Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Dutton Books
Standalone
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
So if you have an internet connection or have been to the bookstore in the past couple of months you have probably heard of The Fault in Our Stars. Maybe you thought it didn't look like your kind of book or you're a huge John Green fan and have been waiting for this book for ages. I was part of the former but thanks to the awesome people of the latter group I decided to pick it up. And boy was I surprised. So if like me you weren't planning on reading this book I'm asking you to change your mind. This book isn't for a certain type of person. It's for everyone and I think everyone needs to read it. It was so incredibly amazing and it took me completely by surprise.
This isn't just another sad cancer book, movie or TV show. I could see that from the first page. The main character isn't all upbeat and set on fighting the cancer. She knows her lot in life and that she probably isn't going to live very long. She's come to terms with that or at least as much as one can. Another way this book is different is that it doesn't try to cover up cancer in any way. It's not something that the characters just happen to have like someone might have a bad haircut. Cancer is horrible and gross and sad and this book shows that. It also makes you thankful; thankful that you can breath, thankful that you can see, thankful that your body isn't fighting against you, thankful for pretty much everything.
The characters in this book are some of my favorite characters ever. There was a point when I had to sit back and tell myself that these people weren't real outside of these pages. Sure characters are always real to me to an extent -that's part of the reason I love books so much- but I've never had to actually remind myself that I was reading about fictional characters. Hazel was amazing. She has gone through so much in her short life and all I wanted for her was some happiness, some good news. She is unlike any protagonist I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. The story wouldn't work the same if it wasn't told from her perspective. Augustus Waters how do I even begin to explain him? He is fabulous, funny, hot, honest and just everything you could ever want a love interest to be. He made me laugh, he made me cry and he will forever hold a place in my heart as one of my favorite characters ever. Isaac was the best. Why do blind guys rock so much? Don't worry Isaac I wouldn't break up with you even if though you’re blind. See what I mean about thinking the characters are real? Even if Isaac did exist he couldn't read that. I loved seeing how the characters family coped with the fact that their kids or siblings had cancer it was all so different.
The romance between Hazel and Augustus was so perfect. It was awkward but adorable and slow and there's so many quotes in my quote journal from this book it's insane. It was cute but still true to the fact that both these characters had or have cancer but love anyways.
Now let me warn you about this book. Yes it's amazing and wonderful and I loved every minute of it but I've also never cried so hard over a book in my entire life. Believe me I cry in books all the time but never like this. It was 4 o'clock in the morning tears were streaming down my face, my shoulders were shaking, my face was red and I was trying so hard to be quiet about it. There was even a point when I was laughing but still crying at the same time. It was gross y'all. I even started crying again when I was rereading the cute parts. But no John Green again I don't mean that in a bad way. I was crying so hard because I cared so much about these characters and I was so wrapped up in the story. The stronger a book makes me feel the more I like it and if I'm sobbing in the wee hours of the morning you know I like it.
I don't think I'll ever think about this book without wanting to cry and could be bad because I don't think I'll ever stop thinking about this book. It makes you look at life a little differently and makes you thankful for the things you don't realize you have. Reading this was such an amazing experience and I plan on experiencing it again and again. The fault in our stars is that I can't give this book enough of them. If I could give this book a thousand stars I would but I'll just stick with 5 and tell you to go read it. Read it now.
5/5 stars
-Marissa
Reading Level:Young Adult
Self Published
Second book in Talented series
After her brush with death at Ian Crane’s compound, Talia Lyons feels like a prisoner, confined in her childhood home. Plagued with seizures- the result of an unidentified drug injected in her neck by Crane’s men- Talia must put her dream of becoming a Hunter on hold. So when Agency Director McDonough asks Talia to go undercover at the School for the Talented, to find the spy who set the trap for her in Nevada, Talia jumps at the opportunity.
Soon she learns that her new-found freedom comes with a price- working with Donavon on a daily basis. As if that isn’t awkward enough, her former teammate, Erik, also shows up at the School. But at least Talia has the unexpected company of her best friend Penny; to not only assist her in uncovering the spy, but also to deal with the complications that the guys create.
As Talia becomes more entrenched in her assignment, she quickly learns the lengths that the Agency and Mac will go in the name of war. With Crane’s influence spreading, Talia learns that there are few Operatives without ties to the Coalition. Forced to face hard truths and dangerous conclusions, Talia realizes that it is those closest to her who are hiding the biggest secrets. As the task of finding the traitor becomes more problematic, desperation and frustration rule Talia’s world. It becomes clear that Talia can’t do this alone. But who can she trust, when everyone around her is lying?
Review
I loved Talented. This was even better. The end of Talented left me pining for more. This series has an amazing concept with an even more amazing set of characters. I read this in like a day. It was impossible to put down. Now I'm sad its over and am impatiently waiting for the next book.
Talia is such a cool main character. I love how real she is. She handles everything like an other teenage girl would. When she considered taking Donavon back I wanted to shake her. He bothers me so very much. Sure he has his sweet moments but he also has his jerk moments. There's more jerk moments than sweet. I absolutely adore Erik. He cracks me up. His personality is hilarious but hes also very sweet and loving. Talia and Erik were probably my favorite part. They were seriously adorable. I was really surprised who the spy was. That was hidden incredibly well. I had no idea. I was shocked. I am gonna miss that character though. I'm not sure if they will be in the next book or not. I'm also doubting what side some of the characters are on. Who's good and who's bad. I hope we find out more about that in the third book.
The plot was a little slow at times. It wasn't as fast paced but all the twists made up for it. Overall I loved this. It was so so so good. I cant wait for the third one to come out. I highly recommend this series. Its becoming one of my favorites. 5/5 stars
Jasmine :)
Reading Level:Young Adult
Publisher:HarperCollins
Last book in Laurel series.
Tamani looked at her gravely, and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear.
He hesitated for an instant, then his hands found the sides of her face, pulling her to him. He didn't kiss her, just held her face close to his, their foreheads resting together, their noses almost touching.
She hated how much it felt like good-bye.
Laurel now knows the truth: Yuki is a rare Winter faerie, the most powerful—and deadly—of all, and Klea plans to use her to help conquer and destroy Avalon. But Klea's reach extends far beyond one wild Winter faerie. With Tamani, David, and Chelsea by her side, Laurel prepares to face what may be Avalon's final days, in the stunning conclusion to the Wings series.
Review
This series is one of my favorites. I'm obsessed. I can honestly say this was the perfect ending. Words cannot describe the amazingness of this book. It's become my favorite in the series.
This series has a really bad love triangle. I've known which guy I liked from the beginning. But I realized he wasn't right for her. Laurel made the perfect choice for her. She's strong and brave. She always puts others first. She's grown so much since the beginning. I loved that she wasn't gonna let go of her humanity. That was the one thing she wasn't going to lose. I also loved that she didn't let go of her human friends. They were always right there with her. I'm really glad David played such a big part. The authors note and David's letter made me cry my eyes out. David has a special place in my heart. Me and Tamani have a on and off relationship. Half the time I hate him and half the time I love him. I liked him in this more than I have in any of the others. I plan on rereading the whole series in the future and seeing if I feel differently about it.
The action never stopped. It was going going going till the end. I loved it every second. I could not put it down. It was addicting. The storyline was seriously so amazing. Overall I absolutely adored this in case you can't tell. Im so sad it's over. I can't wait to see what Aprilynne Pike comes up with next. I highly recommend this series. 5/5 stars
Jasmine <3
We asked Andrea Cefalo to do a guest post for us while she waits for our reviews. Shes going to be telling us a little bit about how she came up with her story. Here it is.
I get asked how I came up with the idea for The Fairytale Keeper series quite often. It’s a question I love to answer.The idea came to me six years ago while I was getting myundergraduate degree in education. I was listening to a lecture about the commonalities of fairy tales. The professor said that nearly all culture shave a Cinderella story. France,Germany, Italy,China, India, and Native America all have their own versions. This made me wonder if one person, living thousands of years ago, could have been the real Cinderella. Could it be possible that this one girl spawned all the different versions of the story? Well, that’s probably not likely. I think it’s more likely that every culture has had a famous beauty that rose from a low station to a high one with the aid of good looks and charm.
I like the Cinderella story, butI’ve seen it retold more than a few times and didn’t want my entire series to be based on that one tale. Also, at the time, I was more familiar with the French version which was too light of a story for me. Had I been more familiar with the Grimm Brother’s version of the tale six years ago, The Fairytale Keeper series may have been an entirely different story.
I quickly settled on The Snow Whitetale to use as the basis for the story and quickly became fond of Grimm’s fairytales because they are darker than most other collections. I became so enthralled with the many tales thatI twisted my unlikely hypothesis (that the Cinderella tale originated from one girl) into the presumption that one girl could have been the origin of Grimm’smost famous fairy tales. In my series,that girl is Adelaide Schumacher, a cobbler’s daughter living in 13thcentury Cologne, Germany. Unbeknownst to Adelaide, she’ll not only be the origin of Grimm’s most famous fairy tales, she’llalso immortalize herself as the legendary Snow White.
Sounds cool right. Here is a link to her book on goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13603568-the-fairytale-keeper . Keep an eye out for our reviews :).
Jasmine and Marissa <3.
Reading Level:Young Adult
Publisher:EgmontUSA
Second book in Hourglass series
A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...
Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?
Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.
Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...
The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly
bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just
do the following: Grab your current read, Open to a random page, Share two (2)
“teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
Teaser
She grinned wider. "Stay out of trouble, sugar. Come look me up when you're legal." She slid the cherry Coke across the counter and winked. "On the house."
Reading Level:Young Adult
Publisher:Walden House
First book in a series
*this was gifted to me by author for review*
Fourteen year-old Alex Mortimer is about to discover a terrible secret – not only was he the cause of his family’s disappearance, he’s also the last of the Lords of Allegiance, a once powerful ancient order connected to King Arthur and Merlin. Forced to embark on the dangerous journey to Wildeor, a safe-haven for some of the strangest creatures ever to have roamed earth, Alex soon finds out he’s all that stands between mankind and certain annihilation. The first in a thrilling new historical fantasy series, The Beast of Wildeor follows Alex and his friend Sarah Greystone in their desperate race to rebuild the Lords of Allegiance before it’s too late. Equal parts explorer, adventurer and spy, Alex Mortimer is an imperfect but believable new hero for readers of all ages!
Review
This wasn't really what I was expecting. It had a really cool concept but I think there could have been more excitment. Alex is a cool main character. I like his personality. Nothing seemed to really surprise him. It was kinda like he was born for the lifestyle. I didnt really like Sarah. She acted really spoiled and kinda bratty. Alex was always really sweet to her and she didnt act that way back. Theres two other characters I want to include. Tom and the beast. Tom cracked me up. He was hilarious and reminded me of a crazy old grandfather. I loved all the historical references. The beast didnt really have a big part to play but he was my favorite character. Since he is a part of the title I was dissapointed he had such a small part.
The plot was kinda stop and go. It would be fast and exciting then get really slow. It took me longer than it normally would. A little more excitment and I would have read it faster. Overall I really liked this. It has a very cool concept and I'm excited to see what the author comes up with next. 4/5 stars
Jasmine :)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperTeen
Second in the Divergent Trilogy
Source: TLA
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
Marissas review:
So you know that Klondike bar song? Imagine it like this: What would youdo for an Insurgent ARC? I know that people would do crazy things for one.Me? I waited in a super long line with my fingers crossed hoping with all myheart that I would get one even though they said they didn't have very many.When I finally got one in my hands I squealed a little (or a lot), did a littledance and spent the rest of the day staring at it and I admit sometimesstroking it. Come on wouldn't you do the same?
If you wouldn't then obviously you don't know the awesomeness that isDivergent. Maybe you have been under a rock for the past year or in a coma orhad no internet connection or something crazy like that. Because those are theonly excuses you could use for not at least hearing about it and then readingit immediately. Because it is amazing. Set in a futuristic society split upinto five different factions based on personality traits and where at a certainage you have to decide whether you want to stay with the faction you were borninto or move to another one. If you choose to change factions like the maincharacter, Tris, then you have to go through an initiation. Imagine if TheHunger Games and Harry Potter got together and had a beautiful love child. Thatlove child would be Divergent. And that love child would be awesome andkick-butt and there would be mind control and tons of twists and evil peopleand an adorable romance with one of the hottest love interests ever. So yesthat love child would be pretty freaking amazing and everyone who came intocontact with it would love it. Okay, I'm done comparing Divergent to a lovechild so I'll just tell you that if you haven't read it yet stop reading thisand go read that. Right now. Because you don't know what you're missing andthere will most likely be some small spoilers.
So if you have read Divergent and are anxiously awaiting the release of thesequel I would suggest reading it again before you start Insurgent because Ididn't remember much at all. Since I don't have any self control whatsoeverwhen it comes to books I just kept on going. Now I kind of wish I had rereadDivergent but there's an excuse to reread both of them in the near future. Theend of Divergent was absolutely crazy and Insurgent starts off almost exactlywhere the first book ends and it doesn't stop from there. It's insane andaction packed and you won't be able to put it down. Seriously I started it onthe car ride home from TLA and I did not do anything useful until I finishedit. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep (and believe be conferences are exhausting), Ididn't even unpack. This book is so addicting and even when you're not readingit you won't be able to stop thinking about it so don't start it when you havea lot of stuff to do. The writing style is so beautiful and descriptive and Ithink Veronica Roth is a genius. Plus she's super nice.
Tris is one of my all time favorite heroines. She's so strong and I love howshe doesn't really come across that way so people are surprised when she beatsthe crap out of them. But in this one she's not as strong. *Spoilers ahead*Towards the end of Divergent she killed someone, people she loved died and halfof her original faction got wiped out by her current faction *Spoilers over*.So that of course hits her very hard and she's trying to mourn, she's feelingsuper guilty and she's set on revenge all at the same time. Plus she's on therun and doesn't want anyone to know how weak she is. I felt like she was justtrying to find a place in a world that didn't really have a place for her.She's got so much on her shoulders already and she keeps getting more and Ijust wanted her to get a break. Seriously when all this is over she and Tobiasneed to go on a vacation for like a month. They both deserve it. Speaking ofTobias/Four I could go on forever and ever about him. Tris is one of myfavorite heroines ever and he is one of my favorite hero's ever. He's sowounded and complex and every time you think you've got him figured out youfind out something else about him that completely changes. I love how devotedhe is to Tris no matter what. Plus he's incredibly hot so that helps. Four ismy new favorite number. There are so many side characters in this book that sometimesit's hard to keep track. There's the evil ones and the awesome ones and theones that you just can't help but love. Some of the old ones that I loved fromthe first one came back and lots of new ones to love were introduced. Everysingle character was so complex and I had an incredibly hard time trying todecide who to trust because every time I thought I had someone figured outthere would be a huge betrayal or someone would die and the tables werecompletely turned.
The romance between Tris and Tobias is so adorable and there were some partsthat I was blushing while I was reading. But at the same time it's veryrealistic. Neither of them is perfect and they're both keeping stuff from eachother and they're realizing how hard it is to make it work. Especially since they’rein a world where hearts are so easily broken and in a situation where either ofthem could die any minute. They fight a lot in this book and though there wastimes when I wanted to scream at them to just make up already I understood whythey were fighting. Also Tris gets kind of suicidal at times and that doesn'treally fly well with Tobias so that puts a kink in there relationship.
The ending of this book was almost as insane as the first one. It completelychanged everything you thought you knew about the world that this book is set. Thenext one probably won't be out for over a year and I have no idea how I’m goingto wait but at same time I don't want this series to end so I guess I can. Soif you have made this far in my super long review which was really just mefangirling about everything then thank you. I'll wrap this up by telling you togo buy Insurgent right now if you haven't already. In my opinion it was evenbetter than the first one which is pretty hard to top. I'm going to go convincemyself that I don’t need to buy a finished copy right away (it's not working)and start counting down the days until the third one comes out.
5/5 stars.
Jasmines review:
This review was really hard for me to write. I started over like five times. My feelings are so confllicted its insane. My obsession with Divergent is unhealthy. Its one of my favorite books ever. Insurgent was different. It was just as amazing as Divergent but I didnt like it as much. I have no idea why. It has everything I loved about Divergent. Maybe I read it too fast or maybe I should have reread Divergent first. I dont know. Dont let this scare you away both books are absolutely amazing.
Tris is an amazing heroine. Shes strong nothing phases her. No matter whats going on in her head she always does what she needs to do. She was a little different in this. She was second guessing herself and pushing people away. What happened in the past made her think she didnt deserve anyone. Tobias isnt gonna give up that easy. He isnt gonna let Tris push him away. He's always there for her. As much as Tris and Tobias were fighting they were still adorable. The fighting just makes them more real. No matter what happens their always going to be there for each other. The ammount of secondary characters in this is crazy. Its impossible to pick a favorite. I liked the new characters and seeing some of the old ones from the first book. I love how everyone has their own part to play. Everyone is vital to the story in some way.
One of the main reasons I loved Divergent so much was because it made me crave adventure. It excited me. Most of that came from the Dauntless faction. Im team Dauntless all the way. They werent at the Dauntless compound but it didnt lack any of the excitement. Once I started it I couldn't put it down. I read it in like six hours. It was so action packed. I have no idea how Veronica Roth came up with this. The world building is amazing and unlike anything I've ever read. Overall this was amazing. I'm dying to know what everyone else thought. If you haven't read this there is something wrong with you. Go read it right now. 5/5 stars
