Book Review: Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin

Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters
Release Date: March 1, 2012
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Pages: 288
Received: ARC from publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary

From Goodreads:

Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny.

Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it.

Review

Sleepover party!

Reading Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters was like meeting up with a BFF after a year-long separation and reconnecting again at a marathon sleepover party. Kelsey's voice was so real that it felt like I was listening to a friend chat about her freshman year experiences.

Because of this chatty writing style, everything went down super easy and my reading never really dragged. This was good, because otherwise the episodic nature of the plot might have felt a little slow (and you know my LOW tolerance for slooooow plots).

There isn't really any kind of major climax or story arc to keep the plot moving forward. Instead, Kelsey's voice--which is a perfect blend of "real teen" and "hilarious running commentary"--was the main hook for me that kept me turning the pages.

I'm issuing the "Don't Read in Public" warning due to excessive laughter

Even though Major Events weren't really happening, there was still a lot going on. This is a Normal Teen Issues kind of book, so think things like awkward first kisses and having to play a really embarrassing part in the school play (to EPIC results).

Kelsey started out the book with high hopes for her freshman year, but none of them panned out quite how she planned. Mostly it was one disaster after another, and while part of me totally sympathized with her teen plights (I've so been there *groan*), the rest of me was laughing hysterically--and very much out loud--at her misfortunes.

It wasn't even like there were a few really funny scenes. It was more like a bunch of big laugh out loud scenes peppered between lots of chuckling throughout the whole book because pretty much everything Kelsey says is funny.

Kelsey is more than just a funny voice

I started out thinking the book was pretty good, but also pretty surface level. Kelsey seemed like a mouthpiece for funny comments, but she didn't seem to have much depth to her. But, this changed the more I read. I found myself liking Kelsey more and more as her personality became more distinct.

I admired Kelsey's attempts to distinguish herself during her freshman year, but even more, I admired her tenacity and "roll with the punches" attitude when her plans started to go awry.

Kelsey easily could have gotten mired in "whiny teen" (which would have been totally annoying) but instead she rose to the occasion with an understandable groan and a good dose of humor. I even found myself channeling Kelsey's attitude when things in my own life didn't go quite as planned.

Bottom line

Not only does Kelsey have a permanent invite to my sleepover party, but any book Meredith Zeitlin writes next is going on my auto-read list (meaning, I don't care what the blurb says, I'm reading that sucker).

I am also ordering a copy of Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters for my library where I will place it in the hands of every teen girl who enters the building.

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!

Still not convinced? Check out Meredith's interview!
(Mentions of Patrick Verona and Jace Wayland inside)

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Buy it from your preferred bookseller!

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Book Review: The Fourth Stall Part II by Chris Rylander

The Fourth Stall Part II by Chris Rylander
Series: #2 in The Fourth Stall series
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: Walden Pond Press
Pages: 288
Received: ARC from publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is a review for a sequel, but there are NO spoilers for the first book!
Still worried? Check out my review of the first book instead!

Summary

From Goodreads:

The tween-noir saga continues. The life of crime is good. Mac has taken down legendary high school crime boss Staples, business has been booming and Mac and Vince are getting ready for middle school baseball tryouts. But this can't last. Mac has always tried to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. But what happens when you can't tell the difference?

A dilemma walks into the fourth stall in the form of Trixie Von Parkway - an eighth grader with a mean look and an even meaner predicament. Seems that the new science teacher is terrorizing her, and she needs Mac to get him off her back. Sounds simple enough, but as Mac starts to dig deeper, he finds even more trouble brewing at his school, including a new administrator bent on destroying his business and indicating that Trixie isn't who she claims to be.

Review

Mac had me at hello

Mac's "voice" is a combination of The Godfather, film noir, and contemporary middle school boy that blends perfectly. Mac is such a likable kid. He makes me laugh and even when he's doing less-than-moral things, I'm still rooting for him to win (plus, his heart is in the right place, so that has to count for something, right?).

If I were in middle school, I would be crushing on Mac so hard. I'm talking notebooks filled with "Mac <3's Small" and I-can't-form-words-in-his-presence-because-he's-so-cool kind of crush. And if I were a middle school guy? I would totally want to BE Mac.

I love male narrators, but it's hard to find a good male narrator who actually sounds like a guy (sorry women authors, lots of your guys sound like girls!). Chris Rylander scores major points by writing a book that feels authentically boyish.

Not only that, but he also sounds like a genuine middle school kid. He thinks and acts the way a normal kid would act, and sometimes that means he bungles in ways that are just so classically tweenish. This totally endeared him to me, and I imagine Mac's thoughts and actions will resonate strongly with the target audience (tweens, primarily tween boys).

These are the kinds of issues I like

I really don't like reading about Heavy Issues like people dying or struggling with abusive relationships or depression and stuff like that. But I love contemporary books that deal with the normal "lite issues" kids face like zits and crushes and school stress.

Chris Rylander integrated these subjects well in the first book, and he proved his skill again in the sequel. Mac's first crush on a girl is equal parts funny and sincere, with a few laugh out loud lines as he expresses his total bafflement with the opposite sex. The pressure of standardized testing provides a more serious topic, and offers an opening for candid discussion without coming across as preachy or dull.

I didn't see it coming!

I didn't see the culprit until their identity was finally revealed. The evidence was stacked up against each possible bad guy in such a way that I believed any of them were capable. But, the doubts were equally convincing, so I was totally twisted up.

Chris Rylander gets the Genius Award for Epic Characters

Mac is great, but so are all of the secondary characters. The prim and proper but totally crazy little bully named Kitten cracks me up every single time. He didn't even have a big role, but I mentally cheered whenever he was mentioned. Reading these books is worth it for the mental picture of that character alone (don't believe me? Check out Heather's review of the first book where she said almost the exact same thing!).

Really, almost all of Chris Rylander's characters are memorable and awesome for some reason or another. Extra points for Mac's trusty right hand man Vince; Tyrell, Mac's surveillance man (SO cool!); and Trixie, Mac's crush and possible femme fatale. Even the opportunity to meet super minor characters like the weird rodent droppings expert make the book worth reading.

Where did the star go?

The wandering plot. I didn't think the mystery was built as cohesively as it was in the first book. The first book had great momentum, but it was very easy for me to put the sequel down for days at a time. I did want to see who was behind the problems plaguing Mac and his classmates, but clues came too few and far between to really grab hold of my interest.

There was also a LOT of baseball filler, and after years of associating baseball with boring weekends when my dad wouldn't let me watch my cartoons because there was a game on, I automatically revert into "this is boring" mode whenever baseball is brought up. I imagine the target audience will appreciate Mac's baseball nods more than I did. I did like the futile camaraderie Mac felt with other Cubs fans though--that I can understand.

Bottom line

I adore this series and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you have a middle grade boy in your life, do him a favor and buy him this series ASAP. The first book is a hot seller in my library and I already have a waiting list for the sequel.

What's also great about this series is that each book can be read as a standalone. Even though knowing the events of the first book helps when reading the second, that familiarity isn't necessary. There are also zero spoilers in the sequel, so you don't have to worry about ruining the first book if you read the sequel first.

The second book ends by alluding to a possible third book, and I SO HOPE THERE IS A THIRD BOOK! I'll auto-buy it.

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about The Fourth Stall Part II that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!

Add The Fourth Stall Part II to Goodreads!
Buy The Fourth Stall Part II from your preferred bookseller!

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Click on the covers to go to my reviews.

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2012 Just Contemporary Reading Challenge

9/5 books

How do you make a progress bar? 

Challenge Basics:  


Name: 2012 Just Contemporary Reading Challenge
Hosts : Books From Bleh to Basically Amazing
Starts: January 1, 2012
Ends: December 31, 2012
Eligible Books: Read books that fall into the contemporary genre.
Levels: Two; I am going to try for the first level: Just read SOME contemporary books. I am going to make my personal goal 5.
Prizes? Yes, TBA
Link Your Reviews: Yes, weekly linkups will be available
Sign up page 


Why I'm Interested:  

I always say contemporary is so NOT my genre, and that's true. Very true.

Until I look at my TBR and realize I actually have a lot of contemporaries I want to read! So hopefully this challenge will help me get to them.

Some books I'm considering:

Books from my Contemporary Goodreads shelf.

I'd especially like to get to:

How to Take the Ex-Out of Ex-Boyfriend by Janette Rallison
Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm
The Fourth Stall, Part II by Chris Rylander

Books Completed:

9. Legend of the Ghost Dog by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
8. All You Never Wanted by Adele Griffin
7. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
6. The Classroom by Robin Mellom
5. Illyria by Elizabeth Hand
4. Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm
3. Fetching by Kiera Stewart
2. Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin
1. The Fourth Stall Part II by Chris Rylander

Have you signed up for this challenge? What books are you planning on reading? Do you have any suggestions that I absolutely MUST read? I like funny and romantic contemporaries.

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