Title: Polarity In Motion
Author: Brenda Vicars
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"Polarity in Motion" by Brenda Vicars

My Thoughts....

I found this novel a good thought provoking and touching read for any young adult and parent. What will happen as fifteen year old Polarity is put in a unfortunate situation? I liked how this author was able to 'address many level of bullying, social media, mental illness, racial discrimination, drugs and relationships' that so many youngsters can relate to. Even with all of this it is so hard to believe people can be so cruel. So, in the end how will this story end about a nude photo that goes viral? A bag of drugs and more? OK, to find out who put the photo out there and more you will have to pick up 'Polarity in Motion' to find out. How will Polarity 'save herself by saving someone else?'

I really enjoyed 'the love in the message about inequity that involved 'Polarity's road to self discovery.' The author did a great job giving the readers some amazing characters that were presented and handled the different issues so very well in this young adult novel. "Polarity in Motion" was definitely a compelling story to read and definitely learn from it.

Thank you to the author for a good read.

Arc provided by Entangled Teen through Netgalley

Release Date: February 3rd 2015

I am not the most sentimental person in the planet.

In fact most people would probably just call me jaded... and that would be the nice ones.

I've almost stopped reading romances because instead of having a good time reading them, I mostly end up going into fits due to overboard cheesiness, insane silly plots, love affairs between characters that should be institutionalized, when they're not simply your average "goody too shoes" .

This story?

It doesn't have a contrived, moronic "bone in its body".

What it does have, is one of the most realistic approaches to the life of a young adult in all its variants: Family, growing up, and first love.

The writing style

I loved it. It was able to tell a complex story without falling into the usual YA contemporary clichés.

We don't have stupid love triangles in here. Let's face it, most time its hard enough to find one person that loves us, do we want to discuss the odds of finding two or three all at the same time and vying for our attention? Please.

No slut shaming despite the fact that the main characters is a senior in high-school_ unfortunately this is a recurrent in the genre, so I am always glad when it doesn't appear_ and what do you know, Darcy, manages to have a girl as her best friend.

She's a constant in Darcy's life, despite the fact that Darcy is more than apt at facing the world all by herself.

Darcy's family life feels realistic enough, from the change it goes through and everything that happens in the meantime... there are no perfect characters who come out with magical solutions for their problems.

Things get messy, and the characters just have to make the best of it, but it never becomes cheesy or turns into a pity feast!

Realistic is in fact my favourite word regarding this story, because as Darcy's life unravels, her actions and ideas just show how strong she is.

No one is going to come and save her, and you know what is the greatest thing about this?

She doesn't want anyone to do it, she is not expecting it, the only thing she needs is people that will stay by her side no matter what.

Darcy is probably the most courageous YA character featured in a contemporary novel that I've read about.

I would probably need a full month to write this review so I could give her all the compliments this girl deserves!

Now, this, is a role model!

This girl with her unwavering strength and the way she is able to face problems face to face.

This doesn't mean that she's a superwoman. She is only human in the face of a very difficult situation. But she never gives up.

Also this managed to avoid a tricky situation due to everything that happens: I am talking about the possibility of taking "the preachy lane". Thankfully it never does!

The romance...

I liked that it took its own sweet time... okay, there was a moment in which I felt that it took a second too long, lol, but you know, it just felt realistically done.

Lucas was such a sweet, responsible, and caring guy _basically the opposite of the brooding bad guy type that is now so famous in Ya books_, that I could forgive him for his White Knight Syndrome _lol _ especially because Darcy knows how to deal with him! :D

What else could I ask? 

Bottom line, a wonderful coming of age story filled with heartbreak, but also filled with hope and love.

What can I say?

It made bitter old me love it...

Now, go and request it _or pre-order it _ and tell me what you think about it!

@Author's official Site 

Pre-order it

bookdepository.com ( Well the book synopsis matches, lol, despite the different title ;)

For the past two months I have picked up multiple books that I either lost interest in or just couldn't finish for sheer lack of interest. I've really been in a reading slump this year, but I can happily state that I have crossed We Were Liars off my TBR list. While I'm not as enamored with the story as many other readers, it was the first book in quite some time that actually held my interest so in my mind it's worth reading if you're on the fence.

The story explores many themes ranging from family relationships, race, young love, grief, and greed.  There's something in the book for everyone which is probably why there's a lot of buzz surrounding it.  I also believe a major fault in how the story is constructed is it tries to accomplish way too much and there isn't enough time devoted to allowing the reader to get to know the characters.  This is especially true of the adults in the story, who are portrayed as one-dimensional caricatures.  The three Sinclair daughters (Carrie, Bess, and Penny) are basically the same person and have no distinct personality whatsoever, and the grandfather is an almost laughable representation of old entitled White men in America.  Point is, a little bit more depth and less stereotyping would have gone a long way.

The novel's protagonist, Cady, is likeable but it's evident early on in the story that she's an unreliable narrator and her point of view should be taken with a great deal of skepticism.  I enjoyed her interactions with her cousins and Gat, but the story lacked execution.  I just wish the author had focused on a few problems instead of jumping around to various issues/stereotypes in an effort to keep the reader in the dark so the "twist" in part four of the story had more of a shock factor.  Oh, it should also be mentioned this technique didn't work at all and most readers will probably figure out the book's OMG moment very early on in the story.

We Were Liars wasn't horrible by any means, but I wanted more than what we were given.  The writing was also too choppy for my liking.  Still, it's a decent enough summer read and I think a lot of people will find something to relate to in the book.

My Summary:
Felton Reinstein has suddenly gone from being small, skinny, and being a squirrel nut to this big, really hairy, and now he might possibly be a football player in High School. He can run circles around the honkies (that's what he calls the locals) now that he's stupid fast.

Felton now finds himself in the most peculiar situation. While his best friend is away he is being talked to by the former football players that used to make fun of him and not only that but want to play with him! His friend's house is being rented out and it contains the most beautiful world famous teenage pianist who actually likes him.

The Reinstein household consists of his mom who he has to call by her first name, Jerri. She's the yoga holistic hippie type of person. She's acting even weirder than usual. She's always watching him while he sleeps and scrutinizing his new change. His brother is also a pianist and he's encouraged a lot by Jerri to practice and be with his other nerdy friends. So you got the mother and a brother but where's the dad? The dad's dead. His dad committed suicide and Felton found him. Everything is changing around Felton. Will he lose his best friend? Will he get the girl? Will he become a football player? Or is he destined to stay a squirrel nut all of his life?

My Review:
I wrote a lot of squirrel nuts in there and you might be wondering what exactly a squirrel nut is. Felton is a squirrel nut. He says the wrong things at the wrong time always. He's also very jumpy and when you read the narrative of his life you wonder if he has ADD. I really didn't see this character coming. When I think of YA Sports books I think of strong personalities but I also think of people like Danny from Mexican Whiteboy. He was quiet but he had this certain strength inside of him. Felton... I found him slow... He even said he thought he might be so I'm not making things up. I seriously felt like he had ADD. So it wasn't what I expected at all. It took me a while to get used to him and even then I really wanted to tell him to calm down.

I did love that he had a "Jew Fro" and would have liked to see it on the cover so I knew exactly what it was. I probably kind of do because since my hair is so curly in my early years I had a "Fro". My brother called it Afro Thunder. God my brother is weird... and coincidentally so is his brother. He's brother has issues... in the beginning he was really jealous of Aleah's talent and preceded to say how much he hates her. He sounded psycho. He got even weirder later on but he had a reason.

Felton's mom goes a little crazy and no one really knows why. His brother is the only one trying to figure it out while he's hanging out with football player friends. He has a couple of new friends including Cody who I absolutely think is the greatest guy. He always has Felton's back and is concerned for his well-being. I wish there was more of him in the story.

Aleah is completely different than Felton. She's very intelligent and has great talent. They make an odd couple. She does act a bit like a kid herself and I like her in the mix of things. She brings balance to him. I honestly didn't like Felton's character too much and I can't help it. I liked the book but his character just killed me sometimes. A lot of people thought he was hilarious in other reviews but to me he was anything but. It was a good read. I just wished I would have connected with his character more.