Tag: book rec

A4. A book tied to your ancestry – Across a Hundred Mountains by Reyna Grande

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Finished 07/21/18

I had a hard time with this one, the books I’ve come across that take place in Spain or Mexico are very politically heavy and I wanted something a little lighter. In the end it was between this and Esperanza Rising (I could not find anything emotionally lighter). I ended up putting both on hold, Across a Hundred Mountains was checked out to me from the library first and that’s how this book was chosen.

This was an intense and painful (in a good way) read, had me in tears. Very heavy subject matter, especially with what’s happening today in the world. If you’re interested in a thought provoking and emotional read I recommend this book. Anyway I’m very glad I read this book and I’m going to be checking out more by this author.

36. A book set in the decade you were born – The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

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Finished 07/12/18

About the prompt: I had a hard time with this prompt because not many books were available to me that fit into this category. After many google searches I found this wonderful book. I was born in the 90s and this book takes place during 1993-1995, perfectly fits the prompt.

About the book: After finishing this book and having just read Aristotle & Dante by Saenz, I’ve re-discovered my love of coming-of-age themed stories. I used to devour these kinds of books during my middle school and high school days. This book was everything that I would have wanted to read back then and I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it now. It was a great coming of age story, heartbreaking with an uplifting and hopeful ending. You follow Maggie during her teenage/young adult years, trying to navigate the world as she knows it.

title: The Assassin Game

author: Kirsty McKay

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): YA, Mystery, Contemporary

my thoughts: under the cut for spoilers.

This isn’t usually something I read, the first time I read the summary I just wasn’t interested in reading about a bunch of rich kids hazing each other. It was chosen in my book club and I’m trying to expand my genres so I thought I’d give it a shot because why not. I’m honestly glad I did, it was so much better than I expected. Okay so they are a bunch of rich kids with high IQs who want to be a part of this secret society but I really had fun and I could not figure out who was trying to kill their fellow students. All the red herrings! Seriously I was like is it this person or this person, well turned out I wasn’t even close. The only thing that was weird was that **SPOILERS** the summary gave the impression that students were dying and being harmed but no one actually ended up dying. **SPOILERS**

Anyway other than that it was a well written whodunnit.

Finish date: 07/11/18

title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): YA, Lgbtqa+, Contemporary, Romance, Coming-of-Age

my thoughts: under the cut for spoilers.

A coming of age story about two Mexican boys trying to find their place in this confusing and complicated world. Ari and Dante are definitely teenage characters with their thoughts and speech, not in a negative or annoying way but in a realistic way. At first I wasn’t sure if they were going to end up together but I hoped because they just fit. The only reason this was a 4 and not a 5 for me was that Ari didn’t come to the realization that he was in love with Dante on his own but because his parents brought it to his attention. Other than that it was a great coming of age story and I haven’t read many books in this category with boys as the main characters. If you love coming-of-age stories I definitely recommend this book and the author is working on a sequel.

Finish date: 07/08/18

title: Nightmares! (Nightmares! #1)

author: Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): Middle Grade, Horror

my thoughts: under the cut for possible spoilers.

This was a fun and quick read. I came across this book while browsing the children’s section at my library. I love middle grade books and I definitely had a few good laughs while reading this, I also shed some tears. A heart-warming story about facing your fears and finding support from those who care about you. I’m looking forward to continuing with this series.

Finish date: 07/05/18

title: George

author: Alex Gino

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): Middle Grade, Lgbtqa+, Contemporary

my thoughts: under the cut for possible spoilers

A very heart-warming and realistic story. George is struggling to find a way to for everyone around her, including her mother to see that she is a girl and not a boy. This is a very quick read, only 200 pages and so very important and beautifully written. One thing that I loved about this story was that George has a supportive friend that she is able to confide in. I also appreciate the questions and answers by Alex Gino in the back of the book, it’s a great way to educate the reader.

Finish date: 07/02/18

title: Vicious (The Villains #1)

author: V.E. Schwab

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult

my thoughts: under the cut for possible spoilers

Amazing. Seriously I loved this from beginning to end. The story and the characters, I fell in love. These characters were not perfect, yeah they have powers but they were just human. Not perfect but real and I love reading stories with well rounded characters. There were some religious themes due to the upbringing of one of the main characters but this story isn’t necessarily religious or anti-religious in case anyone is concerned (I did see some reviews about that). I’m so excited for the next book in the series and I definitely recommend Vicious.

Finish date: 06/30/18

A10. A book recommended by someone else taking the PopSugar Reading Challenge – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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Finished 06/27/18

This book was maybe more of a 3.5 because of the narrator and I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style. You can’t do half stars on Goodreads though so I bumped it up to 4stars. The overall feeling I had after finishing the book gave it that extra .5. I cried, I truly felt for Liesel and the pain she went through. This was a quick read for me but the subject matter is very heavy. There were times I had to step away and read a littler book in between to keep my spirits up.

28. A book with song lyrics in the title – Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

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Finished 06/25/18

I was having a hard time with this prompt for a while and after the third time I went through my TBR list this jumped out at me. Duh! Carry On by Fun or even Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas. Anyway I was happy to find a book from  my TBR list that fit this prompt.

Now this book first caught my eye from the cover when I was at Barnes & Noble browsing. It was really pretty, yes sorry book covers are the first thing I see. I try hard not to let covers deter me but they do snag my attention first if I think they’re aesthetically pleasing. When I read the summary I thought yes, I want to read this. I’ve read other reviews that stress this is not Harry Potter fan fiction. But honestly that’s all I could think. Now I don’t mean that in a negative way. I love fanfiction and I think some fanfiction is just as great as a published novel. There were many similarities that I felt like I was reading a Harry Potter AU. Again this isn’t a criticism, just something that I felt during my read of this book.

This read was medium paced for me, it wasn’t until the middle of the book around 45% that it picked up pace. I really did try to read it as a standalone but I just could not get Harry Potter out of my head. There were some chapters that stood out in a negative way for me. The constant back and forth between POVs in the same chapter was annoying. One example: Simon: what was he thinking right now? Baz: I didn’t know what I was thinking. I as a reader didn’t need to know that. It wasn’t enough to not read or enjoy the book but I really didn’t think it was necessary.

title: Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)

author: Leigh Bardugo

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
genre(s): YA, Fantasy

my thoughts: under the cut for possible spoilers.

I loved it! It didn’t hook me in right away. The first couple chapters went through the six main characters point of view first to set up their background and the world. It was a little slow going and I was nervous the whole book was going to be like that. I was wrong and glad that I was. It picked up pace and I became invested in the story. I fell in love with these characters; Bardugo made me care for all of them! I’m so excited to continue on with this series. Jesper & Wylan are OTP!

Finish date: 06/22/18