SYNOPSIS: Fifteen-year-old Mick Mullins has a great life: his parents are sweet, his sister is tolerable, and his friendships are solid. But as summer descends on Queens, he prepares to turn his carefree existence upside down by disclosing a secret he has kept long enough. It’s time to work up the courage to reveal that he is not a boy, but a girl—and that her name is Michelle. Having always been the perfect, good boy, Michelle is terrified that the complicated truth will disappoint, hurt, or push away the people closest to her. She can’t continue hiding for much longer, though, because her body is turning into that of a man’s, and she is desperate to stop the development—desperate enough to consider self-medicating with hormones. Most of all, Michelle fears that Grandpa, who is in a nursing home after a near fatal stroke, won’t survive the shock if he finds out that his favorite grandchild, and the only boy, is a girl. If she kills her beloved Grandpa by leaving Mick behind, she isn’t sure embracing her real identity will be worth the loss. Rating: 4/5
[ I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley ] First off: I'm not an authority on this topic. Second: THIS WAS GOOD. I was really afraid this would just be a sad story about how coming out as transgender made everyone turn away from Michelle, but fortunately, it was not! It was actually quite heartwarming and I wish all trans kids were received as well as this (preferably even better). Some characters reacted badly, but Nina Rossing found just the right balance, making the book both realistic and lovable. Most of the characters really have their own distinct personalities and I fell in love with not just Michelle, but with Ash, their parents and Diego. The Mullins have a really good family dynamic and I'm so happy Michelle has such a good place to come home too. Michelle is strong, unwavering and authentic. The book is narrated realistically and close to heart, making me feel really sympathetic towards her. She never gives up who she truly is and stays true to herself, which I admire a lot. The story itself truly read like a passage from her life. The work on her grandfather's house, the visits to her grandfather, the runs with her mum; everything was worked out very well and the world building was excellent. It never gets boring as you really get pulled into Michelle's life. [ slight spoiler alert ahead. I will put a note to close the spoiler. ] Michelle's grandfather's reaction is so good. He is exactly what I expect most grandparents would be like when their grandchild comes out as transgender or even as gay. [ spoilers done. ] Michelle's story is realistic, strong and lovable. I would 100% recommend this to anyone, as we could all benefit from reading up on this topic. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/29496675-mick-michelle Amazon: www.amazon.com/Mick-Michelle-Nina-Rossing-ebook/dp/B071WZJGQ7
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SYNOPSIS: Taking a Christmas cruise with her two cousins from hell isn't Holly's idea of a good time. And when seasickness forces her into an open suite, she's pepper-sprayed by a gorgeous guy called Nick. But when Holly makes her exit, she's greeted by a horde of screaming teenage fans. Because Nick happens to be Dominic Wyatt, drummer for one of the hottest bands in America. Suddenly rumours are swirling and Holly's face is plastered all over the Internet. The band can't risk a scandal destroying their family-friendly image, so Dominic convinces Holly to be his fake girlfriend - just for two weeks. How bad could it be to be "fauxmantically" involved with a cute rock star? She's about to find out... Rating: 3/5
This was cute. Both main characters, Holly and Dominic, are likable, though a bit irritating at times. They both had very bad attitudes but they seemed to get better over time. Holly's story is just the right amount of sad to still be believable but to also get her sympathy. Dominic was intriguing to me and I was disappointed in the lack of background story we got on him. I suppose he was only really a love interest, but it would've still been nice. The plot is simple but hits the spot. I really enjoyed reading this and although it's pretty predictable it was fun to swoon over a cute love story, especially as it's with a rockstar, which is pretty much the ultimate fantasy. The supporting characters had a decent amount of personality to each of them, but the focus was clearly really on Holly. This lack of information does continue until the ending, where one storyline is tied up but loads are left kind of unanswered. However, this didn't bother me too much as the main storyline got a satisfactory ending. Of course I have to make a quick social justice warrior point: I was disappointed in the slut shaming in this. The first line is "I looked like a skank.", which is never a good way to start a book. Holly's cousins, two girls who appear to sleep around, are also demonised. I'm not a fan of this aspect at all, and I think we could've done with much less slut shaming. Maybe 0% of the original amount. We do get some representation and Holly makes some comments that tell us that she's not actually a conservative snob, but she has some things to learn. If this were a series, that would be a good point for character development. Lastly, this isn't a super festive read. It takes place during Christmas, but it's not mentioned much and most of the story might as well have been taking place mid March. Overall, a fun, cute love story with the ultimate guilty pleasure: celebrity dating. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, mildly Christmas-y love story. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/13188003-decked-with-holly Amazon: www.amazon.com/Decked-Holly-Marni-Bates-ebook/dp/B007XIC3N4 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. Rating: 3/5
This was FANTASTIC thriller-wise. It made me genuinely nervous as it deals with things pretty much everyone is scared of: drowning and ghosts. Those parts were written so well they had me on the edge of my seat, and I was imagining it so much it felt life-like. If you're looking for a good scary book, this definitely is one. I was less of a fan of the main character, as he was a bit of a delinquent which I couldn't relate to at all, and I had a hard time liking someone who spent his time committing crimes. I do have to say that he fit in this story very well, with the people his brother and mum are. I also didn't like Neisha's character, as she didn't pass the 'sexy lamp' test at all. This test basically just checks if a female character could be replaced by a goodlooking lamp, and Neisha definitely could've been. She basically didn't add anything, despite Carl trying to make everything about her. She used to date Rob, but as soon as he's dead she just kind of moves on to Carl. She is also very much treated as being a boy's property. She is "Carl's girl". This leads me to the romantic plot of this story, which made me uncomfortable, with fifteen year old kids telling each other they love them within days of being together and Carl's brother/Neisha's boyfriend dying. Carl then proceeds to obsess over Neisha and act like she is the most important thing in his life. The overall plot was enjoyable. It was a bit slow at times, but not so much that it really bothered me. The scenes with Rob in them were proper scary, and I enjoyed watching Carl go on a quest to figure out who he was before the accident and what actually happened during the accident. Altogether an enjoyable book, definitely a good Halloween read. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/16120205-the-drowning Amazon: www.amazon.com/Drowning-Rachel-Ward/dp/0545627710 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. Rating: 3/5
This book was quite enjoyable to read once it got going properly. It was a bit slow at times, mainly the first half of the novel was just background story and getting to know the characters. Nick was an alright character, though she seemed a bit too perfect, but edgy. She didn't like her father's new girlfriend for no particular reason at all, apart from maybe the fact that she had lipstick on her teeth sometimes? Not sure about this. The mystery itself was intriguing and pulled me in all the way. The search for Madeleine was realistic and I wanted more of that. I spent most of the book waiting for Dara to finally go missing to deepen the mystery, but that took ages and only really got going in the last 100 pages or so. Fortunately the filler parts weren't too boring, but I'd have liked more mystery over all this background story, though I understand that the author wanted to have a proper world to set it in. The setting then, was pretty cool. The theme park had this creepy ride that someone died on once and allegedly it's haunted by her now. This was creepy and cool, and the victim's father still showing up at the ride occasionally gave it that extra bit of spookiness. The ending was alright. I half liked it, half didn't. What I'm going to say without spoilers is that I liked the Dara resolution, but the Madeleine resolution was quite disappointing to me. If you've read this book, please let me know what you thought as I'd really like to hear other people's opinions! Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/22465597-vanishing-girls Amazon: www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Girls-Lauren-Oliver/dp/0062224115 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. Rating: 4/5
My first Spooky October book! I really enjoyed this one! If you read my October TBR / Book Haul you might remember me saying I got spoiled for this book. Turns out I wasn't! I misread a question from a Book Club on Instagram and spent the whole time thinking this one person did it, and by the time the ending rolled around it turned out that person hadn't done it and I was so confused! I'm really glad I wasn't actually spoiled though, and I guess I got a first-hand view into what tunnel vision is like ;) This book got right into the action, and kept introductions short and to the point. I was surprised to see Simon die so early on in the book, but you don't hear me complaining. I loved all the characters, and how they were essentially their stereotype, but also grew to be more than that. Sometimes all the background characters got a little overwhelming and I had to really try hard to remember who's dating who and who's sister is whose, but that wasn't too annoying. Bronwyn was my favourite character, what a surprise, as I am essentially her. I am an overachiever who thinks everything can be solved by tactical thinking. I loved her growth in this book. Also!! I loved the portrayals of family relationships! Parents weren't always the best, but siblings came to the rescue and it was so lovely and refreshing to read about sisters getting along really well. I appreciate that the background characters got a little story of their own too, so they weren't just two dimensional blobs scuttling around at the back of the stage while the play took place. I'm always going on about feminism and representation and what not on here, so I think it's good to mention some positives on this front sometimes too! This book was a great on the representation part, with different ethnicities and sexualities, and although the female characters had me sceptical at the start of the book, they stepped the heck up and I loved them at the end of the book. Seriously, Addy made a proper 180 and turned out so amazing and strong! It was awesome to read her transformation! The plot itself was thrilling and kept me guessing till the very end, where it was unravelled just a bit too quickly too my taste, and I wasn't a big fan of the ending itself overall, but it was fine and fitting, I suppose. As the book went straight into action instead of spending 100 pages waffling about world building (as some books do, I hate it) I would say that the overall page to page enjoyment of this book was very high. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun mystery read, for either Halloween or any other time of year! Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/32571395-one-of-us-is-lying Amazon: www.amazon.com/One-Us-Lying-Karen-McManus/dp/1524714682 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. Rating: 4/5
[ Warning. Review contains mentions of sex ] I read this book because one of my favourite Youtubers, Lukeisnotsexy, is making a movie for it. And although he's been working on it for like three years already, he's now finishing up, so I wanted to make sure I'd read the book before it came out. Unfortunately I didn't love it as much as Luke did, but I did really like it. This book is bluntly and unapologetically magical. We aren't given any explanations for all the magical things, nor are we told if these things just happen in the Bathhouse or if they happen everywhere, apart from the water goddesses. I loved this a lot. We waste no time in trying to make up rational explanations, we just dive straight in. The thing that made me like the book less than Luke did is probably that I really disliked Arthur. He's a gross teenage boy who objectifies women, and is rewarded for that by getting a pretty girlfriend who is genuinely in love with him. At least she thinks so. I'm not entirely sure if this book had a message of love or one of hopelessness in love. Arthur is bullied, his mum ran off, and his dad is completely depressed, so I did feel sorry for him, but his obsession with naked women and genitalia really put me off him. One of the other main characters Lauren, had a very intriguing story. The book opened with her story and her narrative was interesting and pulled me in right away. I was sad that we didn't get much else from her in the rest of the book, but I suppose her story was just necessary to explain the rest of the book. I love her and she deserved better. The story itself was a pleasant read and I was mostly trying to unravel the mysteries the whole time. Arthur and Delphina's romance wasn't too interesting to me, but fortunately their relationship furthered the plot and revealed more secrets. Overall a fun read and I look forward to the film. Also, I'm curious to see how Luke makes the film, as half the characters are naked the whole time. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/17701852-the-drowning-of-arthur-braxton Amazon: www.amazon.com/Drowning-Arthur-Braxton-Caroline-Smailes/dp/0007479093 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: 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 SYNOPSIS: Celaena Sardothien, royal assassin, is the King of Adarlan's deadliest weapon. She must with her freedom through his enemies' blood - but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, puts those she loves at risk. Torn between her two protectors - a captain and a prince - and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart, or the fate of a kingdom... Rating: 4/5
[ Contains NO spoilers for this book or the rest of the series ] This book started out SO. SLOW. It took me eight days to read it, because half the time I couldn't be bothered to pick it up. That is, until page 200 or so, when things suddenly started picking up pace very, very quickly. I read the last 220 pages within two days. Although others have said that this book was better than the first book, I have to disagree because of those first 200 pages. The last half was definitely amazing and thrilling and everything I could possibly wish for in a book. Sarah J. Maas does not shy away from killing characters and that is brilliant, but also scary because it keeps the reader on their toes. I LOVE the characters in this series. It is sometimes hard to write characters you love having fights, because it's hard to imagine them disagreeing as you love them both and want them to have good opinions. Sarah J. Maas manages to have her characters fight and disagree and make mistakes, but still have me feeling torn between what is the right thing and whom I should be siding with. There is no doubt in my mind that she is an amazing author and I admire her greatly. The ending of this book slammed me in the face and I can't wait to read the next book! So many things were suddenly revealed and at the same time only created more mysteries. I'm so excited to see how everything is resolved, but seeing as there are four more books, I have a feeling I'll have to carry my curiosity around for quite some time... This book is thrilling, exciting, fresh, and action-packed! I would recommend this series to anyone who does not shy away from gore and violence and loves a good fantasy book! Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/17167166-crown-of-midnight?ac=1&from_search=true Amazon: www.amazon.com/Crown-Midnight-Throne-Glass-Sarah/dp/1619630621 SYNOPSIS: The Selection began with thirty-five girls. Now with the group narrowed down to the six Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's heart is fiercer than ever—and America is still struggling to decide where her heart truly lies. Is it with Maxon, who could make her life a fairy tale? Or with her first love, Aspen? America is desperate for more time. But the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America's chance to choose is about to slip away. SYNOPSIS: The time has come for one winner to be crowned. When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants. Rating: 4/5 & 5/5
[ screaming for four minutes straight ] I LOVED THIS SERIES! It started out as one of those super basic love stories in a cute fairytale setting, but it became so much more than that, with the problems of the castes and the rebellions and everything! This series is very, very dear to me and it has quickly become one of my favourites. I am super looking forward to reading the two kind-of-epilogue books!! America got on my nerves at times (Oh my god, girl, COMMUNICATE!! If you are worried about something, TALK ABOUT IT!!) and I read in some other reviews that people really disliked her. However, I feel like I understood her so well. You can say it's a terrible thing to leave two boys hanging, but sometimes you can't help how you feel. And especially when one of those boys broke up with you before which makes you insecure, but you have to watch the other boy date other girls, which makes you insecure as well! I think we can all be a little more patient with America, as she tried her best and it's totally understandable that she was confused and insecure. I mean, going from being a Five to being the Queen is daunting, and it's only logical that she was unsure if she was up for the task. And with so many people being against her, I think she was very brave altogether. I loved all the female characters in this series as well. I was afraid it would be a big competition between all the girls and the main character, but there was so much female friendship and loving going on! I loved that! The storyline just kept my attention and I read these books in two days. Even though from the start you kind of know how it's going to end, I was still dying to figure everything out and to find out not only what happens to America, but also to everyone else! I'm sad to say goodbye to this Selection, America and Maxon, but I know they'll come back in small roles in the next two books. I would definitely recommend these books to anyone who's a sucker for a good romance! The Elite (The Selection #2) Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/16248068-the-elite?from_search=true Amazon: www.amazon.com/Elite-Selection-Kiera-Cass/dp/0062059971 The One (The Selection #3) Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/18635016-the-one?from_search=true Amazon: www.amazon.com/One-Selection-Kiera-Cass/dp/0062060007/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NVZ4NFEE9Y4ARZ5ADFV8 |
AuthorHi! I'm Marcella. As you might have guessed, I quite like YA books.. Archives
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