Signs Point to Yes - Sandy Hall

Began reading: 31.1.2016
Completed reading: 3.2.2016
Overall rating: 4 stars

If only Jane’s Magic 8 Ball could tell her how to get through the summer. With her “perfect” sister, Margo, home for her “perfect” internship, Jane is not going to be able to spend the summer writing fan fiction, as she had planned. And her emergency babysitting job requires Jane to spend the whole summer in awkward proximity to her new crush, Teo, a nerdy-hot lifeguard with problems of his own. With his best friend out of town, Teo finds himself without anyone to confide in… except Jane. Will Jane and Teo be able to salvage each other’s summer? Even the Magic 8 Ball doesn’t have an answer… but sings point to yes.

Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall is a contemporary realistic fiction novel, incorporating romance that is suitable for young adults. Following A Little Something Different, I was not looking forward to reading this book. I was pleasantly surprised! I could tell that Hall had improved her writing for this novel. Overall, I really enjoyed the book.

The book was well-written, with no grammatical or spelling errors. Also, literary techniques were used to described characters and situations, which was great. There were also some great quotes, such as:

‘Dude, chill out,’ he said.

‘I’m perfectly chill, thank you,’ Jane said said. Ravi’s response was a really good example of why she hated confrontation. The way the other person could so quickly take the upper hand, no matter how righteous you felt about the situation, made her so angry (pp. 56-57).

Jane peeked out the window and watched him walk home. He glanced up and caught her there, peering out at him, and he waved.

Normally she would have been embarrassed, but right now she was happy that he was the kind of guy who looked back one more time (p. 91).

Lying isn’t wrong if you’re doing it to help someone else… (p. 132).

Margo: ‘What are you going to do?’

Jane: ‘Wander around the grocery store and pretend I don’t know you while actually watching your interaction from every possible angle’ (p. 149).

Humour was used throughout the novel, which I loved. I’m a big fan of humour in novels and I was pleased to see that Hall included more than enough humour. For example:

Jane: ‘You sound like my grandmother.’

Teo: ‘She’s a lovely woman. How is she these days?’

Jane: ‘She died three years ago’ (p. 162).

Jane rolled her eyes. ‘The problem is that now he’s talking about not coming home. And I need your help,’ Jane said, addressing Margo.

‘I’ll do anything,’ Ravi said.

‘I don’t really need your help.’

‘I volunteer as tribute!’ he said, standing up (p. 213).

                                                    

As I mentioned in the review for A Little Something Different, I really enjoy humour in books, as it keeps me turning the page. I find that humour also helps with making the plot and characters more memorable, as I am more likely to remember a character’s joke than the plot.

I found the characters to be relatable, and I found myself identifying particular characteristics that I possess in each of the characters. For example, Jane was quirky, Teo was irrational, Margo was trustworthy and Ravi was fluent in sarcasm. I enjoy a book more when characters are relatable, as it is easier to connect and imagine a similar experience occurring to myself.

The structure of the book was clearly defined. While the structure in A Little Something Different was pretty much non-existent, I could easily identify the complication and resolution. Again, this makes the book more interesting, and improves the flow of the story. I’m really glad that Hall took the times to define the novel’s structure this time ‘round.

In regards to the plot, I found it somewhat predictable. I was able to predict what was going to happen fairly early in the novel. *WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER* For example, when Jane came up with the idea to find Teo’s biological dad:

She knew exactly how she could help Teo — she would find his dad for him (p. 71).

I’m sorry, but when is an idea like this ever a good idea? It irritated me that I knew what was coming; however, there were a couple of plot twists that I obviously didn’t see coming. *WARNING: SPOILER* Learning that Teo’s dad was completely unexpected, as was Ravi’s fondness for Jane. Such plot twists were unexpected, but were beneficial to the plot. I enjoyed these twists because they were different, and creative. I thought that Teo meeting his uncle was a great idea, and was very creative.

My favourite character was Ravi, as I found him hilarious and relatable. He was sassy, sarcastic and extremely funny. Although he was a secondary character, I found that I wanted him to make a bigger appearance. I was excited when he decided to go on the road trip. In the beginning of the book, I thought he would be a pain throughout the entire novel, but I was happy to see that he had a softer side hidden away. I secretly hoped he and Margo would get together, but oh well…

                                                     

As I progressed through the book, I thought that Jane became increasingly annoying. I found her to be clingy, neurotic, nosey, and a little immature. It also bothered me when she admitted that she was a bit of a pushover:

It was obvious to Jane that part of it was Teo’s nature: He hated being alone. So, sure, maybe he was using her, but Jane didn’t mind (p. 145).

                      

Despite this, Jane was also relatable, as her lack of concern for college was something that I experienced at her age:

‘I’m not lazy,’ Jane frowned. ‘Well, I am lazy, but it’s not laziness that’s keeping me from wanting to go to college. Maybe a little, but not about the work — about the getting there. The applications and the SATs. It’s all really scary. It all seems like so much effort when I don’t even know if it’ll work out’ (p. 128-129).

I have a few favourite parts in the book, including Jane’s babysitting, Claudia’s party, Jane and Teo’s date and the road trip. Firstly, I enjoyed Jane’s babysitting because I was able to see how she interacted with Teo’s little sisters. I thought those three were absolutely adorable! I enjoyed the part about Claudia’s party because we got to see Teo’s drunken side and his hilarious fail at kissing Jane. Jane and Teo’s date to the cinema was creative because they watched a random film that turned out to be inappropriate for a first date, haha! After the movie, they went for Fro-Yo, which left me craving Fro-Yo. Finally, the road trip was hilarious, as Ravi tagged along and I was able to get a better idea of how he and Jane got along when Teo wasn’t around.

Recommendation time! If you like Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall, Unbecoming by Jenny Downer and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Mystic Pizza, The Sound of Music, and Bound + Babysitting, you will love this book.

Happy reading!

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Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Began Reading: 19.2.2015
Completed Reading: 24.2.2015
Overall Rating: 4 stars

Cath and her twin sister, Wren, have enrolled at university and are eager to begin their studies. Cath and Wren are total opposites: Wren’s interests revolve around boys and parties, while Cath prefers to spend her time at home, writing fan fiction. Cath considers herself abandoned when Wren reveals that she does not want to be roommates with Cath and wants to spend time with her new best friend. Cath and Wren must learn to overcome difficulties together, including family issues, assessments and boys, despite their differences. Cath has to understand how to live apart from her closest friend, and deal with her emotional past, whilst avoiding being hurt another time.

There were so many reasons for me to love Fangirl. Firstly, Cath is very relatable! Like her, I prefer to be at home, on my computer, instead of going out. My favourite quote from Cath is:

It’s just that… I don’t like new places. New situations. There’ll be all those people, and I won’t know where to sit — I don’t want to go (p. 39).

Yep, that’s my excuse for wanting to stay home. Cath is also passive and introverted, which is definitely me. Other readers have stated that Cath’s passiveness is irritating, but I think that it adds to her overall personality.

Another reason why I love this book is the humour. Humour plays a recurring role throughout the novel. I love that Levi is like ‘the other half’ of Cath. For me, Wren and Levi make the story more interesting because they are Cath’s opposites, personality-wise. My favourite quote from Levi:

*talking about Wren, and Wren’s boyfriend* "Maybe we should go on lots of double dates," Cath said, "and then we can get married on the same day in a double ceremony, in matching dresses, and the four of us will light the unity candle all at the same time."

"Pfft," Levi said, "I'm picking out my own dress" (p. 409).

(My humour is terrible, I know!)

Speaking of Levi, Rainbow Rowell has made the protagonist fall for a guy who doesn’t meet the expectations of many readers. Usually, the protagonist falls for the most attractive guy/girl on campus (or whatever). In Fangirl, Cath doesn’t replicate the romantic expectations that appear in other books, which is very refreshing.

At first, I didn't enjoy the excerpts from Cath’s fan fiction and Simon Snow books. I felt that they were ‘out of place’. As the story went on, I began to understand the relationship between Cath’s story and Simon Snow’s. It reminded me so much of Harry Potter!

Finally, the descriptions of characters and places are very detailed, which makes me very happy, haha! As I've mentioned before, the amount of detail (or lack thereof) a character or place has been described impacts on how much I enjoy the book. I want to be able to see the characters or situation as clearly as the author does. Rainbow Rowell has done a very impressive job with describing her characters. For example: “His eyes were set so deep, it made everything he said more intense” (p. 65). I really liked the way Cath described Levi’s eyes: “His eyes were warm and baby blue. They made you feel like he liked you better than other people” (p. 233).

Sometimes, I lost the motivation to continue reading. I think it was because something would happen in the story that I didn’t want to happen. For example, the arguments between Cath and Wren. Also, one argument between Cath and Levi seemed a bit unnecessary. I don’t want to spoil the book, so I won’t explain further.

I would have loved to know what happened with the characters. For example, does Cath reunite with her mum? What happens to Nick? What does Levi’s family think of Cath? I think that there could have been a page or two at the end, explaining a bit about what had happened to certain characters in the two months or so of the Fall semester.

My favourite character in this book would definitely have to be Cath! She’s so damn relatable! As I mentioned before, Cath is very introverted and prefers to stay at home, writing fan fiction. I wish my dad could be more like Cath’s. He’s so open and carefree, which makes everyone love him. He would have to be my second favourite character in the book. This book is very good with plot twists! I won’t give it away, but let me just say, Nick’s a jerk!

Recommendation time! I recommend Fangirl to anyone who likes The Fault In Our Stars, as it is a coming-of-age novel. Also, if you like books by Nicholas Sparks or Jodi Picoult, this book is for you.

Happy reading!

Buy the book: http://www.bookdepository.com/Fangirl-Rainbow-Rowell/9781447263227