HOORAH FOR MICHELLE MADOW!

So guys, I finished Timeless, the final installment of the Trancend Time Saga.
I gotta say guys, after reading Vengence, I was pretty much dying to read this book. And it did NOT disappoint.

As far as my taste in books go, I'm not typically a fan of fantasy type stuff. However, every once in awhile a book or series will inch it's way into my heart. And this was one of them.

Michelle's utilization of 'common' language makes her books seem like they're being told from one friend to another without being overly complicated. There's no unnecessary information and everything is sort of straight to the point, which I ALWAYS appreciate in an author.

In regards to the whole series in general, I really enjoyed the slight romantic aspect. It's romantic without being overly cheesy and I really appreciated Lizzy as the heroine. I know that at first I thought that she was annoying and rude but once I realized that you can't fight fate, I decided she was alright.

As you know from my reviews of her last two books, the story revolves around the main character, Lizzy Davenport (who, granted, was not my favorite. But she ended up growing on me). Lizzy's seemingly uncomplicated life is thrown into chaos when Drew Carmichael transfers to her highschool. She feels connected to him deeply despite the fact that he is dating her best friend, Chelsea (formerly my favorite character of the series, but not anymore), and despite the fact that she has a long standing boyfriend.

Seems totally typical of any other YA novel, right?
Wrong.
Because Lizzy and Drew ARE meant to be. They shared a past life together...in Regency Era England! Lizzy's untimely death tore them apart then, but fate wants them back together again.

However, as we know from Vengence, Chelsea is REALLY mad about the whole "You stole my boyfriend" thing, so she accidentally puts a curse on Lizzy which she doesn't realize will eventually kill her. That's where book #2 ends.

NOW TO TIMELESS.

Lizzy and Drew are offically together now. Chelsea is still not on speaking terms with Lizzy and is being really lame about the whole situation. (Side note, ladies, holding grudges like this is NOT HEALTHY). Lizzy is under the impression that she and Drew have escaped their tragic past and therefore have escaped her untimely death. However, Chelsea has thrown a wrench into this whole situation.

Lizzy's happiness is cut short when she becomes aware of a dark energy surrounding her. She's attacked by birds, pictures of her fall off of the wall, and she has a general feeling of eerieness.
In order to put things right, Lizzy and Drew have to time travel back to Regency Era England to ensure that Lizzy does not die. The thing is....Chelsea has to go. It was a little awkward, but Chelsea was able to put her anger aside after discovering that she put her former best friend's life in danger.

All in all, the book had some pretty great twists, particularly towards the end. For something inspired by a Taylor Swift song, Michelle has really come up with a great series. I would have to rate this book as an 8/10 and the series in general an 8/10 as well. I look forward to what Michelle will produce in the future and I am SO SAD that this adventure is over. I felt as though I had to wait so long for this book to come out and now it's just done! Luckily, I can re-read them time and time again. I guess the book is just TIMELESS that way, eh guys? (I know, cheesy book puns are the worst.)

The book will not be released for purchase until November 20th, but I was lucky enough to recieve an early copy for review. I hope that you guys will give the series a shot because it is really, really great.

THANK YOU FOR READING!

CATCHING UP!

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you guys! I have a couple little review/catch up things for you guys today.

 I finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood on Thursday afternoon. I had started to review it but then my boyfriend came to get me right after school so we could go see Sinister. Which, by the way, was terrifying. It wasn't so much scary as it was disturbing. But I would recommend it if you're into that sort of thing. And then I was out of town from Friday until last night at which time I began watching The Walking Dead. VERY distracting.

Anyway back to The Handmaid's Tale. It's the story of a woman named Offred (Of-Fred) and takes place in a dystopian society not too far in the future. After a (possibly staged) terrorist attack, women are forced to give up their rights and become concubines to high-society men for the purpose of reproduction. Many women at this time have become infertile due to a strain of infections and so fertile women are in high demand.

Offred is an impressive narrator. She jumps around quite a bit and it was slightly confusing towards the start so after I finished the novel I went back to review the first few chapters, just so I could be clear. Other than the confusion at first, Offred has a very honest and clear voice. The story is HER story, but it doesn't come across as conceited, if you get what I mean. It gives a clear impression of what she's feeling without seeming too whiny. I really enjoyed that. It was like she was just thinking things, and as she thought them they were put on paper. Little details were recalled and tied into her present situation. All in all, it was haunting.

I would give this book a 9/10. For it to have been a 10/10 I would have wanted to know a little bit more about Offred's past 'employers'. JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE the ending has made people unhappy in the past, however I felt it wrapped up nicely. :)

Moving on.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON I STARTED THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY BY DAVID LEVITHAN.

 

 

It was a book written in an eloquent and beautiful way. It was written in free verse poetry most of the time and it was just really unique. Every poem/chapter changed narrators, and they all tie in together. You kind of have to use context clues to see where each person/story fits in which could be confusing at times but then again, it's such a quick read that you wouldn't have too much time in between each chapter anyway. So it's quite easy to remember who is who.

 

I really liked the honesty of it. Each different poem is relatable, especially to high school students, and I really appreciated the hopeful tone of even the most depressing poems.

 

I'm a huge fan of David Levithan and would rate him a close second behind John Green on the list of my favorite authors. I would seriously beg you to give either of them a try. They're a breath of fresh air in comparison to any other YA authors.

 

 

ALSO

 

 

I re-read Revoltingly Young by CD Payne over the weekend. The Youth in Revolt series is so great. It's really funny and just so awkward that sometimes you have to just slap your forehead and cringe internally because it's just that bad. I would also recommend this series, especially the first two books. The others can sort of get repetitive but in an endearing way.

 

Anyway, that's all I have for you right now. :) Currently I'm reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

 

THANKS FOR READING!!!

Carrie

So yesterday after I posted, I read Stephen King's classic thriller, Carrie. I've wanted to read it for awhile and I've never seen the movie so I thought I'd give it a try. :)

All in all I thought it was decent. The story was sad and kind of scary. King has a way of taking normal daily things and making them very frightening. We've all been in the position of either the bully or victim. Sometimes things that seem harmless to say can really affect someone in a terrible way. It is absolutely not OK. Now, what if the girl you were picking on turned out to have telekenisis? And what if you set up a seemingly harmless prank at prom? What if that was the last straw?

That's the basis of Carrie. What I found to be the most sad part of the story was the characters of Sue and Tommy. They truly had the best intentions and unfortunately suffered for it in the end. That was senseless. And kind of sad.

What I didn't like about the book was the scientific aspect of it, I guess. How randomly King would place a paragraph or two out of a science journal that was just boring and took away from Carrie's story. I could have done with a little less of that, and a little more of Carrie's childhood. The book was an excellent idea that just fell a little short of spectacular. However, I will say that King did a pretty good job and the book left me a little disturbed.

I think I would have to give it a 7/10. It wasn't that bad, but like I said there were a few things that fell below my expectations.

Right now I'm reading a book called The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I'm sort of interested. It's a little weird and I'm not sure what it's getting at yet, but I'll let you know. :)

THANKS FOR READING!! :D

13 1/2

Hi guys! I finished a book this morning called 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr. I just wanted to let you guys know what I thought of it. :)
Basically, it's about a little boy named Dylan who is 11. He is charged with the brutal murder of his parents and baby sister although he has no recollection of the crime. His brother, Richard, was the sole survivor of the attack because he was at the neighbor's house. This part of the story takes place in the early sixties.

Now, fast forward to what I assume to be present day Louisiana. A woman named Polly who was introduced in the first chapter as an abused teenager living with her mother in a trailer park, has now made a life for herself and her two daughters. She meets a man named Marshall who is almost too good to be true. They are married and all seems well.

All through the story, there are flashbacks to Dylan living in a youth detention center. He doesn't remember anything from that night, all he knows is he loved his family very much. However, due to the fact that he was found covered in their blood with the murder weapon, an axe, in his hand, it's highly improbable that he didn't do it.

The thing I like about the story is it's such a mystery. You want Dylan to be innocent due to how young he is and how unlikely of a murderer he seems. However, right when you begin to think he WAS innocent, something in the story happens to leave you doubtful again.

I would give the book a solid 7/10. The only thing about it I wasn't so sure about was the way the story was told. It was told very shallowly. The dialect was very basic and the climactic scene at the end could have used a little more drama. All in all though, the book kept me engaged. :)

Also, last night was homecoming! It was a ton of fun! :)

That's all I have to say! I hope you guys had a great weekend! :)

Extremely Sad and Incredibly Fantastic

                So first of all, I have to confess to a sin. A horrible book related sin. I judged a book by its movie. I know, I know. I’m a horrible person. I saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close in January when it came out without reading the book first. To be quite honest, I didn’t like the movie. Not in the slightest. It wasn’t successful in capturing Oskar’s unique voice and the young actor who portrayed him came off as obnoxious. The movie seemed rushed and I couldn’t understand why the book was so highly regarded.

And then on Sunday I was going through my library’s ebook collection and came across Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel and decided to give the story a second try. I fell madly in love with it. The way the story was told from the 3 perspectives of Oskar, his grandmother, and his grandfather was amazing. The language was intoxicating. And I just was completely engrossed. The use of photographs and other imagery to backup the story was also really effective. The last few pages gave me chills and there wasn’t even writing on them.

To be honest, it wasn’t Oskar’s story that had me so involved. It was the story of his grandmother and his grandfather that was even more sad than Oscar’s. Love, loss, and horrifying acts of terrorism are consistant through the novel. Even the most innocent of people can cause pain and heartache.

The book is very sad and relatable, particularly if you remember 9/11 and fully understand the sadness that came from the event. Please please PLEASE give it a shot. :)

ANYWAY THANKS FOR READING! <3

The Talk Funny Girl

Hi guys! I'm actually updating my blog! Whoot!
:)
So today I finished up a book I've been reading for a couple of days called The Talk Funny Girl by Roland Merullo. At first, I wasn't sure that I liked it. It was good, but it didn't have the WOW factor right away.
It starts out with an introduction by the narrator, a woman who grew up in the New Hampshire hills. She hints at being mistreated as a child and teenager, and how all negativity in every one's life is kept inside of themselves in a sort of museum that people pretend doesn't exist, but that she found a way to deal with those things. Then the book starts.

On the day that Marjorie Richards turns 17, her parents tell her that it was time to get a job. Right away, although this is a common and normal occurrence, you can tell that something's not quite right with her family. They talk in a sort of back-woods dialect that uses far too many prepositions and doesn't make much sense. (Which is where the title of the novel comes from). Later on in the book you find out that Marjorie and her parents belong to a very cultish church where the children are 'filled with sin' and must pay severe penance for it. It's all very scary, and the so called 'penance' that Marjorie has to pay is difficult to read about. She is starved, beaten, and doused with cold river water among other very traumatizing things. Apart from all of this, Marjorie is very intelligent even having been kept out of school until the age of 9, and seems to be very caring and sincere.

Reasonably enough, Marjorie is a little weary of adults. Not only is she mistreated by her parents and the congregation of their church, but while the story is taking place, there is a serial killer on the loose who preys on young girls who travel alone. Marjorie is constantly on edge and worried that someone will try to hurt her.

Early on in the story, Marjorie finds work with a man named Sands who is rebuilding a church and knows her (normal) aunt. She finds solace in the hard work and a friend in Sands. Their relationship is awkward because he is very shy and she has a difficulty expressing her emotions.

So, that should set up the novel pretty nice for you guys. It's very well worth reading. The novel shows that although terrible things happen TO you, they don't BECOME you. And the most beautiful things come out of dirt and neglect.

ANYWAY overall I'd give this book 9/10. I would give it a 10/10 but there was something slightly lacking in the characters, they weren't quite as dimensional as I would have liked. :)

THANKS FOR READING! Check this book out if you get the chance!

BOOKS BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

So it has been a really long time, guys! I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long. The end of August was a rather busy time. I began my senior year of high school! And I pretty much put reading on the back-burner from the excitement of it all. Not saying that I haven't read at all. :)
I have read quite a bit. I'm not sure if I'll review the books I finished up reading towards the end of the summer or even the books I've read since then. But I will say this:

John Green is possibly the best author in the whole world.

Seriously, the man is awesome. I've read all of his novels and they are absolutely fantastic. Ranking them in order I would have to say....
1.The Fault in Our Stars
2. Looking for Alaska
3. Will Grayson, Will Grayson
4. An Abundance of Katherines
5. Paper Towns

I own 3/5 and I seriously need to finish my collection.

Also, Michelle Madow sent me a PDF copy of the final installment of her trilogy, Timeless. She's asked me to post a review during the book's release week in November. I'm halfway through and I'm trying super hard to pace myself so I can finish the ending right when I need to post my review.

On the subject of reading, my final summer reading list was as follows:
1. The Night Circus-Erin Morgenstern
2. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan- Lisa See
3. Damned- Chuck Palahniuk
4. Angel- Mary E. Kingsley
5. A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving
6. My Name is Mina and I Love the Night-David Almond
7. Will Grayson, Will Grayson-John Green
8. The Knife of Never Letting Go-Patrick Ness
9. The Fault in Our Stars-John Green
10. Paper Towns-John Green
11. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight-Jennifer Smith
12. We the Animals-Justin Torres
13. Wintergirls-Laurie Halse Anderson
14. White Oleander-Janet Finch
15. Playing with Matches-Carolyn Wall
16. Coraline-Neil Gaiman
17. The Time Traveler's Wife-Audrey Niffenegger
18. The Notebook-Nicholas Sparks
19. The House of the Scorpion-Nancy Farmer
20. Kristy and the Snobs-Ann M. Martin (I know I'm silly)
21. Spirits in the Trees-Morgan McDonald
22. The Phoenix Rising-Olivia Burgess
23. We Need to Talk About Kevin-Lionel Shriver
24. Never Let Me Go-Kazuo Ishiguro
25. The Perks of Being a Wallflower-Stephen Chbosky
26. Dr. Franklin's Island-Ann Halam

So I was a long shot off from my goal of 60 books, but I have a new goal!! You see, I have this notebook that I started keeping February 2012. In it, I write the title and author of every book I finish. I am up to 85. So my new goal is to read 15 books by February 28th, 2013. That will be 100 books in one year!
Exciting.
Recently I've read:
The Fifth Child-Doris Lessing
The Kingdom of Childhood-Rebecca Coleman
An Abundance of Katherines-John Green
Looking for Alaska-John Green
The Lover's Dictionary-David Levithan
The Almost Moon-Alice Sebold
More Tales to Chill Your Bones-Alvin Shwartz (so 3rd grade)

I'm going to start reading a lot more in my free time and spending less time on Tumblr. I don't have much homework (Perks of only taking a few honors classes) and so I should be able to accomplish my goal. :)
Thanks for sticking around!!

-Kayla