by
Ann Redisch Stampler
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub
Date:
Dec 31 2013
Genre: Young Adult
Format: ARC
Source: Author
Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective
father, she is the antithesis of her mother -- whose name her dad won't even
say out loud. That's why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened
to her...and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and
experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she's everything Emma is
not.
And it may be more than Emma can handle.
Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It's more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop...
This explosive, sexy, and harrowing follow-up to Ann Redisch Stampler's spectacular teen debut, Where It Began, reveals how those who know us best can hurt us most.
My Review: Whoop! So I'm excited that Ann asked me to review her book and so glad I said yes! This book was sooooo good. Ann is a kick-ass writer.
So in Afterparty we follow this chick Emma who is coming from Canada to California. She is a pretty cool girl once we really get to know her. So far she has been know as a goody good girl. The kind that can't watch a movie unless she is the right age for it. Dresses her age, doesn't break rules, doesn't kiss boys, doesn't sneak out, etc. Well we shall see if that lasts through the whole book.
Being a new girl isn't easy, but when your the new girl in California, it's a big deal. Everyone there isn't so welcoming. California you either fit in or you fight with the popular/rich kids. Like trying to knock them to the ground in gym. Riding some chick's horse and having them in trouble for not taking care of it afterward. At least that isn't different, girls will always go after another no matter where. Huh, are girls like this everywhere?
Siobhan and Emma become friends. They are pretty good together, and the whole rules thing aren't really followed. Siobhan skypes a guy, and Emma has told her dad a lie. Emma ends up liking Dylan and talks to him too. These things shouldn't bother anyone, but it does.
Emma's
dad has even gone and appointed her a best friend!!! Who DOES THAT! I think he
is way to controlling. I can't stand it, plus the girl he appoints for
Emma, he becomes friends with the girl's mom. The mom also happens to be crazy
controlling! Can't have soft drinks, the bubbles in drinks are bad. Chewing gum
is bad. Talking to certain people is bad. Most foods are bad. They claim
everything to be bad, with soooo many medical reasons behind it. OMG being in
the medical field should not mean you know everything about everything. The
parents in the book, I hate them so much. If I had a controlling mom, I would
have moved in with someone else. The way I am, I could never ever have someone
who is controlling near me. Emma is too strong, but I love her for that. She
would be with her mom, but since she is an addict, so her dad deemed her
bad.
Okay jumping into the book again before I make this review all about controlling. Now the name Afterparty fits with the end of school year party, you know THE party that no one can miss. It's important to the girls since they made a plan about it, if their lives aren't better after that, they can jump off a tall building. A good pact or bad? Well I can tell you it doesn't go as planned. Got you wondering don't I? Well the end is so fast, that you can gobble it up in no time. The whole book was amazing, but the middle to the end was my favorite part. Just the beginning was a little slow start for me, but that's just because this book is YA and contemporary. I haven't read a ton of those so I have remind myself its okay if there is no paranormal in a book.
My Rating:
✪✪✪✪✪
