Mini Review #3 - YA/NA Contemporaries

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be doing some short and sweet reviews on some contemporaries. I've been feeling the contemporary kick recently, and it is probably all because I finished school this Monday!! I'm so excited for the summer and what better way to kick it off then reading some contemporary books?

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

I didn't really know what to expect picking this book up. I ordered it a while back through Book Outlet, and I just randomly picked it up Saturday morning. The Vincent Boys is my first Abbi Glines book and though I didn't love it, it was a quick and fun read. My main issue was with the characters. Their actions were pretty selfish at times and I don't think that something like this would actually happen. I'm interested to see how I will like Glines' other books. 3.25 Stars!

The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Once again, I picked this up on a whim. I was tired of writing essay for my AP US History class, and decided to take a break. The Summer After You and Me was on my local overdrive app, and I downloaded it and just read. What the novel lacked in characters it made up for with the plot. I really liked how Hurricane Sandy was such a big part of the book. Though it is set a year after the hurricane, I appreciated how it showed that it still impacts people today. This YA contemporary was just a lot of fun to read and I'm glad I picked it up. 3.5 Stars!

In The Hope of Memories by Olivia Rivers

*I want to thank NetGalley and Red Sparrow Press for providing this book to me for an honest review!* This novel is a darker than the others by a long shot. It's not a depressing novel, but the plot is about a scavenger hunt four messed up teens go on after their mutual friend passes away. Each of these main characters have severe issues, and therein lies my issue. It's not that I dislike diversity, it's quite the opposite. But I wasn't able to connect to any of the characters because I had nothing in common with any of them. The novel also didn't capture my interest until about 40 percent of the way through. Nevertheless, I commend Olivia Rivers for not only having such a diverse cast of characters, but handling hard topics like OCD and grief really well. The last 25% of the book was amazing and I am looking forward to reading more of  Rivers' novels. 3.25 Stars!


Some other contemporaries that I have recently read and recommend are The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle, The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, and One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank! 

Thanks guys for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!