Book Review: The Lucy Variations

Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain.

That was all before she turned fourteen.

Now, at sixteen, it's over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. That leaves her talented ten-year-old brother, Gus, to shoulder the full weight of the Beck-Moreau family expectations. Then Gus gets a new piano teacher who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy rekindle her love of piano -- on her own terms. But when you're used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself?

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr takes readers inside the exclusive world of privileged San Francisco families, top junior music competitions, and intense mentorships. The Lucy Variations is a story of one girl's struggle to reclaim her love of music and herself. It's about finding joy again, even when things don't go according to plan. Because life isn't a performance, and everyone deserves the chance to make a few mistakes along the way.

I was counting down the days until The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr hit the shelves. I'd read and loved her previous four books, so I had high expectations for this one. And she did not disappoint.

Lucy comes from a well-off family. She and her brother play the piano. And I don't mean just a few times a week, with lessons one day, and a year-end recital. It's almost their entire lives. But Lucy quits and tries to take control of her life. Her grandfather is a music lover, and her mother grew up playing. So the pressure Lucy and Gus face to not only play, but play perfectly, is high. The book picks up after some time has passed since Lucy quit, and she's considering maybe, possibly playing again.

As with the last several releases by Sara Zarr, I went into it without knowing what it was about. I find that to be a lot of fun. I didn't know what to expect except a girl named Lucy and a piano in there somewhere. Her writing is fantastic, and her story-telling really sucked me in. The Lucy Variations was very different from her previous releases. I think this is due to her growth as a writer, considering this is her fifth YA contemporary published.

Lucy's book is not my favorite of Zarr's, but it was definitely an enjoyable read. (All of her books are worth picking up. It's some of the best contemporary YA out there, in my opinion.) Beware, it will make you cry. But it will also make you laugh. I have a love/hate relationship with Lucy. Sometimes I felt like I really understood her, and sometimes I wanted to smack her. But, for me, that's the perfect kind of book. Pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

Book Review: How to Save a Life

...what it means to be a family and the many roads we can take to become one...

Jill MacSweeney just wants everything to go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. You can't lose one family member and simply replace him with a new one, and when her mom decides to adopt a baby, that's exactly what it feels like she's trying to do. And that's decidedly not normal. With her world crumbling around her, can Jill come to embrace a new member of the family?

Mandy Kalinowski knows what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, she knows she wants a better life for her baby. But can giving up a child be as easy as it seems? And will she ever be able to find someone to care for her, too?

How to Save a Life is written in first person narrative, alternating between Jill and Mandy. Jill has recently lost her father, her best friend. And she's a new person. Old Jill is nowhere to be found. She's coping in her own way, and her mother, Robin, is coping in her own way. One way her mother is coping is by taking Mandy in. Mandy is a pregnant teenager who wants to give her child up for adoption. To Robin. So after leaving her mother and Kent, Mandy travels by train to Denver to meet her baby's new family. 

Jill is against the adoption completely. She doesn't want a sister, and she doesn't want to see her mother get hurt should things not go as planned. And Jill has good reasons to not trust Mandy. She's lied about important details like the due date, and she refuses to go through legal channels. Red flag, right?

Mandy frustrated me at first. But I came to realize that it wasn't actually her. It was her mother. Someone we don't even see over the course of the story except in flashbacks and explanations for why Mandy is the way she is. (Her momma needs to be slapped hard.) And that's when I started to like Mandy. Which happened to be about the same time I started disliking Jill. I rarely see myself as characters in books. Sometimes I'll find a character I can identify with through a few commonalities. But with Jill, there were more than just a few. Even when she ticked me off and I wanted to slap her, I could see myself doing the same dumb thing, making the same mistakes. There are so many things I want to say but won't for fear of giving too much away. 

Due to many similarities between myself and Jill, and the similarities with me/my mom and Jill/her dad, it took me a bit longer to finish How to Save a Life than most novels. Sara Zarr's writing is fantastic, and I often found myself overwhelmed to the point where I had to put it down. The story was incredible and beautifully told and so realistic you feel like you're right there. If you loved Sara Zarr's other books, you'll love this one too. It might be my new favorite of hers. And any lover of contemporary YA will enjoy this one. Don't care for contemporaries? This one just might change your mind. I can't wait to see what Sara Zarr comes out with next!

Book Review: My Soul to Steal

My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent is my favorite installment in this series yet! Enter Sabine… Nash’s ex. She shows up just when Kaylee and Nash are left at a rough point after the events in My Soul to Keep. And, yes… she wants Nash back. (My personal opinion… she can have him. I much prefer Tod.)

She’s a mara, a living, breathing nightmare. She feeds on fear and gives the person nightmares. Now teachers are dying in their sleep, only days after a mara shows up. A coincidence? Kaylee thinks not.

I started reading this series after it was recommended by Melissa Marr, who blurbed the cover of the first book. And I’ve loved each book more than the previous one. I can’t wait for If I Die (book five) and Before I Wake (book six). Don’t forget to get your preorders in for those, and be sure to check out “Niederwald”, Rachel’s Soul Screamers short in Enthralled.

Synopsis:

Trying to work things out with Nash — her maybe boyfriend — is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can't just pretend nothing happened. But "complicated" doesn't even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn't just an ordinary girl. She's a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people's fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.

And Sabine isn't above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever — and whoever — she wants.

Book Review: Once Was Lost

I read Story of a Girl, Sara Zarr’s debut novel, last year. And then I read Sweethearts since I enjoyed her first novel so much. So I was very excited to get my hands on Once Was Lost. I didn’t love it as much as Story of a Girl, but enjoyed it much more than Sweethearts.

Samara (aka Sam) is the protagonist in this book. There were times when I was frustrated with her, but I remember feeling very much like her when I was a teen. I was on the verge of tears through much of the book. (Although, I have to say that, I felt like that with Sweethearts, too. I couldn’t hold back the tears with Story of a Girl.) My life was much different. However, similarities were close enough that I felt close to her.

Sam’s mom was in rehab at the start of the book after receiving a DUI. My mom got sick when I was 10 and spent much time in the hospital. Even when she was at home, often she’d be in her room, sleeping, which was what she needed, but I felt like I didn’t get to see her enough. She passed away a few years ago. Reading about how much Sam wanted her mom felt very close to home. Sam’s dad is a pastor. Everyone loves him. While my dad is atheist, he’s a very charismatic person and most everyone enjoys his company. But much like Sam’s dad, he’s different in the home than out of it. And he’s never around for his family. Another thing Sam and I had in common was the issue with faith. I was raised Christian, and I started doubting and questioning in my mid teen years. Perhaps the reasons I questioned were the same reasons she did.

I absolutely love Sara Zarr’s books and her writing style. The story feels so real that I think most everyone can relate to one aspect or another. There are funny parts, sad parts, and everywhere in between. I think she is one writer whose books will be around a long time. Like Forever… by Judy Blume. No matter how much time passes, the stories will be relatable.

Synopsis:

Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. She used to believe in a lot of things. 

When your father's a pastor, it's hard not to buy in to the idea of the perfect family, a loving God, and amazing grace. But lately, Sam has a lot of reasons to doubt. Her mother lands in rehab after a DUI and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. When a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, the local tragedy overlaps with Sam's personal one, and the already worn thread of faith holding her together begins to unravel. 

In her third novel, acclaimed author Sara Zarr examines the coexistence of affliction and hope, and what happens when everything you thought you believed--about God, your family, and yourself--is transformed.

Book Review: Sweethearts

I read STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr recently, and I loved it. So I decided to read her next book, SWEETHEARTS. I liked it a lot. I didn't like it quite as much as STORY OF A GIRL, but in my opinion they are both wonderful reads. After having read these, I have to agree with the panel of authors that said Sara Zarr books would be considered classics many years in the future. I highly recommend both of these. They are remarkably real, and I think would be touching for anyone of any age.

Synopsis:

As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also one another's only friend. So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennider thinks she's lost the only person who will ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she's popular, happy, and dating, everything "Jennifer" couldn't be -- but she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost frined.

When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

Book Review: Story of a Girl

While at the Virginia Festival of the Book, I watched a panel of YA authors. When they were asked what current books were so great, they'd eventually become classics, Laurie Halse Anderson was mentioned (who I love), as was Sara Zarr. Now, I had heard the name before, but hadn't had time to look into it. So while at Borders today, I picked up her three books. STORY OF A GIRL was her first novel and seemed more interesting to me.

And oh... my... goddess... This book was amazing. No wonder it was National Book Award Finalist. I bought the book after reading chapter one, and then I finished it a few hours later. The writing was fantastic. The story was incredible. I can't imagine being in Deanna's situation. It takes a strong will to get through it the way she did. I cried... a lot. It seems a lot of books have been causing tears lately. While I've never been in this situation, the relationship she has with her dad definitely has some similarities with mine. In that it is so bad that avoidance is usually the best we can manage.

This book is too good to be missed. If you like Laurie Halse Anderson and Elizabeth Scott, you'll love Sara Zarr's STORY OF A GIRL.

Synopsis:

When she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend - Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of "school slut," she longs to escape a life defined by her past. With subtle grace, complicated wisdom and striking emotion, THE STORY OF A GIRL reminds us of our human capacity for resilience, epiphany and redemption.