Mid-Year Review

Even though it's a little late, I wanted to do a mid-year review for the books that I've read this year.  Here is a list of my top ten favourite books I've read so far this year (re-reads not included!).


1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

If you caught my review of this book last week, you know how much I love it.  This is an absolutely amazing book - both lovely and heart-breaking - and should be read by everyone!  It is such an important read and probably one of my favourite books I've read in my life, not just this year!

2. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Eliza and Her Monsters is definitely one of my favourite books of the year.  It is amazingly fun to read but also has a large focus on mental illness and suicide.  The characters are lovable and extremely relate-able, especially for many of us introverted readers.


3. Geekerella by Ashley Poston

A modern re-telling of Cinderella, Geekerella was a great version of the old story that had a huge focus on fandom.  I love books that show the importance of fandom like this one did, especially when they do it in such a fun way.  The main characters were pretty awesome as well.


4. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

This is one of the most unique books that I've read in awhile.  Normally I'm opposed to the epistolary format (this may be the first book written in this format that I've actually completed), but I thought it worked quite well in this case.  I grew attached to many of the characters as well (Ezra is adorable).  It kept me on my toes as I stayed up all night reading it.  It also reminded in some ways of a zombie movie, which is something I definitely enjoyed (even though I was pretty creeped out at the same time).


5. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

I read this book months ago and it's still stuck with me.  I thought the series was amazingly well-written and a lot of fun to read.  But I also loved the more serious aspect of the books (the point is to kill Hitler after all) and I think it was handled amazingly well.  I don't want to give too much away for those of you who haven't read it, but I'd definitely recommend everyone read this duology!


6. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

I honestly can't believe that I waited this long to read this book series; Percy Jackson was such a fun ride!  Riordan did an amazing job with creating lovable characters, an interesting plot, and just a fun read overall.  I also love Greek mythology so having another take on the myths was great as well!


7. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Just another pretty fun read so far this year.  It reminded me of Eliza and Her Monsters in a lot of ways, but was probably more fun with slightly less emphasis on more serious matters.  Was my second ever Rainbow Rowell book and was definitely not disappointed!


8. A List of Cages by Robin Roe

An absolutely heart-breaking read, but so amazing as well.  I think everyone should go into this book not knowing much about it, so I'm not going to say much, but I think it's an amazing book and would definitely recommend reading it.


9. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Caraval may not be the best book I've ever read - it does have its issues and isn't necessarily the best written book I've ever read - but boy is it a fun read!  I first read it on a plane ride and was so engrossed in it that I spent the entire time reading it - and didn't even know when the plane landed!  I went in with few expectations - other than to read a fun book and be entertained - and was not disappointed at all.


10. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

The first Rainbow Rowell book I ever read.  I did find it a bit of a slow read, but I loved the relationship between Eleanor and Park.  It grew very organically and I couldn't help but fall in love with their story.


What about all of you?  What have been your favourite reads so far this year?

A Review: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

Synopsis: 
It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space--and change their lives forever.
Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune.
Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan.
Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.
It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them.


Thoughts:
I'm not quite sure what to think of this book.  There are many parts of it that I have an issue with, but the good parts were good.

THE PLOT
I know that when reading any book, we have to suspend disbelief.  Many things that take place in any book are completely unrealistic, but the events of this book seemed overly unrealistic.  The very premise of sending teenagers to the moon is laughable - in real life there are tons and tons of things that an astronaut must go through before they get sent into space.  Even though I genuinely enjoyed the book, it took awhile for me to get past this point.
As for the pacing, it took about half the novel before I really got into it.  I started becoming genuinely interested around the time that they finally took off to go to the moon.  The first half of the book seemed to drag - too much time spent addressing why the teenagers entered the contest to the moon (which are all stupid reasons, more about that below) and very limited information about what training they went through (which also seemed pretty unrealistic).  The second half of the book though was extremely entertaining.  I don't want to give too much away about it, but almost immediately upon arrival on the moon everything turns to hell.  It's also around this point that the story starts to get incredibly creepy.  As I was listening to the audiobook half of me wanted to run away while the other half wanted to keep listening.  Maybe I just scare easy, but it seemed to be a pretty popular opinion so I don't think I'm the only one creeped out by this book.

THE CHARACTERS
One major problem for me during this book is that I genuinely did not like any of the characters.  I didn't find any of them particularly likeable and many seemed very one-dimensional.  The reasons why the three teens decided to go to the moon are all incredibly stupid.  Mia wanted exposure for her band, Midori wanted an excuse to move to New York, and Antoine just wanted to get away from his girlfriend.  All very good reasons to put your life at risk and go to the moon, am I right?  (NOT)  There was also a small romance that seemed very awkward and unnecessary as well as insta-lovey (which is one of my biggest pet peeves).

FINAL COMMENTS
I debated for awhile trying to figure out what to rate this book.  I do have issues with many aspects of this book, but I absolutely loved the second half!  I was on the edge of my seat throughout most of the second half and was thoroughly entertained.


Rating: 4/5

A Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Warning: This review contains spoilers!


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.


Thoughts:
Oh.  My.  God.

This book is absolutely amazing.  This is one of the most moving, heart-wrenching, and powerful books that I've read in a long time.  And I loved everything about it!

Many sections of the book had me incredibly angry at the injustice that Khalil (and his friends and family) faced.  Like when the cops ignored Starr's account of what happened that night and instead focused on the fact that Khalil was a drug dealer (like that meant he deserved to get shot in the back three times).  Or when the father of the officer who shot him told blatant lies on live TV to make Khalil and Starr look bad and excuse his son for shooting someone for no reason.  Or when they ultimately decide not to do anything to the officer.

I think the message that Thomas portrays in this book is extremely important, especially with what is going on in the world today.  One of the (slightly more minor) sections of the book that really got to me was:

"No," Maya says.  "What you said about it was racist.  And your Thanksgiving joke was definitely racist."
"Oh my God, you're still upset about that?"  Hailey says.  "That was so long ago!"
"Doesn't make it okay," I say.  "And you can't even apologize for it."
"I'm not apologizing because it was only a joke!"  she shouts.  "It doesn't make me a racist."
-Angie Thomas (2017)

Stuff like this happens every day.  And it's important that people understand that just because something's a joke to them doesn't mean it's okay.  (And the character of Hailey had this attitude throughout the entire book, which definitely pissed me off!)

While some sections of the book had me angry, there were also many other moments that had me tearing up and reaching for the tissues.  Like when Starr has to re-live what happened that night (over and over again) or when Khalil's family and friends have to deal with the loss of someone they loved.  The book was incredibly heart-wrenching and just made the injustice of it all even worse.

On a happier note, I absolutely loved the characters in this book.  Starr's family was absolutely amazing and I loved how supportive and loving her parents were.  I loved how close the entire family was and how much they all looked out for one another.  And the neighbourhood was amazing too, always sticking together.  (On a slight side note, Brickz the dog was an added bonus for me.)

I think this is a book with such an important message that everyone - everyone - should read it.  Be prepared to be angry.  Even possibly cry.  But read it.  Some parts may be hard to read - it may be hard to face the truth of what our society's really like or it may be hard to watch Starr and her family be put through so much.  But I'm a firm believer that works like this, the ones that are hard to read, are the ones that should be read.


Rating: 5/5

A Review: This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Synopsis:
10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.
10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.
10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.
10:05
Someone starts shooting.
Told from four perspectives over the span of 54 harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.



Thoughts:
I've waited a little while before reviewing this, and I'm still not entirely sure what I think about this book.  Obviously it's a book about very serious subject matter and I think that stories like these are extremely important for everyone to read.  And I think the author captured the horror of the situation and the fear of being in the midst of it extremely well.

However, I did feel that something was seriously lacking from the novel.  The story was told from the perspective of four different characters that were extremely difficult to tell apart.  Multiple times I had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to check who was narrating it because I forgot which one it was.  In addition to this, the characters all seemed very one-dimensional.  People in real life are complex while the ones in this book were . . . not.  To me, this was a particular problem when it came to the shooter.  In comparison to another book that I recently read (Hate List by Jennifer Brown) the shooter lacked complexity and a backstory that would make them a (slightly) more sympathetic character.  The shooter in this book seemed to be attacking simply because they were "evil" which does not make for an interesting character.

I think the main reason for the issues with the characters was that there was simply no time in the book to allow for character development.  The entire story took place in less than an hour.  And there were very few flashbacks that would have allowed the reader to understand the characters better.  Perhaps if the events of this novel were part of a larger overall story that also dealt with the aftermath of the attack then there would have been a chance for character development (once again, Hate List by Jennifer Brown comes to mind).

Overall I enjoyed the book and think it's an important one to read.  However, I think other books deal with the subject matter in a better way and better show the complexity that often occurs in situations such as these.

Rating: 3/5

Ranked: The Hunger Games

Hey guys, welcome back!  As I was looking around the shelves in my room I realized that the vast majority of my books are part of a larger series.  While standalone novels are amazing, there's just something that I love about a good series.  Maybe it's being able to spend more time in that particular fictional world, maybe it's because I get to see the characters continue to grow and change, or maybe I just don't even realize what I love about them so much!  Whatever the case may be, I thought it might be fun to go through my favourite series and rank the books from favourite to least favourite!  So, the last Friday of every month will now be dedicated to 'Ranked' where you'll get to see what some of my favourites are!  The topic for our first week is The Hunger Games!

#3. Mockingjay
Sadly, the third installment of this series is my least favourite of the three.  I loved that we finally got to see full-scale rebellions against the Capital and, obviously, that the Capital got taken down.  Unfortunately, other parts of the book weren't quite as interesting to me.  While it makes sense to the story at the time, the fact that Katniss isn't involved in much fighting for the first part of the book does make it a bit slow.  It wasn't until her group started fighting their way through the Capital that I really started flipping those pages fast, desperate to find out how it would end.  And, hijacked Peeta just makes me sad (enough said!).


#2. The Hunger Games
Ah, the book that started it all!  As much as I love the original, this first installment doesn't get the number one spot.  I loved the idea of the book (as horrifying as it it) and loved the characters.  It was a great introduction to the series but, like many first installments of book series, was lacking the feeling of 'something bigger'.  While we get a glimpse of that at the end of the book, for most of it Katniss was just like any other contestant in the game.  And while her story was interesting, it became far more interesting as the series progressed.




#1. Catching Fire
Ever since I read it, this has been my favourite book in the series.  While I adored the first one (obviously!) it's in this second installment that Katniss's story becomes part of something larger.  We get to see the consequences of her actions and 'rebelling against the Capital' from the first book and we also get introduced to more instances of fighting against the capital (District 8 anyone?).  On top of that, we get introduced to a ton of new characters including my all-time favourite: Finnick.  I also think that the games themselves were more interesting; I loved the clock idea and that each hour there was something else that was waiting to get the tributes.  It was much more interesting to me than Katniss just running around a forest.


Do you agree / disagree?  Why?  Let me know in the comments below!

Series I Want to Re-Read This Summer

Summertime is a great time to re-read some old favourite books.  As I do every summer, I want to take the time to read some of my old favourties again.  Looking through my shelves, I noticed so many series that I want to read again.  So, the following are the series that I hope to finish re-reading by the end of the summer.

1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - 0/6 Done

This is one of my favourite book series of all time and, unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to read it again in ages.  I'm really hoping to re-read this series this summer because I've seriously missed this world and these characters.


2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead - 0/6 Done

As much as I love the original Vampire Academy series, I actually love this spin-off series even more!  It has a greater focus on Adrian and Eddie - two of my favourite characters from these two series.  And, I relate to Sydney more than I do Rose which makes me even more invested in her story.


3. Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong - 3/3 Done

I originally read this series around the same time I first started Vampire Academy and I've always loved it.  I love all the main characters of the series - particularly Derek and Chloe - and re-reading the series was just as fun as always!


4. Darkness Rising by Kelley Armstrong - 3/3 Done

As I spin-off of the Darkest Powers trilogy, I've always loved Darkness Rising as well.  Though I don't think it's as strong as the original trilogy, it's still a lot of fun to read.  And, it's great to have the characters from the original trilogy show up again and have their storyline wrapped up.


5. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket - 2/13 Done

Such a fun children's series to re-read!  I remember reading this series when I was younger and absolutely loving it.  Unfortunately, I read them over a long period of time and would never quite remember what happened in the previous book.  And even now, I can't remember what happened throughout the books.  I'm really looking forward to re-reading the rest of them and experiencing the story again.  The only bad thing I have to say is that, for the first two books anyway, the writing is more childish than I remember or what I'd prefer to be reading.  That being said, it is to be expected from a children's series and it doesn't really negatively impact the reading experience.


6. Phantom Stallion by Terri Farley - 3/24 Done

Growing up, this was one of my favourite book series of all time.  The first few books in the series have been read so many times that they're almost falling apart in my hands as I read them.  I haven't read these books since the final one was published in 2006!  I've only re-read the first three so far, but I still love them after all this time.  Though definitely a series for kids, I can't help enjoying them as much as I did when I was younger.  I'm looking forward to reading through the rest of them soon!


7. Breathing by Rebecca Donovan - 0/3 Done

This is one of the most heartbreaking series that I can remember reading.  But, it is so beautiful as well.  I love these characters and have been wanting to re-read this series for some time now.


8. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare - 0/6 Done

This is a series that I used to re-read all the time!  After the last book came out though, I don't think I've gone back to it.  I've seen a lot of other people re-reading this series recently and it's encouraged me to give it a go again as well.  I've really missed this world and the characters, so I'm definitely looking forward to it!


9. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare - 0/3 Done

You can't read The Mortal Instruments without also re-reading this series as well!  I've only actually read this series once (maybe the first book twice) and I can't really remember what happens in it.  Definitely looking forward to re-reading this one because I know it's widely loved!


10. The Maze Runner by James Dashner - 0/3 Done

When I originally read this series, it quickly became one of my favourites.  I haven't read it in awhile though and I've really been missing it.  I also recently realized that there are a lot of negative views toward this series and kind of want to figure out if it's still as good as I remember it to be.


11. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer - 0/4 Done

When I originally picked up this book series I really didn't know what to expect.  And, to be honest, I really didn't think I'd enjoy it.  I passed up the chance to buy Cinder for months before I finally decided to give it a shot.  Luckily I did, because this series is absolutely amazing!  But, I blew through it so fast the first time that I don't remember much of what happened.  And, I haven't had the chance to re-read it since.  Until now.  I'm definitely looking forward to reading it again!


How about all of you?  Are you looking forward to re-reading some old favourites this summer?  Let me know in the comments below!

Favourites Friday: Favourite Pets

Hey guys!  I thought it would be fun to have a 'Favourites Friday' once a month to go through my favourite male / female characters, secondary characters, fictional worlds, etc.  We can see how your favourites match with mine and maybe we can both find some new books from each other!  So, the second Friday of each month will now be dedicated to a 'Favourites Friday'!  The topic for this week is favourite fictional pets!

I am a huge animal lover, so it's no surprise that I would adore pretty much any animal that pops up in my favourite books!  To me, adding a pet to a story makes so much sense - even in a complete fantasy world - because so many people love animals and have pets of their own.  Adding a pet to the life of some of our favourite characters can make them seem even more relate-able to us (and they're generally pretty fun to read about too!).  So, here are some of my favourite fictional pets:

• Hedwig, Pigwidgeon, and Crookshanks (Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling)
• Fleetfoot (Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas)
• Daigo and Tova (Age of Legends - Kelley Armstrong)
• Bernie Kosar (Lorien Legacies - Pittacus Lore)
• Nala and Duchess (House of Night - P.C. and Kristin Cast)
• Shendor (Chloe and Levesque - Norah McClintock)
• Blackie/The Phantom/Zanzibar, Ace, Dark Sunshine, Witch, and Blaze (Phantom Stallion - Terri Farley)
• The Direwolves (A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin)

I feel like I'm probably forgetting some, but I've been through my shelves and haven't come up with any more.  Feel like I'm missing any?  Who are some of your favourite fictional pets?  Let me know in the comments below!