Tag: Books

Book Review | Roseblood by A.G. Howard

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

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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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

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

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

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

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

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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

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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.

Top 10 Books of 2016!

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Happy Monday! Today I am excited to share with you my favorite books of 2016. It was my goal to read 40 books, and I am very happy to announce I surpassed that and read 67 books this past year. My average star rating was 3.65, so it’s safe to say I read some wonderful books and some books that I wouldn’t recommend, too. My top ten list features my favorite reads of the year whether or not they were 2016 releases. I will also be sure to link to my full reviews if you would like more information on any of these books.

10. The Hundred by Kass Morgan [REVIEW] [BUY]

I read the first three books in The 100 series by Kass Morgan this year, and I really fell in love with it. This is a young adult science fiction series, and it follows four teenagers who grew up on a space station after Earth was savaged by chemical wars. Three of our protagonists are sent to Earth to see if it is livable again, while one is still on the space station. I love the survival aspect of this series, and I think Morgan’s writing is really well done. There are so many twists and turns that keep me on my toes, and I always have fun reading these books.

9. When We Collided by Emery Lord [REVIEW] [BUY]

I picked up When We Collided by Emery lord on a whim from the library, and I am so glad I did! This is a young adult contemporary book that follows two main characters, Jonah and Vivi. They meet one summer in Jonah’s hometown, and the book follows their relationship. Vivi is also suffering from mental illness, and we get to learn about how this affects her life on a daily basis. If you are looking for an emotional read, this is a great one.

8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman [REVIEW] [BUY]

Another emotional book I loved this year is If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I was really surprised with how much I adored this book, as it is really short and quite simple to read. This young adult contemporary follows teenager Mia as she decides whether to live or die after getting into a car crash. What I found so impactful about this novel is how we get to meet all of the people in Mia’s life both in the current day and in flashback scenes. It reminded me a bit of The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom in that respect.

7. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin [REVIEW] [BUY]

Next up is a book that I started reading back in 2013, but gave up on until this year. That is A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin! I’ve never watched the television show, and I’ve managed to avoid most spoilers, so it was a huge accomplishment for me to finally finish this book. There are some things I don’t like about this book, mainly the treatment of women and graphic violence, but the characters are so intriguing and the world so rich that I have to continue in the series.

6. The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter [REVIEW] [BUY]

If you are looking for a beautifully written young adult book, I highly recommend The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter. This story follows teenager Cassie as she checks herself out of a mental hospital. Cassie claims her mother put her in the hospital for no reason other than hatred, and that there is nothing wrong with her. I was captivated by this story, and quite impressed with the stunning writing. I can’t wait to see what other books Kletter writes in the future!

5. The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron [REVIEW] [BUY]

Another book that kept me on the edge of my seat this year is The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron. This is a young adult book that takes place in a world where everyone forgets his or her memories every twelve years. The main character is a teenager named Nadia, and she is the only person who has never forgotten any of her memories. With the next forgetting around the corner, Nadia is working to ensure her family will be safe and together when all else is forgotten. Along the way she begins a new friendship with a boy named Gray, and she is afraid he will forget her. I found this story extremely addicting, and raced through this book to find out what would happen!

4. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera [REVIEW] [BUY]

Another young adult contemporary I loved is More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera. I was a bit confused for the first half of this book because I felt like there was no point to the story, but once we hit a big reveal I fell completely in love with this book. We follow teenager Aaron Soto, who lives in the Bronx in a near future where there is a procedure called Leteo that removes memories. Aaron is completely against this procedure, but begins to wonder if he should get it. This is an #OwnVoices LGBTQIA+ book, and one that includes a very powerful message. I can’t wait to read more from Silvera, and already pre-ordered his next book!

3. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood [REVIEW] [BUY]

If you enjoy edgy and controversial stories, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood is the book for you! This adult fiction book follows a young girl named Wavy and her much older companion Kellen. Readers follow this couple from the beginnings of their innocent friendship through what becomes something more. This is a book that forces you to think about some of the universal truths about life. I absolutely loved the character of Wavy, and it was heartbreaking yet inspirational to read her story.

2. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, and J.K. Rowling [REVIEW] [BUY]

I still can’t believe that 2016 was the year we got another installment in the Harry Potter series. I’ve been a huge fan of this world for nearly 20 years of my life now, and although the original series did not end the way I would have liked, it was still nice to be in this world once again. Of course, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a script and not a novel, but it was so much fun to preorder a Harry Potter book again and take part in the excitement of a new Rowling release. Many Harry Potter fans despise this book, but I absolutely loved it. If you take it as it is – the script of a stage play – I think it’s quite enjoyable.

1. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven [REVIEW] [BUY]

My absolute favorite book of the year is one I read in January, and that is All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. This is a young adult contemporary about Violet and Finch, two teens who meet on the roof of their school as they are pondering jumping. As you may be able to guess, this is an emotional book that deals with mental illness. While my heart was torn to shreds, I learned so much from this book. It is one I recommend to anyone and everyone, and a book I plan on rereading very soon.

That wraps up my top ten books of 2016! I read some really amazing books this year, and I’m happy that I got to share them with you. If you would like to keep up with my reading, feel free to add me on Goodreads HERE and follow my Bookstagram account HERE. Please share your favorite books of the year in the comments with me as well! I would love to know what reads you recommend.

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Book Review | The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron

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The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron

Published by Scholastic Press on September 13, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Format: ARC

Pages: 403

Source: #BooksforTrade

Goodreads: ★★★★ 1/2

What isn’t written, isn’t remembered. Even your crimes.

Nadia lives in the city of Canaan, where life is safe and structured, hemmed in by white stone walls and no memory of what came before. But every twelve years the city descends into the bloody chaos of the Forgetting, a day of no remorse, when each person’s memories – of parents, children, love, life, and self – are lost. Unless they have been written.

In Canaan, your book is your truth and your identity, and Nadia knows exactly who hasn’t written the truth. Because Nadia is the only person in Canaan who has never forgotten.

But when Nadia begins to use her memories to solve the mysteries of Canaan, she discovers truths about herself and Gray, the handsome glassblower, that will change her world forever. As the anarchy of the Forgetting approaches, Nadia and Gray must stop an unseen enemy that threatens both their city and their own existence – before the people can forget the truth. And before Gray can forget her.

REVIEW

I knew I wanted to read The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron as soon as I heard initial buzz about the book. This young adult story takes place in Canaan, a city in which every twelve years all of the citizens lose their memories. In order to remember anything about themselves, including their names, their family members, and their jobs, people must write down their lives in books that are kept tied to them at all times. Citizens are supposed to write the truth, but more often than not that doesn’t happen. No one would know if it weren’t for Nadia – a teenage girl who has never forgot.

Not only is this concept of the Forgetting extremely fascinating, but the story captivated me from page one. I was extremely addicted to the book, and finished it in a few days because I couldn’t put it down. While I do have a few small criticisms of The Forgetting, my overall enjoyment of the novel greatly outweighs these minor issues. First, there are a lot of recycled concepts in this book that are found in other books within this genre. Luckily, these tropes are used in a new way. Similarly, some parts of the book felt a bit too contrived. There are sections with a lot of telling and not showing that could have used some strengthening.

Other than that, I absolutely loved The Forgetting. The story is one I will be thinking about for a long time. Can you imagine how frightening it would be to wake up one day with zero memories? Yet, at the same time, I can see how others would find this a refreshing new start. I am also very interested in the concept of truth. Even in our own world we have a lot of power in writing our own histories. How do we ever really know what is true?

Moreover, I also really liked how The Forgetting was completely unpredictable for me. The book starts out with a dystopian vibe, and the genre goes in a completely new direction midway through the story. While the book did not follow a trajectory I expected, I was impressed with the turn it took. It’s always great when a book can keep me on my toes right through to the ending.

In addition, we have a great cast of characters in The Forgetting. Our main character is Nadia, and I absolutely love seeing her grow as a person throughout the novel. I also adored the romance that develops between Nadia and Gray. I was never sure whether to trust Gray or not, and that added an element of mystery to the story.

Finally, I think the ending of The Forgetting is really well done. The story gets wrapped up, but there is still room for a sequel if the author gets the opportunity to write one. At this time, The Forgetting is a stand alone book, but I would love to see what happens next in this world. I highly recommend picking up this book. It is extremely fast-paced, quite thought-provoking, and a fantastic adventure.

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Book Review | Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-Up by Grace Helbig

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Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-Up by Grace Helbig

Published by: Touchstone on October 21, 2014

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor

Format: Paperback

Pages: 240

Source: Purchased

Goodreads: ★★

“One of the sharpest, funniest voices on YouTube” (Forbes), comedian Grace Helbig offers an irreverent and illustrated guide to life for anyone faced with the challenge of growing up.

Face it—being a young adult in the digital era is one of the hardest things to be. Well, maybe there are harder things in life…but being an adult is difficult! So Grace Helbig has written a guide that’s perfect for anyone who is faced with the daunting task of becoming an adult.

Infused with her trademark saucy, sweet, and funny voice, Grace’s Guide is a tongue-in-cheek handbook for millennials, encompassing everything a young or new (or regular or old) adult needs to know, from surviving a breakup to recovering from a hangover. Beautifully illustrated and full-color, Grace’s Guide features interactive elements and exclusive stories from Grace’s own misadventures—like losing her virginity solely because her date took her to a Macaroni Grill—and many other hilarious lessons she learned the hard way.

Amusing and unexpectedly educational, this refreshing and colorful guide proves that becoming an adult doesn’t necessarily mean you have to grow up.

REVIEW

I’ve been a big fan of Grace Helbig’s YouTube videos for years, and was very excited to find out she was releasing her first book, Grace’s Guide, back in 2014. I was so excited, in fact, that I attended her book tour and got to meet Grace at Housing Works Bookstore in New York. For some reason I waited two years to read the book, and finally picked it up to read for my 2016 Popsugar Reading Challenge. Unfortunately, Grace’s Guide was a big disappointment for me, and I am so sad I didn’t enjoy the book more.

Grace’s Guide is a nonfiction book designed to give millennials life advice on everything from college life to finding a job to dating in the 21st century and more. My main problem with the book is that none of the advice Grace gives is anything but common knowledge. In fact, I did not learn one new thing while reading this book even though I am in the target demographic. Perhaps some of Grace’s tips can be nice reminders for some readers, but I honestly don’t think anyone will learn much from this book.

Similarly, I found Grace’s Guide to be a huge gimmick. For instance, most sections of the book end with an unhelpful acronym to help readers remember Grace’s advice. However, it became clear that some of the tips in the book were added in simply to fit within the acronyms. An example of this is spelling the word clean with a K to fill in the phrase “Work Poot” at the end of the chapter on the workplace. In the same way, while I enjoyed the plethora of high quality photographs in the pages of Grace’s Guide they felt too much like filler for lack of actual content.

I would love to think that the reason the advice in the book isn’t more helpful is because Grace’s Guide is supposed to be comedic. Unfortunately, the tone of the book is not very strong. While I did have some laughs while reading, the book isn’t funny enough to be deemed pure comedy, and it’s not serious or helpful enough to be a true guide book. Thus, Grace’s Guide falls somewhere in an uncomfortable middle state.

My favorite parts of the book, on the other hand, are the personal stories that Grace shares about her life. I really like learning more about Grace and what she’s experienced. I think Grace is a person with whom a lot of us can easily connect, and that’s why I wish we got more of Grace and less of the gimmicky acronyms and photos. Plus, I still felt like Grace was holding back a lot of herself, and her story got a bit jumbled due to this. For example, at one point Grace mentions that she moved in with her boyfriend after college, but two paragraphs later she is moving in with her college roommate after college. It seems things don’t add up because a lot of information is left out of the narrative.

For all of these reasons, I don’t recommend picking up Grace’s Guide unless you are a Grace superfan who wishes to support her by buying a copy of her book. I will not be reading her subsequent book entitled Grace & Style, because I feel like it will be in the same vein of this book. That being said, if Grace ever releases a memoir or a book of personal essays, I would consider giving that a read because I did like learning more about her. It’s a shame that I did not enjoy this book, but I still love watching Grace’s videos and will continue to support her career.

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Book Review | With Malice by Eileen Cook

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With Malice by Eileen Cook

Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on June 7, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 316

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★★ 1/2

It was the perfect trip…until it wasn’t.

Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room, leg in a cast, stitches in her face and a big blank canvas where the last six weeks should be. She discovers she was involved in a fatal car accident while on a school trip in Italy. A trip she doesn’t even remember taking. She was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident…wasn’t an accident.

As the accident makes national headlines, Jill finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. It doesn’t help that the media is portraying her as a sociopath who killed her bubbly best friend, Simone, in a jealous rage. With the evidence mounting against her, there’s only one thing Jill knows for sure: She would never hurt Simone. But what really happened? Questioning who she can trust and what she’s capable of, Jill desperately tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.

REVIEW

I picked up With Malice by Eileen Cook shortly after its release because I kept hearing so many positive reviews. This young adult mystery novel follows teenager Jill as she wakes up in the hospital not knowing how she got there. Jill spent the last six weeks studying abroad in Italy, but she was in a horrific car crash in which her longtime best friend Simone died. If that wasn’t bad enough, Jill is now accused of purposefully causing the crash to kill Simone. With Malice follows Jill as she tries to remember what happened in Italy and discover if she is Simone’s killer.

What I really liked about this book is the fast pace and addictive writing style. I flew through this captivating read because I just had to know if Jill was a killer or not! Jill is our first-person narrator, and I think that is a great choice. I wanted to instantly trust her, but I had to remind myself that she is unreliable because of the memory loss she suffered.

Unfortunately, the author takes a lot of liberties with the way she depicts the legal process in With Malice. While I know this is a fictional novel and written for entertainment purposes only, it was clear to me that either the author did not care to be legally accurate, or she simply failed to do proper research. For example, in one scene Jill’s lawyer mentions that the opinion of a lay witness would not be admissible because it pertains to the speed of the car during the crash. Anyone who has taken an evidence class in law school knows that is completely wrong – lay witnesses can give opinion testimony in this situation. I even did some research to make sure this is the same in Italy! Those without a legal background probably will not be as bothered by the plethora of inaccuracies, but it did take away a lot from my reading experience, as I do have a law degree.

Similarly, I was also disappointed with the way the ending of With Malice is written. All of the action takes place in the last 30 pages, rendering much of what was presented in the preceding 280 pages moot. While I did like the ending itself, it was quite frustrating that it had to be so rushed. The ending would be much more effective if it were longer and better explained.

Nonetheless, I am really impressed by the plethora of discussion topics that are brought up in this book. With Malice is perfect for a book club because the author brings up a lot of issues without giving strong conclusions to any of them. For instance, friendship plays a major role in the novel. Some of the questions that crossed my mind are: when is friendship true? Can you ever really trust your friends? Should we hold onto friendships simply because we’ve been in them a long time? I think these are questions that can be discussed with others for a long time!

Another topic that I found prevalent in the novel is that of the role of the media. Multimedia plays a role in With Malice, as readers get to see blogs, articles, police interviews, etc. and make their own conclusions as to what is true. This book really demonstrates how things can become twisted so easily. Does the media tell the truth, or are we supposed to find the truth based off of what the media presents? How does social media help or hinder the news? How does social media change the lives of others? Is anonymity online good or bad? I asked myself these questions upon finishing the novel.

Probably the most intriguing topic in the book, however, is truth. Jill is constantly trying to find the truth – did she really kill Simone, or is she being framed? With Malice helped me realize how we can almost never know the truth about something, and this goes for nearly everything in life! While scary, this is also fascinating. I’m grateful that this book evoked this curiosity within me!

All in all, I did enjoy my read of With Malice by Eileen Cook, even though there are some things about it that didn’t sit well for me. It certainly is a thought-provoking read, and I recommend it for any book club. I think it is also a great pick if you are looking to break into the mystery or thriller genres, as it reads very quickly. If you’ve read With Malice, I would love to know your thoughts on it! There is so much to discuss, so please leave me a comment!

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