Double Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fantasy, Play
Publisher: Little Brown UK
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Can I just start out by saying that throughout the entirety of the promotion of this book, and the cover unveiling, and everything that I thought the cover was a snitch on fire until I actually physically held my copy in my hands and realized it was not, in fact, burning and that there is a CHILD in there. Moving on.

I have such mixed feelings about this script book, I don't even really know what to give it in terms of a number rating? I didn't even bother rating it on Goodreads, I just marked it as read, which is when you know a book has shaken you up.

I started off with zero expectations because I'd heard it was going to be a trainwreck so I was pretty chill about accepting what the book threw at me -- I figured it would be at best a pleasantly surprising read and at worst something amusing to joke about. And even though the book was pretty wild, I wouldn't consider it a trainwreck, so I was at least a little pleasantly surprised (but still found plenty to side-eye).

Cursed Child was definitely entertaining. It was super fun to read and the script format and the short length made it fly by in like an hour but if it was boring it would have definitely taken me forever to get through it. I was always intrigued and even when things got a little ridiculous, I still wanted to know what happened. Also, I feel like the craziness of the plot could work well on stage because stage productions seem to always have wilder plots than just regular novels. I really want to see how they pull off all the staging, especially in regards to them doing magic or transfiguring.

Even though the book was entertaining, it was still a little weird to digest. All the recurring characters from the original Harry Potter books seemed weirdly out of character and it was hard for me to picture them acting the way they did and saying the things they said. I realize that J.K. Rowling didn't write the script and that probably played a big hand in why they were out of character but it was weird to read the characters I grew up with acting so unlike I was used to.

There were also a few things that were hard to believe (and it wasn't the crazy plot, to be honest, just the nuances thereof) that I won't get into because this is a spoiler-free review and they're specific grievances, but it made me very eyes emoji about the whole thing. Like I don't mean hard to believe as in "wow I can't believe those two characters drove to school in a flying car that would never happen in real life!!" but just in a way that even though the book was telling me these things were the truth, I could not accept them as the truth. I desired -- I required -- an alternate explanation. And even though I said the plot was fun and entertaining, it had issues too and some of the events of the book were worth many eyes-emojis and raised eyebrows.

Honestly, I'm not sure what my overall opinion is. I loved some things like Scorpius and everything about him and his friendship with Albus (who frankly made a LOT of stupid decisions and was being QUITE annoying) but personally, even though it's marketed as "the eighth story," I can't in good conscience consider this canon. Like, I accept some parts of it but for me this is just a fun story that I'm deciding not to take too seriously.

End note: I think the real problem is that it isn't a musical. If it was a musical it'd be 10 stars.

- Noor

Amrutha's review of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I want to preface this by saying: I grew up with Harry Potter, as did Noor and everyone else who will probably read this. Over the last several years that HP has had no new releases, I've been to Harry Potter World, beta read fanfic, reread the books and movies to the point of memorization -- and I'm sure a lot of HP fans on the internet can say the same. I know that TCC is not "the next book" and in not seeing the play, I've missed some stylistic elements that would've worked seeing it in production but didn't work written down. However, I've read a lot of plays and a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction, and I just don't think this worked for me all around.

Like Noor said, this book was entertaining. Going into it I didn't expect much, so reading anything from an author that shaped my childhood (I know she didn't write this book, but if you look at the cover it says "based on a new original story by J.K. Rowling" which I take to mean she had a hand in the plot). I understand that John Tiffany & Jack Thorne are not J.K. Rowling and therefore some of the dialogue would read out of character 1) because they're different writers and 2) because the trio is literally 19 years older and have children and whatnot. But regardless, reading this with the slightest feeling that at the end it could be accepted as canon was amazing. It made me feel so warm and happy and I finished the script in a couple of hours, because I couldn't wait to get to the end. As far as a story based on HP, I liked it.

But to me, that's all it was. This script reads like fanfiction -- there are plot holes galore and honestly some of the jumps they made just don't seem reasonable to me. Because this is a double review and Noor has said a lot of the things I feel about this, I'm going to do spoilers because I REALLY NEED TO DISCUSS MY FEELINGS. Inserted below will be both direct quotes from the book & discussions of plot points, so go forward at your own risk.

I'll end the spoiler free review here: I love Harry Potter. I don't love this script -- it was fun and mildly amusing for the time I was reading it, and if the play is ever around I will pay to go see it, but I do not accept this as canon.

Review: Firewalker - Josephine Angelini

Firewalker 
Josephine Angelini
Series: Worldwalker, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Thanks to Feiwel and Friends for the ARC I received at BEA. 

Firewalker picks up exactly where Trial by Fire ends, which is -- without giving away too much for anyone who hasn't read the first book -- with a recovering Lily in our/her world.

And they stay in our world for some time, which I was a little saddened by because Angelini did such a fascinating, thorough job worldbuilding in the last book -- it's what gave Trial by Fire a huge chunk of its appeal for me. In fact, the beginning of the book ends up being kinda slow and boring, and it was hard to get through but I kept reading 1. on the hope that once they worldjumped things would pick up and 2. because of the Lillian parts, which I have conflicted feelings about actually.

Okay, so Lillian is sortof my favorite character in this whole series and the more morally ambiguous she gets, the more I like her. And a lot of this book is dedicated into delving into Lillian and her backstory and why she made some decisions she did. And I really liked learning all those things. I just wasn't sure if I liked the way I learned them. A lot of information we get is just told to us, through mindspeak (if you haven't read these books, I'm sure you can figure out what that is) between Lily and Lillian and Lillian is just showing Lily certain things from her life. Some of the scenes were really interesting but it was still just like someone was telling someone else a story for a large number of pages. It would have been nicer to see more action and less explanation.

The book just took a really long time to pick up but it did eventually. Although some of the picking up involved a lot of things that made me angry, like Lily and Rowan (her bae) being really annoying with not telling each other things and keeping secrets. It's like they've never watched a movie or read a book??? Haven't y'all ever heard that honesty is the best policy!!! Also, some of the minor characters, like her friends, didn't seem realistic in the way they handled situations but others were a lot better, like Juliet, her sister (who is amazing).

And there were obviously things I did like as well! We got to explore a lot of Lillian, as I mentioned before, and I liked the ways the characters interacted and it was more of a high stakes kindof deal this time. I also like the way Angelini doesn't make her plots too transparent and she writes really good endings, as this was a cliffhanger much like the last one.

Even though I didn't like Firewalker as much as I liked Trial by Fire, I still liked the way the pace picked up at the end and I'll still stick around to read the conclusion.

- Noor

Have you ever been let down by a sequel?
Let us know in the comments!

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Feral - Holly Schindler

Feral
Holly Schindler
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 26th, 2014
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Chilling
Goodreads

About the book:

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know. 

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew. 

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened. 

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley…. 

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

Trailer:


Review:

Feral was honestly a pretty interesting book, and had a concept I could really get behind. There were parts of it that I was iffy about, but for the most part, it was a worthwhile read, and I'm definitely glad I decided to take part in this book tour, because this book brought something new and refreshing and most of all, chilling, to the table.

Okay, so if you read the description blurb above, you'll know that Claire Cain is spending her semester in Peculiar, Missouri and notices that the death of this girl Serena is really starting to mirror the circumstances of her own attack just months ago. As the book goes on, it becomes clear that Claire is definitely suffering from some sort of PTSD because she starts to confuse the incident in Chicago with her time in Peculiar more and more, finding herself in spells of dazed panic, thinking she's in places and situations she isn't. I really like how her character is dealt with because when I was reading the passages where she described how she felt like she had no control, I could really feel the sense of desperation, and I could feel the way her dynamic with her best friend was changing because she didn't know how to talk to her anymore. Schindler did a really good job describing these characters.

In fact, the characterization in this book is spot on. We have Becca, who is introduced as a pretty cheerleader airhead type and was the best friend of Serena, the girl who was found dead in the woods. At first we think she's as vain as she appears but she softens up and really shows a more mature and kindhearted side. Then, there are the guys. Chas is typically standoffish and kindof mean and Owen has something to hide. Rich refers to their whole group as "the bold and the beautiful" which was something I really liked and tends to keep to himself but helps Claire out.

The middle of this book, in my opinion, kindof dragged on a bit and not much happened. There was a lot of filler and a lot of exposition and a good chunk of it was unnecessary.  I found myself starting to wonder if anything was actually going to happen. However, things did start to happen and Claire and Serena's paths started to intertwine and we found out exactly what Serena's fate was and how Claire factored into it. In my opinion, it was slightly...I wouldn't say far-fetched (well, it is but not in a negative way) but...weird, I guess, for lack of a better term. Not in a bad way. Definitely interesting. Definitely worth checking out.

I also really appreciated that the book was well written. The dialogue was well formed and the book language was sophisticated which added to the voice and really matters in a book like this.

I think some of the plots, especially having to do with the ferals, could have been a little more refined, but they were definitely promising and I really enjoyed them and I really loved the whole vibe this book gave off and the eerie feeling from start to finish. I got the whole Black Swan feeling and I think it definitely merits the comparison and I would totally recommend the book, although I wish the middle didn't drag quite so much.

I really needed to read this book. I personally feel like I've been stuck in a rut of reading the same genre and same type of book over and over and this was something new and something different and I enjoyed it a lot and I hope whoever wins it will too!

- Noor

Purchase links:

Amazon (Print) | Amazon (Kindle) | B&N | iTunes | Book Depository | Kobo

About the author:

Holly Schindler is the author of the critically acclaimed A BLUE SO DARK (Booklist starred review, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year silver medal recipient, IPPY Awards gold medal recipient) as well as PLAYING HURT (both YAs). Her debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY also released in ’14, and became a favorite of teachers and librarians, who used the book as a read-aloud. Kirkus Reviews called THE JUNCTION “...a heartwarming and uplifting story...[that] shines...with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve.” Bloggers also quickly fell for the book; Susan at Bloggin’ ‘bout Books said of THE JUNCTION, “Triumphant and compelling, this is one of those books that will make you cheer. And look a little bit closer for the unique beauty in all of us.” FERAL is Schindler’s third YA and first mystery / thriller. She encourages readers to get in touch, and can be found at hollyschindler.com, hollyschindler.blogspot.com, @holly_schindler, Facebook.com/HollySchindlerAuthor, and http://hollyschindler.tumblr.com/

Author links:

Website | Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook 

Giveaway:

Win (1) signed hardcover of FERAL (US/CAN Only)

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Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Dark Days - Kate Ormand

Dark Days
Kate Ormand 
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release Date: June 3, 2014
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Short and Sweet
Goodreads

About the book:

The future world has been divided into sectors--each the same as the other. Surrounded by thick steel fences, there is no way in and no way out. Yet a cyborg army penetrates each sector, picking off its citizens one by one, until no one is left. Behind the sectors' thick walls, the citizens wait to die. Few will be chosen to survive what's coming; the rest will be left behind to suffer. A new world has been created, and its rulers are incredibly selective on who will become a citizen. They want only those with important roles in society to help create a more perfect future.

Sixteen-year-old Sia lives in one of the sectors as part of a family that is far too ordinary to be picked to live. According to the digital clock that towers high above her sector, she has only fifteen days to live. Sia has seen the reports and knows a horrific death is in store for her, but she is determined to make the most of her final days. Sia refuses to mourn her short life, instead promising herself that she'll stay strong, despite being suffocated by her depressed mother and her frightened best friend. Just when Sia feels more alone than ever, she meets Mace, a mysterious boy. There is something that draws Sia to him, despite his dangerousness, and together, they join a group of rebels and embark on an epic journey to destroy the new world and its machines, and to put an end to the slaughter of innocent people.

Trailer:


Review:

Dark Days was not a book as dark as the title and description suggests. It was a very quick read, and even though it was a dystopian book set in a very bleak future, I didn't find the content too heavy. While there were some things I wish had been different, overall I liked the book and found it an entertaining way to spend a few hours.

The beginning of the story did a pretty good job of drawing me in. It was written well and Kate Ormand began to set up the world they lived in. I wish that throughout the book there had been more explanation of why the sectors were built and what they initially offered protection from. There's a lot of information we don't get about the world and I wish she had explored that a bit more, especially since there were plenty of opportunities to do so.

I also liked Sia as a character. A lot of the times she made bad decisions or was stubborn and I wanted to yell at her but that added to her dynamic and growth. In general, she was a good protagonist although I think the side characters were definitely a lot more interesting and more fun to explore, even some who only got a few scenes in the book. My favorite thing about Sia is her list of things to do before she dies. It's one of the first things we see and it made me like her instantly. While I liked Mace, her love interest in the book and the guy who kickstarts this whole journey, I thought it was a bit too insta-love. She felt this connection with him after seeing him once and kept thinking about him and I thought it was just too much but I understand that she needed a reason to seek him out again and so I can respect the artistic choices. Mace was very interesting to read about, especially since we only get to see him from Sia's perspective so we learn things about him as she does, which adds to his mystery. I liked his charm and presence and thought he brought out good qualities in Sia.

As for the plot, the book is a countdown starting fourteen days before Sia's sector is supposed to be destroyed, killing everyone in it who hadn't been taken out and chosen to start life in the New World. With that little time to live, everything happened pretty quickly, which I definitely appreciated. I think this book definitely needed a fast-paced plot and anything else would have made it hard to get through. Kate Ormand also tried to include a big plot twist -- you'll definitely know it when you read it. While it wasn't actually all that hard to see coming, I appreciated it and I think it helped move the story along. I also like date ending and how it was slightly ambiguous.

Overall, while I think the book needs some polishing up with things like developing the characters more and establishing the setting, it's a good story and very easy to get through. It's a quick, short read and moves quickly enough to provide a few hours of entertainment.

Also there are cyborgs. I love cyborgs. A+ for cyborgs.

- Noor

Purchase links:

Amazon (Print) | Amazon (Kindle) | B&N | iTunes | Book Depository | Kobo

About the author:

KATE ORMAND is a YA writer represented by Isabel Atherton at Creative Authors Ltd. She lives in the UK with her family, her partner, and a cocker spaniel called Freddie. She recently graduated from university with a first class BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art Painting. It was during this course that Kate discovered her love of reading YA books, prompting her to try a new creative angle and experiment with writing. Kate is also a member of an online group of published writers and illustrators called Author Allsorts. And she writes children’s picture books under the name Kate Louise.

You can see more about Kate and her writing by visiting her website (www.kateormand.wordpress.com) or on Twitter (@kateormand).

Author links:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

Giveaway:
Win A Dark Days canvas bag, signed bookmarks, and a signed hardcover (INT)

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Review: Moirai - Ruth Silver

Moirai
Ruth Silver
Series: Aberrant, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Mediocre
On Goodreads

Last week, I came to you with a review of Aberrant by Ruth Silver. Since then, I've read the sequel, Moirai, and can say that, while it was slightly better than Aberrant, it still fell short in quite a few places.

Even though some time has passed between the events of Aberrant and Moirai, it feels less like a sequel, and more like a continuation of the first one. If the 100 or so pages of each book had been fused together with an "A Few Months Later" caption before the events of Moirai, the reader would not have found it strange. Usually, you can't do that with books, but with these two it could have been highly possible. Usually books in a series, while continuing the overarching plot, have their own main plot that goes on too. While Moirai certainly had its own subplots, they weren't the strongest.

I definitely liked Olivia better in this book than in the previous one. Ruth Silver did a pretty good job developing her a little more as a character so she didn't seem so one dimensional. She also fleshed out Joshua and some of the secondary characters, which was one of two main reasons this was better than Aberrant. The other reason is that the plot was just more interesting. The first book's job was to set up everything that would happen in this book. While it didn't do the most terrific job, it still got done, and so Moirai was heavier on the action, and relied less on description of the setting and their lifestyle. And, above all, it was a hell of a lot more interesting. The story itself, especially the parts where we learn more about Olivia and exactly what makes her special (can't give away any spoilers) actually had me wanting to find out how it ends (which is with a cliffhanger leading into the next book). So yay for developing your plots more, you go Ruth Silver.

However, the more interesting story could not save Moirai from the dreaded three star rating (I know I also rated Aberrant three stars, but that was on the low end (more like 2.8) and this is on the high end (like 3.2) so there's that). The most off-putting thing was the writing style. I feel like Ruth Silver could be such a good storyteller and author but she just isn't there yet. I can see the potential for her to write great things -- these novels are not those pieces. The dialogue seemed very choppy and fake, and the internal monologue from Olivia seemed to "tell" too much and not "show" enough. The words didn't seem to flow and everything just felt very forced and unnatural. It just fell flat. The end of the book creates a cliffhanger to be addressed in the book that follows, but that wasn't done as well as it could have been and didn't leave me shocked or upset or feeling anything that I was supposed to feel as a reader. I just read it and thought "okay cool whatever." The concept was good but the delivery was not.

Overall, while Moirai wasn't the best book, it definitely improved from it's predecessor. Hopefully the next book will be better, although I don't see myself putting time aside to read it anytime soon. Usually I need to know how something ends, but I will probably forget about this cliffhanger in a few days and might never get around to knowing what happens to certain people. This book series is okay for a few days of lazy reading but it's nothing substantial I would recommend to anyone. While I won't be jumping through hoops to read more, I will definitely look out for Ruth Silver's name in the future, as she has unhoned writing skills that might develop into something awesome.

See you all next week!

- Noor

What's your favorite dystopian novel or series?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Aberrant - Ruth Silver

Aberrant
Ruth Silver

Series: Aberrant, #1

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Word Rating: Choppy
On Goodreads

Hello, everyone! What's this? It feels like Saturday. I am not usually a Saturday poster, so this review might smell a little funny but I promise it's nothing bad, just a delayed review because of my crazy schedule. Anyway, I read Aberrant as part of a book tour, and the review for the sequel, Moirai, will be up next week, so make sure to check that out as well!

This book had been on my to-read shelf on Goodreads for quite a while, because judging from the description, it sounded pretty interesting. I tried really hard to like this book, but I feel like it fell flat from what it could have been. While there were definitely parts of the book I enjoyed, it pained me to see so much wasted potential in Ruth Silver's writing. If she would have taken more time to polish the book up and make it longer, instead of rushing everything, or if she had even just fleshed out characters a bit more, this would have been an enjoyable read.

Sadly, I found it feeling very mechanical as I was reading it. Instead of showing the way this dystopian society was set up, the narrator, 18 year old Olivia Parker, just tells us everything page by page. Every few paragraphs there is a chunk of text explaining government procedures and how things work. There is way too much telling and not enough showing. It would have been much better if she had integrated these explanations in ways that advanced the plot of explored the characters, but they seemed to just have been tossed in there to show what kind of society Olivia lived in.

"Everyone in our stature received the same goods, and it was considered fair and right. No one questioned such authority. No one had need or reason to. The government seemed to know what was best for the people. I'm not sure I always agreed by their means, but people in our city had homes and food. No one starved if they followed the rules. It was meant to be fair."

There are so many parts of the book like this, just mentioning the ways of the government, thrown into the text like that.

Another issue I had with the book is that the characters weren't really developed that well and the plot moved extremely fast. One page Olivia is getting married. The next she is arrested. The next she is part of a rebel alliance. It was all fast-paced, and while I usually appreciate that, I thought it hindered the development of the characters. I know that Joshua is kind and Olivia has a good heart but not much else. Also, the fact that the plot moved very fast just made certain things illogical. For example, Silver writes:

"I knew I should be happy, but all I could feel was nauseated. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. I felt as though I'd been tossed on a ship in the middle of a hurricane, swaying violently from side-to-side. On one side is Governor Craynor and the other is the husband I'm forced to marry."

 We don't get an explanation as to why she doesn't like the idea of the marriage ceremony. She has grown up in a secluded, government-run area, where people don't know what elevators are, or what kissing is, or many things considered normal in society today. They have been so programmed to feel the government's way of life is the best one. So why does Olivia get nauseous about the marriage ceremony? There isn't anything written about how she's always questioning authority or how she feels like she's different. She was, her whole life, someone who thought the way of life was ideal, and then all of a sudden she's having doubts. If the story was fleshed out more, details like this would make more sense.

While there were apparent flaws, there were also parts of the book I really did like. I liked how she kept the plot interesting enough to make me want to keep reading. Even though she didn't do the best job in telling the story -- it felt more like a sequence of events than a novel -- I found myself wanting to know why she was arrested and who her father was and what exactly the government was up to. I just wanted to find out what exactly was going on and why Olivia was in the center of it. I thought the plot, although it did need work in quite a few areas, was generally very original.

I also really appreciated Ruth Silver's writing itself. Even though the book itself isn't one of my favorites, I could see throughout the story that Silver is very good at articulating words and creating thoughts. Her writing skills themselves are very honed, but she needs to combine them with better story telling skills to write a better novel.

Overall, this novel felt like a first draft rather than a final copy. It's not awful and I can see how it might be good in the future, but as of now, it falls short. Nevertheless. I intend to start Moirai as soon as possible, and I sincerely hope Aberrant set up what was needed for the next book, so it can focus on plot rather than how the system works.

- Noor

How much say should the government have in the lives of its citizens?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall

Lauren Oliver

Series: N/A

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Word Rating: Decent
On Goodreads

I read Before I Fall because I happened to see it at a bookstore and almost glossed over it before seeing the name Lauren Oliver and thinking "Hey, she wrote Delirium, so I might as well give this book a go." I don't have a copy of the book in my dorm so I can't pull quotes to show you what I mean, but you can always read it and see for yourself.

Overall, this wasn't really the greatest book ever but it's definitely worth a read and it makes me happy to see that Lauren Oliver has grown so much as a writer when comparing this -- her first novel -- to her more recent work.

I didn't like the main character, Samantha Kingston, at first, but she grew on me after a while. Her character also went through a HUGE change as a person, which is probably why I like her at the end a lot more than I do at the beginning. You see, Sam Kingston keeps dying. She keeps reliving the same day over and over, and every time, she dies at the end of that day in a car crash coming back from a party. And she's the only one who keeps remembering what happened "last night." And every day she does something different to try and fix whatever is happening that's making her relive this day. So this novel progresses by describing the different ways Sam is going through that day and how she's trying to understand what she did to make this happen and how she needs to "redeem" herself to make this happen. At the beginning of this book, Sam is Cady Heron when she is a full on mean girl, and her best friend Lindsay (who I hated) is Regina George. By the end, however, Sam is a much nicer person and understands how she needs to change her ways in order to achieve piece. One of the characters I liked was Juliet. She annoyed me a bit at one point that I cannot say for major spoilery reasons, but overall I was intrigued by her and thought she was an interesting character.

As for the plot, I thought it was a pretty interesting story. It wasn't the most original storyline, but Lauren Oliver pulled it off really well the way she did it, and I liked the resolution of the conflict. I thought it was really fitting and I'm glad she wrote it the way she did. I don't want to give away too much but I feel like it ended the way it needed to. I also liked seeing exactly how Sam progressed in her way of thinking as the day of her death kept repeating itself over and over again. Reading the story, I learned that she's a lot smarter than she outwardly appears.

The writing style of this book was pretty similar to the way she wrote Delirium (which, on a side note, you should TOTALLY read if you haven't already.) It was very straightforward and to the point. She didn't use overly florid language or go too descriptive. For this book, I thought it worked because she was speaking from the perspective of a teenage girl and a vapid, shallow one at that. It would have seemed out of place for her to speak with flowery diction and tear-jerking language. After reading her newest book, I know that Lauren Oliver definitely has some awesome writing skills that have made me stare in awe, but they just weren't as developed in this novel.

My final verdict? This book was okay, and it wasn't boring or unreadable, but her other works are DEFINITELY better and I probably wouldn't reread it for the hell of it or anything. As a first novel, it was a good start and a solid foundation for growth. 

So basically, this book is wonderful, and you should read it, and it will definitely be worth your time, and it's a pretty short read, and you will not be disappointed.

- Noor

Is there a day in your life you would relive if you could?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader - Kieran Scott

I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader
Kieran Scott
Series: Cheerleader Trilogy, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Lighthearted
On Goodreads

I read this book a few years ago and once again stumbled upon it recently; thus, a review was born. Let's get to it, shall we?

This book can best be described as "cute." It's not a super eloquent, mind-blowing read that'll leave your emotions in shambles at the end or anything (which is what I am quite used to when reading books) but it's worth a read nonetheless. This is one of those books you pick up on a lazy day and finish within an hour or two and appreciate but don't really internalize as a super impactful read. Or it's a book that you read after you've finished something emotionally traumatizing and you want something light to read before you embark on the next heart-tugging novel.

It centers around Annisa Gobrowski, a teenage girl who moves from New Jersey to Florida and ends up going to a school where she is the only brunette. Seriously. According to Bethany, the first friend Annisa makes and who is the only other non-blonde at the school (her hair is purple), "even the mice in the bio lab are blonde." Annisa, who was a cheerleader back in New Jersey and makes the squad at Sand Dune High School, must deal with her fellow teammates ostracizing her, the most popular girls in school hating her guts, and having a massive crush on her hot new neighbor who just so happens to be dating one of the cheerleaders.

I really liked Annisa, mostly because she was funny and slightly awkward. A lot of the comments she made throughout the book made me laugh, although I mostly found her internal musings funnier than the things she actually said out loud.
One of my favorite thoughts of hers was:

"The party was like a scene from a movie. More because I was sitting in the corner, munching on popcorn and watching it happen, than because it was so wild."

The other characters were all interesting to read about, too. I feel like Kieran Scott only gave some of the girls personalities and made the rest of them clones of each other, but it wasn't particularly a hindrance to the book, because the characters that Annisa actually interacted with were shelled out quite well. I really enjoyed reading about the girls at her new high school and the things that made them who they were.

While the narration and style of the book were very well done, I think the conflict got resolved a little too abruptly. I won't give anything away but I feel like it happened very suddenly. That being said, it seemed appropriate to do it that way for a sweet and light book like this one, so that didn't take away from it too much.

Overall, three stars for being an enjoyable lazy-day read with a cute story and characters, perfect for that afternoon where you have nothing to do.

- Noor

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