This month's books will be themed around Halloween, of course! So get ready for some spooky books! ONE OF US IS LYING - KAREN M. MCCMANUS SYNOPSIS: Pay close attention and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them. I accidentally got spoiled for this book by a book club on Instagram that posted a very very important fact in the first line of a picture description without putting a Spoiler alert, so although that's super disappointing I'm still very excited to read this! VANISHING GIRLS - LAUREN OLIVER SYNOPSIS: Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late. A good old scary mystery! I've been making myself wait for this till October but now that it's October I can finally read it!! CHECK-OUT - JUULTJE VAN DEN NIEUWENHOF SYNOPSIS: During a school trip, a group chat is made from the phone of a classmate who has died, another classmate gets into an accident and has to go to hospital, and scary snuff movies are found. During a performance of The Blue Man Group the classmates find out the truth about their classmate's death. I wasn't going to get this book as it's only available in Dutch, but it just sounds so creepy and awesome and it's only short anyway, so I'm going to squeeze it into this month! MICE - GORDON REECE SYNOPSIS: Shelley and her mom have been menaced long enough. Excused from high school where a trio of bullies nearly killed her, and still reeling from her parents' humiliating divorce, Shelley has retreated with her mother to the quiet of Honeysuckle Cottage in the countryside. Thinking their troubles are over, they revel in their cozy, secure life of gardening and books, hot chocolate and Brahms by the fire. But on the eve of Shelley's sixteenth birthday, an unwelcome guest disturbs their peace and something inside Shelley snaps. What happens next will shatter all their certainties-about their safety, their moral convictions, the limits of what they are willing to accept, and what they're capable of. This sounds like more of a psychological thriller than a proper scary one, but I'm going to give it a try anyway. It sounds cool! THE DROWNING - RACHEL WARD SYNOPSIS: What happens if you've done something terrible? But you can't remember what. And you don't know how to put it right ...When Carl opens his eyes on the banks of a lake, his brother is being zipped into a body bag. What happened in the water? He can't remember And when he glimpses a beautiful girl he thinks he recognizes, she runs away. Suddenly he knows he must find her - because together they must face the truth before it drowns them. I honestly have no idea what to expect from this, but it was marked "scary" by my library so here we go. THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE - STEPHANIE PERKINS SYNOPSIS: One-by-one, the students of Osborne High are dying in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, the dark secrets among them must finally be confronted. By the time I'm posting this, I haven't got this book yet as it's not yet available on the Book Depository. I am planning on ordering it for my birthday (October 21!) so I'm hoping to get it in time to read it for Halloween Month! I LOVE STEPHANIE PERKINS!! Six books on my TBR for October. That's kind of optimistic, but I think I can do it! Look forward to a lot of Spooky themed blog posts this month!!
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Seven books this September! A good count. I finished up my Summer reads and when school started I got back into my normal books. Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between - Jennifer E. SmithSYNOPSIS: In the last night before they go off to different colleges, Claire and Aidan revisit old memories and try to decide what to do with their relationship. Rating: 4/5 This book was a fun read, that got better near the end. Link to my full review here! Love & Gelato - Jenna Evans WelchSYNOPSIS: Lina spends the Summer with her estranged father in Italy after her mother passes away, and learns more about her by reading her mum's old diaries. Rating: 4/5 A cute story about love, both familial and romantic, set in my fatherland and one of my favourite countries in the world. Everything Everything - Nicola YoonSYNOPSIS: Chronically ill Madeleine, who hasn't been allowed outside in seventeen years, falls in love with the boy next door. Rating: 5/5 THERE ARE PICTURES!! This book was a 4/5 for me, until the ending which blew me away and made this a solid 5/5. Full review will be up soon! A Dangerous Year (Riley Collins #1) - Kes TresterSYNOPSIS: Daughter of an American ambassador Riley Collins is sent to an American boarding school to try and protect the daughter of a technical genius. Rating 4/5 A great story which would've been a 5/5 if it hadn't been for this one thing that I really disliked. Full review here! The Drowning of Arthur Braxton - Caroline SmailesSYNOPSIS: Arthur Braxton finds a naked girl swimming in a pool in an abandoned bathhouse and nothing will ever be the same again. Rating: 4/5 This book was super bizarre from start to finish, but I loved that! My only negative point is that there was too much talk of genitalia. Full review will be up soon! I Am Malala - Malala YousafzaiSYNOPSIS: Malala's story. Rating: 5/5 Absolutely amazing. An insight into the lives of people in Pakistan, which is hard for us Westerners to imagine, and the story of the girl who will fight until all girls can go to school. Full review will be up soon! Coraline - Neil GaimanSYNOPSIS: Coraline finds a secret door that leads to the Other apartment. Rating: 4/5 This was the first Neil Gaiman book I've read and I loved it so much! It's very different from the movie but they were both so creepy and cool! That's it for September! What did you read in September? Let me know!
I've already done a post on my favourite books from before Bookstagram (link here!), but ever since I got into the community I've started reading loads of favourites from the people I follow. Here are some of my favourite books that I read because Bookstagram loves them! Throne of Glass - Sarah J. MaasI used to always walk straight past all the fantasy YA at the bookstore and library, but as everyone on Instagram seemed to love this series (and everything else by Sarah J. Maas) so I decided to give it a try and I really like it! I've read three books of the series so far, as they are quite big so they take me a while to get through, but I'll definitely get the fourth book soon! Everything Everything - Nicola YoonThis book was entirely different than I expected, with the pictures and drawings and the big twist at the end (no spoilers!). I really really liked this as it was a quick, cute read with images, which too few YA books have, in my opinion. I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy NelsonI'll Give You the Sun is easily one of my favourite books and it made me get back into drawing and painting, which I used to love when I was younger. I like the LGBT representation without it being a big deal and how no one in this book is completely black or white, everyone is grey. Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie PerkinsStephanie Perkins is super popular on Bookstagram, so I had to read her books. I saw Anna and the French Kiss most often, so I started with that one, but I loved it so much that I quickly read Lola and the Boy Next Door, which I loved even more! I've now just bought Isla and the Happily Ever After, which I'm very excited to read! The Selection - Kiera CassI don't know what it is about this series! It's just so magical and enchanting that it got me hooked and reading the whole thing within two weeks. Loads of diverse female characters and a cute love story; what's not to love? The Hate U Give - Angie ThomasAnother one of my favourites ever. This book really hit me and I think everyone (especially white people) should read this, as we really don't understand the issue of racial profiling as we feel it is so far away from us. This book brings the issue up close and personal so we can maybe start to understand and offer our support. Those were six of my favourite books that I read because of Bookstagram! Honestly, at least half of my All Time Favourites are from Bookstagram, so I'm very grateful to have found them! What are your favourite popular books? Let me know!
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. Rating: 4/5
[ I was given a digital copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! ] Alright, this is a tricky one. I will start by saying what I disliked about this, so I can finish on a positive note. There was really only one thing I didn't like, and I was tempted to give this less stars because of this one thing because I hated it so much. We meet Riley as this badass character who advocates for girls' rights to do whatever they want, literally fighting grown men to protect a girl's right to go to school. Amazing. I was in love with Riley from the start. But then!! She goes to Harrington, where they have an MMA club. She is excited to go. I am excited to read about her kicking butt. But then the moment she walks into this club the leader tries to kick her out before even giving her a chance, just because she is a girl. And I'm getting ready, thinking "oooh, she's about to tell him what's up", but then... she doesn't?! She falls in love with him!! We meet her as this badass, feminist character, but then she falls in love with a gross, misogynist teenage boy? This was so, so disappointing. She spars with him and he runs his hand over her leg and she's cool with that, even though it was inappropriate and definitely uncalled for. I feel like the entire Sam storyline really made this story much less enjoyable for me as I hated every second Riley spent near him. While reading this book I took notes, and the one on Sam just said "nahh :(". OKAY. Onto the positive parts. I did give this 4 stars after all! Riley is respectful and loving of Pakistani culture, and she has learned Arabic so she can communicate with the people around her (even though her Urdu isn't too good). She likes to chat to the wives of politicians during meetings. She is involved and interested, loving the culture but also being able to be critical of it by condemning the groups who think girls shouldn't go to school. I think this is excellent and I loved the first chapter where she, as I mentioned before, took out a bunch of grown men to defend a girl. Riley is a little fighter, without giving up her femininity. She still likes dresses, and goes to the MMA club in a bright pink sports bra. She engages in friendships with girls without speaking about their interests in a degrading manner. I really liked her friendship with Hayden, and I liked the wide variety of girls in the book. Also I loved Von, and I think he's a way better love interest for Riley than Sam. He's respectful and interested in Riley's hobbies. He's willing to help, but he also knows that she can stand up for herself. He is great. Benson, pretty much Riley's surrogate mother, is adorable and hilarious and I loved the little family dynamic between Riley, her dad and Benson. Benson was allowed to be badass, but also caring and loving, which is very nice to see in any character. The story overall was fun too. The plot was enjoyable and I am a sucker for a good teenage spy story, so that was all good with me. The suspense and the ending were both well written and nice to read. Overall this book was quite an enjoyable read, but the whole Sam thing really put me off. When the next book in this series comes out I will definitely read that too, as the writing, plot and most characters are great, but if Sam stays a relevant love interest I don't know if I'll be able to keep reading. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/30143031-a-dangerous-year?from_search=true Amazon: www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Year-Riley-Collins/dp/1620079070 SYNOPSIS: After an all night adventure, Quentin's life-long crush, Margo, disappears, leaving behind clues that Quentin and his friends follow on the journey of a lifetime. Rating: 3/5
I really liked the Paper Towns book, so I had high hopes for this movie. Unfortunately loads of the parts of the book that I loved weren't in the movie or weren't portrayed as well. For example, in the book Margo was more of a real character, whereas in the movie she was just someone for Q to chase after. Fortunately she becomes more of a character at the end, when Q realises she isn't just someone for him to chase after, but she has a life and ideas that she wants to follow, and she's not just there for him. A change that I did like is that Angela came on the road trip, which she didn't do in the book. I appreciate that instead of jumping on the bandwagon and having barely any screentime for relevant women, they added an extra girl. In the books I really liked the gas stop scenes, and fortunately those were done quite well in the film. I liked the rush of it and how they were all worrying and I was hoping with them that they would make it on time. Also the "racist T shirt" scene is in there, which is a risky move but I liked it. Overall I think this was a good movie, and the only reason I didn't rate it as highly was because I read the book and missed a bunch of aspects from it. For someone who didn't read the book, this would probably be a fun film. IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt3622592/ Have you ever tried to explain the plot of a book to someone but halfway through realised that it sounds insane and they will never read it even though it is SO. GOOD.? Here are some books that require a recommendation of "just read it" without an explanation! Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children"Okay, so there's a bunch of children with super powers, who live in a 'loop' which is basically the same day over and over again. These loops are created by women who can turn into birds, and bad people try to catch all the children with super powers and the bird-ladies to eat them, because.... okay stop laughing, please, listen I promise it's a good book..." The Lorien LegaciesAs these books progress the synopses get more and more complicated, and anyone who hasn't religiously read all the other books in the series would probably be completely put off by the immense number of events and people to remember in this series. Just read it. I promise it's not that hard to remember everything. The Neptune ProjectSo this girl who can breathe underwater leads an army of other water-breathing teenagers to safety from the government. Hm... These are some books that I think are best to just thrust on someone without telling them what they're about as the synopses are a bit weird... What books do you think should be on this list? Let me know!
SYNOPSIS: On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan have only one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night leads them to family and friends, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever? Rating: 4/5
I am a sucker for Summer romances, and this was sort of a Summer romance, except not really. Super vague, I know this and I am sorry, but it's true. I read this as my last Summer romance of Summer 2017, and it was a perfect ending. It's about two teens in love who have to decide what to do with their relationship on their last night before they both go off to different colleges, which fit perfectly with the fact that I read this shortly before I went back to university myself. I really liked the fact that the world seemed so real. There were so many places and memories and little traditions that really made me feel like I'd been there with them for those years of their relationship and it made me feel more sorry for them than I already did. Their conversations about what to actually do didn't go smoothly and they were so real they made me sad. Even I am going to miss their hometown and old friends. I really related to Clare as I am always planning things and worrying too, and my boyfriend is as carefree and relaxed as Aidan. I liked their characters and their friendships, especially as their friends got their own little storylines and personalities too, despite this book involving very little time with others, Jennifer Smith managed to make them into people, rather than background shadows, too. I was going to give this three stars as this was just enjoyable but not very special or anything, but the ending just went over really well with me. Throughout the book I was hung up on whether they should break up or stay together too, because the romantic, naive teenager in me said 'stay together' but the serious, responsible adult in me said 'this isn't feasible. break up'. Somehow the ending of this book satisfied me, despite my inner conflicts. You'll know if you read this. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to come to terms with the ending of Summer ;) Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/23369370-hello-goodbye-and-everything-in-between Amazon: www.amazon.com/Hello-Goodbye-Everything-Between-Jennifer/dp/0316334413 Some books are best as standalones, others should really have sequels and it hurts me that they don't! There's plenty of great trilogies and series out there, but it's just really these specific stories that I would like more of... Carry On - Rainbow RowellI want more from Simon and Baz!! And don't bring me that "But Harry Potter..." stuff, because I like Carry On's universe better. There. I said it. I'm just not a fan of the way J.K. goes "oh yeah, by the way Dumbledore was gay" after the series is over without actually mentioning it in the books. Carry On is like Harry Potter except more diverse and also written by one of my favourite authors ever which is bonus points. Eleanor and Park - Rainbow RowellI've got one thing to say to you: What. Are. The. Three. Words??? Emmy & Oliver - Robin BenwayI don't want an Emmy & Oliver sequel as much as I want a prequel, to be honest. I would love to read about when Oliver disappeared, and then the Point of View of both Emmy and Oliver. I'm just super curious about what happened to Oliver and how baby Emmy dealt with it! We got snippets from it in this book, but I need more. Rainbow Rowell is literally 2/3 of this list, because she is a brilliant author who just happens to write standalones and they just happen to be excellent and got me craving more. On the other hand the fact that none of these three books have sequels is of course part of the magic of the story, but on the other hand I don't care and just want to know what happens.. Do you relate? Let me know!
SYNOPSIS: Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart? Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together? Rating: 5/5
It's time for another 5 Star book!! I was expecting a lot from Robin Benway as she wrote the Also Known As series, which I like a lot, and she didn't disappoint! I loved this book so much!! Sometimes you find a book that's just right and it works in every way but you can't really explain why. I had that with Emmy & Oliver. The dynamic between the characters, not just Emmy and Oliver but also their friends and their parents was just perfect and everything felt realistic and like it was really happening. I wasn't just busy hoping Emmy and Oliver would get together, as I felt for Oliver so much. He didn't demonise his father and I think that's a really good and realistic aspect of the book, as you can't expect a boy who was raised by his father to suddenly start hating him because things weren't as they seemed to him. His father was his father and they did father-and-son things together and Oliver loved him. I think that part of the story got a good ending and it made me tear up a little. But of course I also loved Emmy and Oliver as a pair. They took the time to get to know each other again and rekindle their friendship before making it something more, which was a healthy and wholesome way for Oliver to ease back into his life here. The characters around them were not just to fill up the empty space, but they actually had their own stories and contributed to the main plot, which I appreciated. Altogether I loved this book and I'd recommend it to everyone! This book is such a lovely read and I promise you'll fall in love with Emmy and Oliver too! Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/13132816-emmy-oliver?ac=1&from_search=true Amazon: www.amazon.com/Emmy-Oliver-Robin-Benway/dp/0062330594 Which book characters would be able to teach a class on something? I made a list! MaddyMaddy would do great as a teacher of a 'review writing' class. Throughout the book she writes several very short reviews, but I'm sure she could make them much longer and they would be good. She gets to the point and is good at clarity. Addison (yes, the dog)Addison would make a good teacher of a "Talking for dogs" class which, as the name suggests, would be a class for dogs. Extra good because there's not much competition in the field, I think. EmmyEmmy could teach a surfing lesson, and she actually does in the book! She teaches Oliver to surf and he catches on really fast, so either he's very talented or she is a great teacher. Emmy is very passionate and could transfer her passion over to her students. TessTess would be a good motivational speaker, but she'd also be good as a teacher of a course on perseverance, as throughout this book she sets out to do something and she sticks with it even when it gets tough. Charlie Dean Charlie Dean would also give a mean course on perseverance because God, this girl won't let anything stop her and it's impressive as heck. She'd also give a good class on making clothes, although the creativity to do so has to come from within, of course! :) She seems like the type of person who would not let you give up because she knows you can do it!! These are some characters I think would make good teachers for something they're good at! What do you think? Let me know!
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AuthorHi! I'm Marcella. As you might have guessed, I quite like YA books.. Archives
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