Review: Leverage, by Joshua Cohen

Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is as hard-hitting as the steroid-infused, foul-mouthed, warp-minded football players at its center. A very, very intense read that is not for the faint of heart. Although it is marketed as YA, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under 16 due to the extremely graphic language and violence.

This is one of those books I think all parents should read, though. I was told it was a male version of Speak, but it's much more than that. It is an incredible, intense, heart-stopping book that will make your jaw hit the floor on more than one occasion.

There were a few times when I found a character's actions unbelievable, such as when Ronnie tries to get the boys to talk about his assault. I can't see a boy wanting to talk about such an extreme occurance of bullying, especially with the stigma and shame attached to victims of that sort of attack. However, most of the book was perfect, and although at times it was a bit predictible, it was the sort that made you HAVE to keep reading to see if you are right. You will think you know what's going to happen, but you won't be 100% sure and you won't be able to stop yourself from finding out for sure. Once you start this book, you won't be able to not finish it. And you'll be glad you did--the ending is so, so, so completely perfect that it leaves you smiling despite all the horrible things that happen to the characters throughout the book.



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Book Review Wednesday: Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book, well, it completely rocked. So did the audiobook reader, so if you like audios, this one will be better on audio, unless you're from Minnesota/Wisconsin or are really good at reading in accents.

Anyhoo, I'm not from that area, but trust me, I've seen my share of cows. As I listened to this, it made me super nostalgic for my Minnesota relatives, too. Such a great voice, all the way through! I kept waiting for DJ to say 'uffda' or 'you betcha' but sadly, she didn't. Probably because she's from Wisconsin.

This book started a little slow, or so you think at first. But really, it's just that DJ is a bit understated. She's not the raging-with-hormones love-at-first-sight kind of girl. She's kind of quiet. So is the beginning of the book. It's hilarious, but that's understated too. So you're reading along about this amusing, practical, big-boned, quiet girl (see how I just described a cow?) and then suddenly it grabs you by the heart and rips it out of your chest.

That's how I felt reading this book. It was pretty amusing, and I was going along as I should, much like a cow, just listening to it and smiling now and then. And suddenly, I burst into tears without warning. Because that's how quietly DJ sneaks into your heart. You don't even realize you're in love until it's way too late to walk away. And though the action in the book isn't Hunger Games-like, as I was driving to work I found myself gripping the steering wheel in excitement and torment and just wanting to scream at my CD player, "KISS HER, YOU IDIOT! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, KISS HER!!!" The suspense will literally kill you slowly, in the best, most hilarious way.

I can't recommend this book enough. It's not graphic, the language is mild, and it's funny enough that my 7 year old was laughing hysterically at the few parts he heard. And so was I.

Heartwarming, heart-wrenching, hilarious, happy dance.

Notice how I didn't even mention football? Or lesbians? Or family drama? Because this book isn't about that so much as about DJ. Can't wait to read the rest.



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