Firecracker, by David Iserson

I'm not sure what I was expecting from David Iserson's Firecracker. Whatever it was, I was probably expecting it to be funny- he is after all a writer for SNL and New Girl. I should also probably add that New Girl is one of my favorite shows (mostly because it leaves me laughing and squealing with feels and my roommates probably think I have problems). So I guess my expectations were high. Thank goodness they were also fulfilled.

Astrid Krieger is everything. She's rich, cunning, intimidating, hysterical, the list goes on. Astrid also got kicked out of boarding school (she's convinced she was set up) and is now being forced to attend public school. Not only that, but her parents are making her see a therapist (aka the Dean at her old boarding school), who she manipulates into letting her make a list of three good deeds (real good deeds) in order to be allowed back to boarding school. To top it all off, Astrid is determined to get revenge on whoever it was that set her up. That's the plot line. But there's really so much more.

Here's what I really liked about this book, Astrid's voice was very unique. Her character is different from a lot of stuff I've read in YA fiction, especially since she's the protagonist. She has this laissez faire attitude and she literally does not care if people like her. Actually, she'd rather them be afraid of her. This can be kind of annoying at times because you just want to shout "JUST CARE ABOUT SOMETHING!" when she's being all hard and indifferent. But she does care about something, and there's a really great scene towards the end just as you're questioning why you like her that really changes everything. It shows Astrid's human side, her vulnerability and why she hides it. A+ character development.

Also, I like how Iserson doesn't really describe Astrid- therefore, we're not focused on her looks and distracted by trying to imagine her. Yes kiddos, you get to imagine her however you like (besides the fact that she has dark hair but that in itself is pretty vague). No long winded descriptions about the color of her eyes or her features that she just doesn't like about herself (Astrid is not lacking in the self-confidence department- she thinks she kinda rocks). So that means if you're into Charles Dickens-like descriptions, this book is not for you.

Lastly, and something I really appreciated, this book was not about Astrid's search for romance. In fact, when she was little, she swore off men and wasn't expecting to want anything to do with them. This is great because everything Astrid does, she does for herself and not to make so-and-so fall in love with her/notice her/like her, whatever. Not saying there isn't any romance. She eventually falls for someone (but it's not love and she doesn't think it's going to go anywhere really), all while having love obsessed Pierre following her every move- she just doesn't care.

The only thing I wasn't a big fan of was that it might have been a teeny tiny bit predictable, plot-wise. No, I didn't know what Astrid was going to next, but there were some plot points that were obvious. That still didn't affect how much I liked the book, though.

Iserson creates a voice that people will fall in love with (even though you really don't know why you love Astrid at some points), and I secretly want it to be turned into a movie- I think that'd be cool and they could really do a lot with it (can I volunteer to audition? or is that not a thing?). I can now say that I am a fan of Iserson's television writing and his fiction writing, and I can only hope he continues to write YA books for us all to enjoy!

-Annie

Best Supporting Character... The Nominees Are... (a list by Annie)

So today I want to talk about my favorite sidekick characters in YA fiction. You know what I'm talking about, the witty best friend who is just as important as the actual main character. This is one of my favorite characters, especially since authors are able to have more freedom writing them. Does that make sense? This character doesn't have the responsibility of saving the world or beating the bad guy, but they're along for the ride and somehow always have a big hand in saving the day. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but sometimes, I almost love the best friend more than I love the protagonist.

These are the people I'd like to have as my personal BFF! In no particular order, of course, I'm an equal opportunity kind of gal.

-Macy, Bex, and Liz from Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series-

I had to group them together because I know that if I separated them, I could go on for days talking about how awesome they are. They don't mess around, and since they're spies, I'm glad they don't. Besides being super loyal to their best friend (and the story's heroine),Cammie, they're intelligent, full of girl power, and ready to kick butt- they do a lot of that. Each has her own specialty, but they're at their strongest when they work together. These girls encompass everything that is team work.

-Vee Sky from Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush Hush series-

Okay, so Vee doesn't do too much to save the world (unless something happens in the last book, idk I'm not caught up yet), but her personality is what puts her on the list. She's all attitude and boy crazy and really, she's a good friend to Nora. She adds spice to the books. Vee is also Nora's other half, everything Nora isn't, Vee is and vice-versa. It's the perfect balance that cements their friendship and it's fun to read.

-Patrick and Sam from Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower-

Do I even have to explain why I love these characters so much? They take the lonely Charlie under their wing and show him what friendship means. They give him the chance to see what life is really about, without judgement and cruelty, they stand by him through better or worse. Must I say more? Read the book, watch the movie- they're both spectacular beyond words.

-Lilly Moscovitz from Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series-

Yes, Meg seems to be a recurring theme in my lists, but she deserves every mention. Lilly. Lilly. Where do I even begin? She's an activist for basically every cause that needs a voice. She's immature and borderline annoying at times, but she makes up for it by supporting Mia a good 95% percent of the time. And to top it all off, she's described as having a bit of a pug face (therefore, she's my absolute favorite). There are a lot of things that can be said about Lilly, but she's Mia's best friend, and no matter how much they disagree with each other, they're still best friends. That's true friendship, guys.
Also, super honorable mention to Miss Tina Hakim Baba. She knows exactly what Mia's going through since she also has a bodyguard that follows her around everywhere, and she's the best person to talk to about romance novels. Plus, she's kinda hysterical.

-Last but not least, and this goes without saying, but it wouldn't be a friendship list without Ron and Hermione.  We all know they're literally the best kinds of friends that you can have and we also know that I don't have to explain myself on this one. If you don't agree, shame on you.

So that's the list. I could go on for days, but I had to shorten it before it got too overwhelming (for the both of us). And, sorry if your favorite's not on the list, feel free to add them in the comment section. I really would love to see what characters you guys would love to have as a best friend.

Here's what I'm reading for next week's review (synopsis from Amazon):
Firecracker by David Iserson

A hilarious tragicomedy from New Girl and SNL writer David Iserson! 

Being Astrid Krieger is absolutely all it's cracked up to be.

She lives in a rocket ship in the backyard of her parents' estate.

She was kicked out of the elite Bristol Academy and she's intent on her own special kind of revenge to whomever betrayed her. 

She only loves her grandfather, an incredibly rich politician who makes his money building nuclear warheads.

It's all good until...

"We think you should go to the public school," Dad said.

This was just a horrible, mean thing to say. Just hearing the words "public school" out loud made my mouth taste like urine (which, not coincidentally, is exactly how the public school smells). 

Will Astrid finally meet her match in the form of public school? Will she find out who betrayed her and got her expelled from Bristol? Is Noah, the sweet and awkward boy she just met, hiding something?


Look for it next Thursday. Also, don't forget to add your nominee for best supporting character! Have a lovely week!

-Annie

Doomed, by Tracy Deebs

Imagine if suddenly, every piece of technology you owned was gone. Your phone didn't work, you couldn't connect to the Internet (GASP!), even the electricity would be off. This is what happens when Pandora, true to her namesake, opens a "box" in an online game that releases a worm out into the world that destroys all forms of technology. Basically, it's every blogger's worst nightmare.

Doomed by Tracy Deebs brings forth our nightmares and makes them a reality for Pandora, and it's done in a super creative and awesome way. Honestly, I loved everything about this book. The book starts off introducing the problem in the very beginning, so there's no drag of waiting to see what the conflict is. And it's a puzzle. The entire game that Pandora is forced to play is one big scavenger hunt that leads her across the country, looking for clues and pass codes to level up and beat the game/find her father/save the world. That's my kind of book. It also includes my kind of character. 

Pandora is full of girl power. She's an independent woman who don't need no man and I love seeing characters like her. Yeah, sure, every once in a while she needs saving, but she makes it very clear to her male companions that she is not the damsel in distress- congrats girl, you've achieved rock star status by me. Not only that, but Pandora has great taste in music, is addicted to her laptop (like some people I know, aka me), and watches great tv shows which means that tumblr would welcome her with open arms.

Now, the other characters are pretty bombin' too. The boys she travels with (Theo and Eli) are complete opposites in the very best way. They're introduced right away, and boy are they smokin'! Though, my only problem with the two of them is that they both fall for Pandora and she kinda leads them on. I wish that she would have made up her mind faster, but it's not a super big deal or off-putting. Pandora's father is a completely different story. He takes daddy issues to a whole new level- he's freaking crazy. He's the reason the Internet is broken! That's enough for me to hate him indefinitely. But just because I hate him, doesn't mean he's an awful character. Nope, you can see his point, only just a little bit, and you almost feel bad for him. He's only trying to connect with his daughter... by destroying the world as we know it... nbd.

This book is terrifying. Mostly, because I can't imagine a world without technology. And, the way people react to it isn't super fun- murders, looting, it's absolute anarchy. The world was in a state of emergency, and as the game counted down (to the end of the world), it only got worse. But all of the reactions where realistic. This is exactly what would happen without electricity, etc, we literally would not know what to do with ourselves. So, maybe Deebs is posing a hypothetical situation to us that we shouldn't take lightly. Maybe we all are more addicted to technology than we should be- we depend on it unconsciously, and that can't be a good thing. Though, to be honest, that's not going to stop me from refreshing my Facebook every five minutes, but I will consider it... maybe.

-Annie

Villains I love to hate (a list by Annie)

Let's be completely honest, a great book has to have a great villain. It's just how it goes. The villain has to be manipulative, ambitious, and we have to sympathize with him/her just a little. Personally, I love a tragic villain, one with a background and upbringing that shaped their newly evil selves, but I also love the straight up bad guy who has no reason for his actions except for a power lust. All in all, I love me some evil villains. So, here's a list with my favorites, in no particular order.

Naturally, the villains from Harry Potter would top the list, but I'm pretty sure we all love/hate Voldemort, Umbridge, Malfoy without saying. Therefore, they get an honorable mention.

-Valentine Morganstern- from Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instrument series.

Valentine didn't have a tragic upbringing. In fact, he was quite privileged growing up in Idris and being the most popular boy in school. The popularity went to his head and along with his great leadership abilities, he started plotting and manipulating. See, the thing about Valentine is that he actually thought he was going to do good for his people. He honestly believed that the Shadowhunters would benefit from his plan. But, he went crazy and cocky and murderous (don't you just hate when that happens?!), and he was willing to put his wife and children in danger/kill them if they stood in his way. That's just not okay, dude. But he's charming and sometimes sassy, welcome characteristics in a good antagonist, and that's why he makes the list.

-President Snow- from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games series

This one is a no brainer. Like, do I even have to explain? He threw kids into an arena and made them kill each other, all so that the districts wouldn't revolt against him. That screams evil and if you disagree, please stay away from me because I don't want to know what you're capable of.

-Chimera- from Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Every Other Day

This goes on the list because I just finished this book and couldn't put it down. Chimera is a corporation in Kali's world that is experimenting with demons, hell hounds, basilisks, and all sorts of preternatural creatures. Not good. They also have no problem with murdering and kidnapping teenagers who get in their way and want to conduct experiments on Kali because she's only partially human. Still not good. I hate the villains who like to experiment on people because they think they're being all scientific and going to find something that'll save their people or whatever but it never turns out like that. Though, to be completely honest, Chimera isn't really looking out for the human race. Nah, they're preparing to fight them.

-Stark Enterprises- from Meg Cabot's Airhead series

And this has nothing to do with Iron Man. Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors and this villain caused creepy goosebumps to appear at every mention. Basically, the reason they're so awful goes back to my thing with human experimentation. Stark Enterprises is playing around with brain transfers. When Emerson's brain is transplanted into superstar Nikki Howard's body, she realizes that Stark now owns her life and that they'll hold everything she holds dear to her against her to protect their company and their most valuable possession (Nikki). She survived the accident, but she lost her life. That's terrifying. Especially since a huge corporation now owns her. That's definitely problematic.

-Alice Milthrope- from Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters series

This series is so underrated and I never hear people talk about it, and they really really should. Alice has a complex that's difficult to describe. Her twin, Lia is extremely powerful but she wasn't meant to be. In fact, Alice was supposed to be the one with all the power, since she was supposed to be born first, but after her mother's emergency c-section, Lia was delivered first. So, Alice got dealt the wrong hand of cards, right? Sure, but that's no excuse to go completely crazy and betray your sister and head off to the dark side. Alice is so dark and misunderstood, and you can almost understand why she is that way. She fits so well into the category, "bad upbringing that leads to really bad decisions and now she's evil" thing. Don't get me wrong, the girl's got power and I can't one hundred percent sympathize with her (seeing as I don't want to kill my sister or anything), but she's a very interesting character in the way she behaves and the choices she makes. Definitely recommend.

So that's the list. If you have any other favorite villains that didn't make the list, feel free to share! I'd love to see what you guys think.

Here's what I'm reading for next week's review:
Doomed, by Tracy Deebs (review from Amazon)
Pandora's just your average teen-glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends-until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father-her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.

Look for it next Thursday!
Have a safe and happy Fourth of July to all my Americans and a wonderful Thursday to my other readers!

-Annie