Review - Wanted by Heidi Ayarbe

Title: Wanted

Author: Heidi Ayarbe

Series: Stand Alone

Pages: 400

Published: May 1st 2012 by Balzer + Bray 

ISBN: 9780061993886

Source: Arranged Tour Through Teen Book Scene 

 

Description: A one-word text message: That's all Michal "Mike" Garcia needs to gather a crowd. Mike is a seventeen-year-old bookie, and Sanctuary is where she takes bets for anyone at Carson High with enough cash. Her only rule: Never participate, never place a bet for herself.  Then Josh Ellison moves to town. He pushes Mike to live her life, to feel a rush of something -- play the game, he urgest, stop being a spectator.  So Mike breaks her one rule. She places a bet, feels the rush.  And loses. In an act of desperation, she and Josh -- who has a sordid past of his own -- concoct a plan: The pair will steal from Carson City's elite to pay back Mike's debt. Then they'll give the rest of their haul to those who need it most. How can burglary be wrong if they are making things right? 

 I Give This ...

One thing I loved about the previous book I read by Heidi Ayarbe is how real the whole thing feels.  While you are reading, you think that this could happen to anyone and anywhere.  I was curious how a female teenage bookie might fit into this theory.

From beginning to end I just had a hard time wrapping my mind around the bookie part of the story.  I guess I just don't see it in the high school setting.  Is this something new?  Is it common?   I guess maybe it's a new kind of rush for teenagers, but it just seemed weird.  It wasn't even the fact that a female ran it.  It was literally just the bookie part.  And that it was right under everybody's noses.   How the hell did nobody pick up on that fact?  No one thought "Hey...isn't it a little weird that this group of kids is all together when none of them normally hang out?"   I would have thought that.

Aside from all that, I really like Michal.  She's interesting to me because she honestly thinks she nobody.  When obviously she's chosen to facilitate an activity that more than just gets her noticed.  It really causes her unwanted attention.  I think she thinks that because she's a spectator, that it makes her less than those who participate.   Which is interesting when Josh shows up.  Josh is bound and determined to make her feel something.    I think he wants her to see herself a little more like those around her see her.

I also really enjoyed the portrayal of the gangs in the area.  I really felt the intensity of the situation.  It was threatening and realistic.  I also liked how Michal and Josh push the envelope.  I don't agree with the way the went about their escapades.  After all, two wrongs never make a right.  But, I really agreed with the overall message.

The ending floored me.  It wasn't at all what I was expecting.   I closed the book with unanswered questions.  I also drew some similarities with a high profile case in Florida at the moment.  I wondered though, if it was just timing.  Overall and interesting read that I had a little bit of hard time filtering out.  It won't stop me from reading her next book though!

Interview with author Heidi Ayarbe + Giveaway (CLOSED)!

One Book At A Time Would like to welcome Heidi Ayarbe to the blog.

I worked with Heidi when she was promoting her last book Compulsion!  I was really pleased to be able to help promote her latest book Wanted.  I sent Heidi a list of three top 10 things to choose from and she provided answers for all 3!   I couldn't pick just one...so I've included them all.   And just to make sure you're reading....there's not 1 but 3 giveaway's at the end!!

My Top Ten Things About Being a Bookie (Michal):

10. The challenge. It’s not easy to set odds and work out the intricacies of the bookie world. It feels like I’m part of a secret world.
9. Reading The Gambler right before bets are placed – finding the perfect passage. English teachers are totally going about motivation the wrong way. I’ve got some of the biggest school morons reading 19th Century Russian lit and asking for more.
8. I’m needed. None of these guys would have the brains, or balls, to do this. They need me.
7. I make people uncomfortable. I don’t fit in, but they can’t ignore me. I’m not a wallflower to anyone.
6. I can, with one bet, take my clients on the ride of their lives. I’m totally not into the babying, boo-hoo-I-lost-my-money stuff. But when shit hits the fan, or when things go great, I’m the first one to get a phone call.
5. Taking bets and cash right under every adult’s nose is a rush.
4.Sanctuary:  Gathering in the cold mornings before school. There’s an intensity when we meet. A purpose.
3. It makes sense.
2. Power.
1. Money. (Well, I don’t dress like I do because I work at Dominoes Pizza.)

My Top Ten Anti-Bullshit Division Feats (Josh):
Keep in mind, this is all stuff I’ve heard about. 

10. Holding a huge community money raiser for the Boy Scouts of America and giving the funds to LGBT student association.  (Hey. Some kids’ delinquency begins young.) There’s no LGBT badge for the Scouts, by the way. (Oh. And that kid’s Dad had to pay all the donors back. Oops.)
9. Organizing the “dog shit of America” day in which all those who bring their dogs to the park and don’t clean up the crap get a flaming surprise on their lawns the next day. I heard the sheer logistics of this was phenomenal (tracking the errant dog owners and gathering the necessary materials.)
8. Putting hair removal cream in the Lacrosse team’s shampoo bottles.
7. Placing impossible bets … putting it all on the line depending on some running back’s yardage.  But I always win.
6. Streamlining porn into our flat screen TVs at mass one morning. It gave a whole new meaning to hallelujah.
5. Disabling the school’s PA system control center, and playing over the loud speaker, all day long, Pink Floyd’s We Don’t Need No Education. It took the principal and teachers three hours to find the new control center.
4. House robberies. It’s freaking insane how much adrenaline can pump through someone’s veins, I’ve heard, when he’s stealing from an empty house.
3. Being real, totally and completely no bullshit, with Michal.
2. Trusting Michal.
1. Saying “I love you.” With that, you can lose everything.

Top ten reasons I enjoy writing darker contemporary fiction  (Heidi).

10. I love the SCBWI community and community of children’s writers, bloggers, librarians, reviewers and more. What wonderful, open people that inspire me and keep me going.
9. I think “real” people are extraordinary. Teens don’t need special powers or to be swept away by vampire love to find purpose.
8. I love “what if” … the basis of all great stories. What if, for example, a high school bookie starts to gamble … and lose? What if a high school soccer star had OCD, and was trying to keep the secret from everybody? What if a young girl’s father is sent to prison, and her only hope of not going into foster care is finding a long lost aunt? What if a 15-year-old boy shoots and kills his best friend?
7. I hope many readers can relate to the characters I create.
6. Reading has been one of the greatest joys of my life – getting lost in the magic that unfolds between the covers of a book. And I always have loved contemporary fiction the most.
5. I love creating people in words that I wish I knew in real life.
4. I love the challenge. I haven’t had to work my brain so hard ever. Writing, I believe, is learned – a skill we have to work on every day to get better. I don’t believe in that whole muse-inspirational thing. I do believe that some people have a vocation for it, but to write, you need to work your tail off and become a master of the skills needed to pull a novel together.
3. I learn every day because everything … I mean EVERYTHING … has to be researched from the time the sun rises in Nevada in October to how many steps it takes to run one and a half miles if you’re a 5’10” adolescent boy running approximately seven-minute miles.
2. I love words. The difference between vehement, fervent, passionate and intense matters to me.
1. The characters. It all comes down to the characters.

HAPPY WANTED RELEASE DAY!

In honor of release day, Heidi is giving away 3 prizes on the blog

PRIZE: 1. SWAG + signed copy of WANTED! 

2. SWAG + Colombian treat 

3. SWAG + a signed copy of one of my other novels (surprise)

Contest ends May 31st and is open to US and Canada.
Prizes will not be shipped until July.  Heidi lives in Columbia and it is insanely expensive to ship from there.  She will ship when she visits the states in July

Review: Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe

Title: Compulsion

Author: Heidi Ayarbe

Series: Stand Alone

Pages: 304

Published: Available now from Balzer + Bray

ISBN: 9780061993862

Source: Arranged tour by Teen Book Scene

Description: Today has to be perfect. Magic. I look at the clock. 10:14 am. Ten fourteen. One plus one is two plus four is six plus ten is sixteen minus one is fifteen minus two is thirteen. OK. I turn from the clock and walk into the hallway. "Ready.”  Saturday will be the third state soccer championship in a row for Jake Martin. Three. A good number. Prime. With Jake on the field, Carson City High can’t lose, because Jake has the magic: a self-created protection generated by his obsession with prime numbers. It’s the magic that has every top soccer university recruiting Jake, the magic that keeps his family safe, and the magic that suppresses his anxiety attacks. But the magic is Jake’s prison, because getting it means his compulsions take over nearly every aspect of his life.  Jake’s convinced the magic will be permanent after Saturday, the perfect day, when every prime has converged. Once the game is over, he won’t have to rely on his sister, Kasey, to concoct excuses for his odd rituals. His dad will stop treating him like he is some freak. Maybe he’ll even make a friend other than Luc.  But what if it doesn’t work?  What if the numbers never go away? 

I Give This ...

I'm draw to books about mental illness.  Maybe that's what having a degree in psychology does to you.  So, I immediately wanted to read this book based on the OCD fact alone.  While, I had a hard time getting into the story, it did not disappoint.

While I was intrigued be Jake, I had a hard time with him at first.  I didn't understand his OCD and what he was doing to calm himself.  And, I was really confused by the "magic".  For a little bit I was afraid it was going to have a paranormal accept.  It seemed like Jake believed that the numbers actually gave him a magical element.  Turns out I was wrong on the fact and then the OCD begins to make sense.  He has his rituals which he must go through everyday before he can leave the house.  Plus, any time he sees a number (on the clock, etc), he has to add/subtract/ whatever to make it a prime number.  It's really crippling him because its starting to effect his everyday life.  As the all important soccer game draws closer, Jake's life goes into a tail spin.  He think that if he can win that big game and earn a college scholarship, his OCD will go away.

But, as with any mental illness, things go crazy.  His OCD has lead to one to many tardies and he's in danger of not being able to play in the big game.  When the morning before the big game doesn't go according to plan, he's forced to skip class so he can start the day right.  But that's not his only problem.  His sister has high social aspirations and wants to cement her place before he goes off to college.  He makes a deal with her, but his OCD basically lands her in the hospital.  

This was roller coaster ride for me.  I really enjoyed watching how Jake's OCD controls him.  I liked watching him get to that point when he realizes he needs help.  I also loved who and how he finally reaches out for that help.  From about half way through the book I was hooked.  So, the 3 rating comes from the slow start and the excessive use of the "F" word.   

Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe Tour and Giveaway!! (CLOSED)

I'm happy to have Luc from the book Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe at One Book At A Time Today.  He's going to give us his 10 Best Pickup Lines.  Should be good :)

Ten Best Pickup Lines … Ever. Not that I need them. But it’s always good to bring some backup lines to help with the pickup. And, dude, it’s all about delivery. It’s not the line, it’s the game. Honestly, I could read some chick the phone book. So, don’t just say them, feel them.

10. I didn’t know angels were falling from heaven today. 

9.  Nice shoes. Wanna hook up?

8. Hey. I noticed you and noticed that you noticed me and wanted you to note that I noticed.

7. I bet you twenty bucks you’ll turn me down.

6. You know, not to brag or anything [lower voice] … I’m Batman.

5.Your eyes are as blue as window cleaner. (Girls DIG this!) for green – Astroturf, brown – fertilizer … (Hey. Don’t ask me. It just works.)

4. Here’s the deal. You intrigue me. When can I pick you up for dinner tonight?

3. Hey. Wanna go camping? (They’ll always turn you down, so a movie is an easy sell.) 

Okay. Cool, then, how about I pick you up for an early movie tonight?

2. I can’t get you out of my head. And don’t want to.

1. You make me so nervous I forgot my best pickup line.

I'm also pleased to host a giveaway for SWAG (signed book plate, bookmark) and real Columbia coffee.  Heidi lives in Columbia and is coming to the states to visit in May and will ship the winner their prize in late May.  Contest is open to US residents 13 or older.  Closes May 16 at 11:59 pm.  

All you have to do to enter is comment on the post and leave your email address so I can contact you!