Genre: Young Adult

Splintered by A.G. Howard- Review

Posted January 26, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 10 Comments

“Sometimes a flame must level a forest to ash before new growth can begin.” First and foremost, Splintered has a beautiful and evocative cover. Combined with the fact that I love fairy tale retellings, and it was inevitable that I would add this novel to my collection. Now I’ll be honest and admit that I’ve never been the biggest Alice in Wonderland aficionado, but I love the imagery and know that it’s popular enough to have inspired dozens upon dozens of retellings in the past few years. I went into Splintered hoping it would be a quality retelling amidst […]

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell- Review

Posted January 22, 2015 in Books, Five Star Reads, Reviews / 25 Comments

“…you look like a protagonist…You look like the person who wins in the end.” Eleanor & Park was the last Rainbow Rowell book I had left to read. I had devoured and loved all of her other novels, yet Eleanor & Park was the most hyped of her works, and with hype always comes the potential for disappointment. I decided to take the plunge and read it after picking up a signed and special edition copy as well as seeing it featured as the January 2015 book of the month at She Reads A Lot. I was 110% not […]

Flailing Everywhere Over Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini- A Raving Review

Posted January 19, 2015 in Books, Five Star Reads, Reviews / 15 Comments

“A crucible’s craving is her mechanic’s mandate.” I usually write very calm, analytical reviews. In fact, I pride myself on it. I like being able to look back on my reviews and have a clear and coherent message as to my thoughts on a book. However, much of that I fear is going to go out the window with this review because I cannot stop flailing over how much I loved this book. It’s only the second book I’ve picked up so far in 2015 but it’s already become my first five star read of the year! Reading this […]

Wish by Grier Cooper- Blog Tour & Review!

Posted January 14, 2015 in Reviews / 8 Comments

I spent a good 7 years of my adolescence dancing. The performing, the athleticism, the costumes, the music- I loved it all. Though ballet wasn’t my main focus, I took enough classes to appreciate the extreme talent and dedication it breeds, and how it becomes a lifestyle for many. My dance background, along with the stunningly gorgeous cover is what drew me to Wish, although aside from that I had no idea what to expect, having never read a dance based book. What Wish provided wasn’t just a book about dance, but a gutting, heart-wrenching account of alcoholism, emotional abuse, […]

The One by Kiera Cass- Review

Posted January 12, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 16 Comments

“Mistakes mean it’s real.” I have a very conflicted relationship with The Selection Series. I love the concept of mixing society’s obsession with reality tv, especially that focuses on relationships, with a dystopian, futuristic, post World War 4 America. I think the caste division is so interesting. I liked the idea of the ruler of Illéa marrying one of the people as a show of support to the country. Yet at the same time there’s something about these books that prevents me from really losing myself in them, at sometimes grow bored with them toward the middle. I feel […]

10 Lessons in Decorum and Dystopian from The Selection by Kiera Cass

Posted January 5, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 17 Comments

Having a copy of The One waiting for me on my bookshelf and it having been over two years since I read The Selection, I decided a re-read of the first book in the series was in order. I bring you my unorthodox re-read review of Kiera Cass’ The Selection in list format, detailing the top ten lessons this reality-show-dystopian-hybrid conveys. 1) Pay your debt, lest you be taken over by wealthier countries. This was an aspect of the book I really found interesting, perhaps because the fate of America (now known as Illéa in this series) isn’t too unbelievable… […]

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu- Review

Posted December 17, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 15 Comments

“There is one thing I’ve learned about people: they don’t get that mean and nasty overnight. It’s not human nature. But if you give people enough time, eventually they’ll do the most heartbreaking stuff in the world.” I have SO much to say about this book, and I’m going to do my best to coherently organize my thoughts. I’ve been waiting a long time to read this novel, specifically because of the subject matter. I think there’s not enough YA books that look at society’s problems with teenage sexaulity, and the stigmas, rumors, and slut shaming that go along with […]

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas- Review

Posted November 14, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 21 Comments

This may be more of a rant than a review. Not necessarily a bad one, but definitely an impassioned one. Because Throne of Glass and I have perhaps the most love-hate relationship I’ve had with a book all year. So there were some high expectations I had for this going in, based on the plethora of rave reviews I’ve read: A) A kick-butt, take-no-prisoners, no-holds-barred, assassin protagonist B) A well done love triangle C) A creative fantasy world with good world-building I can say after finishing the novel that b & c were pretty well accomplished, but part of me […]

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins- Review Proving I am Probably the Last Person on the Planet to Read This Book

Posted October 7, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 18 Comments

“How many times can our emotions be tied to someone else’s – be pulled and stretched and twisted – before they snap? Before they can never be mended again?” Anna and the French Kiss was a book that I’ve been hearing about in the YA contemporary genre for years. It sounded fluffy, and the cover was so cute yet so cheesy, that I never felt motivated enough to add it to my pile when book buying. Recently the series received a cover-redesign which is absolutely gorgeous, and this coupled with the rave reviews of Isla and the Happily Ever after […]

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson- Review

Posted July 19, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 2 Comments

If Sarah Dessen is the Queen of the Contemporary Summer YA Novel, the Matson is hard at work becoming her successor. This is the second novel by Matson I’ve read and her ability to create an immersive summer experience for her characters seems to be her trademark. I read this on the beach while I was at Aulani, and it was the perfect beach read- a light surface story with heavier feelings cloaked beneath the surface. The plot of Second Chance Summer is two-pronged: Taylor’s dad is terminally ill and her family is spending the summer bonding and coming to […]