Where She Went by Gayle Forman (If I Stay #2) ★★★★★ It's been three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life. And three years he's spent wondering why. When their paths cross again in New York City, Adam and Mia are brought back together for one life-changing night. Adam finally has the opportunity to ask Mia the questions that have been haunting him. But will a few hours in this magical city be enough to lay their past to rest, for good - or can you really have a second chance at first love? I wouldn't have thought a book about a rock star with a broken heart would affect me almost as much as a book about a girl whose entire family dies in a car crash. And yet, that's what I'm going to tell you about Where She Went. Although If I Stay is more tragic in the literal sense of the word, Where She Went is just as heartbreaking. Normally, Adam's lovesick, can't-let-go type of character would get on my nerves, but not this time. Although I occasionally wanted to tell him to snap out of it, I also understood why he couldn't. Forman managed to capture human emotion more than anything else in this book. I was happy to see that music remained central to the plot, but that not everything was described in terms of music. In If I Stay, the overload of musical metaphors had almost taken away from the book, but Where She Went had a better balance. I also loved the lyrics from Adam's songs before every chapter, which were as heartbreaking as everything else. Forman did an amazing job with Adam's character. I was surprised to find myself relating to him so much, having never been through such heartbreak myself. I expected him to seem overly dramatic and pathetic, but the opposite was true; Forman's prose relayed the realness of all of Adam's emotions. The best part of his character was his depth; he wasn't just lovesick, he was living a life he didn't fully want or control. It's very rare that I care about the outcome of a romance novel so much. The ending of Where She Went gets a little too fairy tale, happily-ever-after, but I'm perfectly content with it. I'd hate to discredit a well-written happy ending, and Forman really did well with it. Although the ending was kind of predictable, it felt like the perfect conclusion to Mia and Adam's stories. I highly recommend this series, especially to romance fans. Where She Went was an incredibly satisfying read and has left me eager to read more of Forman's novels.
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If I Stay by Gayle Forman ★★★★★ Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make. If I Stay is an incredible book. Its draw isn't in a fast-paced plot or , but in the human aspect of the story. Within the first twenty pages, tragedy strikes, and Mia's life will never be the same again. Instead of focusing on the time days or weeks after, when she'll have to cope, If I Stay takes place in the 24 hours immediately after the crash, when Mia has to decide: will she go, or will she stay? The story isn't exactly climactic or exciting; it's heart-wrenching instead. Even the flashbacks to Mia's happy past at the end of every chapter were tainted with grief. Forman manages to make Mia's tragedy feel strangely personal. More than anything, If I Stay is a book about grief, and love. It's definitely not a book to read when you're sad. The book's biggest flaw was its emphasis on music, which went a bit overboard occasionally. I liked that music was such a big part of Mia's life, but at times it almost took away from the real story. The love of music most of the characters had did add depth to them, and it was also one of the many good aspects of the book. If I Stay was an emotional roller coaster. It was a quick, easy read, but I will remember it for a long time. If you like feeling close to characters or reading stories about people (instead of events), this will be an instant favorite. I was lucky enough to finish it at the library, and I immediately checked out the sequel. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh ★★★★★ This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I figured it would be another humor book to flip through and smile at, but after reading it all in one sitting, I think I will probably end up reading it a few times a year for the rest of my life. Because, yes, Hyperbole and a Half is funny (hilarious, even) but more importantly, it's honest. Sometimes uncomfortably honest about irresponsibility, identity, and depression, while keeping it light with humor and cartoons. If you're having a bad day, Hyperbole and a Half will make you smile. And if you're already having a good day, it'll just make it better. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King ★★★★★ Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions...like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl. Astrid can't share the truth with anyone except the people she imagines flying over her at thirty thousand feet, and they don't even know she's there. But little does Astrid know just how much even the tiniest connection will affect these strangers' lives--and her own--for the better. Some books with characters who are questioning their sexuality are incredibly disappointing; the characters end up straight and their questions turn out to be a ploy for LGBTQ readers. But Ask the Passengers was anything but disappointing. I loved that Astrid ad her girlfriend, Dee, had already been dating for a while. YA likes to focus on the "falling" part of love, and overlooks couples who've been dating for a few months and are just starting to run into their first problems. It was kind of refreshing to see people working at love and mending all its holes, instead of thinking there won't ever be any. Ask the Passengers is a reminder that love isn't straightforward or easy, but it's worth a lot more that way. Ask the Passengers isn't just a love story, though, and it will get you thinking about a lot. Astrid's character is easy to love, and she's relatable. It's not just gay people or people questioning their sexuality who can relate to her, but people with dysfunctional families, friends, and small-town lives. Anyone grappling with their reputation will be comforted and encouraged by Astrid's story. My copy of Ask the Passengers is sprouting post-it notes bookmarking highlighted passages and quotes. People like to say that words and stores are powerful, but it's hard to understand that until you've read a book like this one. King's words made me think, and hit home in a way only two or three books have before. I'm probably going to shove this book into the hands of every other person I meet so it can do the same for them. This is a book I will read to my children someday. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs ★★★★★ As a kid, Jacob formed a special bond with his grandfather over his bizarre tales and photos of levitating girls and invisible boys. Now at 16, he is reeling from the old man's unexpected death. Then Jacob is given a mysterious letter that propels him on a journey to the remote Welsh island where his grandfather grew up. There, he finds the children from the photographs--alive and well--despite the islanders’ assertion that all were killed decades ago. As Jacob begins to unravel more about his grandfather’s childhood, he suspects he is being trailed by a monster only he can see. Eerie and suspenseful, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was a stunning read. It's a perfect intertwining of reality and fantasy, as well as history and modern-day. The small, secluded Welsh town is the perfect setting, like all those ghost stories from the English moors. I fell in love with this book in every way. I never knew what to expect and was always surprised and delighted by the plot twists. The characters were equally exciting; they were interesting, original, and eccentric. Jacob, the narrator, was believable and likeable, though my favorite character was Emma Bloom. I adored her character, although I'm still not sure how I feel about her as the love interest. It's just a little off to me, even though it was executed better than eighty percent of YA romances. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was a beautifully haunting read. The vintage photographs throughout the text add to the text, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality even more. Fans of mystery and monsters will devour this book. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein ★★★★★ Oct. 11th, 1943-A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy? Code Name Verity is the most most heart-stopping, heartbreaking book I have ever read. The first time I read it, I couldn't finish it - I didn't like it. A few days ago I found it under a pile of laundry and decided to have another go at it and my god am I glad I did. I honestly can't say why I didn't like Code Name Verity the first time I tried to read it, because I am head-over-heels madly in love with this book. On the outside, it's a story about girls who love each other fierce and true, fighting for their country, but underneath is the brutal life of a captured spy and an airwoman behind enemy lines. Verity and Kittyhawk, even the Nazis, are some of the best written, well-rounded characters I've ever read. They were all real, the whole book seemed real to me, and just as terrifying and heartfelt as a real-life account of the events would be. I cried for hours after finishing Code Name Verity. I could gush (possibly incoherently) about it for hours, but I don't want to give anything away, so I'll only say this: Code Name Verity is just grand, a masterpiece of storytelling and a piece of history brought back to life. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok ★★★★★ When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family’s future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition. Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles. I love this book. Everything about it rings true. Kwok tells harsh truths with a gentle voice; at first with the innocence of a child and then with the careful acceptance of an adult. Stereotypes and stigmas surrounding immigrants and their hardships are scrubbed away to reveal real people. Each character was colorful and interesting, and Kimberly herself was fully realized. I feel like I could run into her on the street. I especially loved that the romance doesn’t take anything away from Kim. Its purpose wasn’t to fix her, change her, or take away from her ambition, and it was done perfectly. The plot was a little slow in places, but they were few and far between. Everything else was so well done and captivating, I didn’t mind. I loved this book from beginning to end and I highly recommend it. Solar Storms by Nicholas Smith ★★★★★ In 2055, scientists discover something far worse than rising temperatures and rising seas—they discover massive sunspots that are producing unprecedented solar flares. With little time to prepare for the storms, NASA recruits Drs. Sophie Winston and Emanuel Rodriguez to help monitor the solar weather. At first, the duo believes they have been hired for a routine project. But when arriving at the Johnson Space Center they quickly realize they haven’t been told everything about their mission. And as a massive storm races toward Earth, they begin to suspect that it isn’t a natural event. Millions of miles away something is feeding the storms… Smith is writing about a nearly overdone subject - the apocalypse - and I was worried that it would simply be another variation on a theme. But Solar Storms is a breath of fresh air with a new type of apocalypse - one that hasn’t been done before. The only thing I can think of that would have made Solar Storms better is if the scientific side of things was explained a little more, and I hope it will be in ORBS. Solar Storms has my adrenaline pumping. With only 35 pages, Smith , introduced several memorable characters, made us care deeply about their fate, and kick-started the apocalypse. Solar Storms left me with a sense of foreboding and a need to read the rest of this series right now. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman ★★★★★ A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn’t thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she’d claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what. Where do I even begin to express my love for this book? The Ocean at the End of the Lane is the epitome of “short but sweet.” Gaiman’s impossible tale of magic, fear, and bravery is clever and mysterious. It feels old, like a story that’s been waiting to be told, and Gaiman is the one to tell it. His mastery of the ability to make readers believe and his careful crafting of the lovable, relateable, fantastic characters make this book an instant favorite. Read this book if you want to remember what childhood innocence is, if you want to remember why you didn't want to grow up. Read this book if you'r Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell ★★★★★ Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan … But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words … And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone. For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind? As a bibliophile and huge fangirl myself, this book means a lot to me. Rowell’s capacity for creating characters that live and breathe never ceases to amaze me. I relate to Cath like crazy, and I’m sure that dozens of other fangirls will, too. I was a little worried that Rowell’s depiction of fans - and fanfic writers - would veer too close to the offensive, ill-informed opinions that a lot of people have of it, but it didn’t. She managed to convey Cath’s love for the Simon Snow series and fic without insulting fangirls, and while still having her non-fan characters think it’s weird. Because let’s face it: people think it’s weird. I’m just impossibly happy Rowell doesn’t. The subplots in this book are fantastic. Every single character has a story of their own, but they don’t blot out Cath’s, and it’s awesome. To be honest, this book is a lot less exciting plot-wise than most of the things I read. No apocalypse, no villain, just plain realistic fiction - and Rowell pulls it off beautifully. I’m totally in love with the way she melds Simon’s story (both “canon” and fic) into Cath’s with subtle, well-written parallels. It’s a beautiful thing. If you’re looking for a book with the right balance of romance and plot, this is the book for you. |
Once Upon a Time...As a longtime lover of stories and a believer in the power and magic of books, I've spent my life seeking out the best reads. This blog is dedicated to reviewing the books I read - good, bad, or magnificent - to help other readers find their next favorite books. Currently ReadingKing Zeno
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