Review: DANGEROUS GIRLS by Abigail Haas

Title: DANGEROUS GIRLS
Author: Abigail Haas (aka, Abby McDonald)
Published: July 16th, 2013
Genre: YA thriller / mystery
Pages: 388
POV: 1st person present
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Format: Kindle eBook
Source: Purchased
Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf

Paradise quickly gets gruesome in this thrilling page-turner with a plot that’s ripped from the headlines and a twist that defies the imagination.

It’s Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives.

But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. As Anna sets out to find her friend’s killer, she discovers harsh revelations about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

Awaiting the judge’s decree, it becomes clear to Anna that everyone around her thinks she is not only guilty, but also dangerous. And when the whole story comes out, reality is more shocking than anyone ever imagined...

You know how people slow down when driving past an accident, because they are so incapable of not taking a quick glance at the wreckage before them? Reading Dangerous Girls left me with that vibe, where everything is slowly unraveling into chaos, you don't know why you can't look away, you just know you have to see it unfold. Every moment flipping through Dangerous Girls is a thoroughly intriguing one, and the reveal in the end is undeniably a shocker.

Anyone who has ever been in a poisonous friendship will read Dangerous Girls and wait uncomfortably as the story unfolds. On the surface, Anna and Elise are great for each other. They have fun, understand one another, and together, they are simply unstoppable and wild. But underneath, their friendship is a bit less friendly than it should be. And, after Elise is found dead, Anna becomes the number one suspect. Her other friends, and even strangers, are quick to turn on her as Anna attempts to figure out who killed her best friend, and why. As the mystery of Dangerous Girls unfolds through alternating chapters, Haas makes every moment a thrilling ride.

Highlights: Anna is a very accessible protagonist, and it's easy enough to feel sorry for her as she faces such a difficult situation. While I'm usually not a fan of past / present POV chapter switches, it worked in this novel because it allowed a complete view of who Anna and Elise are/were and how this mess came to be. The writing flows nicely, keeping me hooked for hours and hours. Someone spoiled the big twist for me online, but even despite that, Haas still kept me curious, intrigued, and addicted from start to finish. 

Lowlights: It ended? 

Rating: The Royal Library, Top Shelf: Loved, 4+ out of 5. Despite the fact that I knew the twist ending before going into this novel, I still found Dangerous Girls to be captivating from start to finish. I almost let this story pass me by, and I'm incredibly glad that I decided to check it out. This novel was exactly the thriller / mystery I needed to read, and I loved every second of it. 

Review: #SCANDAL by Sarah Ockler

Title: #scandal
Author: Sarah Ockler
Release: June 17th, 2014
Genre: YA contemporary
POV: 1st person
Pages: 368
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Format: e-ARC
Source: Edelweiss / Publisher
Rating: The Royal Library, Bottom Shelf

Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. Andespecially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.

When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.

By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation.

Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.

There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love...learn more on Goodreads. 

#scandal is an honest look at the harsh realities of cyber-bullying and the torments high school teenagers can create for one another. While this story is no Twenty Boy Summer or The Book of Broken Hearts, it is an entertaining and thoughtful story revolving around family, friends, and our society's love for putting everything on the internet. With a highly relevant subject matter, considering all of the issues and tragedies that arise from social media scandals gone awry with teenagers, Ockler's story raises some interesting questions and ideas.

But, #scandal isn't only a look into cyber-bullying, but a fresh mystery with a few fun moments. Ockler always seems to expertly mix in the humor with the serious, effectively creating a good balance between the two. While I was expecting the mystery to be my favorite aspect, I quickly found the relationship between Lucy and her sister to be the most intriguing aspect of the novel, and wish Ockler had written more about them. Friendships – good and bad, new and old – play a strong role in this story, and a few of them really shine. Regardless, #scandal is timely, amusing, mysterious, and populated with enough wonderful characters to keep readers intrigued. 

Highlights: Ockler excels in characterization, whether it's Lucy or the side characters. They feels realistic, and they're each their own distinctive person. Lucy's sister was an especially favorite character of mine, with her complicated personality. Miss Demeanor's posts were a great inclusion, whether they were stirring up drama or even lending a helping hand. The subject matter is incredibly important, and I loved how Ockler portrayed it, along with Cole's supportive role in the whole mess. 

Lowlights: I wish Cole had been more present – while he was there to help Lucy through everything, he was easy to forget when he was off-page. If you're anything like me, then the mystery is easy to solve from the very first chapter. While I enjoyed this novel, I felt like it was missing a bit of Ockler's usual spark. 

Rating: The Royal Library, Bottom Shelf (low 4 out of 5). I think #scandal is great and probably worth purchasing. If I do purchase this story, it only earns a spot on the bottom shelves of the royal library. I enjoyed #scandal enough to want to read it more than once, but I do have some very minor issues with the story that I cannot ignore.

Review: SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE by Morgan Matson

Title: Since You've Been Gone

Author: Morgan Matson

Published: May 6th, 2014

Series: N/A

Genre: YA contemporary

POV: 1st person

Pages: 449

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: printed ARC

Source: Vine program

Rating: The Royal Library, Bottom Shelf

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um...

Summer has only just begun when Emily realizes her best friend Sloane is gone. It's not unusual for Sloane to disappear, but this time things are different and Emily hasn't got a clue where she's gone or if Sloane will even be coming back. All she knows is that their epic plans for summer are over, and have been replaced by a list of things that Sloane wants Emily to do while she's away. To complete the list, Emily will have to find her courage and maybe accept a little help along the way...

I've heard quite a bit about Morgan Matson's novels, and I was pleased to find myself enjoying this story by the time I reached the conclusion. I had high expectations, and while Matson did not deliver a story as wonderful as I hoped, she did write an entertaining story filled with great, realistic characters. Once Emily begins completing the tasks and finds herself bonding more with Frank Porter and a few others, the story becomes something special. Since You've Been Gone has a slow start, but the budding friendships and romance end up making it a worthwhile read in the end.

Highlights: I highly respected Emily's willingness to put herself out there in order to complete Sloane's tasks - she pushed through the awkward moments, stepped outside of her comfort zone, had some fun, gained a new perspective, and even some new friends (which is all fantastic). The characters were wonderful (especially Frank, I quite adore him). I liked the concept too, since Sloane's list made this story into something special. As a whole, this story swept me away - fun, amusing, touching...it was everything I could hope for in a YA contemporary novel, and then some. The playlists were also fabulous, and gave me some new (and old) music to check out.

Lowlights: It took awhile to really get going. While I can relate to a wallflower of a girl, Emily's dependence on Sloane initially bothered me. I kept setting this novel aside in favor of other books, simply because I couldn't care enough to bother reading it all at once. And Sloane! I understood where she was coming from at the end, but I still disagree with the way she initially left things with Emily. The first half of the novel was a struggle, but the last half made it worthwhile. 

Rating: The Royal Library, Bottom Shelf (low 4 out of 5).