Novel Review: How to Be Bad by Lauren Myracle, Sarah Mlynowski, and E. Lockhart

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: 2008

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the authors of ttyl, Bras & Broomsticks, and The Boyfriend List come three unforgettable characters—and one exhilarating novel

Vicks is the wild child whose boyfriend has gone suspiciously quiet since he left for college; Mel is the newcomer desperate to be liked; and Jesse will do anything to avoid a life-altering secret. Each one has her own reason for wanting to get the heck out of their nowheresville town, even just for the weekend. So they climb into Jesse's mom's "borrowed" station wagon and head south.

Hearts will be broken, friendships will be tested, and a ridiculously hot stranger could change the course of everything

The Cover:

I rather like the covers for this book. The one above is mine, and I like it's simplicity, and that the alligator has a meaning in the book. It matches with E. Lockhart's early covers, as well, which I like. The newer cover is just as pretty, too, though, and more modern, showing a better side of the story, I think.

Review:

Three girls who work at a waffle house together, all at least somewhat tired of their lives, decide to go on a weekend trip together.

There’s Vicks, whose boyfriend has left for college and whom she’s heard very little from since. She doesn’t know what to do about it, and she’s feeling increasingly alone, now being the only kid left at home, even with her best friend keeping things from her. Said best friend, Jesse, is getting more and more stuck up and religious, now that her mother is sick. And then there’s Mel, the rich girl who’s always been the middle child, the tie breaker, forgotten.

I liked Vicks and Mel. Vicks is tough, even as she’s alone and missing her boyfriend. I really liked the end where she finally sees him; they’re kind of adorable. Mel is quiet, more conservative, and I related most to her. She also meets a guy along the way, and I thought they were fun together. Jesse was a little harder to like, being as uptight as she was. She was better by the end, though.

This was a pretty all right book. I liked their journey, and really liked the two romances. The humor was more crude than I like, but that’s just my preference, and I’m sure most people won’t mind as much as I did.

Teaser Tuesday[110]: How to Be Bad by Lauren Myracle, Sarah Mlynowski, and E. Lockhart

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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How To Be Bad by Lauren Myracle, Sarah Mlynowski, and E. Lockhart

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: 2008

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the authors of ttyl, Bras & Broomsticks, and The Boyfriend List come three unforgettable characters—and one exhilarating novel

Vicks is the wild child whose boyfriend has gone suspiciously quiet since he left for college; Mel is the newcomer desperate to be liked; and Jesse will do anything to avoid a life-altering secret. Each one has her own reason for wanting to get the heck out of their nowheresville town, even just for the weekend. So they climb into Jesse's mom's "borrowed" station wagon and head south.

Hearts will be broken, friendships will be tested, and a ridiculously hot stranger could change the course of everything

Excerpt:

“Awesome. Not only have I lost my phone and unknowingly conspired to commit a felony, but I am now trapped in said stolen car with two people who won’t stop fighting.

I hate that they’re fighting.” (Paperback, pg. 163)

What are you reading right now?

Review: Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Rating (Out of 5): 4

Publisher: Puffin

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sparkling white snowdrifts, beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today's bestselling teen authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.

Review:

This is probably my favorite Christmas story that I've read. At least, when it comes to young adult books. (But, to be fair, I haven't read or watched all that many Christmas stories.)

It's an anthology of three short stories by three different authors, all taking place near Christmas in the same town during a snow storm (blizzard?).

The first story is by Maureen Johnson, who I am a fan of. I haven't reviewed any of her other books, but I have read most of them (all but Devilish and her newest), so I was expecting to like her story. And I did. It's about Jubilee, who dislikes her name (because it comes from a piece in this Flobie Santa Village thing that her parents are obsessed with, which is awesome, not only because her name is neat, but also because I liked seeing the Christmas Village thing mentioned and about how people go crazy over it). She's taking the train to her grandparents (right?) when it gets stuck from the snow, and then she meets Stuart and has to stay with him (and his mother, who are both Jewish). This story was cute, and fun (as is all of Johnson's books, like her), and Stuart was sweet.

The second one is John Green's. I've read his other books as well (and watch him on Youtube), so I knew what to expect from it. It's about a boy and his two friends (one a girl and one a boy) who decide to take an adventure to a restaurant in town during the storm. This one was fun, and it has the whole best friends to more thing going for it as well. It was fun, and had Green's normal humor to it as well.

The last one was by Lauren Myracle, and I didn't know what to expect because I hadn't read any of her other stuff. It was actually better than I'd though it would be. It was about a girl, who's a bit selfish but works to overcome it. She's supposed to get a little tea cup pig for her friend, and she's missing her boyfriend who she's having problems with but still likes and doesn't know how feels. It was actually a bit fun, and I liked the boy.

I enjoyed all of the stories, they were fun and very entertaining. I also liked all of the connections, since most of the characters know each other (as they live in the same town and go to the same school) and we see glimpses of them in each story, as well as a good ending with them all in the last story. And there's just enough romance for each story, but it was mostly a (really) good, funny, Christmas read.