Reading and Blogging Goals 2015

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Reading:
1. Read every day.
2. Try and read at least one classic a month.
3. Use the library more!
4. Don’t neglect the Kindles (Sorry, Roger and Amy)
5. Finish 10 series!
6. Read a new author.
7. Give something old a second chance.
8. Do more read-a-longs with Sarah!
9. Complete TBR
10. Read over 100 books.

Blogging:
1. Try and post at least 15 times a month!
2. Continue to write more ‘not reviews’.
3. Start a recommendations series.
4. Start ‘Student Reviews’ on the classics we read.
5. Blog about creative writing.

Writing:
1. Complete Camp NaNoWriMo 2015
2. Complete Taylor Swift Anthology on secondary blog SongTitleStories
3. Finish a novel

Wish us Luck!
Maddie and Bee x

Review: Crossed by Ally Condie

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Crossed

Crossed by Ally Condie
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Published by: Speak
Pages: 367
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★
Series: Matched (#1) | Reached (#3)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

The second book in the ‘Matched’ series starts with Ky digging a grave. Not exactly the happiest way to begin, but I rolled with it. I was also going to roll with the fact there were two perspectives. Both Ky and Cassia got their say: in the end, I preferred neither. (That’s probably a good thing.) (At least I could tell them apart, unlike Four and Tris in Allegiant.)

The rebellion has well and truly kicked off. The transition between ‘Matched’ and ‘Crossed’ was not as smooth as I would have liked, but we were caught up with what had happened pretty quickly. Not much to complain about their. However, as the book progressed, issues started to arise.

First, Cassia and Ky were trying to find a way back to each other. This seemed a lot easier than I thought it would be and they were reunited 200 pages in. I didn’t really understand the landscapes their groups were travelling through – thank goodness there was a map at the beginning!

Some things, although not a lot, were revealed about Xander. (Psst, he’s part of the rebellion!) I was pleased to see that he wasn’t trying to battle Ky for Cassia’s love, but we still have one book left. I bet you three chocolate coins the love triangle plot will rear it’s cliched head within ‘Reached’.

I understand why the book was called ‘Crossed’. There was a lot of crossing over landscapes to be done. There were caverns and canyons and rivers and desserts. Kind of ‘Fire and Flood’-y, without the intense survival skills. The one thing Cassia did have to survive was the elusive blue pill (hence the blue cover.) After the menacing motive of the red pill was revealed, I had my suspicions about blue. (Even though Percy Jackson has taught me that anything blue is amazing.) It turns out, the blue pill is poison, just like the food they feed to old people. Two pills will kill you. Excellent.

Basically, the end goal of this book was to join the Rebellion. Another ‘Delirium’ trilogy parallel emerged when we discovered Cassia was going to have to infiltrate the Society from the inside in ‘Reached’. I look forward to it. But, it took them 370 pages to find the Rebellion. I can’t even explain went on in the middle of the book, I felt kind of lost as I skimmed through the pages. Some of the events just seemed completely irrelevant. What was the purpose of that cave with all the tissue samples? Why did they have to go there?! I don’t know, it was all just general confusion.

Overall, I liked ‘Matched’ better, hence why I give ‘Crossed’ only 2 stars. Even with this rating, I’m intrigued to know how it all ends – it feels like the first two books in the series were really just building up to this finale. I’ve got some expectations! Is that a good thing?

Review: Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

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let it snow

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
Genre: romance, contemporary
Published by: Speak
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5
Where To Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Let It Snow is the perfect wintery read to read during a snow filled pyjama day. The three stories are cleverly woven together through the character’s mutual friends. Not only that, but they are full of fun and they’re quick to read.

I’d say that I liked them in the order they appeared, first Maureen Johnson’s then John Green’s then Lauren Myracle’s. So I shall review each story individually.

The Jubilee Express was my favourite because although like the other it took place within a short amount of time the pacing was fast. I just wanted to find out what happened next, I couldn’t help myself from reading it quickly. Jubilee was my favourite of the three protagonists because she was believable and her story was humorous. Stuart was probably my favourite of the love interests too, because he was so dang nice, and his mother is the physical embodiment of Christmas spirit. I loved every second of this sweet romance! It set a very high standard for the other two stories, and I was perhaps a little disappointed with them because of this.

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle was easily identifiable as a John Green creation. (See How To: Write a John Green novel) All the classic John Green elements were in there, and although I loved the writing style, and thought the (stock) characters were engaging, exaggerated, and hilarious. I couldn’t picture them as actual human beings. If there are people in the world like John Green’s characters then I would very much like to meet them, because they way they talk is enchanting and the construction of their humour is ingenious! I really liked the development of Tobin and the Duke’s relationship, it was heart-warmingly adorable. However, I didn’t really enjoy the actual plot of the story. The majority of it is a race to the Waffle House which last an indeterminable amount of time, if I’m honest, I was quite bored. JP’s reaction of the couple’s relationship redeemed my opinion by the end of the story, but I still think the middle was weaker than the rest of the novel thus far.

I really could not connect with the protagonist, Addie in The Patron Saint of Pigs. I appreciated Jeb as the character that linked the stories effortlessly, but whereas I appreciated him, I don’t think Addie did. The dramatic irony was entertaining, but I was unsympathetic towards Addie’s whinging, and felt that she didn’t deserve Jeb in the end! That may be slightly harsh, because by the end of the story I suppose she’d learned her lesson, but the first half was rather hard to read, because I didn’t want to put myself through the narrative. (Addie was incredibly self absorbed to begin with.) My favourite bit of the story was the end, where all the characters were reunited! It was so lovely to see Jubilee and Stuart again!

Overall, I’m giving Let It Snow 2.5 stars! If you’re in the mood for a festive read next year, definitely give this one a go!

Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

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Where She Went by Gayle Form8492825an
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Published by: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 264
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★
Series: If I Stay (#1)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Where She Went by Gayle Forman, is the sequel to If I Stay – a book I really enjoyed. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy Where She Went, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of Adam in the first book so to have a book from his perspective didn’t improve my rating. Originally I hadn’t planned on reading the sequel, because I enjoyed the ambiguities of If I Stay’s ending. Now, I wouldn’t say I was disappointed with the ending, but I didn’t think I needed a sequel to come to the same conclusions that I’d already…concluded.

Adam spends the majority of the book moaning about how much Mia hurt him – this book takes place about three years after the ending of the first book – by going to Julliard and living her dream. I was absolutely appalled by the time it took for Adam to recognize that he had told her he would let her go if she stayed. Because Adam was in an unhappy place in his life it didn’t make for very fun reading. The novel definitely picked up with the introduction of Mia, but even then it wasn’t until the very end that I felt what I’d read actually meant something to the characters.

Forman still effortlessly went back and forth in the timeline, and I enjoy how easy her writing is to read. There wasn’t as much music in Where She Went, but I didn’t feel like this made it any less identifiable as Adam and Mia’s story. In fact the lack of music references just showed how much these characters changed. One thing that I felt was lacking was a resolute message that change can sometimes be good. Also, I wasn’t particularly fond of how attached Adam was to Mia – a good relationship should be supportive, but not dependent, which is what Adam was.

I think regret is a strong word to describe how I feel about reading this book, because I don’t think it necessarily added or subtracted from how much I liked If I Stay. I will say that if you’re undecided on whether or not to pick up Where She Went, just think about where you would like Mia and Adam’s relationship progresses and assume you are correct. Overall, I gave Where She Went two stars, because I couldn’t connect with Adam’s PoV as much as I did Mia’s and it would be unfair to rate it the same as If I Stay.

Review: Are We There Yet? by David Levithan

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18343374Are We There Yet? by David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, Family
Published by: Alfred A. Knopf
Pages: 215
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I picked this book up because I have been thoroughly enjoying David Levithan’s co-written works with Rachel Cohn, and I decided that in 2015 I wanted to read more of his novels. When I saw a wild David Levithan book appear in the library, one that I hadn’t heard of no less, I jumped on the chance to read it.

Are We There Yet? by David Levithan is the story of two brothers who really misunderstand one another. They’ve grown apart as they’ve gotten older, and when their parents send them on a holiday to Italy they don’t know how they’re going to cope.

The character development was progressively good. I didn’t like where the brothers started but I really liked how their relationship changed and evolved into something new. There was a lot of miscommunication between the brothers, and the age gap didn’t help matters, so it really made me thankful that I’ve grown up with a sister who’s the same age (high five, Maddie!) I don’t think I’ve read much about brothers before, there always seems to be sister relationships in novels, but you don’t often hear of two brothers – if you do please recommend the good ones! – and Levithan analyzed the differences between the different sibling relationships and it was really eye opening. I’d say that because of Maddie I don’t really know much about different gender sibling relationships. People always ask Maddie and I ‘what’s it like to be twin’ and we can only ever respond with ‘we don’t know any different!’ But those same people would then proceed to look at us strangely if we asked them ‘what’s it like to have a younger brother?’ or something along those lines.

I can’t say that I preferred one brother to the other, because it really depended on what either David or Elijah were doing. I wouldn’t say I connected with either of their personalities, but the relationship they shared was what made me keep reading! They were in Italy – Venice, Florence, Rome – and I really liked hearing about all the different landmarks. I was particularly interested in Florence as that is the focus of my History coursework that I start in January.

Apart from visiting a few landmarks, and getting their hearts broken there wasn’t too much plot. It probably isn’t the book for you if you like a fast paced adventure read, but if you like the family-centric novels then pick this one up straight away! It’s a great ‘brothers version’ of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Are We There Yet? has not put me of Levithan’s writing at all, in fact I can’t wait to get my hands on more! However, I’m only going to give this book two stars comparatively to his other works.

Apart from visiting a few landmarks, and getting their hearts broken there wasn’t too much plot. It probably isn’t the book for you if you like a fast paced adventure read, but if you like the family-centric novels then pick this one up straight away! It’s a great ‘brothers version’ of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Are We There Yet? has not put me of Levithan’s writing at all, in fact I can’t wait to get my hands on more! However, I’m only going to give this book two stars comparatively to his other works.

Review: Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

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Dash and Lily’s B10264464ook of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Published by: Knopf Books
Pages: 260
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

David Levithan and Rachel Cohn are quickly becoming some of my favourite authors. I read Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist relatively recently and really enjoyed it, and picked up Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares for the Christmas Booktubeathon (a book with red and green on the cover) and boy, am I glad I did!

There’s something about the way that Levithan and Cohn construct their characters relationships, so that the book is equally just about Lily, just about Dash, and just about the two as an entity. There wasn’t a perspective that I liked more than the other, because both sides were engaging and heartwarming to the point of making me a giggling mess. I was so surprised to read that the authors didn’t plan out every single detail and circumstance. They literally just passed chapters back and forth as if they were Dash and Lily themselves. I admire that style of writing, no plan. Simply go.

I loved how there were certain things that linked Dash and Lily together, one of them would mention something they did, and then it would pop up in the next character’s chapter. A little bit of dramatic irony never hurt any one! What I also loved was that the family and friends of Dash and Lily aren’t explained fully – yeah, their backstories crop up, but we’re quite a way into the story and Boomer shows up and he’s a main character! It makes it seem as if you’re really looking into someone’s life.

Dash and Lily’s story got progressively less about the book and more about the people. There was some amazing character development in this book…perhaps not development in Dash’s case, but they both ‘found’ themselves. You could see that they were both concerned with the way they were presented on paper versus ‘real life’, which added an interesting dynamic of self-discovery that you don’t often see talked about in YA. The book was more than just two kids finding romance, it was more about them realizing that they were unique and that was okay. I really appreciated the profound way they talked about ‘the girl/boy in your head’, it was an interesting concept that got me thinking.

Dash’s wordiness, and Lily’s endless family connections, how every secondary character had a purpose, and the unique settings around New York really made me fall in love with this book. There was also a little cameo reference to Nick and Norah, and you know I love a good cameo!

Overall, I would give Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares four stars, because I really did enjoy the story, but I was disappointed with the ending. The build up was good, but then it cut out about two chapters before I wanted it to! I will definitely be picking up Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List, and any subsequent co-written works!

Merry Blogmas!

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We hope you’ve enjoyed a different post every single day of Advent! We’ve really enjoyed getting to both review books and do more ‘comment’ style posts as well – expect more of the same thing in the New Year!

For Christmas we received some wonderful book vouchers, so we hope to be spending them in the coming weeks, and also splashing the odd 99p on the Kindle bookstore. (Go and check out the Christmas bargains!)

Happy Holidays,

Love Maddie and Bee
x

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

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Matched

Matched by Ally Condie
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Published by: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 369
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★
Series: Crossed (#2) | Reached (#3)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I’ve had this book on my Kindle since I first got it a year ago. That means it’s been sitting on my Kindle shelf for a year, neglected and gathering pixelated dust. After I found out my school library has the rest of the series, I thought it was time to read ‘Matched’. I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about this series. A lot of people say that it goes downhill as the series progresses, but I think that’s common in any trilogy. I tried to keep an open mind.

OK, first, I did like the world. It was explained in the smoothest way possible, and there were a lot of different things going on that didn’t really seem connected. Why euthanise the elderly? What is the purpose of the coloured pills and do they have any long-term effects? What’s the use of ‘sorting’ jobs? I hope that some of these questions are answered as the series progresses, as there were a few holes I felt needed to be filled.

The romance, and yes it was a love triangle, was not annoying. Although there were two guys, Xander, who Cassia was matched with and Ky, who she actually fell in love with, there wasn’t much competition between the two. Xander seemed to respect that even though Cassia was meant to marry him someday, with him was not where her heart belonged. I think as soon as two boys are introduced, people assume the love triangle will be drawn out and repetitive. I was surprised this was not the case. (Of course, we’ve still got another two book in the series, so Xander could change his mind…)

All parts of culture are limited in this Society. There are only one hundred songs, paintings, poems. Although a motivating quote from a poem ‘Go not gently’ spurred on Cassia to choice her own path in life, I thought the book itself did the exact opposite. The plot progression was kind of underwhelming, with a slow pace and no clear direction until there was mention of a rebellion in the Outer Provinces. (Just another cliched storyline: ‘What’s beyond the wall?’)

Overall, ‘Matched’ was reminiscent of ‘Delirium’ and ‘Divergent’, with the Society controlling the lives of their citizens, even their love lives, with the spark of rebellion at the end. In fact, it reminded me of every other dystopian on the Young Adult shelves. However, there was something about this book’s gentleness and subtlety that made me want to pick up the next in the series, ‘Crossed’. I hope that the next books in the series do well to advance the plot of ‘Matched’ and develop the world. I would, therefore, give this book 3 stars, as there is lots of room for improvement, but still lots of elements that I enjoyed. Yay!

Review: Just In Case by Meg Rosoff

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Just in Case bjust_in_case_pby Meg Rosoff
Genre: Contemporary
Published by: Penguin
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Maddie and I read this book as part of our school’s book club and whereas Maddie has had some experience with Rosoff’s writing style – she reviewed How I Live Now – I have not.

I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed the story, but I didn’t particularly dislike it either. The recommender of this book said that it would ‘make you think’ but at the end, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be thinning about. Fate, maybe? The premise is that David Case has a bad run in with fate, so decided to hide for it. He changes his name to Justin (Just in Case, geddit?) from then on he meets Agnes and she helps him change his look. The book is narrated in third person, with some first person chucked in there to represent fate chasing Justin down. Reminiscent of The Book Thief’s death as a narrator.

It’s quite a strange story as all that really happens is Justin’s slow decline into depression and other illnesses. The majority of the themes in the novel came down to two things: sex and religion. Sex was one of the main things Justin thought about, and it was interesting to see how his perception of love and physicality changed his life. The religion side of things comes from Boy, the dog. The invisible dog. I’m pretty sure he was supposed to be a metaphor for God, but I could be mistaken. My evidence for this is when Peter says, “Take Boy. Does he exist or doesn’t he? You see him, I see him. Is that enough to vouch for his existence?” When Boy isn’t in Justin’s life he seems worse off and unsure of himself, which could suggest that the dog is symbolic of faith in something, perhaps not a deity, but just something.

Just In Case focussed a lot on character relationships. Agnes and Justin’s relationship was dangerous because it was one sided. Justin and Peter’s friendship was mutual and co-dependent. Justin’s relationship with his brother was endearing and relied on a mutual understanding, which is hard to achieve when you’re brother is only one. The sections with Charlie, the brother, were my favourite parts, because I liked ‘looking’ into a child’s mind. Rosoff’s presentation of a child’s cognitive ability versus their ability to produce language was something I appreciated, probably because I’m currently studying Child Language Acquisition in my English Language lessons.

I was disappointed with the ending, because I thought it would surmount to more. We left Justin in a rather precarious position and, apart from the afterword from death, everyone’s endings are pretty ambiguous. After the book group’s discussion of Just In Case I may well add to this review, but for now I’ll give it 2.5 stars, we’ll see how my opinion changes with further discussion.

Review: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

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The DuffThe Duff  by Kody Keplinger
Genre: Contemporary
Published by: Little Brown
Pages: 280
Format: E-book
Rating: ★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

After seeing that this book was going to become a movie (and that it was only 99p on Kindle) I was super intrigued to see what ‘The Duff’ was about…and what the word even meant.

So, DUFF stands for designated, ugly, fat friend. Even though the main character, Bianca, is none of these things, its a label used to separate her from her friends, who are seen as prettier because they have bigger chests and longer legs. (This book is certainly filled with a lot of stereotypes of what’s beautiful.)

Bianca tries to defy this label and she does this with the help of womaniser Wesley Rush. Urgh. Even the name makes you want to roll your eyes. The basis of their relationship revolves around having sex to distract them from their family problems. (Bianca’s parents are getting a divorce and her dad’s an alcoholic.) Not the kind of relationship to promote. However, it seems they were operating under the rule ‘sex first, love later’, which is what ends up happening.

The relationship dynamic between the couple made me feel uncomfortable. Of course, it’s probably realistic, as ‘romance’ becomes more of something we put in inverted commas rather than a reality. I was able to understand the relationship, but not connect with Bianca because of it. I preferred the romance she shared with Toby Tucker. His name instantly tells you he’s someone that would ask if he could kiss you, and would walk you to your door at the end of a date. Cute.

What I really loved about this book, though, was the way the label ‘Duff’ affected Bianca. I think it really demonstrated how much a word like ‘ugly’ can affect a girl, especially when it comes from someone of the opposite sex. I hate the fact that self-esteem is built or broken because of the opinions of others, but its the truth. Bianca coped with the insult but it truly affected her. What’s worse is that Wesley didn’t even realise how bad it made her feel; another reason why people should think before they speak.

There was something about this book that made it really easy to read. The protagonists were all seventeen and the author was seventeen when she wrote it. This was obvious, and not in a bad way. Keplinger truly understood what it was like to be that age, and wasn’t afraid to show the explicitness that comes with it.

The true message is, everyone feels like a DUFF sometime in their life. Although your appearance isn’t all you are, when you’re a teenager, it sure feels that way. Because of this, I’d only recommend this book to people 16-18, so they could really connect and sympathise with the life of the teenager. If you’re younger or older than that, I think this book would either be inappropriate or feel too teen-drama-y.

Overall, I’d give ‘The Duff’ 3 stars. I didn’t like the use of words such as ‘whore’ and ‘slut’, because it contradicted the message of calling someone a ‘duff’. THERE IS NO SUCH THING. But, it did make me think, which is always a good thing. Although it has quite a niche market, this book is interesting and insightful.