Review: The Princesses of Iowa by M. Molly Backes

From Goodreads: Paige Sheridan has the perfect life. She's pretty, rich, and popular, and her spot on the homecoming court is practically guaranteed. But when a night of partying ends in an it-could-have-been-so-much worse crash , everything changes. Her best friends start ignoring her, her boyfriend grows cold and distant, and her once-adoring younger sister now views her with contempt. The only bright spot is her creative writing class, led by a charismatic new teacher who encourages students to be true to themselves. But who is Paige, if not the homecoming princess everyone expects her to be? 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Princesses of Iowa by M. Molly Backes was a book that left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the plot wasn’t exactly what I expected, and the characters were hard to like. But on the other hand, Paige’s emotions as a teenager felt realistic.

To be honest, I thought The Princesses of Iowa would deal more directly with the consequences of the drunk driving accident that Paige and her friends were involved in. Instead, Paige’s incredibly shallow mother ships her daughter off to Paris in the middle of the night to be an au pair for the summer (so that everyone can forget that Paige was involved in a car accident), and by the time Paige returns, it’s a subject that she and her friends ignore discussing. They’d much rather think about becoming the homecoming queen – a goal they and their mothers have been working towards for a very long time.

Midway through the book, The Princesses of Iowa suddenly begins to deal with gay rights. Although Backes does manage to tie it together into the overall plot, considering that the topic of drunk driving was barely addressed, I thought it was perhaps one issue too much.

Furthermore, none of the characters were overly appealing. Paige herself isn’t exactly nice, makes dumb decisions, and isn’t there for her best friend Lacey when Lacey needs her. She also becomes jealous and suspicious that her boyfriend Jake (who has been friend with Lacey for years) is cheating on her when Lacey starts relying on Jake for a sympathetic ear.

What I really liked though about The Princesses of Iowa was that Backes shows that life is complicated. Things may not always work out the way you want, rumours can spiral out of control, and best friends can grow apart. Those are situations that we all understand and can really relate to.

The Princesses of Iowa will be released by Candlewick Press on May 8, 2012.

Comments About the Cover: It’s nothing special, but it’s clear from the cover that the book is a contemporary.

Note: One particular thing that bothered me extremely was that Paige was almost raped by Jake in The Princesses of Iowa. The book however makes it seem like a trivial event used to further the plot, especially because Paige never mentions the incident and repeatedly insists that Jake is a good guy at heart.

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (Candlewick Press) for free via NetGalley.

Mini Reviews: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe and Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald

From Goodreads: It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in. And then you're dead. 

When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island - no one can leave, and no one can come back. Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest. Because how will she go on if there isn't?

My Rating: 3.5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe is a book that imagines would happen if a relatively isolated community were to suffer an outbreak of a new and unknown virus. How would the government react? How would members of the community deal with the situation? What’s nice about the novel is that because the story is set on an island, quarantining people actually becomes a plausible solution. When that happens of course, emotions get heightened and the best and worst in people are brought out.

Although Crewe escalates the situation gradually to increase tension, I never felt a sense of urgency to turn the pages as quickly as possible. Part of this was because of the slow pacing and part of it was because the book was narrated in the form of diary entries to Leo, Kaelyn’s ex-best friend who we learn a little about but only appears right before the abrupt ending. The entries were written obviously after things already happened so it felt a little like I was reading about Kaelyn’s past. This sort of made it hard to completely connect with the characters, and made me feel as if I was watching the action from a distance.   

The Way We Fall was released by Disney-Hyperion in January 2012.

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (Disney-Hyperion) for free via NetGalley.

original image from thegate.ca

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From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Sadie is in love: epic, heartfelt, and utterly onesided. The object of her obsession - ahem, affection - is her best friend, Garrett Delaney, who has been oblivious to Sadie's feelings ever since he sauntered into her life and wowed her with his passion for Proust (not to mention his deep-blue eyes). For two long, painful years, Sadie has been Garrett's constant companion, sharing his taste in everything from tragic Russian literature to art films to '80s indie rock - all to no avail. But when Garrett leaves for a summer literary retreat, Sadie is sure that the absence will make his heart grow fonder - until he calls to say he's fallen in love. With some other girl! A heartbroken Sadie realizes that she's finally had enough. It's time for total Garrett detox! Aided by a barista job, an eclectic crew of new friends (including the hunky chef, Josh), and a customized selfhelp guide, Sadie embarks on a summer of personal reinvention full of laughter, mortifying meltdowns, and a double shot of love. 

My Rating: 3 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: When reading Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald, expect a book that’s slow and doesn’t have much romance since McDonald’s latest book is more about self-discovery as Sadie attempts to find out who she is without the influence of Garrett.  

Garrett was around a little bit in the beginning part of the novel, but because he soon leaves for camp, I didn’t get as annoyed at Sadie for obsessing over Garrett as I would have normally. I mean, she falls in love with him pretty much instantly after she spots him for the first time, and immediately thinks they’re fated to be together just because she’s sitting next to the only free table in the room. Two years later, Garrett – who didn’t really leave a good first impression on me – still has no clue his best friend is in love with him because Sadie is too chicken, I guess, to tell him that she’d like to be more than friends. Once Sadie realizes that she needs to get over Garrett though, I liked her much more. It was fun seeing her twelve steps to detoxify herself of Garrett and hang out with new people who had such different personalities and backstories from each other and him. 

Getting Over Garrett Delaney was released in January 2012 by Candlewick Press 2012.

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (Candlewick Press) for free via NetGalley.