Tag: julie buxbaum

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Book Reviews contemporary romance ya fiction

What to Say Next – Book Review

Title: What to Say Next

Author: Julie Buxbaum

Pages: 272 (hardcover)

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Published: July 11, 2017

Summary:

Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.

KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand.

DAVID: In the 622 days I’ve attended Mapleview High, Kit Lowell is the first person to sit at my lunch table. I mean, I’ve never once sat with someone until now. “So your dad is dead,” I say to Kit, because this is a fact I’ve recently learned about her.

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?

Review:

 

I was so excited when I got an ARC of this book. If you’ve read my review of Tell Me Three Things, then you know how much I absolutely love Julie Buxbaum’s writing. I went into What to Say Next with pretty high expectations, and I wasn’t disappointed. I flew through this book so quickly, and instantly fell in love with the characters.

The first thing that I fell in love with about this book was the diversity of the characters. Both of the main characters in this novel are diverse: David is on the Autism spectrum, and Kit is half Indian. While each of these characters are unique, their personalities work extremely well together. Seeing their friendship develop throughout the book made me love these two so much. You know those books where you never want to leave the characters behind, even after the story is long over? This is most definitely one of those books. Kit and David’s story sucks you in and leaves you feeling so many emotions.

I also really loved the alternating perspectives in this book. It helps to show the back and forth between Kit and David, as well as what they are both thinking and feeling as things happen between them. Especially in some scenes, it was so great to see both sides of the story and really understand how things can be meant to come off a certain way, but are completely changed by someone else’s perspective on the matter.

I give What to Say Next 5/5 stars. On a side note, I am absolutely LOVING all of the diverse reads that we have been getting lately, and all I can say is “Give me more, please!”

Categories
Book Boyfriends Book Reviews contemporary romance ya fiction

Tell Me Three Things – Book Review

Title: Tell Me Three Things

Author: Julie Buxbaum

Pages: 328 (hardcover)

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Published: April 5, 2016

Summary:

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

Review:

 

I am utterly obsessed with this book. From the very first page, I fell so hard for the story and  the characters. If I’m being completely honest, I really only picked this book up because the cover was adorable, and I thought it would make a great addition to photos on my bookstagram. But Tell Me Three Things is so much more than just a cute cover.

“My voice is smiling. I didn’t even know it could do that.”

-Tell Me Three Things, Julie Buxbaum

Buxbaum’s writing is so incredible. She manages to put words to thoughts and feelings that I’ve felt, but definitely couldn’t have described as eloquently. So many times throughout this book, I related to Jessie on such a deep level. It was almost as if Buxbaum had gone into my head, lived there for a while, and then wrote a character based off of her time there. There is really something special in reading about a character who you relate to so completely. Buxbaum also does a fantastic job of capturing an outsider’s perspective of Los Angeles and all of the weird, “trendy” things that people are into. I’ve lived near LA my entire life and I’m still amazed by some of the things that are considered completely normal here.

The characters in Tell Me Three Things are so lovable. Jessie has a lot of development throughout the book, and grows in so many ways. She is such a strong character who is undeniably herself. She is funny and witty, and I saw so much of myself in her character. There are also some very swoon-worthy guys in this book, and one who stands out above all the rest.

I also really loved the game that Jessie and Somebody/Nobody had where they would tell each other three things that the other didn’t know. It was such a cute way for them to get to know one another. Tell Me Three Things basically turned me into a big ball of feels, and I want to read it over and over until the end of time. I give it 5/5 stars, and recommend it to EVERYONE. Seriously, do yourself a favor and go read this book.