Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.
It did not end well.
A young adult fantasy about angels and devils falling in love? Sounds a lot like your typical trashy, angsty romance novel, huh? Oh, but how wrong you’d be. This is definitely one of the best young adult fantasy novels I’ve ever read. It’s sophisticated – the writing is rich and the storytelling is masterful. This was my first Laini Taylor novel and I was not disappointed. Continue reading
If I have one winter reading recommendation – this is it. A quiet, enchanting, and deeply atmospheric story set in the cold, medieval Russian wilderness.
I know, I know, it’s not winter yet (thank goodness), but I do wish it was when I read this book. I would have loved to layer on wool socks and sweaters, and cozy up under the covers for a read like this. That’s the first thing I’ll say about this book: it’s chilly. Arden’s prose and imagery is so compelling that you can feel the cold while reading. Continue reading
The brain is locked in total darkness, of course, children, says the voice. It floats in a clear liquid inside the skull, never in the light. And yet the world it constructs in the mind is full of light. It brims with color and movement. So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?
Well, I’ll be damned. This book was perfect. Utter perfection. And I knew it was a going to be from the first 15 pages. Not that I was particularly surprised considering it won the Pulizter Prize for Fiction in 2015. Continue reading
There had never been a death so foretold.
So this was my first Gabo book and I’m stumped. I’m not quite sure what to make of this strange, haunting little book. I don’t often enjoy reading stories that you can find on Sparknotes. They’re just too… academic for me? Does that sound bad? I’m not a fan of literary ambiguity…
It was intriguing and thought-provoking, but not what I’d call an enjoyable read. It’s only 120 pages long, but took me almost two weeks to finish… Continue reading
I have no words that will adequately describe how this book made me feel – is still making me feel. It’s the third book to ever make me cry (during my early morning commute on a busy Toronto subway no less). This book was… this book was… was… see? I’m at a loss for words. Continue reading
Listen up folks! Grab some snacks and refreshments, pull up a chair, and get comfy because I’m about to gush.
This story was intricate, clever, engrossing, and beautifully written. I’m sitting here at my keyboard having an extremely hard time coming up with the right words to do this book justice. I’m hesitant to even label this books as “young adult” fantasy because it’s so much more than that. I adored this book. Continue reading
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Published by: Scholastic Press
Publish Date: September 18th 2012
Paperback, 408 pages
My Rating: ★★★★✩
There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve, Blue. Either you’re his true love…or you killed him.
Every year, in late April, Blue Sargent accompanies her clairvoyant mother, Maura, to a churchyard where they watch the soon-to-be-dead walk past. Usually it’s just her mother that sees the spirits of people who will die within the next twelve months, but this year, Blue herself sees a spirit of a boy. Continue reading
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publish Date: May 7, 2013
Paperback, 404 pages
My rating: ★★★✩✩
Oh dear, oh dear. This book was painfully mediocre. After reading Maas’ other series, A Court of Thorn and Roses, and hearing all the hype from booktubers, fellow bloggers and friends, I thought this book would be… more. I’m sorry Ms. Maas, but this story fell woefully short of my expectations. Continue reading
Genre: Contemporary, Humor, Chick-Lit
Published by: Harper Collins
Publish Date: May 21, 2013
Paperback, 329 pages
My Rating: ★★★★✩
‘But I’m not good at understanding what other people want.’
‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ said Rosie for no obvious reason.
I quickly searched my mind for an interesting fact.
‘Ahhh…The testicles of drone bees and wasp spiders explode during sex.’
HAHA. This book was so charming. I laughed out loud on so many occasions.
I know, I know. I totally missed the bandwagon on this one. The book was originally published back in 2013 but I recently picked it up at the thrift store, read the back and was like, “why not?” I’m actually surprised how much I enjoyed this light-hearted story.
Our protagonist, Don Tillman, is a quirky genetics professor with a brilliant scientific mind, but is often confounded by social situations. Aged 39, Don embarks upon The Wife Project: a sixteen-page questionnaire to find the perfect non-smoking, punctual, mathematically competent partner. But then he meets Rosie, an always-late, smoking, potty-mouthed bartender in search of her biological father. Soon enough, Don discovers you don’t find love: love finds you.
‘Asperger’s isn’t a fault. It’s a variant. It’s potentially a major advantage.’
In reality, Don would probably be diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum, but I do appreciate Simsion’s decision to deliberately omit any mention of a diagnosis for Don’s atypical behaviour. Instead, Simsion portrays Don as a very capable, intelligent individual, who simply has challenges understanding and communicating with other people (and this makes for some very LOL-worthy situations).
The point of view and the writing style in this book was so key. I found Don’s narration to be very intriguing (and comical, of course). I do not have much experience with Asperger’s Syndrome, but I thought Don’s perspective was both insightful and refreshing. The book does make you think a little about what it’s like to be a fish out of water, without getting excessively sentimental.
I always enjoy a romantic comedy, but I thought the ending of this one was too unrealistic (no surprise there), especially considering what we learn about Rosie’s personality and attitude towards men in general.
Despite its cheesiness and highly predictable plot line, The Rosie Project was an incredibly charming and heart-warming read that sparked the perfect amount of “feels”.
Until next time, nerds 🙂
Rebecca xx
P.S. Has anyone read the sequel, The Rosie Effect? Was it any good? I’m always so hesitant to read sequels of popular contemporary books… It only got a 3.54 on Goodreads (compared to 4.01)…
Genre: Magical Realism, Young Adult, Fiction, Romance
Published by: Candlewick Press
Publish Date: January 1, 2014
Paperback, 301 pages
My Rating:★★★★★
To many, I was myth incarnate, the embodiment of a most superb legend, a fairy tale. Some considered me a monster, a mutation. To my great misfortune, I was once mistaken for an angel. To my mother, I was everything. To my father, nothing at all. To my grandmother, I was a daily reminder of loves long lost. But I knew the truth — deep down, I always did.
I was just a girl.
Oh. My. Goodness. This book.
Me immediately after I finished reading it:
This book wasn’t at all what I was expecting. It was infinitely better. The story, the characters, and the writing are magical.
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, as the title suggests, is a strange and beautiful book that follows generations of a family who repeatedly fall for foolish love. The story begins with a retelling of the protagonist’s past and family tree. Ava Lavender first tells us the story of her great grandmother, Maman, followed by her grandmother’s, her mother’s and finally her own story. The synopsis on the back of the book is a tad misleading: we don’t actually begin reading about Ava’s personal experiences until halfway through the novel. Many readers were upset about this, but I found reading about beautiful tragedy after tragedy was intriguing and helped establish the mood/atmosphere for Ava’s own story.
The following is the story of my young life as I remember it. It is the truth as I know it. Of the stories and the myths that surrounded my family and my life – some of them thoughtfully scattered by you perhaps – let it be said that, in the end, I found all of them to be strangely, even beautifully true.
Our protagonist, Ava Lavender, is in all ways a normal girl, except for one hitch – she was born with the wings of a bird. As Ava recounts her childhood and adolescence, she desperately tries to live the life of a normal teenager. Henry, Ava’s quiet and strange twin brother, begins to give ominous and cryptic warnings soon after the pious Nathaniel Sorrows moves into town. As a reader, we know another tragedy is just around the corner (or page, I should say). The saying, “it runs in the family” is all too true in this book.
For such a short novel, only 300 pages or so, you would think that the world building and character development might be lacking. Quite the contrary. With Walton’s writing, less is always more. She uses a simplistic writing style to both construct the fictional neighbourhood and a large cast of unique, realistic and flawed characters. I loved each and every one of them (ok maybe not Nathaniel Sorrows).
Finally, let’s talk about that book cover. How beautiful? I think it is an extremely fitting cover for the story within.
In the end, this book is…
A refreshing, charming, and horrifyingly beautiful story about a girl with wings who just wanted to be a girl. It left me heartbroken, yet smiling. My emotions were totally screwed up for weeks afterward.
This book deserves nothing less than 5 stars and an honourary spot on my favourites shelf.
Until next time nerds,
Rebecca xx
Becky and Books 