THIS WAS SO FREAKING ADORABLE

Eliza and Her Monsters

by Francesca Zappia

Greenwillow Books | May 30, 2017

      Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.
      In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.
      Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.
      But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CREEPY?

We Have Always Lived in the Castle
by Shirley Jackson
September 21, 1962

       Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.

A BOOK REVIEW OF THE MOVIE

Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
Bloomsbury | August 4, 2002 

      The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring...
      In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.
      The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.
      Only it's different.
      At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.
      Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.

UNEXPECTEDLY SURPRISED

The Leading Edge of Now
by Marci Lyn Curtis
Kids Can Press | September 2, 2018

        Just when Grace is beginning to get used to being an orphan, her estranged uncle suddenly comes forward to claim her. That might have been okay if he'd spoken to her even once since her father died. Or if moving in with Uncle Rusty didn't mean returning to New Harbor.
        Grace once spent the best summers of her life in New Harbor. Now the place just reminds her of all she's lost: her best friend, her boyfriend and any memory of the night that changed her forever.
        People say the truth will set you free, but Grace isn't sure about that. Once she starts looking for it, the truth about that night is hard to find --- and what happens when her healing hurts the people she cares about the most?
        Marci Lyn Curtis, the critically acclaimed author of The One Thing, has crafted an honest and emotional story that will resonate with the wide range of readers impacted by sexual assault.
        Sexual assault does not define this story, however, just as it does not define Grace. Wry humor and true love emerge as Grace, like many in the #MeToo era, seeks to find her truth, face her truth, and speak her truth.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE

not actual cover-Behance. 

Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Barnes & Noble | March 14, 2011
First Published: January 28, 1813

       Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners-one of the most popular novels of all time-tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." So begins the novel, that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues.

ARISTOTLE AND DANTE REVIEW | MY GAY CHILDREN

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Simon & Schuster | February 21, 2012

        Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be. 

THIS BOOK NEEDS MORE LOVE

The Way I Used to Be

by Amber Smith

March 22, 2016 | Margaret K. McElderry Books
Status: Complete

         Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes.
         What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved-who she once loved-she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies. Nothing makes sense anymore, and she knows she’s supposed to tell someone what happened but she can’t. So she buries it instead. And she buries the way she used to be.

The Witches of BlackBrook Review

The Witches of BlackBrook: A Novel
by Tish Thawer
DNF
Publisher: Amber Leaf Publishing
Publish Date: 2015

     Through space and time, sisters entwined. Lost then found, souls remain bound.
     Three sisters escape the Salem witch trials when the eldest casts a spell that hurdles their souls forward through time. After centuries separated, fate has finally reunited them in the present day.
     One the healer, one the teacher, and one the deceiver.
     Will their reunion return their full powers, or end their souls' journey forever? 

     When I first saw the blurb for this book, I was really excited. I was really excited because the book includes/mentions the Salem witch trials. I LOVE the Salem trials. It was probably the most interesting topic in the Social Studies curriculum, along with WW2: The Holocaust. It [witch trials] had so much drama, hype, tension, and false accusations! What isn't to like?!
     Sure, this book has a lot of drama. But, was it the drama I was expecting? No. The drama seemed very Real Housewives-esque.
     The main character lives in the modern world and that's where most of the story revolves around. But, there are flashbacks (Of sorts) that take place in the past. These flashbacks were boring to read because nothing much happened. The present was also pretty boring.
     I didn't sit down and drink this book in. I took very long breaks from it.
     I thought this book was going to be The Craft with the three sisters, who worship the Goddess aka Mannon. I got excited, but that died down from the dialogue and the writing.

     The writing was not my cup of tea. It was a little too wordy and long for my taste. Plus, the dialogue was unexpected. You want to know why? Okay, grown ups talk to each other in a one dimensional way that resembles a teen speaking with his/her crush. Everyone was too happy/go-lucky in my opinion. The kids in the "flashbacks", spoke with more maturity than the adults.
     Finally, after reading that synopsis a little more closely and reading a little excerpt, you know exactly what happens, so there isn't a need to read this book.

Nowhere But Here Review

Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1)
Author: Katie McGarry
Publish Dare: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

     Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father-the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent-but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz.
     Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're family. And while Emily-the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member-is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.  

If You're Lucky Review

WARNING: OVER-INTERPRETATION AHEAD!

If You're Lucky by Yvonne Printz

Publish Date: October 20, 2015

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

     Is Georgia's mind playing tricks on her, or is the entire town walking into the arms of a killer who has everyone but her fooled?
     When seventeen-year-old Georgia's brother drowns while surfing halfway around the world in Australia, she refuses to believe Lucky's death was just bad luck. Lucky was smart. He wouldn't have surfed in waters more dangerous than he could handle. Then a stranger named Fin arrives in False Bay, claiming to have been Lucky's best friend. Soon Fin is working for Lucky's father, charming Lucky's mother, dating his girlfriend. Georgia begins to wonder: did Fin murder Lucky in order to take over his whole life?  
     Determined to clear the fog from her mind in order to uncover the truth about Lucky's death, Georgia secretly stops taking the medication that keeps away the voices in her head. Georgia is certain she’s getting closer and closer to the truth about Fin, but as she does, her mental state becomes more and more precarious, and no one seems to trust what she’s saying.

Nothing Like Looking Review

Sorry for my lack of activity. I haven't been motivated to do much lately and my phone isn't connecting to Wi-Fi. Phooey

Nothing Like Looking by Chris Van Hykes
Publication: March 2, 2015 from unknown/self
Genre: YA, Romance, Contemporary, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction

          Reed Larson was just expelled from her old school. Do you want to know why? Me too. But she won’t say.
          Ask her about the book her brother gave her instead, The Hobbit. 
          Or the beautiful boy named Mason. 
          Or her new school, Fancy Snob School for Rich Kids That Want to be Fancy (FSSFRKTWTBF for short).
          Or how she’s hiding everything about herself.
          Actually, scratch that. Just ask her why J.R.R. Tolkien has too many initials. She can’t talk about the rest, yet.