In a Nutshell Reviews: YA Edition

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

Fear of Missing Out 
Kate McGovern
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Death and Dying
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Everyone has a fear of missing out on something--a party, a basketball game, a hangout after school. But what if it's life that you'll be missing out on?

When Astrid learns that her cancer has returned, she hears about a radical technology called cryopreservation that may allow her to have her body frozen until a future time when--and if--a cure is available. With her boyfriend, Mohit, and her best friend, Chloe, Astrid goes on a road trip in search of that possibility. To see if it's real. To see if it's worth it. For fear of missing out on everything.

Astrid was lucky. She beat cancer once, but it appeared that cancer wasn't done with her, and this time, fighting back seemed futile.

• Pro: I instantly fell in love with each and every one of these characters. Astrid was a no brainer, but I also adored Mohit, her mom, and her little brother. I wanted to group hug with them, because I had just met Astrid and couldn't bear to lose her. I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be for those, who loved her. 
• Pro: No sugarcoating, this book got tough towards the end. I am actually crying right now, but no worries, it was not all sad, downer stuff, because this story was filled with so much love, and Wow! What a testament about the life Astrid lived, that she was surrounded by so many people, who love her that much. 
• Pro: The right to die is quite a touchy subject, and I really appreciated the way McGovern handled it. The approach was honest, emotional, and thought provoking. 
• Pro: My heart broke over and over again for Astrid, and I hated that she was in this situation, but I admired her strength and her openness with her loved ones, and her determination to decide how she would spend her final days. 
• Pro: I remember thinking, how lucky Astrid was to have experienced something as wonderful as her relationship with Mohit. Their love and affection for each other was a beautiful thing, and I was glad she had that, as well as her friendship with Chloe, because it helped me get through the really sad parts. 
• Pro: McGovern didn't only let us view Astrid's pain and grief. We also got to see how her illness affected all those around her, and how they handled it. 

Overall: An emotional, beautiful, and thoughtful story about one girl's struggle with terminal illness, and the choices she was faced with.

The Sound of Drowning
Katherine Fleet
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Fiction
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Meredith Hall has a secret. Every night she takes the ferry to meet Ben, her best friend and first love. Though their relationship must remain a secret, they’ve been given a second chance, and Mer's determined to make it work. She lost Ben once before and discovered the awful reality: she doesn't know how to be happy without him…

Until Wyatt washes ashore―a brash new guy with a Texas twang and a personality bigger than his home state. He makes her feel reckless, excited, and alive in ways that cut through her perpetual gloom. The deeper they delve into each other’s pasts, the more Wyatt’s charms become impossible to ignore.

But a storm is brewing in the Outer Banks. When it hits, Mer finds her heart tearing in half and her carefully constructed reality slipping back into the surf. As she discovers that even the most deeply buried secrets have a way of surfacing, she’ll have to learn that nothing is forever―especially second chances.

She betrayed her best friend, her first love, and thought she had lost him forever. The guilt forced Meredith to isolate and abandon the things that brought her joy, until she met Wyatt. The exact opposite of Ben, Wyatt helped Meredith work through her pain, but would embracing her friendship with Wyatt result in betraying Ben?

• Pro: Fleet did a fantastic job laying this story out. She kept me reading, because I had to get to the truth, and she expertly meted it out to me, piece by piece. 
• Pro: I thought I had the whole thing figured out. I believed the big THING was one of two options, and it was revealed, that I was right. And THEN, there was more revealed, which I wasn't shocked by, but didn't expect. And THEN, this third thing came out of nowhere, which really surprised me. All I have to say is, well played, Katherine Fleet. 
• Pro: We got to know Wyatt, who was fantastic, in real time, while we met Ben mostly during flashbacks and a few nights at the beach. Fleet let me share so many beautiful, and sometimes, painful moments with Ben and Meredith, but I really was able to see why he was such an important person in her life. 
• Pro: Back to Wyatt. He was such an interesting character. He seemed almost like a caricature, when I first met him, but then his deeper layers were revealed, and that made me really adored him. 
• Pro: There were a lot of interesting details running in the background of this story. I loved the Outer Banks setting, and the way Fleet sort of made it another character in the book, and it had a big emotional impact on me. There was also: wind sailing, motocross, beach bowling, and The Yellow Rose Cafe to name just a few of those little things that enhanced my enjoyment. 
• Pro: The ending was bittersweet. Hopeful, but at the same time, a little sad. 

Overall:  A beautiful and heartbreaking romance, which was suspenseful and had me feeling all the feels.  

** ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

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