Today I’m excited to present All Things Different by Shawn Underhill. This is a YA Contemporary novel, and it’s definitely not the fluffy generic chick-lit some people are used to. I liked that it was full of emotion!
Anyways, I hope you enjoy my tour stop! ^__^
Buy the Book:
~ Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/All-Things-Different-ebook/dp/B008F1RKMW
~ Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Things-Different-ebook/dp/B008F1RKMW
Connect with the Author!
Twitter: @ShawnUnder
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/5334576.Shawn_Underhill
Facebook:
Check out the rest of the tour here!
Outside I headed straight to the shop. In passing I saw a thin mist rising from the lake. My heart was beating nicely. I gathered the fishing gear while Dad turned over the boat and put the floats in place before the seats. I was cold but warm inside and very excited, hurrying to the point where I was getting clumsy in my cold-fingered excitement.Review!
I stepped out the side door of the shop with my hands full of gear and my head full of early-morning promise. Then I stopped dead in my tracks. Sara was there. She’d gotten to my old man while I was inside. I hadn’t heard her over the commotion, but there she was, sure as hell, with my father helping her fasten a life vest over a yellow sweatshirt. I watched for a moment, taking slow, deep breaths.
“Hi, Jake,” she said as I neared them, smiling in bright-eyed, tight-lipped triumph. Her hood was up with the strings drawn, and her head was partially immobilized due to the bulky, ugly orange life vest.
I said nothing and dropped the poles and tackle box into the center of the boat. The tackle box gave a semi-satisfying thud against the bottom. Sara jumped slightly.
“Here,” Dad said, ignoring me. Leaning before her, he pulled the hood strings a little snugger.
“You don’t want that cold wind in your ears, where you’re not used to it. Once it warms up, you won’t need it anymore.”
“Thanks,” Sara said, smiling very big.
“We don’t have another pole,” I said. “The reel on the spare is broken.”
“She’ll use mine,” Dad said.
I climbed into the bow and took my seat facing forward. At the time I would’ve bet a thousand bucks that she was making faces behind my back. Ha-ha, I won!
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: Self Published
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 266
Source: Review copy provided by author & RABT Book Tours - thanks!
Interest: Blog Tour; YA Contemporary
Late in the summer of 2005, starkly independent Jake Thornton was on the verge of turning 16, expecting little more than his driver’s license in the fall, and the continuance of the quiet life shared with his father. So when 14-almost-15 year old Sara moved in next door and began vying for his father’s attention, Jake wasn’t exactly thrilled, and couldn’t quite understand his father’s motives for allowing it. But certainly he never anticipated the dramatic shift their lives would take as a result.
As the summer fades and autumn takes over, friendship between the two teenagers begins blossoming into a bond, until fate steps in once more, threatening to tear them apart as quickly as they’ve come together. The decisions that follow, and the emotive tale that results, opens Jake’s eyes to the simple yet life altering truth, a truth that Sara has understood all along: that love—not the feeling but the action—is the most powerful force in the world.
- GoodreadsRating: 3 / 5 Riceballs*
* Please note that three stars is a positive rating! +, I feel like this book deserves more around ~ 3.25 stars (:
Book Review:
I have to admit at the beginning of the book, I wasn’t too impressed. For one, I was a bit bored - the plot was pretty slow moving, and the characters didn’t seem like the types of people I didn’t see before. The romance was fluffy and cute, but in my opinion, overrated. Obviously, my opinion changed throughout the novel. I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit - I even teared up at the end! Even though I originally thought the characters were a bit dull, they definitely grew on me, and there was that warm fuzzy spot I got when I was reading about their sweet moments. I loved how they were always there for each other, and the hardships they went through together were very endearing! Lots of emotions eventually built up and swirled together to create a beautiful story!
One of the best parts of this novel for me was actually Jake’s father. In case you don’t know, this story is mostly told from Jake’s point of view, and his relationship with his father is one I wish I had with my parents. They really trusted and loved each other, and if he could, Jake would probably do everything with his father. Mr. Thornton’s character definitely grew on me, and I loved his personality! Overall, he did seem like a pretty unique character and a heartwarming one too.
Jake & Sara’s relationship also grows on you, eventually. I’m not a huge romance junkie, so seeing their relationship at first didn’t impress me all that much. However, they’re the type of super likable characters that you eventually form a mental bond with once you get into the groove of reading a story like this. However, if you’re a huge romance fan, you’ll definitely be a fan of their relationship, along with the large amounts of emotion that impressed me.
The downfall in my opinion however, is how the story starts. Once you get about midway, the plot gets a bit more exciting with more significant events, but I felt like the beginning of the novel was more mellow. I suppose I’m a bit impatient in this aspect, but they’re wasn’t really anything going on in the beginning that I was particularly attracted by, because again, I’m not a huge romance addict. Still, I believe that this start was meant for the readers to connect with the characters more, in order to build emotion until the big emotional finale in the end!
Overall, All Things Different is a heartbreaking and emotional story, filled with love, regret, heartbreak, and hope. If you’re a romance fan, you’ll definitely enjoy the sweet parts of this book, and combined with the loving familial aspects, a reader who is looking for a different kind of YA contemporary would also devour this book!
* Please note that 3 stars is a positive rating (:
One of the best parts of this novel for me was actually Jake’s father. In case you don’t know, this story is mostly told from Jake’s point of view, and his relationship with his father is one I wish I had with my parents. They really trusted and loved each other, and if he could, Jake would probably do everything with his father. Mr. Thornton’s character definitely grew on me, and I loved his personality! Overall, he did seem like a pretty unique character and a heartwarming one too.
Jake & Sara’s relationship also grows on you, eventually. I’m not a huge romance junkie, so seeing their relationship at first didn’t impress me all that much. However, they’re the type of super likable characters that you eventually form a mental bond with once you get into the groove of reading a story like this. However, if you’re a huge romance fan, you’ll definitely be a fan of their relationship, along with the large amounts of emotion that impressed me.
The downfall in my opinion however, is how the story starts. Once you get about midway, the plot gets a bit more exciting with more significant events, but I felt like the beginning of the novel was more mellow. I suppose I’m a bit impatient in this aspect, but they’re wasn’t really anything going on in the beginning that I was particularly attracted by, because again, I’m not a huge romance addict. Still, I believe that this start was meant for the readers to connect with the characters more, in order to build emotion until the big emotional finale in the end!
Overall, All Things Different is a heartbreaking and emotional story, filled with love, regret, heartbreak, and hope. If you’re a romance fan, you’ll definitely enjoy the sweet parts of this book, and combined with the loving familial aspects, a reader who is looking for a different kind of YA contemporary would also devour this book!
* Please note that 3 stars is a positive rating (:
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*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising*
