Category: Books

October Reading Wrap Up | Books I Read Last Month

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Happy Wednesday! It’s been a while since I shared any book reviews with you on the blog. I thought I would jump back in by doing a quick wrap-up of the three books I read last month in October. My reading has definitely slowed down a bit in the latter half of the year as I’ve focused on other things during my spare time. That being said, I did manage to read three books in October, and I’m excited to share my thoughts on them with you. Make sure to let me know in the comments if you enjoy these reading wrap-up posts, or if you prefer full length book reviews.

Help support my blog when you shop using the included Amazon affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart [BUY]

Goodreads: ★★★ 1/2

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars, and had high hopes for Genuine Fraud. This young adult mystery novel follows Jule, a teenager on the run. I really liked how the story is told backwards in this novel. That was a unique take on a mystery, and I found the writing to be very well done. However, I was a bit disappointed with this book. While I can appreciate an open ending, Genuine Fraud lacked a true conclusion. The book also ended without much character development for Jule. I’m glad I read this book, as it was truly a creepy mystery for Halloween season, but I would only recommend it if the synopsis really calls to you.

We’ll Always Have Summer (Summer #3) by Jenny Han [BUY]

Goodreads: ★★★★ 1/2

My Thoughts: I absolutely fell in love with the Summer series by Jenny Han. I finished up the third book this month, and I’m really happy with how the story came to a close. This series follows a girl named Isabel (Belly, for short), and her time spent at Cousins Beach with her family and family friends each summer. Readers get to grow up with Belly as she learns to navigate love, loss, and life. I felt a strong connection to these books, and know I will return to them again in the future. This series is often criticized for reading too juvenile, but I disagree with that and find the stories show great depth. If you’ve considered reading this series in the past, I highly recommend it!

Warcross (Warcross #1) by Marie Lu [BUY]

Goodreads: ★★★★

My Thoughts: I picked up Warcross this month after hearing so many good things about it from other readers online. This young adult science fiction book takes place in a not-so-distant future where a virtual reality game called Warcross has taken over the world. Our protagonist is Emika Chen, a bounty hunter who accidentally hacks into the game during the championship’s opening ceremony. Emika is then hired by the creator of Warcross to help find a mysterious figure who is altering the game. I thought this book was imaginative and a lot of fun. I was a bit disappointed with the ending, but I’m still very much looking forward to the sequel. If you like science fiction with a hint of romance, Warcross is a great choice!

What did you read in October? Let me know in the comments!

Follow my reading on Instagram! You can find my #Bookstagram HERE.

 

My KonMari Journey | Things Get Tough When Decluttering Books

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Happy Wednesday! Today I’m excited to share with you the next step in my KonMari tidying journey. If you missed the first two installments in this blog series, make sure to read them HERE and HERE to learn more about why I’m decluttering my life using the KonMari method. I’m following Marie Kondo’s advice very carefully, and she recommends tackling your books after tidying your clothing and clothing komono. I have to admit I was nervous to begin decluttering my books, and wasn’t sure how this process would go for someone like me who is a huge reader. Spoiler alert: decluttering my books was very tough for me to do!

I began the tidying process by putting all of my books in one huge pile on my bed. To be fair, this pile only included the books currently on my bookshelves. I also have some books in storage from my childhood that I decluttered earlier this year, and that were not a part of my KonMari tidying campaign. Nonetheless, my pile was quite large and didn’t even fit in the photograph you see here. I’ve been a reader my entire life, and books are very important to me. They are treasured items, but I was also ready to declutter my collection. After using the KonMari method to declutter my clothing and accessories, I thought I had a good idea of what sparked joy. Well, I struggled big time with my books!

Marie Kondo recommends only keeping books that truly spark joy and that you know you will read again. I definitely agree with this, and when I read a book I only keep it if I plan on rereading it. However, she also says to get rid of any and all books you have not read. While I think this is a good idea for people who are not readers, it simply does not work for me. I am reading constantly, and I love having a section of unread books on my shelves from which to choose. Thus, I knew I would be keeping unread books, but it was challenging to decide which of those sparked joy since I haven’t yet read them.

In fact, tidying my books was emotionally draining, and I often lost sight of what that joy felt like. To help me find the joy again, I would hold a favorite book, or even go to my closet and look at the clothing I kept that sparks joy. I ended up taking a lot of breaks during this process, and felt quite overwhelmed at points. I was upset with myself that I wasn’t getting rid of a lot of books!

In the end, I reminded myself that the KonMari method is about quality and not quantity. In Spark Joy Marie often stresses that if your items are truly sparking joy, it is okay to keep them all. She also mentions in the chapter on books that you can always revisit your book collection in the future and declutter more. The photo above contains all of the books I ended up decluttering. The top row includes the books I hope to sell on eBay, and the bottom row includes the books I will be selling on Decluttr and Amazon, as well as the books I’m donating. This may be a small portion compared to the books I’m keeping, but I made progress and am happy with the work I put into this tidying project.

All in all, decluttering my books using the KonMari method was difficult, but I’m glad I powered through and allowed myself to get rid of some books in my collection that no longer sparked joy. This process took me a total of three hours and thirteen minutes, but it felt like much longer since I took breaks throughout the day. If you are not a big reader, you will most likely fly through the book portion of your tidying campaign. If you are more like me and treasure your book collection, make sure to take your time and try not to get frustrated. Struggling with my books just helped me to realize how emotionally attached I am to some material possessions, and I knew the rest of my tidying campaign would be easier after this.

Do you have a large book collection you love? Let me know in the comments!

5 Reasons to Read the Balance Keepers Trilogy by Lindsay Cummings

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Happy Wednesday! Today I am excited to share with you one of my new favorite book series, the Balance Keepers by Lindsay Cummings. I’ve followed Lindsay’s YouTube channel for years now, and when I found the first book in this series at a library book sale, I knew I had to scoop it up. I don’t read a lot of middle grade novels, so I was nervous this wouldn’t be the series for me. I am so happy to say I fell in love with the Balance Keepers, and I hope to encourage more people to pick up these books. Here are five reasons why you should read the Balance Keepers trilogy by Lindsay Cummings!

The Balance Keepers trilogy is a middle grade fantasy series consisting of The Fires of Calderon, The Pillars of Ponderay, and The Traitor of Belltroll. You can read my full, non-spoiler review of the first book in the series by visiting my Goodreads page HERE.

1. Imaginative Magic System

The first reason I love the Balance Keepers trilogy is the unique magic system. This series takes place in the underground world known as the Core, which works to ensure the Earth above is safe from danger. Our protagonist Albert is a Balance Keeper, and he must work to restore any imbalance in one of the three realms to keep Earth safe. Each Balance Keeper gets one magic power by diving underwater to retrieve a tile with a symbol on it. Whenever you wear your tile in the Core, you get to use its magic power! There are tiles that allow you to speak with animals, tiles that give you an incredible memory, tiles that help you swim, and many more. I loved seeing this magic system come to life, as it encouraged the characters in the book to work together to solve problems.

2. Strong Friendship

Speaking of the characters, another reason to read this trilogy is the strong friendships represented in the story. Albert is put onto Team Hydra with a boy named Leroy and a girl named Birdie when he arrives to the Core. These three become fast friends, and it is wonderful to see how much they care for one another. They work as a team to keep the Core safe, but they also support each other and build each other up if one is feeling sad. It’s also wonderful to see Albert, Leroy, and Birdie grow as friends throughout the trilogy!

3. Exciting Adventures

Another reason to read this series is the aspect of adventure. In addition to competitive training simulations, Team Hydra is always on the move around the Core to discover more information and learn all they can about this new place. Each book also ends up with a trip inside a magical realm, where Albert, Leroy, and Birdie must figure out how to deal with the realm’s unique geography and creatures to help restore its balance. I really enjoy adventure-filled stories, and the Balance Keepers trilogy always keeps me turning pages for more!

4. Magical Creatures

If you are an animal lover, you are going to adore this trilogy! In addition to a wide variety of interesting creatures, this series features a special dog named Farnsworth. While he looks like any normal dog, Farnsworth can actually live for many, many years, and he also has flashlights for eyes! Farnsworth is Albert’s companion creature, and goes with him everywhere he possibly can. It’s so sweet that Farnsworth plays such a big role in the series, and I loved reading about him and the other creatures of the Core.

5. Strong Writing

Last but not least, I think this series stands out because Cummings has a great writing style. This trilogy is aimed at middle grade readers, so it does cater to that audience in terms of the tone. However, the writing can definitely appeal to adults as well. I was very impressed with how Cummings weaves her storylines together. While there is one over-arching plot in the Balance Keepers series as a whole, each book also has a smaller plot that concludes nicely. In addition, I found the series to be quite unpredictable. I could never guess what was going to happen next, and that kept me wanting more. I’m also inspired to read more of  Cummings’s books now that I know I enjoy her writing!

  I hope this blog post introduced you to a new series, and that you will give it a try! These are just some of the reasons I adore the Balance Keepers trilogy, but there are many more, including the character of Pap, Albert’s adorable grandpa. Whether you are already a fan of middle grade fantasy, or you are looking for something out of your comfort zone, I think the Balance Keepers will keep you entertained from start to finish. Please be sure to let me know if you read the series!

What is your favorite middle grade fantasy book? Let me know in the comments!

This post includes affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Book Review | Beautiful Broken Girls by Kim Savage

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Beautiful Broken Girls by Kim Savage

Published by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux Inc. on February 23, 2017

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary

Format: eARC

Pages: 336

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads: ★★★★ 

Remember the places you touched me.

The parts of Mira Cillo that Ben touched are etched on his soul.

Palm. Hair. Chest. Cheek. Lips. Throat. Heart.

It was the last one that broke her. After her death, Mira sends Ben on a quest for notes she left in the seven places where they touched—notes that explain why she and her sister, Francesca, drowned themselves in the quarry. How Ben interprets those notes has everything to do with the way he was touched by a bad coach years before. But the truth behind the girls’ suicides is far more complicated, involving a dangerous infatuation, a deadly miracle, and a crushing lie.

REVIEW

Beautiful Broken Girls by Kim Savage is a young adult mystery novel surrounding the horrifying death of the Cillo sisters after they were found at the bottom of the quarry. No one knows why Mira and Francesca drowned – was it an accident or a suicide? Shortly after their bodies are discovered, Mira’s boyfriend Ben receives a letter from her in the mail. This letter is the first in a series of notes that Mira left in all of the places Ben touched her during their relationship. Ben must hunt down these letters to solve the mystery of the Cillos’s death. What follows is an extremely creepy and captivating novel that I absolutely loved.

I was instantly hooked by Savage’s writing style, and flew through this book in a few short days. The story is extremely fast-paced, and I really enjoyed the treasure hunt aspect of this story with Ben trying to find Mira’s letters as soon as possible. Savage does an excellent job at creating a mysterious and ominous vibe. Even the letters that Ben finds are written so cleverly! I could never predict where the story was going, and that added to my enjoyment of the book.

I will say that I know this story is not for everyone. If you like books with a solid conclusion, Beautiful Broken Girls is not for you. In fact, I read many negative reviews of this book, and nearly every one mentions the open ending. For me, this ending was absolutely perfect for the novel. Not only does it add to the mystery, but it allows the reader to think of all the possible outcomes. What really happened? What didn’t? These loose ends only made me think about this book more and appreciate the rereadability of the story.

Moreover, I do question why it was necessary for Ben to be a survivor of sexual abuse. While this does play into the plot a bit, the story would still hold up without this storyline. Plus, the details surrounding this event are quite iffy. Ben mentions more than once that he never remembers the sexual assault happening, and that his name was just on a list. Thus, while I appreciate the author’s attempt to show the lasting effects of this trauma and how the survivor is treated in society, this storyline felt a bit out of place in the book for me.

Similarly, even though I loved the open-ending, I do wish we got more information about a couple things. Namely, the youth pastor, Mr. Falso, who plays a very important role in Beautiful Broken Girls. He is talked about less and less as the book goes on, and readers never get to find out what he does with the information he collects. I would also love an epilogue with the printing of a certain article, but I will leave out the details so as to not mention spoilers.

My only other critique is that I did find a plot hole in the book. In one scene, Ben mentions that he hasn’t seen his friend since a fight broke out earlier in the book. However, this friend was in another scene after that fight. I did not consider this minor plot hole when rating this novel, as I read an advanced copy and do not know if it was fixed in later editing.

Otherwise, I think Beautiful Broken Girls is a great mystery story that deals with interesting topics I don’t read a lot about in young adult literature. I could relate to the Italian family heritage discussed in the book, and perhaps that is why I felt a strong bond with the characters. This book is unbelievably sad, and my heart especially goes out to Mr. Cillo. I can’t imagine what he is feeling as this book comes to a close.

In the end, I absolutely loved Beautiful Broken Girls, and I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a creepy mystery. Keep in mind that this book deals with serious topics, including sexual abuse, self harm, suicide, and more. However, this story provided me with a lot to think about, and the fast-pace kept me hooked from beginning to end. I am very interested to pick up Kim Savage’s other books, and hope to do so in the future!

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Affiliate links used. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Book Review | Roseblood by A.G. Howard

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Roseblood by A.G. Howard

Published by Amulet Books on January 10, 2017

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Format: eARC

Pages: 432

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads: ★★

This YA novel from New York Times bestselling author A. G. Howard marks the beginning of a new era for fans of the Splintered series. Rune Germaine moves to a boarding school outside of Paris, only to discover that at this opera-house-turned-music-conservatory, phantoms really do exist. RoseBlood is a Phantom of the Opera–inspired retelling in which Rune’s biggest talent—her voice—is also her biggest curse. Fans of Daughter of Smoke and Bone and the Splintered series will find themselves captivated by this pulse-pounding spin on a classic tale.

Rune, whose voice has been compared to that of an angel, has a mysterious affliction linked to her talent that leaves her sick and drained at the end of every performance. Convinced creative direction will cure her, her mother ships her off to a French boarding school for the arts, rumored to have a haunted past.

Shortly after arriving at RoseBlood conservatory, Rune starts to believe something otherworldly is indeed afoot. The mystery boy she’s seen frequenting the graveyard beside the opera house doesn’t have any classes at the school, and vanishes almost as quickly as he appears. When Rune begins to develop a secret friendship with the elusive Thorn, who dresses in clothing straight out of the 19th century, she realizes that in his presence she feels cured. Thorn may be falling for Rune, but the phantom haunting RoseBlood wants her for a very specific and dangerous purpose. As their love continues to grow, Thorn is faced with an impossible choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or save her and face the wrath of the phantom, the only father he’s ever known.

A. G. Howard brings the romantic storytelling that Splintered fans adore to France—and an entirely new world filled with lavish romance and intrigue—in a retelling inspired by a story that has captivated generations. Fans of both The Phantom of the Opera musical and novel, as well as YA retellings such as Marissa Meyer’s Cinder, will devour RoseBlood.

BOOK REVIEW

I was so excited to read Roseblood after hearing that it is a retelling of The Phantom of the Opera, and gratefully received an Ebook copy to review from the publisher. I loved the story concept behind Roseblood, in which a teenager named Rune attends an opera school in France where she meets a mysterious man who is helping her control her singing voice. Unfortunately, the book is executed all wrong for me, and I found it challenging to read to the end.

If you are going to read Roseblood, I definitely recommend being familiar with the original story. I saw both the stage and film adaptations of The Phantom of the Opera, but it has been years since I saw either, and I think I would catch on more to the little details in this novel if the story was fresh in my mind. I think watching the film before picking up Roseblood will help you understand more of what’s going on, and also increase your enjoyment of the book.

Moreover, my biggest issue with Roseblood is the book’s pacing. The story is very slow from start to finish, and it took me twice as long to read this than a normal young adult book typically does. Not only did it take a very long time for anything exciting to happen, but because there was such a long build-up, I kept putting the book down because there was nothing interesting to hold my attention.

Similarly, I found that the author missed many opportunities in the book. There were multiple times in the novel for a big and exciting reveal, but then the “Aha!” moment is answered quickly in passing. For example, readers know early on in Roseblood that Rune is some sort of paranormal creature. When we finally find out what kind of creature she is, it’s dropped into a sentence and never explained. These missed opportunities happen at other points in the story, making the moments where I expected big reveals very anticlimactic.

As I mentioned earlier, I absolutely loved the story idea behind Roseblood. However, the plot feels like it is reaching a bit to fit together. I appreciate all the research the author did to fit in a lot of historical details, but I felt like the building blocks holding the book in place were quite weak and could tumble at any moment. I’m disappointed that the plot felt so contrived.

Additionally, I was a bit put off by the romance. Although I really liked who Rune’s love interest is, and their history together, the love scenes felt too much like a cheesy romance novel. I fully recognize that this is a personal preference, and if you enjoy reading traditional romance books, you will probably adore the romance in Roseblood. When I couple the love scenes with the way the book ended, I feel a bit uncomfortable about the way things leave off, and disappointed that an awesome fantasy could end in such a way.

Finally, I want to talk a bit about Rune as a protagonist. She is a likable enough character, and I definitely empathize with her for all that she’s gone through in her life. Unfortunately, she has a huge character flaw in that she trusts people way too much. Rune will wholeheartedly trust whomever she is speaking with at that moment in time, but when the next person comes along with a contradictory opinion, she immediately changes her mind and trusts the new person. I wish Rune would use her own mind and intelligence more instead of blindly following others.

I also really did not like how Rune is so concerned with her love interest’s physical features. Although she does mention she would still love him if he were disfigured, Rune is beyond relieved when he has the perfect face and the amazing body that readers hear about far too often. When I contrast how much the book focuses on the beautiful person being good and the disfigured person being evil, I get a very bad taste in my mouth.

In the end, I am very disappointed with Roseblood, and would only recommend this to those who are Phantom super fans or those who really like romance novels. The slow pace, contrived plot, and lackluster protagonist just didn’t work for me.

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This post includes affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Book Review | Buffering by Hannah Hart

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Buffering by Hannah Hart

Published by Dey Street Books on October 18, 2016

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 272

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★★1/2

The wildly popular YouTube personality and author of the New York Times bestseller My Drunk Kitchen is back!

This time, she’s stirring up memories and tales from her past. By combing through the journals that Hannah has kept for much of her life, this collection of narrative essays deliver a fuller picture of her life, her experiences, and the things she’s figured out about family, faith, love, sexuality, self-worth, friendship and fame. Revealing what makes Hannah tick, this sometimes cringe-worthy, poignant collection of stories is sure to deliver plenty of Hannah’s wit and wisdom, and hopefully encourage you to try your hand at practicing reckless optimism.

BOOK REVIEW

I’ve been a subscriber of YouTuber Hannah Hart for a few years now, and I decided to pick up her second book, Buffering, after hearing so many good things about it. Buffering is a memoir that features a set of personal essays chronicling Hannah’s life. I highly recommend reading this book if you watch Hannah’s videos regularly, or even just every once in a while. I never could have guessed Hannah’s story, and I’m so glad I got this peek into her life.

I really appreciated Hannah sharing her story in Buffering. I found this book extremely inspirational, as Hannah has gone through some truly horrific things in her life, but she has continued to move forward and persevere. Because Buffering is quite short in length, I will not go into much detail about the essays themselves. However, they cover topics such as family, mental health, sexuality, and more. I can tell Hannah was holding back a lot of detail from the reader, and I hope she will open up even further in the future.

Buffering is the fourth “YouTuber book” that I’ve read, and unfortunately it does contain some of the same writing flaws that I’ve discovered in those other YouTuber books. First, there are many instances of repetition in Buffering. People and places are introduced to the reader multiple times as if they had not yet been mentioned in the book. In addition, there are a few times when the memoir takes a turn and becomes a “how to” advice book instead. I think this is due to online creators being used to speaking directly to their audiences in video form, but it feels out of place in a memoir. I’ve also read several celebrity memoirs in the past, and neither of these scenarios seem to arise in them.

Moreover, I found that Hannah’s writing style was much stronger in the included journal entries than in the actual book. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Hannah is writing the book to her fans, and speaking to them as she would in a YouTube video. I wish we got more of the beautiful and poetic writing of Hannah’s journal entries. Hannah is a very intelligent person, and at times I felt like she wasn’t writing to her full potential.

Nonetheless, I’m glad I read Buffering, as it helped me learn more about Hannah. Not only do I respect and admire her even more than I already did, but this book provided me with more confidence in my own life. I know that it will help many other readers, too. Buffering is an emotional and hopeful read, and I think all of Hannah’s viewers should read it.

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Affiliate links used. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

2017 Love-a-thon Questionnaire

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Happy Saturday! Today I am excited to announce that I am taking part in this year’s Love-a-thon, a bookish event dedicated to spreading positivity and love. The event runs all weekend long beginning today, February 18, and ending on February 20 at 12:00am EST. You can learn more about the Love-a-thon from THIS informational blog post. The purpose of this blog post is to share a bit more about myself so you can get to know me better. Whether you’re a regular reader of Adventures in Polishland, or you’ve stumbled across my blog through the Love-a-thon, welcome to my adventures!

Welcome to Adventures in Polishland!

My name is Christina, and I’ve been blogging here at Adventures in Polishland since April of 2012. I’ve been a reader for as long as I can remember. My parents read to me constantly as a child, only stopping once I took control of the books myself. My love for reading only grew as I did, but once high school and college came I let my passion for reading take a back seat to all of my schoolwork. During my second year of law school, I decided that reading needed to become a priority in my life once again. I began reading for fun whenever I wasn’t studying, and I’m so glad I jumped back into it.

I first discovered the online book community in 2013. I finished reading Divergent by Veronica Roth, and needed to talk to someone about it. I turned to YouTube and found Christine of the channel PolandBananasBooks. From there, I discovered the BookTube community. I couldn’t believe there were so many people online who loved to read just as much as I did! Once I discovered Bookstagram as well, I knew I had to start sharing about books, too.

My primary platform for sharing online is definitely this blog. As you may have guessed by the name, Adventures in Polishland started as purely a nail polish blog. Within my first year of blogging, I slowly began talking about other beauty products, too. However, I kept a separate (and much smaller) blog for lifestyle content and book reviews. After a while, I decided it was silly to separate out all of my online content, and in August of 2015 I decided to make Adventures in Polishland a lifestyle blog. While I still talk primarily about beauty products, I love to review books here as well. Adventures in Polishland reflects whatever is going on in my life at the moment, and books play a big role in that respect.

Favorites

  • Favorite food? Beverage? Chipotle Burritos have become a favorite for me. I get rice (white or brown, depending on how “healthy” I’m feeling that day), black beans, peppers and onions, mild salsa, corn, guacamole, and lettuce. My favorite beverage is black coffee. I don’t recommend drinking it whilst eating a burrito, though.
  • Favorite color? Green
  • Favorite things to do apart from reading? I love planning (with stickers!), watching YouTube videos, baking sweet treats, and talking with my nephew on FaceTime.
  • Favorite TV shows? Full House, The Big Bang Theory, Dancing with the Stars, Degrassi
  • Favorite movies? Legally Blonde, RENT, The Rescuers, Back to the Future
  • Favorite musical artists? Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga
  • Favorite places to shop? Antique stores, Target, Amazon, Michaels Crafts

Book Talk

  • Favorite childhood books? I loved the How Many Bugs in a Box? series, The Jolly Postman series, anything by Avi and Judy Blume, and (of course) Harry Potter.
  • Favorite books read in the last five years? The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, and Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This short list was extremely difficult to create and is in no particular order!
  • Favorite genres? I try to read a wide variety of genres, but my favorites are dystopian, fantasy, and hard-hitting contemporary.
  • Underrated book, series, or author you love? I really love the Game of Triumphs duology by Laura Powell. It’s an urban fantasy set in London in which tarot cards play a big role.
  • A book you want to see made into a film or TV show? The Balance Keepers trilogy by Lindsay Cummings!
  • Book boyfriend/girlfriend? Book BFF? Book family? Bishop from The Book of Ivy duology by Amy Engel is a great romantic partner. I would also love to have Emily from Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson as a BFF. It’s probably not a surprise that I would happily join the Weasley family from Harry Potter!
  • Books you want to read in 2017? I really want to get to Replica by Lauren Oliver, and I need to continue A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.

That wraps up the 2017 Love-a-thon Questionnaire for me! I’m excited to take part in this bookish event and meet other people in the community this weekend. Thanks for taking the time to read this post!

Book Review | Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist

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Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on January 3, 2017

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Format: eARC

Pages: 281

Source: NetGalley

Goodreads: ★★★★1/2

Love is more than meets the eye.

On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right?

As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a sweet but shy girl named Cecily. And despite his fear that having a girlfriend will make him inherently dependent on someone sighted, the two of them grow closer and closer. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn’t meet traditional definitions of beauty—in fact, everything he’d heard about her appearance was a lie engineered by their so-called friends to get the two of them together. Does it matter what Cecily looks like? No, not really. But then why does Will feel so betrayed?

BOOK REVIEW

My reading got off to a great start in 2017 with Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist. This young adult contemporary story is about a teenager named Will who was born blind. Will decides to attend public high school for the first time, and the book opens on his first day of school. What follows is an absolutely adorable story filled with romance, friendship, and seeing for the first time.

I was a bit nervous going into this book, as I read We Should Hang Out Sometime by Sundquist a couple years back and thought it was just okay. Unlike his earlier memoir, Love and First Sight sucked me in right away. The story is told from Will’s first-person perspective, and I absolutely loved his voice. Will sounds like a teenager does in real life, but his narrative flows really well. I was also very impressed with how Sundquist was able to use his writing to create a unique atmosphere for the reader. Since Will is blind, Sundquist describes things without any visual cues. I could feel the difference in his storytelling, and I really appreciated his attention to detail.

Similarly, Sundquist did extensive research in order to accurately represent what it is like to be visually impaired. While I am a sighted person, it felt like this representation was done quite respectfully. A big part of Love and First Sight focuses on how sighted people treat those who are visually impaired, and also what it is like to learn to see after being blind.  I learned a lot from this book, and I really like that Sundquist does not hold back when it comes to pointing out some of the horrible things sighted people do when around the visually impaired. For example, I was shocked at the secrets and deception in the novel!

Moreover, I absolutely love the romance in Love and First Sight. Will meets a girl named Cecily and the two get paired up for a project in journalism class. I was on board with their romance from the beginning, and I found it so cute! I am not usually a big fan of romance, but this one had me swooning and hoping for the best. Plus, Cecily plays an important role in the novel in addition to being Will’s love interest. I am impressed with how Love and First Sight is so multi-layered. I loved the theme of beauty in the novel, and what it means to be beautiful in society versus being beautiful to another person. I can see myself rereading this book in the future to get a new perspective on it now that I know what is to happen.

My criticisms of the novel are quite small. First, some sentences are repeated in the novel in order to introduce a person or theme. I did read an advance copy of the novel, so it is possible this repetition got edited out. In addition, I found Love and First Sight to be extremely fast-paced. However, I did think the ending was a bit too rushed, and I would have appreciated the action slowing down a bit to make the book last just a bit longer. Otherwise, I truly loved and enjoyed everything about this book!

All in all, I highly recommend picking up Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist. It is a very balanced novel in that it will make you laugh and make you cry, and you will be swooning over the adorable romance as well. Plus, I loved the inclusion of the board game Settlers of Catan! Sundquist gets some bonus points for that. I hope to see more novels from Sundquist in the future, as I adored his storytelling and will definitely pick up more books by him if they are released!

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This post includes affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Book of the Month Club | January 2017 | Unboxing & Review

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Monday! Today I am excited to share with you a new-to-me subscription box that I recently purchased. I’ve been eyeing up Book of the Month Club for a long time now, and finally decided to buy a subscription because of the amazing promotion the club is running in January. If you are a fellow reader, I definitely think this subscription will interest you. I made an unboxing video so you can see how my first box arrived, and I will also share my review of the service as well!

Book of the Month (hereinafter “BOTM”) is a monthly subscription service for books. There are a few different plans from which to choose, but I went with the 3-month subscription for $29.97, or $9.99 per month. This 3-month subscription also comes with a free tote bag that is a $20 retail value! Each month there are five books chosen from the BOTM judges, and you get to choose one book for your subscription. I really like that you pick the book you like best – you never have to worry about getting stuck with a book you won’t enjoy! In fact, if you don’t like any of the selections in a particular month, you are free to skip that month’s box without getting charged. Your subscription will roll over into the next month!

I decided to choose Girls in the Moon by Janet McNally for my January selection. This is a young adult book, and because I am primarily a YA reader, I thought this would be a great first pick. My book came with a sturdy bookmark that has a quick blurb about the book from the judge who selected it. I think I will really enjoy this book based on the blurb!

As I mentioned above, BOTM ran a promotion in January where everyone got a free copy of The Grownup by Gillian Flynn. I absolutely loved Gone Girl, and I’ve been wanting to read more from Flynn, so this was a great incentive for me to finally sign up for this service. I highly recommend signing up before the month is over if you also want this great freebie!

 

Another great thing about BOTM is you can choose to add two books to each month’s box for just $9.99 each. You get a choice from any of the past BOTM selections, so long as they are still in stock, and some other books, too. I’ve wanted to read The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon ever since it was released, so I decided to add it to my box. I’m so excited to get to this one in particular!

BOTM JANUARY SAVINGS

Whenever I purchase a subscription box, I’m very interested in the monetary value of the products, and whether I am saving money. I decided to crunch the numbers in several ways to determine my savings!

What I Paid: $19.98 ($9.99 January Selection + 9.99 Additional Book)

Retail Value: $66.97 or 70% off ($9.99 The Grownup + 17.99 Girls in the Moon + 18.99 The Sun is Also a Star + 20.00 Tote Bag)

Retail Value of the Books Only: $46.97 or 47% off

Amazon Value of the Books Only: $28.68 or 30% off ($5.99 The Grownup + 11.32 Girls in the Moon + 11.36 The Sun is Also a Star)

Amazon Value of Girls in the Moon + The Sun is Also a Star: $22.68 or 12% off

Thus, no matter how I crunch the numbers, I saved money by purchasing these books through BOTM Club! If you are a reader who loves to check out new releases and own your books in hardcover, I think this is an amazing option. I am so happy with my first box, and I am excited to see what the February selections are going to be. If you would like to get a free copy of The Grownup by Gillian Flynn, make sure you sign up in January! Please use my referral link HERE when you join.

Are you a Book of the Month Club member?

Let me know which book you chose for January in the comments!

This post includes affiliate links. Book of the Month Club Subscription purchased by me. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Book Review | Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Published by Dial Books on May 20, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 256

Source: #BooksforTrade

Goodreads: ★★★

Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.

Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But is ambition alone enough to get her in?

Enter Lisa.

Determined to “fix” Sol, Lisa steps into his world, along with her charming boyfriend, Clark, and soon the three form an unexpected bond. But, as Lisa learns more about Sol and he and Clark grow closer and closer, the walls they’ve built around themselves start to collapse and their friendships threaten to do the same.

BOOK REVIEW

After hearing great things about John Corey Whaley’s work, I was interested to pick up Highly Illogical Behavior very soon after its release. This young adult contemporary follows a teenager named Solomon who has agoraphobia, and hasn’t left his home in three years. One of his old classmates, Lisa, decides that she is going to “fix” Solomon for her college admissions project. We follow these teens as they become friends, and discover whether Lisa will be able to solve Solomon’s problems all on her own.

I was unfortunately left a bit underwhelmed by Highly Illogical Behavior. It took me a long time to get through this short book because I found it difficult getting immersed into the story. By the end, I did become attached to the characters, and I was overall pleased with the book. However, there are many things about this book that I find quite problematic.

First, Lisa’s character really bothered me. She is a know-it-all who thinks she has the capacity to be giving a fellow teenager mental health advice. I would like to say that she had good intentions, but Lisa is a huge liar and I feel like she never learns her lesson. I don’t think Lisa is necessarily a bad person, but all of her poor choices made her very unlikable for me. I can see how her character is purposefully written to be flawed, but I did not see Lisa truly grow even after sabotaging the people she is supposed to care for the most.

Moreover, Highly Illogical Behavior seemed very derivative of other books in the young adult genre. For example, I saw a lot of parallels between this story and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. In the same way, this book includes one of my least favorite tropes in young adult literature, which is the absent parents. Lisa and her boyfriend Clark spent a lot of time away from home at Solomon’s house. They stay nearly all hours of the day, and their parents never bat an eyelash as to where they are. I find it difficult to believe that any parent of a teenager, especially the ones depicted here, would let their child stay out until 1:00-2:00am without even touching base. The inclusion of this trope in Highly Illogical Behavior took away from the story’s credibility for me.

My final critique of this book is the ending. I did like the big event that takes place as the book comes to a close, but there are a lot of loose ends that did not get tied up for the reader. I wrote down a list of questions that I had after finishing the book, and I think an epilogue could have easily answered them.

Nonetheless, I really appreciate how Highly Illogical Behavior is #OwnVoices representation for mental illness, specifically agoraphobia. It was very helpful to see what Solomon goes through on a daily basis from his perspective and through the eyes of other characters. I thought it was great that Whaley includes both positive and negative receptions of Solomon’s mental health, as that portrays how he would be treated in the real world. Highly Illogical Behavior is also an #OwnVoices LGBTQIA+ novel, as Solomon is gay and Whaley is, too.

Overall, Highly Illogical Behavior is a good story that has an important place in the young adult world. While I did find a lot of issues with it, I also do recommend reading it. If the plot sounds interesting to you, read a few more reviews and see if you would get more enjoyment out of this novel than I did.

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Affiliate links used. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.