Book Review: "The Here and Now" by Ann Brashares

I chose to read The Here and Now (Random House Children's) by Ann Brashares simply because she wrote the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series and I LOVED those books.  Now don't expect the same, the premise of these novels are VERY  different.  The Here and Now is a futuristic novel that takes place presently?  I know a little confusing.  The premise is a group of people from the future, time travel back to the present to save themselves, and hopefully the future as well.  I had never read a book like this, but decided to give it a chance, because like I said SISTERHOOD!  I had read  some reviews on this before I started reading, which gave me some trepidation.  There were some REALLY bad ones.  And I don't understand, because although this is really meant for teenagers, I kind of enjoyed it.  I wanted to find out what happened!  Brashares idea (I think) was to write a novel of warning about what we are doing to the Earth and the consequences it means for the future.  A warning to change that while we still can.  Not quite sure she accomplished that (maybe she did, because I did get it). While I wouldn't recommend this to EVERYONE there are some specific people I know that would eat it up and I will tell them to read it.  Not necessarily for lovers of The Traveling Pants but definitely for teenage girls who are sort of into dystopian novels right now.

Publication date: April 8, 2014

This book was provided for review by NetGalley

Book Review: "The Tyrant's Daughter" by J.C. Carleson

Photo Credt: NetGalley

I was offered the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of The Tyrant's Daughter (Random House Children's), by J.C. Carleson, which when the story looks interesting is honestly a hard offer to turn down. This story is that of a middle eastern, royal, teenager girl that was forced to leave her war torn country for America.  Although she speaks perfect English she has to learn to translate something even more difficult, an entirely knew way of life and culture, particularly high school.  The most interesting aspect of this book, in my opinion, is how the cultures are viewed differently in each place...meaning lead character Laila views her formal life differently in America than she did back home.  Interesting as well to see how American culture looks different through the eyes of a foreigner.  The events that drove Laila to America may hit close to home, as they are happenings that you may often read about in the news.  This makes the novel extremely relevant.  I would recommend for HIGH SCHOOL aged teenagers to read it.  Some content may be too mature for young teenage readers.  Due to the cultural nature of this book it would be highly educational to read.  It's a quick, interesting read that will take you suspensefully from cover to cover. I would also recommend this to teenagers who may not like to read, the sections are broken down into small parts, so it would not be overwhelming for them.  Overall I really enjoyed learning about a different culture through American comparisons. 

Published: February 11, 2014

This book was provided for review by NetGalley