Saturday, April 26, 2014

Review: Unremembered by Jessica Brody

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

Description taken from Goodreads


My Review


Unremembered was a roller coaster of a book, I didn’t see anything coming.  I had so many theories but all of them were pretty much wrong.  This book really took me by surprise.  It’s unique, and has so many twists and turns and ups and downs.  I didn’t know which way was up.

Violet is an unreliable main character and those are always my favorite.  You, as the reader, learn things as Violet learns them.  You don’t know who to trust and who not to trust.  Every emotion that she feels, you feel right along with her.  All the frustration and sadness and anger of not being able to remember anything or not being able to understand common things, such as knowing what a grilled cheese sandwich is.

And!  No love triangle!  Yes, you read that right!  Zen, our love interest, sounds amazingly yummy and sweet and I can’t wait to read more about him.  Unremembered really is about star crossed lovers and there is a great back story featuring Violet and Zen.  It was just enough to get your  feet wet and want to know more about them.  It’s a beautiful love story hidden between a terrifying situation of memory loss and running for your life. 

Also, the secondary characters are great.  Cody, Violet’s foster brother, is absolutely hilarious.  He’s so nerdy and sarcastic.  Where the hell was he when I was thirteen years old?  Haha.  And then there’s Maxxer.  A very interesting character that you don’t really see until the end of the book.  I hope we’ll see more of this character in the second book.

I do have to say that Unremembered was a little slow in the beginning, it took awhile to find its’ footing which felt like the story was dragging a bit.

I was a bit hesitant throughout the story on whether or not I was going to continue with the series just because it seemed that it was going in so many different directions and there could be so many different outcomes because there were so many plots and subplots that I didn’t know if Brody could pull it off.  But towards the end she had everything come full circle.  Everything was connected in a seamlessly brilliant way.  I will definitely be reading the second book as soon as I can get my hands on it.  And I just learned about the book being optioned for a movie, so that’s very exciting as well.

All in all, a great book.  A bit slow at first but definitely picks up towards the end.

If you enjoy mystery and unreliable narrators in a book, like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, then definitely check out Unremembered.

4/5 hearts

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Life of a Blogger: Favorite Actors and Actresses and Favorite Music Albums

This lovely meme was created by Jessi over at Novel Heartbeat!

Whoooo!  I'm finally caught up!



 Favorite Actors

1.  Dylan O'Brien

I love this guy.  He's so freaking awesome and down to Earth.  And a tremendous actor.  I love him on Teen Wolf but was absolutely blown away by his performance in the most recent season.  Absolutely incredible.  And when I found out that he was going to be in The Maze Runner, it made me pick up the book and read it.

2.  Matthew Perry


Absolutely loved him on Friends.  I always will love him on Friends.  He has great comedic timing and is great at the sarcasm and dry humor.  He just gets it and I love it.  I will watch anything that he does.  I don't even care what it is.

3.  Logan Lerman

I feel like I already talked about Logan in a previous Life of a Blogger.  But I'll say it again.  He's so versatile.  He can go from socially awkward teen to hipster adult to awesome demi-god.
I mean, what's not to love?  Go check out Stuck in Love, he's great in it and I feel like it doesn't get the praise that it deserves.  I think it might be on Netflix.

I know I have more favorite actors, but I really can't think of any more right now.  But these are the main ones, I guess.  Every other actor is just so cliche.  Like Leo or Johnny.  I mean you don't want to see me talk about them, it wouldn't be original.


Actresses

1.  Adelaide Kane

I'm definitely new to her work.  I know she was on Teen Wolf and I really liked her character but she left way too soon.  But now she's on Reign on the CW and I love her.  Her character is so freaking badass and she just brings Queen Mary to life and makes me want to be like her when I grow up.  A leader, someone who is confident in her own skin and so elegant.  I will definitely be following her career.


2.  Emma Watson

We all watched her grow up and she was fantastic in the last two Harry Potter movies.  And don't even get me started on Perks.  She was awesome.  I will always follow her career not just because I'm so proud of her but because she's becoming very talented.

3.  Charlize Theron

She's just awesome in everything that she does.

4.  Sophia Bush

I first saw her on One Tree Hill and figured her character was just your run of the mill skanky girl but she transformed into a whole new character with so many layers.  It was incredible.  And now she's on Chicago P.D, which is the complete opposite of her OTH days.

I think that's it.  Again, I wanted to show you some not very well known actresses or ones that you wouldn't normally see on a list.


Favorite Music Albums

1.
Best thing I will ever listen to.  

2.
  I pretty much listened to this album throughout my whole high school career.  I idolized these guys so much.

3.
So fucking awesome.  'Nuff said.

4.
I can listen to this over and over again and never get bored.  It's perfection.


Well, I hope you enjoyed this little snippet into my life.  Come back next Thursday and I'll tell you about my bucket list!

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Review: Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

There are six things very wrong with my life:

1. I have one of those under-the-skin spots that will never come to a head but lurk in a red way for the next two years.

2. It is on my nose

3. I have a three-year-old sister who may have peed somewhere in my room.

4. In fourteen days the summer hols will be over and then it will be back to Stalag 14 and Oberfuhrer Frau Simpson and her bunch of sadistic teachers.

5. I am very ugly and need to go into an ugly home.

6. I went to a party dressed as a stuffed olive.

Description taken from Goodreads



My Review


Remember, dear readers, when you were in your first year of high school?  You’re trying to find yourself and you’re discovering new things.  And when you try these new things, awkward and usually disastrous outcomes arise.  Nothing goes right no matter how hard you try and the harder you try, the worse it becomes.  Now, as you look back on these painful, at the time, memories, you just can’t help but laugh.

That was my experience of Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging.  I just couldn’t help but think ‘Aww, jeez this just sounds so familiar.’  We all had those days, weeks and even months turning into a whole year that you wish you could take back. 

This whole book was just hilarious and sarcastic and awkward.

 awkward gifs photo: awkward awkwardawkward.gif

 It was great.  It definitely had some flaws, but I mean I could overlook them.  The English terminology was a bit hard to understand at points and Georgia and her friends were so annoying sometimes, but in a redeemable way.  Sort of.  You know, in a way that made me stop and think, 'Ok, I acted like this at some points in my life.'  So it was completely normal.

Georgia was a great narrator.  She was funny and sarcastic.  She was a bit shallow.  Ok, a lot shallow, but she was also very insecure about the way she looked and I feel like all of us could relate to her at some point in our lives.  I know I could.  But I loved how this was written.  It’s pretty much Georgia’s diary and I just loved reading her thoughts and actions.  So freaking hilarious.

I’m definitely going to be continuing on with the series just because they're such short reads that I can read in a day and they make me laugh.  So there’s that.

3.5/5 hearts

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Life of a Blogger: Favorite Foods and Handwriting

This lovely meme was created by Jessi over at Novel Heartbeat!



Favorite Foods

I'm seriously the pickiest eater you will ever find.  I really hate food sometimes.  And it's so bad, that when I go out to eat with my family, they have to pick a restaurant where they know that I can find something to eat.  And usually it comes to the point where I have to just order an appetizer as a meal.  So, for example, mozzarella sticks or chicken tenders.


1.  Mac & Cheese

This is literally the only kind of Mac & Cheese that I will eat though.  I never get it at a restaurant cause it's usually so fancy and weird.  I like the cheap stuff, haha. 



2.  Hot Dogs

Just a plain hot dog.  I hate ketchup or mustard or relish.  Yuck!

3.  Grinders

And again, I like it plain.  Just the ham and just the cheese.  Maybe sometimes lettuce.

4. Cereal

I love this cereal.  It's so yummy.

Well that's pretty much it.  I, of course, like some sweets.  But I've been very good at limiting my intake of those.

Honorable Mentions:

1.  Chicken tenders w/ honey mustard
2. Corn dogs
3. Mozzarella sticks w/out the sauce


Handwriting



Well, I hope you enjoyed this little snippet into my life.  Come back next Thursday and I'll tell you about favorite actors/actresses!

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Review: Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala

Joy Delamere is suffocating.

From asthma, from her parents, and from her boyfriend, Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. She can take his cruel words, his tender words . . . until the night they go too far.

To escape, Joy sacrifices her suburban life to find the one who offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, to its rules of survival, and to love--a world she won't easily let go.

Set against the backdrop of the streets of Seattle, Holly Cupala's power-ful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the ways to redemption. But above all, it is an unflinching story about the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength. 

Description taken from Goodreads



My Review 

I seriously had to put this book down so many times.  Not because I didn’t like it but because it affected me so much.  Don’t Breathe a Word focuses on two topics (abuse and homelessness) that are so hard to read about and are unfortunately a big part of today’s culture.

Joy aka Triste was extremely relatable, which made it very hard to read the book.  You could feel every emotion that went through her.  It was really amazing writing.  Cudos to Ms. Cupala. 

I also have to say, as someone with asthma, that Cupala definitely nailed what it was like to have asthma.  Always wondering what would happen if you ran out of medicine.  Always wondering if it was safe to do this or safe to do that.  It’s pretty scary and I couldn’t imagine how it would be for me, personally, if I had to live on the streets not knowing if I would be able to get an inhaler.

Don’t Breathe a Word is a very depressing book, it definitely hits you right in the feels and teaches you that you can find hope in new ways.  It’s not always the right way.  But if you can find that one ray of sunshine through the downpour then there must be a whole rainbow somewhere.  It really is unique; I’ve never read anything like it before.  Sure, there are books about abuse but never the aftermath of it and then Triste living on the streets.  It takes you down this road that is rarely traveled and it was beautiful.  Don’t Breathe a Word is all about finding yourself, finding your inner courage, finding a voice.

Beautifully written, you’re right there with Triste, Creed, Santos, and May.  You feel for every character that you’re introduced to, and makes you think twice about all the people you might see the next time you venture into a city.

It was so dark that I thought I would never see a light at the end of the tunnel but I knew I just had to keep reading.  Eventually, I found it and I was not disappointed.  I did, however, find the end to be a bit rushed and wanted a little bit more explanation in the last twenty or so pages of the book.

All in all, Don’t Breathe a Word was heartbreaking and heartwarming, it was a culture shock and makes you feel really grateful for what you have in life.

If you enjoy gritty contemporary books then you should definitely pick up Don’t Breathe a Word.
  

 4/5 hearts

First Blogoversary!!

party gif photo: Party!! tumblr_m66hc0YJ8a1rzy69xo1_500.gif


I can't believe that it's already been a year, guys!  It's so exciting.  And I'm so thankful for each and every one of you.  I know I took a little bit of break but I'm really hoping to get back into the swing of things and I hope you'll continue to follow to me.

Here's to having the second year being just as amazing as this last one!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Life of a Blogger: Travel and Favorite Animals

This lovely meme was created by Jessi over at Novel Heartbeat!


Traveling

Places I've been:
Well, I've been to almost every state in the US.  Not necessarily to visit, but probably to just pass through on my way to another state.  
I've also been to Canada.  Got to see Niagra Falls and everything.  

Places I want to go:  
1. Japan
2. Ireland
3. France
4. England



Favorite Animals

 Gorgeous creatures, Tigers.  Sad thing is, they are extremely endangered.  


This is actually a new favorite.  I don't really have an explanation.

Such a beautiful animal.  Wolves are awesome.


Those are pretty much all of the wild animals that I love.  As for domestic animals, I love any kind of cat.  I really am a cat person.  I love dogs too, especially big dogs.   


Well, I hope you enjoyed this little snippet into my life.  Come back next Thursday and I'll tell you about favorite foods and handwriting!

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Life of a Blogger: Favorite Place and Camping Experience

This lovely meme was created by Jessi over at Novel Heartbeat!


Favorite Place

Besides my own home and my grammy and grampys' house.  I'm going to have to go with:


Lake George, NY!

I love this place so much.  And there's so much to do here.  You can walk in the village where you can go into the House of Frankenstein.  Or lose your money in one of the many arcades.  There are so many restaurants and little shops.  It's truly amazing. 

 Also, if you go about ten minutes outside of the village then you have Goony Golf.  It's really cheesy, but we love it!  The theme is just fairytales and like nursery rhymes.

And if you go even a bit further, you have The Great Escape, which is an awesome amusement park.  I definitely recommend it.  There's a lot to do, not just rides.   

It really is a beautiful place to visit and I think everyone should go at least once.  However, I don't think once is enough.



Camping Experience

I've only really had one camping experience and it lasted about six weeks.  I went with my grandparents and one of my cousins from Florida when I was about eleven or twelve.  We went everywhere in a camper.  All the way out west.  We visited the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, even Vegas!  It really was a great experience but it was a bit hard because I don't really know my grandparents or my family down in Florida that well so at times it was definitely awkward.  And if you know me, you know I suffer from social anxiety so it was difficult for me to speak up much if I had a problem or if I was uncomfortable about something.  But to be honest, since it happened so long ago, I don't remember that much of it.  I mean I have pictures but they're all in storage somewhere.

And I'm pretty sure that was the one and only camping experience I will ever have.  I have a major fear of any and all kinds of bugs.  Ick.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little snippet into my life.  Come back next Thursday and I'll tell you about places I've traveled and where I plan to travel and my favorite animals!