Review: Eleanor&Park

Eleanor&Park by Rainbow Rowell

Published by:St.Martin's Press

Released on:February 26th,20 13

Pages:325 hardcover

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Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under. 



This book had a lot of great reviews and of course when some book is supposed to be amazing, I have to check it out. The description given on goodreads isn't very specific so I shall elaborate. The book begins with Park sitting on the bus and in walks a vibrant and different looking girl who is unlike any other girl at their school. Immediately Park feels disdain for Eleanor as she is obviously putting herself in the position to be bullied. There arent't any seats available as people are not allowing her to sit with them. Park becomes furious at Eleanor and tells her to sit down. She obliges and the point of view switches to her. She's thankful that he let her sit down but she's smart enough to realize he's not a friend and he doesn't even want her to sit there.
Days pass and they still sit together in silence. Park loves comics and pulls them out to read while on the bus and he notices that Eleanor reads along with him. He doesn't mind and eventually offers her one to take home. That scene was so cute by the way. Eleanor's family life is not picturesque as Park's. Her mom married this man who abhors Eleanor and even sent her away for a year. Parks parents are married and he has a little brother. Life is perfect compared to Eleanor's.
They eventually start talking on the bus about comics and music and start walking with each other to their lockers. You know exactly where their relationship is going and you can't help but get butterflies when they share moments.
The book was as perfect as it could be. I could've read about them for years. It was so amazing to see the direction their relationship progressed. I think some people had issues with this book because it seemed non realistic but I would disagree with that because every relationship is different. I won't spoil anything but the ending made me cry just a little. Overall this book is one of the best I've read in 2013! I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading,

Ashlinn

Review: The Maze Runer

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Published by:Delacorte Press

Released on:October 6th, 2009

Pages:374 hardcover

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When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

My thoughts: 
  Wow, this book was just absolutely amazing. I had heard a lot of great things about the series and with The Maze Runner movie coming out February 14th, 2014 with one of my favorite actors playing Thomas, I knew I had to read it ASAP. 
  The book was slow and a little hard to understand in the beginning. Everything is confusing because the main character doesn't even have a clue about what has happened or about the way the Glade works. After a while, things become more clear and you start to really get into it because you want to know why Thomas is there and suddenly why this girl has appeared. 
  The setting in The Maze Runner was incredible (at least in my head lol). The characters were so different and interesting in their own way. My favorite characters are Newt and Chuck. Newt is one of the Keepers. The Keepers are the ones in charge basically because they all the decisions for all the Gladers. Newt was level-headed and so sweet. Chuck was awesome and seemed like a genuine friend. 
  The ending was a good way to wrap it up but still leave lots of questions unanswered. I've already read the first two chapters of The Scorch Trials(2nd book) and it left me with a huge cliff hanger I was like what the heck??!! Overall this book was really great and I rate it 5 out of 5 stars. 

Let me know your thoughts if you've read it or plan to!

Happy reading,

Ashlinn 

Review: Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green

Published by:Dutton Juvenile

Released on:October 16th, 2008

Pages:305 hardcover

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Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.

 

My Thoughts:

  I decided to get this book at the library after looking for a new book to read by an author that I knew wrote great books. Thus comes along John Green. This book was excellent and I'm not exactly sure what else I could say besides that. It's not the type that I would fangirl over and recommend to everyone but at the same time if someone mentioned it or something reminded me of this story I wouldn't hesitate to talk about it.

  I liked Quentin, or Q, a lot. He was a cool dude. I could see myself being friends with him in real life. Q was real and you could relate to him on many different levels, and I appreciated that John Green made him that way. I really loved the whole adventure awaits, live free, do your thing, attitude Margo carried. Margo is a crazy soul and there was no stopping her from day one that's for sure. I'd say the majority of the story is Q searching for Margo and trying to decipher the clues left for him. Which was fun, because as the reader you're solving it along with him and coming up with your own theories. As time went on, Q became more desperate and desperate to find her, which I admire. I think until you're in a situation where the person you like or love has left, seemingly run away from your life, you never really know the lengths you will take to get them back or get an answer. And I'm still trying to figure out if you always do get that answer you're searching for, whether it be closure from that person or from yourself. Or if some things are meant to be left a mystery and we must move on with our lives and hope one day we will forget it and them.

  Overall, I'm happy I decided to read it and share my thoughts with you all. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Favorite Quotes of Paper Towns:
“What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.”

“That's always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people want to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste.”

“When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.” 

“The town was paper, but the memories were not.” 

 “Radar threw his books into his locker and shut it. Then the din of conversation around us quieted just a bit as he turned his eyes toward the heavens and shouted, "IT IS NOT MY FAULT THAT MY PARENTS OWN THE WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION OF BLACK SANTAS.” Oh, how much I loved Radar. He was flawless. Let's be real.

That's all for now!

Comment please and Happy Reading,

Ashlinn

Catching Up!

Hello everyone who is reading this :). I'm sure many of you who follow totally forgot about my blog as it has been more than a year since my last post, but I just wanted to talk about the few amazing books I read during the year hiatus.
First off, I just finished my sophomore year, 10th grade, and as much as it was stressful it had many amazing moments and I'm thankful for all the people I got close to and everything I learned about myself and others. However I have 3 weeks until I start my junior year, so it's not the most convenient time to try to start blogging again so I probably won't be posting a lot but my hope is to review books that I had the great pleasure of reading. I've been trying to catch up on the latest and greatest books right now and reading my favorite book blogs which I have greatly missed.
Alright, onto the books I read:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I read this back in September of last year and yes it does indeed stack up to everyone's hype as anyone who has read it can confirm. I bought it during the summer and my friend who had read Divergent and Insurgent at the time told me I had to read it immediately. It was fabulous and is one of my favorite books, I honestly recommend it to anyone who I'm chatting with about books. I even got my little brother to read it(he loved it, keeps begging me to buy Insurgent) and he is not the type to love reading. My cousin Olivia, who basically is my double and fellow book nerd, finished it in a day and bugged me as well about getting Insurgent! And finally, the movie will be coming out in 2014!!Stoked.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Second book in the Divergent trilogy. I devoured this one and I liked it as much as Divergent. But I'm sure as all of you know second books don't always have the same spark as the first one did. The ending though, it was fabulous. Who's excited for Allegiant??Cause I sure am.

Review:The Fine Art of Truth or Dare

The Fine Art of Truth Or Dare

by Melissa Jensen

Published by: Speak

Released on: February 16th,2012

Pages:380 paperback

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Ella is nearly invisible at the Willing School, and that's just fine by her. She's got her friends - the fabulous Frankie and their sweet cohort Sadie. She's got her art - and her idol, the unappreciated 19th-century painter Edward Willing. Still, it's hard being a nobody and having a crush on the biggest somebody in the school: Alex Bainbridge. Especially when he is your French tutor, and lessons have started becoming, well, certainly more interesting than French ever has been before. But can the invisible girl actually end up with a happily ever after with the golden boy, when no one even knows they're dating? And is Ella going to dare to be that girl?

 

    The Fine Art of Truth or Dare sounds like a cute read and it was but it just wasn't as good as I expected. The first couple chapters we're introduced to Ella an art junkie who is in love with Edward Willing who happens to be dead. And her two best friends; Frankie and Sadie. I loved Frankie he was one of those characters you can't help but want to be friends with them in real life. Sadie I felt like we didn't get to know her as much as Frankie but I still liked her. Ella's like any other love struck teenage girl. She likes this guy Alex Bainbridge one of the most popular guys at Willing. I didn't really think much of Alex because I was sort of in and out of the book but in the end I neither liked him or disliked him. He was just kind of blah. He's pretty much like another stereotypical athletic-boy-who-is-dating-the-most-popular-girl-but-who-then-starts-to-fall-in-love-with-the-quiet-invisible-girl-and-makes-her-feel-special. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it's just so overused. Overall this book was ok it was pretty long for my taste but I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Happy Reading,

Ashlinn

Review: Hopeless Magic

Hopeless Magic by Rachel Higginson

(#2 Star-Crossed Series)

Published by:Rachel Higginson via Smashwords

Released:August 10th,2011

Pages:Ebook

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After returning home from Romania, and successfully saving her best friend Lilly, Eden Matthews must now come to terms with her future as an Immortal. She is in love with the Crowned Prince, but he is betrothed to someone else. Her family desperately wants her to join their rebellion, but that would mean fighting against her one, true love, Kiran Kendrick. She must fight off assassins that want her dead, an Immortal rite of passage that takes her to India and a deadly disease that no one has thus far survived. Danger seems to lurk around every corner as Eden struggles to keep her true identity a secret and protect those that she loves. Eden must find a way to be with Kiran, or turn her back on him forever and fight to save her people. Hopeless Magic is the second installment of the Star-Crossed series.

*This was sent to me but that does not effect my review*
 Here is the first book Reckless Magic review.
 I was so excited to start this because I had high expectations from the first one and let me say this totally went above and beyond! 
    
     As I said above this was even better than Reckless Magic! Ms. Higginson has a wonderful and vivid writing style that I love. Seriously she should be more recognized. Eden, the main character is one of the most realest characters ever. Don't get me wrong her friends are wonderful as well. Eden is seriously just like a teenage girl; she complains, falls in love to easily, and is still trying to find herself, like many other teenagers. If you read my review on Reckless Magic you will see I left the book liking Kiran a lot but I have changed my mind and don't like him for various reasons which I won't reveal.Hahaha anyways there's not much more to say except that I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars! Seriosley go check out Reckless Magic and for that matter Hopeless Magic as well.

Happy Reading!!

Ashlinn