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Book Talk: This Reading Slump Is Getting A Lot Better

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Book Talk is a new and occasional feature where I talk about non-review bookish things.

Book Talk

Today, I’m revisiting the topic of reading slumps.  I’ve been in one for quite a few weeks now, and it was really weird for me, because I don’t really remember going through one before.  It’s been a totally weird and new experience for me, but I’m also glad I’ve gone through it.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was really starting to come out of it, because my reading habits have gone back to normal…for the most part.

It was actually a big help to talk about it, and after that original post, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I definitely felt better about my disinterest in reading.  I really do feel like it was my mind’s way of telling me to take a bit of a break and to slow it down for a while.  You can only keep it up for so long before it catches up with you.

Looking back, I think I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to always be reading, and to be reading constantly, and to have a lot of books going on at once, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.  Now that I’ve had a bit of a break, and am not constantly reading something, I felt like I had to read all the time because otherwise, I’d be a horrible book blogger because I wasn’t talking about what I was reading.  I definitely felt like I had to read a certain number of books a week, and that I need to keep up with how much I’ve previously read.

But book bloggers talk about all kinds of things, and it’s okay to take a step back and talk about those other things.  Like reading slumps and cookbooks and anything else that comes to mind.  It’s definitely not the end of the world.  Getting back into reviewing has been a little bit hard, because I haven’t been doing it as much, but it’s also good to be talking about what I’m reading.  And to be excited about what I reading (sometimes) and to actually WANT to pick up a book again.

I’m not going to lie, it’s been nice to read less than what I have been, but I also missed reading that much, so I’m glad to have several books going on at once.  

Still, I’m definitely going to try to keeping things at 4 or 5 books, because while I can handle 6 books, I also don’t really want to right now.  And I’m definitely going to be working in more audio books, because listening seems more my speed right now than reading.

I’ve definitely learned a lot from this reading slump:

  • For one thing, it’s okay to have periods where I don’t read as much or where I’m not super-interested in reading.  It doesn’t make me a horrible reader, and sometimes, I just need to curl up in bed with some good t.v. or sit on the couch crocheting. Just going with it and not stressing about it is really important- I think it’s just part of being a big reader and a book blogger.
  • And another thing is to try listening to audio books- there is something about having a book read to you, and it’s something I’ll have to try the next time I’m in a reading slump.  And maybe try print too?  For some reason, e-books weren’t doing it for me, so switching formats is something that’s worth trying out.
  • Also: re-reading books may work.  That’s another thing to try the next time I’m in a reading slump- reading old favorites may get me back to reading (but I also won’t know until I try, so there is that).
  • Another thing for next time: switching genres and reading things outside of my YA comfort zone.  Why did I not think of this earlier?

I’m definitely glad to be reading again, and even though it was weird at first, I’m glad that it’s over and that I went through it. I know that sounds weird, but I think it’s been good a take a bit of a break.

ARC Book Review: Goebbels: A Biography

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Goebbels A Biography CoverBook: Goebbels: A Biography by Petere Longerich, translated by Alan Bance, Jeremy Noakes & Lesley Sharpe

Expected Publication is October 14, 2014 by Random House: Expected Number Of Pages: 920

Where I Got It: netgalley.com, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: None

Genre: Adult Nonfiction- History/World War 2/Nazi Germany/Holocaust

You can find Goebbels: A Biography on goodreads

Goodreads Summary: 

From renowned German Holocaust historian Peter Longerich comes the definitive one-volume biography of Adolf Hitler’s malevolent minister of propaganda.

In life, and in the grisly manner of his death, Joseph Goebbels was one of Adolf Hitler’s most loyal acolytes. By the end, no one in the Berlin bunker was closer to the Führer than his devoted Reich minister for public enlightenment and propaganda. But how did this clubfooted son of a factory worker rise from obscurity to become Hitler’s most trusted lieutenant and personally anointed successor?

In this ground-breaking biography, Peter Longerich sifts through the historical record—and thirty thousand pages of Goebbels’s own diary entries—to provide the answer to that question. Longerich, the first historian to make use of the Goebbels diaries in a biographical work, engages and challenges the self-serving portrait the propaganda chief left behind. Spanning thirty years, the diaries paint a chilling picture of a man driven by a narcissistic desire for recognition who found the personal affirmation he craved within the virulently racist National Socialist movement. Delving into the mind of his subject, Longerich reveals how Goebbels’s lifelong search for a charismatic father figure inexorably led him to Hitler, to whom he ascribed almost godlike powers.

This comprehensive biography documents Goebbels’s ascent through the ranks of the Nazi Party, where he became a member of the Führer’s inner circle and launched a brutal campaign of anti-Semitic propaganda. Though endowed with near-dictatorial control of the media—film, radio, press, and the fine arts—Longerich’s Goebbels is a man dogged by insecurities and beset by bureaucratic infighting. He feuds with his bitter rivals Hermann Göring and Alfred Rosenberg, unsuccessfully advocates for a more radical line of “total war,” and is thwarted in his attempt to pursue a separate peace with the Allies during the waning days of World War II. This book also reveals, as never before, Goebbels’s twisted personal life—his mawkish sentimentality, manipulative nature, and voracious sexual appetite.

A harrowing look at the life of one of history’s greatest monsters, Goebbels delivers fresh insight into how the Nazi message of hate was conceived, nurtured, and disseminated. This complete portrait of the man behind that message is sure to become a standard for historians and students of the Holocaust for decades to come.

What I Thought:

I’m definitely fascinated with World War 2, especially with Nazi Germany, so when I was intrigued by this biography of Goebbels when I saw it on netgalley.  I know the name and that he was charge of propaganda, but other than that, I didn’t know anything, so I definitely wanted to learn more about him.

This biography is definitely daunting and very, very detailed- it’s an astounding  900+ pages, and it was definitely a marathon of a book.  Nothing really jumped out at me as particularly interesting, other than Goebbels studied philosophy and that he was loyal to Hitler, to the point of murdering his children before taking his own life.  I feel like, at the end of the book, I knew as much about him as I did before I started the book.

It’s definitely dense (and on the dry side) and I had to fight the urge to skim the book (which I maybe did at certain points throughout the book).  I don’t know that it’s the best book for someone who doesn’t know much about Goebbels, and since it leans more to the scholarly end of things, it might be better suited for people who are really into World World 2 and Nazi Germany (especially those close to Hitler).

This biography really goes into depth about Goebbels and why he did the things he did, and what made him tick.  It’s also a really good look at some of what was going on during that time, because of his journals.  It’s also why it’s a slow read, because it’s very meticulous.

 Let’s Rate It:

This biography is definitely not a book for everyone, but still worth checking out for historians and students or for anyone studying the Holocaust or the Nazi’s (or World War 2).  Goebbels: A Biography gets 2 stars.

ARC Book Review: Stitching Snow

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Stitching Snow CoverBook: Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Expected Publication is October 14, 2014 by Disney-Hyperion|Expected Number Of Pages: 338

Where I Got It: netgalley.com, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: None (as far as I can tell)

Genre: YA Re-telling/Fairy Tales/Science Fiction

You can find Stitching Snow on goodreads & R.C. Lewis on Twitter, Facebook & her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

What I Thought:

So…I liked Stitching Snow, but not as much as I was expecting.  I felt like the story described in the summary is a different story than the story that unfolded.  And yet, there was much more to the story than I ever realized.

Stitching Snow very much reminded me of Cinder, so there may or may not be quite a few comparisons throughout my review.  Essie very much reminded me of Cinder, and Dimwit really reminded me of Iko, and Dane reminded me of Captain Thorne.  And her step-mom reminded me of Queen Lavana.

Basically, I’d describe the book as Cinder in space but with Snow White instead of Cinderella.

It’s not a horrible book- I did like it, and I like the idea of Essie fleeing to a different planet as a child, and surviving on a very different planet than the one she grew up on.  I like that she did what she needed to do to stop a huge war and take control of the crown.

It just wasn’t as compelling as I thought or hoped it would be.

Mostly, because this book seems to be a stand-alone and so the world-building and character development seemed minimal and glossed over.  We got bits and pieces of this world, but not to a level I would have liked. I think it’s because I went in expecting Stitching Snow to be a series- because, honestly, these kinds of stories usually are- so I was disappointed to see that the story was pretty much resolved by the end of the book.

I felt like nothing was really explained, and there were a few things about this world (Exiles and Transitioning, mostly) that were really confusing and made no sense whatsoever.  There are all of these different planets and the people that live on them have this history with each other, and yet, I could not tell you a single them about them.  And it’s the same with the characters, who didn’t really stand out to me.

It really is a shame, because I felt like some of the relationships could have had a lot more to them.  Like, Essie and her step-mom or Essie and her dad, and even her step-mom’s issues with her mom.

Everything felt really rushed to me, and I really do feel like Stitching Snow could have benefited from being a series, just to let everything develop over a slower pace.

Still, I like the overall story, and I’d definitely recommend to die-hard fairy tale fans and to people who haven’t read the Lunar Chronicles yet.  And if you have read the Lunar Chronicles, you may like it too, but maybe not as much.

What I Thought:

I liked Stitching Snow and the overall story, but I also wish that things didn’t feel as rushed, because I felt like the book had so much potential.  Stitching Snow gets 3 stars.

Audio Book Review: Dangerous Creatures

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Dangerous Creatures CoverBook: Dangerous Creautures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, narrated by Khristine Hvam

Published May 2014 by Hachette Audio|Run Time: 9 hours, 41 minutes

Where I Got It: audible.com

Series: Dangerous Creatures #1

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Dangerous Creatures on goodreads & you can find Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl on their websites

Goodreads Summary: 

Ridley Duchannes is nobody’s heroine. She’s a Dark Caster, a Siren. She can make you do things. Anything. You can’t trust her, or yourself when she s around. And she ll be the first to tell you to stay away especially if you’re going to do something as stupid as fall in love with her.

Lucky for Ridley, her wannabe rocker boyfriend, Wesley Link Lincoln, never listens to anyone. Link doesn t care if Rid’s no good for him, and he takes her along when he leaves small-town Gatlin to follow his rock-star dream. He teams up with a ragtag group of Dark Casters, and when the band scores a gig at a hot Underground club, it looks like all of Link’s dreams are about to come true.

But New York City is a dangerous place for both Casters and Mortals, and soon Ridley realizes that Link’s bandmates are keeping secrets. With bad-boy club owner Lennox Gates on her heels, Rid is determined to find out the truth. What she discovers is worse than she could have imagined: Link has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay. With their lives on the line, what s a Siren to do?

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of the Beautiful Creatures novels, are back to cast another magical spell. Their signature blend of mystery, suspense, and romance, with a healthy dose of wit and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

What I Thought:

When I heard that there was going to be a Beautiful Creatures spin-off, I knew I had to read it.  And while spin-off series make me a little nervous, I am glad to say that I really liked Dangerous Creatures!

I was definitely curious about what would happen after the events of Dangerous Dream, the prequel novella. I kind of wish I had listened to it ahead of time for a refresher, but thankfully, you don’t need to read the prequel to know what’s going on. Although, if you haven’t read the original series, you might want to because it’s awesome, and because the world will make more sense.  (It does stand well on its own, though).

I am glad that Ridley and Link get their own story, and the world they get caught up in.  It was really weird seeing them on their own, with no Lena or Ethan or Amma or John or Liv or any of the other characters, but I feel like we’re getting a different side of the Caster world.  Of course, I do miss Gatlin and everyone there, and I didn’t quite fall in love with the new characters the way I fell in love with the characters from Beautiful Creatures, but I’m hoping that I’ll warm up to them by the end of the series.  At the same time, new characters fit with the story, and with a new series, it would be a little weird to have those familiar characters have a major role in the story.  (Still, they could pop up later on, given certain things that happen in the beginning).

I do love that we see the Caster world outside of Gatlin and how much of an effect Lena’s actions had on the entire Caster world, and not just the one in Gatlin.

What I like about Ridley being the narrator of the book is that we see how hard on herself she is.  I really felt for Ridley, and being a Siren has a lot of downsides I didn’t really think about in Beautiful Creatures.  This is a darker world, and I like that it’s darker than its parent series.  Ridley is definitely damaged and broken in her own way, and this dark Caster world…Ridley does seem to fit into really well.

And Link…I’m not sure how I feel about him.  Honestly, Ridley and her story took center stage…and I didn’t pay that much attention to Link, even though they travel to New York together and have quite the…adventure…there.  It’s such a great book for the fans of Beautiful Creatures.  It’s definitely a whirlwind, and I’m looking forward to the next book, because I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Ridley and Link, especially with that cliffhanger of an ending!

As for the narration, I thought Khristine Hvam was a great choice as a narrator!  I also liked that Kevin Collins made a few random appearances, singing as Link, and part of me wishes we got a bit more of Link singing.

Let’s Rate It:

Dangerous Creatures definitely doesn’t disappoint!  It’s a very different series than Beautiful Creatures, but I like that it’s such a different story.  I really felt for Ridley, and I’m hoping we get more of Link and the new characters in the rest of the series.  Dangerous Creatures gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Isla And The Happily Ever After, WITH SPOILERS

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Isla And The Happily Ever AfterBook: Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Published August 2014 by Penguin|258 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Anna And The French Kiss #3

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find Isla And The Happily Ever After on goodreads & Stephanie Perkins on twitter, tumblr and her website

 Goodreads Summary: 

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

What I Thought:

SO: SPOILERS ARE AHEAD, BECAUSE I CAN’T TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK AND NOT MENTION SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS AT THE END.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  I also apologize in advance for all of the caps I may or may not end up using…

OH. MY. GOD, YOU GUYS.  THIS BOOK.

It’s amazing.  Seriously amazing.  I can’t remember the last time I loved a book this much, and I am so glad to be excited about a book again.

Isla did this.  I love it as much as I love Anna And The French Kiss, and I love that book something fierce.

I just love Isla and Josh together, and I’m so glad we got to back to SOAP and revisit some characters that we got to see a little bit of in Anna.  I’m so glad they got their own book and story, because they are perfect together.  And they’re nearly as adorable as Anna and St. Clair.  Nearly.

All I feel like doing right now is squeeing.  With lots of arm flailing.  This is that kind of book.  I’m also that kind of person, and this book just brings that out even more than normal.  Just imagine me doing a happy dance.

Especially with the ending.  Because OH MY GOD ANNA AND ST. CLAIR GOT ENGAGED AT THE END OF THE BOOK.

WHY IS THERE NOT ANOTHER BOOK?  Because I have never wanted a sequel more than I want one right now, just to see Anna and St. Clair get married.  I think, of the three books in this “series,” Anna and Isla are my favorites.  I am thankful that Cricket and Lola and Calliope are what bring St. Clair and Anna back to Paris, but I still much prefer Anna and Isla.  (And St. Clair and Josh, of course).

Isla and Josh have their issues, which were frustrating at times, but I also loved seeing how hard it was for them.  They have such an intense relationship- it’s an intensity we never saw with Anna and St. Clair or with Lola and Cricket.  And Isla is such a different person than Anna or Lola- definitely more moody, I think.  And much more unsure of herself, which I actually  really liked, because I can so relate to her being unsure of what her future holds.

This book is special.  REALLY SPECIAL.  This is a book you really need to read.  It was a long wait for Isla, but it was so worth it. So very, very worth it.

I am glad that things worked out for Isla and Josh, who are are different than I ever imagined they would be when they first appeared in Anna.  Who knew that Josh was so talented?  I knew it was there, but I didn’t realize how much until this book. And Isla…I’ve already talked about how much I relate to her, and I just love her.  SO MUCH.

And I’m actually really glad that the covers were redesigned, because this cover?  Something about it makes me think of romance and happy endings and it’s just BEAUTIFUL.

Let’s Rate It:

So…in case you couldn’t tell, I LOVED Isla And The Happily Ever After.  LOVED.  IT.  It makes me wish I could give it many, many stars.  Okay, I might not be able to do that on goodreads, but this is my blog, and I’m giving every damn star I can possibly give it.  Officially, it gets 5+ stars!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books For People Who Like Character Driven Novels

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers from all over share their own top ten list based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books For People Who Like Character Driven Novels

To be honest, I had to think about this one for a while, because I don’t pay a lot of attention to whether a book is more character-driven or plot-driven.  But after looking through everything I’ve read the last few years, I managed to come up with a few.

  1. You Look Different In Real Life by Jennifer Castle.  I listened to this one recently, and was struck by how much each character stood out, despite the fact that there are so many of them!
  2. Tampa by Alyssa Nutting.  I can’t believe that I’ve mentioned this one for the second time in as many weeks,  but you really get into the characters head, as disturbing as it is.
  3. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  One of the things that has jumped out at me while reading Code Name Verity is that it’s more about the narrator telling her story than it is about what’s actually happening.
  4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I feel a little weird putting this one on my list, as I didn’t actually finish it, because from what I did read, it did seem to be more about the characters.
  5. The Homecoming Masquerade by Spencer Baum.  Yes, you announce you’re in the running for a shot at immortality by wearing black to homecoming, but it really does go into all of the characters and their motivations.
  6. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.  It really is about Cath figuring out who she is, and I could so relate to her story.
  7. The Trial Of Dr. Kate by Michael Glasscock.  I’ve really enjoyed his Round Rock series, and this one in particular really highlights the people in this small town.
  8. A World Away by Nancy Grossman.  I’m not sure if this one counts as character-driven, but I liked seeing Eliza experiencing new things for the first time.
  9. Every Day by David Levithan.  I’m not a big fan of the book, but I think it’s an interesting read when your identity changes every day.
  10. The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir.  Really, any of her historical fiction books would work, but this is one of my favorite HF books by Weir.  It’s such a good (fictional) look at Elizabeth, and it felt very much like everything actually happened, even though some of it is fictional.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Were Hard For Me To Read

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers from all over share their own top ten list based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books That Were Hard For Me To Read

There are a lot of books that are hard for me to read, for many different reasons.  Whether it’s because I’m bored or because of the subject matter, some books are just really hard to get through.

  1. Tampa by Alyssa Nutting.  This one is the first that came to mind, because it’s about this teacher who seduces one of her students…there was a point where I was going to DNF it, but in the end, I managed to finish because I wanted to see if she’d face any consequences if she got caught.
  2. A Game Of Thrones by G.R.R. Martin.  I had to force myself to finish it, because the detail and length were overwhelming and intimidating.  Not to mention, I was really bored reading it.
  3. Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley.  Now that I think about it, it was hard to read, because of how real it felt, and how much I could picture everything happening- but it’s also a story I hope we don’t forget.
  4. It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han.  Of the 3 books in the series, the 2nd one was the hardest, because I couldn’t stop crying long enough to read it.
  5. Some Boys by Patty Blount.  Because it’s horribly unfair that everyone will turn against a girl just because they don’t want to believe that the town golden boy is capable of rape.
  6. Out Of Breath by Rebecca Donovan.  Mostly because Emma’s story, and the abuse she suffered at the hands of her aunt, was so heartbreaking that all of the crying made it hard to read.
  7. This Much Is True by Katherine Owen.  It’s such a heartbreaking, angsty story that was hard to read at times, but it was so worth it.
  8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  Because a book about a girl deciding to live or die is a hard book to read.
  9. And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts.  I know what AIDS is like now, but it was hard to read a book about the first few years of the AIDS epidemic.
  10. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  I felt like Hannah was far too willing to blame everyone else, and it made the book really hard to read, but I did like the message that your actions and words have more of an impact than you realize.

Audio Book Review: Spook

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Spook CoverBook: Spook by Mary Roach, narrated by Bernadette Quigley

Published May 2008 by Brilliance Audio|Length: 8 hours, 34 minutes

Where I Got It: audible.com

Series: None

Genre: Adult Nonfiction- Science/Humor

You can find Spook on goodreads & Mary Roach on twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

The best-selling author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadaversnow trains her considerable wit and curiosity on the human soul.

What happens when we die? Does the light just go out and that’s that—the million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my laptop?” In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die. She begins the journey in rural India with a reincarnation researcher and ends up in a University of Virginia operating room where cardiologists have installed equipment near the ceiling to study out-of-body near-death experiences. Along the way, she enrolls in an English medium school, gets electromagnetically haunted at a university in Ontario, and visits a Duke University professor with a plan to weigh the consciousness of a leech. Her historical wanderings unearth soul-seeking philosophers who rummaged through cadavers and calves’ heads, a North Carolina lawsuit that established legal precedence for ghosts, and the last surviving sample of “ectoplasm” in a Cambridge University archive.

What I Thought: 

Of the Mary Roach books I’ve listened to (Stiff and Gulp), I thought I’d give Spook a try.  It seemed interesting and quirky enough, which seems to fit Mary Roach’s style, but it wasn’t as compelling or as interesting as I thought it would be.

I like that she took a more scientific approach to the afterlife, and the book has her trademark humor.  I definitely couldn’t help but laugh a few times.  Nothing really stood out to me as particularly interesting or memorable- other than the first chapter, where she spends time with someone in India researching reincarnation, the chapter where she spends some time at a medium school and how she felt out of place, and the bit about how people who had near-death experiences/out-of-body experiences kept seeing shoes.

I liked that each chapter was devoted to something different, and I liked that she focused on how people used to see death and the afterlife.  But I also felt like it was much more skewed to the past than the present, and I wish more of the present was included.

As for the narration, I really liked Bernadette Quigley!  I really pictured Mary Roach with Quigley narrating.  Quigley does do the occasional accent, and I can see that irritating some people, but it didn’t really bother me.

Let’s Rate It:

Overall, Stiff turned out to be just okay.  It’s interesting, but not a lot was very memorable to me, and I’m not sure if a scientific approach to the afterlife is necessarily the best approach.  Roach does bring a lot of humor to the topic, though. Spook gets 2 stars.

Audio Book Review: You Look Different In Real Life

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You Look Different In Real Life CoverBook: You Look Different In Real Life by Jennifer Castle, narrated by Samantha Quan

Published June 2013 by HarperAudio|Length: 8 hours, 29 minutes

Where I Got It: Audible.com

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find You Look Different In Real Life on goodreads & Jennifer Castle on Twitter, Facebook, and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

For the rest of the world, the movies are entertainment. For Justine, they’re real life.

The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There’d be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.

Now sixteen, Justine doesn’t feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, feels like a disappointment.

But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what’s on film. They’ve all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else’s eyes.

Smart, fresh, and frequently funny, You Look Different in Real Life is a piercing novel about life in an age where the lines between what’s personal and what’s public aren’t always clear.

What I Thought:

You Look Different In Real Life (now known as You Look Different) is an interesting book, and I liked it a lot more than I thought!

I really like the premise of the book, which is really interesting!  It seems really familiar, and I think there’s an actual series of documentaries focusing on a group of people throughout their lives.  I liked seeing these kids who used to be friends deal with being friends and having to be around each other.  It really does highlight what it’s like to be in the spotlight, and to have your life out there for the world to see.

I didn’t particularly care for Justine- of the 5 kids, she was the least interesting to me, and while the story unfolded before her eyes, I just didn’t care for her story.  The other kids had some things to work through, and she’s the one who didn’t really seem to have anything to work through.  I mean, she did, because life at 16 didn’t seem to be what she hoped it would be, but in comparison to Rory, who’s on the autism spectrum, Keira, who’s mom walked out on her family, Nate, who used to be bullied, and Felix, who’s gay, but not out and the son of immigrants (well, I think that’s his family back story- I can’t remember if it was specifically stated, but at the very least, English seemed to be his parents second language)…Justine’s story seems to pale in comparison.

With such a large cast of characters, each one did have their own story, which kind of surprised me, because you’d think they wouldn’t stand out.  At the same time, though, with 5 different stories, each kid didn’t get a fully developed story.

Overall, the story of You Look Different was super predictable- the characters were what I expected, and the story also turned out how I expected.  For the most part, I didn’t mind, because I liked seeing Justine’s memories of the other kids and how they interacted with each other.  I also liked seeing how some of them worked things out by the end of the book.

The other thing that was too predictable in a fake kind of way was Felix…him being gay felt like it was in the book just for the sake of being in there.  I get he didn’t want to admit that he was gay, and that it would cause major problems with his parents- it is a story that needs to be told and I have no doubt that it’s likely a story a lot of kids could relate to, but it really did feel like it was there just to be there, and for me, that took away from it.

I do wish that we had an occasional chapter from one of the other kids- I know that Justine is narrating, and we see them through her eyes, but I think it’s a book that could have used a different perspective every once in a while.  And I would have liked to see Justine through someone else’s eyes.  Still, she does seem content to let things unfold around her and just observe.

As far as the audio goes, I thought Quan did fine with narrating the book- to be honest, her narration wasn’t something I paid a lot of attention to.  There are flashbacks and memories, but I felt like that was a little too confusing to actually listen to at times.

Let’s Rate It: 

I really did like You Look Different.  Castle has a talent for making characters compelling, even when they aren’t the main focus of the book.  There were a few things I didn’t like, which took away from the book a little, but overall, it’s an interesting read.  You Look Different In Real Life gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Crest

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Crest CoverBook: Crest by Emma Raveling

Published September 2013 by Mandorla Publishing|442 pages

Where I Got It: the nook store

Series: Ondine #3

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Ondine on goodreads & Emma Raveling on Twitter, Facebook & her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Illusion. Power. Identity.

Tensions are reaching a fever pitch everywhere Kendra Irisavie turns.

Darkness settles over elementals as a new threat stirs suspicions of a betrayal from within. Details of recent events spread through Haverleau, prompting doubts over Irisavie leadership. The mysterious Selkie Kingdom finally opens its doors, but the gesture only fans the flames of division. And despite the perils involved, Kendra finds it difficult to ignore the demands of her heart.

As the body count rises, pressure also grows to shift the tides of war. The sondaleur is on the hunt, but tracking the Aquidae leader is the greatest challenge she’s ever faced. With the Shadow playing a deadly game of obsession and horror, Kendra’s best chance to win is to unravel a tangled web of deception spanning back to the origins of the elemental world.

Nothing is what it seems and the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous her pursuit for answers becomes.

When the unthinkable happens, Kendra must decide if survival is worth the sacrifice.

Conflicting loyalties, fierce passions, and irrevocable choices ignite in the electrifying third installment of the Ondine Quartet.

What I Thought:

I can’t believe the direction that Crest took!  I wasn’t expecting anything that happened in this book, and this series keeps getting better with every book that comes out.  I’m really looking forward to the next book, but at the same time, I don’t want it to end.

I was hoping for more time at the Ondine community that Kendra is staying at when the book starts, and to see what it’s really like.  I know there are a few novellas, so it’s possible that we see more of that community in at least one of them.  But I still wish we got to see an Ondine community besides Haverleau.  And I also liked seeing the Selkie kingdom, even though I didn’t really get a good sense of what it looked like.

There were so many twists and turns, and there’s a lot I didn’t see coming.

This is where it gets spoiler-y, because I have to talk about the end of the book- so this may be a good time to jump down to my rating for a general idea of what I thought.

So…the Shadow is clearly someone we know.  I have no clue who it could be, and it really could be anyone.  I wasn’t expecting the Shadow to have infiltrated Haverleau so well, but it’s honestly not that surprising. Julian, Gabe, Nexa and Jeeves were the first people who came to mind.  Julian, because he’s so damn mysterious (and also sort of an ass).  Gabe, because of everything that’s happened in Billow and Crest.  Nexa, because she’s Kendra’s mentor .  And Jeeves, because of his position in Haverleau’s government.  And for some reason, Rhian comes to mind, but I have no idea why. But I feel like they’re the obvious choices, which means it could be someone else.

Crest ended on such a cliffhanger, with Kendra and her friends realizing that the eyes of the Shadow were really familiar- and that’s all we get, so we’ll definitely learn who the Shadow is in Breaker.  I was definitely staring at my Nook, in disbelief over how it ended.  And I’m going to feel so stupid when we do learn who the Shadow is: it’s definitely going to make sense when we do get that piece of information.

Let’s Rate It:

I didn’t love Crest, but it’s such a great addition to the series, and I think it’s my favorite book in the series.  I’m so curious about how things are going to turn out, and I really like how much Kendra has changed since we first met her in Whirl.  Crest gets 4 stars.