“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.” This is a timeless classic, that perfectly embodies the ups and downs of growing up. Set in the 90s, the sole purpose of The Perks of Being a Wallflower is to delve into the complexity of youth and bring out all the nostalgia in a flood of memories that aren’t yours, but feel as though they are. Charlie is your average high schooler, a friendless freshman whose best friend killed himself, whose sister is in an abusive relationship, and whose new friends are the social outcasts of the school. He’s in for a roller coaster ride, filled with the highs and lows of his freshman year. “We accept the love we think we deserve.” The entire book is written in a letter format, addressed to the reader as though they were weekly journal entries. Charlie writes about regrets, concerns, and the wonders of young love. It like a well of nostalgia just waiting to overflow. Unfortunately, I saw the movie before reading the book, and found it to be better. Not because the book was bad, but because the actors and the cinematography brought Stephen Chbosky’s words to life clearer and more poetically than my mind could ever dream of. So while this is an amazing book, I would also highly recommend the movie. Either way, the story just feels like a nostalgic dream. “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”
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“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. a burn for a burn. a life for a life. that's how all this got started. And that's how it's going to end.” This book was a lot darker than Burn for Burn, if that’s possible to believe. The first book in this series was more about petty grudges and sweet revenge, while this story begins with the aftermath of one of those revenge plots gone wrong. Fire with Fire centers more around Mary than the other two girls, which makes sense with the big reveal at the end. Reeve was injured badly in the finale of the last book, and is now dealing with the consequences: the possibility of not getting football scholarship and not being able to do much physical movement, but also the perks: everyone feeling sorry for him and loving him just as much as before. When Mary sees his life hasn’t been ruined, she and Kat and Lillia concoct a plan to ruin it further. “I’m clenching my fists so tight my fingernails leave red crescent moons on my skin. I feel a surge, a heat roar up inside me. As bad as I’m hurting now, he’ll hurt ten times worse. That’s the only thing that keeps me going.” Lillia begins flirting with him, ready to break his heart as soon as he gets too attached. She soon gets him wrapped around her finger, but the problem? She’s also wrapped around his finger. And it turns out that when she thought she was playing him, he was really playing her. She winds up being the heartbroken one when he ditches her for Rennie. Mary gets a taste of real teenage life on Halloween, when she corners Reeve in the corn maze. She’s so strong, but he’s stronger, and Mary winds up broken all over again. In a sort of a rebound, she makes out with a random boy later that night, trying to kiss her emotions away. It doesn’t work. Kat is mostly absent from the narrative of this book. She recalls her old memories with Rennie, as well as reminiscing about her best friend Kim, who disappeared from the island soon after Kat started blowing her off. It’s quite slow in the beginning, and the plot doesn’t really take off until the ending where a car accident results in a death and a revelation. “She’s been in an accident, and we didn’t know if you were with her. She- she died, Lilli.” SPOILERS BELOW “There's something satisfying about going faster than you can on the legs you were born with.” I’m honestly quite mad at myself for reading this summery beach novel in the middle of autumn. October, of all months! However, it was a pretty good book. Nothing spectacular, but definitely enjoyable and light enough to be a beach read, while simultaneously being intriguing enough to keep a reader hooked. I was a little disappointed that the author didn’t play up the end-of-summer nostalgia a little more, as Jenny Han did spectacularly in The Summer I Turned Pretty. But to be fair, there’s a lot less background on Anise’s friends from Santa Cruz since the story revolves around her friendship and kindling romance with Lincoln. While the story was sweet and enjoyable, it didn’t have that WOW factor that I tend to look for in most novels. The story could have been just a little more emotional, the messages just a little deeper, and the themes just a little more philosophical. In the end it was like the author simply skimmed the top of the idea. In the end, the story just doesn’t stand out enough to hold its own against the onslaught of similar summer novels. Though the story wasn't anything special, the cast of characters was incredible. We had a very relatable main character, a disabled POC love interest, a emotionally unstable young teenager, and two extremely energetic nine-year-olds. A+ for diversity! IMPORTANT: The author of Girl Out of Water, Laura Silverman is a Jewish woman who, during the 2016 presidential election, spoke out against then-nominee Donald J. Trump and his connections to antisemitic persons. Supporters of said nominee were upset that she criticized his (and their) stances on political topics, so they created Goodreads accounts and all rated her debut novel (this one) one star, giving it terrible reviews. Keep in mind that the book hadn't even been published yet, so there's no valid excuse for such behavior. Naturally, the sweet and wonderful Goodreads community found out what happened, and rallied around Laura Silverman, rating her book 5 stars to combat all the one star reviews. Other authors used their mostly-neglected Goodreads accounts to rate her book and show their support for her. It made me proud to be a reader and a member of the Goodreads community! A gift. A gift from a queen who had seen another woman in hell and thought to reach back a hand. With no thought of it ever being returned. A moment of kindness, a tug on a thread. Sarah J. Maas is the ultimate queen of character and plot overlay (I doubt this is the right word for it since I made it up just now), where she brings together new and old characters in a parallel novel to Empire of Storms. The story begins with Chaol and Nesryn arriving in Antica, where they’re both seeking medical treatment for his back and trying to convince the khagan to join their side of the war. Naturally, nothing goes as planned. The healers of the Torre Cesme are world-renowned and famous for their amazing powers. Chaol’s healer just so happens to be the best of the Torre’s students, Yrene Towers. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because she’s the same girl Celaena saved in The Assassin and the Healer! I kind of predicted that, but it’s still fun when stories overlap. Both Yrene and Chaol have to face their pasts and their futures as she struggles to heal the darkness left in his spine by the Valg. Meanwhile, Nesryn and Chaol are also working to figure out what happened to the khagan’s youngest daughter, Tumelun. Her death a mere few weeks ago was ruled a suicide, but her fellow siblings aren’t buying it. Soon Surtaq, one of the khagan’s sons invites Nesryn to accompany him to visit his family, the ruk riders, in the mountains. They head off there and find that the kharankui (aka Stygian Spiders) are growing stronger. The hearth mother of Surtaq’s clan recalls some stories about the Valg and their Gates, and the pair sets off to explore the remains of Fae watchtowers crumbling in the mountains, also falling in love at the same time. Chaol and Yrene work to heal his spine while also digging into the mysteries behind the deaths of Tumelun and a Torre Cesme student, as well as attempts on Yrene’s life after she began reading about the Valg and their history in Antica. ~SPOILERS BELOW~ So it turns out the kharankui are actually Valg (yes, there are female Valg!!), and they’re guarding where the entrance to the Valg World opens up in the mountains (yes, the ruk riders’ mountains). But why? They’re under orders from their queen. THE VALG QUEEN! And guess who that queen is? NONE OTHER THAN THE “FAE QUEEN,” MAEVE. The very same Queen that kidnapped Aelin in Empire of Storms. “What did Aelin promise you?” Hasar smiled to herself. “A better world.” So yes, there were a lot of things happening, and I can understand why Sarah J. Maas decided to make this book a full-length novel. A lot was revealed, and I’m glad we got even a tiny peek at what’s happening with Aelin at the end. I can’t wait for Throne of Glass #7! “This is Karma. I’m a bitch. Can you think of anyone who deserves a bitch slap?” Is there anything sweeter than revenge? After reading this book, I can definitively say that no, nothing is sweeter than revenge. The story follows three girls who have all been wronged by friends. They form a hesitant bond as they seek revenge and justice for what happened to them and the people they love. “It's funny. I don't think boys even know how to hold a grudge.” The story itself isn’t very complex. Each girl hates someone, so they pull pranks on them. The pranks escalate pretty quickly, until the ending, where one such prank goes terribly wrong. It’s the intrigue of what happened and what’s going to happen that drew me in. You get pretty invested in the story quite fast, and next thing you know, the book is over. Of course, since this is a bit of a thriller and the first installment in a series, it ends on a cliffhanger. Naturally, I’ve already placed the next book on hold at my local library. “No one can ever know what we’re up to. What we do together lives and dies with us.” The author of Burn for Burn is Jenny Han, who also penned The Summer I Turned Pretty (which is a trilogy I adore) and To All The Boys I Loved Before, which is by far her most popular novel. It has a sequel, but I haven’t read either book. Considering the fact that it’s being made into a movie and the fact that I always read the book before the movie, I should probably get a movie on that. I’m sure I’ll love it just as much as Jenny Han’s other novels. Wow. The sequel to thriller Blackbird is every bit as intense and fast-paced. Once again, I finished it in under two hours due to the fact that I couldn't physically put it down. In this book, we learn a lot more, and the story begins to take shape. The main character finds more of the targets, learns more about the AAE organization, and works with her new friends to bring them down. Now this is a great book, but it could have been so much better if it was longer and more detailed. When characters died, it felt like they'd just arrived, so there was no emotional attachment, and the mystery and suspense were completely ineffective because there wasn't enough time to make things suspenseful. It just felt like a barebones story, with no atmosphere, tone, setting, or suspense, which is kind of a problem in a suspense/thriller novel. However, I did really enjoy the plot and the new characters that were introduced. I just wish the author had either added more meat to the story's bones, or combined the two books into a single, longer novel. Because this was too short. As far as most books go, LGBT representation is pretty scarce. However, this book centers on a transgender girl, Amanda, who has just moved to a small southern town. Nobody knows her secret, so she can finally live a “normal” life. Of course, since even this contemporary book is predictable, her secret gets out and she has to deal with the consequences. “I’m not brave,” I said, smiling despite myself. “Bravery implies I had a choice. I’m just me, you know?” However, what I enjoyed about this book is that instead of talking about the realization and transition, it talked about what happens afterward. Adjusting to a new life, coming to terms with sexuality and figuring out how to tell people about this important aspect of identity. It’s not a perspective we see a lot in LGBT novels. “I know it hurts. I know it hurts so bad you can barely breathe sometimes. I know because I’ve been there. Please don’t leave us. I promise life can be good, and we need you too much.” The characters were really sweet. They are all good people, despite the mistakes they make. Bee befriended Amanda and let her confide in her, though that may not have been the best idea. Anna, though super religious, was still open to things that went against her religion. She showed that sometimes the people in your life can change things for you. And Grant still loved Amanda, despite her huge secret, even though he didn’t completely understand it. They were all so open and welcoming both to Amanda and to learning about things they had been told weren’t good. It also was the first LGBT story I’ve read that took place in the south and didn’t paint a picture of conservatives being the bad guys. Everyone was either misunderstood and uneducated about certain topics, which is what led them to be against Amanda. It’s refreshing to see that nobody is really a bad person. “You can have anything,” she said, “once you admit you deserve it.” I also think it’s important to acknowledge that the author, Meredith Russo, is a transgender woman herself, and based some of this story on her own life and experiences. Sometimes the best stories come from yourself. Also, she definitely understands what she’s talking about. For a memoir on transgender transitioning, I’d check out Rethinking Normal by Katie Rain Hill (who I had the pleasure of meeting). If you recall the first two books in this series, I was pretty frustrated by Conrad. Then I despised Belly’s immaturity. Now, after this book, I’m bothered by Jeremiah’s lack of seriousness. I’m pretty sure character development is a thing that’s supposed to happen in series, and though these three did develop, they did so backwards. They got more immature. The only person who grew as a character was Taylor, who started being less bossy and controlling and more fun and helpful. “He didn’t give me flowers or candy. He gave me the moon and the stars. Infinity.” Then there’s the fact that the ending of this book was spoiled by the last page of It’s Not Summer Without You, which probably wasn’t the best decision. Belly was getting ready to marry Jeremiah (right after she found out he’d cheated on her), he was still going out and getting completely drunk with his asshole friends, and she still insisted he was perfect for her. Also she was nineteen. Did I mention that? Because that’s a little young to marry a jerk when you still love his brother (who is rational and nice). “Maybe that was how it was with all first loves. They own a little piece of your heart, always.” But Conrad is still pretty selfish. He told Belly he still loved her on the eve of her wedding day. Who even does that?! Especially if her fiancé is his younger brother. That’s pretty selfish, though he did make the right call in this case. I was pleased that she ended up with him, but it was extraordinarily predictable, even without the spoiler at the end of the second book. So for a sweet (if frustrating) end to a good series, read this book! Just as long as you don’t mind predictability. |
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