"Don't Breathe a Word" - Book Review

Synopsis:

Joy Delamere is suffocating.

From asthma, from her parents, and from her boyfriend, Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. She can take his cruel words, his tender words . . . until the night they go too far.

To escape, Joy sacrifices her suburban life to find the one who offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, to its rules of survival, and to love--a world she won't easily let go.

Set against the backdrop of the streets of Seattle, Holly Cupala's powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the ways to redemption. But above all, it is an unflinching story about the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength.

My Review:

I actually really liked this book. When I first began reading Don't Breathe a Word I wanted to stop reading it after a few chapters because the main character Joy seemed to whine a lot. Though she kind of was entitled to considering what she was going through, however, it did get on my nerves after a while. I didn't really know that this book was about abuse until halfway through the book. If you are wary of books with abuse or just don't like reading them period then this book may not be for you.
The characterization of this book was spot-on. Cupala did a fabulous job making the characters so real and the emotions so raw. There were moments that I was so into the book I felt just as helpless as the characters or just as relieved as they felt when things got better.
Creed was by far my favorite character in the whole book, he was charming, funny, sweet, selfless, and flawed enough to be real. Don't Breathe a Word was such an in-depth view into the lives of homeless teens in Seattle. The emotions were raw and it really opened my eyes to a few things. I try to be immensely grateful for everything that I've been blessed with in my life, but this book reminded me that there are even smaller simple things that we take for granted. When it comes to food I analyze it (It's a very bad habit) because I'm kind of a germ-a-phobe, but this book made me realize I'm so lucky to eat off of a plate and not out of a gross dumpster. I really liked this book and I'd recommend it to anyone that likes reading from perspectives different from your average young adult fiction characters, or if you like reading unusual love stories. It's the little things that matter the most, don't take them for granted because they could be gone in a heartbeat.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Fabulous Finds Friday

Hey everyone!

I found this video and thought that I'd share it with you. If you read my blog chances are you read books too, and if you read and have kids chances are they read to or you read to them. Reading time with my mom before bed was my favorite time ever when I was little, it was what sparked a little flame within me that later on in life grew and engulfed me with a passion to read the written word.

Read to a kid today if you can, and for those who don't have any kinds there are always volunteer opportunities to read to kids at your local library.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Book Buying and Borrowing Ban

Hey everyone!

So as many of you may already well know I have a problem. A book buying and borrowing problem. I have over twenty-something unread books sitting on my bookshelves collecting age. It bugs me whenever I look at them and think to myself 'I remember when I bought those books last year (or the year before) thinking I couldn't live without reading those books, and yet they've sat there for over 365 days still unread.'
Every time I go to the library I keep borrowing books and it's only adding to the problem, yes I don't spend money on new books but I'm not exactly making any progress with the unread books either. So when I had to return books to the library last week I dropped them off when the library was closed in order to avoid the temptation to get more books.

As soon as you walk into my library the first thing you see next to the return desk is the YA section just glittering and it draws you in like bears to honey. I have two more library books to read and then I hope not to borrow any books or buy any new books until I've read at least 10 of the unread books sitting on my shelves. So far I haven't bought any books for a little over a month! I'm kind of proud of myself for that because I would generally buy about three or four books a month regardless of how big my 'to-be-read' pile was.

With that being said, below I'll be listing ten books that have been at the top of my 'to-be-read' list that I want to read before borrowing or buying any other books. (In no particular order)

                                                

Between the Lines by Jodi Piccoult

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Lullaby (Watersong, #2) by Amanda Hocking

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

  

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

I cannot wait to read these books, some of which have been on my 'to-be-read' list for over a year and some of them even longer! I hope to succeed with this book buying and borrowing ban, and read all of the books above. Comment below and tell us about your book buying and borrowing habits, and what you do to prevent from 'hoarding' books you end up not reading until years later.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Wordless Wednesday

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HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

"Sharing Sam" - Book Review

Synopsis:

How can you take the guy your best friend loves . . . when your best friend’s going to die?

Alison Chapman has always believed she’d fall in love hard. And she does—with Sam Cody, a new guy with a gorgeous face and brooding eyes, a guy who’s impossible to resist. When Sam asks her to the Valentine’s Day dance, Alison is elated . . . until she finds out that her best friend, Isabella Cates-Lopez, has fallen for Sam, too . . . until she finds out that Isabella is dying. Now Alison wants Isabella’s last days to be her happiest ever—even if she and Sam have to hide their love. Even if, by sharing Sam, Alison risks losing him forever.

My Review:

Sharing Sam is definitely different from the books that I usually read. When I first read the synopsis I thought 'what the heck? she shares the guy she likes with her best friend?' and almost put it back on the shelf. But something made me want to give this book a chance, that little nudging feeling that tells you 'don't be so hasty with this book'. 

Sharing Sam is a book about  the sacrifices you make for friendship and the lengths you'll go to for the people you love. This was a really cute book, not only was it pretty short (as opposed to the 400+ page books I normally read) at 155 pages but it was a light read to. Light in the writing sense, not the subject. 

Some parts of the book felt really rushed, like the author really didn't want to go into detail about everything that happened so she summed it up in a few sentences and moved on to another scene. I wish that this book could have been more detailed and lengthened, but Sharing Sam seems like it was intended to be simple and straight to the point. It may have been written for a younger audience but I think it's a book that anyone could enjoy. 

Sharing Sam makes you want to be the best friend you could possibly be. 

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Wordless Wednesday

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HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

"Every Day" - David Levithan

Synopsis:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

My Review:
I don't think I could begin to describe how much I loved this book. The very concept of a person inhabiting different people's bodies, a new body each day, intrigued me right from the start. Every Day is a wonderful work of human connection and perspective. Imagine waking up in a different body every day unaware of what skin color you have, what your gender is, what you look like, or what your name is for the day.
Every Day made me cry, seriously cry, at a particular part that hit really close to home. David Levithan captured some pretty deep emotions within this book so perfectly I felt like he knew me so personally, it was  so beautiful to read those words and know that someone understands.
A was such a relate-able character. I loved A, although A didn't have a gender I seemed to perceive him as a boy. I don't know why, but that's just the vibe that I got off of the character. A was very real, he had flaws and quirks and was in love with a girl.
Rhiannon and A's love story is different than any other love story I've read. This book makes you wonder and think about love from an entirely different perspective. Sure, we all say 'love is blind' all the time. Plenty of people do mean it when the say it, however, just how blind would you let love be?
I recently had a fall-out with a guy and was feeling kind of down in the dumps about love, relationships, and all that jazz. Of course I didn't think it was the end of the world, but Every Day helped me ask myself an important question. "What if I were to show up in a different body every day, would they still love me?" It was a thought provoking concept and I loved it. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good romance, a good read, out-of-the-box thinking, or a tear jerker. I seriously hope David will consider doing a sequel for this book, because I don't think my heart can handle this kind of wrenching.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Fabulous Finds Friday

Hey everyone!


Many people have yet to discover a well-kept secret of their local libraries. Over the years everything seems to have gone digital; music, movies, books, games, etc. a lot of people began to read ebooks. I've read only a couple of ebooks because I personally prefer real books. That's a topic for another day, and also seems to get people into an arguing frenzy over what makes a book a book.
However, ebooks do have their benefits. You can carry around twenty ebooks with you on a phone, ereader, laptop, ipod, or other technological device and it weighs hardly anything. Libraries have hopped on the bandwagon of ebook lending yet not very many people know about it.

(Yes this is real)

As a college student I love the library because I can read books I dearly want to read without having to blow all of my money away. So, this post is for those of you who like to read ebooks, are a poor college student, don't have time to visit the actual library, or are sick in bed at this very moment (much like I am today) and are browsing the Internet for something to do.
Upon searching the Internet for an international public library I stumbled upon Bookyards an online public library. Anyone can borrow books and read them online, which I think is a wonderful idea. The selection, however, isn't varied but if you're looking for a particular book check out your local library to see if they have ebooks for borrowing.

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Wordless Wednesday

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HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

Fabulous Finds Friday

Hey everyone!


So if you're like me and lose things all the time, buying new bookmarks to replace lost ones would be out of the question because it would end up adding up to a fortune in the long run. Book stores tend to have the cutest bookmarks from characters of book to movie adaptations to little inspirational quotes. Over the years I have bought and been given bookmarks from friends and family only to sadly misplace them or accidentally leave them in a book I borrowed from the library. This week I actually opened up a book I got from the library and there was one of those cool moving bookmarks in there where the picture moves when you turn it. It just so happened to be of my favorite animal; an elephant rubbing its bum against a tree. I think I moved the bookmark for almost half an hour just laughing.

What is the point of this post? You're wondering. Well, I'm here to tell you all hope is not lost. For those of you who lose your bookmarks all the time or are just really into DIY projects I wanted to share with you some really cool make-it-yourself bookmark ideas that you could gather inspiration from to make some for yourself and friends.

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A really simple yet super cute bookmark idea would be to cut strips of card stock and stamp them with cute little designs. Then you can just punch a hole at the top if you'd like and string a ribbon through there.
 

 

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You could also print out pictures of book spines on card stock or a thick paper and then punch a hole at the top and string a ribbon or string through.

 

 

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I think these are just too cute I might just make one myself. Check out the tutorial for how to make these adorable bookmarks here.

 

 

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This DIY bookmark would be super easy and fun to make. Just stop by your local home improvement or paint store and get some paint color cards. If you'd like you can punch designs in it like the hearts above and punch a hole at the top and string ribbon through it.

 

 

I hope you guys were inspired by some of these ideas and will make really cool bookmarks of your own. I personally like to draw bookmarks on cut strips of card stock and then laminate them using just plain old packing tape to protect the ink from bleeding. Comment below and let me know what your favorite bookmark you've ever had was and if you too have a problem with losing them.

 

 

 

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

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HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

 

"Eighth Grade Bites" - Book Review

 

Synopsis:

Junior high really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: his mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: he's being hunted by a vampire killer.

 

 

My Review:

 

My youngest sister had the entire Vladimir Chronicles series on her shelf just sitting there so I decided that I'd give the first book a shot. Eighth Grade Bites was a really cute book. I think it may have been intended for a younger audience since the writing at times seems very simple.

Vlad is a really like-able character, and since I'm always rooting for the underdog, he was no exception. Even though he's a middle schooler I didn't get bored while reading the book, in fact in kind of took me back to the days of eighth grade. It may leave you nostalgic.

Eighth Grade Bites is a really cute book, and if you're looking for a light read or a book for your vampire-loving kid, niece, cousin, next door neighbor then I'd really recommend this book. I think I want to sink my fangs into the next book in the series Ninth Grade Slays to see what happens to sweet little Vlad.

 

 

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)

 

In My Mailbox - Spring Break Finds

Hey everyone!

Once again it's time for an 'In My Mailbox'. In My Mailbox is a book blogging Internet meme started by Kristi over at The Story Siren. In My Mailbox is a meme where you talk about books you receive in your mailbox, giveaways, books you bought at stores, borrowed from the library and etc!

So last week was spring break and now it's time to go back to school (long sigh). As usual, I went back to the library to drop off books and thought to myself 'I'm not going to get any new books this time because I need to read the million books I have on my shelves.' But, alas, I did get books and the books on my shelves are just sitting there collecting dust and age. However, after this haul I'm hoping this will be the last library haul for a while so that I can read all of the books that I've been wanting to read for so long that are just sitting there on my bookshelf. So without further ado;

(In order from top to bottom)

 

Sharing Sam by Katherine Applegate
Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala

Every Day by David Levithan

 

The two top books were borrowed after I read the synopsis on the back of each cover and was interested. But Every Day is a book I've been wanting to read for a very long time, and I was so excited when I saw it on the NEW shelf at the library.

 

 

 

HAPPY READING EVERYONE! :)