Review: Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

Read: Aug. 15-Sept. 11, 2017
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Format: hardcover, 406 pages
Publication: May 2015 by Quercus
Genres: dystopia, sci-fi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Where women are created for the pleasure of men, beauty is the first duty of every girl. In Louise O'Neill's world of Only Every Yours women are no longer born naturally, girls (called "eves") are raised in Schools and trained in the arts of pleasing men until they come of age. Freida and Isabel are best friends. Now, aged sixteen and in their final year, they expect to be selected as companions--wives to powerful men. All they have to do is ensure they stay in the top ten beautiful girls in their year. The alternatives--life as a concubine, or a chastity (teaching endless generations of girls)--are too horrible to contemplate.

But as the intensity of final year takes hold, the pressure to be perfect mounts. Isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty--her only asset--in peril. And then into this sealed female environment, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride. Freida must fight for her future--even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known."

I gotta say, the blurb at the back of the book really interested me.....but the actual reading of the book.....not so exciting. This was one of those books for me.....where nothing was particularly wrong, but nothing was exciting enough to really keep my attention.

Review: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Read: Nov. 2-8, 2016
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (although I'm tempted to give it 4)

Format: Paperback, 152 pages

Publication: October 1976 by Penguin Books

Genres: classic, play, historical fiction

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Arthur Miller's classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in 17th century Salem is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially-sanctioned violence. Written in 1952, The Crucible famously mirrors the anti-communist hysteria that held the United States in its grip."

Okay, okay, so....

I realize that this is a....classic and it has a reputation for being a really great book.....

I also realize that there are many people who have reviewed this book and talked about all the significance and symbolism of this book....

So, because I read this book for pleasure and not school...I will "review" this as such.
Meaning, these are purely my rambling thoughts and nothing else.

Two Really Short Reviews

Peoples, I have here, two very short reviews.  Why am I choosing to combine two reviews, you ask?

Because they are very short.  That's why.  Don't think too much of it.

This first one was a classic, and kinda short....not that interesting...so...short review.  The next one....I really only thouroughly read a few pages of, so...also, short review.

Let's begin.

Review: Equus by Peter Shaffer

Read: October 24-29, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Format: paperback, 106 pages
Publication: October 1984 by Penguin Books
Genres: play, classics

Blurb from Goodreads:

"An explosive play that took critics and audiences by storm, Equus is Peter Shaffer's exploration of the way modern society has destroyed our ability to feel passion. Alan Strang is a disturbed youth whose dangerous obsession with horses leads him to commit an unspeakable act of violence. As psychiatrist Martin Dysart struggles to understand the motivation for Alan's brutality, he is increasingly drawn into Alan's web and eventually forced to question his own sanity. Equus is a timeless classic and a cornerstone of contemporary drama that delves into the darkest recesses of human existence."

Hm.

This is actually the first play I've read....that isn't Shakespeare. And....surprisingly, it went pretty smoothly.

Review: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Read: Sept. 22-Oct. 13, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Format: Hardcover, 486 pages
Publication: January 2016 by Disney Hyperion
Genres: Adventure, romance, fantasy, historical fiction

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever."

Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Read: Aug. 23-28, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Format: paperback, 224 pages
Publisher: Square Fish, June 2015
Genres: contemporary, realistic fiction, romance

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party. When Healy High star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car crash, it was because he was sexting with Alice. Ask anybody.

Rumor has it Alice Franklin is a slut. It's written all over the "slut stall" in the girls' bathroom: "Alice had sex in exchange for math test answers" and "Alice got an abortion last semester." After Brandon dies, the rumors start to spiral out of control. In this remarkable debut novel, four Healy High students tell all they "know" about Alice-and in doing so reveal their own secrets and motivations, painting a raw look at the realities of teen life. But in this novel from Jennifer Mathieu, exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there's only one person to ask: Alice herself."

Hmm.

Review: Invision (Chronicles of Nick #7) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Read: Jun. 30-July 22, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Pages: 368
Genres: fantasy

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Think your life is complicated and confusing? Nick Gautier was born to bring about the end of the world…It’s not easy being the heir of a demon overlord.

But Nick is determined to thwart his destiny and get into a good college. To be more than his genetics and prophecy foretell. No one is ever going to tell this stubborn Cajun who and what he really is. Or how to live his life.
Not even the Fates of the Universe. But now that he and his team of ancient gods and demons have claimed the Eye of Ananke and he sees the missteps of the future, he has to battle the demons within that are far deadlier and more treacherous than any he’s battled before. All the while his arch nemesis is back and determined to reclaim his place as the harbinger for Armageddon. Even if it means killing Nick and barbecuing everyone he loves to do so."


*sounds of frustration*

No!

I just rated a Chronicles of Nick book.....3 stars?! No!

I never do that!

But I did.

Ohmygosh.

Review: Perfect: The Call by Scarlet D'Vore

Read: June 30-July 14, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Pages: 248
Genres: fantasy

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Lauren, Riley and Apple are outcasts in their high school in Grand Blanc, Michigan when Victoria, a unique species known as ‘Perfects’, enters the human realm and befriends them with her enticing gifts of being superhuman. The three are blown away by the possibilities and are unable to ignore the addictive beauty of Victoria’s colourful realm. 
They sacrifice their old existence and accept her traumatic touch in order to become Hybrid Perfects. Yet soon after their reality is transformed by the unexplainable, not even travelling across the globe through doorway portals is worth the consequences from the white lies told, stealing innocent people’s free will, or the act of cold-blooded murder. Can Lauren, Riley and Apple endure the dark brutality of their new world long enough to take back what they were willing to forfeit just to be superhuman? Can earth survive the Perfect invasion?"

I won this book through Library Thing, and I admit, it took me forever to finish reading it, oh well. I finished it, and that's what matters, right? Right. Okay, good.

Review: The Savvy Series

Ooookay, so!  I read the first book a really, really long time ago.....and the second one...also a really long time ago....and back then....I didn't really keep track of when I started or finished books, or what I thought of them....so!

Bah.....let's just get on with this....

Read: sometime in 2013
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Pages: 342

Random gibberish....

Wow...5 stars?!  I guess I was easily impressed back in 2013, understandably, though.  I mean.....back then....I didn't read as many books as I have today....right...um, okay!

So, this family is......special.  When a member of this family turns 13, they gain a special ability.  Woo!  This novel follows Mibs, a girl who just got her special ability-savvy-and, it's been so long, I can't even remember what her savvy was....um.....I remember she found this really nice guy....her age, of course.   And they were a cute couple.  Aaaanyways.  Mooooving on.

Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Read: Feb.16-April 7, 2016

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pages: 479

Genres: adventure, dystopia, fantasy, thriller

Blurb from Goodreads: 

"Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is. "

OKAY, firstly, this is not my fault.  

This monster of a book was almost 500 pages, and contrary to what people think, I don't read that fast.  This would be the second book club book I've read, and my reasons for reading it...well, I know of ONE friend who knows...she also happens to have the link to this blog...I wonder if she's reading this now....

Review: Disappearing Moon Cafe: A Novel by Sky Lee

Read: March 8-19, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Pages: 288
Genres: Canada, historical fiction

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Sometimes funny, sometimes scandalous, always compelling, this extraordinary first novel chronicles the women of the Wong family from frontier railroad camps to modern-day Vancouver. As past sins and inborn strengths are passed on from mother to daughter to granddaughter, each generation confronts, in its own way, the same problems — isolation, racism, and the clash of cultures. Moving effortlessly between past and present, between North America and China, Sky Lee weaves fiction and historical fact into a memorable and moving picture of a people’s struggle for identity."

Ah.  English novels.  What fun.

This was an interesting kind of book.  Although...I can't say for sure if it was the good kind or the bad.  Anyhoo.

This book was set in Vancouver* and written in chunks...or, unchronologically.  And this just made reading the book plain weird.  Or, confusing.

*yes, my English teacher has this strange obsession with Canadian literature...

Review: Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

Read: March 26-April 2, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Pages: 272
Genres: Realistic fiction

Blurb from Goodreads:

"Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship — and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways."

Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard

Read: Feb. 3-March. 3, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars      
Pages: 371
Genres: Fantasy, romance, retellings

Blurb from Goodreads:

"This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own."

Review: Wide-Awake Princess Series by E.D. Baker

Hey peoples!

As you will clearly see later on in this post...I started reading this series a long time ago...so...my reviews are pretty much nonexistant...and I didn't even organize my dates as meticulously as I do now...also...you might notice that I became more harsh and critical with my reviews as the years went by...or maybe not...I don't know...you be the judge...then remember to tell me, okay?

I'd also like to confess something...I may have read the first two maybe three books in this series without any inhibitions, but as I grew older, I started becoming more conscious of what other people thought of me...so I now find myself reading up to five books at a time:

• the book I'm not ashamed of reading and bring to school to read for our beloved silent reading periods (which are irritatingly not silent)

• the eBook that I read on my HTC, the much more mortifying reads that I hope none of you ever find...(nono, don't you go purposely looking for my secretive stuff now, okay?)

• the childish book belonging to a series I started way back in elementary school but am now too old to be seen carrying to school, also...I bring these books out on weekends when my other non-shameful book is too thick, or a hardcover. 

• the ARC that I received and must read so that I can review, hopefully before the book is published....

• and the occasional audiobook I happen to be interested in.

But I digress.  Back to the post at hand!  So here we have a series that I started reading way back in 2013, practically a century now.  As you can see in 2013, I haven't really understood the concept of reviewing yet (a pity), so...non existent reviews coming your way...well, I have a star rating, but that's not a review.

Review: Poet Robot by E.I Wong

Read: Feb. 2-8, 2016
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Pages: 124
Genre: humour
Expected publication: April 20th 2016

Blurb from Goodreads (okay...not really a blurb, just some information I found about the book...):

"a collection of humor, poetry and short stories from E.I. Wong's blog, "A Narcissist Writes Letters, to Himself." "

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Read: Jan. 27-Feb 3, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Pages: 338
Genres: Romance, Fantasy (Paranormal)

Blurb from Goodreads:

"I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior."  

Review: Shadow Falls Series by C.C Hunter

I'm compiling my reviews for the different books in this series to this...long post with...uuuuuh....words are failing me right now...so I'll just get on with this.  So!  This series starts with Born at Midnight where a girl with strange abilities goes to a camp with strange people who also have strange abilities.  But even here, this girl still can't fit in.  Keep in mind that the first book I read was in 2013, so the review might not be all that great....all I did was copy and paste my review from 2013...really....have fun reading my thoughts as a little squealing girl who hasn't read much...so has really low expectations...
*actually...my first review is kinda sad...even as a fourteen year old...my writing sucked.....uuuuuuuuuugh....don't look at me like that........

Review: Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

Read: Dec. 28, 2015 to Jan. 10, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Pages: 408
Genres: Historical Fiction (Canada), War

Blurb from Goodreads:

"It is 1919, and Niska, the last Oji-Cree medicine woman to live off the land, has received word that one of the two boys she grudgingly saw off to war has returned. She leaves her home in the bush of Northern Ontario to retrieve him, only to discover that the one she expected is actually the other.

Xavier Bird, her sole living relation, gravely wounded and addicted to the army’s morphine, hovers somewhere between the living world and that of the dead. As Niska paddles him the three days home, she realizes that all she can offer in her attempt to keep him alive is her words, the stories of her life.

In turn, Xavier relates the horrifying years of war in Europe: he and his best friend, Elijah Whiskeyjack, prowled the battlefields of France and Belgium as snipers of enormous skill. As their reputations grew, the two young men, with their hand-sewn moccasins and extraordinary marksmanship, became both the pride and fear of their regiment as they stalked the ripe killing fields of Ypres and the Somme.

Inspired in part by real-life World War I Ojibwa hero Francis Pegahmagabow, Three Day Road is beautifully written and told with unblinking focus, it is a remarkable tale, one of brutality, survival, and rebirth."

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han

Read: Dec. 7-26, 2015
Rating: 3 of 5 stars      
Pages: 368
Genres: contemporary, romance

Blurb from Goodreads:

"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."

Review: House Arrest by K.A. Holt

Read: Nov. 24-30, 2015
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Pages: 304
Genres: Realistic fiction, poetry, health, family

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Stealing is bad.
Yeah.
I know.
But my brother Levi is always so sick, and his medicine is always so expensive.

I didn’t think anyone would notice,
if I took that credit card,
if, in one stolen second,
I bought Levi’s medicine.

But someone did notice.
Now I have to prove I’m not a delinquent, I’m not a total bonehead.

That one quick second turned into
juvie
a judge
a year of house arrest,
a year of this court-ordered journal,
a year to avoid messing up
and being sent back to juvie
so fast my head will spin.

It’s only 1 year.
Only 52 weeks.
Only 365 days.
Only 8,760 hours.
Only 525,600 minutes.

What could go wrong?"