One of the Guys

Hi, again! We're gearing up for Christmas, how about you? I think I love the food the best (other than the company of course!). Some of my favorite foods are made, like my mom's amazing pecan pie! So this post will be a review for On the Fence by Kasie West. I love Kasie West's writing and a previous review for The Fill-In Boyfriend is right here if you were curious about that one.

Here's a general description:
Charlotte, better known as Charlie, is the youngest of four. Her three older brothers are there to support and protect her, not to mention her fourth honorary brother Braden. Growing up with all four of the guys, Charlie's learned to fight for herself and how to tear up any kind of sport you can think of. After her 4th (or 5th?) ticket, her dad makes her get a job to pay it off. The worst part is that she works in the girliest store - and she has no idea how to handle it. This is new territory for her. She even meets a cute guy who has never seen her be the tough, sporty girl she knows she is. To destress, she has nightly chats with Braden between the fence that separates their backyards. What she doesn't expect are the sudden feeling she has for him. How can she pull off her double life? Or can she reconcile the girl she was and the girl she's becoming?

Alrighty, now for my opinion! This was a really quick read. I read it when I needed something light and quick to pick up my spirits. I was trying to destress myself and what better way to do that than read?! Charlie is pretty funny and her inner struggle is relatable. A lot of us find that we're becoming people that are new and different from the people we used to be. Sometimes that can be really scary and I felt like I could understand her best on this point. I liked her relationships with her brothers. Each of them seem to be pretty in-tune with what she needs and they go to great lengths to protect her. There was a bit of a twist toward the end that I wasn't expecting. It is really surprising and I like how it takes what you thought you knew was going on and turns it on its head. It was a little bit of depth that I wasn't expecting from a little bit of literary fluff. Kasie West's books are great for sitting on the beach or dreaming about that in these cold winter months ahead!

I hope this review helped you on your literary adventure! Happy reading!
Sophie

Getting By

Hello!! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season! I know I am. I recently have picked up more hours at the bookstore so I can help out with all the shoppers. It's been a great season so far! This is a review for The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. So Patrick Ness is a big name author and this is his most recently released book. I really enjoyed it and I hope this review helps you choose your next read.

An overview:
What if you aren't the chosen one, the one who is supposed to fight the zombies and vampires? What if you're just ordinary and are just trying to get on with your life. Mikey just wants to live his life. He wants to go to prom and wants to confess his undying love for his best girl friend. How can he do it when these extraordinary things just keep happening? Sometimes you just need to find your own magic in life.

This book was hilarious. I really enjoyed the sub-plot going along with it that was at the beginning of each chapter. At first I was kind of weirded out by it, but then everything came together full-circle. It was a very enjoyable read. My overview didn't quite do it justice. I had started it before, but put it down for another and I'm glad I picked it back up. Mikey has to deal with a lot of stress and his friends Henna and Jared and his sisters are all there to help him get through it. It's such an interesting dynamic throughout the novel and I love how it just works and that they're always so supportive of each other. Mel's strength and her ability to stand on her own makes me smile. At one point she even tells Mikey to back off because she can take care of herself. It was pretty awesome.

Okay so the cool thing about this one is that the jacket (on the US edition) is glow in the dark! I was just walking with it in the dark and I thought "I shouldn't be able to see this right now," but then I realized it was glow in the dark. That was super cool. It's also a really awesome cover. Under it there, the cover is this really pretty teal with a deer on it of course :) I highly recommend this for anyone who is up for something a little different.



Happy reading!
Sophie :)

Fitting In

Hey! I'm on winter break so I'm trying catch up all my book reviews. There are so many I'm behind on! So this one is for Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes. I had ordered this off The Book Depository's website (which I love due to their wide variety of paperback and free world-wide shipping) and finally got to it last month.

Okay, here's a synopsis:
Anika Dragomir is third-most popular girl at Pound High School. With a name like that, she knows that she is lucky to be so high in the pecking order. On the outside, she is pretty and a bit European looking thanks to her Romanian father. On the inside though, she's spider stew and she knows it. It's only a matter of time before the others find out too and she's working hard to prevent it. Then on the first day of sophomore year, Logan McDonough the former-freak shows up hotter, bolder, and oh-so off-limits. Anika can't stop thinking about him, but she knows that if popular girl number one sees her with him that her life is over. She must decide - embrace her inner freak, or ignore someone who might truly get her.

I really enjoyed this! At first I was a bit skeptical in the opening chapters, but after a while I really loved it. Anika's narration is a bit juvenile, but I had to say to myself that she needed flaws to fix in the end and it all ended really amazingly. Okay, well there is a plot twist, but there is so much foreshadowing. I kept telling myself it wouldn't happen. I thought something else would happen, but what did kind of blew me away. I was so surprised and not at the same time. I could have cried, but I didn't. Still the ending was very good. I loved the development of Anika and her realizations. Her quirkiness is so lovable I just wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay. I also liked all her siblings. They were kind of awesome haha and her sisters were there for her in the end when she needed it. I really hope you give this one a chance. The cover is nice and pretty; look at it! Isn't it beautiful?!?!?! Ahh! There's a hardcover copy at The Bookman (in good old, Grand Haven, MI.) You should definitely check it out.

So stop reading this review and get it already!! Happy reading!
Sophie:)

What If...

Hi! For this post, I'm going to review Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin, which I received in my subscription box from Uppercase (see previous post for a review on that). I have to say that this was super exciting to get. It was my first one and I couldn't wait to see what was inside. This is one of the best books I've read all year, definitely up there with All the Bright Places and Mosquitoland (look under my name for respective reviews).

So this was an alternate history book. It's set in the early 1950s and written as if the Axis powers had won World War II. Each year Hitler and Hirohito hold a cross-continental motorcycle race. It starts in what was previously known as Berlin and winds down through northern Africa and eventually ends in Tokyo. Ten of the best racers from each empire compete to win this harrowing race and the winner gets to attend the Victor's Ball and has a private audience with Hitler himself. It's told from the perspective of a death camp survivor, Yael. Yael was relentlessly experimented on and can now skinshift which allows her to take on the features of any other female she sees. The resistance wants her to enter the race under the charming and ruthless Adele Wolf. Adele raced under her twin brother's name and won - revealing her true identity at the finish line. Yael must masquerade as Adele and win the race - ultimately to kill Hitler and allow the resistance to grow and overthrow his regime. A few curveballs enter when Adele's brother Felix enters and a former love interest of Adele's also competes.

This was an extremely gripping story. Right off the bat, the story opens with Yael entering the concentration camp with her mother. I love all the action and Yael's fierce character. She has to navigate her way through Adele's life without anyone suspecting her true identity. This is tough especially because Adele's brother knows Adele so well. Yael herself struggles to find who she truly is. It has been years since she has seen her own face because of the years of skinshifting that has helped her survive. The whole idea of a motorcycle race was very unique and fun. I like how they have to rough it in between check in spots and that anything goes out in the open. Honestly, Yael is awesome. She's extremely independent and strong but also isn't afraid to show her soft side. I love her. I also liked the idea of Felix and Luka (the love interest) entering the mix. It just made the tension 10x higher. They also proved to be very dynamic characters, too. I also liked Adele herself. Adele is the fearless girl that seems like she's up for any and every thing. Her spunk is something that is truly captivating. I couldn't put this down (I finished in 2 days - oops!) it was super good. I can't wait for the second book to come out!!

Alright, this is a pretty long-winded review so I'll finish where I am. I've said my piece and I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Happy reading!
Sophie :)

Bookish Box Review: Uppercase Box

Hello, all! For those of you who like subscription boxes or would like to start to receive one but have not decided which to choose, I have recently found one called Uppercase Box. This is a monthly box that contains a signed hardcover young adult book or signed book plate and 3-5 bookish items. All this for $23 a month plus shipping. Before this, I had been searching for one that met my expectations but wasn't as expensive as $30 a month (plus extra for shipping) like others. I stumbled upon this by a post from Fierce Reads on Instagram and am very happy that I did.

I recently received my first box from them for the month of October. That month was Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin with a signed book plate. In addition to that, there was a custom made key chain that says, "Certified Book Addict,"  a pin for the book, and a small quote poster. Let me just say that this was the best first box I could have gotten. I am very impressed with it all - from the email with a tracking code to the very book itself (there will be a review of it up soon!). I am in love with Uppercase and can't wait for the next box to come, hopefully this week!

So a little more about the process, they bill on the first of the month and then ship it on the 15th. Each time they send you an email letting you know that it's in the mail along with a tracking number of your package. You should get the box within the week. Every book is recently released so don't worry that you will have already bought it. It's also not as publicized as some others compared to that month, but don't worry - they won't send you a book that isn't good.

There are two other subscription plans. I'm not sure exactly which they are, but you can check them out further in the link I will include at the bottom. I know that they're a bit cheaper, but they don't have all the perks of the $23 plan.

So, if you'd like to subscribe to Uppercase yourself, click the link here. I hope this review helped you in your search!

Happy reading,
Sophie :)

Mango Cheese

Hello!! Wow, so sorry for being so behind on posts! I am trying my best to get them all caught up, I even have a list! Don't worry, I will get them all done over Christmas break. I have a few to go after this, and I'm thinking about doing a weekly posting at least, even if it's just some bookish chat. Okay, so here's a review for Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan. I read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as well as the follow up and have loved that whole 10 book series, so of course I had to give Magnus a chance. (Side note, I have also read book one of the Kane Chronicles.)

So here's an overview:
Magnus is a bit of a troubled kid. He's had a rough life - mother murdered when he was 12 and he's been living on the streets since then. He's had to find a way to survive along with trying to mourn her death. Don't worry, he can take care of himself. One day, he's tracked down by his estranged Uncle Randolph who tells him his father is a Norse god. He doesn't know what to think and suddenly his whole life is turned upside down.


Okay, so this was a good one. I didn't particularly love it - Percy has my heart forever and always - but it wasn't poorly written either. Rick you're a writing god or something, I love his writing every time. It's funny and sweet. (I'm kind of into slapstick humor.) Anyway, while it wasn't awful, it wasn't my favorite from him. I like that he's tied in Annabeth in the mix with Magnus, too.
"What you say, there's ANNABETH?!"
Yes, I do say, there is a few Annabeth cameos. (Let's be real, Annabeth is Annabae.) I love her and it was so cool to see how the stories are intertwining. I don't know how much you keep up with Riordan or the fandom that follows him, but I definitely vote for him to tie in all his characters. I would love that.
Anyway, back to Magnus! The plot is a bit surprising, especially that first chapter, but it was cool to learn all the new Norse myths. I think it'd be awesome to live in that sort of world. One where the myths are real and to be a demigod that would be FREAKING AWESOME. Personally, I'd like to be one of Athena's children. I feel like my personality fits the best with hers. I also think it would be neat to be a Hunter of Artemis. Artemis is an awesome goddess, too.

Okay, all in all, Magnus Chase was a good book. I'd read it if you like any of his other works or if you're a newbie dipping your toes into the world of Rick Riordan. (Welcome, we've been expecting you ;)

Happy reading!
Sophie :)

A New Me

Hello, guys!! So this book I read in two days. I didn't even realize it only took that amount of time, it felt like a week! Ah, it was super good, too! This review is for Every Day by David Levithan. Previous to this I had read Will Grayson, Will Grayson co-authored with John Green, but I don't think I've read anything else by him. Anywho, I had picked this book up after having a bad day so I bought it 'cause I wanted to treat myself.

Here's a summary:
Every day a new person. Every day A must learn how to adjust to the new body it is placed in. A's soul travels body to body every day. One day A spends a day in the body of a boy named Justin. This day A finds her. A finds Rhiannon. And nothing is the same again. It's hard because A knows but she doesn't know. A wants to put roots down now. It's hard travelling day by day, nothing constant.

Okay, I don't know what else to say in the overview without giving too much away so I'm going to leave it there. This was super interesting to read. It is hard to describe A because the soul travels to a new body irregardless of gender but always around the same age. I flew through this though and it was well written. I enjoyed the many bits of wisdom A had to offer because of it's unique point of view on life. I felt that although A kept moving around in different situations I could still relate to some of the things A felt.

One thing I always wondered was how Rhiannon felt the entire time. It must have been odd to have someone come up to you and say that they change bodies every day. I suppose I won't have to wonder too much because good ol' David Levithan wrote Another Day which is a companion to it written in her point of view. I want to read it but I don't know what I'll think. I hope it's as good.

Okay, I'll keep it short and sweet! Happy reading!
Sophie :)

Olly

Hi! Almost caught up on all my reviews! I've been a very busy reader lately. I read Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon recently. Yeah that took about two days to get through. Honestly it was soo good that I ripped through it like it was confetti. I won this book through a giveaway on Instagram, thanks to @tarks_books. (She is a wonderful user, go check her out!) This book is also nominated as one of the best YA books of the year on Goodreads as well as best debut author.

Here's a summary:
Madeline Wittier is sick. Not actually sick but she could be at any second. Anything could trigger it. She has a rare disease which basically makes her allergic. To the entire world. And she's perfectly happy. It's all she's known for the seventeen years of her life that has gone by as she listlessly lives life in her pristine, white house with her mother and her day nurse, Carla. Madeline is content with life - there is nothing she can do to change it, until she sees the moving truck next door. One look is all it took. Oliver and Madeline click. He shows her the world from his perspective. There is no turning back.

This book was wonderful. It is full of literary references and awesome drawings and sketches and diagrams. They are honestly so cool. I love how Madeline challenges her world. Okay I don't mind that it took Oliver to show her what it was like but I think it would've been equally as cool if she befriended a girl. I mean, who doesn't love a kick-a female character, am I right? Anyway, I flew through the pages. This was an especially quick read after I finished Mosquitoland (there's review for that one, check two previous posts). I know this probably sounds repetitive but honestly Madeline is super funny and poignant. I loved Carla. She was so sweet and she wasn't afraid to do the right thing.

I would be lying if I said there wasn't a plot twist though. It definitely takes you by surprise but I'm especially glad it happened. My only real kind of beef I had with this book was toward the end. I didn't really see how feasible that what happened would actually happen. The plot twist was super out of the blue. You don't really see it coming until the two or three pages before it happens. I had a slight inkling it would happen but I still had that bit of doubt in me.

Since I talked about the cover art in the three previous posts, I figured why not for this one, too. It truly catches the eye and is extremely detailed. Yoon's husband, David, drew all of the art for the novel and it truly is intricate and well representative of the novel. The design enhances the novel and I loved the drawings that were in the novel. It made me relate to Madeline more. I could definitely see myself doing things that she did if I was bored and couldn't leave the house. Ever.

This was one of those books I would read over and over again. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a surprise and a quick read!

Happy reading!
Sophie

Beauty Queens and Red Lollipops

Hi, guys! Going for a third post of the night. I have been super behind on these, but I promise I will do my best trying to keep up in the following months. It has been and continues to be super busy with school and work so bear with me here! This review is for Dumplin' by Julie Murphy. I had heard a lot about how fabulous this book is and it was even chosen as a book for the September OwlCrate box dubbed Leading Ladies. Intrigued and very trusting of the world of Bookstagram, I picked this up whilst in Chicago on a college tour. (How could I not stop by a book store while visiting? There are so many I couldn't pass up the opportunity to support locally!!) Anyway, I just finished the last few words in that hilarious, sweet book.

Here's my version of an overview:
Willowdean Dickson is a fierce fat girl and she doesn't give a hoot what others think of her. Sure she may be a heavy girl but hey, that doesn't mean she should not be one single bit proud of who she is. Her mother, former Miss Blue Bonnet in her tiny town of Clover City, is thin and still fits in the dress she won in years ago. Willowdean is compatriots with the wonderful and sassy Ellen Dryver and it seems that nothing could really go wrong. Until Willowdean meets the gorgeous Bo from Holy Cross. They work together at the local fast food restaurant and it seems that maybe Bo may be looking for more than just friends. This turns Will's life upside down and causes her to question who she really is. Her insecurities rise to the surface and in a defiant act to prove - to whom, she isn't sure - that she is Willowdean and she is fabulous, she enters the coveted pageant with an unlikely gang to stir up the twiggy so-called perfect images of beauty.

I loved Willowdean. She was hilarious and her insecurities are something that everyone can relate to. Okay that being said, she did frustrate me a little bit at the beginning but she was such a good character overall that I can't help but root for her. I love that she wasn't afraid to be who she was and that s=nothing seemed to stop her. But the version of herself that she thought she was turns out to be someone completely different but that's okay. We must accept our true selves for others to want to accept them too. Her story is funny like Mim's but not in the same way. In Mim's story, it's a bit of a cynical outlook but I like how Willowdean tries so hard to be positive but knows that we can't always be happy with ourselves. We all look at ourselves in the mirror and what we see is totally different than what others perceive. One of my favorite quotes from the book is about faking confidence. She acknowledges how hard it is to put on that facade and that it's okay not to fake it. Sometimes asking for help is the best we can do for ourselves.

I also was in love with this cover design, too.  It was perfect for what the whole story was about and I loved the back of it even more (I snapped a pic of it and posted it on our Instagram. You can check it out there if you'd like. I love the Dumplin' pose too. It's sassy but also very sweet and it fills you with confidence. At least that's how I feel about it. There's something to be said for those who work it and can command a room just by walking in. It's kind of enchanting and whatever they do, they do it with so much confidence that those around them just are enraptured with them.

Anyway, it was a very lovely read from Julie Murphy. I hope to read her first novel Side Effects May Very soon! I need to get my hands on a copy!

Happy reading and enjoy your weekend!
Sophie

I am Mim Malone

Hello! I was recently asked to read Mosqitoland by David Arnold by my boss and I FREAKING LOVE IT. It was one of the best books I have read in all of my reading career. I could not help but laugh and cry and smile the entire time I read this.

A quick synopsis here:
Mary Iris Malone, better known as Mim, has been dragged from her beloved Ashland, Ohio to Mississippi by her father and his new-found wife. Her parents recently split and her father dropped Breaking News on her head then dragged her to Mississippi to start a new, "perfect" family. Her mom remains in Ohio but moves to Cleveland. When Mim catches word that her beautiful, Brit mother is sick someone and in need she hops a Greyhound bus north, toward her mom and toward her past. Through the detours and the odd ball characters that board the bus, Mim rides anxiously, awaiting the moment for her reunion with her mother so that she can be there when it is most needed.

First off, Mim is HILARIOUS. Oh my gosh, she made me laugh so hard sometimes. The way she perceives life and the way she analogizes it is hilarious. The story is splashed with letters to an Isabel, providing an outlet for Mim to tell her story to another person and as a sort of journal/stress reliever. I love the way everything comes full circle in the end. There are definitely some moments that horrified me but I loved the way Mim's character was sassy and didn't take crap from anyone. She is Mim Malone and she is not okay. But that's okay. Admitting that we're not okay is the first step toward trying to get better. We need to acknowledge that we can't do it all on our own sometimes and that we need help. There are many life lessons that I learned from Mim, too. This was a very quotable book.

Like this right here. I mean, she is so funny but she finds herself throughout this trip. I'm just going to have to let this book marinate a little bit. (Yeah that was a reference, read the book if you want to understand it!!)

David Arnold is some sort of writing god I swear. He is already one of my favorite authors. I hope he continues to write because honestly, this is definitely one of my favorites. It has you on edge the entire time. This book is also nominated to be one of the best YA books of the year on Goodreads. So if you're have an account there, you should definitely check it out.

Happy reading!
Sophie

Becoming a Chameleon

Hi!! I also forgot to blog about this one too. I read this over the summer and I loved it and it was super cute. Sophie Kinsella's Finding Audrey was a beautiful read and super sweet. It was a very cute premise and I'm glad I had picked it up at Costco.

What the book was about:
Audrey used to be in school. She used to have a few close friends. She used to go out and go to the store with her mum and hang out with her friends. But now, she can't even make eye contact with other people. She wears dark sunglasses that cover her eyes and make her feel safe and she lets people see her when she wants them to. She stays at home and sometimes if she has an episode, she has to hide away in  her room. Then one day, her brother brings his friend, Linus, over for a gaming team. And Audrey kind of freaks out. Okay, really freaks out. But that's okay because she can only let him in if she wants to. Linus starts to become something more than just a gaming teammate to Audrey's brother and more of a friend to Audrey. With him, she feels almost... normal.

So I picked this book up at a Costco because I felt like I couldn't possibly leave without purchasing a cheap book. I mean, come on - 40% discount? Yes, please! Anyway, the cover was beautiful, too. (Hey, you can't tell me you haven't judged a book by its cover before, can you? If you say yes, you're lying.)

Is that not the cutest cover design? It's very fitting for it, too! Anyway, I loved the character development of Audrey and of her brother. At first her brother (bless him, I can't remember his name) seems like a typical teenage guy but he eventually develops into a nice young man. Audrey's own tendencies reminded me of how it's hard to open up to new people in our lives, especially after we've been hurt so badly by those we thought we were our friends. From what we as readers get from Kinsella, all we know is that she was bullied so badly by her "friends" that she got social anxiety so bad that she doesn't leave her flat much. At first I was a bit irked that we didn't know exactly what happened, but in the end I realized that not know made the book stronger. It doesn't matter what happened, it matters that it happened and now Audrey has to deal with the consequences of other people's actions. We need to remember that people are fragile and that we need to be kind like Linus and extend our hands to those struggling with things like this.

Okay, I'll get off my soap box. Happy reading!

Sophie

Points of View

Hey, there! I forgot I hadn't written a review for one of the books that I read over the summer. So I started this at band camp. I had gotten it used off Amazon and I had heard only a little about this but it sounded really good. The title is A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall. This was published Swoon Reads which is a site that allows people submit their manuscripts to their  website.

So here's my overview:
Gabe is a little shy. He sees this cute girl Lea in his creative writing class but he's too bashful to make a move. Lea is a college freshman in an upperclassman creative writing class. She's nervous but she knows she's good. She meets Gabe in that class. Both are a bit too hesitant to make anything happen.

Told from multiple different perspectives, Gabe and Lea's awkwardness is pieced together.

I wasn't sure about this book at first. I didn't know how well it would come together because of all the perspectives but it was fun to get to be part of the band that helped them get together. Although we don't get Gabe and Lea's point of view, we get a pretty good idea of their thoughts through other people. I think my favorite piece was Inga, the professor of the writing course. Inga was kind of hilarious and I liked that she wasn't very conventional. If I was a college professor I would definitely do meddling things like that. She was also pretty BA and different. I also like Pam, her wife. The bus driver was a nice guy too. The only weird things I thought were the squirrel and the bench. Those threw off the story a little I'd say, but they did give good conversations between Lea and Gabe and Lea and her friend.

Okay, happy reading!
Sophie

Bringing Humanity Back

Hey, again! I have also recently finished Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. She was selected as a finalist for the Pen Faulkner Award and as the Michigan read by the Michigan Humanities Council (or something like that, I can't remember the exact names). I also had the chance to meet her in person and go to a reading for this book. It was wonderful and I was super awkward but she was the first author I met in person and I got my first book signed!

Here's my overview:
Jeevan Chaudhary is a EMT in training. He has his whole life ahead of him with his cranky girlfriend and a quiet life in Toronto, Canada. He is quietly sitting in the audience of a performance of King Lear when the famous actor Arthur Leander collapses on stage of a heart attack. Wanting to help, Jeevan rushes on stage and attempts to save Arthur's life but to no avail. That night the flu swept through the city and the rest of the world, causing civilization to come to a grinding halt within a matter of weeks.

Twenty-six years later, pockets of humanity remain alive and functioning. A troupe of musicians and actors move through what was formerly northern Michigan and Canada performing Shakespeare's treasured works. They are called the Traveling Symphony and they bring happiness and distraction to the cities they visit, providing a brief respite from the harsh world they now live in. When the Symphony arrives in St. Deborah by the Water, a city they had been hitting in their route for years, they find that it has changed drastically. A man who claims he is a prophet runs the city now and threatens the way of life for the small band of travelers.

Alright! I really liked this novel and am glad I got to experience so much along with it. Unlike other dystopian novels, Station Eleven focuses more on the recuperation of civilization and the factor of the live/performing arts. It's a great twist on something that has been quite hot in the past couple of years (oh, hey, The Hunger Games and Divergent). There are three different stories that go on within the novel; one takes place pre-plague and two post-plague. I really liked Jeevan's story though I wish I had gotten more of it to read about it. I also liked all that had to do with the Symphony. I love the idea that someone would keep going on with music and acting and that not everything would die out. I do wonder what would stay and what would go in the event that humans were pretty much wiped out. Another good aspect of this novel is that Mandel doesn't dive into any political theories or environmental stances, I think that would take a lot away from what the main focus of the novel. It is a very hopeful novel, especially the ending. I thought it was an okay ending, but many other people that I've spoken with thought it fit it perfectly. I can definitely see that because it's an extremely positive note it ends on. Overall, it was well written and I loved seeing how all three stories intertwined. That was my favorite part, I think.

Okay, happy reading!
Sophie

Failure to Compute

Hello, bookworms! Sophie here blogging about my latest read. I recently finished A Step Toward Falling by Cammie McGovern. I got it as an ARC from my work but I unfortunately didn't finish it by the release date. However, I loved it anyway. A really great new read you should check out.

Here is my summary:

Emily is a good person. She works hard, does things for her parents, she even started a youth action committee at her school to help raise awareness on certain topics that go unnoticed. But then how did she fail to act when she saw a special-needs classmate being attacked brutally under the bleachers at a football game? Feeling guilty and like a terrible human being, Emily gets in trouble for her hand in this attack. She is forced to do community service through volunteering at a local center that holds classes for special-needs adults. She is not alone in this act, though. A fellow student and football player, Lucas, witnesses what happens to the student, but he too turns away. 

Yay, it was a wonderful novel!! You should read it. Okay, my opinion on this now. I thought it was very well written. I read McGovern's debut YA novel Say What You Will earlier this summer (you can find the review under my name on the left) and that impressed me a lot. When I heard she was coming out with another book I just had to read it. I'm happy to report that it is an amazing novel too. 

This book is told from alternate perspectives: one from the special-needs girl, Belinda; the other from Emily's point of view. I like how we get both sides of the story with this. Belinda is hilarious. I love that she loves Pride and Prejudice and the movie adaption just as much (the Colin Firth one, of course). Emily felt and did things I could definitely relate to. She means well but she sometimes comes off as pretentious and rude but she recognizes her mistakes and works hard to reconcile them. I liked how strong of a female character she was and that she was okay with being single. Sometimes it seems like the female characters are always looking for a boyfriend or that they are always going to end up with the main guy in the novel. It gets a little annoying and predictable after a while, so this was refreshing.

Alright, guys, I'll try writing again soon! Happy reading!

Sophie 

Saying Hello to New Faces and New Places

Hi, all!

Sophie here with Maiya in spirit. I wanted to announce the exciting expansion of our blog! We now have two new bloggers here with us. Beth is from the UK, whom I met through our bookstagram account. Megan is a girl we both know through our school. Both have wonderful accounts on instagram (Beth is @illgiveyouthebooks and Megan is @book.lovers.galore) so if you'd like to keep up with them go give them a follow!

We hope you enjoy the new bloggers and get to know them through their posts!

Happy reading,
Sophie and Maiya

Post-Its and Prismacolors

Hi, bookworms! How have you been? School has been super busy, made it through the first month! I haven't had much time to blog but I have been reading  After Let's Get Lost I read All the Bright Places and wow was it beautiful. I'm just going to take a moment here and compose myself. It was beautifully written.

Here's an overview:
Violet Markey should not have been on the bell tower. Theodore Finch is there contemplating the possible ways of death. Somehow they seem to save each other that day on the edge. From that day forward, they develop a sort of relationship. Finch helps Violet rebuild her life. He shows her how to move on without forgetting. She teaches him the beauty of life and gives him reasons to stay. But then one day something snaps and Violet's world is shattered for the second time. She must carry herself and be her own best friend.

My opinion:
I LOVE THIS BOOK IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. I got so drawn in by the characters. Though I haven't felt the same exact way they have, Niven brought them to me. Violet is a beautiful character. I love how strong and independent she is. Her guilt is palpable but we learn a lot from her second tragedy. Finch reminded me of a mix of two people I know. (They don't exactly match up but his general disposition is on point.) I loved their little quirks and have began to take some of them on (post it notes on the walls? Yes please!) I highly recommend this. I regret waiting so long to actually read it and it definitely deserves all the hype it gets. I love how Niven advocates for the teen in this novel. Beautifully written and heart wrenching.

Happy reading!
Sophie

The Search

Hello! How have you all been? I hope everything is going well. I have not had much time to post lately because of school starting up. I have kept reading, don't worry, it just is less than I had been. I recently just finished Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid. I had bought this a while ago as an ebook and I just got around to reading it.

Here is a brief overview:
Leila is a girl that blows through towns in search of something. Each time she stops, she meets four different people and finds that she can give them help and in return, she gains a friendship. Hudson has his entire future ahead of him all planned out. Bree is running away from something and doesn't stay in one place for long. Elliot feels the heavy weight of heartbreak and is contemplating what he could do. And Sonia grapples with whether should could ever love again. Every person she meets leaves Leila with a bit more of a sense of herself. An of course there's the trip to see the gorgeous Northern Lights.

Alright!

I really thought that this was an okay book. Of five stars, I'd give it a three. There seemed to be a lot of hype surrounding this book and I felt that it didn't live up to the expectations the reviews gave it. Don't get me wrong, it was a good read, I just felt it a bit predictable. The characters seemed a bit underdeveloped and until the end I didn't have much an emotional attachment to any of them. Of the five stories, I liked Leila's the best. I felt the ending a bit too cliche, though, and was upset at how unrealistic the entire situation was. Many of the characters lived uncommon lives and I just felt that they weren't very relatable. Elliot was, but I felt that he was a bit lugubrious for my taste.

Thanks for sticking around, happy reading!
Sophie :)

Love Letters

Hello! How are you all today? I recently finished the sequel to a book so I decided to write a review for both. The first book is called To All the Boys I Loved Before and the second is P. S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han. I love her writing. The first book by her that I read was Shug and I loveed that one.

Anyway! Here's a description for the first book:
Lara Jean has been in love five times in her short sixteen years of life. Each time she gets over a boy, she pours her heart out in a letter to him, seals it, and stows it away in her hat box given to her by her mother never to be read by any other human being. Until she gets into a skirmish with her little sister, Kitty. When all her letters are mailed out, Lara Jean is horrified. Every boy comes to her in confusion, letter in hand. When it comes to Peter Kavinsky, things get a little complicated.

Okay, I know that was kind of a confusing overview but I promise it is a wonderful read. It was so awesome. Lara Jean is so hilarious and super relatable. I couldn't believe having all my private feelings for boys so out in the open. I also adored her hat box idea so I stole it myself ;) Lara Jean deals with a lot of pressures and struggles of being a teenager, and I personally related to her well. I felt that if I were a fictional character, she would be my twin. I also loved the bond between Lara Jean and her sisters. She and Margot go above and beyond to be the best big sisters to Kitty. Kitty is so spunky too, I love her spirit. The ending definitely left me hanging, I was dying to know more about what was going to happen to Lara Jean and Peter.

Now for the sequel (CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK):
This ends right where the last novel leaves off. But then it takes things and goes even further. Lara Jean and Peter have to decide what they are to each other. In this novel, they must deal with the effects of social media and jealousy. When things are starting to heat up, the fifth boy returns his letter and walks back into her life.

Alrighty! I just finished P. S. I Still Love You and it was an awesome follow up. I can't complain because it definitely tied up many things. I do wish she would've had more time to figure out who she wanted to be with but ah c'est la vie. I am in love with these books. I liked that Lara Jean had good revelations about boys and love and life. I loved loved loved Stormy. She is basically life goals. Lol she is one amazing old lady though. I am very satisfied how things ended for Lara Jean. I also like that her sisters are still big minor characters and that she isn't afraid to still rely on them.

Okay, I'll let you dig into that next book! Happy reading!
Sophie :)

My Fake Boyfriend

Hi, guys! Hope you're having a wonderful last couple days of summer or first days of school. We have yet to start school until the 8th!! Today I will be writing about The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West. I had previously read The Distance Between Us in one night because I couldn't sleep. That was an awesome read so I decided to give her other novels a chance. I also saw a lot of posts about this book on Instagram (find us @mindofaworm) and I was like, "Yeah okay sure."

My brief overview:
Gia Montgomery has great friends. Now if only they would believe her about her hot college boyfriend, Bradley. When he dumps her in the parking lot at her high school prom, Gia must find a quick fix or be toppled as queen bee. Then she notices the boy sitting in the parking lot by himself and convinces him to be fill-in Bradley. One night, a few hours, no big deal right? After it's all said and done, Gia can't stop thinking about Fill-In Bradley. If only she knew his real name. His sister decides she owes him a favor back so she must become his fake date. They actually kind of make friends. Then the real Bradley decides to waltz back into her life and screw things up.

Ah, what a great summary.

There is so much more to this novel and I really liked it. It was a really quick read and I finished it in a weekend. Gia is a very relatable girl who deals with technology and at first is very annoying. I wanted to punch her the first couple of chapters. I liked how West developed her character because Gia's faults made her less of the fake popular girl she was portrayed as. I want my own car to throw baseballs at. It'd be super relaxing! I'm left with books :) I also loved the sister who stepped in. She was freaking awesome. This book deals a lot with technology and the obsession that is taking place with it. It really made me think a lot about how much I use it and what is healthy and what is not. The ending of the book totally threw me for a loop. I thought things would end up happy and the characters would get that fairytale ending but it was better without it. It felt more real than the picture-perfect one. I liked seeing Gia screw up but grow as a person as she fixed her mistakes.

Okay, I hope this helped you find a possible new read! Happy reading!
Sophie :)

Don't Go Breakin' My Heart

Hello! Sophie here again! Today I will be writing about Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius. I kept seeing this book in my Instagram feed and thought I'd take a chance on it. I can't say I was totally disappointed but I could kind of see where the plot was heading sooo...

An overview for you:
Fallon Dupree comes from a family of inspectors. Her parents are health inspectors, whom she believes ruin lives, and her brother is a fashion inspector of some sort. So Fallon is headed off to high school in Grimbaud, a city famous for its atmosphere of love and their love charms, especially from Zita, a charm maker whose love fortunes always come true. Fallon's parents and brother both attended school in Grimbaud and got their fortunes there, too, and are happily married. The Duprees have a history of being fated to fall in love with their high school sweethearts and then marrying young. Fallon is just as excited to fall into her family's footsteps when she is fated to never fall in love. Of course this is a bit of a bummer, I mean who would want to know that you'll die alone with a thousand animals (personally, I'd die surrounded by books but ya know, you do you), and at fourteen nonetheless. As school picks up, Fallon falls into a club of misfits who also landed unsavory love fortunes. There she discovers there may be more to Zita and her charms, and they are determined to free the city from her ironclad grip.

Okay, so that's Fallon's story for ya. Only partially of course, I wouldn't want to give away the whole story now, would I?

I got through this very fast. I liked the characters but Anais, Fallon's friend kind of bothered me. From an analytical standpoint, I could totally draw parallels between Zita and some other well-known monopolists. (Rockefeller, Carnegie, just to name a few.) I mean she had that town wrapped around her darned little finger and enjoyed it. I also could see allusions to Greek mythology with the story of the Minotaur which was pretty cool. It was well written but Fallon kind of annoyed me. But I also kind of liked her too, so I have a love-hate relationship with this book. There is a sequel coming out, I don't know when, but I'll have to read it. There were some loose ends at the end of this book and I am curious to see what will happen to the characters. I also liked Bastion. He was a cool dude, but a little to brooding for me. I hope to see Fallon grow up a little bit in this next novel too, she was a bit juvenile (weren't we all at that age? I know I was and that was only two years ago :O)

Alright, I hope this review helped! Let me know in the comments if there are any books you're looking at in particular for a review. Happy reading!
Sophie :)