Six Months Later- Natalie Richards

Title: Six Months Later
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Source: From the publisher
Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5















Goodreads Summary:

Chloe didn't think about it much when she nodded off in study hall on that sleepy summer day. But when she wakes up, snow is on the ground and she can't remember the last six months of her life. Before, she'd been a mediocre student. Now, she's on track for valedictorian and being recruited by Ivy League schools. Before, she never had a chance with super jock Blake. Now he's her boyfriend. Before, she and Maggie were inseparable. Now her best friend won't speak to her.

What happened to her? 
And why can't she remember?

Chole wakes up in a classroom with no memory of what happened. She remembers nodding off in her class and she wakes up in the same place but instead of the nice weather she fell asleep to she wakes up in the winter with no clue of what happened. Her best friend is not speaking to her and she is now dating the guy she has had a crush on forever but something does not feel right when she is with him.

The concept of the story was extremely creepy. I cannot even imagine how it would feel to wake up one day and have no idea what happened to you for the last six months and be a completely different person. I thought Chole handled this pretty well, she kept her cool as she tried to figure out what was going on with her. The story at times felt incomplete at times but there was enough information available to not be completely lost. 

I really liked all the characters in the story they felt realistic.  Adam has a lot of back story that was only briefly shown. I feel like there was a lot more to him that was left in the dark. Maggie and Chole\s past was another part I would have liked to see more of, we get a quick answer of why they are no longer friends but I feel like there was a lot more to it than what was given.

The ending seemed a little rushed to me with a lot of loose ends. I feel like this should have been a series,  the big questions were answered but I feel like there should have been more of a wrap up of the ending.  Overall I really liked this novel, it was creepy and interesting. I read this in two days, super quick read and I would recommend it if you are looking for something creepy.

Stacking the Shelves (89)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Bought New (Kindle)
Horns- Joe Hill

Borrowed from the Library
Forgive me, Leonard Peacock- Matthew Quick
Two Boys Kissing- David Levithan

Banned Books Week

This week is banned books week where we celebrate and read banned books. I love participating in banned books week but it also makes me sad that there still is such a thing. I was talking to my dad the other day and he said something that made me wholeheartedly agree. He said people are still banning books? and really why are we still banning books. There are some absolutely horrendous TV shows and movies that make it and do not get banned but a book gets banned?

The most recent one which really made me shake my head was Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. It was challenged and banned in a school in Minnesota.  This is a beautiful book and to take the opportunity away to read this book is atrocious. None has the right to take away the freedom of reading. If a parent feels uncomfortable about something a teacher is teaching or a book the library has stocked then take the time to research it and talk to your children about why you do not agree with being taught or why you do not want you child to read it. I grew up reading whatever I wanted, but my mom always asked what I was reading and made sure she was informed about the books I was reading.

I hope one day banned books week will not longer need to happen because we will stop banning books. I have included some of my favorite banned or challenged books that are on my favorite books of all time list.

1) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian- Sherman Alexie
2) The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
3) The Color Purple- Alice Walker
4) To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
5) The Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger
6) Crank- Elle Hopkins
7) Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher
8) The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
9) The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
10) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Stacking the Shelves (89)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Bought New (Kindle/Online)
Keeping Her- Cora Carmack (99 cents)
Bitterblue- Kristin Cashore (Under $3)
Rose Under Fire- Elizabeth Wein

Gifted
Wanderlove- Kirsten Hubbard 

Borrowed from the Library
MaddAddam- Margaret Atwood
Love Is The Higher Law- David Levithan

What did you get this week?

Love in the time of Global Warming- Francesca Lia Block

Title: Love in the time of Global Warming
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Source: From the Publisher
Series: Standalone
Rating: 2.5/5















Goodreads Summary: 
Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything—her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy.

In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated.

My rating for this cover is a 5/5. It is so gorgeous and I love all the details that are in cooperated with it. The art inside the book is also spectacular. However I felt the content was lacking. I may have liked this book better if I had read the Odyssey but going into it without reading the Odyssey I felt confused and the  story did not keep my attention.

It has been fifty-three days since  the earth shaker and Pen has not left her house. She wants to find her family but she is too scared to leave until she is forced out. Pen soon finds other people who have survived and band together with them to find her family.

Pen acted tough but her inability to protect herself came apparent quickly. When she meets Hex she loses two weeks of trying to find her family. I did not like her as a character at all. I understood she was scared and alone but she forces everyone to move at her pace and puts her companions into danger which they do willingly to keep her happy. Hex was a more likable character, he had a dark past and he was trying his best to better himself. Ez and Ash were my favorite characters. I loved how they found each other during the most terrible of times.

The story was a confusing, It felt jumpy and unfinished. This is likely partially to blame due to the fact that I have not read the Odyssey but I also felt like I should be able to read this novel without having to rely on the book it is based on to understand the story. The idea was an interesting one and the title caught my attention but the story itself was jumbled. The story fell flat for me unfortunately.

Want to go Private?- Sarah Darer Littman

Title: Want to go Private?
Author: Sarah Darer Littman
Source: Gifted
Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5














Goodreads Summary:

Abby and Luke chat online. They've never met. But they are going to. Soon.

Abby is starting high school--it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself? Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke--he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does. But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.

Abby just started high school but she feels like she is not ready. There are so many changes going on and she is not handling it well. Abby feel like her best friend, Faith is leaving her behind but then she meets Luke online and he makes her feel like she is still important. She talks to him almost everyday then he asks her if she would like to meet him and she agrees. This book is pretty detailed of what happens with Abby and Luke. I would recommend it for a mature audience.

It'd hard to like Abby in the beginning. She is convinced that nothing should change and that none understand her and what she is going through. Her family is a little distant and Faith is trying to include her but Abby does not allow herself to become friends with anyone else. She allows Luke to dictate her life. She allows him to tell her what to do and when. I thought overall that Faith was a decent friend to Abby, she tried to include her when she could. Luke was a complete creep. As soon as she started to talk to him I knew he was a creep. He was a guy who told her he was twenty-seven but he was interested in a fourteen year old girl.  

The point of view changes through a few different characters. It starts out with Abby's point of view but then in the second half of the book the point of view changes from chapter to chapter. I liked seeing the different ways people were dealing with Abby's disappearance and what they were going through. I thought overall it was well written and realistic. It portrayed the struggles of a teenage girl well. The trying to find your place and discovering who you are suppose to be.

I really enjoyed this book as a whole. The change of point of view was a great way to see how everyone was affected by the choices Abby made. This was a super dark book but I felt like if it was written any other way it would not be as good as it was. 

Stacking the Shelves (88)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.


Bought Used (Store credit)
On Dublin Street- Samantha Young
Zom-B Darren Shan
The Dark Heroine- Abigail Gibbs
The Rules of Civility- Amor Towles

Bought New (Kindle/book store)
Obsidian- Jennifer L. Armentrout (Under $3)
Ashes-Ilsa J. Bick (Under $2)
Fangirl- Rainbow Rowell (Loved it so I needed a finished copy)
Dark Triumph- Robin LaFevers


Gifted/for review
So Close To You- Rachel Carter ($4.99)
Grave Mercy- Robin LaFevers ($4.99)
Love in The Time Of Global Warming- Francesca Lia Block

What did you get this week?

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Jamie at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's top is: Top Ten books I would love to see as a movie/tv show (set in a perfect world in which movies don't butcher the books we love.)

1) Grave Mercy Robin LaFevers
2) Read, Player One- Ernest Cline
3) Starstruck- Rachel Shukert
4) Code Name Verity Elizabeth Wein
5) Pivot Point- Kasie West
6) Delirium- Lauren Oliver
7) The Selection- Kiera Cass
8) Anna and the French Kiss- Stephanie Perkins
9) The Knife of Never Letting Go- Patrick Ness
10) Shatter Me- Tahereh Mafi

Stacking the Shelves (87)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I fell off the trying not to buy books wagon this week. I try but I usually fail at trying to not buy books.

Bought Used (Used store credit)
Wonderstruck- Brian Selznick
Storm- Bridge Kemmerer
Spark- Bridge Kemmerer
The Casual Vacancy- J.K. Rowling ($1 and it's brand new)
The Gargoyle- Andrew Davidson

Bought New (Kindle)
Dairy Queen- Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Au Revoir Crazy European Chick- Joe Schreiber
The Transfer- Veronica Roth
The Scarlet Pimpernel- Emmuska Orcey (Free on Kindle)
Exiled- M.R. Merrick (Free on Kindle)

What did you get this week?

The S-Word- Chelsea Pritcher

Title: The S-Word
Author: Chelsea Pitcher
Source: Gifted
Series: Standalone
Rating: 4/5









Goodreads Summary: 

First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.

But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie's looping scrawl.

Lizzie’s reputation is destroyed when she's caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn’t deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie's own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High—and she might not be able to pull herself back out.

Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for—even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.

Lizzie is found in bed with her best friends boyfriend on prom night. The entire school turns on Lizzie and she commits suicide. Angie starts to piece together what happened and she finds out a lot more than she ever expected.

This was a good issue book, there was a lot more going on then Angie trying to figure out why her friend committed suicide. There were a lot of things in this book that could have been handled better but I appreciated how the author put the taboo topics in the everyday lives of these teenagers and gave them a voice.

The characters were flawed and things got messy but this book handled it really well. Angie was a great and also completely frustrating character. Lizzie's story slowly unraveled itself and took some unexpected twist I never imagined. I really felt for her and I am glad we got to see the whole story even if it was after she was gone.

I really enjoyed this book as a whole, it was a fast read for me and I loved how it tackled so many issues teens are dealing with a showing some of the healthy and unhealthy ways people deal with them. I am looking forward to more from this author.

Stacking the Shelves (86)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I got some awesome free books from my neighbor who used to work at a book store so she has a ton of awesome books. I wanted to keep them all but I did good and only choose the ones I thought I would read.

Gifted
Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
419- Will Ferguson
The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood
Oryx and Crake- Margaret Atwood 
The Birth of Venus- Sarah Dundant
The Hours- Michael Cunningham
Those Who Save Us- Jenna Blum

For Review
Six Months Later- Natalie Richards

Borrowed from the Library
Maus Vol 2: And Here My Troubles Begin- Art Spiegelman
The Sealed Letter- Emma Donoghue

Bought New
Freakonomics- Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner (Kindle for $1.99!!)

What did you get in your mailbox?