#AmReading YA

Call It What You Want
Brigid Kemmerer
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.

Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle.

When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they’re both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they’ve built. But when Maegan learns of Rob’s plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship...

This captivating, heartfelt novel asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?

Both Maegan and Rob were social outcasts. Rob, because his father stole from members of their community, and Maegan, because she cheated on the SAT. The two were paired together for a calculus project, and this led to friendship and more, as they found solace and support from one another amid their family drama.

I am just so in love with Kemmerer's contemporary novels. Once again, she has gifted me with a story packed with great characters and a multitude of feels. There are way too many things I loved about this book, so I am going to talk about five fabulous things in Call It What You Want.

1. The characters in this book were all so wonderfully complicated and flawed. I found myself simultaneously frustrated and proud of them. Regardless of the highs and lows I experienced with them, I always cared, and I was amazed by their resilience and personal growth. 
2. Rob, my dear heart, Rob. Both main characters were dealing with some major fallout, but Rob's story was much more painful for me than Maegan's. He lost everything. He was paying for crimes he didn't commit, AND he had to care for the person, who caused all these problems. My heart broke over and over again for him. 
3. I love a good unlikely friendship and was treated to several in this book. Rob and Maegan were an odd enough pairing, but the friendship between Rob and Owen, one of his dad's victims, was a favorite of mine, and it fit really well with some of the other themes featured in the book. I also adored the bond that formed and grew between Meagan and her sister. It was wonderful seeing them be there for one another, and they made quite a formidable team. 
4. From super complex family dynamics to the exploration of morally grey areas, Kemmerer dug in, and really did a fantastic job conveying her characters' struggles with the various issues and situations. All the topics were approached thoughtfully, and I have to admit, her treatment of the many issues packed quite an emotional punch. 
5. I am known for being super greedy and super needy when it comes to endings. That said, I have nothing, but high praise for the ending of this book. It was amazing, how well Kemmerer tied up those loose ends. Some parts were sad, while others were wonderful, and ALL were resolved to some extent. 

I adore reading Kemmerer's books and getting to write fangirl reviews, because she consistently produces stories that are heartbreaking and thought provoking, while also be heartwarming, sweet, and endearing. Here, she gave us a wonderful story packed with friendship, family, romance, atonement, and forgiveness.

See also: Letters to the Lost, More Than We Can Tell

This Time Will Be Different
Misa Sugiura
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Katsuyamas never quit—but seventeen-year-old CJ doesn’t even know where to start. She’s never lived up to her mom’s type A ambition, and she’s perfectly happy just helping her aunt, Hannah, at their family’s flower shop.

She doesn’t buy into Hannah’s romantic ideas about flowers and their hidden meanings, but when it comes to arranging the perfect bouquet, CJ discovers a knack she never knew she had. A skill she might even be proud of.

Then her mom decides to sell the shop—to the family who swindled CJ’s grandparents when thousands of Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during WWII. Soon a rift threatens to splinter CJ’s family, friends, and their entire Northern California community; and for the first time, CJ has found something she wants to fight for.

CJ knew she would never live up to her mother's expectations. She had tried, and failed, at a myriad of endeavors, but the one thing she had some pride in was her work at the family flower shop. Unfortunately, the business was on the brink of collapsing, and if CJ and her aunt Hannah were unable to turn it around, her mother would be selling the shop. As CJ tried to breathe new life into the business, she discovered a lot of things about herself and her history, which would greatly impact her future.

I was so captivated by this book. Sugiura did an incredible job combining an honest look at the ugly things in America's past and present with family drama and everyday teen life. She tackled a wide array of social issues, but did so with such care and finesse, that it played out in a natural and organic manner. The cast of characters in this book were quite diverse, and I think the diversity was used well to explore each issue from multiple points of view.

Sugiura's writing style contributed greatly to my enjoyment of this book, as well.First and foremost, I loved CJ. I found her to be so unapologetically honest and raw. She was flawed, as were almost all the major players in this book, but she was becoming a better version of herself with each new discovery. The way the author utilized flashbacks and wove in historical facts was also a plus. The small breaks in the narrative were well timed and well placed, making the story even better.

There are so many things to love about CJ's story, but in the name of brevity, I will do a quick list of delights for me:

• Flower magic! I thought it was fantastic learning about all the different qualities associated with the various flora. 
• Owen's geeky history t-shirts - I immediately googled many of these, and am ordering one for my sister (she's a history teacher).
• Female friendship - Em and CJ hits some bumps, but their friendship ran deep.  
• The exploration of family dynamics - the relationships between CJ & her mom, CJ and her aunt, and her aunt and her mom were all pretty complicated. It was interesting to see how each of these women were shaped by their past, as well as how they shaped each other. 
• An adorable romance - There are multiple romances in this book, and I really liked the way they all played out. 

There was a quote, at the end of the book, which I thought was beautiful and did a great job of summing up the essence of this story. I felt this book was about working through the past, learning from mistakes, and taking steps to make sure the future will be better.

There's no point in dwelling on the past, but you can acknowledge it and try to make things better. Or try a new way, and know that this time will be different. 

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Do you have a favorite flower?

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