Falling For You by Lisa Shroeder

Falling For You

Author: Lisa Schroeder

Published: January 1, 2013

Publisher: Simon Pulse

 

Goodreads Summary: "Rae's always dreamed of dating a guy like Nathan. He’s nothing like her abusive stepfather—in other words, he’s sweet. But the closer they get, the more Nathan wants of her time, of her love, of her...and the less she wants to give.

As Rae’s affection for Nathan turns to fear, she leans on her friend Leo for support. With Leo, she feels lighter, happier. And possessive Nathan becomes jealous.

Then a tragedy lands Rae in the ICU. Now, hovering between life and death, Rae must find the light amid the darkness…and the strength to fight for life and the love she deserves."

 

Concept/Ideas: 4/5
Storyline/Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing Style: 5/5

 

Oh my god. This book was absolutely amazing. No words can describe the emotion I felt while reading this book. Rae's character was simply beautiful. I have always aspired to have an attitude similar to Rae's. This book was so heartbreaking, and was just FILLED with so many plot twists. The ending was definitely beyond shocking.

I loved how Rae's character simply bloomed throughout the novel. No matter what she was going through, she was so strong. I loved the relationship between her and Leo. I honestly thought Leo was the sweetest thing.

The storyline was extremely fast-paced, and filled with dilemma after dilemma. If Rae thought she had one thing figured out, right away she'd be faced with a new problem. I thought the plot was well developed and showed great character development throughout the book.

No words can describe this book. Just amazing.
The messages behind this book are so, so true.

If anything, what I took from this book was this:
"The road to happiness is paved with good deeds"
and that no matter what situation you may be in, it's important to make the best out of it, see the light through the darkness, and to understand that even if you may be living with a bad situation, there's nothing stopping you from going out into the world and helping others through their troubles and being their light to help them through their own darkness.

Simply breath-taking.

Note: One thing that did bother me was the fact that I feel that the cover and summary are very misleading. Although Nathan plays a HUGE role in the book, I didn't feel that it was enough for the whole summary to be about him... You need to read the book to understand. The cover is completely wrong in my opinion. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with the plot, and it bugs me immensely. The cover of this book implies a light romance, but oh oh... not until you read through Rae's heart-wrenching story and see that it's anything but.

 

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon and More

Author: Sarah Dessen

Published: June 4th, 2013

Publisher:Viking Juvenile

 

Goodreads Summary: "Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer"

 

Concept/Ideas: 3/5
Storyline/Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Writing Style: 5/5 

 

Ahhh! The Moon and More is truly my favorite Sarah Dessen book. Okay, I'm going to be honest. I was never really the Sarah Dessen fan one would expect a teen girl to be. A lot of her books were a bit boring to me, although I thought the issues presented in each novel have always been great.

 

The Moon and More had a good, fast-paced storyline, and I loved Emaline. Emaline was what I would call a 'kick ass' heroine type of character, which I don't usually pick out in novels. She was hardworking, and in a sense the type of person I aspire to be like. I felt that Emaline's character was strong, and she definitely was anything but your typical main character. I loved that for once, I truly enjoyed the protagonist of a story.

 

The other characters were well developed, and I enjoyed reading about them. Even though Theo and Luke may have seemed one way at the beginning of the novel, I was surprised by the end at how differently my feelings had changed for them. Dessen definitely gives you a run for your money. Certain people don't turn out to be who you think they are, and I think that's always a fresh and unique approach to books.

 

The writing had a rhythm to it, and it had a great flow. There wasn't really any dull moments for me in this book, which usually occurs when reading contemporary YA. I think for me, I read this book just at the right time in my life, as I felt like I could relate to Emaline and her problems extremely well. The book heavily focuses on family relationships, and trying to find oneself while still trying to keep those home roots. The book also deals with change, and how although change is inevitable, it's something that can be positive, and exciting.

 

As I said before, I was never much of a fan of Sarah Dessen's writing in the past. Sure, I liked her books, but never felt that 'hook' that others did. Maybe I just wasn't reading her books at the right time. Now, I can proudly say I truly enjoyed one of her books. Maybe it's because I related so well to Emaline in this one, which isn't something I can usually do.

 

The Moon and More is a perfect read for the summer, and I reccommend it! If your a Sarah Dessen fan, her new book will not disappoint.



Friday reads... erm, Saturday reads?

Friday reads was a hashtag started on Twitter which let's others know what your reading.
So although I'm a day late, I'm still going to call it Friday reads... shhh.

Right now, I'm reading the first book in the Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer, Nightshade.
I'm about halfway through, and find it pretty good so far.

The other book I'm almost done reading is This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas. I'm not particularily loving it, but none the less it's still a good read.

 

What are your friday reads? :)

 

Summer Reads

Oh, summer's finally here, and that means tons of new and upcoming summer reads!
Some of the books I'm looking forward to reading are...

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

 

Reqium (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver

I know, I'm late on this one :'(

 

Sever (Chemical Garden #3) by Lauren DeStefano

(oh... and did I mention this one too!?!)

 

Geez, obviously i'm behind on some of these.

 

Crushed (Pretty Little Liars #13) by Sara Shepard

Yet another, but irresistable PLL's.

 

Over You by Amy Reed

 

The Program by Suzanne Young

Have this one on my shelf already... ready to go!

 

So there you go. These are just a few of the books I'm planning to read and look forward to this summer. Let me know what's on your shelf for summer reading!

Ender's Game (Ender's Game Saga #1) by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1)

Author: Orson Scott Card

Published: January 1985

 

Goodreads Summary: "In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel."

 

Concept/Ideas: 4/5
Storyline/Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing Style: 4/5

 

Ender's Game enters you into the world of Ender Wiggin, boy genius. The world in which your thrown into is futuristic, sci-fi, and full of non-stop action. I must admit, this book was not something I would have picked up by myself. I read this book for my grade 12 english class, and I did not expect such a thrill ride from it. Ender's Game pulls you in right from the beginning of the novel. Ender in himself is different from your typical ya fiction character, as he is unique, and has extremely different circumstances.

 

The setting was so unique in itself, that it just pulled you into the different and interesting world of Earth in the near future. Life is different from today's world, and society has completely changed. It's a world where young kids are trained to be adults and fight 'aliens' and 'buggers'

 

The characters in this book were likable, and well developed. I felt as if there was a lot of great build up for the characters, especially Ender, as you see him grow, mature and change as the years go by in this novel. Ender's character development is heart-breaking, as he doesn't necessarily change for the better. You'll see once you read it. There definitely is a loss of innocence theme to this novel, and it really pulls you in.

 

Ah, the writing. The writing was marvelous, but slow at parts. I found myself pulled in during the first half of the book, but for some reason got somewhat bored by the end. The author does a great job of keeping the storyline going strong, but I felt that there were a few slow parts throughout the novel, at which point I just wanted to move onto the next scene. Some parts just felt too drawn out. The author does a great job of building up the suspense throughout the book, with a lot of foreshadowing and build up that definitely plays a part in keeping you hooked.

 

Not only was Ender's Game an exciting, futuristic and unique read, it was also full of meaning, themes and tons of deeper meanings that keep you interested and wondering by the end. The ending is not expected in a sense, and leaves the reader with somewhat of a cliffhanger. I will definitely be checking out the next few books in the series!

 

Not only is there a book, but the movies coming out at the end of this year! Check out the trailer here:

MIA

Yep, I've definitely been MIA for the past six months. Life just gets to you sometimes. I really hope I can start doing more consistent reviewing on this blog, as I have tons and tons of books I want to write my thoughts on.

I'll be adding a few reviews tonight!

Author Appreciation

Hello followers and fellow bookies! I've been away for awhile, and am behind on my reviews due to work and exams. I want to catch up on reviews in the next few days, so stay tuned for a review on Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler and Geek Charming by Robin Palmer.

Lately, and over the past few months I have recieved quite a few books from authors who would love for me to read and review their books. I've been so excited to get started on them all, but have fallen behind in the process. I wanted to let everyone know that for the next little while, or shall I say month..... I will be only/mainly reading and reviewing books that I have recieved from authors. Right now, I am currently reading The Secret Life of Copernicus H. Stringfellow by Lorin Barber, and a non fiction book called Columbine by Dave Cullen.... What can I say, I love my case studies.

Again, I would love to extend the invitation for authors to send me a request via email or goodreads if they have a book they would like me to review, especially during this critical author appreciation month! Any time is fine, I just want to stress that I will be giving first dibs and special attention to these books at the moment.

Thanks everyone, see ya soon!