Saturday, March 5, 2016

February Wrap Up

FEBRUARY WRAP-UP

So it appears that me and set TBRs just don't get along. From the three books (THREE! I COULDN'T EVEN MANAGE THAT!) I only finished one...well to be fair I just didn't enjoy one of them but more on that later.
Now on to the books I did read this month. I read a total of seven books this month, which for me is pretty impressive. 

 1. Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

My rating: 3.5/5 stars
I have a review for this up on this blog already so if you wanna know my thoughts on it you can just go ahead and read that. 
But I'll just say, this book needs to become a cute, coming of age, high school movie that will be passed on for generations of weird teenagers....




2. The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell

 My rating: 4/5 stars
This book was unlike anything I'd read before and I think there needs to be more books of it's kind to be honest. The story follows a Japanese teenager who was diagnosed with ALS (if you haven't heard of ALS then I'm assuming you'll immediately know what I mean if I say "Ice Bucket Challenge". THAT CHALLENGE WAS TO CREATE AWARENESS FOR ALS DAMMIT WHY DOES NOT ONE REMEMBER?! Anyway...).  So yes, it is quite a sad read when you just see him gradually get worse and there are really dark elements to the story too because, well it's about a teenager faced with death. 
But you do get to see him make some AMAZING friends. Honestly, I adored Sora's friends, they were so incredibly sweet. And just yeah, this book definitely deserves a read by everyone. 

3. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit

My rating: 3/5 stars
I remember, I adored this book as a kid and I'd always had wonderful memories from reading it so I actually wish I hadn't re-read it because reading books like this when you're older.....it changes how you initially felt about it and then all your fun memories of the book as a kid are all sort of weird to think about cause you didn't enjoy it as much as you used to. Ugh. 
But don't get me wrong, it's still a great children's book. I re-read this one for Rainbow-a-thon as I didn't have another orange book with me...heh. 



3. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

My rating: STILL 5/5 STARS 
This was obviously another re-read. It hasn't even been a year since I first read this book but it still made me laugh and just...this book just means a lot to me. 







4. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4/5 stars
Yes, everyone. After what feels like forever, I finally read Fangirl. And I loved every minute of it. It was just so unbelievably cute (apparently as are almost all of Rainbow Rowell's books but still it is worth pointing out that this was no exception) and I feel like I could definitely relate to how attached Cath is to Simon Snow.
I ABSOLUTELY ADORED LEVI. Oh my goodness, that boy did things to my heart....
So if you're looking for a cute sort of contemporary about first loves, and college, and fandoms then you should definitely read this ASAP. 


5. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

My rating: 4.5/5 stars
Again, just like The Last Leaves Falling, I think there should be more books like this one. The story follows August Pullman, who is a ten year old boy and he was born with a facial deformity. 
So basically, he does not look like a regular kid and the story follows him, starting middle school after being home schooled for all of his life. And as you may have figured out, middle school kids can be mean. Very mean. 
I adored this book, it was so heartwarming and it made me smile, and laugh, and cry and just UGH MY FEELS CANNOT BE TAMED. 
I also loved Auggie. He was honestly such a likeable kid. He's super smart and obsessed with Star Wars and he loves science. And I also loved his family.
If you're kind of hesitant to read this because it's technically a "middle grade" novel, please don't let that keep you from reading it. This is one of those books that I feel like everyone should read no matter what age you are. 

6. Keeping The Moon by Sarah Dessen 

My rating: 3/5 stars
Now, I'm aware that Sarah Dessen writes a lot of young adult contemporaries, and they're very well known. But before I read this book I had only ever read Just Listen. Which by the way, is one of my favorite contemporary books. I absolutely loved the story and the characters and the family aspect. But more and that book another time. 
Going in to Keeping The Moon, I was aware that it would be about friendship and all that sort of coming of age things. So while I thought it would be a fun story, I didn't exactly know how I was going to enjoy it. 
But you know, this book surprised me. With her Mom being so well known, and the fact that she didn't immediately become friends with Isabel and getting to see them grow closer as the book progresses, and Norman and his paintings; this book was actually pretty sweet.