Shiver

Shiver

Written by Maggie Stiefvater

I've had this book on my to-read list since it first came out with rave reviews. I never really picked up on the fact that it was about (were)wolves. That right there should have been my first hint of distaste. Everything in the YA literary world now seems to be compared to Twilight, which did seem to relaunch the "paranormal romance" genre, and I hate to go back to that old trope, but let me just say that while the writing was arguably better than Stephenie Meyer's, Maggie Stiefvater's Grace and Sam made Bella and Edward's relationship seem safe. Other reviewers have pointed out that the writing was overly descriptive, and I do agree with them on that point. The story took a very long time to get to a point (this seems to be a Thing nowadays. Why are so many authors gravitating towards writing trilogies and unnecessarily stretching stories thin?) and once it did, the explanations were lacking. Like I'd mentioned, the romance was creepy. We've gone from Edward Cullen watching a girl sleep, to Sam Roth watching a girl change, without her knowledge of his presence. Classy. Way to give the YA genre a bad name. There is a line between a healthy relationship and obsession, and this line was crossed. There's not an interesting cast of supporting characters to hold up the over-romanticized wolfboy adventures either, leaving the entire book rather flat. I was not impressed and will be skipping the sequels.

Rating: 1/5

I got this book from...:BookLending

The Ghosts of Ashbury High

The Ghosts of Ashbury High

written by Jaclyn Moriarty

I had read and enjoyed Jaclyn Moriarty's The Year of Secret Assignments many years ago, and, since then, had also read all of her other books. In preparation for The Ghosts of Ashbury High, I decided to reread her previous books, all set in Ashbury High. The thing you have to love about Moriarty's books is her ability to interweave plots but still have each story definitely hold its own. Characters from one story will unexpectedly cameo (or even play a large role) in the next. Bindy Mackenzie, annoying transcriber from The Year of Secret Assignments suddenly has her own books, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie. This book goes back to featuring some of our favorite characters from The Year of Secret Assignments, but throws two new characters in the mix, Amelia and Riley. Amelia and Riley have a strange air of mystery around them, throwing the school into mass speculation and rumors of ghosts in their midst. This is their senior year at Ashbury High, and as such, is also the final book in the Ashbury High series. So I was expecting a grand finale, and I have to say, I was underwhelmed. It's not that The Ghosts of Ashbury High was a bad book...it's just...having read Moriarty's other books, I know she is capable of better writing and better storytelling. Ending the (mostly) realistic series with a ghost story seemed oddly out of place, as was the introduction of these strange new characters we had never seen before. I think it would have been neat to culminate the series by bringing all of the old characters together, without necessarily having this strange ghost plotline. At the very least, the ghost plot should have taken a background role rather than being the main story. The book took a while to get anywhere, and it did eventually pick up speed, but the 'gothic literature' needed to go. Toby's journal entries, in particular, rubbed me the wrong way. They were essential to the story, but I couldn't bring myself to care in the slightest, which saddened me, as Toby is a character with very much potential. There were themes in this book that could have been explored more, such as the powerful idea of clinging to childhood, which I would have loved to see more of. The novel wraps up in an explosive finale, and part of me wishes that Part 4 of 4 would have been stretched out to be the entirety of the novel. The ghost storyline actually gains speed and development, and turns into a legitimate plot. I just wish that had been done sooner or not at all. A mess of a review for a great book that just could have been organized better to bring us the finale we should have had.

Rating: 4/5

I got this book from...:Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Sweet Valley Confidential

Sweet Valley Confidential

written by Francine Pascal

So. Hah. Yeah, I read it. I grew up reading all the Sweet Valley books, so I've actually been waiting to see the girls again for a while. I expected a hilariously bad return, and, well, the badness exceeded expectations. I'm probably in the minority about this, but I enjoyed the SVU books more than the others, and found the SVH books to be horribly dry. So I was disappointed that this mostly followed SVH canon (which makes very little sense. I guess I should be relieved that moments from SVU were mentioned to begin with, but seriously, she must be extremely ashamed of that series or something since plotwise it held almost no relevance). The pairings in this book were absurd, as were the characters Pascal chose to focus on. While I'm glad the main story was between Jess and Liz, I did not like the huge role Todd played (never was a fan of his. What a bore). I enjoyed seeing a lot of Bruce, but awesome characters like Lila and Winston got very little (and very disappointing) screen time, and people like Billie and Tom were nowhere to be seen. I am very glad with the ending Liz receives, but I think this book would have been much more enjoyable if Francine Pascal had taken it from a reminiscent point of view, rather than an attempt to modernize and catch up with the twins later in life. The epilogue, stretched out, would have made a much better book. The constant flashbacks were annoying, as were the accompanying changes in word tense. Everyone is divorced and/or cheating/being cheated on. Actual things that happen in people's normal ordinarily late 20s lives? Nope. Just lots and lots of cheating. This book might as well be a treatise on marital infidelity. Everyone is extremely emotionally stunted. The story picks up a little bit as it progresses, and I would argue that the unintentional star in terms of ~actual character development~ would be Bruce Patman. I just think this should have been more thought out. You'd think Pascal has had more than enough time to think about manufacturing a softhearted reunion novel, but instead we get this pathetic piece of writing that couldn't have taken many brain cells to come up with. She can do better than this. Or at least, her ghostwriters can.

Rating: 2/5

I got this book from...:Amazon

Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss

written by Stephanie Perkins

I picked this book up after many mentions by John Green in his popular vlogbrothers videos. I figured, hey, a new YA novel, highly recommended by an awesome author? Sure, I'll give it a try. The writing in this novel is spectacular, I'll give it that. As John Green said, it is like his and Maureen Johnson's writing had a baby, and that baby was this book. However, when it comes to the story itself, I wasn't thrilled. Don't get me wrong, it was a cute story, but good? Meh. Anna and the French Kiss falls back on typical YA tropes, and maybe I just read too much YA lit, but really? A French boarding school with a hot guy who just happens to have a British accent? It's starting to sound plot-wise like the very Nicholas Sparks (I'm assuming it was Nicholas Sparks, although I could be wrong) novels Anna makes fun of. I felt like too much of the focus was on the love trianglequadranglepolygonthing, rather than the story potential. I would have loved to get to know Meredith, Rashmi, and Josh more, rather than having them serve as a flat, background cast of characters. The issues the characters had with their relationships with their parents would have been another fascinating thing to examine more closely, particularly St. Clair's relationship with his father (who, while mentioned, doesn't come into focus until the last few chapters of the story, at which point, everything seems rushed). It was nice to read a fluffy YA novel reminiscent of Meg Cabot, with added maturity in both character and writing. I'm still really saddened to see such good writing potential not used to its fullest though. I'm excited to see Stephanie Perkins' writing develop, and I will definitely be picking up Lola and the Boy Next Door upon its release!

Rating: 3.5/5

Booking Through Thursday--Disaster!

It's not Thursday and I don't care.

Sorry for like, abandoning this blog. I'm taking 19 credits this semester (and only one of those credits is a class that doesn't give massive amounts of homework), so life's become one huge pile of readings (not the fun kind!) and papers. I figured I should go ahead and give you all *something*, so here, have a BTT post =)

You’ve just dropped your favorite, out-of-print book into a bathtub, ruining it completely … What do you do now?

Okay, well, this just doesn't apply to me on so many levels. I don't read in the bathtub. The very idea of reading in a bathtub just makes no logical sense to me. Why? How? WHAT? Also, I don't think I've ever read an out-of-print book for enjoyment, and if I have, it was one of those out of print ones that are like, a cent on Amazon, so no big deal.

Mockingjay (**CONTAINS SPOILERS**)

Mockingjay
written by Suzanne Collins



As with my other immediate reaction posts, this will probably not be the most organized, coherent blog I write. This is because I literally just finished reading Mockingjay, and it was sufficiently mindblowing. Congratulations, Suzanne Collins, for successfully making my brain explode. Obviously, my thoughts were all over the place while reading, and are in no better state at this moment. The suspense of this book kept up throughout the entire read, down to the very final pages. I found myself sitting here, grasping the last few pages in hand, completely clueless as to how Collins could successfully wrap everything up so quickly. She did. She freaking DID.
The book starts with a one month time jump since the events of Catching Fire. Everything that happened there is explained, which, by the way, put Catching Fire in a new (and better) light in my mind. There's a lot of preparation and build up for all the big battles, and trust me, big battles there are, literal combat and raging inner psychological wars. All the while, Katniss' every move is still being filmed, a move I didn't quite appreciate (and, well, neither did Katniss!). Both Katniss and I really wanted to see more of her in combat rather than on camera.
I was really glad to see the romance toned down. Very early on, Collins makes it clear that Katniss is in no state to be choosing her "Team", at one point blankly making a statement through Katniss: "The very notion that I'm devoting any thought to who I want presented as my lover, given the current circumstances, is demeaning." This isn't to say that her inner struggle between Gale and Peeta doesn't exist, just that there are obviously bigger issues at stake. She does eventually (very eventually, it's not until the last page, plus the epilogue) make her choice, and while I am not at all a fan of the choice she makes, it's still written in an incredibly powerful emotional (or, as the case is, emotion-less) way. The way her castoff "Team" is treated, though, just slightly enrages me, as it is a character plenty of fans were very emotionally invested in.
Anyway, to more important things. I do not like the epilogue. I do not think Katniss going back to District 12, popping out babies and living a normalish life with Peeta is in-character at all.
There is so much effective foreshadowing done in this book, as well as throughout the first two books in the series as well. It's still extraordinarily difficult to tell exactly where the plot will take the reader, but ohh, after finishing the book, it's amazing how well all the pieces, laid out from the very beginning, all fit together. There's nothing I like better than a book that sets up an intricate mythology and mysteries surrounding that set-up, and then resolves all of the plot threads.
For the longest time, I was convinced that Gale would flat out sacrifice himself so that Katniss could end up with Peeta. Guess I was looking at this book and its author incorrectly. They would never dumb themselves down to that level of desperate romantic plot, and I'm so thankful I was proven wrong.
I came to a big realization while reading this series. It is very rare for me to like a main protagonist in a book or series, and for once, I do. I love Katniss. She was, surprisingly enough to me, my favorite character. Such a complex girl (and that complexity is fully fleshed out in this book, as is...well, pretty much the complexity of everything), with so much to face. Her realizations throughout this book about herself, her place in the world she inhabits, are emotionally raw in their realism, and her end emotional state left me paralyzed in its intensity. The story is darker than the first two, darker than most books I've read, and the progression of Katniss's emotional state is the most compelling and, in a twisted way, beautiful, part of the series for me.

Rating: A much deserved 5/5

I can't wait to see everyone else's reactions to the book! Leave me a comment with your thoughts (or a link to your review) if you've finished. =)

Randomish side note, I was shocked that Madge/her family played such a small role. I read this article and was convinced they'd be the key to the story, haha, so to not even see Madge in the book was a huge shock.

Also in the series:
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

currently reading: Dragon Rider-Cornelia Funke
want to read: What else, Mockingjay!
reading next: Probably going to reread the first two Hunger Games books

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie
written by David Lubar



As always, it's really great to see realistic YA geared towards high school boys, about a high school boy who doesn't quite fit in and is just learning his way around the ways of his new high school and in a way, his new life. If you're a reader in high school, or about to enter high school, it's a neat look at a little bit of what high school life might be like, and if you're out of high school, well, it's a good reminder of a place you are probably really glad to be rid of. I've read books about awkward girls and popular girls in high school, but other than John Green's books, it's a rarity to read about a regular, albeit slightly-awkward, young boy maneuvering through high school. To me, this was a boy-version of The Princess Diaries, with a boy journaling his thoughts through his freshman year. I think it would really reassure boy readers that it's okay to be awkward, it's okay to not be athletic or well-known, and it's really okay to just be a creative, quiet kid. The writing voice is authentically that found in a typical teenager, discussing things like school schedules, the tricky new world of romance, and dreaded homework assignments. The book really succeeds at showing all the different roles one person has to take on in high school. The repetition and continuity of various motifs through the book are also a great touch and add to the fun appeal of the book.

Rating: 4/5

I got this book from...:Swaptree

I definitely have something I'd love to hear comments on. Some of the "typical" high school experiences discussed in this book...didn't seem very typical to me. I've always wondered, with movies like Mean Girls and books like this one, is high school life over-exaggerated in books/movies/tv shows, or are there actually high schools like those? Am I just a very sheltered child? Do high schoolers actively drink, go to parties, do drugs, etc? I'd love to hear your own high school stories!

Kissing Kate

Kissing Kate
written by Lauren Myracle



I suppose this is one of the very few LGBT young adult books I've read, and like any other book, it had its strengths and weaknesses. The thing that definitely stuck out with this book was the vital element of realism. The moments described in the book are very down-to-earth, honest moments that teenagers experience, no matter their orientation. One of the things I didn't really like about Lauren Myracle's Internet Girls series was that, while funny and good reads, they were nothing like what I experienced during my teenage years. Moments of that series were extremely overdone and overdramatic. Kissing Kate was more down-to-earth and, in my opinion, a more genuine portrayal of the average teen's life. On the other hand, while being honest and down-to-earth, this was definitely a unique book in terms of content. It was one of the earlier mainstream LGBT YA books out there, and it goes more in depth covering the full length of a relationship, from beginning to end, as well as the oft-forgotten fallout from the end. My one real complaint with the novel was the introduction of lucid dreaming. I understand the significance of it, the reason Myracle decided to include it in her book, but the whole metaphor felt awkward and forced. My favorite thing about the book was the lack of labels. The main character, Lissa, has typical teenage emotions, but her orientation is never explicitly stated, something I found really great. Everything seems to be about labels nowadays, everyone has to be all gay, all straight, whatever, and sometimes, it feels like there's no room for anything in between. This was a great portrayal of a questioning teen who doesn't quite know what to label themselves as, which is what most teens are, when they're first figuring themselves out.

Rating: 4/5

I got this book from...:Bookmooch

Green Valley Book Fair swag picspam

So a couple weeks ago, my friend George and I went to this amazing book fair we have in Virginia, called the Green Valley Book Fair. It's about an hour away from where I live, and it's basically this old warehouse filled with new overstocked books.



I got to buy some fantastic books that I'd been holding off on buying simply due to price, and I'm really glad I got to go.



Books I bought:




I also picked up this fantastic shirt...


(it says 'got books?', I just got the picture at an odd angle, with the shirt slightly crumpled :P)

...and left nerdfighter notes...



...and really wanted to get one of THESE...



...but somehow resisted (WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY. JUST LOOK AT THESE THINGS.)




All in all, a fantastic adventure! I loved finding those books, getting to spend time with George, who I haven't seen all school year, since she goes to a different college and all, and driving through downpours. Whee!

That's all from me for today :) Tell me happy fun book shopping stories!

Reading Habits Meme

Lizzie over at The Book Obsession is planning on doing this weekly meme thing, and I'm a sucker for book memes. Check out her intro post!

Q: Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
A: Nope, when I'm reading, I just read, and occasionally listen to music, either very softly or lyricless music.

Q: What is your favorite drink while reading?
A: See above.

Q: Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
A: I hate the idea that people write in books! >.<

Q: How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ear? Laying the book open flat?
A: Bookmarks! I used to dog-ear pages, but I grew out of that thankfully.

Q: Fiction, Non-fiction, or Both?
A: Fiction :) Nonfiction's okay if written on a topic I really am fascinated by, or written in a way to make me fascinated by a certain topic, but I tend to avoid it. If I wanted nonfiction information, I'd look it up on wikipedia. Books are my escape, and I'd rather escape into something that's not real.

Q: Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or you can stop anywhere?
A: I stop anywhere.

Q: Are you a person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if it irritates you
A: ...why would you do that to a book? =O

Q: If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
A: Not usually, unless it's used in a really crucial context.

Q: What are you currently reading:
A: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Q: What is the last book you bought?
A: was actually a birthday present for a friend.

Q: Are you a person that reads one book at a time , or can you read more than one?
A: I usually read one at a time, but yes, there are occasionally times when I read more than one, particularly if I have something to read for school, where I absolutely *have* to have something fun to read on the side.

Q: Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
A: Anywhere, anytime.

Q: Do you prefer series or stand alone titles?
A: Series, definitely.

Q: Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
A: Thirteen Reasons Why. I honestly believe everyone needs to read that book.

Q: How do you organize your books? By genre, title, author's last name, etc?
A: My books are currently all in boxes/bags, but if they do ever get organized, it'll probably be series clumped together, authors clumped together, and then possibly sorted by the approximate order I read them in.