The Graces Review

Spoiler Free!

3 and a half stars out of 5!

Everybody is obsessed with the Grace family and River is no different, except she is convinced that she can be the one to keep their attention. They're believed to be witches, but is that true? Are they truly dangerous?

I have conflicted emotions about Laure Eve's The Graces. I thought the beginning was bad and nearly didn't finish. What kept me going was that I wanted to write a bad review so I made myself power through. It got a lot better the further in I went, so I feel bad for all the people like me who stopped reading.

The main character is originally portrayed as this super special little snowflake who was better than all the other girls. She was gross and overdramatic in my opinion. Also, incredibly creepy. She was obsessed with this family with thoughts like, "Every minute I spent in their company was loaded with my concentration, my constant study in how to make them like me." She was shallow and very self-absorbed.

However, the story got a lot better when you realized that she is an unreliable narrator and isn't meant to be loved by readers. That dramatically improved my reading, I soon wanted to know more and what would happen next. I did end up guessing the twist, but it was still a good one and I actually look forward now to the next book to see where that twist goes next.

It's become so rare for me to like the first book in a series now so I will read the next book and that will be a better judge for me to gage how I feel. It left off with a cliffhanger and a lot of potential to be a unique series, so if it follows through I will be pleased.

Overall, this book is worth a shot, but you have to work for it to become good.

Favorite TV Shows!!

I've been trying to think of some fun things to post on my blog that don't deal with just book reviews and I know that many of us are TV show fanatics just as much as we are book fanatics. Here I have listed some of my favorite shows, I get bored really easily so some of these I might not be currently watching, but were my favorites at one point.

In No Particular Order!!!!

Supernatural

I haven't watched Supernatural in a really long time actually, but it played a really big role when I was in high school and the early seasons were fantastic. While I may not be watching anymore, it's still one of my favorites because it meant so much to me at one point.

From Dusk Till Dawn

A very weird snake vampire show based off of a Quentin Tarantino movie (which is also pretty good and weird and I suggest it). I loved the first season so much I rewatched it three more times immediately after I finished it. The second season is good but nowhere near as good.

Sherlock

First two seasons were absolutely amazing and wowed me so much. Third season didn't hold up to it and I was kind of really disappointed. I'm also a little fed up with the fandom and the writers so I'm nowhere near in love with it as I used to be. I actually still haven't watched the Christmas Special (I'm sorry!)

Grey's Anatomy

I just finished watching this on netflix and while it is a little too dramatic at times and is a bit of a soap opera at times, it is actually so good. It is feminist, has people of color in positions of power, has gay people in positions of power too (though not right away), and there are many episodes that have powerful messages that leave you in tears. Seriously guys I never gave this show a chance before because I just saw it as one of those crappy shows full of drama, but I fell in love with the characters so much.

The Office

Hilarious, need I say more?

Gilmore Girls

My parents are divorced so my mom was a single mom for a time and this was our show. It has an incredible bond between a mother and a daughter and is witty and amazing. While it ended in 2007, they are bringing it back this November in a four part miniseries!!!!!!

Parks & Recreation

Like The Office, I doubt I need to explain this one.

Sense8

You have to get past the first episode, it's weird and confusing but all the characters are my children and I would defend all of them to the grave.

Doctor Who

Another show that I don't watch anymore, but played an important role in my life and Donna Noble is the greatest and nobody can tell me different.

Avatar the Last Airbender

The show because I refuse to acknowledge that movie's existence. It's such an amazing show that anybody can watch regardless of age, I still rewatch it occasionally and it's incredible every time.

The Vampire Diaries

This is the only show for me that I stop watching it because it gets bad and I always end up going back to it. I have watched on and off since the first season and I must have stopped at 6 times, but I always go back to it and catch up until I'm up to date. Caroline is the only character I continue to care about though.

In the Flesh

Gay zombies, need I say more? I'm so angry that this show was cancelled though. While there's a very limited amount of episodes, they are all superb and I never get tired of watching them again and again.

It Ends With Us Review

Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us takes place in Boston, where Lily has worked hard to get to. She's opened her own business and done as much as she could to get away from her childhood. When she meets Ryle Kincaid and a connection sparks between the two of them, it looks like life couldn't get any better. Ryle is hot, arrogant, sensitive, and while he hates relationships, he can't help his attraction to Lily. But as Lily continues to move on in her life, she remembers Atlas Corrigan, he first love and a central part of her childhood. When he reappears, things become quite messy...

Honestly, as I was writing this description I started tearing up. This book was incredible. Many of us know Colleen Hoover as more of a fluffy romance author for entertainment only. It Ends With Us shocked me to the core with how much I felt. I really do not want to give away the dilemma that I went with alongside Lily, but holy crap this book ripped me apart. Nothing is black and white in this and it really explores the grey parts. It was so powerful and I want to go into so many more details, but to keep this spoiler-free you just have to read it.

While the summary implies a love triangle, that is not the focus of the story and please should not drive you away. There is some fantastic female friendship in this and so many quotable parts that again, I can't talk about through fear of giving something away. Just trust me that you have to give this book a try, even if you haven't like Colleen Hoover's stuff in the past.

The author's note at the end of this book is so incredibly important too guys. You must read it when you finish (and only when you finish!!!) so you get insight into why Colleen Hoover wrote this book.

Oh my god, I loved this book. 5 out 5 stars all the way.

P.S. The cover is absolutely beautiful and I adore it.

Dark Matter Review

Blake Crouch's Dark Matter is a sci-fi novel that takes on the complex question of "What if?" Jason Dessen had the potential to be great, but he decided to settle down with his wife and son and become a physics professor instead. Until he is kidnapped one night by a masked man and knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, he is not a humble professor but a celebrated and award-winning scientist, he is not married and does not have a son. Everything that seems real is called into question and Jason must figure out how to get back to his family. 

The best way I can describe this book is that it was trippy. Sometimes they would go a little to far into the science and I would be left confused, but I think it helped with the disorienting effect. I sympathized a lot with Jason, because while he did give up a lot for his family, it was a sacrifice he didn't regret making. Yet, nobody can blame him for wondering what if? What if he continued with his research or what if he had made the smallest different decision? It could change everything. I became so engaged in what would happen next because each chapter would step it up and mess with me even more.

This book is actually impossible to fully review because there could be so many spoilers and while the twists were oh so obvious, I did not see them coming at all. Maybe it's cause science is most definitely not my area of expertise, but the end just made so much sense as to, of course it had to come down to this.

A fantastic thrilling story on the lengths one would go to to reunite themselves with their love and a reminder that science is really quite terrifying. You do have to apply a little suspension of disbelief, so if you're not good at that, you might not like this book as so many people have. Just go with it and you'll find yourself loving it.

I would give Dark Matter 4 and a half stars, but rounded up to 5 cause I'm still so perplexed and a little dumbfounded.

The Cursed Child Review

Contains spoilers!!!

Totally behind everybody in reading The Cursed Child, but I told myself I had to finish rereading the first seven before I was allowed to read Cursed Child and I'm really glad I stuck to that. I even went to the midnight release for the book at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, which was apparently the largest party in the country! Over 2,200 people were there! Alrighty, onto the review!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as many of you know is a new story by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne and J.K. Rowling that comes after the epilogue in Deathly Hallows. The main characters are Albus Potter, Ginny and Harry's son, and Scorpius Malfoy, Draco and Astoria's son. It's largely about the struggle of being the Slytherin son of the infamous boy-who-lived and how their's a rumor that Scorpius is actually Voldemort's son.

Okay, so this was just very mediocre in my mind. I love Harry Potter probably more than anything, it was what made me love reading and the world of Harry Potter is honestly sacred in my mind. It's why I didn't like Rainbow Rowell's Carry On, it was just a knock-off version of Harry Potter. I can see the thought process of the story for Cursed Child, being the son of Harry would be hard and trying to change things for the better is believable. However, this is not a Harry Potter book in my opinion. The script version is too short and jumps around. There are many plot holes and it definitely didn't have the same sort of whimsy magical feel that the original books do. The feel just doesn't match up.

The reason I didn't hate this was that I ended up reading it like it was fanfiction. It seriously felt like I could just find this on fanfiction.net and it was somebody's version of the next generation. I am not taking this as canon. I was satisfied with the original end and I'm sticking with that because that's how it was originally meant to be. I read the epilogue literally right before I started Cursed Child and I saw how they tried to make them overlap and pick up right after Deathly Hallows left off. Yet, this allowed me to see the flaws too easily and how they changed the wording and added stuff. If J.K. Rowling intended there to be a rumor about Scorpius, she would have put it into the original epilogue. Which is why Cursed Child isn't canon in my mind.

I see why a lot of people didn't like Cursed Child, Harry telling his son he sometimes wishes Albus wasn't his son isn't like him at all. However, we all know Harry had a bit of a temper and this wasn't him saying this because Albus was in Slytherin, they had other issues. I think the people who hated this book are taking this as canon and are feeling betrayed and misled. However, I choose to not take this as law. I feel like this was just another fanfiction story that I've read and I'm able to move on from it with the original books still untouched and solid in my mind.

I get that J.K. Rowling was supposed to have helped with writing this and if she really did, I'm disappointed. You never know though, because she might have had barely anything to really do with it and just stuck her name on it. It does say it's based off of a story by her, which doesn't elaborate what that original story really was and how much was thrown away or kept.

As a fanfiction, this was very average. I gave it four out of five stars, because it's still Harry Potter and seeing my favorite characters again always makes my heart twinge.

Sorry I just rambled on in this review, I just like to write as I think and it probably just jumped around a lot. These are my thoughts though and I hope people can see that we don't have to take this as canon and can enjoy it in other ways!

The Raven Boys Review

4 out 5 Stars!

Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys is about a girl named Blue whose grown up surrounded by psychics and every one has told her that if she kisses her true love, he'll die. Thus, being a very sensible girl Blue has decided she'll never fall in love. Except on St. Mark's Eve she sees a soon-to-be dead spirit even though she's not supposed to and the reason for it is that he's either her true love or she'll be the one to kill him within the next year. Suddenly she's thrown into a hunt for the truth to a myth with a group of Aglionby boys, also known as Raven Boys.

The amount of times I've been told to read this series is insane and I finally decided to do it! I thought Scorpio Races was awesome but I've heard differing things about Shiver so I knew The Raven Cycle was a series I'd get to eventually, but there's so many books to read and so little time!

I thought The Raven Boys was an interesting mix of the paranormal and mythology. I don't think they one hundred percent connect so it kind of felt like two different stories. I'm hoping in the next books they'll weave a little better. I thought the book was going to be predictable at first, but there were soon a couple twists that then made me doubt all my predictions.

I loved Blue's character. She's a mostly average girl in a house full of psychics and so she tries her hardest to be unique and different. She also feels a little uncomfortable with romance after being told her entire life that if she kisses her true love, he'll die. I just found this so relatable, because it's awkward when you don't know how to act in a situation and I think just like Blue when I don't know how to act.

I find Gansey a little annoying with how obsessed he is about finding Glendower and how blind he is sometimes. I do see like the other characters do that he never means offense, but I don't think he would be able to keep me around. I just don't have the patience to be with somebody like Gansey who is so fixated on the idea of something that he can talk about little else. Also, I'm still a little confused as to why he feels the desperate need to find Glendower. Is it to wish he's not deathly allergic to bee stings anymore? I understand how dire it is since he'll die if he's stung, but going on an insane hunt for some mythical king seems like extraordinary measures and definitely nowhere close to somebody's first thought. I don't know, I just couldn't connect to Gansey's quest.

I think Ronan is super interesting though and I really look forward to seeing him develop more! Chainsaw has definitely become my favorite character though.

All in all, I thought this first book was good. I almost never fall in love with the first book in a series though, as I usually wait to see if the potential holds up. So, my opinion can very easily go up or down and I look forward to seeing how that goes!

The Assassin Game Review

I received an advanced copy of The Assassin Game through netgalley; however, I did not know that the book had been previously published under the name Killer Game in the UK. So while The Assassin Game won't be out until August, you all can still read it if you're interested!

The Assassin Game is centered around a boarding school on an island in the UK, with no phones and no access to the internet an elite group of students keep themselves entertained by the game Killer. Very few are invited to join and of those chosen, one is picked as the killer and must go around "assassinating" fellow members, it's a mystery as to who this killer is. This game is different this time though, it's suddenly being escalated and taken a little too seriously and soon it's threatened to be shut down.

I'm not a big mystery person, which is weird because every time I do read thrillers or mysteries, I enjoy it. I get really into it and can't stop reading until I know how it's solved. The Assassin Game was no different, I wanted to know what the heck was going on so I finished it as quickly as possible. I honestly didn't expect the twist at the end and I was kind of glad at how it was done. There were a couple parts where I was thinking it was being made a little too dramatic. For example, who the heck leaves a car running in an unopened garage??? I feel like that's one of the first things I was told never to do, so that bothered me. I also found it very unrealistic that the students had absolutely no access to the outside world where their phones were taken away and they had no internet. Unless the UK is very different from the US, parents would not be okay with having barely any contact with their kids.

The main character, Cate, was kind of awesome in my mind though. She didn't want to put up with misogynistic B.S. and was believable in her reactions. She was not some lame damsel in distress who needed to be saved by others, but she also wasn't an unbelievable character who handled everything herself. She felt normal. I also loved at the end where a ptsd moment was included, like after this kind of stuff happens to someone, they won't be the same.

This book kind of made me wish for a more mature version though, where it actually is an assassin's guild. I love darker books and while this was good, it was also for younger readers where it needs a happy ending. I've gotta find me some dark and gritty books with no happy ending...

I would say that this was just average; not outstanding in my mind, but also not bad.

The Assassin Game comes out in the US August 2nd!

Defending Taylor Review

I got a pdf copy of Miranda Kenneally's Defending Taylor through netgalley, a website that's become one of my new favorite things. While I've heard of some of Miranda Kenneally's other books I've never read them before, but I quickly realized it's a little like Stephanie Perkins and where the characters in the books have some kind of connections.

Defending Taylor is about the daughter of a U.S. senator who gets kicked out of her boarding school when she lies to cover for her boyfriend. All of her hard work to be captain of the soccer team and the intense classes to get that 4.2 GPA and her plan to go to Yale is put into jeopardy. Now, she has to go to Hundred Oaks High, a public school where the classes aren't as good and her new soccer team hates her. The only person who sympathizes is Ezra, her childhood crush who is back in town.

The first part of this book I was rolling my eyes like crazy. It was attempting to portray Taylor as this rich girl who is still perfect and nice to everybody. It was a little disgusting to see how she viewed herself as wealthy but still so kind to the poor! Her housekeeper Marina and how only she knows what is good for team building on the soccer team. She was portrayed as being above everybody yet still so generous so everybody loves her. Gag. Yes, wealthy people can be good people but when this was just thrown into my face so I would like Taylor's character, it came off as so fake to me. Thus, I was originally going to give this book only one or two stars (which I almost never do!). However, once this over-the-topness stopped and the book became more about the story instead of how perfect Taylor is, I found myself enjoying it more.

There was some good stuff about finding out what you want to do, instead of just doing what's expected of you. I enjoyed the fact that it took into consideration that Taylor killing herself to do well wasn't okay and that we should all relax at times and enjoy the small things. Yes, preparing for the future is important, but I never want to look back on my life and have no good memories.

Overall this book was just alright to me. It's not a book that will last in my mind and it was just an easy romance read. It had some feminism qualities and the romance was okay, but nothing was strong enough to stand out in my mind. I will probably read some more of Miranda Kenneally's books though because sometimes I enjoy and need something easy.

Defending Taylor comes out July 5th!!

Zenith Review

When I first met Sasha, I had no idea where life would take her! We met during volleyball tryouts freshman year and were both too intimidated by the coach to continue the sport lol. I'm so proud of where she's gotten in life though!!! <3 <3 <3

Zenith is the first part to a series by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, Andi is the captain of the all-female crew of the spaceship, The Marauder. She's called the Bloody Baroness and when her ship is captured by someone from her past, she's sent on an unexpected journey. Meanwhile, Nor, the ruler of a planet across the galaxy is plotting a vicious plan.

This book was a lot of set up, which made me upset when it ended so quickly. It's just the first part of the saga and it definitely left me wanting for more. Who wouldn't be excited about space pirates!? And they're all women and unashamedly brutal. So far, there's not too many male main characters and I love it. Strong women are something I always get excited about and so far it's being done very well in Zenith. I'm so excited for the next part because this was just an introduction to the characters and the storyline and I can't wait to see where everything goes. It has a lot of potential to grow and stand out as an incredible sci-fi novel. I look forward to seeing how the Mirabel Galaxy is laid out and built, as world building has always been one of my favorite things when I read.

One thing that kind of bothered me was the use of the word "fike". It was supposed to replace the f-word, but anytime the word was used I didn't think it worked correctly. The characters so far are brutal and aren't afraid to kill, there was lots of blood and the word "fike" just didn't match up with that for me. I needed the dark and grittiness in the imagery and vocabulary to match up a bit more. I'm also more mature (19) so I hear the f-word a lot more in daily life, so I get that to a younger audience they might not be as bothered by it. That's just my opinion though.

Overall, Zenith has so much potential in my mind. I just wish I could read it all at once instead of having to wait!

Zenith is currently an ebook, so go download it from amazon, iBooks, or any online store right now!

One Was Lost Review

Natalie Richards' One Was Lost is an intense mystery thriller, which isn't the typical kind of book that I read. I couldn't stop reading though as I was scared of what would happen next to this group of kids. They're a group of high schoolers who are required to go on some type of life experience trip and they go on a remote hiking trip with two of their teachers. About halfway into their trip there's a flash flood that separates the group. Sera is one of the four with one of the teachers and the next morning they wake up with words written on their arms. The words are "Deceptive", "Damaged", "Dangerous", and on Sera's arm is the word "Darling". Their supplies are destroyed and they're groggy from some sort of drug. It quickly becomes clear that they're being hunted.

This book was a pretty quick read for me as it was constantly ending chapters with some kind of cliff hanger. I don't read horror or thrillers all that often cause they freak me out a little and so with this book I couldn't stop reading until I knew the conflict was resolved. Maybe a little clichéd at times, but during a traumatic event you can't expect things to be rational and these are teenagers who are already  typically irrational. They also would have no idea how to do anything in a situation like this and I know I would get incredibly paranoid if I was being hunted in the woods so that I would start suspecting anybody and everybody.

I wish I had gotten to know the other characters backstories more though and what happened to them after everything. There were hints towards Jude and Emily's lives but I was never satisfied. After I finished the book, I immediately wanted a few chapters more or a whole other book where it's after everything and going back to high school. The readjustment and the school's perception of what happened would be so interesting in my opinion.

Overall, I was surprised by how attached I got to this book and how it kept my on the hook the entire time.

One Was Lost comes out October 4th, 2016 and I will definitely be recommending it!!!

Blood for Blood Review

Ryan Graudin's Blood for Blood is the sequel to Wolf by Wolf so there will probably be spoilers to Wolf by Wolf in this review! Wolf by Wolf is amazing though so go read it and then come back for this review!

Blood for Blood takes up right where Wolf by Wolf left off. Yael has just shot Hitler, only to discover it was not the real Führer. Instead, he was a skinshifter like her. Now, Yael is on the run and the rebellion has just begun. She's joined by Luka and Felix as the question for how far you'll go for your loved ones is overshadowing them.

My apologies for the short and vague summary, when I like a book I never want to give too much away and let me just say I LOVED this book. I was in a bit of a reading rut and it took me a while to finish it, but it was so good. It was darker and more intricate than the first book in my opinion and I loved all the characters. I was waiting for them to try and do a love triangle with Luka and Felix, but thank the lord that did not happen. Instead, the mistrust and deceptions were much more realistic and the relationships never felt forced to me. I may not have liked Felix, but I understood him and probably would have done much of the same things as him.

I love Yael and so many times in this book I started crying cause she has gone through so much and I just wanted her to be happy and to have peace! I also thought for some reason that this series was going to be a trilogy, so towards the end I was just thinking it wouldn't be resolved since there was going to be a third book! But it quickly became apparent to me that this was the final book. This was a little more mature since it does have some really dark themes, as many World War II and holocaust books do.

This is still very fictional even though it takes place in the 1950s, so you can't compare it fully to real history. It's not meant to be 100% factual, there are skinshifters for goodness sake, but I honestly loved this book and I'm going to be searching out Ryan Graudin's other books now!

Blood for Blood comes out November 1st, 2016 so go and get it!!!

A Torch Against the Night Review

A Torch Against the Night is the sequel to An Ember in the Ashes, which was originally supposed to be a stand alone. An Ember in the Ashes didn't end like a stand alone in my opinion, which was why I was so excited to hear that there was going to be a second book! If you haven't read the first book, you probably shouldn't read this review, just a warning for possible spoilers! And if you haven't read it then you really should cause it's amazing!

A Torch Against the Night takes up right where An Ember in the Ashes left off, with Laia and Elias on the run from the Empire. Their mission is to free Laia's brother from prison, as he has knowledge that can help the Scholars rebel against the Martials. Helene's new duty as the Blood Shrike is to hunt them down and execute them.

This book didn't stand up to the first one in my opinion, it was still good but the journey to the prison is the majority of the book and when this happens, often times the only plot going on is romance between characters. It was a much slower book so it felt like the romance took the spotlight. I'm really picky about my romances and when I want a romance focused book I'll usually read a contemporary realistic fiction. Now I could tell that Sabaa Tahir doesn't mean for the romance to be the only important part of this story, but when I fell in love with the character development and struggles in An Ember in the Ashes, this book just wasn't as good.

There wasn't as much action with Elias and Laia, so it gave me the chance to fall in love with Helene's story. I sort of wished there would be less Elias and Laia chapters so I could read more of Helene. Without giving away any spoilers, I'll just say that learning about the kind of person she is and following her trials was more of what I was hoping for.

The end of the book definitely picked up the pace and had so much more action, thus I am still eagerly anticipating the next book. While I preferred the first book, I am still hooked on this series and highly suggest it to everybody!

A Torch Against the Night comes out August 30th!

Room Review

I'm sure many of you have heard of the movie, especially since Brie Larson won best actress for it. I have not yet seen the movie though.

Emma Donoghue's Room is about a girl who is kidnapped when she is nineteen years old. She is held captive in the man's outdoor shed that he reenforces to be soundproofed and locked at all times. He rapes her multiple times and she ends up having a little boy, Jack, in this room. The book opens up with him turning five, he has no idea that there is a world outside of Room and his entire life revolves around his Ma and the games they come up with to pass the time. Eventually, they come up with a plan for Jack to pretend he's dead and to escape their prison. The hardest part for them though becomes readapting to life outside.

This book was incredibly emotional and difficult to read. It's difficult to talk about because it was really interesting how Ma's character had to take care of Jack at all times and then when they escape it was so difficult for her to try and reintegrate herself into the world, but she had to take care of her five year old who was missing the simplicity of Room, which was her hellhole. As sweet as Jack was, I know I would have been driven a little crazy by him. However, both of their tenacity was so fascinating and well done, because their situation was so terrifying. I felt like Emma Donoghue managed to create a great balance in their bravery and fear. The book was amazing and so touching in showing how amazing a mother's love can be. They do ask the question at one point about what her feelings were on the fact that he is also the son of her rapist, but that does not deter her from loving her son. It's a scary book, but also beautiful. I loved that there would be times where the book would challenge gender roles too, because of Jack's long hair or the fact that he loved Dora. The mentions of social norms were so great and subtilely woven into the larger story that was going on.

I plan on watching the movie soon too! The actor who plays Jack is just adorable! He has an Instagram account that his parents help him run and he loves Star Wars, he honestly looks like the sweetest child.

Sorry short review, but I enjoyed the book so much and didn't dislike anything about it that I can't be as critical as I am in other reviews. There isn't anything bad to talk about! While a definitely more emotional book, it is a worthwhile read and I gave it five stars!

Boston Trip!

I've been on Spring Break since last week Friday, so hopefully I'll be posting a review soon!

I went to Boston first to visit my friends, Emma and Sasha, and one of my sisters! On Tuesday though I came back home to Chicago to spend the end of my break at home. I'm really glad I got to break it up because I loved visiting Boston, but I was also kind of homesick so I loved being able to hang out with my mom and stepdad again, because I'm really close to them.

Here are a few pictures from Boston though! We went to a bunch of bookstores, Brookline Books was really awesome, the first floor was a regular bookstore (that had an amazing selection, one of the best I've ever seen) and then the basement was used books! We also saw the Vagina Monologues at Boston University. It was really good, haha if a little uncomfortable at times, but it was done fantastically and ultimately so worth seeing.

Brattle Book Shop is an outdoors bookstore of used books and was really cool (even though it was a little cold)

Boston is such a cool city! It is really old and has more history than the majority of America's cities (History is my favorite subject). The streets and buildings are beautiful too, I live outside of Chicago, which has a much different type of feeling to it. My college is also outside of Philadelphia, which may be historical as well, but Boston felt much cleaner to me and more sophisticated I guess. I would love to live in Boston one day. I kind of fell in love with it while I was there and it has so many coffee shops and bookstores. It's now a small goal of mine to live there for part of my life and I'm so jealous of people living there now.

I promise I'll be posting some reviews soon!!!

The Man in the High Castle Book and Show Review/Comparison!

One of the periods of time that I am most interested in is the World War II era. I love history and this time period is so intense and fascinating and the fact that it was a world war means the outcome would affect the whole planet. Which is why I was so excited to hear about Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. It's about a world where the Japanese and Germans won the war. A terrifying thought when you really think about what that could mean. It's 1962 in this book though, so not contemporary and not during the war, making it into an interesting middle. The Japanese have received the west coast, the Germans the east coast, and the midwest is the neutral zone. The central conflict of the story is that there is a book, "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy", going around and gaining popularity that tells a story where the Allies won the war instead of the Axis Powers. The author of the book is the "man in the high castle."

Onto the actual review! First, I am going to talk about the book and then, go into the tv series:

The Man in the High Castle was one of the more unique books that I have read lately. It has been a little bit since I actually read it and I am still a little perplexed by my feelings of it and still trying to interpret the ending. There were many main characters that all connected in some odd way and they each encountered "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" in their own ways. While the book was about the Allies losing the war, I first thought it was telling the story of our world. However, there were many small differences that would throw me off and made me realize our world and the world in that book were not the same still. Also, while each character would mention the book or hear about it, it was only the main focus of Juliana and Joe. These two characters met in the neutral zone and started a relationship, Joe had the book and got Juliana hooked on it and then they eventually decide to try and find the author. However, even for them for the majority of the time the book was in the background of their relationship. The Man in the High Castle had a very open ending, because even though we eventually find out where the book came from, we don't know what the characters will actually do with that information. The world they live in is incredibly scary to me and it just felt very unresolved where not much will go changed. One thought that I've had is that the Japanese are obsessed with memorabilia from America's past and will spend hundreds on the extinct culture. One of the characters, Frank, starts to make jewelry and tries to sell it, but everybody says he'll fail because nobody likes the new. By the end though, there are two men who connect with his jewelry in a really odd and confusing way. (Sorry kind of spoiler next, but also not a major one I think) One of them holds onto it so hard and connects with it where it seemed to bring him to the world where the Allies won the war and suddenly everything changes around him. It didn't last long, but I'm curious that maybe they need to accept the future again and what's real. However, this theory is confusing to me because it's never specified if it's possible for them to change. Which brings me onto the show!

The show was great, has ten episodes, and is on Amazon Prime! The show is pretty different from the book. First of all, the book, "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy", becomes film reels showing the Allies winning the war. Second of all, the nature and path of a major character is changed. Thirdly, two characters who were separated in the book, are together in the show. Those were the big changes that were made. While the book was very open ended and I am still not sure what it's purpose was, the show is much more focused and elaborates on so much. While I was reading the book, I had no idea on how they could make it into a show. Which is why I understand the changes they made. They had to make it much more understandable to gain people's interests and to keep them. While I know this can be taboo to say (I'm sorry!), I think I like the show better. I am still so unsure about the book and what it was trying to convey that I enjoyed following the show's plot line more. I feel bad saying that cause I enjoyed "the easier one", but no matter how much I think about the book, I feel like it ended way too soon and left me with way too many questions. The show realized this I think and decided to take creative liberties (because the author's dead) and finish the story. I like answers and the show is trying to give them to me, which I'm enjoying.

Both book and show are great! I'm, unfortunately, the only one of my friends who has read The Man in the High Castle and so I would love feedback on other people's ideas about it! I enjoyed it, but I have so many questions that I still feel a little lost about it. However, I recommend both to anyone who loves WWII era and historical fiction about the Allies losing the war (such an interesting concept!).

Top 15 Books from 2015!!!

I realize this 2015 has already been over for about a month but I really wanted to do one of these! These are my top fifteen favorite books from 2015! I also grouped some series books if I read and loved all of them!

15. Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

      This was one book that surprised me, it isn't very well known and it was a topic (military school) that I had never really read before. I found it to be realistic and it also dealt with certain topics in a way that I found really great.

14. The Martian by Andy Weir

      I love sci-fi and the humor in The Martian was so fantastic, I also learned a lot about science! It was so awesome to see the survival methods and how hard we will fight to survive when we are faced with that situation.

13. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

      I love books that incorporate Ancient Roman facts and the brutality of this book is what made me take a deeper interest, as that's often glossed over. What truly made me fall in love with this book though is the character development that the main character Laia went through. It was so gradual but after finishing the book and then looking back at the beginning it's an incredible transformation.

12. Young Elites/Rose Society by Marie Lu

      I did not like Marie Lu's Legend series, so this series took me by such a surprise with how dark and incredible it turned out to be. It kept me so enraptured throughout both books. I found it to be unique in where it is going, which is something I love finding in series.

11. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

      Having been the first nonfiction book that I actually enjoyed, this story amazed me in so many ways and changed my outlook on many things.

10. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

      I loved the book as I was reading through it and then the end just solidified the fact that it would be one of my all time favorite books. Twists and turns are what I love to see.

9. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

      George R.R. Martin is just a genius, even though I hate him at times. The world in these books has just become so alive in my imagination with the combination of the books and the tv show. It's so rare to find one of those series where the characters feel so real in my life. Maybe my favorite books I read this year, but it will always be in my top favorites with how incredible it is.

8. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

      This is one of my favorite series and while I did not enjoy Queen of Shadows as much as I did Heir of Fire, I'm so in love with all of the characters and their character development and the magic of this world that it was still one of my favorites.

7. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

      Sarah and Susan's friendship makes me life, so seeing it exist in a high fantasy book with action and them being badasses just made it all the better. I'm also a big fan of friendships in books, because I don't think romance ever needs to be the main purpose in books and so that helped me fall in love with the book even more.

6. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

      One of my favorite historical fiction authors and this book was so incredibly emotional and hopeful and sad all at the same time. I felt so many emotions throughout this book and saw so many different stories. I loved it so much because it also showed me how many stories go untold and unknown. Her author's note was also just so great with her talking about her purpose for the book, which made me love it so much more.

5. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

      The first book in this series and I am already addicted, I can see it going in such incredible places and the hot faeries aren't such a bad thing either. I loved all of the characters and I am so excited for the next one.

4. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

      One of the most emotional books I have ever read. I cried so hard, but I loved it so much. It just showed me how everyone goes through things and some people are able to get through it and others aren't. It also made me want to go out and experience some of the weird things around me.

3. Red Rising/Golden Son by Pierce Brown

      World building is incredible and the characters are so complex. I don't think I can describe why this series made it to be number 3, but I just fell in love with the series so much.

2. The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain

      I try and get all my friends to read this book, but it's so hard! It's really short too! My advice is to forget what you've read of Mark Twain and of Huckleberry Finn because I never really liked that book either. Which is why many people haven't read The Mysterious Stranger. This novella is from the end of Mark Twain's life when he becomes a lot more cynical. Which is why it's about an angel named Satan visiting earth. Literally so mind-blowing and has changed my perspective on everything.

And finally, my favorite book that I read in 2015...

1. City of Thieves by David Benioff

      This book wasn't the one that my cry the most or connect the most with the characters or be amazed by the character development. Instead, it's less than 300 pages about two young men during the Siege of Leningrad who must search for a dozen eggs to avoid being executed for looting and desertion. Somehow this book brought me to their time period and the dangers they faced by everything and how unfair everything was. It was filled with humor and terror and it's only after looking back on the books I read in 2015 that I realize this one was the best. While I often hear Catcher in the Rye being described as one of the best coming of age stories, I find City of Thieves to top them all.