Author: Cristina (Girl in the Pages)

Free Yourself: The Pressure to Be “Well Read” and Why It Shouldn’t Matter

Posted April 18, 2014 in Bookish Thoughts, Discussions / 5 Comments

I’ll let you in on a secret. I’ve never felt that I’ve been “well read” enough to be an English major. Let’s face it- English majors are often literary elitists. They scoff at reading King Lear or The Wife of Bath in Brit Lit 201 because they’ve already done in it high school. They line up to take that voluntary Shakespeare class. They’ll respond to something that happens with the phrase “Oh, that’s very (enter author’s name here).” It’s intimidating, and often discouraging, when you’re the only one who has to read The Great Gatsby sophomore year of college in […]

Why you should be fangirling over Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell- Review

Posted April 11, 2014 in Books, Five Star Reads, Reviews / 10 Comments

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell My rating: 5/5 Stars Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (September 2013) Length: 438 pgs Format: Hardcover, checked out from my local library Goodreads Synopsis: A coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, family, and first love. Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…. But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon […]

Top Ten Most Unique Books I’ve Read

Posted April 7, 2014 in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Features/Memes / 18 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly feature hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week the topic is Top Ten Most Unique Books I’ve Read. This category crosses quite a few genres for me! Top Ten Most Unique Books I’ve Read : 1) Lolita by Vladamir Nobokov- There’s never been quite as elegant, distracting, and unreliable narrator as Humbert Humbert. 2) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor- Taylor takes on the most unique and elegant approach to the genre of YA angels-and-demons/paranormal romance I’ve read. She’s unparalleled in world building, and her detail-rich writing takes […]

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, Review

Posted April 5, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer My rating: 3/5 Stars Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (February 2013) Length: 454 pgs Series: The Lunar Chronicles, #2 Format: Paperback, purchased from my local independent bookstore Goodreads Synopsis: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison–even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet […]

April Insanity!

Posted April 2, 2014 in Uncategorized / 3 Comments

Hey there! This month is going to be one of the busiest of the entire year for me. As most students can relate, April means midterms, and for English majors that means papers galore. So I wanted to do a round-up of what I’ll be reading/writing/posting this month! The TBR Pile: I’m really excited about my upcoming reads! I just finished Scarlet (expect a review soon) and I was lucky enough to get Cress as a gift over spring break. I’m itching to start the third book in the Lunar chronicles series, but I have more pressing library loans on […]

Top Ten “Gateway” Books/Authors in my Reading Journey

Posted March 31, 2014 in Books, Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Features/Memes / 20 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly feature hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week the topic is: Top Ten “Gateway”Books/Authors in my Reading Journey. These can be books/authors that encouraged me to read as a kid, got me out of a reading slump, introduced me to a new genre, etc! Top Ten Gateway Books/Authors in my Reading Journey: 1) Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman: I literally cannot remember meeting one person who has read this series, and it’s such a shame! I discovered these in late elementary/early middle school and I’ve never […]

Serial Series: The Problem with series that just won’t quit.

Posted March 30, 2014 in Bookish Thoughts, Books, Discussions / 10 Comments

I recently moved last summer, and in the long process of unpacking and setting up my new living space I’ve acquired three lovely new bookshelves and a neat loft area to serve as my at-home library. In the process of unpacking, purging, and organizing all of my beloved books (which I generally find to be a soothing activity), I’ve noticed a rather growing (literally) trend on my bookshelves: series that turn into twelve book monstrosities that I lose interest in halfway through. This is really quite a shame, because I’ve invested money in and no doubt enjoyed the premise of […]

Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Review

Posted March 28, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 5 Comments

Cinder by Marissa Meyer My rating: 4/5 Stars Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (January 2012) Length: 387 pgs Series: The Lunar Chronicles, #1 Format: Hardcover, checked out from local library Goodreads Synopsis: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined […]

Divergent: Text to Film Thoughts

Posted March 24, 2014 in Film Reviews / 2 Comments

Like many avid YA readers, I always approach the making of a film based on a book series with a weary sort of sigh, because there are so many ways that it can go horribly, horribly wrong (i.e. Twilight, Beautiful Creatures, and I haven’t even bothered seeing The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones). I’m also usually highly skeptical of the casting, and Divergent was no exception. Yet I wanted to see the movie to get my Tris-and-Four fill as I’ve yet to read the last book in the series because it’s received such mixed reviews (though I have read a […]

World After by Susan Ee- Review

Posted March 15, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

World After by Susan Ee My rating: 4/5 Stars Publisher: Skyescape (November 2013) Length: 438 pgs Series: Penryn and the End of Days #2 Format: Paperback, purchased from Amazon Goodreads Synopsis: In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what’s left of the modern world. When a group of people capture Penryn’s sister Paige, thinking she’s a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken. Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so […]