Anteater-Boy by Dean Ammerman

Title: Anteater-Boy
Author: Dean Ammerman
Publisher: Kabloona
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 80% or B-
Buy It: Amazon

The school year is coming to an end and high school freshman Zak Dale wants a summer job to earn some money. His fish-eyed science teacher, Dr. Cyrus B. Fletcher, has a job opening but wants Zak to clean the science classroom, improve his grades, and deliver an award-winning speech to get it.

As Zak tries to prove he’s the best person for the summer job, he helps his best friend Miles search for the holy grail of junk food, falls in love with the beautiful and mysterious Mia Holmes, locates his missing grandmother, neglects his bladder-challenged dachshund, and takes a journey through the American Revolution with Darius Brown, his substitute history teacher.

My Thoughts::
It isn't on purpose, but I rarely read books from small publishers. I'm not sure why, but the biggest possible reason is that whenever I get emails about them for review I am rarely interested in the book that they are offering. It just isn't for me. Also, most of the books I haven't heard of or read reviews for, so I would have to put myself way out there to read something that doesn't seem like what I like. But this book definitely captured my interest enough for me to step out of my comfort zone.

I was happy getting to know Zak, because I always feel like I don't read enough books with male main characters. He was a fun character that had a really good and innocent heart. I really wanted him to succeed. But this brings me to one of my few complaints. Maybe it's because I don't read enough books with male narrators, but Zak seemed really typical and bland. I liked him enough, but he didn't capture my interest and make me want to learn all about him.

Not a whole lot happens, but since this is contemporary YA, I didn't expect explosions. The book went in a few different directions, including the romance. I appreciated the romance, but lucky for Ammerman, the book didn't need it. Miles was funny, so his scenes were very enjoyable. My favorite parts though are the ones that include the substitute teacher Darius Brown. It made the novel more than just another run of the mill story about an awkward teenager. It really made me think about some current and past issues that this country has with not only racism, but with race in history and what is taught.

Overall I think that Anteater Boy was a pleasant reading experience that was on the verge of being pretty meh overall until we get into history class.

Books to Come in February

These books will be released in the month of July. All links will send you to their Goodreads page.

Breaking Point (Article 5 #2) by Kristen Simmons

Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Fuse (Pure #2) by Julianna Baggott

Mind Games by Kiersten White

Pivot Point by Kasie West

Pulse by Patrick Carman

Shards & Ashes by Various Authors

Top Ten Most Frustrating Characters Ever

 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's top ten is...

Top Ten Most Frustrating Characters Ever.

1. Nasty from the Immortal Beloved Series by Cate Tiernan.
2. Kate from the Goddess Test Series by Aimee Carter.
3. All the main characters from the Pretty Little Liars Series by Sara Shepard.
4. Jasmine from If I Tell by Janet Gurtler
5. Ever from the Immortals Series by Alyson Noel
6. Zoey from the House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Title: A Midsummer's Nightmare
Author: Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 91% or A-
Buy It: Amazon

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorce dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancee and her kids. The fiancee's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.

Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

My Thoughts::

I've read every Keplinger book as soon as she put them out and this one was no different. Her books always hold great interest for me because like most girls my age, I can strongly relate to them. Well, this book was a little different in that aspect, because the situation is more specific, but it was still a fantastic read. 

Whitley was a really hard character to like. She was frustrating and I just wanted to slap her sometimes for being so selfish and self centered. But I think the hardest part about trying to like Whitley was that we all have more Whitley in us than we care to admit, at least I know I do. It's hard to like someone that often displays the bad parts of themselves that you can see in yourself. But Whitley did have some great points, which is what won me over in the end.

The book was pretty predictable, which was disappointing, but the events that occurred really made me care about the characters and Whitley's story. Still, it was kind of just another classic story of a teenaged rebellion and wanting her parents to be there for her. The romance also bothered me a decent amount, and I'm not sure why, at the end, the ramifications of their choices weren't shown.

Still, with these complaints I couldn't help but be wrapped up in all aspects of the book. Keplinger pushes the envelope when it comes to writing YA, which I really appreciate. She's tackling topics that are difficult and definitely not written enough about. The book also felt incredibly real. Whitley might have annoyed me, but she felt very much like an actual person, as well as the other characters.

Overall I think that this book was a nice summer read that had a very sharp edge of seriousness that didn't take over the entire book. It was definitely a Keplinger novel with its risque content.