Book Review: Summerlost by Ally Condie

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Summerlost
Author: Ally Condie
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Contemporary
Released: March 26th 2016
Review Source: Dutton Books for Young Readers

It's the first real summer since the devastating accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. But now Cedar and what’s left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer. They’re just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival. Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery. The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar.

Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching middle grade debut from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series, that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy.

When I initially picked up Summerlost, I had NO clue that it was a middle grade book. I’m a girl who likes to dive into books blind, so I don’t read the excerpts, I clearly avoided looking that the two kids on the cover and just couldn’t wait to finally read an Ally Condie book. So imagine me sitting there reading this, thinking “man I don’t know if I just can’t get into this book or if this should be targeted for a younger crowd.” And low and behold I end up flipping to the back of the book and see that it’s indeed a book intended for a younger age group. Once I finally got that in check I could read this book with no qualms and finished it within a sitting.

Cedar Lee’s family was thrown off it’s axis a year ago when her father and brother were killed in a car accident. After the rough year of loss and grief Cedar’s mother buys a house in the town she grew up in, a little fixer upper, some change for the family. Then cue the weird boy in the weird clothes that rides by Cedar’s new home for the summer, or as Cedar initially called him nerd-on-a-bike. Well nerd on a bike turns on to be Leo who has been working at the Summerlost festival, “the third biggest Shakespearean festival west of the Mississippi”. And since Cedar took it upon herself to follow the unknown boy to the festival one day she was well on her way to a new friendship and a new job, at twelve, major props to Cedar.

Summerlost was incredibly cute, the friendship forged between Cedar and Leo was something I crave while reading YA, the strictly platonic relationship between two people of the opposite sex. Then we had Cedar going through life after loss and her new reality, and knowing just because someone is not here physically with you doesn’t mean they’re not always around you.

Release Day Blitz: Summerlost by Ally Condie | Author's Letter | Excerpt | Giveaway

A Spring 2016 Kids' Indie Next List Top 10 Pick!

Named one of Publishers Weekly’s Most Anticipated Children’s and YA Books of Spring 2016

★ “Condie (Matched) strikes a deep emotional chord with this coming-of-age story.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

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Summerlost
Author: Ally Condie
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: March 29th 2016
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers

It's the first real summer since the devastating accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. But now Cedar and what’s left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer. They’re just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival. Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery. The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar.

Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching middle grade debut from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series, that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy.

Letter from Ally

Dear Readers,

I think most of us have had our hearts broken. Sometimes we can see it coming, and sometimes it comes down with the unexpected force of a sudden gale of wind or a rising of waters that we thought were still and safe. Loss is universal to human experience, but the way we each feel and recover is one of the most personal things we do.

In Summerlost, Cedar is dealing with the loss of her father and younger brother. And my intent was to show how hard their deaths are for her. But this is also a book about the healing power of friendship. Most of us have been broken-hearted; I hope that most of us have also discovered the miracle of friendships that were just what we needed. Cedar and Leo’s friendship is based on someone I met when I was twelve. Like Leo, my friend was fun and liked to enlist me in crazy adventures (although we never gave a secret guided tour of our town the way they do in Summerlost). And, like Leo, he thought I was wonderful and of worth at a time when I needed it most. 

SUMMERLOST is my attempt to pay tribute both to the pain we feel and the friendships that save us. Thank you so much for supporting this book, and for your willingness to give Cedar’s story a try. I hope it makes you think of a wonderful friend of your own, whether that is someone you met in the pages of a favorite book or outside, in the world where it is often hard and beautiful to live.

Best wishes and happy reading always,

Ally Condie

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Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Resolutions We Have For 2015

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Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

  Top ten series I resolve to finish in 2015.

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Finished Series I Have YET to Finish

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Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Ten Finished Series I Have YET to Finish

1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I know your all probably killing me at the moment and screaming WHYYY?! I've read the first two and the novella's I just haven't gotten around to Ignite Me. I'm sure I'll love it (Warner<3), but around the time it finally it came out I was a bit burnt out by the whole dystopian world. 

2. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Now this series I've been following since 2007! I absolutely adore anything written by Ally Carter (The Heist Society books are some of my fav), but it took so long for each book from this series to come out that by the time the new one was out I had kind of forgot what had happened. I have all of the books signed and I will sit down one of these days to reread it from the start. 

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Controversy. I LOVED Divergent! I loved the world Veronica Roth had created and Insurgent was just as amazing. I started Allegiant, but I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. Maybe one day.

4. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I'm just on a roll today right? Lol! I read City of Bones the day it actually came out. I remember this because I had actually pre-ordered the book. I was all types of obsessed with this book. My first copy was so worn out because I kept making people read it. For me the series ended where it should have originally ended at. City of Ashes. I couldn't have asked for a better tie up of that world. 

5. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I can legit feel Shannon screaming at me. Sorry!!! I loved this book. Like really loved it. Why I never actually finished the series is beyond me. Just kidding I do know. School was kicking my butt and the time of reading for fun was pretty much nonexistent. It's on the top of my TBR though. 

6. The Selection by Kiera Cass 

I'm actually dying to dive into this series again to see what becomes of this characters. 

7. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl 

I'll be honesty I've only read the first book in the series. I was very much intrigued by everything that was going on, but I think the sheer size of each book is what's been holding me back lol! 

8. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

I'll actually be reading these books soon because she's actually coming down to Miami for Fierce Reads tour! The excitement is very much real! 

9. Matched by Ally Condie 

It was just another case of being burnt out from the genre. I went through a phase where I couldn't even finish a book because they would all blend so much. I've heard some really awesome things about this one so maybe I'll dive into it soon.

10. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Nora Grey's best friend. Plain and simple. She is the only reason why I have yet to finish this series. I want to because oh is the story good, but her best friend annoys the heck out of me. 

Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Matched
Matched #1
Author: Ally Condie
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Dystopian
Released: November 30th 2010
Review Source: Loaned
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

First I'd like to say that I am a big fan of dystopian novels. It all started when I read my favorite book for the first time- The Giver by Lois Lowry. With that said, I am not happy that this book kind of let me down. And it reminded me entirely too much of The Giver.

Matched is set in the future where The Society controls every single aspect of every one's life. What they read, what music they listen to, what career they go in, what their diet should be..the list goes on.

The story follows Cassia and it starts where she is going to her Matching ceremony. The Society will "match" her with whoever is her best...well, match.
She is very happy with her match and the next day when she inserts the information card she sees a different face than the one of who she was matched with. And so it makes her "wonder." And to wonder is not a good thing.

I will not lie, I was not completely invested in the story. I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters except for her Match.
It's not that the characters aren't like able. I just couldn't relate to them. I did not understand how the "love" in the love story came to be. It wasn't confusing. I just didn't feel the love.

Although I didn't completely fall in love with this book, it kept me interested enough to finish. This might not be my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean it isn't yours.