Something Like Normal By Trish Doller

 

4.2/5-The only part of this book that made me cry was the letter at the end because it’s so touching. I have yet to read a book about war that I disliked a lot that also doesn’t have a typical love triangle in it.

(Summary from Goodreads)

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

(My Opinion)

Told from Travis’ perspective, a story about falling for the unexpected, helping the ones you love, and trying to move on from a painful past. There were some things that made me want to roll my eyes in the book. The idea behind this story wasn’t very original but Trish Doller made it creative with original characters and such a harsh reality about not being able to save your best friend.

Like I mentioned before, the love triangle between Ryan, Paige, and Travis didn’t surprise me because nothing about it was mostly typical with nothing special. The character of Harper was at first, amazing. She had blind fury (especially when she punched Travis), witty sense of humour, and she was pretty complexed. At first. After a few chapters with Harper, it seemed like everything interesting about the way she reacted towards Travis had vanished. Then she seemed like your typical lovestruck girl. Even though I really love fast-paced books, there were parts where it was too fast on the really important parts. I wished Trish Doller slowed it down a little bit an explained more about the relationship between Travis and Ryan and Travis and Charlie.

I liked the relationship between Harper and Travis most os the time because there were a few bumps with them that showed just how serious they wanted to be together. The character of Travis was really creative and well written with the way he felt not only towards Harper but also Paige. I liked how Paige still had an annoying hold on him because it was a little different from other books. The fact that he was having nightmares and visions about his late best friend, Charlie. Travis seemed so real to me, as if I knew him just from reading about him, it was great.

I would recommend this story to everyone to read because of the message this book gives off. And even though this is fiction, it showed that some soldiers are not okay. Also for people who like when the guy gets punched in the face by girls.

Something Like Normal By Trish Doller

4.2/5-The only part of this book that made me cry was the letter at the end because it’s so touching. I have yet to read a book about war that I disliked a lot that also doesn’t have a typical love triangle in it.

(Summary from Goodreads)

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

(My Opinion)

Told from Travis’ perspective, a story about falling for the unexpected, helping the ones you love, and trying to move on from a painful past. There were some things that made me want to roll my eyes in the book. The idea behind this story wasn’t very original but Trish Doller made it creative with original characters and such a harsh reality about not being able to save your best friend. 

Like I mentioned before, the love triangle between Ryan, Paige, and Travis didn’t surprise me because nothing about it was mostly typical with nothing special. The character of Harper was at first, amazing. She had blind fury (especially when she punched Travis), witty sense of humour, and she was pretty complexed. At first. After a few chapters with Harper, it seemed like everything interesting about the way she reacted towards Travis had vanished. Then she seemed like your typical lovestruck girl. Even though I really love fast-paced books, there were parts where it was too fast on the really important parts. I wished Trish Doller slowed it down a little bit an explained more about the relationship between Travis and Ryan and Travis and Charlie.

I liked the relationship between Harper and Travis most os the time because there were a few bumps with them that showed just how serious they wanted to be together. The character of Travis was really creative and well written with the way he felt not only towards Harper but also Paige. I liked how Paige still had an annoying hold on him because it was a little different from other books. The fact that he was having nightmares and visions about his late best friend, Charlie. Travis seemed so real to me, as if I knew him just from reading about him, it was great. 

I would recommend this story to everyone to read because of the message this book gives off. And even though this is fiction, it showed that some soldiers are not okay. Also for people who like when the guy gets punched in the face by girls.

3.7/5-I wanted to dislike this book. But I couldn’t because  Corrine Jackson did a clever job disguising the romance in this story with the military. Still, half of the book I was wondering why I was reading this book and the other half and I was gasping/squealing at whatever Quinn was doing.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

(My Opinion)

Told from Quinn’s perspective, a story about cheating, heartbreak and how judgemental people really can be without knowing the whole story. The idea for this story wasn’t the greatest, it was a bit sloppy and repetitive of the same things over and over again. Some of the characters were well written and stood out to me while others were mucky and unclear. It felt like Corrine Jackson didn’t know what to write about for half of the characters’ so she barely wrote anything at all.

The romance in this story almost killed me. If it was any other guy that Quinn decided to fuck, I would have been happy. But no, Corrine Jackson wanted her to fuck one specific person which was annoying because it is the same person in a lot of books now a days. It was typical and annoying. There was a lot of repetition in this story, after a few chapters, I started to get annoyed at how much she kept saying she had to keep Carey’s secret, or how her life sucked and she had to keep Carey’s secret because she promised him. It got annoying very quickly for me. Most of the book was boring with the bitchy girls doing rude things to Quinn and making her feel like a slut. I wished Corrine Jackson stayed away from that romance and made the girls meaner and tougher in a few ways because from how Quinn reacted, I thought they were throwing around death threats and stuff like that.

If I Lie is a typical idea cloaked in war. That was one of my favourite things about this story because I actually laughed once I realized what kind of book I was reading. I liked that the chapters were short and sort of easy to swallow. George was my favourite character because he was different and wise and such a great person. I was always happy reading any part that George was in. Thank God he was included in this story. The ending was also pretty good because I was expecting her to go with one guy but she shocked me and went the unthinkable way.

The ending made gave me hope that it didn’t have to be such a typical story after all. Even though it wasn’t a book I entirely enjoyed, If I Lie is a good book for something to read on a rainy day. It’s also a good read for anyone who loves love triangles and full of marine/war things.

The Things A Brother Knows By Dana Reinhardt

3.8/5-Not a bad book but not the greatest either. It was funny at times and intense at others. The relationship between Levi and Boaz is complexed yet interesting all the same.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Finally, Levi Katznelson’s older brother, Boaz, has returned. Boaz was a high school star who had it all and gave it up to serve in a war Levi can’t understand. Things have been on hold since Boaz left. With the help of his two best friends Levi has fumbled his way through high school, weary of his role as little brother to the hero.

But when Boaz walks through the front door after his tour of duty is over, Levi knows there’s something wrong. Boaz is home, safe. But Levi knows that his brother is not the same.

Maybe things will never return to normal. Then Boaz leaves again, and this time Levi follows him, determined to understand who his brother was, who he has become, and how to bring him home again.

(My Opinion)

The story is told from Levi’s perspective while the two brothers go on a walking trip through the US and how their wounded relationship somehow heals. Some of the characters were typical and boring while others, like Dov, were fun to read about.

The Things A Brother Knows was pretty tough to get into and then hard to connect with the characters. The writing was another issue for me because it was slow and felt like Dana Reinhardt was trying to fit so much meaning and emotion into every paragraph.

Dov was one of my favourite characters that I liked a lot because of the way he was always teasing Levi about his hair while still serious and meaningful when Levi needed him to be. Also, the way Boaz reacted to everything around him once he got home. I loved how scared and vulnerable Boaz was at some parts and how Levi helped him get through it because well…That’s what family is supposed to do.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA books that evolve around war and the relationship between family members and how hard it is to get the relationship you used to have with them back.

If I Lie By Corrine Jackson

3.7/5-I wanted to dislike this book. But I couldn’t because  Corrine Jackson did a clever job disguising the romance in this story with the military. Still, half of the book I was wondering why I was reading this book and the other half and I was gasping/squealing at whatever Quinn was doing.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

(My Opinion)

Told from Quinn’s perspective, a story about cheating, heartbreak and how judgemental people really can be without knowing the whole story. The idea for this story wasn’t the greatest, it was a bit sloppy and repetitive of the same things over and over again. Some of the characters were well written and stood out to me while others were mucky and unclear. It felt like Corrine Jackson didn’t know what to write about for half of the characters’ so she barely wrote anything at all.

The romance in this story almost killed me. If it was any other guy that Quinn decided to fuck, I would have been happy. But no, Corrine Jackson wanted her to fuck one specific person which was annoying because it is the same person in a lot of books now a days. It was typical and annoying. There was a lot of repetition in this story, after a few chapters, I started to get annoyed at how much she kept saying she had to keep Carey’s secret, or how her life sucked and she had to keep Carey’s secret because she promised him. It got annoying very quickly for me. Most of the book was boring with the bitchy girls doing rude things to Quinn and making her feel like a slut. I wished Corrine Jackson stayed away from that romance and made the girls meaner and tougher in a few ways because from how Quinn reacted, I thought they were throwing around death threats and stuff like that.

If I Lie is a typical idea cloaked in war. That was one of my favourite things about this story because I actually laughed once I realized what kind of book I was reading. I liked that the chapters were short and sort of easy to swallow. George was my favourite character because he was different and wise and such a great person. I was always happy reading any part that George was in. Thank God he was included in this story. The ending was also pretty good because I was expecting her to go with one guy but she shocked me and went the unthinkable way.

The ending made gave me hope that it didn’t have to be such a typical story after all. Even though it wasn’t a book I entirely enjoyed, If I Lie is a good book for something to read on a rainy day. It’s also a good read for anyone who loves love triangles and full of marine/war things.

The Things A Brother Knows By Dana Reinhardt

3.8/5-Not a bad book but not the greatest either. It was funny at times and intense at others. The relationship between Levi and Boaz is complexed yet interesting all the same.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Finally, Levi Katznelson’s older brother, Boaz, has returned. Boaz was a high school star who had it all and gave it up to serve in a war Levi can’t understand. Things have been on hold since Boaz left. With the help of his two best friends Levi has fumbled his way through high school, weary of his role as little brother to the hero.

But when Boaz walks through the front door after his tour of duty is over, Levi knows there’s something wrong. Boaz is home, safe. But Levi knows that his brother is not the same.

Maybe things will never return to normal. Then Boaz leaves again, and this time Levi follows him, determined to understand who his brother was, who he has become, and how to bring him home again.

(My Opinion)

The story is told from Levi’s perspective while the two brothers go on a walking trip through the US and how their wounded relationship somehow heals. Some of the characters were typical and boring while others, like Dov, were fun to read about.

The Things A Brother Knows was pretty tough to get into and then hard to connect with the characters. The writing was another issue for me because it was slow and felt like Dana Reinhardt was trying to fit so much meaning and emotion into every paragraph.

Dov was one of my favourite characters that I liked a lot because of the way he was always teasing Levi about his hair while still serious and meaningful when Levi needed him to be. Also, the way Boaz reacted to everything around him once he got home. I loved how scared and vulnerable Boaz was at some parts and how Levi helped him get through it because well…That’s what family is supposed to do.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA books that evolve around war and the relationship between family members and how hard it is to get the relationship you used to have with them back.