Beth: My Favourite Book of 2015

My Favourite Book of 2015 | All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

 

On this very special day, the first of many Christmases I will hopefully be spending on this blog, I am here to write about my favourite book of the year 2015.

All The Bright Places.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This. Book. Is. Outstanding.

There is no other way to describe it simply.

An amazing contemporary romance, this book combines well written romance and contemporary, creating some beautiful quotes. And I cannot go without telling you some of these beauties. Because sometimes, it's best to let the book tell the story, rather than the fan.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!

“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.”

“You make me lovely, and it’s so lovely to be lovely to the one I love.…”
 
“You have been in every way all that anyone could be.… If anybody could have saved me it would have been you.”

“sometimes there’s beauty in the tough words—it’s all in how you read them.”

“I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it. I learned that not everyone is disappointing, including me, and that a 1,257-foot bump in the ground can feel higher than a bell tower if you’re standing next to the right person.”

“She is oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. The same elements that are inside the rest of us, but I can’t help thinking she’s more than that and she’s got other elements going on that no one’s ever heard of, ones that make her stand apart from everybody else. I feel this brief panic as I think, What would happen if one of those elements malfunctioned or just stopped working altogether? I make myself push this aside and concentrate on the feel of her skin until I no longer see molecules but Violet.”

“No more winter at all. Finch, you brought me spring.”

“Stars in the sky, stars on the ground. It’s hard to tell where the sky ends and the earth begins. I feel the need to say something grand and poetic, but the only thing I come up with is “It’s lovely.”

“I am on the highest branch.
We are written in paint.
I believe in signs.
The glow of Ultraviolet.
A lake. A prayer. It's so lovely to be lovely in Private.”

Honestly...I could go on forever.

-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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 :)