Love & Olives (Love & Gelato #3)

Evans, Jenna Welch. Love & Olives (Love & Gelato #3)

November 10th 2020 by Simon Pulse 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Olive Varanakis's father was obsessed with the lost city of Atlantis, and since he was born and raised on the island of Santorini, Greece, he left Olive in the US with her mother when she was eight years old and returned to the island. He has only sent a few occasional post cards, but Liv (as she prefers to be known now) has a box with the 25 items he left behind him, which included their favorite annoted map of Santorini. As she is preparing to apply to colleges (her boyfriend, Dax, wants her to go to Stanford with him, but she would rather go to the Rhode Island School of Design to pursue her art work), she gets a post card from her father asking her to come and spend time with him as he is working on a project. Her mother insists that she go. After a long flight, she is met by the exuberant but entirely unknown Theo, who is her age, very attractive, and does seem to know who her father is. Her luggage is sent separately as she takes off with Theo on his motorcycle. Her father has arranged a big party in her honor and given her a set of very special oil paints, but she is still irritated. She is sharing a small room right off the bookstore that Theo's mother owns with Theo, and the two spend a lot of time together working on a documentary about Atlantis that her father thinks National Geographic will feature. There are many problems along the way, family secrets revealed, light romance, but most of all, a chance for Olive to connect with her heritage and make things right with her father. 

Strengths: This is a Young Adult novel that will also be popular with middle school readers. Liv isn't thrilled about spending time in Greece, but she doesn't complain, either, and she embarks on the documentary with good humor. The descriptions of Santorini are great, and I loved Theo and his mother, especially the book store. This gets into a lot of information about her father's mental health at the end, and I don't want to spoil that ARC, but it was well done and helped Liv make sense of her childhood and some anxiety that she herself has. The cover is fantastic! 
Weaknesses: I can't wait to see this in person; the publisher's listing has it at 352 pages, but my E ARC said 514! It was a bit on the long side, although the print seems to be middle grade (12-14 point) rather than young adult size (10 point), which helps. I also thought it odd that she would room with Theo. 
What I really think: The first two books, which are not related to this in any way that I can figure (other than the general theme of traveling) are hugely popular in my library. I do love books about Greece, so I'm definitely purchasing this, but I wish it had mentioned the scholarly archaeology that has been done on Santorini and was a little shorter. 

Most readers won't care about this, but I was really surprised that there is no mention of the archaeological digs done in the at Akrotiri on Santorini by Spyridon Marinatos, or of Sir Arthur Evans and Knossos (although Olive does meet a man whose boyfriend is an archaeologist vaguely studying "the Minoans"). Why do I care? I was lucky enough to visit the site with Nanno Marinatos in 1985 and heard about all of the theories about Atlantis. Yep. That's just the flavor of Geek I was, and it did interfere with my own personal enjoyment of the book a bit!

This is me with my college roommate. We were both Classics majors both both ended up becoming librarians. 

Beach Reads!

Henderson, Laura. Flirting in Italian.

Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 12 June 2012

Violet is an art student in London who sees a picture hanging in a small museum, and the girl in the picture looks just like her! She manages to arrange to travel to Italy and study in a small Italian language course with Catia, who runs a sort of finishing school. This gets her near the castle from which this painting came, and also away from her very overprotective mother who looks nothing like Violet. Joined by fellow Brit Kelly and Americans Paige and Kendra, Violet settles into a routine of learning Italian and nicieties like flower arranging, going out with Catia's children, and falling for the handsome but wicked Luca. The housekeeper at the castle has an odd reaction to Violet, and she does bear a strong resemblance to the current owner's sister when she was young. When someone tries to lock Violet in a secret passage and she is late poisoned, it's clear that there are secrets that someone would like kept that way.

Strengths: The biggest need for books for girls that I have in my library is for romances, but it can be hard to find one that is intriguing and middle school appropriate. This was both. 13 Little Blue Envelopes is a huge favorite, so anything where girls travel does well. The relationship between the classmates is a nice touch.

Weaknesses: The whole mystery aspect of this seems weak to me. Why not just ask is she is adopted instead of planning a whole scheme to get to Italy? There is a bit of drinking, but never ends well. I don't see another book to this one, but the last paragraph hints at one.

Zeitlin, Meredith. Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters.

(1 March 2012)

Kelsey Finklestein vows that THIS year will be different. She will rock at soccer, and since her arch nemesis has moved away, she has a shot at Jordan Rothman. While she does okay at soccer, an older girl, Julie, has something against her, and she gets stuck playing goalie. Her nemesis' cousin has moved to town and threatens to take over, but turns out to be a nice person. Jordan is dating someone... one of her good friends! The school year continues with these ups and downs (a boy is interested in her, but is a horrible sloppy kisser), but Kelsey manages to get through them with the help of her friends.

Strengths: This reminded me of Ellen Conford books, and I was all set to give it to one of my students who likes both sports books and romance books.

Weaknesses: *Sigh* Too much talk of sex. Not a lot of doing, but just a lot more discussion than I was comfortable with. This was a real shame, because I was enjoying it.

Coriell, Shelley. Welcome Caller, this is Chloe.

1 May 2012

Chloe has a great life-- she's just been elected dance queen and has two great friends. Things start to go south when her friends are upset at how she treated them after being elected queen and stop talking to her. Her grandmother's Parkinson's is getting worse, and she may have to go into an assisted living facility. Worst of all, she has an annoying new guidance counselor who has denied her junior project (that had to do with soap opera vixens) and signs her up instead to help with the failing school radio station. Since her friends aren't talking to her, and have convinced most of the school that they shouldn't talk to her, either, Chloe figures that she might as well work with the radio station. She gets a call in program that ends up doing well. Can Chloe manage to pass her junior project, save the radio station, make peace with her friend situation, and maybe even find romance? You bet your vintage shoes.

Strengths: Light, fluffy, improbably-- this is a great beach read. I've not been buying as much girly lit since the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies went belly up, so I will probably have to buy this one.

Weaknesses: Not a lot of internal consistency (her friends won't talk to her, but everyone turns in to the radio program?), and a fairly high slappage factor. Yes, Chloe is enthusiastic, but she also is highly insensitive to those around her. I didn't care for the acerbic Clementine any more. And what WAS with the vintage shoes? What teen is going to spend $200 on a pair of shoes?

Oh, to be in England.

Roy, Jennifer. Cordially Uninvited.

Claire is very excited that she gets to go to her cousin Belle's wedding... and even more excited because her cousin is marrying the future king of England and she gets to be a junior bridesmaid. She's kept the secret for the longest time while the two were dating, but the connection is leaked to the press and the paparazzi arrive at her house, so she and her mother go over earlier. While she is very glad to see her cousin, she is also interested in one of the young boys who is also going to be in the wedding. She is less than thrilled with Pandora, who is also a junior bridesmaid but for some reason thinks that she is fated to marry the prince and who tries to sabotage the wedding! There's a lot of London sight seeing, meeting of royals, and a budding romance for eleven year old Claire.

Strengths: This was very cleverly done. The royals are not really named, and described in vague ways that make them align a little with Prince Elizabeth, etc., but not so much that it will cause the book to be dated. The London descriptions are wonderful, and the rivalry with Pandora fun. The depiction of Belle as a loving cousin and commoner trying very hard to fit in are nice touches. Enjoyed tremendously.

Weaknesses: This would have been much more successful if the girls had been much older. I can't really buy romance books with eleven year olds as main characters. The Pandora story line especially was hard to swallow. Had the girls been about 17, it could still have been a book that middle school students liked (they like reading about older girls, anyway), and would have seemed more plausible to me.
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Churchyard, Kathleen. Bye For Now. (A Wishers Story)

Robin is fed up with her life-- she bonks heads with her younger sister and gives herself a black eye right before a big swim meet, doesn't do well, and then finds out she has head lice, so her birthday party is canceled. Blowing out the candles, she wishing she were someone else, and soon finds herself in England as Fiona Walker. Fiona is gorgeous, has quirky, artsy parents, and is starring in a professional stage production of Peter Pan. Sure, it's hard to figure out what's going on at school, Fiona's sister Jolene is really mean, and she finds herself missing her family. She turns to the computer to solve her problems, communicating with her brother's girlfriend Alia and finding out that she is a Wisher-- and eleven year old girl who has switched bodies. This apparently happens all the time. An India girl named Neera is in Robin's body, and Fiona is in the body of a Japanese gir, Naomi Nagata. Through a Facebook group, all of the Wishers try to coordinate how they can get back home, but once they realize that their twelfth birthday will mean the end of the ability to change, and since Naomi's birthday is very soon, they have to figure out a way to switch back. Will Robin be able to make it in time, or will she have to be Fiona forever?
Strengths: Lots of good details on British language and habits, and an interesting take on wanting to switch lives. Will buy this one to fill the need for books with magical realism, since there is also a little romance.

Weaknesses: Marginal cover, and again, I wish the main character were about 13, in order to make the romance seem more realistic. I personally dislike the use of texting and the reliance on Facebook, since that will date the story, but girls now will like it. I also was slightly confused by the large number of Wishers and found myself doubting that they would really be able to return to the right body!

Sunday Brunch-- Romance

Smith, Jennifer E. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.

Hadley doesn't want to fly to London, but that's not why she missed her flight by four minutes. She was just running late-- but try explaining that to her father, for whose wedding she now might or might not be on time. She's struggling to stay awake and occupied in the airport when a boy helps her with her suitcase-- and the two strike up a conversation. When they end up next to each other on the plane, they spend most of the long trip talking. Hadley is upset that her father moved to the UK to take a teaching job, fell in love, and left her and her mother. Oliver is more tactiturn, but she does find out that he is studying at Yale. When the

Strengths: Any book that ends up in London with a romance with a cute boy named Oliver... well, have to buy this one! plane lands, the two get separated, and Hadley realizes they never exchanged contact information. After struggling through part of the wedding and reception, she feels a desperate need to hunt Oliver down, and does manage to find him. How deep is their connection? What is the statistical probability of love at first sight?

Weaknesses: A bit more family angst than I personally like in a romance, and, well, this wasn't Before Sunrise (1995). *Sigh* I didn't quite feel the connection between Hadley and Oliver, and the fact that she actually hunted him down was somehow... wrong. True to life, but not as romantic as just bumping into him a week later on the Tube. Won't matter to my students!

Resau, Laura. The Ruby Notebook.

Sequel to The Indigo Notebook. Zeeta and her mother have lived in a different country every year for as long as Zeeta can remember. After a year in Ecuador, they are settling into life in Aix-en-Provence, France. Zeeta is very excited that her American boyfriend, Wendell, is coming to spend the summer with her, but she is conflicted when she meets the appealing Jean-Claude, who is traveling and working with a performing group. Complicating matters is someone leaving small gifts for her that she thinks may be from the father that she has never met. When Wendell arrives, he is a bit distant, and Zeeta is concerned that she will be like her mother, who has never been able to maintain a relationship for very long. With the help of an elderly gentleman, her new friends in the performing group, some mystical friends of her mother's, and Wendell himself, Zeeta is able to make some sense of the relationships in her life.

Strengths: This was a great book for describing travel, and the romances will make this appealing to my girls who go through a book a day.

Weaknesses: This felt more like adult fiction, with a slow, languid narrative. I also found the mystical qualities in some of the characters confusing. (Wendell sees visions, etc.) Still, I think I will order the entire series, including the new The Jade Notebook for my girls who can't get enough of books like 13 Little Blue Envelopes.

Brody, Jessica. My Life Undecided.

Brooklyn is really good at making really bad decisions. The latest-- having a huge party at her mother's model home and managing to burn it down trying to make fajitas while drunk with plastic vegetables-- results in her best friend, Shayne, dumping her, as well as 200 hours of community service at a nursing home. Realizing that she is incapable of making good decisions, Brooklyn puts together a blog (http://mylifeundecided.com) and lets the readers of her blog decide what she will do. Grapes of Wrath or The Old Man and the Sea? Try out for rugby? Brooklyn manages to abide by the decisions for the most part, even though her readers think she should be more interested in Brian (her new debate partner) and less interested in Hunter (very hot new student). Things don't go smoothly, but Brooklyn tries to move beyond her shallow past, stay out of trouble, and decide if her friendship with Shayne is really they way to happiness.

Strengths: This was a very fun, light read that is about the vicissitudes of high school life and romance while still being appropriate for middle school. Whew. Enjoyed tremendously even though the plot is a tiny bit similar to Notes from the Midnight Driver. Brooklyn does mature.

Weaknesses: The cover will date very badly, but this is offset by actual web site at the addressed mentioned in the book. I didn't quite buy Brooklyn as someone who would have a party in a model home and hang out with Shayne, and she did take to debate a bit too quickly for me to believe. Still a fun read.

Happy Valentine's Day

Whittenberg, Allison. Tutored.
Wendy's father is a well-to-do, educated black man who is vehemently opposed to black people who have not made something of themselves, so he is not happy that Wendy is volunteering with a tutoring center in an economically disadvantaged part of town. While there, she meets Hakiam, whose mother got tired of raising him and put him into foster care. Having had enough of that, he moves from Cincinnati to Philadelphia to help his cousin Leesa raise her premature baby, Malikia. He doesn't really have a plan. Wendy does-- it includes going to college at Howard University in order to reconnect with her ethnic heritage, a plan that her father does not embrace. Wendy and Hakiam are strangely drawn to each other, and start to date. Wendy helps Hakiam take care of little Malikia, and tries to get him to secure a job and continue his education, but when things go wrong with the baby, he's not sure if he can hang on.
Strengths:I don't know that I have read anything that covers black-on-black prejudice, so this was interesting and will be a good addition to my romance books.
Weaknesses: The pictures of Wendy and Hakiam appear only on the back cover! There are a
few instances where this verges into more high school territory-- Hakiam smokes marijuana, and there is a party or two-- but these events are not glamorized. I also didn't feel what attraction these two had to each other, but they apparently did.

Meyer, Marissa. Cinder.
Cinder is the best mechanic in New Beijing, so when Prince Kai brings her his android to repair, she is not overly surprise, but is very flattered. She knows that she will not get to the big ball because her stepmother Adri is putting all of her resources into sending Cinder's stepsisters, Peony and Pearl. When Peony is struck down with letumosis, the plague that is going around and which also kills the king, Adri volunteers Cinder to participate in research to try to find a cure for the disease. During this research, Cinder finds out that she is actually immune to the disease. In the meantime, the Lunar Queen Levana comes to earth to console Kai about the death of his father and to try to set up an alliance with Earth... by marrying Kai. Cinder realizes that she can see through Levana's glamor, and her continued work with the doctor in the research facility leads to some startling truths about herself. Can Cinder save Earth from Queen Levana, save her sister from the plague, believe that Kai likes her more than Levana, and make it to the ball?
Strengths: This is one of those books that didn't appeal to me but which everyone is reading, but I was drawn in from the first page and really enjoyed it. There are so many good twists on the Cinderella story, plus intergalactic intrigue. I also liked that it was science fiction without being completely dystopian. Really a "wow" of a book!
Weaknesses: There was a lot going on, and since this is a fairly long book (390 pages), a bit more tightening would have strengthened the story for me.

The Crazy Things Girls Do For Love

Sheldon, Dyan. The Crazy Things Girls Do For Love.

Sicilee, Maya and Waneeda all have their own distinct personality quirks, but when new boy Cody Lightfoot comes to town, they are all so smitten that they join an environmental group run by the geeky Clemens in order to get near Cody. Sicilee is the poster child for overconsumption (he wants her parents to enlarge her walk in closet because it's not big enough for all of her clothes) and thinks that vegan is show for vegetarian. Maya is a little more environmentally inclined, but still more interested in Cody. Waneeda usually doesn't care much about anything, but is oddly struck by Cody's environmental interest... and his good looks. Soon, all three are trying to outdo each other in order to get Cody's attention, and come to realize that perhaps the environment is more important than they thought.

Strengths: It's always good to have books with a positive environmental message. I normally love Sheldon's work, and the cover is a slam dunk for girls to pick up.

Weaknesses: I was annoyed at almost every character in the book, and even the style (the story is told in the present tense) irritated me. In an afternote, Sheldon addresses how important being aware of the environment is, but I wish she hadn't made it seem so awful for the girls to give up meat, new clothes, and riding in the car. I am not sure it will encourage readers to become environmentally aware, but they will enjoy the story and I will probably buy the book. I just wish that I enjoyed it more!

"Perfect" Young Adult Books

Martino, Alfred C. Perfected by Girls.
Melinda is the only girl on her high school wrestling team. Her older brother is a captain, the coach isn't entirely supportive of her efforts, and to make matters worse, she's not wrestling well. Part of this might be because she is distracted by her new boyfriend, Stewart, and part might be that her grandmother, the driven president of a small business, wants Melinda to work with her instead of getting a fun job at the mall. Melinda is a dedicated wrestler who trains hard, but it doesn't seem to matter to some of the boys. After attending a wrestling camp for female wrestlers, Melinda is inspired to do better, but she is quoted saying unflattering things about her coach, who passes away shortly after that. The new coach wants Melinda to drop a weight class, something the previous coach never would let her do, and Melinda, spurred by guilt and anger, trains even harder to see if she can be the first girl to not only compete at a certain level but to win.
Strengths: Martino does the most awesome wrestling books EVER. (Sorry, Rich Wallace!) My daughter, who has been a wrestling stat for six years and has thought about wrestling herself, still talks about Pinned. The middle school wrestlers, many of whom ran for me, are usually big readers, and I just don't have enough books for them. However...
Weaknesses: Martino writes for high school. While there are great details about Melinda's wrestling meets, there are also far too many details about her encounters with her boyfriend for me to have this in the middle school. Sigh. I will definitely recommend this to the high school librarians and will probably donate a copy on behalf of my daughter.

Sales, Leila. Past Perfect.
Disclaimer: My parents were both teachers, and I spent WAY more time touring reconstructed villages than the average child, so the fact that Chelsea and her parents work in Essex, a colonial era village, amused me greatly. Chelsea has worked with her parents as long as she can remember, and she would much rather spend the summer working at a mall store with her friend Fiona. When Fiona decides to work at Essex, Chelsea is stuck, but at least gets to work at the graveyard instead of in her parents' silver smith shop with the annoying history geek Bryan. Across the street from Essex is Reenactmentland, a Civil War venture. The teens at both villages have an ongoing "war" where they sabotage each other. When she is "kidnapped" my Civil Warriors, Chelsea meets Dan and starts to think that he might be the key to getting over her ruined relationship with Ezra. Dan certainly is, but the two must meet clandestinely lest their camps find out about their forbidden love. When the "war" heats up, both do things they regret. How important is Essex to Chelsea, and can she and Dan overcome their differences?
Strengths: So much fun! It is hard to find romance books for middle school, and while there is lots of kissing in this one, clothes stay on. The whole angle of the reconstructed villages is wonderfully appealing!
Weaknesses: What's with the cover? This doesn't show any scene that I can think of in the book. In fact, I had a similar complaint about this author's Mostly Good Girls. I don't see how a cover designer could have avoided the colonial dress! (The Martino book, however, has an awesome cover. It's great because boys would not mind reading it.)