Review: A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo

Title: A Constellation of Roses 

Author:  Miranda Asebedo
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Publishing Date:  November 5, 2019

Pages: 336
Genre: YA Contemporary, Magical Realism

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

Ever since her mother walked out, Trix McCabe has been determined to make it on her own. And with her near-magical gift for pulling valuables off unsuspecting strangers, Trix is confident she has what it takes to survive. Until she’s caught and given a choice: jail time, or go live with her long-lost family in the tiny town of Rocksaw, Kansas.
Trix doesn’t plan to stick around Rocksaw long, but there’s something special about her McCabe relatives that she is drawn to. Her aunt, Mia, bakes pies that seem to cure all ills. Her cousin, Ember, can tell a person’s deepest secret with the touch of a hand. And Trix’s great-aunt takes one look at Trix’s palm and tells her that if she doesn’t put down roots somewhere, she won’t have a future anywhere.

Before long, Trix feels like she might finally belong with this special group of women in this tiny town in Kansas. But when her past comes back to haunt her, she’ll have to decide whether to take a chance on this new life . . . or keep running from the one she’s always known.

I only recently started reading again, so I went through my TBR and started picking books to get on audible. This was one of the first ones for to read. The cover, the title, and the synopsis grabbed my attention. I really liked this read. The story felt powerful to me in an emotional way. It focuses on relationships other than romance. There is some romance but it focuses more on family and friendship. It was very well written and it really captivated me from the beginning. It wasn't at all what I was expecting but I was a nice surprise. 

Trix is alone in the world. She is 17 and it's just her. Her mother abandoned her long ago and she doesn't know who her father is. She has a talent and ability to steal unnoticed. This is what keeps her alive. Everything Trix knows changes one day when someone turns her into the police. The social worker and the police give her a deal. To let the evidence of stolen goods go unpunished if she agrees to live with an   unknown  aunt finish out high school and of course stay away from crime. So Trix goes to live with family she knew nothing about and she finds that she has more in common with her long lost relatives than she could ever imagine. Her talent is a magical gift that woman in this family all inherit. She also realizes family bonds can be made whether you like want them to or not. Now she must decide is this the place for her or does she belong in her old life. 

There was so much to like in this book. I loved the main character, Trix. She was layered and she was jaded and she was troubled. But I liked her and I rooted for her. I could really feel her struggles and pain. She was abandoned. How does anyone, especially a teen get over this. She has had to make it on her own living on the streets after a living in a many bad foster homes. She is tough and she is determined.  I was happy to see when she decided to open up a little and let some love shine in. 

I loved the family in this book. Trix stays with three women, her aunt, cousin, and great aunt. I loved each and every one of them. They were very different and each held their own in the story. Each bringing in something special and needed. 

The story is beautiful and fun. I loved the focus on family and not romance. There is romance in the story but in the background. Not essential. Its really about the family dynamics, acceptance, and unconditional love. The magic in the story was fun too. The story didn't need it but it was great that it had it. It wasn't big or spectacular but it was nice. 

The writing was great, I was able to connect, I was immersed into the world. I fell in love with the story and the characters very quickly. Honestly I wish there was more. I now need to read the other book by this author. 

Magical Realism isn't found much in YA and this author did an exceptional job of bringing the genre into the YA world. Heartwarming and beautiful. I just loved it. 

Such an amazing read. 

Miranda Asebedo was born and raised in rural Kansas with a love of fast cars, open skies, and books. She carried that love of books to college, where she got her B.A. and M.A. in English, with an emphasis in Creative Writing and Literature. A Seaton Fellowship recipient, her short fiction has appeared in Kansas Voices, Touchstone, and Midway Journal.

Miranda still lives on the prairie today with her husband, two kids, and two majestic bulldogs named Princess Jellybean and Captain Jack Wobbles. If Miranda's not writing or reading, she's most likely convinced everyone to load up in the family muscle car and hit the road. 

Review: As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti

Title: As You Wish 

Author:  Chelsea Sedoti
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire 

Publishing Date: January 2nd, 2018

Pages: 432
Genre:  YA Magical Realism

Series:  Stand Alone
Source: Audio

 

What if you could ask for anything- and get it?

In the sandy Mojave Desert, Madison is a small town on the road between nothing and nowhere. But Eldon wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, because in Madison, everyone gets one wish—and that wish always comes true.

Some people wish for money, some people wish for love, but Eldon has seen how wishes have broken the people around him. And with the lives of his family and friends in chaos, he’s left with more questions than answers. Can he make their lives better? How can he be happy if the people around him aren’t? And what hope is there for any of them if happiness isn’t an achievable dream? Doubts build, leading Eldon to a more outlandish and scary thought: maybe you can’t wish for happiness…maybe, just maybe, you have to make it for yourself.

I was excited to see a magical realism in YA. I don't come across this genre in YA often. I was very excited even though it took me a while to get to this book. I am not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't what I expected. The book was good and I enjoyed most of it. Just wasn't what I expected. It was kind of an angsty read, a tormented soul type of book. It was a little slow in pace but I found enjoyment while taking in everything the main character was struggling with. 

In the little boring town if Madison there is one thing that makes the town special. Every resident gets a wish on their 18th birthday. Now there are rules... kind of like genie rules... can't ask for more wishes, can't bring someone back from the dead, also you can't wish for anything that will effect the world outside of Madison.... other than that anything goes. Some people ask for fame, or love, or money and some make reckless wishes that they regret for the rest of their lives. Some people make selfish wishes and some people make selfless wishes. Everyone has to go to a wish class and be trained how to wish correctly. (there have been some accidents in the past with wording) Eldon is coming up on his 18th birthday. His parents want him to wish for money, the wish he really breaks the rules. He spends countless hours thinking of the right wish. The wish that he won't regret and that will make a difference in his world. This book is about his wish decision. 

This book was pretty interesting. It was pretty thought provoking. It was deeper than I had expected. Eldon was a complex character and at first its hard to see with all his angst. I will be the first to say teen angst gets on my nerves, but in this book I felt Eldon was a little entitled to a little angst, his sister had been in a terrible accident and he has lost her. He feel as if it was his fault, or he could have stopped it. He wants to fix it and knowing his wish can't, nothing he can do can fix this problem. His parents are pressuring him, the town is questioning him, his friends are no help. He is torn and confused and yes a little angsty. He wasn't an easy character to like but was easy to understand. I still connected to him. 

Some of the other characters I really liked in the book. His friends I loved. They were pretty special and even though Eldon didn't see them as much help but realized in the end they would always be there for him. 

Basically there isn't really much to review. This book made me think. If I had one wish what would it be? Is it right to be able to wish a wish that causes someone else to do something not of their own free will? Can wishing for something instead of getting it be really worth it... or is it cheating in life?  How far will you go to do what you feel is right? This book is about family and friendship, doing the right thing and choosing your own path. 

The pacing was a little slow at times but it didn't take long to get through those slow parts. I did keep going and I did enjoy the listen. I think if I had read instead of listened I may have found it a bit harder to get through. The narrator helped a lot. I did however find it worth the read in the end. Again, not what I expected though. 

It was enjoyable and an experience. 

Chelsea Sedoti fell in love with writing at a young age after discovering that making up stories was more fun than doing her school work (her teachers didn’t always appreciate this.) In an effort to avoid getting a “real” job, Chelsea explored careers as a balloon twister, filmmaker, and paranormal investigator. Eventually she realized that her true passion is writing about flawed teenagers who are also afraid of growing up. When she’s not at the computer, Chelsea spends her time exploring abandoned buildings, eating junk food at roadside diners, and trying to befriend every animal in the world. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where she avoids casinos, but loves roaming the Mojave Desert.

Review: Tell The Wind and Stars by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title:  Tell The Wind And Fire

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Clarion Books 

Publishing Date: April 5th 2016

Pages: 360
Genre: Classic Retelling/urban fantasy

Series:  Stand alone
Source: Audio

 

In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets. 

Lucie Manette was born in the Dark half of the city, but careful manipulations won her a home in the Light, celebrity status, and a rich, loving boyfriend. Now she just wants to keep her head down, but her boyfriend has a dark secret of his own—one involving an apparent stranger who is destitute and despised.

Lucie alone knows of the deadly connection the young men share, and even as the knowledge leads her to make a grave mistake, she can trust no one with the truth.

Blood and secrets alike spill out when revolution erupts. With both halves of the city burning, and mercy nowhere to be found, can Lucie save either boy—or herself?

Celebrated author Sarah Rees Brennan tells a magical tale of romance and revolution, love and loss.

This will be a difficult book to review because of my feelings right at this moment but I wanted to write the review right away… because of my feelings. Great book to review to get me back into reviewing.. not so much on reading.. because I am not sure I can go on after this book.

I want to start by saying this book has been on my TBR for a very long time. I was scared to get to it beacuase of the reviews. I thought well I guess I can understand the mixed reviews but really I can’t. I really wished I had not waited so long to read this book and really can’t believe its over.

This book was amazing for me. It did start off a little slow but not so slow I wasn't interested. It was a book of deep thinking and feeling and I wasn't quite prepared for that but I am so glad I dove into this book. 

This is a retelling of Tale of Two cities. About a two cities... one full of good magic and lives weatlhy but has lots of rules and ettiquite to live by. The other city is dangerous and dark and full of dark magic. They are forgotten, used, and starving. This is the story about a girl and 2 boys that find themselves in a real mess. A mess that involves death, and a doppleganger, and secrets. They have to work together to stay alive. 

I have never read tale of two cities. I am not much of a classic reader. Which I know I need to correct and I am working on it and this one will for sure be added to my list.. but for now I have not read it and had no idea what I was getting into. I think most of the mixed reviews may be from if you read the original or not. I think It may be hard to appreciate if you havn’t or if you don’t read between the lines. There is a lot to be said about this book.

This book can be slow. That was the hardest part I had with the story. But there was so much in that slowness that set the mood and the story soley for the ending. The characters are a bit one dimensional at the beginning … again setting the stage for what is to come. If I was to rate this book on most of the first half it would have been much lower. I still would have enjoyed it but not loved and adored it. The ending and what comes out of the ending is totally what made me fall for this book. It brought everything into light and now I just don’t’ know what to do with myself.

This book is a lot. There is so much that rests in the growth of the characters, the setting, the tone. It’s a book about revenge and about good and evil and about what is actually right in the end. The choices you make mark your way along the path. The only choices you feel you have may not be good ones but you have to make the best of it and deal with the road it leads you down. Its about sacrifice and true human worth and what soul is. Its about the greater good and if it really is the greater good or self righteousness. It’s a book of soul searching and deep thinking.

The story was good and was filled with deeper meaning but it was also written so beautifully. A very lyrical and poetic telling and the visionaries drawn with words was so fantastic. I was immersed into this world. Which the world building was so well done. There is never an explanation of where the magic came from but really it didn’t matter for the story. The story wasn’t about the magic. That was just thrown in to make it more beuaitful and exciting. It was not however the center of the story. The center of the story was mankind. So I found myself never needing and explanation of where the magic came from or how it all started. Usually this is a big deal for me but not needed for this story to shine.

So I do see the mixed reviews. It may not be the book for everyone but it was for me and if you like heartbreaking stories and deeper meanings in every action, give this a shot. You just may fall in love with it too.

At first it was a four heart for me.; but the longer I sat here not wanting to pick up my next read I was so anxiously awaiting and needing to review this gem right away. I knew it was nothing but a 5 hearts for me.

Sarah Rees Brennan is Irish and currently lives in Dublin. For a short stint, she lived in New York and became involved with a wide circle of writers who encouraged and supported her, including Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. She has developed a wide audience through her popular blog, mistful.livejournal.com, where she writes movie parodies, book reviews and some stories.

Review: Literally by Lucy Keating

Title: Literally 

Author:  Lucy Keating
Publisher:  HarperTeen

Publishing Date: April 11th 2017

Pages: 256
Genre: YA Magical Realism

Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC

 

A girl realizes her life is being written for her in this unique, smart love story that is Stranger Than Fiction for fans of Stephanie Perkins.

Annabelle’s life has always been Perfect with a capital P. Then bestselling young adult author Lucy Keating announces that she’s writing a new novel—and Annabelle is the heroine. 

It turns out, Annabelle is a character that Lucy Keating created. And Lucy has a plan for her. 

But Annabelle doesn’t want to live a life where everything she does is already plotted out. Will she find a way to write her own story—or will Lucy Keating have the last word?

I received this book for review a while back. It looked really cute and really interesting. I love to have a sweet cute book in between the crazy or dark or deep reads. This one was sweet and cute and short. A breather book. I did enjoy it. I would have liked a little more character complexity and but for the most part it was a good fast read. 

This is a story about a character, a girl, a pretty type A personality girl. It's the story about how her perfectly organized and put together life gets interrupted, turned upside down. Her family dynamics change, she meets a boy, she find out life isn't at all what she thought. She meets an author, an author that says " oh hey by the way I am writing your story,  your life, you are not in control. This girl says oh no I am in control and this character fights back. Choosing her future, her feelings, and her choices. 

This book was cute. I loved the idea. It was fun to explore. What if you found out your life was being written for you. Are you just a character or are you real. Can you fight back, make your own choices. How can you gain control of your own life. Cute concept. I liked it. I also liked that it wasn't just a concept.. Its also about taking control of your life and not allowing life to make choices for you. Circumstances are just that. Choose to make what you want with it. I loved this even more. And yet beyond that.... What if you can't take control in the way you want. How do you deal. How do you accept. This was more than a story about a girl that is a character. It was fun and quirky but also had some good life lessons written between the lines. 

I loved the plot and I loved the pace. It was a real quick read.... but on the downside of the quick read... I felt that it fell in the pit of undeveloped characters. They did  have some substance. I did feel like I understood the main character Annabelle but even though I understood her... I didn't feel her. She wasn't complex enough to actually hone in on her emotions. I would of loved to feel sad, angry, confused, in love. I just couldn't. I definitely read this one from a distance. 

There were a couple of really good secondary characters that brought some feels into the story... but even at that it was only just below the surface instead of deep down. The love story was kind of cute. The family dynamics was good but simple. The best friend was good. She seemed to really be there for Annabelle but only sometimes did she make an appearance in the book. would have loved to seen more of her. 

The characters were a great start to some pretty awesome characters. Some were snarky and some were sweet. Loyal and charming. Crazy and aggravating... but all just on the surface. I needed just a bit more and think if the book would have been more drawn out not such a quick read, the complexity could have been there and the book would have been awesome. 

There is the story of friendship, romance, and family. It hit all the marks and touched on some tropes found in ya books today which I thought was fun. I laughed a bit at these. Love triangle. best friend sidekick, and such like these. 

It was a fresh idea for me and I did enjoy it for a quick simple read but the lack of depth did keep me from loving it. 

I liked but not loved. It had potential it didn't quite reach... but still was a fun read. 

Lucy lives in San Francisco, California. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, attended Williams College in the Berkshires, and still misses the East Coast very much.

When she's not writing, Lucy can usually be found obsessing over the latest music, inventing new flavors of ice cream, or having what she feels are perfectly acceptable conversations with her dog, Ernie.
You can follow Lucy on Instagram @lucy.keating, and Ernie The Dog @ernsboberns