Jekel Loves Hyde

Title: Jekel Loves Hyde
Author: Fantaskey, Beth
Length: 282 pages
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher / Year: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / 2010

This books is told alternatively by Jill and Tristen, the two main characters. It starts off with Jill at her father’s burial, and then quickly jumps to a year later. Jill is a straight-A artistic student who excels at chemistry. She is struggling to cope with her father’s death and her mother’s mental illness. Tristen is a macho tough guy on the running team, who also seems to excel at chemistry. He is also living alone with his father, and dealing with what seem to be psychotic breaks where he blanks out and goes violent.

The two of them are drawn together by a number of different things, some chemistry is thrown in (both kinds). Family legacies are dealt with and discussed. Old literature is brought up as relevant. What more could you ask for in a book?

For more, go check out my full review on Amy Reads!

Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives

I would compare this book to a reality TV show. 

By comparing the book to a reality TV show what I am, in essence, saying, is that you are given an intimate look at what goes on behind the facade of an upscale, fancy community. As the story unfolds we are given a glimpse, through Lyssa’s eyes, of what life is truly like. We see the cliques, the gossip, the affairs, and get the inside scoop on a lot of it.

The book deals with issues such as divorce, affairs, cheating, friendship, and more. It imparts the importance of being happy, of being yourself, and of always doing what is right and standing up for yourself. It also ends a little bit too easily with everything wrapped up nicely with a bow.

Did I like it? Well, like reality TV it was a little bit plastic, a little bit predictable, a little bit snobbish, and ultimately not very satisfying. That being said, I enjoyed the book, it was a light, easy, and fast read, I kept reading and couldn’t put it down. I would recommend it as a light read, or to anyone who enjoys the topics of marriage, divorce, infidelity, etc. It very well may be that these topics do not hold as much interest to me because I am simply not at that point in my life. We will see in a few years I guess!

To read my full review check it out over at Amy Reads! I am also doing a giveaway of this book that ends at midnight, June 30th, so there is still time to enter! 

Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz

This book is, essentially, about friendship and love and what we do for both. The story is told by each of the three friends, alternating between chapters – Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinkie. They have been friends forever, and do everything together.

Tara is an athlete and spends her time training for marathons and hanging with her mom.Whitney Blaire is a bit of a diva and spends her time shopping and checking out boys, and dealing with parents who are never home. Pinkie is an honors student, on committees, and is always writing letters to her Mama.

Each of the girls has their own issues that they are dealing with, but they also have a strong friendship. That all changes when a new girl shows up. All of a sudden everything is out of order, and things start falling apart between them. Can their friendship weather this?

I loved the way Diaz presented (almost, see below) all of the issues in this book. Each of the girls had a major relationship issue that was at once completely believable and well written. As I am counting this book toward the QLBT Challenge, obviously you can guess there is some sort of GLBT relationship in this book. I won’t say any more, but I will say that it was written extraordinarily well. The way the friends react to it is especially well done. It’s not smooth, it’s not always pretty, but it is realistic.

To read the rest of my review, go check out my full review at Amy Reads. To see more reviews, check out Trisha's at eclectic / eccentric and Amanda's at The Zen Leaf. 

Matched by Ally Condie

As Trisha and Alix have already posted their thoughts below, I'm posting just one part about the book that I found interesting.

Not only does the book explore rules and the power of individual choice, it also delves in to love and relationships. Cassia feels torn because by questioning the Society she questions everything her life has been based on. If she questions her Match, what does that mean about her parents? From page 221 (in the advance review copy, may change at publication):

"But if the system is wrong and false and unreal, then what about the love between my parents? If their love was born because of the Society, can it still be real and good and right? This is the question that I can't get out of my mind. I want the answer to be yes. That their love is true. I want it to have beauty and reality independent of anything else."

The Matching system, to me, seemed somewhat like arranged marriages. Only arranged marriages where our parents knew every little thing about us and about the other person and made a choice based on our genes and actions and future thoughts, all of which they have predicted out with a fair amount of certainty. Just because someone else has decided for you, does that make it less so? Can love blossom in such a scenario?

For more thoughts (and discussion, in the comments) and a chance to win the book, check out my full review here.