Review:Sophomore Year is Greek to Me

 Title:Sophomore Year is  Greek to Me
 Author:Meredith Zeitlin 
 Release Date :April 21st 2015         
 Publisher:G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers 

A laugh-out-loud high school adventure set in Greece, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot 
 
High school sophomore Zona Lowell has lived in New York City her whole life, and plans to follow in the footsteps of her renowned-journalist father. But when he announces they’re moving to Athens for six months so he can work on an important new story, she's devastated— he must have an ulterior motive. 

See, when Zona's mother married an American, her huge Greek family cut off contact. But Zona never knew her mom, and now she’s supposed to uproot her entire life and meet possibly hostile relatives on their turf? Thanks... but no thanks.

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I adored Freshman year and other Natural Disasters it cracked me up from start to finish so I couldn't wait to read Sophomore Year is  Greek to Me when I first hear it was coming out way back when. I read this book a few years ago and I have no idea why it took me so long to write this review... The reason I am finally doing this review is  because I just reread both Freshman year and other Natural Disasters and Sophomore Year Is Greek to Me.

Sophomore Year Is Greek to Me emphasizes the importance of family & of finding your place in the world This book was literally lovely as hell. Just like Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters this book was full of nonstop laughter and some series sweet moment.  Zona always seems to be getting into some ridiculous situation or another... Whether she's being attacked by birds or stranded with inappropriate footwear, there is never a dull moment. The characters especially Zona and her dad really were well written and I loved the relationships between the two.

The cover fits this book perfectly.I think it's simple but fun and evokes that summer feel.The vibrant cover plus title will lure you in especially if your one of those people who picks up a book based on it cover. This book a great read and it talks about stuff that you can relate too. I highly recommend  this book!!! 4/5

Freshman year and other Natural Disasters

Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny.

Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it.

Kelsey’s hilarious commentary throughout her disastrous freshman year will have you laughing out loud—while being thankful that you’re not in her shoes, of course


 So after reading this book I'm definitely glad i managed to be relatively unscathed my freshman year.The title pretty much sums up Kesley's first year in high school. Kesley's first year in high school should be great.Her enemy moved,she has three best friends,she is finally going to get a chance to shine in soccer and snag the guy of her dreams.Then reality kicks in and things start to go awry.The captain of the soccer teams has it out for her and maybe the school's news paper photographer.Friendships are tested and the claws come out and maybe that perfect guys not so perfect after all. Kesley wanted to make a mark her freshman year and I feel like she did but not in the way she intended for.

This book is filled with nonstop laughs especially the play scene(Ba-caw).The characters seem real and I liked how even the secondary characters had a story.Like her little sister who was  that typical pest of a younger sibling.Kesley was a riot filled with plenty of charm and had a sarcastic comment at the ready.I love her “Typical Adolescent Behavior”and how even when things kept getting worse she kept going and didn't let it get her down for long.

The cover fits this book perfectly.I think it's simple but quirky and the burst of color plus title will lure you in especialy if your one of those people who picks up a book based on it cover. This book a great read and it talks about stuff that you can relate too. Reading this book i couldn't help but thing about my first year in high school and all the ridicules stuff that happened to me. 
I would recommend this book for younger reader or anyone who likes something light to read.4/5

First Author Interveiw-Meredith Zeitlin

Author Interview

Meredith Zeitlin is a writer and voice over artist who lives in  Brooklyn with two adorable feline roommates. She also writes a column for Ladygunn Magazine, changes her hair color every few months, and has many fancy pairs of spectacles.

She is the author of Freshman year and other Natural Disasters which is coming out March 1,2012. 

You can learn more about the book here: www.kelseyfinkelstein.com

  

Did you put personality traits of yourself, or the people in your life into the characters of your book? Oh, absolutely. Aside from Kelsey (who, let's face it, IS me), many of the characters - particularly Kelsey's friends - have characteristics of people I know. They're like little kaleidoscopes of many of my friends, some of whom I HAVE known since high school! The character of JoJo in particular is based on a single high school pal, but the second part of her story, which changed during the editing process, belongs to another, more recent friend (again, I don't want to give any spoilers, but when you read the book you'll know what I'm talking about). I wanted that part of the story to be really authentic, so this friend and I sat down and figured it out together.

 The guys in Kelsey's life are the same - mostly invention, but smatterings of real guys I've known myself. Kelsey's mother is my mother - feel free to ask anyone who knows her. Or just ask her - she'll tell you herself! The Julie Nelson character is loosely based on a junior who tortured me in high school when I was a freshman. The happy ending to that story is that we actually remet as adults and became friends. (And yes, she knows she's in the book. She didn't even remember being horrible to me - in fact, she told me that she was totally insecure and miserable herself most of the time. Which goes to show that, while obviously there's no good reason to be deliberately mean to someone, usually insecurity is to blame. Not sure what the actual solution there is, but it bears thinking about, right?)

Kelsey's freshman year was pretty eventful,was your freshman year anything like hers? My freshman year was both really hard and ultimately really rewarding. I started at a brand new school that year - and it was an all-girls' school, which I was NOT thrilled about. I had to maneuver my way around a totally unfamiliar campus (it was made up of many different buildings and not just one like my old school) and make all new friends, which was especially tricky because many of the girls had been going to school together since they were babies. Suffice it to say, there were rock-solid cliques that had existed for years. And of course I missed my friends from middle school. But I actually ended up loving it - I did make lots of friends, and figure out where to sit at lunch, and got cast in a lead role in the school play, and somehow ended up on the lacrosse team - a sport I'd never even heard of before. (In a related story, I was TERRIBLE at it. But I stuck it out, just like Kelsey does.) Of course, this is me as an adult looking back - at the time I know I was incredibly frustrated much of the time - it's hard to be new. It took a long time for things to be mostly fun instead of mostly terrifying. At the same time, I had this amazing opportunity to start with a clean slate and be whoever I wanted to be. Ironically, I think I stayed pretty much the same as I'd always been. I guess I'm just... me.

Now, I don't want to spoil the book by giving anything away... but I will say this: almost everything that happens to Kelsey in the book is based on experiences from my real life, which happened at about the same time. I am, and have always been, disaster-prone. My freshman year was no exception!

If you could hang out with any fictional character who would it be? Hm, that's a hard one! Aside from the obvious gorgeous guy characters... I think Bridget Jones and I would have a killer night on the town. Unless we spontaneously combusted from too many neurotic thoughts in one place at the same time, of course. 

Which of your supporting characters would be perfect for a spin-off or novella and why? I've actually considered doing a spin-off about Travis, Kelsey's little sister. And I haven't ruled it out yet...

What can we expect next from you?  I wrote a children's picture book that I'm hoping will find a home soon, and a friend and I wrote a super-creepy horror feature. (So, some pretty different stuff!) I'm also working on another YA novel. It's not a sequel to Freshman Year..., but it takes place in the same world, so you'll see some of the characters again.

In 4 words how would you describe FRESHMAN YEAR AND OTHER UNNATURAL DISASTERS? Book to read now!