***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: college life

Title: A Little Something Different
Author: Sandy Hall
Narrator(s): Will Damron, Amy Rubinate
Series: stand-alone
Length: 5 hrs 27 mins
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: August 26, 2014
Source: ARC received from publisher, audiobook borrowed from library
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

The distinctive new crowdsourced publishing imprint Swoon Reads proudly presents its first published novel—an irresistibly sweet romance between two college students told from 14 different viewpoints.

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.

But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

This story was absolutely adorable and exactly what I needed while I was reading. I never would have believed that fourteen (14!) different perspectives -- and two of those from a squirrel and a bench -- could work so well, but they did. Even despite the fact that none of those were actually from the couple in question -- or possibly because of it.

I delight in people-watching, guessing where people are headed and what their stories are, and that's essentially what this book is: fourteen different viewpoints and opinions on one couple's path to each other, some even from inanimate objects. I was ecstatic to see how painfully awkward Lea and Gabe were around each other, as seen through the eyes of friends, casual acquaintances, and even a nut-obsessed squirrel. (He was my favorite point of view, in case you were wondering.) Despite how cute the story is, it's actually quite realistic, if you discount the fact that a squirrel is narrating at times. :)

I had an ARC of this title, but there are never enough hours in the day to read all the novels you'd like, so I went the audio route, thanks to my local library. And, oh my goodness, it was even more adorable than I would have believed. Will Damron narrates all of the male perspectives, plus those of the squirrel and the bench (IIRC), and Amy Rubinate voices the female narrators in the story. Considering there were so many different perspectives, it would have been easy for some of them to sound similar, but each narrator did such a fabulous job of making each character's voice unique, making them sound like the type of person they were portrayed as while they relayed what they knew of Lea and Gabe.

If you're in the mood for a quirky little romance that's as unique in it's presentation as it is genuine, I heartily suggest you pick up this would-be comedy of errors, full of missed opportunities and miscommunication. You'll be smiling all the way through, I guarantee it.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

I'm a teen librarian from New Jersey where I was born and raised. I have a BA in Communication and a Master of Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. When I'm not writing, or teen librarian-ing, I enjoy reading, slot machines, marathoning TV shows, and long scrolls through Tumblr. A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT is my first novel.

Find Sandy:

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Labels: a little something different, all the swoons, audiobooks, beautiful covers, college life, contemporary, crowdsourced, macmillan, new adult, reviews, sandy hall

Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Series: n/a
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: September 10th, 2013
Source: Borrowed from Jen
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Ahhhh I loved Fangirl!!! Thank you so much Jen for sending me your copy so I could experience the awesomeness at last. Now it’s time to gush, so let’s do this!

Real quick though, I’ll mention the one thing I didn’t like. The fan fiction parts. I couldn’t get into them. I think that was mostly just because I wanted to get back to the story at hand, but I found myself skimming those parts.

Other than that, Fangirl was perfect for me. I loved the whole college experience through Cath's eyes. It came across as very realistic. I always wanted to go to college, and I finally got to from the comfort of my couch. Cath had a twin sister. This was a huge plus because I have this thing with reading about twins. I’m obsessed with Twins. I blame Sweet Valley Twins from my younger years.

Cath is not the most social person you could say, and adjusting to college life left for some awkward moments. Laugh out loud at times. On top of all that, her sister is trying to become independent from her. She feels alone and scared.

I loved her roommate, and Levi, Oh Levi. He’s just so great. We need more nice guys in books! Those are the ones that really steal my heart, and Levi has mine.

I know this is is a short review, but it's heard to review greatness. Fangirl is such a good coming of age story, and I will insist my daughter read it one day. INSIST!!!

About the author:

Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

Find Rainbow Rowell:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads