Learning Not To Drown by Anna Shinoda

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Copy was borrowed from library
Goodreads

Family secrets cut to the bone in this mesmerizing debut novel about a teen whose drug-addicted brother is the prodigal son one time too many.

There is a pecking order to every family. Seventeen-year old Clare is the overprotected baby; Peter is the typical, rebellious middle child; and Luke is the oldest, the can’t-do-wrong favorite. To their mother, they are a normal, happy family.

To Clare, they are a family on the verge of disaster. Clare: the ambitious striver; Peter: the angry ticking time bomb; and Luke: a drug-addicted convicted felon who has been in and out of jail for as long as Clare can remember—and who has always been bailed out by their parents.

Clare loves Luke, but life as his sister hasn’t been easy. And when he comes home (again), she wants to believe this time will be different (again). Yet when the truths behind his arrests begin to surface, everything Clare knows is shaken to its core. And then Luke is arrested. Again.

Except this time is different, because Clare’s mom does the unthinkable on Luke’s behalf, and Clare has to decide whether turning her back on family is a selfish act…or the only way to keep from drowning along with them.

Debut novelist Anna Shinoda's raw, gritty, powerful novel cuts right to the bone and brings to life the skeletons the lurk in the closet.

I really didn't know anything about this book when I picked it up. I heard about it on someone's video on booktube and I immediately requested for my library. After reading it now I don't remember what I was expecting at all. I knew it was a contemporary but I didn't realize that it was about a girl whose brother was in prison. This book took me by surprise because usually contemporaries are about romance and such, but this one was more about family and hard topics such as family members being in prison. I really love this book because I had never read a book about such a topic before. Usually hard topic contemporaries are about things like drugs or depression and things.

I think this book has a lot of things that people can recognize and people that they know, not necessarily in the brother or the main character but in the other characters like her parents and how they reacted to the situation.

This book took me longer to read than most books to you but it had nothing to do with the story itself it was just not something that I was willing to read quickly because it was very heavy and not necessarily the easiest thing to read quickly. This book was quite frustrating that is probably the best way to describe the book overall was very frustrating.

If you're looking for a contemporary that covers some tough topics that are not what are usually covered in YA books I definitely suggest that you try this one. The reason I'm giving this book four stars instead of five is because it didn't completely capture my interest the entire time and the ending was skipping around a little bit because it was becoming a little bit boring. I definitely recommend this book for nearly anyone especially people will like to have topic contemporaries and are looking for something new.

Thoughts of The Fault in Our Stars Movie

*Do not read this if you have not read the book.

The following is a paragraph I posted on a Nerdfighter group on Facebook on 6/6/14:

Two years ago I found myself picking up a book by a man I knew little about. I had read one of his other books before, but I may never have considered picking up his newest if it weren't for a youtube video I stumbled across. In this video this author, this man, was talking rapidly in his office, in an airport, in front of a van about his newest book and how it had just come out, and about signed copies, and about a girl named Esther Earl that I had never heard of before. Before I knew it I had this man's book in my hands on March 18th 2012, and I read the book in a day. The Fault in Our Stars isn't just a book for some people. It was the start of a bigger world, of a bigger outlook on the world, of a bigger community. I never would have become a nerdfighter if it weren't for a video by a fast talking man in an airport who said just the right things in a 4 minute video that intrigued me pick up his book, and then eventually fall for more than the story but everyone else that loved the story along with me. Today, two years later, I am reminded how one link to one youtube video lead me to one book that lead me to thousands of people in one amazing community, and how that book became one fabulous movie. It's been two years since I picked up that book and I'm now realizing how things could have gone a lot differently if it weren't for that one little video link, and for it I will be eternally grateful.
DFTBA

I really cannot say all of the things I want to say about the TFIOS movie. It was undoubtedly one of the best movie adaptations I have ever seen from a book. I went to see this movie with a few of my friends who had  also read the book upon my recommendation. We all are very satisfied with the way this movie interpreted the book. One of my favorite part about this movie was how it included humor that wasn't necessarily part of the book, and it added to the story in a way that I love so much. In the beginning there was a lot of humor used in the support group scene and I just loved how that that part of the book was interpreted.

Of course there were some parts of the book that were not made into seems movie to cut down on time, but there weren't really any huge ones that I was upset that they didn't include. One that I noticed was not included however, was the scene in which Isaac, Hazel and a Agustus play blind video games, and if you've read the book you probably remember it because of the humor that was used in that scene.

After seeing this adaptation of the book I definitely want to read the book over and over and over again because it just did so much justice to the story and I can't wait to see more of John's books being made into movies in the future. I already own two copies of The Fault in our Stars and I plan to buy the third copy in French sometime in the future so that I might get to read it in that language. I definitely think that you should see this movie if you haven't already and I hope you enjoyed as much as I did!

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: Library
Goodreads

 At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

It's no secret that I love Colleen Hoover's books. I only discovered her work back in February, and I now only have one book left to read of her published work, and I just can't get enough of it. In every one of her stories I have found Hoover's work to be addicting in every possible way, and Maybe Someday was no exception. I started reading this latest novel, and read through half of it in one sitting (and then got interrupted by life) and then finished it just a few short hours later. If it weren't for a few small bumps in the road I would have definitely call this book my favorite of her work, and it was very close, I promise you.

It's very difficult for me to review this book without giving away things about the characters and the story, because in most cases those are the things that I liked the most about the story. I absolutely loved how Sydney and Ridge interacted an how their story grew because I felt like their connection was real, like they were real.

I love how music was integrated into this story, and if you weren't aware all of the songs in the story have been recorded, you can listen to them on Spotify and probably some other places, and I loved how I could listen to the music that was being created in the story for real, and get a feel of how it might have sounded in the story. I feel like music was one of the biggest reasons why the relationship between the characters grew so well, because they understood one another through their music. 

The 'few bumps in the road' that I mentioned earlier happened near the end of the story, and it's hard, once again, to tell my reasoning without spoilers. I suppose, my best way to explain this without giving anything away is that there is a character named Maggie, and I didn't like the way that she left the story, nor how the story lead up to her leaving. If you've read this book you probably know what I mean.

So, overall, if I ignore that one little point in the story, I'd say this was my favorite of Hoover's books, however, there is that little bit... soooo... I have to knock off a star because I really, really didn't feel like that was a good addition the the story. 

4/5