Amy Martin (1)

This review can also be found on my blog Love at First Write

A copy of this book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book really unique to read. The concept of a character having a something about them that they like/hate at the same time isn't new, but the way it was in this particular book was great. The book’s main character is Zip. She lives with her mom, her grandparents live next door, and her dad lives in Chicago. Her parents are divorced which obviously isn’t so abnormal nowadays. Her dad gave her the nickname ‘Zip’ years ago because she’s a fast runner. She plays basketball, loves to read, and what do you know, has new neighbors moving in next door.

Kieran and Kayla are the new kids to town. He has a sleeping disorder. He can't control when he sleeps and sometimes passes out at inconvenient times, such as during school. He also has dreams of the future that always come true. They are only small scenes that don't normally make sense until the event actually happens, but they're always accurate. This happens to him because his mother was taking a new drug while pregnant. Interesting stuff happened back in the day (no spoilers) and now the only person who might know the formula is his biological father. Their hope is that if the formula was revealed a cure could be developed to help Kieran. But does Kieran want to change? Obviously he wants to be in control of when he sleeps, but having those dreams is part of who he is. It's what he's grown up doing. Could he really give that up to be like a normal guy?

Zip just happens to be there when Kieran has his first episode in school and they end up becoming close friends, much to his sister Kayla’s dislike. The formation of their relationship was super cute
The main problem of the book was that Kieran's real dad is getting released from jail and might come to manipulate Kieran. His buddy Frank is already in this town and Zip thinks she might be getting the dreams too. Everything goes down on the most important night of the year: Prom. There were engaging twists and turns throughout. This book actually made me not want to read it. The file sat on my phone for like a week because I didn't want to find out what happened on Prom night. I didn't want to hear about anything bad happening. My curiosity won out. I'm glad it did because it was nowhere near as bad as I thought haha. The book was good, obviously, but it doesn't leave me dying to read book two. The book doesn't end in a cliffhanger and I honestly think it could have been a stand alone book. I have no clue what book two will be about, but I most certainly will read it, it's just not going to kill me to put it off a bit.

Typically I put constructive criticism in my reviews but there wasn't really anything that stood out to me. Which can be taken as a compliment and a criticism. I liked this book but there wasn't really anything about it to make it stand out from other books, aside from the fact that Kieran's condition came from his mom taking drugs during pregnancy. What I mean is, in the future I probably won't remember this book, it doesn't have that 'omg' quality that makes a book unforgettable. I’d recommend it if you want a short refreshing read, but I don’t think that the book is something that will stick with you.… (mais)

Perfectly Normal, written by Amy Martin, is set in small-town America and tells of the ordinary lives of three high school seniors: Rachel Lord, Ellie Stengel, and Janey Douchette. Most schools have an in-crowd; in the case of Ridgeview High, those popular people are the Perfects—Lexi Grayson, Alissa Lofton, and Dani Maguire. Dani used to be pals with Rachel, Ellie, and Janey; however, in middle school, she traded them in for some flashier friends. rel="nofollow" target="_top">...more… (mais)

Set within Ridgeview High School, three best friends (Rachel, Janey and Ellie) are the nerds among the Perfects (Dani & her clique). However, one ordinary morning, Janey doesn’t show up and appears to be missing. Despite the weather, Rachel races to their old neighborhood hoping to find Janey among the abandoned houses, but Rachel never makes it. Rachel wakes up from her crash in the body of The Perfect Dani as she discovers her own body is sitting in a coma as a result of the crash. Rachel & Ellie must find a way to get Rachel back into her own body while maintaining Dani’s status at high school in the meantime.

I chose this book thinking it would be an ode to Freaky Friday, a movie where mom and daughter switch bodies, and it definitely started off as an enjoyable read along such lines. The high school setting is easy to relate to and the characters are adequately developed.

However, as I read on and realized the body switch was due to witchcraft, I started to lose enjoyment in the read. I am not a big fantasy, sci-fi, mythical beings fan and I don’t often read stories surrounding these genres, but I felt the urge to read on. While I enjoyed the story, I felt when the story shifted into focusing on witchcraft and the town’s history the shift was awkward. I enjoyed the introduction of additional characters (the girls’ parents), as such was necessary to provide the depth needed to stretch the storyline into a series format, but I was hoping the author would have been more creative than to solely place the cause of body switching on witching spells. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I will become a quick addict of this series, I remain intrigued enough to maybe pick up book #2 in the near future.

For the full review, please visit: https://fortheloveofthepageblog.wordpress.com/

*A review copy of this book was provided to me by LibraryThing, in exchange for an honest review.… (mais)