MaxMax is one of those older guys dating a High School girl, and if there's anything I find super gross it's this. I like to think that if they're preying on teenage girls, there's a reason girls their own age don't want them, and that's definitely the case with Max. He's a jerk. SamTrying to kick people out of an MMA club because of their gender? Feeling girls up while sparring with them? No thanks. He definitely makes it onto the naughty list for being an annoying lowkey misogynist and seemingly getting away with it in the book. Literally most of the characters in this bookWhere do I even begin... Kidnapping in the first degree, breaking and entering... I could go on but I don't want to spoil anything. The group of girls who are the main characters of this book have gotten themselves into plenty of trouble to get coal for the rest of their lives. EdwardChasing after a seventeen year old girl when you've "been seventeen for quite a while" is creepy, and keeping her around even though you are literally a threat to her life is even creepier. Edward is nothing less than a predator and he's gross. What characters did I miss? Let me know!
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Do you ever pick up a book at the bookstore that looks promising, read the back, and then intend on buying it until you see that one thing. That one thing that ruins it all. That's the thing I'm going to talk about today. The Bookish things that I'm a Grinch about AKA things that make me put down a book right away. A Helpless Female MCMy biggest and #1 Pet Peeve when it comes to books is when the main character is a girl who can't do anything by herself, and needs a guy to help her with everything. Twilight is a good example of this, as every time I thought Bella might come around and pull herself together she fell back down and needed Edward to come to the rescue. GROSS. Slut ShamingDon't even come NEAR me with female main characters who think they are better than other girls because they don't sleep around or are a virgin. In Zenn Diagram the MC even slut shames her three year old sister. Stuff like that really makes me resent a character and makes it hard for me to sympathise with them overall. Drama because of MiscommunicationClearly I'm not as much of a Grinch about this one as about the previous ones, seeing as The Selection series is definitely guilty of this on multiple occasions and it's still one of my favourite series. It did have me screaming "JUST TALK ABOUT YOUR DARN FEELINGS FOR ONCE", which is never a good sign. Those are my biggest book pet peeves! What are yours? Let me know!
Do you ever just sit and marvel at an author's writing style and way with words? I do! Here are some authors I wish I could write like! Stephanie PerkinsStephanie Perkins has some sort of magic ability to make me fall in love with whomever she wants. In the Anna and the French Kiss series she gets me to crush on each of the love interests, despite their differences. I love how she can romanticise all these different kinds of people and write a convincing, different main character for each of her books. Sarah J. MaasWORLD BUILDING. It's very hard to build up a fantasy world from the ground, but Sarah J. Maas is a pro at it and comes across so realistically and well thought out every time. She has an answer to everything and seems to have known every detail about her world before she started writing anything, as every little piece falls into place. Jandy NelsonJandy Nelson somehow gets me attached to a story from the first chapter. I love and care for the characters like they are my closest friends and I want all the best for them. The stories flow so naturally like they really occurred like this and Nelson is simply writing them down. One of my favourite authors. David LevithanDavid Levithan writes the books LGBT kids deserve: honest love stories without focusing too much on the fact that they are LGBT. Levithan doesn't ignore the LGBT aspect though, it's definitely an important point in all his books, but it is never the focus. The focus is on the main character's story. These are some of the authors I greatly admire and look up to! Who are your favourites? Let me know!
Some books just change things for you. These are some that changed me. I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy NelsonThis is one of my absolute favourite books, and sometimes it just comes up in my mind and I can't stop thinking about it for a while. It's humanising and grounding and so so real. The Fault in Our Stars - John GreenThe Fault in Our Stars is a great book, but that's not why it made this list. Reading this launched me into a path of self discovery and brought me to John and Hank Green on YouTube and consequently to a large group of fans who are unapologetic nerds and made me feel like I belonged somewhere, which was something I really needed when I was 13 and lost. The Hate U Give - Angie ThomasI'm thankful for this book because I am hoping it changes people's views on things. I was already a strong Black Lives Matter supporter before reading this, but it still changed things for me and made it feel just that bit closer to home. I really think that this book makes people think too and makes them get behind the BLM movement. The Outsiders of Uskoken Castle - Kurt HeldThe book that sparked my love for reading. CHERUB - Robert MuchamoreThe series that kept the spark burning. What books have had an important impact on your life? Let me know!
There are quite a few books that had me on the edge of my seat, despite them not being horror books. I don't read that much horror, so I have more of these than actual scary horror books anyway. Maze Runner - James DashnerThe Maze Runner series isn't spooky, it's more scary and thrilling. It's mysterious and keeps giving you just enough hints to keep you hooked. Harry Potter - J.K. RowlingGet black magic involved and I'm scared. Honestly, imagine having the Dark Lord just hanging out in your head. No thanks. One of Us Is Lying - Karen M. McManusOne of Us Is Lying is a psychological thriller. While you are reading everyone's points of view, you keep having the title in the back of your mind and wondering which one of these people is lying to you. It's a scary mindgame. What is your favourite scary book? Let me know!
Two weeks ago I made a post about books with witches in (link!) and today's post is kind of a follow-up on that. Here are some of my favourite paranormal creatures in YA! The Drowning of Arthur Braxton - Caroline SmailesWhatever half the characters in this book are, they're not human. There's at least two different kinds of paranormal creature, but I'm not going to say what they are, as that would spoil the book. This book is paranormal without being obviously so, it's too grounded to be a proper paranormal creepy story and that gives the whole thing a bit of a magical vibe. The Drowning - Rachel WardAfter his brother dies, Carl starts seeing and hearing him around. This feels like more than just hallucinations from guilt or whatever, and it gave me the creeps. Coraline - Neil GaimanA creepy classic for all ages. Neil Gaiman made up his own kind of paranormal creatures and he got a hit. They're scary as heck and I can't believe this is actually a children's book. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom RiggsRansom Riggs built this entire world with different types of paranormal creatures and a paranormal setting and everything is insanely good. I can't imagine anyone who loves YA wouldn't have at least read the first book of this series, but if you haven't, this series is honestly a gem and you should definitely try it! Throne of Glass - Sarah J. MaasThis book has elves, witches, magic, pretty much all the paranormal fantasy stuff you could wish for. I haven't finished this series yet, but I'm really enjoying it. Perhaps in later books there are more creatures that I haven't met yet. This series is another YA classic and I'd recommend it to everyone. Another Day - David LevithanI KNOW I should read the original book, Every Day, but I still haven't gotten round to it. I liked Another Day though. The book itself wasn't super great, but I liked the concept a lot. I haven't got a clue what kind of paranormal creature A is, but I love it and would love to read more about this type of creature. I haven't been able to find anything like this so far, however, so if you have any recommendations hit me up! Those are some of my faves! What are yours? Let me know!
I love creepy books! My favourite settings are either really normal ones or really spooky ones. For example, I just read One of Us Is Lying, of which the setting was just a normal town with a normal school. This makes the story creepier, as it makes you feel like this could happen to you! You live in a town like this and go to a school like this too! Another book in a normal setting is Vanishing Girls, by Lauren Oliver, which is also set in a normal town. However it also has a setting that's more of the second type, which is a theme park with a creepy abandoned ride that someone died on years ago. Nothing better than a good old haunting. My second favourite type of creepy setting is the one that is set up to be creepy. These are usually kind of paranormal, like with ghosts in a haunted asylum or, like in The Drowning of Arthur Braxton, dead people in an abandoned bath house. Vanishing Girls doesn't have any real paranormal things, but it gives the illusion it does, just by speaking of the haunting and making the ride seem scary. The TV show American Horror Story is the true Queen of creepy settings like these! Those are my favourite types of creepy settings! What are yours? Let me know!
I've never been much of a Fantasy or Paranormal reader, but I've recently been reading more of that. But today's Top 5 Wednesdays topic is Witches, so I will obey. Although I don't think we're going to get to 5 for this Wednesday's post! Harry Potter - J.K. RowlingThis is a bit of a cop-out, but of course I had to mention it. Quite possibly the most-read book series ever is all about witches and wizards. My favourite witch is definitely Hermione. Heir of Fire - Sarah J. MaasThe witches are introduced in the third book of the Throne of Glass series. I'm not quite sure what happens to them in the next books, as I haven't read them yet! I did very much enjoy Manon's storyline in Heir of Fire. Hex - Thomas Olde HeuveltI keep seeing this book at my library and I really want to read it, but they only have the Dutch version and I kind of want to read it in English. My October Halloween TBR is pretty full, but if I end up finishing earlier than expected I might pick up the Dutch version of this anyway. This witch is a bit different from the first two books', as she is a myth, whereas the witches in the previous two books were all active characters. That's all the YA books with witches I can think of right now. Any I missed? 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!
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!
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AuthorHi! I'm Marcella. As you might have guessed, I quite like YA books.. Archives
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