We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Adult
Pages: 400
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date (Harper edition): July 3, 2006

Eva never really wanted to be a mother - and certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails.

Warning: this book is not YA but adult, and it contains very mature and very disturbing content. I do not recommend it for kids or teens.

The books that leave the reader blatantly puzzled as to how on earth anyone could have imagined such a plot are arguably the best ones. And those that leave the bittersweet taste of a terrible, unimaginable, catastrophically awful story told in such a vivid and tangible way, even more so. The voice in this story, Eva's voice, is so powerful that I had to wonder at several points if I was really reading a work of fiction. Sweet mother of books, what an intense and awe-striking story! Put on your big boy pants, hold your heart real tight and be prepared to ask yourself questions that, before this book, you hadn't even remotely considered. Unfathomable.

Yes, I'll admit that the fluffy I-swallowed-a-dictionary writing grew tiresome at times, even if I must admit that it was deeply well written, but at some point, I just gave in and stopped looking up fancy words and I let the story just flow overlooking many of her sophisticated terms. I was helpless, from the moment I started, Eva was nagging me at all times, to keep reading.

I can't even begin to understand the absolute perfection of character development or the magnificent effortless flow of the plot, so I won't attempt to analyze it for you. I'll just say that if anyone does not like this book, it will always have to do with either the subject or the dizzying array of words but never, ever because of its quality of literature. It is a profusely disturbing, haunting, terrifyingly hard story to read, even nauseating at times. I LOVED it and it's probably one of the BEST books I have EVER read. I do not throw that lightly, btw.

Note: As you may know, a film has been made and I can't wait to see it! BUT, and I have reprieved my frustration about this, it will apparently never come to Houston. I found this schedule, so maybe YOU can go watch it and gloat about it while I huddle sobbing on a corner.

Goodreads / Amazon

Graffiti Moon - Cath Crowley

Young Adult
Pages: 272
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 14, 2012

Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.

I've been waiting to finally post this review for so long! This was my initial reaction upon finishing it: " omgomgomg! LOVE LOVE LOVE! *happy, happy me*" That was my very insightful review on Goodreads until now.

This book captured my heart and made me fall in love with YA for the millionth time, again. Astounding in its characterization, brilliantly developed in its plot, and gorgeously poetic in its writing, Graffiti Moon is the first 2012 book to make it to my all-time favorites (And only two 2011 book managed that). I've been telling everyone I can to read it, because it portrays exactly what I love the most about well done contemporary, with a great I-hate-you-but-I'm-attracted-to-you romance, and breathtaking writing, that apparently one gets from being born in Australia because I can only compare it to Melina Marchetta.

The story is told from alternating point of views from Lucy and Ed. It allows us to know more than they do about what's really going on and it makes the story even more gripping. You're desperately waiting for *the moment* when they'll both know everything we know. It was just perfect. 

The other aspect that I particularly enjoyed in way that no book has ever allowed me to enjoy, was the setting. It made this book more than special for me. I know it's set in Australia and I've never been, but it must look exactly like my city (Caracas, Venezuela) because I felt at home. You can tell it's nothing like America. It was quite unbelievable for me to finally find a book that resembled my teen experience a little. Therefore, the setting was extremely rich and vivid and also very 'artsy' another aspect I adored.

If you love contemporary, if you enjoyed Stephanie Perkins, if you want to peek at how YA should always be written, or all the above... YOU NEED TO READ THIS. <3

Goodreads / Amazon

Favorites in Audiobooks

From the ones I've listened to (find a list here) my top 5 favorites, which means the ones that were a complete pleasure to listen to, from the story to the reader, are:

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, read by Emily Janice Card & Emma Bering

Summer series by Jenny Han, read by Jessica Almasy

Split by Swati Avashti, read by Joshua Swanson

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Jenna Lamia, Emma Galvin, Pierce Cravens & Dan Bittner.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher, read by Emily Gray


And my top 5 favorite readers, which you learn to appreciate and end up picking up faster the ones with reader you like, are (Yes, of course they match my favorite audiobooks!):

Joshua Swanson. LOVE HIM. Seriously. He won some award for Split, which he MORE THAN deserves. He's the reader in Split, The Things a Brother Knows, The Homelanders series, Three Rivers Rising, The Dreamhouse Kings Series and like, a gazillion more.

Emily Janice Card. If you listened to Revolution, she was Andi. She's also the reader in: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, What Comes After, Charmed Thirds, The Lost Gate.

Jenna Lamia. She reads Tell Me A Secret in the Free Podcast. She also reads as Grace in The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. More: The Chosen One, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, The LA Candy series, (adult) The Help.

Emma Galvin. She's Isabel in The Wolves of Mercy Falls series! She also reads DIVERGENT. More: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Strings Attached, Hold Still, The Eternal Ones and the sequel, The Glee books, (adult, but written by Melissa Marr) Graveminder.

Jessica Almasy. She is the one and only Belly (Summer series). Belly made me fall in love with audiobooks. So, Jessica did that. She's also the reader in: Drought, Ten Miles Past Normal, Oh My Gods, Dirty Little Secrets, Intertwined.

Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta

Young Adult
Pages: 432
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: August 26, 2008

"What do you want from me?" he asks. What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him. More.

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all.

Every once in a while a life-changing book comes along when we least expect it. This was one of those times for me. I felt drawn to the book for whatever reason, and I'm thankful for it. It's a really powerful and magical story. A delightful journey in a girl's young life that gives her maturity, understanding and solace.

The plot is perfect. I feel the reader has to really pay attention because I was lost at first and then I had to keep turning back the pages for what I didn't get. Every detail counts in this one. The characters are beyond amazing.

The cover is really pretty, and most importantly I felt drawn to it, more than any other book I remember. This is yet another author I can add to my favorites. She did a wonderful job and I now want to read anything she writes. What ever genre you like best I bet you will love this one. Romance, family, friendship, wars, longing, belonging, grief, love.. all in one! I definitely recommend it.