Reading is Inevitable

Title:  Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Author:  Benjamin Alire Sáenz Genre: Realistic Fiction, YA Fiction Rating:  5 out of 5 stars ★★★★★ Reviewer:  Julia Dante can swim. Ari can't. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari's features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself.  But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other — and the power of their friendship — can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on th...

Title:  We Are Okay Author:  Nina LaCour Genre:  Realistic Fiction Rating:  5 out of 5 ★★★★★ Reviewer:  Julia A quick yet powerful read, Nina LaCour's We Are Okay  was just what I needed when I was drowning in a reading slump and aching for... something. Was the writing extremely detailed? No, no it wasn't. Was there much action? No, not really. But was it real? Was it raw? Was it beautiful ? Yes, yes, a million times yes. There was a beautiful stillness to it that I loved; pauses in between conversation that I could feel ; a certain realness and attention to human nature that made it so amazing. So: what is this beautiful book about, you ask? We Are Okay 's main character, Marin, has shut herself away, quite literally as well as metaphorically, having chosen to stay alone in a college dormitory during winter break. She's cut out everyone from her old life in a failing attempt to escape what happened. No one even knows what happened those last...

Title:  The Nightingale Author:  Kristin Hannah Genre:  Historical Fiction Rating: 5 out of 5 ★★★★★ Reviewer:  Julia If you know anything about books, I'm sure that you've heard of this one, Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale . It was popular on bookstagram around the time of its release and is actually the author's favorite book that she has written. It's so good that there's even going to be a movie adaptation that will be released a few days shy of the book's four-year anniversary. (So it's coming out in 2019. A bit of a wait; drats.) BUT, that does not mean that you should hold off reading this amazing book. Because you shouldn't. You should read it right now. Do you need some more reasons? The Nightingale  tells the story of two sisters in Nazi-occupied France. After a difficult childhood and years of healing and trying to forget, Vianne has to watch as her happy life is uprooted. Her husband leaves to fight in the war. The Nazis invad...

Title: Jackaby Author: William Ritter Genre: Mystery; Fantasy Rating: 3 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia Jackaby . By the name of the book, you might think that the main character would be the man named Jackaby. And, since I had not actually read the back cover enough to remember it (I got this book in a date with a blind book, mind you), I was pleasantly surprised to find, in the last sentence of the fourth paragraph, that my narrator was a young woman named Abigail Rook. A feminist, to add, even though she’s living in 19th Century America. The story follows her as she, a lost girl on the unfamiliar territory of New Fiddleham, searches for a place to stay and a job that’ll pay for her expenses. As it turns out, she meets the town’s controversial “detective” R. F. Jackaby and gets a job as his assistant. But Jackaby is no ordinary man, and sees supernatural things that others don’t see. As outrageous as it might seem to Abigail, she’ll have to get herself accustomed quickly, as...

Series: Wake Trilogy  Author: Lisa McMann  Genre: YA fiction, romance, crime, mystery, suspense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Reviewer: Em Wake. Fade. Gone. I. Don’t. Know. What. To. Say. This trilogy was somehow amazing and disappointing all in one? I have very mixed feelings about this trilogy. First off, I finished it in two days over my spring break, and it was a great read. Took me about 4-5 hours to finish each book, which is not too bad. It kept me interested and made me go into a rut of reading after not reading for the longest time! First, I will share my individual feelings on each the book and then my evaluation on the whole series, in which I have huge opinions and conflicting thoughts. ,0[This is going to be long, so stay with me. There’s going to be quite a rant at the end. NO MAJOR SPOILERS (only what it says in the book description) Wake Wake was a great book! I thought it introduced the topic very well. It started off my explaining...

Title: Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Author: Ransom Riggs Genre: Fantasy & Action ("Horror"?) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Reviewer:  Julia Maybe this title isn't that familiar to you, but what about  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children ? Yeah? Well, this is the action-packed, emotion-filled, much better sequel to that book, and the second book out of the trilogy. Not that Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is bad, this one's just simply better (in my opinion), but if you haven't read it yet check out my book review on it and pick it up soon. Moving on, Hollow City is a great teen book. (Note: teen, not that teen books are less, I just don't think it compares to some amazing adult books, of course. But I did give it 5 stars, so it's still great, if that's not too confusing.) It's got a good amount of friendship, character development, and plot action to exceed expectation...

Title: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Author: Stephen King Genre: Nonfiction Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Julia Personally, I've never read any of Stephen King's fiction works, titles such as The Shining or Carrie . However, I am a fan of writing and am interested in writing little stories myself, so I thought, "Hey! Reading a book on writing by a bestselling author might just be a good idea." I was actually motivated to fulfill this notion of mine by the amazing Brittany of @bookbarrreview on Instagram, who said to me, "If you like writing, or you're just interested in how stories are created, it's definitely worth a read!"   --Brittany, Book Barre Review Blog and @bookbarreview (Instagram) On that great description courtesy of Brittany, let's get this review started!

Title: When Marnie Was There Author: Joan G. Robinson Genre: Fiction Rating: 3 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia Anna is using her "ordinary face" more and more often, and is told by her teachers at school that she is not-even-trying. She doesn't have any friends, and is on the outside of an imaginary social circle. Her foster parents, worried about her, send her away to the Peggs, some family friends, to get better. There, she is free to wander about the land around her, and starts to feel a strange connection with the old marsh house that seems to be empty. Or is it? Soon she meets Marnie, who lives at the house, and the two become friends, bonding and sharing their secrets. But soon Marnie vanishes and a new family is at the house, and Anna begins to question what's real and what's not.

Title: The Goldfinch Author: Donna Tartt Genre: Realistic Fiction Rating: 5 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia It took me a while before finally picking up the book. It took me another shorter but still long while before actually finishing it. I was hesitating at first because of it's great size and the length of the writing (some paragraphs or sentences can stretch for quite some time). When I finally had started the book, it took me a while because I had first slowed down during parts in which the main character and narrator, Theo Decker, was feeling low in spirit due to the death of his mother. At times the long descriptions and sections describing his sadness were a bit too much. The other reason why it took me some time to finish the book (about a month) was because it was so long, my paperback copy of it being a whopping 962 pages long. So I guess what you can conclude is that you need a sort of tolerance and patience to be able to get through this book. But if you are able ...

Whether you want to admit or not, summer is coming to a close. Well, at least the summer vacation part, which is what I'm referring to. (School's going to begin only just around now for us, for anyone who was confused because they started earlier.) That means that I really don't have any more time left to cover my summer TBR list. If anyone doesn't remember or didn't see it, towards the beginning of my summer vacation, I had composed a TBR (to-be-read) list of books that I hoped to possibly read over the summer. Now, dd I completely tackle my TBR list? Partially? Barely? Not even at all? Well...

Title: Infinite in Between Author: Genre: YA/teen fiction Rating: 4.25 Reviewer: Em This book was really good. It's about 5 teenagers and their journey throughout high school. They all meet at freshmen orientation. There, they are all placed into the same group, and their group decides to write letters to their future selves. They then make plans to meet at graduation. This book is over their four years of high school.

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Author: Ransom Riggs Genre: Dark Fantasy; possibly horror fiction Rating: 5 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia I hesitated to read this book for a long time. I would see it in the bookstore and consider getting it, but something always held me back. Sometimes I was worried that it was too "scary", and would end up being some sort of horror story. Other times I was worried that it would be too much action for me. Luckily, I was convinced to get it because 1) I had waited long enough, and 2) everyone was so excited for the movie on bookstagram that I figured it must be good. And it is. It was wonderful. I really did enjoy it. The story is told from Jacob Portman's point of view. As the book opens, a family incident (won't spoil it so that it is more interesting for you) leads Jacob to travel to a little known island. There he digs into the past at the ruins of Miss Peregrine's home for children, searching for...

Title: Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen Author: Jazz Jennings Genre: Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia Before you begin to read my review, I want to tell you a few things. It's hard, in my opinion, to rate a work of nonfiction, especially when it comes to biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. When I say that I give this book a "4 out of 5", I am in no way judging Jazz's life or identity. No, I am not doing that, but rather stating how much I personally enjoyed the book. This memoir follows the life that Jazz Jennings has gone through due to her being transgender, specifically MtF (male to female). In the book, she writes about a variety of topics, including how she knew she was a girl, transitioning, being an advocate for LGBT+ youth, and more. One of the things that I liked when reading this book was that it gave me a new perspective. I really did come to understand the challenges that comes with being MtF or FtM. I mean, I think...

Title: Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts Author: Susan Cain, with the assistance of Gregory Mone and Erica Moroz Genre: Nonfiction Rating: 3 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia Back in 2012, specifically the 24th of January, Susan Cain published her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking . This book shook the world, and was listed as a bestseller and opened the minds of many. This book was for adults. But then, earlier this year (2016), Cain, along with the help of Gregory Mone and Erica Moroz, published another book on being quiet, only this time for teens and children. This book is a guide for kids on how to navigate life - at school, home, in social groups, and activities - using and recognizing their quiet nature. With stories of real introverted kids, the book is designed to help teens and kids to take advantage of their quiet ways, and teaches them to be proud and to embrace it. There is also a section in the back for teachers and o...

Title: How Many Letters Are in Goodbye? Author: Yvonne Cassidy Genre: Realistic Fiction Rating: 5 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia When I first started this book, I really wasn't expecting the story that I ended up reading. Almost everything that happened in the book was unexpected. I did not think that I would like this book as much as I did. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised. How Many Letters Are in Goodbye? is constructed of the letters that Rhea Farrell writes to her mother, who happens to be dead. The story starts off with Rhea living on the streets of late 1990s New York City. At this point, she has lived almost 18 years of her life, and it hasn't been the easiest. Not only has her mother passed away (with a questionable death, too), but she was taken away from the life that she knew in Ireland over to the United States when her father also passed on. In the states, she was to live with her aunt, Ruth, her aunt's boyfriend, Cooper, and his daughter, Laurie, and new ...

Title: Gena/Finn Authors:   Kat Helgeson and Hannah Moskowitz Genre: Teen/YA realistic fiction Rating: 4 Reviewer: Em This book is way different then I thought it would be. When I picked it up at my local book store, I chose it because, first of all, I liked how it was all in emails and texts and stuff like that; not in the usual format you read a book in. I like books like that. Anyway, I read this book in a day. It was a fairly quick read, but it was interesting - very interesting. I thought it'd just be a cute book on two people meeting, and then becoming great friends (or more, maybe). It was so much more than that. It wasn't like my new favorite book, but still. Like Finn said (I think it was Finn) about the TV show they both love, it's about how the characters change more than the plot. And I found that to be kind of true with this book. You really get to know the characters in this book.

Title: The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes Author:  Anna McPartlin Genre: Realistic Fiction Rating: 4 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia I can't believe how amazingly wonderful this book is. I can't believe that I put off reading it for so long. (I've had the book sitting with my other TBR books for at least a year now.) This book is beautiful and so well written, and it snagged at my heart, bringing a few tears to my eyes.

Title: Cast of Criminals Author: Franklin W. Dixon Genre: Mystery Rating: 2 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia In this mystery novel, the Hardy brothers, Joe and Frank, are helping out with the local play when suspicious events begin to occur. The mysterious happenings involve Frank's girlfriend, Callie, and her stolen "costume" tiara. Despite the danger surrounding them, the play must go on, even if Callie's life is in danger. Hopefully she won't have the same fate as her character in the play...

Title: Rumble Author: Ellen Hopkins Genre: Realistic Fiction (in free verse!) Rating: 3.75/4 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia *Note: this book contains some ideas that may be upsetting to certain audiences. Topics such as suicide and depression are mentioned, and, while I did not believe this myself, some readers might find parts too depressing.  Where should I start this review? How should I do it? How will I do it? All of the above were thoughts of mine when I started writing this review. I was under a lot of pressure, not only because I was writing it two hours until it was due to be published, but also because I feel that it's important. Beginnings are special. And difficult. That's how Matthew "Matt" Turner, the narrator and main character of this book by Ellen Hopkins, felt (also at a beginning - the beginning of the book). How could he start his life again after what had happened? Would he be able to move on and face more beginnings as he continued to gro...

Title: Beautiful Creatures Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl Genre: Romantic Fantasy? Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia YOUR FATE: to read Beautiful Creatures Fate certainly plays a large role in this book. Every character in this book deals with fate, but if anyone deals with it the most, that would have to be Lena Duchannes. After all, she's the one who will be Claimed on her 16th birthday by the Light or the Dark, whether she likes it or not. There's no way that she can escape her fate, whatever it may be. And she's convinced that she will turn Dark. But Ethan won't let that happen.