{Review} Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone

Posted by Donna
Release Date: May 5th, 2015
Finished Date: April 5th, 2015

Publishers: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Source: For Review
Format: eARC

Pages: 304

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

What is Normal?

For Trevor normal was fast guitar licks, catching game-winning passes and partying all night. Until a car accident leaves Trevor with no band, no teammates and no chance of graduating. It's kinda hard to ace your finals when you've been in a coma. The last thing he needs is stuck-up Everly Jenkins as his new tutor those beautiful blue eyes catching every last flaw.

For Everly normal was a perfect family around the dinner table, playing piano at Sunday service and sunning by the pool. Until she discovers her whole life is a lie. Now the perfect pastor's daughter is hiding a life-changing secret, one that is slowly tearing her family apart. And spending the summer with notorious flirt Trevor Lewis means her darkest secret could be exposed.

This achingly beautiful story about two damaged teens struggling through pain and loss to redefine who they are--to their family, to themselves, and to each other--is sure to melt your heart.

The Review: Some Kind of Normal follows Trevor who as of last year was a guitar player, a football player and loved to party, that is until he involved in a car accident that leaves him in pretty bad shape after being in a coma. Now, a year later, Trevor’s fallen behind that much he’s probably not going to graduate unless he gets help. And help is in the form of Everly who seems to hate Trevor. 

Everly has always had the perfect family until something changes and now it only appears that everything is normal. Her home life pretty much sucks because of the secrets her father is keeping and it’s killing everything she loved about her family. She’ll do anything to get out of the house even if that means helping Trevor. 

Can these two lost characters repair the damage that is done in their lives and start looking forward to new things or will their current situations keep dragging them down? 

I loved Juliana Stone’s Boys Like You when I read it last year. I can remember flying through the book because I simply couldn’t put it down. And so when I heard she was writing more but this time from Trevor who was a secondary character in Boys Like You, I was immediately excited. But I’m not sure what happened this time around, I really enjoyed Some Kind of Normal but I didn’t feel as though I connected to Trevor and Everly’s story as much as I did Nathan and Monroe’s. I just didn’t enjoy it as much. 

Trevor was a good lead and I felt sorry for him with the issues he was dealing with from the accident. It’s left his dreams uncertain if he will ever get to fulfil them and I really did sympathise with him, but, I wish he took more action rather than feeling sorry for himself. It’s only when he’s with Everly that I really saw him start to change. But even near the end, he didn’t go after what he wanted until the very last minute. And Everly, I liked her and I enjoyed getting to know her seems as she was a new character to the series all together. 

In all, I may not have enjoyed Some Kind of Normal as much as I did Boys Like You but I still believe this is a series worth reading and I will be looking out for more YA books by this author.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

{Review} Boys Like You by Juliana Stone

Posted by Donna
Release Date: May 6th, 2014
Finished Date: August 27th, 2014

Publishers: Sourcebooks Fire   
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: For Review
Format: ARC

Pages: 288

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

IF

If I hadn't fallen asleep.
If I hadn't gotten behind the wheel. 
If I hadn't made a mistake.

One mistake. And everything changes.

For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart leaving her empty and broken. There's a hole in her heart that nothing can fill that no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her Grandma isn't going to change that...

Nathan Everets knows heartache first-hand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it's his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn't deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn't going to change that...

Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt  looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness

The Review: An incredible story full of hope, Boys Like You is a heart-breaking read that is impossible to put down. 

Monroe Blackwell makes one mistake and everything changes with devastating results that has left her family a broken mess, struggling to move on with their lives. For Monroe, the guilt and pain eats away at her and she can’t find the means to take part in her normal day-to-day activities or even getting dress and out of bed. Spending time in Louisiana with her Gran might be just what her family think she needs, but Monroe disagrees. 

Nathan Everets makes one mistake and everything changes with devastating results that leaves his best friend fighting for his life in a coma and it’s all Nathan’s fault. Struggling to deal with his guilt, Nathan pushes everyone away. When he takes a job at a plantation, it’s there that he meets Monroe Blackwell and he realises that he may have found the one person who knows what he’s going through.

Together Monroe and Nathan come together and try to work through their pain – but it’s harder than they realize. 

I wish I’d read this sooner! It’s been sitting on my kindle for a good few months and now I’m kicking myself for not reading it SOONER! It is simply an amazing read, full of pain, angst and real life situations that make your heart ache. But it’s also a story about finding first love, moving on and above all else – hope, hope that something good can good from all the sadness. It’s not often that I read a YA Contemporary story that really moves me but this did and I really want you to go read it for yourselves.

I loved the dual narratives really worked great together and I absolutely loved both Monroe and Nathan. They are both dealing with so much and I was glad that together they could finally find some relief and peace. Their story is well written, swoon worthy and so sweet. It’d probably say it was for the more mature audience that read YA and I loved that the author held nothing back and everything fit so well within the story. I’d definitely say Juliana Stone could give the likes of Katie McGarry a run for her money because for me, this was definitely on par with that. 

In all, Boys Like You is a fantastic read and I really hope Juliana Stone writes more YA. I want more! 

Favourite Quote: "It had been so long since I'd let anyone touch me, let alone hold me like this. Like we were already a part of each other. "Are you done waiting?" "Yeah," he said throatily. "I am."

Thank you to Sourcebook Fire  for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.