Just Like Fate by Suzanne Young and Cat Patrick

Just Like Fate by Suzanne Young and Cat Patrick
Release Date – August 27, 2013
Publisher Website -  Simon and Schuster
Publisher Social Media -  Twitter
Pages -  304 pages
My Rating- 4/5
**obtained for review from publisher via BEA**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Caroline is at a crossroads. Her grandmother is sick, maybe dying. Like the rest of her family, Caroline's been at Gram's bedside since her stroke. With the pressure building, all Caroline wants to do is escape--both her family and the reality of Gram's failing health. So when Caroline's best friend offers to take her to a party one fateful Friday night, she must choose: stay by Gram's side, or go to the party and live her life.

The consequence of this one decision will split Caroline's fate into two separate paths--and she's about to live them both.

Friendships are tested and family drama hits an all-new high as Caroline attempts to rebuild old relationships, and even make a few new ones. If she stays, her longtime crush, Joel, might finally notice her, but if she goes, Chris, the charming college boy, might prove to be everything she's ever wanted.

Though there are two distinct ways for her fate to unfold, there is only one happy ending...

The road not taken often holds a certain allure. The 'what if' question can haunt you. If given the chance many people would like to see what might have been if they made a certain choice. Just Like Fate teases exactly this, and shows that sometimes you can't escape what is meant to be.

The writing in this meshes together really well together. Suzanne Young and Cat Patrick kept the characters in both 'paths' similar in feeling, while having the differences of the path matter. They matched each other's writing quite well, and as a result the story felt cohesive. I knew that one of them wrote the 'stay' storyline and one wrote the 'go' storyline, but they read like one author wrote it.

Caroline read like an average teenager. She had family problems, crushes on classmates, and friends whom she cared a great deal for. She is not perfect, and makes mistakes. She using running away as a defense mechanism. Her relationship with her siblings, and mother is especially delicate. They way the death of Caroline's grandmother forces this family to attempt to come together is something that others may recognize and sympathize with.

The romance was one of my favourite parts. It wasn't rushed and didn't feel forced. There are two love interests, and each of them taught Caroline something about what she wanted for herself. Stories that allow the main character to make mistakes, change her mind, and realize that perhaps she isn't compatible with someone have always been my favourite. Caroline gets to know them, and see that who you think someone is, maybe isn't who they actually are.

Choices play such a huge part in this novel. Not necessarily the choice themselves, but how those choices shape and impact us. The consequences of choices we make, and how they alter the route we take are so important to Caroline's character. The way the choice between staying and going is presented is one of my favourite parts of the novel, because it shows how defining some experiences can be, even if you're not expecting them to be.

Sometimes the ending to your story isn't as important as the journey. Just Like Fate showcases that it's the in between moments that define us. Fate may bring us to the same place in the end, but choices made along the way decide what type of person you'll be when you get there.

Revived by Cat Patrick

Revived by Cat Patrick

Release Date –  May 1, 2012

Publisher Website –  Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Publisher Social Media - Twitter

Pages - 336 pages

My Rating- 4.5/5

**obtained from the publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.  

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.

When I started Revived I was expecting a more thriller feel, with some futuristic aspects tossed in.  I ended up with a very moving, touching novel that went much deeper than I as expecting.

Revived asks the question of what it would be like to cheat death. Daisy has cheated it more than once. She comes across as if she feels indestructible. This rang true to me. Here is a girl that has cheated death a few times, it makes sense that she wouldn’t fear it or be overly concerned with it.

A lot of the novel deals with the effects of cheating death and what that would do to a person. Daisy feels disconnected from death. It isn’t until she’s presented with a situation that Revive can’t fix that she fully understands. The anguish, pain, and eventual acceptance that accompanies a loss of a loved one is so fully invoked in this novel. You will feel each emotion along with the characters and your heart will break for them.

The science side of the story was intriguing and yet understated enough that it didn’t take away from the heart of the story. The mystery of what the agency really is, and what the true nature of the program provides the twists, turns and shocks in the story. While I did see the ending coming, I was ok with that because it is almost the secondary part to the story. It’s the characters who really shine in this novel, and the emotional journey Daisy is on.

Daisy is an instantly likeable character. She, for all that has happened to her, seems like a well adjusted, intelligent teenager that is just trying to blend in. She temps fate by putting herself in dangerous situations because she’s come to view life as something that is a given. Her determination to dig deeper into the program, and find answers when she first starts to feel something is amiss is admirable. 

Her relationship with Matt is sweet, cute, and exactly what you would expect for high school romance. It’s not some epic love at first sight. It’s a little flirtation that could turn into more. I liked reading about the struggle Daisy had with wanting to get closer, but also needing to keep a distance so that she would not jeopardize the program. 

The Revived drug, and the subsequent program isn’t something that is out of the realm of possibility.  The consequences of a drug like that being made public are easily and scarily imagined. Revived makes us think about life, death and what they mean to us. It’s a novel that is thought provoking, and ultimately makes you want to cherish life because it really is a gift. It also reminds us to recall the good times of loved ones who have passed away, because that is the best way to honour their memory.

In My Mailbox!

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

I had a pretty awesome book week. I have quite a few new additions to my bookshelf!



Revived by Cat Patrick (goodreads)

A HUGE thank you to Hachette Group Canada for this! I am so excited to read it! I have a few books that are coming out in spring 2012 that I want to read NOW, but am also wanting to save them so they count for the Debut Author Reading Challenge I am taking part in. ;)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (goodreads) NOT PICTURED

A HUGE thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the egalley I have waiting to be read. Again, this comes out in January, so I might wait and read it right on Jan 1st! I have to double check when the galley expires.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (goodreads)

Brodie at Eleusinian Mysteries mentioned this one. Something to do with hot cowboys....

Either way I was tempted enough to purchase it from Book Depository and it came (finally) this week. I am super excited to read it. It's going to be part of an Angel Theme week I am planning for April (right around my birthday).

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (goodreads)
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (goodreads)
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (goodreads)

I purchased the three of these while at Chapters this week. I have been meaning to read all of them and now that I have them I am hoping to fit them into my review schedule. Super excited for all 3!

What books did you get this week? Leave me a comment and I will check it out.

Happy reading everyone!