Review: The Art of Feeling

The Art of Feeling by Laura Tims
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book breaks your heart and mends it up again. Samantha Herring has been in constant pain, emotionally and physically, since the unfortunate passing of her mother. Being in the car crash alongside her mother, she is just beginning to piece together who is to blame. After shutting herself out from any social life or friends she previously had, Sam has receded into a fog of depression.

One day, Sam meets Eliot, a loner with a carefree attitude with a secret: he cannot feel any pain. Sam is initially jealous of Eliot's capability, but she soon realizes more about his medical condition and his self-inflicting injuries as a result. In fact, Eliot seems to be careless about everything- except maybe, just maybe, Sam.

"It'd be so easy to dislike him. Liking him has to be against the rules"

As Sam and Eliot grow closer, Sam begins to confront her most painful memories- but memories nonetheless that can help to discover the truth of her mother's passing. Awkward at first, Sam and Eliot are a contrast of personalities that ultimately help in understanding one another. It is not until Eliot meets Sam that he realizes how pain can affect an individual, and because of this, he becomes an endearing and empathetic character in the novel that dramatically aids in Sam's recovery.

"'m noticing how pieces of Eliot's hair curl over his ears, how his face is both sharp and soft, and I'm happy, I'm ecstatic, because neither of us is on the wrong side of normal anymore We didn't fit in by ourselves, but we fit together..."

I was somewhat disappointed by the fact of using drugs as a coping mechanism on Sam's brother's behalf, and the constant making light of drugs and alcohol, but I enjoyed the contrasts of Eliot and Sam and the blossoming of their romance. I thought the ending was a wonderful send-off for the characters with happiness and a new sense of clarity for Sam and Eliot. I would definitely recommend this novel!! :)


(Me at the end of the book!! :))

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Review: Night Music

Night Music by Jenn Marie Thorne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ruby has always been Ruby Chertok, daughter of renowned composer Martin Chertok and heir to the family legacy. After Ruby's horrendous audition at prestigious Amberley where her father is on faculty, it is clear that music does not love her as much as she loves it. Now Ruby is just Ruby, and she is searching for a way out of classical music and out of the orbit of her impressive family.

Oscar Bell is a classical music genius, and while he might say his favorite composer is himself, he will make you somehow love him more for it. Ruby's father sees a lot of talent and potential in Oscar's classical music composure, and for the summer, he is living with the Chertok family. However, being an African American 17-year-old in the Amberley programme, he will not risk his chances to study under the great Martin Chertok- not even for a crush.

"The he turned and saw me, and I could swear, his whole body ignited, a machine revving to life. Genius or no, the guy had excellent manners"

"I like you, Ruby. More than I probably should."

It seems as if Ruby and Oscar fell for each other at the same moment and their playful banter brings them closer together. As Oscar becomes more comfortable at Amberley's programme and he is officially dating Ruby, his presence as a composer at Amberley is being turned against him since he is a black guy. There are scandals at Amberley that push Oscar to his limit. This is a great coming of age novel in which relationships blossom between many of the characters.

"I like him, he's everything I'm not and I should resent the very fact of him, but I like him so much. He's brilliant and hot and vivid and funny and.."

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and the relationships that grew stronger between Oscar and Ruby, Ruby with her father and her friend Jules. This book is beautiful, heartfelt, emotional, raw, and everything a book should be. Night Music is a melody I never want to leave my head!

"I could recognize Oscar in every lilt, every strain, every unresolved chord... his humor, his heart, his pain, the way he split himself, the way he tried and blustered and suffered and hid it behind a smile- his courage. I heard all of him because I knew him but there was even more there than I'd ever imagined"



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