Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Author: Morgan Matson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Page Count:  449 pages, Hardback
Date Published: May 6th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Since You've Been Gone
Source: Purchased Online

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?
Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?
Go Skinny Dipping? Um...

Morgan Matson has an astoundingly beautiful way with words that creates round, dynamic characters and stories that tug at every little heart string. Since You've Been Gone was one of my most anticipated novels of 2014 and it did not disappoint. At all. This novel has the same sort of feel as Matson's other novels, but is different as well, in the fact that while it is not the happiest book in the world, it is definitely not sad. It was funny and charming and totally adorable and it touched my heart just oh so much, dealing with friendship, family, loss, love, and self-discovery. I had heard so much hype about this book and was a little scared at first, but honestly? It lived up to everything I had heard about it and more. 

In the beginning, all Emily can really ever think about is Sloane, her best friend. They did everything together and Sloane was definitely the leader of their little pack, but when Sloane disappears, leaving only a to-do list, Emily is left to her own devices for the summer. That's where Frank comes in. As Emily and Frank begin to run together and develop a friendship, Emily realises that there's a lot more to life than just her best friend. And so, with her list, Emily gets out of her comfort zone, making new friends and challenging herself in more ways than one. I adored reading about Emily's journey of self-acceptance and discovery and I loved how much growth she went through, learning to be brave without Sloane. It was an excellent reminder for me to get out there this summer and try new things, make new friends, and have different experiences. I loved how it ended, that it was a bit bittersweet, and that Emily had grown so much and could think for herself. 

This is by far one of my favourite new contemporaries and definitely will be a favourite read this year, so I would of course recommend it to anyone looking for a touching read that will have you swooning ad laughing and just all around happy. If you haven't read it yet, GO NOW! If you have, what did you think of Matson's latest novel? Let me know!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

June Reading List

Hey y'all! I know June is a third way over now, but I just thought I'd put up a picture of the books I'm planning on reading this month or have read this month already, so that I can keep track of them and hope to read them all before July comes! This will be a busy month, due to finals and a teacher strike currently happening in my province, but I'm still hoping to get some good reading time in!

I've already finished Love Letters to the Dead and absolutely adored it, now I'm reading Aristotle and Dante, which is so good so far! Plus, I'm in the mid-beginning of Star Cursed and Fire, so this month is really about finishing up as many of the books that I've started as I can! But if I can finish those, then I'll go on to either of the last two if I've got the time! It is finals coming up soon, however the school schedule is a bit iffy at the moment due to the BC teacher job action happening at the moment, so if there's a full walkout next week.... more reading time, but less in-class exam prep! (Don't know how I feel about that, tbh.) Anywho, this is what I'm hoping to read this month and thought I'd share, so that maybe this will keep me on track!

What are you hoping to read this month?

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I've Read So Far in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.This week's topic  is: Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year.

 

 

 

That's my list for the week! I haven't read a lot of books so far this year, but most of the ones I have were really great! Love Letters to the Dead is definitely my favourite debut this year BY FAR but there have also been so many amazing sequels and finales! Leave me a link to your list this week and I'll check it out, I'd love to see some of the great books y'all have read this year so far! 

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Page Count:  355 pages, Hardback
Date Published: March 4th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: The Winner's Curse
Source: Purchased

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.
But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

I honestly feel like I missed something. All I've heard about this book is how awesome it is and how much everyone totally loved it, but I wasn't really feeling it. Yeah, sure, I liked it and I definitely was intrigued by the concept, but I felt no connection to the characters in the end and had not much of a desire to keep reading. While I was happy there was no insta-love, there's something almost worse.... A LOVE TRIANGLE. And well,  one that I didn't really care about at that. I felt nothing for either Ronan or Arin, which made Kestrel's questioning just a bit... boring for me. While I did get a sense of character development, nothing truly pulled me in, wanting to know more and more about these characters. I skimmed quite a few pages, as a lot of the story just dragged on in my opinion, making it difficult to keep reading. However, I did appreciate the fact that Kestrel was not your ordinary "strong heroine" in the Katniss and Tris sense. She had a choice of being a warrior, but she turned it down for something she loved more: music and knowledge. I believe everyone should have a choice in what they want to be and that there are different types of strength, so I was pleased to see Kestrel's in an area that is a bit different from what we've been seeing a lot of in YA lately. That being said, while Kestrel's character was interesting, I wasn't all too interested in her relationships. I have very mixed feelings about this book in general, so I'm just going to leave this before I start repeating myself some more, but I guess here's a GIF to summarize how I felt about The Winner's Curse.

I both liked it and I did not and therefore came out of its world a bit confused. However, I will say once more that I loved the concept and I might just not have been in the right mood for this book at the time!

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Top Ten Tuesday: Books in my Beach Bag

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.This week's topic  is: Top Ten Books in my Beach Bag this Summer. I plan to do a lot of reading this summer and I'm hoping a bit of it will be on the beach!

 

That's my list this week! Leave me a link to yours and I'll check it out!

Happy reading!
~Kristy