Teaser Tuesday[246]: Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

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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Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Delacorte Press (Random House)

Release Date: May2, 2017

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Let luck find you.

Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes.

At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.

As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined…and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect.

Excerpt:

“The money arrives on a rainy day in the middle of March.” (Hardback, pg. 133)

What are you reading?

Wishlist Thursday[159]: Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins + Others

Summer Days and Summer Nights by Stephanie Perkins + Others
Genre: YA Romance Anthology
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: May 17, 2016
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Maybe it's the long, lazy days, or maybe it's the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.

Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.

Why?:

I haven’t been reading as many anthologies lately as I used to, but there are still a couple that catch my attention. I read the Christmas anthology edited by Perkins and loved it, so of course I will be picking this one up. I love that the cover is in the same theme as the previous one, since it shows the actual characters on it and is so charming. There aren’t as many authors that I follow in this one, sadly, but I still hope it’s just as good.


What’s on your list?

Teaser Tuesday[169]: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

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!

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

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: September 1, 2015

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

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.

Excerpt:

“When he set her down again, his eyes were shining, and he leaned in close. ‘I love you,’ he’d said, like a kid declaring his feelings for ice cream or bugs or the circus, full of wonder and delight.” (ARC, pg. 90)

What are you reading right now?

Wishlist Thursday[121]: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: September 1, 2015

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

                   

Goodreads Synopsis:

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.

Why?:

I’ve really enjoyed the books I’ve read by Smith already, and have definitely noticed that her newer ones are even better than her first couple. They tend to be happy and cute and light, which I like, and I just breeze through them. This one sounds really cute, and I like stories that jump around in a timeline. It’s on my list either way, and I hope to get my hands on a copy soon.

What’s on your list?

Novel Review: You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: 2009

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Now in paperback with a new cover, Jennifer E. Smith's breathtaking novel about finding out where you are going by discovering what you've left behind.

Emma and her neighbor Peter are both lonely in a way that only bothers them on occasion. They both come from families they don’t quite understand. They both feel like something big is missing from their lives—and they’re both about to search for answers. When Emma makes a discovery that shakes the foundations of her identity, she convinces Peter to join her for a road trip. Each of them has something to find: For Emma, it is a grave—a grave that may be her only connection to her family. Peter is seeking something harder to define, but perhaps easier to navigate—a freedom, a sense of something more than what he has. Together, they take to the open road, engaging in a universal quest to make sense of who they are and where they come from…and learning a thing or two about love along the way.

The Cover:

Oddly enough, I think all of the covers are pretty good for this book. The one above, mine, I like enough. The original cover is pretty good, and they're making a new one that's also very pretty and matches her newer books. I like that they all show them in a car, traveling, clearly showing the road trip part. And on top of that this one and the new one represent the map part, Peter's geography inclination, and I like that. They're all pretty, and they all show important parts of the book--not the romance.

Quotes:

• "It was about issues and causes and ideas, and what more could you ask a person, Peter thought, than to risk all that they were for all they believed they could be?” (Paperback, pg. 55)
• "'You can be really certain about really uncertain things.’” (Pg. 136)
• "...and then they stood there together and waited for news like so many families in hospital waiting rooms: grateful for their support, relieved for the company, yet somehow feeling terribly alone just the same.” (Pg. 204)
• "Wasn’t it just so typical that all the things you never really meant to say were the very ones that came back around to you in the end?” (Pg. 206)
• "...in the manner she came to realize most things: gradually, stubbornly, and then all at once.” (Pg. 215)

Review:

I enjoyed this book. The journey it took was very good, and the ending was especially nice.

The writing didn’t pull me in, nor did the characters, quite as much as some of Smith’s newer books have. But this was still an enjoyable book.

Emma discovers that she had a twin brother, who died, and goes to find out more about him. She’s never felt she fit in with her genius family, and now she feels she understands why. So she steals her brothers car, only to hitch a ride with Peter, her smart, geography inclined neighbor, as well as taking on a stray dog.

The romance is really underplayed here, and is even kind of ignored by the characters for the first half of the book. It takes an interesting turn, but I really like where it is at the end. Mostly Emma and Peter grow during this, on the road alone, discovering who their family is and who they want to be and how to fix these things. I really liked Emma’s ending for it, the way she grew into herself, and the way her family goes to her. I feel like Peter will still fumble with his dad, but they’ll figure it out.

Overall, a pretty good book. I will definitely be picking up another of hers.