The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Title: The Disenchantments
Author: Nina LaCour
Publisher: Dutton Juvenille (February 16, 2012)
Length: 304 pages
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Edition: Advanced Readers Copy

From the Back of the Book:

      Colby & Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans...and Colby...to go her own way in the fall.
     But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie-Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?
My Thoughts:

From the cover of The Disenchantments I was expecting a light, fluffy, fun summer novel. That is not the case. Instead I got a wonderfully different surprise. The Disenchantments is one of those hard to describe books. It's a story about growing up, growing apart, realizing some childhood dreams are just dreams, and that sometimes you need to follow your own path. This book is both happy and sad all at the same time, but most of all it is real. Nina LaCour brings to life heartache, pain, fun, and first love in the pages of The Disenchantments.
     The male perspective of Colby, his love for Bev, and their relationships with Meg and Alexa were amazing. Colby is an idealistic dreamer who actually follows through with his plans. Bev...Bev is an enigma, a mystery that I spent the whole book trying to figure out, and in the end she had the simplest explanation. Meg is the tough girl hiding a broken interior and Alexa is a lot like Colby. She's an innocent dreamer who believes in the good and sees the brighter side. (After Colby, Alexa was my favorite character) The adventure that they had is something that I wish I could experience. Throughout this supposed happy time of their life, there was a constant sense of sadness, of finality. I believe that we all feel this at one point in our lives. That moment when we are transitioning from childhood to adulthood, that moment that we have all longed for, and when it finally comes we put it off until it catches us.
      Colby and The Disenchantments went on one of the most epic road trips ever and in the end came out different, they grew up. The Disenchantments made me angry, happy, and sad all at the same time. I simply loved it. I give this book a 4 1/2 STAR rating.

Tempest by Julie Cross

Title: Tempest
Author: Julie Cross
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin ( January 17, 2012)
Series: Tempest #1 trilogy
# of Pages: 341
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers *I was provided this book free of charge in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Edition: ARC softcover


Book Description: From Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tempest-Novel-Julie-Cross/dp/0312568894/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327100830&sr=8-1

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

My Thoughts:

I received Tempest for review several months ago and when I started reading...I just couldn't get into it. Time travel isn't something I have ever read about on the YA level. I have only experienced it in romance novels. As far as the time travel aspect I haven't ran into anything like other than a movie that only shares small similarities (Jumper). Tempest is completely original and told from the male perspective, something rarely seen in this genre. The beginning of the book through the first 200 pages was boring and slightly confused me. There was just an overall lack of action. There were several times I contemplated not finishing the book, but it's my job. I am glad that I did.

The second half of the book was exponentially better in my opinion. Not only was it packed with action, but I began to feel a connection with the characters. The scenes with Jackson and Courtney, his sister, were amazing. They were so heartbreaking and in one scene in particular there may have been a stray tear shed. The interaction with the EOTs (Enemies of Time) were pretty awesome too. I feel a new super villain has been born. The last thing about the second half that must be addressed is the ending. And what an ending it was! Never in a million years would I have pictured it turning out like that. Now come the question of will I be reading the rest of the series? The answer is I don't know. ** I must be honest before I give my rating. Time travel isn't a subject I particularly enjoy. To make up for any bias on my part I am adding 1/2 star to my rating. I give this book a 3 STAR rating.