#AmReading YA

Review: Thunderhead - Neal Shusterman

Thunderhead
Neal Shusterman
Series: Arc of a Scythe, #2
Genre/Age: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

Review: The Hidden Oracle - Rick Riordan

The Hidden Oracle
Rick Riordan
Series: The Trials of Apollo, #1
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Young Adult
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

It is no secret that I am a fan of Uncle Rick's work, given that I have written numerous glowing reviews for his work, and The Hidden Oracle is no exception to my love for his books.

The Hidden Oracle follows Apollo (that's right, the actual Greek god Apollo) as he is cast down from Olympus and stripped of his godly powers. Now an awkward, powerless mortal, Apollo must follow the whims of young demigod Meg in order to appease Zeus and restore his godly powers.

Review: Warcross - Marie Lu

Warcross
Marie Lu
Series: Warcross, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

I knew pretty much nothing about Warcross going into it, except that I thought it kind of sounded like a similar concept to the movie Summer Wars (which I highly recommend watching, just saying) and that Marie Lu wrote it (so basically I had to read it). Just like Summer Wars, I absolutely loved Warcross!

Warcross follows Emika Chen, a hacker from New York who works as a bounty hunter to try and make ends meet. When she gets recruited by Hideo Tanaka, the inventor of Warcross, she is thrown into the Warcross championship tournament as a spy, uncovering secrets she never would have expected.

I absolutely LOVED the characters in Warcross! Emi is an absolutely brilliant character, and I think I just really enjoy hacker characters in general because it's so cool!!! She made me think of Mr. Robot. Emi is a strong and crafty heroine with a lot of heart, and she went through a lot of personal growth, figuring out what was important to her, throughout the story.

While the other characters were not as prominent until the end, I thought her teammates were really interesting and I'm looking forward to reading more about them in the next installment. Hammie, in particular, was awesome (I have a bias toward strong female characters). Since Emi is more of a loner type of character, there wasn't a lot of friendship built with these characters, but I have faith that there will be more in the next book!

The romance in this book was so swoony and sweet. I enjoyed that even though there was an element of instant connection, it took a while for the characters to break down the walls they built around themselves before letting each other in. Marie Lu, as always, did an incredible job making me feel all the feels about this relationship.

In terms of the world building, this world is so cool!!! It's extremely well thought out and fabulously executed. Marie Lu was able to built a world similar to ours but fully enhanced by technology and virtual reality. It in no way felt forced, and it was so well described that I felt like I was using the technology. I even nerded out a little bit at the end with talks of algorithms because it reminded me of some of the machine learning I'll be doing soon. #nerdlife.

Overall, Warcross was a thrilling first installment to this new series. Marie Lu, once again, has delivered with a book that pulled me in and kept me reading until the end. Even though I thought this was a standalone until I got to the end (that was a tough blow), I am so excited to see where this book goes after the shocking end. It's not a cliffhanger, but it definitely left me craving more.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced reading copy!

What's your favorite video game?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Haunting the Deep - Adriana Mather

Haunting the Deep
Adriana Mather
Series: How to Hang a Witch, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Paranormal
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers for the eARC I received via Netgalley!

Honestly, Adriana Mather has the coolest family history ever, and I'm kind of jealous.

Haunting the Deep follows Sam Mather as she is recovering from her How to Hang a Witch trauma and trying to lead a normal life. Unfortunately, normal isn't in the cards for her. When her school's spring fling dance is decided to be a Titanic theme and her history class dives into studying the Titanic, Sam gets thrown back into the world of magic and ghosts.

One of the coolest things about this series is the history woven into the stories. The Titanic is something that I never really studied in school, so it was really cool to learn more about what the Titanic was like as well as about some of the people who were on the ship. While the scenes depicted on the ship were fiction, most of the people were real, and it's heartbreaking when you really examine the tragedy.

I was also very excited to see the whole crew back for this second book! While there is a bit of Jaxon and Elijah, the focus of this book was definitely on friendship. Sam becomes closer with the Descendants at the start of Haunting the Deep, and their friendship crew throughout the book. I really enjoyed seeing Sam become a part of this girl squad since there wasn't much for female relationships in How to Hang a Witch (I mean, they all hated her so makes sense) and also because it meant more witchy business and MORE WITCHES IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER!!!!!

As for Jaxon and Elijah, fans of the romantic aspect from the first book may be disappointed - they were both kind of jerks for a lot of the book, which is understandable in the context of the story since Other Things were happening. I am still super conflicted about what team I'm on, so I'm interested to see where it goes in the next book.

Similarly to how the first book dealt with bullying, Adriana Mather wove elements of choice into this story. One thing that was really prominent in all the characters was the idea of what you think is right for someone being different than what is right for them. Explored through many different characters and situations, it was a really interesting thought to explore and very well done.

Overall, Haunting the Deep was an extremely satisfying follow up to How to Hang a Witch. The sequel delivered on the same suspense, excitement, and magic promised by the first book, and I simply could not put it down until I was done. I highly recommend both How to Hang a Witch and Haunting the Deep to readers who love witches, ghosts, history, and good books because this is a quality series.

Do you think Jack and Rose both could have fit?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Daughter of the Burning City - Amanda Foody

Daughter of the Burning City
Amanda Foody
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Thanks to Harlequin TEEN for the ARC I received at BookExpo!

When I read the blurb for Daughter of the Burning City, I knew that I needed to make it a priority to grab at BEA - having loved Caraval, an endorsement from Stephanie Garber really sold me on this carnival-centric book. After reading the book, I can say that it definitely did not disappoint me, and I loved every second of it.

"Wicked, wicked to the core, the city will burn forevermore."

Daughter of the Burning City follows Sorina and her Freak Show in the traveling city of Gomorrah's festival. Sorina is an illusion worker, which immediately intrigued me since I had just recently finished The Rose Society, but besides just projecting illusions into the minds of others, she can also create living illusions. These not-so-imaginary creations are Sorina's family and are a part of her show's act, but everything changes when one of her illusions ends up dead.

The city of Gomorrah is a fascinating setting for the story. I think the idea of a carnival always has two sides - the excitement of the performances paired with a sort of creepy undertone, a darkness behind the flashing lights. The city of Gomorrah is built in a similar way. The uphill area is family friendly, filled with fun performances, including Sorina's Freak Show. On the other hand, the downhill is a dark place filled with pickpockets, prettywomen, and assassins. As the proprietor's daughter, Sorina will someday inherit the job, but this story follows her as she is exploring the downhill for the first time as part of her investigation into her illusion's death.

I loved the layers that Amanda Foody built into Gomorrah as well as the surrounding cities. The cities outside of Gomorrah, in a way, mimic the city itself: there is the Upmountain, filled with religious zealots and wealth, and the Downmountain, a place seen by the Upmountainers as filth. Additionally, the Upmountain disciples of Ovren view jynx workers like Sorina as devil workers, unclean and unnatural. Now imagine the Upmountain and drop Gomorrah, a city of sin, in the middle. Besides the dynamic of the city itself, Amanda Foody was able to add in elements of the world around them while still crafting a mystery and romance and much more. IN UNDER 400 PAGES!!! Honestly, iconic. There was no point where I felt like the world building was forced or hard to follow - it was all laid out in a way that made it easy to understand and natural.

As for the characters, I was amazed by how vivid each of the characters were. Even though Sorina was the main character, her illusions and other secondary characters were still so real. Even a pickpocket who wasn't heavily involved in the story was still given layers, leaving me caring for him even though he was kind of a crook. Sorina's illusions' lives didn't revolve around her - they all had lives of their own.

Sorina was a really interesting character in that she had a lot of insecurity that she had to work past. Sorina was constantly second guessing herself, letting others who she viewed as smarter than her take the lead in situations where she was fully competent. I really enjoyed watching her grow throughout the book, finding her way and the confidence to ask the hard questions and find the hard answers.

And then there was the romance. I don't want to give too much away, but it was definitely unexpected in some ways. Regardless to the circumstances, it was super swoony and there was humor and support and basically it was an ideal, healthy relationship in the end, which is really nice to see in YA since I feel like a lot of romance focuses on the struggle rather than the support.

Overall, Daughter of the Burning City was a brilliantly crafted story filled with mystery, magic, and so much more. While I personally had a bit of a rocky start getting into it, this book quickly grabbed my attention and drove me crazy when there were pieces of the puzzle that I wasn't seeing. Filled with solid character building, flawless world building, a quick pace, and enticing mystery, this book will not disappoint.

If you had a circus act, what would it be?

Let us know in the comments!

Mini Review: Empire of Storms - Sarah J. Maas

Empire of Storms
Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass, #5
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

I feel like at this point there's no reason to write reviews for the Throne of Glass series - by now, pretty much everyone has decided whether or not they want to read the series. But while reading Empire of Storms, I felt compelled to write a little bit about it.

One thing that Sarah J. Maas never fails to include in her books is strong female characters, and these strong female characters come in many different forms. There's Aelin, who I can't even really begin to explain her strength because it's on all kinds of levels; there's Manon, who is a ferocious, wyvern-riding witch; there's Elide, who isn't ferocious or magically powerful, but is decisive, smart, independent, and fiercely loyal; there's Lysandra, who can shapeshift and who throws herself into danger to protect her friends; and there's, a fairly new character, Ansel, who is a trained assassin.

Sure, it's impressive in and of itself that Sarah J. Maas is able to build these strong characters, but what's more noteworthy to me is that all these powerful women support each other - rather than being pit head to head (although there's been a little bit of that throughout the series because of obvious plot reasons), we get to see these women banding together. Paired with how territorial and ridiculously some of the men behave in the books, and it's just wonderful.

Anyway, I am definitely a lover of the Throne of Glass series, and if you haven't decided if you want to read it or not yet, I'm Team Read TOG because these characters are so fierce and wonderful. And, I mean, the rest of it is good too.

Who's your favorite strong female character?

Let us know in the comments!

Review + Playlist: The Graces - Laure Eve

The Graces
Laure Eve
Series: The Graces, #1
Genre: Magical Realism, Paranormal, Young Adult
Publisher: Amulet Books
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Amulet Books for the eARC I received via Netgalley!

This post is long over due, and I am ashamed of myself for waiting so long to review this glorious book.

The Graces follows River as she snakes her way into the inner circle of the Grace family. The Graces are a super beautiful, super mysterious, and super beloved family in a small town. Being the gorgeous, mystery-shrouded beings that they are, everyone in the town kind of thinks they're witches, and they don't really do much to dissuade people from thinking that because they are too gorgeous and mysterious to appease such peasant rumors. Basically, think of the Grace family kind of like how the Cullen family is introduced in Twilight (I never read the books but I've seen the movies, and that's going to have to be close enough for this comparison).

River is by no means an easy character to like - homegirl has A LOT of internalized Issues. But as soon as I realized that we never actually get to know River's real name (River is a name she decides to call herself early on in the book), I was immediately intrigued by the mysterious and unreliable nature of our narrator. It becomes very clear through the book that River will do Anything to become part of the Graces' inner circle, and she does some pretty terrible things along the way. I've seen a lot of reviews saying that River is not likable, and while she is definitely not a great person (read: she's definitely chaotic evil, which can come across as being a bad person), I kind of liked her ruthless passion - how much she was willing to do for what she wanted, what she thought she deserved. I think she's a bit of an antihero, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of her.

Then there's the Grace family. Fenrin, Thalia, and Summer are the siblings of the Grace family, the first two being twins and Summer being the younger sibling who is in River's grade. These characters had many layers to them - on the forefront, there was how much they loved being revered in their town, worshiped for being these awesome, supposedly-magical beings, but deeper, there was this yearning for connection that wasn't built from idolization. I thoroughly enjoyed as the layers were peeled back from these characters, showing a rawness in them that was so different from River.

Besides the magic of the characters themselves, there's such a magical feeling in the way the world is built in The Graces. The way that Laure Eve describes everything in the world was so enrapturing - I found myself feeling magnetized, drawn deeper and deeper into the world that she built, yearning for just a little bit more of that magic through every page. This book was chilling in a way that's similar to another book that I love: The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle.

Overall, The Graces is an absolutely captivating story of magic, mystery, and desire. There's friendship, family, romance, and so much more packed into this book, and I absolutely loved every second of it. I highly recommend this book to readers looking for something that feels eerily magical. I can't wait to see what Laure Eve has in store for The Curses!

Playlist Inspired by The Graces

I've always had a passion for making playlists (I personally think that I should have been a part of the mixtape generation because I absolutely love the idea of making mixtapes and giving them to people and yes I have definitely done that with mix CDs and playlists), but I've never made a book inspired playlist before. UNTIL NOW! While I was reading The Graces, I found that the tone of the book really inspired me and made me think of specific songs, so I decided to put together a full playlist and share it here! The playlist is as follows:

River - Bishop Briggs

Obsessions - Marina and the Diamonds

Worth The Fight - Broods

All I Need - Radiohead

Leave The Lights On - Meiko

Hear The Bells (Hear The Bells EP version) - Vanessa Carlton

Navigate - Band Of Skulls

Cold Cold Water - Mirah

Freak Of Nature - Broods ft. Tove Lo

I Could Be There For You - Eisley

Call It Off - Tegan and Sara

Hotblack - Oceanship

The Flowers - Regina Spektor

I Can't Take It - Tegan and Sara

Enemy Among Us - Paper Route

Plenty of Paper - Eisley

Nearly Witches [Ever Since We Met...] - Panic! At The Disco

And here's an embedded version of the playlist through Spotify if you want to give it a listen all together, or you can check it out on Spotify here!

What's your favorite type of paranormal character?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Gemina - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Gemina
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff 
Series: The Illuminae Files, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Action
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Penguin Random House for the ARC I received at BEA!

Guys. GUYS. THIS BOOK. Gemina. GEMINA. IT WAS SO GOOD.

As I'm writing this review, it is the end of May and I have just finished reading Gemina because after receiving an ARC at BEA this year, I could not resist reading it as soon as possible. While I am so happy I didn't have to wait a long time to read this epic follow up to Illuminae, I also hate myself because now I'll have to wait extra long to read the next book, which is going to be torture considering how much I LOVED Gemina.

For those of you who haven't read Illuminae, you need to get on that ASAP, and you can read my review for more details on why that book is awesome. Continue on to find out why the sequel is equally awesome.

Like Illuminae, Gemina is told through a dossier, this one following Hanna Donnelly and Niklas Malikov as their home comes under attack. As if hostile invaders weren't bad enough, there are also alien predators and a broken wormhole to deal with. Basically, things are pretty messed up.

"The universe itself depends on you.

... No pressure."

I absolutely LOVED Hanna and Nik! I think I liked Kady a little bit better, but Hanna is still a really strong heroine - she kind of reminded me a little bit of Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson books. On the other hand, I liked Nik a little bit more than Ezra, which I think is, in part, because he is more present throughout Gemina than Ezra was throughout Illuminae. Nik's humor is so great, and I loved all his interactions with Hanna and his cousin Ella.

While in Illuminae Kady and Ezra knew each other and had a relationship before the book started, Hanna and Nik aren't really friends at the beginning of Gemina. It was really cool to see how the two are brought together throughout the book, despite the unfortunate circumstance. There were so many ups and downs for them - it was a wild ride.

I also really loved Nik's cousin Ella. While she isn't present for most of the action, she's an absolute riot whenever she interacts with anyone. She's the really cool background hacker who keeps everyone alive. It's great. AND KADY'S DAD! I actually screamed when he was introduced because I was so excited. It was fun hearing him talk about Kady after having read about her through Illuminae.

Gemina did not disappoint when it comes to the same thrilling action, romance, and humor readers of Illuminae will expect. All the twists and ~science things~ were so much fun to follow, and it was such a great second book that left me starving for book three. Readers of Illuminae will not be disappointed by Gemina, and if you haven't read Illuminae yet, you should get on that. This is definitely one of my favorite series, and I highly recommend it. Can't wait for book three!

Frobisher better watch her back.

- Kiersten

If your home was being invaded and you could only save one thing, what would it be?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Nevernight - Jay Kristoff

Nevernight
Jay Kristoff
Series: The Nevernight Chronicle, #1
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Thomas Dunne Books for the eARC I received via NetGalley!

After reading and absolutely loving Illuminae and Gemina, I was really excited to get approved for Nevernight. Jay Kristoff, once again, did not disappoint with this one!

Nevernight follows Mia Corvere, an orphan who wants nothing more than to avenge her family's murder. The book begins as Mia sets off for the Red Church, a school of assassins, in hopes to become a Blade of the Lady of Blessed Murder. While the acolytes navigate the brutal lessons in swordplay, poisons, seduction, and theft, someone in the Church is murdering the acolytes.

I really loved the world that Jay Kristoff built in Nevernight. The title comes from the fact that this world has three suns and almost no night time as we know it - all three suns only set about every three years. It was so interesting to read about a world like this, seeing how it changed the dynamic of the world and even the terminology. The suns are also deeply rooted in the religion of this world, and I really enjoyed how detailed all the myths were in the book. Hearing the myths in Nevernight was reminiscent of how I feel reading Greek mythology tidbits in Percy Jackson books - it felt like such a real thing that a society could be built around, especially with the main god feeling so threatened by having sons.

In terms of the style of Nevernight, it definitely gave me some Game of Thrones vibes (I've only watched the show, so I can't speak to the actual writing of the ASOIAF series). When I started reading Nevernight, I couldn't help but have Arya Stark feels towards Mia - a young girl navigating a city on her own, learning to be brutal every step of the way. Of course the story itself is completely different, but I think that it would appeal to a similar audience.

I've seen some people saying they felt like the writing of Nevernight was dense, but I really enjoyed the writing style. It had such a fantasy feeling, and I particularly loved the voice of the footnotes. The voice of the footnotes reminded me of the introduction to the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney - you're in a room filled with pleasant portraits, and as the room descends, the portraits extend into macabre portraits of death with this creepy foreboding voice signaling your doom. The other thing I really enjoyed about the footnotes was the way it made the book feel like the chronicling of a legend rather than a novel; as if Mia's adventures were so noteworthy to be worth eternalizing in print - and this was only the beginning.

As for Mia, I absolutely LOVED her! Mia is fierce, snarky, cunning, and calculating, but she is also compassionate, kind, and fiercely loyal. While this book is about Mia training to be a deadly assassin, Mia is still a damaged and unsure young woman. Mia struggles with her feelings towards other people, trying to remain brutal and ruthless even though maybe she isn't those things. With a sidekick called Mister Kindly, there's just something so charming about Mia. Finally there is a rival with Celaena Sardothien for my favorite assassin.

There has been some debate about whether or not this book is YA, so I figured I'd put my two cents in on the subject. The main character of the book is technically a young adult - Mia is 16-years-old. There is a lot of mature content in this book, which is why many people feel like it is more of an adult novel; however, I feel like there's a certain coming of age story built into this that could be meaningful for a young adult audience. I would say, in general, that if you feel comfortable watching Game of Thrones (or you feel comfortable letting your child watch Game of Thrones for parents), then this book will be ok for you in terms of content.

Honestly, I can't even believe Nevernight - it was SO GOOD! I'm so excited to see where this series goes and to read even more from Mr. Kristoff. I highly recommend this new series to all fantasy fans - especially fans of Throne of Glass, Game of Thrones, and A Girl of Fire and Thorns!

I seriously need to check out The Lotus War series now. I NEED MORE JAY KRISTOFF BOOKS IN MY LIFE.

Also, some shameless self promotion of my Nevernight bookstagram picture:

A photo posted by We Live and Breathe Books (@wlabb) on Jul 27, 2016 at 3:58pm PDT

- Kiersten

Who is your favorite fierce heroine?

Let us know in the comments!

Double Review: How to Hang a Witch - Adriana Mather

How to Hang a Witch
Adriana Mather
Series: How to Hang a Witch, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Paranormal
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers for the ARC I received at BEA!

You know those books where after only a few pages you just know you're going to love it? That's how I felt when I started reading How to Hang a Witch.

How to Hang a Witch follows Sam Mather as she moves from New York City to Salem. While Sam is less than thrilled to move to Salem, she did not anticipate how terrible moving there would actually be. Sam Mather happens to be a descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the people most responsible for the Salem Witch Trials. Unfortunately for Sam, descendants of the accused who live in town are really out to get her, especially when Bad Things keep happening. Now Sam, a girl who believes in neither magic nor ghosts, has to deal with both.

From the beginning, I really loved Sam's voice in the book - there's something really blunt and down to earth about it. All the narration felt so natural, and it was easy to settle into the flow of it. On top of that, Sam is an extraordinarily ordinary character - there's nothing particularly special about her; she's all-around average - which made her stand out to me as a protagonist. Sam is confident, insecure, distrusting, awkward, witty (in a way that actually reads natural rather than calculated), protective, angry, and so much more. Adriana Mather did such a brilliant job building such a real character, which I think is the main reason I loved this book so much.

Besides Sam, there are many other complex supporting characters, including Jaxon, Elijah, and Susannah. I'll cut it short talking about these characters because I've already gushed over the character development for Sam, but seriously, Adriana Mather's characters are so well developed. The supporting characters, just like Sam, feel so real and layered.

When it comes to the plot of How to Hang a Witch, it is most prominently a mystery (and a good one). I just wanted to keep reading it because I wanted to know what the big mystery was. The pacing of the mystery was done so well, building up the suspense slowly at first until BAM everything was happening and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the pages. I was so surprised by where the plot went - it was so exciting!

While the mystery is the biggest part of the story, How to Hang a Witch is also a story that explores bullying. I'm of the opinion that everyone has been bullied on some level, even if you don't recognize it as such. The great thing about How to Hang a Witch's bullying dialogue is how it is paralleled to the Witch Trials. Mob culture is so prominent, and Adriana Mather did a fantastic job exploring this without making it a book about bullying.

There are also some fun romantic elements, which were sweet, but I wouldn't say this book is really a romance. The guys were super swoony though.

How to Hang a Witch is definitely one of the best books I've read this year, and it has definitely claimed a spot in my favorites. I absolutely fell in love with Sam and her voice, and I'm curious to see where this series will go. I highly recommend this incredible debut!

- Kiersten

Noor's review of How to Hang a Witch

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Honestly, who didn't find the Salem Witch Trials intriguing in school? Mass hysteria, witchcraft, an air of mystery -- yes it was tragic but like a car wreck you can't help slow down to stare at. When I read the description of the book, I knew it was a concept I could get behind and Adriana Mather did not disappoint.

How to Hang a Witch focuses on Sam Mather, a descendant of Cotton Mather -- one of the biggest players in the Salem Witch Trials -- through her move to Salem from New York City. Sam is ostracized and scrutinized for her ancestry, particularly by a group of five students known as the Descendants, whose ancestors were hanged in the Trials. Her rocky start extends further than being a loner at school though and she ends up involved in a centuries-deep mystery, with the ghost living in her house helping her along the way.

The mystery in this book kept me captivated the whole way through. How to Hang a Witch is pretty fast-paced and there isn't much idling around, mulling over information. It's all either action or searching for -- and discovering -- new information that propels the plot forward. Honestly, when I realized that ghosts in this book weren't floaty see-through wisps of people and were able to be touched (by those who could see them) I questioned everyone and just threw out mental accusations that everyone was a ghost. Her one friend in school? Ghost. The one Descendant that talks to her? Ghost. Nevermind that other people were clearly interacting with them as well, I had to be on guard for any twist. When we found out about magic and spells and witches, I accused each character of that too. No one was safe from my scrutiny. With that in mind, I technically had been prepared for the ending because I overthought it so much, but if we're ignoring technicalities it was unexpected and didn't feel gimmicky at all and overall was very well done. It's often hard to work a good mystery element into a book and balance it with the paranormal element but Adriana Mather exceeded expectations.

The book was told in first person by Sam and while it took me a few pages to warm up to her and her style of narrating, I really liked both the writing of the book and the character herself. I enjoyed her sarcastic quips and, like Kiersten said, they didn't feel forced or unnatural. I felt so much sympathy for the way her life had gone -- her dad in a coma, no friends to speak of, trust issues. She was such a real character. I also really liked Elijah, the ghost, and how he went from annoyed and untrusting to forming a close bond with Sam. Another favorite was Susannah, a Descendant, who I kinda wanted to be a little. She was so elegant and poised that I could feel it seep through the pages, but she wasn't cruel like Lizzie or cold-hearted like Alice. She had a kindness in her that she slowly let through and I found her character super intriguing. We had a bit of a love angle with Sam and her neighbor (and classmate), Jaxon, but it wasn't an overwhelming part of the story. I think the main focus was always the mystery with a little bit of romance on the side. I'm thankful there was no Big Love Triangle with two guys fighting and her picking sides and friendships being ruined. Speaking of Jaxon, he's adorable and sweet, but his mom is even more so. She's the mom you always wanted, constantly baking, never upset, helping out in your witchcraft needs, a perfect lady really.

Because the book was fast-paced and moved on from scenes quickly there were a few places I felt I would have liked more detail, like an explanation of some of the magic -- such as immortality magic or face-changing magic. Other than that, though, I found the book wonderful.

One of the coolest things about How to Hang a Witch was how even though it wasn't historical fiction, it brought the history to the modern day without making it a classroom history lesson. Yes, the witch trials happened three hundred years ago, but could mass hysteria lead to someone getting hanged without trial again, in a different form? Like bullying? Adriana Mather fantastically weaved this narrative into her story and it's an amazing takeaway from the book.

Adriana Mather explains in an Author's Note that she herself is a descendant of Cotton Mather and that history is important in her family, that this book came about after exploring Salem. That was really cool for me too, that not only was her own family history so rich, but that she could take it and turn it into something so intriguing.

On a lighthearted end note, Sam makes a comment that the pizza in Salem isn't as good as her native NYC and I couldn't agree more. I moved to NC a year ago and I have yet to find pizza up to par with the pizza back in NJ/NY. One day.

- Noor

Have you read any books about the Salem Witch Trials?

Let us know in the comments!

Double Review: A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury
Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, New Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Never before have I finished reading a book and immediately wanted to reread it. Until A Court of Mist and Fury.

Honestly, I knew from all the hype that ACOMAF was going to be an amazing second installment in the ACOTAR series, but it still toppled and demolished my expectations. This is definitely my favorite Sarah J. Maas book to date and definitely one of my favorite books of all time.

There is something that was so perfect about ACOMAF for me. Something about the characters and the story it was telling - not necessarily the bigger plot issues but the personal struggle of the characters - that struck a cord with me. Not only was Sarah J. Maas's storytelling as compelling as all her other books, but in this particular book, I really connected with Feyre. Sure, most people love Celaena and Feyre, wanting to connect with those strong women, but in this book, I felt Feyre's bonds so much more deeply than I have reading any other book. Her new friends were my new friends. Her new home was my new home.

I'm 100% definitely still in denial about this book being over. I do not accept that I have to leave this book. Nope. I want to crawl into the pages and live in the moments between these characters. If I was invited into this book as a guest, I'm the guest who you literally have to kick out onto the streets after they've outstayed their welcome because I refuse to leave.

Ok, momentary break in me feeling my feels to actually analyze some things that happened in this book?

I love the way Sarah J. Maas built all these different relationship dynamics in ACOMAF, clearly juxtaposing many healthy and toxic relationships. I feel like using a fantasy book with a largely young/new adult fan base was such a great way to educate young people in seeing the signs of unhealthy relationships. This wasn't a book about emotional abuse, but at the same time, it was - it taught a lesson to readers without being the Moral of the Story.

I also loved the way Sarah J. Maas portrayed Feyre's mental state following the events from ACOTAR. Bad things happened Under the Mountain, and something in Feyre changed as a result. She felt a lot of guilt, but it was more than that. She wasn't the same person anymore, just like the people around her weren't the same after what happened. Feyre felt like there were pieces of her missing, holes where things she used to love used to be, and the way Sarah J. Maas described it felt particularly real.

A Court of Mist and Fury is a huge book, and it was perfect. There's nothing I would take out or add to this book. It was just so satisfying - it left me dying for more without the actual emotional pain that sometimes comes with finishing a book in a series and having to wait for the next. My need for the next book is certainly there, but at the same time, I am satisfied with just living in this one for a little bit longer, holding onto it for as long as I can. I loved A Court of Mist and Fury, and I can't wait to see what Sarah J. Maas has in store for us next.

Also I'm dying for Feyre to tell everyone off in the next book. I can't wait.

- Kiersten

Noor's Review of A Court of Mist and Fury
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

If Sarah J. Maas wrote a 2000 page book solely about Feyre hanging out and screwing around with her squad from this book, I would read and relish every single page.

Like Kiersten, as soon as I finished ACOMAF I just wanted to read it again. Well, actually, my first desire was to immediately have the next book because I needed to know what was going to happen to Feyre in her new situation but then I thought about it and as much as I need the next book, I like the characters and setting of this book so I just wanted to go back and feel it all again.

If you thought ACOTAR was good, ACOMAF blows it out of the water as it ascends its throne of Being Phenomenal. And if you haven't even read its predecessor yet, please do so immediately so you can experience this series in all its glory.

There are so many amazing parts of this book that add up to create a flawless story. Like the last book, there's a lot of focus on character development and I think it's done so beautifully. Feyre experienced a lot of trauma at the end of ACOTAR and the repercussions are explored in ACOMAF -- she definitely has a lot of PTSD and Sarah J. Maas works it into her narration and thoughts and hesitations so well. You can see that her character literally grows and changes as a person rather than being the same and just referencing the traumatic event a lot. I loved Feyre and her development and can't wait to see her become even more kickass as the series progresses.

We're introduced to more characters in this book -- as well as exploring the development of some we've already met -- and the setting changes as well, allowing us to learn more about the world Feyre now calls home. We get to know a lot more about Rhysand, the Night Court faerie we only caught glimpses of in ACOTAR, and I thought his character exploration was so well-done and astoundingly written. I just wanted to keep reading about his life and way he governs his city and his powers -- it was all so intriguing. We also meet his squad, and they're also such intriguing characters. Like, there's a super old and powerful Amren who drinks blood and no one knows what she is -- she was so cool and I want to know everything about her. Or there's Morrigan, the bright and bubbly cousin of Rhysand who has her own personal demons -- I loved her as a person and want her to be my friend too. Even the characters who appeared for only a few scenes, like Tarquin, the High Lord of the Summer Court, were fascinating and drew me in.

Kiersten mentioned the juxtaposition of healthy and toxic relationships and I totally agree with her on that whole front (actually I agree with her whole review but also that part, which is what I'm talking about right now). You can really see Feyre clearly angry and uncomfortable by certain things and yet, still not ready to call anyone a bad person, too close to her situation to understand how bad it really is. When she escapes that and you see how much it better it can be, it puts a lot into perspective.

The pacing of this book was faster than ACOTAR but it wasn't like a super crazy fast-paced hard-to-keep-up book or anything. I personally thought the speed of the novel was perfectly balanced with the time spent focusing on characterization (which isn't to say there weren't parts where characters were being hashed out and important plot things were happening, but obviously each scene had its own purpose). I also liked that more places were explored and they did more ~journeying~ to achieve their goals. It definitely got the most wild at the end, but Sarah J. Maas kept a solid flow throughout the whole book.

I had so many thoughts and feelings about this book, but overall I thought it was perfect and I'm anxious for the next one already.

Also, shoutout to Kiersten for getting me a signed copy when she went to Sarah J. Maas's B-Fest signing. True friend.

In addition, just a couple mildly spoilery thoughts for people who have read the book already:

1. Tamlin made me so angry that I wanted to scream but would have been unable because I was that angry. You know the kind? In ACOTAR, I didn't love him as a love interest but I did think he was a nice, loving, gentleman. However, his actions in this book have made him unredeemable in my eyes.

2. While Feyre was training with her new powers, all I could think was how cool it would be if she did an Avatar: The Last Airbender thing and trained with each High Lord until she mastered the power even though half of them would kill her before training her.

- Noor

Have you ever wanted to reread a book right after finishing it?

Let us know in the comments!

Triple Review: Illuminae - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Illuminae
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff 
Series: The Illuminae Files, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Action
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Penguin Random House for the ARC I received at BEA!

Last year at BEA, I got one of those gorgeous Illuminae ARCs they were giving out but never got around to reading it. Going into Illuminae, I knew very little about it. I knew that it was written as a dossier, that it was supposedly really good, and that it was MASSIVE. After reading Illuminae, I am so happy that I did because it was absolutely incredible!

Illuminae follows Kady Grant and Ezra Mason the lives they know are torn apart. Their home has been attacked, there's something strange going on, and a heavily armed ship is coming to kill them. To say the stakes are high would be an understatement. 

The dossier style of Illuminae made the book go by a lot faster than I anticipated based on looking at it. With the plot broken up into these smaller documents, it made the "just one more chapter" complex even greater with "just one more file," and I just could not stop reading - I ended up finishing this book in a little over 24 hours. When going into this book, I think it's definitely necessary to give it a good, solid chunk of straight reading to get into the way the story is told and the plot, but once I was hooked, I couldn't stop.

Speaking of the style of Illuminae, I've heard that the audiobook narration is really great and I'm sure the ebook is fine as well; however, I think the visual element of this book is absolutely wonderful. From the layout to the different artwork, I don't think my reading experience would have been the same without the full experience of reading the physical book (which is not something I would usually say since I generally prefer to read ebooks).

Getting back to the book itself, I absolutely loved the characters. Kady is so cool, and Ezra is so sweet. I also really enjoyed a lot of the supporting characters, including Byron and Syra. I also really enjoyed AIDAN, who becomes a huge part of this book as it goes on (and it's kind of insane and will blow your mind like BOOM).

All in all, I have no complaints about Illuminae. I absolutely LOVED it, and I'm so happy that I was able to get an ARC of Gemina at BEA this year, although the wait for book three is going to be agonizingly long. Illuminae is an incredible science fiction story filled with humor, romance, humor, action, and did I mention it's funny? Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff absolutely nailed it with balancing all the elements in this story, and it's definitely a must read!

- Kiersten

Noor's Review of Illuminae

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Never have I seen such poetry in a dossier (except maybe in the word dossier, which happens to be my favorite word, but that's not what I meant).

When I picked up Illuminae at BEA 2015 I was really intimidated. It's a huge book and I'm not necessarily opposed to huge books but it was a huge ~sci-fi dossier book~ and I was really not sure what to expect, especially since I often find many science fiction books a bit much (wondering if taking a Science Fiction class next semester will make me hate the genre completely or appreciate it more...we shall see).

Anyway, like Kiersten mentioned in her review, the dossier format made the book a much faster read than I assumed it would be, and also had a nice rhythm of longer, more textual documents vs short ones you could flip through quickly. It made the pacing very unique because there would be parts where it was mostly instant messages and emails back and forth from characters and you were just getting info, figuring out what was going on, nothing too heart-racing, but then something big would happen and there would be short bursts of pages with like small sentence fragments on them and it really contributed to the sense of either urgency or safety.

Also, keeping with the discussion of the length, many longer books tend to slowly pace themselves because there's a lot of space for things to happen, and sometimes this can be a little boring, but I didn't think Illuminae was slowly paced at all. I agree with Kiersten in that I think you have to power through a chunk of it all at once in order to really get into the world and find yourself enraptured by the story. I actually tried to read this months ago but I was busy with life things so I would read one file and then hours later read another and then a day later read three more and I didn't get into it so I decided to just read it later. This time though, I read it in huge chunks (I'm pretty sure I read half in one sitting and half in another) and I felt like the book flew by. Every scene either someone was attacking or someone was learning secret ship information or someone was dying. It was a heart-racing book, truly.

I really loved all of the characterization and how even though the book wasn't traditionally written, you still learn so much about the people on the ships. Kady had the most focus and I thought her attitude was brilliant. She was the right amount of ~I'm gonna do what I want and not comply with your rules because screw that~ without becoming a shallow has-no-flaws Badass Girl Who Saves the World Despite Having No Talents. Kady is a total genius, but we know she can learn more because Byron (another computer hacker on board, like Kady) treats her like his protege. She's tough and sarcastic but also frazzled and vulnerable. She's a great character who I can't wait to explore in Gemina.

And on the flip side of Kady's antisocial computer-genius pink-haired glory is her ex, Ezra. Ezra was the sweetest, drawing hearts and roses through text for Kady via email, and teasing (and getting teased by) his fellow pilots, and just being so good-hearted and funny. The most interesting character, though, had to be AIDAN, the artificial intelligence running things on one of the ships. I know it's weird to treat an AI like a character, but we delved so much into AIDAN, and those parts were my favorite to read. I wanna go back and reread it just to experience the AIDAN parts again.

So the characters are great, the story is exciting, and one last thing: the writing was so wonderful. While I thought the book would probably be enjoyable because so many people were raving about it, I didn't expect eloquence from a dossier. I figured the book was good because of the content, not as much the way the content was relayed. However, there are documents where characters write things like incident reports and surveillance summaries and even journal entries, and some of the internal monologue is so gorgeously written it makes me wanna cry. Also, everything involving AIDAN was so spectacularly written I had to slow down and savor it. One of my favorite quotes in the book is actually from an IM conversation, so it's not even like only the more narrative-style documents are well-written: "You have me. Until every last star in the galaxy dies. You have me."

Anyway, as you can see, I thought the book was absolutely phenomenal and I'm still in my mourning period (I believe it's been two weeks) so hopefully I stop mourning sometime before Gemina comes out so I can experience the sequel in its glory.

- Noor

Amrutha's Review of Illuminae

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Wow guys, I've had this book sitting in my house since BEA LAST YEAR but I only read it this week. I don't even need to tell you guys how much I regret that choice because Illuminae is one of the books of the year. Decade. Whatever. The fact that this is a series with action and romance and everything means it has a really good shot at being famous world wide and I'm honestly really excited for when that happens, because Illuminae is the real deal. When they were giving it out last year they had hyped this book SO MUCH and literally we had gotten so many copies of this book that I thought it would be alright at best because why would they hype it up so much? Wrong. Like Noor said too, I was a little put off by the size of the book (I'm not like, afraid of reading large books) but the format and the Sci-Fi (which isn't really my style) seemed a little scary. If you're dumb like me, just put everything aside and go get this book. Okay now I'll stop rambling and actually talk about the story:

Noor & Kiersten both touched upon this so I won't spend too much time on it, but the dossier format was honestly really really cool and made the book go by a lot faster. I agree with Kiersten and Noor that you've got to commit to the book for a little bit so you can see how the book is constructed and really commit to it. But if I really enjoy a book I won't put it down and will read it in one shot, so that's what I did for this -- took me a good few hours even with the format being spaced with messages and designs and smaller documents.

Ya'll know I'm really character driven, and so is this book -- you wouldn't think it would be, seeing as it's in a file format, but honestly, it is. The construction of Kady and Byron and Ezra. I've griped so many times about how the female leads of books like this have to end up being basically perfect or a total bitch in order to accomplish whatever it is they need (there aren't many but that seems to be a flaw in a lot of them): NOT KADY THOUGH. Kady, like Noor said, doesn't seem to have any ~special~ talents or anything. She's written as an honest to goodness badass who is both really cool and really smart (REALLY REALLY SMART) but also like lowkey vulnerable. Byron and Ezra were really cool to read too what with Byron's knowledge and Ezra's romantic interest. AIDAN is an AI "character"? Don't know if it's appropriate to acknowledge AIDAN as one but totally agree with Noor that his parts were some of the best to read. Nothing beats a ballsy female protagonist for me though. I saw a different review talking about how so many of the people in charge in this novel are women, and how it took her a moment to notice that they were women because their voices weren't written differently. I just want to acknowledge how cool that is, and how I didn't notice how I also assumed the women in charge were men until I kept reading.

This is a story about corporations and love and computers and a virus and humor and is set in 2575 so there is ~all the technology~. This book didn't really seem like it was for me, but you might not necessarily think it's for you either. FORGET THAT and read this. I have an ARC of Gemina waiting for me and if I had known how much I loved Illuminae I'd have been all over it already. Look forward to a review of that soon.

- Amrutha

Have you ever read a book written as a file?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on this blog before, but I really love faeries as a Concept. Like, in literature, in fairytales, in folklore. So I knew I was late to the ACOTAR train because I read it a month after the sequel came out, but when I saw there were faeries involved I knew I was hella late to the party.

ALSO, on Goodreads, the book description says the book "blend[s] Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore" so you know it's a retelling but the summary on my physical book did not tell me that so I went in blind and halfway through I was like "haha this is like Beauty and the Beast" and I thought I was so smart but no it's literally marketed that way, I'm just a moron.

Basically the book is about this girl, Feyre, who kills a wolf who turns out to be a faerie and her "life for a life" punishment is to live out the rest of her life at the estate of the High Fae, Tamlin.

Anyway, this was the first Sarah J. Maas book I've read and it was so good, I'm ashamed her other work got buried in my to-read pile. She does such a fantastic job not only world-building but character developing. I'm hoping all of you are familiar with the story of Beauty and the Beast (and if you're not please go watch the movie and come back or I'm not tryna associate with you thx) and you know that one of the key aspects of the story is the character development and the relationship between the characters (For the sake of simplicity, when I refer to Beauty and the Beast, I'm just gonna be referring to the Disney movie because that's probably the most widely known version and I don't remember the full details of the original). Similarly, in ACOTAR, we spend a lot of the book developing and establishing the relationships between the characters we've met thus far.

This makes the pacing a little slow -- the real ~action~ isn't until the very end -- but Sarah J. Maas gets away with it for a few reasons:

1. It's a retelling and it stays within its form. Beauty and the Beast the movie spent the entire movie solidifying their love in the castle and then in the last ten minutes there was a village riot. This was a lot more intricate than that but because it had that foundation, readers are already expecting to spend time in a certain place. 
2. We're in a new setting and there's a lot to explore, so it's not like we're reading the same every day scene over and over again, we're getting something new with every page. 
3. The point where all the action culminates is led up to and hinted at so there are still ~things~ going on besides characters talking to each other. 

I know I've said a few things about character development but haven't said anything about actual characters. The first characters we encounter are Feyre's family and I was really impressed with how that story arc unfolded but I was really angrily dumbstruck in the beginning with their dynamic and that's all I'll say now. Feyre herself honestly made me a little angry at times, mostly because she just refused to do things out of spite (same though), or she just made blatantly unsafe decisions. I admired her gut and her strength for the most part though. I think my favorite character would have to be Lucien. Tamlin owns the estate Feyre is now staying at and Lucien is the emissary but they're like bffs (Tamlin and Lucien) and also Lucien is highkey mean to Feyre and puts up with zero percent of her nonsense. He's so sarcastic and hilarious and bitter and I lowkey ship him and Feyre which is a boat no one else is on. Meanwhile Tamlin is sweet, kind, and collected. A true gentleman. I love him as well and I think the understanding he has with Feyre is lovely. Of course, later on we meet Rhysand because you can never have too many faerie boys in black leather clothing, and he's got the whole ~mysterious terrifying mind control~ air to him which I think will probably be explored in the next book. 

There were more people, obviously, and also a lot more to say about even those few people, but this is a short, spoiler-free review, so I'm moving on. I really liked seeing the world through Feyre's eyes. As an artist, she saw the world in an interesting way. Sometimes it could get a little old seeing her suppress it because it would be like ~~I would look at the purple in the sky right now but it's not useful to me so I'm not going to~~ a few times in succession but it never got too much that I didn't enjoy the book. And there were always gems of prose that balanced it out. For example, way in the beginning, she describes: 

"The world was awash in hues of dark blue, interrupted only by shafts of buttery light escaping from the shuttered windows of our dilapidated cottage. It was like sliding through a living painting -- a fleeting moment of stillness, the blue swiftly shifting to solid darkness."

This was like nine pages in but it told me I made the right choice picking this book. 

Anyway, there isn't a whole lot more I can say without spoiling the book. Basically, the characters were amazing, and the stuff that happened was amazing. Basically, go read the book. One final point, that may sound silly, but is 100% serious: I think pronunciation guides should be at the front of books because I read through that entire book pronouncing Rhysand as (Rice-and) and now I flip to the last page and it's REECE???? It's already embedded into my brain for eternity. I'm not gonna stop calling him Rice!!!! I'd probably be calling Feyre "Fair" if there wasn't a dialogue scene where her sister says "fay-ruh." This has been a PSA. Bring pronunciation guides up front. 

Peace out. 

- Noor

Additional thoughts from Kiersten

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Ok, so I read A Court of Thorns and Roses a while back. I meant to write a review, but I didn't, and now it feels like there is too much time between us for me to write a full review. However, I did just want to say how much I absolutely loved A Court of Thorns and Roses! The entire book was such a quick, exciting read for me. I love all of Sarah J. Maas's work, and even though I thought for sure this could not live up to the Throne of Glass series, it totally did and was so amazing. I am forever shamed for doubting the great Sarah J. Maas.

Anyway, if you haven't read A Court of Thorns and Roses or Throne of Glass yet, I'm not sure what you're waiting for. Strong female characters, incredible worlds, action, romance, magic, etc. Just pick one up and see for yourself.

- Kiersten

What's your favorite creature of lore?
Let us know in the comments!

Review: Museum of Heartbreak - Meg Leder

Museum of Heartbreak
Meg Leder 
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the eARC I received via NetGalley!

Museum of Heartbreak follows Penelope Marx as her world is being sort of turned upside down. She's been living a happy life, devoid of a lot of change. But then things start to change - Pen doesn't get along with her best friend Audrey's new bestie, the new boy in town seems to be interested in her, and things with her other best friend Eph are getting Weird. Pen struggles to accept that things are changing, experiencing many different heartbreaks in the process.

Penelope is sort of clueless when it comes to navigating change - it's kind of like "Stick to the Status Quo" is the theme song to her life - she's fully content with having her two best friends and continuing to love the things she's always loved, and she doesn't understand when her friendship dynamic starts changing. Pen is certainly stubborn and stuck in her ways, but at the heart of it, she's scared - she's not sure what's going to happen with her relationships and it's terrifying. The way Meg Leder portrays all of Pen's emotions - happiness and giddiness turned sadness, rage, bitterness, and more - perfectly captures her complete heartbreak.

Besides Pen, the supporting characters of Museum of Heartbreak are also extremely well built. I think it's fair to say that everyone knows a Cherisse and a Keats, but even more, the way Pen's friendships with Eph and Audrey evolve and change is something I think everyone can relate to in some way. I absolutely loved Eph!!! He was Best Friend Goals. And then, of course, there were Grace and Miles, who were so sweet and well developed even though they weren't a huge part of the plot. A+ character development from Meg Leder all around.

The introduction into this book is so cute, especially once you get to the end and it comes full circle. Each chapter of the book corresponds to one item that Pen has put in her "Museum of Heartbreak," and at the end we find out why she decides to "curate" this museum. Such a fun concept, and the way all the chapters were labeled with photos was so cute!

All in all, Museum of Heartbreak is simultaneously an extremely heartbreaking and heartwarming story; it definitely gave me all the feels. This is by far one of my favorite contemporary, coming-of-age stories I've read in a long time, and I highly recommend it! I loved this debut, and I look forward to reading more from Meg Leder!

- Kiersten

What's your favorite kind of dinosaur?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Tell Me Three Things - Julie Buxbaum

Tell Me Three Things
Julie Buxbaum 
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Delacorte Press and First in Line for the ARC I received at Yallfest!

I have no idea how to talk about this book, but I'm going to do my best because I need to talk about this book and how amazing it is.

After reading the blurb for Tell Me Three Things I was immediately intrigued. At the beginning of the book, Jessie has just moved to Los Angeles and is dealing with a lot. It's been about two years since her mother died, and her father has just remarried and relocated them from their old life in Chicago. If that wasn't bad enough, she's starting her junior year at a fancy prep school where she is struggling to fit in. Luckily for her, an anonymous friend wants to help her get acclimated at her new school. While Somebody Nobody could be an elaborate catfish, Jessie ends up finding a true friend through their conversations.

There's something so relatable about Jessie. Even if you've never lost a parent or moved to a new school or had an anonymous online friend, it's easy to connect with her feeling of not belonging. At its roots, Tell Me Three Things is Jessie's coming of age story. The way Julie Buxbaum portrayed such a wide range of emotions through Jessie was absolutely beautiful, and I think there's something everyone can connect with.

One of the most gripping parts of Tell Me Three Things is the mystery of who Somebody Nobody is. While I had my guess somewhere in the middle, Julie Buxbaum did an amazing job at keeping me guessing the entire way through. I actually shouted "NO WAY" at one point because she had me convinced I was wrong.

As for the romance aspect of the book, it was absolutely adorable!!!! (I had an English teacher once say that you should rarely use exclamation points in formal writing, and when you do you should only use one, but honestly it was so adorable the extra exclamation points were entirely necessary and I stand by them.) There was so much "aw"-ing and swooning while reading this. I loved how the connection built and the friendship bloomed into the romance.

Honestly, I have no complaints about Tell Me Three Things. I knew after the first paragraph of this book that I was going to love it, and it exceeded my expectations. With a wonderful balance of mystery, romance, humor, and heartfelt moments, Tell Me Three Things is absolutely a must read and is now one of my all time favorites!

- Kiersten

Bonus: I'll tell you three things about myself!
(1) I just got a sweatshirt that says "I don't care" and has a unicorn on it
(2) My BookCon passes were mailed out yesterday (yay!)
(3) I just enrolled for my classes for the first semester of my senior year this morning (unreal)

Tell me three things about yourself in the comments!