YA Fiction Review

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Review: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

99 Days by Katie Cotugno

Publisher: 21 April 2015 by Balzer + Bray

Pages: 384

Series: N/A

"Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me. "

I have been slowly making my way through this book whenever I got the chance to have a little time for non-academic reading. Let me just say right now if someone tells you to take an American Nobel Laureates class, don't. It wont be fun. At all.

On the topic of 99 Days, I really enjoyed this book. It got me out of my head when I needed it to, and that is what I want in a book like this. The plot of 99 Days is not all that complicated, girl is dating boy, girl sleeps with boys brother, whole world finds out, girl runs away, girl comes back for summer before college and all hell breaks loose.

I enjoyed the characters. While I did not agree with all of their choices (keep it in your pants everyone!) nor did I like all of their personality traits, however, I did enjoy the fact that the characters stayed true to who they were. There was not this whole bullshit revelation two thirds of the way through the book and everyone forgave each other and they all skipped off into the sunset holding hands.

While there was some closure and forgiveness, not everyone was happy in the end and I think that would be true in real life if this really happened.

I highly suggest reading 99 Days if you haven't already. It is a perfect summer read. So go grab some lemonade and hit the pool to work on your tan and make your way through this book.

-Shawnee Smith

P.S. I agree with Molly on every decision regarding her mom, I mean, who does that kind of thing?! I mean if you're going to base a book off of someone's life, CHANGE EVERYTHING. Don't pull a Dan Humphrey (yes, I just made a Gossip Girl reference) and make it so obvious that everyone knows who the characters are based on. Be a decent person.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Publisher: 4 November 2014 by HarperTeen

Pages: 368

Series: Firebird #1

"Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure."

This book has been getting a lot of notice since it was published a couple of weeks ago and I truly believe that it deserves all of the hype! It was fast paced, has an intriguing plot, and some serious plot twists!

While some of the scienc-y pieces went straight over my head, because lets face it there is a reason I am an English major, I thought this book was incredibly well written. Gray must have done some serious research to be able to write about old time-y Russia and then switch to a Marine Biology station in the middle of the Pacific. She wrote about it with such conviction that it was obvious she knew what she was talking about. I give her props.

I thought Marguerite was too quick to fall in love with Russian-Paul and say all of those things about how all the Marguerite's are the same and Russian-Paul even says that once. But then when Marguerite is back with her-Paul she wont love him or she feels like she is betraying Russian-Paul. (This is probably extremely confusing if you have not read the book and I apologize.) This was really the main part of the story that bothered me. It just didn't make sense.

In the end, I LOVED this book! I can't wait to read the second installment and find out what will happen! I definitely recommend that you read A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray!

-Shawnee Smith

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

What Do I REALLY Want to Read?

Many avid readers have a TBR list (a To Be Read list if you are new to this world), A list of all the books that they want (have) to read!

For me, that list is over 100 books long and growing.

However, there are always books that I want to read more than others and I thought I would let you all know which books I REALLY want to read.

P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2)

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

The Rose Society (The Young Elites #2) by Marie Lu (I mean, Duhh)

Homecoming (The Hundred #3) by Kass Morgan

P.S. I Love You (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

The Heir (The Selection #4) by Kiera Cass

Pivot Point by Kasie West

Charisma by Jeanne Ryan

Have you read any of these books? Are any of these books also on your TBR list? Let me know in the comments!

-Shawnee Smith

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Review: Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano

Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStafano

Burning Kingdoms (Internment Chronicles, #2)

Publisher: 10 March 2015 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Pages: 320

Series: The Internment Chronicles #2

You can read my review of Perfect Ruin (The Interment Chronicles #1) here.

"Danger descends in the second book of The Internment Chronicles, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy.

After escaping Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives land on the ground to finally learn about the world beneath their floating island home.

The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and people watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, their dead are buried in vast gardens of bodies, and Internment is the feature of an amusement park.

It is also a land at war.

Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven, but now they’re caught under the watchful eye of another king who wants to dominate his world. They may have made it to the ground, but have they dragged Internment with them?"

I was completely in love with the first installment of this series, so the moment this book was available to me, I snatched it up a devoured it!

Burning Kingdoms picks up right where Perfect Ruin left off. The group of rebels have landed on the ground and they are attempting to figure out the world they are now living in. I loved the way that DeStafano was able to take many aspects of living on Earth and write about it from the point of view of someone who had never experienced any of it. She talks about birds, thunderstorms, bombs, and rain in such a way that it was eye opening for me. Sometimes I would think "wow, I never thought of it that way", and I think that is a testament to what a phenomenal writer DeStefano is.

The only thing you should know going in to this book is that it is quite a bit of set up for the third installment, which I'm all for. However, it seems to drag in some places because there is so much set up and barely any resolution. I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and the rebeles to be in danger on the ground, but they were never really in any great peril.

I'm excited to see where all of the relationships are going to go in the next book! I have so many questions that I want answered and I want them answered now! Hurry up and write faster Lauren DeStefano so I can enjoy this world once more!

Broken Crowns, the third installment, is set to be published sometime in 2016.

If you haven't yet, I highly recommend you go out and get The Internment Chronicles! You will not be disappointed!

-Shawnee Smith

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The Next Ten Weeks

My final quarter at Community College has arrived!

I will, thankfully, be transferring to a University at the beginning of the 2015/2016 academic year and I could not be happier! (Except that I will be leaving behind @TurningPages94. Sad.)

I just wanted to fill you all in on what is happening on that frontier and discuss what will be happening on this blog for the next ten weeks.

Okay, so, my subconscious apparently wanted to kill me with this course load, and I'm not joking. I'm taking three full classes (the maximum that you can take without getting the Dean's permission for extra courses and that's really just a waste of time) and I have been on the honor roll every quarter I have been eligible (must take more than 10 credits) so I have a reputation to live up to. I say reputation because I don't want the colleges I have been accepted to rescind their applications because my final quarter grades were not good enough. And I'm also trying to squeeze some more money out of them by way of academic scholarships.

Those three classes I am taking are American Sign Language 121, English 210 - American Nobel Laureates, and Psychology 101.

In ASL we are required to come to class, obviously since that is how we will be getting all of our information and learning to sign. We are also required to have one hour long study groups twice a week in addition to completing the one hour long video homework that is given every. single. night. We are also given quizzes/tests every few days so we really have to know our stuff. (Side Note: My ASL teacher is all super bubbly and happy while she is signing but the SECOND that she starts talking she gets all strict and mean and her voice does not match her body. This isn't really relevant, we just like laughing about it in my study group and I like mentioning it.)

In English I have to read a new book every two weeks and write a paper on it (really, this is the easiest class). In addition to attending classes (random quizzes on materials studied during lectures and class participation is counted towards my grade. yippee.) Plus a four page 'research' paper and a final paper.

Psychology is the weird one. Our class lectures are what is going to be making up the final test. However, we have a test every two weeks covering three-four different chapters in the book. It is our responsibility to read said book, understand said book, and know material in said book for said quizzes.

I am also visiting two colleges this month (roadtrip!) to see if I like either of them.

I am also determined to continue blogging even though my schoolwork makes me want to bang my head into a wall and hibernate until I graduate.

The blog posts will not be frequent, and I will not do another Monthly Challenge until July...ish. However, I do promise to continue reading the genre I love and write as many reviews and posts as I possibly can!

So, that is what is going to be happening for the next ten weeks. I kind of just dropped off the map last time and I didn't really like that. I am going to try to be better!

-Shawnee Smith

P.S. I have no idea what book to read next, so if anyone reads this all the way to the end (props dude) then leave me a suggestion as to what I should pick up!

Monday, March 30, 2015

What I'm Reading Right Now

I am currently OBESSED with

The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle, #3)

I have only read the first two in the series but I have the third one (Blue Lyly, Lily Blue) on hold at the library so if they would kindly HURRY UP AND SHIP IT TO ME, then I can get on with the tale of Blue and her Raven Boys.

But then I'll have to wait until September to read The Raven King anyways....so I guess it's a good thing the library is taking forever?

haha just kidding. It's not good.

If you like the fantasy genre, then I STONGLY recommend The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater!

-Shawnee Smith