Karma- Cathy Ostlere

Title: Karma
Author: Cathy Ostlere
Source: Bought used
Series: No
Rating: 4/5














On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi is gunned down by two Sikh bodyguards. The murder sparks riots in Delhi and for three days Sikh families are targeted and killed in retribution for the Prime Minister’s death. It is into this chaos that sixteen-year-old Maya and her Sikh father, Amar, arrive from their home in Canada. India’s political instability is the backdrop and catalyst for Maya’s awakening to the world.

This is a book written in verse about a sixteen year old girl named Maya who is brought to India by her father Amar who was unaware of the pending instability when they left there home in Canada. 

I have not read many books about Indian history so this was a new topic for me. It takes place in India in 1984. Maya and her father come from there home in Canada to New Delhi after the death of her mother. Her father, Amar is a Sikh who has to cut off his hair and beard when he gets to India in order to survive. During the political uproar Maya and her father become separated. Maya is taken in by a doctor's family while they search for her family.

Sandeep is told he is in charge of watching Maya. He starts talking to her through a journal and tries to find out where she is from and how they can get her back to he family. As Maya and Sandeep become close, information from Sandeep's past comes to light and Sandeep has to deal with the turmoil it brings with it.

The plot follows the life of both Maya and Sandeep and switches between there points of view.  I really liked the historical aspect of this novel and learning about Sandeep's past and how he came to lives with Parvrati's family.

I look forward to more books by this author.  

Ballads of Suburbia- Stephanie Kuehnert

Title: Ballads of Suburbia
Author: Stephanie Kuehnert
Source: Bought new
Series: No
Rating: 5/5













Ballads are the kind of songs that Kara McNaughton likes best. Not the clichÉd ones where a diva hits her dramatic high note or a rock band tones it down a couple of notches for the ladies, but the true ballads: the punk rocker or the country crooner reminding their listeners of the numerous ways to screw things up. In high school, Kara helped maintain the "Stories of Suburbia" notebook, which contained newspaper articles about bizarre, tragic events from suburbs all over America, and personal vignettes that Kara dubbed "ballads" written by her friends in Oak Park, just outside of Chicago. But Kara never wrote her own ballad. Before she could figure out what her song was about, she left town suddenly at the end of her junior year. Now, four years later, Kara returns to her hometown to face the music, needing to revisit the disastrous events that led to her leaving, in order to move on with her life.

Holy mother of all that is holy how do I even start to explain this book? I really do not know. To start I hope you have an easier time of tracking down a copy of this. This was another book my library did not carry and none of the local book stores had it either. I even check in Toronto when I was there for a book signing and there was only one copy at one Chapters in all of Toronto while I was there and of course it was far away from where I was. I finally ordered it and I have no idea which Chapters it came from.

Kara's story starts with her overdosing in the park. She leaves her hometown and comes back four years later. She sees her friends that she has left behind and the story of how she ended up in the park all alone starts to unwind.

All of the characters were complex and dark. There was secrets hidden in all of them, the characters you thought were the bad guys had a good side and the good ones were not as good as they first appeared. This book is very dark and honest. This is not a book I would recommend for the younger YA crowd.

The plot was crazy good. I thought when I read the synopsis that I got the gist of the story but I was completely wrong. Kuehnert throws all these amazing twists and turns in the plot that made me begging for more.  Kara's past rears it's ugly head when she is back visiting and she needs to fight to stay in control and not allow her past to swallow her whole.

This is a new favourite for me. It was so amazing and I cannot recommend it enough. I have already leant my copy out so that more people can discover how amazing this book is. I feel like it did not get as much credit as it should have.

Stacking the Shelves (51)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I got a lot of books this week. The Chapter's bargain section was full of so many awesome books this week so I stocked up. I also lucked out at the used book store and the library.

I read a lot more this week and I am going to continue trying to get caught up on my reading after this post.

Bought New

Ruby Red- Kerstin Gier
The Eternal Ones- Kristen Miller
The Peach Keeper

Bought Used

The Kitchen House- Kathleen Grisson
One Day- David Nicholls

 

 

Borrowed from the Library

Burning Blue- Paul Griffin
A Midsummer's Nightmare- Kody Keplinger

What did you get in your mailbox? Leave a comment below.

Guys Read: Funny Business- Jon Scieszka

Title: Guys Read: Funny Bussiness
Author: Jon Scieszka
Source: SYNC Audio
Series: Yes
Rating: 4/5















It’s here: Volume One of the official Guys Read Library. Jon Scieszka’s Guys Read initiative was founded on a simple premise: that young guys enjoy reading most when they have reading they can enjoy. And out of this comes a series that aims to give them just that. Ten books, arranged by theme, featuring the best of the best where writing for kids is concerned. Each book is a collection of original short stories, but these aren’t your typical anthologies—each book is edgy, inventive, visual, and one-of-a-kind, featuring a different theme for guys to get excited about.

Funny Business is based around the theme of—what else?—humor, and if you’re familiar with Jon and Guys Read, you already know what you’re in store for: ten hilarious stories from some of the funniest writers around. Before you’re through, you’ll meet a teenage mummy; a kid desperate to take a dip in the world’s largest pool of chocolate milk; a homicidal turkey; parents who hand over their son’s room to a biker; the only kid in his middle school who hasn’t turned into a vampire, wizard, or superhero; and more. And the contributor list includes bestselling authors, award winners, and fresh new talent alike: Mac Barnett, Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paul Curtis, Kate DiCamillo (writing with Jon Scieszka), Paul Feig, Jack Gantos, Jeff Kinney, David Lubar, Adam Rex, and David Yoo.

Guys Read is all about turning young readers into lifelong ones—and with this book, and each subsequent installment in the series, we aim to leave no guy unturned.

Laugh out loud hilarious. I was almost crying at times. There was so many good stories, there were some that were better than others. I think my favourite had  to be the one with the  nipples or possibly the bloody souvenir no maybe the letter to the author.  

I downloaded this for free during the SYNC summer reads. There was two new books available for download, this is probably one of my favourites from that list.

The only real thing I can say about this is you need to read it or listen to it. Personally I think the audio version was the way to go. I don't think I would have gotten as much out of it if I had read it.

Bitter End- Jennifer Brown

Title: Bitter End
Author: Jennifer Brown
Source: Bought new
Series No
Rating: 4/5













When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole -- a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her -- she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate . . . someone who truly loves and understands her.

At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her close friend Zack, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all her time with another boy? As the months pass, though, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats.

As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose -- between her "true love" and herself.

Jennifer Brown has written another amazing book. The first  book I read from her was Hate List which I managed to read in two sittings. I finished this book in an afternoon. It does take a little time to get into but once you get into it there is no way to put it down.

Alex is struggling to come to terms with her mothers death. She died when Alex was really young and she does not remember anything about her. Her father will not say much about her and her two sisters do not seem to understand why Alex obsesses about her mothers death. Alex's two best friends, Zach and Bethany have been planning a trip to Colorado with Alex since they were kids, Alex wants to get some closure. Cole moves to town and starts going to there high school and shows an interest in Alex. Soon they start dating and Alex is happy she has found someone who will not leave her but then Cole starts acting crazy and separates her from her to best friends and she has to decide between her friends and her relationship with Cole.

This portrays an abusive relationship and how hard it is to get out of it. I felt for Alex but I still in the back of my mind though there was more she could do for herself. She seemed to acknowledge what was happening but she had a hard time making herself realize that even if she did everything right Cole would still lose his temper and take it out on her. 

Alex's best friends were awesome. They are the people you always want on your side, Bethany is super sweet while Zach is more outgoing and always makes them laugh. They do everything they can to help Alex. I loved this story, I did get frustrated with Alex, with how she treated her friends and family. I felt like she placed a lot of the blame on them instead of blaming Cole like she should have been. 

This book is amazing, I want to read it over and over again. I cannot wait to read another book by Jennifer Brown.