10 Things I Loved About This is W.A.R. by Lisa and Laura Roecker

Yesterday was the book birthday for the lovely and hilarious Roecker sisters' new book. I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this book from a GoodReads contest and I very much might have done a happy dance around my room when it arrived.

Spoiler-free Summary:
After Willa Ames-Rowan drowns, everyone knows the truth - she and James Gregory left together and James came back alone. But his family rules the Hawthorne Lake Country Club and with a little carefully placed money and a lot of pressure the "accident" is pushed aside. When four girls with a strong connection to Willa and their own terrible secrets find themselves drawn together to expose the lies and bring down the whole Gregory family it isn't just revenge; this is W.A.R.

1. First off that cover. Doesn't it just catch your eye?! Don't you just want to find out what on earth is going on?! I love the green tones and I love the title. I even love the font they used for the author names.
2. I really liked the way the sections of the book rotated through the perspectives of the four girls who have formed W.A.R. Each girl had a distinct voice and I liked the way it was in larger sections rather than interspersed. It was different and worked really well for this story.
3. In connection to that I also liked how the backstory was revealed little by little. It was masterfully handled so as not to reveal too much, but I never felt frustrated or like things were being kept from me. Each girl had a little more to add that slowly made the story more clear.
4. You think you know what's going on, but you really don't. I loved that. So many things kept me guessing. And even when you are pretty sure it's all been revealed something else comes to light and makes you wonder what the truth actually is.
5. The girls are all so different and really have nothing in common except Willa, but as the book progresses they have to start to trust each other and understand and support each other, but it isn't corny - it just works.
6. Each of the girls has some sort of issue. They aren't perfect, and they are all culpable (or think they're culpable) in Willa's murder in some way. I found this so much more interesting, because they aren't just fighting against the Gregorys, but against their own flaws and guilt.
7. The capstone perspectives from Willa. I really don't want her to be dead because I wish I knew this girl! Which is good, because if you didn't care about Willa being dead, the book would lose a lot of its impetus. But as you learn more about her from each of the girls you get more and more angry at those responsible.
8. It is sadly realistic. The Roecker's aren't afraid to just dig right in and point out a lot of problems that are at times present in our society - things a lot of people don't want to admit happen. But the book definitely doesn't read like they're on a soapbox of any kind - it just comes through. I noticed on GoodReads that a lot of people sort of mocked this aspect, and perhaps it has been overdone in some places, but I liked that they just went for it and I liked that the girls have some of the same issues to overcome as the problems they see around them.
9. Girl Power! I love how the Roecker sisters have such strong, independent, flawed female leads. If you haven't read The Liar Society and The Lies That Bind you should. Very different feel, but another strong female lead.
10. There's another book! Right? RIGHT?! Because the ending totally made it feel like there was another book. And if there's not I might just have to hunt Lisa and Laura down and make them write it.

I received this book for free and received no remuneration for this review.

Sister Writers and The Liar Society

I've been following the blog of sister writers Lisa & Laura Roecker (also known as LiLa to their friends) for a couple of years now. Their blog posts regularly make me laugh out loud (check out this post on Lisa's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and try not to snort laugh) and I've had the fun of getting to know them through back and forth comments and the occasional e-mail or two. So when their book The Liar Society was released I was so excited for them.

And even more excited to get my hands on the book and start reading it. But more on the books in a moment.

When I got an e-mail letting me know that the Roecker sisters were going to be part of a book tour and that their last stop was going to be in New York City I literally danced around the room, put it on my calendar, and started recruiting people to go with me.

Unfortunately, the day they were coming was the day when EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD PLANNED AN EVENT. So I ended up heading into the city alone. It's always more fun with other people, but I wasn't going to miss out on a chance to meet LiLa no matter what.

Of course, Sandy decided to mess up the train tracks, etc., but fortunately enough had gotten cleared that I was able to easily make it into Penn Station. Then I made the brilliant decision to save money and walk! It was only like 80 blocks. No biggie right? I enjoyed myself. I love walking through the city and I got to go through Time Square again and I got to see the Gray Papaya hot dog store where I had a small Fools Rush In/Matthew Perry geek out moment (if you haven't seen the movie, you should. It's one of my favorite chick flicks).

And I arrived so early at Bank Street Books. It is the most adorable children's book store I've ever been in. The people are super nice and I was so excited. I bought my books and then headed out to grab some lunch and rest my feet. When I came back I found out that I had just missed the group coming in and that they had gone to get lunch and would be back. So I settled into one of the window seats (yes, window seats - how adorable!) and read and waited.

About half an hour before the event was supposed to start, a group came up the stairs and was browsing through the bookshelves. I immediately wondered if it was LiLa and the other two authors, but I wasn't sure. So (no lie) I opened their book and looked surreptitiously at the author photo so I didn't make a fool of myself. I was sure it was them, so I walked up and kind of hesitantly asked (I am such a shy person in these kind of situations you have no idea) and it was and they were like Are you Rebecca? And I said I was and there might have been a little bit of squealing and there definitely was hugging and Janet Gurtler (one of the other lovely authors) said they had heard all about me and it totally made my entire week.

See... window seat in the background! Also me with Lisa and Laura

It was a pretty small gathering so I got to talk to Lisa and Laura and Janet for a little while. I told Janet that I had just read her book Who I Kissed in an hour and that I had cried the whole time. She got so excited and asked if she could hug me, which of course I answered yes.

Miranda Kenneally was the fourth author, but she had a band of teen girls who were the cutest fan mob to ever attack an author, so I didn't really get a chance to talk to her.

The event was fun with each author reading a snippet from their latest book and answering questions. Of course, I didn't take any pictures or notes because I was having so much fun just listening, but it was the best time ever.

LiLa's books are a lot of fun - mysteries with a solid dash of romance, humor, and friendship to mix it up. Kind of like a cross between Nancy Drew and Kate Brian's Private series with a Roecker twist.

Here are my non-spoilery reviews:

The Liar Society
Kate Lowry isn't dealing with the death of her best friend very well. It's been a year since the tragic accident and she's trying to live a normal life, but all that is shattered when she gets an e-mail from her best friend. Her dead best friend. With her geeky next door neighbor Seth and the mysterious Liam with a bad-boy reputation as her only allies, Kate has to unravel the mysteries of the e-mails and uncover the truth about Grace's death. But she finds herself caught up in a world of secrets, lies, and danger where someone else might just get hurt if she can't find the truth.

The Lies That Bind
Solving the mystery behind Grace's death didn't really change anything. Of course, now Kate has a boyfriend and a best friend who always have her back. Until she starts finding messages from Grace - the jacket that shows up in her car, the book that appears on her desk... it's starting to creep Kate out. When another girl disappears, Kate gets sucked back into the world of secret societies and mysteries she can't solve. As her own lies pile up Kate has to try to figure out who she can trust and who is only using her to further their own power and it's not as easy as it seems.

I can't wait for The Hush Fund due out in July!

Check out the website for more information and pick up these books at your local bookstore! They'd make a great Christmas gift for a teen in your life. Or for yourself!