As the title states, this is a book review on two books that I read. One which I read last year ( 'Keeping You a Secret' ) and the other which I just finished reading five minutes ago ('She Loves You, She Loves You Not'); both written by Julie Ann Peters.
Before I go on, I must say: IF YOU ARE A HOMOPHOBE, STOP READING THIS RIGHT NOW.
I'll talk about 'Keeping You a Secret' first considering I read that one first. The story, in a nut shell, is about a girl named Holland who seems to have the "great life". It's her senior year, she has the boyfriend, the friends, the grades, the cutest little sister in the world, a step father who isn't horrible... Her life seems great. No one really sees, though, that she's under all this pressure. Pressure to keep her boyfriend pleasured and her mother happy by going to the best university she can get into. To add on to all these things stressing her out, Holland also meets a girl named Cece... Transfer student to her school, Cece is less than ordinary.
As time progresses, Holland and Cece get closer and closer and soon develop feelings for each other. All in all, Holland basically figures out she's a lesbian (Cece's known for quite some time that she (as in herself) is a lesbian and she'd been waiting for Holland to realize that she was also a lesbian) and she goes through ups and downs of coming out.
Holland has to make a bunch of decisions and at the same time Cece has a secret that's tearing her apart. Can the two handle all the ups and downs of being a lesbian couple? With the harassment from their school, Holland's home and their peers... Can the two ever find happiness?
It'll definitely take you on a wild ride of emotions... I know I was crying, screaming and laughing through the whole book.
I'm not going to spoil any more since you really should read the book. I'd give it a 9/10 just because I found myself relating greatly to some of the characters. For those of you who care, I'm bisexual, maybe even full lesbian, I'm not sure yet; I'm all in the process of figuring it out.
Secondly, the next book is not out yet, it'll be released in June of 2011. I got an advanced reading copy thanks to my English teacher who went to a convention in Florida and got me the book.
This book is definitely one of the best books I've read. Most definitely a 9.5/10 because of all the characters seeming so real, the plot being so captivating. It's just an amazing book.
Yes, this one is once again about a lesbian girl. The main character is Alyssa, a lesbian since she was 13. At the beginning of the book you find out that she's been disowned by her father and cast off to live with her mother who abandoned her as a child. Carly (Alyssa's mother) is less than the ideal motherly type. A stripper, physical trainer and massage therapist, Alyssa is somewhat ashamed to call her, her mother. And considering all the money Carly has and the way her father talked about her, Alyssa can't help but assume that she's a prostitute.
The book basically brings you on the long, bumpy ride of Alyssa finding herself again after her girlfriend and best friend and father ripped her heart into a million pieces and fed those pieces to rabid sharks. I am not going to tell you what happens with Sarah (Alyssa's ex/bitch/girlfriend) because as you go throughout the book, you get pieces of the story behind Alyssa and Sarah and what became the present.
In the time that Alyssa is staying with her mother in Majestic, Alyssa is drawn to many people. Arlo, the grumpy, wheelchair bound owner of the Egg Drop-In, Geena, Carly's less than shy friend and Finn... The girl that draws Alyssa near in every way.
Again, I won't spoil the ending, because it makes you cry and feel so many emotions at once that you don't even know what's going on. This book is so good, I can't wait for it to come out so all of you can read it. No gay pun intended there.
I DEFINITELY recommend this book to anyone who's into the whole lesbian thing. Julie Ann Peters is an amazing author and she captures the essence of her characters so well. They're not perfect like in some books, they all have serious flaws.
Go read these books.
NOW.
-Jann
