Book Review: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

 

 

Peyton, Sydney’s charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion’s share of their parents’ attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton’s increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

 

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

 

The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.

 

★(1 star)

 

Sydney has been living her life normaly until one day, her older brother has been convicted into various crimes including the recent drunk driving case which led to David Ibarra’s paralysis. As her family struggles to cope up with her brother’s conviction, she finds herself in the middle of it all.

Then she met the Chathams. Slowly, her dull life was given color and she got what she needed the most, acceptance.

 

• Layla. She is the only reason I kept going on. Her character is like sunshine under a tree, giving good vibes to the readers despite how annoying the main character is.

Blog Tour: Love is both Wave and Particle by Paul Cody (review)

This achingly beautiful novel considers how to measure love when it has the power to both save and destroy.

Levon Grady and Samantha Vash are both students at an alternative high school for high-achieving but troubled teens. They have been chosen for a year-long project where they write their life stories and collect interviews from people who know them. The only rule is 100% confidentiality—they will share their work only with each other. What happens will transform their lives.

Told from the perspectives of Levon, Sam, and all the people who know them best, this is a love story infused with science and the exploration of identity. Love Is Both Wave and Particle looks at how love behaves in different situations, and how it can shed light on even the darkest heart.

★★★(3 stars)

Levon and Sam are tasked to write their stories as a year long project before they graduate in a school specially built for high achieving but troubled teens. Little did they know how this project will soon change their lives.

• I like the randomness of the story. Everything was synchronized despite the fact that the story was told in different perspectives, time and even places.

Book Review: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Lara Jean’s letter-writing days aren’t over in this surprise follow-up to the New York Times bestselling To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You.

Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.

But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind.

When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?

★★★★★(5 stars)

Lara Jean has everything good coming to her way until, one of her plans began to slip. With change coming in her way, Lara Jean must decide for the best of her future and her tomorrow with the love of her life, Peter.

• It is very realistic and very relatable. As someone who has finished school and experienced the anxiety of leaving for college, I can relate to what Lara Jean is going through. With all those new stuffs to explore, adjusting can be a little bit challenging. So for those who are looking for something good to read before entering university, I suggest you read this.

Book Recap: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.
She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

★★★★★(5 stars)

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First and for all, I would like to inform my dear readers the fact that I have included in my review of To All The Boys I Have Loved Before some of the things that are quite general for the whole series. To make this review short and not redundant, I decided to just state only the things that I have observed in the second book of the series. If you want to read my review of the first book, click here.

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Things may got all tangled up for Lara Jean whose crazy love story began because of hilarious love letters sent to all the boys she have loved before, but, that doesn't stop there. In this sequel of To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean learns that the rules of falling in love doesn't only requires anything that is sweet.

As she began to truly fall for Peter, she must learn how to accept the consequences of their blossoming relationship. But what if another boy from her past began to suddenly appear?

In this beautifully twisted love story, unpredictable things happen, uncertain things settled and things are never like anything before.

• Character development. I love how the characters mature through all the things they have gone through. They become more objective in their choices and learn from their mistakes. I also like how lovable each characters grew, making them more relatable, may it be in love or in life.

Book Recap: To All the Boys I Have Loved Before by Jenny Han

Lara Jean 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 can pour out her heart and soul and say 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.

★★★★★(5 stars)

Lara Jean has this weird habit of writing letters to all the boys whom she have loved before she can get over them. But instead if sending them to those boys, she puts it in a hat box for safe keeping.

But what if one day, all of her letters were sent?

As the turn of events turn from dreamy to crazy, Lara Jean's life Will never be the same again.

• It has a cute and simple storyline.It is light and at the same time, very enjoyable to read. It is perfect for a spring getaway or just a cozy read at home with your coffee at hand.

Blog Tour: League of American Traitors by Matthew Landis (Q&A)

Hey guys!

I am here to introduce to you Matthew Landis, the author of the book League of American Traitors. I am so lucky to have him interviewed via this blog tour from the Fantastic Flying Book Club and his book will be released this August 8. It’s such a great honor to have him here.

So without further chit chat, here is Matthew Landis!

Book Recap: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado – taking you with it – you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I’ve read the books. I’ve seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can’t be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There’s still a yellow brick road – but even that’s crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm – and I’m the other girl from Kansas.

I’ve been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I’ve been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.

★★★★★(5 stars)

What happened after the Scarecrow managed to have a brain? The Tin Woodman a heart? And the Lion his courage? Has Dorothy got her wish of returning home?

This book tells the story in an upside down manner of how Oz, a place of magic and wonders, turns when Dorothy, the girl from Kansas takes the throne and become her Royal Highness, the Princess of Oz. A beautifully twisted book that will make you believe that lies can truly be hidden in what you believe is true. And remember, you can never trust anyone.

• The novel is one hell of a book, crazy enough to be the least expected scenario after The Wizard of Oz. It is as twisted as it can be, making the novel super fun to read.

ARC Review: The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King

As an orphan ward of the Sisterhood, eighteen-year-old Kalinda is destined for nothing more than a life of seclusion and prayer. Plagued by fevers, she’s an unlikely candidate for even a servant’s position, let alone a courtesan or wife. Her sole dream is to continue living in peace in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple. But a visit from the tyrant Rajah Tarek disrupts Kalinda’s life.

Within hours, she is ripped from the comfort of her home, set on a desert trek, and ordered to fight for her place among the rajah’s ninety-nine wives and numerous courtesans. Her only solace comes in the company of her guard, the stoic but kind Captain Deven Naik.

Faced with the danger of a tournament to the death—and her growing affection for Deven—Kalinda has only one hope for escape, and it lies in an arcane, forbidden power buried within her.

In Emily R. King’s thrilling fantasy debut, an orphan girl blossoms into a warrior, summoning courage and confidence in her fearless quest to upend tradition, overthrow an empire, and reclaim her life as her own.

★★★(3 stars)

For Kalinda, a lifetime of peace in service to the Sisterhood is all she ask. Her recurring fevers has never made her a candidate for the Claiming, what more of becoming a wife.
But things changed when the Raja suddenly favors her to be his Hundredth and last rani.

With the rank tournaments fast approaching and a tempting love brewing, Kalinda has to face the truths that are slowly surfacing and embrace the person she is ought to become.

• It has a very intriguing plot. One of the reasons why I opt to finish the book is because of its very absorbing plot. Who wouldn’t be enthralled to read about a girl who suddenly became the raja’s one hundredth wife? That’s a lot of women to be competitive for, don’t you think? (Smiles)

Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The #1 New York Times bestseller and modern classic that’s been changing lives for a decade gets a gorgeous revamped cover and special additional content.  You can’t stop the future.

You can’t rewind the past.

The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.

★★★(3 stars)

Hannah Baker’s life ended two weeks ago when a package arrived at Clay Jensen’s house, containing seven tapes, sides A and B, and thirteen reasons why she committed her suicide.

As Clay listens to each tape, he soon discovers that Hannah’s last words will change his life forever.

• The story of Hannah’s suicide is very relatable. I know most of you have this one very depressing moment in your life where you want everything to end including your life. Well, Hannah’s story is a mirror of almost every horror a girl could imagine occurring in school, including those simple stupid things that happened on the sidelines. Many of us have heard or experienced some of her circumstances, thus, making it relatable.

Blog Tour: The Bakersville Dozen by Kristina McBride (review)

You have four days to locate five treasured trophies. Break the rules and you all die. Happy hunting!

Back in September, the town of Bakersville, Ohio made national news when a video went viral featuring thirteen of the high school’s elite in compromising positions. Now it’s May, and every month since the “Bakersville Dozen” made their infamous appearance on the national stage, one girl has gone missing. Officials are no closer to identifying the criminal.

Bailey “Like a Virgin” Holzman is getting really fed up with the scrutiny. She just wants to enjoy the rest of her senior year and have an epic summer before heading off to college. So when she discovers a note in her locker on the last day of school inviting her on a scavenger hunt, she thinks it’s just a sweet surprise from her boyfriend trying to cheer her up.

But following the clue leads her, instead, to the first official casualty. And another sinister envelope. The killer is close, and it could be anyone. Even the people Bailey’s always trusted most—her best friend, her perfect boyfriend, or the boy-next-door she’s always pined for.

With the clock ticking, she faces a terrifying choice: play the game by the killer’s rules—follow the clues, tell no one, and no cops—for a chance to save the rest of the missing girls, or risk becoming the next grisly victim.

★★★(3 stars)

Bailey only wants to have her peace ever since the video of “The Bakersville Dozen” went viral and some of the girls included in the video starts to disappear. But when an envelope with her name on it appeared in her locker on the last day of school, telling her to participate in a scavenger hunt, what she thought would make all her worries disappear would became the biggest disaster of all.

• It exceeded my expectations. This is one of those books wherein I expected less but really got much much more. It is interesting to the point where I slept in late because I want to know how the story ends.