Second Star (Alyssa B. Sheinmel)

A twisty story about love, loss, and lies, this contemporary oceanside adventure is tinged with a touch of dark magic as it follows seventeen-year-old Wendy Darling on a search for her missing surfer brothers. Wendy’s journey leads her to a mysterious hidden cove inhabited by a tribe of young renegade surfers, most of them runaways like her brothers. Wendy is instantly drawn to the cove’s charismatic leader, Pete, but her search also points her toward Pete's nemesis, the drug-dealing Jas. Enigmatic, dangerous, and handsome, Jas pulls Wendy in even as she's falling hard for Pete. A radical reinvention of a classic, Second Star is an irresistible summer romance about two young men who have yet to grow up--and the troubled beauty trapped between them.

I tried to read this book.

I really did.

I thought, Peter Pan retelling?

Awesome!

A younger, sexier Hook?

Awesomer!

A love triangle between Peter Pan and Hook...

Anyway, the story opens just after teenage Wendy Darling has graduated. She lives on the coast of California with her parents, her dog, Nana and her missing brothers, John and Michael. Her brothers are twins and surfers who disappeared one pregnancy nine months ago. (Haha, that's all I could think when she said nine months.) She has a best friend named Fiona, who doesn't go, do or think without her boyfriend at her side. This part of Fiona's cardboard character really bothered annoyed me.

Anyway, Wendy soon meets Peter Pan's Second Star counterpart, Pete. Pete is a surfer and former foster care teen who lives with a bunch of other runaways (all teens; no kids in this world) in a abandoned mansion on a cliff. Pretty soon into meeting him, Wendy falls for Pete, who kisses her, although he has this complicated relationship with a blonde named Belle.

They spend the night together, the night they meet, just kissing. Not even making out, just kissing. Pete seems nice and boring enough. Soon after meeting him, Wendy lies to her parents that she is going on a road trip with her best friend and like typical YA parents, they're all like, Sure, honey, whatever you like. We're barely around anyway!

Then she enlists the help of her best friend into lying to her parents and tells Fiona that she's going on a trip
Wendy doesn't go to Neverland. Instead, she goes to Kensie Cove or Kensington (a allusion to the Kensington Gardens in which Peter Pan lived before Neverland) and meets this guy named Pete. He is a former foster care kid who lives with  a bunch of runway teens in abandoned mansions in the cove. He takes Wendy in and teaches her to surf which is something her brothers never did.

However, Pete is also a liar because he knew John and Michael, but lies to Wendy about it early in the novel. From what I learned from skimming and skipping around, the twins used to live with Pete and his gang until he found out they were using fairy dust and kicked them out.

Belle later reveals that she saw what happened. John and Michael were high on 'dust' and tried to surf a forty foot wave. She doesn't say it out loud, but alludes to their death after they wiped out.

The other half of the Kensie belongs to his former partner, Jas (aka Hook) who now deals a drug called fairy dust and has a gang full of dusters who live with him. Jas and Pete used to be surfing buddies (think Plankton and Mr. Krabs) until Jas started dealing and Pete excommunicated him from his house.

Angry about Pete's lies, Wendy leaves and goes and joins up with Jas' crew. However, to get into his house to look for him she has to take some dust. That's the price to get in. She does and the stuff messes her up so bad that she ends up on Fiona's front step. Fiona calls her parents who take her home and send her too her room to "re-establish authority."

This is especially funny because while she is locked away in her room, Jas shows up and they run away to try to look for her brothers. It was around here that I just couldn't take anymore and gave up reading this book. Now I understand the term DNF (Did Not Finish) when it should be called CNF-Could Not Finish.

At the end, Wendy is with Jas, Pete and Belle as this famous waved called Witch Tree shows up. Something happens as the the wave hits and her last memories are of Jas. Then she wakes up in the psych ward of a hospital with her parents.

They tell her she wasn't on a boat with Jas, Pete, Belle and crew.There were no boats out on the sea during the storm because Coast Guard shut the area down. Instead, she tried to swim out into the sea during a storm on Pebble Beach. And no one brought Wendy to the hospital because she was alone. Basically, the girl is crazy.Her brothers are still missing at sea (aka dead) and she imagined everything. Fiona is the only one who has realized that she has gone crazy.

She either went went off the deep end due to her grief and started doing the combination of drugs that make up dust or the drug cocktail made her lose her mind. Either way, she's off her rocker, they say. So she goes through therapy and starts saying everything's fake to convince her parents no matter how wrong it feels to her.

Until it doesn't anymore.

She gets out the crazy house and slowly bides her time until everyone trusts her again. Then, Wendy eventually goes back to Kensington Cove to see if it really wasn't real. Apparently, the place was once called Kensington Beach before all the mansions in the area were abandoned. The houses are empty and rundown without any trace of Pete or Jas or their crews. The beach doesn't even exist. There's no white sand just a bunch of waves and rocks.

I'm sure this novel would be better if the author hadn't tried to connect the story to Peter Pan. I might've even enjoyed it more. I mean, I kind of understand the connection. Wendy (and her brothers) run away with Peter Pan to Neverland because they weren't ready to grow up at the moment. Peter Pan offers that escape.

Eventually, however, Wendy comes to the realization that she has to and is ready to grow up and she and her brothers go home.

Wendy in Second Star goes to Pete and Kensie Cove to find her brothers... Although, if she's truly crazy then she went to Kensie Cove because she isn't quite ready to face her brothers death. Which is also representative of the escape Pete provides her. However, eventually she allows herself to come to terms with it (aka when Belle tells her she witnessed). See, that's soo interesting. It just would've been a lot better if the story wasn't connected to Peter Pan. I just wasn't feeling it.

I especially felt like What the fuck? because at the end Wendy receives some mail. It's a picture inside a envelope without any address or stamps because someone just slipped it in the mailbox. And the picture is of Jas and Pete with surfboards and their arms around each other. Suddenly, Wendy starts wondering if the Witch Tree wave could've washed out the beach, messed up Pete's house and literally swallow her memories. She isn't crazy, she decides. Jas must've pushed her in the right current then saved the others then he and Pete went off the surf the world together. But someone wanted her to know it was all real.

...or maybe she's just crazy after all and put that picture in her own mailbox.

And if that's true, then what was the point of the story? Either way, I sure was disappointed.

Toxic [Pretty Little Liars #15]

One A has been captured…but the most dangerous A of all is still out there in the penultimate installment in Sara Shepard's #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series. High school seniors Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna barely survived their most recent encounter with A. And it's not over yet…. The police don't believe there's another, deadlier, A out there, but the girls know what-and who-they saw. If they don't track down this final tormentor soon, A will silence them forever. Sara Shepard's fan base continues to grow as ABC Family's hit Pretty Little Liars TV show draws in new readers to the #1 New York Times bestselling series. Full of unexpected twists and shocking revelations, the second-to-last novel ramps up the stakes for the jaw-dropping series conclusion in Pretty Little Liars #16.

And so it continues. The series that stole all of Sara Shepard's creative juices from The Lying Game. 

I'll admit it, it's true. I am. I swear Sara Shepard and P. C. and Kristin Cast need to get together and let their books have babies together. Because these series are getting ridiculously long.

Anyways, a majority of Toxic has a nice feel to it. Things seem to finally be going right in the girl's world. 

Aria got discovered in the art world after a famous art critic collector named Carruthers (I think that's what he was) buys her painting...the only downside is that it's a painting of Ali. (I should've seen it coming from that little detail.) Anyway, this art critic's name is so powerful soon Aria has a showing, her mom (who made the sale at the gallery she works at) has been promoted to assistant director and Aria is giving exclusives to different art magazines and blogs. 

One of them belongs to a guy named Harrison and because she's on the rebound from Noel and her most recent break-up and their love for art, she tries to move on. Noel tells her early in the book that he needs a break and starts dating this blonde Ali-clone bimbo named Scarlet. (Am I the only one who thinks that only girls with red hair should be named Scarlet?). Deep down Aria knows she isn't really feeling Harrison and she's most def. not over Noel. And he...Oh my God, this boy makes me so mad! 

At the climax of the book, Aria sees Noel and Scarlet at the Rosewood Rally's for Underprivileged Kids (How can you have a rally for something that doesn't exist in your area?) and runs away to the bathroom because she can't handle it. However, he bursts through the bathroom 

And they are all:

Then he's all, "I don't know what I want." Shaking my head; so like a guy. I wanted to slap him. Then, he leaves. 

After Aria's left in the bathroom alone, someone from the New York Post calls and tells her that the art collector who bought her painting, didn't really buy it. He's was in Africa during all of this and someone used his name. Aria starts freaking out as the tabloid reporter starts asking if she set up the whole scandal herself, which she denies. She asks him who the name of Carruther's assistant was and he tells her, Maxine Preptwill, (however you spell it) AKA the name Noel and Ali use to use to communicate. Ali set her up. 

However, this actually backfired. Instead of Aria leaving the art world in disgrace, it only made people more interested in her art. There were more people buying her painting and her mom knew she wasn't lying about setting her own-self up. Which I loved. Usually the parents in this series piss me the fuck off. Also, Noel showed up and told her he dumped the Ali-look alike I mean, Scarlet, and tells Aria he wants her back. She agrees.

Hanna's nice new life is due to a movie that she's been invited to join. Someone is re-doing the movie of the Liars lives. Instead of that terrible Lifetime-esqe movie Pretty Little Killers, there is now movie that will be played in theaters called Burn It Down. (I hated how the movie script matched the dialogue of the books word for word.) Although, she's been invited to play Naomi instead of her self, who is being played by a celebrity named Hailey Blake. She's just another typical friend-until-she's-not character. She's all buddy-buddy with Hanna and takes her out to a movie premiere. It's there that Hanna meets the guy playing her real life boyfriend, Mike. Who (of course) kisses her. And Hailey gets the whole thing on her camera. 

Everything's going fine until Hailey's bad portrayal of Hanna's character and her partying gets to her and she and the director get into it Megan Foxx style. With Hailey no longer playing Movie-Hanna, Movie-Mike tells her that she should go after the part. So she does, but Hailey is betrayed since Hanna did nothing but encourage her to leave the movie. To get her back she sends the picture of Hanna and Movie-Mike kissing to the real Mike, who, is understandably butt-hurt. 

Hanna is so stupid, she should've told Mike about the kiss as soon as possible. You would think by now, she and the other's would have learned that if you tell all your secrets, there's nothing anyone can hold over anyone's head. But of course, none of the Liars thinks like this. 

Mike and Hanna are temporarily in a fight until Hailey decides to be on Team Hanna again after she sees film of her acting for Burn It Down. She gives Hanna her blessing for the part and fixes things with her and Mike. I liked that her mom was actually trying in her relationship and it was kind of nice that Kate was Tweet-supporting Hanna's movie role. However, I was wondering about her dad and why he didn't try to reach out to her after her murder charges were dropped. Haha...well, seeing the end of Toxic this is probably a good thing for his career. But more about that later.

Spencer's story-line pissed me off because it pointed out a flaw in this books. I swear these girls be kissing-and-dissing boys (and girls) from one book to the next. I wish I could meet guys as fast as they do. Shoot, I'd never be single. Spencer starts a bullying forum website for people who are or have been bullied to share their stories. This is her claim to fame. She goes on TV shows and gets all this coverage for her site. We also learn that in Alison's wake a bunch of fans called Ali Cats have risen. This a cult of Ali-crazed, Ali-loving fanatics who believe she is brave, misunderstood and strong for enduring everything she has. Basically they're crazy.

One of the alleged Ali Cats named Dominick sends Spencer e-mails telling her she ain't shit and she doesn't know what she's talking about. At the same time, this other guy, Greg is sending Spencer messages telling her that he is thankful for everything she has done for him and the others and blah-blah-blah. When Spencer goes on TV, he shows up-and so does Dominick, who makes a scene at the bully shoot video. After, Spencer and Greg hang out and start liking each other. In the middle of their almost-first-kiss, Ali (or is it) shows up and messes it up. Spencer and Greg spend more time together and finally kiss. She finally gets to the point where she confesses that Ali is alive and no one believes her and literally everything they knew.

Like, Spencer, you just met this boy! It's not like you've known him for years or lived in the same town as him like Noel or Mike. And even some of those people aren't trustworthy! Let alone some damn stranger! At the Rosewood Rally's event, Aria tells Spencer about Ali setting up her art career just so she can fall. She's so upset that Greg notices and keeps pressing the issue so Spencer tells him what's up. Of course, Greg turned out to also be Dominck, meaning he was sending both e-mails to Spencer. The Dominick Spencer thought she had seen, was just a friend of his doing a favor. Greg turns out to be a Ali Cat employed by Ali himself. 

On second thought, maybe they should be together. So they can be stupid together. Ali doesn't let people who go blabbing her secrets live. Which is why Ali kills him at the end. 

Emily is the only one who had a terrible story-line. Like, her's was gut-wrenching. I'm starting to think that Sara and Pretty Little Liars the TV show are starting to play off each other. (If you want to see these TV spoilers, highlight the lines below. First, Noel knew Ali's secret in the books and he knew she was alive in the TV show. Maya gets killed off on the TV show and now Jordan is killed too.) Emily's notorious thief girlfriend and her lawyer have figured out a way to get her out a jail. Somehow, both times she was arrested, she conveniently wasn't read her Miranda rights and a bunch of other stuff. If everything goes as planned, Jordan will get out on parole, although she and Emily can't run away together. Either way, she and Emily make plans together. Just before this happens though, Emily has a run in with a Crazy Ali. Before this all of the Liars have been having great lives. No one's been getting any texts and even though they knew Ali is still out there, no one's had any runs with her.But then when Emily is doing laps at the pool when Ali shows up and is all, 

And Emily is all, Bitch, please. Ali gets mad and nearly drowns her by holding her down in the water. She makes some ominous threat then takes off. But Emily's not about to have it. She snatches Ali's hoodie off of her and inside is a receipt to a grocery store. 

Soon after this though, Emily tries to use Jordan's lawyer to patch her through to the prison and the lawyer callously gives her some bad news: Jordan's dead. One of her inmates killed her and escaped. The first thing Emily thinks is Ali. She refused to tell her she loved her because she had finally moved on with Jordan and in response, Ali killed her not her inmate. However, everyone thinks she's crazy. I'm not even sure how I felt about this until the inmate's body turns up too.

She is heartbroken and although her parents keep asking what's wrong, she doesn't tell them because she knows they won't care as much because Jordan was a criminal. She lies and claims that the bruises from her nearly death-by-Ali experience were self-inflicted and starts sleeping in the closet. Her mom tries to make her feel better by trying to set her up at the Rosewood Rally. Which I thought was a very nice gesture coming from the parents who sent her away because of her sexuality. But she also thought something very important. How many times does she have to get disowned by her parents before tragedy brings them back together? A compelling (and slightly convenient) question.

Emily and the others track down the store that the receipt came from. One of the cashiers drops this accidental hint about Ali which later gets her killed. The girls figure out that Nick, Ali's ex-boyfriend, and his family had a house in the area that's been vacant for a while. They go search in the area, but Ali is nowhere to be found although they smell her perfume. They decide to set up cameras in the area and take turns watching them. Emily goes on a secret rampage one day and destroys the house although she cleans up after herself but the cameras catch everything. Spencer sees who she thinks is Dominick checking out the area one day and tries to catch up, but he runs. She later finds out it was Greg who, specially wanted to know if there were cameras.

During the Rally, the girls get together and go back to the house. There they find blood everywhere and a sweater that they stupidly take with them (removing evidence? I kind of get it but at the same time it makes me so mad!) and a hastily cleaned up crime scene. They call the cops then leave and all spend the night at Emily's. The next morning, Agent Fuji shows up suddenly believing them that Ali is alive. Or rather was. They found Ali's blood, torture devices and her tooth at the house. They know about the cameras and several witnesses have seen them in the area. The Liars are accused of keeping and torturing Ali to death. They are all arrested.

Ha, I wonder how she feels since each of the girl's success ties back to her. The first painting Aria sold was of Ali. The movie that's putting Hanna on the map is about Ali. Spencer's bullying website is due to her experiences with Ali. I swear if the next book isn't the last I'm gonna scream! It can only end like Obsessed. It's the only way this can ever truly be over. 

Ali has to die.

Choker (Elizabeth Woods)

SUMMARY:  

Sixteen-year-old Cara Lange has been a loner ever since she moved away from her best and only friend, Zoe, years ago. She eats lunch with the other girls from the track team, but they're not really her friends. Mostly she spends her time watching Ethan Gray from a distance, wishing he would finally notice her, and avoiding the popular girls who call her "Choker" after a humiliating incident in the cafeteria. 

Then one day Cara comes home to find Zoe waiting for her. Zoe's on the run from problems at home, and Cara agrees to help her hide. With her best friend back, Cara's life changes overnight. Zoe gives her a new look and new confidence, and next thing she knows, she's getting invited to parties and flirting with Ethan. Best of all, she has her BFF there to confide in. But just as quickly as Cara's life came together, it starts to unravel. A girl goes missing in her town, and everyone is a suspect—including Ethan. Worse still, Zoe starts behaving strangely, and Cara begins to wonder what exactly her friend does all day when she's at school. You're supposed to trust your best friend no matter what, but what if she turns into a total stranger?

MY THOUGHTS:


This book was ugh. It was predictable and anti-climatic and unsuspenseful. I wanted to be creeped out and the mystery really be to a mystery but it wasn't. This book was a teen boring version of that movie with Johnny Depp, the Secret Window.

Very early on I figured out what was going on. It just seemed too predictable although the author was trying to make it a twist. At first I thought that Zoe was real but then I started thinking.

It's absolutely too much of a coincidence that crazy-Zoe just happened to show up the day that Cara is humiliated at school and gains the nickname "Choker".

Then after thinking about it I thought it was also too coincidental that Sydney dies after making fun of Cara. Of course it made sense if Zoe was really a crazed friend and everything but I started thinking it was all weird.

Then I remembered something that Cara had mentioned in the beginning about her parents hanging around everything when they first moved. Maybe she was crazy or something and her parents started hanging around more.

And it was weird that Cara kept talking to herself mentally about the murders/kidnapping and talking about Zoe. Then when she started smelling stinkiness and...by the time Ethan said that there was no one there when Zoe and Cara were fighting in the barn, I knew it.

But what the heck? What kind of cops let anyone on a crime scene anyway?

This book could've been so much more but it wasn't.