Paula StokesRecensioni

*3.5

Really liked the thought put into the portrayal of Maguire’s mental health. Maybe there could have been a few more sessions at length with the doctor, but really it was a great thing to see any sessions included and to see it normalized for the teens in this story rather than treated as some shame to be hidden.

I also enjoyed the chemistry between Maguire and Jordy, I liked his patience and that he’s more insecure than the usual jock stereotype. I also loved that even though Jordy is a support and a help in Maguire’s journey this isn’t one of those books that makes it seem like if you just find romantic love that’ll heal everything in you, getting a boyfriend is not presented as a cure-all here, instead we see Maguire doing the work in trying to reach a healthier mindset and being able to forge a connection with Jordy is shown as a side-benefit of that work she’s doing.

I was really pleased with the tennis aspects of this one since that’s one of my favorite sports to watch, I thought the author captured the sport really well, however, if you aren’t a fan, don’t worry, this doesn’t go too overboard with the amount of tennis in the story.

If I could have changed anything here it would have been to add more family moments. Those interractions were really good and I would have welcomed more, in particular there’s some time with the stepdad and time with the mom later in the book that I was a little disappointed to just told about afterwards (and not told very much) rather than experiencing those moments alongside Maguire.

Overall, this is a solid choice if you’re craving a sweet young adult romance seamlessly woven into a girl’s courageous mission to get her life back on track.

Recommended by Carina July 2020

feb 2018:

this book has inspired me to go on a solo trip somewhere and also on a trip to Zion National Park. updates forthcoming. gimme a few years. :p

Meh. I thought I would like this a whole lot better than I did. I love the "I can't remember" trope-- and I love the books that deal with the tough issues. This had both, but ended up feeling very bland to me. Genevieve was NOT a memorable character. She talked in her head way too much, and her emotion level was frigid. I get what the author was going for here, but the execution was not page-turning and was not giving me the feels.

The only other book I've read prior to The Art of Lainey was Paula Stokes/Fiona Paul's other YA series Venom. I've only read the first one so far, but I loved it. After seeing all the awesome remarks about The Art of Lainey, I had pretty high expectations for it, and I am glad to tell you that they were indeed met!

The Plot: After Lainey's boyfriend breaks up with her out of nowhere, Lainey and her best friend, Bianca, devise a plan to win him back with the help of General War Master, Sun Tzu. After reading and thoroughly studying the words of the thousand year old strategist, Lainey feels ready to attack her opponent. However, the first part of her plan doesn't go as smoothly as she hoped when she finds Jason in a lip lock with one of his coworkers. Bianca decides that the best way to throw Jason off guard is for Lainey to date someone else. After confronting a coworker at the Cafe, Lainey persuades Micah to go on fake dates with her. She tells him that if he helps her, she'll help him get back his ex-girlfriend, Amber too. It's a win-win situation for the both of them. Except things don't go exactly as they were planned. After some failed attempts, things are looking a little hopeless for Lainey, until Jason reaches out and apologizes, asking her if they can meet up sometime. Lainey is overjoyed that things might be looking up for her except for the small fact that her relationship with Micah is starting to feel real. Torn between someone completely opposite from her but understanding and her "perfect" boyfriend who she always thought she would marry, Lainey is forced to take a stand while discovering who she really is.
Let me say that there is no love triangle in this novel at all. I repeat no love triangle, so don't be worried! Also, if you're afraid that this will be cliché, I can assure you right now that it is not. In fact, this is probably one of the most unique novels I've read this year. I love how Paula Stokes incorporated The Art of War into the plot and how she took the rules and transformed them into a modern day "battle" plan. I have never read The Art of War before either, but the way Paula wrote it is easy to follow for those who are not familiar with it.

The characters: When you first meet Lainey, she's not the most like able person. She comes off as slightly snobbish with a holier than thou attitude seen in her first conversation with Micah. However, I easily warmed up to her as she developed throughout the story. As she and Micah became closer, Lainey underwent some self discovery as to who she really is and who she was pretending be for her friends and boyfriend. I loved how the girl at the end of the novel was such a contrast to the girl we first met, showing how much she truly changed. Micah was probably my favorite character in the entire book. My, was he swoony. I'll just leave it at that or else I'll never stop. Bianca was an awesome best friend. Lainey could always count on her to be there. On the other hand, I didn't like Jason very much or Kendall at all. Although Jason did tried to win Lainey back (very poorly might I add), he could never beat Micah. Also, I extremely disliked Kendall. She only did things for her own gain and was so controlling over Lainey. Let's just say that she was not a good person.

Overall, The Art of Lainey was an amazing read with a great plot and fantastic characters. All fans of contemporary YA romance needs to read this. It is easily one of my favorite YA romances I've read this year.

This was a really well done YA novel that deals with grief and PTSD very well. The main character, Maguire, has become borderline OCD with her good luck rituals and her checks because of her belief that bad things will happen to those around her, after a series of freak accidents when she was younger. Tasked by her therapist, she makes a series of challenges to herself, with the ultimate goal of traveling to Ireland for the memorial for her dad and uncle who had died in the car accident she survived. With the help of Jordy, the local tennis star who shares her therapist, she faces her fears and issues.

Really well done. Really. This was quite a good read, with fully realized characters and a sympathetic look at mental health issues. Also, no weren't any real love triangles - though there was one but that turned out to not be real. There were no enemies in this book, other than Maguire's own demons. I loved all the characters in the end and was supremely glad that Stokes didn't fall into the mean girl cliche trap. Even the "mean girl" just turned out to be a giant misunderstanding.

Great characters, interesting plot that kept me engaged, well-written, and a great grasp on PTSD and other mental health issues. I wish I had this book when I was a teenager.

This novel's kind of a Monet: when you take a step back its really beautiful but if you lean in, its a hot mess. When I got to the end, I was like, "Oh, that was really clever," but I was never really engaged by the story. The execution keeps falling over itself trying to get out of the way and so it all seems awkward and stilted. The first few chapters really shouldn't be there at all; the cover art shows the scene where the novel should have begun (and the cover art should have been a collage of multiple scenes, imo). Most irritatingly, there are these intermittent descriptions of inane events (such as showering or getting dressed or eating) that serve no purpose other than to disrupt enjoyment of the narrative flow. (Knowing that our narrator dried herself with a towel that was fluffy and white in no way improves the story for me. She's clean, I get it! Let's move on with the story that I was almost engrossed in!)

This novel of a teenage girl afflicted by PTSD in reaction to numerous unlikely tragedies in the course of her short life is a rather charming tale of first love and self-healing that felt just a little unbalanced (and I don't mean mentally).

The relationship between the narrator and Her Love Interest is really well done but her interactions with her new best friend seem forced; in fact, the character of Jade is sadly underdeveloped and I was aggrieved she ended up getting so little attention (her first appearance seemed so promising!). The psychiatrist, too, got less play than I thought he should, as he kind of disappeared once the story got rolling. On the other hand, I was expecting the step-father to be a total background prop and was most gratified to be wrong. And every so often, the readability of the story is put into a sharp contrast by a discordantly chunky paragraph of pointless detail, usually a trivial detail that should have been glossed over.

As a side note, I really felt like this book's title should have been a tennis pun (Courting Disaster maybe?); Girl Against the Universe sounds like a humorous, sci-fi epic about a chick with superpowers.

Even though I figured part of it, I was riveted and glued until the very end. Great story.

There's a subtle, but powerful pull to many forms of mental illness. For MaGuire, this is particularly true. It began when she was the sole survivor of a horrible car crash that killed her father, brother and uncle, but left her relatively unscathed. Her sense that she was a carrier of ill fortune was reinforced not long after when she was in a roller coaster accident and, again was the only one uninjured. Then her candle may or may have not been the cause of her neighbor's home burning. In any event, she's so spooked and convinced that any and every bad event is her fault, that she has literally no life and is a prisoner of multiple and repetitious rituals. There's also some resentment toward Mom who found someone to love and remarried. Maguire now has a stepdad and two step siblings and feels at times, like she's being left out.
When she's set up with a new therapist following a move to a new city and a new high school, it's the beginning of a sea change. Not only does her therapist convince her to take on seven challenges with the goal of freeing herself enough to fly to Ireland for a memorial service, but the cute guy whose appointments follow hers starts up a conversation.
Jordy has issues of his own, but their shared interest in tennis, one of her first challenges being to try out for the school team that Jordy helps coach, is the beginning of healing for both of them. It's their journey that involves that pull, much like the tide coming in and then receding. Following it can be frustrating at times, but ultimately, thanks to a surprise ending that benefits them both, they emerge, better and stronger. It's a very satisfying story.

(4.5 stars)

This book was very well written and dealt with anxiety and PTSD wonderfully, while also throwing in a cute romance, and character growth for everyone!

LOVED IT!

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Good
Recommended: For larger libraries, lovers of realistic fiction
Level: High School

This realistic fiction novel touches on various topics, including drowsy driving, coming to terms with loss, and the brutality of online scrutiny and attacks. There is good character development of the main character, Genevieve, as she comes to terms with the loss of her boyfriend and the realization that there is more to the story of how he was killed.

This will make a good addition to larger systems where realistic fiction is popular.

This is book two of 7 in 7 Readathon and it was pretty great. I found it a little hard to get into at first but towards the last chunk of the story, I really enjoyed it.

This story centers on an eighteen-year-old named Max, who starts a business at his high school lying for classmates and fabricating cover stories. Along with his best friend Preston and girlfriend Parvati, Max starts making a ton of money. Things turn when Preston goes missing and the FBI suspect Max. This story has a few twists and some pretty interesting characters and thrills. I gave it 3 stars because while it was good, there seemed to be something that was missing. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I absolutely loved this book!
I thought that the way the therapy sessions were a main part of the book was really nice. It showed that getting help is a big step on the way to healing.
I also liked how the boy started helping out the MC but by the end she was helping him.
This was one of the most surprising books that I liked out of 2016 because usually I don't go for romance/contemporary but I'm so glad I was persuaded to pick this book up!

The two-star rating is not a reflection on the book, but rather on myself.

It gets harder and harder for me, at my ripe old age (48), to give an adequate review of YA/coming of age novels. So I ask myself, "What's in there that you would want to discuss/share with your children?" (The last of whom is 16 going on 61). I'd say, we'd discuss:

Re: The Style: Did it ring true for how 17-18 yr olds REALLY speak?
Re: The Characters: Did they reflect anyone you know? Think like they think?
What is Truth? (heavy, I know...)
And Why people lie.
And is it ever "OK" to do so.

And then I'd pack those answers away knowing a little bit more about my child and her world.

Max grew up on the streets and in various foster homes, which made it hard to get to know people. Now a senior in high school, Max still feels on the edge of life as he struggles to make ends meet at a surfing job while his girlfriend Parvati and best friend Preston, who are both rich, glide through life without any worries.

Parvati’s father forbade their relationship, so Max plans to get detention to spend time with her. His taking the blame for someone else’s infraction creates the opportunity to do so for other students, and lays the groundwork for “Liars, Inc,” which Parvati and Preston decide would be the name of their new venture of creating excuses for money.

Max fabricates a lie that allows Preston to escape to Vegas for a weekend rendezvous with someone he met online. When he disappears, Max and Parvati team up to try and figure out what happened. Things become complicated when Preston’s blood is found in Max’s car, along with his missing cell phone. When Preston is found dead, Max becomes the main suspect and is soon on the run from FBI agents. As he and Parvati piece together clues, it becomes obvious that he is being framed. The question is who would do so, and why?

I wasn’t a fan of this book as I found the plot to be far-fetched and unrealistic. Thus I will leave it up to readers 14 and older to decide if you want to read it or not.

Book review link: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2017/04/29/liars-inc-paula-stokes/

Our story begins in a therapist’s office, where Maguire and Dr. Leeds discuss the car accident that killed her father, brother and uncle, and changed her life. Maguire survived the accident, as well as a major roller coaster malfunction and a house fire next door. She’s developed a full blown case of anxiety because she thinks she’s jinxed, and anyone who gets too close to is likely to suffer. She’s isolated herself, and developed some behaviors that she believes/hopes will keep everyone around her safe. But it’s time to move forward, so she reluctantly agrees to the therapy.

Enter Jordy, semi-pro tennis star, home-schooled student and assistant coach of the girl’s tennis team and another patient of Dr. Leeds. Maguire joins the tennis team, and a reluctant friendship/romance blooms between the two as they both do their therapy homework together to accomplish their ultimate goals - Maguire wants to travel to Ireland to her grandmother’s planned memorial for her two sons, and Jordy wants to be able to wrestle control of his life from his controlling parents.

This is a sweet story about Maguire and Jordy’s relationship, but more important, it shows how teens can have emotional problems and how therapy can help them recover and become better people. Stokes does a reasonable job of showing how anxiety impacts a teen and how it can be healed with work. While I think this novel is a bit simplistic on how it portrays Maguire’s “recovery”, I think it will resonate with many teens who face this challenge. This is for readers of realistic and romantic YA fiction, like Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen. There is one scene where Maguire and Jordy make-out, but it’s pretty PG so it would be okay for junior high although I think the interest for this book is more high school.

Vicarious reads like a toned down, not-quite-so-violent Kill Bill meets Strange Days.

Book Title: Vicarious
Author: Paula Stokes
Series: Vicarious #1 (of 2)
Genre: Older YA, Thriller
Source: Kindle E-Book (Library)

OVERALL RATING: 4.8/5 STARS

Find my full review with video included for book song at Leah's Bookish Obsession

♪♫MY PICK FOR BOOK THEME SONG♫♪
♫Let it Die by Starset --The less I say about that, the better… ♫

⇝Ratings Breakdown⇜

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4.8/5
The Feels: 4.5/5
Addictiveness: 5/5
Theme: 4.2/5
Flow: 4.5/5
Backdrop (World Building): 4/5
Originality: 5/5
Book Cover: 5/5
Ending: 4.7/5 Cliffhanger: uhhh...yeah

Will I continue this series? For sure!!!

⇝My Thoughts⇜

A fascinating and super intense story, that's not without its flaws, but they're miniscule in comparison to the overall entertainment value. Twisting, turning non-stop action is what you'll get with Vicarious. I never got bored reading this. The second book Ferocious is expected to come out August of 2017. I love that this is a duology…I, personally, love them so much more than a trilogy.

The complex characters set this apart from other books. They are diverse, flawed and intriguing. The Tech involved is effortlessly explained. I'm so looking forward to next book, I've read it takes place in LA and Seoul Korea, sounds enticing.
⇝Sex Factor⇜ More or less, but not explicit, not really…sorry, that was rather vague. You should just read it…I would classify this as Older YA, mostly for it's darker themes.

I liked this book but not nearly as much as I had hoped I would. I live in the St. Louis area, so when I saw the cover of this book, I just had to read it. I put all of my other books aside when I picked this one up from my library and starting reading it right away. It turned out to be an okay read for me. I am glad that I read it but I wasn't blown away by it.

One of the reasons that I read this book was the setting and I do have to say that I was a bit disappointed by the parts of St. Louis that made its way into the book. There is talk of some St. Louis clubs and to be honest I have no idea if they are real or not since my days of hitting the club are long over. There are a few other things mentioned but with a few changes this book could have really taken place anywhere. That's probably actually a good thing for most readers but I wanted more of St. Louis.

I never felt invested in any of the characters. Winter Kim just didn't feel real to me and that made it hard for me to relate to her on any level. I should have been feeling her pain since she has been through a lot of terrible things that she is still having to deal with but I just didn't feel it. Jesse was probably the character that I liked the most in the story but I still can't understand how he could be as perfect as he seemed to be.

The mystery was pretty good. There was a lot of stuff going on in the story so there were not any boring moments. I did guess the big twist pretty early on in the story even though I had hoped that something else would happen to prove me wrong. Books are really just more fun when you are not able to guess how everything will end.

There were a lot of things that worked well for me in the book and there were a few things that didn't work as well. I was entertained by the book but I found it pretty easy to set aside. I do realize that I am not the target audience for this one and I am sure that my teenage daughter would probably like it a bit more than I did. I am not sure at this point if I will pick up the next book in the series or not.

This was an easy read, and it was appealing. I bought this as a kindle daily deal and thought I'd give it a shot. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I liked Lainey's growth-I felt it was a natural progression and moved fairly quickly, which I appreciated. I have no patience for too much angst and drama. While this book had it, it didn't seem tedious or too much to me. It felt light hearted and I love happy endings :-) I would give it 3.5 stars.

This book is pretty much…
PERFECTION.
I honestly have nothing critical to say about it.

First, let me say thank you to Jamie for buying it for me when I couldn't get hold of it in the UK. Also, a big thank you to Paula Stokes for the signed bookplate!

There are so many things I loved about this book. The story opens up several years after a car accident that killed Maguire's father, brother and uncle, yet left her unscathed. Soon after, she experiences other accidents that affect everyone but her. This leads Maguire to believe that she is cursed, and that it’s safer for everyone if she stays away from them. After moving to San Diego, Maguire begins seeing a therapist, which leads to her meeting incredible people and achieving more than she believed she could.

So let’s list the ways that this book kicked butt.

ONE. This book handled mental health issues in a positive and understanding way that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a book before. It was hopeful, but it was also realistic. What I particularly loved is that it didn’t feel like Stokes had picked A Diagnosis and then ticked the boxes of symptoms. Yes, there were several labels mentioned, but Maguire’s experiences were treated as unique to her, and she wasn’t That Girl With ABC. I also loved how all of her behaviours had believable rationalisation behind them. They weren’t just behaviours for the sake of behaviours. Maguire truly wanted to get better, and while she made progress, she also stumbled and regressed. The book acknowledged that, while people can learn and cope better with mental health, it’s not a straightforward, linear process, and mental health issues don’t just go away; you simply learn to live with them better.

TWO. Maguire made some amazing friends who supported her without being overbearing, and who didn’t think of her as a “freak” or “crazy”. While they didn’t push her or say she was being silly, they also didn’t ignore the issue. Personally, I find that completely ignoring an issue is almost as bad as only focusing on it. They acknowledged her feelings and didn’t make her feel lesser for them, and that is just AMAZING. I’m actually a little envious of how amazing they were!

THREE. Maguire’s family dynamics were so well done. I loved how they all so clearly loved each other, and they wanted to help one another. Sometimes, they didn’t know how to best do that, but the intentions were pure. It was also great to see Maguire learn that she wasn’t alone in her grief, and that others were going through their own processes.

FOUR. None of the characters were stereotypes. Some of them seemed that way at first, like Kimber, but they all turned out to be humans. Individuals. All doing the best they could. Some of the tidbits that made them come alive included a certain girl loving cars and basketball, another person taking an interest in an activity their other half loved to simply understand the one they loved more and Maguire being academic, a big reader AND sporty. People can be more than one thing and have more than one type of interest, and this book shows that!

FIVE. BEST FOR FREAKING LAST. Jordy. Oh my lordy, Jordy. (No, I am not ashamed of that.) Ok, yes, he did have that cocky charm that I unabashedly fall in love with in books, but I don’t think he was a stereotype. He had his two sides, and I could completely relate. I also refer to myself in different parts. But even under the famous facade, he was so genuinely wonderful. He wanted to make people happy, but like Maguire, he needed to balance that with his own happiness. Plus, the two of them were so freaking good for each other! Their relationship was so sweet, and it progressed in a glorious slow build with stumbles that I could relate to.

Side note: my mom would be ridiculously happy if I dated Jordy. She loves tennis.

The ending was beautiful, and I wish I could keep living as Maguire. And with Jordy. Why can’t this book go on forever? It got me out of a funk of my own, but now I don’t know how I’m supposed to read anything else. This is definitely going on my favourites shelf, and I will likely reread my favourite parts many times over.

Basically? READ THIS BOOK.

Seventeen-year-old Max, his girlfriend Parvati, and best friend Pres form Liars, Inc., expecting that forging notes and lying for their peers will lead to easy cash, but when Pres asks Max to cover for him, it may be a fatal mistake.

Maguire is convinced she is cursed and others around her will be hurt. She keeps a bad luck journal. But an isolated life is no way to live, so she sets up a series of challenges while working through cognitive behavioral therapy with her therapist. Her goal is to be healthy enough to fly to Ireland to attend the memorial service for her dad, uncle, and brother who died in a car crash. A crash in which she was the only one to survive, in fact she wasn't physically injured at all.
There's a love interest, tennis, and new friendships developed as Maguire pushes herself and starts to blossom. There are setbacks of course. It's an enjoyable read with likable characters facing compelling issues, some romance, building identity and strengthening family ties.

This book was definitely deceiving but in such a good way. I picked it up because I thought it would be a funny, easy read but instead it was a intense thrill-ride I couldn't put down.

You meet Max in the beginning who decides with his friends to start a group called Liars, Inc. The idea was to sell alibis, fake permission slips, etc to kids in their class. Then Preston (who is part of Liars, Inc) needs an alibi so meet up with a girl. Max has no problem helping; well no problem until Preston never comes home and the FBI shows up calling Max a murderer.

I've already recommended this book to everyone who will listen. It is funny, suspenseful, and you will never guess what comes next.