Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! 
Ok so I will include spoilers in this so yeah. You were warned! 

Why don't I already have books 2 and 3??? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!!! GIMMEE DA BOOKS! 

ahem, 

Anyway

Clockwork angel takes us back to the world of the Shadowhunters, but in Victorian England.
But, the twist on the Shadowhunter story we already know... is that it is mixed with steampunk. 
HOW COOL IS THAT?! But I won't say how steampunk is involved cause spoilers... ^^

Its really a great read! There's an awesome mix of magic and realism, with just the right dosage of  victorian-ness, steampunk, creepiness, love, vampires, sassiness and craziness.

AND THAT ENDING WAS LIKE FREAKING FIREWORKS! It was one realization after another and it just didn't stop until the last page! I was expecting some of the revelations, though. 
I was just like 


This is the place where all my spoiler-talk will be: 

I was expecting the fact that de Quincey was not the Magister. To be totally honest, for like a chapter or two I thought it could be Magnus! But once I saw how nice and innocent Mortmain was, I knew it had to be him. 
But I TOTALLY WAS NOT EXPECTING NATE TO BE BAD! That came as such a shock! I mean sure I thought it was weird that he was so scared of the shadowhunters, but still! I was like WHAT JUST HAPPENED??
Thomas and Agatha's deaths were so sad! :( Especially Thomas's, with his last words and all! 
I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHATS UP WITH WILL! like why is he always pretending to be drunk and sad and lying??
Oh and since Will is a Herondale, I get where Jace's sassiness comes from >.>
I knew something was weird about Jessie liking Nate, it just didn't work out, in my opinion. 
Am I the only one who thought that the necklace coming to life was strange and kinda pushed aside too soon? Like no one even really reacted to it! 

End of spoiler talk, you can continue reading :) 

I think that the characters are all great! Tessa is a strong protagonist. Although she seems a bit in a daze at the beginning, she develops a strong character that matches her... condition. 
Then Will is so strange and mysterious! I really want to know whats up with him! And he's sassy and funny! 
Jem is so sweet! He's like everyone's big brother in the story! 
Jessie is, well, kinda annoying, to be fair, but I mean you can really understand where she is coming from. 
That Lightwood kid is an absolute pain, so much unlike Isabel and Alec! But for some reason I have a feeling that he'll be helpful to the trio in the next two books for some reason. 
And Magnus is still (still? Can we use that if this happened in the past? Oh well you get it >.>) there! Made me happy to see a familiar character :) 

Even though I didn't think I'd like it, I enjoyed how Clockwork Angel had so many links to The Mortal Instruments! Its like while reading you suddenly come across a sentence and you're like 'hehe, hehehe, I see what you did there!!", just because it will take you straight back to a mortal instruments book. Its like the past was foreshadowing the future in a book that came out after the future-set book was published. 
Wrap your mind around that one! 

The only thing I would suggest is that, if you haven't done so already, you read The Mortal Instruments series before reading The Infernal Devices - they give a better understanding of how the Shadow World works, as well as the relations between the Nephilim and Downworlders, which is a huge theme of Clockwork Angel. But this book does a fairly good job at explaining it all anyway =p 

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on goodreads :D 

This book completed my "A book I own, but have never read" challenge! I've had this book for a long time now, and I just got to it. ^^

Let me know if you read clockwork angel, and what you thought of it! :) 

I am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak 

Hi all!
I finished this book a while ago, but I thought I'd review it now just because
Enjoy! :) 

THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC! 
Markus Zusak, you did it again! You managed to write another book that I could not put down and that is an overall amazing story! 

<>
(this is so cute! C: )

I don't know about you guys, but to me, this book is a feel-good book. Ed, the main character, receives aces in the mail (as in the playing cards), with addresses, times, and/or names on them. He goes from person to person, and manages to help them in simple ways. There are many 'cases' he has to solve - some through violence, but others through simple acts of kindness that made me smile. In the end, someone was always helped for the better. Him changing other people's lives makes him realize that, by doing so, he can change his as well. 

However, Ed lives in a somewhat delinquent society, which can shock some readers. Some of the people he helps out go through awful things, as well. However, I find that this contributes well to his character, as well as how his acts of helping others changes his life and those around him.

Overall, the book is nice and easy to read (although a lot of people seem to not like the fact that some sentences are one-worded, I think that it brought out the character in a good way, as well as helped set the intensity for some parts). I really enjoyed how, even though the storyline was basically divided into the various 'tasks' that Ed had to preform, it would still go back to previous people he helped, and we could see how his actions, however small, impacted their lives. 

Books that have characters that make people happy make me happy :) 




If you have read it, let me know what you thought of it! I'd love to hear your opinions! 

If you can, try making someone happy today. It doesn't have to be something big, or for a stranger. Just do something that you know will make someone else smile :) I dare you. 

I gave this book 5/5 stars on goodreads :) 

Triple Liebster! *-*

Hi all! 
I just got re-nominated for the Liebster award, by Kayleigh, over at A Book Lover's Playlist! Thanks so much for the nomination! If you want to check out her amazing blog, just click on her name! I also was re-nominated by Thesi! I tagged both of these bloggers in my first Liebster, and they re-tagged me. 

OK so I may not be playing by the rules, but seeing as I've done this already super recently, and its exam week so I don't have all the time in the world to write another huge post, I'm going to stick to answering the questions asked. I nominate those who I have nominated last time, with the same questions! :D 

Question time!
Kayleigh's Questions 1. If you could be friends with any book character, who would it be and why? 
*stares at bookshelf forever* 
Hmm mentioning this series again, then. Okay! I would probably be friends with Simon from The Mortal Instruments. I'm geeky, like him, he has awesome humor, and, admittingly, I've also played Dungeons and Dragons in high school. So yeah >.>
BUT, my personality aside, I think that being friends with Arianna from the Stravaganza series. Even though she is forced to become the duchess of her city at a young age, she is still super fun and awesome! :) 

2. What is your favorite book to movie adaptation?
I answered this question in the previous Liebster, but my answer remains Harry Potter :)

3. Favorite snack while reading? 
This is hard because even if I start reading with a snack, I'll eventually forget its even there to snack on =p . But I do enjoy snacking on a mix of nuts, seeds, and dried berries when reading for my classes! 

4. Who is your book boyfriend?
Peeta from The Hunger Games. No question! :3

5. What is your favorite book series?
...
I don't like this question!! 
Its so hard because every time I finish a series, it becomes my new favorite! 
I'll give a short list, because I honestly don't know. Plus I just ordered the Throne of Glass series, by Sarah J Maas, so yeah =p AND  I've just read a bunch of first-books-in-a-series!
In my list I would put (surprise surprise) The Mortal Instruments, Graceling, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, and Wings. 

6. Name the first three authors who come to your mind when I ask you who your favorites are. 
J.K. Rowling
Rick Riordan
John Green

Wow those were predictable!! 

7. What is your favorite book?
THATS WORSE THAN THE FAVORITE SERIES!!!
I'll say top three of the moment, because its so hard to choose!!! 
I am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Startdust, by Niel Gaiman 
Red Queen, by Victoria Avery
Siberia, by Ann Halam
...
Thats more than three...
oh well! 

8. Dogs or Cats?
Cats! :D

9. Physical book or e-readers? 
Physical book, always! 

10. What is your favorite song?
...
I'm really not good at these favorites, am I? 
I can't even choose a favorite singer or band! 
Well, I did re-play Little Bird, by the one and only Ed Sheeran today, so that might be my favorite song for today. Who knows what it will be tomorrow though! 


Thesi's Questions!

1. Which author would you most like to meet? 
There's a lot I'd like to meet, but I think J. K. Rowling is way up high on my list :)

2. Where would you most like to live?
Right now I'm happy in the Netherlands, but I would absolutely love to live in Italy again! (Tuscany) 

3. What is your favorite instrument? 
I played the flute for a long time, so I would say that! However, I also think that lesser known instruments like the ocarina and the pan pipes are amazing! 

4. What book are you currently reading? 
Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare :) 

5. What is the furthest away from home you have ever been? 
This is hard, because I don't know if home is where I am from, or where I live. If it is where I live, I would say San Fransisco, but if it is where I am from, I would say Florida. 

6. What is the last movie you watched? 
Pitch Perfect Two!

7. What is the last song you listened to? 
Ed Sheeran's Grade 8 

8. Where would you like to go on holiday? 
Japan, or Australia, or New Zealand, or India, or Argentina, or an island! 

9. What is your favorite sport? 
Archery. Self-taught since 2008 ^_^

10. Is Neville Longbottom cool?
He is so awesome by the end of the books! :D


Those were all my answers! Thanks again to Kayleigh and Thesi for re-nominating me! :D 

Legend, by Marie Lu

Hi all! 
So I just finished Legend, by Marie Lu. It is about to main characters; a rich girl named June, who has a perfect score on her Trial and has a high rank in the local military, and a boy named Day, who is poor, lives on the streets, and is a wanted criminal. It is set in a dystopian Los Angeles, where law and order rule over everything. One day, the two character's lives will meet in an unexpected way...

So now for the review! 

This book was a real page-turner!

<>

Even though it too me a while to finish due to university and whatnot, I found Legend to be a very enjoyable read. Marie Lu has created a complete dystopia - hurricanes, a super-strict military, a plague, a sort of 'eligibility test', death sentences, extreme poverty... you name it, and it was there! 

<>

Okay.. maybe no penguins. But you know what I mean. All major elements that can be seen as dystopian are there in this crazy blend of a book! 

Another aspect that I appreciated is that as you hop between June and Day's point of views, the font style and color changes. The chapter title are also the character titles for further clarification. Had this not been the case, I would have definitely been confused about who was talking when. 

I can totally see this book becoming a movie - the descriptions are mostly very clear, to a point where you can actually imagine the surroundings. 

One little problem I have with the book is the age boundaries. I mean sure, kids can take their Trial at ten, to check how they will do in the future. Then it gets very blurry. June is 15 in the novel, and already has a very high rank in the city's military. Day is 15 and he is a wanted criminal. Tess is even younger and lives on the streets as well. I just wish the ages were more realistic for the situation. 

Otherwise, this book was a very enjoyable read, with a great idea behind it! 

I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads! 
This book completed my "a book written by someone under 30" goal!

LIEBSTER AWARD NOMINATION

So yesterday I'm just casually looking through my email when I receive one saying that I was nominated for the Liebster award! This 'award' is basically a new blogger recognition. I'm actually really surprised that someone noticed my blog so quickly!!! Many thanks to Nerdychampagne for nominating me!! You can find her blog here!

(ooh pretty banner!) 

Now! This is how this works

THE RULES:

1.  Once you are nominated, make a post thanking and linking the person who nominated you. Include the Liebster Award sticker in the post too.
2. Nominate 10 other bloggers who you feel are worthy of this award. Let them know they have been nominated by commenting on one of their posts. You can also nominate the person who nominated you.
3. Ensure all of these bloggers have less than 200 followers.
4. Answer the ten questions asked to you by the person who nominated you, and make ten questions of your own for your nominees.
5. Lastly, COPY these rules in the post.

Okey dokey guachamole lets get this going! (Wow did I really just write that? Oh well =p )

First, I'll answer the questions that were asked! 

1. If you were to give your life a soundtrack playlist, what three songs would be there? 

THIS IS SO HARD BECAUSE I LOVE MUSIC!!! Ok I'll try though. 

1. Good ol' Days, by the Script - this is because I've been feeling massive waves of nostalgia for the past few weeks for the craziest stuff. Okay so I don't go out partying like it describes in the song, but the chorus is perfect! 

2. Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae - I love this song, and I feel that it perfectly captures just taking things easy :) 

3. I Lived, by OneRepublic - This song is basically how I try to do things. Plus it was my graduation song. =p

2. In seven words, tell me how you felt about the last book you read. 

So the last book I read was The Shock of the Fall, you can scroll down to see my review :) 

1. eye-opening

2. Sad

3. Confused

4. Sorry

5. Lucky

6. Awed

7. Fascinated 

3. What is your favorite color and why?

This shade of purple is just magnificent. I've always loved purple, not too sure why, to be honest! I think its a really calming color, especially a shade like this. Its dreamy and imaginative and I like it :)

4. How often do you read books? 

When I can, meaning when I am not at Uni or doing homework or with my friends :) 

5. Coffee or Tea? 

UHHHHHHH I LOVE BOTH!!!! But more specifically for both, either Cappuccino or Frappe for coffee, and a caramel or fruity blend for tea *_*. But, for a more day-to-day basis I'd go with tea.

6. Which movie adaptation is your favorite? 

I'm guessing book-to-movie? Harry Potter was an absolutely fantastic adaptation! Coming second would be a tie between the Hunger Games and The Fault in our Stars! 

7. In five words, describe your home country. 

Ooh its like a double dare for me! Coolness! 

America

Monuments, Parks, Famous, Patriotic, Freedom 

France

Bread, Cheese, Countryside, Bonjour, Diverse 

8. What book made you a bookworm?

Becoming a bookworm really started when I was tiny - I've always loved books! But I guess you can say that when I was in middle school, one series really stood out and made me want to read all the time. That series is *drumroll please* ... Percy Jackson and the Olympians. About that, The Lightening Thief came out 10 years ago yesterday!!! Stay tuned for a review of the series! ;) 

9. Name a book that everyone hates, but you love so much. 

I just don't understand why Wings, by Aprilynne Pike, has so many negative reviews! I loved it! Such a cute story, with a good idea behind it! 

10. What is that one series that everyone loves but you absolutely hate?

Ok now this is probably very common, but I just can't STAND Twilight! I honestly tried liking it, I got through the first book-and-a-half before giving up. Its just annoying and whiny and overly stalkerish. Sorry Stephanie!!! 

Okay so thats it with the questions!! Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, here are the people I've nominated! Give a nice round of applause for....

Thesi

Kayleigh

Meedah

Kritika

Jess

Aga

Alexandra

Savvina

Amanda

Amber

Yay congrats! I stumbled upon most of these blogs, and thought they were great! Make sure to take a look! 

Now, here is my list of questions for you ten! :D 

1. What is your favorite book that has a blue spine? 
2. How do you react to people interrupting your reading time? 
3. Favorite bookish quote
4. Do you own any bookish items that is not a book, bookmark, e.reader, light, etc... (eg, poster, mug, book sculpture? Harry potter items, etc...) 
5. What is your favorite season and why? 
6. What is your opinion on readers (kindle, for example) ? 
7. One place and time you would love to be at right now. 
8. Go to your shelf, close your eyes, spin around, and pick a book at total random. What is it? What's your story about it? 
9. Pink or blue? 
10. Is the glass half empty or half full? 


HAVE FUN ANSWERING THEM!  :D 


Here's my answers. 
1. The Fault in our Stars, by John Green
2. Inwardly, I get annoyed, but then I just talk to the person normally =p
3. "All you need are books and tea!"
4. A bookish sticker on my laptop :) Plus a mug that says 'do not disturb, I'm in the book's world" 
5. Summer because its warm and there's vacation and you can travel! 
6. They're fine, especially for traveling and school purposes. 
7.A week or so before high school final exams, in our school's library, with my friends, discussing anything but school, taking massive selfies, and taking slow-mo hairflip videos. I've had a nostalgic afternoon okay? Either that or last summer, in San Gimignano, sitting on the well in the center of town, in the evening, eating raspberry ice cream. 
Time machine why you no exist????
8. *ish dizzy* The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. Got this as a box set with the other first three Percy Jackson books, and its worn on the spine by many many reads. 
9. uuuhhhhh blue? 
10. FULL TO THE MAX! 


Let me now when you have answered the questions! I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with! :D 

Disney Book Tag!

Hi all! 
Since the book I am now reading is taking me a little bit of time, I decided to do a tag! 
So here it is, the Disney book tag! *insert disney music of your choice here*
This book tag was made in honor of the release of The Isle of the Lost. 

1. The Little Mermaid - a character who is out of their element, a 'fish out of water'. 
My choice for this can come across as being quite unexpected, but I promise it will make sense! I chose Eragon from... well... Eragon, by Christopher Paolini. He goes from being just a poor farmer, without any special talents or position (except for hunting), to being a highly-important Dragon Rider, with crazy magical abilities, huge responsibility, and is basically treated like royalty. I think that would make anyone feel out of place! 

2. Cinderella - a character who goes through a major transformation. 
(OK now I see that Eragon would have also been good for here... oh well). The character I chose for this is Simon from The Mortal Instruments, by Cassandra Clare. It can't get any more literal than what happens to him. He goes from being a high-school geek, (then to a rat), to being a vampire! And not only does he have fangs and lives off blood, but he can survive in the sunlight. This makes him a 'Daylighter' or a type of super-vampire. I know this choice was not as personality-based as many other lists are, but I thought a literal transformation could work just as well :) 

3. Snow White - a book with an eclectic cast of characters. 
*Looks up eclectic* - Ah okay!
This is hard because so many series have diverse characters!! But I have to go with the Maximum Ride series, by James Patterson. For those of you who haven't read it, let me clarify. The main group of six kids all have 98% human genes and 2% Bird genes, resulting in a pair of wings on each kid. Max, the leader, is very, well, leading. Fang is dark and mysterious. Iggy is blind and very sarcastic. Angel is young and super sweet and cute. Nudge is all about style. Gazzy is a hilarious kid. They are so different its crazy, but together they make an awesome team. 
I haven't read these books in ages, makes me want to read them again! 

4. Sleeping Beauty - A book that put you to sleep.
To tell you the truth, I have never fallen asleep while reading. BUT one book got me close to that, and it is The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. Not that its a bad book, I actually love the story! Its just that the constant songs, and super detailed descriptions had a tendency to make me loose my concentration and make me close the book, setting it aside for later. 

5. The Lion King - a character that had something traumatic happen to them in their childhood. 
For this tag I'll choose Liesel from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I would elaborate, but it would be such an awful spoiler! But for those of you who have read it, I hope you agree that she has had one long list of traumatic experiences! 

6. Beauty and the Beast - A beast of a book that you were intimidated by, but found the story to beautiful. 
Yes, another Mortal Instruments tag, but hey, you have to admit, that City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare is absolutely massive, yet amazing to read! For scale, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is 374 pages long, and CoHF is... wait for it... 733 pages long, with smaller print! (At least those are my copies). After buying it I kept telling myself 'its going to take aaaages to finish!' 

I finished in two days. Yep. 

7. Aladdin - A character who gets their wish granted, for the better or the worse. 
For this tag, I chose Santiago, the shepherd boy from The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. Eventually Santiago wishes to find a treasure near the Egyptian pyramids. This wish is granted at the end, for the better. :)

8. Mulan - A character who pretends to be someone or something they are not. 
Mare from Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen fits this category well. She has to pretend that she is a lost Silver princess to hide the peculiar powers she is born with. However, she is a Red, someone low-class who is not meant to have any powers. 

9. Toy Story - books with characters you wish could comet to life. 
ALL DA BOOKS! BRING THE CHARACTERS TO LIFFEEEEEE!!!! Hehe sorry ^^. 
This is an absolutely cruel decision to make! How about a mix of the characters from The Mortal Instruments, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Wings, Stravaganza, and Harry Potter. Yeah that'd be cool :) I'm sorry if I can't choose >.> 

10. Disney Descendants - Your favorite villan or morally ambiguous character. 
From Disney or from any book? From Disney I have to choose Hades, from Her-cu-leeees! His sarcasm is amazing, yet he still has great villain attributes! From books I'm choosing Voldemort, from Harry Potter. That guy has some serious dedication, he needs an award for that! I mean splitting your soul in seven pieces to (hopefully) live forever? That's some serious business! 


I tag everyone! :) 

The Shock of the Fall, by Nathan Filer

Hi all!
Today, I also finished The Shock of the Fall, by Nathan Filer. 
I'm not going to lie, this book made me cry. 
And its going to be very hard to describe. 

This book is about a boy, Matt, who lost his brother when he was nine. The story is about him dealing with his loss, growing up, and his mental illness. 

This book was difficult yet amazing to read. I say difficult because due to Matt's mental illness, it his hard to follow his thought process, as he tends to jump from the present, to a memory, to his imagination. He also uses a lot of analogies, which often left me wondering weather what was written had actually happened or not. 

The descriptions in this book are beautifully written, and certain repeating themes are very interesting to read about. One thing that I really loved about it is that each chapter is written as if a person had really come, sat down a behind a computer, and started writing a kind of diary. 

"PLEASE STOP READING OVER MY SHOULDER. She keeps reading over my shoulder. It is hard enough to concentrate in this place without people reading over your shoulder. I had to put that in big letters to drive the message home. It worked, but now I feel bad about it" 

"I already told you that" He says this many times throughout the book, when things get repetitive. It's as if he is reminding himself, or us, that he had already said something, to elaborate on it. 

Another interesting point about the physical book itself is that there are two different fonts. When the main character moves into his own apartment, he is given a typewriter. Then, the font changes, as Matt is writing on his new typewriter. There are also drawings, letters, and small messages throughout the book, making it seem more like a compilation of printed pages, typed pages, and sketches. Really cool format. And the cover is pretty. 

Now about the story itself. Its a definite tear-jerker, especially towards the end. All of sparse bits of information given at the beginning at the story all come together at the end to create one coherent  series of events. Quite a few times, I had that feeling where you want to hug a character for them to feel better. 
And then you get to the part where the chapter's title says exactly whats going on.

Oh

And then all of the random outbursts of information, imagination, and overall strangeness end up making total sense. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone! 

This book completed my "A book that made you cry" goal
5/5 stars on goodreads

Yay c:

Four, by Veronica Roth

Hi all!
I'm one of those people who loves the Divergent trilogy. Having finished the series last year, I thought it could be a good time to pick up the side-stories written by Veronica Roth about Four. 
I was not disappointed :)

Reading Four brought another side to the series that I had not exactly considered. It is true that in Divergent, Four often mentions his past (which I will not elaborate on due to spoilers) and leaves these facts ambiguous. This book of short stories helps understand his four fears, what his initiation was like, and how he went through Tris's initiation. 

I really enjoyed reading the chapter about his initiation. You really see his 'evolution' from being very Abnegation-like to more Dauntless, as well as the development of other secondary characters in the Divergent series, such as Eric, and Shauna. I found it also really easy to understand why his main fear is Marcus through the first chapter, The Transfer. (BTW Marcus is a horrible fictional human being. Just sayin'. He's worse than in the series!) 

*SPOILERS*
Through this book, you see Four in such a way that re-reading Divergent will change how you consider him. Whenever Tris describes him as being more ruthless and harsh in Divergent, the mirror created in Four really gives the impression that he is forced to be this way to pass initiation, and to keep his Divergent-ness hidden. For example, in Divergent, when he beats up Drew, he is portrayed as doing so somewhat heroically, menacingly, and harshly. However, in Four, the scene is extended, following him away from the scene, in shock because of what he had just done. I will honestly (re)-read Divergent very differently from now on. 

This book, however, does not include any new facts about the series itself, and it should not be read as such. However, it is more of a complementary story to Divergent, which elaborate on many facts about Four. I feel as if this book, or collection of short stories, could have been separate chapters incorporated into the trilogy itself. 

This collection was very fast and easy to read :) I do recommend that you read Divergent first though, especially the first book of the series. 

I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads 
This book filled in my "A book of Short Stories" goal 

Half Bad, by Sally Green
I was really expecting a lot from this book. I was a bit dissappointed. I really didn't want to use this pun, but the book was half bad. But that also mean half good!

Half Bad is about a teenager called Nathan, who is Half Black witch, half White witch. His father is an infamous killer called Marcus. This leads Nathan into a whole world of pain and confusion from the start.

OK let me just say that I feel so bad for him! He's constantly being beat up because of his parentage! The counsil keeps on questioning him and sending him of to various places and people. He's constantly tortured and manipulated. This book was just really immensely violent.

One thing I really enjoyed about the book was the fact that it was an easy and quick read, with interesting character descriptions. :) The whole idea behind the story was amazing - having witches live with yet apart from humans (fains), getting a certain power at 17, the bad father (Who, I must say, reminded me of Valentine from the Mortal Instruments) the somewhat 'utopian' conditions for some, dystopian for others, all while being in modern-day England was a great idea! It just... wasn't done well. Honestly, at times, it felt like I was reading a book based on a video game...

The novel was a mix of predictable events and plot-twists that litterally would make me gasp, especially towards the end. The different characters were all very interesting, yet Nathan, although portrayed as rebellious at the beginning, seemed to just let things happen to him. He has some great half-sibblings and some awful half-sibbling. Everything was half-half. Maybe it was done on purpose to fit the title?

Anyway, I don't have an overall good or bad impression. I'm not sure if I'll read the rest of the series, but I don't regret reading this. :)

The Giver - Lois Lowry
Hi everyone! 

This book though! 

It was one of those books that once I was done reading, I set it down and thought about it for ages...

I, as many other kids, had to read this in 6th grade. At the time, I just thought 'okay, its another schoolbook'. I've recently re-read it, and it is now one of my favorites. There are so many things that I had not noticed at a younger age! 

However, I think that classifying this book as a children's book is a bit overconfident. More like YA in my opinion. There are too many things that 10 year olds won't notice when reading it, that change the entire storyline. 

Anywho!

I love how it is written, and how simple ideas make the story what it is. Even though it is clearly dystopian to older readers, it is still presented from the point of view of a child, making it seem more gentle and almost 'normal'. (More information on that below) 
Its a story about not sticking to societies pre-constructed rules, and about seeing what else is out there, and opining your horizons. 
This might be a book from my childhood, but its still definitely one of my favorites, still today :) 
I love how easy to read it is, and how it gives a completely plausible idea of the future. 

(And yes I found the movie disappointing, but not too awful =p ) 

**SPOILERS**
(Refer to where I said there would be more information)
For example, the fact that the entire community sees the world in black and white, and that Jonas, the protagonist, notices that he is different because something changes about his surroundings (he starts seeing the color red). We, as readers, do not notice this difference in color until the Giver says 'you are starting to see the color red'. Then, the book takes on a whole new dimension that changes how we read it. This kind of twist happens very often throughout the novel, you just have to notice it! 
This is clearly dystopian, but not in the way that many books are today. This seemed more strict in its rules, yet presented in a more gentle way. I found this mix absolutely fascinating. One example of this is when the newchildren, if twins, are weighed. The lightest one would be 'released'. As a more mature reader, we know that this means the newchild would die, yet they way it is written makes it seem, as I said, more gentle, and somewhat innocent. 

I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads!


This book filled my 'a book that became a movie' requirement! 

Bookish Identity Tag
So I've seen this tag quite a few times already, and I thought I could give it a go! 

1. What dystopian/fantasy world would you like to live in?
That... is an evil question! Can I have two answers? 
Ok yay two answers it is! :D
Camp half-blood. I've loved these books since I was eleven, and I keep thinking how awesome it would be to be the daughter of a greek god or goddess, and have the powers that come with it, going to camp, going on quests... IT SOUNDS SO FUN!!!! Plus all the cool monsters and deities and legends would just be real! Sign me up any day! 
Second one would be the world presented in the Mortal Instruments. 'All the stories are true'. It would be a blend of so many different fantasy worlds! Plus living in a cool place, having awesome abilities... YAY! 
Graceling, Hogwarts, Eragon, Lord of the Rings, Stravaganza, Divergent, I did not forget about you all =p 

2. Who would your partner be? 
Ok so which kind of partner? Romantic? Partner-in-crime? And again, these questions are so SO hard to answer! 
I do have my favorites though. Peeta from the Hunger Games, Tamani from Wings, and, of course,  Jace from The Mortal Instruments :3 (btw I love how all of these names are considered to be written wrong =p ) 
THESE GUYS THOUGH! Peeta is so sweet and thoughtful, Tamani is always there (but not too clingy like the guy from twilight... ew I did not like those books >.<) and Jace is so cool and sassy but so nice! <3

3. Who would your godly parent be (Percy Jackson Series) 
Once a Poseidon, always a Poseidon. 

4. Would you rather be a downworlder or a nephilim (Mortal Instruments series) 
Nephilim. No question! BUT I must say that some downworlders are really cool!

5. Which house would you be in (Harry Potter)
#RAVENCLAWPRIDE! 

6. Which faction would you be in (Divergent)
I honestly don't know. I'm a tad too selfish to be in Abnegation, not Dauntless material, or Candor, or Amity. I guess Erudite? Maybe? 

7. What would your daemon be (Northern Lights series)
I've heard of the books, but I don't know what this daemon thing is about, sorry ^^

8. Who do you tag? 
Anyone and Everyone! :D 

The Selection - Kiera Cass 
The Selection is about America Singer, a girl from a low-caste family, who is fairly poor yet good in the arts, who receives an invitation to be drawn for the Selection. This is when a group of 35 girls are chosen to 'compete' for Prince Maxon's hand in marriage, and to become the next queen. As America is of age, she is eligible to be chosen. However, being secretly in love with Aspen, America wants to refuse. She only signs up when he insists that she does so, and that her parents bribe her with some money. Being selected would help her family financially, as they would be paid compensation.

America is selected, and starts living the palace life to help her family. She doesn't expect it, and, through trying to stay herself, she gradually gains a special interest from Prince Maxon himself...

Hmmm... I'm not entirely sure what it is I think about this book. I didn't adore it, but I didn't hate it... =p

So start with the good or the bad?

Lets start off with what I liked. I liked the way it was written. It was nice and easy to read, and written in a way that flowed with the storyline. The storyline itself was fine, and I enjoyed the idea of the author!
A lot of people say that they didn't like the names because of their strangeness, but that is one of the main reasons that I did like them. ^^
I enjoyed reading it for the most part, and am curious to know what happens next.

However, I felt that it was a bit... disappointing. /:
TO EVERYONE WHO LOVED THE BOOK I'M SORRY IT JUST WASN'T MY THING!
I picked this book up because I've been seeing it everywhere. A lot of booktubers and bloggers have been saying great things about it, so I thought I'd give it a try.
I think that my main problem is that I couldn't help comparing it to other books. The interviews with Gavril constantly brought me back to the interviews in The Hunger Games, the whole castle atmosphere, and America's family atmosphere kept making me think of Red Queen... Its like I was annoying myself while reading it.
Another thing I didn't like so much about it is that the characters were hard to become attached to, or seemed to superficial. Maxon seemed like a really cool guy some of the time, but other times, he just seemed too clueless about humans, and too typically 'stuck-in-a-castle-learning-about-military'-like. Aspen, although a main character since the beginning, just seemed to be.... there. I didn't feel like he had a very important role. America was one of the better characters, but she would quickly change from being herself, to being not-herself when the other Selected girls were around.
Lastly, the book kept referring to things happening outside the castle - the US in an agreement with China, the rebel attacks, and the different social levels of all the castes. I feel like these were too mentioned too briefly, and think that elaborating on these small factors could add some very interesting substance to the story.

Thats it for my part! See you soon! :D

Currently reading Half Bad, by Sally Green

This book completed the "A book with a love triangle" challenge!