Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

"Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago—the closest place she has to something like home—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?" -Goodreads synopsis 

"Perfect days are for people with small, realizable dreams. or maybe for all of us, they just happen in retrospect; they're only now perfect because they contain something irrevocably and irretrievably lost."

I'm finding this review hard to write... That typically happens when I'm so angry at a book that I can't even see straight. This isn't the problem I'm facing with TMTT. I liked it so much that there is so many things I want to say. I've truly never faced this issue before with a contemporary book before. It's my least favorite genre to read. Not including John Green books, I don't think I've ever been excited to finish a contemp book before this... I really thought about it too and nothing comes to mind.

I'm going to do this review a little different and stick with the common theme that TMTT and I'm going to tell you the three things that made me love this book.

1) The "Dear Reader" note. It really isn't often I read these. This time I figured why the heck not. So glad I did. Julie explains why this book means so much to her, and why it was this book was so easy and so hard for her to write. She talks about the loss of her mother and how it really changed her whole life. This personally meant so much to me because I too lost my mother way before her time. What really hit home for me is when she quotes her main character Jessie. "She will never see who I grow up to be-that great mystery of who I am and who I am meant to be-finally asked and answered". This hit way to close to home. It's such a selfish/non-selfish reason to think this, but it is so very true. It took me years to realize that my mother wouldn't be there for events and that's when everything really hits you.

2) Jessie. She is an outstanding lead. She is the perfect combination of raw real human emotion and comical teenage girl. She gives the right emotions at the right time and talks to her age. She is beyond relatable and will completely pull you into her story. When Jess struggles, loves, gets lost you feel like you're right there with her. The funny dialog she manages to keep up through out this story is just great. Julie also hit the nail right on the head with how teenage girls think. Jessie's life has so many typical YA tropes in it that it could have easily taken this down a mundane path that would have ultimately lead to me having the same issues that I do with others. However Julie makes the typical something new and fresh. Jessie is a breath of fresh air along with all the other side characters.

3) The mystery. When you read the synopsis of the book you figure out right away that there is basically a "who done it" style plot. Jessie starts receiving emails from an anonymous sender going by the username Somebody/Nobody (SN). This style would normally annoy the crap out of me. I've read plenty of books that have done this and almost 100% of the time I find myself skipping ahead, not caring about the story, getting bored, just not caring, and sneaking to find out the answer. With TMTT this wasn't at all the case. I was so interested in the story and going through things with Jessie that I didn't want to find out until the last possible second. The mystery as you can tell is all about who is SN. You, like Jessie, will go back and forth about who you think it will be. I will say that I had a pretty good idea about who it might have been, but I often found myself second guessing. Second guessing made reading this book so much fun. Warning: Julie will leave you guessing until the last second. The only thing I will suggest is that you keep maybe a little scrap piece of paper to write down the names of the guys in this book. Once all the key players were introduced once or twice I had to stop and remind myself who was who and who had what traits. When I jotted it down I was right back on track. Also kind of made me feel like I was playing a game of clue or something.

Tell Me Three Things will without a doubt be my favorite contemporary all year. So thankful to have gotten an early copy of this, and am excited for others to get to read it too. This book has so much heart, so much fun to read, and left me with a huge giddy grin on my face.

10/10 Stars 
-Angela  

Paper Towns Movie Review

As usually just left the theater and came straight home to do a review. Before I get started on all the juicy details there are two things I want to go right ahead and get out of the way. First, yes, WE GET BLACK SANTA!!!! and Two the cameo that was hinted at is as perfect as people said. Seriously when "it" happens everyone in the theater died. So happy, so cheeky, so John Green. Loved both of these things. 

On too the movie and the review. If you don't know Paper Towns is about a boy named Q who is just floating through his last few weeks of high school. He mainly just hangs out with his two closet friends, pining over his crush from childhood from afar, and living within the comfort zone he has made for himself. That is until his crush, Margo, sneaks into his room one night asking him to come with her to right 9 wrongs. 

First casting for this film was spot on. We know that Nat Wolff (Q) is going to be adorable, sweet, and entertaining. It's a given, he's just so charming. He nails awkward teen boy right on the head. We know Cara Delevingne (Margo) was going to be fun to see for her first "real" on screen performance. And yeah, she was great to watch... But there is no doubt in my mind who really stole the show. Justice Smith (Radar), Austin Abrams (Ben), and Jaz Sinclair (Angela). These up and comers really made this film. Especially Austin Abrams, who brought so much comic relief to this film. The moments he is on screen are so hilarious. There wasn't a second he was present that I didn't find myself laughing. Both Austin and Justice brought so much life to Radar and Ben. If anyone else would have been casted I don't think the film would have been as fun as it was. Nat, Justice, and Austin have so much on screen chemistry there's no way you wont fall in love with these three. They're the perfect band of misfits. All these characters managed to capture all the teenage angst you're hoping for. 

Paper Towns is a coming of age story that manages to avoid labels therefore avoids a lot of the usual cliches. Don't stress though it is for sure a John Green film. It's relate-able, fun, and of course packs a powerful message.  The pace of the film matches that of the book. It starts off with a bang, levels out in the middle, then delivers a strong ending. Like TFIOS, Paper Towns stays pretty close to the reading material it's based off. Though there is one big change from the book to film, there is no question as to why it was changed. It gave the story more of a push (in my opinion) to a more a proper ending. Even the small/"big" changes were perfectly done and I feel readers of the book wont be disappointed in the things that are altered. If you're not a reader than the ending might be something you wont see coming...the story ends in a way that manages to defy expectations and eschew the "teen-movie-romcom" norm. The ending was personally my favorite part of the film. The prank scenes are fun and will have you laughing, the little details are much appreciated, and the heavier moments hit hard much like the book.

Paper Towns isn't my favorite John Green book... because lets be real, nothing compares to TFIOS. I think the film surpassed the book, and for that I'm thankful. Paper Towns is a film about living each moment, about seeking a great perhaps, and about seeing people for more than face value. All these wonderful values are laid out for us and delivered so strongly. Really satisfied with the film and it has me very excited about seeing the soon to be Looking for Alaska. The casting, direction, and soundtrack were all stunning. Very happy with the way this sweet film played out and I don't think John Green fans will be disappoint. Great summer film.

9/10 Stars 
-Angela 

Bringing Sexy paperBack

These are the intelligent, charming, witty, and handsome men that write YA. We know in this genre women reign and we here at SBSR wanted to shine a little light on these fellas.

We decided to start off with our personal favorite.... Pierce Brown. The 26 year old author has been getting a lot of buzz lately. If you are into books at all then there's no doubt you've heard about his Red Rising series. At just our book store alone he is on at least 5 different favorites tables, it's insane... With just two books currently out and it even only being January people are already saying that Golden Son will probably be the best book out this year (I fully agree with this). Brown actually wrote 9 books before having Red Rising picked up. Red Rising is also set to become a movie, and we couldn't be more excited about it.With casting and dates still up in the air, well be waiting hand and foot for more details.
Pierce Brown is just oozing with talent, and we can't wait to continue too follow his career...
It also doesn't hurt that he has a super love for Harry Potter.

John Green. How can you have a YA list without this man not being mentioned?! Ya can't! Within the last few years he has became a house hold name. With a writing style all of his own, there's no questioning why so many love him. Green is the only man who can get away with killing off your favorite character and it just making you like him more. And books aren't the only thing he's ruling in... He has mastered the ranting YouTube video and has also brought so much attention to YA with his book to screen movie The Fault in Our Stars. With countless book awards under his belt and with Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska in the works to become movies, it's no surprise why he made this list. No one does teenage angst quite like this man. 

Ransom Riggs. He's debut novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children hasn't gone unnoticed. It's currently in production to become a movie, with both a bigger director and big actors set to star in it. He has brought something really interesting and new to this growing genre by incorporating pictures into his work. Creepy, Creepy pictures... He is the husband of one of our favorite authors Tahereh Mafi and they are without a doubt one of our favorite book couples. He is another author that post videos on YouTube, and is very active on his instagram.  With an amazing sense of humor, we can't get enough of Ransom Riggs... and Yes that is he's real name.

J.D Netto... What you haven't heard of him?.. Well you're about to be schooled. He is the author of the new-ish series Whispers of the Fallen. This Brazilian-born talented man is steadily rising up in the Ya book scene. During his senior year in High School, J.D.Netto had an idea "What if Lucifer had a Diary? What if the Diary was a secret? What if the secret was a reality", this idea and were sure many others are what brought you this series. This man isn't just a talented author he is also a talented graphic designer... You can get a small glimpse at that on his instagram page. One of the main reason were loving this man is because besides having interesting reads he is also super involved with his fans.. And nothing is more charming than being grateful. 
 

Theo Lawrence is a graduate of Columbia University and the Juilliard School. He is the writer of the Mystic City series, which is a series we recently started.  As all the other men on this post writing isn't his only gift... Ya boy can sing. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Off-Broadway. Lawrence is still and up and coming Ya author that we can't wait to watch and learn more about. Plus the covers of his books ARE AMAZING!

Paper Towns by John Green

I want to start by saying that I think it is impossible for John Green to write a bad book. Seriously, everything I've read by him makes me feels all sorts of stuff and makes me fall even more in love with his writing style. He is witty and the story is full of dry humor.

Q is an ordinary guy that is about to graduate high school. He makes good grades and stays out of trouble. He is planning on leaving Florida behind and going to college at Duke. Every thing is going as planned until one night his next door neighbor of almost all of his life, Margo Roth Spiegelman, knocks on his bedroom window and persuades him into coming with her for a night of mischief. The two spend the night righting wrongs and wronging rights of their classmates who they will soon be saying goodbye to soon after graduation. At the end of the night, Margo says her goodbyes to Q as well. She then disappears, and when she doesn't come to school the following week it is apparent that she has runaway from her life. Q spends the rest of the book on a treasure hunt of sorts trying to find out if Margo is leading him to her, whether it be her dead or alive.

I'll be honest, I had a lot of ups and downs with this book. Mostly ups, but there is a chunk of the book where Q is on the hunt following clues that he thinks will lead him closer to Margo, but really he is just chasing his tail in a circle. His friends get frustrated with him, he gets frustrated with himself, everyone gets frustrated with Margo, and I just wanted someone to get to the point. I feel like John Green was trying to do a lot of character building during this chunk, which I appreciate, but it didn't really add much to the plot. You get some deep insights on how to view people and why people do things the way they do them, and you also learn a lot about Walt Whitman.
The characters are pretty amazing. I think my favorite character is Radar because he is the person in their group of friends who is the most logical. He is also the one that is there when Q needs him, despite whatever else is going on. I love the comedic relief that Ben brings, but he is that friend who dumps you as soon as they get a girlfriend and they're that friend that fixates on wanting do whatever it takes to move up the social ladder and be cool. Ben is still a good friend to Q, but I feel like neither one of them are the best friends that they could be to each other.

I spent most of the book disliking Margo, to be honest. I really, really loved her at the beginning of the book during her adventure with Q, but as the book went on, I found myself disliking her. I felt like what she was putting everyone through was so selfish. When we started to learn more about the why's, I felt more sympathetic towards her but in the end, I still think she behaves like a child who can't handle life and needs to get away. Lacy on the other hand really surprised me and went from being one of the token mean girls to really coming and being an integral part of the ending of the book. I really wish Angela, Radar's girlfriend, would have had more air time. She was really funny and witty, so I think she could have added a lot to the characters.

My favorite parts of the book is the adventure between Q and Margo at the beginning. Right from the get go it pulls you in and gets you hooked. After that, my other favorite part is the the road trip that the group takes. I was laughing with tears coming down my face with a certain incident that required Ben to use a bottle. The cow incident was also pretty hilarious in a morbid, poop your pants kind of way.

Overall, I think this is a great book. If you like John Green's writing, then this book will be no exception. It is a great contemporary novel that focuses on angsty teens and lessons they have to learn in order to grow. I'd also like to recommend The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. It reminds me SO much of Paper Towns. The main female character, Cassidy, is very much like Margo and I found myself feeling the same things towards both of them. These are both great books, and I think they should be on everyone's TBR list because I think everyone will pull away different things from the stories depending on their own life experiences.

Also, Paper Towns will be released as a movie in June of this year. I checked out the actors that are going to be in it, and I think it is spot on! I LOVE the actress (Cara Delevingne) that is cast for Margo. I think she is going to do an excellent job. I really can't wait to see this movie. I hope all John Green books get made into movies.

4/5 stars

The Beginning of Everything: by Robyn Schneider

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider is a book about a boy named Ezra Faulkner. He's the definition of a parents wet dream; that is until his world comes crashing down on him... Well its not the world it's more like a car. Ezra use to be a star tennis player, the most popular guy in school, had the most popular girl in school as his girlfriend, and makes pretty good grades. He's living the high school dream until he walks in on his girl friend cheating on him at a party; where he gets in his car to leave and then immediately gets into a car accident. The crash shatters both his knee and dreams. His friends don't seem to get that he can't be the person he use to be. He can't play tennis, can't keep up with the wild pranks, and parties they go too... Oh and on top of all that his now ex girlfriend is dating the his replacement and friend... Sounds like the end of the world right? Well then you should know it's just the start of it. Ezra meets the mysterious riddle talking new girl Cassidy. Ezra is thrown into a world where he no longer knows who he is. He throws himself into school work, a debate team, and an old friendship. Thankful to have Cassidy to distract him from the accident and life in general by dragging him around on her endless adventures he soon realizes she might just be what he needed to get out of his accident funk. He'll soon learn that life isn't always about living up to others expectations it's about living up to your own. 

 I would like to thank the book gods for this book, because after reading so many fails in the contemporary ya field finally one has stepped up and won my heart... 

First off the cover of this book is beyond perfectly witty (Once you read it you'll know why). Second, again, I can't believe I liked a contemporary read. Third this book was like eating a handful of Valentine's Day candy; it was so sweet. TBoE will have your sides splitting and you hooked within the first few pages... Don't believe me? Well feast your eyes on this snippet from page four:

  “What the news reports didn't say was how the kid's head sailed backward in its mouse-ear hat like some sort of grotesque helicopter, and how Toby Ellicott, on his twelfth birthday, caught the severed head and held onto it in shock for the duration of the ride.
     There's no graceful way to recover from something like that, no magic response to the "getting head" jokes that everyone threw in Toby's direction in the hallways of Westlake Middle School.”

Think I made my point. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE...
The characters in this book felt way more realistic than I could have imagined. Ezra's character development is off the charts along with his amazing level of sarcasm. I almost felt like a proud mama bear watching Ezra become a man over the course of this book. TBoE is full of razor sharp wit and took me by surprise with how compassionate it is. I imagine it's hard for a writer to really make a character develop so much in one book but Robyn Schneider makes it look effortless. Her writing style mirrors that of John Green's and definitely has the same tear jerker effect on people. Character development isn't the only thing that is strong in this book... The overall writing style and silver tongue that Robyn uses throughout this story is insane. The debate scenes and childhood flashbacks will have you dying of laughter. Oh and if you like vampires, witty  comebacks, and Harry Potter you'll enjoy this story as well.  

 The only downside(s) of this book was a rather predictable ending. I figured it out about half way through, but it still didn't stop me from getting teary eyed or enjoying the story till the

end. The only other thing was Cassidy... She wasn't my favorite female character. I did like her and Ezra's relationship; it was truly loving and sweet...but I found myself being annoyed with her. She keeps telling Ezra to be himself, to learn who he is, to tell her who he wants to be, but then gives nothing back in return. I guess I was just hoping she'd have as much development as he did. Basically by the end of the book I wanted to throat punch this B. As far as the sub characters in this book, they are as amazing as Ezra especially Toby. (Oh Toby you cutie you! I just wanted to pinch and kiss his cheeks!)

This book has a great pace, and is a nice new spin on a coming of age novel. I wont give away what happens at the end, even with its predictability, I was still happy with how she left the characters and the stories. TBoE is a perfect rainy day-cuddle in a snuggie-drinking hot coco book.  This was a light and fun read, and something that if you haven't had the chance to pick up you should definitely set aside and afternoon to do so. 

8/10 Stars  

-Angela