"The Shattering" by Karen Healey

"Seventeen-year-old Keri likes to plan for every possibility. She knows what to do if you break an arm, or get caught in an earthquake or fire. But she wasn't prepared for her brother's suicide, and his death has left her shattered with grief. When her childhood friend Janna tells her it was murder, not suicide, Keri wants to believe her. After all, Janna's brother died under similar circumstances years ago, and Janna insists a visiting tourist, Sione, who also lost a brother to apparent suicide that year, has helped her find some answers.
As the three dig deeper, disturbing facts begin to pile up: one boy killed every year; all older brothers; all had spent New Year's Eve in the idyllic town of Summerton. But when their search for the serial killer takes an unexpected turn, suspicion is cast on those they trust the most.
As secrets shatter around them, can they save the next victim? Or will they become victims themselves?"-goodreads

This book was weird. I don't mean that in a bad way-- I consider myself weird (hopefully in a good way), I think my friends are weird (definitely in a good way), and basically the rest of the world weird (in its own special way). It was really suspenseful, too. I think the multiple perspectives were smart, they made each of the characters shine just a little bit more and kept up the suspense. Why did multiple characters/perspectives keep up the suspense? Not each of the characters knew what the other one knew so it was a lot of back and forth. It was a mystery, a true mystery book, keeping me flipping pages for the 'who did it??!?" conclusion until the end. The ending shocked me. Let me rephrase that-- parts of the ending were how I *thought* it would end but other parts I didn't think would happen or hadn't even considered. That's always good, a shocking ending when it makes sense and if it's really a knock-you-off-your-feet kind of thing that's even better.

This book was a lot to think about; a lot to consider. I questioned how I would react, and if I would go about solving the mystery the same way. I love books that do that! I also appreciate when a book keeps you thinking about it or its ending and it sticks with you for a while, which it already has ('what?' you ask. 'You just posted the review, how would you know that!?' Actually I read it over a week ago, maybe two weeks, but I've been having trouble *actually* gathering my thoughts about it. And I've been busy.. ANYWAY...), and it will probably continue. It's also a stand-alone. I like when I can get the ACTUAL WHOLE STORY and it EVEN has the nerve to pack a punch. Not that I hate series, it's clear that I don't, but once in a while, seriously: STANDALONE BOOKS. 

I'd recommend "The Shattering" to someone looking for a dark, stand-alone, mystery book packed with suspense with an ending that will shock you.
Thank you Little Brown for the opportunity to review this book. As usual, that didn't alter my opinion!

"We'll Always Have Summer" by Jenny Han (Summer, #3) +Giveaway!

The conclusion to the Summer series by Jenny Han! Preceded by The Summer I Turned Pretty and It's Not Summer Without You.

I actually can't post a summary for this because it will kind of completely spoil stuff. I can't even say much about the book, but I will say things!

I really love this series. I love how it's more than meets the eye, and how deep and emotional the whole thing is. Jenny Han's very visual, very emotional, very real writing really completes the awesome package that is the series! Admittedly, I preferred the first two books, maybe they were less dramatic, whatever it was. However, this one was a great conclusion to the Summer series. Belly finally gets married... but to who? You'll have to read the Summer series to find out. As in It's Not Summer Without You, the whole story isn't told by Belly. Except, instead of Jeremiah narrating some parts, it's Conrad. I found this really enjoyable, a nice addition. I did like who Belly ended up with and the way Mrs. Han ended the series, and I think you readers will too!
Thank you S&S for the early copy for review of this finale. 

But, that's not all. (woah. I sound like Billy Mays.) To celebrate the end of the series, which I've really liked even though I didn't *really* expect too, I'm giving away a copy of the We'll Always Have Summer. I hope if you read this series you enjoy it as much as I did. Just fill out the below form. lease read the rules and follow them when you enter! Giveaway over, thanks for participating!

"It's Not Summer Without You" by Jenny Han (Summer, #2)

"Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.
But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach."-goodreads

I really enjoyed It's Not Summer Without You, just as much as I loved The Summer I Turned Pretty. It was just as emotional, if not more so. My favorite addition to the book was probably that rather than the whole book being from Belly's point of view, we also got to see a chapter here and there from Jeremiah's point of view.

The biggest highlight of the whole series is Jenny Han's gorgeous writing, for me, anyway. Still stunningly emotional, this one still avoids crossing the line of what one would probably consider over dramatic. It was all very real. I liked Jeremiah in this one, a lot more than I liked Conrad, which wasn't so in the first book and wasn't in the following one.

Which brings me to the problem. I can't say a lot more in this review. Both because of the general rule of sequels, but also because I read the third book before finishing this review; therefore, I'm finding it difficult to not spoil that one as well! Anyway, great sequel in a fabulous series! Check back soon for my review of the conclusion!

"The Summer I Turned Pretty" by Jenny Han

"Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along."-goodreads

I have had several people recommend I read this book. It looked cute. It looked like one of those very straightforward, predictable, fluffy beach reads. I was in the mood for a light read, so I thought I'd pick this up. I was wrong. I still enjoyed it. It was still a tad light/girly/fluffy at times, but, it was MUCH more. 


Read the description, think of the title, take a look at the cover. You can't tell me you don't think the plot is like this: Girl hangs out with two boys for her whole life. They're friends, but, girl discovers that she'd like them to be MORE than friends. Girl falls in love with one/both of the boys. Yay. It works out. Dundundun blahblahblah happily ever after! However, the people that recommended me this book told me it was a lot more than what it sounded like, and I believed them. I'm so glad I believed them.

There are much deeper issues in this book. The plot is not straightforward. Most importantly, THE WRITING. The way the story was told, just the way it was written, that's probably my favorite part. The whole book takes place in summers. The main part of the book is in the summer where Belly is almost 16, but as the story progresses there are chapters of flashbacks to previous summers, with related stories to what's going on now and I loved that! It contributed so much important back story when it was needed and helped explain how everything was the way it was. The writing itself is really good too, distinct and clear.

I really appreciated that there were deeper themes and problems running through the book, parent's separations, divorces, and the lack of a father figure: complex family relationships. The impact of Belly's ever-since-she-was-little crush on Conrad. Susannah's illness. They all made this book more complicated, in a good way, and brought deep emotions out in all of the characters.


I really don't have anything bad to say about this book. I'm actually not the biggest fan of the main character, Belly, because I thought she was a little bit hard to connect to because she's a little bit whiny and she just had... interesting logic at times, but I think she was still pretty realistically a teenage girl, and her emotions felt real. I didn't mind that Belly annoyed me sometimes, it doesn't really impact my opinion on the book.


Overall, The Summer I Turned Pretty is a beach-y, coming of age sort of novel with actual substance. It's not your average fluffy-girly-beach book. I'm really looking forward to reading the second one. Read it. :)