And I'm a little bit scared tonight, I need to run just far enough, so I can smile again, smile again, so I can smile again

The Steep & Thorny Way
Author: Cat Winters
Publication Date: March 8th 2016
Publisher: Amulet Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.

The Steep and Thorny Way is exactly what I've come to expect from Cat Winters, if you've read and loved one of her books, you'll know you get rich, authentic setting, it's history well researched and a book full of meaning, and The Steep and Thorny Way is no different.

 The Steep and Thorny Way's stories are important to be told, from Hanalee and her parents, to Joe and a small town taken over by the KKK and the way minorities and people of a different religion, and people who 'don't quite fit in' were treated. And it's brutal and horrific and I'm sure, since it's YA, that it's less violent than it would've been, but it still has its impact, because it's hard to read it when you want to hurt characters every few pages, and believe me, you'll want to hurt certain characters every few pages.

However, the mystery surrounding Hanalee father’s death left me bored, even with the ghostly paranormal twist Cat Winters has, because it's more of a slow going plot, but it definitely went a different way than I was expecting it to, but it also went an important way that showed the way minorities were faced.

Setting aside the violence, there's also the fact that minorities had no rights or control over their own lives. No rights over who you can date and marry, if you can have children. 

The Steep and Thorny Way shows you how far we've come since the 1920's, but it also shows how we haven't come far enough.

Rating: 4/5

                                

 

And about this time of every year, the line will go to the ocean pier, and walk right off into the sea, and then we fall asleep.

Salt to the Sea
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publication Date: February 4th 2016
Publisher: Puffin
~An (unsolicited) copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept.

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.

Salt to the Sea is the kind of book that sneaks up on you. Going in, I honestly don't know what I was expecting, as it says in the back, the story, the ship, is not a tragedy a lot of people know, I sure didn't. It may have taken me a while to get into Salt to the Sea, but once I did, and the inevitable happened, it snuck up on me how much I actually cared about the story, the characters, what it represents and what happened.

 I think the reason why it took me so long to get into Salt to the Sea is because of the perspectives, and how short the chapters are, we just start getting to know a character before it switches again in between, Joana, a Lithuanian, Florian, the Prussian, Emilia, the Polish, and Alfred, the German sociopath that reinforces Hitler’s ideology. But what I did love about the chapters, was how it held the suspense, we slowly get threads of their lives and secrets until they're sewn together. 

The characters, eventually (minus the sociopath) get easier to connect to, to feel for the characters and real lives that are lost to the sea in a bigger tragedy than Titanic, and honestly, I didn't know how invested I was until the end.

Salt to the Sea is a mixture of desperation and fear, a desperation and fear that nobody should have to go through or witness.

Rating: 4/5

                                

 

She should keep in mind, she should keep in mind, there is nothing I do better than revenge.

The Revenge Artist
Author: Philip Siegel
Publcation Date: November 18th 2015
Published by: Philip Siegel
~A copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review~

They say money can't buy you love. Becca Williamson begs to differ.

Once upon a time, Becca was the Break-Up Artist, tearing apart unhealthy relationships at her school for just $100 via PayPal. But after a job went really wrong, she went legit for love and now brings couples together. Crushing on that supercute guy in Chemistry but too shy to say hi? Becca has the right formula. Pining for that artsy girl who vowed never to date a jock? Becca will ensure love conquers all. She's even engineered a relationship of her own: the funny, sweet and unbelievably cute Fred Teplitzky, the one guy who knows exactly what to say to make our unflappable heroine&amp...well, flappable.

But before she can pick out a graduation robe and enjoy her last months at Ashland High, Becca has to deal with a new Break-Up Artist on the block. And this master manipulator is dead set on one thing: revenge. Someone is going around destroying all of the couples she's worked hard to unite. Now Becca has to outwit and outscheme her new foe in a dirty cat-and-mouse chase filled with hacked emails, video surveillance, reputation ruining and a few candy hearts. Especially when she realizes that the Revenge Artist's number one target is her and Fred.

Looks like there are no such things as clean breaks.

I really enjoyed The Break-Up artist last year, it was a fun quick read full of personality and drama. Although my main problem with it was the high schools weird obsession of having a boyfriend, which was everything and you were obviously a poor suffering alien if you weren't a couple. Thankfully, that wasn't an issue here, considering Becca is no longer The Break-Up Artist, and more of a matchmaker, but it seemed like everyone learned a lesson and weren't so obnoxious. 

  

So, Becca's now a relationship engineer, for the same price via PayPal, she now brings people together, and with her also having a boyfriend now, she's a little less cynical (but she's always going to be cynical). Enter...The Revenge Artist, who, well, wants revenge by attacking the very couples Becca brings together, and her own relationship with Fred.

Of course there is still drama.

I think, the thing about Becca is, she's stubborn, and I mean stubborn to the point that it works very easily against her, especially with The Revenge Artist, who coincidently, does very little compared to what Becca did to break up couples. But she's realistic in that way, we don't want or like it when people get the best of you, when someone's playing your game, you want to win. Becca goes through a lot of growth, and although she does cause most of the things that happens, it also shows her what she really wants. She's uncertain about what she wants in her future, and who she wants with her. It's something you can relate to.

I did figure out who The Revenge Artist is, after all, keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer. Overall, The Revenge Artist is a great follow up to The Break-Up Artist, but if you weren't so fussed on The Break-Up Artist, the follow up might be more to your liking, because it also has a tooth achingly adorable epilogue, and for once I'm not being sarcastic.

                                                                           Rating: 4/5