Carry On by: Rainbow Rowell

Carry On by: Rainbow Rowell

Edition: Hardback
Pages: 522
Published: October 6th, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Purchase: Amazon | Bookdepository

Goodreads Synopsis: Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters. 

My Thoughts:  It is no secret that I am not much of a fan of Rainbow Rowell's novels.  Personally I feel like she is a great writer and creates very unique books, but I just feel that it takes too long for anything interesting to happen, and when it finally does I have almost finished reading the book.

Carry On follows Simon Snow, who is seen as the "Chosen One" and his schoolmates through their last year at the Watford School of Magicks. Through the course of this school Simon not only is able to control his magic but he also finds out who he truly is meant to be...in more ways than one.  My main issue with this novel is that the first half of the book was so boring.  Literally, nothing of importance happened that made me want to stick it out and continue reading.  So, I put this book down for a few weeks, and when I got motivated to read again I finally picked this book back up again.  I still was having a tough time getting through this book until Baz, Simon's enemy, admitted his true feelings for one of the characters.  And I can tell you for that reason alone, I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would.

I can't say that I would recommend this book because I feel that it went on longer than it really needed to, and this book is quite long.  Also, I didn't like the fact that Rainbow Rowell never answered or went in to detail of very important moments/facts that happened in the characters lives.  For instance, why wasn't Simon's Snows parents brought up for Simon and the others to know?  The readers have this knowledge, but as far as the characters they never knew this information.  Once the story did wrap up, I felt that it was rushed and some things happened way too conveniently.  There was one scene, where Baz attended a party and did something that caught everyone's attention (I'm sparing you the details so not to spoil the book) and that technically wouldn't be accept but it didn't cause any questions or disturbance, for lack of a better word.

In the end, I just wished that this book was better written and with that I feel like I would have possibly enjoyed this book more than I did.  And although, I don't care for Rainbow Rowell's book I will finish what I've started and read all of her books.

Final Verdict: 3 Stars

Walk on Earth a Stranger by: Rae Carson

Walk on Earth a Stranger by: Rae Carson

Edition: Hardback

Pages: 432 

Published: September 22, 2015

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Purchase: Amazon | Bookdepository

Goodreads Synopsis: Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.

Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.

My Thoughts:
This book follows Leah Westfall, a Teenage girl living in Georgia with her parents on a small homestead during the Gold Rush era.  But Leah carries the burden of a secret that her and her family has kept since she was a child, she can sense Gold around her.  This is a wonderful gift since her ability to sense gold has brought in money for her family, but when a big event happens in the beginning of the book Leah finds herself traveling across the country to find the one person she can trust the most.

Walk on Earth a Stranger is not like any book I have read.  Going into it I didn't really know what the story was about, but because it was so popular in the book community I decided to give it a go, and I am glad I did.  This book starts out with so much drama and action that it keeps you entertained throughout the whole story.  Most YA novels take almost half of the book to truly get into what the whole story was about, but Rae Carson wasted no time in that aspect and for that alone she gets two thumbs up!

Leah is a character that I didn't have to learn to love, but instantly cared about her from the beginning.  She was so strong and no matter what she went through or what people did to her she kept going and never gave up.  I also feel that I have learned a lot about what the people had went through during this time period.  For instance, the Native Americans and African Americans had it pretty rough.  The Native Americans were usually to blame when things went wrong instead of the people finding the real cause of their problems.  But this is to be expected during this time period.

I really liked most of the characters, although sometimes it was hard to keep up with each person because Leah came in contact with so many people.  My favorite characters have to be Jeff and Leah, but I also came to like Mrs. Joyner, and Major Craven.  All in all, I would definitely recommend this book.

*Like a River Glorious, the second book in the Gold Seer Trilogy is expected to be released on September 27th, 2016 .

Final Verdict: 5 stars

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by: Patrick Ness

The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by: Patrick Ness

Edition: U.S. Hardback
Pages: 352
Published: August 27th, 2015
Publisher: Walker Books

Purchase: Amazon | BookDepository

Goodreads Synopsis: What if you aren’t the Chosen One?

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.


My Thoughts:
I've been so behind on the Patrick Ness bandwagon that it isn't funny and after finishing The Rest of Us Just Live Here, have decided to read his other books because his storytelling is pretty awesome!!

I went into this book completely blind and let me tell you, this is by far the weirdest book I have read thus far. This book follows a group of kids (the normal ones!) in their last year of high school and also another group of kids, the Indie kids (which are the weird ones) which for some odd reason bad things Always happens to them.  That's about all I can say without spoiling anything...I want you to be able to experience the weirdness for yourself!

Honestly, I ended up liking this book way better than I initially thought I would.  Although, Patrick Ness adds some interesting twists to the main story line, I love how the characters seem so real and go through real life situations (at least the "normal" characters).  In most YA novels I notice that the characters seem to overcome all the issues they face throughout the book, whereas the characters in The Rest of Us Just Live Here, don't necessarily overcome their issues but just deal with the issues at hand, and that's what I enjoyed most!

This is definitely one of the most clever books that I have read this year, and recommend it to anyone! Next up on my list from this author, is the Chaos Walking Trilogy.

Final Verdict:
4.5 Stars

Anna and the French Kiss by: Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 372

Published: December 2nd, 2010

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile 

Purchase: Amazon | Bookdepository

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming,beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend. 

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?


My Thoughts:
Why have I waited so long to read this?!?! That is what I keep asking myself because I actually liked it. For so long there was so much hype about Anna and the French and it's companion novel, Lola and the Boy Next Door that I just wasn't convinced that I would like this book. I had so many preconceived thoughts and that is what kept me from giving this book a chance. And it doesn't help that I've had this book on my shelf for soooo long. I can say now that I am so happy that I gave it a fair shot because I just love it, and absolutely love the characters.
Stephanie Perkins definitely adds a twist to a romance story because most books make it seem like when two characters see each other for the first time they instantly fall in love and then everything clicks into place happily ever after. Life doesn't work that way though, and that is one of the things that made this book awesome. And then St. Clair!! I thought he was perfect even though he has flaws (which are realistic, compared to the incredibly cute guy that has the perfect abs, hair, etc.) and it just made me like him even more although he really annoyed me at times. Actually St. Clair and Anna gave me a huge headache over and over again. That's what happens though when two people belong together but they have too many hang ups to actually get together. Regardless of my rambling, I am so excited to read Lola and the Boy Next Door. I also like Stephanie Perkins writing style which makes it easier to get into the book. One thing I can say though is that the cover (I have the old covers not the new ones) does this book no justice, and that may have been another thing that put me off from reading this book sooner than I did. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone read it if you haven't!

Favorite Quotes:

• "Where have you been all my life?" I ask the beautiful panini. "How is it possible I've never had a sandwich like this before?" He takes a large bite. "Mmmph grmpha mrpha," he says, smiling. Which I'm assuming translates to something like, "Because American food is crap."
• "St. Clair coughs and shifts again. His leg brushes against mine. It stays there. I'm paralyzed. I should move it; it feels too unnatural. How can he not notice his leg is touching my leg?"
• "Rashmi iss me," Josh said into my phone. "Mer? Put Rashmi on. Iss emergency." "It's not an emergency!" I yelled. "They're just drunk."
• "Because I was right. For the two of us, home isn't a place. It's a person. And we're finally home."

Final Verdict: 4 Stars

If I Stay by: Gayle Forman

If I Stay (book 1)

Edition: E-book

Pages: 201

Published: April 2nd, 2009

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Purchase: Amazon | Bookdepository

Goodreads Synopsis: 
Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

My Thoughts:
I have been meaning to read this book for quite sometime now, and finally found the time to read it. Also after hearing so much hype for the movie that is coming out I decided that I want to be in the loop as well. Before reading this, I had no clue what this book was about. The only thing that I had heard was that this was such a heartbreaking story!
I have to say that I am not as in love with this book like most people are. The story is very unique, especially with the events that took place early on in the book, but after that hardly anything happened. With that type of beginning I excepted way more jaw dropping events to happen (which they did...Kind of) but I wasn't really impressed. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book enough to want to go on and read the second book, Where She Went, but this just isn't a favorite of mine since I feel that the majority of this book was filler.

Cons:
I literally only had one con while reading this book and that was the flipping back and forth from the present and the past. I found it to be confusing at times and boring. When the storyline picked up I found myself not caring to read the past events (I did read them though) because I just wanted to get on with the story.

Overall, I think this is an interesting read that everyone should at least try. Plus it's such a quick read that it will hardly take much of your time. As far as the movie is concerned, I will see it because I am curious as to how they are going to portray Mia since the majority of the book was a lot of "internal reflecting" on her life.

Favorite Quote: "Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you. Does that make any sense?"

Final Verdict: 3 Stars

The Gunslinger by: Stephen King

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower 1)

Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 231
Published: June 10th, 1982 (1st published)
Publisher: Plume

Purchase: Amazon | Bookdepository

Goodreads Synopsis: Book I

In The Gunslinger (originally published in 1982), King introduces his most enigmatic hero, Roland Deschain of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting, solitary figure at first, on a mysterious quest through a desolate world that eerily mirrors our own. Pursuing the man in black, an evil being who can bring the dead back to life, Roland is a good man who seems to leave nothing but death in his wake.

My Thoughts:
The Gunslinger is the first installment in The Dark Tower series by: Stephen King.  This story follows Roland a gunslinger (the last one actually) who is on a journey to find "the man in black". While on this journey Roland runs into a few people, including a child name Jake who accompanies Roland for a good portion of his journey until he meets his fate, so to speak. While reading this book you also get a glimpse of Roland's childhood and the world that he lived in, which is much different from the world that Jake once lived in.

What I gathered from this is that this is a post-apocalyptic book with hints of magic in it, and every character has experienced very different lives but can't seem to remember much from their past lives due to something "the dark man" has done. This book was quiet hard for me to follow compared to another Stephen King book that I had read. Events kind of skipped around and certain things were implyed but never really explained so I found myself struggling to understand certain portions of this book. Also some of the lingo that was used was older so that could be a reason as to why I was confused while reading this book.

Overall, I thought this was an ok book, I might feel differently if I re-read this sometime down the road. I will be continuing on with this series though because I have heard that some of Stephen Kings books connect back to the Dark Tower series. My favorite character is Jake hands down!!

Final Verdict: 3 Stars

The Maze Runner by: James Dashner

The Maze Runner #1

Edition: E-book

Pages: 374

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Published: October 6th, 2009

Purchase: Amazon | Bookdepository

Goodreads Synopsis: "If you ain't scared, you ain't human." 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's ever made it through alive.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.


My Thoughts: I decided to re-read The Maze Runner because I wanted to finish the series, which I started so long ago. The first time I read this was in 2012, so I basically forgot 90 percent of the events that took place in this book.  Looking back on my review from when I first read this book, my opinion has defintely changed.  Before I gave this 5 stars and was completely head over heels about this book because I had never read anything like it. This is the time when I was just getting back into reading again.  Now, after reading so many dystopian books I can say that this is not one of my favorites, like it had been before.  This book is still good and pretty entertaining for the pure fact that I don't know any YA novels that puts kids in a maze and expects them to solve certain "puzzles" in order to gain their life back, even when that means killing several of them.  To be honest, I found the majority of this book to be boring, even when some jaw-dropping incidents were happening.  I think this was because I was annoyed with most of the characters and certain things that I will leave unsaid just seemed to fall into place way to conveniently.  The main character Thomas annoyed me most of the time because of how he acted through this book. Some times he would be completely brave on the most riskiest (and sometimes deadliest) tasks, and then on small things (like stepping up to a bully) he would act so afraid which I didn't understand.  Overall I think that this book is good enough to give it a shot and see how each individual feels about it (some will be blown away and some will not).  I am still interested enough to continue on with the series, especially after reading the epilogue because it seems like these teens may not be as lucky as they thought they were.

Side Note: I did love how the author painted a very descriptive picture of the grievers.  They sound completely horrible and I am so glad that I don't have to come in contact with those things.

Favorite characters: Chuck, Thomas, Teresa, Newt, and Minho

Final Verdict: 3.5 Stars