May 2016 Wrap Up

This was a very bad reading month for me and I don't forsee my summer being much better. This month was crammed packed with events that I had to attend and lots of school work. As summer approaches, I will be working three jobs; hence, the summer not being great either, but nevertheless, I did read some great books.

The Secret Circle book 1

Emancipated book 1

Both of these books were great and I am looking forward to continuing both series

Someone Like You ~ Sarah Dessen

The world is a terrible place not to have a best friend.
 
Scarlett was always the strong one.
 
Halley was always content to follow in her wake.
 
Then Scarlett’s boyfriend died, and Scarlett learned that she was pregnant.
 
Now Halley has to find the strength to take the lead and help Scarlett get through it.
 
Because true friendship is a promise you keep forever

Book Review:

This is one of the oldest books that I have ever read by Sarah Dessen. It was published the year that I was born, so in all honesty, I wasn't expecting it to be her best work. Now, although it wasn't her best, it wasn't terrible either. I actually quite liked it. Now, many of you wouldn't know, but I am obsessed with youtube and lately with teenage parents or young parents who daily vlog, I was hoping for this to be an interesting spin on teenage pregnancy but it wasn't. The story mainly revolved around Halley finding herself, like most Sarah Dessen novels, and around the relationships that aspired. Nevertheless, it was a great read. 

The character development was a bit lacking in description, in my opinion. You knew that it was there, you understood how it was coming about, but you never really received any further information. The family dynamics were intriguing and a bit cliche but that is exactly why I loved those scenes. I really loved the friendship between Halley and Scarlett and I also really loved how the grief process was portrayed through Scarlett's character. The book portrayed so much pure honesty that I couldn't have disliked it in any way. It really was beautifully written. 

Pages:  281                                                                                                                                Rate: 3/5

Favorite Quote:

“You can't just plan a moment when things get back on track, just as you can't plan the moment you lose your way in the first place.” 

Glass Sword ~ Victoria Aveyard

The electrifying next instalment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they've always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.

Mare Barrow's blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

Book Review:

I was looking forward to this book for over a year. I had the biggest book hangover after reading Red Queen and could not wait for this instalment. I needed this book!!! And after all of my waiting and all of the hype surrounding the book, it did not let me down; but now I have to wait for the next book, and there isn't even a release date for it yet!!

The storyline grew to be something so much more than I could have anticipated. The character development was incredible. I grew even closer to Mare than I thought possible after the first novel, where I identified with her so much. My "shipper" heart has also expanded with Mare and Cal.I just want a happy ending for the two of them, but I don't see that happening in the near future or the distant future for that matter, and it is so aggravating!!! Especially since he is so good with the little New Blood kids!

The action in this instalment was something that I haven't seen in many books recently. The tactical information was very intriguing as well as Aveyard's descriptions of the actual fighting. I really enjoyed the experimentation with the powers of the New Bloods, like Mare. Oh, and Shade? Yeah, he is pretty much my big brother. He reminds me so much of my brothers that I just loved him so much.

Pages: 464                                                                                                                    Rate: 5/5

Favorite Quote:

“No matter how much I might want to feel him, I cannot. I must keep my eyes ahead, and away from the fire of a fallen prince. I must freeze my heart to the one person who insists on setting it ablaze.”  This quote killed me!! As soon as my eyes crossed these words I felt my heart break a little for both Mare and Cal. 

Don’t cry in front of Mom, apologize to Farley, figure out how to save five thousand children, nanny a bunch of Silvers, put my head through a wall. Seems doable." Basically the entire novel summed up in one quote. 

May 2016 TBR

Hello my lovelies,

I have to admit, I won't have much time to read this month. I have my Senior Prom this weekend, my Senior Trip next weekend, and a bunch of school projects but I will try my best; therefore, this is a small TBR. 

I became obsessed with the CW TV show on Netflix to find out that it only had one season and I didn't like who ended up with who nor how anything else ended; so I have moved onto the books in hopes that they develop in the way that I want. This is the first bind up of novel one and the first half of novel two in the series. 

     

This is the second bind up in the series.

I have been meaning to read this memoir for a very long time. Malala is a huge inspiration to me and I am really looking forward to some eye-opening passages.

Until next month,

Angel

P.S. Tell me what you think of these books if you have read them. 

April 2016 Wrap Up

Hello my lovelies,

First off, I just want to say that this was a great reading month for me because I had Spring Break, which I was able to read 3 1/2 books in just that week so everything has been very wonderful!!! 

I will be posting reviews for all of the following books in the coming weeks if thy are not up already. 

Cece Bell's graphic novel about adapting as a deaf child. It was really good. 

The sequel to the amazing Red Queen. I was so angry when I finished this and realized that the next book won't be out for a year to a year and a half!! I need to know!! What is up with the cliff hangers, Victoria!?

A fabulous way to end the trilogy, Ransom Riggs's talent baffles me completely!

Basically every YA Contemporary novel ever but that doesn't mean that I didn't love it. The romance is similar to the one in Girl Online by Zoe Sugg. 

A very interesting dystopian novel. New Orleans is a city that I have never personally visited but have been obsessed with for years, one of the reasons that I picked up this book, but this novel is set in the distant future and is gripping from the first page. I also liked the two different perspectives. 

I had thought that I had read everything by Sarah Dessen but apparently I hadn't read this one, her second novel, published the year that I was born. It was perfect just like every other one. 

El Deafo ~ Cece Bell

Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful—and very awkward—hearing aid. The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear—sometimes things she shouldn’t—but also isolates her from her classmates. She really just wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her as she is. After some trouble, she is finally able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become “El Deafo, Listener for All.” And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she’s longed for.

Book Review:

I have been really into memoirs lately and I have also been trying to expand my horizons a little bit. Therefore, when I happened across this graphic memoir, a memoir in the style of a graphic novel, I was very intrigued,  but when I learned that it was the life of a deaf girl, I was definitely going to read it. I have been trying to teach myself ASL (American Sign Language) for years now and from that I have grown an immense connection to the Deaf Culture. 

Cece's character is trying to deal with growing up with a hearing aid since she lost the majority of her hearing due to illness as a small child. For her, this hearing aid is huge, bulky, and extremely conspicuous. She is trying to deal with making friends and feeling so different from everyone else at the same time. Now, I think that every kid goes through that, I know that I did, but due to Cece's deafness, she feels even more introverted than many other kids who experience that feeling. 

I also really loved how adorable the graphics were. 

Library of Souls ~ Ransom Riggs

A boy with extraordinary powers. An army of deadly monsters. An epic battle for the future of peculiardom.
 
The adventure that began with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and continued in Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library of Souls. As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.
 
They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

Book Review:

Ransom Riggs ends his Miss Perengrine's Peculiar Children trilogy with the final instalment, Library Of Souls, as Jacob and the other peculiars race to save the ymbrynes. It was captivating from the very beginning, I was unable to put it down. Plus, I own a signed copy which is exciting within its self. 

Jacob and Emma are my favorite characters. I love their relationship. I love how they feed off of each other, how they both of are really protective of each other and the other peculiars, but most of all, of Miss Peregrine. Each of them have their own relationship with her and though they are very similar relationships, you can tell how different they are as well. 

I still don't understand how Riggs, is able to create this entire world and characters around these old photographs that he has just happened upon. The amount of talent that he has is beyond comprehension. 

I'm just going to move onto the spoilery section now because writing a non-spoilery review for a third installment is hard...

Book Discussion: SPOILERS:

I loved how Jacob's "ability" developed. I loved that it was the same ability that was his Grandfather's and how that made him feel even closer to him, though its still kind of weird with the Emma situation. I was really excited when he was able to control all of those hollows. It was an exhilarating part of the novel to read. I'm fairly certain that my heart was ready to jump out of my chest for him and the others. 

I was also really happy that he was able to reunite with his parents in the end, even though they thought that he was insane and forced him into therapy. I thought the ending was hilarious when Miss Peregrine and the other kids showed up. I really thought his parents were going to have heart attacks or something just as terrible. Though I loved how Riggs inserted the ending with some closure, I really wish there was going to be a novella or fourth novel because I really want to know how things turned out for them, partiularly Jacob and Emma, in the end. 

Favorite Quote:

“Early in life we recognize certain talents in ourselves, and we focus on those to the exclusion of others. It’s not that nothing else is possible, but that nothing else was nurtured.” 

The Girl On The Train ~ Paula Hawkins

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

Book Review:

I started getting into more adult fiction last year, when I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Previously, the only  adult fiction that I had read was absolutely everything by James Patterson that I could get my hands on because he is incredible. I was kind of sceptical when I picked up Girl On The Train because I had heard so many good things about it, but I tend to avoid books surrounded by a lot of hype. I was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed the book. 

Hawkins didn't grab me completely from the very beginning. It did take me a while to get into the book. At first, I knew it was going to be a good book from the first paragraph but it wasn't something that I was sure I was going to be 100% captivated by. That didn't occur until half way through. But once I was grabbed, it was impossible for me to put the book down. 

The characterization of each individual character was impeccable. You could see all of their multifaceted sides, the good, the bad, and the terrifying, except for the character that caused the biggest plot twist of the entire story. I thought that he was the good guy but in reality, he was the devil in disguise. 

Favorite Quote:

“Hollowness: that I understand. I'm starting to believe that there isn't anything you can do to fix it. That's what I've taken from the therapy sessions: the holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mold yourself through the gaps” 

Bookish Academy Awards 2016

I have been slacking on publishing content on this blog. I have had a lot of personal stuff to deal with lately and just wasn't feeling like posting. That is one thing that I will never do. I will never force myself to publish content because I won't be happy with it. Anyway, I am getting myself back on track and I plan to be publishing a lot more now.  I will be scheduling my book reviews for Mondays at noon and I want to start posting other posts here and there throughout the week, so keep your eyes open. 

I got this idea from one of my favorite book tubers, Reagan or PeruseProject. Basically, you take each of the categories from the Oscars and change them into bookish categories.

Best Male Protagonist: Jacob Portman from the Miss Perengrine's Home  for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs. He starts out as this confused and scared boy but he turns into this brave man who is willing to risk everything to save his friends and honor his grandfather.  

Best Female Protagonist: Mare Barrow from the Red Queen series by debut author, Victoria Aveyard. The story may be generic to YA fantasy readers, which isn't my most read genre (possibly why I love it so much), but Mare is such a bad ass. She isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in but she also has all of the demons inside of her that Aveyard allows her to feel with vivid rhetoric. 

Best Plot Twist:  Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han. It's the third book in the Burn for Burn series and I would never have been able to predict this ending. I had so many theories and none of them were even miles from close to this!! It was incredible and confusing! 

Best Book Cover: It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. The cover just describes mental illness in a profound way. It's an image of a drawn map inside of a man's brain. That's exactly what the story tries to portray. Mental illness is just as complicated as the inner workings of a city. 

Best Side Character: Elliot in the Girl Online series is such an incredible best friend. He reminds of my best friend, Ash. He's always there for Penny, even when she isn't for him. He understands her more than she understands herself. He is also the epitome of the best gay best friend, just like Ash. 

Best Movie Adaptation: I haven't seen any movie adaptions, other than Paper Towns and that movie butchered the book!!! So I am most looking forward to the adaption of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I am so excited that Tim Burton is directing it. He is the only director that I would trust with this series because I know that his tendency for weirdness is just perfect for this series because of how weird the books are!! I am sooooo excited!!!!! If you haven't watched the trailer yet... DO IT!!!!!! 

Book You Would Love To See Animated: I haven't read many books that I feel would be good animated but Joe Sugg's graphic novel Username Evie would be a really good animated short film. 

Best Writer That You Read For The First Time: Rainbow Rowell. I read Fangirl over the summer and I really resonated with that book. 

Best Short Story/Novella: The two novellas in the Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi. 1.5 is Fracture Me and 2.5 is Destroy Me. They were the only novellas that I have read. Recently I have been reading a collection of short stories for my English class but I don't feel like anyone would enjoy them, that reads this blog, if it weren't part of a class discussion; whereas, the Shatter Me novellas were incredible. I especially liked the first one because it wasn't the perspective that the rest of the series was in. I liked having Warner's perspective on the same events that we learned of through Juliette. 

Best Action in a Book: American Sniper is Chris Kyle's memoir written by himself with the help of Jim DeFelice. It was quite eye opening, and for me, it hit close to home since a lot of my family has spent time in the military and many over in the places that Kyle mentions. The action was very spot on. I could feel the dust in my lungs and covering my eyes, I felt like I couldn't see what he was describing when he couldn't see, I felt my heart race every time he was trying to protect his fellow brothers and sisters in combat, I felt restless when he wasn't out there. It was all very real. 

Best Historical Fiction/Nonfiction/Memoir: I haven't read much on the basis of Historical Fiction or Nonfiction this year, but I have read many memoirs. The one that I found most compelling though, was El Deafo by Cece Bell. It's her graphic novel memoir about her childhood as the only deaf kid in her elementary school. I just found the entire story to be really eye opening and beautiful.

The Maze Runner ~ James Dashner

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.
 
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
 Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
 Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
 Everything is going to change.
 Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
 Remember. Survive. Run.

                                                                       Book Review

In my opinion, I found the majority of the book to be very slow paced. It took me a while to get into. It wasn't until a few chapters from the end of the novel, that I felt I was really into it, but even then it wasn't to the point that I couldn't put it down. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. I did find James Dashner's words to be effective though. I felt exactly what our protagonist, Thomas, felt. When he was confused, so was I. When he was angry or ready to act, so was I. I thoroughly appreciate that in a book. 

I haven't decided if I will continue with the series or not. If I do, it's because I really did love the last fw chapters and I do want to know what happens, but if the series continues with that slow pace, I don't really know if I want to continue. Let me know if I should or not.