Whitney's bookshelf: favorites en-US Fri, 14 Jun 2024 21:30:44 -0700 60 Whitney's bookshelf: favorites 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too]]> 32497573
Here is the unforgettable story of Jomny, an alien sent to study Earth. Always feeling apart, even among his species, Jomny feels at home for the first time among the earthlings he meets. There is a bear tired of other creatures running in fear, an egg struggling to decide what to hatch into, a turtle hiding itself by learning camouflage, a puppy struggling to express its true feelings, and many more.

The characters are unique and inventive—bees think long and hard about what love means, birds try to eat the sun, nothingness questions its own existence, a ghost comes to terms with dying, and an introverted hedgehog slowly lets Jomny see its artistic insecurities. At the same time, Jomny’s curious presence allows these characters to open up to him in ways they were never able to before, revealing the power of somebody who is just there to listen.

Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too is also the story behind the widely-shared and typo-filled @jonnysun twitter account. Since the beginning, Sun intentionally tweeted from an outsider’s perspective, creating a truly distinct voice. Now, that outsider has taken shape in the character of Jomny, who observes Earth with the same intelligent, empathetic, and charmingly naïve voice that won over his fans on social media. New fans will find it organic, and old fans will delight at seeing the clever words that made them fans in the first place.

Through this story of a lost, lonely and confused Alien finding friendship, acceptance, and love among the animals and plants of Earth, we will all learn how to be a little more human. And for all the earth-bound creatures here on this planet, we will all learn how sometimes, it takes an outsider to help us see ourselves for who we truly are.]]> 256 Jomny Sun Whitney 5
this book is both dumb and uplifting. i find it so interesting that when i read it over six years ago (!!!!) i resonated with certain parts of it, and now i'm identifying with different parts of it and seeing some of the advice from a new perspective. just so, so sweet and very much needed.

--

original review, 2018

"the comforting thing about feeling lonely is that every thing that has ever existed also knows what loneliness feels like too. you may be sad because you are sad. it is ok to be sad. but if you are sad because happiness is fleeting, just remember that sadness is also fleeting too."

This is the most wholesome book I have ever read in my entire life. It's a new favorite of all time, and definitely something I'll return to when I have anxiety. It's so BEAUTIFUL and SWEET and it's relevant and deep and has so many good one-liners and it's just so so so so pure. Wow.]]> 4.05 2017 Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too
author: Jomny Sun
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/14
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2018, graphic-novels, read-in-2018, read-in-2024
review:
i'd been meaning to reread this for a while since i have such fond memories of reading it, so after a hard week i decided i needed a pick me up. and this supplied exactly that--and a couple giggles.

this book is both dumb and uplifting. i find it so interesting that when i read it over six years ago (!!!!) i resonated with certain parts of it, and now i'm identifying with different parts of it and seeing some of the advice from a new perspective. just so, so sweet and very much needed.

--

original review, 2018

"the comforting thing about feeling lonely is that every thing that has ever existed also knows what loneliness feels like too. you may be sad because you are sad. it is ok to be sad. but if you are sad because happiness is fleeting, just remember that sadness is also fleeting too."

This is the most wholesome book I have ever read in my entire life. It's a new favorite of all time, and definitely something I'll return to when I have anxiety. It's so BEAUTIFUL and SWEET and it's relevant and deep and has so many good one-liners and it's just so so so so pure. Wow.
]]> War Storm (Red Queen, #4) 27188596 Victory comes at a price.

Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all� starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolishing everything—and everyone—in his path.

War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

In the epic conclusion to Victoria Aveyard’s stunning series, Mare must embrace her fate and summon all her power� for all will be tested, but not all will survive.]]> 662 Victoria Aveyard 0062422995 Whitney 5
i guess that just means i need to dive into the novellas and see what i missed!]]> 3.80 2018 War Storm (Red Queen, #4)
author: Victoria Aveyard
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/13
date added: 2023/11/13
shelves: read-in-2023, from-library, favs-of-2023, favorites
review:
i can't not give this book five stars because it was SO good but i'm surprised that this ending was so weak? it felt like it needs 100 more pages, and everything wrapped up so... as expected. it's very unlike victoria, so i finished it a little confused. i was expecting to be a sobbing mess because this series has been top of mind for me for the past few months as i read them all back to back, but it ended in a place where it's almost like i should expect a fifth book.

i guess that just means i need to dive into the novellas and see what i missed!
]]> Frankenstein 33537 Longman Cultural Editions series, this second edition of Frankenstein presents Mary Shelley's remarkable novel in several provocative and illuminating contexts: cultural, critical, and literary. Series Editor Susan J. Wolfson presents the 1818 version of Mary Shelley's famous novel in its cultural and historical contexts. Like all great works of fiction, Frankenstein gains depth and dimension from its "conversation" with contemporary texts, especially those by Shelley's own parents, husband, and friends. A lively introduction is complemented by a chronology coordinating Shelley's life with key historical events and a speculative calendar of the novel's events in the late eighteenth century. In addition to the 1818 text, this cultural edition features the introduction to and a sample revision of the 1831 version. New to this Edition is Frankentalk, a section of selected references to Frankenstein in the popular press, and the complete text of Richard Brinsley Peake's Frankenstein, A Romantic Drama, the first stage version of Frankenstein.]]> 464 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 0321399536 Whitney 5
nothing like reading this entire book aloud to bonnie because i need her to understand why this book is so good. for me it's because i've never read a book that so vividly describes agony. the mental torment these characters go through and the ways they impact each other will never not hit me hard. i can't believe mary woke up and sat down and wrote this at EIGHTEEN?

long story short i am a mont blanc stan and white cishet men need to be humbled. this book is literally the definition of fuck around and find out.

--
original review

WOW.

One of the most powerful books I have ever read that speaks so much about compassion and humanity. I feel on the verge of tears, it was so moving. This is like Phantom of the Opera times a thousand. And I love POTO.]]> 3.95 1818 Frankenstein
author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1818
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/02
date added: 2023/11/02
shelves: favorites, read-in-2016, for-class, made-me-cry, read-in-2023
review:
2023

nothing like reading this entire book aloud to bonnie because i need her to understand why this book is so good. for me it's because i've never read a book that so vividly describes agony. the mental torment these characters go through and the ways they impact each other will never not hit me hard. i can't believe mary woke up and sat down and wrote this at EIGHTEEN?

long story short i am a mont blanc stan and white cishet men need to be humbled. this book is literally the definition of fuck around and find out.

--
original review

WOW.

One of the most powerful books I have ever read that speaks so much about compassion and humanity. I feel on the verge of tears, it was so moving. This is like Phantom of the Opera times a thousand. And I love POTO.
]]> Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body 26074156 New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist: a searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself.

“I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. I buried the girl I was because she ran into all kinds of trouble. I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, somewhere. . . . I was trapped in my body, one that I barely recognized or understood, but at least I was safe.�

In her phenomenally popular essays and long-running Tumblr blog, Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and body, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. As a woman who describes her own body as “wildly undisciplined,� Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care. In Hunger, she explores her past—including the devastating act of violence that acted as a turning point in her young life—and brings readers along on her journey to understand and ultimately save herself.

With the bracing candor, vulnerability, and power that have made her one of the most admired writers of her generation, Roxane explores what it means to learn to take care of yourself: how to feed your hungers for delicious and satisfying food, a smaller and safer body, and a body that can love and be loved—in a time when the bigger you are, the smaller your world becomes.]]> 306 Roxane Gay 0062362593 Whitney 5
TW: Rape, anorexia/bulimia, fatphobia

This doesn’t speak exactly to my experiences—and I wouldn’t expect it to because Roxane and I have very different experiences and personalities—but regardless, this is the most validating book I’ve read to date about being fat. It might be the only book I’ve read about being heavy that confirms that I can be happy with myself just for me, not only when a guy loves me or if I lose weight. It’s as much about fixing harmful institutions of society as it is fixing our own harmful internalizations about being fat. I’m about to cry typing this just because it feels so goddamn good to read a book from someone who knows. Who has the same thoughts I’ve only ever written about in diaries and cried myself to sleep about but she voices so perfectly. Not fitting into chairs. Envying people with eating disorders but knowing how wrong it is. Struggling with how you want to look versus how society wants you to look, and whether you deserve, or can even achieve, either. Roxane wrote this for herself, but it's a book I think everyone should read, regardless of if you can relate to it. It's a necessary book and i'm so glad I read it.

This book is a masterpiece. I’m speechless.]]> 4.17 2017 Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
author: Roxane Gay
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/02/26
date added: 2023/09/02
shelves: feminism, memoir, favorites, favs-of-2018, made-me-cry, read-in-2018, fat-rep
review:
I want to give this a million stars. I want to buy every one of you reading this a copy. WOW.

TW: Rape, anorexia/bulimia, fatphobia

This doesn’t speak exactly to my experiences—and I wouldn’t expect it to because Roxane and I have very different experiences and personalities—but regardless, this is the most validating book I’ve read to date about being fat. It might be the only book I’ve read about being heavy that confirms that I can be happy with myself just for me, not only when a guy loves me or if I lose weight. It’s as much about fixing harmful institutions of society as it is fixing our own harmful internalizations about being fat. I’m about to cry typing this just because it feels so goddamn good to read a book from someone who knows. Who has the same thoughts I’ve only ever written about in diaries and cried myself to sleep about but she voices so perfectly. Not fitting into chairs. Envying people with eating disorders but knowing how wrong it is. Struggling with how you want to look versus how society wants you to look, and whether you deserve, or can even achieve, either. Roxane wrote this for herself, but it's a book I think everyone should read, regardless of if you can relate to it. It's a necessary book and i'm so glad I read it.

This book is a masterpiece. I’m speechless.
]]> <![CDATA[Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World]]> 56354
Starting with women in pre-history the author looks beyond the myth of ‘Man the Hunter� to reveal women’s central role in the survival and evolution of the human race. She follows their progress from the days when God was a woman through to the triumphs of the Amazons and Assyrian war queens: she looks at the rise of organised religion and the growing oppression of women: she charts the long slow struggle for women’s rights culminating in the twentieth century women’s movements: and finally she presents a vision of women breaking free.

This brilliant and absorbing book turns the spotlight on the hidden side of history to present a fascinating new view of the world, overturning our preconceptions to restore women to their rightful place at the centre of the worldwide story of revolution, empire, war and peace.

Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped history, celebrating the work and lives of the unsung female millions, distinguished by a wealth of research, The Women’s History of the World redefines the concept of historical reality.]]> 352 Rosalind Miles 0609806955 Whitney 4
As a book from the 1990s there were a few things I think could've been modernized if the book were rewritten today, like a bigger focus on non-Western/white societies and better intersectionality. The N word was used in the last chapter, and it was in bad taste to cite white authors talking about abolitionism and civil rights rather than Black writers. My rating more reflects the first half of the book where I highly enjoyed learning about women's roles in society previous to modern times and before industrialization.]]> 3.82 1989 Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World
author: Rosalind Miles
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/30
date added: 2023/09/02
shelves: read-in-2022, favs-of-2022, favorites
review:
This book gave me too much power. Reading this with my bestie Bonnie, I was stopping every other sentence to declare I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT!! every time the book talked about how women were previously the most powerful gender in society. I liked some chapters in this book more than others, and sometimes the sentence structure could be so long and convoluted that the author's message was lost. But her tone was so hilarious and it made me really interested in picking up more books on this subject.

As a book from the 1990s there were a few things I think could've been modernized if the book were rewritten today, like a bigger focus on non-Western/white societies and better intersectionality. The N word was used in the last chapter, and it was in bad taste to cite white authors talking about abolitionism and civil rights rather than Black writers. My rating more reflects the first half of the book where I highly enjoyed learning about women's roles in society previous to modern times and before industrialization.
]]> <![CDATA[Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)]]> 23437156 Alternate cover of ISBN 9781627792127

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.]]> 480 Leigh Bardugo 1627792120 Whitney 5
i'm addicted ????? yikes ???????]]> 4.47 2015 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/07
date added: 2023/07/02
shelves: read-in-2017, favs-of-2017, need-to-reread, made-me-cry, favorites, fat-rep
review:
finished this at 3:30 AM this morning crying at the line "i will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker, or I will not have you at all."

i'm addicted ????? yikes ???????
]]> <![CDATA[Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2)]]> 22299763
Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives.

Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties.

A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets - a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.]]> 561 Leigh Bardugo Whitney 5 4.58 2016 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2017/04/09
date added: 2023/07/02
shelves: favorites, read-in-2017, favs-of-2017, made-me-cry, fat-rep
review:
Something almost makes me want to lean toward giving this 4.5 stars because parts of it did begin to drag, but the ending made me cry for half an hour so here i am like the trashman i am, giving a generous but bitter 5 stars
]]> Furyborn (Empirium, #1) 34323570 The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.]]> 497 Claire Legrand 1492656623 Whitney 5 Reread rating: ★★★★�

June 2022

I remain convinced that this is one of the best and most underrated YA series of all time. What this first book lacks in speed and depth, the rest of the series make up for it twofold. I was weeping while rereading this just from the sheer fact of knowing how it ends, so all the foreshadowing and flashbacks were that much more impactful. I can see why I rated it 3 stars the first time around because it keeps you in the dark on some things that end up being very significant, but over the course of the series I grew to love these characters so much and now any subsequent rereads are going to be 5 stars, no matter what. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series.


March 2020

Thanks Sourcebooks for the review copy!

3.5 stars

During the first half of this book, I was convinced I would give it 4.5 stars. I was really liking it, and my vlog footage matched that same excitement. but the last 100 pages of this book lost so much steam, it's like the author got tired of writing it and just flung her characters into situations without thinking whether it's realistic or explained enough.

The main character Eliana reminds me so much of Lou from Serpent & Dove. She lives just to survive, so she'll switch to any alliance or do whatever's necessary to protect her friends and family. This made her interesting.... but also seemed a little like a Celaena wannabe at times. Still, I liked her banter with the Wolf and I thought she was smart--again, excluding the final 100 pages.

The biggest disappointment here for me was how the plot points didn't really fall into place. This book was trying to be an assassin book, an elemental magic book, [spoilers removed] and an angel book all at once, and it just got confusing and underexplained. The plot point about angels should have been cut, in my opinion.

Also I'm a little upset about the rushed romance--or not even romance, but just how the Wolf went from being a great stoic character to randomly a smitten jokester. His development was so lazy and I didn't understand the shift from "you're terrible i hate you" to "i would bow on my knees to you, my life is dedicated toward you."

So many small pieces of this didn't fall into place for me, so I'm gonna try out book two and see if it solidifies anything. But I did like that this book was a dual POV and had a really steamy scene for it being a YA book.]]> 3.77 2018 Furyborn (Empirium, #1)
author: Claire Legrand
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/10
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: smutty, sent-from-pub, read-in-2020, favorites, lgbtqiap, made-me-cry, read-in-2022
review:
Original rating: ★★★☆�
Reread rating: ★★★★�

June 2022

I remain convinced that this is one of the best and most underrated YA series of all time. What this first book lacks in speed and depth, the rest of the series make up for it twofold. I was weeping while rereading this just from the sheer fact of knowing how it ends, so all the foreshadowing and flashbacks were that much more impactful. I can see why I rated it 3 stars the first time around because it keeps you in the dark on some things that end up being very significant, but over the course of the series I grew to love these characters so much and now any subsequent rereads are going to be 5 stars, no matter what. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series.


March 2020

Thanks Sourcebooks for the review copy!

3.5 stars

During the first half of this book, I was convinced I would give it 4.5 stars. I was really liking it, and my vlog footage matched that same excitement. but the last 100 pages of this book lost so much steam, it's like the author got tired of writing it and just flung her characters into situations without thinking whether it's realistic or explained enough.

The main character Eliana reminds me so much of Lou from Serpent & Dove. She lives just to survive, so she'll switch to any alliance or do whatever's necessary to protect her friends and family. This made her interesting.... but also seemed a little like a Celaena wannabe at times. Still, I liked her banter with the Wolf and I thought she was smart--again, excluding the final 100 pages.

The biggest disappointment here for me was how the plot points didn't really fall into place. This book was trying to be an assassin book, an elemental magic book, [spoilers removed] and an angel book all at once, and it just got confusing and underexplained. The plot point about angels should have been cut, in my opinion.

Also I'm a little upset about the rushed romance--or not even romance, but just how the Wolf went from being a great stoic character to randomly a smitten jokester. His development was so lazy and I didn't understand the shift from "you're terrible i hate you" to "i would bow on my knees to you, my life is dedicated toward you."

So many small pieces of this didn't fall into place for me, so I'm gonna try out book two and see if it solidifies anything. But I did like that this book was a dual POV and had a really steamy scene for it being a YA book.
]]> <![CDATA[A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)]]> 17927395
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.]]> 626 Sarah J. Maas Whitney 5
i've typed and deleted this review for the past ten minutes. it's hard to review this book in a way that doesn't give too much credit to sarah j maas because i cannot emphasize enough how deeply troubled i am by her massive fame despite her problematic stances. all i can say is that i'm troubled by how much i enjoyed it.

--

Probably one of the most game-changing books I have ever read. My love for Rhysand might be usurp my love for Warner.

update january 2018:
nevermind lol]]> 4.60 2016 A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2022/03/13
date added: 2022/03/13
shelves: favorites, read-in-2016, smutty, superior-enemies-to-lovers, read-in-2022
review:
reread in 2022

i've typed and deleted this review for the past ten minutes. it's hard to review this book in a way that doesn't give too much credit to sarah j maas because i cannot emphasize enough how deeply troubled i am by her massive fame despite her problematic stances. all i can say is that i'm troubled by how much i enjoyed it.

--

Probably one of the most game-changing books I have ever read. My love for Rhysand might be usurp my love for Warner.

update january 2018:
nevermind lol
]]> Disgrace 409449 Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 1999

Set in post-apartheid South Africa, Nobel Prize winner J. M. Coetzee's searing novel tells the story of David Lurie, a twice divorced 52-year-old professor of communications and Romantic Poetry at Cape Technical University.

Lurie believes he has created a comfortable, if somewhat passionless, life for himself. He lives within his financial and emotional means. Though his position at the university has been reduced, he teaches his classes dutifully; and while age has diminished his attractiveness, weekly visits to a prostitute satisfy his sexual needs. He considers himself happy. But when Lurie seduces one of his students, he sets in motion a chain of events that will shatter his complacency and leave him utterly disgraced.

Lurie pursues his relationship with the young Melanie - whom he describes as having hips "as slim as a 12-year-old's" - obsessively and narcissistically, ignoring, on one occasion, her wish not to have sex. When Melanie and her father lodge a complaint against him, Lurie is brought before an academic committee where he admits he is guilty of all the charges but refuses to express any repentance for his acts. In the furor of the scandal, jeered at by students, threatened by Melanie's boyfriend, ridiculed by his ex-wife, Lurie is forced to resign and flees Cape Town for his daughter Lucy's small holding in the country.

Written with the austere clarity that has made J. M. Coetzee the winner of two Booker Prizes, Disgrace explores the downfall of one man and dramatizes, with unforgettable, at times almost unbearable, vividness the plight of a country caught in the chaotic aftermath of centuries of racial oppression.]]> 220 J.M. Coetzee Whitney 5 3.81 1999 Disgrace
author: J.M. Coetzee
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2016/09/26
date added: 2021/07/14
shelves: read-in-2016, favorites, for-class
review:
This was an amazing book about a main character with an ambiguous moral compass. It was infuriating, it was interesting, it was just such a ride. Major trigger warning for rape and pedophilia, since pretty much the entire book revolves around that. But I just loved this. It made me think so much and we had amazing discussions in class. Highly recommend!
]]> <![CDATA[The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)]]> 2767052
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.]]> 374 Suzanne Collins Whitney 4 4.34 2008 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2012/01/01
date added: 2021/06/17
shelves: favorites, feminism, read-before-booktube, goodreads-top-100
review:

]]> The Fault in Our Stars 11870085
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.]]> 313 John Green Whitney 5 4.13 2012 The Fault in Our Stars
author: John Green
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2014/11/02
date added: 2021/06/17
shelves: favorites, read-in-2014, need-to-reread, made-me-cry, goodreads-top-100
review:
I feel guilty marking this as a reread because I only skim-read it for The Traveling Book but it still took me about 2 hours and I cried so I think it counts!
]]> The Book Thief 19063 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

(Note: this title was not published as YA fiction)]]> 592 Markus Zusak Whitney 5 this book is no joke. i was going to give it 4 stars because i thought it was a little too long-winded but truly it is a masterpiece and thank you thank you thank you to everyone that persuaded me to read it.]]> 4.38 2005 The Book Thief
author: Markus Zusak
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2015/02/17
date added: 2021/06/17
shelves: favorites, audiobook, read-in-2015, need-to-reread, made-me-cry, goodreads-top-100
review:
i have no words. never in my life have i sobbed so hard at a book. i had to put my knitting down, then i had to stop the audio book because i was crying too hard.
this book is no joke. i was going to give it 4 stars because i thought it was a little too long-winded but truly it is a masterpiece and thank you thank you thank you to everyone that persuaded me to read it.
]]> <![CDATA[Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)]]> 26114463
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?]]> 427 Jay Kristoff 1250073022 Whitney 5 4.19 2016 Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)
author: Jay Kristoff
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/27
date added: 2020/03/29
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2020, read-in-2020, smutty
review:
yall were right. it's really good. i have nothing else to add. it was just very good.
]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)]]> 1232 487 Carlos Ruiz Zafón Whitney 5
This book is the perfect mix of dark brooding mystery with a wistful romance and a melancholy, bookish main character. There's so many elements that are effortlessly held afloat by the gorgeous, melodic, and yet digestible writing. I tabbed the everloving sunshine out of this book because there's so many astute and haunting lines; Zafón is truly a talented writer who I certainly see myself reading more from.

My only issue throughout the book was the way the mystery unfolded, but it was more of a user error because I took so long to read this book that between sittings, I would forget all the details about which character is who. Also, the perspective jumping from character to character could be a bit startling, but by the end of this book when I spent the last 50 pages sobbing and hugging my cat as I read on, I couldn't give a single damn about this minor storytelling blip.

Very few books earn the title of a masterpiece from me, but this is one of them. It takes you on a complete journey with characters so lifelike and human, eccentric and lovely, twisted and vile. I foresee this being a book that, when I pass it in a book shop, I will stroke its spine lovingly and remember the hours I spent cuddled with it, lost in its alternating gloomy and hopeful moods.]]> 4.26 2001 The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)
author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/20
date added: 2019/10/20
shelves: read-in-2019, favorites, favs-of-2019, made-me-cry
review:
I loved this book so much that I feel like my tears should speak for themselves and I don't even need to review it. At the same time, I want to shout from the rooftops about how good this book is. So here I am.

This book is the perfect mix of dark brooding mystery with a wistful romance and a melancholy, bookish main character. There's so many elements that are effortlessly held afloat by the gorgeous, melodic, and yet digestible writing. I tabbed the everloving sunshine out of this book because there's so many astute and haunting lines; Zafón is truly a talented writer who I certainly see myself reading more from.

My only issue throughout the book was the way the mystery unfolded, but it was more of a user error because I took so long to read this book that between sittings, I would forget all the details about which character is who. Also, the perspective jumping from character to character could be a bit startling, but by the end of this book when I spent the last 50 pages sobbing and hugging my cat as I read on, I couldn't give a single damn about this minor storytelling blip.

Very few books earn the title of a masterpiece from me, but this is one of them. It takes you on a complete journey with characters so lifelike and human, eccentric and lovely, twisted and vile. I foresee this being a book that, when I pass it in a book shop, I will stroke its spine lovingly and remember the hours I spent cuddled with it, lost in its alternating gloomy and hopeful moods.
]]> <![CDATA[Sorcery of Thorns (Sorcery of Thorns, #1)]]> 42201395
Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.]]> 456 Margaret Rogerson 1481497618 Whitney 5
Don't let this book fool you and let you think it's just another author trying to capitalize off of having the word "Thorns" in the title to appear like a Sarah J. Maas knock-off. This is my favorite book of 2019, and Sarah J. Maas should be SHAKING right now. I read this author's debut book, An Enchantment of Ravens, and hated it, so I was skeptical going into it. But I knew within the first chapter of this book that it was going to be something else entirely on a whole different level, and it was. The glow up this author went through, in my opinion, is UNREAL.

The writing style? STUNNING
The characters? BRILLIANT
The romance? SOFT
The plot? I'M RUNNING OUT OF ADJECTIVES

When I say this book is unique, I don't mean it's ~special~ or it's ~interesting~. I mean there is literally not a single book out there that has done what this book has done. It has the cozy, library vibe of Harry Potter. It has the demonic tinge and 19th century flare of The Infernal Devices. It has the magical angst of a Sarah J. Maas book. And yet it did all of that together flawlessly, and better than all the previous series combined.

I adored the main character, who was a wallflower and quiet but also had a side of her that was fiercely loyal, honest, and willing to question injustice. I'm always a sucker for characters who fight to do good despite their circumstances, and Elisabeth definitely embodied that. I particularly loved her because SHE SUFFERS FROM PANIC ATTACKS!!! and yet is a smart, badass heroine. Also, she is described as being tall and that fact is very present in the book, and it made my tall girl heart soar!! Nathaniel was also a dynamic character who both filled the role of sassy, broody, BISEXUAL!!!!! love interest but was also an entire person on his own with a lineage and backstory that speaks a lot to his development. Them together was such an interesting pair and would I have complained if we got more smut? Absolutely not.


For the majority of this book, I did not have a single complaint. It was gripping with everyone scene flowing seamlessly to the next. I adored every side character. The writing was magnificent and awe-inspiring; flowery without being too self-important. The characters jumped off the page and had realistic moral complexities. Typing this review, I feel like my fingers can't move fast enough to list its good qualities. But the one part (literally, the single only thing) that I wish this book were stronger about was the development of the villain. The main character discovers very quickly who is behind all of the nefarious activities going on, and from there, it's a pretty straight line to preventing that person from succeeding in their great plans. Although I feel the magical and political conflict was developed well, I wish the villain's side of the story were better explained or maybe even reworked to be less generic because the evil they were stopping was massive, and yet it felt like the reason that evil was being provoked was something quite basic and irrelevant.

But despite that small grievance, I will be camping out on this author's doorstep for a sequel. I know it's a standalone, but these characters and this world have captured my heart and I refuse to let go. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I don't have a good enough parting line to leave you with other than this is going to be my obsession for a very long time and I will stop at nothing to insist you all read it immediately.]]> 4.03 2019 Sorcery of Thorns (Sorcery of Thorns, #1)
author: Margaret Rogerson
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/25
date added: 2019/07/25
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2019, from-library, lgbtqiap, made-me-cry, read-in-2019
review:
THIS BOOK SAID TALL GIRL RIGHTS!!!! THIS BOOK SAID BISEXUAL RIGHTS!!!!!

Don't let this book fool you and let you think it's just another author trying to capitalize off of having the word "Thorns" in the title to appear like a Sarah J. Maas knock-off. This is my favorite book of 2019, and Sarah J. Maas should be SHAKING right now. I read this author's debut book, An Enchantment of Ravens, and hated it, so I was skeptical going into it. But I knew within the first chapter of this book that it was going to be something else entirely on a whole different level, and it was. The glow up this author went through, in my opinion, is UNREAL.

The writing style? STUNNING
The characters? BRILLIANT
The romance? SOFT
The plot? I'M RUNNING OUT OF ADJECTIVES

When I say this book is unique, I don't mean it's ~special~ or it's ~interesting~. I mean there is literally not a single book out there that has done what this book has done. It has the cozy, library vibe of Harry Potter. It has the demonic tinge and 19th century flare of The Infernal Devices. It has the magical angst of a Sarah J. Maas book. And yet it did all of that together flawlessly, and better than all the previous series combined.

I adored the main character, who was a wallflower and quiet but also had a side of her that was fiercely loyal, honest, and willing to question injustice. I'm always a sucker for characters who fight to do good despite their circumstances, and Elisabeth definitely embodied that. I particularly loved her because SHE SUFFERS FROM PANIC ATTACKS!!! and yet is a smart, badass heroine. Also, she is described as being tall and that fact is very present in the book, and it made my tall girl heart soar!! Nathaniel was also a dynamic character who both filled the role of sassy, broody, BISEXUAL!!!!! love interest but was also an entire person on his own with a lineage and backstory that speaks a lot to his development. Them together was such an interesting pair and would I have complained if we got more smut? Absolutely not.


For the majority of this book, I did not have a single complaint. It was gripping with everyone scene flowing seamlessly to the next. I adored every side character. The writing was magnificent and awe-inspiring; flowery without being too self-important. The characters jumped off the page and had realistic moral complexities. Typing this review, I feel like my fingers can't move fast enough to list its good qualities. But the one part (literally, the single only thing) that I wish this book were stronger about was the development of the villain. The main character discovers very quickly who is behind all of the nefarious activities going on, and from there, it's a pretty straight line to preventing that person from succeeding in their great plans. Although I feel the magical and political conflict was developed well, I wish the villain's side of the story were better explained or maybe even reworked to be less generic because the evil they were stopping was massive, and yet it felt like the reason that evil was being provoked was something quite basic and irrelevant.

But despite that small grievance, I will be camping out on this author's doorstep for a sequel. I know it's a standalone, but these characters and this world have captured my heart and I refuse to let go. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I don't have a good enough parting line to leave you with other than this is going to be my obsession for a very long time and I will stop at nothing to insist you all read it immediately.
]]> Red, White & Royal Blue 41150487
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?]]> 448 Casey McQuiston 1250316774 Whitney 0 4.06 2019 Red, White & Royal Blue
author: Casey McQuiston
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/04/08
date added: 2019/06/26
shelves: sent-from-pub, favorites, favs-of-2019, lgbtqiap, made-me-cry, read-in-2019, romance, superior-enemies-to-lovers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Friend Zone (The Friend Zone, #1)]]> 41945163
Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.

The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.]]> 372 Abby Jimenez Whitney 5
I don't even know where to start but this is the exact brand of romance that I'm obsessed with. The two main characters are snarky and sarcastic and headstrong, but it never comes off as cheesy or unrealistic. Their romance is fraught with tension and angst, but I was invested in their story. Their relationship was SOFT!!!! SO SOFT!!!!!!

This book follows a woman with uterine fibroids, and that representation and seeing how that both affected her having chronic pain and the way that Josh supported her was so, so beautifully done. I was laughing out loud for most of this book, and I cried my entire way through the end. There were some spotty lines every now and then with some distasteful possessiveness or jokes, but the characters and the angst in this really shone through.

If you are a fan of The Hating Game or Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating or anything similar, you HAVE to pick this book up. I think it's my new favorite romance book, and it's getting a full five stars from me.

[spoilers removed]]]> 3.85 2019 The Friend Zone (The Friend Zone, #1)
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/06/15
date added: 2019/06/15
shelves: superior-enemies-to-lovers, smutty, read-in-2019, romance, made-me-cry, favs-of-2019, favorites
review:
I've been crying for the last hour, everything hurts, and I'm SO glad I chose to pick up this book. It's in my top three favorites of the year.

I don't even know where to start but this is the exact brand of romance that I'm obsessed with. The two main characters are snarky and sarcastic and headstrong, but it never comes off as cheesy or unrealistic. Their romance is fraught with tension and angst, but I was invested in their story. Their relationship was SOFT!!!! SO SOFT!!!!!!

This book follows a woman with uterine fibroids, and that representation and seeing how that both affected her having chronic pain and the way that Josh supported her was so, so beautifully done. I was laughing out loud for most of this book, and I cried my entire way through the end. There were some spotty lines every now and then with some distasteful possessiveness or jokes, but the characters and the angst in this really shone through.

If you are a fan of The Hating Game or Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating or anything similar, you HAVE to pick this book up. I think it's my new favorite romance book, and it's getting a full five stars from me.

[spoilers removed]
]]> <![CDATA[And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)]]> 27190613
Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan’s courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother special also makes them targets.

Lada hones her skills as a warrior as she nurtures plans to wreak revenge on the empire that holds her captive. Then she and Radu meet the sultan’s son, Mehmed, and everything changes. Now Mehmed unwittingly stands between Lada and Radu as they transform from siblings to rivals, and the ties of love and loyalty that bind them together are stretched to breaking point.

The first of an epic new trilogy starring the ultimate anti-princess who does not have a gentle heart. Lada knows how to wield a sword, and she'll stop at nothing to keep herself and her brother alive.]]> 475 Kiersten White 0553522310 Whitney 5 Representation in this book: Gay MC, lesbian side couple, mostly Islamic characters

4.5 Stars
I'M SO GLAD I DIDN'T GIVE UP ON THIS! It was a very pleasant- although disturbing- surprise. What happened is that I began this book on audiobook and failed miserably at comprehending its storyline, so I put it down around page 150 and ended up forgetting about it for a few months. When I picked it up, I decided to completely reread it from the beginning with just the text (this is unusual for me-- usually i'll give up on something or pick up where i left off and hope i don't get confused. so i was DEVOTED to giving this book a good chance at impressing me.) I do NOT regret rereading this and going slow. It's so worth it.

A lot of people mention that this is really slow, and although it's almost 500 pages and you see the progression of the characters over several years of their lives, I would disagree that this book is slow. Perhaps it's slow-burning, but the pace itself was never dragging to me. I was never uninterested. It's an unconventional storytelling method for YA, but I thought it was crucial to the character development to show the characters in their youth. It also prevented a plethora of flashback scenes.

This book an incredible ride, mostly because it’s like nothing I’ve read before and there is such a maturity to the content and the characters� complexities. I ADORE both of our main characters, brother and sister Radu and Lada. This book technically centers on Lada because she is the female version of Vlad the Impaler, who the story is modeled after, but I really have a soft spot in my heart for Radu. I loved that Lada had a fresh fierceness to her that I dare to say rivals most YA female characters who claim to be badass. She has a strength that wasn't just all bark with no bite; she had the sassy attitude with the actual strength and intelligence to back it up.

On the other hand, Radu stole my heart because I'm just a complete sucker for gentle, kind characters that are thrust into an unforgiving world. His transformation was especially meaningful for me because even after everything he endured, he still retained this optimism that one would assume would have been gouged out of him after all he's experienced.

Radu was also SUCH an admirable character just because of the circumstances of he and his sister being forced to live in the Ottoman empire. Lada is vocal about how she finds Islam ridiculous--which is why i've put a content warning for islamophobia--but Radu oppositely learns to embrace the religion and the Ottoman culture and his level of respect for it, although it was something he was supposed to outright oppose, I thought was so mindful of the author and very admirable for his character.

I could keep going on and on about the characters, because again they have such intricate complexities and transformations, but I think I've gone on enough. One complaint I would have about the characters, however, is that there are a lot of them. And I got most of the way through this book before realizing that there is a character list (and a glossary!!) in the back of this book, spoiler-free. ARRGGHHH, PUBLISHERS! PUT THIS AT THE BEGINNING!

The plot was, as I mentioned earlier, fascinating. For the most part, I followed everything easily, there were compelling twists, and my attention was captured enough to read this book in hours-long sittings at a time, which is unusual for me this year. One weird thing that I noticed about White's storytelling, however, is that sometimes she'll build up to a ~really important~ event, or an event that seems important that's detailed in a letter, but she'll miraculously skip that scene and just put the reader in a later scene after it's been resolved. For example, the characters spent a whole chapter making a plan about how they were going to sneak into the city, arguing options and everything, then the very next scene is them inside the castle after completing the sneak-in. This doesn't seem like much, but the skips often felt unnatural and left me feeling hanging a few times, which also might be a reason why the audiobook was choppy and hard to follow. This book does deal with a few time skips because it takes place over several years, but I do think that the progression of time was handled well, just not these random skips that exclude a scene that would seem to be important.

The writing was also lovely. Both the descriptions of imagery and inner monologue were moving, and it's very hard to impress me with writing style. There were points in the book where there were just such punchy lines of dialogue and such emotional conversation or inner monologue that I actually had to close the book and walk around because it was so moving or angsty. I love when a book makes me do that. I have such respect for a book that makes me empathetic for the characters, that makes me want to enter the book myself just so I can alleviate some of the awkwardness or angst or heartbreak.

I did go ahead and pick up the second book, but got half a chapter in before deciding I'm gonna let the series rest for a little bit before returning to it. Nevertheless, I adored this first book in a way that I didn't anticipate I would, and I definitely plan on continuing it. Radu and Lada are characters that I think will stick with me for a long time.

Note on homophobia: This is set in the 1400s, and in an Islamic nation, so there is a general air of needing to hide any attraction for same-sex partners. Some characters express discomfort about gay relationships, including Lada.]]> 3.81 2016 And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)
author: Kiersten White
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2017/11/07
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: audiobook, read-in-2017, favs-of-2017, feminism, lgbtqiap, favorites
review:
TW: Attempted rape, gore/violence, homophobia, islamophobia
Representation in this book: Gay MC, lesbian side couple, mostly Islamic characters

4.5 Stars
I'M SO GLAD I DIDN'T GIVE UP ON THIS! It was a very pleasant- although disturbing- surprise. What happened is that I began this book on audiobook and failed miserably at comprehending its storyline, so I put it down around page 150 and ended up forgetting about it for a few months. When I picked it up, I decided to completely reread it from the beginning with just the text (this is unusual for me-- usually i'll give up on something or pick up where i left off and hope i don't get confused. so i was DEVOTED to giving this book a good chance at impressing me.) I do NOT regret rereading this and going slow. It's so worth it.

A lot of people mention that this is really slow, and although it's almost 500 pages and you see the progression of the characters over several years of their lives, I would disagree that this book is slow. Perhaps it's slow-burning, but the pace itself was never dragging to me. I was never uninterested. It's an unconventional storytelling method for YA, but I thought it was crucial to the character development to show the characters in their youth. It also prevented a plethora of flashback scenes.

This book an incredible ride, mostly because it’s like nothing I’ve read before and there is such a maturity to the content and the characters� complexities. I ADORE both of our main characters, brother and sister Radu and Lada. This book technically centers on Lada because she is the female version of Vlad the Impaler, who the story is modeled after, but I really have a soft spot in my heart for Radu. I loved that Lada had a fresh fierceness to her that I dare to say rivals most YA female characters who claim to be badass. She has a strength that wasn't just all bark with no bite; she had the sassy attitude with the actual strength and intelligence to back it up.

On the other hand, Radu stole my heart because I'm just a complete sucker for gentle, kind characters that are thrust into an unforgiving world. His transformation was especially meaningful for me because even after everything he endured, he still retained this optimism that one would assume would have been gouged out of him after all he's experienced.

Radu was also SUCH an admirable character just because of the circumstances of he and his sister being forced to live in the Ottoman empire. Lada is vocal about how she finds Islam ridiculous--which is why i've put a content warning for islamophobia--but Radu oppositely learns to embrace the religion and the Ottoman culture and his level of respect for it, although it was something he was supposed to outright oppose, I thought was so mindful of the author and very admirable for his character.

I could keep going on and on about the characters, because again they have such intricate complexities and transformations, but I think I've gone on enough. One complaint I would have about the characters, however, is that there are a lot of them. And I got most of the way through this book before realizing that there is a character list (and a glossary!!) in the back of this book, spoiler-free. ARRGGHHH, PUBLISHERS! PUT THIS AT THE BEGINNING!

The plot was, as I mentioned earlier, fascinating. For the most part, I followed everything easily, there were compelling twists, and my attention was captured enough to read this book in hours-long sittings at a time, which is unusual for me this year. One weird thing that I noticed about White's storytelling, however, is that sometimes she'll build up to a ~really important~ event, or an event that seems important that's detailed in a letter, but she'll miraculously skip that scene and just put the reader in a later scene after it's been resolved. For example, the characters spent a whole chapter making a plan about how they were going to sneak into the city, arguing options and everything, then the very next scene is them inside the castle after completing the sneak-in. This doesn't seem like much, but the skips often felt unnatural and left me feeling hanging a few times, which also might be a reason why the audiobook was choppy and hard to follow. This book does deal with a few time skips because it takes place over several years, but I do think that the progression of time was handled well, just not these random skips that exclude a scene that would seem to be important.

The writing was also lovely. Both the descriptions of imagery and inner monologue were moving, and it's very hard to impress me with writing style. There were points in the book where there were just such punchy lines of dialogue and such emotional conversation or inner monologue that I actually had to close the book and walk around because it was so moving or angsty. I love when a book makes me do that. I have such respect for a book that makes me empathetic for the characters, that makes me want to enter the book myself just so I can alleviate some of the awkwardness or angst or heartbreak.

I did go ahead and pick up the second book, but got half a chapter in before deciding I'm gonna let the series rest for a little bit before returning to it. Nevertheless, I adored this first book in a way that I didn't anticipate I would, and I definitely plan on continuing it. Radu and Lada are characters that I think will stick with me for a long time.

Note on homophobia: This is set in the 1400s, and in an Islamic nation, so there is a general air of needing to hide any attraction for same-sex partners. Some characters express discomfort about gay relationships, including Lada.
]]> Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2) 13104080
It should have taken Juliette a single touch to kill Warner. But his mysterious immunity to her deadly power has left her shaken, wondering why her ultimate defense mechanism failed against the person she most needs protection from.

She and Adam were able to escape Warner’s clutches and join up with a group of rebels, many of whom have powers of their own. Juliette will finally be able to actively fight against The Reestablishment and try to fix her broken world. And perhaps these new allies can help her shed light on the secret behind Adam’s—and Warner’s—immunity to her killer skin.

Juliette’s world is packed with high-stakes action and tantalizing romance, perfect for fans of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard and the Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken.

Ransom Riggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, raved: "A thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love, the Shatter Me series is a must-read for fans of dystopian young-adult literature—or any literature!"]]> 480 Tahereh Mafi 0062085530 Whitney 5 Reread Feb 2018
WHAT CAN I SAY I LOVE IT!!! And I can't believe this is like the 5th time I've read this and I still noticed new things.
This reread I was really focused on the dynamics between Juliette and Warner and Juliette and Adam. There's so much new stuff I noticed about how Adam drags her down versus how Warner exalts her and builds her confidence. Ugh I love it. Also chapter 62 is still the best chapter of all time and my favorite scene from the whole series is chapter 50 in this book so I was thoroughly clutching my heart the entire time

Reread April 2017
I have always said that this is my favorite book in the series. Accordingly, I have read it only sparingly, because it gives me so many emotions that it basically inhibits my functionality after I finish it. So why did I pick this up in the middle of the semester? No idea. But returning to this was such a grand 'ol time, especially because it's been nearly 3 years since I've reread it and I was reacquainted with some scenes that I had forgotten even existed.
One thing I will say, though, that is sort of breaking my heart, is that I did not have such a reaction to this book that I used to have. I don't know if it's because i'm in college now, if i'm in some weird reading mood, if i needed to have read the series chronologically, but I really felt numb to this entire thing. I remember the last time I read Unravel Me, I had to actually put it down because I was sobbing and it was affecting me so hard that I had to take frequent breaks. This time? I barely batted an eyelash rereading some of my favorite scenes. No butterflies. No breaks.
I don't know if this means I'm somehow moving on but this book will always hold a special place in my heart and I love it so much, even if my teenage fangirling tendencies are (apparently) wearing off. I anticipate I'll read Ignite Me when I'm home on Easter break.

reread july 2014
(giggling at this old review)


February 2013
WHAT

I NEED THE SEQUEL
OH MY GOSH THIS HAD A TWIST ON LIKE EVERY PAGE AND I CANNOT WAAAAAAIT TO SEE HOW SHE RESOLVES EVERYTHING AND WRAPS IT UP AND OH MY FREAKING POOPERSNICKLE GOODNESS TAHEREH MAFI YOU HAVE AMIED YOUR CAREER TO RUIN MY LIFE


i need to go lay down]]> 4.11 2013 Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2018/02/13
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: favorites, read-in-2017, read-in-2018, read-in-2013, read-in-2014, smutty, superior-enemies-to-lovers
review:
Reread Feb 2018
WHAT CAN I SAY I LOVE IT!!! And I can't believe this is like the 5th time I've read this and I still noticed new things.
This reread I was really focused on the dynamics between Juliette and Warner and Juliette and Adam. There's so much new stuff I noticed about how Adam drags her down versus how Warner exalts her and builds her confidence. Ugh I love it. Also chapter 62 is still the best chapter of all time and my favorite scene from the whole series is chapter 50 in this book so I was thoroughly clutching my heart the entire time

Reread April 2017
I have always said that this is my favorite book in the series. Accordingly, I have read it only sparingly, because it gives me so many emotions that it basically inhibits my functionality after I finish it. So why did I pick this up in the middle of the semester? No idea. But returning to this was such a grand 'ol time, especially because it's been nearly 3 years since I've reread it and I was reacquainted with some scenes that I had forgotten even existed.
One thing I will say, though, that is sort of breaking my heart, is that I did not have such a reaction to this book that I used to have. I don't know if it's because i'm in college now, if i'm in some weird reading mood, if i needed to have read the series chronologically, but I really felt numb to this entire thing. I remember the last time I read Unravel Me, I had to actually put it down because I was sobbing and it was affecting me so hard that I had to take frequent breaks. This time? I barely batted an eyelash rereading some of my favorite scenes. No butterflies. No breaks.
I don't know if this means I'm somehow moving on but this book will always hold a special place in my heart and I love it so much, even if my teenage fangirling tendencies are (apparently) wearing off. I anticipate I'll read Ignite Me when I'm home on Easter break.

reread july 2014
(giggling at this old review)


February 2013
WHAT

I NEED THE SEQUEL
OH MY GOSH THIS HAD A TWIST ON LIKE EVERY PAGE AND I CANNOT WAAAAAAIT TO SEE HOW SHE RESOLVES EVERYTHING AND WRAPS IT UP AND OH MY FREAKING POOPERSNICKLE GOODNESS TAHEREH MAFI YOU HAVE AMIED YOUR CAREER TO RUIN MY LIFE


i need to go lay down
]]> Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3) 13188676
With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn't know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won't keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that's not all he wants with her.

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal and was praised by Publishers Weekly as "a gripping read from an author who's not afraid to take risks."

Don’t miss Restore Me, the electrifying fourth installment of this New York Times bestselling series, available now!]]> 408 Tahereh Mafi 006208559X Whitney 5
March 2018
What can I say. This is my favorite book of all time. Nothing brings me more strength than chapter thirty-nine. Nothing brings me more peace than chapter fifty-eight. I will never get over how every single chapter feels like a roller coaster. I will never not have to put this book down to catch my breath, to cry, to bring myself back to the real world. I've written enough essays about how much this series means to me so i'll stop being emo, but Juliette's growth and her resilience in this book is awe-inspiring. And so incredibly relevant and inspiring to my own mental health. When I annotated this book last September, I attacked the pages with blue highlighter to mark my favorite quotes from Juliette about staying strong, and there's one that makes me cry every time I read the book:

I've been here before, I tell myself. I've been lonelier than this, more hopeless than this, more desperate than this. I've been here before and I survived. I can get through this.

Last semester when I had a relapse of my anxiety that was so debilitating I nearly dropped out of school, I would tell this quote to myself. Rereading it after recovering from that point in my life just slammed into me because I'm so grateful for it. I'm going to cry again right now as I'm typing this just remembering how much this book touches the deepest corners of my heart and speaks so true to my own fears and the way my anxiety influences my life. I know Juliette's not real, but if she were, I would want to hug her and never let go. I want to hug this book and never let go.

I truly want to sob every time I remember this isn't the last book in the series anymore. There's 2 days left until Restore Me comes out and I'm so terrified but so, so thrilled. This series has healed me enough to last for a lifetime; I can't wait to see where we go from here.

September 2017
YES I already read this book once this year buT THEN RESTORE ME WAS ANNOUNCED AND DYLAN SENT ME A COPY TO ANNOTATE SO LET ME LIVE!!!!
So 50% of me reading this book was me being like "omg restore me prediction omg easter egg i didn't notice before omg new theory omg restore me foreshadowing," and the other 50% was me roasting warner and how much i still hate the ending of this book. a lot of people accuse me for putting shatter me on a pedestal but i wish i could mail this copy to anyone who says so because half of my annotations in the first half of this book are like "warner can fuck off instead of trying to get her to be in love with him" and "i hate when he does stuff like this." the boy is problematic, but what can i say.
I think this reread really just solidified how much I fucking love this book for Juliette's character growth. I had an entire highlighter color to highlight the quotes and scenes in which Juliette was particularly badass, and there were entire sections that I think are really undiscussed in the fandom that Juliette really shines through on her own. She has an entire conversation with Kenji about, "It's not about Adam or Warner, it's about me and finding my own strength," and I think it's one of the most important parts of the series and an absolute turning point. It makes me want to cry every time I reread the scene that she talks about, "I was locked up in an asylum for 264 days because I made myself a prisoner to my own thoughts and suffering, but I never even contemplated that my own strength could have broken me out of there with my bare hands." It's so sad, but so revolutionary for Juliette's character development. The way that she unendingly fights for her friends and her world, as well as how she is ALWAYS nice and considerate to people no matter the circumstance, is always really inspiring to me. She's such a good person even when she doesn't need to be, and her empathy and compassion is really something I envy.
I really won't be able to stand her suffering in Restore Me because she is such a precious child of mine that I want to protect.
And since this is the fifth time I've reread this and I think you understand the depths of my feelings for it already, I'll go. But EEEEEEEEPPP RESTORE ME

April 2017
This is the first time that I've read this and finished it, clutching it to my chest, thinking, "this book is flawless. there are zero issues. every action has a meticulously cultivated intention behind it. every single one of these characters deserves love and happiness. (except for adam, he can choke.)
when i reread unravel me i was scared that i was losing my passion for this series because it really didn't make me as emotional as it used to but i legit cried during this reread at least 10 times so i guess i just wasn't feelin unravel me at that moment because i was feelin this every goddamn second.

(i also hate rereading these because it makes me realize that half the fanfictions i have written are super out of character and i have so much wrong info that i forgot about. but oh well.)

March 2015
2nd reread (idk why i didn't re-review this after i reread it the first time)
what can i even say. it gets better every time i reread it, every time i notice new small details. (did you know delalieu has a mustache??????)
i can still point out its flaws and i still am really frustrated with the ending but at this point, i know this book so well that i can see it like it's a freakin movie. it's insane. i love juliette so so so so so so so so so so so so so much, holy shiitake mushrooms. okay. i don't know how to pull myself out of this slump coming on. jeez.

January 2014
I'm filming a review but it will not be up until a couple days after the release date

but guys, prepare yourselves.
anything feelings you had about anything are probably gonna do a 180.

August 2013
I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT
I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IGNITE ME AND THE EYELASHES WOULD BE FLAMES
BUT THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER
even though i hate the color orange BUT THAT'S OKAY OH MY GODS THIS IS MORE THAN FANTASTIC

BUT

warner. why would she. warner. shes just making it seem like. warner.

i don't like this. i do like it but i dont like it
ja feel?

June 2013
WE HAVE A DESCRIPTION ADFHJASKHFLASJDHFLSDIAHFKIDUSHAFLIDAH

okay but you can totally tell that she and warner are gonna be together a lot, so it becomes clear that all the questions she's answered about there being a lot of intimate scenes proves it'll all be with warner unless adam becomes a third wheel which might suck even more.
BUT I NEEEEED THIS BOOK :(

April 2013
I haven't read Unravel Me yet but i'm already excited about this one. Don't judge me.]]> 4.46 2014 Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2018/03/04
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: favorites, read-in-2017, made-me-cry, smutty, read-in-2018, read-in-2015, read-in-2014
review:
VIEW MY REVIEW:

March 2018
What can I say. This is my favorite book of all time. Nothing brings me more strength than chapter thirty-nine. Nothing brings me more peace than chapter fifty-eight. I will never get over how every single chapter feels like a roller coaster. I will never not have to put this book down to catch my breath, to cry, to bring myself back to the real world. I've written enough essays about how much this series means to me so i'll stop being emo, but Juliette's growth and her resilience in this book is awe-inspiring. And so incredibly relevant and inspiring to my own mental health. When I annotated this book last September, I attacked the pages with blue highlighter to mark my favorite quotes from Juliette about staying strong, and there's one that makes me cry every time I read the book:

I've been here before, I tell myself. I've been lonelier than this, more hopeless than this, more desperate than this. I've been here before and I survived. I can get through this.

Last semester when I had a relapse of my anxiety that was so debilitating I nearly dropped out of school, I would tell this quote to myself. Rereading it after recovering from that point in my life just slammed into me because I'm so grateful for it. I'm going to cry again right now as I'm typing this just remembering how much this book touches the deepest corners of my heart and speaks so true to my own fears and the way my anxiety influences my life. I know Juliette's not real, but if she were, I would want to hug her and never let go. I want to hug this book and never let go.

I truly want to sob every time I remember this isn't the last book in the series anymore. There's 2 days left until Restore Me comes out and I'm so terrified but so, so thrilled. This series has healed me enough to last for a lifetime; I can't wait to see where we go from here.

September 2017
YES I already read this book once this year buT THEN RESTORE ME WAS ANNOUNCED AND DYLAN SENT ME A COPY TO ANNOTATE SO LET ME LIVE!!!!
So 50% of me reading this book was me being like "omg restore me prediction omg easter egg i didn't notice before omg new theory omg restore me foreshadowing," and the other 50% was me roasting warner and how much i still hate the ending of this book. a lot of people accuse me for putting shatter me on a pedestal but i wish i could mail this copy to anyone who says so because half of my annotations in the first half of this book are like "warner can fuck off instead of trying to get her to be in love with him" and "i hate when he does stuff like this." the boy is problematic, but what can i say.
I think this reread really just solidified how much I fucking love this book for Juliette's character growth. I had an entire highlighter color to highlight the quotes and scenes in which Juliette was particularly badass, and there were entire sections that I think are really undiscussed in the fandom that Juliette really shines through on her own. She has an entire conversation with Kenji about, "It's not about Adam or Warner, it's about me and finding my own strength," and I think it's one of the most important parts of the series and an absolute turning point. It makes me want to cry every time I reread the scene that she talks about, "I was locked up in an asylum for 264 days because I made myself a prisoner to my own thoughts and suffering, but I never even contemplated that my own strength could have broken me out of there with my bare hands." It's so sad, but so revolutionary for Juliette's character development. The way that she unendingly fights for her friends and her world, as well as how she is ALWAYS nice and considerate to people no matter the circumstance, is always really inspiring to me. She's such a good person even when she doesn't need to be, and her empathy and compassion is really something I envy.
I really won't be able to stand her suffering in Restore Me because she is such a precious child of mine that I want to protect.
And since this is the fifth time I've reread this and I think you understand the depths of my feelings for it already, I'll go. But EEEEEEEEPPP RESTORE ME

April 2017
This is the first time that I've read this and finished it, clutching it to my chest, thinking, "this book is flawless. there are zero issues. every action has a meticulously cultivated intention behind it. every single one of these characters deserves love and happiness. (except for adam, he can choke.)
when i reread unravel me i was scared that i was losing my passion for this series because it really didn't make me as emotional as it used to but i legit cried during this reread at least 10 times so i guess i just wasn't feelin unravel me at that moment because i was feelin this every goddamn second.

(i also hate rereading these because it makes me realize that half the fanfictions i have written are super out of character and i have so much wrong info that i forgot about. but oh well.)

March 2015
2nd reread (idk why i didn't re-review this after i reread it the first time)
what can i even say. it gets better every time i reread it, every time i notice new small details. (did you know delalieu has a mustache??????)
i can still point out its flaws and i still am really frustrated with the ending but at this point, i know this book so well that i can see it like it's a freakin movie. it's insane. i love juliette so so so so so so so so so so so so so much, holy shiitake mushrooms. okay. i don't know how to pull myself out of this slump coming on. jeez.

January 2014
I'm filming a review but it will not be up until a couple days after the release date

but guys, prepare yourselves.
anything feelings you had about anything are probably gonna do a 180.

August 2013
I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT
I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IGNITE ME AND THE EYELASHES WOULD BE FLAMES
BUT THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER
even though i hate the color orange BUT THAT'S OKAY OH MY GODS THIS IS MORE THAN FANTASTIC

BUT

warner. why would she. warner. shes just making it seem like. warner.

i don't like this. i do like it but i dont like it
ja feel?

June 2013
WE HAVE A DESCRIPTION ADFHJASKHFLASJDHFLSDIAHFKIDUSHAFLIDAH

okay but you can totally tell that she and warner are gonna be together a lot, so it becomes clear that all the questions she's answered about there being a lot of intimate scenes proves it'll all be with warner unless adam becomes a third wheel which might suck even more.
BUT I NEEEEED THIS BOOK :(

April 2013
I haven't read Unravel Me yet but i'm already excited about this one. Don't judge me.
]]> <![CDATA[Bright We Burn (The Conqueror's Saga, #3)]]> 22817368 The conclusion to the AND I DARKEN series. Who will live? Who will die? And who will rule triumphant?

SOME LOVES HEAL
Haunted over the unknown fates of Nazira and Cyprian, Radu is called back to the new capital. Mehmed is building an empire, becoming the sultan his people need. But Mehmed has a secret: as emperor, he is more powerful than ever . . . and desperately lonely. Does this mean Radu can finally have more with Mehmed . . . and would he even want it?

SOME LOVES DESTROY
Lada's rule of absolute justice has created a Wallachia free of crime. But Lada won't rest until everyone knows that her country's borders are inviolable. Determined to send a message of defiance, she has the bodies of Mehmed's peace envoy delivered to him, leaving Radu and Mehmed with no choice. If Lada is allowed to continue, only death will prosper. They must go to war against the girl prince, who has truly become the dragon.

SOME LOVES NEVER END
Only by destroying everything that came before--including her relationships--can Lada truly build the country she wants. Radu fears that they are underestimating his sister's indomitable will. But Mehmed knows that he loves Lada. He understands her. She must lose to him so he can keep her safe. It is the only way . . . isn't it?

Claim the throne. Demand the crown. Rule the world.]]> 416 Kiersten White 0525644466 Whitney 5 4.27 2018 Bright We Burn (The Conqueror's Saga, #3)
author: Kiersten White
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/06/24
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2018, made-me-cry, read-in-2018
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating]]> 40189670

Just friends. Just friends. JUST FRIENDS. If they repeat it enough, maybe it’ll be true . . .


Hazel knows she’s a lot to take � and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and taste for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter and tendency to say exactly the wrong thing will. Their loss. Not everyone can handle a Hazel.


Josh has known Hazel since college. From the first night they met � when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes � to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.


Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them . . . right?

]]> 309 Christina Lauren 1501165852 Whitney 5 Thanks to Netgalley for supplying me with a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars

UMM..... THIS WAS SO GOOD!!

I told myself I wouldn't read anymore Christina Lauren because I thought Roomies was a bit bland and not up my alley, but this one just sounded cute so I broke my own rule and WOW I'M SO GLAD I DID THIS IS A NEW FAVORITE OF THE YEAR!

The main thing I love about this book is the main character. She's cute and quirky and fun without trying too hard to be ~different~. She's authentically weird rather than being a manic pixie dream girl, and she's aware of it, AND she's proud of it. She reminded me of Jess from New Girl, which is my favorite show of all time because I love her character so much. That, combined with the fact that she also reminded me of Lucy from The Hating Game made me love her. Her dialogue was always so great--hilarious without EVER being cheesy. She was so refreshing and unlike any character I've read before. Hazel also really validated a small part of me that's insecure that I'll never find anyone because I'm too weird. I've never read a book like this before, like I was receiving a gentle pat on the back. Two thumbs up.

Josh was also SO sweet and mindful and generous and he's the perfect love interest. The dynamic of (sorta) enemies to friends to lovers was also a great slow burn. The pacing of this is exactly what I look for in romance and I would read every book Christina & Lauren write if they do it similar to this one.

As always, Christina & Lauren were really mindful of representation, feminism, and healthy relationships. The love interest and most prominent side character in this are Korean, and their culture was discussed at multiple points in the book (I'll link some ownvoices reviews discussing the rep if I see any once this comes out). However, there were a few times that Hazel would fetishize Koreans because she sexualized Josh's Korean name and the way he sounded when he spoke Korean. It was the only thing I thought was distasteful about this book, and maybe (hopefully) it'll be edited out in the final version. Lastly, there's a lot of candid talking about sex, including discussion about consent and bleeding and other good stuff. Also, there's a lot of fighting back against slut shaming and women being able to do what they want, which I think was great. I just love how the characters in Christina Lauren book will encounter a problem in the relationship or with sex and literally say, "Hey, let's talk about this" rather than avoid each other childishly. SO GOOD! (and yes, that's how low the bar is in romance books to be considered good, people.)

I was warned that the ending of this might be something I'm not into, and I gotta agree that this veered a sharp left at the end. I haven't decided if I liked it or not, but it was definitely *cough* a choice. I'd have to talk about it in a spoilery review. But if this would've ended differently, I probably would have given it 5 stars. (Update: it’s not a bad twist, it’s just a plot point that i think was random to throw in at the END of a book lol. no worries! read it anyway!)

Definitely add this to your TBR if you're looking for some healthy romance that has equal parts cuteness and steaminess. I adored it thoroughly.]]> 3.91 2018 Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
author: Christina Lauren
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/17
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2018, read-in-2018, sent-from-pub, smutty, romance
review:
Thanks to Netgalley for supplying me with a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars

UMM..... THIS WAS SO GOOD!!

I told myself I wouldn't read anymore Christina Lauren because I thought Roomies was a bit bland and not up my alley, but this one just sounded cute so I broke my own rule and WOW I'M SO GLAD I DID THIS IS A NEW FAVORITE OF THE YEAR!

The main thing I love about this book is the main character. She's cute and quirky and fun without trying too hard to be ~different~. She's authentically weird rather than being a manic pixie dream girl, and she's aware of it, AND she's proud of it. She reminded me of Jess from New Girl, which is my favorite show of all time because I love her character so much. That, combined with the fact that she also reminded me of Lucy from The Hating Game made me love her. Her dialogue was always so great--hilarious without EVER being cheesy. She was so refreshing and unlike any character I've read before. Hazel also really validated a small part of me that's insecure that I'll never find anyone because I'm too weird. I've never read a book like this before, like I was receiving a gentle pat on the back. Two thumbs up.

Josh was also SO sweet and mindful and generous and he's the perfect love interest. The dynamic of (sorta) enemies to friends to lovers was also a great slow burn. The pacing of this is exactly what I look for in romance and I would read every book Christina & Lauren write if they do it similar to this one.

As always, Christina & Lauren were really mindful of representation, feminism, and healthy relationships. The love interest and most prominent side character in this are Korean, and their culture was discussed at multiple points in the book (I'll link some ownvoices reviews discussing the rep if I see any once this comes out). However, there were a few times that Hazel would fetishize Koreans because she sexualized Josh's Korean name and the way he sounded when he spoke Korean. It was the only thing I thought was distasteful about this book, and maybe (hopefully) it'll be edited out in the final version. Lastly, there's a lot of candid talking about sex, including discussion about consent and bleeding and other good stuff. Also, there's a lot of fighting back against slut shaming and women being able to do what they want, which I think was great. I just love how the characters in Christina Lauren book will encounter a problem in the relationship or with sex and literally say, "Hey, let's talk about this" rather than avoid each other childishly. SO GOOD! (and yes, that's how low the bar is in romance books to be considered good, people.)

I was warned that the ending of this might be something I'm not into, and I gotta agree that this veered a sharp left at the end. I haven't decided if I liked it or not, but it was definitely *cough* a choice. I'd have to talk about it in a spoilery review. But if this would've ended differently, I probably would have given it 5 stars. (Update: it’s not a bad twist, it’s just a plot point that i think was random to throw in at the END of a book lol. no worries! read it anyway!)

Definitely add this to your TBR if you're looking for some healthy romance that has equal parts cuteness and steaminess. I adored it thoroughly.
]]> The Secret History 29044 559 Donna Tartt 1400031702 Whitney 0 4.17 1992 The Secret History
author: Donna Tartt
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at: 2018/08/21
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2018, read-in-2018
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dark Wild Night (Wild Seasons, #3)]]> 21942340 Librarian's Note: Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
But what didn't happen in Vegas seems to follow them everywhere.

Lola and Oliver like to congratulate themselves on having the good sense to not consummate their drunken Las Vegas wedding. If they’d doubled-down on that mistake, their Just Friends situation might not be half as great as it is now.

... Or so goes the official line.

In reality, Lola’s wanted Oliver since day one—and over time has only fallen harder for his sexy Aussie accent and easygoing ability to take her as she comes. More at home in her studio than in baring herself to people, Lola’s instinctive comfort around Oliver nearly seems too good to be true. So why ruin a good thing?

Even as geek girls fawn over him, Oliver can’t get his mind off what he didn’t do with Lola when he had the chance. He knows what he wants with her now ... and it’s far outside the friend zone. When Lola’s graphic novel starts getting national acclaim—and is then fast-tracked for a major motion picture—Oliver steps up to be there for her whenever she needs him. After all, she’s not the kind of girl who likes all that attention, but maybe she’s the kind who’ll eventually like him.

Sometimes seeing what’s right in front of us takes a great leap of faith. And sometimes a dark wild night in Vegas isn’t just the end of a day, but the beginning of a bright new life...]]> 358 Christina Lauren 1476777942 Whitney 5 3.89 2015 Dark Wild Night (Wild Seasons, #3)
author: Christina Lauren
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/10/20
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: romance, favs-of-2018, read-in-2018, smutty, favorites
review:
i have zero complaints about this book. like, nothing. it was just fun and sweet and realistic and so, so human. i wish i could write a longer review but really all i can say is i wish this book wasn't the third in a series because it's so so good i wish you don't have to read two books before it. i love lola and oliver so much. a best friends to lovers FEAST!! im emo
]]> Restore Me (Shatter Me, #4) 34992929 448 Tahereh Mafi 0062676369 Whitney 5
April 2019
I reread this to annotate it before Defy Me came out and still loved it. It was difficult to annotate because there's a new POV and new characters who i love a lot, so i definitely had a field day putting hearts in the margins. Also I love juliette ferrars so much. SO MUCH.

March 2019
[READ 5--fourth reread]
i reread this spontaneously in preparation for shadow me and that shit HURTED. im thirty times more confused than i was about this book's ending. but the things i enjoyed most about this reread was seeing warner's self-awareness develop and the distinction between different kinds of power and resilience, specifically how juliette has to compartmentalize and separately hone her physical strength and mental strength. loved it as always even though i'm so confused and stressed i could cry

June 2018
[READ 4--third reread]
I really have no updated review for this other than GODDAMN IT, IT STILL ENDED THE SAME WAY AND I NEED ANSWERS. thanks for attending my tedtalk.

March 2018
[READ 3--second reread]
After reading this for a third time and attending Tahereh's instagram livestream q&a, things just kinda settled into place. There's not much I need to add about how much I adore this story. And I have so much faith that the sad or questionable things that happen in this are meaningful and will be expanded upon in the next books. At this point, yeah it's not gonna be rainbows and butterflies during the year we wait for book 5, but I feel so much more eagerness than terror or dread. This story truly grasped characters I loved and somehow helped them grow yet experience new conflicts that are all realistic and complex and natural. I can't wait to see who narrates the next novella. I can't wait to find out more about her parents. [spoilers removed]

(btw warnette didn't break up they're both just dramatic as hell so everyone pls rest)
(also t confirmed warner and juliette will survive the series)
(also t is literally a goddess so why ya'll worried she won't do these characters right)

[READ 2--first reread]
UMMMM STILL PERFECT I'M SORRY!!!! I still have some issues mainly dealing with plot hole issues that'll probably get sorted out in later books [spoilers removed], but really any previous problems I had with characterization or pacing or descriptions fell away during this reread. Like I expected, the more it sinks in and feels like a real book, the better it gets. At this point, half of my review is just Shatter Me 5 predictions, so i'll try and only give my updated thoughts lmao:

-my new favorite scene in the entire series is drunk juliette scene
-warnette angst in this is sSO OOOO GOOD [spoilers removed]
-i think the best line to describe this book is that juliette is dealing with "the frustration of having so much power, so much power and feeling so utterly, completely powerless" (420-421). Once you realize that, NOTHING juliette does comes off as whiney.
-honestly unfollow me if you think warnette are whiney and weak in this book. catch me dead not supporting realistic, complex characters who aren't perfect 24/7 and still have two books of growth.
-i don't hate adam. i'm sorry. especially with how his power could save peoples' lives in the next books, and [spoilers removed] he might save the day.
-kenji is.... everything in this book. the BEST companion for juliette, being there for her and letting her rant and providing comic relief. at the same time, telling warner to get his shit together and being the cheerleader for him that he was for juliette in unravel me. you can see the loyalty and trust developing already and im EMO
-juliette's [spoilers removed] is so powerful and meaningful and my least favorite thing in books is when people [spoilers removed] but this book broke that trope and i couldn't be more proud and i'm so happy that she's happy and she feels the best about herself and now i can't believe [spoilers removed]
-my only complaint about this book is just the awkwardness of presence/consistency. lena is present in the book, but her only role is to be the ex-girlfriend and cause us to stereotypically start hating her, and she outs a trans character and is generally horrible and physically/verbally abusive for no real prevailing reason. the side characters from omega point we've learned to love weren't in the book except for literally like 4 mentions and maybe 2 lines of dialogue. some facts are only present in this book for one or two mentions when they should seemingly be more important, like preparing for important events or [spoilers removed] some parts, like warner's ring or dick tattoo, weren't even referenced at all like they were heavily in the previous trilogy.
-anyway back to good stuff
-CASTLE'S DEAD SONS /?? ?? ?/ 1! !!! ! !!!
-warnette sex scenes? two thumbs up
-things that will never be the same after this book: haircuts, bob dylan, bourbon, the word 'restore', taking anxiety medicine, the ocean, helicopters, lorde, and anyone named ella.

[READ 1--original review]
i'm gonna disclaim right now that when this arrived on my kindle i had such a horrendous panic attack that I thought I would have to delete my twitter and DNF this. I told my friends to spoil me how this ends because I knew I could never stand it otherwise. and i stand by the fact that i would not have made it through this book without knowing what happens. i was so terrified.

but anyway OH MY GOD
i don't have enough characters left in this review to make a list of all the things i loved. there were imperfect parts, and i was wary that i would have to pretend this never happened, but i can only repeat: OH MY GOD

update: fuck it, i'm gonna make a list.

-NAZEERA COULD CHOKE ME WITH HER BARE HANDS AND I WOULD THANK HER FOR IT. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO BLESSED BY A FEMALE FRIENDSHIP. HER CHALLENGING KENJI ABOUT COVERING HER HAIR. HER FLIPPING HIM OFF. [spoilers removed] HER KINDNESS AND COMPANIONSHIP. I'M UTTERLY DECEASED
-warner and anxiety rep. i like.... it's too soon for me to talk about this seriously but i appreciate it more than words can articulate. my heart actually aches writing this because you can never understand how validating it is for my favorite character to be affected by the same disorder as me. i was floored.
-the diversity and discussion of political/social justice topics was [clap emoji] TOO GOOD. (BUT: *it would be a disservice to not mention that reviewers have pointed out the representation of some newer diverse characters is lacking, particularly how the Argentinian characters don't speak an accurate dialect of Spanish, and how the trans character was first outed so violently by a transphobic character.)
-JULIETTE MOTHERFUCKING FERRARS CAN CHOKE ME I LOVE HER SO MUCH OH MY GOD AN ICON, A QUEEN, A SUPERSTAR, MADAME SUPREME OF MY HEART!!! Her comment to Lena "You can call me supreme commander of North America" ASDFHLJK;DDJD
-james and warner talking to each other ohhhhhh my god
-kenji and warner talking to each other ooohhhhhhh my god
-basically anyone other than juliette having a conversation with warner
-also juliette's conversations with warner
-this discusses insecurity and youth and jealousy and regret and healing and ohijdso;kal;gjfdh IT'S SO GOOD
-WARNER SPEAKING ARABIC AND SPANISH IM....... OK (NO IM NOT)
-warner's inner monologue is......... everything. i mean that both literally because of its weight and meaningfulness, but also his sarcasm is perf
-[spoilers removed]
-this book takes place in march.... bitch im just sayin they better sort their shit out so i can get a HAPPY warner birthday scene
-warner and kenji talking about girls fiduhljiasdfkjnlkfgsas
-THAT!!!! FRIKIN!!!!! ENDING!!!!!! WHAAAATTTTTT JULIETTE FERRARS DID THAAATTTTTT

i need a nap ok bye

February 2018
Here's the notes I typed up for my second predictions video!



January 2018
So the sampler for Restore Me came out, giving us 31 beautiful pages of content. I filmed a reaction and theories video, but here's my notes about it.



So far, I would rate this five stars if I could. And that's not just because it's a Tahereh Mafi book--trust me, I was worried about this book. But everything so far is done really smartly and anything I'm upset about is almost entirely driven by the fact that it's not matching up with my expectations, which is an entirely unfounded criticism to make, so i'm withholding it and getting over it.
I NEED MOOOOOOOORE!!!!!

April 2017
Well. Here we are again. I missed you, my babies. It's overdue we meet again.

Today I woke up at 10 AM to my friend (hi Olivia) spam texting me my name over and over, and from that moment, I knew. There was Mafi news today. I was thinking maybe a novella. Maybe a rewrite from Warner's POV. Maybe one sequel. But three books added? I didn't hear anything in any of my classes today. I've cried on and off all day. I can't focus on my homework, can't do anything except refresh Twitter. Only five hours after learning the news about the new book, I filmed a reaction and my theories for the sequel, which totaled over an hour of footage.

I've been waiting so long for this. And since i've been so calm throughout the duration of this review, allow me to release my true feelings:

LANJF DKMLWQHJPF 9UWYOE82Y1HUOWJFNWD;LKJ[OEI2UJP982CY1C 070N4 89 YRP928 FEU JWDLJFLDSJHLIUQYNO8713YOR 89PWU0 DHSOUHEIHBLWJKN FLWHYES YES YE SY ESY ESY EYS ESY ESY ESYE SYE SY ESY ESYFHEWUFHIDSJ FOIWJFOEWH OIUYESEEEEESSSS YEEEEESSSSSSSS IM SO HAPPY IM SO HAPPY IM SO RHAPPY HIIM SHAO HPAPYP IOREJF JDLFK DWJOI2JPEIUH2PF9UHRNONFUE20PHF92EHFP9U2JNR3OJFENIUH VYE SU YES AJIEOIJWFLU HAOHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHH <3 <3 <3]]> 4.14 2018 Restore Me (Shatter Me, #4)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/04/02
date added: 2019/05/05
shelves: smutty, favorites, favs-of-2018, read-in-2018, made-me-cry
review:
TW: panic attacks, transphobia, mentions of racism, gun violence

April 2019
I reread this to annotate it before Defy Me came out and still loved it. It was difficult to annotate because there's a new POV and new characters who i love a lot, so i definitely had a field day putting hearts in the margins. Also I love juliette ferrars so much. SO MUCH.

March 2019
[READ 5--fourth reread]
i reread this spontaneously in preparation for shadow me and that shit HURTED. im thirty times more confused than i was about this book's ending. but the things i enjoyed most about this reread was seeing warner's self-awareness develop and the distinction between different kinds of power and resilience, specifically how juliette has to compartmentalize and separately hone her physical strength and mental strength. loved it as always even though i'm so confused and stressed i could cry

June 2018
[READ 4--third reread]
I really have no updated review for this other than GODDAMN IT, IT STILL ENDED THE SAME WAY AND I NEED ANSWERS. thanks for attending my tedtalk.

March 2018
[READ 3--second reread]
After reading this for a third time and attending Tahereh's instagram livestream q&a, things just kinda settled into place. There's not much I need to add about how much I adore this story. And I have so much faith that the sad or questionable things that happen in this are meaningful and will be expanded upon in the next books. At this point, yeah it's not gonna be rainbows and butterflies during the year we wait for book 5, but I feel so much more eagerness than terror or dread. This story truly grasped characters I loved and somehow helped them grow yet experience new conflicts that are all realistic and complex and natural. I can't wait to see who narrates the next novella. I can't wait to find out more about her parents. [spoilers removed]

(btw warnette didn't break up they're both just dramatic as hell so everyone pls rest)
(also t confirmed warner and juliette will survive the series)
(also t is literally a goddess so why ya'll worried she won't do these characters right)

[READ 2--first reread]
UMMMM STILL PERFECT I'M SORRY!!!! I still have some issues mainly dealing with plot hole issues that'll probably get sorted out in later books [spoilers removed], but really any previous problems I had with characterization or pacing or descriptions fell away during this reread. Like I expected, the more it sinks in and feels like a real book, the better it gets. At this point, half of my review is just Shatter Me 5 predictions, so i'll try and only give my updated thoughts lmao:

-my new favorite scene in the entire series is drunk juliette scene
-warnette angst in this is sSO OOOO GOOD [spoilers removed]
-i think the best line to describe this book is that juliette is dealing with "the frustration of having so much power, so much power and feeling so utterly, completely powerless" (420-421). Once you realize that, NOTHING juliette does comes off as whiney.
-honestly unfollow me if you think warnette are whiney and weak in this book. catch me dead not supporting realistic, complex characters who aren't perfect 24/7 and still have two books of growth.
-i don't hate adam. i'm sorry. especially with how his power could save peoples' lives in the next books, and [spoilers removed] he might save the day.
-kenji is.... everything in this book. the BEST companion for juliette, being there for her and letting her rant and providing comic relief. at the same time, telling warner to get his shit together and being the cheerleader for him that he was for juliette in unravel me. you can see the loyalty and trust developing already and im EMO
-juliette's [spoilers removed] is so powerful and meaningful and my least favorite thing in books is when people [spoilers removed] but this book broke that trope and i couldn't be more proud and i'm so happy that she's happy and she feels the best about herself and now i can't believe [spoilers removed]
-my only complaint about this book is just the awkwardness of presence/consistency. lena is present in the book, but her only role is to be the ex-girlfriend and cause us to stereotypically start hating her, and she outs a trans character and is generally horrible and physically/verbally abusive for no real prevailing reason. the side characters from omega point we've learned to love weren't in the book except for literally like 4 mentions and maybe 2 lines of dialogue. some facts are only present in this book for one or two mentions when they should seemingly be more important, like preparing for important events or [spoilers removed] some parts, like warner's ring or dick tattoo, weren't even referenced at all like they were heavily in the previous trilogy.
-anyway back to good stuff
-CASTLE'S DEAD SONS /?? ?? ?/ 1! !!! ! !!!
-warnette sex scenes? two thumbs up
-things that will never be the same after this book: haircuts, bob dylan, bourbon, the word 'restore', taking anxiety medicine, the ocean, helicopters, lorde, and anyone named ella.

[READ 1--original review]
i'm gonna disclaim right now that when this arrived on my kindle i had such a horrendous panic attack that I thought I would have to delete my twitter and DNF this. I told my friends to spoil me how this ends because I knew I could never stand it otherwise. and i stand by the fact that i would not have made it through this book without knowing what happens. i was so terrified.

but anyway OH MY GOD
i don't have enough characters left in this review to make a list of all the things i loved. there were imperfect parts, and i was wary that i would have to pretend this never happened, but i can only repeat: OH MY GOD

update: fuck it, i'm gonna make a list.

-NAZEERA COULD CHOKE ME WITH HER BARE HANDS AND I WOULD THANK HER FOR IT. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO BLESSED BY A FEMALE FRIENDSHIP. HER CHALLENGING KENJI ABOUT COVERING HER HAIR. HER FLIPPING HIM OFF. [spoilers removed] HER KINDNESS AND COMPANIONSHIP. I'M UTTERLY DECEASED
-warner and anxiety rep. i like.... it's too soon for me to talk about this seriously but i appreciate it more than words can articulate. my heart actually aches writing this because you can never understand how validating it is for my favorite character to be affected by the same disorder as me. i was floored.
-the diversity and discussion of political/social justice topics was [clap emoji] TOO GOOD. (BUT: *it would be a disservice to not mention that reviewers have pointed out the representation of some newer diverse characters is lacking, particularly how the Argentinian characters don't speak an accurate dialect of Spanish, and how the trans character was first outed so violently by a transphobic character.)
-JULIETTE MOTHERFUCKING FERRARS CAN CHOKE ME I LOVE HER SO MUCH OH MY GOD AN ICON, A QUEEN, A SUPERSTAR, MADAME SUPREME OF MY HEART!!! Her comment to Lena "You can call me supreme commander of North America" ASDFHLJK;DDJD
-james and warner talking to each other ohhhhhh my god
-kenji and warner talking to each other ooohhhhhhh my god
-basically anyone other than juliette having a conversation with warner
-also juliette's conversations with warner
-this discusses insecurity and youth and jealousy and regret and healing and ohijdso;kal;gjfdh IT'S SO GOOD
-WARNER SPEAKING ARABIC AND SPANISH IM....... OK (NO IM NOT)
-warner's inner monologue is......... everything. i mean that both literally because of its weight and meaningfulness, but also his sarcasm is perf
-[spoilers removed]
-this book takes place in march.... bitch im just sayin they better sort their shit out so i can get a HAPPY warner birthday scene
-warner and kenji talking about girls fiduhljiasdfkjnlkfgsas
-THAT!!!! FRIKIN!!!!! ENDING!!!!!! WHAAAATTTTTT JULIETTE FERRARS DID THAAATTTTTT

i need a nap ok bye

February 2018
Here's the notes I typed up for my second predictions video!



January 2018
So the sampler for Restore Me came out, giving us 31 beautiful pages of content. I filmed a reaction and theories video, but here's my notes about it.



So far, I would rate this five stars if I could. And that's not just because it's a Tahereh Mafi book--trust me, I was worried about this book. But everything so far is done really smartly and anything I'm upset about is almost entirely driven by the fact that it's not matching up with my expectations, which is an entirely unfounded criticism to make, so i'm withholding it and getting over it.
I NEED MOOOOOOOORE!!!!!

April 2017
Well. Here we are again. I missed you, my babies. It's overdue we meet again.

Today I woke up at 10 AM to my friend (hi Olivia) spam texting me my name over and over, and from that moment, I knew. There was Mafi news today. I was thinking maybe a novella. Maybe a rewrite from Warner's POV. Maybe one sequel. But three books added? I didn't hear anything in any of my classes today. I've cried on and off all day. I can't focus on my homework, can't do anything except refresh Twitter. Only five hours after learning the news about the new book, I filmed a reaction and my theories for the sequel, which totaled over an hour of footage.

I've been waiting so long for this. And since i've been so calm throughout the duration of this review, allow me to release my true feelings:

LANJF DKMLWQHJPF 9UWYOE82Y1HUOWJFNWD;LKJ[OEI2UJP982CY1C 070N4 89 YRP928 FEU JWDLJFLDSJHLIUQYNO8713YOR 89PWU0 DHSOUHEIHBLWJKN FLWHYES YES YE SY ESY ESY EYS ESY ESY ESYE SYE SY ESY ESYFHEWUFHIDSJ FOIWJFOEWH OIUYESEEEEESSSS YEEEEESSSSSSSS IM SO HAPPY IM SO HAPPY IM SO RHAPPY HIIM SHAO HPAPYP IOREJF JDLFK DWJOI2JPEIUH2PF9UHRNONFUE20PHF92EHFP9U2JNR3OJFENIUH VYE SU YES AJIEOIJWFLU HAOHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHH <3 <3 <3
]]> <![CDATA[The Right Swipe (Modern Love, #1)]]> 39863092 Alisha Rai returns with the first book in her sizzling new Modern Love series, in which two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom.

Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career—and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules:

- Nude pics are by invitation only

- If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice

- Protect your heart

Only there aren't any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night... and disappears.

Rhi thought she'd buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful—and in league with a business rival. He says he won't fumble their second chance, but she's wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk…]]> 387 Alisha Rai 0062878093 Whitney 5
My list of things I enjoyed about this book is vast compared to a nonexistent section of things I didn't enjoy. I'll try and write a brief (read: long) list of things I adored about this book.

The representation. This book is primarily about people and women of color, so the main character is a dark-skinned black woman, her best friend and assistant is an Indian lesbian, her other best friend and roommate is a thai-american plus sized woman with agoraphobic anxiety (!!!!!! i need a book about her), the love interest is Samoan, the love interest's two best friends are black, one of whom is a stay-at-home father. That's not even mentioning other side characters. So yeah, this book rocked. The way women of color uplifted and supported each other in this book was also so touching and empowering.

This book dealt with such a diverse and unique array of subplots and handled them all spectacularly. Even the trope of the love interest being a sports player had valuable discussion about mental health and retirement. This book also tackles women of color being in positions of power and how others perceive that, as well as the trust issues Rhiannon experiences.

It's hard to get me to genuinely care about side characters, but even the side characters in this book had full character arcs and contributed meaningfully to the story in their own wholesome ways. I hope this book gets developed into a long, drawn-out spinoff series because I loved all the side characters.

The romance in this..... OOF!!!!! And I'm talking both the angst, the pacing of it, the consent, the steamy scenes..... everything was spectacular. this is SOOO healthy but is never boring or robotic because of it. the characters are still sexy as hell and have genuine and cute and funny interactions alongside maintaining healthy boundaries and communication. LOVED rhi and samson together!

The only complaint that I had during the first half of this book--that Rhiannon's bitter and rock hard side seemed a lot more developed than her soft side--definitely went away by the last half of the book. It was so touching to see women championing other women and to see Rhi's growth in learning to trust and speak out against injustice.

This is NOT a book to miss and I cannot smash the preorder button on Amazon hard enough.]]> 3.62 2019 The Right Swipe (Modern Love, #1)
author: Alisha Rai
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/03/11
date added: 2019/03/11
shelves: romance, favorites, favs-of-2019, made-me-cry, read-in-2019, sent-from-pub, smutty
review:
I knew before I was even halfway into this book that it would be receiving five stars, and holy hell was I right. This book did not hold back any punches and it offered such a profound story about powerful women of color that also was so touching that I was weeping throughout the last 20% of this book.

My list of things I enjoyed about this book is vast compared to a nonexistent section of things I didn't enjoy. I'll try and write a brief (read: long) list of things I adored about this book.

The representation. This book is primarily about people and women of color, so the main character is a dark-skinned black woman, her best friend and assistant is an Indian lesbian, her other best friend and roommate is a thai-american plus sized woman with agoraphobic anxiety (!!!!!! i need a book about her), the love interest is Samoan, the love interest's two best friends are black, one of whom is a stay-at-home father. That's not even mentioning other side characters. So yeah, this book rocked. The way women of color uplifted and supported each other in this book was also so touching and empowering.

This book dealt with such a diverse and unique array of subplots and handled them all spectacularly. Even the trope of the love interest being a sports player had valuable discussion about mental health and retirement. This book also tackles women of color being in positions of power and how others perceive that, as well as the trust issues Rhiannon experiences.

It's hard to get me to genuinely care about side characters, but even the side characters in this book had full character arcs and contributed meaningfully to the story in their own wholesome ways. I hope this book gets developed into a long, drawn-out spinoff series because I loved all the side characters.

The romance in this..... OOF!!!!! And I'm talking both the angst, the pacing of it, the consent, the steamy scenes..... everything was spectacular. this is SOOO healthy but is never boring or robotic because of it. the characters are still sexy as hell and have genuine and cute and funny interactions alongside maintaining healthy boundaries and communication. LOVED rhi and samson together!

The only complaint that I had during the first half of this book--that Rhiannon's bitter and rock hard side seemed a lot more developed than her soft side--definitely went away by the last half of the book. It was so touching to see women championing other women and to see Rhi's growth in learning to trust and speak out against injustice.

This is NOT a book to miss and I cannot smash the preorder button on Amazon hard enough.
]]> The Things They Carried 6910629
The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three.

Taught everywhere—from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing—it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.]]> 233 Tim O'Brien 0618706410 Whitney 5 4.13 1990 The Things They Carried
author: Tim O'Brien
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2017/10/25
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favs-of-2017, for-class, memoir, read-in-2017, favorites
review:
This is one of the most important books I've read not only this year, but of all time. Absolutely captivating filled with quotes on EVERY page that make me stop and think. This isn't just a book about war, it's a book about writing about tragedy and coming to terms with loss and PTSD and losing friends and every single story was meaningful and symbolic and just shocked me with the sheer amount of truth and power. I know most people who say they've read this read it for a class, but if you haven't picked up this book, PLEASE do so. It will literally change the way you think about war, and it's so damn clever yet heart wrenching.
]]> Paper Girls, Volume 1 28204534
In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

Collects PAPER GIRLS #1-5.]]> 144 Brian K. Vaughan 1632156741 Whitney 5
This book was just so genius. The best way I can describe it is Saga meets Stranger Things. I loved the concept of a girl squad running around to solve the world's issues. I loved the sass, the artwork, the clothing and the vibe of the entire book. I love each girl in the group for their own reasons, and I didn't find myself thinking, "wait, who is this person?" like I usually do in graphic novels. As far as a feminist graphic novel, I enjoyed this one more than Bitch Planet, which was weighted down with a lot of boring and aimless dialogue whereas I was glued onto every page of this. Because this book deals with time travel, it was so cool to see pop culture references from both our time and the 80s.

A lot of people say that the plot of this is confusing, but compared to the mindfuck that is the Saga series, I actually followed it alright. It leaves you with unanswered questions, but those should definitely (and hopefully) be resolved in later volumes which I plan to pick up.

There was a character who would make homophobic remarks, but they always went challenged by other characters. I can't wait for (and hope to see) the development and growth of this character.]]> 3.89 2016 Paper Girls, Volume 1
author: Brian K. Vaughan
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2017/11/03
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2017, feminism, graphic-novels, lgbtqiap, read-in-2017
review:
TW: homophobia (+ usage of word f****t), suicide attempt

This book was just so genius. The best way I can describe it is Saga meets Stranger Things. I loved the concept of a girl squad running around to solve the world's issues. I loved the sass, the artwork, the clothing and the vibe of the entire book. I love each girl in the group for their own reasons, and I didn't find myself thinking, "wait, who is this person?" like I usually do in graphic novels. As far as a feminist graphic novel, I enjoyed this one more than Bitch Planet, which was weighted down with a lot of boring and aimless dialogue whereas I was glued onto every page of this. Because this book deals with time travel, it was so cool to see pop culture references from both our time and the 80s.

A lot of people say that the plot of this is confusing, but compared to the mindfuck that is the Saga series, I actually followed it alright. It leaves you with unanswered questions, but those should definitely (and hopefully) be resolved in later volumes which I plan to pick up.

There was a character who would make homophobic remarks, but they always went challenged by other characters. I can't wait for (and hope to see) the development and growth of this character.
]]> I'll Give You the Sun 20820994
Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways... but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah's to tell; the later years are Jude's. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they'll have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

Printz Award Winner Stonewall Honor Book.]]> 371 Jandy Nelson 0803734964 Whitney 5

VIDEO REVIEW HERE: ]]> 4.14 2014 I'll Give You the Sun
author: Jandy Nelson
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2014/07/06
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, lgbtqiap, read-in-2014, sent-from-pub, need-to-reread, made-me-cry
review:
Favorite book of 2014.


VIDEO REVIEW HERE:
]]> Give Me A God I Can Relate To 27803255 83 Blythe Baird 132953140X Whitney 5
I read this right after reading Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and honestly.. It pales in comparison to this. Trigger warning for anorexia and sexual assault/rape, but Blythe speaks so truthfully in her poems and offers such complex and thought-provoking insights. I adore her usage of metaphors and her writing style is just so gorgeous. I've heard several of her spoken poems and I was worried that I would think she was better at delivering her poems verbally than through just the writing, but it shines both ways. I thought this collective was a tad brief and I wish I could have more, but maybe that's bit of a selfish request because I just love her writing. I will always continue to listen and read to anything Blythe publishes, and I highly recommend this if you want some poetry about feminism!]]> 4.41 2015 Give Me A God I Can Relate To
author: Blythe Baird
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/12
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, read-in-2016, lgbtqiap, feminism, poetry, sent-from-pub
review:
BLYTHE YOU GORGEOUS HUMAN BEING THIS WAS AMAZING!!

I read this right after reading Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and honestly.. It pales in comparison to this. Trigger warning for anorexia and sexual assault/rape, but Blythe speaks so truthfully in her poems and offers such complex and thought-provoking insights. I adore her usage of metaphors and her writing style is just so gorgeous. I've heard several of her spoken poems and I was worried that I would think she was better at delivering her poems verbally than through just the writing, but it shines both ways. I thought this collective was a tad brief and I wish I could have more, but maybe that's bit of a selfish request because I just love her writing. I will always continue to listen and read to anything Blythe publishes, and I highly recommend this if you want some poetry about feminism!
]]> <![CDATA[Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)]]> 9460487 9781594744761

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.]]> 352 Ransom Riggs 1594744769 Whitney 5 Has it SERIOUSLY been almost four years since I've read this book??? I feel like I read it just yesterday, and it was as good today as it was yesterday. Ransom's writing is just so gorgeous and the structure and description is so exquisite that it makes me jealous. I read this for class, which just made it that much more intriguing to delve into. After reading the entire trilogy and then returning to the first book, it was definitely a fun experience. I highly, highly recommend this book because it's so masterfully done with the characters, description, and world-building.

6/17/2013
Even though this was amazing i'm really creeped out. It's not scary, just the whole concept gave me heebie jeebies, especially when it says in the back that all the pictures are real]]> 3.92 2011 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)
author: Ransom Riggs
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2017/04/09
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, for-class, read-in-2017
review:
4/9/2017
Has it SERIOUSLY been almost four years since I've read this book??? I feel like I read it just yesterday, and it was as good today as it was yesterday. Ransom's writing is just so gorgeous and the structure and description is so exquisite that it makes me jealous. I read this for class, which just made it that much more intriguing to delve into. After reading the entire trilogy and then returning to the first book, it was definitely a fun experience. I highly, highly recommend this book because it's so masterfully done with the characters, description, and world-building.

6/17/2013
Even though this was amazing i'm really creeped out. It's not scary, just the whole concept gave me heebie jeebies, especially when it says in the back that all the pictures are real
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 17347380 And yet�

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate � and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it’s the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort � and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.
--back cover]]> 652 J.K. Rowling 0545582997 Whitney 5 dont even look at me
i was expecting it and i still cried for like 30 minutes]]> 4.74 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.74
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2015/01/14
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, read-in-2015, childrens, made-me-cry
review:
i dont want to talk to anyone
dont even look at me
i was expecting it and i still cried for like 30 minutes
]]> Destroy Me (Shatter Me, #1.5) 13623150 Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of...

Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.

Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.]]> 111 Tahereh Mafi 0062208195 Whitney 5 3.96 2012 Destroy Me (Shatter Me, #1.5)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2012/10/02
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, read-before-booktube, made-me-cry, novella
review:

]]> Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) 13455782
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.]]> 338 Tahereh Mafi 0062085506 Whitney 5 November 2017
I picked this back up on a whim because I've been dealing with anxiety lately and wanted to return to something comforting, so I decided to annotate one of my paperback copies. And I gotta say, It's.... weird returning to book one. Ignite Me is my favorite book of all time, and rereading that book is such an immersive experience that I always come out of feeling empowered. This book, on the other hand, holds such a special place in my heart because it's so relatable that it hurts. From Juliette's panic to her awkwardness to her resilience to the writing style, everything just hurts so good. There's parts of me that I see in Juliette, and there's parts of Juliette that I wish I could be better at. It's just such a refreshing and inspirational book to read because it's about someone who has been handed the shittiest circumstances and still looks for the best in others, perseveres, and demands what's right for her. It's about learning to trust and realizing your worth and giving people second chances. FUCK i'm about to cry typing this review. I love Juliette so much and I love Tahereh even more for sharing a story that touches the deepest corners of my heart. It's truly a life-changing book for me.

I’ve always read this as the story of a sad, self-conscious, self-loathing girl learning to see past obstacles to find love in herself and to let others in. however, i haven't read this since summer 2016, so my experience of reading this after the election & other #stressful political happenings opened my eyes to a completely new underside of the story. It had always been visible to me but was it never at the forefront, but this time I noticed it so vividly: this is also the story about a deeply hurt and angry girl who wants justice. People always criticize Juliette for being weak and annoying, especially in Unravel Me, but when she pushes back against her fear and stands up for herself, it's jaw-dropping. I envy her ability to know what's best for her and hold others' happiness and safety above her own even though she's gone through so much turmoil and deserves to be the person being looked out for. I used to think that Juliette gets suddenly really strong in Ignite Me, but reading this closely just showed how ready she was for that transformation. In my annotated editions, I use blue highlighter to mark parts where Juliette is really badass, and I didn't expect to use it a ton in this one, but it's everywhere. Juliette is a pure and fearless motherfucker. Even in book one she has powerful quotes like "I'm not yours to want," and it challenges all the ideas Warner tries to install into her head.

Which is where this book gets slippery. It's getting really, really difficult for me to reconcile Warner's actions in book one. I've definitely had others question how I ship Juliette with Warner after all he's put Juliette through in this book, and it's a valid concern. Every time I think about this book, i'm just kinda like “hahaha problematic warner but whatever.� But the more I reread, especially after ignite me came out, and ESPECIALLY during this particular reread, the more questions I have that I can only hope will now be explained in restore me. Don't get me wrong, this book still means so much to me because of juliette, but there’s no possible way for me to read this book with the mindset “omg i love warner!!� because he’s literally the villain and he does and says so many problematic, manipulative things. Honestly, I don't think it's fair to justify everything Warner does. While rereading this I was actually shocked at the amount of nasty things he says to her, that I obviously must have forgotten or blocked from my memory. Things like telling her she'll be miserable if she leaves him because no one else will want her, calling her a monster, professing his love for her even when she's clearly uncomfortable. In Unravel Me and Ignite Me he explains why he did these things and says that he regrets doing it, but... it seems to go so far in this book. I almost theorize that Tahereh must have written warner in book 1 to continue being a villain throughout the series, but there's way too many threads that suggest otherwise (ie. the introduction of the angst behind warner's mom, the fact that she felt "electricity" during their kiss, etc.)

I feel like I could write an essay about this topic: the inconsistencies of Warner's personality, and whether or not it's justifiable to forgive him for his "misjudgments" of Juliette. It's just so strange to me that Adam & Kenji can say "Warner is a lot of things, but he's not stupid," and yet Warner misreads her SO horribly. I mean, in the scene that he corners her and kisses her, he's literally saying "I want you to choose me" and "I love you" and later admits that he thought she was into it, EVEN THOUGH she literally said "You're sick/you're a monster/etc." and physically tried to punch him before he pinned her to the wall. If he's so smart, then why couldn't he tell that every time he talks to her, she's afraid and disgusted? Is it really that easy to mistake fear for excitement? Disgust for nerousness?

His behavior is so coercive and manipulative, and even though I know he was just trying to get a reaction out of her so that she would abandon her fear and finally use her power, there's not nearly enough of an apology as I would expect for things of this magnitude. The reason why I don't consider Warner an outright misogynist is an incredibly nuanced (and long) discussion, but the difference between him and, say, a Colleen Hoover character is that while Warner is saying and doing problematic things, he is also being cast in a problematic light. He is literally the villain of this story for putting her in those situations. Had Juliette been like "omg he's pinning me against a wall and threatening me, he's so dominating <3" then that would a lot more concerning. But I'm gonna have to reread Unravel Me as well to refresh my memory on how Warner addresses these actions and words because I really don't think he apologized or explained himself well enough, and I think it's totally valid for Juliette to absolutely roast him in Restore Me for treating her so shittily. My outrage about it is fresh though, and maybe Juliette comes to terms with his actions in a later book that I've forgotten about.

Also? Drag me, but Adam doesn't get enough credit in this book. I know we all love to shit on him--myself included--for the direction he goes in Ignite Me, but his place in her journey of self-discovery is vital. Imagine this book without Adam, without that glimmer of hope and self-love that he installs in her. He's the first person to reassure her of herself and humanize her. Sure, they're not right for each other in the end, but it's not okay to dismiss their entire relationship as bullshit, because he DID help her see herself as something other than a monster, and I can't even imagine what this series would have been like if it were only Juliette brooding alone in her room, dreading Warner, stuck there until Warner was forced to tell her the truth about his mom or until Anderson showed up to ask what was taking so long. Idk. There's so many important quotes from Adam in this book. Sometimes it falls into the type of narrative that feels like "ugghhhh, she needed a boy to 'fix' her," but in reality, sometimes your friends have your back and reassure you of your worth, and sometimes your friends are more than your friends. I could make a LIST of all the positive things Adam said to Juliette in this book that caused her confidence to sky rocket, whereas almost everything Warner said installed panic and fear in her.

So clearly I have conflicting feelings, but none of them intercede with the fact that I still cannot get over how much I adore this story. Sure, Warner sucks and I unironically wrote "ew" by half the things he says to her in this book, but watching Juliette's transformation and relating to her insecurities and thought process, as well as remembering how much I adored this book as a young teen, it's always going to be a priceless experience to me.

July 2016
I think this is my fourth or fifth time rereading it? I didn't plan to but my aunt showed interest in reading it and I jokingly offered to read it out loud to her, and she said yes. Thus, I proceeded to read this entire book out loud to her. And it was worth it.
And what can I say? I love this book. I fucking love Juliette. Reading it out loud made me slightly more aware of how lame her stream of consciousness can sound, and how the metaphors become exhausting after a while. But I've sort of accepted that book one is always going to be slightly uncomfortable to reread just because of the fact that so much has changed by book 3 that this is almost cringe-worthy. There's so much set-up for world building that never occurs. Honestly this book is more of a 3 star rating, but I can't bring myself to lower it. It was due for a reread since it had been just about two years, and, like always, I noted several things that I had missed or forgotten since I read it last!

August 2015
I'm not quite sure why i've never uploaded a review on goodreads for this book. I mean, I feel like it kind of goes without saying how I feel about it but ya know. This is my favorite series. If you're sick of dystopian and never want to read one ever again, make an exception for this one. Ignore the fact that the entire fandom (and myself) has probably majorly spoiled you. But this book. Holy shit. The writing. YES. The characters. YES. The plot. YES. The range of emotions. YES. I could tell you the things wrong with it, but no book is perfect. But if you want a book with characters that you will not be able to get out of your head and with a plot that will have you reading an entire trilogy in one sitting, this book is your friend.

reread: July 2014]]> 3.72 2011 Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2017/11/15
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, read-in-2016, read-before-booktube, read-in-2017, read-in-2015, read-in-2014, made-me-cry
review:
November 2017
I picked this back up on a whim because I've been dealing with anxiety lately and wanted to return to something comforting, so I decided to annotate one of my paperback copies. And I gotta say, It's.... weird returning to book one. Ignite Me is my favorite book of all time, and rereading that book is such an immersive experience that I always come out of feeling empowered. This book, on the other hand, holds such a special place in my heart because it's so relatable that it hurts. From Juliette's panic to her awkwardness to her resilience to the writing style, everything just hurts so good. There's parts of me that I see in Juliette, and there's parts of Juliette that I wish I could be better at. It's just such a refreshing and inspirational book to read because it's about someone who has been handed the shittiest circumstances and still looks for the best in others, perseveres, and demands what's right for her. It's about learning to trust and realizing your worth and giving people second chances. FUCK i'm about to cry typing this review. I love Juliette so much and I love Tahereh even more for sharing a story that touches the deepest corners of my heart. It's truly a life-changing book for me.

I’ve always read this as the story of a sad, self-conscious, self-loathing girl learning to see past obstacles to find love in herself and to let others in. however, i haven't read this since summer 2016, so my experience of reading this after the election & other #stressful political happenings opened my eyes to a completely new underside of the story. It had always been visible to me but was it never at the forefront, but this time I noticed it so vividly: this is also the story about a deeply hurt and angry girl who wants justice. People always criticize Juliette for being weak and annoying, especially in Unravel Me, but when she pushes back against her fear and stands up for herself, it's jaw-dropping. I envy her ability to know what's best for her and hold others' happiness and safety above her own even though she's gone through so much turmoil and deserves to be the person being looked out for. I used to think that Juliette gets suddenly really strong in Ignite Me, but reading this closely just showed how ready she was for that transformation. In my annotated editions, I use blue highlighter to mark parts where Juliette is really badass, and I didn't expect to use it a ton in this one, but it's everywhere. Juliette is a pure and fearless motherfucker. Even in book one she has powerful quotes like "I'm not yours to want," and it challenges all the ideas Warner tries to install into her head.

Which is where this book gets slippery. It's getting really, really difficult for me to reconcile Warner's actions in book one. I've definitely had others question how I ship Juliette with Warner after all he's put Juliette through in this book, and it's a valid concern. Every time I think about this book, i'm just kinda like “hahaha problematic warner but whatever.� But the more I reread, especially after ignite me came out, and ESPECIALLY during this particular reread, the more questions I have that I can only hope will now be explained in restore me. Don't get me wrong, this book still means so much to me because of juliette, but there’s no possible way for me to read this book with the mindset “omg i love warner!!� because he’s literally the villain and he does and says so many problematic, manipulative things. Honestly, I don't think it's fair to justify everything Warner does. While rereading this I was actually shocked at the amount of nasty things he says to her, that I obviously must have forgotten or blocked from my memory. Things like telling her she'll be miserable if she leaves him because no one else will want her, calling her a monster, professing his love for her even when she's clearly uncomfortable. In Unravel Me and Ignite Me he explains why he did these things and says that he regrets doing it, but... it seems to go so far in this book. I almost theorize that Tahereh must have written warner in book 1 to continue being a villain throughout the series, but there's way too many threads that suggest otherwise (ie. the introduction of the angst behind warner's mom, the fact that she felt "electricity" during their kiss, etc.)

I feel like I could write an essay about this topic: the inconsistencies of Warner's personality, and whether or not it's justifiable to forgive him for his "misjudgments" of Juliette. It's just so strange to me that Adam & Kenji can say "Warner is a lot of things, but he's not stupid," and yet Warner misreads her SO horribly. I mean, in the scene that he corners her and kisses her, he's literally saying "I want you to choose me" and "I love you" and later admits that he thought she was into it, EVEN THOUGH she literally said "You're sick/you're a monster/etc." and physically tried to punch him before he pinned her to the wall. If he's so smart, then why couldn't he tell that every time he talks to her, she's afraid and disgusted? Is it really that easy to mistake fear for excitement? Disgust for nerousness?

His behavior is so coercive and manipulative, and even though I know he was just trying to get a reaction out of her so that she would abandon her fear and finally use her power, there's not nearly enough of an apology as I would expect for things of this magnitude. The reason why I don't consider Warner an outright misogynist is an incredibly nuanced (and long) discussion, but the difference between him and, say, a Colleen Hoover character is that while Warner is saying and doing problematic things, he is also being cast in a problematic light. He is literally the villain of this story for putting her in those situations. Had Juliette been like "omg he's pinning me against a wall and threatening me, he's so dominating <3" then that would a lot more concerning. But I'm gonna have to reread Unravel Me as well to refresh my memory on how Warner addresses these actions and words because I really don't think he apologized or explained himself well enough, and I think it's totally valid for Juliette to absolutely roast him in Restore Me for treating her so shittily. My outrage about it is fresh though, and maybe Juliette comes to terms with his actions in a later book that I've forgotten about.

Also? Drag me, but Adam doesn't get enough credit in this book. I know we all love to shit on him--myself included--for the direction he goes in Ignite Me, but his place in her journey of self-discovery is vital. Imagine this book without Adam, without that glimmer of hope and self-love that he installs in her. He's the first person to reassure her of herself and humanize her. Sure, they're not right for each other in the end, but it's not okay to dismiss their entire relationship as bullshit, because he DID help her see herself as something other than a monster, and I can't even imagine what this series would have been like if it were only Juliette brooding alone in her room, dreading Warner, stuck there until Warner was forced to tell her the truth about his mom or until Anderson showed up to ask what was taking so long. Idk. There's so many important quotes from Adam in this book. Sometimes it falls into the type of narrative that feels like "ugghhhh, she needed a boy to 'fix' her," but in reality, sometimes your friends have your back and reassure you of your worth, and sometimes your friends are more than your friends. I could make a LIST of all the positive things Adam said to Juliette in this book that caused her confidence to sky rocket, whereas almost everything Warner said installed panic and fear in her.

So clearly I have conflicting feelings, but none of them intercede with the fact that I still cannot get over how much I adore this story. Sure, Warner sucks and I unironically wrote "ew" by half the things he says to her in this book, but watching Juliette's transformation and relating to her insecurities and thought process, as well as remembering how much I adored this book as a young teen, it's always going to be a priceless experience to me.

July 2016
I think this is my fourth or fifth time rereading it? I didn't plan to but my aunt showed interest in reading it and I jokingly offered to read it out loud to her, and she said yes. Thus, I proceeded to read this entire book out loud to her. And it was worth it.
And what can I say? I love this book. I fucking love Juliette. Reading it out loud made me slightly more aware of how lame her stream of consciousness can sound, and how the metaphors become exhausting after a while. But I've sort of accepted that book one is always going to be slightly uncomfortable to reread just because of the fact that so much has changed by book 3 that this is almost cringe-worthy. There's so much set-up for world building that never occurs. Honestly this book is more of a 3 star rating, but I can't bring myself to lower it. It was due for a reread since it had been just about two years, and, like always, I noted several things that I had missed or forgotten since I read it last!

August 2015
I'm not quite sure why i've never uploaded a review on goodreads for this book. I mean, I feel like it kind of goes without saying how I feel about it but ya know. This is my favorite series. If you're sick of dystopian and never want to read one ever again, make an exception for this one. Ignore the fact that the entire fandom (and myself) has probably majorly spoiled you. But this book. Holy shit. The writing. YES. The characters. YES. The plot. YES. The range of emotions. YES. I could tell you the things wrong with it, but no book is perfect. But if you want a book with characters that you will not be able to get out of your head and with a plot that will have you reading an entire trilogy in one sitting, this book is your friend.

reread: July 2014
]]> <![CDATA[The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1)]]> 8591107
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.]]> 456 Michelle Hodkin 1442421762 Whitney 5 favorites, read-in-2014
EDIT 6/30/2014: Reread a year later and loved it even more. Less confusing, marked all my favorite parts, got to fall in love with Noah all over again. Definitely planning on rereading The Evolution also, but maybe closer to November so that it's fresh in my mind for Retribution.

-----------
6/7/2013

Really confusing at the end??]]> 4.06 2011 The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1)
author: Michelle Hodkin
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2014/06/26
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, read-in-2014
review:
VIDEO REVIEW HERE:

EDIT 6/30/2014: Reread a year later and loved it even more. Less confusing, marked all my favorite parts, got to fall in love with Noah all over again. Definitely planning on rereading The Evolution also, but maybe closer to November so that it's fresh in my mind for Retribution.

-----------
6/7/2013

Really confusing at the end??
]]> <![CDATA[Blankets: An Illustrated Novel]]> 795214 592 Craig Thompson 0613925955 Whitney 5 4.05 2003 Blankets: An Illustrated Novel
author: Craig Thompson
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/15
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, graphic-novels, read-in-2015, need-to-reread
review:
I just read this in one sitting. Incredible. First graphic novel i've given 5 full stars to.
]]> Alex + Ada, Vol. 1 21823465
Collects ALEX + ADA #1-5.]]> 128 Jonathan Luna 1632150069 Whitney 5 3.95 2014 Alex + Ada, Vol. 1
author: Jonathan Luna
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/25
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, graphic-novels, read-in-2015
review:
HOLY CRAP I THINK THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE GRAPHIC NOVEL
]]> Fangirl 16068905 A coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, family, and first love.

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, 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 fanfiction, 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 fanfiction 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? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?]]> 483 Rainbow Rowell Whitney 5


EDIT: I just read the first chapter of this on Amazon and now I reeally want it :(

Will somebody mail me this? I wanna read it SoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo BAD AH.
*grasps the bars of my book buying ban cage*]]> 3.93 2013 Fangirl
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2013/10/27
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, read-in-2013, need-to-reread
review:
EDIT: I read this book a while ago but I forgot to post the link to my review!!



EDIT: I just read the first chapter of this on Amazon and now I reeally want it :(

Will somebody mail me this? I wanna read it SoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo BAD AH.
*grasps the bars of my book buying ban cage*
]]> The Great Gatsby 27451 216 F. Scott Fitzgerald 0684801523 Whitney 5 original rating: 4 stars
Original review:

So I read this a couple weeks ago but the more I think about it the better it gets so I bumped it up a star just because I think I was too critical the first time

EDIT: 2/13
I finished this for school and enjoyed it so much better the second time. New rating- 5 stars]]> 3.89 1925 The Great Gatsby
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1925
rating: 5
read at: 2014/02/13
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, for-class, read-in-2014, need-to-reread, made-me-cry
review:
First read: 7/15/2013
original rating: 4 stars
Original review:

So I read this a couple weeks ago but the more I think about it the better it gets so I bumped it up a star just because I think I was too critical the first time

EDIT: 2/13
I finished this for school and enjoyed it so much better the second time. New rating- 5 stars
]]> The Hating Game 25883848
Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.
2) A person’s undoing
3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual.

Trapped in a shared office together 40 (OK, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking.

If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong.

Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn’t hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game. ​​]]> 387 Sally Thorne Whitney 5
Every book needs to take notes from the way this romance is written. It's exactly the type of detailing that I crave in books like this and i'm SO thrilled I finally got the chance to read this and add to my list of new favorites, even though it wasn't perfect.

The beginning of this book needs to be fleshed out a lot more. We’re told that Lucy haaates Josh, but there’s nothing substantial to back that up, and she kinda just tells the reader HE’S HORRIBLE AND ANNOYING AND I’VE HATED HIM FOR YEARS AND HE’S THE WORST but we never actually see anything he does that’s bad or annoying, he literally just sits at his desk.

Usually when books try to be quirky and humorous, I’m gagging and it and rolling my eyes. This is the first book where it actually, truly worked and I was laughing out loud, which is such a rare phenomenon that I would almost argue it only ever happens in like 3 books per year, and 2 of those are shatter me rereads. The writing style is something I usually hate, but the author made it work, so bravo. The only issue that arose with the writing style was that the quirky dialogue and inner monologue began to have lots of micro-issues, which aren’t bad on their own, but for me to stop every few pages and think “oh, that’s distasteful,� it weighed down my reading experience. This mainly lay in Lucy's fatphobia and constantly calling one of her bosses Fat Little Dick, but there were some other comments that used the r-word or other distasteful jokes.

Additionally, sometimes Lucy and the way she thought and spoke were a little too childish. I feel like no adults would behave like the way she did sometimes, and I certainly understand how people could pick this up, read 5 pages of it, go “ugh,� and put it back down. There’s an inherent quality of hyperbole to the story just because of the way it’s written and with Lucy’s mind/reactions to things. A lot of times it comes off as cute, but other times, it's weirdly creepy Sometimes it feels like she’s infantilized just a little with over-exaggerated descriptions of how tiny she is and how childish her brain operates at times, but it never dumbed down the story too much for me. Overall, I really loved her as a main character and didn't think her character was too gimmicky or stereotypical, but she did feel slightly at arm's length just because she had that childish quality to her.

Going along with the characters being immature, there was a weird, over-protective vibe within the book’s love triangle that rubbed me the wrong way. Two men were obviously into Lucy, but they used her like an object to deflect their possessiveness of her and it was dehumanizing to see how angry one would be when she spent time with the other. The masculine “NO SHE’S MINE� energy was just unbearable in this one, but there was an apology and a discussion about it, so I'm letting it slide.

But the bottom line: I’m a slut for soft characters, and Josh was soft from the beginning. I actually teared up the first time Josh hurt Lucy’s feelings and she caught his eyebrows creasing in concern. Like� small gestures like that just Get me. Even though the taunting and the constant watching could be creepy, small moments like those slipped through the cracks and I was so grateful. Throughout the book, I was just so impressed by the softness of gestures. I really can’t expound enough how much of a sucker I am for tiny details and descriptions like the tendons in someone’s hands or the feel of fingertips on skin and other minuscule images, but this had so many, the story felt tangible. It’s my absolute favorite kind of story telling and what I look for (or hope to find) in every book I read. If this author wrote a more serious, dark fantasy using those same kinds of descriptions, it would probably be my new favorite book of all time.

Usually when I read romance books I just tolerate the characters and the romance scenes are satisfactory at best, but this book had me crying and smiling and texting mahana reactions every 5 seconds. I've never been so attached to two character's love story, and it was paced in a way that was so addicting. Like I'm not kidding, I used to say Easy by Tammara Webber should be a blueprint for how all romance should be written, but this might replace it. I love the angst and slow build and the genuine connection. It was so refreshing to fall in love with characters rather than feel like I'm reading a regurgitation of every romantic story I've ever consumed.

I highly applaud this book despite its flaws, and I definitely recommend it!]]> 3.93 2016 The Hating Game
author: Sally Thorne
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2018/05/23
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2018, read-in-2018, smutty, romance, superior-enemies-to-lovers
review:
4.5 Stars

Every book needs to take notes from the way this romance is written. It's exactly the type of detailing that I crave in books like this and i'm SO thrilled I finally got the chance to read this and add to my list of new favorites, even though it wasn't perfect.

The beginning of this book needs to be fleshed out a lot more. We’re told that Lucy haaates Josh, but there’s nothing substantial to back that up, and she kinda just tells the reader HE’S HORRIBLE AND ANNOYING AND I’VE HATED HIM FOR YEARS AND HE’S THE WORST but we never actually see anything he does that’s bad or annoying, he literally just sits at his desk.

Usually when books try to be quirky and humorous, I’m gagging and it and rolling my eyes. This is the first book where it actually, truly worked and I was laughing out loud, which is such a rare phenomenon that I would almost argue it only ever happens in like 3 books per year, and 2 of those are shatter me rereads. The writing style is something I usually hate, but the author made it work, so bravo. The only issue that arose with the writing style was that the quirky dialogue and inner monologue began to have lots of micro-issues, which aren’t bad on their own, but for me to stop every few pages and think “oh, that’s distasteful,� it weighed down my reading experience. This mainly lay in Lucy's fatphobia and constantly calling one of her bosses Fat Little Dick, but there were some other comments that used the r-word or other distasteful jokes.

Additionally, sometimes Lucy and the way she thought and spoke were a little too childish. I feel like no adults would behave like the way she did sometimes, and I certainly understand how people could pick this up, read 5 pages of it, go “ugh,� and put it back down. There’s an inherent quality of hyperbole to the story just because of the way it’s written and with Lucy’s mind/reactions to things. A lot of times it comes off as cute, but other times, it's weirdly creepy Sometimes it feels like she’s infantilized just a little with over-exaggerated descriptions of how tiny she is and how childish her brain operates at times, but it never dumbed down the story too much for me. Overall, I really loved her as a main character and didn't think her character was too gimmicky or stereotypical, but she did feel slightly at arm's length just because she had that childish quality to her.

Going along with the characters being immature, there was a weird, over-protective vibe within the book’s love triangle that rubbed me the wrong way. Two men were obviously into Lucy, but they used her like an object to deflect their possessiveness of her and it was dehumanizing to see how angry one would be when she spent time with the other. The masculine “NO SHE’S MINE� energy was just unbearable in this one, but there was an apology and a discussion about it, so I'm letting it slide.

But the bottom line: I’m a slut for soft characters, and Josh was soft from the beginning. I actually teared up the first time Josh hurt Lucy’s feelings and she caught his eyebrows creasing in concern. Like� small gestures like that just Get me. Even though the taunting and the constant watching could be creepy, small moments like those slipped through the cracks and I was so grateful. Throughout the book, I was just so impressed by the softness of gestures. I really can’t expound enough how much of a sucker I am for tiny details and descriptions like the tendons in someone’s hands or the feel of fingertips on skin and other minuscule images, but this had so many, the story felt tangible. It’s my absolute favorite kind of story telling and what I look for (or hope to find) in every book I read. If this author wrote a more serious, dark fantasy using those same kinds of descriptions, it would probably be my new favorite book of all time.

Usually when I read romance books I just tolerate the characters and the romance scenes are satisfactory at best, but this book had me crying and smiling and texting mahana reactions every 5 seconds. I've never been so attached to two character's love story, and it was paced in a way that was so addicting. Like I'm not kidding, I used to say Easy by Tammara Webber should be a blueprint for how all romance should be written, but this might replace it. I love the angst and slow build and the genuine connection. It was so refreshing to fall in love with characters rather than feel like I'm reading a regurgitation of every romantic story I've ever consumed.

I highly applaud this book despite its flaws, and I definitely recommend it!
]]> Idiot Verse 25928164 72 Keaton Henson 1908998849 Whitney 5
If you're unaware: Keaton Henson is my everything. He is a singer that pours his heart out into every song with a voice so wavering and gentle that I just want to hold him in my arms until the end of the Earth and tell him he's precious and that it's okay and nobody will ever hurt him again. He has severe social anxiety that causes him to only play live music rarely, which just makes this book that much more special, for him to share more of himself with us.

I'm utterly torn because of this.
He writes so candidly, and his heartbreak and self-loathing and poeticness really shine through. This book talks about loving and losing love, his anxiety, his relationship with his family, his relationship with London, and everything in between. It's gorgeous. It's haunting. It's everything.

Interspersed are penciled-in drawings of Keaton's, and they were just the nicest touch. A lot of the images are incomprehensible--his style is questionable at best--but somehow they work. Even if I have no idea what i'm looking at, even just the texture of the pencil strokes speaks enough about what he must have been feeling while he was drawing it.

I can't emphasize enough how much you should pick up this book. If I wasn't a fan of Keaton it would probably only be a 4 star book for me, but just because I had his music on shuffle while reading and knowing him as an artist, I connected to this on a personal level and it just made me ten times more inspired to jump on a plane to London so that I can find him and tell him how perfect he is and how important he is to me.

This book is truly priceless. Please get it if you love Keaton at all. ]]> 4.29 2015 Idiot Verse
author: Keaton Henson
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2017/04/20
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: poetry, read-in-2017, favorites, favs-of-2017
review:
I was doomed to rate this five stars before opening the pages.

If you're unaware: Keaton Henson is my everything. He is a singer that pours his heart out into every song with a voice so wavering and gentle that I just want to hold him in my arms until the end of the Earth and tell him he's precious and that it's okay and nobody will ever hurt him again. He has severe social anxiety that causes him to only play live music rarely, which just makes this book that much more special, for him to share more of himself with us.

I'm utterly torn because of this.
He writes so candidly, and his heartbreak and self-loathing and poeticness really shine through. This book talks about loving and losing love, his anxiety, his relationship with his family, his relationship with London, and everything in between. It's gorgeous. It's haunting. It's everything.

Interspersed are penciled-in drawings of Keaton's, and they were just the nicest touch. A lot of the images are incomprehensible--his style is questionable at best--but somehow they work. Even if I have no idea what i'm looking at, even just the texture of the pencil strokes speaks enough about what he must have been feeling while he was drawing it.

I can't emphasize enough how much you should pick up this book. If I wasn't a fan of Keaton it would probably only be a 4 star book for me, but just because I had his music on shuffle while reading and knowing him as an artist, I connected to this on a personal level and it just made me ten times more inspired to jump on a plane to London so that I can find him and tell him how perfect he is and how important he is to me.

This book is truly priceless. Please get it if you love Keaton at all.
]]> <![CDATA[Easy (Contours of the Heart, #1)]]> 16056408 A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a sophomore year breakup. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Grief becomes nightmare when Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night.

But her attacker turns stalker, and Jacqueline has a choice to make: crumple in defeat or fight back. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to tell and who to trust is anything but easy.]]> 336 Tammara Webber 0425266745 Whitney 5 4.03 2012 Easy (Contours of the Heart, #1)
author: Tammara Webber
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/10
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, feminism, read-in-2015, romance, smutty
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1)]]> 16101128 unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.]]> 457 Rick Yancey 0399162410 Whitney 5 favorites, read-in-2014 4.01 2013 The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1)
author: Rick Yancey
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2014/08/30
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, read-in-2014
review:

]]> The Time Keeper 13624688 In this fable, the first man on earth to count the hours becomes Father Time.

The inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

He returns to our world - now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began - and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.]]> 224 Mitch Albom 1401322786 Whitney 5 3.88 2012 The Time Keeper
author: Mitch Albom
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2013/01/24
date added: 2019/02/09
shelves: favorites, read-in-2013, need-to-reread
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)]]> 26032887 The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince.

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.]]> 336 Holly Black 0316310336 Whitney 4
tw: gore/violence, alcoholism

I stuck somewhere between elation and despair. why did i bamboozle myself and read this one early when i'm just gonna have to wait until 2020 for the third book :l

The good parts of this book were really, really good. The angst between Jude and Cardan was definitely heightened, and I applaud the way Holly Black navigates this complex relationship between two people who should seemingly have a power imbalance, and yet Jude forces them to be equals. Jude's strength is awe-inspiring, and this is the type of book I read and then put down feeling like I could kick someone's ass because the vibe of it lingers and the characters are so smart and witty. This book just has the power to resonate. Every time Jude is wronged, I feel embarrassed. Every time Jude is triumphant, I feel powerful.

But whenever there weren't scenes with Jude and Cardan, I felt like I was just floating through the story. At first I thought that it was my fault that I wasn't enjoying the book because I was biased toward my love for the main characters and couldn't focus on anything except scenes between them, then I realized that this book doesn't really detail the drama happening between courts, and especially the leaders and important characters who run those courts. Because I didn't quite have a handle on who was who--and because I wasn't given solid grounding on why I should care about them--parts of the book seemed aimless and boring. Holly Black never fully details or meaningfully describes a character outside of the main characters. If she were to flesh out characters from opposing kingdoms, it might make me more interested in their politics and war scheming, but we were never let into their lives so I only really was concerned about the drama happening within our kingdom.

Despite that, I loved the different conversations that were navigated in this book. Relationships between humans and fae. Missing lost family. Something about the storyline of a human girl demanding to live in a world that wasn't designed for her and constantly tries to shut her out is fascinating and empowering to me, even during its tragic moments.

The last 100 pages--shit, the last 10 pages--alone had so much action, plot twists, and emotional dialogue that I almost just want to give it 5 stars on that alone, but although I love the characters in this series, it's not as character-based as I want it to be. Meaning, I'm selfish and I wish we could have more angsty scenes that I craved whereas this book is more a mix of those scenes interspersed with poorly-executed political drama.

Anyway, if anyone has their hands on book 3 or knows where to find Cardan, please tell him i'm on my way to kick his ass. thanks.]]> 4.27 2019 The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2)
author: Holly Black
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2018/09/21
date added: 2018/10/31
shelves: favs-of-2018, read-in-2018, superior-enemies-to-lovers, favorites
review:
4.5 stars

tw: gore/violence, alcoholism

I stuck somewhere between elation and despair. why did i bamboozle myself and read this one early when i'm just gonna have to wait until 2020 for the third book :l

The good parts of this book were really, really good. The angst between Jude and Cardan was definitely heightened, and I applaud the way Holly Black navigates this complex relationship between two people who should seemingly have a power imbalance, and yet Jude forces them to be equals. Jude's strength is awe-inspiring, and this is the type of book I read and then put down feeling like I could kick someone's ass because the vibe of it lingers and the characters are so smart and witty. This book just has the power to resonate. Every time Jude is wronged, I feel embarrassed. Every time Jude is triumphant, I feel powerful.

But whenever there weren't scenes with Jude and Cardan, I felt like I was just floating through the story. At first I thought that it was my fault that I wasn't enjoying the book because I was biased toward my love for the main characters and couldn't focus on anything except scenes between them, then I realized that this book doesn't really detail the drama happening between courts, and especially the leaders and important characters who run those courts. Because I didn't quite have a handle on who was who--and because I wasn't given solid grounding on why I should care about them--parts of the book seemed aimless and boring. Holly Black never fully details or meaningfully describes a character outside of the main characters. If she were to flesh out characters from opposing kingdoms, it might make me more interested in their politics and war scheming, but we were never let into their lives so I only really was concerned about the drama happening within our kingdom.

Despite that, I loved the different conversations that were navigated in this book. Relationships between humans and fae. Missing lost family. Something about the storyline of a human girl demanding to live in a world that wasn't designed for her and constantly tries to shut her out is fascinating and empowering to me, even during its tragic moments.

The last 100 pages--shit, the last 10 pages--alone had so much action, plot twists, and emotional dialogue that I almost just want to give it 5 stars on that alone, but although I love the characters in this series, it's not as character-based as I want it to be. Meaning, I'm selfish and I wish we could have more angsty scenes that I craved whereas this book is more a mix of those scenes interspersed with poorly-executed political drama.

Anyway, if anyone has their hands on book 3 or knows where to find Cardan, please tell him i'm on my way to kick his ass. thanks.
]]> <![CDATA[Just One Day (Just One Day, #1)]]> 17623975
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there's an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.]]> 369 Gayle Forman 0142422959 Whitney 4 Redoing my rating to 5 stars. I love it the more i think about it. eee.ee.lejk dslfjsladkjfsa. allyson.

Actual rating-- 4.5 stars

WARNING: this book is really complicated to review without spoiling, but I tried my best. Be warned that I might accidentally hint at some events that occurred.
~~

I read If I Stay a long time ago and gave it one star on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I was about 14 at the time and I remember not liking it at ALL, so when I heard of another Gayle Forman book coming out, I was skeptical. However, I leapt on the opportunity to read this one to see if I could reverse my ways and find appreciation in Gayle's work, and I can't say that I'm too disappointed.

I read The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight last month, and one of my main issues with the book was that the characters fall in love WAY too fast, even if the book only takes place in the course of one day. This, as the title suggests, also takes place over one day. Or, rather, the bulk of the romance, guy-meets-girl action takes place in a day. I knew I was going into a book where the characters fall in love super fast, and I even prepared myself for it. But, I was still a bit shaken whenever their relationship developed.
At the very beginning of the novel, it is established that Allyson is very quiet, stays in her own bubble, and is not adventurous at all. So when Willem and Allyson first meet, I was a bit confused that she threw herself into flirting with him and having a good time when i'd just read two chapters of her describing how much of a goody-two-shoes she was. Perhaps this is the first step in her character development to become less of a loser, but I was still a bit unsettled by her casualness around Willem and then later on how she so quickly agrees to go trek across a foreign country with a guy she'd known for like half an hour. I also felt that their romance came on quickly, but i'll mention that a little later since i'm going in chronological order.

Throughout the parts of the book where Allyson was in Europe, I was completely thrilled by the setting. I have such a fascination with Europe and the way the tube runs and all this stuff that's foreign to me since I live in Texas and rarely get to read about city life. The setting was so neat to me and Gayle is so great at describing scenery that I felt like I was with them bicycling by canals or running through cobblestone streets or eating crepes outside a cafe. It was truly great to be experiencing the French culture alongside Allyson, because I felt like I was truly there at 2:30 in the morning while I was reading this. It just made me so much more enthusiastic and inspired about myself wanting to travel to Europe, which is actually kinda bad because i'm only 16 and cannot afford to go anywhere further than an hour away. But long story short, I absolutely love that this took place somewhere foreign, and I wish I could read more books that do so. If you're looking for a book that's set somewhere other than America, this is a great one.

Allyson in the beginning of the book came off as a shy girl with no backbone, but as the story progressed, that fact became more and more annoying. I've read my fair share of books with narrators that are like "oh woe is me i like hot boy but im too ugly and hot boy will never love me back", and this certainly was leaning toward that category. It was cliche and it got old reALLY fast, but I was able to push through it until we started to see a shift in her emotions. I won't spoil anything that happens because this book definitely takes a turn you wouldn't suspect, but even after she gets through her whole "omg he wont love me" phase, she enters this newer and darker streak where she's very rude to her parents and cut off from society and refuses to speak to anyone whilst sitting in a puddle of her own butthurt. And despite all of these things being really irritating, I've gotta admit-- they're realistic. Books like this serve as a reminder to me that a lot of things characters do are also things that I would do, even if they are annoying. So despite me wanting to kick Allyson in the booty for half the book, I could still understand why she was feeling the way she did, and so this didn't take away from my rating of the book.

Backtrack really quick to that whole thing about the romance coming on quickly. For the whole first half of their friendship, I was really surprised how she always regarded him as a regular boy instead of this godly creature that she wanted to suction her lips onto. That was super refreshing to have her acknowledge him as a human being instead of this really hot guy that she didn't deserve. There was a very slow progression where her emotions shift from "he was nice" to "he had really soft looking lips", but then there was this one scene in the middle of everything where she has this really overwhelming moment of "he's beautiful and I need to kiss him and oh my god his hand is on my hip and oh my god we were meant to be i dont care that this is just for today i love him" and I was like WHOA WHOA WAHO WHAOAOFHDO CALM URSELF. After that moment it wasn't unrealistic, though, it was just that there was a REALLY obvious epiphany moment that I felt was unnecessary.

I will not discuss it because I feel like the whole ordeal is spoilery, but I will say this: the climax is a bit unrealistic. Similar, again, to The Statistical Probibility, she ends up finding her way through a huge city just with a map and can miraculously find everything she is looking for, which I think is a far stretch. There was a scene in which she was asking a hospital for hospital records-- which even I know that they can't give out-- and yet she goes looking for them and a doctor ends up telling her what happened just from memory of something that happened a year ago. I was kind of flabbergasted because that doesn't really happen, in my eyes.

I cannot talk much on this subject if I'm going to keep it spoiler free, but Willem's character to me was a bit sketchy. In several scenes it was mentioned that girls would give him waggly eyes or he'd accept a phone number from them, and I thought nothing of it because, obviously, that happens to hot guys in books. But then toward the tailend, there is a series of events that puts this in a more serious light, and it makes him seem like a really big player. Willem is absent for the last half of the book after a chain of events, and the more stuff occurs, the more it seems like he never truly liked Allyson at all. She tries to prove this wrong, and in the end, we never really get answers to any of her questions. THIS is the reason why I knocked off .5 stars, because there were a lot of plot holes, especially when for the majority of the book, we were set up to believe that Willem was the great love of her life that would never do anything wrong.

And lastly, I must explain the absolute best part of this novel: Allyson's character development. I said several times before that Allyson was shy and meek and had no self-confidence, the stereotypical girl who let her parents run her life as she stayed under the radar. So I was completely blown away and proud when she went through a series of actions in order to better her life. She stood up to her parents, declaring that she didn't want to go into Pre-med. She was able to get over a series of personality obstacles that made her compact herself into a small box of unimportance. And, in the end, she morphed herself into someone that wouldn't take "no" as an answer. And coming from someone who sobbed for help at the beginning of the story when something went wrong, I was so proud of her character development whenever she was able to go into things calmly and assertively at the end of the book. Truly, a standing ovation for Allyson.

This book is completely set up so that you are required to read the 2nd book in order to recieve answers to unanswered questions, and so I must do so. Perhaps when I finish that, I'll return and bump this up to 5 stars, but until then, I'll lay in bed and complain about all the plot holes and my anxiety over unanswered questions.]]> 3.97 2013 Just One Day (Just One Day, #1)
author: Gayle Forman
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2014/03/02
date added: 2018/09/25
shelves: favorites, read-in-2014, need-to-reread
review:
EDIT 5/4/14
Redoing my rating to 5 stars. I love it the more i think about it. eee.ee.lejk dslfjsladkjfsa. allyson.

Actual rating-- 4.5 stars

WARNING: this book is really complicated to review without spoiling, but I tried my best. Be warned that I might accidentally hint at some events that occurred.
~~

I read If I Stay a long time ago and gave it one star on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I was about 14 at the time and I remember not liking it at ALL, so when I heard of another Gayle Forman book coming out, I was skeptical. However, I leapt on the opportunity to read this one to see if I could reverse my ways and find appreciation in Gayle's work, and I can't say that I'm too disappointed.

I read The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight last month, and one of my main issues with the book was that the characters fall in love WAY too fast, even if the book only takes place in the course of one day. This, as the title suggests, also takes place over one day. Or, rather, the bulk of the romance, guy-meets-girl action takes place in a day. I knew I was going into a book where the characters fall in love super fast, and I even prepared myself for it. But, I was still a bit shaken whenever their relationship developed.
At the very beginning of the novel, it is established that Allyson is very quiet, stays in her own bubble, and is not adventurous at all. So when Willem and Allyson first meet, I was a bit confused that she threw herself into flirting with him and having a good time when i'd just read two chapters of her describing how much of a goody-two-shoes she was. Perhaps this is the first step in her character development to become less of a loser, but I was still a bit unsettled by her casualness around Willem and then later on how she so quickly agrees to go trek across a foreign country with a guy she'd known for like half an hour. I also felt that their romance came on quickly, but i'll mention that a little later since i'm going in chronological order.

Throughout the parts of the book where Allyson was in Europe, I was completely thrilled by the setting. I have such a fascination with Europe and the way the tube runs and all this stuff that's foreign to me since I live in Texas and rarely get to read about city life. The setting was so neat to me and Gayle is so great at describing scenery that I felt like I was with them bicycling by canals or running through cobblestone streets or eating crepes outside a cafe. It was truly great to be experiencing the French culture alongside Allyson, because I felt like I was truly there at 2:30 in the morning while I was reading this. It just made me so much more enthusiastic and inspired about myself wanting to travel to Europe, which is actually kinda bad because i'm only 16 and cannot afford to go anywhere further than an hour away. But long story short, I absolutely love that this took place somewhere foreign, and I wish I could read more books that do so. If you're looking for a book that's set somewhere other than America, this is a great one.

Allyson in the beginning of the book came off as a shy girl with no backbone, but as the story progressed, that fact became more and more annoying. I've read my fair share of books with narrators that are like "oh woe is me i like hot boy but im too ugly and hot boy will never love me back", and this certainly was leaning toward that category. It was cliche and it got old reALLY fast, but I was able to push through it until we started to see a shift in her emotions. I won't spoil anything that happens because this book definitely takes a turn you wouldn't suspect, but even after she gets through her whole "omg he wont love me" phase, she enters this newer and darker streak where she's very rude to her parents and cut off from society and refuses to speak to anyone whilst sitting in a puddle of her own butthurt. And despite all of these things being really irritating, I've gotta admit-- they're realistic. Books like this serve as a reminder to me that a lot of things characters do are also things that I would do, even if they are annoying. So despite me wanting to kick Allyson in the booty for half the book, I could still understand why she was feeling the way she did, and so this didn't take away from my rating of the book.

Backtrack really quick to that whole thing about the romance coming on quickly. For the whole first half of their friendship, I was really surprised how she always regarded him as a regular boy instead of this godly creature that she wanted to suction her lips onto. That was super refreshing to have her acknowledge him as a human being instead of this really hot guy that she didn't deserve. There was a very slow progression where her emotions shift from "he was nice" to "he had really soft looking lips", but then there was this one scene in the middle of everything where she has this really overwhelming moment of "he's beautiful and I need to kiss him and oh my god his hand is on my hip and oh my god we were meant to be i dont care that this is just for today i love him" and I was like WHOA WHOA WAHO WHAOAOFHDO CALM URSELF. After that moment it wasn't unrealistic, though, it was just that there was a REALLY obvious epiphany moment that I felt was unnecessary.

I will not discuss it because I feel like the whole ordeal is spoilery, but I will say this: the climax is a bit unrealistic. Similar, again, to The Statistical Probibility, she ends up finding her way through a huge city just with a map and can miraculously find everything she is looking for, which I think is a far stretch. There was a scene in which she was asking a hospital for hospital records-- which even I know that they can't give out-- and yet she goes looking for them and a doctor ends up telling her what happened just from memory of something that happened a year ago. I was kind of flabbergasted because that doesn't really happen, in my eyes.

I cannot talk much on this subject if I'm going to keep it spoiler free, but Willem's character to me was a bit sketchy. In several scenes it was mentioned that girls would give him waggly eyes or he'd accept a phone number from them, and I thought nothing of it because, obviously, that happens to hot guys in books. But then toward the tailend, there is a series of events that puts this in a more serious light, and it makes him seem like a really big player. Willem is absent for the last half of the book after a chain of events, and the more stuff occurs, the more it seems like he never truly liked Allyson at all. She tries to prove this wrong, and in the end, we never really get answers to any of her questions. THIS is the reason why I knocked off .5 stars, because there were a lot of plot holes, especially when for the majority of the book, we were set up to believe that Willem was the great love of her life that would never do anything wrong.

And lastly, I must explain the absolute best part of this novel: Allyson's character development. I said several times before that Allyson was shy and meek and had no self-confidence, the stereotypical girl who let her parents run her life as she stayed under the radar. So I was completely blown away and proud when she went through a series of actions in order to better her life. She stood up to her parents, declaring that she didn't want to go into Pre-med. She was able to get over a series of personality obstacles that made her compact herself into a small box of unimportance. And, in the end, she morphed herself into someone that wouldn't take "no" as an answer. And coming from someone who sobbed for help at the beginning of the story when something went wrong, I was so proud of her character development whenever she was able to go into things calmly and assertively at the end of the book. Truly, a standing ovation for Allyson.

This book is completely set up so that you are required to read the 2nd book in order to recieve answers to unanswered questions, and so I must do so. Perhaps when I finish that, I'll return and bump this up to 5 stars, but until then, I'll lay in bed and complain about all the plot holes and my anxiety over unanswered questions.
]]> Stolen (Stolen, #1) 6408862 It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.

This is my story.

A letter from nowhere.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back?

The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist—almost.]]> 304 Lucy Christopher 1906427135 Whitney 4
zooweemama]]> 3.90 2009 Stolen (Stolen, #1)
author: Lucy Christopher
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2014/06/14
date added: 2018/09/25
shelves: favorites, read-in-2014, need-to-reread, made-me-cry
review:
4.5 stars

zooweemama
]]> The Sky Is Everywhere 23168945
Join Lennie on this heartbreaking and hilarious journey of profound sorrow and mad love, as she makes colossal mistakes and colossal discoveries, as she traipses through band rooms and forest bedrooms and ultimately right into your heart.

As much a celebration of love as a poignant portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often uproarious, and absolutely unforgettable.]]> 292 Jandy Nelson 0142417807 Whitney 5
this book was so freakin fantastic, one of my new favorites.
like, up-at-1:30-AM-crying-because-it's-so-good favorite]]> 3.93 2010 The Sky Is Everywhere
author: Jandy Nelson
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2014/02/27
date added: 2018/09/25
shelves: favorites, read-in-2014, made-me-cry
review:
tissue count: 7

this book was so freakin fantastic, one of my new favorites.
like, up-at-1:30-AM-crying-because-it's-so-good favorite
]]> <![CDATA[The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)]]> 17675462 “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,� Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.�

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.]]> 409 Maggie Stiefvater 0545424925 Whitney 4 4.5 stars 4.05 2012 The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/05
date added: 2018/09/09
shelves: lgbtqiap, read-in-2015, need-to-reread, favorites
review:
4.5 stars
]]> <![CDATA[A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)]]> 22055262
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.]]> 400 Victoria E. Schwab 0765376458 Whitney 4
this book is great because it has one of those plots that's infuriating and makes you go NOOOOOOOO throughout the entire book and i wanted to pull my hair out and scream because i was so invested in the well-being of all the characters.

i love kell. i love kell so much. eeeep.

my only complaint about this book is that since it's the first book in a series, there is quite a bit of worldbuilding and lengthy chapters explaining the world--which is necessary because it's complex, but took us out of the action for a while. i know the rest of the books in this series will be five stars, though, and i can't wait to read them!]]> 4.04 2015 A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2017/06/19
date added: 2018/02/16
shelves: read-in-2017, favs-of-2017, favorites
review:
ok!!!!! nice!!!!!!

this book is great because it has one of those plots that's infuriating and makes you go NOOOOOOOO throughout the entire book and i wanted to pull my hair out and scream because i was so invested in the well-being of all the characters.

i love kell. i love kell so much. eeeep.

my only complaint about this book is that since it's the first book in a series, there is quite a bit of worldbuilding and lengthy chapters explaining the world--which is necessary because it's complex, but took us out of the action for a while. i know the rest of the books in this series will be five stars, though, and i can't wait to read them!
]]> The Song of Achilles 13623848 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062060624.

Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.]]> 408 Madeline Miller Whitney 4
so wow. I've heard for years that this book is sad but so, so powerful, which I understand. I think it was a leeeeeettle overhyped for me, but it was still a magnificent read.

This story had such a great aesthetic. Set in ancient Greece but told through the lens of a quiet, conflicted main character. I thought it was beautiful. The writing, the way that Achilles is described, the first half of this book developing the characters was just absolutely gorgeous.

Then I began to have a lot of issues with it. Mainly, the whole middle section about the developing Trojan war was boring. Nothing was happening, there were too many characters with unpronouncable names, and Achilles turned into sort of a pompous ass. One of the main downfalls of this story is that it focuses so much on Achilles' honor, and that was so annoying to me. This book really emphasizes the flaws in characters, which I assume is why this was discussed so much, but it just irritated me that I was expecting a love story and there was actually a lot of underlying conflict between Patroclus and Achilles.

This is more of a war story and the development of individual characters than it is about a love story. That being said, I felt like the romance was a little bit on the dry side. I adored the two together, but at some points, the story just felt so drained of any emotion and it was like Miller was just slugging through a textbook saying "this happened then this happened then this happened." There were so many moments that I felt we could have taken a step back and added some more impactful imagery and dialogue to make a short scene more meaningful to the reader, but it ended up feeling so stretched thin because this book takes place over 12+ years.

Regardless, I cried throughout the last 50 pages of this book. It delivered the punchy ending I was anticipating, and it SLIGHTLY appeased the hatred I have for Achilles' mother. slightly. she's still a raging bitch but like...... a chill raging bitch.

(also just kill me so i never have to read that last paragraph ever again my chest hurts)]]> 4.30 2011 The Song of Achilles
author: Madeline Miller
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2017/06/08
date added: 2018/02/16
shelves: lgbtqiap, read-in-2017, favs-of-2017, made-me-cry, favorites
review:
I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.

so wow. I've heard for years that this book is sad but so, so powerful, which I understand. I think it was a leeeeeettle overhyped for me, but it was still a magnificent read.

This story had such a great aesthetic. Set in ancient Greece but told through the lens of a quiet, conflicted main character. I thought it was beautiful. The writing, the way that Achilles is described, the first half of this book developing the characters was just absolutely gorgeous.

Then I began to have a lot of issues with it. Mainly, the whole middle section about the developing Trojan war was boring. Nothing was happening, there were too many characters with unpronouncable names, and Achilles turned into sort of a pompous ass. One of the main downfalls of this story is that it focuses so much on Achilles' honor, and that was so annoying to me. This book really emphasizes the flaws in characters, which I assume is why this was discussed so much, but it just irritated me that I was expecting a love story and there was actually a lot of underlying conflict between Patroclus and Achilles.

This is more of a war story and the development of individual characters than it is about a love story. That being said, I felt like the romance was a little bit on the dry side. I adored the two together, but at some points, the story just felt so drained of any emotion and it was like Miller was just slugging through a textbook saying "this happened then this happened then this happened." There were so many moments that I felt we could have taken a step back and added some more impactful imagery and dialogue to make a short scene more meaningful to the reader, but it ended up feeling so stretched thin because this book takes place over 12+ years.

Regardless, I cried throughout the last 50 pages of this book. It delivered the punchy ending I was anticipating, and it SLIGHTLY appeased the hatred I have for Achilles' mother. slightly. she's still a raging bitch but like...... a chill raging bitch.

(also just kill me so i never have to read that last paragraph ever again my chest hurts)
]]> <![CDATA[A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)]]> 29939230 Witness the fate of beloved heroes - and enemies.

THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS FINALLY TIPPED...
The precarious equilibrium among four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise.

WHO WILL CRUMBLE?
Kell - once assumed to be the last surviving Antari - begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?

WHO WILL RISE?
Lila Bard, once a commonplace - but never common - thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.

WHO WILL TAKE CONTROL?
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.]]> 624 Victoria E. Schwab 0765387468 Whitney 5
A lot of the reason I didn't enjoy the middle of this series is because I'm really not a fan of books about pirates, or books that take place on boats. If i'd known that a huge chunk of this series was about being out at sea, I would have been far more wary to pick it up, but it was worth it in the end!

I think Kell is one of the most interesting characters that I've read about in a long time. It was so engaging to be inside his head and to think and feel the way that he does. He's a refreshing, fully fleshed out character. He compliments every other character so well, and the way that he interacts with other people was just fascinating.

I began the series hating Lila because I was like whY ARE U SO RECKLESS WITH THIS ROCK UR LITERALLY GONNA KILL EVERYONE AND THEN DIE U ARE SO DUMB but by this book i was like "pls knife me also i love you, my mother." Her dialogue and her attitude and the way that she demands respect from other characters is so refreshing and empowering. I only wish her relationship with Kell could be explored further, but the book ended too soon.

And Rhy. My son. My baby. I love him so fucking much. I was crying so hard for him at the end of this book that I had to put it down. Victoria wrote so much heartwrenching material for him, and yet he remained a character that provided comedic relief and realness and bravery and I LOVE HIM IDK WHY I'M TALKING ABOUT HIM LIKE HE'S A REAL PERSON I WANT TO PROTECT HIM AT ALL COSTS

alucard is awesome i love the fanart he has a man bun in most of it 10/10

We're not gonna talk about Holland but asdfghjkl; YES bUT ALSO NO BUT ALSO YES I LOVE HIM

Long story short, this had a LOT of plot to wade through, and I skipped some chapters from irrelevant side characters (even Osaron lmao whoops but really what did he add ~nothing~). The final battle scene became a little confusing just because this is one of those books that just throws loopholes in your face at the last minute like "we've been working for over 3 books to defeat this thing and by the way i just remembered something to stop the evil that could have ended this 1,000 pages ago!" But BESIDES that, it's a fabulous book with memorable characters.

I love Holland. I love Kell. I love Lila. I love Rhy. Alucard is ok. ajfldsjfdjksa fkdlsa

to those who keep asking, this series is worth it.]]> 4.30 2017 A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/07/19
date added: 2018/02/16
shelves: read-in-2017, lgbtqiap, favs-of-2017, smutty, favorites
review:
I spent so long today crying and thinking about this book that it completely slipped my mind to mark it as completed on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I was beginning to lose faith in this series because book two was a very weak sequel in my opinion and the first half of this book took me quite a while to finish. I will admit that I did skim read quite a few chapters in here (I found the addition of POVs other than lila/rhy/alucard/holland's quite slow), but it finally gained speed in the last half.

A lot of the reason I didn't enjoy the middle of this series is because I'm really not a fan of books about pirates, or books that take place on boats. If i'd known that a huge chunk of this series was about being out at sea, I would have been far more wary to pick it up, but it was worth it in the end!

I think Kell is one of the most interesting characters that I've read about in a long time. It was so engaging to be inside his head and to think and feel the way that he does. He's a refreshing, fully fleshed out character. He compliments every other character so well, and the way that he interacts with other people was just fascinating.

I began the series hating Lila because I was like whY ARE U SO RECKLESS WITH THIS ROCK UR LITERALLY GONNA KILL EVERYONE AND THEN DIE U ARE SO DUMB but by this book i was like "pls knife me also i love you, my mother." Her dialogue and her attitude and the way that she demands respect from other characters is so refreshing and empowering. I only wish her relationship with Kell could be explored further, but the book ended too soon.

And Rhy. My son. My baby. I love him so fucking much. I was crying so hard for him at the end of this book that I had to put it down. Victoria wrote so much heartwrenching material for him, and yet he remained a character that provided comedic relief and realness and bravery and I LOVE HIM IDK WHY I'M TALKING ABOUT HIM LIKE HE'S A REAL PERSON I WANT TO PROTECT HIM AT ALL COSTS

alucard is awesome i love the fanart he has a man bun in most of it 10/10

We're not gonna talk about Holland but asdfghjkl; YES bUT ALSO NO BUT ALSO YES I LOVE HIM

Long story short, this had a LOT of plot to wade through, and I skipped some chapters from irrelevant side characters (even Osaron lmao whoops but really what did he add ~nothing~). The final battle scene became a little confusing just because this is one of those books that just throws loopholes in your face at the last minute like "we've been working for over 3 books to defeat this thing and by the way i just remembered something to stop the evil that could have ended this 1,000 pages ago!" But BESIDES that, it's a fabulous book with memorable characters.

I love Holland. I love Kell. I love Lila. I love Rhy. Alucard is ok. ajfldsjfdjksa fkdlsa

to those who keep asking, this series is worth it.
]]> <![CDATA[Now I Rise (And I Darken Series, #2)]]> 22817331
After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada Dracul is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn’t getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There’s no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her.

What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu’s subtlety and skill. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople—and it’s no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. Radu longs for his sister’s fierce confidence—but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself—but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him?

As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won…and souls will be lost.]]> 471 Kiersten White 0553522353 Whitney 4
This series continues to amaze me just because of its depth and scope. For a while I thought this book was just boring politics, but then I realized that it continues to play with the themes of identity and religion/culture. But in this book, it also questions loyalty and morality and it’s just??? so good????? I don’t want this to sound like I’m shitting on other YA books but this is seriously so thought-provoking and mature (not in its content, really, just that it tackles so many themes and creates such depth of characters) that I can’t believe more people don’t talk about it. The way that it tackles feelings of belonging and religion and loyalty are so impactful and strangely relatable even though this takes place 600 years ago. it’s just absolutely fascinating.

The biggest thing I admire about these books is how much they read like character studies. Lada and Radu are genuinely two of the most interesting characters in YA right now, in my opinion. AND PPL ARE SLEEPING ON IT!!! I cannot emphasize how much I adore Lada as a character. She is ruthless and doesn’t care about others� opinions of her and does what she think is best for her and is so self-motivated and self-confident, AND YET there’s still this vulnerable and human side to her that craves validation and it makes her so real. And this passion and feeling isn’t even driven by romantic feelings—it’s about duty and feminism and family and morality and IT’S JUST SO GOOD SHE’S SUCH AN INTRICATE AND WELL-CRAFTED CHARACTER. Nothing about her is glossed over. She has periods, she has casual sex, she kills people who betray her, she cries, she is generous. I’m so impressed at the quality of her character.
And likewise for Radu. I just…�. he’s incredible. The complete opposite of Lada. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s outwardly passionate and intelligent and emotional, but there’s a darker, melancholy side to him and his coming to terms with religion and feeling in-between cultures and his sexuality and his feelings of estrangement from his family. I was genuinely crying by the end of this book when he was having to justify being in war and feeling torn between the two cultures and not being able to escape with blood on his hands. i just want to hug him and wrap him in blankets.
And the two of these characters together in one book? As brother and sister? Working together? I’m hooked on every page. Even though they are separated throughout this entire book, I couldn’t choose whose POV was my favorite and I never wished they were together just so that the plot would be more interesting. It carried its own weight magnificently. The machinations of their brains drive the story despite their being apart and in this book, the angst and the tension continues to build. It’s addicting.

One of my only complaints is that it’s so hard to keep characters, nations, and events straight in this book. I don’t know much about Ottoman or European history, and not much is given explanation-wise. I mean, obviously there’s tension between Muslims and Christians, but I feel like White should have used the opportunity to make this more comprehensible by adding information about the countries and basic history that we should know, because I seriously always forget who’s fighting who and why and who is avenging who and why they died and why does Mehmed want to capture Constantinople and was Constantinople a real place and are these descriptions historically accurate? It pulled me out of the story to be constantly questioning what was happening. Is Constantinople in Turkey? If so, why are they fighting with the Ottomans? Why are there so many Italians? Is it in Italy? Do I have to google 15th century European geography just to understand this book? (Yes.) ((Also, googling Constantinople spoils the war in this book soooo))

[side note: the entire problem stated above could probably be solved with a bigger/better map]

One more thing that I think would have made this book stronger would have been the addition of Mehmed’s POV. I know the book is centralized on the Wallachian siblings for a reason and it would have been 100+ pages longer with the added perspective, but everyone is split up and I think it works, but knowing what’s going on with the Ottomans would round out the story and help the readers reason with how they should feel about Mehmed, because he’s in a very grey area in this book. He’s the link between the two siblings, a romantic love interest, and the leader of a powerful empire, but for the majority of this book, i wasn’t sure if i was supposed to be rooting for him or not.

This is such a slow-burning but strong series. I highly, highly recommend it. It contains some of the most dynamic, fleshed-out characters I’ve ever read in YA, on the level of Cassie Clare & Maggie Stiefvater. Don’t let the slowness of the plot and thickness of the books deceive you.]]> 4.20 2017 Now I Rise (And I Darken Series, #2)
author: Kiersten White
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2017/12/16
date added: 2018/02/16
shelves: audiobook, favs-of-2017, lgbtqiap, read-in-2017, made-me-cry, favorites
review:
4.5 stars

This series continues to amaze me just because of its depth and scope. For a while I thought this book was just boring politics, but then I realized that it continues to play with the themes of identity and religion/culture. But in this book, it also questions loyalty and morality and it’s just??? so good????? I don’t want this to sound like I’m shitting on other YA books but this is seriously so thought-provoking and mature (not in its content, really, just that it tackles so many themes and creates such depth of characters) that I can’t believe more people don’t talk about it. The way that it tackles feelings of belonging and religion and loyalty are so impactful and strangely relatable even though this takes place 600 years ago. it’s just absolutely fascinating.

The biggest thing I admire about these books is how much they read like character studies. Lada and Radu are genuinely two of the most interesting characters in YA right now, in my opinion. AND PPL ARE SLEEPING ON IT!!! I cannot emphasize how much I adore Lada as a character. She is ruthless and doesn’t care about others� opinions of her and does what she think is best for her and is so self-motivated and self-confident, AND YET there’s still this vulnerable and human side to her that craves validation and it makes her so real. And this passion and feeling isn’t even driven by romantic feelings—it’s about duty and feminism and family and morality and IT’S JUST SO GOOD SHE’S SUCH AN INTRICATE AND WELL-CRAFTED CHARACTER. Nothing about her is glossed over. She has periods, she has casual sex, she kills people who betray her, she cries, she is generous. I’m so impressed at the quality of her character.
And likewise for Radu. I just…�. he’s incredible. The complete opposite of Lada. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s outwardly passionate and intelligent and emotional, but there’s a darker, melancholy side to him and his coming to terms with religion and feeling in-between cultures and his sexuality and his feelings of estrangement from his family. I was genuinely crying by the end of this book when he was having to justify being in war and feeling torn between the two cultures and not being able to escape with blood on his hands. i just want to hug him and wrap him in blankets.
And the two of these characters together in one book? As brother and sister? Working together? I’m hooked on every page. Even though they are separated throughout this entire book, I couldn’t choose whose POV was my favorite and I never wished they were together just so that the plot would be more interesting. It carried its own weight magnificently. The machinations of their brains drive the story despite their being apart and in this book, the angst and the tension continues to build. It’s addicting.

One of my only complaints is that it’s so hard to keep characters, nations, and events straight in this book. I don’t know much about Ottoman or European history, and not much is given explanation-wise. I mean, obviously there’s tension between Muslims and Christians, but I feel like White should have used the opportunity to make this more comprehensible by adding information about the countries and basic history that we should know, because I seriously always forget who’s fighting who and why and who is avenging who and why they died and why does Mehmed want to capture Constantinople and was Constantinople a real place and are these descriptions historically accurate? It pulled me out of the story to be constantly questioning what was happening. Is Constantinople in Turkey? If so, why are they fighting with the Ottomans? Why are there so many Italians? Is it in Italy? Do I have to google 15th century European geography just to understand this book? (Yes.) ((Also, googling Constantinople spoils the war in this book soooo))

[side note: the entire problem stated above could probably be solved with a bigger/better map]

One more thing that I think would have made this book stronger would have been the addition of Mehmed’s POV. I know the book is centralized on the Wallachian siblings for a reason and it would have been 100+ pages longer with the added perspective, but everyone is split up and I think it works, but knowing what’s going on with the Ottomans would round out the story and help the readers reason with how they should feel about Mehmed, because he’s in a very grey area in this book. He’s the link between the two siblings, a romantic love interest, and the leader of a powerful empire, but for the majority of this book, i wasn’t sure if i was supposed to be rooting for him or not.

This is such a slow-burning but strong series. I highly, highly recommend it. It contains some of the most dynamic, fleshed-out characters I’ve ever read in YA, on the level of Cassie Clare & Maggie Stiefvater. Don’t let the slowness of the plot and thickness of the books deceive you.
]]> <![CDATA[The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories]]> 18143905
Marina Keegan’s star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash.

As her family, friends, and classmates, deep in grief, joined to create a memorial service for Marina, her unforgettable last essay for the Yale Daily News, “The Opposite of Loneliness,� went viral, receiving more than 1.4 million hits. She had struck a chord.

Even though she was just twenty-two when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation. The Opposite of Loneliness is an assem­blage of Marina’s essays and stories that, like The Last Lecture, articulates the universal struggle that all of us face as we figure out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to make an impact on the world.]]> 208 Marina Keegan 147675361X Whitney 5 3.86 2014 The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories
author: Marina Keegan
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/11/06
date added: 2018/02/07
shelves: favorites, read-in-2015, made-me-cry
review:
One of the best books i've ever read. Some of the most beautiful writing i've experienced. Some of these quotes gave me chills so bad I had to stop reading. A few of these stories lost my interest, but the ones that blew my mind made up for it. A book that deserves every award and every 5 stars in the world.
]]> The Last Song 6400090 Alternate Cover Edition can be found here

Seventeen-year-old Veronica 'Ronnie' Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father . . . until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms - first love, the love between parents and children - that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts . . . and heal them.]]> 390 Nicholas Sparks 0446547565 Whitney 5 4.16 2008 The Last Song
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2012/01/01
date added: 2018/02/07
shelves: favorites, read-before-booktube, made-me-cry
review:

]]> The Awakening 17724
The text is that of the first edition of the novel, published by Herbert S. Stone in 1899. The annotations, provided by the editor, include translations of French phrases and explanations of references to the New Orleans locales, customs, and lore, the Bayou region, and Creole culture.

The expanded "Biographical and Historical Contexts" section, introduced by a new Editor's Note, presents biographical, historical, and cultural documents; many are contemporary with the novel's publication. Among the new inclusions are an essay by the acclaimed Chopin biographer Emily Toth, "An Etiquette/Advice Book Sampler" with selections from the conduct books of the late nineteenth century, and period fashion plates from Harper's Bazar.

A comprehensive "Criticism" section, introduced by a new Editor's Note, contains expanded sections from the hard-to-find contemporary reviews of the novel: two letters of mysterious origin written in response to the novel; and Chopin's "Retraction" following The Awakening's negative reception. These are followed by twenty-seven interpretive essays, twelve of them new, that provide a variety of perspectives on The Awakening, including pieces by Cynthia Griffin Wolff, Nancy Walker, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Paula A. Treichler, Sandra M. Gilbert, Lee R. Edwards, Patricia S. Yaeger, Elizabeth Ammons, and Elaine Showalter,

A Chronology of Chopin's life and a thoroughly updated Bibliography are included.
--back cover]]> 336 kate-chopin Whitney 5
probably the most beautifully written book i've ever read, plus so much feminism it makes me weak. I adore this book and I am going to be buying my own copy soon so that i can reread and reread and reread it until I die. ]]> 3.67 1899 The Awakening
author: kate-chopin
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1899
rating: 5
read at: 2015/10/25
date added: 2018/01/12
shelves: favorites, feminism, read-in-2015, need-to-reread
review:
WOW

probably the most beautifully written book i've ever read, plus so much feminism it makes me weak. I adore this book and I am going to be buying my own copy soon so that i can reread and reread and reread it until I die.
]]> Furthermore (Furthermore, #1) 28110143
But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she’ll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. It will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself—and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.]]> 406 Tahereh Mafi 1101994762 Whitney 4 ALICE!!!! Oh my god, I ADORED Alice. If you put down Shatter Me because you thought Juliette was weak, Alice will blow your mind. The sass and the confidence packed into this twelve year old is so admirable, I fell in love with her immediately. She's like book 3 Juliette on crack (told you). Sometimes she took this confidence a little too far and it made her a bit impulsive, which I'll touch on later. And I was fully expecting to love Oliver just as much. Any character with a Y chromosome written by Tahereh Mafi, no matter what age, I was expecting to fall deeply in love with. And being honest, Oliver fell flat to me. He was sorta a jerk. I mean, I did have a mini panic session when he was described as pristine and clean (!!! LIKE !!!! SOMEONE! !! !! ELSE!! !!!!!), but he was not a good match for Alice. He was rude and expected so much of her without giving her instructions, and all this caused a really irritating rivalry between them. Perhaps I was let down because my expectations were high, but regardless, as a character he was still really fleshed-out and the dialogue between them had me in fits of grinning.
Now let's talk world building. I already mentioned how much I loved Ferenwood. Take The Capitol mixed with Diagon Alley, and there you have it. The imagery is UNREAL everything is so vivid. But although the town was described very nicely, I wish we had more explanation of the magic system. I feel like toward the end of the book you get a clearer explanation of talents and the magical coins that contain power, but at the beginning (when it matters most), I was very confused. Some things just needed to be explicitly explained up front, like how Oliver's talent of lying works and how the money/magic is used. One last complaint about the world-- I was having a hard time not comparing it too closely to Harry Potter. It seemed very similar, and knowing how much Tahereh loves the series, I was noticing that the two books came out a bit similar. A town's own currency, a street with magic shops, and just little things like that which I could draw a parallel. Surely J.K. Rowling doesn't have a trademark on any of these things, but the fact that I could stop and think "Hmmm that kind of reminds me of Harry Potter" was a bit concerning.
Onto Furthermore. I gotta say, I wasn't too impressed. This is partially my own fault because somehow when I read the synopsis I missed the part that literally described Futhermore as "dangerous," so I was expecting a light and happy trip through fields of flowers on the way to find her father. And this book was much, MUCH darker than I had anticipated. And sadly, I felt as if it could have been described a lot better. Coming from Ferenwood which was so bright and lovely and well-described, Furthermore seemed so bleak that I literally couldn't imagine it. It seemed like Oliver and Alice were just walking through blank, black landscape for half the book. I would say that this book needs some type of illustration or map, but even that might be impossible because there's no coherent left, right, up, or down inside Furthermore. And this is the root of one of my main issues with the book-- because the reader doesn't know what to expect as far as what sorts of magic can be expected in Furthermore, we're kinda just dragged along blindly and experience everything as the characters do. This goes back to I wish we had been explained things more explicitly, and I wish that Oliver could have given Alice a debriefing on what to expect, or just something to prepare the reader for what Furthermore is like, because I'm still a bit confused on all the different villages they visited and how all those different realms are sewn together.
Going back to Alice acting impulsively: if this was any other author, it would probably annoy me. But since it's Tahereh, I reconciled it with myself and couldn't help thinking IT HAS A MORAL!!! HER MISTAKES SERVE A PURPOSE!!!! But even then, and I'm not sure if it's because this is middle grade, Alice had a tendency to think stupidly sometimes, which was frustrating. And that's a sentence I found myself saying a lot. "But it's middle grade." I was very hesitant going into this just because of that fact. And yeah, I think maybe some facets of the book were simplified for the sake of the genre, but it was still well-done. One aspect of it's middle-gradeness, if you will, was that it implemented some made-up words and "childish explanations." I'm gonna compare it to Rick Riordan using his lame jokes in the Percy Jackson series; I adored it because I'm a fan of Tahereh and literally anything she has to say, but I can see how others might take it as annoying. It just depends on what kind of reader you are, and how much you can handle whimsy and silly metaphors.
In the end, I think this just wrapped up too conveniently. The ending was very rushed, sort of like in Ignite Me when things fall together seamlessly and a bit anti-climactically, and I would have liked to see a slower resolution that was explained better. It irritated me that the characters found such an easy way out after struggling for so long, how they made stupid decisions after being careful for so long.
I'm not sure if the problems I had with this book are because it was middle grade, or if some necessary details were just omitted. But I was absolutely sure I would be giving this five stars, and I'm left a little confused even though in the end, the main feeling that sticks with me is contentment. I would recommend this if you like REALLY whimsical books, if you like Tahereh's writing, or you just want an enchanting tale about a ridiculously sassy heroine going on a strange, dark adventure. And of course, I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel ;)

2/1/2016
tHE COV ER !!!! OHD YM GOD@!!!!!! THE FOX!!!! ALICE !!!! OLLIIEEE!!!!! !OH YM GO OH MY GOD OH MY GOD AND SHE WEARS HER BRACELETS LIKE TAHEREH DOES AND OLLIE LOOKS LIKE A BABY ROWAN AND NOW SHE'S SO DEVOID OF COLOR SHE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS AND I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

1/15/2016
The lengths I am going through to draft a good email and convince Penguin to send me one of these ARCs is so nerve-wracking I want to cry because THE BOOK NOW EXISTS IN PAPER FORM AND I DON' HAVE IT IN MY HANDS!!!!1 THIS IS A TRAGEDY!!!!!!!!!!

1/3/2016
WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL COVER!!!!!! I AM SO READY!!!!!!! DO U SEE THAT WHIMSICAL FONT!!!!!!! @THEVOID I'M READY TAKE ME

12/21/2015
I want this book so badly it hurts... I literally check once a week to see if any new info has come out or if the cover is on its way. I WILL BE HARASSING THE ENTIRE INTERNET FOR AN ARC ONCE THIS BOOK SEES THE LIGHT OF DAY! I CAN'T WAIT OH MY GOD !!!!!! august 30th can't come soon enough. i hope oliver fucks me up as much as warner did

8/5/2014

SCREAMINF
WANt

BRENDAN PARALLELS
FAV CHARACTER
DO WANT
MUCH ADVENTURE
VERY SASS

JSNEJSKWND NEED]]> 3.90 2016 Furthermore (Furthermore, #1)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/02/24
date added: 2018/01/12
shelves: favorites, read-in-2016, feminism, childrens, sent-from-pub, need-to-reread
review:
I might bump this book up to five stars but I need to sit on it for a little. I read this book so slowly to let it sink in, but I'm already dying for a sequel. The main thing I take away from this book is that the writing is just so goddamn PERFECT. Tahereh has such an unprecented use of metaphor that the colors and the scenery in this book were the most vividly described experiences I have ever read. Transitioning from a series with little world building, I ADORED Ferenwood. It was like Diagon Alley on cocaine (I will be using this comparison a lot. Stay tuned.) Dare I say the writing is better than Shatter Me, but it definitely rivals the series. One thing I adored about this writing is that it utilizes SECOND PERSON!!!!!!!! Tahereh would use little asides addressing the reader, and it absolutely made my day to be referred to as "dear friend." I felt like I was curled up in her lap as she was telling me a bedtime story, it was such an interesting style of narration.
ALICE!!!! Oh my god, I ADORED Alice. If you put down Shatter Me because you thought Juliette was weak, Alice will blow your mind. The sass and the confidence packed into this twelve year old is so admirable, I fell in love with her immediately. She's like book 3 Juliette on crack (told you). Sometimes she took this confidence a little too far and it made her a bit impulsive, which I'll touch on later. And I was fully expecting to love Oliver just as much. Any character with a Y chromosome written by Tahereh Mafi, no matter what age, I was expecting to fall deeply in love with. And being honest, Oliver fell flat to me. He was sorta a jerk. I mean, I did have a mini panic session when he was described as pristine and clean (!!! LIKE !!!! SOMEONE! !! !! ELSE!! !!!!!), but he was not a good match for Alice. He was rude and expected so much of her without giving her instructions, and all this caused a really irritating rivalry between them. Perhaps I was let down because my expectations were high, but regardless, as a character he was still really fleshed-out and the dialogue between them had me in fits of grinning.
Now let's talk world building. I already mentioned how much I loved Ferenwood. Take The Capitol mixed with Diagon Alley, and there you have it. The imagery is UNREAL everything is so vivid. But although the town was described very nicely, I wish we had more explanation of the magic system. I feel like toward the end of the book you get a clearer explanation of talents and the magical coins that contain power, but at the beginning (when it matters most), I was very confused. Some things just needed to be explicitly explained up front, like how Oliver's talent of lying works and how the money/magic is used. One last complaint about the world-- I was having a hard time not comparing it too closely to Harry Potter. It seemed very similar, and knowing how much Tahereh loves the series, I was noticing that the two books came out a bit similar. A town's own currency, a street with magic shops, and just little things like that which I could draw a parallel. Surely J.K. Rowling doesn't have a trademark on any of these things, but the fact that I could stop and think "Hmmm that kind of reminds me of Harry Potter" was a bit concerning.
Onto Furthermore. I gotta say, I wasn't too impressed. This is partially my own fault because somehow when I read the synopsis I missed the part that literally described Futhermore as "dangerous," so I was expecting a light and happy trip through fields of flowers on the way to find her father. And this book was much, MUCH darker than I had anticipated. And sadly, I felt as if it could have been described a lot better. Coming from Ferenwood which was so bright and lovely and well-described, Furthermore seemed so bleak that I literally couldn't imagine it. It seemed like Oliver and Alice were just walking through blank, black landscape for half the book. I would say that this book needs some type of illustration or map, but even that might be impossible because there's no coherent left, right, up, or down inside Furthermore. And this is the root of one of my main issues with the book-- because the reader doesn't know what to expect as far as what sorts of magic can be expected in Furthermore, we're kinda just dragged along blindly and experience everything as the characters do. This goes back to I wish we had been explained things more explicitly, and I wish that Oliver could have given Alice a debriefing on what to expect, or just something to prepare the reader for what Furthermore is like, because I'm still a bit confused on all the different villages they visited and how all those different realms are sewn together.
Going back to Alice acting impulsively: if this was any other author, it would probably annoy me. But since it's Tahereh, I reconciled it with myself and couldn't help thinking IT HAS A MORAL!!! HER MISTAKES SERVE A PURPOSE!!!! But even then, and I'm not sure if it's because this is middle grade, Alice had a tendency to think stupidly sometimes, which was frustrating. And that's a sentence I found myself saying a lot. "But it's middle grade." I was very hesitant going into this just because of that fact. And yeah, I think maybe some facets of the book were simplified for the sake of the genre, but it was still well-done. One aspect of it's middle-gradeness, if you will, was that it implemented some made-up words and "childish explanations." I'm gonna compare it to Rick Riordan using his lame jokes in the Percy Jackson series; I adored it because I'm a fan of Tahereh and literally anything she has to say, but I can see how others might take it as annoying. It just depends on what kind of reader you are, and how much you can handle whimsy and silly metaphors.
In the end, I think this just wrapped up too conveniently. The ending was very rushed, sort of like in Ignite Me when things fall together seamlessly and a bit anti-climactically, and I would have liked to see a slower resolution that was explained better. It irritated me that the characters found such an easy way out after struggling for so long, how they made stupid decisions after being careful for so long.
I'm not sure if the problems I had with this book are because it was middle grade, or if some necessary details were just omitted. But I was absolutely sure I would be giving this five stars, and I'm left a little confused even though in the end, the main feeling that sticks with me is contentment. I would recommend this if you like REALLY whimsical books, if you like Tahereh's writing, or you just want an enchanting tale about a ridiculously sassy heroine going on a strange, dark adventure. And of course, I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel ;)

2/1/2016
tHE COV ER !!!! OHD YM GOD@!!!!!! THE FOX!!!! ALICE !!!! OLLIIEEE!!!!! !OH YM GO OH MY GOD OH MY GOD AND SHE WEARS HER BRACELETS LIKE TAHEREH DOES AND OLLIE LOOKS LIKE A BABY ROWAN AND NOW SHE'S SO DEVOID OF COLOR SHE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS AND I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

1/15/2016
The lengths I am going through to draft a good email and convince Penguin to send me one of these ARCs is so nerve-wracking I want to cry because THE BOOK NOW EXISTS IN PAPER FORM AND I DON' HAVE IT IN MY HANDS!!!!1 THIS IS A TRAGEDY!!!!!!!!!!

1/3/2016
WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL COVER!!!!!! I AM SO READY!!!!!!! DO U SEE THAT WHIMSICAL FONT!!!!!!! @THEVOID I'M READY TAKE ME

12/21/2015
I want this book so badly it hurts... I literally check once a week to see if any new info has come out or if the cover is on its way. I WILL BE HARASSING THE ENTIRE INTERNET FOR AN ARC ONCE THIS BOOK SEES THE LIGHT OF DAY! I CAN'T WAIT OH MY GOD !!!!!! august 30th can't come soon enough. i hope oliver fucks me up as much as warner did

8/5/2014

SCREAMINF
WANt

BRENDAN PARALLELS
FAV CHARACTER
DO WANT
MUCH ADVENTURE
VERY SASS

JSNEJSKWND NEED
]]> <![CDATA[City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)]]> 256683
This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...]]> 485 Cassandra Clare 1416914285 Whitney 5 4.08 2007 City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2013/07/08
date added: 2018/01/12
shelves: favorites, read-in-2013, need-to-reread
review:
I JUST SAW THAT I RATED THIS ONLY FOUR STARS AND I'M REALLY CONFUSED ????????
]]> The Host (The Host, #1) 1656001
As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1 - ACE #2 ]]> 619 Stephenie Meyer 0316068047 Whitney 5 3.85 2008 The Host (The Host, #1)
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Whitney
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2012/12/18
date added: 2018/01/12
shelves: favorites, read-before-booktube, need-to-reread
review:

]]> Counting Descent 29599121 Counting Descent, is a coming of age story that seeks to complicate our conception of lineage and tradition. Smith explores the cognitive dissonance that results from belonging to a community that unapologetically celebrates black humanity while living in a world that often renders blackness a caricature of fear. His poems move fluidly across personal and political histories, all the while reflecting on the social construction of our lived experiences. Smith brings the reader on a powerful journey forcing us to reflect on all that we learn growing up, and all that we seek to unlearn moving forward.]]> 75 Clint Smith 1938912659 Whitney 5 4.52 2016 Counting Descent
author: Clint Smith
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2017/09/03
date added: 2017/11/18
shelves: favorites, favs-of-2017, poetry, read-in-2017
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)]]> 22529162 Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.]]> 464 Sabaa Tahir Whitney 5 favorites, read-in-2015 4.26 2015 An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)
author: Sabaa Tahir
name: Whitney
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/07
date added: 2017/09/20
shelves: favorites, read-in-2015
review:

]]>