This book was such a slog for me. I'm not 100% sure why. It could've been the writing style. It could've been the characters. It could've been my complete apathy for YA right now; or that for me this was unrealistic YA, posing as realistic fiction.

I don't have a sister, so maybe I just don't get it, but the absolute obsession was waaaaay too much for me. All I could think was, "WTF?! This cannot be healthy, at all!" The family dynamics were kind of weird too. We were told one thing by the main character but then shown almost the opposite at every turn. Maybe that was the point because she was clearly an unreliable narrator, but holy crap! This girl needed major help with her mental health and literally no one noticed.

I also didn't understand why she was seeing "ghosts" on 2 brothers that she didn't really know. I know this came out years before, but it felt like a bad example for similar parts in "As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow". There were so many truly serious topics touched on and I just don't think I got anything out of it. If I'd read it as a teenager, I think I would be stumped on whether or not the author was trying to say not everything is as black and white as we're taught or something entirely different.

Frankly I don't know what to do with this book. I think I might recommend it on a case by case basis, but then again I might just do it to see if I'm the only one completely baffled by it.

I enjoyed reading about the dynamics between sisters. Sisters are complicated beings. I wouldn't say this is the best book I've ever read about sisters but there is betrayal which is always an interesting issue to read.

We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

9780385742573

208 Pages
Publisher: Random House Children’s, Wendy Lamb Books
Released Date: May 27, 2014

Fiction, Teen, Young Adult, Family Dynamics

Nell and Layla are teenage sisters close in age. Nell is starting her freshman year and Layla is a Junior. Nell discovers her sister is seeing the Visual Arts teacher at school. She knows it is wrong but does not know what to do. Should she confront her sister or her parents? At the night of a end of soccer season party, Nell falls under Sam’s spell. She goes upstairs with him, and he tries to talk her into having sex with him. She tells him no. The next school day, rumors are swirling that she had sex with Sam. Nell is mortified.

The book is written like a letter from Nell to Layla. It was a fast read about secrets between sisters. The characters are barely developed. If you like young adult, coming of age books, you may enjoy this.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

My interests have changed since I requested this book as I no longer primarily read YA. At this time, I won't reading or reviewing this title as it does not fit my current interests or the interests of followers of my blog/Instagram. Thank you.

Overall, it was just okay. Nothing special or memorable to me. There was nothing inherently wrong with the story, but I also didn’t necessarily like it. It probably also didn’t help that I couldn’t relate since I didn’t grow up with a sibling. I do think, though, that there’s definitely an audience out there who would highly enjoy this.

This book was okay. I ended up not really loving it, mainly because I found the relationship between the sisters so strange and unbelievable. Nell is protective over her sister but doesn't immediately mention that she literally being abused by a teacher (despite how its framed within the novel). I just... I don't know. The writing is good but it wasn't something I'd read again.

If I just skimmed this book and were to enjoy it for its high school drama - then I was entertained. However, there were some things I didn't like that really detracted from a high rating for me. I didn't care for the way it was written (2nd POV), the BIG SECRET was revealed too early, and I thought it was too short and didn't go into as much depth as was needed. However, this is like an adult thriller made for teens, so they should gobble this up!

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Sisters, high school, romance, and secrets. A teen drama that tackles some serious issues in a well written way.

I did not finish this novel as I felt the book was too short to do justice to the serious subject matter, and the second person POV writing style was hard to get used to.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. I didn’t know how to feel going into this book but I ended up really enjoying it.

This is a story about sisters and having to choose between keeping a secret and protecting them. The hard choices you're forced to make when you love someone. This was utterly heartbreaking and thought provoking.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I am just not a fan of second person POV stories, so that was a major factor working against this book for me. I didn't really understand why the major dark secret was revealed so early on in the book, when that seemed to be the crux of the plot. I do enjoy stories about twisted, obsessive relationships (friendship, romantic, familial), but, ... I don't know. It didn't work here for me.

The writing was ... serviceable. Nothing to get too excited about. The characters weren't all that interesting, either, in my estimation. Overall, I can see the potential and I could understand why people might love this, but it just wasn't for me.

It's a quick read, one that can be mostly skimmed because it's the same stuff over and over. Reminiscent of Love Letters to the Dead, it's written sister-to-sister so that the reader is an observer in this uncomfortable situation.

The story itself isn't riveting, despite the attempt to make it dramatic and scandalous. Nell, a high school freshman, has an innocent but intelligent perspective on life. She's not a baby, yet her family tends to treat her that way in many respects. It was hard to remember that her older sister was only one year older. The parents in this book are strangely absent despite having a good parenting plan worked out. They seem responsible, yet how does the situation escalate without anyone's awareness?

There are a few redeeming points to We Are The Goldens. First, there's a good boy-and-girl friendship that doesn't often happen in books without going into full-blown romance. I appreciated that; Nell didn't need more emotional drama to work through. It was good to see a teen work things out in her mind without resorting to social media or acting immaturely. High schoolers face difficult dilemmas every day -- from their peers, siblings, and other avenues of life -- so addressing a tough situation in a book is a good way to help them anticipate how they might handle a hard decision.

Overall, this book missed the mark for me, mostly because of the tedious one-way dialogue between Nell and her sister. Still, there is some value in having a book that deals with a hot social issue that one might see in the headlines.

A searing, sophisticated, and haunting story with great characters and a pulsing plot. Psychologically complex.

I had hopes for this book...i love a good secret. Sadly, it just didnt deliver. I didn't like the characters and the overall story was just not something that kept my attention.

This one was hard to rate (I landed on a 3 star but it's more of a 2.75). I found myself wanting to get back to the story but not staying focused while reading. This was due to the writing style, I wanted more dialogue between the characters.

Reinhardt wove a terrific tale about the bond between sisters. The story is told from Nell's perspective, the younger sister. Nell is likable but naive (and sometimes annoying) at times. She has to keep her sister's secret. We go through Nell's journey as she finds "love", tries to live outside her sister's shadow and be there for her sister who is no longer an active presence in Nell's daily life.

The story was nice but I was left wanting more. It seems like the story only scratched the surface of the narrative. The characters were flat and the slow beginning had me hung up for too long. I enjoyed the ending but could see where others would be left aggravated. (view spoiler) If you want a story that dots all the i's and crosses all the t's, I would skip this book. Pick it up if you want to take a trip back to high school and the angst that goes with that or if you like strong friendships and sisterly bonds.

I have sisters myself. I know what it's like to have a big sister and want to be her friend, her confidante and have her approval.
But the relationship between Nell and Layla almost bordered on sociopathy.
Layla was a selfish bitch, and being in love, it got worse.
And I'm still trying to figure out what was that ending..

this book was not for me. I tried to go in open minded, but I couldn't finish.

Review is on Abibliophobia Anonymos Book Reviews, as well on goodreads and Amazon.