Showing posts with label Teen/YA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teen/YA. Show all posts
I am so late to the party on reading these books I'm sure the party has literally been cleaned up and almost forgotten about - especially in the fast paced world of Book Bloggers and Influencers. But one of the best things about being a part of the book community online is that there is always someone who is willing to join the conversation about a newly discovered book and indulge in a little bookish chat!
It was only in July 2016 that I fell head over heels in love with the YA genre of books and since then it's been a consistent love of my fictional reading pursuit. I was introduced to the Dystopian world through reading The Selection Series by Kiera Cass which whilst some may roll their eyes at, I actually enjoyed and will always have a soft spot for - for without those books I wouldn't be reading so much YA fiction now. Starting with a soft Dystopian novel really helped me in making the transition to the more Fantasy based genre that Sarah J Maas writes.
The Sarah J Maas obsession and fandom has long been popular amongst the "serious" book bloggers & influencers for some time yet I failed to "get it"...like at all! I say that behind my hands now because having read A Court of Thorns and Roses (referred to as ACOTAR) I totally get it!!! Whilst I've now read the first 2 books in the series and am onto the third, this review is for the first book - ACOTAR so let's refocus.
This book was a bit of a jump for my imagination into the fantasy genre but once I got started I couldn't put it down and picked up my kindle at every available chance I had - and I mean even whilst waiting for the kettle to boil or whilst filling the bathtub to immerse myself into both bath and book!
The main characters in this book (and we do meet a fair few so be aware of that if you're used to reading about 1-2 central characters) are Feyre (Mortal), her sisters and father (mortal), Tamlin (High-Fae Lord of the Spring Court, Lucien (Tamlin's friend), Rhysland (Interesting character - High Fae-Lord of the Night Court, Sexual Slave to Amarantha who is an evil evil ... so and so! and one to watch!).
You'll see that I mentioned a series of "courts" and I should mention that I love how the author has sectioned off the United Kingdom and turned Cornwall and Devon areas into the Mortal Lands, and then the rest of the country is split into various courts such as; Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Day, Night, Dawn, etc. Each Court has a High Fae Lord and there has been some discord amongst them.
We see Feyre begin with hunting in the Mortal Lands where she lives and about to make a killing that will send her on a journey she could never have imagined for herself. This one shot means that everything as she knows it will change and it could take some getting used to. We see a romance blossom between Tamlin and Feyre once she adjusts and at points throughout I could see a similarity to the Disney Classic; Beauty and the Beast but in a mashup retelling...sort of... sort of not. I think that's what sold me really as at the time of reading I was heavy into Disney retellings. This romance isn't all that it seems and the twists and turns continue into book 2 and beyond.
The scenes in this book are categorically some of the best written descriptions and in depth character development plots I've ever read, and for that alone it has to be said that Sarah J Maas has got a talent that must be appreciated for its expertise. The graphic nature of these scenes aren't for the faint hearted and all I'd say is don't eat food whilst reading those scenes - not unless you want to see it again that is. This is not a bad thing but rather a compliment to the way in which Sarah develops the plot and characters and brings to life words from a page into the imaginations of the reader.
During the last chapters of ACOTAR I admit that I did cry - I didn't think I would cry during violent scenes of a high fantasy novel set in faeland but alas I did due to the sheer beauty and delicate nature of the intricately woven emotions of the characters.
If you've been wanting to try a YA Fantasy and this one seems to keep popping up and has left you wondering if you should - I would hand on heart say "GO FOR IT". I'm hooked now and book two couldn't arrive quickly enough so upon completing this book I immediately downloaded the next installment. That's a perk to waiting until the hype has hyped down over a big series like this, there's no waiting around a year for the next installment - it's instantly at your finger tips.
I have to award A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas 5/5 stars because it was unputdownable, thrilling, and the work of a pure literary genius.
To buy your copy please use this link and full disclosure; it is an affiliate link so I earn a tiny amount of money if you purchase through me.
**Have you read A Court of Thorns and Roses? What are your thoughts? Have you reviewed it? Leave a comment and/or link below so we can open up a discussion about this book. I'd love to know what your thoughts are on this book**
Speak soon lovely,
Dawn-Tracy
xxx
Hello Lovely,
I've started to get back into my reading now that University has finished for the year (Yay!). I feel that I haven't been able to fully immerse myself into reading for quite some time but that renewed sense of passion and enjoyment has returned, gladly.
Today I want to share a book with you that I had on my kindle sitting patiently for some time and I managed to read it only through it being required reading for my final university assignment. I believe this book to be one of a kind and one that truly touched me deeply with the topic it centred around. If you've not yet read it then I urge you to do so at the earliest possible time. It will warm your heart and break it utterly and completely.
One is written by Sarah Crossan, published by Bloomsbury Children's, has 192 pages. I read the ebook version that I purchased myself and which you can purchase here
This book won a lot of awards which is why it was a required reading for my children's literature university course. Shall we see what the blurb says?
WINNER OF THE YA BOOK PRIZE 2016
WINNER OF THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2016
WINNER OF THE CBI BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2016
WINNER OF THE CLIPPA POETRY AWARD 2016
Grace and Tippi don't like being stared and sneered at, but they're used to it. They're conjoined twins - united in blood and bone.
What they want is to be looked at in turn, like they truly are two people. They want real friends. And what about love?
But a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead for Tippi and Grace. One that could change their lives more than they ever asked for...
This moving and beautifully crafted novel about identity, sisterhood and love ultimately asks one question: what does it mean to want and have a soulmate?
The ONE book you have to read this summer! Incredibly moving and extraordinarily crafted, it explores the unbreakable bond and love between sisters. Winner of The CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2016.
You can see from the blurb that this book sounds brilliant can't you? I have to say that I found this book to be an incredibly easy read and that was for 2 reason's; (1) It was a beautifully gripping storyline that just hooked you in and made you want to keep turning pages and (2) because of the format in which it was set out in. The layout of the text in this book looked a like the way in which one sees poetry written and published.
What I loved about this book was that you could very easily tell that Sarah has researched the storyline with incredible detail, compassion and a level of authentic understanding. As this book is the story of conjoined twins; Tippi and Grace the story is narrated by only one twin. We learn the 'normality' of their life and the fact that they are very much aware of 'those questions' so many want to ask about their daily lives that they dare not to. Questions such as; "Is it hard to shower and see each other naked?" "What's it like when you go to the toilet?" "Will you be able to have children of your own?", "Do you wish that you were normal?". All very valid, and private questions. However what this book does spectacularly well is bring to light the true question; What is "normal"?
But the reality of their life is that during their childhood, as the children growing up today, we live in a very social media focused world. We see it every day with events happening all around the world, in seconds, an event, an accident, or for teenagers today, an embarrassing moment in their life can be streamed live across the world at the touch of a button. Tippi and Grace live in this world which is hard enough for any teenager, but for conjoined twins who are prone to being looked at and treated like a circus act it is understandably difficult.
Tippi and Grace are my sheroes this year. They embrace all of life's 'challenges' and they swat them away without a second thought. However, as we see in this book, being so 'medically challenged' as some would say leaves them open to all sorts of medical challenges. Challenges that not even the medical staff at the top of their game know the answers to. And I for one can completely understand just how terrifying that thought is.
We see that Tippi and Grace are just normal girls, growing up, learning how to navigate their way in life and the trials of being a teenager. Subjects that we take for granted; falling in love, dating, learning to drive, recovering after an illness, and such.
Without spoiling the story, I have to say that the ending utterly broke me. I lay in bed eager to finish this book before falling asleep and I sobbed my heart out. I sobbed because of the true brilliance of Sarah's talent for writing, I sobbed for Tippi, and I sobbed for Grace. But just like in recent weeks here in the UK, at times when things are really horrific and heartbreaking in the most painful of ways, we see figures of the public pull together and show true compassion and humanity. If anything, this book truly shows that no matter just how ripped apart we can be and how life can throw the most cruelest of curveballs of loss, pain, and difficult decisions, it can also bring with it unconditional love, understanding, togetherness and unity.
Truly this book shows that no matter what. We are all ONE. Which is why I easily award this book 5/5 stars.
I would like to dedicate this review to all the victims that have suffered here in the UK in the past few weeks; the victims of the Westminster Attack, the beautiful people who are victims of the Manchester Attack, and the victims of the awful tragedy of Grenfell Tower Fire. Each and every ONE of you are in my heart, faces and names that I promise I will never forget. My love, my thoughts, and my prayers are forever with each and every one of you.
We are all ONE.
I've started to get back into my reading now that University has finished for the year (Yay!). I feel that I haven't been able to fully immerse myself into reading for quite some time but that renewed sense of passion and enjoyment has returned, gladly.
Today I want to share a book with you that I had on my kindle sitting patiently for some time and I managed to read it only through it being required reading for my final university assignment. I believe this book to be one of a kind and one that truly touched me deeply with the topic it centred around. If you've not yet read it then I urge you to do so at the earliest possible time. It will warm your heart and break it utterly and completely.
One is written by Sarah Crossan, published by Bloomsbury Children's, has 192 pages. I read the ebook version that I purchased myself and which you can purchase here
This book won a lot of awards which is why it was a required reading for my children's literature university course. Shall we see what the blurb says?
WINNER OF THE YA BOOK PRIZE 2016
WINNER OF THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2016
WINNER OF THE CBI BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2016
WINNER OF THE CLIPPA POETRY AWARD 2016
Grace and Tippi don't like being stared and sneered at, but they're used to it. They're conjoined twins - united in blood and bone.
What they want is to be looked at in turn, like they truly are two people. They want real friends. And what about love?
But a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead for Tippi and Grace. One that could change their lives more than they ever asked for...
This moving and beautifully crafted novel about identity, sisterhood and love ultimately asks one question: what does it mean to want and have a soulmate?
The ONE book you have to read this summer! Incredibly moving and extraordinarily crafted, it explores the unbreakable bond and love between sisters. Winner of The CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2016.
You can see from the blurb that this book sounds brilliant can't you? I have to say that I found this book to be an incredibly easy read and that was for 2 reason's; (1) It was a beautifully gripping storyline that just hooked you in and made you want to keep turning pages and (2) because of the format in which it was set out in. The layout of the text in this book looked a like the way in which one sees poetry written and published.
What I loved about this book was that you could very easily tell that Sarah has researched the storyline with incredible detail, compassion and a level of authentic understanding. As this book is the story of conjoined twins; Tippi and Grace the story is narrated by only one twin. We learn the 'normality' of their life and the fact that they are very much aware of 'those questions' so many want to ask about their daily lives that they dare not to. Questions such as; "Is it hard to shower and see each other naked?" "What's it like when you go to the toilet?" "Will you be able to have children of your own?", "Do you wish that you were normal?". All very valid, and private questions. However what this book does spectacularly well is bring to light the true question; What is "normal"?
But the reality of their life is that during their childhood, as the children growing up today, we live in a very social media focused world. We see it every day with events happening all around the world, in seconds, an event, an accident, or for teenagers today, an embarrassing moment in their life can be streamed live across the world at the touch of a button. Tippi and Grace live in this world which is hard enough for any teenager, but for conjoined twins who are prone to being looked at and treated like a circus act it is understandably difficult.
Tippi and Grace are my sheroes this year. They embrace all of life's 'challenges' and they swat them away without a second thought. However, as we see in this book, being so 'medically challenged' as some would say leaves them open to all sorts of medical challenges. Challenges that not even the medical staff at the top of their game know the answers to. And I for one can completely understand just how terrifying that thought is.
We see that Tippi and Grace are just normal girls, growing up, learning how to navigate their way in life and the trials of being a teenager. Subjects that we take for granted; falling in love, dating, learning to drive, recovering after an illness, and such.
Without spoiling the story, I have to say that the ending utterly broke me. I lay in bed eager to finish this book before falling asleep and I sobbed my heart out. I sobbed because of the true brilliance of Sarah's talent for writing, I sobbed for Tippi, and I sobbed for Grace. But just like in recent weeks here in the UK, at times when things are really horrific and heartbreaking in the most painful of ways, we see figures of the public pull together and show true compassion and humanity. If anything, this book truly shows that no matter just how ripped apart we can be and how life can throw the most cruelest of curveballs of loss, pain, and difficult decisions, it can also bring with it unconditional love, understanding, togetherness and unity.
Truly this book shows that no matter what. We are all ONE. Which is why I easily award this book 5/5 stars.
I would like to dedicate this review to all the victims that have suffered here in the UK in the past few weeks; the victims of the Westminster Attack, the beautiful people who are victims of the Manchester Attack, and the victims of the awful tragedy of Grenfell Tower Fire. Each and every ONE of you are in my heart, faces and names that I promise I will never forget. My love, my thoughts, and my prayers are forever with each and every one of you.
We are all ONE.
Author | Danielle Paige
Publisher | Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Purchase | Amazon
Source | Purchased
My Rating | 5/5
Book Summary
Enter a world of elemental magic, forbidden romance, and betrayal in this prequel to New York Times bestselling author Danielle Paige's upcoming Stealing Snow.
Young Nepenthe is half-princess, half-mermaid. Though she longs for the sea, her father wants her to stay on land. But only love can make a mermaid give up the water, and Nepenthe doesn't love anyone the way her mother loves her human father. She wants to live as a mermaid and become the River Witch, like her mother.
Then Nepenthe meets Prince Lazar, the son of the all-powerful Snow King of Algid, and she can't help but fall for him. After a horrible tragedy strikes, Nepenthe joins forces with a young fire witch named Ora to save Lazar and protect the kingdom. But it soon becomes clear that Ora loves Lazar just as much as Nepenthe does... And now Nepenthe must decide: inherit the power of the River Witch, or betray her friend to be with the boy she loves.
And Nepenthe's role in the prophecy is only just beginning. . . In the future, she is destined to cross paths with a girl named Snow, who will have the power to change Algid forever-for better, or for worse.
Before The Snow is a short novella as a prequel to Stealing Snow which came out a little after. I really enjoy reading novella prequels as they give you a valuable insight into the main story. You discover characters motivations for the way in which their personality comes across, and you literally get the back-story to the entire story.
In Before The Snow we meet Prince Lazar, Nepenthe, Margot, and Ora. They are the main characters who actually follow on into the next Novella (review coming soon!). Nepenthe is just the sweetest River Witch I've ever read about. She has this warm heart from the time when she was human, but she has the most captivating magic which has been developed overtime as she's lived in the Hollow.
Margot and Nepenthe are just like sisters yet there is no such thing as family really, as Margot learns and soon it's each to their own - and everyone is out for themselves.But in dire circumstances as according to the prophecy, there has to be a collaboration.
I was gripped as I flicked through every single page, hungrily wanting more. By the end of the novella I was kind of rooting for a couple of the characters, and really annoyed with one of them - but do we really know all there is to know about them? Perhaps not.
Overall, this was a really interesting and well written introduction to what is to come! I can't wait to read Stealing Snow now, which is lucky - because the wonderful publishers gave me an ARC copy last year - so I'll be devouring that soon enough. It was a wonderful insight into fantasy novels and for the YA/Children's genre I can see why it's such a huge hit. If you're a fan of the Dorothy Must Die series (as I am), or the Lunar Chronicles then you will definitely enjoy this.
Title | The One Memory of Flora Banks
Author | Emily Barr
Publisher | Penguin Random House Children's
Genre | Teen / YA
Source | Review Copy
Pages | 320 Pages
Purchase | Amazon
My Rating | 5/5
You always remember your first kiss.
Flora remembers nothing else...
"I look at my hands. One of them says 'Flora, be brave'. I am Flora."
Flora has anterograde amnesia. She can't remember anything day-to-day: the joke her friend made, the instructions her parents gave her, how old she is.
Then she kisses someone she shouldn't have kissed - and the next day she remembers it. The first time she's remembered anything since she was ten.
But the boy is gone.
Desperate to hold onto the memory, she sets off to the Arctic to find him.
Why can she remember Drake? Could he be the key to everything else she's forgotten?
Flora has anterograde amnesia. She can't remember anything day-to-day: the joke her friend made, the instructions her parents gave her, how old she is.
Then she kisses someone she shouldn't have kissed - and the next day she remembers it. The first time she's remembered anything since she was ten.
But the boy is gone.
Desperate to hold onto the memory, she sets off to the Arctic to find him.
Why can she remember Drake? Could he be the key to everything else she's forgotten?
This book without a doubt is definitely the one to watch for 2017, it will undoubtedly be BIG in the world of YA. I wouldn't be surprised if Zoella picked it up and added it to her book club collection.
I can't remember the last time that I cried at the ending of a book so hard. The One Memory of Flora Banks touches issues of illness, survival, heartache, the quest of true love all wrapped up with one girl with memory loss.
Flora Banks is seventeen years old and she has memory loss. She has been told by her parents that she had a tumor when she was ten years old and has memory loss due to the operation that took part of her brain away. She fails to remember anything beyond a couple of hours. So when her memory resets itself multiple times a day she has only the words to explain who she is and what she must do.
Flora is the girl who writes on her hand - "Flora - Be Brave". She takes medicine every day. She has anterograde amnesia. She has failed to remember anything since she was ten years old. She has all her memories from before the operation, but nothing since.
Until she kissed Drake. On the beach. She remembers that.
Until she kissed Drake. On the beach. She remembers that.
But he has gone to the Arctic - a place he has longed to live. But Flora must stay here - in Penzance. Her parents have gone to France to be with Jacob; her brother and Flora is staying at home with Paige. But Drake was Paige's boyfriend and she knows about the kiss, so they are not friends anymore.
Flora, despite her memory loss and the restrictions everyone has placed on her decides to go to the Arctic to find Drake. And so begins Flora Banks' adventure.
Each page was compelling, and although repetitive through the voice of Flora's narration, you really find yourself immersed deeply into the mind of Flora in a way I haven't seen an author do before. As I turned each page I did with an earnest to travel further with Flora and discover what becomes of her.
Flora, despite her memory loss and the restrictions everyone has placed on her decides to go to the Arctic to find Drake. And so begins Flora Banks' adventure.
Each page was compelling, and although repetitive through the voice of Flora's narration, you really find yourself immersed deeply into the mind of Flora in a way I haven't seen an author do before. As I turned each page I did with an earnest to travel further with Flora and discover what becomes of her.
What I wasn't quite expecting was the ending which had me reaching for tissues and sobbing my heart out. I adore Flora Banks, and I think she is a superb role model to showcase that you really can do anything you put your mind to.
If one thing is for sure is that as a reader, you fall undeniably in love with Flora's story. You will not only cheer her on and want the very best for her but you will feel a fierce protective nature towards her. Just reminiscing now as I write this has had a flurry of tears run from my eyes as this book has etched its name and the memory of it upon my heart.
Well done and congratulations Emily Barr on your young adult novel. It is simply outstanding.
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