Review: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Author: Becky Albertalli

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Page Count:  320 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: April 7th 2015
Find it on Goodreads: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Source: Borrowed an ARC from Raeleen (thank you!!)

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

It's been difficult for me to sum up my feelings for this book in words... but basically this GIF of a smiling Jeremy Renner probably gives you a good idea of my face after finishing it: 

I. loved. this. book. Here's why:

• It kept me guessing about who Blue was. The entire time I was reading, my mind kept making scenarios up about the different possibilities of Blue's identity and how Simon would react. 

• Simon wasn't a clichéd LGBTQ character that I've seen ten million times before! He was so much more than just the 'gay best friend' or the 'closeted tough-guy jock.' He had a legitimate personality that revolved around things OTHER than his sexuality.

• The friendships were awesome and complex and relatable! This friend group had problems, but they talked them out instead of getting all dramatic about them! Platonic friendship representation is so great in YA and I wish there was more of it!

• The book brought up really important societal issues about sexuality, gender, and race, like this quote (taken from goodreads) : 

"Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it shouldn't be this big awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I'm just saying.” 

YES.

• SIMON. Probably one of my all time favourite YA characters, he was cynical, funny, a lover of Oreos and Harry Potter, and just all around incredible. I felt like I knew him, like we were friends, which is one of my favourite feelings when I'm reading a book.

• It made me happy! While this book does bring up some super important ideas, it is also just plain sweet!

I have so much more to say about this book, but I might have to add onto this review later, because for now I'm tired and need to post this asap! Please, please pick this book up if you get the chance. It's cute, it's funny, and it's important. 

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Author: Richelle Mead

Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count:  348 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: February 10th 2015
Find it on Goodreads: The Ruby Circle
Source: Purchased

The epic conclusion to Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series is finally here...

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

After their secret romance is exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series. When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world.

As sad as I was about finishing this series, I must say that this was a wonderfully satisfying finale! Over the three years of having this blog, I have professed my undying love for Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy/Bloodlines world too many times to count. These series are so addictive and incredibly readable and this finale was no different. Mead tied up a lot of loose ends and left little hints so as to not be boring all throughout the book about where the characters were going to end up after the book ended and I was so enthralled the entire time I was reading it. I loved the conflicts Sydney and Adrian had to go through, both physical and mental, and the resolution in the end was incredibly satisfying. It honestly felt like Mead was writing for us, the fans, and did our wishes justice while still keeping it realistic to the plot and characters. I am so sad that this was my last time reading one of Sydney's and Adrian's stories for the first time, as they are one of my favourite couples to read about. Sydney is by far one of the most important characters that I've read in a long time for me personally, because she was so different from Rose, not as physically strong or tough as her, but instead using her mind for whatever came at her. I have said it before and I will say it again: these are not just Vampire books. They are books filled with interesting stories, complicated characters, and exciting plots. I am so devastated that this series has come to a close, but it was a good run and I can't wait to see what Mead comes up with next.

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: Talon by Julie Kagawa

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Page Count:  449Hardcover
Date Published: October 24th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Talon
Source: Purchased

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Kind of disappointing honestly... I liked it enough, but it was definitely not what I was hoping. But I also don't really know what I was hoping it would be. All I knew was that it was about dragons and I. love. dragons. But this book ended up being more a contemporary summer read with little bits of dragon/action scenes in between. The result? 

I just found it kind of predictable and it was another case of me not really caring about what was happening or what the characters were doing. I really didn't like Ember's voice;  I found it whiny and annoying and juvenile, which made me so sad because she had so much potential. I didn't mind Garret's, but Riley's I couldn't have cared less about. There wasn't much that happened that made me really really excited about this book until the last few chapters, as the battle scene was pretty cool and well written. But then the book ended and even with the cliff-hanger, I just didn't have too much desire to find out what happened next. 

Overall, it wasn't terrible, but I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped and I was pretty disappointed in it all. This was a story that had so much potential but it kind of felt short in my mind. I liked it enough, but it took me a while to keep going and actually finish. 

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Author: E. Lockhart

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Page Count:  528 Hardcover
Date Published: May 13th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: We Were Liars
Source: Library

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Huh. Well, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting... I can't even say too much about this because it's obviously a mystery and that's the whole thing with this book: no one knows much about it until they start reading. However, I will say this: E. Lockhart's prose is beautiful. She has a gorgeous style that made me love reading her work and it was honestly half the reason why I enjoyed the book and kept reading. The story was interesting, but I also felt kind of disconnected from the characters, and I'm not sure if that was an intentional part of the book or not, but it kind of made me not care too much. I did think the whole mystery was interesting enough, but the book still wasn't as WOW as I was expecting it to be. 

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Publisher: Bantam Dell
Page Count:  850 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Date Published: First published 1991
Find it on Goodreads: Outlander
Source: Was given as a gift

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. 

Whatever is was that I was expecting, it wasn't that. This was recommended and gifted to me by an exchange student that my family hosted from Germany a few years ago. She was a huge fan of epic fantasy, so when I picked this up, that's what I was most expecting.... Boy was I surprised.

*possible minor spoilers ahead if you haven't read this?*

Epic fantasy, this was not. I knew Outlander was a time travel novel, yet I didn't really realize that was only a simple part of the plot, that the story was more about the history of Scotland and the romance between Claire and Jamie. Then, as I was getting used to the historical overload, Jamie and Claire have their wedding night.

Now, I  know this is probably tame compared to other books people read, but having not expected any sort of explicitness, I was reading this in my French class and well, my cheeks went a little red.

Speaking of their marriage, I'm unclear on my opinion of whether or not Claire was committing adultery by marrying Jamie while being in a different time than her husband, Frank. Plus, the brutality of her punishment from Jamie made me sick to my stomach. I understand that it was part of the times, however it still made me uncomfortable, as well as the talk of him possibly forcing himself upon her.... it all just made me a bit squeamish, considering those actions are now rightly considered unacceptable.

What I did appreciate was the vivid historical detail and how much obvious research Gabaldon did for this novel. It made the story feel all the more real while in a setting so foreign to me. There were times where it felt almost as if there was too much detail, too much information, and the plot was overloaded with descriptors. The first 100 pages were honestly really dull, and I skimmed through much of it, hardly paying attention. The middle felt mostly like world building and a bit of plot, but kind of jumped around. Then the third quarter was filled with action, albeit was a bit odd, but I was hooked. Then the last quarter dragged on for a while longer, ending in a scene that I was glad I wasn't near anyone for, because my cheeks were redder than a tomato.

I don't know if I will be reading the rest of this series, but this was surely an enjoyable book, if not a bit dragged out. This is purely escape fiction, which is not what I was expecting, but once I got into it, I didn't really mind. It was a nice break for my tired brain.

 Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Infinite by Jodi Meadows

Author: Jodi Meadows

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Page Count:  418 Hardcover
Date Published: January 28th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Brazen
Source: Purchased

DESTRUCTION
The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.

FLIGHT
Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.

CHOICE
The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all.

With gorgeous romance and thrilling action, the final book in the Incarnate trilogy offers a brilliant conclusion to the compelling questions of this fascinating world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions. 

It generally takes me a while to finish these books, but once I do, the time is always worth it. I'm so impressed with where Jodi Meadows took this series... I mean, DRAGONS. I. Love. Dragons. Stories that incorporate them are almost always incredible and I loved where Infinite took them, with the lore and mystery surrounding these majestic creatures. I won't go into too much detail as this is the final book and I'd hate to spoil anything, however I will note this: Ana's character development brought tears to my eyes, giving me hope for all those other heroines of YA fantasies. What I thought was super cool was that this series melded from what was originally a utopian society, to more of a dystopian-like fantasy epic that kept firing bullets and my heart took them all.

All throughout the series, there was this huge question as to whether or not Ana would reincarnate when she inevitably died. I absolutely loved where the ending ultimately went. It was both happy and sad and it made sense as much as it could in this context. Overall, this entire finale was simply fantastic... I will always recommend this series as one of my favourites to anyone who hasn't read it.


Plus, to convince you of the awesomeness that is this series, here is a really cool GIF of a phoenix.

 Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Author: Soman Chainani

Publisher: HarperCollins
Page Count:  488 Hardcover
Date Published: May 14th 2013
Find it on Goodreads: Brazen
Source: Purchased

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.
This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.
But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?
The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one. 

I haven't read a full MG novel for a while, so this was a good welcome back into the genre. Intriguing concept, clear main message with other muddled, smaller messages interweaved, and characters easy to get attached to, The School for Good and Evil was a wonderful fairytale escape, however I had some issues with it. Let's talk about the good first:

The world-building was phenomenal. The descriptions were clear, the history not too confusing, and there was always a sense of intrigue and mystery. I loved how familiar fairy tale characters were integrated but not the full focus and how it was all controlled by the Storian and the ever-mysterious School Master. Agatha and Sophie were wonderful, well fleshed out characters and Agatha's development was incredible to 'watch' as she began to see who she truly was.

However, ultimately, I feel like a lot of the themes in this were a bit heavy for MG kids, and if not heavy, at least a bit confusing. There are a few scenes in the book that sexualize Sophie and talk about her 'lean, long legs' and I mean... she's like, 12. At the most, 14.  There was also a lot of sexism thrown at us, which I really hope the author is actually bashing and will come up with a way to make all the "princesses are weak and princes must save them" messages into ones that empower girls and make them feel equal, as the way it was written felt like he was ridiculing these sexist ideals. But at the same time, ten year olds may not be able to differentiate between what the author was saying and what he was meaning. Or maybe I'm not giving the kids enough credit. Either way, I hope the second book clears out the foggy messages. Over all, this was a great story, but it was definitely one that I'm going to need to question a bit and see how my rating changes. But for now, 4!

 Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Page Count:  470 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: November 4th 2011
Find it on Goodreads: The Retribution of Mara Dyer
Source: Purchased

Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.
There is.
She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.
She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.
Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.
Retribution has arrived.

The conclusion to this series was a long-awaited one, but thankfully it was worth the wait. The Mara Dyer series is completely twisted and mind-bending and I love it so much. While the beginning of this book was a bit slow, I knew that as soon as I got to the last third, I would be instantly hooked once again and wouldn't be able to put it down, which is exactly what happened. I don't want to spoil ANYTHING from the other books in case some of you haven't read them, but I will say that this conclusion, while a bit slow in the beginning, was incredible once it picked up. There were so many loose ends from the last book that were thankfully addressed and all the twists and turns made it still feel familiar to the original first novel. The ending was a bit bitter-sweet, but I was glad about how it turned out and am looking forward to rereading this entire series to get the full effect of the twisted and romantic trilogy that is Mara Dyer. 

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Page Count:  264 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: April 5th 2011
Find it on Goodreads: Where She Went
Source: Purchased

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other.
Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

I actually don't know how to rate this based on anything other than my feelings and emotions that revolve around this book and these characters. How on earth had I not read this series before now? I'm so in love with Mia's and Adam's story and Gayle Forman's writing. This book just filled me with warm feelings but also pulled at my heart as Mia and Adam come together once again after such a tragedy,  both different people than we had seen in the first book, yet still familiar. I really enjoyed reading from Adam's perspective, it gave him a bit more depth than the mysterious and gorgeous love interest that I had seen him as in If I Stay. It was really interesting to me to see how the aftermath of the accident has affected him as well as Mia, and where his music had taken him. I definitely loved the look into their lives once more and this whole book just played with my heart like crazy. 

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Author: Adi Alsaid

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Page Count:  352 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: July 29th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Let's Get Lost
Source: Purchased

Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost.
Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.
There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love.
Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

Intriguing premise with a surprise twist at the end, this book definitely lived up to the hype. I love travel/road trip books, as well as mysterious main characters, so this book was a great fit for me, as the story takes us on Leila's journey to see the Northern Lights, finding friends and adventure along the way. There's one part where Leila and Sonia are traveling to Hope, BC through all of these places that I actually know and I could picture their route so perfectly it was a bit unnerving. There's nothing like reading a book set in places you live or have been. I loved all of the character studies this book contained, with these lost people all finding this one lost girl. The final twist was surprising and a bit heartbreaking, but I loved where the story went and would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Page Count:  201 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: April 2nd 2009
Find it on Goodreads: If I Stay
Source: Purchased

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.

Finally read this and so glad I did, but also so mad that I put it off for so long. This book was beautiful and heartbreaking and had me in tears multiple times out of both joy and sadness. I consider Gayle Forman a favourite author of mine, but now I feel like I can truly say that having read this. Forman's writing style is always impressive and I feel like her name can simply guarantee a good read. Mia's story was really interesting I loved all of the flashbacks, tying the pieces together so that the story was more than just a girl in a coma. It was a story of love, friendship, family, music.... It was really quite beautiful. 

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: Brazen by Katherine Longshore

Author: Katherine Longshore

Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Page Count:  528 Hardcover
Date Published: June 12th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Brazen
Source: Purchased

Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she’s married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, she rockets into the Tudor court’s inner circle. Mary and “Fitz” join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court’s strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Fitz, the harder she falls for him, but is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed…but pushing them too far means certain death. Is true love worth dying for?

It is no secret on this blog how much I adore Katherine Longshore and all of her works and Brazen is no different. This book was just AMAZING and completely tore at my heart. Once again, Katherine Longshore has written a book about people who lived long ago that tugged at my heartstrings, made me laugh, made me angry, and made me swoon completely. I want my own Henry Fitzroy please and thank you. Mary is such a (subtle) badass and is probably one of my favourite historical characters of all time. She stood up for herself and her gender and it was incredible. If you're not sure if you like historical fiction but want to give it a try, I'd 100% recommend this series. It's brilliant. They're incredibly riveting reads, filled with intense scenes and romance and drama and betrayal and I can't even describe how amazing it is. I loved this book and I loved this series and I wish there were more coming out. 

One last thing, Katherine Longshore:

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Author: Leila Sales

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Page Count:  279 pages, Ebook
Date Published: September 17th 2013
Find it on Goodreads: This Song Will Save Your Life
Source: Purchased ebook

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.
Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

I was really not expecting to like this book as much as I did, nor did I think I would fly through it as quickly as I did. This book was not a light one, nor was it perfect, but it was a good read that made me think a lot and tugged at my heart strings. I will say, this is not the book for everyone. It's definitely one that has a writing style that's to some people's taste and not other's. The voice is younger, recognizable even, but the story is unique, or at least the concept is. I loved the huge focus on friendship this book had, as well as of course, music. It's hard for some books to truly capture the essence of what music means to a character and how that can relate to the reader, but this one did just that, and well. There was romance, but not a lot, and some really great parts about girls and friendship and popularity. This is an issue book, dealing with suicide and self-harm, so it might be hard for some to read, just to put that out there as a warning. Again, I really enjoyed this one and appreciated that it was a bit unique, a bit different. The characters were interesting and eclectic and they felt like real people, which is always an extreme positive for me when it comes to books. Definitely give this one a shot if you enjoy books that deal with tougher stuff as well as music!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Author: Jandy Nelson

Publisher: Dial Books
Page Count:  384 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: September 16th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: I'll Give You the Sun
Source: Purchased

A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell
Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.
This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

Jandy Nelson is why I want to be a writer. This book is why I want to be a writer. This prose, this story, these characters... theses are all some of the many, many reasons why I want to be a writer. This book is a masterpiece; a collection of the finest pieces of art complied together in words to make you think and to open your mind and to bring light into your life. I am in awe by the way this novel was written, with its mesmerizing metaphors, precise yet artistic descriptions, and small but important details added in everywhere to make it all complete. My heart is bursting at the seams with my love for this book and this story, with its complex, beautiful characters with whom I connected so deeply yet felt like I could learn so much more about them. I crave more about this family and their future, but am content with where we left off and I just fell in love so completely with Noah, Jude, and their stories that I now feel empty as their written story is finished. Jandy Nelson is a gift to the world of authors and books who must and will be cherished. I praise Nelson once again for a spectacular, touching story about family, love, loss, and art. Bravo, to this wonderful author. Bravo.

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Author: Kristin Cashore

Publisher: Dial Books
Page Count:  563 pages, Paperback
Date Published: May 1st 2012
Find it on Goodreads: Bitterblue
Source: Purchased

Eight years have passed since the young Princess Bitterblue, and her country, were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.
But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck's death, believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck's reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, and it's only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle - curious, disguised and alone - to walk the streets of her own city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year long spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.
Whatever that past holds.
Two thieves, who have sworn only to steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, who possesses an unidentified Grace, may also hold a key to her heart . . .

Kristin Cashore is a powerhouse when it comes to writing intense, detailed fantastical stories with strong and dynamic characters that make one proud to be a woman. And that is exactly what Bitterblue did for me. Tying up Graceling, as well as Fire, Bitterblue  was the perfect conclusion to an epic series/companionship. 

 Kristin Cashore writes the types of books that I have always wanted to read. She doesn't conform to the stereotypical fantasy worlds where men rule all, women are weak, and everyone is white and heterosexual. NO. She writes about women who are strong but are still growing, women who are vulnerable and need to ask for help, women who take control of their own situations and don't allow their pasts to define them, WOMEN IN POLITICS WHO TOTALLY RULE AT IT. Cashore has POC protagonists, representation of the LGBTQ and disabled communities, people who struggle with their mental health, and she does not shy away from the subject of sex, contraception, babies (and the fact that not all women may want them). Bitterblue may not have been filled with as much action as Graceling or as much romance as Fire, but there was so much beautiful characterization, strong friendships, complicated relationships, parental issues, grief, and well... a freaking awesome librarian who is probably one of my all time favourite supporting characters. These books are ones that my bookish friends and I completely gush over anytime someone mentions anything about them and for good reason. The characters are ones that are easy to get attached to and the story is one that will keep you hooked from the moment you open the first page to the moment you close the last page. I regret not reading this series sooner and I urge everyone to read them as soon as possible.

Happy reading!

~Kristy