The Gamer's Guide To Getting the Girl ~ Kristine Scarrow

Rating: ⭐️

Received an arc from Net Galley for an honest review.

Expected Release: July 9th 2019

If I had read this a few months back, I might've liked it more but the fact that I put it off and read other, better, books didn't help it's cause.

Summary

Strategy is everything when it comes to gaming — and girls.

Zach is used to living in a world of legendary battles, epic journeys, and life-or-death situations. As a gamer, he is hard-wired for adventure, even though it’s from the comfort of his parents’ couch. But nothing has prepared him for battling the biggest storm in Saskatchewan’s history.

On top of this, Zach has finally met the girl of his dreams, but he finds himself helping everyone else stay safe while his best friend spends time with her. What Zach doesn’t realize is that love always finds its way when you’ve found the right person and are ready to risk it all to save the day.

First off, I want to pick apart this synopsis compared to the book itself. The tag line, strategy is everything when it comes to gaming — and girls, does not describe this book in the slightest compared to the actual story itself. The main character Zachary does not use strategy in gaming or to get the girl in this book. He has one heroic action when it comes to George but that is about it.

Then it says that Zach lives in a gaming world with battles and journeys, but this game has one little, MINUSCULE, bit of gaming in it. At the very beginning when they are in what I assume is a GameStop (i.e. gaming store, has different name in book). They also talk about some games, such as Fortnite, but there is no playing of games or anything of that sort, which was disappointing for me.

The next part discusses how nothing has prepared him for battling the biggest storm in his towns history. Well duh unless you've been in a tornado or a situation where a tornado has truly affected you in some way, nothing will adequately prepare you for facing one head on. Also this was more them taking cover from the tornado and not much else. The tornado is the only part of the book I found the slightest bit interesting. This would've probably been a DNF had there not been a tornado because that is the only thing I looked forward to when it came to the plot.

Next we finally get to the girl. From the moment Zach sees her he believes she is the girl of his dreams. Go figure she's a red head (me too). But how does he even know that?? It bothers me so much that he bases it based on her appearance alone before he even says a word to her. Then when he finally meets her (after their initial encounter) he gets super jealous of his best friend LOOKING at her. Like jeez will you just calm down? If you can't tell I really dislike this main character, and all other characters for the matter because they were all background parts to the non existent plot that revolved around a tornado at a mall.

Finally the part that irks me the most is the last line of the synopsis, What Zach doesn’t realize is that love always finds its way when you’ve found the right person and are ready to risk it all to save the day, LOVE? Where is this love you speak of? You just met this girl and barely know anything about her besides that she likes gaming. Wow dream girl right there for the shallow gamer. Also risk it all to save the day? What is saving the day? Helping the mall security guards usher people around the mall? Telling them about potential robbers who end up being dream girls parents? Getting hit with a piece of metal on the head? Who even knows. The one "saving the day" thing Zach did was help George. That is actually it.

I really really didn't like this book and I think when I first discovered it that I believed it had potential, and it very much did, but this book didn't even come close to the potential I had in mind. I expected a lot more. I would also like to say that this demographic, in my opinion, isn't young adult. I think it could be middle grade but in no way do I think it classifies as young adult besides the fact the boys are teens.

Wilder Girls ~ Rory Power

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Received an arc from Net Galley for an honest review.

Expected Release: July 9th 2019

This book had so much potential. I heard it was supposedly a Lord of the Flies retelling and when I read that sophomore year of high school I loved it, but I didn't think that this book even came close to that one.

**This link will provide the list of Trigger Warnings as mentioned by the author

https://itsrorypower.com/wilder-girls/ **

Summary

It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.

The synopsis and cover really had me intrigued about what this book would end up being. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, but I'm not sure the story quite lives up to it. Don't get me wrong, I did like the story because it was unique to most of the things I've read recently, but when it comes to being labeled as a Lord of the Flies retelling, I expected more. I understand that in a way it was a retelling but my expectations might have been set too high by the original.

I found this book grasping my full attention because I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen and what the Tox was. And I was disappointed with the end result. However, the hype leading up to it was gripping; The flare ups and when Byatt goes missing, ooh I was intrigued. Something I didn't fully expect but enjoyed was the alternating perspectives once Byatt went missing because we weren't completely in the dark even though Hetty was. The one thing I did find similar to Lord of the Flies was the increasing amount of subtle chaos as the story progressed.

I also enjoyed the friendships throughout this story. Not just the main characters but the detail in mentioning that the other girls had groups and that nobody was really alone. I don't know why but that provided me with some comfort. When it came to the main characters, I really did enjoy their friendship and how we learned pieces about how it came to be and tiny bits about each girls background. I do think the part where things almost(?) turned romantic was kind of strange. It didn't really fit for me compared to the rest of the story. I do enjoy the LGBTQ+ rep but I think in this books case, the hint of romance only made me more confused for the rest of the book. I kept wondering if they were even still romantic or if they just let that one encounter go and moved forward as friends? Maybe that was something I missed somewhere in the story but still.

Next is the end result. There were a lot of turns and they all seemed really fast and there with some with little explanation. Starting from the last boat shift is when everything truly went downhill and fast. But the one thing that really bothered me was the research people giving up. There wasn't really an explanation for them giving up on a cure for the Tox other than someone breaking quarantine. Is that really enough to give up on all the research already done? It just doesn't make sense how that one little part will make you throw away everything you've already done. It also could've been because of Teddy, but that was his own fault in my opinion. Then all the sudden Reese and Hetty escape and leave everyone else behind to be bombed essentially? This whole part happened so fast to me it was hard to keep up. Then all of the sudden they are on the island where Byatt is and they find the place and then her but she's dead and they have to hurry her back to the boat before they also get bombed. Like it was all so fast. Then it ended with them on the boat with no resolve. It left me wanting a lot more than I got. But just because I wasn't fully satisfied with this book doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it or think it was decent.

With the Fire on High ~ Elizabeth Acevedo

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️¾

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019. And it both delivered and it didn't but I'm not disappointed. I think some of the hype I heard surrounding this book built my expectations really high, even though I still don't fully know what I was expecting. This book was good. Really good actually but I think I was hyped to expect more.

Summary

With her daughter to care for and her abuela to help support, high school senior Emoni Santiago has to make the tough decisions, and do what must be done. The one place she can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Still, she knows she doesn’t have enough time for her school’s new culinary arts class, doesn’t have the money for the class’s trip to Spain — and shouldn’t still be dreaming of someday working in a real kitchen. But even with all the rules she has for her life — and all the rules everyone expects her to play by — once Emoni starts cooking, her only real choice is to let her talent break free.

Like I said, I did like this book and it was really good but I guess I just wanted more from it. Not even that it lacked in specific areas but it was all very surface, even though there were some hard hitting issues, I felt like they were touched on once or twice but other that that they didn't really play into the story at all other than to be mentioned. (The custody thing and Emoni's dad leaving but staying in contact and her never really confronting that until the very end briefly)

One thing I did really enjoy was the cooking. Everything that surrounded the cooking and the culinary arts class and the Spain trip and Emoni working in the restaurant in Spain. It was so perfect and maybe that is what I wanted more of the story to be. More of her exploring her love for cooking and less of the romance. I did like the romance but I'm realizing that, for me, it took away from what I actually wanted in the story. I kinda feel the same about Abuela, for my personal liking there was too much on her character. I enjoyed the encouragement and support for Emoni and her relationship with her son/Emoni's dad, but I think the tidbits about her romance, which I caught on to right away and was dragged on until the end of the book, could've been omitted. I want more cooking and more about Emoni & Emma and their dynamic and the COOKING.

I did enjoy Emma and her role in Emoni's story and I 100% am glad that it was included and it didn't take away at all. It talked about the struggle of teenage pregnancy but it showed how it worked out for Emoni and Emma (and every Tyrone) in the end. I liked getting to know tidbits about Emma but would've, again, enjoyed her more if she was more apart of the story instead of focusing on the romance. I LIKED THE ROMANCE I SWEAR.

I promise I liked this book, I know all I've done so far in this review is mostly critique and complain but I did like it. But yet here I am, about to critique something else. There were some points in the story where I didn't like Emoni ??? I can't even tell you why but for like 15% of the book she annoyed me. It could be her stubbornness but jeez she bugged me sometimes. Like how she wouldn't confront her Dad or even talk to him about why she was upset with him. Emoni stop being passive-aggressive and talk to your Dad! OTHER than the times I didn't like her, I liked her a lot (duh 😂)! When she got into cooking, it was truly like magic dripped from her finger tips. I wish I could've been there to see it unfold or to taste something that she made. ALSO I'M GLAD THEY INCLUDED RECIPES???!!! I don't know if I'll ever make them but the mere fact they included recipes enriched the whole story even more for me.