Review: Run - Kody Keplinger

Run by Kody Keplinger, published by Hodder Childrens Books on 14th July 2016

Goodreads synopsis:
Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and an alcoholic mom. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks.

Agnes Atwood has never stayed out past ten p.m., never gone on a date and never broken any of her parents' overbearing rules. Rules that are meant to protect their legally-blind daughter, but Agnes isn't quite sure what they are protecting her from.

Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. And it's the sort of friendship that runs more deeply than anything else. But when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, police sirens wailing in the distance, Agnes is faced with the biggest choice she's ever had to make. Run, or stay?

Review:
I normally always enjoy a new Kody Keplinger book.  Her writing is refreshingly real and honest and that's something that really appeals to me.  I have to be totally honest myself though and admit that 'Run' didn't really do it for me.  I didn't out and out dislike it but it didn't compare well with some of my favourites from her other titles, such as 'The Duff' which still holds the top spot.

The story is about two girls who could not be more opposite but who end up becoming best friends.  Bo is the wild girl about town who has a big reputation but is it all talk?  Agnes is visually impaired and has always been the one to follow others.  She is not a risk taker or a rule breaker but her relationship with Bo might well change all of that. I did like Agnes but Bo was a lot harder to warm to.  I felt that she took advantage of their friendship a lot and never fully developed into someone who I could end up rooting for. 

I also wasn't particularly keen on the format of the book which jumped backward and forward a lot of the time.  I usually prefer a much more linear structure and found myself losing interest a lot of the time.  As well as the timeframe, the narrative also alternated a lot too.  Bo and Agnes both get to tell the story from their own points of view.  I found Agnes's chapters fairly enjoyable but I ended up skimming through some of Bo's narrative. 

The ending was unusual and wasn't really what I was expecting.  Frankly it just fell flat and for me, the book didn't finish on a high note.  It's a shame because I have enjoyed most of Kody Keplinger's books in the past.  I'm going to chalk this one off and move onto anticipate her next offering.    

Review: Lying Out Loud - Kody Keplinger

Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger, published by Hodder Children's Books on 2nd July 2015

Goodreads synopsis:
Sonny Ardmore is an excellent liar. She lies about her dad being in prison. She lies about her mom kicking her out. And she lies about sneaking into her best friend's house every night because she has nowhere else to go.  Amy Rush might be the only person Sonny shares everything with— secrets, clothes, even a nemesis named Ryder Cross.

Ryder's the new kid at Hamilton High and everything Sonny and Amy can't stand—a prep-school snob. But Ryder has a weakness: Amy. So when Ryder emails Amy asking her out, the friends see it as a prank opportunity not to be missed.

But without meaning to, Sonny ends up talking to Ryder all night online. And to her horror, she realizes that she might actually like him. Only there's one small catch: he thinks he's been talking to Amy. So Sonny comes up with an elaborate scheme to help Ryder realize that she's the girl he's really wanted all along. Can Sonny lie her way to the truth, or will all her lies end up costing her both Ryder and Amy?

Review:

Kody Keplinger is the Queen of High School YA fiction.  She always seems to be able to perfectly capture the authenticity of teenagers learning life lessons about love, family and friendship, while surviving the rigours of the school environment.  I will read anything that she writes!

 

‘Lying Out Loud’ is about Sonny Ardmore and Amy Rush (sister of Wesley from The Duff).  Sonny is having problems at home and goes to live with Amy and her family but can’t bring herself to tell them the truth about what is going on.  Fact: Sonny is an excellent liar but her lies are about to get her into a whole heap of trouble. 

 

When Ryder Cross starts at Hamilton High, boy troubles are most definitely on the horizon.  Will he be the reason that Amy and Sonny’s friendship falls apart?

 

Although the story is told from Sonny’s point of view, at times I actually identified more with Amy.  I didn’t like the way that she let herself be pushed around by Sonny, so it was good to see her standing up for herself more by the end and developing a new sense of confidence.  It just goes to show that you can have a privileged lifestyle with a bright future in front of you but you can still struggle with self-confidence issues.    

 

As this is a kind of companion novel to 'The Duff', it was great seeing Wesley and Bianca in the story.  They are still together and although they seem like complete opposites at times, they just work.   

 

I loved this book.  I sped through it so quickly because it was an amazing read.  Kody Keplinger is on my auto-buy list.  I’ve loved all of her books so far and I’m excited to see what she will write next.  

Review: A Midsummer's Nightmare - Kody Keplinger

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger, published by Hodder on 6th February 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
Whitley Johnson's dream summer of shopping, partying and tanning on the beach has just turned into a nightmare. Because Dad didn't tell her he doesn't live by the beach anymore, or that he's no longer a bachelor. He's picked up and moved to a tiny, lame town called Hamilton and gotten himself a fiance. A fiance whose son just happens to be what's-his-name from last week's drunken graduation party one night stand. Just freakin' great.

As if the summer couldn't get worse, Dad seems to forget Whitley's even there. She doesn't fit in with his perfect new country club family, and Whitley does what any kid lucky enough to go all summer unsupervised does: she parties. Hard.

So hard that she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a younger future step-sister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't 'do friends') and a smoking hot, sweet guy who isn't her step brother (yet) and who actually seems to care for her. It will take all three of them to convince her that they're not phoneys, and to get Whitley to get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

Review:
I'm such a huge fan of Kody Keplinger and so I was dying to read 'A Midsummer's Nightmare'.  I love her writing style and the fact that her stories are very real and honest.  Her teenage characters mess up and make mistakes, but that's all part of becoming an adult and is one of the things I love about her books.    

Whitley, the main character, is spending her last summer before college with her father.  She's looking forward to a relaxed summer of lazing by the beach and having some quality time with her Dad.  She doesn't however, count on him having got engaged and having a brand new family living with him.  Whitley's situation would be challenging for anyone and although she deals with it pretty badly in the beginning, she does eventually manage to work through her problems and begins to be honest with her parents about how she's feeling.  Families feature prominently in Kody Keplinger's books which I really like because she shows that they're definitely not always perfect but they are an important part of our lives.           

I loved Nathan, who is set to become Whitley's new step-brother.  He was a bit of a mystery at the start and his character had me really intrigued but I enjoyed getting to know him and I loved all the scenes between him and Whitley in the book.  He knows a lot about what she's going through and there's no way she's going to scare him off.  Sparks literally fly when they're together and I absolutely loved the romance between them.  The fact that he was going to be her step-brother didn't bother me at all but I could see how this might be an issue for some readers. 

I can't get enough of Kody Keplinger's books.  She's an amazing author and a writer that teens can really identify with.  'A Midsummer's Nightmare' was just as good as 'The Duff' and a five star read.  I can't wait for more by her! 

Review: The Duff - Kody Keplinger

The Duff by Kody Keplinger, published by Hodder Children's Books on 5th April 2012

Goodreads synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “Duffy,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Review:
'The Duff' is a fantastic book by a fresh new voice in teen fiction, Kody Keplinger.  I'm definitely excited to read more by her in the future.  I was so inspired to find out that she wrote this book when she was only seventeen and still at school.

The story centres around Bianca Piper who at the beginning of the book is labelled with the nickname the Duff (which stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by hot but irritatingly annoying Wesley Rush.  Taking this to heart, Bianca can't help but dwell on the nickname but finds that she has other problems to deal with too and only one way in which she can temporarily put them all out of her mind.

What I loved about 'The Duff' was how realistically and truthfully all the characters are portrayed.  They have their faults, they don't always do the right thing or say the right thing but they're human and they sometimes make mistakes and get things wrong.  No where is this more amply illustrated than with Bianca herself.  Although I liked her immediately and she came across as quite self-assured and confident on the outside, underneath she has self-esteem issues and problems just like everyone else.  I didn't always agree with some of her actions but she learnt a lot about herself throughout the course of the book.  Her relationship with Wesley is central to the story and there were definitely enough sparks flying between the two of them to start a fire! I have to say that I didn't like Wesley at all in the beginning but as I learnt more about him he did start to grow on me.

Bianca's two friends, Casey and Jessica were amazing.  I liked the way they were all extremely different but seemed to bring out the best in each other and were there whenever any one of them needed a friend or a shoulder to cry on. 

The book deals frankly with the topic of teen sex which I found quite a refreshing change.  Keplinger certainly doesn't tiptoe around the subject.  That does mean that the book is probably better suited to a slightly older teen audience, as there's some strong language too but I appreciated the fact that the subject is out there and openly discussed. 

'The Duff' was an addictive read which really stood out among a crowded teen market.  Funny, entertaining and most of all real, it scored a hit with me.