part one

August 10, 2014 Emily 3 Comments

Hello all! So today, I’ve decided to share my bookshelves with you! I thought this would be a good way for you to have a peek into my life, plus see all the books I’ve collected over the years! (By the way, these aren’t even all of my books. My sister has some of mine on her bookshelves so I can save some room!)

Okay, so first thing’s first – here’s an overview of my big bookshelf.

Technically, the proper term for this is an expedite, but whatever. I like it ’cause you an turn it on its side if you want, or hold important items in baskets on the shelves. (Like underwear, if need be, because your closet is tiny. Seriously.)

On the top shelf to the right of the basket is pretty much my favorites shelf, although some of these (Love on a Dime and Once Upon a Prince, specifically), I haven’t read in ages, so they really ought to be moved. Or, even if it’s not a favorite, but it’s a book I’ve read very recently, it goes on the shelf. (Aka Sarah’s Key and Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares), and then it sits there forever until it’s been months since I’ve read it and the book goes to a thrift store to make room for more (what else?!)… BOOKS. Besides the four mentioned, the rest are my FAVES! Go read them. NOOOWWWW.

Now, right below my favorites shelf is all of my classics! I like to keep all of them from the same publishing company (Barnes & Noble Classics) because… well, they just look so pretty like that. I also keep some folders with certificates and awards from school and my best writings, either all typed up and printed or in my best 1st-grade handwriting and tied with string. Aside from my B&N classics I have a copy of Swiss Family Robinson my Pop-Pop (grandfather) gave me and a very loved copy of The Hiding Place my dad lent to me. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to read it, but at some point or another it was my great-aunt Diane’s.

To the left of that shelf is my American Girl collection! Clearly, I love American Girl. Besides, they were what first got me into historical fiction and I love them. I have the entire Felicity series (one of them is a has-been library book my Grandma bought), the entire Addy series (except for #1, which I never had. They were also has-been library books from Grandma, so apparently they didn’t have the first book.) Then the Caroline series (all except for two, which a friend is currently borrowing), the Marie Grace and Cecile books, the two Chrissa books, another girl of the year book (Nikki), and my mystery ones. I also have four Molly books – two of which are both the same book. SO, obviously, I have a ton. And a very… varied collection. Phew. That was long.

Directly beneath my American Girl books is… well, this is just your average shelf. I have three more American Girl books (oh, and did I mention my sister has some more AG books in her room?!) and some old friends… see Ella Enchanted there? That spine has seen much better days. So has Penny from Heaven… and there’s my precious Lions of Little Rock down there… I made a vow to keep that one in good shape – but that’s definitely not to say I didn’t love it. I also have some Wendy Mass books, Liz Kessler books (which I really dislike these days), Countdown (which was awesome!), This Means War (never… read…) and a Babysitters Club chain letter book, which is really kinda cool.

Right of that shelf is… this shelf. (I don’t have a name for this one, either.) Starting from the left are my “In Grandma’s Attic” books (which I love! Thanks, Grandma!) and my Ramona Quimby books. These have seen better days, too. After that are my Baby Sitters Club books and The Main Street series (The Main Street series – OMG! I can not even begin to tell you how many times I’ve read them! They’re… they’re… OMG!!!!), both by Ann M. Martin. I have loads more Baby Sitters Club books on my Kindle, plus a couple Main Street books. Who knows how many Ann M. Martin books I’ve gotten from the library?! Thank you, Ann M. Martin, for my childhood.

Now, directly below that last shelf issss….

This shelf. Mostly I keep some composition notebooks and spiral bounds, along with a binder and some English textbooks from last year. Oh, and to the side of the binder is a Writer’s Digest magazine and my flute book. I also have a Mother/Daughter Book Club book (another spine that has been loved!), Kira-Kira (whatever you do, DO NOT read that book. It is the worst tear jerker in the history of tear-jerkers.) Next to two Confectionately Yours books (which are taking up space on my bookshelf.)

And finally, the last bottom shelf to the left is this one.

From the left I have a bible, Holly’s Heart books by Beverly Lewis, Mandie books, Trailblazers by Dave and Neta Jackson, The Story (which is the bible written in novel-like form… it’s kind of hard to explain, haha), and a signed copy of Dead Fred, Flying Lunchboxes, & the Good Luck Circle by Frank McKinney.

Weelll that’s it for this bookshelf tour! Part two will be short, since I’ll just be showing you by small bookshelf, but I hope you enjoyed touring the big bookshelf! 😀

What do your bookshelves look like? Lotsa books? A couple books? Messy? Neat? Do tell!

author interviews, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

interview with author heather vogel frederick!

August 7, 2014 Emily 14 Comments

Today, author Heather Vogel Frederick agreed to do an interview on For the Bookish (which absolutely, positively made my year!) Heather is the author of the Mother-Daughter Book Club series (my personal favorite of hers! She is currently working on a seventh in the series!), The Voyage of Patience Godspeed, The Education of Patience Godspeed, Spy Mice, Once Upon a Toad, picture books for little readers, and two books (Absolutely Truly and A Little Women Christmas) coming this fall! She is also one of my absolute favorite authors, so I was very excited when she said yes to the interview. So, without further ado… the interview!

Me: Often times, you’ve said you knew you wanted to do anything that involved books from a very early age – you have fond memories of your father reading books to you and your sister as a child – and were born into a family of storytellers. Was there any particular book, author, or even family member that really inspired or encouraged you to want to be a writer, or take on a career in books?

Heather: Wow, there were SO many books that inspired me when I was growing up. Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White. Anything by Elizabeth Enright (Gone-Away Lake) and Edward Eager (Half Magic) and Lloyd Alexander (The Book of Three). So many, many more. I lived for a time just a bike ride away from Louisa May Alcott’s home in Concord, Massachusetts, and she was my hero. I used to save my babysitting money for the entrance fee to her house (which is a museum), and when I’d go on the tour, I’d look around and think, “She wrote Little Women right here at this desk!” It made the possibility of being a writer someday feel very real to me. My parents both encouraged me to write, and I’ll always be grateful for their enthusiasm and support.

Me: Charlotte’s Web, Half Magic, and The Island of the Blue Dolphins are favorites of mine, as well. =) Do you ever feel discouraged, or even a little bit stressed, when it comes to being a writer? Currently you have two books (Absolutely Truly and A Little Women Christmas), debuting this fall and have said a 7th Mother/Daughter Book Club book will be out soon. What’s that like?

Heather: Discouraged? Rarely. Stressed? Now and then. Deadlines loom large on a writer’s calendar, and the closer they get, the faster we have to scurry to finish up the project in question. Which in my case right now is the still-untitled 7th Mother-Daughter Book Club story! I’ve been writing for a living for decades though, and am pretty well used to deadlines by now, so while they do keep my feet to the fire, they don’t knock me for a loop. As for the two books I have coming out this fall, that’s not stressful at all, that’s EXCITING! I can’t wait until my new “babies” make their debut! We writers are always hopeful that the world will love our babies…

Me: It’s exciting for your readers, too!! Being a huge fan myself, I know that you adore your readers and try to answer every letter, email, or comment that comes your way from your fans and even host a segment on your blog called “Saturday Story Starter” to gently encourage young writers from afar and inspire creativity. How would you advise your own readers who are aspiring to be novelists quite like yourself?

Heather: My guess is that most aspiring writers are already doing the number one most important thing you have to do to launch a writing career: READ. Aspiring writers should be inhaling books the way a desert dweller drinks water. Writers are like honeybees, grazing on books instead of flowers, ingesting words and images and beautiful language instead of nectar and pollen. Later, when we go to write, all that stored up beauty just flows out of us like honey.

Aside from reading, there’s one quality every writer must possess: patience. It can take time to grow as a writer. There will be many false starts, many stories started that end up in the trash or stuffed in a drawer for a later time when we’re better equipped to tell them. Be patient with yourself, and be persistent. Don’t give up.

Me: Wow, great advice! Other than writing, what are some of your hobbies and free-time activities you do in between novelling, blogging, and answering fan mail? =)

Heather: Oh, I am SO behind right now on answering fan mail it’s not funny. 🙁 That’s the tough part of having a deadline — I really do have to set everything else aside and focus on whatever story I’m writing, often for months at a time. I try and make space in my life for a few other fun things, though — I still read (mostly non-fiction, curiously), I swim laps (my favorite exercise), walk the dogs, cook, hike, occasionally go to the movies, that sort of thing. I don’t have any other hobbies at this point in my life, really. I love to knit, but haven’t had as much time for it in recent years as I did in the past. Oh, the sweaters I used to make!

Me: I wish I knew how to knit! It does sound like you’re pretty busy, though. Finally, just for fun, if you had the opportunity to live anywhere else in the world, where would it be and why?

Heather: England in a heartbeat! I absolutely adore everything about England.

Me: That’s where I’d go too, actually. I’ve never been to England – never even been out of the US! I was so jealous of Emma in Pies & Prejudice when she got to spend a year in England! 🙂

That’s all for today! I hope you enjoyed the interview and go check out some of Heather’s books – I love them all! And thank you again, Heather, for giving me the privilege of sending you the questions!

P.S. I’m going to be spending the next two nights with my cousins as my parents are going to a conference until Saturday, so I may or may not be able to post Saturday’s Stacking the Shelves. I’ll talk to you all lovelies soon, though! Ciao for now!

blog segments

top ten tuesday // book recommendations

August 5, 2014 Emily 5 Comments

Hi, everybody! Top Ten Tuesday is an original book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s TTT is Top Ten Books I’d Give To Readers Who Have Never Read X (examples: Young Adult novels, historical fiction, a certain author, books about a certain topic, etc), and I decided to go with historical fiction and middle grade/young adult – five for each. I’m going to start with historical fiction books I’d recommend to someone who’s never read any historical fiction.

Number the Stars is a fantastic book. I actually just read it several months ago, but I’m going to have to read it again this year for more required reading. I was hanging on to every word, and sat in my room all day to finish it. This would be the first book I’d give to someone.

Oh. My. Flying. Flapjacks. What an incredible book. I read this one two years ago and my copy is very loved. Set in Little Rock, Arkansas, during the integration of schools in 1958, the Main Character creates a bond with a new girl, Liz… then Liz is caught “passing” for white and her family is shunned and disrespected. I loved, loved, loved this book and wish I could go back in time so I could read it like it was the first time again!

Of course, if you’re a regular subscriber on my blog, you had to know this would be in this list. Awesome book; so many tears. I really have no more words. I’d just shove this down someone’s throat. In fact, I have. And she loved it. (Right, Kareena?!)

I read Hattie Big Sky for the first time about a year ago, in September, and loved it. I was hooked the whole time, and there’s even a second book (though I liked the first one a lot better).

What can I say about this? Honestly. It was… oh my word, it was… eye-opening. Heck, I’m tearing up just talking about it. This would, without a doubt, be on a list of books to give someone who’s never read any historical fiction. Though, I’m not sure it would actually qualify. Since, you know, it’s not fiction. But I’m putting it on the list anyway.

Now for my top middle grade/young adult recommendations.

Okay, so this is my favorite middle grade genre series. There’s a seventh book coming out soon, which I cannot wait for. I’ll be one of the first to buy it, I’m telling ya. I’ve read the series dozens of times (and that’s not an exaggeration!), plus own two autographed copies. (One of which a friend gave to me that she found in a used bookstore – whaaat?! Who would give away a signed copy?!), especially by Heather Vogel Frederick. Speaking of, on Thursday, Heather will be answering some questions in an interview I made – which is super awesome!

Ann M. Martin is another favorite of mine – I especially love The Main Street series. Whenever I read these books, I get sort of a… cozy feel. It’s just one of those make-you-feel-good-books, which I think I may have mentioned in a previous post. (Either that, or a draft of a post.) Oh well. This is to say – go get these books! They’re awesome.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson is pretty darn amazing. I’ll admit, when I first bought it on my Kindle, I began it and then didn’t finish it, but DON’T JUDGE MY LAZINESS. I did not stop because it was bad. In fact, when I started it again, I loved it. (Check out my review here.) To re-use a GIF from my review for it…

(Okay, sorry this is italicized. Dunno why WordPress won’t let me fix that…) The Selection series by Kiera Cass was (I’m tempted to use the word ‘awesome’ again), but to steal a word from the Notebook Sisters, frabjous. I was holed up in my room for hours with lots of comfort food (chocolate, popcorn, popsicles, pretzels… that’s a lot of ‘p’ word foods. Anyway!), and finished all three books in two days. (Actually, reading The One was postponed, because my parents refused to enter the password on my Kindle and buy it for me… plus I was kinda-sorta broke.) Luckily, UnlockTheOne.com saved my life, and I was able to read the first ten chapters for free.

Sorry, guys, I’m only doing nine today since WordPress is acting funny today; it won’t let me align anything or make it non italicized. :-/ it’s really annoying. In the meantime, hope you liked this TTT! Hopefully by Thursday it will be better, so I can post again 🙂 Thanks for reading!

reviews

mini review // hope was here by joan bauer

August 3, 2014 Emily 2 Comments

Title: Hope was Here

Author: Joan Bauer

Genre: Young Adult Literature (according to Scholastic)

Length: 191 pages

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Source: borrowed from library

Blurb: When Hope and her aunt move to small-town Wisconsin to take over the local diner, Hope’s not sure what to expect. But what they find is that the owner, G.T., isn’t quite ready to give up yet–in fact, he’s decided to run for mayor against a corrupt candidate. And as Hope starts to make her place at the diner, she also finds herself caught up in G.T.’s campaign–particularly his visions for the future. After all, as G.T. points out, everyone can use a little hope to help get through the tough times . . . even Hope herself.

This book should be the definition of “short, quick, light read.” It was very short, easy, and to the point. There weren’t too many smaller plot twists or problems other than the main (very obvious) problem and solution. There was a clear moral to the story and it was very easy to read. Sometimes I think I dislike these sorts of books because I want a deeper plot and meaning, but at the time I read this it was the perfect quick easy read to pull me out of my “book slump.”

However, I felt like in the beginning, there was a ton of info-dumping. Several chapters were used to give me lots of background story from the Main Character when I would have loved to have gotten to know the characters better, and gotten the back story bit by bit, which would have made for a better book. I also hate to be this way, but I totally saw the ending coming. Obviously, this could be different for everyone, but the whole time I was just thinking “Where in the world is the suspense??”

Because I partly enjoyed the book and it was such an easy book to read, I give it three and a half out of five stars.

What about you? Have you ever read Hope was Here? How did you feel about it?

blog segments

stacking the shelves #7

August 2, 2014 Emily 1 Comment

Happy August everyone! Did you know today, in 338 BC, a Macedonian army let by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and Aegean? And that it’s Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria’s 112th birthday (if he were still alive)? I bet many of you didn’t. Anywaaayy….

Ready for this week’s STS? Stacking the Shelves in a book meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It’s all about sharing the books you’ve read/gotten this week, virtual or physical. Since my last Stacking the Shelves waaaasss… a month ago, I’m going to talk a bit about the books I’ve read since then. (Oh, and the books I talk about aren’t in the order I read them. I don’t remember when I read them, I just know it was sometime this past month. Which would be July. For those of you who didn’t know.) And then I’ll share the books I got at the library yesterday.

Cinders and Sapphires, by Leila Rasheed, was pretty darn good. I wrote a review for it in a notebook, since I was grounded from the computer, so as soon as I type it up you’ll be getting the full report. I really liked it, and sped through it in a day and a half. I borrowed it from the library, and its sequel is currently on hold, so I can’t wait to be reading the next one!

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In my last STS, I told you all I’d be reading this with my sister as a required reading for school. It was… different reading the book since I’ve heard so much about it and seen the movie before I ever read the book. Honestly, I was a little surprised at how simply written it actually is, because it’s such a resemblance to Christians of how Christ died for us, and as I’d read articles about it, it almost seemed like the book was written for adults. But I really loved reading it with my sister, and right now we’re reading The Magician’s Nephew, which is the second to the Chronicles of Narnia in some publications and the first in others.

BEST. BOOK. EVER. Highly recommended on my list; I went through many tissues and fell in love with the present-to-past thing going on, and how the two stories were connected. The “past” story took place in 1911, in the “present” story (which actually happens to be the past at this point, ha-ha) in 2011. I especially loved reading the present chapters, as it’s all about a woman mourning the 10th anniversary of 9/11/01 (otherwise known as my birthday!), her husband’s death, and telling her daughter the truth about the fateful day. (Again, also my birthday! Not so fateful after all! Ha-ha! … ha… mm.) Anyway. GO AND READ IT!

Eh. This was… an okay read. Very short; to-the-point, and I didn’t get close to the characters very much, which is the first thing I look for in a book. It was sort of a drag reading it. As a review I read for this book on GoodReads when I was considering buying it (so glad I didn’t! I borrowed it from the library!) said “I feel like the big grown up bully attacking the cute, freckled face kid on the playground with this review,” and that’s exactly how I feel. I didn’t hate it. I didn’t love it. I just felt like it was sort of mediocre. It could have been much better.

I believe those are all the books I’ve read in July… I told you I haven’t read very many! I just finished with When you Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, and I loved it! Now for the books from the library yesterday…

Okay, so on the bottom is Diamonds & Deceit, the sequel to Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed, which I can’t wait to read! Then is Ten Rules for Living with my Sister, by Ann M. Martin, and I actually finished that one about an hour ago this morning, and totally adored it! I’m going to put the sequel on hold now. The Doll People is also by Ann M. Martin, and I’ve always though it looks like such a cute book. Carry on, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham, is yet another required reading for school. And I picked up Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassidy at the library because I thought the blurb looked good. So hopefully I’ll have my hands full with books for a while! 🙂

So what books have you read/gotten/bought lately? Did you like them? Look for a mini review tomorrow on Hope was Here tomorrow =) Thanks for reading,

miscellaneous 'bookish' things

hello, everyone!

July 7, 2014 Emily 3 Comments

I know. I’ve been a terrible blogger these past couple of… well, week. Has it really been that long? I apologize. First of all, I’ve been in such a book slump lately I haven’t any reviews to post and second of all, well… I’ve been lazy.

The fourth of July was a ton of fun. My family and I were invited to a pool party by some friends of ours (I’ve been friends with their daughter since I was little and she went to school with me last year), and there were some great party snacks and a pool – plus incredible fireworks. I mean, seriously. Not just little ones or sparklers or anything of the sort. Real fireworks. It was pretty awesome.

Also happening this past week was putting new tile in our kitchen and my parent’s master bathroom and shower. It’s really nice, too.

Moving on… I went to the library the last time I posted Stacking the Shelves, and how many books have I read, you may ask? 0. A big fat goose egg. I know, I’m lazy. (Very.) I’m no longer reading The Lucy Variations. (According to my “currently reading” widget, I’ve been ‘reading’ it for about three weeks now.) I didn’t even finish it. I’m going to try to one of these days, when I don’t have any books to read, but I rather disliked it, to say the least. It’s so slow. I’m almost done with Little Men (which is very funny! I absolutely love it!!!) and I also just started Hope was Here, by Joan Bauer. Joan is one of my favorite authors, and I really like the book thus far.

Oh! And my little sister and I are enjoying The Chronicles of Narnia very much. At first, upon begging my sister to let me read to her (since reading aloud to other people is so much more fun), Anna was very reluctant to let me. Now she’s begging me to let her read it to her. Mwahahaha… but yes, we are almost finished with it and love it. I’m not really sure why I didn’t want to read it before…

July NaNoWriMo hasn’t been very productive lately. I haven’t worked on Booky in so long before now… I’ve been using Google Docs to write it because I can always pull it up, whatever computer I’m using, and look at it on my phone (though I really don’t like the Google Docs app. It’s so annoying and takes me forever to scroll down to where I left off.) But I’m hoping to do the Beautiful People linkup soon, so maybe that will get me going. You’ll be meeting Miss Lucy Lovell, the MC of Booky, no doubt. (Don’t hold me to it, though. I’m a very fickle person.)

Until next time! Again, sorry for not posting lately. Perhaps I’ll get going and type up some more posts for the coming week. Thanks for reading!

blog segments

stacking the shelves #6

June 28, 2014 Emily 10 Comments

Stacking the Shelves in a book meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It’s all about sharing the books you’ve read/gotten this week, virtual or physical. This week, I got a ton of books! (The library is my new best friend.) I’m also trying to finish a book that I’ve been trying to get through for far too long. (The Lucy Variations. It’s really slow.) I’m trying to finish it, I really am. In the meantime, I have this stack to get through!

The first on the top is A Fall of Marigolds, by Susan Meissner. I got it at the Christian Family bookstore this week, and from the blurb, it seems a lot like the sort of story Sarah’s Key was – going back and forth from the past and the present. I can’t wait to read it! =) Then there’s The Voyage of Patience Godspeed by Heather Vogel Frederick. I tried to read this one a while back, but I had too many books on my hands and didn’t really get to it. I love Heather Vogel Frederick, though, so I’m looking forward to it.

I also got Little Men and Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott. I’ve never actually read the full versions of these, so I’m looking forward to these too. I’m well into Little Men so far, and I’m enjoying it =) Hope was Here by Joan Bauer is one I’ve wanted to read for several months, and Cinders and Sapphires by Leila Rasheed has been on my TBR for a while, too. I already mentioned The Lucy Variations (It’s really slow though!! It really is.) Theeen I also got The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, plus The Horse and his Boy, because (argh) I’ve never read the Chronicles of Narnia, and I have to read them before the first day of school.

(I kid, I kid!) I’m sure I’ll like it. Soooo be looking forward to lots of reviews next week. (I’m fresh out at the moment.) Oh! I forgot – I did a guest post over at The Measure of a Book recently on Camp NaNoWriMo – it was a ton of fun. I love Audrey’s blog, too. Check it out, maybe?

So what books have you gotten/read this week? Let me know! Happy Saturday!!

blog segments

top ten tuesday // book covers i like & dislike

June 27, 2014 Emily 6 Comments

Since I didn’t get around to posting this week’s TTT, I decided to post it a little late because I loved the theme. I’m only doing 8 covers for today, but next Tuesday I promise to have an awesome TTT up! Top Ten Tuesday is an original book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is book cover trends I like and dislike. I really enjoy doing TTT’s because they’re never hard, and they’re tons of fun! So I’ll start with types of book covers I like first:

#1: Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper: I love this book cover because the picture has a very meaningful link to the book. The title isn’t something cliche like “Fish Out of Water,” but the picture still represents the MC, Melody, and her feelings as she can’t talk or even move. Love this!!

#2: The Minnow by Diana Sweeney: I’ve never read this book, but I absolutely, positively love the cover. (Well who doesn’t?!) It kind of has… I don’t know, a bit of mysterious look to it. I love that.

#3: Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards: I really love illustrations like this. While I’m normally not too keen on cartoon-ish looking drawings for the cover of a book, I love this illustration because it’s so beautiful. I think I’d hang the picture on a wall or something. The illustration isn’t too cheesy; it looks more like a painting you’d buy in a store.

Some covers I dislike…

#4: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: Like I said before when I was talking about Mandy, I don’t really like cartoon-ish illustrations… especially for this one. I think it goes well with the title, but I don’t know. I just don’t really like these types of covers.

#5: Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James: Great story!! … bad cover. I really don’t like covers with pictures of the MC, or a person in general. 😛 They’re too cliche, and not… very… intriguing. Just… no. If I ever publish a book, you will never see me have a cover like this.

#6: The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen: Again, a little cliche. I do like the fact that the picture kind of blurs the face of the person… I think this one is sort of in the middle. Too cliche, though… “the truth about forever”? With a girl pulling petals off a flower? Definitely a little too much.

I really like using the word cliche =) Oh well. Back to

covers I like…

#7: Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay: Of course this one was a no-brainer because it always pops into my mind as a cover I definitely like. It’s a very simple design, but the rose with the letters flying off gives it a very… elegant, classic look, in my opinion.

#8: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: I love this cover. When I see it, I think of the “domino effect.” To me, it really says a lot about the book.

It seems I have a sort of constant theme for all the covers I like – I want them to say something important about the book, but cliche (I really need to stop using that word!) covers that make the book appear cheesy don’t really catch my eye.

Stick around tomorrow for Stacking the Shelves =)

reviews

to all the boys i’ve loved before by jenny han

June 25, 2014 Emily 8 Comments

Title: To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Length: 368 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Source: bought it (via e-reader)

Blurb: What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once? Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

I actually liked this book more than I thought I would! I absolutely adored the main character, Lara Jean, and loved all of the other minor characters as well. I think part of what made the story so believable is it’s relatable. I mean, first of all, Lara Jean has two sisters – and her relationships with both of them is very realistic. (Being an older sister myself, I laughed at all the parts I could see my little sister doing, and clenched my fists at things my lil’ sis better not be doing!)

Also: Lara Jean’s personality. We’re a lot more alike than different. She’s what some people might call a goody-two-shoes, but what I’d call a really smart teenager. (Excluding the fact that she can’t really make up her mind!) At least, I hope I’m like her when I’m her age.

Okay, but the plot. Everything would be going smoothly, and then someone would wreck it all and I’d be like “noooo” and then it would fix and then get messed up again. And then I’d be like “nooo” again. Also, I totally saw the ending. Like, seriously? Ummm duh. I think the mystery of who sent out the letters wasn’t built up quite enough… I’d have liked to see that have an actual twist to it; it was rather obvious. And who she ended up with? I’m not sure if this was supposed to be a quote “mystery” or not; if Jenny Han wanted us to know or if she wanted us to be stuck between the guy next door and Mr. Hey-We-Used-to-be-Buddies-Now-We’re-Gonna-Fake-Date-to-set-our-love-lives-straight or not. But yeah. Pretty obvious… I was kind of disappointed.

Overall, I really loved this book. I’d definitely recommend it!

That’s a total of… 4 stars!

reviews

mini review: the red umbrella by christina diaz gonzalez

June 23, 2014 Emily 4 Comments

Title: The Red Umbrella

Author: Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Genre: MG Historical Fiction

Length: 284 pages

Publisher: Yearling

Source: bought it

Blurb: In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. Her friends feel like strangers. And her family is being watched. As the revolution’s impact becomes more oppressive, Lucía’s parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl?

I really enjoyed this one. It had been sitting on my bookshelf for several weeks before I decided to read it, and I’m really glad I finally did. I really loved that the reason for the title had a very direct link to the book – the MC, Lucy thinks her mother’s red umbrella is hideous, but her mother tells her the color red stands for strength. I loved that.

I enjoyed watching Lucia grow throughout the story, and see her opinions change but her love to her home country, Cuba, stay the same. The character development was great. I thought the conclusion felt a little forced, and honestly, I really would have liked this book to have gone a bit longer. Other than that, I really loved it. A really short, quick read, but the book still has some hard topics. Two thumbs up!!

Four and a half stars!