Plan B by Charnan Simon

Photo taken from Goodreads

Book Info

Title:  Plan B 

Author:  Charnan Simon

Publisher:  Lerner Publishing Group

Publication Date:  3/1/2011 

Language: English 

Format:  Digital copy 

Pages:  104 pages 

ISBN-13:  9780761361497

Source:  Advanced reader's digital copy from Lerner Publishing Group, via NetGalley
*Part of my Mini Reading Challenge*  

Buy this book on Amazon 

Summary

From Lerner Publishing Group:  

"Is this happily ever after?

Lucy has her life planned out: she'll graduate and then join her boyfriend, Luke, at college in Austin. She'll become a Spanish teacher and of course they'll get married. So there's no reason to wait, right? They try to be careful. But then Lucy gets pregnant. Now, none of Lucy's options are part of her picture-perfect plan. Together, she and Luke will have to make the most difficult decision of their lives."

Review

After reading After - isn't that funny? - by Amy Efaw, I was hoping to read a similar story with a different take, something more accepting of their situation, unlike Devon and her denial.  I wanted something like Juno or like Allison in Knocked Up.  That is why I decided to request for this book on NetGalley.

This book had so much potential, but never unraveled.  And I am not complaining about this book's length.  Good stories do not need hundreds of pages.  But it would have been great if the author was able to elaborate further on the effects of teenage unprotected premarital sex.  Luke and Lucy were very credible as lovesick and lovestruck teenagers.  They were very in love with each other, but the quick shift into Lucy's pregnancy also created a confusing shift in their characters.  I felt that Luke's sudden change from scared and irresponsible boy to dependable and mature adult was too hurried and unreal, in that it still felt like he was still acting under his parents' influence.  It did not feel like how a real responsible teenager would act under the circumstances.  I'm not saying that a real teen would immediately accept whatever happened, but the phases that he would go through would be very obvious and notable that when he finally accepts his responsibility, everything has fallen into place naturally.  Lucy, on the other hand, was the perfect scared and confused pregnant teen.  Between these two, I would have preferred more communication and action to have happened before the final outcome.  

Another problem I had was that this book was supposed to show Luke and Lucy's Plan B.  However, even towards the end, they were still undecided about what that plan would be.  The readers are left hanging as to the characters' futures and though sometimes it's good to make your own guess, I would have liked a more black and white ending for this story as I felt it required more specific answers for its very specific topic.  

On the bright side, the author was able to perfectly portray the causal relationship between unprotected sexual contact and growing number of teenage pregnancy - and in such limited number of pages at that.  Regardless of the issues I presented above, this story is a good, light, but educational read for teenagers in teaching them about safe sex.  Most reproductive health classes would appear too superficial and feigning concern for the issues but reading this book, not only would teenagers be able to accept and understand the impact of safer sex, they would also be entertained by this light and compelling read that was able to summarily delve into their world without any judgment and prejudice.

And regardless of my negative points, I would still say that I enjoyed this book, although not as much as I enjoyed After, but good enough. 

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice

I received this book free of charge from the publisher, Lerner Publishing Group through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and truthful review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book. 

Please contact me for questions, comments, and suggestions.   

 

In Office Hours by Lucy Kellaway

(Photo taken from Goodreads)

Title:  In Office Hours
Author:  Lucy Kellaway
Publisher:  Hachette Book Group
Publication Date:  2/7/2011

Language: English

Format:  Digital copy

Pages:  255 pages

ISBN-13:  9780446565691

Source:  Advanced reader's digital copy from HarperCollins, via NetGalley

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Rating:

I've been working a total of three years now, and it's still very funny to me when the topic of workplace romance is broached during lunch hour.  I've seen a few of my co-workers being romanced by their supervisors, managers, and what-not, but I have not given it much thought because they still maintain a professional attitude at work.  I myself never explored such territory as I preferred having a boyfriend outside of my work environment.  I am terribly easy to distract, and thinking about a boyfriend - who is somewhere around the vicinity also working - in the midst of doing an enema to a geria patient, I'm afraid I would have lost my license very early on in my career.  So when I read the synopsis for In Office Hours, I was mainly intrigued to see how it goes wrong, seeing as how I can only see when it goes right:  One of my colleagues just married her supervisor, but she's resigning and would be busy making a home for him.  Clearly, where I work, workplace romance is the last thing to worry about as it's always conducted decently and discreetly, so I wanted to explore a situation where it could get ugly and distasteful.  

The story revolves around two very capable and intelligent career women:  Stella is one of the more senior executives in Atlantic Energy and her career could go nowhere but up.  She's married to a previously successful film maker and has two children.  Bella, on the other hand, is PA to Stella's colleague.  She is a single mother in constant guard from her irresponsible and dangerous ex-boyfriend who keeps forcing to see their daughter.  When her boss resigns, she is transferred to another senior executive and embarks on a clandestine relationship with him.  Stella is assigned to handle two management trainees - one intelligent but bland female, and one insolent but very perceptive and talented male - and after being relentlessly pursued, begins an affair with her male trainee.

In Office Hours was supposed to showcase the emotional and professional dangers of illicit relationships with your co-workers - specifically your boss or your subordinate.  It was meant to narrate two affairs with parallel beginnings, circumstances, and consequences.  It was expected to reveal the exciting and dreadful risk of starting affairs in the office setting, while conducting business on the side.  Yes, business on the side, because as exhibited in this book, the relationship takes centerstage and the business just playing second fiddle, if not completely ignored. 

This book showed that, but sadly, nothing more.

I rarely drop something I do without finishing it.  But I almost did not finish this book not because it was horrible or offensive but because even early on in the first few chapters, this book became a drag and if I could just skim through the rest and get to the ending already, I would have done so.  But I almost never 'not finish' books because I felt as if I was doing the author a disservice.  They wrote a book to be read.  Maybe not from start to finish, but if you do not finish a book, what's the point then of a writer writing an ending?  So I plodded onto the story even if it was really getting boring and repetitive already.  While reading, I was trying to think which parts made me think that it was getting uninteresting, but I really could not point out something specific.  The characters, while sometimes feeling like mere stereotypes, can actually make me feel some sympathy.  The narration, alternating between Bella and Stella's points of view, is sometimes confusing but altogether consistent and solid.  

Altogether, the plot, the characters, the idea of a book about illicit liaisons in the workplace is a unique, if not remarkable, but the way it was executed was only mildly interesting.  Or maybe I am the wrong person for this book, as reading the reviews, it seems like a lot of people really liked the story.  Again, it may just be a question of me not having the enough number of brain cells required for such reading, or maybe the book itself clearly has its shortcomings.  But whatever the answer may be, In Office Hours is a good read for passing the time, while waiting for that email from that guy from the other department, or while counting down the hours before you meet your boss in some clandestine location to conduct some 'unbusinesslike' business. 

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I received this book free of charge from the publisher, Hachette Book Group through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and truthful review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Teaser Tuesday

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two "teaser" sentences from that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! You don't want to ruin the book for others!
* Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:


 I am reading an advanced reader's copy of In Office Hours by Lucy Kellaway sent to me by the Hachette Book Group through NetGalley.  It's about two women who each fall for impossible lovers at work.

"She realized that she had misunderstood the exercise:  The aim wasn't to bring something surprising, but to bring along something safe that didn't say anything about you at all."
-page 98, In Office Hours by Lucy Kellaway

The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard

 

(Photo taken from Goodreads)

Title:  The Fates Will Find Their Way
Author:  Hannah Pittard
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Publication Date:  1/25/2011

Language: English

Format:  Digital copy

Pages:  155 pages
ISBN-10:  006199605X Hardcover

ISBN-13:  978-0061996054 Hardcover

Source:  Advanced reader's digital copy from HarperCollins, via NetGalley

Buy this book on Amazon
Rating:

The story opens with the disappearance of 16-year old  Nora Lindell, and a speculation of her whereabouts.  However, although she is present almost in the entire story, this is more focused on the life she left behind - the lives of her family, her younger sister and father, her friends, and especially the teenage boys who admired her from a distance.  The book is filled with uncertain fates for Norah, all the while detailing the lives of those teenage boys until they grew to be men and start their own families, each still fantasizing about Norah at the back of their minds.

I cannot connect with this book.  On some levels, I thought it was poignant, endearing, and funny even, but I just could not feel myself getting drawn into reading it.  I finished this book for the sake of finishing it, but I never really appreciated its story much.  Which is not to say that this is a bad book.  Maybe we just lacked chemistry, maybe I just lacked the enough number of brain cells to relate to this one.  If you've been planning to read this, don't let my opinions affect your decision - you might love this in spite of what I said.

Talking about the technical aspects of the story, this is very well-written and eloquent, compelling and wise.  The story is told through a first-person plural point of view of those teenage boys, progressing through their adulthood.  It did drag towards the middle, but the humor and the dreamy quality with which the narration was written would get you through the end.  

The main theme here is 'maybe.'  Maybe Nora died, maybe Nora went somewhere, maybe, maybe maybe.  These teenage boys - though not really obsessed - would often wonder about her and what has happened to her, and conjecture about her disappearance are detailed in this book.  Only the reader could decide which to believe.

What is very noticeable here, however, is how these teenage boys never really got past their young adult years.  They went to college, took wives, had kids, but they could not finally and completely break free from the grasp of youth and in my opinion, Nora's pervasive presence in their minds was the symbolic refusal of their minds to turn adult.  Most of the humor from this book would come from the fact that they never really got over their teenage lives, even fantasizing about a 'hot' mother of one of their friends, going through the same arguments with each other that they've been having since they were young, it was funny to read about grown men trying to act like boys, which hit me that not being able to let go of Nora's memory was equivalent to not being able to let go of their teenage years.

I know that there was so much to like about this book, but I just could not understand why I cannot relate.  Maybe because I took this expecting a story more focused on Nora than these boys.  Again with the maybe.  This book has a lot of that and more, therefore, I say give this book a chance.  Maybe it will end up your favorite.

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I received this book free of charge from the publisher, HarperCollins through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and truthful review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson

(Photo taken from Goodreads)

Title:  I, Emma Freke
Author:  Elizabeth Atkinson

Publisher:  Lerner Publishing Group
Publication Date:  11/1/2010 

Language: English

Format:  Digital copy

Pages:  234 pages
ISBN-10:  0761356045 Hardback

ISBN-13:  978-0761356042 Hardback

Source:  Advanced reader's digital copy from Lerner Publishing Group, via NetGalley

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Rating:

This book made me laugh from the first mention of 'I, Emma Freke' up until its last pages.  The childish way of storytelling and the way that the main character, Emma, claims to be an adult is endearing, funny, and hit very close to home.  I mean, who has never experienced being out of place and thinking that being an adult is way cooler than remaining a kid/teenager?  Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it from I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson. 

Summary from NetGalley:

"What's in a name? I, Emma Freke is a charming search-for-identity story about Emma―the only "normal" member of her quirky family. Her flighty, New Age mom seems to barely have time for a daughter, especially one who annoyingly spoils her mom's youthful façade. Emma's well-meaning grandpa is clueless. And her only friends are the local librarian and a precocious 10-year-old adopted by the two old ladies next door.
Smart, shy, and nearly six feet tall, Emma struggles to fit in at school, so she jumps at the opportunity to "home school" until that too turns into another of mom's half-baked ideas. The real crisis comes when she gets an invitation to The Freke Family Reunion, and her fellow Frekes aren't at all what she expects. While Emma desperately tries to find her niche, she discovers that perhaps it’s better to be her own "freak" than someone else's Freke."

I can so relate with Emma.  Maybe not with the name, although I do have some issues with mine (my real full name sounds to me like a character from a Spanish television series), but with the appearance.  I used to be the tallest girl in class in my late elementary and high school days.  Everyone would look strangely at me, and everyone asked me if I play some sport or another.  They always seem to think I'm playing volleyball or basketball so when I tell them I'm not really interested in sports, they say the same thing every time:  "Too bad, your height will make you a star."  As if not being a very good athlete won't affect my playing in any way.  When joining clubs, other people always think that just because I'm taller than everyone else (yes, including most guys) makes me more mature and smart and they all want me to head one club after another, forgetting that running one club precludes you from heading another (I was editor-in-chief of the school paper, and they all want me to be president of the Science Club even if I'm not that much of a Science geek, the Drama Club even if I was only there once, and other clubs I don't even have interest in).  It also sort of affects the 'making friends' part because teenagers are almost always intimidated by my height, and their first impression of me is always 'bitchy' or 'snobbish' even if I'm none of those things.  For Emma, most of the above are true, but kids her age tend to think they are 'above' her, or that she's not very important, and  I can totally say that she is partly to blame because she herself tends to hide inside her shell when confronted by other teenagers.  She doesn't give others a chance, immediately assuming that they are just laughing at her, and that they don't like her.  She never even gave being sociable a try.  And, already aware that her name sounds funny, she even adds to its ridicule by saying "My mom forgot to say it out loud when I was born."  Can't she just stop making a big deal out of it?  Stevie had it spot on when she said that "names and words only hurt if you let them."  But then, with Emma's lack of self-esteem and real maturity, I guess that's predictable.

This book was a cute tongue-in-cheek story of a typical egocentric teenager's dilemma:  Not fitting it, feeling like they don't belong.  There's really nothing new in here, except maybe for the Freke family reunion that showed a bunch of people acting like sheep and going with the herd.  Emma was placed in two extremes:  Her independent and indifferent life with her mother, and the structured, organized, and freakishly collective life with the Freke family.  Somehow it's like saying that the grass is greener on the other side, only to find that it's just the same.  Hopefully, these two extremes would help Emma choose her own path and her own spot on the grass.  But however cute and light and very readable this story is, it's not entirely new and there is a large array of young adult fiction books devoted to this kind of issue.  But then again, this is not a contest to see which book is best, and I can say that, for this book's part, it certainly made the grade.  I loved the plot, the voice, and the characters are thoroughly detailed they are virtually human.  I really enjoyed the humorous description of Emma's life, and there are some really laugh-out-loud moments that some 'teenage issues' books do not have.  There were some parts that I felt was hurried, especially towards the ending, and I thought it would have been better if another twist was added or another chapter was written to make the story come full circle, but I guess it's for the best to leave the story at that, and let the reader think for themselves.  Although the storyline is quite light, it still never fails to elicit empathy for Emma, as well as for teenagers like her who have difficulty fitting it.  It makes the reader see this 'shallow' crisis through the sufferer's eyes and not just giving a story of hope and inspiration, it also teaches them how to treat these young adults well.

This book was just released November of last year, and I urge you to go get a copy of this one.  You won't regret reading and re-reading this book.

 

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I received this book free of charge from the publisher, Lerner Publishing Group and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest and truthful review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Diagnosis Death by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

 

(Photo taken from Goodreads)

Title: Diagnosis Death
Author:  Richard L. Mabry, M.D.
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Publication Date:  4/1/2011

Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426710216

ISBN-13: 978-1426710216

Advanced reader's digital copy received from NetGalley

Buy this book on Amazon

Rating:

 
 
 
 
 
  

On further research, I learned that this is the third book off the Prescription for Trouble series, but it's not completely dependent on the first two books and you can read this on its own.  This digital advanced reader's copy was sent to me by NetGalley.  I did not have any expectations up front when I requested for a copy of this book, although the fact that it's got euthanasia as one of its topics got me interested but that was just it.  Reading through the first few pages got me hooked and I somehow knew this would be a really fun and intense ride. 

According to Amazon.com

"When her comatose husband dies in the ICU while on life support, the whispers about Dr. Elena Gardner begin. Another death during her training puts her under suspicion. When the pattern is repeated in the hospital where she is attempting to start over, the whispers turn into a shout: “mercy killing.”

What is the dark secret that keeps Elena’s lips sealed when she should be defending herself? Despite her move to a new city, the midnight phone calls that started after her husband’s death follow Elena. Who is the woman who sobs out, “I know what you did?” What does she mean by “You’ll pay?” And what can Elena do to prevent it?

Two physicians, widowers themselves, offer support, telling Elena they know what she is going through after the death of her husband. But do they? And is it safe to trust either of them with her secret?" 

 This book totally blew me away!  It possessed everything I have been looking for in a thriller:  Mystery, suspense, some psychological kicks.  This could be one of the scariest thrillers out there to be released in 2011.  While reading this book, I couldn't help but think to myself, This is totally up there with Hannibal.  There aren't any gruesome murders or inconceivable torturing but the fear that each chapter conveys - the mysterious calls, the anonymous letters, all those harrowing events that haunt Elena's life is so surreal yet very realistic.  I could never begin to figure out how anyone confronted with such threats could cope, and yet in this well-written story, I think I almost could.

Euthanasia has been the topic of much debate over the years in Bio-Ethics.  In this book, it covers the legal, emotional, and psychological ramifications for the people that will survive the patient once life support is withdrawn.  The grief and the guilt caused by making that major decision to allow a loved one to die is so inconsolable and overwhelming, and this story attempts to portray all those emotions with logical and spiritual balance. 

The writing is snappy, demanding, and well-paced.  You begin to read this and you do not put this down.  The voice of the narration is neutral but laced with excitement and pulls the reader deeper into the story until all questions are answered, all mysteries solved.  It did not also attempt to hold off on the suspense too much, unlike other stories that try to string the reader along until the very end to reveal every answer that turns out to be too simple or bland that it becomes an anticlimax.  But it did not, however, expose everything right away, the timing is impeccable, that once I got into some of those parts, I would try to cover the lower page with my hand just so my eyes wouldn't cheat and try to peek and see the answers.  It was exciting to solve the mystery and it was exciting to understand the mystery. 

The characters are all well-rounded, well-thought of, their personalities very human and realistic.  I felt a lot of sympathy for Elena, for all her losses and misfortunes, but I was totally with her to the end.  I loved her courage and her strength, and somehow she reminded me of her mother, nothing fazes them.  As for the other characters, they are all very likable and relatable, although I would have wanted to torture some characters a bit more.  But that's just the sadist in me talking.

Overall, I could not wait for this book to be out in bookstores next year.  Even if I'd read this already, I would love to pick up a copy and read it all over again.  I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.  Watch out for this one and don't forget the date this will be published:  April 1, 2011!

 

Every Little Thing by Pamela Klaffke

 

Photo taken from Goodreads 

Title: Every Little Thing
Author:  Pamela Klaffke
Publisher: Harlequin
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778329232

ISBN-13: 978-0778329237

Publication Date:  1/25/2011

Advanced reader's e-proof received from NetGalley

Buy this book on Amazon

Rating:

  

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.  Life on the Refrigerator Door.  The Last Time I Saw Mother.  It seems like I've been gravitating to mother-daughter books lately, and here is another one.  I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and read and finished it in one sitting.  The book is not that long, the story itself just below 250 pages, and I guess it was okay.  Not bad, but not exactly groundbreaking.  Just enough to tide you over the next read. 

To understand what I'm talking about, let me tell you a little about the story first.  This is about Mason MacDonald, the infamous magazine columnist Britt Castleman's daughter - a woman who loved to write about everything, good and bad, including everything about her daughter.  Mason grew up despising her mother's lack of sense of privacy, broadcasting all that happens to her and especially to her daughter, that the latter ended up leaving.  On Britt's death, however, Mason returns and is confronted by several problems, some of her own doing, and she discovers that though she knows she should not do the things her mother did, she might have to do some in order to cope.

I found the plot promising, which is why I really wanted to read it.  The writing is good, everything's crystal clear.  Some graphic sexual scenes, but still readable.  The dialogue is crisp, a bit of foul language but not too much that it's difficult to read.  Most of the characters are likable; however, I felt that Mason was a bit too whiny for her own good.  Why does she have to bitch about everything that happens to her?  Why does she have to blame everyone else except herself?  Since this is a bit of a coming-of-age story, yes she does grow out of her whining but still, it was too much when she did it, like she did not want to own up to her own faults and just went on doing her goth thing so she could hate the world for what she has become.  It was irritating that she had to wonder why her friends weren't paying her as much attention as she would have liked - they're grown-ups, they have jobs, of course they wouldn't have been there for her as often!  It wasn't like the world revolved around her.    This Mason gal should know that by now, she's past thirty already.  If I did not have any idea about her age I'd make her for an early twenties girl who doesn't know any better.

But that's not just where my problem with this book ends.  This story had potential, and I wouldn't have changed some parts, but those parts when she rebelled about her condition seems too made up, and even though there might be women out there who won't be afraid to stand up for whatever choices they make, what Mason does in this story is just a bit too over-the-top to be believable.  But maybe that's just me.  Maybe I'm just too square to accept the fact that what happened in the story is the norm, and I'm just too uptight to believe it.  Read this book and be the judge.

But whiny Mason and over-the-top developments aside, I enjoyed the light vibe of this book, and though it's supposed to be about how one daughter copes with her mother's death and understanding her mother, it was not too heavy that you cannot read it without having those painful chest constrictions - you still get to enjoy the book's humor and mockery, and makes this story an easy and touching read.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

 

(Photo taken from Goodreads)

Title: Delirium
Author:  Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061726826

ISBN-13: 978-0061726828

Publication Date:  2/1/2011

Advanced reader's e-proof sent to the reviewer from NetGalley

Buy this book on Amazon

Rating:

This book is two of things I try to avoid when choosing books:  Sci-Fi, and part of a series.  But I kept seeing this on other blogs and I was curious to know what the fuss was about anyway.  When I read the blurb, it sounded interesting, so against my better judgment (I passed on The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood!), I requested for an advanced reader's copy on NetGalley and Voila!  I got a copy.   So let it be known that I got a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this review is partly for them - mostly for me. :D

The Story According to Goodreads

"Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love - the deliria - blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love."

At first glance,  I thought the plot was a bit lame, but what got me was how would Lena manage to go through with everything?  I have a vague idea for an ending, but I wanted to see for myself what the author would do for this story.  

The story builds slowly, cautiously answering every question, taking you step by step through the entire plot to fully absorb the conflict's impact.  This book is written in a gradual fashion:  Gradually enticing, gradually amazing, and gradually shocking.  I like how the author feeds on the reader's curiosity and covers every minute detail, no stone unturned.  

With regard to the characters, I like their quirks, their distinct personalities, and the 'sheepness' of the 'cured' characters.  It is a given fact that love affects people differently, which gives us individuality, and here, by removing love, the author perfectly creates 'human robots.'  Lena is the perfect study of the troubled teenager, going through an identity crisis:  Does she really want to be 'cured'?  Is she really like her mother?  Or does she really want to be like her mother?  The story shows Lena's transformation from troubled teen to a strong and mature human being.  

The dialogue is good, if sparse, with the narration at times becoming verbose although clear most times.  I have this urge to skip through most of the descriptions of scenery, etc. and to just move on to the next conversation, I just tire of the enumeration of minor details - maybe that's the point of the whole writing:  Nothing is considered minor detail, every description is exhausted for the sake of the readers.  But that sense of urgency with which this book is written pulled me into wanting to go on to the next scenes than to keep reading on the present one when it's already settled and should really move on. 

The problem I have with this book is not the Sci-Fi bit, I'm past that now since the story is written convincingly (everything's possible!), what bothers me is the ending for this book.  This is not something you can read on its own, you really have to go check out the next book, and the next, and the next, until it reaches like HP 7 - oh wait, that's for Harry Potter, my bad.  Earlier I've already established that I don't like series much purely because I don't want to go roasting in my own juices waiting for the next installment.  I do not want to be like those people who lurk around the web and the bookstores looking for the next book in a series, threatening to kill themselves if they cannot read the next one.  I want to be able to read my book, finish it, and die happy.  But this one made me read it, made me like it, and now, it's making me go wait and get the next one.  Oh how I hate you, Lauren Oliver, for writing such a beautiful piece, that now leaves me hankering for me.  Let this not be just a simple review but a warning to you, dear author:  We are waiting for the next book, and we demand it to be as good, if not better, as the first.