Tehreem: She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

 Ally Ryan would rather be in Maryland. She would rather be anywhere, in fact, than Orchard Hill, site of her downfall. Well, not hers exactly—but when your father’s hedge fund goes south and all your friends lose their trust funds, things don’t look so sunny for you. Her mother moved her to Maryland to flee the shame, but now they’re moving back. Back to the country-club, new-car-every-year, my-family-came-over-on-the-Mayflower lifestyle that Ally has outgrown. One bright spot, however, is gorgeous, intense Jake Graydon. But it won’t be easy for the two of them to be together—not if his friends (her former friends) have anything to say about it. Is Ally ready to get thrown back into the drama of the life she left behind?

You know how when you hate the characters in a book, you tend to hate the book itself? Well, this book is not an example of that. Sorry.

I don't think someone could read this book, and not hate at least one character. All of them are snotty, stuck-up kids who don't care about anyone but themselves. They don't care about who gets hurt in the end. Even if that person who gets hurt is one of their closest friends. All they care about is their social status.

And whether or not they get the guy.

Ally, one of the main characters, is one of the only teenagers in the book I can sympathize with. She understands that some things she has done were wrong. She actually learns from her mistakes.

The other main character, Jake, is just a freakin' idiot.

Seriously! He is the man version of a slut. He is with a new girl every week, even though he has been pinning after Ally the entire time.

Apparently, the only way you can win a girl is by sucking face with all the other girls around you. 'Cos that totally makes a girl swoon over you.

“Oh, look at his amazing face sucking skills! I gotta get me some of that!”

Yeah, um... no.

Ally does some pretty annoying things too. She basically gets a boyfriend – who is really sweet and nice and ohmigodIwanthim – just to fill the “void in her heart.”

Please! Get over yourself, woman! Stuff happens in life. Build a bridge and get over it.

Overall, this book was very enjoyable, though I did throw it at a wall...

You will understand when you read it.

My rating:

Four out of Five Stars!

By the way, I don't normally harm books. This one was just asking for it.

Tehreem: Review of Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

They promised Meredith nine years of safety, but only gave her three. 
   
Her father was supposed to be locked up until Meredith turned eighteen. She thought she had time to grow up, get out, and start a new life. But Meredith is only fifteen, and today her father is coming home from prison. 

Today her time has run out.

When I picked up this book, I expected something gripping. A tear-jerker would have been nice. However, that is not what I received.

This book did not make me sad. It made me livid.

Meredith had been through so much. Her own father hurt her in ways as a child that are unforgivable. She had loved him, and he had betrayed her.

He is sick, vile, and absolutely disgusting.

But Meredith's mother doesn't seem to think he is.

She praises him as if he were a god. Even when he is released from prison and interested in Meredith alone, her mother doesn't see a thing. She only sees the man that she loved when she was twelve, and he sixteen. When she was just a kid and he was a teenager.

She never seems to understand that her husband will only ever be interested in youth.

And she isn't young anymore.

But their daughter is.

Her mother almost seems to blame Meredith for being "too appealing." She doesn't care that her husband continues to leer at their daughter. She thinks it was all a mistake, and blames Meredith for tearing apart their family.

Inside, Meredith's mother is still a spoiled child.

I hate her for that.

A mother should always be there for her daughter. Meredith was crying out, but her mother continued to remain oblivious. Or perhaps she wasn't. Maybe she knew what was happening, but just refused to acknowledge it.

Just thinking that makes this book worse.

Maybe it's unfair of me to judge a book on one simple character. However, when that character is as messed up as the tormenter, it's hard not to. Meredith's mother just made the story seem too unrealistic. Everyone looked over Meredith's mother. They saw how sick she was, yet they continued to place Meredith in her care.

I still liked this book, but the characters made the plot seem distorted. I was disappointed, but not to the point where I would never pick up this book again.

My rating:

Three out of Five Stars!