begin to intertwine, the reader discovers that something darker than missing trinkets might be going on... This world had the same spooky, other-worldly feel to it as The Accident Season, the characters were just as nuanced and captivating, and the story constantly had me wanting more. 

P.S I Like You - Kasie West

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the front cover: "While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue!

Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out…"

This book has been on my radar for a while now (I feel like I say that a lot...I guess when you're a librarian, lots of books end up on your radar), but I kept putting off reading it because it seemed like there was always another title waiting to be read that captured my attention more. Then I finished an audiobook before the next in my hold queue was available, so I went hunting for an emergency book, and happily, this one was available! 

I loved it. Usually, I listen to my audiobooks on my commute and, at times, while I'm walking Lyra Lickytongue. This book, I finished two days after I got it because I could not stop listening.

The relationships between Lily and her parents/siblings were adorable and sweet, her and her best friend are fantastic, and while there were ups and downs, overall it was an uplifting, delightful read. A lot of writers set up a will they/won't they relationship where two people don't get along and seem to constantly be butting heads, and then **magic!** suddenly everything clicks. Kasie West, on the other hand, really dug into the discord between Lily and her love interest to show that there are two sides to every story, and maybe Lily being the main character didn't necessarily mean that she was right. The development of their relationship was wonderful and so sweet and beautiful to read. It warmed my cold little heart.

The one thing that kind of got to me was all the talk about how crazy her family was with (gasp!) three whole siblings?! Are four kids in a family a lot? I had seven brothers and sisters, so every time she brought up how insane her house was I laughed. Lily, you don't even know. But, look, I'll admit that growing up in a family of eight kids, that may just be a me thing. Normal people probably think four kids is crazy. If you do, then ignore this and read happily. It's a great book.

Legend - Marie Lu

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Legend, Marie Lu's debut novel, came out in 2011, and I can't believe it took me this long to read it. From the cover:

"What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets."

This was my second Marie Lu book, and I enjoyed it so much more than Warcross. I legitimately could not put it down...finished it in less than 24 hours. This pretty much cements my opinion that if the first half of Warcross had been more concise, I would have enjoyed it more, because hot damn, Legend was action-packed from the first page, and I loved every second of it. Day and June both have such compelling stories, and the mystery surrounding how their paths diverged even though they are both so similar has me dying to get my hands on the next book! I can't recommend this book enough to fans of dystopia. 

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns - Julie C. Dao

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is Julie C. Dao's debut novel.  From the cover:

"An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress--and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.

Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?

Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute."

I'm not sure what to say about this book. Parts of it, I liked...the writing was so descriptive, it really brought some of the scenes to life. It was a much darker story than I expected, and reading such vivid scenes was spooky and chilling at times. Loved that.

That being said, I wish the story had been a little less centered around Xifeng's inner monologue. A lot was happening, but so much of it was inside her thoughts that it didn't always feel like a lot was happening. Also, the whole "I can choose between the darkness in me or the light, I love Wei but I don't know if I can be with Wei" deal got old pretty quickly. We. Get. It. You don't have to tell us again every other chapter that Xifeng is conflicted. Ultimately, I thought it was an ok book, but the story felt kind of all over the place and repetitive. I think I would have liked it more if it were shorter.

The 57 Bus - Dashka Slater

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"One teenager in a skirt. 
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.

If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight."

As you can probably tell from that description, The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater is not a light read. It's a book I think everyone should pick up, though, because holy shit, will it make you think.

The book starts off with the bare facts. Sasha, an agender teen wearing a white skirt, was sleeping on the 57 bus when Richard took out a lighter and lit their skirt on fire. Pretty cut and dry, right? The bus had video cameras...there isn't much ambiguity in a case where one teenager is caught on film lighting another on fire. Until you get into the details, that is. Is Richard really what he was painted to be--a bigoted, homophobic teenager who deserved to be charged as an adult for multiple hate crimes? Or was there more to this horrible act than meets the eye? The 57 Bus will challenge your assumptions and your opinions regarding the justice system in the United States. It will make you think about how we handle young people who commit crimes. And it should.

Warcross - Marie Lu

Rating: ⭐⭐

Warcross, by Marie Lu. I really wanted to like this book. It came out, and the cover art was amazing, the story intriguing...I wanted so badly to love everything about it as much as I loved that cover. That was not the case. Maybe I loved the cover too much.

From the cover: "For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire."

The story really is intriguing, and Emika's backstory is heartbreaking. It's hard not to find yourself immediately rooting for her. It's just so. long.

Here's the thing. If I could rate the first and second halves of the book separately, I would give the second half 4.5/5 stars. The first half, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. It starts off, the premise draws you in, and then nothing happens. I know it takes some time to develop the plot, give readers all the backstory, yada yada yada, but good lord, I was like eighteen chapters in before it finally felt like the story had really started. The early chapters of the book could have done with a little less description of all the lavish stuff Hideo was buying for Emi and a little more actual things happening. Also, the title of the book is Warcross. The entire plot centers around the game. Yet we get like...maybe two chapters of anyone actually playing Warcross. That was disappointing.

The second half, now...yes, please! We finally start to piece together what Zero is up to, watch as Emika opens up to her team in an attempt to save the Neurolink, and holy plot twists, Batman (though, for the record, I totally called Zero being Hideo's long-lost brother). The last few chapters especially had me on the edge of my seat. If the whole book had been that gripping, this definitely would have been one of my top reads for the year. That said, I have high hopes for the next book in the series. With all of the exposition out of the way, it stands to be a lot more exciting from the get-go.

Honestly Ben - Bill Konigsberg

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover: "Ben Carver is back to normal. He’s getting all As in his classes at the Natick School. He was just elected captain of the baseball team. He’s even won a big scholarship for college, if he can keep up his grades. All that foolishness with Rafe Goldberg last semester is over now, and he just needs to be a Carver, work hard, and stay focused.

Except…There’s Hannah, a gorgeous girl who attracts him and distracts him. There’s his mother, whose quiet unhappiness he’s noticing for the first time. School is harder, the pressure higher, the scholarship almost slipping away. And there’s Rafe, funny, kind, dating someone else…and maybe the real normal that Ben needs."


I loved Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg, so I was excited to finally have time to read the sequel, Honestly Ben. Ben is a man after my own heart, a pusher and an over-achiever for whom no accomplishment ever feels truly like it's enough, and for the most part I loved his story. It pulled at my heart strings reading about him struggling to decide how he felt, whether he was gay, bi, or...something else? And I empathized with him pushing back against people who tried to label him. Being able to put someone in a neat little labeled box may make it easier for you to feel like you understand them, but not all labels fit so neatly, and sometimes telling yourself you understand someone when you don't causes more harm than good. Kudos to Ben for resisting the labels people wanted to slap on him and being true to himself.

That being said, I did have issues with a couple of things in the book.

First, Hannah. Were we supposed to like her? It seemed like we were, but my god...I did not find her endearing. I particularly didn't love her reaction after the dance. I get the frustration, but dude. Romantic history aside, Rafe and Ben are best friends and Rafe just got dumped. Roles reversed, Hannah wouldn't have wanted to be there for her friend? Not only that, but if she wasn't cool with going home early, she should have said so. It seemed like Hannah was meant to be this evolved, high-thinking woman, but she came off as incredibly childish and obnoxious. No thanks.

Second, Ben's dad. Um...are we just not going to address how abusive his behavior is? I was really hoping for some ending closure where his mom separated from him and told him he needed to sort himself out if he wanted them to be a family. But no...instead we get a letter to him from Ben and...nothing. As someone who grew up with a similar father, it was difficult to read about all the crappy things his dad did/said and then not see any resolution. I know there were a lot of important issues already being addressed, so throwing one more into the mix is tough, but good god, of all the things to gloss over, an emotionally abusive, controlling father/husband is not it. Gah.

Anyway...those two characters aside, this book was great. I love Ben and his friends, and Konigsberg did an awesome job of balancing emotions. There were parts that tugged at my heart strings and made me tear up, and then there were sections where I was laughing out loud ("is my life force shit?" was a big one). Fantastic read.