In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights. These three books were really different from each other, but they had one thing in common - all three had fantastic endings and left me utterly satisfied.

The Last Wish of Sasha Cade
Cheyanne Young
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

The day Raquel has been dreading for months has finally arrived. Sasha, her best friend in the whole world -- the best friend in the whole world -- has died of cancer. Raquel can’t imagine life without her. She’s overwhelmed and brokenhearted.

And then a letter from Sasha arrives. Has she somehow found a way to communicate from the afterlife?

In fact, Sasha has planned an elaborate scavenger hunt for Raquel, and when she follows the instructions to return to Sasha’s grave, a mysterious stranger with striking eyes is waiting for her. There’s a secret attached to this boy that only Sasha—and now Raquel—knows.

This boy, Elijah, might be just what Raquel needs to move on from her terrible loss. But can Raquel remain true to herself while also honoring her friend’s final wish?

If you look at my Goodreads updates, you will see that I spent a good part of the beginning of this book in tears, but it was all worth it. Believe me, Young paid me back ten-fold for all my tears with that ending.

• Pro: Though Sasha died in the beginning of the book, I still felt like I got to know her so well via her letters, videos, and the flashbacks. I could absolutely see why she was Raquel's best friend, and was able to understand what a huge hole was left in Raquel's life without her. 
• Pro: Sick kids will always elicit a strong emotional response from me, but that part was short-lived in the book. Most of this book was a celebration of the friendship Raquel and Sasha shared. It was quite sweet, heartwarming, and endearing. 
• Pro: I really liked the romance. These two were so adorable together. It was a slow burn, but when it finally happened, I was all sorts of giddy. 
• Pro: I LOVED Elijah! I have a soft spot for those, who are able to overcome tough situations or who don't allow difficulty to hamper them or harden them. Elijah's circumstances could have played out in a negative way, but he looked for the silver linings, established some goals, and tried his hardest to work towards them.   
• Pro: The whole story was steeped in hope, and helped along by the auxiliary characters. Young assembled a fantastic supporting cast, who actually gave a lot of support to both Raquel and Elijah. Raquel's parents, her boss, the Reinharts (seriously, that couple put the heart in Reinhart), they were all top-notch. 
• Pro: The ending!!! It is well-known in these parts, that I need a lot of closure, and Young gave me an ending with so many answers. I was jumping for joy at the conclusion, and left with happy tears wetting my face.  

Overall: I may have started this book with tears of pain, but I ended it with tears of joy. A beautiful and heartwarming tale of love, friendship, and those bonds that last forever.

Broken Things
Lauren Oliver
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.

Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.

The only thing is: they didn’t do it.

On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.

It had been five years since Summer's death. Five year since Owen, Mia, and Brynn were branded "The Monsters of Brickhouse Lane". They didn't do it, but with no leads, the case had gone cold, until Mia unearthed an old test of Summer's, which left her wondering if they missed something.

• Pro: Oliver had me hooked from page one. I wanted to know what really happened that day in the Long Field, and the way she slowly revealed the pieces kept me coming back for more. 
• Pro: I know people said they guessed the killer early on, but that person was NOWHERE on my radar. When I looked back through the story, the clues were there, but it was by no means obvious to me. 
• Pro: The mood was set really well in this book. It had that pulled-from-the-headlines feel, and all those emotions you expect to precipitate from such a situation - anger, anxiety, stress, sadness, and despair, imbued the story. 
• Pro: Both Mia and Brynn were given interesting side issues to deal with, and those pieces did a great job of adding an additional dimension to each of the characters. And Summer! The full portrait of Summer slowly developed, and the exploration of her effect on each of these young women was quite interesting. 
• Pro: As always, the storytelling was amazing. The bits of the original Lovelorn book and the fanfic written by our trio were interwoven with present day and past POVs from both Brynn and Mia. Each piece was well chosen and well placed to create and sustain the mood, as well as to move the story forward in a compelling way. My only complaint is that I felt like Brynn and Mia's voices were a little too similar. 
• Pro: I would like to personally thank Lauren Oliver for that stupendous ending. There was not a lot of light or hope in this book, but the ending more than made up for all the darkness. 

Overall:  A compelling mystery, that had me hooked from page one with it's mixed of fandom gone wrong and toxic relationships.

That Night
Amy Giles
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

One night in March, a terrible tragedy shakes the Queens neighborhood where Jessica Nolan and Lucas Rossi live.

The year since the shooting has played out differently for Jess and Lucas, both of whom were affected by that night in eerily similar, and deeply personal, ways. Lucas has taken up boxing and lives under the ever-watchful eye of his overprotective parents, while trying to put good into the world through random acts of kindness — to pay back a debt he feels he owes the universe for taking the wrong brother.

Jess struggles to take care of her depressed mother, with the help of her elderly next-door neighbor, and tries to make ends meet. Without her best friend, who’s across the country at a special post-trauma boarding school, and her brother, who died that night, Jess feels totally alone in the world.

When Jess and Lucas's paths cross at their shared after-school job, they start to become friends… and then more.

Their community — and their families — were irrevocably changed by a senseless act of violence. But as Jess and Lucas fall in love, they'll learn to help each other heal and move forward — together.

That Night is an emotional and ultimately hopeful story about tragedy, love, and learning to heal.

That night everything changed. That night they both lost their brothers, but that wasn't all they lost. Jess and Lucas were struggling to heal in the aftermath, and maybe their best bet was each other.  

• Pro: This story was about the aftermath. How a community was broken, and how they were trying to pick up the pieces and move on. There are so many different ways a tragedy can affect people, and Giles explored many of them in a thoughtful and sensitive way. 
• Pro: With this book, Giles proves to be a master with grief stories. Like her debut, this one delivered an emotional gut punch. My heart cracked in half for these people, and their pain just emanated from the page. 
• Pro: Watching Lucas and Jess grow, change, and heal together filled my heart with joy. They were able to slowly break through the protective walls they both erected, and the more they opened up to each other, the more they began to reconnect with other people as well, which was a big part of their healing process.  
• Pro: Two side characters I adored and wished we spent more time with were Pete and Mrs. Alvarez. Pete seemed very happy-go-lucky, but his love and concern for Lucas ran deep. There were these little things he did, which only confirmed his dedication to his friend, and I loved him for that. Mrs. Alvarez was the best surrogate grandmother Jess could ask for. She did what she could to help Jess, and filled that grown-up sized void in Jess' life. Nothing but *heart-eyes* for these two. 
• Pro: This book was pro therapy, and the mental health issues were handled well. 
• Pro: The romance was gooey and sweet and I loved it! Lucas and Jess were precious together, and they made me smile until my face split in two. 
• Pro: Endings like this one are what my dreams are made of. It was so touching and hopeful. Seriously, I just re-read it, and I am in tears. It made me so happy!

Overall:  A heartwarming, touching, and emotional survival story, which focused on the aftermath, the healing process, and the connections that can help people get through great losses. 

** ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Have you read any of these books?

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