May Wrap-Up
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
One Sentence Summary: Geeky, British fifteen-year-old goes to a mall with her aspiring-model friend but ends up getting discovered herself, but struggles with how to tell her conservative mother and how to handle telling her best friend.
Rating: 2/5
Five Word Review: 1) Immature (at times); 2) Entertaining; 3) Shallow (i.e. not too deep in themes); 4) Funny; 5) Empowering (would recommend to middle school girls).
Full Review HERE.
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
One Sentence Summary: Sydney grew up in the shadow of her charismatic older brother until his streak of reckless behavior ends with a true bang, sending him to prison and Sydney into a different school and a different group of friends to escape the whispers and the talk, but she can't avoid reality and she can't avoid her parents, who still see her brother more than her despite the fact he doesn't live in their house. (Yes, that was a run on, but it's still just one sentence and the story's too complex for a simple summary.)
Rating: 5/5
Five Word Review: 1) Complex (in themes, storyline, and characters);
2) Honest; 3) Beautiful; 4) Relatable; 5) Captivating (I read it straight through)
Full Review HERE.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
One Sentence Summary: Told in alternating first and third person, this book tells war stories in fiction written like nonfiction set during Vietnam.
Rating: 5/5
Five Word Review: 1) Intense (it's a war novel); 2) Revolutionary (in its writing); 3) Remarkable (it's no only well written it's ridiculously deep);
4) Witty; 5) Life-Changing
Full Review HERE.
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
One Sentence Summary: Ezra Faulkner was a tennis star and the probable Homecoming King, until his leg was shattered in a car accident when he left a party (sober) after catching his girlfriend with... well, not him. Enter Cassidy Thorpe and his childhood best friend and the new Ezra.
Rating: an enthusiastic 5/5
Five Word Review: 1) Intelligent; 2) Gorgeous; 3) Intricate;
4) Tragic; 5) Relatable.
Full Review COMING SOON. (I just finished it today- it's incredible :) )
Love & Other Theories
One Sentence Summary: Aubrey knows better than to fall in love, because all boys are good for is indulgence and then moving on-- that's what the theories are for: avoiding heartbreak-- so when Nathan comes into her life, and the theories are tested, she wonders if she's been going about it all wrong.
Rating: 2/5
Five Word Review: 1) Shallow; 2) Entertaining; 3) Though-provoking (not in like a deep way but more like a huh, I never thought about it that way before way); 4) Funny; 5) Enjoyable
Full Review COMING SOON.
Notes From an Accidental Band Geek by Erin Dionne
Okay, so I started this book but I couldn't do it. I couldn't for the life of me force myself to read it. The story was probably fine, but the main character was so unforgivably whiny, I just couldn't take it. The sad thing is I totally would have enjoyed the story, I'm sure, and I'm bummed I can't read it and I hate that I can't but I just couldn't do it.
This book would probably be fine for a middle schooler to read, and I'm sure that it's just fine, but I couldn't forgive it.
This is a book people seem to either hate or love, but even as a self-confessed band nerd (I'm a drum major for goodness sake) I couldn't even get past the first chapter. The setting and feel is believable, but I couldn't get into it.
June TBR
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
What it's About: Cadence Sinclair Easton and her family all travel up to their beach house each summer on Cape Cod. This book works to uncover what she's trying her hardest to remember, through a painkiller haze and a sea of amnesia trying to remember exactly what happened two years ago in this place that used to be her escape.
Why I Picked It: Aside from having heard from like every book blogger that this is an amazing book, the premise of this book is so enticing and I can't wait to read this poolside.
Reviews of this book:
Famous Last Words by Katie Alender
What it's About: Willa is forced to move to LA with her mom when she remarries a famous director, all the way to a crazy beautiful villa that used to be owned by a famous movie star. But she starts seeing things, and there's a serial killer in the area recreating famous death scenes, and she can't help be morbidly fascinated.
Why I Picked It: The library that I volunteer for makes a list of books for the middle school each year at the end of the school year so students can find books to read over the summer. This was on the list and after working on projects related to the list (making stickers, pulling books, attaching stickers, organizing them into a display), I inevitably found a few that I wanted to read.
Reviews of this Book:
Side note on this book: I did check this out of the library at first, but I read the first chapter and I fell in love so I went and bought it. I'm waiting to read it until I can read it pool-side.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
What it's About: Greg went through high school being friendly but not making friends, other than his friend Earl. But his mother starts to encourage him to become friends with the girl in his class who's fighting leukemia.
Why I Picked It: It's become a movie, and before I see it I'd like to read the book. I'm also very interested in the premise but I'm also really apprehensive because I've heard that some of his narrative tools are contrived and lead to the book being ineffective, but I like when books use unconventional methods to tell a story (see: Guitar Girl by Sara Manning).
Reviews of this Book:
Jackaby by William Ritter
What it's About: Set in England in 1892, this story follows Abigail who is new in town and meets R.F. Jackaby, a detective with a miraculous ability to see incredible things, including supernatural beings. Her ability to see the details makes her the perfect assistant, and their first case? A serial killer
Why I Picked It: Well, it was on the list from the library. But one of the gorgeous librarians said what a few websites have said: it's like Sherlock meets Doctor Who. I'm so excited to read it.
Side note this cover? THE most gorgeous cover in like ever. I love it I love it I love it.
Reviews of this Book:
These are the four I'm really jazzed to read this month, but I'm sure there will be more to come!
Feel free to read along with me and suggest books!
xoxo
R
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