Hello guys!
How's your Monday going? Mine has started rather well, with some highly awaited book mail and some really good sleep last night, so I'm ready to start this new week! And the fact that I'm off work till Thursday after working 6 days last week is obviously helping with that good feeling too!
For this week's Mark This Book Monday I have a book that I will highly recommend to everyone, because it's both funny and full of depth and makes us think and makes us laugh. I also count it towards my 105 Challenge as part of my YA contemporary category!
Summer on the Short Bus by Bethany Crandell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I got Summer on the Short Bus shortly after release last year but for one reason or another it got buried under more books in my Kindle library and remained unread. Then I took part on the 1 year anniversary blitz for it and thought that it was about time I read it and it took over my Sunday!
Constance "Cricket" Montgomery is a spoiled brat with an hilarious and offensive inner (and outer) monologue that made her feel extremely real and infuriating and that once confronted with a summer sentence working at a camp, tries every one of her tricks with her daddy to get out of it. And once she can't and has to face working on Camp I can with kids with special needs... she literally faints!
This story is full of snark, laughs and some serious fuzzy feels! I love how Cricket has to get off her spoiled rich girl horse and face more than her own share of prejudice and realize how that hurts when it's directed at you, as opposed as being the one spewing it. The best thing about Cricket though is how upfront she is with everything. She doesn't have a politically correct filter that makes her pretend to be one thing while snarking inside as another and that makes her honest and genuine, even in her spoiled brat self.
I love how Cricket learns a lot about empathy and about herself and her past and her own family, in a way that she could have never imagined, and even if it all might have been initiated by making the most out of spending time with the resident hottie and Zac Efron look-alike, it is not a change done only on surface. She is not faking for Quinn's sake, so she'll look good, the campers and other counselors are making her see things differently, and see herself differently, and she doesn't want to go back to being who she was anymore.
All the characters had a lot of depth and personality, from the campers, counselors to even Cricket's dad. There is so much more to them all than what we see at first when we meet them, and even if we don't get to know them all in depth, the characters have that realness to them.
A fantastic book that made laugh and snicker, and smile and gave me quite a few swoony feels and that managed to give quite a few lessons on diversity, equality, empathy and being honest with outselves and others without ever feeling preachy or self-righteous!
Very well deserved 4 stars and a very much recommended read for all of those that love contemporaries and all of those that aren't entirely sure if it's their genre too!
View all my reviews
How's your Monday going? Mine has started rather well, with some highly awaited book mail and some really good sleep last night, so I'm ready to start this new week! And the fact that I'm off work till Thursday after working 6 days last week is obviously helping with that good feeling too!
For this week's Mark This Book Monday I have a book that I will highly recommend to everyone, because it's both funny and full of depth and makes us think and makes us laugh. I also count it towards my 105 Challenge as part of my YA contemporary category!
Summer on the Short Bus by Bethany CrandellMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I got Summer on the Short Bus shortly after release last year but for one reason or another it got buried under more books in my Kindle library and remained unread. Then I took part on the 1 year anniversary blitz for it and thought that it was about time I read it and it took over my Sunday!
Constance "Cricket" Montgomery is a spoiled brat with an hilarious and offensive inner (and outer) monologue that made her feel extremely real and infuriating and that once confronted with a summer sentence working at a camp, tries every one of her tricks with her daddy to get out of it. And once she can't and has to face working on Camp I can with kids with special needs... she literally faints!
This story is full of snark, laughs and some serious fuzzy feels! I love how Cricket has to get off her spoiled rich girl horse and face more than her own share of prejudice and realize how that hurts when it's directed at you, as opposed as being the one spewing it. The best thing about Cricket though is how upfront she is with everything. She doesn't have a politically correct filter that makes her pretend to be one thing while snarking inside as another and that makes her honest and genuine, even in her spoiled brat self.
I love how Cricket learns a lot about empathy and about herself and her past and her own family, in a way that she could have never imagined, and even if it all might have been initiated by making the most out of spending time with the resident hottie and Zac Efron look-alike, it is not a change done only on surface. She is not faking for Quinn's sake, so she'll look good, the campers and other counselors are making her see things differently, and see herself differently, and she doesn't want to go back to being who she was anymore.
All the characters had a lot of depth and personality, from the campers, counselors to even Cricket's dad. There is so much more to them all than what we see at first when we meet them, and even if we don't get to know them all in depth, the characters have that realness to them.
A fantastic book that made laugh and snicker, and smile and gave me quite a few swoony feels and that managed to give quite a few lessons on diversity, equality, empathy and being honest with outselves and others without ever feeling preachy or self-righteous!
Very well deserved 4 stars and a very much recommended read for all of those that love contemporaries and all of those that aren't entirely sure if it's their genre too!
View all my reviews
Oh I think I'm going to like this one Pili! Character growth is one of my favorite things in any story, particularly when a character has to walk a mile in another person's shoes and actually gets to see firsthand what it's like. I'm glad Cricket gets the chance to see herself and those around her in a different light! Must add this to the list:)
ReplyDeleteYep, Cricket's growth is fantastic! I do hope you'll check this one out and love it!
DeleteI got Summer on the Short Bus at BEA last summer and reallly enjoyed it! Glad to see that you did as well.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you loved it too, Lisa!
DeleteSleep? Why do you insist on using words I don't understand? Holy insomnia, Batman, I haven't had much of that in what feels like a decade.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I feel like I really need this book, desperately even, to make me feel better. Snark and laughs, that's exactly what the doctor prescribed.
I can go on 4 hours of sleep for a week and then crash one night and sleep for 10 hours... Weird nurse body adaptations I believe!
DeleteYou see the cheery yellow of the cover? All shiny and sunny? That's the inside too! Read it, Maja!
There was an anniversary blitz for SotSB??????? How could/did I totally miss this? I loved this book! I have been there, done that with the "unawares" as I call people like Cricket, when she started out, because I have an autistic nephew who road the short bus all through school.
ReplyDeleteIt is an amazing book and I'm super happy that I got it in my radar originally and finally got to read it!
DeleteAwww I feel like this book is super important! I love how she is a spoilt brat and she knows it, and the snarkiness sounds like it's a lot of fun. I love the character growth throughout the novel too. Thanks for the review, I haven't heard of this before!
ReplyDeleteAnd mannn, working 6 days a week sounds rough! It's a wonder you can find time to blog! Hope you take it easy Pili <3
Thank you Jeann! I'm thoroughly enjoying my days off now! And yep, this is one of those books that feel like a must read!
DeleteI do think the cover for this one is pretty cute :D Gorgeous review Pili. <3 I'm so glad you loved this book. I won't read it, as this is still not really my genre :p but maybe one day :) You do make it seem pretty great ;p
ReplyDeleteThank you so much sweetie! I do hope you'll give this one a try at some point!
DeleteHmm, humor and swoony moments DOES sound good! I honestly passed this one straight, back before it was published. Le sigh. I'm glad you enjoyed this book, Pili!
ReplyDeleteAwesome review :)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
It was a very awesome book! Might make it as a Pili Pushed book in the future, who knows! ;)
Delete