A Little Something Different

by Sandy Hall

ISBN: 9781250061454
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: August 26th 2014
Number of Pages: 272
Source: Local Library
Goodreads Summary: The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. 

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are ment to be together....

My Rating:  

What a sweet read!!! Aww I loved it :) This is also an interesting book, as we get 14 different points of view with none of them being the two love interests! You might be thinking, well then, how do you know what Gabe & Lea are thinking or wanting? Don't you worry, Ms. Hall does a fantastic job with her characters and you learn all you need.

Everyone around Gabe & Lea see that they have a spark and just want them to do something about it!! But Gabe has some mysterious issues stemming from the time he went absent a year before plus he is extremely shy, so things don't look good.

Characters we hear from:

1.     Maribel (Lea's roommate)

·     Always pushing Lea to talk to Gabe & her partner in crime in stalking Gabe

2.     Inga (creative writing professor)

·     Inga has this niche for matchmaking and her couple this year she has decided will be Lea & Gabe

         “They have a story. I’m telling you, there’s no way they don’t have a story. They have this chemistry that’s impossible to ignore. I don’t even know what it is. But I’m going to do whatever I can to get them together.”  

– A Little Something Different, 27-28

3.     A Bench out on the green

·     The weirdest point of view of them all. Not sure the purpose too much except for eavesdropping on Gabe’s & Lea’s private conversations.

4.     Sam (Gabe's brother)

·     Looking out for his younger brother & always encouraging him to tell Lea “his secret” and just ask her out!

5.     SQUIRREL! 

·     This little guy is just too cute :)

6.     Victor (creative writing classmate)

·     Very angry young man but he does serve an important role in getting these two lovebirds to connect.

7.     Bob (a bus driver)

·    An outsider who sees Gabe’s & Lea’s connection

8.     Casey (Gabe's friend)

·    Gives advice to Gabe about talking with Lea

9.     Maxine (a waitress)

·     This lady is 80 years old and still serving all the college kids at the diner. She also sees the connection between Lea & Gabe and helps do something about it.

·  "Maybe next time I’ll have to accidentally sit them all together. I’ve done that in the past and it always worked out. But my boss doesn’t like it much. Says I can’t go messing around, playing with table seatings like that. And to him I say, 'Ptooie! This ain’t Buckingham Palace!'”

– A Little Something Different, 20

10. Danny (Lea’s friend)

·     As a gay guy, he is absolutely certain that Gabe is playing for his team and isn't shy about vocalizing this to Lea

11. Pam (Inga's wife)

·     I think we only hear from Pam once, and it is to hear Inga talk about her matchmaking antics

12. Charlotte (a barista at Starbucks)

·    Thinks Gabe is a loser but warms up to him & Lea

13. Hillary (creative writing classmate)

·    Wants Gabe for herself and throws a wrench in Inga’s matchmaking scheme

14. Frank (Chinese-food delivery guy)

·     Lea & Gabe always order the same exact thing within hours of each other

·   “Seriously, these two need to get their acts together and order at the same time. I’m getting tired of driving out here twice in the same day." 

            – A Little Something Different, 90

I loved when Gabe wrote & read aloud his story concerning his shyness:

"I did lose some of my wariness and my fear as I matured, but I’ve never quite shaken my shyness. When I think about it, it’s like I would have never been able to grow out of it. It’s like the tree and the bicycle. I grew around it and it became part of me." 

– A Little Something Different, 82

Tree with Bicycle that Gabe references
Read about the real story here

"'…those two seriously need to get their acts together. I mean, how can it be so obvious to everyone around them and not to them?'"

– A Little Something Different, 181

So do these two ever end up finally owning up to their feelings for each other and get together?? Read and find out! ;)

I really want to encourage you to also read the interview with the author at the back of the book. She wrote this book in only 6 days!! She is also a Teen Librarian in NY. If you are a romance writer and are looking for feedback and a chance to get published, go take a look at Swoon Reads' website, "A teen romance imprint and community where writers and readers can share, read, rate, and discover swoonworthy manuscripts for publication."


*Classified as New Adult as the characters are in college.

Summer is Coming!!

The weather is warming up and summer is almost here! To get in the mood, I have come up with some light summer reads - take them to the beach!

by Hailey Abbott

The SUMMER BOYS girls are back for another dose of sizzling drama. Will soul mates Beth and George be able to maintain their long-distance love affair, even while another boy is catching Beth's eye? Will reformed bad girl Ella REALLY be able to suppress her wild ways? And can shy, smart Kelsi open herself up to love again, even after she's had her heart broken? And what's happening with Jamie on her summer writing program? Find out all this--and much more--in this sexy sequel.

by Candace Bushnell

Before Carrie Bradshaw hit the big time in the City, she was a regular girl growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut. How did she turn into one of the most-read social observers of our generation?

The Carrie Diaries opens up in Carrie's senior year of high school. She and her best friends -- Walt, Lali, Maggie, and the Mouse -- are inseparable, amid the sea of Jens, Jocks and Jets. And then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Sebastian is a bad boy-older, intriguing, and unpredictable. Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school-until a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. With her high school days coming to a close, Carrie will realize it's finally time to go after everything she ever wanted.

by Susane Colasanti

Lani and Erin are bonded for life. One thing that connects them is their fascination of fate. Lani wonders how much of our lives has already been decided and how much we can actually influence. Since the Unknown can unexpectedly change our lives forever, how much can we really control?

From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can't deny the intense connection they share. It feels like she's known him forever. She's not sure if he feels it, too. But it doesn't matter. Because Jason is Erin's boyfriend. Lani is determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather than risk hurting her best friend.

How long can Lani keep running from the boy who might be her destiny?

by Jenny Han

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

by Natalie Kath

Kat is just like other fourteen-year-old girls. Except that this summer, she's taking charge of her life and finally losing weight. But can she do it?

by Lauren Oliver

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

by Alyson Noël

Having recently discarded her dorky image--and the best friend that went with it--Colby Cavendish is looking forward to a long hot season of parties, beach BBQ’s, and hopefully, more hook-ups with Levi Bonham, the hottest guy in school. But her world comes crashing down when her parents send her away to spend the summer in Greece with her crazy aunt Tally.

Stranded on a boring island with no malls, no cell phone reception, and an aunt who talks to her plants, Colby worries that her new friends have forgotten all about her. But when she meets Yannis, a cute Greek local, everything changes. She experiences something deeper and more intense than a summer fling, and it forces her to see herself, and the life she left behind, in a whole new way.

by O.R. Melling

Sequel to the critically-acclaimed "The Hunter's Moon" 
This second book in a series "shimmering with magic, myth, and romance" ("Booklist"), follows sixteen-year-old Laurel as she tries to understand the cause of her twin sister's mysterious death. Honor believed in Faerie, a parallel land of mischievous immortals. Laurel doesn't. That is, until the fairies come and ask her to take up her sister's failed quest to find the Summer King, a lord who can light the midsummer fire that keeps the two worlds, human and Faerie, cleaved. Laurel must decide to help those whose cause killed her sister, and, in the process, come to believe that there is still magic and love in the world. 
Lush descriptions of Ireland and Celtic lore make this a satisfying read for travelers to other lands, real and mythic. 

by Sarah Dessen

A long, hot summer...

That's what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs, and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the traumatic loss of Macy's father.

But sometimes, unexpected things can happen—things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister's project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the kind of boy who could turn any girl's world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to wonder, Is it really better to be safe than sorry?

by Sarah Ockler

According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie–she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

TWENTY BOY SUMMER explores what it truly means to love someone, what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every beautiful moment life has to offer.

Dead is a Killer Tune

By Marlene Perez

Series: Book #7 Dead Is..
ISBN: 9780547608349
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 4th 2012
Number of Pages: 204
Source: ILL
Goodreads Summary: High school freshman Jessica Walsh is a Virago—a woman warrior who must protect her hometown from danger. And in Nightshade, California, trouble is always lurking. At the town’s Battle of the Bands, Jess’s boyfriend, Dominic, and his band, Side Effects May Vary, are up against Hamlin, a band so popular, their fans follow them everywhere. Soon, the competing musicians are doing risky, illegal, and even fatal things—and claiming that they heard strange music that compelled them to do it. Can Jess and her friends track down the tuneful tyrant before it’s too late?

My Rating:  

Review contains spoilers

I will come out and just say it - this "spin-off" series is just not cutting it for me. Book #8 (Dead is Just a Dream) just came out and I will not be reading it. 

Is it just me or does it seem like these books keep getting shorter and shorter? Book #6 was 240 pages, this book was 204, and Book #8 - 176 pages! I don't think you can really get a good story in that short of time. I also took issue with that fact that the summary on the back cover is misleading! You can read it above in the summary. It refers to Dominic as Jess's boyfriend. Excuse me???! Hate to spoil it for you readers, but they aren't even dating for most of this book! My thoughts on him are already clear and this book just reinforced them. 

Two things I did like: 

1. Jess goes out of her comfort zone and joins a band! Go girl!

2. This book wasn't exactly a "mystery" but there were some red herrings and we aren't positive who the pied piper is - way to challenge us! 

I recommend this book for younger readers that are looking for a fluffy, light read. 

Dead is a Battlefield

By Marlene Perez

Series: Book #6 Dead Is..
ISBN: 9780547607342
Publisher: Graphia
Publication Date: March 6th 2012
Number of Pages: 240
Source: ILL 

Goodreads Summary: Jessica Walsh is starting her freshman year at Nightshade High and trying to forget about the tragic events surrounding her brother’s graduation. She wants to have a normal high school experience. But that’s easier said than done in Nightshade. There’s a new guy at school who seems to be turning the girls into lovesick zombies. And Jessica has other worries—like her crush on a cute but moody lead singer, and the mysterious tattoo that appeared on her arm one day that lets her know whenever there is trouble brewing. Jessica learns she’s a Virago, a woman warrior chosen to fight evil whenever it threatens her hometown. But does a lowly freshman really have
what it takes to keep Nightshade safe?

My Rating:  

Since this is book #6 in this series, you might already be familiar with the setting and such. Thing is, this book marks the beginning of a new narrator and supporting characters. No longer do we have the physic Daisy Giordano, who graduated from high school at the end of book #5 (Dead is Not an Option). We now have Jessica, who is the younger sister of Sean (who is dating Samantha, Daisy's best friend from previous books). 

I don't know if Perez is trying to reach out to the younger spectrum of young adult readers because why else would we go from following the tale of sisters in high school and college to some freshmen (who happen to go after older, junior guys)? Because of this, I think that the characters seemed a little too immature for my reading taste. I mean, the way that Dominic treats her (switching between hot & cold) really got on my nerves. Jessica as a character over all didn't seem to have much depth to her. 

The two characters I really liked were Flo and Raven (fellow Viragos along with Andy). Flo is the kind of girl who kicks butt and I like her sense of humor through the t-shirts she wears. Example: I PUT THE FATAL IN EMME FATALE. and PLEASE DON'T FEED THE ZOMBIES. I've always liked her in the previous books and I am glad we get to see more of her. 

Raven also fascinates me. She's a Virago but also a pacifist (interesting combo right?). She doesn't let the relationship issues between Jessica & her brother Dominic define her friendship with Jessica, which I admired. 

One thing that made this book difficult to read was the fact the characters seemed oblivious to the danger that was right in front of them! At least in the other books, there was a sense of mystery and the reader didn't know what was up from the beginning. Saying that, the book is a quick read (it being just shy of 250 pages).

Things that redeemed this book from being two-stars: 

1. ZOMBIES! Though not actual zombies, it still is a plus in my mind to involve zombies :)
2. Though I didn't like Dominic at all, his seer abilities were really cool. Clues given as songs? Awesome! It is a recycled idea - the "haunted" jukebox in Slim's Diner is ringing bells. Still, it is a unique paranormal talent.

That all being said, I did go on to read book #7, Dead is a Killer Tune. My review on that one will be up shortly. *UPDATE* Review is posted and can be found here!

Update: To clarify, the author did say on her website that this book was part of a spin-off series.