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...

The Glass Castle  movie came out a little over a week ago, and, since I had read and enjoyed the book, I went to see the movie with some of my family on Tuesday. Now, while there was nothing wrong with the book itself, I was a little worried about seeing the movie. Why? Well, it didn't exactly get the best comments and reviews from others, people claiming that it didn't do the memoir justice. But, now it's been almost a week since I've watched it. What do I think of the movie? Well... (Oh, and, uh...spoilers ahead. I think that goes without saying.) Watching the Movie The Beginning I don't know what it was, but something was just telling me that, oh no, this movie is going to be bad . I think it was just the way that they tried to include parts of the book in the movie. When it's in the book, spread out and flowing naturally with the good writing...? It makes sense, it seems real. But just something about the way that they were stringing together di...

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...

Hey there everyone! If you've seen our bookstagram recently, you would know that we got some amazing new Denik notebooks! Now if you've never heard the name "Denik" before then I think it's time that you know, and after you read this post go check out their website , okay? (They actually came out with a new website design, too. It's amazing.) Denik is so much more than just a notebook/sketchbook-selling company. The word Denik describes the whole community and cause that surrounds the company, a "grassroots, artsy-eclectic bunch", as it is so beautifully described on their website. The designs displayed on the covers of their products are made by artists around the world, no matter who they are or where they come from. With the income from the notebooks and sketchbooks they sell, Denik gives some to support these artists and to build schools for children around the world. The whole idea that Denik is built upon is that, together, art and peop...