Review: Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven

Holding Up The Universe
By Jennifer Niven
My Rating: 4 Stars
Date Read: November 2016
Publication Date: September 6th, 2016
Hardcover, 284 pages



















                                                           Summary From Goodreads: 


Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. 

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.



                                                                            My Review: 

I'd never read anything quite like this book, and I was actually pleasantly surprised by it. I liked how Libby was such a strong character, and how, even though she did kinda sorta cared about what people thought, she also didn't give two flying figs... {Does that make sense? I feel like it doesn't, but oh well}.

There was so much character building going on in this book, and learning how to love yourself for who you are. I wasn't so fond of Jack for the longest time, even though he did have his moments. I thought that he was pretty immature, and it took a long time for me to warm up to him. I am glad that he grew up as the book went on, and learned to embrace is flaws.

Reveiw: How To Make Out by Brianna R. Shrum

How to Make Out
By Brianna R. Shrum
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Date Read: October 2016
Publication Date: September 6th, 2016
Hardcover, 284 pages



















                                                           Summary From Goodreads: 

Sixteen-year-old Renley needs three thousand dollars for the math club’s trip to New York City, and she knows exactly how to get it: she’s going to start a how-to blog where people pay for answers to all of life’s questions from a “certified expert.” The only problems: 1) She doesn’t know how to do anything but long division and calculus. 2) She’s totally invisible to people at school. And not in a cool Gossip Girl kind of way.

So, she decides to learn to do . . . well . . . everything. When her anonymous blog shifts in a more scandalous direction and the questions (and money) start rolling in, she has to learn not just how to do waterfall braids and cat-eye makeup, but a few other things, like how to cure a hangover, how to flirt, and how to make out (something her very experienced, and very in-love-with-her neighbor, Drew, is more than willing to help with).

As her blog’s reputation skyrockets, so does “new and improved” Renley’s popularity. She’s not only nabbed the attention of the entire school, but also the eye of Seth Levine, the hot culinary wizard she’s admired from across the home-ec classroom all year.

Soon, caught up in the thrill of popularity both in and out of cyberspace, her secrets start to spiral, and she finds that she’s forgotten the most important how-to: how to be herself. When her online and real lives converge, Renley will have to make a choice: lose everything she loves in her new life, or everyone she loves in the life she left behind.




                                                                            My Review: 
I liked this book. And I'm going to ignore the fact that it makes no sense for Renley to start a Blog where people have to pay to learn how to do things, when there is Google... That will tell you what you need to know for free...Yeah, ignoring that...

Renley drove me crazy at times. The fact that she was so dense and couldn't see that Drew was head over heels in love with her. She never even let it be a thought that they could be a couple. And she was just so consumed with being obsessed with Seth... and yeah, he's cool and everything, but I mean, DREW. I think that he was my favorite part about the book. He was so patient with Renley, and he was an amazing friend. He put up with a lot when it came to Renley. Things that would usually obliterate a friendship. He would do whatever for Renley, even if it was breaking his heart, because he loved her so much. Even when he was majorly ticked at her, if she needed him, he was there.

I get that Renley started up the Blog as a way to earn money, I really do. But why not just get a real job? You know, where you earn a paycheck every week (or every other week) doing normal worky type things... That seems like it would be less of a headache. But I'm ignoring it!

I wish that there had been a little more closure with different people by the end of the book, but I get that not every story is going to end with a happily ever after, and tied up with a little bow. But I loved that Ren figured things out with her dad, and her stepmom was pretty amazing too.