Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson

Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson

Release Date –  June 12, 2012

Publisher Website –  Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Publisher Social Media -  Twitter

Pages -  336 pages

My Rating- 2.5/5

**obtained from publisher and Netgalley for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Four girls. One magical, and possibly dangerous Italian summer. Family mysteries, ancient castles, long hot nights of dancing under the stars . . . and, of course, plenty of gorgeous Italian boys!

Italian boys, a mystery and four girls. This premise makes it sound like this novel should have everything you need for an enjoyable summer read. While there were some stand out points, for me,  this novel had something missing.

The descriptions of landscapes and sights in Italy were one of the stand outs. The author makes everything so vividly real that you can picture it. From the gorgeous landscape, castles, and pieces of art each items is described with realism. The writing is better for this, and was quite enjoyable. The pacing was good, the ending especially picking up the pace.  The flow is effortless and makes for a novel that is highly readable.

The mystery is not solved at the end of the book. I kept expecting it to be, as that is the main focus of the start of the novel, and I was a little disappointed by this. What starts out as a burning question is pushed aside for the romance and ends up being brought up again to end the novel on a cliffhanger. The mystery drew me in. The entire idea of wanting to find out why you are dead ringer for a girl in a painting from the 1700s fascinated me and I wanted more details. 

The girls Violet, Kendra, Kelly and Paige are all quite different. Kelly is an English lass. A little socially shy, and from a more lower middle class family than the other girls. She’s super smart and very friendly. Kendra and Paige are Americans. The similarity pretty much stops there. Kendra is sophisticated, smart, and meant for Ivy League schools. She’s also quite pretty. Paige is blonde, fun, the life of the party. She is choosing her college based on the beach and loves to play sports. Violet is the black sheep of her family. She looks nothing like her tall, fair Scandinavian mother,  or Scottish father. She’s smaller, dark haired, and resembles many Italian girls. She’s artistic and a little sheltered. The story is strictly from Violet’s perspective. I do feel that the author did a fine job in letting us know a bit about each of the other girls, and Violet. None of them really stood out, or connected with me. I feel like I was expecting Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants in terms of characterization but that connection just wasn’t there for me.

The romance was lacking for me. I feel that Violet fell for Luca REALLY quickly. I am pretty sure she sees him and falls immediately. Lust is one thing, but these all consuming feelings that she develops are rather quick. Luca was aggravating to me. He was a jerk to Violet most of the time, with rare moments of sweetness. Violet even smacks him at one point because of his lousy behaviour and yet she still chases him. I didn’t fall for the romance, and as that is the majority of the focus of the book, it left me a little disillusioned. 

 I do think that others may end up enjoying this one more than I did. The Italian boys, carefree feel, and luscious descriptions will be a hit with most readers. I just wish the other aspects would have been as well developed.

The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks

The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks
Release Date – April 24, 2012
Publisher Website – Random House Children’s Books
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 224 pages
My Rating- 3/5
**obtained from the publisher and Netgalley for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.

The Girl in the Park grabbed my interest initially due to the real life case it’s loosely based on. I hoped for an intriguing mystery set in an elite New York City private school. I felt the message of victims and how their character can come under attack to be the most important part of the book however.

The writing in the novel is fairly straight forward. I felt the middle and second half to be stronger than the first. It starts out a little slower, but quickly immerses you into the mystery of what happened the night Wendy was murdered.

The characters are all fairly realistic to a high school setting. You’ve got an array of young teenagers that make up various groups found in most high schools. I felt it harder to relate to relate to, or like any of the characters except for Rain though.

Rain is a shy, withdrawn character who I sympathized with. She has a cleft pallet and as a result is painfully shy. She had some speech issues that she corrected and it is made her self conscious about talking to others, especially other teenagers in her school. She is very determined to find out what really happened to Wendy, and she does start to stand up for herself and change throughout the story. Her desire to speak for Wendy is admirable and she really does care for her friend.

Being familiar with the case the novel is loosely based on may have helped me enjoy in the novel more. I was not able to guess the killer as a result. I was expecting it to be a certain character based on the real life case. Once the real killer is revealed the clues are quite obvious and I believe that someone not familiar with the case would be able to determine who it was early on.

The face that Wendy was torn apart for her “party girl” ways echoes what happens all too often in real life, and what happens in the real case. A woman may be made to feel she has done something to the provoke the attack. “What was she doing in a park that late at night and with a boy?”, “Why was she dressed in an outfit that revealing?” etc. These kinds of statements tend to blame the victim for behaviour that they really didn’t have anything to do with. It is wonderful to see this presented in a YA novel and I hope it gets teens and adults talking.

The confrontation that happens when the killer is revealed may end up being seen as anti-climatic to some. I am not 100 percent sure on how I feel about that part of the novel. Part of me felt it lacked a bit of “drama” but part of me thought it had a touch of realism to it.

All in all, The Girl in the Park is a well thought out murder mystery that puts it’s own spin on an age old formula and has a touch of realism that I hope will cause people to think.

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Release Date –  January 24, 2012
Publisher Website –  Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers/RandomHouse
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -  201 pages
My Rating- 7/10
**obtained from the publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

What makes your heart race a little faster? Just in time for Valentine's Day, it's FALLEN IN LOVE, four wholly original new stories collected in a new novel set in the Middle Ages by Lauren Kate. FALLEN IN LOVE gives fans the much-talked about but never-revealed stories of FALLEN characters as they intertwine with the epic love story of Luce and Daniel. The stories include: Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles , Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane; and Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda.

I have read all the other novels in the Fallen series and was quite excited about getting to read more about Roland and Arriane as I like both of them and feel they are not developed enough.

I went into this novel expecting some quick, cute short stories. The good thing with this novel is that it is pretty much what you expect. The stories were more interconnected than I was expecting as well which was nice to see.

The “novel” is really short, clocking in at only 201 pages, so it’s a fast read.

This the kind of book I wish I could rate each story on it’s own. I felt some were stronger than the others. I will, however, break down the review by story.

Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles

This story was cute. It follows Shelby and Miles while they try to help Luce and Daniel on Valentine’s Day. It’s the one story I would consider an actual love story as it’s happier, fluff and pretty sweet.

Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love

I would call this a heartbreak story rather than a love one. Roland spends his tale remembering a lost love. He decides to go see her years later and realizes that sometimes the best thing you can do for the one you love is let them be happy without you.

Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane

The most heartbreaking of all the stories. Arriane’s love is one she can never be with due to circumstances. The ghastly end to the story results in Arriane literally burning for her love.

Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda.

This  felt like the weakest story out of the 4 stories. It didn’t really feel like much happened in this one, other than Luce and Daniel spending a Valentine’s Day together.

This novel really doesn’t advance the plot of the series much. It does give some nice backstory to characters like Roland and Arriane. It will be cute to see Shelby and Miles continue their tentative relationship in Rapture (I hope it happens anyways), but otherwise this mostly felt like a cute fluffy read that will be a good fit for Valentine’s Day.