Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 435
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Year Published: 2013
Format: Hardcover (Own It)
First Line: "There was a boy in her room."
"From the author of New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park. A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family, and first love.
Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan.
But for Cath, being a fan is her life- and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.
Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?"
My Rating: 4/5
So just to clarify this is the first book that I've read a physical copy of by Rainbow Rowell and overall, I really enjoyed it. I had listened to Eleanor and Park last year and it was far more heart-wrenching in some aspects. That being said I really enjoy this story overall. The characters and the setting (in some ways) reminded me of some of my college experiences. As someone who has anxiety, some of this representation hit pretty close to home when going to college and having a big life change. I also enjoyed the fandom aspect of this series, and look forward to reading Carry On.
The only reason this wasn't a 5/5 for me was that it seemed to drag near the end, but at the same time, it seemed to end abruptly. I'm not sure how to explain my feelings other than this. I didn't realize I'd reached the end until I read the last page and was looking for a bit more.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
This is the second Rainbow Rowell book I've consumed. Overall, I enjoyed the story being told in Fangirl and the idea of change. I understand the fear and anxiety that comes with change as an eighteen-year-old. Especially moving away from home and everything you've known. It's really scary. I'm not going to lie to anyone. But I was happy to see that Cath was able to find some good in the experience that horrified her so much to begin with. I also enjoyed her fanfiction writing and her need to live in her own world. I can relate in a sense. When I was in college I read to escape things, or binge watched tv just to get out of my own head. I think those are pretty common things.
Characters:
Cath: I felt like I could relate to her anxiety and struggles with branching out. It takes alot when you've been able to rely on those around you for a social outlet. That being said, by the end she seems to have her shit together more than Wren and that's saying something. I also appreciated that the author took so much care in describing what might be anxiety or panic attack with Cath's character. I can relate.
Wren: I think the idea of teen drinking was an important part to bring up. In the states, it's notorious that colleges are filled with parties (yes in Canada we party too but our legal drinking age almost across the country is 18). And the idea of using alcohol to cope isn't outlandish. It's rather realistic. Scary even.
Dad: I don't know how I feel about his mental health. I understand that he doesn't want to use medication as the only way to cope with his health problems, but at the same point it's not quite fair that his daughters have to pick up the pieces and keep such a clear eye out for him. But that's the way of life for so many people. I think it's also important to note that mental health is just as important as physical health. It can invade your life and change the outcome of everyday things.
Laura: I have a lot of feelings towards her and they are not good. Yes, she gave birth to the girls, but she doesn't have the right to ask them to get in contact with them now. If you can't handle someone when they're young, what right do you have to come back and try to re-enter their lives?
Reagan: I loved how snarky she was, the only part I wish that her being Levi's ex-boyfriend hadn't been thrown in. Or if it was it had been thrown in earlier. I was glad that they clearly appeared to be over each other though.
Levi: I loved him. His teasing, his easy smile and his friendly manner. I also love that he was able to pick up Cath's fanfiction and fall for her writing. I also really enjoyed their relationship overall. He was willing to take it slow and put in his time with her to get to know her before trying to make a commitment.
Nick: I think in the end he got exactly what he deserved. He was a huge jerk to Cath and treated her like crap.
Moments to Remember:
Pg. 265
"Her dad was wrong about worrying. Cath liked to worry.
It made her feel proactive, even when she was totally helpless."
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: Baby Doll
Author: Hollie Overton
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Adult
Pages: 281
Publisher: Redhook
Year Published: 2016
Format: ARC (bought online by accident)
First Line: "A dead bolt has a very specific sound."
"Held captive for eight years, Lily has grown from a teenager to an adult in a small basement prison. Her daughter Sky has been a captive her whole life. But one day their captor leaves the deadbolt unlocked.
This is what happens next...
...to her twin siser, to her mother, to her daughter... and to her captor."
My Rating: 4/5
WARNING THIS BOOK CONTAINS: sexual assualt, violence, swearing, mental health disorders, etc.
I'd heard about this book a while ago, but had just read Room by Emma Donoghue, so I put off picking this one up. I think that was a good choice to make. This book is a very interesting story about forgiveness, letting go and serving justice where it's due. I liked the different perspectives that we followed and was interested mostly in the view of the captor throughout the novel. That being said, there were aspects of the story that I found to be unneccessary, or to just add drama to an already dramatic situation. Overall, I would read more work by the author and would recommend this book to those who have read and enjoyed Room.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
So this is a very interesting read. Baby Doll has many different characters that we follow including: Lily, Abby, Eve, and Rick. We see how the escape of kidnapped woman and how her escape affects her twin sister, her mother and her captor. I think that this story was interesting in the way the story took place. I found this book to be a bit slower of a read just based on the subject matter.
Characters:
Lily: She was an incredibly strong spirit, and I have no idea how she didn't give up on getting away from Rick or protecting Sky. She was thought to be dead for so long, and little did she know that her captor had befriended her family. It makes my skin crawl just to think about it. I also think it's important that in this novel that after time Lily was able to accept taht she needed help and that Sky might need some help too.
Abby: To have your sibling taken and to witness her come back after years of defending her and saying she wasn't dead. I can't imagine. Also to have gained a connection with your sisters first love interest is scary. I did think that she needed help before she got it, and I'm not sure she's going to be able to deal over time with her actions towards Rick.
Eve: I liked her but I found some of her actions to be extremely annoying. The way she threw herself towards men as a term of coping was frustrating especially in the midst of the biggest moment of her daughter's life.
Rick: He is sick. And I think that it was so frustrating that he didn't have a reason to acting for the way he did. But I guess sometimes people do shitty things. I don't even know how to feel about that. I felt so uncomfortable reading from his perspective but I think it was an important part of the story. To see how he felt and rationalized what he did.
Sky:I think that her perspective would have also been interesting but a confusing one to follow. To have 6 years confided to a basement with a closet and a bed, and then to be in the wide open... that would be a huge shock for anyone.
Missy: I understand how she didn't say anything. You want to believe the best in your partner and don't want to spoil your time with them.
Wes: To fall in love with your first love twin sister, that's a little crazy. A little much for me, but I tried to wrap my head around it. They would understand what each other had gone through and be able to talk about it. That being said, it's really awkward with Lily back in the picture....
Scott: This seemed unneccessary.... like it's important that she was learning to have romantic relationships again, but I would have been happier if I heard that she was working with a therapist to get there along with Scott... or whoever..
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: Struck
Author: Jennifer Bosworth
Series/Standalone: Struck Series (Book #1)
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Paranormal
Pages: 373
Publisher: Square Fish
Year Published: 2012
Format: Paperback Copy (Own It)
First Line: "When you've been struck by lightning as many times as I have, you start to expect the worst pretty much all the time."
"I am a lightning addict.
I crave it like lungs crave oxygen.
Nothing makes you feel.
Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.
Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a travelling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revellers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.
Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn't who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and the power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything."
My Rating: 2/5
This book was brought to my attention after it was compared to the Red Queen series. I would like to state that this is nothing like the Red Queen series. Or not in the ways that I hoped. I think I've learned that other people suggestions for books that are similar to my favorite books don't really count if they don't love the Red Queen series as much as I do. I think that this book was a decent debut and it was an interesting world, but there were so many corny aspects that I couldn't overlook. I do think that I would be interested in the prequel to this book and the becoming of some of our characters in this story. That being said, I don't think I will be reading The Prophet by Jennifer Bosworth anytime soon.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
I expected a lot from this book which might have been my main problem. Whenever someone compares a book to my favourite book I get this urge to read it but I tend to be a little biased about whether it is really like Red Queen. This book had interesting aspects, getting to see the world fall apart, watching two cults battle for the end they wanted, the powers brought by lightning, and of course, the idea that you can change your fate.
Characters:
Mia: She was interested in the beginning of the story, but as I read I was increasingly annoyed by her. She seemed more interested in her love interest than the fact that the world was legit ending. You'd think that she'd have a different set of priorities but apparently not. She also is just too trusting of everyone, except for those I was rooting for. It was extremely frustrating.
Parker: I think that he was immature and clearly didn't understand the danger he was putting himself in repeatedly. He was also kinda just a stock character.
Jeremy: He was such a basic love interest. He was bound to be betraying her. I kinda figured with some of the white clothing that he was somehow in cahoots with the Followers. But I do wonder about his mother and how his life was with the Prophet in the beginning while he was still being brainwashed.
Prophet: I'd be interested in the point of his view, but not enough to purchase the prequel of this book. I honestly think that he thought that he was the Prophet and he was meant to bring those to God.
Katrina: I want her families back story. It was just kinda thrown in there like an afterthought that her mother had been the leader of the Seekers to begin with.
Mr. Kale: Mind control is shitty. Duh.
Moments to Remember:
Final Line: "'I did.'"
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: The Hate U Give
Author: Angie Thomas
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 464
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Year Published: 2017
Format: Hardcover (Own It)
First Line: "I shouldn't have come to this party."
"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor black neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a plice officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, Khalil's death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Starr's best friend at scool suggests he may have had it coming. When it becomes clear the police have little interest in investigating the incident, protesters take to the streets and Starr's neighborhood becomes a war zone. What everyone wants to know is: What really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does- or does not- say could destroy her community. It could also endanger her life.
Angie Thomas's searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart and unflinching honesty."
My Rating: 5/5
I understand now why everyone should read this book. This book was eye opening, heartbreaking and inspiring. I think that Angie Thomas's writing style is important to note. It is a story that I think that everyone should read based on the content matter and the way things are shown. I'm aware that as a white woman I have privileges that many others do not. That being said, there were so many things that I never even thought of having to be careful about. For example, I have never feared a police officer, but this book really made me think about how the concept of police officer's can be different for you based on something like your background, neighbourhood, or race. It's horrible to think about, but an important thing for people to understand.
Another aspect that I really enjoyed was the idea of family. I feel like so often in stories like this we see a family life that has become stereotypical, but this book made me wish that I could meet Starr's family.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
This story was everything I needed and more. I understand now why everyone says that everyone should read this book. This story is so incredibly important for this time period and those in the future. As someone who has a considerable amount of privilege, I was so upset to read about what other people are going through with police violence. This book was an eye opener. There were things that I knew about, but to see how people had to think so carefully about interactions with law enforcement and people of other races.
I also loved the family element of this story. So often you read or see books like this where the main characters family life is horrible and it made me think that perhaps that's some authors ways of saying why certain things happen. Not that that is at all right. Not even close.
Characters:
Starr: I think that seeing her act as she did really shook me. To see someone fear for everyone around them for trying to do the right thing and try to defend a friend. I can't imagine being in her situation, but sadly it happens everyday. People make presumptions about other people, and when guns are available whose to say prejudices wouldn't get in the way. I was frustrated to see that the cop wasn't put behind bars, but I'm sadly not surprised. This book is realistic.
Maverick: I loved how he took care of his family and those in the community. I loved that he took care of those around him and was willing to put in the work for his community to be a better place. That being said, I think he made a good choice leaving with his family when he did. Especially after all the shit with King went down.
Khalil: Although we don't know all that much about him, it's clear that he was doing some things out of necessacity and not out of want. Unfortunately, this is another incredibly realistic ascpect of this story. People get stuck in the cycle of poverty and drugs, in a system very much stacked against them.
Seven: He's strong in his own right. To give up what he really wanted to try and do better things for his family is a strong move. That being said he puts up with seeing his mother used and abused along with his sisters. It broke my heart at the end to see how he broke inside seeing his mom give him and his siblings a chance to run.
Chris: He definetly has a type but that's not a bad thing. I think that he's a good guy and he's really trying to understand Starr's world and how it's different from his own. That being said, he would never fully be able to put himself in her shoes.
Maya: I liked that she finally stood up for herself and opened up about how she felt. Hailey should never have spoken to them that way, and she shouldn't speak to anyone that way at all.
Hailey: She's not unlike many people who've grown up with a privilege and don't believe that privelege exists. She was so frustrating to read about, but I would assume that there are more people like her than I'd like to believe.
King: People do what they have to do to survive. That being said, he should have gotten more time for everything he'd done to people and his community.
Kenya: Her life isn't all that uncommon. Across every walk of life children are abused physically, sexually and verbally. Until we stand up and fight for the rights of those who cannot speak for themselves these children may never be free.
Momma: She's strong and raised 2 kids on her own while her husband was in jail, and she was able to forgive him after everything that happened. Together they worked to provide a better life for their family, and provide care in their community.
Moments to Remember:
Final Line: "I promise."
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: Genuine Fraud
Author: E. Lockhart
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 264
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Year Published:2017
Format: Audiobook
"Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete.
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two.
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies and villains.
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was."
My Rating: 4/5
This book was written by an author I loved. I had loved her debut, although it was controversial, We Were Liars was a great YA thriller. And this second book was also very addicting. The audiobook told the story very well and helped me with the use of accents in the storyline. I think that the change of chapters really added to the storyline and made the reader wonder about what had happened in past events. It really added to the suspense of the plot overall. That being said there were parts of this book I felt that I missed out on by listening to the audiobook. Especially if I got distracted. Just something to keep in mind if you're not used to listening to books on audio.
I think that this book is best if you go in blind expecting nothing, especially based on the subject matter. I would recommend this to lovers of thrillers and mysteries for YA.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
This book was one I'd heard good and bad things about for quite some time. Most people seemed to really not like it if they had liked E. Lockhart's first book, We Were Liars. I actually thought that it was really interesting. Especially the way it was written. To start from near the end and go back to the beginning is an interesting idea and it created different ideas about our characters. I also thought that the audiobook did a great job with the changing accents although I wish I had had a physical copy to keep track of the timeline.
Characters:
Jule: I don't even know where, to begin with, this character. She makes so many choices that are poor and in poor judgement. I do wonder how she started to rationalize what she was doing and who she was doing it too. That being said, she was trying to escape who she was and become someone else. I would think though that it would have been better to go about this in another way. That being said, she was never lacking in the adventure idea of the plot.
Imogen: She is more than a little spoiled. Not to say that she deserved what she had coming, not at all she was just a person who was trying to figure out who she was. That being said, she had a pretty big advantage (money, looks, social charm). It was impressive to see what she could get away with.
Forrest: Good for him for sticking up for Immy after her death. That being said she did cheat on him and didn't seem to care that much about him at all.
Pablo: I wonder if they ended up meeting in the future or if he just let her go wondering what she was hiding and why they could never be together.
Imogen's Parents: They were more than a little naive to just trust in Jule, but it made me think about the times that I had trusted someone wholeheartedly and where that might have gotten me.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
