I just got 15 books off the Book Depository, but as I won't be able to read all of those this month anyway, I'll only list the ones I am hoping to read this month. I also got some books from other places, and I'm including one I already own as I really want to read it this month! A DANGEROUS YEAR (THE RILEY COLLINS SERIES #1) - KES TRESTER SYNOPSIS: Seventeen-year-old Riley Collins has grown up in some of the world’s most dangerous cities, learning political strategies from her ambassador dad and defensive skills from his security chief. The only thing they didn’t prepare her for: life as an American teenager. After an incident forces her to leave her Pakistani home, Riley is recruited by the State Department to attend Harrington Academy, one of the most elite boarding schools in Connecticut. The catch: she must use her tactical skills to covertly keep an eye on Hayden Frasier, the daughter of a tech billionaire whose new code-breaking spyware has the international intelligence community in an uproar. Disturbing signs begin to appear that Riley’s assignment wasn’t the walk in the park she’d been promised. Now, Riley must fight for her life and Hayden’s, as those around her reveal themselves to be true friends or the ultimate betrayers. I did not get this book off the Book Depository, but off Netgalley. I will be reading it in exchange for a review, as it will be out later this month! LOVE & GELATO - JENNA EVANS WELCH SYNOPSIS: Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home. But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself. People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more. This one is from the library. I set a reservation on it in the middle of the Summer, but it didn't become available until last week, so I'm going to read it just before school starts again. The last Summer book of the year. I AM MALALA (YOUNG READERS EDITION) - MALALA YOUSAFZAI SYNOPSIS: "I am Malala. This is my story." Malala Yousafzai was only ten years old when the Taliban took control of her region. They said music was a crime. They said women weren't allowed to go to the market. They said girls couldn't go to school. Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan transformed by terrorism, Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. So she fought for her right to be educated. And on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause: She was shot point-blank while riding the bus on her way home from school. No one expected her to survive. Now she is an international symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest- ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee. In this Young Readers Edition of her bestselling memoir, which includes excessive photos and material, we hear firsthand the remarkable story of a girl who knew from a young age that she wanted to change the world-and did. I've been wanting to read more books that really matter, like The Hate U Give, and I've had this book for ages but never read it. I'm hoping to this month! WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI - SANDHYA MENON SYNOPSIS: Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right? Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself. Another important book; this one about arranged marriages. This one is very popular in the Bookstagram community as well. This one is off the Book Depository! EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - NICOLA YOON SYNOPSIS: My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. The movie has just come out and I want to read the book before I see the film! THE DROWNING OF ARTHUR BRAXTON - CAROLINE SMAILES SYNOPSIS: Arthur Braxton runs away from school. He hides out in an abandoned building, an old Edwardian bathhouse. He discovers a naked woman swimming in the pool. From this point on, nothing will ever be the same. It took me way too long to get this book! Currently, Luke Cutforth, one of my favourite Youtubers, is working on the film, and I want to have read this before the film is released, which is hopefully very soon! (Also this book includes the introduction by Luke himself!! Very exciting!!) That's it for September's book haul! I think this will be enough books as school is starting back up, but I have some Italian books for practise in case I run out! Look forward to the reviews of these books!!
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I read a record number of books this month!! I read 12! I'm very happy with this number especially because some of these books were huge so they would significantly bring down my count in a school month. I was on holiday for half the month, which probably helped as all I did was read there! Secret Histories (Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files (#4-#6) - Pittacus LoreSYNOPSIS: Novellas about the Lorien Legacies characters. Rating: 4/5 I love Adam, so I really enjoyed learning more about his life. The Hate U Give - Angie ThomasSYNOPSIS: Starr's friend gets shot by a racist police officer. Rating: 5/5 I think this is a really important book, as the theme is very relevant to today's society in the United States and thus the reality of many young adults. It was also brilliantly written and I loved it a lot! Link to full review here. Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) - Sarah J. MaasSYNOPSIS: Celaena trains with Rowan, Chaol joins the resistance, Dorian dates a healer. Rating: 4/5 This was enjoyable, but the main storyline wasn't nearly as interesting to me as Chaol's and the witches'. This story is super intriguing but all these books in the series seem to have such a slow start.. Full review will be up soon! Emmy & Oliver - Robin BenwaySYNOPSIS: Emmy's friend Oliver returns ten years after being abducted by his father. Rating: 5/5 Some books just make perfect sense and work in every single way. This was one of those books for me. I can't really explain why, but I just really loved it. Full review will be up soon! The accidental life of Jessie Jefferson (#1) - Paige ToonSYNOPSIS: After the death of her mother, troublemaker Jessie discovers her real father is a rockstar. Rating: 3/5 This was an enjoyable read, but it annoyed me a bit too much at times. Full review here! Attachments - Rainbow RowellSYNOPSIS: Lincoln's job is to read other people's email and decide whether there is a problem with them. He ends up reading two women's correspondence more than necessary and falling in love. Rating: 4/5 This isn't an YA book, but Rainbow Rowell is one of my favourite authors so I made an exception for her. I loved this book! It was fun and easy to read. Il Viaggio Di ArloSYNOPSIS: Book companion to the movie The Good Dinosaur. Rating: 5/5 I love the Capolavori series with all my heart. The pictures are amazing and I will share some of them with you at the end of this post!! Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. RowlingSYNOPSIS: A Harry Potter epilogue. Rating: 3/5 This was a nice read, but I didn't care that much for it. Libary of Souls (Miss Peregrine #3) - Ransom RiggsSYNOPSIS: Emma and Jacob hurry to save their friends with the help of Addison, the talking dog. Rating: 4/5 A good ending of a good series. I always liked how the series incorporated pictures into the story, and this one more than the others felt like it was really being led by the pictures. Full review will be up soon! Twilight (Twilight #1) - Stephanie MeyerSYNOPSIS: Bella falls in love with a boy who turns out to be a vampire. Rating: 2/5 Listen, I really tried to like this but the sexism was just too overwhelming. Full review here (including a list of sexist points). Red Queen (Red Queen #1) - Victoria AveyardSYNOPSIS: A red from the working class, Mare, turns out to have powers that should only be reserved for the Silver, and she is launched into the world of the rich. Rating: 5/5 This was a brilliant book! I loved it from start to finish and it kept me guessing the whole time. Full review will be up soon! King Lear - ShakespeareSYNOPSIS: A king wants to divide his land between his three daughters, but everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Rating: 2/5 This was something I had to read for school. I didn't enjoy it as I just really dislike having to decipher a story rather than read it. That's it for August! What did you read in August? Let me know!
The term 'bromance' kind of makes me cringe, but it's the term used on the Top 5 Wednesdays Goodreads group, so I'll roll with it. Bromances to me do not just include friendships between boys, by the way. It includes all friendships where I could imagine the two calling each other 'bro'. Here are some of my favourite 'Bromances' in YA: James and KyleCHERUB series - Robert Muchamore I know, I know, here I go again with my CHERUB series. I just really love it, okay? Hear me out. James, the main character, is a pretty basic white boy who's a tad homophobic and conservative, so when his buddy Kyle comes out as gay, he has some issues with it at first, but he adapts and they remain great friends. I love that James sets aside his prejudices because his friendship with Kyle means enough for him to let go of those. Teresa and ThomasThe Maze Runner series - James Dashner I'm going to completely ignore any romantic tension between Teresa and Thomas because I think it's gross and they were way too good as friends to ruin that by becoming a couple. They got along well and had a shared history. They got rough with each other, but still got out on the right side again, which is how true friendships work. Gale and KatnissThe Hunger Games series - Suzanne Collins Another series where I'm going to ignore any romantic tension, and fortunately that's what Katniss and Gale did themselves too. They gave things a try, decided it was awkward and not to do that again, and continued their life as bros. And they were a good pair of bros, they were. Penny and ElliotGirl Online series - Zoe Sugg To be fair: in Penny and Elliot's friendship things are very often about Penny. But given the fact that she's the on dating and internationally famous popstar I think that's only fair. Fortunately we do get our fair share of Elliot-time too, and Penny certainly doesn't just think about herself and Noah all the time. I think these two would definitely qualify as bros, as they're always there for each other and support one another no matter what. That's it for this Wednesday! Let me know what your favourite Bromances (or just friendships) in YA are!
SYNOPSIS: About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. Rating: 2/5
I'm not one to mindlessly follow a crowd, so I can assure you I went into this with eyes wide open. I also think that I don't dislike this for the reasons most people do. For example, I liked that Stephanie Meyer made vampires sparkle. It's a nice and original idea and it's just part of her fantasy world. It's all cool with me. This book was kind of like a song that has a good tune but crappy lyrics; if you listen mindlessly it's all good, but as soon as you start paying attention it gets really, really bad. And so instead of mindlessly enjoying this book I made a list of all the sexist things that happened in it. Here are some highlights:
Alright, onto some other points. I've made myself plenty angry. Bella never seems to be able to make any reasonable decisions. One of the highlights on her list of bad decisions is "telling a boy she's known for max. 5 months that he is her life and she wants to become a vampire to be with him forever". Cool, cool, cool. Also, Edward is always angry? Bella spends the first half of the book living in constant fear of making Edward angry, but it doesn't work seeing as he gets angry every other page or so anyway. Okay, this book has tempted me to use some cuss words so I'll move on to a funny quote and then finish this review. When Edward complains about Bella's old truck, she tells him: "This truck is old enough to be your car's grandfather - have some respect." This quote made me chuckle, and this combined with the fact that I think Bella deserved a different book to be in where she could play a good role, made me give this book two stars instead of one. So yeah, I gave this book a genuine try, but no thanks. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/41865.Twilight Amazon: www.amazon.com/Twilight-Saga-Book-1/dp/0316015849 SYNOPSIS: When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time, he finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the danger deepens after he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers. Rating: 2/5
For anyone who didn't read the book, this was probably a good movie, but as I read the book some parts of this film were excruciating to watch. I LOVE book-Emma. She is fierce and strong and her power of controlling fire suits her personality perfectly. In the movie she is given Olive's power, which is much better fitting a young girl like book-Olive. Emma can now levitate and it makes me so angry. This makes her a different character entirely and she is no longer fierce and fire-y, but soft and float-y. Literally. Olive in turn gets Emma's fire, and she's also made much older than she is in the book, making her pretty much just a new character with the same name. Honestly, when I first saw her on screen I thought that was Fiona, as it's pretty much how she is described in the books. Fiona's age is also changed, as she was a teenager in the books but in the film she is a young child. I hate these changes a lot and I think they kind of ruined the movie for me. The fact that the ending was very different from the book (I was so surprised by the movie ending that I went back to the book to see if I'd completely miss-remembered it) bothered me as well, but changing the story does not hurt me as much as changing the characters does. I love book-Emma as a character, but movie-Emma is much more of just a love interest to Jacob, and Olive also becomes Enoch's love interest (yikes). Overall this movie might have been good if it hadn't been based off a book that was 10x better. I've read the other two books in the series as well, and I seriously wonder how the movie producers are going to fit all their changes into the plots of the other books into movie sequels, as I don't think that's really going to work. If you enjoy the books, you probably shouldn't watch the movie as it might just make you angry like it did with me. IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt1935859/ I am one of those people who will go on a hunt to find the prettiest cover for the book I want to buy, because only that one is good enough. I usually don't like the movie version of the cover as it has the characters from the movie on it and I don't want to spoil what they look like before I've read the book and imagined them myself. Book covers are very important in my choosing-a-book process, so here are some of my favourite book covers: Eliza and Her Monsters - Francesca ZappiaThis cover has pretty colours, a nice faded out effect on the background, pretty drawings combined with the real picture and the paint on the hands; all pretty things put together in a gorgeous cover. I love it! Me & Earl & the Dying Girl - Jesse AndrewsColourful!! I like that all the shapes and figures seem to be dangling from ropes, like they are little paper shapes. I think this cover is just so cute. See You in the Cosmos - Jack ChengI haven't read this book, but every time I'm at the bookstore it just draws me to it. The picture here doesn't do the beautiful blues on this cover justice. It's even prettier in real life and I could look at it for hours. On the Spectrum - Jennifer GoldI think at this point you've probably figured out that I LOVE PRETTY COLOURS!! On the Spectrum has the prettiest pastel colours that look like they're made with watercolour paint, and that combined with the simple drawings of buildings in Paris makes this cover one of my faves. (The book is officially coming out on September 12 and the story is as good as the cover, so I'd really recommend it!!) I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy NelsonI love the colour explosion on this cover. It goes perfectly with the title as well, as the colours look like rays of sunshine. This is another cover that's even prettier in real life, as the colours just seem to pop that bit more than in the picture. That's my Top 5 favourite book covers (in no particular order)!! Let me know what your favourite book covers are and why!
SYNOPSIS: My fifteenth birthday was the worst day of my life, and it's inconceivable to think that any single day in my future will ever be as bad. My mum was killed in a freak accident on her way to pick up my cake. Even when there was still no sign of her after two hours later, and my friends started to arrive at our house, it never occurred to me that she wouldn't be coming back. That was six months ago. My mum died without telling me who my real dad was. And for a while I hated her for it. I thought she's taken the secret of my father's identity with her forever. But she didn't. Holy hell, she didn't. Because three weeks ago I found out the truth. And I'm still reeling from the shock of it. My dad is none other than Johnny Jefferson, mega famous rock star and one-time serial womaniser. And now I'm on my way to LA to meet him and his family. My tiny little world has just got a whole lot bigger… Rating: 3/5
This was okay. I was interested in the story, as it sounded kind of like a fan fiction which I generally love, and I'm a sucker for anything about being famous. However, Jessie annoyed the crap out of me. She is so unnecessarily rude to her stepfather, she smokes and drinks even though she's only fifteen, and altogether acts like she's grown even though she's barely a teen. Her character read way too much like it'd been written by someone who's forgotten what it's really like to be young, and is only going off what they now think teenagers are like. I only kept reading because I was interested in the plot. Fortunately Jessie got a bit more bearable as the book went on, which I guess we can call character development. She made new friends and made up with a friend she'd been ignoring. I liked those parts a lot, as there were a lot of good female characters in this book, who were all very different but all well-written. Of course there was the typical antagonist popular girl, but there were also popular girls who were very nice to Jessie and who befriended her. I suppose we can write Jessie's behaviour off to trauma, but when she spoke about the time before her mother died she appeared to be the same person. She apparently was never really nice to Stuart, her stepfather, either, even though he has been nothing but nice to her. There's two more books in this series, and if I do pick them up (I'm not sure if I will yet, I'm not that invested in the story) I hope Jessie becomes a nicer person overall and I hope she does the right thing and chooses Tom, rather than Tom who's just trouble. If you're looking for a simple read that's still pretty enjoyable, you might enjoy this book. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114638-the-accidental-life-of-jessie-jefferson Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Accidental-Life-Jessie-Jefferson/dp/1471118789 A while ago I made a list of books with unlikable characters that I liked (link here), and realised that there is a lot of books with characters that I actually really dislike! So here's a list of only a few of my least favourite characters in YA! EVA WALKERZenn Diagram - Wendy Brant I wrote a whole review about this book which included all the problematic things about it (link here), but it boils down to the fact that Eva is a typical "outcast" who is interested in COOL things like MATHS and SCHOOL instead of DUMB and GIRLY things like BOYS and MAKEUP!! I hate these kind of characters that are so obsessed with not being like other girls, as if there's something wrong with other girls! Being interested in boys and makeup does not mean you can't also be smart and interested in other things! Plus, Eva takes every chance she can get to slut-shame all the girls around her, including her 3-year-old sisters which is gross. JOHN SMITHThe Lorien Legacies - Pittacus Lore Overall, I liked John, but near the end of the series he got super annoying. He kept trying to save the world on his own, and believing that he was somehow more powerful than everyone else put together. Seriously boy, get your ego in check. He ended up constantly putting himself in danger because he thought he could handle everything himself, and having to be saved by the rest of the group because he clearly could not handle everything by himself. ?Kill the Boy Band - Goldy Moldavsky The unnamed main character of Kill the Boy Band is seriously lacking in the logical reasoning department. If your friends drag an unconscious person into your hotel room, whether it's a member of your favourite band or not, YOU CALL THE POLICE. When he dies in your freaking hotel room, YOU CALL THE POLICE EVEN HARDER. My god, girl, get it together. JOHN THOMAS-SMITHThe Fashion Committee - Susan Juby I started out liking John, and I kept trying to keep liking him, but he made it very hard for me and eventually I gave up. He did some very noble things like trying to help out a little girl by getting her cool clothes, but he also did some very un-noble things which I cannot get into without spoiling some of the book. If you've read this, you'll know what I'm talking about. EDEN MUNRODid I Mention I Love You (#1) - Estelle Maskame Another main character seriously lacking in the logical reasoning department. Eden kept chasing after her STEPBROTHER Tyler, even though he is clearly extremely troubled. She also keeps going to these wild parties, staying out all night, and doing all this without informing her father or stepmom, WITHOUT ANY REASON! She could have saved these people so much worry if she'd just told them where she was going! I almost made myself angry while writing this, that's how passionate I am about how annoying these characters are! Do you agree with me? Let me know!
SYNOPSIS: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life. Rating: 5/5
Before I start this review I would like to say that I have no idea what it's like to be racially discriminated against, so these opinions do not come from someone with knowledge on the topic. I loved this book a lot, as you could probably tell from the five star rating. I have been wanting to read some more serious books, and the Black Lives Matter movement is very important to me. I'm not from the US, so the whole situation there seems incredibly strange for me. In my country on average three people die at the hands of the police each year, while according to Wikipedia the US is at 63 deaths so far this year. A lot of those deaths were because of racism. That's not my opinion, that's just a fact. I'd like to say I'm not going to get political on this blog, but this is an important issue and it's worth getting political over. Every single innocent black kid who was shot by the police because they were (or weren't) holding something the police thought might be a weapon, every black person who was shot for no reason other than being black and standing or walking, had every right to be alive. The Hate U Give is currently very popular and I'm glad it is, because this is an issue that deserves more coverage. More people need to recognise that black people are targeted by police just for being black. This books sheds a beautiful light on that, letting us meet the character first and start loving him, and then ripping him away from us. It reminds us of the lives all these other black people lived before being brutally killed by police. We learn about the aftermath for the people who are left behind, in a way that you don't get to see on TV. We get a look into their lives. This book touched me deeply. I loved the characters and their authenticity. I think the author held nothing back and wrote the truth. She didn't try to cover anything up or make anything better just to make others think that black people are all angels. She made us see that they are real people with real lives. I don't just recommend this book to everyone, I sincerely hope everyone does read it. It's a great read and offers insight into an important problem that we could all use some more knowledge on. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075671-the-hate-u-give?from_search=true Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas/dp/1406372153 I've been a book blogger since early this year, so many of my favourite books I read before I joined! Here is my Top 5 Favourites from before I started blogging! Geek Girl series - Holly SmaleI met the Geek Girl series while on a quest for books about modelling, as I was very interested in it at the time. Geek Girl was a title I'd seen at shops and the library before, but I thought it'd be pretentious and annoying so I never picked it up, but when I finally did I ended up loving it! I'm still so sad the series is over now! I'd definitely recommend this to anyone, because it's sweet and funny, and altogether a lovely read. Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13621089-geek-girl?ac=1&from_search=true CHERUB series - Robert MuchamoreThe CHERUB series was my first YA love, starting when I was about 10, I think. It's got loads of books, so it kept me occupied for years, and I'm still not through it right now. For the main series I'm missing one book, as I have the first five in Dutch, but the second book isn't available in Dutch anymore anywhere, and it would mess up my aesthetic on my shelves to get a different edition. I haven't read any of the spin-off series, but if they make it to my library I definitely will! Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/1166131.The_Recruit?ac=1&from_search=true The Hunger Games series - Suzanne CollinsThe Hunger Games series was introduced to me by a teacher when I was 13. She was my Dutch teacher and read a chapter from the first book to the class, and I fell in love. I read all the books, and when the movies started coming out I went to each one with that teacher and a few classmates. The Hunger Games series is still very dear for me, partially because of those good memories. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052-the-hunger-games?ac=1&from_search=true The Fault in Our Stars - John GreenIn 2012 I started getting into Youtubers, and one of the channels I loved most was the Vlogbrothers channel. I learnt about John Green that way, and of course he spoke about his books, so I got curious and read them. I really loved the Fault in Our Stars! By now, I've come to think that his books are a bit pretentious at times, but they still hold a special place in my heart. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/11870085-the-fault-in-our-stars?ac=1&from_search=true The Neptune Conspiracy series - Polly HolyokeBefore I started Book blogging, I used to just go to a bookshop and buy whatever seemed interesting, without caring about whether it was popular or not. I have to admit that my reading choices are more geared towards reading what is popular these days. The Neptune Conspiracy is one that I bought by just reading the back and deciding it was interesting. It never made me regret that decision, as it's great! It's a new take on dystopias, taking place underwater! Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/22701805-the-neptune-conspiracy?from_search=true What books did you read before you started getting into Book blogging? Let me know! |
AuthorHi! I'm Marcella. As you might have guessed, I quite like YA books.. Archives
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