Mini Reviews: 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody and Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

From Goodreads: Lexington Larrabee has never to work a day in her life. After all, she’s the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire. And heiresses are not supposed to work. But then again, they’re not supposed to crash brand new Mercedes convertibles into convenience stores on Sunset Blvd either. Which is why, on Lexi’s eighteen birthday, her ever-absent, tycoon father decides to take a more proactive approach to her wayward life. Every week for the next year, she will have to take on a different low-wage job if she ever wants to receive her beloved trust fund. But if there’s anything worse than working as a maid, a dishwasher, and a fast-food restaurant employee, it’s dealing with Luke, the arrogant, albeit moderately attractive, college intern her father has assigned to keep tabs on her. In a hilarious “comedy of heiress” about family, forgiveness, good intentions, and best of all, second chances, Lexi learns that love can be unconditional, money can be immaterial, and, regardless of age, everyone needs a little saving. And although she might have 52 reasons to hate her father, she only needs one reason to love him.

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although the plot of 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody is pretty generic in that it’s about a spoiled heiress who learns to appreciate what she has, I still found it an entertaining read. I think a huge part of that was because of Lexi. She’s this completely bratty teen in the beginning of the book, yet still somehow manages to be hilarious. It was easy to not only laugh with her, but also at her. Once Lexi started to mature, it became much easier to like her. I did think that her change in perspective was kind of quick though. Still, I’d have to say that 52 Reasons to Hate My Father is probably the best out of the three books written by Brody that I’ve read so far. 

52 Reasons to Hate My Father was released in July 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

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From Goodreads: Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy. Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side. As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: As much as I love books about angels, most of the ones that I’ve read haven’t been particularly outstanding. But, one series about angels that has been recommended many times is the Unearthly trilogy by Cynthia Hand. I finally decided to give the first book, Unearthly, a try and wasn't disappointed.

Early on, I figured that Unearthly would be another typical paranormal YA novel because it seemed like Clara would eventually hook up with Christian, the boy of her dreams. However, Hand did a great job of deviating from that norm. And while doing so, she managed to create complex characters and realistic relationships, and explore the theme of fate vs. free will without making it appear heavy-handed. 

Unearthly was released HarperTeen in January 2011.