3 Reviews : Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters, The Espressologist and Saving Juliet

Posted by on September 8, 2011 2:10 am in 3 stars reads, 3.5 stars reads, 4 stars reads | 7 comments

I’m back with some mini-reviews, and this time it’s the feel-good edition! All of these three contemporary YA novels had some cute stories told with a lot of heart, that I would recommend if you need a little sunshine in your day 🙂

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Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford
Pages : 313
Genre : YA, Fiction
Stand alone
My Rating : 

What it’s about : Norrie, Jane and Sassy are in big trouble : it’s Christmas, and their grand-mother just announced that after being deeply offended by a member of the family, she would be cutting everyone from her will, unless she received an apology. In a an effort to repair the damage done, each of the sister then takes pen to paper to write her own confession.

My Thoughts : To be fair, I have to admit that the only reason I’m not writing a solo review for this book is that I read it a year ago. I’m pretty sure I would have had a lot more to say if I had reviewed it then! Fortunately, I still have my notes from then so I can at least give you a general overview of my feelings about it.

I thought the story was a lot of fun and a great way to introduce the readers to three different characters, while making it all very cohesive. The sisters’ stories intersect many times, thus giving the readers the opportunity to see a same event from different angles, so I never felt like I was reading three different stories. There was a lot of heart to it and also some humor, and I still remember the ending with a smile. Standiford made me care about her characters with a story I devoured in one single night.

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The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
Pages : 184
Genre : YA, Fiction
Stand Alone
My Rating :

What it’s about : By a single look at their drink, Jane can tell a lot about a person. All the while working at Wired Joe’s, she has been taking notes on who drinks what, trying to decipher the code behind coffee orders. When she turns her observations into a talent for matchmaking, Jane becomes the attraction of Wired Joe’s. But can she find her own perfect match?

My Thoughts : The Espressologist was a really quick read, and in a way I think it did the story a disservice : the characters and the romance didn’t really have time to develop, change or show more depth.

But.

The premise is super cute and reading this on the bus back from our trip to Toronto, I was dying of thirst reading the descriptions of all those yummy drinks! Hot and cold, sugary or milky, they all sounded very tasty. I loved to read the descriptions Jane wrote based on the drinks, and how cliché they sometimes were. I could totally see this made into a cute teen movie.

 

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Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors
Pages : 241
Genre : YA, Historical Fiction, Time Travel
Stand Alone
My Rating :

What it’s about : All of Mimi’s life has always been about theater. Raised by a family of actors, she’s never had any other choice than being on the scene. Playing Juliet in the popular Shakespearean play, Mimi is stunned when she is magically transported back in time to beautiful Verona, where she meets the very people who inspired the play.

My Thoughts : In all honesty I have never been a fan of Romeo & Juliet, but this take on the play was absolutely adorable. Mimi was a fun character and I really felt for her, not having a choice to do something else with her life even though she wished it.

In a way I was more captivated by her life in the present time than in old Verona, but I loved how Selfors made the story her own. It’s original enough that you don’t feel like you’ve already seen it all, but true enough to the Shakespeare story that you can appreciate those little differences. If you like your time travel done with a touch of magic and a bit of romance, this might be your kind of thing. On a similar theme, I was reminded of the YA novel Prada and Prejudice, and of the adult novel Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, this one a take on, of course, Jane Austen!

7 Comments

  1. Saving Juliet sounds like fun! I am not a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet either, but there can be exceptions.

  2. I’ve been wanting to read Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters for a while. It sounds really good to me!

  3. I love Saving Juliet too 🙂

  4. The story in The Espressologist reminds me a little of a plot development in The Peach Keeper, and I am wondering if that is where the original idea for this book came from. It seems a bit unlikely, but who knows really. The other books sound rather interesting as well. Thanks for the great mini-reviews!

  5. I’ve had my eye on The Espressologist for so long — the premise really appeals to me and sounds so cute! Sorry to hear it seemed a little rushed, but I still hope to give it a go someday.

  6. Kailana : Yes, I think this is one of the cute exceptions! 🙂

    Kathy : It’s my favorite of the three here. I think you would like it.

    Juju : Yay! I’m surprised we haven’t heard much about it.

    Zibilee : The Espressologist is a bit older than The Peach Keeper but I haven’t read that one, so I can hardly compare! I want too though, it’s been recommended to me again and again!

    Meg : I do hope you’ll enjoy it! But the drinks descriptions are, by themselves, worth the read 🙂

  7. Saving Juliet does sound like a really fun twist on the classic tale. I’ve added it to my to-read list at the library 🙂

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