Everything Everything

by Nicola Yoon
320 pages
Published: September 1 2015

Blurb:

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.

Rating:

Thoughts:

This book had such a fantastic story, one I've been needing for a while now. We have Madeline, a girl with a disease very rare and very incurable, which limits what she eats, what she touches, and what she breathes. She thinks she can't possibly fall in love, can't possibly have the hormones any normal teenage girl would have. She thought wrong. 

In this book, I found the relationship between Madeline and Olly (especially through the IMs) so humorous and cute that I was just smiling the whole way through. The dialogue between characters was really enjoyable and relaxed, which I was a big fan of. Also, I really like how much Madeline has changed at the end of the book, since she started out so naive and just...restrained. At the end, you bet she wouldn't hesitate to jump off the roof of a building if it meant getting what she wanted. She was also quite confident and didn't bore you talking about every insecurity and flaw she had, something you see often in YA. Awesome female protagonist. 

This book had several little charts, articles, word definitions, etc. which was a great addition to the story. I now really want to play some of the games Madeline and her mother created to keep her entertained in the house. The fact that she knew so little about the outside world because she was kept inside the borders of her house was also interesting to read about. Some things, I won't say what exactly, I found a little bit unrealistic, which is why I couldn't really give it a 5/5, but it was otherwise such an amazing contemporary read. And yes, I was a fan of the ending, which I've heard mixed feelings about. 

Any contemporary lover, I'm sure, would love this book, but it especially has a John Green and Perks of Being a Wallflower feel to it. 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon 
226 pages
Published: May 18 2004

Blurb: 

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favourite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally.

Rating:

Thoughts:

I'll keep this review short and sweet, just as this book was. Well, maybe not sweet. We follow a smart protagonist named Christopher here with unconventional habits and a unique way of thinking. I found his perspective intelligent, yet easy to follow. The only thing I guess I didn't enjoy very much, and the reason why this wasn't a 5-star read for me, is that he got extremely frustrating at times when he refused to follow orders or just simply behave. I felt sorry for his parents.

This book is not a fast-paced book whatsoever, it quite frankly has a very simple plot. The thing that really makes it is all the interesting facts Christopher shares with the readers, things like mathematical puzzles and logical science. You would think this information would make the book dull, but Mark Haddon has a way of making you actually care to learn. 

It was interesting to see Christopher develop over the course of 226 pages, since his experiences really made him much more independent and aware of his actions. Again, since this was such a short book, there is not much to say about it, but Christopher and some of the other characters are what make it distinctly enjoyable, in my opinion. 

If you're an animal lover, tolerant person, and you enjoy short books, I suggest you pick this up!

Six Of Crows

by Leigh Bardugo

465 pages
(Six Of Crows, #1)
Published: September 29 2015

Blurb:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

Rating:

Thoughts:

If there's anything I want you to gather after reading this review, it is that this book deserves every ounce of hype it's been getting, because it completely BLEW MY MIND!!!

We follow a group of teenagers, some with more criminal experience than others, who venture on this nearly impossible heist for a grand prize. If that doesn't intrigue you, I honestly don't know what will. The plot and events of this book were so intricate and detailed, woven together so meticulously that you can't help but wonder how much thought Leigh Bardugo had to put into everything and how much effort it must've taken to perfect all the factors and how they connect together. It was truly a puzzle, filled with just the right amount betrayal and suspense. Throughout this whole novel, the possibilities of there being traitors or pretenders to screw up the whole plan kept running through my mind, and it's safe to say you are kept on edge when you read this book. For once, I was actually not sure if the good guys would, in the end, prevail. 

What really sets this book apart from others like it is the diversity and likability of the characters. Usually, in novels, I have a set of characters that I separate from the rest as my favorites, but with this one, I actually enjoyed each and every one of them, for the most part. I do have to say, though, Inej and Kaz amused me a little more significantly. I found them really hilarious and mysterious, since their pasts are so interesting and dark. Reading about the histories of people so equally different from one another was quite entertaining. The group, as a whole, communicated very well, and you could see how, although everyone was quite young, their minds put together created a lethal combination. It was fantastic to read about. 

I greatly enjoyed the writing style in this novel, since it held a bit of a more formal tone while still managing to be playful at times and tense in others. I think the formality came with the world and the variety of cultures, but it made the flow of the novel much more put together, which I liked. The descriptions Leigh provided of the settings made it easy to place yourself into this detailed world, considering it had scenes you don't see very often, if at all. I also love the map in this book, which I know is nothing new, but it added to my level of enjoyment. Overall, a greatly written book.

I would recommend this to anyone who has read and enjoyed Snow Like Ashes, Percy Jackson, the Legend Trilogy, or Sarah J. Maas'v novels. While reading it, I felt it give off a similar vibe to these suggestions. I already know it's making my favorites of the year, and I highly recommend everyone to give it a go! :)

Apologies

I know I've been pretty much the worst blogger on the face of the earth this past, who knows how many months. I really don't have a good excuse for not writing other than just not having the time and not being up for it when I do. For that, I really am sorry, but I am planning on getting some content up in the very near future as I will soon be on break! So I'm reallyy looking forward to getting back on here. Also, I'm enjoying playing around with how my page looks, so it will be changing quite a few times. Other than that, see you soon! 

The Paper Magician

by Charlie N. Holmberg
224 pages
(The Paper Magician Trilogy, #1)
Published: September 1 2014

Blurb: 

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic… forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined — animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner — a practitioner of dark, flesh magic — invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

Rating:

Thoughts:

This book was such a refreshing change. I must admit, though, I hadn't heard about it before browsing through the kindle store. Magicians are not something I thought to read about before, mostly because there aren't too many popular books about them. Now I wish there were more.The cover of this book drew me in first, then the title. I just knew I had to download it (oh and the fact that it was free but never mind that). 

Many people did not enjoy this book. As much as I liked it, I have to say I can see why. They either thought the main character, Ceony, was annoying or that the story was all over the place. I understand it can come off that way, but I have to disagree. While the plot did have some slow and unnecessary patches, everything more or less contributed to the main goal. I liked how unique the story was and all the little details that really made me admire the author's creative thinking. It's quite a nice story, however it may need some patience to appreciate. 

The really enjoyed the writing and setting of this book. It was written in a way that some people might call "easy" or "fast", which suits the story. While the book didn't exactly have any surprises, since you could pretty much guess the outcome of everything, it was still entertaining. The setting, I can't say much about because it gives away a lot. But I will say that the setting was very well described, and I did find myself able to clearly imagine what was happening and where it was happening. 

Ceony, in my opinion, was a great character. She was very bright and determined to do whatever she set her mind to. At the end of the book, she did seem a bit...obsessive, but you have to cut the girl some slack. I mean, she goes through quite a lot. If you know what I mean ;) *Waits patiently for someone who's read the book to get the pun* Back to my point, the characters here were very interesting. Mg. Thane, Ceony's mentor, provided that hint of insanity that I think every book needs. He was such a fun character to read about. 

In the end, this book fits into that category of "simply entertaining" on my shelf. It may not be the best in terms of great literature, but it's definitely a good time. 

Tricolor

by Lisa Terry
191 pages
Published: July 16 2015

Blurb:

It’s the typical problem of can’t-stay-broken-up-with-your-boyfriend-when-his-parents-go-missing. Okay, so it might not be typical but O’Ryan’s lovelife is bumped to the bottom of the priority list when a madman shows up wielding a knife. O’Ryan has to meet his demands or everyone she cares about will be toast. 

The easy answer is to call the police, but it’s a bit much to ask them to protect everyone—the list of people he’s threatened is really long. When her boyfriend’s parents turn up dead, she realizes the man with the knife has to be beat at his own game because giving into his demands will make O’Ryan a criminal too.

Rating:

Thoughts:

I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
First off, I don't read much, if any, adult/thriller/suspense novels. It's not my typical read, and not something I'm usually in the mood for. You could even say I avoided these kind of novels, for whatever reason. But this fact made me more curious to read this book and finally see for myself what an adult suspense novel is like. 

This book surprised and slightly disappointed me. It surprised me because it was very entertaining and I found the plot to be very captivating. I was always interested to find out how things would unfold and it really doesn't take a long time to finish this book. It goes by very quickly, and its length was perfect for its story, since it would've been unnecessary to extend it beyond 200 pages. For my first suspense novel, I was pleasantly surprised by the plot. 

I was, however, pretty disappointed by the writing. I felt that it was too choppy at times and very unclear in others. Sometimes, the narrator would try to inform the reader about an event that took place before the starting point of the book and she would only do that through dialogue. That leaves a lot for the reader to assume, since the character obviously won't flat-out tell another person who experienced the event exactly what happened. She'd sound a bit mad. I just would've liked to see a little more told to us through O'Ryan's thoughts. The uneven flow of the writing also made it hard to understand what was going on at certain action scenes, and I'd have to reread lines to figure out who hit who, etc. I could never feel anxious whenever something intense happened and I think it's because of that. Another thing about the writing is the use of punctuation. It just stood out to me that there were too many exclamation points at times when a simple period would've made the sentence much more effective/dramatic and less like a line out of a children's book. If you get what I mean.

Now my favorite aspect of a novel is always its characters. Always. I don't know why, but-actually I do know why. Imagine a novel without characters... Exactly. Now imagine a novel without a plot or a setting. It can manage with the characters just yapping on at each other. My point is, I wasn't blown away by the characters in this book. At the beginning, I really enjoyed O'Ryan's character because she was very witty. As the book went on, she started to grow irritating and prioritised all the wrong things. I sometimes felt bad for the people associated with her. Peter, however, the 9-year-old in the book, made up for all of that in my opinion. He was such a clever, mischievous little boy and impossible not to like. I would've liked seeing the book from his perspective, if I'm honest.

If you're looking for a short read with a unique plot, and can look past a few issues like these, I can't see why you wouldn't enjoy this novel :)  

Angelfall

by Susan Ee
288 pages
(Penryn & the End of Days, #1)
Published: August 28 2012

Blurb: 

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Rating:

Thoughts:

Oh, how wonderful it is when a book truly keeps you on the very edge of your seat. With this one, I think I might've even fallen off. WOAH. That pretty much sums it up. I have heard lots about this series, but have never felt like venturing into the angel category of paranormal. Seeing as this was free on kindle, I had to check it out. Next thing I know, I'm writing this review. 

So, this is a very unique book. That was one of the things that stood out to me most about it. Sometimes, in the middle of reading, you'd really wonder how on earth Susan Ee thought up all the different aspects. Without going into details, this book had a taste of originality that really made me enjoy it even more. It is something you very rarely find these days in YA fiction.

Action-pactwise, this scored a solid A+. The way Susan writes the scenes makes it very easy to imagine, and perfect fly-through material. You find yourself really anxious at times because of the way this book toys with your interest and curiosity. At other times, this book can get really gruesome, because as I mentioned earlier the author really likes to get creative with her descriptions. While that would normally bother me, it really fit with the theme of this book and didn't try to disgust the reader. It simply had the perfect touch of creepy!

The romance in this book can easily come off as cheesy, but it somehow didn't for me. It was either the fact that I read it at a really good time, or maybe it was the book being my first angel one. Whatever it was, I loved the relationship between Penryn and Raffe. I wouldn't call it insta-lovey, because come on, the dude's a freaking angel. It would only make sense for him to be beautiful and loveable. And since sarcasm was a factor, this book also really made me laugh at times. Then there was the strong relationship between Penryn and her sister. I liked how Penryn was always really protective and didn't let anything district her from her tasks. I'm really looking forward to reading more about these characters.

Overall, I feel like the author did a really good job of making something special out of such an ordinary plot. at first, I gave this book a 4.5, but decided not to review it until later on. Now that I'm writing this, I can't remember any of my issues with it. For that reason, I just went ahead and changed my rating to a 5, because what the heck. It was a pretty darn good one! This book might not sound like your piece of cake, but I still highly encourage any fan of paranormal YA to try reading it. You might find it upon your new favourites!