Publisher: Scholastic

Mini Reviews: See How They Run and The Fixer

Posted February 15, 2016 / Book Reviews / 9 Comments

I read two mystery/thriller stories in a row, and neither of them disappointed! They both had interesting political elements and little to no romance. (I had grown sick of reading back to back to back (etc.) romancey books in December and needed a new vibe to kick off the year.) I’m bringing some mini reviews your way for both of these highly recommended stories. After the major cliffhanger in ALL FALL DOWN, I was so anxiously waiting to see how things picked up in SEE HOW THEY RUN. I definitely should have reread the ending of the previous book before starting it, because I was a little lost for a while, but I started to remember things as time passed. It did generally take me a while to fully feel invested in the story. I think the action didn’t take off right away and for some reason I wasn’t pageturning like crazy. Don’t get me wrong – some crazy twists and turns happened in the beginning of the book too! It just didn’t click with me right away. In my review for ALL FALL DOWN, I said how I wanted more of her friends and to finally meet her brother. One of these hopes did come true, as her brother Jamie comes to Embassy Row with his friend from West Point. He was definitely a big presence in the book, but her friends weren’t. The pace quickened around the 200 page mark and I didn’t stop reading until I was finished. I […]

Book Buddies Review: The Dream Thieves

Posted January 28, 2016 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 4 Comments

Book Buddies is a discussion-style review that takes place with one of my two buddies. (Learn more and see past reviews here) We both read the book and then have a private discussion about it. We post our discussion as a review on the last Wednesday of each month. You’ll be able to see our similar/different opinions on the overall book, characters, writing style, etc. – just like a regular review. The first half our discussion will take place right here, and the second half will be on Kaitlin’s blog! (Link below) View Kaitlin’s part of the discussion here. Some spoilers ahead! In our discussion of THE RAVEN BOYS, I asked which character was your favorite. Has your answer changed now that we’ve gotten to know them a bit more? Kaitlin: Oh man, this is a hard question because all of the characters are so good. In this book, the boys did some things that I really did not agree with but I am leaning towards Noah or Gansey for my favorite Raven boy. Adam and Ronan did some things that had ticked me off a bit so that had caused me to like them a bit less compared to Gansey and Noah. I really liked Blue in this book as well and it was really great to read more about Maura, Calla, and Persephone because all four of these ladies are such great characters. Lauren: I agree! I think Gansey might be my favorite for some reason, but I really want to get in his head even […]

GIF Review: I Am Princess X

Posted January 9, 2016 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

I’ve never done a full-on GIF review before, but I don’t think I have much to say about this book that can’t be said in GIF form… so here we go! I added this book to my TBR and thought it was some kind of paranormal, actual superhero book. Come to find out, it was just a mystery-esque book. Shelving it on Goodreads became an issue for a while because I was totally thinking it was something different. As I kept reading, I was actually pretty happy that it was more a mystery book. I was intrigued by the storyline even though it wasn’t what I expected at all. The story started coming together and the concept was incredibly cool. I liked following May and Patrick try to figure out clues from the comic and track down Libby, who she suspected was still alive. A lot of the clues were really unexpected and awesome. The more I kept going… the more far-fetched it got. They made a lot of obscure connections really quickly, as if they’d been cracking codes and finding murderers since birth, a la Nancy Drew. It kind of lost me for a little bit towards the middle-end. I mean, come on. I kept reading reviews from my IRL book club girls on Goodreads where they said it was far-fecthed and I didn’t think it was possible (back when I was convinced it was a paranormal book). Like, how could it be far-fetched? Well the amount of things […]

Reread Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Posted December 18, 2015 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

I remember getting this one in the mail as a preorder… and reading it right away! My parents were reading them after me, so they would always bug me to finish right away. Of course, that was never a problem. I usually raced through these! Ugh, the feels again. This book and the previous totally slayed me the first time around. I mean, honestly. I couldn’t believe that she KILLED THEM BOTH. So cruel. (It was so hard to keep this information to myself the first time I read them too… I kept being like MOM PLEASE FINISH I NEED TO DISCUSS THIS WITH SOMEONE!) I also remembered that this is the one where Harry finally gets an idea of what it will actually take to kill Voldemort. The quest for horcruxes kicks off. Can my answer still just be: Harry Potter + reread = DUH. I mean, really, who do you think I am? I’m pretty surprised I didn’t reread these sooner honestly. Jim Dale’s narrator voice is totally bae. SAD AS USUAL. Ugh. I have to say, it feels weird to finally be at this part of the reread! Only one book left. Unfortunately I remember not loving the 7th book much until about halfway through. That period of time where they’re literally walking around and setting up camp was so boring. ANYWAYS BACK TO THIS BOOK. So there were actually lots of things I forgot about! I didn’t remember that he and Ginny started dating in this book […]

Book Buddies Review: The Raven Boys

Posted November 25, 2015 / Book Buddies Reviews, Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Book Buddies is a discussion-style review that takes place with one of my two buddies. (Learn more and see past reviews here) We both read the book and then have a private discussion about it. We post our discussion as a review on the last Wednesday of each month. You’ll be able to see our similar/different opinions on the overall book, characters, writing style, etc. – just like a regular review. The first half our discussion will take place right here, and the second half will be on Kaitlin’s blog! (Link below) View Kaitlin’s part of the discussion here. Some spoilers ahead! How did you feel when you started? Did the hype make you excited or nervous? Kaitlin: I definitely did not know what to expect from this book because the synopsis had been super vague about what was going down within this book. All I know was what happened in the beginning chapter and that Blue would eventually become attracted. I don’t think hype really affects my enjoyment for books too much. It motivates me to try to enjoy a book that has lots of love to it but other than that, I mostly enjoy the majority of the books I read so hype is never a huge problem for me when it comes to how I enjoy a book. Lauren: I know what you mean about motivating you to enjoy it! That was such a driving factor in my enjoyment of this book. I felt like I needed to like it because everyone else […]

ARC Review: All We Have Is Now

Posted July 22, 2015 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

This book definitely made me think. I have to say that I’ve had a lot of “end of the world” books on my radar in the past, but this is the only one I’ve read. (Unless you count Station Eleven, which was more post-apocalyptic.) You know it can end in three ways: (1) the world actually doesn’t end, (2) the world actually does end, or (3) you don’t know what happens because the book ends before you find out. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, but I was pleased with the ending overall. Sorry, I got ahead of myself. I’ve also never read a book involving kids that are runaways/homeless. Emerson and Vince were really likable characters, but I feel like they were somewhat underdeveloped. We got a bit of their story and background, but a lot of the story was focused on some random memories mixed in with the current happenings. I’m not sure why, but I just wanted a bit more. I loooved the whole “pay it forward” concept that drove the first half of the book. Carl, a man they meet on the suicide bridge, grants them one wish and asks that they pay it forward if they can. I don’t want to spoil too much about that, but it was a great plot element. Carl’s chapters were actually incredibly enjoyable and I was wishing for more of him all the time. Towards the end, when they meet the skeptics, I really started to […]

Review: Lying Out Loud

Posted July 18, 2015 / Book Reviews / 8 Comments

I am definitely a Kody Keplinger fangirl. I’ve now read three of her books, with just one more YA one to go, and they’re all superb. She uses the formula of flawed character + hate-to-love romance like a goddamn pro. I love the way she takes these extremely REAL teenagers and gives them some opportunities to grow and learn. They’re not perfect by the end, but they’ve been changed in some way and learn to be better people. Lying Out Loud is definitely no exception. Compared to the other two I’ve read, the main character is probably the most flawed of all. Sonny is a liar. She has a terrible “home” life and uses lying as a defense mechanism for just about everything in her life. Her best friend Amy, the younger sister of Wesley from The DUFF, is pretty much a saint. These two are definitely in a codependent relationship, but in the best possible way. (I shipped them even more than the romance, which is saying a lot!) When her and Amy get mixed up in this lie with the new boy in school, Ryder, Sonny risks destroying her relationship with both of them because of her lies. What I Loved The chemistry and banter: As Debby calls it, the banterfluff in this book was perfection. Ryder and Sonny hate each other at the beginning, but then feelings start to grow. (At least, they do for Sonny!) I loved it. Keplinger’s hate-to-love romance is always the best because it’s […]

Reread Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Posted June 6, 2015 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

I don’t remember if we preordered this one or if I went to the store and bought it. I can’t imagine that I waited to read it for any reason, so I have a feeling it was delivered on release day. I really can’t believe I was 13 when I first read this. I vividly remember sitting around the pool or on our back porch reading this during the summer vacation. UGH OBVIOUSLY I REMEMBER THE ENDING OF THIS. The first very very very sad death in the series. Ugh. Stop reading here if for some reason you haven’t read the series: I was so heartbroken when Sirius died. Harry finally had a family, and maybe even a chance to live with him (because finally the Ministry believed them about Voldemort’s return)… and it got plucked away. You cruel woman, JK Rowling. Otherwise I truthfully didn’t remember that much about this book, except for hating Umbridge and everything she did to the school. My answer stands: because HARRY POTTER! I didn’t think I was mentally ready to reread about Sirius though, so that wasn’t fun. This book is honestly the one that I wasn’t looking forward to rereading as much. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loooove the creation of the Order and Dumbledore’s Army – but everything else (Umbridge, Sirius, etc.) depresses me. It’s hard to read a book with such a vicious antagonist (sometimes I think I hate her more than Voldemort). It goes without saying that I […]

Reread Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Posted May 15, 2015 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

This is the first book I had to anxiously await reading! Since I finished the first three books before this one’s release, I had to wait and wait for it to come out. My parents were pretty good about letting me preorder the books (especially because they were addicted to them at this point, too!) and I remember being so damn excited for it to arrive. This book is huuuuge in size and I remember walking around everywhere with it in my hands, barely able to fit. I also loved the Triwizard Tournament aspect of this book. It was such a cool idea and kept the action dispersed throughout the book. I knew that this was kind of the “turning point” in the series, where Voldemort is officially back; the books get much darker from here on out. Duh, Harry Potter! I always wanted to reread this series. Beyond that, though, I was almost the most anxious to reread this one out of all of them. I knew that #3 and #4 were close favorites of mine, but I always said Prisoner of Azkaban was my favorite. I wanted to reread this one to see if my reigning favorite would remain, or if this one would take its place! Well, I’m pretty sure this one has officially become my favorite! It feels weird to say that, but I guess my tastes have changed. I just LOVED the whole tournament, the new characters, and the fact that this book is THE book […]

Reread Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Posted April 1, 2015 / Book Reviews / 3 Comments

If I remember correctly, the first three books were already published when I started the series in 1999. So, I got this one for Christmas (which was three months after it was published in the United States) and started reading it pretty much immediately after the second book. I remember that this one was my faaaavoriteeeee. Honestly, up until rereading, I couldn’t really explain WHY. It just had a different feel than the other books: probably because of the new characters that I immediately loved. The time-turner’s introduction was so cool too. I remember buying a version of the necklace when I saw it at Barnes & Noble one day too. I wore it to the rest of the movie premieres. 😉 My answer stands! I always knew I wanted to reread the series but just never found the time to do it. Rereading them through audio, as I’ve said before, has been such a great experience! It genuinely baffles me that the narrator can do all of the character’s voices SO SPOT-ON. Honestly though, I was especially looking forward to reading this book out of the seven! Because I knew it was my long-standing favorite (without ever rereading), I wanted to verify that it was still my favorite or see if that changed. Not a lot happens in this book until the very end, apparently. I kind of forgot that. Regardless I confirmed that this is definitely one of my favorites. I feel like I should just list the reasons […]