Rating: 4/5 | Source: NetGalley ARC Release date: April 7 2015 For a book blogger, there are few things worse than being disappointed by an ARC. Before picking up The Truth About Us, sadly enough, this is what happened to me. So I was a bit wary. I didn't know this author. The premise was intriguing but so many things could go wrong to ruin it. I am relieved- and quite a bit excited- to say that my fears were ungrounded. Jess was a very understandable- and surprisingly likeable- character despite her antics. Possibly even because of them. When you're young, it's so easy to lose your way. Lose sight of who you want to be. To allow your friends and expectations to lead you down paths you never thought you'd take. To forget that some things worth having are worth the fight to gain them. It can happen to all of us, in our dark moments. It happened to Jess. It once happened to me. And her journey back to being a person she could recognise and respect had me in stitches, in tears and cheering for her every hard step of the way. I would love to hear more about the characters I met in the pages of this one. Janet Gurtler has definitely put herself on my list of authors to watch. |
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Some time ago, I wrote a review of the V is for Virgin series by Kelly Oram (hint: it got 4/5 stars). Recently, however, she offered the book for free- prompting me to shove it into as many hands as possible.
Now, If you had told me a couple of years ago that I'd be shoving a book called V is for Virgin at my students, I would have wondered if you were insane. After all, past-me would say, a book with that title could only be one of two things. It's either one of Those Christian Inspirational Books in which the MFC is a virgin and convinces her boyfriend, friend and doubting classmate that virginity is What God Wants. Or it would be one of Those Romances where the Staunch Virgin loses said virginity after much resistance in as much detail as the author could provide. But I wondered anyway, when I first picked it up during my Oram marathon: this is Kelly Oram. She did Cinder & Ella! The Avery Shaw Experiment! I could trust her not to write like that... right? So I picked it up. I read about The Virgin, Valerie. I read about her attempt to explain her stand to her boyfriend. I read about him dumping her because she wouldn't put out. I read about said boyfriend's lies. I read her tabletop declaration that yes she was a virgin and unashamed of that fact. I read about her declaration going viral. And I knew this one was going to be different. Surprisingly, this book was not so much about remaining a virgin until marriage. Sure, that was Valerie's choice, but it wasn't for religious reasons. Nor did she shove her choice down anyone's throat. Instead, Val talks about every girl's right to make her own choices, and not letting ridicule, public opinion or even their own boyfriends make that choice for them. Instead of browbeating you into agreeing with her choice, Val points out how much society focuses on taking that choice away. It's something people tend to forget in this society: that having the right to choose to do something also means having the right to choose not to do it (or even Do It). And Val doesn't Do It with the humour, flair, wicked wit and strength of character I've come to expect of characters created by one Kelly Oram. All good things must come to an end, and this blog hop is one of them. Let's close this off by ranking my books, and then we'll announce our overall winner. This ranking is mostly based on the impact each book left on me, so of course you may not agree with my order (in which case you can always leave a comment to challenge it). But that's why rankings are personal, anyway.
Final note, and a winner! Having this Hop has taught me so much about blogging, and about the books I've read in the past that still haunt me today.
For that reason, today we're joining Stuck in Books' Favourites Giveaway Hop. Until then, wishing you all the best in all the lives you choose to wander through. - Semoy |