Review: I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
Publication Date: September 16, 2014
Publisher: Dial Books
Page Count: 371 pages

Summary: Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

I’ll Give you The Sun is the second young adult novel by Jandy Nelson, her debut being The Sky Is Everywhere. I enjoyed her debut so much; the imagery in her writing captures the emotions of her characters so well and the writing is beautifully poetic, which gives a certain feel to the words on the page. It’s almost overwhelming to read her prose and the emotions that are evoked. I can say the same for this one as well. She so easily makes my chest tighten for Lennie, Noah, and Jude.

Waiting On Wednesday: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

This weekly meme is hosted by Breaking The Spine.

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Publication Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Page Count: 320 pages

Summary: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn't play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Why am I excited about this? Because of that summary!! It just seems like a really interesting story to experience, and something much more diverse. Super excited to see how good this one could be. Also, I love the whole idea of relationship building over email, so that will also be really interesting to read about. Plus, I really like that cover!

What's your pick this week?

Top Ten To Read This Winter

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

This weeks topic: Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR List!

Do you find one more important than the other?

This probably isn't a new topic, especially among writers and those who create the stories we read, and it's one professors in my literature courses have touched on as well. But, it’s a question I've asked myself and thought on plenty of times, and I’m curious about the opinions of others in regard to this train of thought.

Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

While this review isn't full of spoilers I don't recommend reading it unless you've read the previous books. Unless of course, you're a rebel, then read on!

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (Book Three)
Publication Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Page Count: 562 pages

Summary: Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat–and his own toughest enemy. While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love? (via goodreads)

Leaving Our Comfort Zones

A Return to Erilea: Review of Crown of Midnight

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (Book Two)
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Page Count: 420 pages

Summary: From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart. Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for. (via goodreads)

WOW: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

This weekly meme is hosted by Breaking The Spine.

I haven't done one of these in quite a while! There are a great many books I'm waiting on, so this was a tough one to decide for this week.

I Was Here by Gayle Forman
Publication Date: January 27, 2015
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Page Count: 288 pages

Summary: Cody and Meg were inseparable. Two peas in a pod. Until . . . they weren't anymore. When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question. I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss. (source: goodreads)

I loved If I Stay/Where She Went and I'm planning to read Just One Day/Just One Year as soon as possible, but this one sounds just as good. Gayle Forman does heartbreak and sad so well.  I want January to come fast!!

What are you waiting on for this week?

Top Ten Character I Wish Would Get Their Own Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

It's actually quite hard for me to get attached to characters outside the main one or two. At least, enough for me to want more from them. When I do, usually, it's for companion series' that allow me to eventually experience a book with that character, so I did my best to name a few!

Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Publication Date: May 24, 2012
Publisher: Orion Books
Page Count: 422 pages

Summary: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

Honestly this was me through a lot of the book.

Top Ten Books I Want to Reread

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

The weeks topic: Top Ten Books I want to reread.

So, I'm actually a big rereader. If I'm in the mood for something very specific and I know I've already read a book that has that something I'll often just reread instead of finding something new to fit my mood. Other times I just loved the book so much I want to experience it all over again.

Let's have a chat about my absence.