#....come to think of it... Neal Shusterman-- my very favorite author!-- uses a lot of horror elements in my favorite stories by him.

[ewates]

hihi! you mentioned challenger deep in your latest update, and i was wondering what your favourite books are if you don’t mind sharing!

honey. you've got a big storm coming.

i absolutely LOVE talking about my favorite books but this list got very out of hand & i would recommend you reading better summaries than what i gave & seeking out any content warnings that you might need. the majority of my favorite books tend to deal with very heavy topics and marked cws very poorly since my memory isn't too clear on every single event.

my goodreads is here so feel free to add me as a friend on it if you want!! i update fairly often while i’m reading & i leave as unprofessional reviews as a man can

novels told in verse:

the black flamingo by dean atta -- a coming of age story about a mixed-race gay teen and his journey with drag (cw for homophibia)

the poet x by elizabeth acevedo -- a teen girl uses poetry to cope with her life & finding herself

other words for home by jasmine warga -- a young girl immigrates from syria to america & how she deals with this displacement

blood water paint by joy mccullough -- based on the painter artemisia gentileschi & the people that used her (cw for sexual assault and child abuse)

survival(ish):

i am still alive by kate alice marshall -- a girl goes to live with her father in the middle of nowhere but ~something~ happens that lives her alone and having to live off the land (cw for animal harm/death)

living dead girl by elizabeth scott -- the mc was kidnapped before the events of the story and she struggles with the abuse that she faces. (cw for csa. seriously. this is one of my favorite books but it's incredibly difficult to read.)

sadie by courtney summers -- a teenager is on a mission to find the man that killed her little sister and get her revenge. (cw for csa) this also has podcast transcripts & a full cast audiobook. (inspiration for in defense of arson)

room by emma donoghue -- from the perspective of a young boy who's been raised in captivity with his mother (cw for sexual assault and kidnapping)

mystery/thriller/horror:

far from you by tess sharpe -- a girl struggles with her addiction as she tries to hunt down the person who killed her best friend. the highlight of this book for me was their friendship in the flashbacks (cw for addiction)

the girl with all the gifts by m.r. carey -- set in a zombie apocalypse, a group of people try to find the cure to this by testing on very strange children (very similar to the last of us, which is maybe why i loved it)

the only good indians by stephen graham jones -- a group of boys cause an entity to come after them after something that they did when they were teenagers (cw for animal cruelty. there's a lot of it)

all of gillian flynn's books are pretty solid but my order of favorites is this: sharp objects, the grownup, dark places, gone girl

fantasy:

and the ocean was our sky by patrick ness -- a war between humans and whales (sort of like the reverse moby dick)

girls made of snow and glass by melissa bashardoust -- a retelling of snow white with the perspective of the "evil" stepmother and the daughter. (cw for child abuse)

contemporary:

challenger deep by neal shusterman -- (!!!) this one follows a boy and his struggle with schizophrenia. it goes between chapters of his hallucinations were he's convinced he's on a boat in the middle of the ocean and his every day life. it includes art made by the author's son

everything beautiful is not ruined by danielle younge-ullman -- a teen girl goes on a wilderness survival trip that's meant to help at-risk teens, split with flashbacks of her mother's depression (cw for attempted sexual assault & almost anything else you can think of. the other teens in the group discuss their reasons for also being at the camp and they range quite a bit)

historical:

the wolf wilder by katherine rundell -- a little girl and her mother help teach tamed wolves to live in the wild again while struggling against the russian army.

midnight at the electric by jodi lynn anderson -- in the far future a girl stays with her only living relative temporarily and finds journals detailing someone that lived in the home a hundred years ago.

it wasn't always like this by joy preble -- set in two different timelines following the same girl after she and her family drank from a fountain that granted them immortality.

series:

the illuminae files by amie kaufman and jay kristoff -- after their planet is destroyed, the survivors are stuck trying to survive in ships while their enemies are still in pursuit and their AI grows less and less trustworthy. told in chatlogs, surveillance footage, journal entries, interviews, etc. the audiobook is full cast with sound effects & the cast is incredible. (aidan is my favorite character and a huge source of inspiration of writing a more evil connor, i've also titled many of my fics after quotes from this series)

half bad trilogy by sally green -- the son of a powerful & evil witch tries to figure out who to trust in the world as he tries to find his father (cw for child abuse, haven't read the last book in this series and i would recommend the audiobooks since the narrator does an incredibly job invoking the emotion. it has chapters that are written in second person but the vast majority of it isn't if that isn't your cup of tea)

the young elites by marie lu -- high fantasy set in a world where a disease kills the majority of the population but leaves some of those with strange abilities. a group of people come together to try and stop the oppression that these people face. (sort of like xmen meets assassins creed)

short stories:

(horror) mapping the interior by stephen graham jones -- a boy struggles after the death of his father & his little brother's illness. he has visions of his father coming back from the dead to help heal his brother.

(horror) a house at the bottom of the lake by josh malerman -- a couple goes canoeing on their first date and finds a house (you guessed it) at the bottom of the lake.

(historical fantasy) the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo -- a cleric is sent to listen to & write down a story about the rise of a chinese empress. (there are more in this series i haven't read yet)

graphic novels/manga:

they called us enemy by george takei -- nonfiction about george takei living in japanese interment camps in his childhood

in real life by cory doctorow -- the mc's only outlet is playing in an mmorpg but she realizes the dark sides of the game and how people are exploited by others.

reindeer boy by cassandra jean -- a girl has dreams about a reindeer boy that visits her every christmas until one day he shows up in real life as the new boy at her school

alice 19th by yuu watase -- a manga series that follows a girl and learning magic to bring back a sister that she accidentally cursed to disappear.

[starwarned]

17 questions meme

thank you @cows4247 and @gampyre for the tag! 

nickname: lauren is actually my middle name but I do go by it a lot! my new brand is going by laureb so that’s one I suppose 

zodiac: libra

height: 5′5″ I think 

countries I’ve been to: the US, canada, spain, morocco, I think switzerland when I was a child? 

last thing I googled: strawberry cow pillow pet (this is incredibly on brand for me)

song stuck in my head: something’s coming from west side story. I’m singing it for my voice class so it’s been stuck in my head for a week straight 

wearing: my designated painting sweater and some really old basketball shorts

favorite author: rainbow probably! and, like. shakespeare, because I am a basic bitch. and neal shusterman

favorite instrument: a stanky ass bass line 

aesthetic: soft gay who loves overalls and/or lesbian who loves hoodies and flannels 

home aesthetic: I’m a college student so the only creative control I have over my home is my bedroom -- which is very eclectic but overall covered in flowers and yellow :)

favorite song: currently, send me on my way by rusted root or youuu by coin 

favorite animal sounds: my cat purring when he sits on my chest and rubs his face against mine <3

what’s one thing you’ll admit to tumblr and not in real life?: the amount of porn that I write. my friends know I write fic and they even know who I write about but they don’t know what I write lol

and the few bonus questions that gamp added hahah

last thing I ate: lunch was a bowl of cereal and half a cookie lmao

languages I speak: english and mediocre mandarin. I am conversational in spanish 

favorite way to exercise: writing sprints 

tagging: @seducing-a-vampire @letraspal @effing-numpties @caitybuglove23 @ninemagicks @palimpsessed @peachpit-gabe @trenchcoat-moth @xivz @otherworldsivelivedin and anyone else who sees this and would like to bless us with some random knowledge about you <3 

[fabby-book-blog]

UnSouled (2013)

2020 Books #7 - June 25

Author: Neal Shusterman

In UnSouled, part 3 of the Unwind series, a lot is happening, but at the same time nothing is happening too?

Starkey and Hayden’s storyline is the most exciting from this book. We see Starkey just getting worse and worse— a villain you definitely love to hate and we see Hayden struggling working under his leadership which heavily contrasts working under the more peaceful Connor in UnWholly.

Our main trio, Connor, Levi, and Risa are all taking their own book-long road trips that comes with its bumps and inconveniences (literally), but seems like an everyone else has something more interesting going on. However, Argent and Nelson’s own road trip suffers from this kind of sedentary action too for most of it. Also, I was hoping that a ConCamRisa love triangle wouldn’t be in this, but I guess I’ll deal with it 🤷🏻‍♀️

A lot of the Levi/Connor storyline takes place on a Native American reservation which refers back to a lot of what happened (I think) in Shusterman’s novella, which I have not read. However, I don’t think it’s a prerequisite since I was still able to get the jist of what happened. I’ll eventually get to the short story collection when I finish the main series and maybe I’ll feel more enriched.

I’ve come to the understanding that this was supposed to be a trilogy, but book 3 got so long that Shusterman had to cut it in half and that is why we have a book 4 lol. So because of this, I understand why the book seemed to be a little slow at times, but I very much look forward to seeing everything wrapped up!

UnWholly is still my favorite book in the series so far, but I’m sure UnSouled has prepared us for something incredible in Undivided. Can’t wait!

[akocomyk]

Twenty-eight books read in 2019.  Sixteen longlisted books.  One person who wastes his time writing sh*t as if they really matter.

Here it is.  The best books I read in the past year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The unfortunate books that I had to let go since I only had ten spots to fill.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (2017)

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (1934)

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (2017)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926)

Bird by Bird by Anne Lammott (1994)

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (2014)

*Ratings range from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

10th Place

56 by Bob Ong (2018)

Rating: 4.300

Bob Ong makes a comeback on my list with his latest novel.  His other book, Si, ranked 10th last 2015.  This is the second time a Filipino book enters the list and is also the second nonfiction book ever—after Into the Wild last 2016.

In his latest release, Ong returns to the writing style that made him famous— reminiscent of his earlier books like ABNKKBSNPLAko.  56 is like a 300-page commentary or editorial about the issues of the present Filipino generation.

Other readers have found the book a little too preachy.  I find it enlightening as it serves as a wake-up call to the Filipinos who are turning their blindsides to the harsh realities of our nation.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

9th Place

Mga Kirot ng Kapalaran (Kikomachine Komix blg. 11) by Manix Abrera (2015)

Rating: 4.445

This is a long-overdue recognition to my favorite comic strip artist (Fun Fact: I met him quite a few times already).  For many years, I've ignored the chance to even put his works in the list of contenders.  I'm not throwing it away again.  Now, I have my first book to enter the top 10 classified under comics and graphic novels.

In this collection of strips by Manix Abrera, his work remains as humorous and as satirically laughable as the first time I saw his comic. Themes have changed to reflect the new trends and issues of our present society.

For as long as Manix draws and publishes his work, I will continue to read them as I know he gives an intellectual yet amusing input to our society's problems.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

8th Place

Mga Batang Poz by Segundo Matias, Jr. (2018)

Rating: 4.450

“Beautiful and relevant, but not flawless,” this is what I said on my review for this YA novel.

Mga Batang Poz is the third Filipino book on this list.  Having three books on the list is a first.  Furthermore, this is also the first time in four years that a Filipino book enters the list.

As previously mentioned, I have certain problems with regard to the overarching narrative of the novel.  I wish that Matias could’ve written something more elaborate or something that doesn’t feel forced.

Nevertheless, the book accomplishes its goal of being a story that advocates HIV awareness, especially towards the youth.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

7th Place

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (2012)

Rating: 4.485

In this book, you'll see both the cruelty and the compassion of humanity through the eyes of a gorilla named Ivan who is the narrator of the story.

Ivan is based on a real-life gorilla who was being used as a live animal attraction in Zoo Atlanta.

It is quite obvious that the book is meant for a younger audience, but despite this, I know anyone of any age will be able to appreciate it.  Ivan is a gorilla after all, and I think the simplicity of how it was written suits his character, making the tone of the story more natural.

Overall, it was very touching.  Although it mirrors pretty much what happened to the real-life Ivan, it efficiently delivers its message for animal welfare.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

6th Place

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1939)

Rating: 4.525

This is a mystery novel filled with suspense and everything that'll make you love and hate it at the same time.  The horror it gives chills you to the bone for every page you turn.

Agatha Christie is insane—and I mean that in a good way.  The plot was so well-thought out that even when nearing at the end, I had no clue who the culprit was.  When it was revealed to me, I was like, “Yeah.  That makes absolute f*cking sense.”

For a book that has ten major characters, it does well in handling them.  You know when a piece of literature is brilliantly made when even if its length isn’t considerably long, it doesn’t sacrifice the characters’ backgrounds and the narrative of the story.

Despite the novel’s inhumane and despicable acts, it also addresses issues about criminal injustices that are still prevalent today.  In our country alone, criminals—corrupt officials, master drug dealers, rapists, murderers—are still roaming around the streets, evading the consequences of their actions.   At times when the law is not enforced properly, people resort to their own type of justice.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

5th Place

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (2018)

Rating: 4.590

In this debut novel by Adib Khorram, the titular character Darius suffers from clinical depression.  Also, he's a Star Trek and Lord of the Rings fan.

This book demonstrates the fact that real depression is not simply cured by positive reinforcement and bible verses—as what most overly religious people think.

The novel highlights Darius' relationship with the other characters—most especially with Sohrab.  It shows how he copes up with them while he struggles with his mental disorder.

There are also subtle hints of homosexuality, which added to the overall tension of the story since the main characters are Muslims.  It wasn't blatant but it was obviously present—in the right and necessary amount.

To me, this is a spiritual brother of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz—one of my favorite books.  It gave me the same feeling of awe, beautiful pain, and joyful nostalgia. There were parts that broke my heart—I was ugly crying while riding a bus—and by the end, I was a complete mess, although I'm utterly happy.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

4th Place

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan (2017)

Rating: 4.595

What I love most about this book is how it was written.  Instead of being in paragraphs, it was written in verses—like poetry.  I thought it was creative and oddly fitting for the story.

Even though there are more blank spaces on the pages than letters, those words are enough to draw me into the story.

The novel is about Ed whose brother was up on death row.  I found myself rooting for him, and I was hoping similarly to how he was hoping in the story.  When the end came, I couldn't help myself from closing my eyes.

The narrative was fairly simple, it matches the way it was written.  The characters—although few and also written with the utmost simplicity—feel so human and are not flat, cardboard cutouts.

In the light of all the flawed justice systems and abuses of law enforcers not just in America but everywhere else in the world, it's good to find a book that's bold enough to address such issues and an author who's brave enough to write them.

Lots of murderers are on the loose, yet there are innocent people being slaughtered for crimes they didn't commit.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

3rd Place

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (2018)

Rating: 4.605

Just when you thought Angie Thomas couldn't write anything as good as The Hate U Give (THUG), she gives us this.  If it's not better, then it sure is as brilliant as her debut novel.

This is Thomas' second consecutive year in my list, with THUG bagging the top plum last year.

The novel is proof of Thomas’s writing prowess.  It successfully immersed me into the life of her protagonist, a life filled with hope, angst, and ambition.  And the dialogue… Especially the rap battles.  They were amazing.  Seeing as Thomas herself was a rapper, you can feel the ingenuity in her words.

Moreso, this is one book that we really need in our present times.  It reflects all of my sentiments regarding social media and how it can make or break a person.  And how much the oppressed and marginalized communities lack representation, and how they are still subject to much prejudice.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

2nd Place

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007)

Rating: 4.680

This beautiful novel demonstrates the horror of domestic violence towards women.  It also provides a glimpse of the people and culture of Afghanistan during the times of war.

I'm in love with how Khaled Hosseini's characters flesh out from the pages.  You'd love them.  You'd care for them.  Their agony becomes yours.  Their pain drips out from the corners of the books as your tears trail down your cheeks.

And on their sweet, small victories, you'd give a sigh of relief as the anxiety is slowly drained from your body.

In the two years that I've read a book by Hosseini, it didn't fail to shatter my heart. The Kite Runner ranked first in my 2017 list, and now this. If ever get to read another one of his books, I've no doubt it will also be a contender for that year's list.

━━━━ ☆ ━━━━

1st Place

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (2018)

Rating: 4.765

This book is also up on my shelf for the best sequels ever—be it for any medium.

I read this earlier this year and it remained unbeatable until 2019 ended.

This is the second book in Neal Shusterman's Arc of a Scythe trilogy, the sequel to Scythe—which placed 3rd in my 2017 list.

Growth and expansion. These are the things I love about the sequel.  Ronan and Citra, the two main protagonists of the trilogy, are older, wiser, and better people, despite the fact that they're teenagers.  You can feel their struggles with their respective endeavors.

Also, the universe is bigger.  The Arc of Scythe novels feature a world where death does not exist and everyone is biologically immortal.  In order to balance the earth’s population, there are these so-called Scythes whose life-long job is to assassinate anyone they choose.

In this sequel, you get to know more about the mechanisms of their world.  There’s a new main character, Grayson, who takes you deeper and gives you a view of what it's like to live as a normal human.

The book deals with the adverse effects of the ways power-hungry people want to achieve their ambitions.

But that's not why I went gaga after reading the book.

IT.  WAS.  EPIC.  The plot twists within the plot twists.  The narrative.  And the ending.  My god, that ending.  I COULD HEAR MY SILENT SCREAMS.  After the last page, the only thing I thought of was, "GIVE ME THE THIRD BOOK RIGHT NOW!"

Thunderhead isn’t flawless, but it’s a very fine piece of literature that I recommend to anyone who loves to read.

• • • • •

I hope I won't regret putting Thunderhead in first place after a few years.  I regret giving the top spot to I'll Give You the Sun last 2016.  After pondering about the books I've read in the past years, I've found that Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See is one remarkable and memorable book, and the one I should've given the highest honors.

Books with relevant themes dominated my shelf but the book that won my heart was the one with intricate plots and a phenomenal ending.  It feels weird but I hope for the best.

Happy New Year, everyone!

[leah-jeffries]

I can’t believe it’s been over a week since BookCon rolled out of here! Now another 300-something odd days until the next one and I’m already anticipating BookCon 2020. Insane, right? Before this year is over, I’ve gotta tell you about what went down during one of the biggest bookish weekends in the world. 

I’d been at BookExpo 2019 so by the time BookCon rolled around, the pair of us were tuckered out, our feet were in pain and I was anticipating the large number of convention-goers that would make their way into the enormous glass building. Now if you’ve never been to BookCon, it’s pretty much like BookExpo, but on steroids and with a much bigger fan experience. If you had to measure it against something like New York Comic Con, it’s really like a fourth of what that is. Though, I have to admit that this year was probably the highest attended BookCon the two of us have ever seen! I’ve been going since 2014, so it’s been a good part of a decade that I’ve had the pleasure to watch it grow. 

Now if you didn’t know, the folks that run BookExpo/BookCon have an enormous social outreach. Besides all the standard platforms they have accounts on, they always make it a point to update their app through the respectable stores (in our case, on the Apple App Store) where they seem to have EVERYTHING. It lets you plan your schedule, check out who will be attending, what sort of events are happening, and even lets you connect with other people who will be attending in the community. 

Okay, so I knew that BookCon would be a place where I go to really check out how exhibitors shift their focuses between the industry-targeted BookExpo and the standard community-targeted BookCon. And I knew that people were more excited since there were some heavy hitters that would be in attendance (I feel like it was really about all the celebrity authors this year).

So Saturday morning, I knew I was going to come early just because I love seeing the show floor right when it opens and what exhibitors are offering in their programming and materials to hand-out in the first wave of attendees. When I woke up and on my way to the city, I couldn’t help but peek in on the official Facebook group to see if people were really out and about for the conference already (I was up by 6am) and of course, there WERE people who had been talking about how attendees had been there since practically 4am! There were some really big book lovers out there, which I am totally on board for, but definitely not as big myself. 

Saturday seemed like a wild day and honestly, the busiest that I had seen the 4.5 days between Book Expo and Book Con. And according to a few articles (particularly on PW), it was the busiest and most-crowded. I’m not surprised since Saturdays seem to always be the biggest when it comes to conferences and conventions. There were people EVERYWHERE and not enough freebies to spread amongst the increased con-goers (which I know a lot of people were disgruntled about) according to most attendees chief complaints that I read about. 

To be honest, writing this a week later, the events are all a blur. So I’ll stick to the highlights. 

Back to Saturday! To be honest, the biggest thing that happened that I was really hoping to score was THE TOLL from Neal Shusterman. When the cover was revealed a few weeks ago, I hadn’t thought in my wildest dreams that they would be creating advanced galleys (no matter how limited) for the ARC OF THE SCYTHE trilogy, let alone dropping them during BookCon. From conversations that I had with publishers over the duration of Book Expo, it seemed like they were holding back a lot of their promotional materials until Book Con, which I found pretty surprising. So when RivetedLit announced that there were scythes walking around the floor with envelopes that told you if you were “the chosen one” or not, you bet your tush that I bolted in search of them. I have no idea how many times I asked if they had something for me and how many enamel pins I ended up with and honestly, that was the biggest hardship I faced the entire weekend. With their tote bags full of envelopes, I was convinced that that these galleys didn’t exist. Apparently, there were 25 of them but I sadly, did not get my grubby hands on them. 

September isn’t too long from now, right? (-sobs-) 

(Also, I can’t deny that I waited until the end of Book Con on Saturday in hopes that S&S would do a drop of it since that was what happened with AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS during Book Con 2017. It was my biggest regret leaving early.)

I feel like I tried to steer clear of the bigger booths that had the more ‘coveted’ giveaways happening (like HarperCollins and Penguin Random House) because there always seemed to be an endless stream of people, but I definitely didn’t stray from Simon & Schuster and Hachette. While they were buzzing with people, they had more opportunities for attendees to interface. RivetedLit had a fun lollipop (though people seemed to line up HOURS in advance with no promise of a free book) wall where you picked one at random and the color on the bottom fo the stick indicated which of their most-talked about titles you would receive. And if you got a blank one, you still got a lollipop out of it (which I certainly approve of). 

Between the two of us, we got WINTERWOOD by Shea Ernshaw, SLAY by Brittney Morris, and PERMANENT RECORD by Mary H.K. Choi (I only got a lollipop on Sunday!). I gotta say, those were great choices. I had hoped to get THE LADY ROGUE by Jenna Bennett since it sounded so EPIC and I loved the premise, but again...September isn’t too far away...right? (-anguished sob-). 

My two other highlights of Saturday was meeting Claire Legrand, author of so many delightful young adult novels, but she was there at SourceBooks to promote her latest release, KINGSBANE, the second in the Empirium Trilogy (aka one of my favorites in recent years). The first fifty in line received a complimentary finished copy of KINGSBANE while anyone thereafter got a copy at a discounted price. And let me say that there were A LOT of copies. 

I only got a few seconds with Claire Legrand when it was my turn to meet her and I always feel like I’m taking too long by chatting with them (and I always love getting a photo of them signing their book), so I just tend to be awkward and always keep in mind to tell them to have a great time while they’re there since I know how insanely exhausting it can get. She is always a delight to meet and always decked out in a lovely outfit. 

She was also giving away her preorder enamel pins which I’d missed out on since I procrastinated, so I was so glad I was able to snatch one for my pin board! 

My other signing that day was with Joan He - again, a fleeting moment because I knew there were many people in line who wanted a chance to talk to her and I really would rather have that time devoted for those who want a real moment with her. I was so excited to meet the author of DESCENDANTS OF THE CRANE since it is a jaw-dropping, edge-of-table-gripping story. And honestly, how am I supposed to resist a diverse spellbinding story??? 

I spent the better part of the weekend on the show floor and saw a lot. It’s really no surprise that there were lines everywhere you turned. I can’t exactly figure out the best way for exhibitors to eliminate their lines other than dropping tickets in the morning or reserving them through an online system (like autographing area tickets), but I can say that if there weren’t lines, I think it would be such a great opportunity to network and get to know publishers more. I feel like a lot of the times, bloggers and people from the media (at least small-press media) get a terrible reputation at Book Con and other bookish conferences is because there’s very little room to develop that relationship between publisher and media. 99% of the time, people in both roles are behind the screen and working for corporations that do not allow for much face time. 

Sunday was pretty much the same, but I still enjoyed walking around all day despite having been through the show floor MULTIPLE times in the week I’d been there. It’s just always fun to see what new things exhibitors are doing and to see the demographics of the attendees. According to PW, it was majority white women in their 30s-40s. While that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest and I did see a number of POCs on the floor, I was disappointed that there was not more catered to bringing in those bigger numbers. It was definitely startling to see the sea of “whiteness” when there were plenty of authors/illustrators with culturally diverse backgrounds in attendance and being promoted. 

Truth time, I really wanted to devote my mornings on the weekend to finding totes. If you’ve ever been to one of these conferences before, you know there always seems to be totes flying everywhere from every booth, but it didn’t seem like the case this year. I’d sadly missed out on this AMAZING tote giveaway supporting Karin Slaughter at Blackstone Publishing during Book Expo, but I made up for it by claiming one of their really cute ‘Crazy Book Lady’ totes which is now in my collection of totes to use as my casket lining when I die :).

The only things we had to attend were our autograph signings. We had Sandhya Menon, Cora Carmack, and Tasmyn Muir/Kel Kade. 

Cora Carmack went pretty smoothly. We’d met her earlier that week during her signing for RAGE and we’d wanted to get some of her backlist titles signed, so it was pretty delightful to see her. We’d decided to skip Sandhya because we were disappointed in the rule of having to purchase a book at full price, especially when her books were being sold at the Simon & Schuster for half price. 

Tasmyn Mui and Kel Kade were signing on Sunday and it was our lightest day when it came to a schedule. We were pretty excited for GIDEON THE NINTH which boasts a cast of lesbian necromancers, so what is not to love? Especially when V.E. Schwab blurbs it, amirite? Also, Tasmyn and Kel were TERRIBLY delightful.

 While we were waiting in line for the signing to start, there was a kerfuffle behind us and it seemed as though they’d run out of books for one of the authors which was pretty shocking to me. These autographing sessions are booked WEEKS in advance and while I know there is some negligence on part of the Book Con staff (people who just let other people without tickets in), I just couldn’t believe how short the number of books had been and it didn’t seem like it was a one-time mishap. There were multiple complaints across the Book Con official group in the days following Book Con and I dunno if I would have been okay with it had I been waiting a while for books that I thought I was going to get and ended up not geting (and believe me, there is a lot of waiting).

Two things that jumped out at me on the floor were the very family-oriented activities happening on the other side of the show floor hall. While the right side was condensed with all of the publishers, the left side was left quite empty and most of it dedicated to the queue hall for attendees to line up in the morning. But when you looked around that section, you might have noticed that there were many more merch booths and an area dedicated to a Family Headquarters where families had their own activities and programming. While I don’t have my own family, I thought it was really nice for Reedpop and Book Con to parter with the Children’s Book Council to cater to families that would be attending. 

Not only was the event committee catering to them but also a few of the exhibitors They had tables and little (what I assume were workshops or activitiy time) tables where kids and parents could sit and do a variety of things like color and decorate activity sheets. This has got my 100% approval stamp all over it and of the kids that I saw there, they seemed like they were definitely having a lot of fun! 

The other thing that jumped out at me that I briefly mentioned above and was probably my favorite part of the whole Book Con experience was the section that had exhibitors selling bookish merch. You don’t know this, but I am an avid collector of bookish merch like prints and enamel pins. Anything that is artfully done and for a fandom of mine, I will throw my money and bank account at without a second thought. I was actually really excited to explore it and while I’d browsed through it at Book Expo, it seemed to definitely bump up with a few more vendors during Book Con. 

Sadly, I don’t have photos documenting that part, but I will definitely link anything I bought below that has a buy page or product look for you in case you want to check it out! 

ChickLit Designs had a booth where you could spin a wheel and win a prize! Between the two of us, we won a lovely Rifle Paper Co.-esque Oscar Wilde quote print and a $10 off one of their products! Since they did have inventory there, we naturally had to buy something to avoid shipping costs. 

"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Phone Case

I was delighted to see Wick & Fable there since I am an enormous fan of their products! They had a really cute booth setup and there was no shortage of people looking to buy their stuff! I’m not too familiar with their store, but I understand that their website is pretty much their candles and subscription boxes. While they were selling their candles, they were also selling (what I assume to be) exclusive products from their monthly boxes which typically cannot be found online outside those boxes (which means $$$). While I desperately wanted to purchase their gorgeous Grisha/Six of Crows shadowbox frames, I just didn’t have $35 to shell out for them as much as I wanted to. I didn’t walk away empty handed though. I’m a sucker for THE CRUEL PRINCE and again, if I see anything that catches my eye, I will buy it. So I had to score the below pin! 

The Cruel Prince Enamel Pin 

Speaking of Cassandra Clare (no, I know that Holly Black wrote THE CRUEL PRINCE, but I always feel like I see Cassie and Holly together), I also couldn’t help but pick up the gorgeous tarot deck from the Topatco booth. Once again, gotta love any chance to save on shipping costs (though I had hoped for a discount, no matter how small). 

Shadowhunters Tarot Cards

The only other thing I bought was from a booth I’d been eyeing all week and debating on buying from. If you aren’t familiar with Pinch Me Therapy Dough, it’s basically like a stress ball or kinetic sand - something meant to help you if you’re feeling anxiety, stress, anger, etc. I hadn’t known about this brand until I saw it in an Instastory of Tahereh Mafi’s. What is special about these ‘doughs’ is that they have a really soft, cool texture and are infused with the NICEST SMELLING essential oils. It’s really hard to find a product where the aromatherapy doesn’t go overboard and I couldn’t help myself. The woman there was selling them in large and small sizes as well as sample size packs. After some good smelling time, I settled on the very first one that I’d smelled and really loved. 

Pinch Me Therapy Dough - Holistic Aromatherapy Stress Relieving Putty - 10 Ounce Relief Scent

They are a little pricey and I only got a small size (it was $15), but I really think it was worth it and it has me wanting to get more of them (Chill and Sun were two other scents I loved) but I think I’ll wait until I see the company at another conference and save the shipping fee! 

I was surprised to see a lot of subscription box companies there, but were really only there to promote their boxes as a whole. Had they been like Wick & Fable and sold more of their separate pieces from their boxes, I think that would have made a HUGE difference. I understand that maybe there wasn’t inventory or they didn’t want to break away from their “subscribe to our box” branding and slashing prices, but I just don’t get how you wouldn’t want to make a bit more profit with such a good opportunity! 

What my wishlist for Book Con 2020 is to have more of these vendors AND an Artist Alley. I know it’s odd to think of one outside of comic con conventions, but I’ve seen so many amazing pieces of artwork for books that I think it’s such a missed opportunity for there not to be at this sort of event where people are so willing to put down a few dollars to be able to visualize their favorite stories. And it would give conference attendees an opportunity to get away from the crowded lines of the main show floor and people who are just waiting on loved ones or need time to kill! 

Until next year, Book Con. :) 

[month9books]

Five Summer Reads for Reluctant Readers

recommended by Scott Wilson, author of Metl: The ANGEL Weapon

I'm a very picky reader. If I'm not one-hundred-percent enjoying a book, I will put it down, move onto something else, and not worry about picking it back up again—no scruples given. In fact, I'd say that on average I probably only finish one out of every five books that I start.

And I don't think I'm alone in my pickiness. Sure, we can toss blame at diminishing attention spans or the collapse of culture, but honestly between YouTube, Netflix, video games, and heck, so many great other books out there, there's just an overwhelming number of choices. Why waste your time with one you're not completely loving?

So if you know someone who might also be a picky reader like me, maybe one of the books on this summer reading list could grab their attention.

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

There was recently a big commotion on Twitter when a parent tweeted that their son's teacher didn't let students choose what to read for summer reading because "they'd just read graphic novels and fantasy." To that I say… let them read whatever the heck they want!

I've always been a fan of the idea that, rather than forcing boring tomes into kids' heads, we should just let them have fun, read what they want, and help them foster a life-long love of reading. And there's no better place for a reluctant reader to start than with the Japanese manga One Piece.

One Piece is exciting; it's full of pirates, characters with crazy superpowers, and incredible fights against bad guys, but it goes way deeper than that. It asks the reader difficult questions, such as what really is justice, and who gets to decide? Not only that, but the villains are fleshed-out mini masterpieces, the world building is the best I've ever seen, and each character's backstory is heart wrenching. In fact, One Piece has the honor of being the only written story that has made me cry. Set sail for a roller coaster of emotions with this incredible series!

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

What better story for a reluctant reader than one about a reluctant learner? Milo is a boy who regards "the process of seeking knowledge as the greatest waste of time of all," until one day when he is swept away into The Lands Beyond. There, all types of learning come alive: there is Dictionopolis, the kingdom of words; Digitopolis, the kingdom of numbers; the Forest of Sight; the Valley of Sound; and of course, the Island of Conclusions, which you have to jump to, naturally.

My father read this book to me when I was five, when he just happened to be taking a college course on the book itself, which shows the breadth of ages that can appreciate this book. Young children can enjoy the fun adventure of Milo and Tock the time-dog, older kids can chuckle at all the clever wordplay, and teens can appreciate the deeper meaning and metaphors on nearly every page… while also laughing at jokes like:

"How are you going to make it move? It doesn't have a—" "Be very quiet," advised the duke, "for it goes without saying." And, sure enough, as soon as they were all quite still, [the wagon] began to move quickly through the streets.

A Child Called It by David Pelzer

Apparently this is a book that many people read in school, but it completely slipped by me until recently. I sat down to read it, opened it up, and didn't stop until two hours later when I had pummeled through the entire thing—something I hadn't done since I read the first Harry Potter book when I was eleven.

Even though this is an engrossing book, it's intense. The story is based on the author's real life, following him from age five to twelve, when he was horrifically abused by his mother. Just when you think it can't get worse, it does. Again. And again. And again. This is the only book I've ever read that had me physically cringing as I read through it.

The emotional severity of the book also makes for good outside research and discussions as well. Why was the mother abusive toward David and not his brothers? Why did the father do nothing to help? These are important questions that can set in motion a lot of great critical thinking.

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

I grew up in a very homogeneous neighborhood. Pretty much everyone was white, and I don't remember any openly gay students in school. So when I read Almost Perfect, it literally opened my eyes to a brand new world.

The story follows Logan, an average high school boy who falls head over heels for the new girl at school, Sage. But when he finds out that Sage was born a boy, suddenly he doesn't know what to do. Conflicting feelings, the judgment of others, and the stormy roads of healing a wounded friendship all come to a boil in this book.

What really sets this story apart for me is the fact that the "surprise" of Sage's reveal is not really a surprise: it's given away on the back cover, and it happens fairly early on. The meat of the story is the tumultuous reconciliation of the two characters, their growth, and learning more about the world. In our society where a need for acceptance and respect is at an all-time high, this book is even more important than ever.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman @nealshustermanreal

This book was my introduction to Neal Shusterman, one of my favorite dystopian authors. In Unwind, children's lives are deemed untouchable from birth to age thirteen, but from thirteen to eighteen, their parents/guardians can have them "unwound," a process that divides up all their body parts for others to use, and technically still keeps them alive.

What I love about this story is how it follows the points of view of three different characters, all facing the prospect of being unwound for different reasons: Connor, whose parents can't handle his misbehavior anymore; Risa, who is a ward of the state and will be unwound for budget reasons; and Lev, who is being unwound as part of a religious ceremony.

In our current society, where reproductive rights are being fought over yet again, seeing a possible outcome from such a battle is harrowing. This is another action-packed book that, while fun to read by itself, will also spark some great discussions.

Don’t forget to read Scott Wilson’s book, Metl: The ANGEL Weapon. Preferably read with a big, red summer moon outside your window!

[teresatranbooks]

Dear Blog,

Prompt: This week I am going to have you read two articles on young adult literature that show both how we can use YAL to consider how adolescents are taught reading, and also how YAL can be used in traditional literary analysis expected in secondary English classrooms. 

Write a blog post where you react to the two articles you read this week. You can do separate sections or even separate posts to reflect on what you read. Do they change your thinking or reinforce what you already thought? 

In “Reconsidering the Hypothetical Adolescent in Evaluating and Teaching Young Adult Literature,” by Mark A. Sulzer and Amanda Haertling Thein, the authors conduct a study to evaluate how the “pedagogical practice of asking preservice teachers to read and evaluate YAL by imagining the needs, desires, abilities, and experiences of their future students...rhetorically structures preservice teachers’ stances towards adolescence/ts” (Sulzer and Thein 164). In other words, how does a pre-service teaching class where future ELA teachers read YAL books frame and position young people -- and how might these frameworks and positions turn out to be false compared to the current reality of who young people actually are and what they care about? 

According to the study’s findings, one of the rhetorical strategies that the authors located was called “the matching strategy” where future ELA teachers “articulated a vision of adolescent needs and matched those needs to the message or lesson of the novel” (Sulzer and Thein 166). They found that the preservice teachers would read a book, interpret its content/themes, and evaluate it based on its potential of teaching a young person the lessons that a “typical” young person would need to learn, given that the young person was a straight, middle-to-upper class white American, among other privileged identities. Content/themes that deviated from the “normative (white, middle class, heterosexual, and able-bodied) adolescent experiences were both rhetorically and pedagogically marginalized, as were textual themes that might speak to a wider range of questions and experiences” (Sulzer and Thein 166). 

I found this finding to be really interesting, because I have definitely seen it occur a few times in the discussion posts and zoom calls in our YAL class. Due to the fact that most of the people in our cohort are white, middle to upper class, presumably straight American Christian cis women, there’s a limit to the kind of analysis of themes and content in the diverse YAL books that we’re reading. While everyone seems to have good intentions and are coming to these books with an open and empathetic perspective, I have noticed that what preservice teachers deem as “relatable” for adolescent readers are the kind of adolescent experiences and feelings that seem “universal,” but are actually very individualistic, selfish white American experiences and feelings that in reality, a lot adolescent readers who are BIPOC can’t relate to. There’s a presumption that there’s a set of “universal” feelings, if not experiences, that everyone goes through, some examples include feeling insecure as your body and emotions develop, finding love and new relationships, developing confidence as you become a young adult, becoming angry at your parents and realizing that they’re people too, etc. But not everyone can relate to that. Not everyone experiences that during their adolescent years. Truly. And I think some of that blame has to be put on students being taught in K-12 American school about the “typical” hero’s journey by Joseph Campbell (who is actually pretty racist...) -- and the “typical” narratives, archetypes, and motifs you’d find in Western stories. And some of the other blame can be put on the not-very-diverse makeup of our cohort and our faculty. 

We can teach as much culturally relevant pedagogy as we want and include as many diverse YAL books as we want, but if we do not address the very real systemic issues present within the individual demographical makeup of the English Education cohort and faculty, and actively create an environment where more BIPOC students and teachers feel welcomed and safe to be included and voice their perspectives, as well as be able to enact change, then we’ll never be able to adequately address the apparent disparities in how preservice teachers evaluate YAL books with their questions that are used to frame their interpretations, and thus, adolescents.

In “What YAL Tells Us About Learning, Schooling, and Teaching,” by T. Hunter Strickland, the author conducts a study on the traditional narrative arc of the “young nobody as protagonist, who, under the guidance of a wise mentor, comes into possession of a symbolic object of power, and then must complete a quest or series of quests with their loyal companions, where they will come across many obstacles before ultimately facing their downfalls because of the protagonist’s character flaws” (Strickland 18). More specifically, Strickland evaluates how new YAL stories that use this narrative arc speak to the types of learning, schooling, and pedagogy present in the teachers, students, and curriculum in our real life schools. What are the parallels? How can we understand learning and teaching in schools in the US by what is being shown in the YAL texts we’re reading? What is being valued and/or prioritized in schools in the US given what we see of the mentor and mentee relationship reflected in so many of YAL books read throughout time? What is not being valued and/or prioritized? 

According to the study, “examining how learning and teaching are represented in texts that our students engage with is important because we want our students to know that learning is not perfect, and then help them to be critical examiners of the pedagogical spaces that surround them” (Strickland 19). I really agree with this point. While I have not read Scythe by Neal Shusterman, I have read plenty of YAL stories that incorporate a narrative arc where the young nobody upstart protagonist at first idolizes their wise mentor and follows every single lesson that is being taught to them, believing their mentor to be someone who has all the right answers...only for them to realize that their mentor is an imperfect human just like them with hopes, dreams, and flaws, and only has so many answers that are more often than not, incredibly biased. The protagonist must then challenge their mentor and seek their own answers, in order to become their own person -- and perhaps become a mentor to someone else. I have found this experience to be especially true when we’re young and more impressionable. We tend to look up to the adults in our lives, teachers especially, and put all of our hopes and dreams in their hands, praying they’ll guide us safely to the answers we want -- but, not necessarily need. How old were you when you realized that the adult and mentor figures in your lives were imperfect humans and didn’t have all the answers? I was probably 15/16 years old, but it definitely crystalized for me when I was 18/19 years old. And that’s when I grew up. 

In the article, Strickland discusses the idea of this old/new binary and how it can lead to some interesting thoughts on education. “We would be lying if we did not think that education has a problem with new fads versus traditional pedagogy” (Strickland 21). In other words, much like it is presented in YAL novels, there is a tension in the education world between old and new methods of teaching and learning. “The problems in education can be solved, so some would have us think, with the next new teaching method...or students would learn if only our countries would invest in the new education-in-a-box kit...” etc (Strickland 21). Which is better? The old ways of the wise, but imperfect mentors? Or the new ways of the hopeful but naive new generation? Where is the balance between those two? Should there be a balance? Is the binary between old/new teaching and learning styles actually a binary -- or is it more complicated and fluid than that? 

Given all of this food for thought to chew on, I immediately think of activism, particularly modern young activists looking to create some real change in the world. Especially given the Black Lives Matter movement, I think about how it is important that we root ourselves in the works of liberation and radical thinkers and the histories of liberation-focused movements. Following only on headlines and news will have us swimming in despair or stuck in an intellectual drought. There were people before us. There were Black revolutionaries, scholars, activists, thinkers who have written works on anti-racism and how to combat white supremacy. Mistakes on the left have been learned. We must read them, listen to them, and learn from them. 

I also think about one of my favorite “YA” movies: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (a story about an adolescent Rey learning under the guidance of the famous Luke Skywalker and becoming the new leader of a new generation of Jedi)-- and one of my favorite quotes from that movie, spoken by arguably the most iconic wise mentor of them all, Yoda: “But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are who they grow beyond.” It’s honestly one of the most emotional moments in the movie for me because it articulates a lesson many of us teachers sometimes refuse to accept -- and the kind of potential many of us learners do not realize we possess. 

As future teachers, we have to acknowledge that we are always learning and are not perfect, and that the future students that we teach will one day surpass us and not only pass on the the parts of our knowledge that resonate with them, but also learn from our mistakes. In addition, as preservice teachers, we have so many great mentors to learn from and we must respect that there are people who have gone through what we’ve gone through and can help us. But also as simply students, we have the responsibility to ourselves and to the new generation to take what we’ve learned, critically examine it for its flaws and gems, and form our own pedagogical stances and teaching practices. 

So, to summarize, the binary between old and new teaching and learning narratives present in so many YAL stories is actually less of a binary, and more of a complicated case-by-case situation -- and this is a good thing! Because the real world is so much more diverse than we will ever be able to perceive, with so many lessons we have not yet had the privilege of learning, that it should comfort us to know that what is being valued in many YAL stories is this idea of teaching and learning as something fluid and organic and emotional and complex and very very very human. 

[ladyfantasist]

Reread, Rewrite or Burn - Book Tag

This tag is very popular on Booktube and even though I’m not a booktuber it looked exciting so I just couldn’t help doing it myself on paper! I saw it first a few days ago on BooksWithEmilyFox’s channel so PLEASE go check out her videos on Youtube or her Goodreads page if you haven’t already she is a wonderful Booktuber and a total sweetheart – watching her videos always makes me happy.

I chose a lot of my favorite books to make this as hard for me as possible… prayers are welcome. I ended up doing a lot of rounds because it was ridiculous addicting. Most people do like three to six but I did twelve because I’m just beyond extra.

Also I am a total nerd and decided to add a difficultly level to each round! Next to each round you’ll see either Normal, Hard, or Brutal. Normal meaning it was fairly clear from first picking them out which one would be which, Hard meaning it was a challenge to decide, and Brutal meaning it was absolute agony to have to choose between those books. I added this aspect to my own rounds simply because I’m not doing this via video but on paper – whoever is reading this won’t be able to see my reactions and won’t really know the difficulty each round was for me or how much time it took me to decide.

THE RULES:

- Randomly choose 3 books (I wrote down a bunch on slips of paper and put them in a hat to pick from.)

- For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread.

- Repeat until you completed however many rounds you want to do!

If you do one of your own PLEASE tag me in them! I’d love to see what you picked!

 ROUND 1 – Normal

Reread: Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas. This was fairly simple, I LOVED this book and was already planning to reread it anyways. It was also the only five star book out of this round.

Rewrite: Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner. Wonderful novel but I didn’t fully enjoy the magical aspect of the town and would rewrite it to focus more on the romance because the romance is A+.

Burn: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I enjoyed this book a lot but the last time I read it was around when it came out which is I believe around 2009. So, I was a freshman in high school and 14 years old. I have a pretty good feeling I would feel differently if I read it now – especially since I don’t like any of Stiefvater’s other novels I’ve read as an adult. I think about rereading it sometimes but I just don’t want to break the façade.

 ROUND 2 – Normal

Reread: Wolfsong by T.J. Klune. I pulled out this one first and immediately put it here. Easy. This book is fecking magically wonderful and I could never ever do any wrong to it.

Rewrite: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor. The books in this trilogy are some of my favorite books of all time. I have to say though, I would have to go back and add more backstory to some of the new elements we learned in this book because it just felt a little thrown in randomly.

Burn: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. A good book but not nearly as good as the other choices. Can be a bit forgettable.

 ROUND 3 – Normal

Reread: Saga Vol. 1 by Brian Vaughan. Saga is my favorite graphic novel series. I thought about putting this in rewrite but honestly there isn’t one thing I would change about it.

Rewrite: Paladin by Sally Slater. Great unknown author who deserves more attention. This novel was originally posted on Wattpad and I fell in love with it. I think I would rewrite it just to make the romance a little more believable.

Burn: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand. A feel good guilty pleasure book. Not enough love for this to replace the other options.

 ROUND 4 – Hard

Reread: Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan. This book is so damned dear to my heart. A lgbtq romance novel between two boys one of which has autism and the other has severe anxiety and depression issues who are just trying to get each other through each day and be there for each other, their friends, and their family. If you haven’t read this PLEASE READ THIS.

Rewrite: Red Winter by Annette Marie. Japanese influenced novels are my kryptonite. Especially well written ones and this is one of them. The only thing I would ever change is maybe add a little less arrogance to Emi the main character – she can come off a bit prissy sometimes.

Burn: Consider by Kristy Acevedo. A great book that really makes you think, “what would I do in this situation?”. It’s a book you’ll be telling everyone about. Unfortunately it simply just lost out to two books I love more.

 ROUND 5 – Hard

Reread: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. My favorite book of 2016. Russian culture has always been fascinating to me and this book made that even stronger. This book is a damn masterpiece.

Rewrite: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD CHANGE, DON’T YOU DARE PRETEND YOU DON’T KNOW.

Burn: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. I’ll probably get hate for this one and I’m probably the only person who has chosen this but I’m sorry, I love it, it’s just not as dear to my heart as it is for most.

 ROUND 6 – Hard

Reread: Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff. Favorite novel of 2017 so far. There’s not a fecking chance I’m giving up Mia or rewriting one word of this book.

Rewrite: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. My favorite character and pairing in the series is introduced in this book and I think I would rewrite it to be just a little less juvenile feeling in some places.

Burn: Uprooted by Naomi Novik. God I love this book I’m so sorry Uprooted… but as I was putting it in the rewrite slot at first I noticed how much I would actually change in this book and it was more than Scarlet, so it just had to be done.

 ROUND 7 – Brutal

Reread: The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon. All the feels are coming back… gosh I really need to reread this one. Nothing I would change about little Lark or her story. Full of magic and love and loss.

Rewrite: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. Emma and Julian’s relationship needs a little tweeking I think – make it a little less angsty and a little more real.

Burn: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. Okay I love this series and will to the end of my days. It’s awesome getting more to the story and seeing all the characters grow up even more and maturing… but, honestly I wouldn’t have been upset if the story had ended with City of Glass.

 ROUND 8 – Normal

Reread: The Host by Stephenie Meyer. This was actually the first “adult” novel I ever read. I read it in one sitting and laughed and cried and cried… I just loved it. I still go back and reread THE Wanda and Ian scene. I need to give this another read and even if I don’t love it as much as I used to it’ll be worth it. Now when IN THE HELL are we getting The Seeker and The Soul, Stephenie?

Rewrite: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. In my opinion, it was an amazing novel but I think she went a BIT overboard with the “magical, airy, dreamy” prose. It’s beautiful and perfect in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy but in this I think I would rewrite just to tone that down a little.

Burn: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Fecking Mal, I hate him. Useless boy. Alina x Darkling forever.

 ROUND 9 – Brutal

Reread: Morning Star by Pierce Brown. I mean, this is the third book in my favorite trilogy of all time how could I not put this here? Darrow has been crushed into my heart for all time. If you haven’t read these books I’m not completely sure we can be friends.

Rewrite: The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson. Guys, this is it, this is the first novel in the series that single handedly turned me into a reader. Ten year old Lisa’s soul changed after reading this, not even slightly joking. This book is a big part of why I am who I am today. The only reason it’s in the rewrite is because it is a middle grade novel and it would be cool to see what it would be like if it was written for the age I am now.

Burn: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. Jem Carstairs don’t hate me, I’m so sorry Jem, you know I love you! I’m so sorry Will please forgive me. Cheers to the only great love triangle written, I’m so sorry all of you.

 ROUND 10 – Hard

Reread: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Look I know these books have their flaws but I don’t care I simply love them and grew up with them I can’t change them or burn them I just CAN’T.

Rewrite: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. I mean yes this needs to be rewritten to death but I don’t care how ridiculous it makes me I’m a Twi-hard for life I just can’t help myself.

Burn: Scythe by Neal Shusterman. I really enjoyed this book but it didn’t impact me enough to replace it with either of the other two that impacted me growing up.

 ROUND 11 – Normal

Reread: A Court of Mist and Fury. I’ve already reread this book three times, it’s one of my all time favorites and Rhysand is my husband – I put this here before I even picked the other two out.

Rewrite: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I’m just nitpicking with this one, these novels are damn amazing, there isn’t really anything I would change. If ANYTHING maybe make the high society balls and intrigue a little less present.

Burn: Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Just couldn’t live up to my current favorite YA novel and current favorite adult fantasy series.

 ROUND 12 – Normal

Reread: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. Just can’t get enough of these two honestly.

Rewrite: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson. Maximum Ride has a special place in my heart and I just SO BADLY would love it to be rewritten for my age group I want it so badly.

Burn: Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore. A great novel but unfortunately the second half of this book is MUCH better than the first half.

[spajonas]

Book Chat #40 - My Favorite YA Sci-fi Novels

For my 40th Book Chat, I thought I’d do something different! I have come to realize, accept, and love that Young Adult Sci-fi is probably my favorite genre to read. I love a good mystery, and I do love science fiction, but when I need something to read, I always reach for YA sci-fi first.

Did you know that REMOVED was originally written as YA sci-fi? In the first iteration, Sanaa was 16 and grappling with her fate. When I decided to self-publish, I changed her age to 20, which ultimately made a lot more sense for the story, and I haven’t written YA sci-fi since. But I still love it, and I can’t get enough.

So, I thought today, I would share with you my favorite YA sci-fi novels. YA sci-fi encompasses lots of subgenres: futuristic Earth, dystopians and utopians, local and far-flung space, post-apocalyptic, and more! So there’s always something to satisfy me.

UGLIES, PRETTIES, SPECIALS, EXTRAS by Scott Westerfeld

This is the series that got me started on YA sci-fi to begin with, and it’s still a winner. I re-read UGLIES not too long ago and I still loved it. If you haven’t read this series, DO IT NOW.

THE HUNGER GAMES, CATCHING FIRE, MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins

I read THE HUNGER GAMES not long after it came out because a friend of mine was working for Penguin and passed it on. I remember being drawn in by the entire series and eagerly awaiting each book.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, A MILLION SUNS, SHADES OF EARTH by Beth Revis

I think the same person who gave me THE HUNGER GAMES gave me the first book in this series too (she’s such an enabler). I really loved the mystery of this whole series and seeing the heroine think for herself. Plus this series uses one of my favorite sci-fi tropes, a generation ship to the stars. This whole series kept me captivated from beginning to end.

THESE BROKEN STARS, THIS SHATTERED WORLD, THEIR FRACTURED LIGHT by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

The covers drew me to this series before I ever read the blurb. But I love that this whole story takes place in far off planetary systems and there’s a great mystery surrounding all the books. Plus, some young adult romance amongst the conflict. All things I love. I remember especially devouring the second book in this series while on vacation on year. I couldn’t put it down.

CINDER, SCARLET, CRESS, WINTER, FAIREST (Not pictured) by Marissa Meyer

Here’s a series that started out slow for me. I remember reading CINDER and thinking, “Hmmm, I don’t know,” because I called all of the twists. But I loved world and the characters, and I figured that, with more books, I was bound to be surprised with the outcome. And I was. Boy, am I glad I kept reading! I still haven’t read FAIREST but I plan to soon. I have a signed-by-the-author copy sitting on my shelf.

THE FORGETTING by Sharon Cameron

This book totally blew me away. At first, you’re not sure if it’s sci-fi or some post-apocalyptic Earth, but by the 50% mark, you begin to really see this world for what it is. I’ll admit that the second book in the series did not grab me like the first book did, and I’ve set it aside to try and read it again in the future. But this first book stands on its own. You don’t want to miss it.

DEFY THE STARS, DEFY THE WORLDS by Claudia Gray

I listened to both of these in audiobook and they were a treat! This future has Earth as part of a conglomerate of worlds all linked with gates. Its world-building is strong and the characters are fun and easy to get to know. I loved every second of both of these.

FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS by Diana Peterfreund

This book. Sigh. I’ll admit that I personally know this author (we’re friends!) but that doesn’t sway my opinion in any way. I love that it’s Jane Austen in a future Earth, a future Earth that has shunned genetic advancement. The heroine is strong and yet still vulnerable. I loved her to pieces. Diana’s writing is rich and beautiful, and her world sucked me in immediately. I still have to read the second book in the series, but I’ve queued it up and hope to read it this summer.

UNWIND, UNWHOLLY, UNSOULED, UNDIVIDED by Neal Shusterman

I really thought this series was dead after the first book. I read it when it first came out AGES ago (I was still living in Brooklyn so pre-2010) and then there was nothing but crickets. But eventually the rest of the series came out and I consumed them all on audiobook. This is a scary future, of people being “unwound” for their body parts. But Shusterman took the theme and ran with it. The story was compelling from beginning to end. I’m currently listening to the first in his new series, SCYTHE, and enjoying that one too.

LIFE AS WE KNEW IT by Susan Beth Pfeffer

I only read this first book in the series and the rest I plan to read at some point, but this book stuck with me for years after I read it. It was so moving and immediate. And it made me want to horde canned goods something fierce. It could be the zombie apocalypse without the zombies and that’s probably why I really liked it.

LEGEND, PRODIGY, CHAMPION by Marie Lu

And here’s the last of my recommendation, a series I’m glad I stuck with. The first book annoyed me in print because of the way they designed the book, so pick this one up in ebook. This is another future world dystopia but had some very interesting characters with a believable and rich romance. I fell in love by the second book and the third book left me in tears, good tears.

So that’s it! Hope you found something here to read! These are all my favorites and I hope they become your favorites too.

Do you have some YA sci-fi to recommend to me? Please leave your recommendations in the comments!

Book Chat #40 – My Favorite YA Sci-fi Novels was originally published on S. J. Pajonas

[haleyfury]

As I was preparing my traditional What I Read post for February, I realized that I did a few more bookish, fandom, and bloggish things that I want to talk about! Because I don’t just want to discuss books today, I’m going to be guiding you through what I wrote and watched this month, as well as some fun, in-real-life happenings.

February was a weird reading month because I feel like I didn’t read a lot, between school life and being busy on the weekends, but I managed to read X books! I tend to read less during the school year because I like not having to concentrate too much when I get to relax (hence a lot of Youtube and TV watching). I spent a lot of time reading for my English classes this month (2 books from my contemporary American lit class are included down below), and while I’m not including them on my list, I read Logicomix and Berlin: City of Stones Vol.1 for my graphic novels course.

If I don’t talk about the books below right now, it’s because you’ll find reviews for them in the next section.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden | 4.5/5 Stars

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith | 4/5 Stars

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | 4/5 Stars

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado | 4/5 Stars

Her Body and Other Parties is the second book I’ve read for my contemporary American lit class, and it was a book that was on my TBR radar before I found out it was on the syllabus!?! I’m still slightly in shock that I’m reading books published within the past year in SCHOOL (not-so-patiently waiting for my school to add a YA lit class). Anyways, I really enjoyed Her Body and Other Parties for its genre-bending short stories and focus on women. My favorites include “Inventory”, “Eight Bites”, and “The Resident” (all of which you can find online!).

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman | 5/5 Stars

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami | 4/5 Stars

My contemporary American literature class is focused on the short story cycle, and it’s been really interesting to read so many short stories. I’ve heard good things about Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, so I was excited to pick up this short story collection centering around the Kobe earthquake. When I’m reading for school, I often take the time to take notes as  I read, but I was so immersed in Murakami’s writing that I forgot to until I finished! My favorite stories were “ufo in kushiro” and “thailand”.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas | 5/5 Stars

My reread review of HoF will be coming next week, just know for now that I was very happy to be reunited with Manon & Abraxos.

Like my reading, I feel like I didn’t post as much as I have in the past six months, but I only had two weeks where I went back to my original schedule of only 3 posts a week. I’m really happy with February’s content.

Reviews

The HYPE IS REAL: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

The Review That Time Forgot… Okay, It Was Me: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Before the Fae: Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight Reread Discussion

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Keeping Up With Fantasy: The Bear and the Nightingale & The Cruel Prince

I READ A SUMMER CONTEMPORARY IN FEBRUARY??? | This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

CAN THE THUNDERHEAD GIVE ME THE 3RD BOOK? | Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Book-Related

I’M CRAVING FANTASY & 100 BOOKS: What I Read in January 2018

Top Five Wednesday: Favorite YA Romance Novels

Fandom

My Experience Seeing Dear Evan Hansen ft. the Amazon Bookstore

TBB Asks: All About Love & Fangirl Things Q&A

My Funko Pop Collection-February 2018

Tags

Reputation Book Tag

I LIKE BOOK TAGS THAT AREN’T BOOK TAGS | Book Blogger Test

  The Greatest Showman– I’m about two months late to the party, but during the first weekend in February, my sister and I finally saw The Greatest Showman. In January, I saw so many people online completely raving about this musical-film inspired by P.T. Barnum (a sentence I thought I’d never write), and it was Zoë Sugg of Zoella and her vlogs that made me want to see the film. It’s safe to say that I absolutely loved The Greatest Showman, and I have been completely obsessed with the soundtrack. I run to “A Million Dreams” and “The Other Side” , guys. Besides the two songs that I just mentioned, I love “Never Enough”, “Rewrite the Stars”, “From Now On”, and “Tightrope”.

The Good Place – Almost every book blogger I follow on Twitter have raved about The Good Place. What really sold was me were all the mentions of PARKS & REC EASTER EGGS!

It was so much fun to be back in a Michael Schur show— HE CREATED Parks & Rec- and I just love how complex the storyline has become, not to mention the hilarious characters. As I’m writing this post, I’ve just started watching Ghosted again because you know, Adam Scott (Ben Wyatt is forever my fictional bf), WHO IS ACTUALLY IN SEASON ONE OF THE GOOD PLACE. I cannot wait for the third season to come out, and until then, I might need to watch another Michael Schur show (I’m thinking Brooklyn-Nine-Nine) or it’” be time for another Parks and Rec rewatch.

  The Belles Book Signing- During the second weekend in February, I went into New York City to spend the day with one of my best friends. We spent most of the day catching up and working on a film project of his-while writing will always be #1, my love for video has expanded this year with my film classes—and around 3:30, we decided to do something bookish and head to Books of Wonder for Dhonielle Clayton and Adam Silvera’s event for The Belles. Our first mistake was leaving about twenty minutes before the event, as the signing turned out to be the most crowded event I’ve been to. Our second “mistake” was continuing to take our time and then end up at the downtown Books of Wonder.The event was of course held at the uptown Books of Wonder location, so a few subway stops later we made it there. Luckily, we made it in time to hear Dhonielle and Adam answer questions from the audience and treat ourselves to some macaroons. I also convinced my friend to buy History Is All You Left Me, which is my favorite book of Adam’s, but unfortunately we didn’t say for the signing because there were about 70 people in front of us and I had a train to catch. However, I still had a great day in the city with my best friend and those macaroons were the perfect snack for the train ride home.

Being featured on Jacquelyn Middleton’s blog

Jacquelyn Middleton is the author of London Belongs to Me, one of my favorite NA reads, and London, Can You Meet. On her blog, Jacquelyn has been sharing so many bookstagram photos of her books and mine was featured in her post, “London Belongs… To You: Part Twelve“! I consider myself to be a VERY amateur bookstagrammer, so it was amazing to be featured along such amazing bookstagram accounts– I think one of my summer projects is going to be upping my Instagram game.

fangirlfury.com

I mentioned this in my Funko Pop Collection post, but on Valentine’s Day, I bought my blog domain! While I didn’t post until March, I created Fangirl Fury in February of 2017, and I feel so excited to own my domain a year later. You can now officially find me at fangirlfury.com. Whether this is your 1st or 150th time reading a Fangirl Fury post, I want to thank you for supporting my spot on the Internet. Here’s to another exciting year of blogging, reading, and fangirling!

I really liked writing a true monthly wrap-up, and I can see myself expanding my “What I Read” posts to this format. Do you like monthly wrap-ups? What did you read or watch in February? Share in the comments!

BOOKS, WRITING, AND LIFE HAPPENINGS: February Wrap-Up As I was preparing my traditional What I Read post for February, I realized that I did a few more bookish, fandom, and bloggish things that I want to talk about!