Why Eat A Whole Cake When You Can Have Five Cake Pops?

I have been extremely lazy when it comes to reviewing my latest reads, however I am in a bit of a reading funk. Almost everything I've read since The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp has been underwhelming (darn you Eva Rice for being such a good writer!). So, I've decided to just offer bite size reviews for the last couple of books on my list.

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

What's the deal? Lissa's boyfriend is more interested in the football team vs soccer team rivalry than her, so she bandies together with the other WAGs and they go on strike. A physical strike. The lady gardens are closed for the foreseeable future. Cue Ciara's 'Goodies'.  

Any good? Hmmnyeeah? I wasn't completely sold. On the one hand, I like that Kody's characters always seem like the regular Juicy wearing, Real Housewives watching kind of girl. On the other hand, nothing happened! Nothing new anyway. It was a typical YA story, which I wasn't expecting after The DUFF and Midsummer Nightmare (to a certain extent, for the latter). I just had higher hopes, is all. 

Should I get it? If you like Jennifer Echols. Or modern twists on Greek plays. 

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

What's the deal? The Earth has stopped turning (or something along those lines) and everything has gone to pot. It's End Times ladies and gentleman. So we have the last days as seen through the eyes of pre-teen Julia.

Any good? I was excited about reading this one because of all the critical buzz but it didn’t do anything for me. I found it extremely slow and despite the world ending, not much actually happened. I think my main bone of contention was that Julia didn’t sound like a pre-teen at all. Even a really mature pre-teen. Julia sounded like a forty something woman and that put the whole story off kilter.

Should I get it? If you liked My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares.

Pao by Kerry Young

What's the deal? Pao is a Chinese Jamaican and the story follows  his life from arriving in Jamaica to finally settling down.

Any good? I really enjoyed this book. I have Jamaican Chinese  heritage so was probably a little more invested than the average reader but I thought it flowed nicely and wasn’t too long. Kerry Young has a simple yet elegant writing style. It was nice to flesh out some of the history that I’ve heard in bits and pieces over the year.

Should I get it? If you like to read about clashing cultures. 

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

What's the deal? Lucy is searching for her mysterious crush Shadow who is a grafitti artist, however her search is interrupted by Ed and his bestie Leo and all of their baggage.

Any good? I liked this novel but then again I do enjoy Australian YA. The characters were interesting and the story was compelling. Sometimes the language was a little airy fairy but it fit the characters’ artistic temperaments. I haven’t read poetry for a long time so I enjoyed Poet’s little interludes too.

Should I get it? If you liked The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta.

 The Litigators by John Grisham

What's the deal? David Zinc had cracked. Just like Gretchen Weiners. So he finds a new job with two street lawyers pursuing what could be a lucrative case against a pharmaceutical company.

Any good? It took me ages to finish this. I just couldn’t get into it. None of the characters were that interesting- we never got to see much of their personal life or hear about their history. Even the court scenes were underwhelming.

Should I get it? If you like your procedurals….procedural.