Review of "Populatti" by Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper

Populatti by Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Received as a free ARC from Netgalley.

You think Facebook has a play in today's bullying? Imagine if it was private and monitored only by teenagers.

This book is about Livi, a seemingly normal--but insecure--teenage girl who's at the top of her High School's society because she's friend's with the right people.

Jackie has a flair for writing teenagers, and while I was sitting here questioning Livi's choices and self-contradictions on every page, I could still recognize my own adolescent voice in Livi's experiences.

Livi is on the Honor Council at her school, meaning she helps decide if students are suspended or not. It's only briefly explained in the book, but it helps paint the picture of the Main Character. She's a good student, basically.

However, when the adults aren't looking (Not that her doctor parents are much present in the book) she uses her time on the social networking "Populatti". Livi's friend Crystal is a child-genius, and in order to ace her way into a good college, she created this secret network. Completely without adult supervision or moderating.

When Livi's place on this exclusive, invite-only social network is threatened, she has to figure out where the truth ends and the lies begin. She's fed information from her best friend's but over time, she realize that her so-called friends may not be as great as she'd hoped.

What I liked: There was a lot of great teen-angst coming from Livi. That's not always easy to pull off. And I especially liked how naturally the author portrayed Livi's thoughts.


What I didn't like: Unfortunately, there's a few things I absolutely didn't like.

1. I know my version was an ARC, but I sincerely hope the publisher/Author has looked through for formatting mistakes. There was quite a few, along with jumbled sentences switching place. The start of every chapter, didn't really work on kindle on my phone, and it was only a tad better on my tablet.

2. It dragged on. And not in an entertaining way. The middle was too... bland. And my interest faded after the first 30% and didn't pick up until after 60%. The rest of it, however was intriguing, though.

3. I'm a bit sad it ended when it did. After taking a long break from the book, I was just getting into it again, and was looking forward to seeing the aftermath of Livi's choices. However, this opens up a possibility for a sequel, and I guess that's also good.

Conclusion:

All in all. It's an okay book. It tackles issues with online-bullying, and I would certainly give this to my sister to read once she starts going online.

I think my issues with the book has more to do with formatting, and my age than the content of the book, because it's a light read that leaves you thinking.

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Review of "Flirting Games" by Stella Wilkinson

The Flirting Games by Stella Wilkinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was actually quite excited to read this. Both because of the title, the blurb and the fun-looking cover.

Are you tired of having the hot-heartbreaker-guy sifting through your friends? Let him fall for you! It's sure to end well...

Ellie is this book-typical character that's fun, exciting, has any guy to choose from, and is protected by her big brother's reputation.

I liked her. For the most of the book, and while I could add in my own reasoning as to why she chooses to act the way she does, then I found that it would have been more enjoyable if I hadn't needed to.

Nate is the boarding school's resident bad-boy, and he's good at the love 'em and leave 'em approach.

Together, they make up a somewhat sweet duo. I particularly enjoyed their study-sessions.

What I didn't enjoy was the many shifting point of views. I mean, I get that Nate and Ellie was useful for the book, but to have her big brother--who wasn't even in the book, but only mentioned--to appear as a main character annoyed me. Especially since the book was so short.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants a light-fun read.

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Review of "Arousing Love" by M.H. Strom

Arousing Love: A Teen Novel by M.H. Strom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book.

Despite the notion that an 18-year-old boy pursues a 15-year-old girl is somewhat frowned upon, the author made it work.

The story centers around Zach, who falls in love with a girl over the summer. She's staying at a camping site with her religious family and they develop a sweet little summer romance. As often happens with teenagers, they do of course test boundaries and while some parents will frown upon the content, I very much appreciated the way it was portrayed.

One of the issues I often have with reading books involving religion is that it almost always come off as preaching to me. This wasn't the case with "Arousing Love". Sure, we did feel the scolding from Joanna's father as he explained his view, but at the same time we also experience how they're willing to give the boy a chance.

I didn't feel like the book was trying to teach me about religion, because if I wanted that, I'd have read something else. But instead, I saw the religious topics as simply being part of the character. As someone who grew up around Jehovah's Witnesses, I could recognize the fact that being religious didn't mean being fanatic.

However, the reason this book didn't get five stars was largely due to the ending. I did wish for them to get a happily ever after, but in a way, I just couldn't feel as connected to the ending as I did with the rest of the book.

I would recommend this as an easy vacation-read about young love.

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Review of "Summer Unplugged" by Amy Sparling

Summer Unplugged by Amy Sparling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Short, cute and light-read. 3,5 stars.

Warning: May contain spoilers.

Bayleigh is a typical teenager. Well, at least in the sense that she can't live without technology. So when her mother finds out that she's been sending topless pictures of herself to a boy, she's sent to a farm. No phone, no laptop, no social life.

Except for the boy next door, who ruins the fields and is a nuisance to her grandparents.

In a way, I can understand that Bayleigh needs someone to connect to, and while Jace sounds like the typical bad-boy, he's certainly not the worst to be around. However, it just went by too fast.

I realize that it's a Novella, but even then, there was plenty of opportunities to remove some of her whining, to get a better flow between characters.

It's a nice little fun story. But it didn't blow my mind, or make me want to buy the sequel.

Would recommend as a summer-read about teenage-rebellion and consequences.

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