Teaser Tuesday[242]: Remember by Eileen Cook

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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Remember by Eileen Cook

Genre: YA Sci-fi

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: 2015

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A thrilling tale about what a girl will do to get back a memory she lost…or remove what she wants to forget.

Harper is used to her family being hounded by protesters. Her father runs the company that trademarked the "Memtex" procedure to wipe away sad memories, and plenty of people think it shouldn't be legal. Then a new demonstrator crosses her path, Neil, who’s as persistent as he is hot. Not that Harper’s noticing, since she already has a boyfriend.

When Harper suffers a loss, she’s shocked her father won’t allow her to get the treatment, so she finds a way to get it without his approval. Soon afterward, she’s plagued with strange symptoms, including hallucinations of a woman who is somehow both a stranger, yet incredibly familiar. Harper begins to wonder if she is delusional, or if these are somehow memories.

Together with Neil, who insists he has his own reasons for needing answers about the real dangers of Memtex, Harper begins her search for the truth. What she finds could uproot all she’s ever believed about her life…

Excerpt:

“I'd really hoped that seeing my hometown would make a difference, but I had no more information than I'd had before I came.” (Paperback, pg. 112)

What are you reading?

Teaser Tuesday[208]: Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: 2014

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Goodreads Synopsis:

As first graders, Avery and Nora bonded over a special trait they shared: they were both adopted.

Years later, Avery is smart, popular, and on the cheerleading squad, while Nora spends her time on the fringes of school society, wearing black, reading esoteric poetry, and listening to obscure music. They never interact...until the night Nora approaches Avery at a party, saying it's urgent. She tells Avery that she thought she found her birth mom, but it turned out to be a cruel lie. Avery feels for Nora, but returns to her friends at the party.

Then Avery learns that Nora overdosed on pills. Left to cope with Nora's loss and questioning her own actions, Avery decides to honor her friend by launching a search for her own birth mother. Aided by Brody, a friend of Nora's who is also looking for a way to respect Nora's legacy, Avery embarks on an emotional quest. But what she's really seeking might go far deeper than just genetics.

Excerpt:

“‘Nora told me you didn’t care about finding your birth mom,’ Brody said.

I shifted uncomfortably.” (Paperback, pg. 96)

What are you reading right now?

Novel Review: The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse)

Publish Date: January, 2011

Spoilers?: Not Really.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hailey Kendrick always does exactly what's expected of her. She has the right friends, dates the perfect boy, gets good grades, and follows all the rules. But one night, Hailey risks everything by breaking a very big rule in a very public way...and with a very unexpected partner in crime. Hailey gets caught, but her accomplice does not, and Hailey takes the fall for both of them.

Suddenly, Hailey's perfect life--and her reputation--are blowing up in her face. Her friends are all avoiding her. Her teachers don't trust her. Her boyfriend won't even speak to her for long enough to tell her that she's been dumped.

They say honesty is the best policy--but some secrets are worth keeping, no matter the cost. Or are they?

Something Specific:

Quotes:

• "I remember feeling how small and insignificant my life must have been, that when it came crashing down, it wasn’t enough to make a ripple in the rest of the world.” (Hardback, pg. 81)
• "She said life would be better if everyone took a time-out when they needed one.’” (Pg. 236) I believe this.
• "Maybe that’s how you know someone loves you; they make you want to be a better person by believing in your effort, not just your accomplishments.” (Pg. 237)

The Cover:

This is a pretty average cover; it's simple, not very embarrassing. It's bright, kind of pretty, kind of fitting and makes sense for the contents. I don't really have much to say about the cover, even.

Review:

I’ve read two other books by Cook, and enjoyed them but they were still rather average reads. I ended up getting this one because I found it really cheap a while ago. I’m not even sure why I kept picking up her other books, seeing as how the first one I read was good but averagely forgettable; I think I was just attracted to her books for some reason, maybe partly hoping one would be amazing. I don’t know. Either way, I found this one to be rather enjoyable, and now hope to pick up her other books at some point.

This story is about a good girl who does something bad, resulting in her life going steadily downhill afterward. I’m usually lenient toward those types of books, but this one was particularly good. Hailey Kendrick, the good girl, goes to a boarding school, has a lot of friends, and is dating a very popular boy, whom she’s been going out with for quite a while. They seem to have the perfect relationship. Also, Hailey’s father has avoided her at just about every opportunity since her mother died (thus the boarding school), but he made plans with her to do something for the summer, as well as for her to have a big party. But then he cancels on her, she has a freak attack and gets pissed off, and sneaks out of the dorm. Where she runs into a friend of her boyfriend (and her, but less so), where they vandalize a piece of school property, and kiss. Thus ruins her good girl reputation and several of her relationships.

I liked Hailey. I felt she had a good, clear voice, and her reasonings were understandable. Overall I liked her. And I completely understood her feelings toward her father and the other adults around her. She grew a very good amount by the end of the book, and that was nice.

I liked how her relationship downfall happened. The one with her boyfriend happened very well and understandably, and I liked where they were by the end of the book. The one with her best friend also happened well, and I liked where that went.

The romance progression was very nice. It wasn’t perfectly clear-cut, either, which I really liked. And the person she ended up with I liked, and I think they fit together rather well.

The ending might have been a bit too good, have ended a little too well, might have been a bit cheesy on one part, but that doesn’t really bother me. I liked it. The assembly was a bit much, but her realization on certain things worked well, I think. 

Overall, I really liked this book, to a surprising extent. I want to read more like it, and I hope to pick up others by Cook as some point.

Teaser Tuesday[55]: The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

----------------------

The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook

Genre: YA Contemporary with Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse)

Publish Date: January, 2011

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hailey Kendrick always does exactly what's expected of her. She has the right friends, dates the perfect boy, gets good grades, and follows all the rules. But one night, Hailey risks everything by breaking a very big rule in a very public way...and with a very unexpected partner in crime. Hailey gets caught, but her accomplice does not, and Hailey takes the fall for both of them.

Suddenly, Hailey's perfect life--and her reputation--are blowing up in her face. Her friends are all avoiding her. Her teachers don't trust her. Her boyfriend won't even speak to her for long enough to tell her that she's been dumped.

They say honesty is the best policy--but some secrets are worth keeping, no matter the cost. Or are they?

Excerpt:

“‘That makes it worse, you know. I know you think that somehow it will make me feel better, but it doesn’t. You threw away everything, and it wasn’t even for someone who mattered.’” (Hardback, pg. 108)

So, reading anything good right now?