Teen Review: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

How to Love

by: Katie Cotugno

 

 

Summary

Before:

Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists . . . until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated-and pregnant-Reena behind.

After:

Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to life without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love-twice.

 

Quick Review

Have you ever enjoyed a vanilla cupcake? It wasn’t chocolate, it wasn’t frosted, and it wasn’t covered in sprinkles, but it was still so delicious because of its simplicity. How to Love by Katie Cotugno is that vanilla cupcake. It was a simple sweet and realistic novel about the happy moments and struggles of a teenage couple. It describes the journey of the female protagonist, Serena, when she first meets the love of her life Sawyer LeGrande, and then when she encounters him again after he disappeared mysteriously 2 years ago. Sawyer had unknowingly left Serena when she was pregnant with their daughter Hannah, and now he returns a changed man. Will Serena be able to forgive him? Will Serena drop everything she has built over the last 2 years to be with Sawyer again? I would personally give this story a 7 out of 10.

Long Review

The most unique feature of this book has to be how it is structured. The book is divided into two stories, the story of the first time Serena met Sawyer and the story of the second time Serena met Sawyer. The two stories are told in alternating chapters, which makes it easier for the reader to compare the difference the two years had on Sawyer and Serena’s personality. However, because the stories share so many similar attributes, the two stories sometimes start blending in your head. For instance, in one of the chapters she is at Sawyer’s house and he is buying oxycotin from a friend (1^st time she fell in love with Sawyer), then suddenly Sawyer and Serena start talking about Aaron, Serena’s new boyfriend after Sawyer left her. Without rereading and realizing that you already entered a new chapter, the stories get quite confusing. If the author made chapters longer than 3 pages this story of storytelling would have been more effective.

The story takes place in warm Florida which is not highlighted in the book. The book overlooks the need to describe the setting and other inanimate objects. The focus is placed primarily on character behavior and character dynamics. The author, Katie Cotugno, wants all the readers’ attention on how each character felt and why that led to the decisions they made. As a result it is difficult to picture the story happening, but it is really easy to feel the story happening.

My favourite part of the entire story is how realistic it is, the female protagonist isn’t perfect and she is frequently on an emotional rollercoaster. But, most importantly, the male protagonist, is prince anti-charming and he is real. He isn’t terribly smooth, he does drugs, he has problems, and he isn’t obnoxiously wealthy. Sawyer isn’t just about having fun and partying. He knows when he is required to step up and take responsibility.

I really enjoyed this book, but it wouldn’t be one I would read again. The book felt very still to me.*Spoiler Alert* If you are a sucker for cute endings. You would love how this book ends.

Review by: Betty

Teen Review: Rush by Eve Silver

 

"Rush"

Author: Eve Silver

Publisher: Harpercollins

Published: June 2013

Available at the library: On order

*Aliens, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Synopsis:

So what's the game now?
This, or the life I used to know?
 
Miki Jones's carefully controlled life spirals into chaos after she's run down in the street, left broken and bloody. She wakes up fully healed in a place called the lobby-pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game in which she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures.
 
There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Every moment of the game is kill or be killed, and Miki has only the questionable guidance of Jackson Tate, the team's alluring and secretive leader. He evades her questions, holds himself aloof from the others, and claims it's every player for himself. But when he puts himself at risk to watch Miki's back, he leaves her both frustrated and fascinated. Jackson says the game isn't really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival. And the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn't. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

My Review:

 

The book I have recently read and reviewed was Rush by Eve Silver, a fantasy novel taking place in our current time period in an unspecified place, most likely North America. It follows Miki, a teenaged female living a normal life. Suddenly one heroic choice, saving a classmates sister from being hit by a truck, changes her life, her relationships and could change the world. She and child-hood friend Luka are transported to a place called “The Lobby” where they meet Richelle, Tyrone and our love interest, Jackson Tate. These kids and hundreds of others were predestined to fight a terrifying and beautiful alien race, the Drau. The rest of the team calls this a game and that’s how Miki treats it. Then the game becomes fatal quickly, and the weight of their situation finally hits her, full force. Struggling with this deadly challenge, a best friend quickly becoming distant, her own grief and the infuriating yet special Jackson Tate, Miki’s life presents a formidable challenge. The plot was exciting yet easy to follow, a harmonious mixture.

            The book wastes no time getting to the meat of this story, the game. Within the first pages we’ve met Miki, her best friends and learned enough about her life that we already feel connected to the character but there are still mysteries to solve about her. The book was able to maintain interest throughout but it didn’t have too many major events that the reader became confused or felt the book was trying to distract them with excitement. It had enough twists to aid the story and they were logical but not predictable. It was a very strong piece of writing with very few faults.

            As mentioned earlier, this book had exceedingly good writing. Not only was it an original concept, it was an original concept executed well. Starting off with the writing itself, the passages were descriptive enough to paint a clear picture but still let the reader imagine some things. They used a wide range of vocabulary appropriate to the age level it was geared towards, especially for the character’s emotions. For example, instead of saying “She didn’t like the taste” it would say something like “She detested the sharp, bitter taste with a vehement passion”. It really helped the reader empathise with the characters, giving a better reading experience. The author also used great detail in describing settings such as Miki’s home. You got a clear mental map of everything, further immersing yourself. Moving on to the characters themselves, there was one thing that caught my eye first. Not only is there a strong, realistic female protagonist, she’s of Asian descent. A lot of times when there is a female protagonist in a modern novel, she’s Caucasian. Having a character representing minorities is always a plus. Miki’s personality was likeable with a good back story. I’m against using tragedies simply for the sake of giving characters a tragic back story. I felt the story did it to add meaning and it didn’t feel like a cheap gimmick. The characters also developed over the course of the story and you see your first judgements overturned. The only complaint I could possibly have is sometimes it can use repetitive phrases. It would still have good vocabulary but it would be identical to something the character said in the previous chapter. It wasn’t a big problem, just a small thing.

In conclusion, I give this book five out five stars for excellent development and execution. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the fantasy genre or who is looking for a relatable female protagonist in a leadership role.

Happy Reading,

Abby
Teen Reviewer