A Dream Within A Dream: Boring Girls Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to be the first blog on the tour for BORING GIRLS by Sara Taylor! Today I'll be sharing my review of the book - and don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win your own copy! If you want to follow the tour, the schedule is listed at the bottom of the post.

Boring Girls: A Novel

Author: Sara Taylor

Genre: YA Dark Contemporary/Horror

Release Date: April 14, 2015

Publisher: ECW Press

Description:

Rachel feels like she doesn’t fit in — until she finds heavy metal and meets Fern, a kindred spirit. The two form their own band, but the metal scene turns out to be no different than the misogynist world they want to change. Violent encounters escalate, and the friends decide there’s only one way forward . . .

A bloodstained journey into the dark heart of the music industry, Boring Girls traces Rachel’s deadly coming-of-age, Fern at her side — as the madness deepens, their band’s success heightens, and their taste for revenge grows ravenous.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22750458-boring-girls?ac=1

Boring Girls is a dark coming-of-age contemporary novel - it's like the normal YA contemporaries except it's made for those of us who just don't quite fit the mold. It's for the outsiders, the ones who feel alone even in a room full of people - the ones that the 'normal' kids avoid and talk about in hushed tones. It's for all of us who have ever felt like we don't belong anywhere - especially not in the usual social circles. In the story, Rachel - our main character - finds Fern, who turns out to be a kindred spirit and best friend. She also finds heavy metal - both the music and the scene around it. Rachel finally feels like she's among other people like her - that she fits - in this world. She even starts a band of her own with Fern. The metal scene isn't all that they'd hoped for - it's the same type of world as the rest of society - maybe even harsher. Needless to say, things become violent - and the two girls decide that there's only one way to make things right again. This begins a wild rampage where their band's popularity soars, making the girls' thirst for revenge even deeper - and the line between madness and sanity is starting to slip away.

Right from the start - after reading the description of the book - it's evident that this isn't your typical young adult contemporary coming-of-age story with a happy picture perfect ending. Not even close. I knew immediately that I had to read this novel - not only because of the description and the fact that it sounded like an incredible story - but because I felt the same way as Rachel when I was a teen. Like nobody understood me, I didn't fit in anywhere or with anyone - I was what you could call a misfit or an outsider. When I saw that the main character deals with these same issues (along with the rest of the plot) - I was instantly intrigued.

This is one of those books that you come across sometimes - the ones that you just can't seem to explain why you loved it so much - where your words aren't nearly adequate enough to convey all the aspects of the story, let alone attempt a review - and you're left either speechless and/or rambling on about it. Right now I'm feeling frustrated because I just know that nothing I write will come even remotely close to doing the book the justice it deserves. There's no way I can explain why I loved the book so much or what had such a profound effect on me. I don't want to ramble, so I'll attempt to give you a review - but my ultimate advice is this: if the description of this book sounds fascinating to you or piques your interest - just read it. Seriously - that's the best advice I can give you.

Our leading lady - Rachel - is a loner and feels like she doesn't fit in, like I mentioned at the beginning of my review. Although she might feel weak, insecure, alone - she is most definitely none of those things. She's smart, strong in several ways, a dedicated member to her band and the music, along with being a devoted friend. And those are just a few of her good qualities. Everyone has negative traits and Rachel is no exception. Hiding underneath her usual personality and character are some truly frightening attributes. They come out after a violent attack happens - and then we get to see who Rachel is at her core. She becomes violent, frantic, euphoric, and even a little crazy - to name a few things. I can understand how some of these traits would come to the surface during the story, but Rachel and Fern take things so much farther than it should go - and they love it. Fern turns out to be a true kindred spirit and shares many of the same traits as Rachel. The plot of the book was relatively simple, if you were to break it down to it's basic form. You have a teen who feels like they don't fit in; they find someone who seems to understand how they feel, and form a strong bond; an activity, place, or in this case - a certain type of music and the scene surrounding it - where they feel like they are accepted and can finally be themselves. Things are going great and they're riding high - until something really terrible happens. That incident turns their world upside down - and revenge is sought. But nothing is ever enough - so they keep trying to find the same thrill over and over in different places - and when all is said and done, there's nothing left but chaos and destruction. The way that the author takes this general outline and molds it to fit heavy metal and the music scene is amazing. The author is a member of a band herself, which makes everything feel even more authentic to me. The story could have gone in so many different directions, but let's just say that the author chose the road less traveled. The entire book is a roller coaster of both emotions and events - it takes the reader on one heck of a thrill ride. If not more. This is the part where it becomes difficult to explain why you loved the story so much and what a huge effect it has on the reader. So I'm going to stop myself at that point so I don't ramble (which seems to be happening anyway). The writing itself was magnificent. The story sucked me in from the first sentence and I became so wrapped up and lost inside Rachel's world that it felt like I was there for it all. There's a lot going on in the book, so it's fast paced and full of a mix of something between adrenaline, fear, and euphoria. Again - impossible to explain. The author uses to use a first person point of view to tell the story - so we experience it all through Rachel's eyes. I personally love it when books are done in this way. I think we get to know the narrator so much more than we usually would. We get an inside look at their thoughts, inner dialogue, emotions, fears - everything is open to us. This makes it almost impossible not to connect with the character on at least one level. I immediately liked Rachel from the beginning because of her witty dialogue (both inside her mind and with other people) and the conversation-style way the story is told. To have a level of understanding this large with the main character is usually rare, and I absolutely love when authors use it.

Everyone who reads this novel will have one heck of a ride - and everyone's experience and opinions will be different. This book is definitely not for everyone - if you're faint of heart or don't like to read anything graphic, bloody, gory, etc. - don't open this. If you're like me and thinks it sounds ridiculously awesome - READ. THIS. BOOK. NOW. You'll come out the other side of it just as I did - at a complete loss of words - yet full of various phrases and questions. Most are inappropriate, so I won't post them here. I can't say it enough or praise this book any more to make you appreciate and understand the magnitude of what's inside those pages. You're just going to have to find out on your own.