Novel Review: Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Release Date: January 2018

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday.

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Drix was convicted of a crime--one he didn't commit--he thought his life was over. But opportunity came with the new Second Chance Program, the governor's newest pet project to get delinquents off the streets, rehabilitated and back into society. Drix knows this is his chance to get his life back on track, even if it means being paraded in front of reporters for a while.

Elle knows she lives a life of privilege. As the governor's daughter, she can open doors with her name alone. But the expectations and pressure to be someone she isn't may be too much to handle. She wants to follow her own path, whatever that means.

When Drix and Elle meet, their connection is immediate, but so are their problems. Drix is not the type of boy Elle's parents have in mind for her, and Elle is not the kind of girl who can understand Drix's messy life.

But sometimes love can breach all barriers.

Fighting against a society that can't imagine them together, Drix and Elle must push themselves--Drix to confront the truth of the robbery, and Elle to assert her independence--and each other to finally get what they deserve.

The Cover:

I really like this cover. I don't remember the Ferris wheel being important to the story, and perhaps the story itself could be portrayed better, but it's still a very pretty cover. I like the simplistic beauty of it, the colors are so pretty, and the font and title and image would definitely catch my eye in the store.

Review:

Elle has grown up with a politician father, and she's learned to put on a good face, to be a good daughter in front of cameras. She hasn't realized quite what all of it has done to her, or what all her parents are doing.

Drix was framed for a crime he didn't commit, and did the juvenile time for it. Now he's out, because of a special program made by Elle's father, and chosen as the face of it. He was in a bad situation, and he got out of it, and now he's trying to balance his old life with his new self and his new commitments.

This book took a little while to get going for me, but I did like the dynamic between Elle and Drix from the beginning. They meet without knowing each other at first, and they keep bumping into each other while trying not to, and then they form a friendship during it.

I really like how Elle's struggle is done. She believes that she's only doing what she is supposed to, to support her father, and what she's agreed to. She doesn't want to see what her father is really doing, and what they're actually doing to her. It bothered me how they were using her, and it only made the way she finally stands up for herself more worth it. And I really appreciated the way she stayed firm in her decision. After everything, she doesn't just let them apologize and ignore it; they have to show her. It made me really happy for her, how she dealt with it.

I had a guess for what was behind Drix's issue, but there were still some surprises thrown in there. The conclusion to that was both good and very sad. But overall I really liked how the book ended.

This one took a little while to get me, but I really enjoyed it by the end.

Review: Take Me There by Carolee Dean

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse)

Spoilers?: Minor

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dylan has a bad-boy past and a criminal record. Trouble follows Dylan wherever he goes, and a deadly mistake soon forces him to hit the road and leave his dreams behind. He's on the run and in search of answers--answers to questions he wishes he'd never asked.

Review:

This was so good. I'm rather surprised by how much deeper, darker, and more serious it was than I thought it would be. I thought it would be like Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry series, maybe a little like Lauren Barnholt's Two-Way Street, (both of which I loved,) with a lot of romance and a bad boy that has gotten in a lot of trouble, maybe some family problems, and a happy ending. But instead it turned out to be more like the TV show Hidden Palms, a little like Veronica Mars, (both of which I also loved) as in, a teenage mystery drama on television. And, what with how much I enjoy those types of shows (go ahead and recommend some in the comments!), I'm not surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.

The book is about Dylan, who has gotten into some trouble with the law, has already been in juvie and is now on probation, when his close friend Wade drags him into some more trouble, and forces them on the run. Dylan's father, D.J., is on death row after eleven years of being in prison, and Dylan wants some answers before he's killed or Dylan is caught. Some answers that might just be darker and harder to handle than he thought. Plus, there's a girl back home, Jess, that he loves and that loves him.

So, Dylan. I didn't fall in love with Dylan, but I did understand what he was doing and his motivation behind all of it. And I loved his poems and how he can't write, it just added to his character, and definitely added some sympathy and love for him. (But with his reading, it made me wonder if he's dyslexic? Or no? I wanted him to talk to someone about it, get help with it, but I understood why he didn't want to, and was glad that he was getting better through the book.) At one point, it would have been nice for him to have caught on to what happened a little earlier, but I understand that he didn't want to. He wanted things to have a better solution, for things to work out better than they did. I did like that he was trying to stay clean, get away from everything gang-related or to do with alcohol and drugs. That was nice to see.

Some of his relationship with Jess I didn't totally buy. I got why he liked her, what with her catching his interest and wanting to help her and have her help him, with all of his dark things while she seemed a good, nice girl with some family problems. But I didn't really buy how easily it was for her to love him. She should have, yea, but it happened too fast, I think. Didn't give enough reason or time for her to come to the conclusion that she needed him.

And Wade. I'm upset about him. He had the potential to turn into the boy that you feel sorry for because of his family, that is adorable, who you just want to hug to make it all better. But instead that part was weak, and he turned into one of those dumb teenage boys who just want something good and so hook onto anything they can. How he sticks to Dylan, and wants to be a part of the gang because he thinks that's the smart way to get protection. And then with what he did with Dorie. That was just stupid, and I don't see how anything good can come of it. I'm a little disappointed by how much I came to dislike him.

Everything that happened with Dylan's father and mother and uncle and the whole murder thing... it was all messy and sad and I'm unhappy with it all. And I liked D.J. and am so unhappy with how that turned out. (I don't want to spoil it; does that spoil it?) Plus, at the end, what happens with Dylan? I feel like it's all just starting all over, Dylan is going down the same path, and it's not going to be good. But, with what Dylan said, I guess it is possible for something good, that he could get out or that it won't happen to a later generation? But maybe it will with Wade? Ahhh, I want to know! I'm dying with curiousity over here, with questions that I want answers, with speculation. Again, I want to know!

The story line and pace was done really well. Again, like with a teenager-y mystery drama show, it kept giving clues to what happened and who did it and pieces of his past without telling all of it at once, making you wonder, keeping you connected to the book as you found more out and guessed. It was really good. And throughout all of the book, you're inside Dylan's head, and I liked that, plus you got to read some poems by him that were nice, as well as snippets of D.J.'s book, which were very interesting and made me like D.J. even more.

I'm still so upset about the ending and D.J. and Dylan and everyone. I'm reeling, upset, and frustrated over this book. But that shows how good it was, right? Because I feel so much about it. Either way, it was good, really good. And I would love there to be a sequel, but I don't think there's going to be one.

Review: Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

3.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Flux

Goodreads Synopsis:

Caleb Becker left Paradise eight months ago, taking with him the secret he promised to take to his grave. If the truth got out, it would ruin everything.

Maggie Armstrong tried to be strong after Caleb broke her heart and disappeared. Somehow, she managed to move on. She's dermined to make a new life for herself.

But then Caleb and Maggie are forced together on a summer trip. They try ignoring their passion for each other, but buried feelings resurface. Caleb must face the truth about the night of Maggie's accident, or the secret that destroyed their relationship will forever stand between them.

Review:

I liked this one better than the first.

First of all, I liked all of the new characters. I liked Trish and Erin, and wanted to see more of what was going on with them. Matt was a good character. At first I thought Lenny was kind of annoying but okay, later on, though, after the group thing and when he was just with Caleb, I found myself liking him even more. As well as Caleb's friend from juvie. I liked the relationships that were formed between all of them and wanted to see more of it. There's no doubt in my mind that if she were to write stories based on them, that I would get it.

I'm glad that she added them. I enjoyed reading about them, and Maggie definitely needed some friends, although I don't think she got as close to them as she could have gotten. And Caleb needed some good friends as well, so I'm glad that he got them.

I liked where the story went after the first book. The group thing that they did was good, but I think I enjoyed the bit after it more. Because the trip forced them together, which was good and made them face the problems, but when that ended, they had to choose where they were going, what they were doing. Maggie already knew what she was doing, because she'd progressed from the first book and even more throughout the trip, but Caleb had regressed throughout the first book, from deciding that he was going to do good, to deciding to run away from it all, which is all that he tried doing throughout the trip. After the trip though, Lenny decided to follow him, as he had nowhere to go. Seeing Lenny like that made him realize how pathetic it was, because he was doing the same thing as him, and so he finally chose to go face his problems. Doing that, and later making Leah face what she'd done, helped them all move forward.

I liked this one more, for several reasons, but it seemed more grown up, at least near the end. Because they weren't such immature teenagers as in the first one, although I think the biggest improvement was in Caleb.

Sidenote: The cover on this one, I did not like, at all. I think the faces were put on a little weird and made them look a little like not actual people. Although that might be because the picture behind them looked very fake. I think they could have done much better, especially when compared to the first one.