Series Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection series is compared to a sort of Hunger Games with no killings. Basically, a group of thirty-six girls from around the country of Illea are brought to the palace to compete to become the wife of the prince. Our main protagonist, America Singer, is one of the Selected girls. She comes from one of the lower castes in the country (I'm not going to even try to explain the caste system in this book series, as I am still quite confused of it all). When America goes to the palace, she is not intent on becoming the princess and future Queen of Illea because she had a boyfriend back home. But eventually, her intentions change.

This was one of my favorite series that I read this year. I gave the series as a whole 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

This is the story of Jacob who travels to an Island off the coast of Whales after a note left by his late grandfather leads him there. He manages to get to the orphanage where his grandfather was raised. Jacob then meets some of the other children.

I found this story very entertaining. The character of Jacob reminded me a lot of my brother, Jacob. They are so similar. I also really enjoyed the character of Miss Peregrine. I gave Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

This is the story of R. R is a zombie and we get a look at what life as a zombie looks like. R lives in an airport hanger with a small army of other zombies. Though there is not a lot of dialogue in this book, we really get a sense of the feelings of the zombies and their surroundings.

I believe this was meant to be a series, but I don't think there are any other of the books out. But even if they were, I don't think I would be picking them up. I wasn't a huge fan of this book as others seem to be. My issue with this was that it was a post-apocolyptic contemporary novel and those aren't two generes I would typically put together. I gave Warm Bodies 3 of 5 Stars.

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me is the first in a trilogy in which our main protagonist, Juliette, has a lethal touch. She is kept in a type of mental hospital/jail for almost a year. She is forcibly removed by Warner, who wants to use her for his own gain. Juliette will do anything she can to avoid what Warner wants her to do. Even if that means falling for one of the guards and escaping.

Shatter me was nearly perfect in my opinion. The only flaw that I found was that the story was quite similar to Annabel's from the Delirium trilogy. Not the lethal touch part, but the escaping from prison part. I will be picking up the rest of this series as soon as I can. I gave Shatter Me 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler

I was genuinely surprised by this novel. We follow sisters Ana and Sophia London who have become immensely popular on YouTube. Their primary goal in this book is to start a makeup line.

While there are some awesome characters in the novel, it does have it's flaws. I, personally, would have liked to see the sisters from the beginning of their YouTube journey, where we would have seen their struggles on their rise to internet fame. Instead of this, we are thrown right into their success. While I would have like a less predictable story line, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will be reading the sequel eventually. I gave Beneath the Glitter 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Review: Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson

The premise of this book is amazing and right up my alley. A girl's father is a bounty hunter and she joins him on some of his runs. Together, they set off chasing skips- people who have skipped their court dates and must go back to jail to get new ones. They turn in two skips without any trouble, but the third leads them on a wild goose chase.

While this book has a great idea behind it, the story itself falls flat. There is hardly enough detail. The story happens too fast and doesn't have enough content to it. I gave Chasing the Skip 2 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Hello everybody! I hope this finds you well!

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's been crazy since the new year started, because only my school has finals in the middle of January. Anyway, back to reviewing! These next few posts are continuing on my December book reviews that I haven't posted yet. So here we go!

Eleanor and Park is a contemporary novel about Eleanor, a young girl who comes from a family with an abusive step-father and three other children. The boy, Park, comes from a family with Ph.D's for parents. On Eleanor's first day at her new school, she gets on the bus to find no one will let her sit with them. Until she reaches the back of the bus, and Park. As the days progress, Park notices Eleanor reading his comic books over his shoulder. Park starts to bring Eleanor comic books and their story progresses from there.

While this book was excellent, I found that I didn't love it as much as I expected to. I think that the reason behind this was all of the 1980's references. I was born in the late 1990's, so the references flew right over my head. I gave Eleanor and Park 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is about two boys named, you guessed it, Will Grayson. While they have the same name, they have never met and could be nothing less alike. We first Meet Will Grayson who is a little more mature. He is focused on using his fake ID to get into a club to hear one of his favorite Indie bands. Let me make it clear that he does not want to drink. When he can't make it into the club, he is pining to use his fake ID. We meed the second Will Grayson as he is questioning his sexuality. He has met a boy online he thinks he likes and they have planned to meet up. Their plan to meet up goes a bit askew when their meeting place was an "Adult" store. And this is where the two Will Graysons meet.

This book made me laugh. This book made me cry. I loved the final scene in the story. Tiny is my spirit animal. ;P I gave Will Grayson, Will Grayson four out of five stars.

Review: The Dolls by Kiki Sullivan

This is the story of Eveny, a barely seventeen year old girl who grew up in New York after her mother was killed in their hometown. Her aunt suddenly decides to pack up and move back to their hometown, a gated community known as Carrefor, in Louisiana. We learn that Eveny is a Queen of an ancient form of magic known as Zandra. Eveny must cope with being a High School Student in a new town, being a Queen of magic, and just being a teenager in general. We meet the two other Queens of Zandra who, we learn, will help Eveny come into her powers and the three of them will be nearly unstoppable if their magic was used together.

Funny, witty, and fast-paced, The Dolls will leave you wanting more (and there will be! :D) and I for one was surprised at who our "bad guy" was when we learned this at the end of the story. I gave The Dolls four out of five stars.

Review: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It may have been one of my favorites this year. This is the story of Cullen Witter who wants to be a writer. While this story doesn't focus solely on this fact, it is a good thing to know going into it. Cullen is living as normal of a life as a teenager can live in Lazarus, Arkansas, when his world is suddenly turned on end. His cousin, who was addicted to drugs, overdoses and dies. Cullen would have moved on from this if he wasn't the one who had to identify the body. Shortly after this, Cullen's brother disappears. Without a trace. We are led from here on an awesome journey of tri-perspective of Cullen, a young missionary in Africa, and Cullen's brother. The three stories intertwine at the end beautifully.

This story is heartfelt and relatable to me, as someone who has experienced trauma. I loved this book and gave it 5 out of 5 stars.