The Priory of the Orange Tree Review

The Priory of the Orange Tree

Author: Samantha Shannon

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Synopsis:

In a world where travel between East and West is forbidden and punishable by death, the dragons stir from their thousand-year-old slumber, endangering all of humanity should they wake. The only hope lies with the line of Berethnet queens, who much each conceive a daughter to carry on the line. However, Queen Sabran has not done so yet, and the entire kingdom of Inys is growing anxious. Meanwhile, Ead Duryan, a lady-in-waiting loyal to the Priory of the Orange Tree protects Sabran with her forbidden magic. 

In the East, Tané trains to become a dragonrider, a dream that she has held since childhood. However, a decision made within a few minutes may change the course of her life and the others around it. She must make a choice as to what to do, and soon.

My Thoughts:

First of all, this book seems like a mix between Eragon, Seraphina, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Throne of Glass. Those are some of my favorite books/series, so I had high expectations for The Priory of the Orange Tree. However, it didn't exactly live up to my expectations. It wasn't as good as the other series that it seemed to resemble, but I did still enjoy it.

In the beginning, it was a little slow before the action began, but after that, I didn't think that it was boring or slow at all. It was also a little confusing at the very beginning of the story, because there were so many different names and histories and religions and places but it did get a little bit better after a while (although by the end of the book I was still a little bit confused about some things). 

I enjoyed the worldbuilding (although, as I said above, it was a little bit confusing) and I especially liked how there were so many different cultures and religions in the story, which made it more exciting and interesting. The cultures and religions were really well developed so I liked that as well. I also liked the different personalities of the characters, and how there were a number of gay relationships and it was just a casual thing instead of a big deal.

One of the things I didn't like was that there seemed to be several "main conflicts" within the book and a lot of them seemed built up to be this big climax and a big deal and then it was resolved really easily and I just kind of felt like I had been let down by the conflicts being resolved much too simply.

Overall though, I did really enjoy this book. I think that it's a great read for teens, but it is long (over 800 pages) so you should only pick it up if you enjoy reading longer books. I don't know if I would reread it, but I certainly liked the time I spent reading it.

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

Why You Should Not Read Shatter Me

Warning: this review will contain spoilers. 
This book is quite possibly the worst I've ever read (and I generally like most books that I read). I picked up Shatter Me because I had read mixed reviews and wanted to see what it was like myself. And it absolutely sucked. 
I put tabs in the book, color-coded, to mark where I wanted to come back to for this review. And almost every single page is marked. So let's start from the very beginning:
First, the weird strikeouts. It was very hard to read and understand what was being said. For example (and I couldn't get the strikeouts to work, so I'm putting the words that are in strikethrough in parentheses): '"You're getting a (cellmate) roommate,” they said to me. “(We hope you rot to death in this place) For good behavior,” they said to me. “(Another psycho just like you) No more isolation,” they said to me.' (And can we all agree that "they said to me" was used WAY too much here?) I'm pretty sure that the strikeouts were used to show what Juliette was really thinking, but it never said this explicitly in the book, and the strikeouts just kind of went away as the book went on, which was a bit odd.
Next, the author seems to have periods of little to normal description of the setting, and then she does something like this: 'I always wonder about raindrops. I wonder about how they're always falling down, tripping over their own feet, breaking their legs and forgetting their parachutes as they tumble right out of the sky toward an uncertain end. It's like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn't seem to care where the contents fall, doesn't seem to care that the raindrops burst when the hit the ground, that they shatter when they fall to the floor, that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors.' WHAT IS THIS. This isn't a book of poetry, it's a YA novel that has a plot (well, in theory) and characters. And there are only a few places where the author does things like this, which makes it even weirder.
Then, there's literally an entire page that just says 'I am not insane' in strikeout, and when I saw this I literally almost threw the book across the room because WHY WHY WHY???
The society that they live in seemed really intriguing, and I feel like a lot was said about it in the first few chapters and then nothing, which kind of frustrated me.
My second biggest problem with this book was the love interest and then freaking love triangle. I HATE love triangles. And the two boys in the love triangle weren't even likable characters. Adam seemed to be there just as a plot device and to give Juliette something to fight for because he's just the perfect man that will do anything for Juliette and is so hot and amazing and everyone loves him!! (Yeah, right). Not to mention that he's conveniently the only one who can't touch Juliette! WHAT A COINCIDENCE!!! (Oh, and Warner can touch her too, again, HOW CONVENIENT). And don't even get me started on Warner. Everyone who likes the book seems to love him, and since I haven't read the rest of the series and have no plan to, I could be missing out on some huge character development in later books, but from the way he behaved in the first book, I just don't see why anyone could like him. He's self-centered, power-hungry and egotistical. Like when he gave Juliette that test with the child and her two options were to let the child be skewered on spikes or die from Juliette's touch, and Warner just says, "Absolutely amazing." And Juliette even says, 'Possessive is not a strong enough word for Warner.' And THEN Warner says THIS: "Admit it, we're perfect for each other. You want to power. You love the feel of a weapon in your hand. You're... attracted to me. Don't lie to yourself, Juliette. You're going to come back with me whether you like it or not. But you can choose to want it. You can choose to enjoy it." And then a few paragraphs later, "But I love you." And a few paragraphs after that, "God I'd love to just take a bite out of you." This does not sound like Warner loves Juliette, it sounds like he has an obsession with her and just wants to control her. In no way would this be a healthy relationship and just reading that made me feel disgusted.
That whole part where Juliette is told she has special powers and blah blah blah just felt SO overused. How many times have I read this before in a YA dystopian book? And that brings me to my biggest problem with Shatter Me: it was just so predictable: she's going to fall in love with Adam, they're going to escape, then they're going to find the rebels and Juliette will be used to fight against the Reestablishment but she'll fall in love with Warner and then they'll topple the Reestablishment together. I have no interest in reading the rest of the series, and even if I did I'm pretty sure I know what's going to happen anyway.
All in all, this book was absolutely terrible and I recommend it to no one, unless, of course, you're looking to torture yourself.

Jane Eyre Review

Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Brontë

Publisher: Smith, Elder, & Co.

Synopsis:

    Orphaned Jane Eyre is sent to Lowood School for girls, and then accepts a governess position at a mansion called Thornfield. She finds herself falling in love with the master of the house, Mr. Rochester, but unbeknownst to her, Mr. Rochester has a secret that could end their relationship.

My thoughts:

    I enjoyed this book a lot, and since it was one of the first classics I've read and understood, it made me want to read more. It had a strong female main character even though it was written in the 1800s, and the phrasing wasn't as formal as some classics are, which makes it harder for me to read and understand them. I found myself on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happened next, even though the sentence "Reader, I married him" is one of the more famous excerpts from Jane Eyre. Another thing I like about classics is that modern authors have written lots of spinoffs and it's fun to see the twist of the original story and how the two stories compare (for example, I read My Plain Jane in July and loved it!).

    One thing I didn't like about this book was the romance. Mr. Rochester is twice the age of Jane, not to mention that he has anger issues, and honestly I really don't understand what Jane ever saw in him. However, this is kind of expected since the book was written in the 1800s when a relationship like this would have been common, so I let it slide a bit.

    I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classics, although if you do there's a high chance that you've already read it!

    My rating: 4 out of 5 stars  

The Summer of Jordi Perez Review

The Summer of Jordi Perez
Author: Amy Spalding
Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Synopsis:

    Abby doesn't think she'll ever be able to get a girlfriend -- no one in their right mind would ask her out. But she's okay with that for now: she's got a blog called +style about plus size fashion, and is starting an internship at her favorite local clothing store, Lemonberry. Then she meets Jordi Perez, the other intern at Lemonberry and falls for her -- hard. This and the fact that she and a new friend are trying to find the best burgers in Los Angeles makes Abby feel like she's no longer the supporting character in her own story.

    But when Jordi's photography thrusts Abby suddenly in the spotlight, Abby feels that the spotlight is too much. Will she be able to make amends?

My thoughts:

    First off: more positive LGBTQIA+ representation! Yes!! But also, this book was incredibly well-written, and the romance wasn't at all forced or unrealistic like some books. I felt like I really got to know the characters, and that I would be able to have a casual conversation or even become friends with some of them. Also, everything was really well described, and even though I'd never been to Los Angeles, I felt like I had a clear picture of what it looks like in my head. 

    I'd recommend this book to middle grade readers and above, even though this book is YA.

    My rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda Review

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Author: Becky Albertalli

Publisher: By-the-Book Pub.

Summary:

    As Simon himself would say, he has a pretty great life. He's just like everyone else, too, except for one big thing: he's gay. And no one knows it except Blue, the boy that he's been emailing since August. But that's about to change. When someone reads Simon's emails and threatens to leak them to the whole school if Simon doesn't do them a favor, Simon faces the possibility of being outed to his entire school, and jeopardizing his relationship with Blue, who is a very private person. Not to mention the fact that things within his friend group are becoming more strained. In addition to navigating normal high school life, Simon has to find a way to dig himself out of the hole that he was pushed into.

My thoughts:

    I started reading this book because I was going to see the movie (which is also really good and follows the storyline of the book very well) and wanted to read the book first, and I was not disappointed. It was so good! I enjoyed reading about all of the characters, and I was very intrigued by the plot, although I'm very glad that the story is fiction because that seems like an awful thing to happen to anyone. And although Simon doesn't have to deal with homophobia like if the book was set twenty years before now, there still seems to be a stigma around gay people -- not fear, more of like a well, they're different and that's weird thing going on, which shouldn't be the case, but I think that most people that end up thinking like this do so unconsciously.
    Overall, I really liked this book and was excited to find out that there was a sequel (which I will also be reviewing).
    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Queer, There, and Everywhere Review

Queer, There, and Everywhere

Author: Sarah Prader

Publisher: HarperCollins

Synopsis:

    This book is a nonfiction book about 23 famous people throughout history who either identified as or might have identified (because there were no words to describe what they were yet) as LGBTQIA+. These include people such as Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay politician to be elected to the government, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who probably was not straight. 

My thoughts:

    Because June is Pride Month, I decided to review a book about LGBTQIA+ people throughout history. Some of them I hadn't heard of, but others (such as Eleanor Roosevelt) I was surprised to see in the book. I think the reason that people don't often know that some famous people they thought were straight and/or cisgender were not was because you learn about these people in school but they go ahead and let you assume that they were/are straight and/or cisgender.
    I think this book was very educational and everyone should read it!
    Rating: 5/5 stars!

Satellite Review

Satellite

Author: Nick Lake

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

   Leo and his two friends, Orion and Libra, were born and raised on a space station. Once they turn sixteen, they are allowed to go back to Earth. But life on Earth is not what they have been imagining, and readers will begin to wonder if it would have been better for these three to stay in space.

My thoughts:

    First of all, sorry for the abnormally short synopsis. I feel like that's really all I can provide without giving away spoilers! Anyway, this book was okay. I'd read it again, but I feel like it could have been a lot better. For example, I thought that the book would actually be about space, instead of about this kid who spends most of his time moping about being on Earth instead of space. The plotline was also a bit confusing to follow, and there were some things that seemed really important early on and then everyone completely forgot about them without resolving the issue (Santiago, anyone?).

    However, I did wonder if the way that Leo, Orion, and Libra's bodies react to being on Earth for the first time is what would actually happen if you were born and raised in space and if so, how the author was able to figure this out. 

    Overall, this book was pretty average. I'd recommend it to teens, although as always, younger or older people could read it too.

    My rating: 3/5 stars.

    P.S. I've decided that I'm going to post once a week instead of never, because as anyone who runs a blog knows, it is pretty hard to consistently find new and interesting topics to post about.

Sophia's War Review

Sophia's War

Author: Avi

Publisher: Beach Lane Books

Synopsis:

    It is 1776, and Sophia Calderwood and her parents are returning to New York City after the British have occupied it and burned half of it to the ground. Sophia hopes to get news of her brother William, who is serving in the Continental Army. Before she can, however, a British officer by the name of John André is ordered to move into their home. Sophia, although only twelve, develops an infatuation with André. 

    Around this same time, Sophia discovers that her brother has been captured by the British and is being held on the Good Intent, a ship where many American soldiers that have been captured by the British are being kept. Conditions are not good. Smallpox runs rampant, thousands die, there are little blankets, food, and water. Sophia vows to avenge the men in those ships. 

    Four years later, in 1780, she gets the chance. A man by the name of Robert Townsend comes to her and asks Sophia if she'll work for him as an American spy. She'll be a servant in the house of a British general and collect information that will help the Americans win the war. Sophia agrees, and begins work right away. 

    But once Sophia begins her spying, she realizes that there are plans to capture West Point, an American fort that, if lost, could cost the Americans the war. There is an American traitor and a British officer that have plans to meet and during this meeting, the American traitor will tell the British officer the weaknesses of the American fort. What's more, the identity of the traitor to the Americans is so shocking that no one would believe Sophia if she told them.

    So Sophia sets out to stop this meeting from happening. She is alone, because who would believe a fifteen-year-old girl with no evidence? 

    What happens next will change the course of American history.

My thoughts:

    I had read this book a couple of years ago, but forgot how good it was until I reread it! Sophia is a relatable character, and the way the story is told is very unique. I also learned a lot about the British occupation of New York and the prison ships that the Continental soldiers were kept on. 

    This book is a page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to know what happened next (even though because it was historical fiction I already knew how events were eventually going to play out). 

    One thing that I didn't like was how the phrasing of the book seemed a little bit formal, but not so much that it was boring. It seemed like if there was a younger reader reading this book, they might stop reading because of that, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book.

    This book is middle grade, although I highly recommend it for all ages!

    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars! 

Three Dark Crowns Review

   As promised on my One Dark Throne Unboxing post, I have a review of Three Dark Crowns up, but instead of adding a summary, I made a book trailer. The images used in the trailer are not mine, and so at the bottom of the post I'm going to include all the links just so I make it clear I'm not plagiarizing. 

Three Dark Crowns

Author: Kendare Blake

Publisher: HarperTeen

Synopsis:

My thoughts:

   Overall, I really enjoyed this series! I think it had a bit of a slow start in the first book, but the pace got a lot faster as the book went on. I liked the characters a lot, but I feel like Katharine changed a lot from the first to second book and the change was rather abrupt. 

    I also thought that the ending was kind of anticlimactic, but I did like that there was a lot of action and suspense before the ending. I also had several guesses about how the book was going to end but it ended up being completely different than what I had originally guessed. 

    This book is a YA book, but I think that if middle grade readers wanted to read this book, they could, however they should be warned that this book is rather morbid. 

    Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Links to the images on the trailer:

The music on the trailer was one of the prerecorded ones on WeVideo.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwimoMTn0tTWAhWn44MKHYobBvEQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fodors.com%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Fnorthern-ireland&psig=AOvVaw0vLfkBROqa9Cs5B8ff9Bdd&ust=1507126740349447

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Betsy-Tacy Review

Betsy-Tacy

Author: Maud Hart Lovelace

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Synopsis:

    There are no other girls Betsy's age on her street, so when a new girl moves into the house across the street, she is very excited. When Betsy meets Tacy, so begins a lifelong friendship that was based on they author's experiences of her own friends. The entire series follows Betsy and Tacy as they grow up, documenting their adventures, sorrows, and joys.

My thoughts:

    I haven't read the entire series yet, just the first four books that were combined into the one, but I really like it so far. It reminds me a little bit of the Anne of Green Gables series, which I also enjoyed. I feel like a lot of people can relate to Betsy and her friends even though they lived in the early 1900s. I did have a couple of questions though. Maybe someone knows the answer? The first one was if the author wrote this to be realistic fiction but couldn't happen now anymore because the time period is too long ago, is it considered historical fiction? Or is it still realistic fiction? The second one wasn't really a question, more of an observation. I noticed that the parents in this story didn't seem to keep track of their children as much as parents today do. For example, when Betsy and Tacy were 5, their fathers would go to work and their mothers would stay home, and their mothers would basically be like, "Okay, go play now," and Betsy and Tacy just ran around the town and surrounding areas having fun. At the age of five!! If that happened today the parents would be labeled as "bad parents" but back then it was just considered normal. 

    I can't wait to read the rest of this series!

    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Alex and Eliza Review

Alex and Eliza

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Synopsis:

    Albany, New York, 1777. As the threat of a revolution hangs over the American colonies, the Schuylers, one of New York's most prominent families, are holding a ball with hopes of getting one of their three eldest daughters --Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy-- engaged. Among the guests is Alexander Hamilton, a young aide to General George Washington. 

    Hamilton is there to bring bad news to the Schuylers, but he cannot help but notice Eliza Schuyler. And thus begins a romance that will change American history.

My thoughts:

    I'm pretty certain Alex and Eliza was written because of Hamilton the musical (in fact, to get in the mood, I'm listening to Hamilton as I write this post). I enjoyed both (the book and the musical), although they did have some differences, which means neither were entirely historically accurate, but that was okay, because it didn't make the quality of the story worse. I really enjoyed learning more about Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler and their lives because listening to the musical you get a feel for what happened, but it's always nice to learn more. 

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

    Have you listened to Hamilton? Do you like it? What's your favorite song? Favorite character?

Girl in the Blue Coat Review

Girl in the Blue Coat

Author: Monica Hesse

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

    In 1943 Amsterdam, Hanneke works with the black market to deliver extra rations of sought-after goods if the customers pay. Her work keeps her family fed, clothed, and sheltered. She has no desire to join the resistance movement against the Nazis, but she considers this her small act of rebellion.

    One day a customer comes to Hanneke and asks for help finding something. Only, it's not extra meat or lipstick, it's a person. A Jewish girl named Mirjam who was hiding in the house but mysteriously disappeared, leaving no clue as to where she could have gone. At first, Hanneke wants nothing to do with this mystery, but eventually ends up trying to find Mirjam. If Hanneke fails, both her and Mirjam will most likely die. 

My thoughts:

    I thought that the mystery in this book was very intriguing and I think the fact the Hanneke made several wrong turns in trying to solve the mystery made the story more realistic. 

    I also thought it was cool that there were so many ways that a civilian could perform small acts of rebellion and not be out there yelling that the Nazis were bad and immediately get shot. For example, a lot of people had hidden cameras that took pictures to prove after the war that the occupation really happened. There were also people that smuggled babies and toddlers out of the holding place where Jewish people were kept before being sent to the concentration camps. They took the babies and toddlers to new families so that they could have a chance to live their lives. 

    In conclusion, this book was action-packed, suspenseful and taught you a lot about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. I'd recommend it to middle grade readers and older.

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

These Broken Stars Review

These Broken Stars

Authors: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Publisher: Hyperion

Synopsis:

    The Icarus is a huge spaceliner traveling through hyperspace. Nothing could go wrong -- until it does. In a Titanic-like surprise crash, it crashes onto the nearest planet. No one survives, except Major Tarver Merendsen, a war hero, and Lilac LaRoux, daughter of the richest man in the universe. The planet is uninhabited by any people.

    Lilac and Tarver begin a long journey through the planet in search of some way to get help. They must trust each other or they will both die. But after a while, they begin to wonder: do they actually want to leave this planet?

    However, when they discover who is behind the whispering voices that plague their dreams --and even their waking moments-- Tarver and Lilac realize that they might leave the planet, but they will not be the same people who crash-landed with the Icarus.

My thoughts:

    This book started out a little slow, but it got better as it went on. No, this wasn't why I didn't like this book as much as I felt that I could have. The problem? The romance. Now, I don't refuse to read books with romance in them. I like reading books with romance. But the romance in this book felt so forced. Like maybe the authors were collaborating and went, "What genre is this going to be?"

    "YA."

    "Oh, better have Lilac and Tarver fall hopelessly in love! And better yet, make them star-crossed lovers! This is geared towards teenagers, after all!" NO. NO. NO. I feel like this decision to have the main characters in love made the story a whole lot worse than it could have been otherwise. It honestly felt like they hated each other, and then they did something that improved their prospect of survival, and then they were making out and passionately in love. I don't know, maybe if Tarver and Lilac's relationship was given more time to grow, I would have liked it. 

    In addition, reading this book made me realize something: I have yet to read a single YA book where the protagonists do not fall in love. If you have, great! But every single time I read a YA book the characters fall in love! Yes, I get that YA is geared towards teens/young adults and they oftentimes are in relationships, but that does not mean every teen is! Can't there be at least one book where the girl and the boy are just friends and there is no pressure on either of them from the other for their relationship to develop into anything other than platonic?

    Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

My Lady Jane Review

My Lady Jane

Authors: Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton

Publisher: HarperCollins 

Synopsis:

    The real Lady Jane Grey was crowned queen after her cousin, King Edward VI , succumbed to tuberculosis. After only nine days of sitting on the throne, she lost her head. End of the story. 

    However, the in-story Lady Jane gets married to Gifford Dudley, who turns into a horse every day and a man at night. King Edward somehow survives but fakes his own death, and Jane didn't die. She needs to get the help of the E∂ians (pronounced e-thee-ans, people who can turn into animals) to overthrow Queen Mary, Edward's brother, who wanted to take the throne instead of Jane. 

My thoughts:

    Because the authors basically threw history to the winds (in a good way) I did end up going "that didn't really happen" a lot. However, I still really enjoyed this book! I think a lot of people wouldn't know about Jane and this book had some true information, although it would be better off to research her if you are looking for some facts. 

    This story was comical and serious at the same time, and the characters were well written. There was even the right amount of mystery thrown in, which made for a book that I devoured within a day!

    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

    The authors also have a website, www.ladyjanies.com!

Small Great Things Review

Small Great Things

Author: Jodi Picoult

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Synopsis:

    When Turk and Brittany Baur go into the hospital to have their first baby, the labor and delivery nurse they are assigned is Ruth. However, the Baurs are white supremacists and do not want Ruth, who is African American, to care for their baby (who they name Davis).

    When little Davis Baur goes into cardiac arrest, Ruth is the only nurse in the room. She hesitates before performing CPR, not sure if she should go against the wishes of the family and perform CPR, or obey orders and let Davis be. As a result, she is charged with murdering the baby. 

    Kennedy McQuarrie is a defense lawyer and assigned to Ruth's case. Can Ruth be proved innocent -- or will she be convicted of murdering a baby?

    Told in three perspectives (Ruth, Turk and Kennedy), Small Great Things is a novel about racism and prejudice.

My thoughts:

    This book was an eye-opener. Not because I learned a lot about babies and their delivery (although I certainly did), but because I learned a lot about racism. I think most people think racism comes only from people like Turk (who is so far past racist I'm not even sure if I should call him that). But in the book it is illustrated that you don't have to be a white supremacist to be racist. White people often get privileges simply because of their race -- and sometimes people do it unconsciously. There is one part in the book where Ruth and Kennedy go shopping together and Kennedy is astounded how much attention the employees pay to Ruth: they're always following her and asking if she needs help, and watching to make sure she doesn't shoplift, and when she is leaving the store one of the employees checks her receipt and bags to make sure she didn't shoplift. When Kennedy takes out her receipt too, that same employee says, "You're fine." Kennedy knows this is because she is white.

    Overall, I really enjoyed Small Great Things! It's an adult book, but I think teens could read it too (or possibly younger readers but there is swearing and mature themes discussed).

    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Eliza and her Monsters Review

Eliza and her Monsters

Author: Francesca Zappia

Publisher: HarperCollins

Synopsis:

    Eliza Mirk has a very big secret: she is LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of Monstrous Sea, a comic with millions of fans. She essentially lives online and can't imagine that a life offline would be better. 

    When Wallace, one of Monstrous Sea's biggest fanfiction writers, transfers to her school, the two become reluctant friends. Eliza doesn't feel comfortable sharing her true identity with anyone (only her family knows, and they don't exactly know how popular Monstrous Sea is), and when her secret is finally revealed, every relationship she's ever built falls apart, along with Monstrous Sea. Can Eliza find a way to fix it?

My thoughts:

    I absolutely loved this story! I thought it was insane how popular Eliza's story was! I wish my writing was that popular! :) 

    At the beginning of the story, it seemed strange that Eliza would want to keep her identity secret, but after it's revealed to the general public, it makes perfect sense: the Internet is cruel. 

    I related to Eliza in a way, especially how she felt about her work, because I'm a writer. However, since I can't draw at all, I admire her talents! 

    I thought it was really cool that the author included bits of Monstrous Sea throughout the book and now I wish it was a real story so I could read it!

    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!!

The Girl Who Drank the Moon Review

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Author: Kelly Barnhill

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Synopsis:

    Every year on the same day, the people of the Protectorate sacrifice a baby to the Witch who lives in the swamp, because otherwise the Witch will come and torture the entire nation. In reality however, the Witch, Xan, does take the babies, but she finds good homes for them in the Free Cities. Along the way, to keep the babies healthy, she feeds them starlight. But one year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight and the baby becomes imbued with magic. So Xan decides she must raise the baby, who she names Luna, on her own.

    But as Luna's thirteenth birthday draws nearer, her magic starts to show itself -- and some of it has negative effects. Meanwhile a man whose child will be sacrificed sets out to kill the Witch and free his people from sacrificing babies, and a volcano ticks closer to the day it will erupt... 

My thoughts:

    I thought this book started out a little slow and got a little bit boring in the middle, but I really liked the plotline of this story. There was a lot of mystery surrounding magic and wizards and what had happened in the past, so I think it would be cool if there was another book where that was expanded on. I also think that another reason this book was cool was because it showed the power of a mother's love. I think a lot of people take that for granted, but it shows what a mother will endure for her child. I also thought it was cool that it told the story through a lot of different perspectives so you actually knew what the "evil people" or whatever you want to call them were thinking.

    Rating: 3.7 out of 5 stars.

Fish in a Tree Review

Fish in a Tree

Author: Lynda Mullay Hunt

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Synopsis:

    Ally Nickerson has gotten all the way to sixth grade without anybody -- kids, teachers, or parents -- finding out she can't read. She hasn't tried to find any help because after all, how can you help dumb?
    Ally's new teacher sees through Ally's "stupid" facade, and gets her to stay after school for help, while simultaneously shedding light on her gifts. When Ally makes two new friends that aren't "normal" either, she starts learning how to stand up to the bullies that have been making fun of her.

My thoughts:

    This book was a quick read that I thought would be good for younger readers, but older readers could definitely do it to! I found it amazing that Ally was so good at pretending that no one realized she couldn't read until her teacher in sixth grade. That was one of the only things that I thought was unrealistic. Other than that, I thought the characters were super cool (except the bullies) and I really liked Ally's teacher!

    Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Holding Up the Universe Review

Holding Up the Universe

Author: Jennifer Niven

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

    Everyone judges Libby Strout because she was once known as "America's Fattest Teen." After being homeschooled for several years, she has finally decided to go back to public school. She starts her junior year of high school, just wishing she could be normal. But of course, that's not going to happen.

    Jack Masselin is the opposite of Libby: he's popular and full of swagger, but he too has a secret: he doesn't recognize people's faces. Not even his family's. However, he has managed to get by without anyone noticing this.

    After an awful game where Libby ends up humiliated and punches Jack in the face, they are both sent to group counseling and community service. At first, Libby and Jack would rather be anywhere but there, but as they get to know each other, that might change.

My thoughts:

    I enjoyed this book because not only were the characters super cool, but it was also interesting learning about prosopagnosia (what Jack has, where you can't recognize faces), which I had never heard of before. I also haven't read a lot of books where one of the main issues of condemning/bullying people because they are overweight, so I learned a lot about that too. I think it is totally wrong that some people will tell people who are overweight that they aren't wanted or that they are disgusting. I get that you are entitled to your opinion, but that doesn't mean you should tell people that!!

    Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Our Chemical Hearts Review

Our Chemical Hearts

Author: Krystal Sutherland

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

    Henry Page has never fallen in love. He's just never met "the one."
    When Grace Town, a new girl, who walks with a cane and wears oversized men's clothing, walks in ten minutes late to their drama class, there is no tug at his soul. He simply continues with class.
    When he and Grace become the editors of the school newspaper, he is instantly drawn to her. As they end up spending more and more time together, Henry realizes this relationship is (to quote Taylor Swift) going to be forever or going to go down in flames.

My thoughts:

    I thought that overall the plotline was okay and the writing style was good, but I didn't really like the characters. Grace seemed manipulative and uncaring (at least about Henry), and Henry himself seemed naive and didn't see any of Grace's flaws. And the only reason Henry noticed Grace was because she was mysterious. I feel like in a lot of YA the problem that makes the romance fall apart is the fact that one of the people wasn't in love with the other as a person, just an idea that they had of the person in their head. This was true in this book.
    I did find it interesting to read about Grace's different view of the world however.
    Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.