My Life Next Door
By Huntley Fitzpatrick

4 out of 5

Samantha has always listened to her mother. Every step of her life, she followed without question. She went to private school, she worked the posh summer jobs, she attended all of her mother's political events, and she stayed away from the Garretts. The Garretts were Samantha's lively next door neighbors. With eight kids, the Garrett's house is always messy and loud and welcoming. In comparison, Samantha's house is a museum. But her mom said no, so Samantha never met her neighbors. But it didn't stop her from watching. She watched for years, until one son, Jase, decided to get to know her. Jase and Samantha begin a relationship, but will it last? Or will the differences in their lives, and Samantha's disapproving mom keep them apart? Or with something much worse, a dangerous secret, tear them apart when they need each other most?

This book, which starts out at just an adorable summer romance turns out to be so much more. Samantha and Jase's romance reminds me a lot of my own relationship, and I found it very easy to relate to the characters. But the other characters were great too. No one was flat. Everyone had so many layers and dimensions, even the baby, Patsy. Every character was full of personality, my personal favorite being George. The emotions and problems that Sam and Jase deal with are very real and they way they deal with them is very realistic. This book is called Contemporary Fiction, and I like it so much that I am planning on reading more Contemporaries. Marry Christmas y'all!

The Final Warning (Maximum Ride #4)
By James Patterson

 

2.5 out of 5

We catch up with the flock in Washington D.C., where they are talking to national representatives and trying to decide what to do next. Luckily--or not so luckily--they don't have to wait very long to decide. Their safety in D.C. is short lived and the flock is on the run again.  But then an interesting opportunity comes about. The flock is invited to work with a team of scientists to  stop global warming. The only downside, the research takes place in Antarctica! The flock must bundle up if they want to have any chance of saving the world. But even at the bottom of the planet, our favorite flock of flying kids isn't safe for long. Can Max and her friends get out alive, or is this the end of the road?

I cannot believe James Patterson turned this story into a call to action about Global Warming! Are you freaking kidding me? Not happy. This was definitely the weakest book in the series for me. The book is short, the plot is, loose, and the characters are thrown in willy-nilly without any development. Like this Uber-Director. What was his story? Why didn't he have a body? How did he create this "army" of robots to carry out his dirty work? And the scientists, I never even bothered to learn all of their names. When something would happen to one of them, I wouldn't know if that was the one Fang was crushing on or not. And I'm not even go into the exploding pizza box that was NEVER resolved! Honestly I felt like James Patterson was tired with this series--and wanted to move onto The Dangerous Days of Daniel X which I have read and liked--and he just gave up on Max and her story. It was disappointing, and I'm sad that it had such a downfall.

Now, that being said, I am too invested in this series to just give up. And plus I have to rest of the series here with me, so, why not? I will carry on, and finish the series. Even if that means I have to post bad review after bad review.

The Way We Fall (Fallen World #1)
By Megan Crewe

3.5 out of 5
        
Kaelyn is writing a diary to her estranged friend Leo. She is apologizing for ruining their friendship, and she talks about how she is trying to be a better person. Then things get knocked off track. Rachel's (Kaelyn's friend) dad gets sick with a crazy virus. Then Rachel gets it, and then it explodes. On a small island in Canada, the virus is spreading quickly and no one knows how it's spread, what started it, and how to cure it. Kaelyn tries to help in every way she can, but will it be enough? and will she end up sick, or will she be one of the lucky ones?

 

I had my doubts about this book in the beginning. It started out really well. Kaelyn is writing a diary to her estranged friend Leo. She is apologizing for ruining their friendship, and she talks about how she is trying to be a better person. Then things get knocked off track. The virus is all over the place, and I thought that it would get bad. But luckily, it didn't. Kaelyn is an excellent character with a very mature personality, but at the same time she is very scared. However, she knows she can't show it because people, like Meredith, are looking to her. She is an extremely complex character, and a good one at that. I really liked Gav, and the role he played in the book. I will admit, I cried at the end, but I think that made the book even better because it had such a powerful ending.