Here are two of my favorite contemporary reads last year; although they aren’t as affecting as the epic reads about love and death and other ‘deep’ issues, they had a lot more of an impact than their bubbly premises might suggest.
The sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Ginny is currently stuck in that in-between stage between college essay writing and the rest of her life, and when the opportunity arises to track down that last envelope from her late Aunt Peg, she embarks on another unexpected, hilarious, and heartfelt journey across Europe.
I never thought I’d see a sequel for one of my favorite roadtrip-plots ever, but this one had almost the same amount of charm as the first. It seemed like an interesting choice to show that her first love interest is a bit of a jerk but I managed to like all the characters all the same– although I have to say that Oliver was one of the most endearingly strange people I’ve ever read about.
The plot isn’t as fresh and exciting the second time around, and although it really bothered me at first, I kind of like the idea of mystery surrounding the last envelope. Still, THE LAST LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPE had a few scenes that were too good to pass up.
Score: 3.1 out of 5
Hardcover, 282 pages
Published April 26th 2011 by HarperTeen
Three sisters who never get along discover that they have supernatural powers; April, the eldest (and the sensible one) can see the future, May (the rebel) can disappear, and June (the youngest) can read minds. Although they can be pretty handy at times, their powers start to cause more trouble while the three are still recovering from their parents’ messy divorce.
This was the first book that I read about in the blogosphere (ah the memories :p). It looks like a cute, fun read about sisterhood and some completely unexplainable superpowers– but it’s surprisingly more multi-dimensional, and the three sisters have distinguishable yet flawed and believable personalities. Their interactions with each other are very grounded and somehow the somewhat crazy premise isn’t that jarring. Benway uses each of the girls’ powers in clever ways, and the romance is cute and not as cookie-cutter predictable as I expected. This is the kind of book with truly impressive character development– and balancing it between several very different people, while providing some relatable problems and nail-biting tension in the last act– makes this a highly recommended read.
Score: 3.9 out of 5
Hardcover, 282 pages
Published August 3rd 2010 by Razorbill
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4 comments
February 26, 2012 at 7:03 am
Robin Benway's first book – Audrey, Wait! – was the first book I heard about when I started blogging! Isn't it funny how clearly that still stands out? I liked April, May, and June even better than Audrey :)
February 26, 2012 at 11:49 am
'The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June' is sooo AMAZING! It made me laugh out loud!
February 26, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Oh, I adored The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and Jane, though I shied away from Robin Benway's first one, he. I loved April and May — June was a little too whiny for my taste — and their boys, too, they were perfect for the gals. <3 And how it all came down to sisterhood in the end… perfect.
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