These were both four star reads to me, and I hope you do decide to pick them up.
Author: Shari Goldhagen
Publication Date: May 17th 2016
Publisher: Antheneum Books for Young Readers
Part of a Series?: Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: NetGalley
Buy Links:
Blurb Description: Get well soon isn’t going to cut it in this quirky and poignant debut novel about a girl, her depression, an aggressive amount of baked goods, and the struggle to simply stay afloat in an unpredictable, bittersweet life.
There are only three things that can get seventeen-year-old Molly Byrne out of bed these days: her job at FishTopia, the promise of endless episodes of Golden Girls, and some delicious lo mien. You see, for the past two years, Molly’s been struggling with something more than your usual teenage angst. Her shrink, Dr. Brooks isn’t helping much, and neither is her mom who is convinced that baking the perfect cake will cure Molly of her depression—as if cake can magically make her rejoin the swim team, get along with her promiscuous sister, or care about the SATs.
Um, no. Never going to happen.
But Molly plays along, stomaching her mother’s failed culinary experiments, because, whatever—as long as it makes someone happy, right? Besides, as far as Molly’s concerned, hanging out with Alex at the rundown exotic fish store makes life tolerable enough. Even if he does ask her out every…single…day. But—sarcastic drum roll, please—nothing can stay the same forever. When Molly finds out FishTopia is turning into a bleak country diner, her whole life seems to fall apart at once. Soon she has to figure out what—if anything—is worth fighting for.
First, I’d like to squeal over the fact that this title has the word CAKE in it. *half an hour passes*
Second, I’d like to tell you that just THINKING about all of these amazing cakes gave me foodgasms. Mocha Madness? Red Velvet? WHAT IS THIS, TORTURE?
*runs to the cake store*
*settles in to eat cake and write review*
*finishes cake and has not written review*
*whoops*
Cake orgasms aside, though, I LOVED every minute of 100 Days of Cake. It was flawed, there were certainly things that could have been handled better but it was still a lovely book. The beginning was a bit strange, though, as I got to know Molly and everybody around her, but things started flowing better after that.
Let’s get to it though, the things I liked:
1. THE CAKES
2. Alex
3. Molly’s FABULOUS mother
4. Elle
5. FishTopia
6. Peaches
7. THE CAKES. GIMME.
The things I didn’t like:
1. I’m no expert on mental health, being seventeen and all, but I have read a few books about depression. I know what it’s supposed to be portrayed as, but not what it feels like personally, so maybe I’m not 100% accurate with this:
Whatever said and done, you don’t just feel ‘free’ after one session with a new therapist, right? I’m under the impression that depression consists of good days and bad days and so on. Which was PERFECTLY done throughout the book, until the end, where everything MAGICALLY turned bright and sunshine-y AFTER she found out her father had committed suicide.I guess I would have just liked the ending to have been a little more in theme with where 95% of the book was, and not oh-everything-is-all-right-again. Realism, people. That's what we need.
2. Slut-Shaming. I understand liking a boy, I DO. But that’s not an excuse to even think things like that about your sister. I even know that there were SO many attempts as saying “I’m not one to slut-shame, but…” and yet saying those words doesn’t make it any less slut shaming, right? It’s like saying “No Offense, but…” IT’S OFFENSIVE.
3. Molly’s therapist. GHASTLY. Make some boundaries, you Ivy League educated swine. Oh, also, YOUR DEPRESSED SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD PATIENT IS NOT ASKING FOR IT. I know I know that it was a part of the storyline, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
That’s about it though. I really liked the book, I REALLY DID. I ADORED THE CAKES, and all my issues with it? Well, they constituted barely 3% of the book, but it still bothered me and so I needed to mention it.
All in all, this is a book I would definitely recommend! CAKE! YAY
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Title: Surviving High School
Author: Lele Pons and Melissa DeLa Cruz
Publication Date: April 5th 2016
Publisher: Gallery Books
Part of a Series?: Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: NetGalley
Buy Links:
Blurb Description: Vine superstar Lele Pons—“one of the coolest girls on the web” (Teen Vogue)—teams up with #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz (The Isle of the Lost) in this lovable debut novel about the wilds and wonders of high school that’s as laugh-out-loud addictive as Lele’s popular videos.
Ten million followers and I still sit alone at lunch. Lele is a bulls-eye target at her new school in Miami until, overnight, her digital fame catapults the girl with cheerleader looks, a seriously silly personality, and a self-deprecating funny bone into the popular crowd. Now she’s facing a whole new set of challenges—the relentless drama, the ruthless cliques, the unexpected internet celebrity—all while trying to keep her grades up and make her parents proud.Filled with the zany enthusiasm that has made Lele into Vine’s most viewed star, this charming novel is proof that high school is a trip. From crushing your crushes (what’s up with that hot transfer student Alexei??) to throwing Insta-fake parties with your BFFs and moaning over homework (GAH) with your frenemies, high school is a rollercoaster of exhilarating highs and totally embarrassing lows. Leave it to Lele to reassure us that falling flat on your face is definitely not the end of the world. Fans of Mean Girls will love this fun and heartwarming fish-out-of-water story.
I received an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my ownTo be honest, I hadn’t heard of Lele Pons before reading Surviving High School. To be honest, I was probably living under a rock. Maybe I still am.
If you’re like me (HELLO ROCK BUDDY) and don’t know who she is, Lele is an internet personality with over 10 MILLION followers due to her six second Vine Videos. Surviving High School is based on her rise to fame in her junior year of high school, and it is HILARIOUS.
#WhereAreMy10MillFollowers?
To make this a better review, I decided to watch a couple of Lele Vines before writing this. Um. So. My thought? WHAT IS SIX SECONDS? JUST, HOW?
It took you all of six seconds to READ that sentence above, so how do you make a FUNNY video that gains a BILLION views on that? #Impressive
Anyway, while I have officially decreed that Vine isn’t my thing, I might have mentioned before how WEIRD PEOPLE TOTALLY ARE! I’m a weirdo, I embrace it. I love correcting people’s English, concocting elaborate murder plots, pretending I’m in a fictional world while the teacher drones on about Calculus. I also, um, cannot walk straight without tripping (AKA – GRAVITY CHECKS), threw my iPod in the washing machine and once almost lost my contact lens in my eye.
So. ANYHOO. Enough about me and back to Lele Pons – High School Star and not High School Girl Who Fell Down The Stairs At A Movie.
I LOVED THIS GIRL. I ALSO ENVIED HER. Then again, don’t you? With her $10,000 earnings to put in an appearance at a party, Coachella invites and other things that come with being famous.
I loved how she was so, no matter what was happening, herself. Unapologetically, brilliantly, honestly herself. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IS? There’s all the societal pressure and peer pressure and internal pressure to just be ‘normal’ and she EMBRACED weirdness.
I loved reading about her rise to fame, and how it is hard, and about her wacky friends and just the general crazy tone of this book.
POINTS FOR: Lele, WEIRDNESS, Alexei, those epic parents, wacky chapter names wacky fast paced book.
POINTS AGAINST: Um. I’m left with a WHAT DID I GET FROM THIS FEELING? I mean,
I have certainly not figured out ‘How To Survive High School.’ Except to get 10,000,000 followers. Um.
Do you know who Lele Pons is? Am I the only person living under a rock?
What's your favorite cake flavour? CAKE IS AWESOME, RIGHT?
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