Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Synopsis

Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last..

I'm embarrassed that I've never read Twenty Boy Summer (I will put that right!), it just got swept away by my tbr pile. I basically  made room for Bittersweet though on the strength of the synopsis - and the promise of cupcake talk. The book opens with a snippet from three years previously where Hudson makes a discovery that blows her family apart and ends what she thought were her dreams. Back to the present day and Hudson's turned her back on her old life. She's no longer training to be an Olympic figure skater but making cupcakes in her mum's diner. Hudson is seriously good at making cupcakes, I mean - she's Watonka's Queen of Cupcakes according to her local paper. However, all isn't well at the diner; waitresses regularly quit, money is tight and Hudson is being lined up to be the next owner even though she's pretty sure that isn't what she wants.

 In amongst all of this angst is a sliver of hope though that comes in the form of a letter. What with that and Hudson's secret trips to a patch of desolate ice by the coast it's obvious that she still has big dreams despite her penchant for hiding out in the kitchen. Hotness is added to the mix in the form of Will and Josh, boys on the ice hockey team who both seem interested in Hudson. Bittersweet is full of wonderful secondary characters. There's Hudson's mum who's desperately trying to keep the diner and her life on track. She's become pretty single-minded in the last few years. There's Dani who became Hudson's best friend after her life fell apart and she's loyal, smart and no push-over. Even little brother Bug is completely adorable - watching him adapting to his new life is both touching and heartbreaking.

Bittersweet is a masterclass in how to build tension in a novel. Seriously, Hudson starts of with a dream and a few obstacles but the author piles up the pressure and problems until it's almost impossible to see a way out. The ending was not at all what I expected but that's definitely not a bad thing. After racing through the book so I could see what happened I took a few days to think about the ending before writing this review. I've decided that, for me, Bittersweet is more about coming to terms with the past, grieving over things that need to be grieved and taking stock of what's good in life. It's not often you read a YA novel about serious life-choice regrets that are bone deep - the sort that haunt your every living moment for years. Bittersweet grabs that subject and deals with it with both sensitivity and realism.

Unrest by Michelle Harrison

Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Elliott hasn’t slept properly for months. Not since the accident that nearly killed him. Sometimes he half-wakes, paralysed, while shadowy figures move around him. Other times he is the one moving around while his body lies asleep on the bed. His doctors say sleep paralysis and out-of-body experiences are harmless - but to Elliott they’re terrifying.

Convinced that his brush with death has attracted the spirit world, Elliott secures a job at a reputedly haunted museum, determined to discover the truth. There, he meets the enigmatic Ophelia. But, as she and Elliott grow closer, Elliott draws new attention from the dead. One night, during an out-of-body experience, Elliott returns to bed to find his body gone. Something is occupying it, something that wants to live again - and it wants Ophelia, too . . .

I don't think it's a secret that I'm a huge fan of Michelle Harrison's books. However, I'm also a terrible scaredy cat so I waited for a nice, bright summer's day (well, sort of summer) to sit down outside and open Unrest. The cover itself is enough to scare the hell out of me with it's browning edges and ghostly figure. However, Elliot has such a distinctive voice that I was hooked in the first few pages. The book starts with an account of his sleep paralysis, out of body experience and a haunting. We start to get to know post-accident Elliot and discover that he's nothing like the confident person he was before. All his previous interests have gone out of the window, he's not eating, sleeping or even washing. He certainly is a tragic figure but although all those around him are looking at him with pity I think the reader can tell that the fight is still inside him - just a hint of the person he once was.

Deciding that he doesn't want to return to college until the next year he gets a job, one that should bring him into contact with ghosts. His theory is that if he sees ghosts anywhere other than his flat then he can start to get a handle on what's going on with his life. He gets a job at a living museum and enters real life for the first time in months. However, it soon becomes apparent that his boss Hodge is seriously unpredictable and prone to fits of anger. His adopted daughter Ophelia is an enigma who draws Elliot's attention. He's not had any interest in girls for months but there's something about her that attracts him. Her previous boyfriend, Sean, ran out on her but she's being plagued by his friends and family wanting to know where he's gone. Ophelia and Elliot are thrown together by escalating events - I was a hundred percent loving their relationship. There are some seriously wonderful kissing scenes in this book. I think these two are my favourite couple of the year.

Unrest is non-stop action from beginning to end. Elliot can step out of his body but doing this means that his body is unguarded so when he returns to find his body gone he realises that he needs to find out more about his talent and quickly. The hauntings are incredibly atmospheric and creepy. I could feel his terror during his sleep paralysis. Little by little Elliot starts to gather his life back together again and part of this is accepting that he won't be the same person he was before. In terms of emotional arcs this one is particularly satisfying. Elliot's in such a low place at the opening of the book that it's almost impossible to see how he's going to get out of his slump. The secondary characters are all wonderful too - Hodge is deliciously awful but I also loved Elliot's dad and brother.

I'll stop now before I gush too much. Just to say that I did not see the twist at the end coming. Unrest is wonderful with a great main character - I urge you to read it!