Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Book Review : Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens

Heavenly (Heavenly, #1)
Heavenly (Heavenly, #1) by Jennifer Laurens

Product Details
  • Paperback: 294 pages
  • Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing (August 15, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1933963840
  • ISBN-13: 978-1933963846
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I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

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Zoe is falling apart. She lives the life of a walking corpse. On the outside, she looks just like any normal teenager, but on the inside, she feels empty. Abandoned. Her sister Abria is an Autistic child who has speaking disorders and the attention level of 5 seconds. Her brother Luke is drowning himself in drugs. To run away from the harsh realities, she parties and searches for casual relationships.

But everything changes when she meets the mysterious Matthias, who, according to himself, is a guardian sent to look after Abria. She feels happy, joyful and loved for the first time since Abria's Autism diagnosis. However, she seems to be the only person who can see Matthias. It does not take too long for her to realize that she is in love with him. Or is it?

I did not know what to expect before started reading Heavenly. But it turned out to be quite good as I could totally relate to Zoe's mental condition, behaviour and thoughts. I did not see her as an undignified teen, but rather a poor girl who was suffering from stress and hungered for the attention and care of her parents. After observing the difficulties faced by the family to take care of little Abria in turns, even though I knew deep down that what Zoe and Luke did was wrong, I couldn't help sympathizing them. It's not entirely their fault to crumble when they had to shoulder such huge responsibilities. But still, according to the social norms of the society, they were not entirely blameless either.

The presence of Matthias really lighted up the whole story. Zoe's tainted soul now yearned for forgiveness and goodness. She started to change, little by little, towards the better. And little Abria seemed to be still and quiet like a normal little girl when Matthias is present. Zoe started to learn about love, compassion and forgiveness. She saw through Luke's current self, only to discover the lost, helpless little boy within. It was a great experience to read about a family that holds on to each other in many ways, in which love reigns over all other things.

In a nutshell, Heavenly is simply lovely to read.

Rating:
4.000

More about the series:
Heavenly The Book

Available on:
AmazonBarnes & Noble IndieBound The Book Depository

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Jennifer, aka JM Warwick was born and raised in Southern California and her hometown of Palos Verdes Estates flavors her books: A Season of Eden and An Open Vein. She doesn't limit herself to writing one genre, and was the first to author four romance novels centered around the popular sport of ballroom dancing. Now, she focuses on writing young adult. She has YA novels published under her YA romance name of Jennifer Laurens: Falling for Romeo, Magic Hands, Nailed and the Heavenly series: Heavenly ( 2009) Penitence (2010) and Absolution (2010) A Season of Eden and Overprotected. Two are under her other YA author name: JM Warwick - A Season of Eden and An Open Vein. Jennifer lives in Utah and has 6 children.


Friday, November 12, 2010

Book Review : Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

Wherever Nina Lies
Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten


Product Details
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Point; 1 edition (February 1, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 054506631X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0545066310


Nina was beautiful, artistic, wild . . . and adored by her younger sister, Ellie. But one day, without any warning, Nina disappeared.

Two years later, Ellie can't stop thinking about her sister. Although everyone else has given up hope that Nina will return, Ellie just knows her sister is out there, somewhere. If only Ellie had a clue where to look.

And then she gets one, in the form of a mysterious drawing tucked into the pages of a book. Determined to find her sister, Ellie takes off on a crazy, sexy, cross-country road trip with the only person who believes she's got a chance -- her hot, adventurous new crush.

Along the way, Ellie finds a few things she wasn't planning on. Like love. Mysteries. Lies. And something far more shocking...the truth.

*The book contains interior black-and-white illustrations, since the sister's drawings play a crucial role in the story*

I don't like being so critical when I'm writing a review, but this book just doesn't make any sense. Ellie's sister Nina went missing two years ago, but she never accept the fact that her sister may not be coming home anymore. One day she obtained a random drawing that was clearly Nina's, and she went looking for her. She arrived at a place called Mothership and got to know a stranger. Well, a strikingly handsome stranger, that is. Not long afterwards, she went with this stranger to look for her missing sister. They found clues along the way which lead them to another place, and so on.

The whole story took place in only 5 days. And in less than 5 days time, Ellie had went on a journey with stranger "Sean" to look for her sister, had sex with him in a drunken state, and not to mention falling in love with him. I mean, what is this? I think this is just terrible, and Ellie's rash actions made her to appear immature and childish. When Nina first went missing, her mom didn't seem to care much about her daughter's disappearance. She just acted as if nothing has happened.

I don't like the writer's way of writing. Take a look at the birthday song:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOO YOUUUU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR BELLYYYYYYYYY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUU

I mean, what's up with all the extra O's, U's and Y's?

The ending is slightly better than the rest of the book, but still, it is not convincing. I need more explanation and there is not enough of that. I feel bored while reading this book, and sometimes I just wanted to stop reading right there. It wasn't as mysterious or intriguing as it sounds, and the plot is too unrealistic. I don't feel any connection with the main character Ellie, and I just can't convince myself to care about her efforts of finding her sister. Sorry, but this book is not my cup of tea. The book cover and the illustrations in the book are beautiful, though.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Notes: Wherever Nina Lies has some kissing scenes, sexual contents, violence and profanity. I won't recommend this book, but if you want to read it, make sure you can handle all the negative elements present it this book. This book is oriented towards older teenagers aged 16 and above.

Available on Barnes & Noble / Alibris / IndieBound / The Book Depository