BOOK REVIEW | The Protected by Claire Zorn

Title: The Protected
Author: Claire Zorn
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publication Date: 23/7/2014
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher - UQP
Star Rating: 4 stars
GOODREADS

Synopsis -->
Hannah's world is in pieces and she doesn't need the school counsellor to tell her she has deep-seated psychological issues. With a seriously depressed mum, an injured dad and a dead sister, who wouldn't have problems?
Hannah should feel terrible but for the first time in ages, she feels a glimmer of hope and isn't afraid anymore. Is it because the elusive Josh is taking an interest in her? Or does it run deeper than that?
In a family torn apart by grief and guilt, one girl's struggle to come to terms with years of torment shows just how long old wounds can take to heal.


THIS, my friends, is how you write a YA novel focusing on a serious topic.
Claire Zorn is definitely an author to watch. I read her debut, The Sky So Heavy, in less than 24 hours and immediately after finishing it, I picked up this book because I couldn't get enough of Zorn's realistic and raw characters. 

The Protected is about Hannah and how her and her family are torn apart by the loss of Hannah's older sister. It also realistically portrays horrific bullying, family troubles, panic attacks and the reality of being an outcast in high school. I am honestly blown away by Claire Zorn's ability to write so realistically. 

What I absolutely adored about this novel is that it doesn't have your typical YA instalovey bullcrap that makes Hannah magically okay again. Yes, she meets a guy, but he's her friend and he helps her just by being there for her. Sure, they'll probably get married in like 12 years, but at this point in time when the novel is set, THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT. What's important is Hannah's mental health and overcoming her guilt and her grief, overcoming years of horrific bullying and a year of having a mother completely disappear into herself and an injured father who can't remember anything that happened on the day they lost Katie. 

My only complaint about this novel is that I wanted more, but I think this has more to do with me, not the book. The book ended beautifully, but personally, a lot of the time I crave more of the characters that I've grown to love. 

Definitely go and check out The Sky So Heavy AND this book, because Claire Zorn is definitely an author to watch! She has a new book coming out soon and yOU BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR I'LL BE DEVOURING IT ASAP. 

Mini Review | This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Title: This is Where it Ends
Author: Marieke Nijkamp
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Genre: YA Thriller/Contemporary
Publication Date: 5/1/2016
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Star Rating: 3.5 stars
GOODREADS

Synopsis -->
10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity High School finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.
10:02 a.m. The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.
10:03 a.m. The auditorium doors won't open.
10:05 a.m. Someone starts shooting.
Told from four different perspectives over the span of fifty-four harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

I keep changing my rating because I have very mixed feelings about this. Firstly, I stayed up into the early hours of the morning reading this because I couldn't put it down. It was completely gripping and horrific and I just had to know what happened. However, I felt as though some of the characters (especially the shooter) were very underdeveloped. I have personally never experienced a school shooting, but some of the things that characters did/said seemed completely ridiculous and unrealistic to me - for example one of the characters confronts the shooter and says 'You know, sweaty chic does't suit you'. Like, what????????? If there was the possibility that you were about to be shot, that's really what you would say? You wouldn't be shaking in your boots? That just didn't make sense to me. But like I said, I was hooked from page one, and I didn't think I would be because the entire novel spans only 1 hour, but through the different perspectives there were expertly placed mini-cliffhangers and you had to wait until you got their perspective again to find out what happened. 
The novel also has a very 'black and white'/'good vs evil' stance which I don't necessarily agree with either. I think I'll keep it at 3.5 stars for now because of how it kept my eyes glued to the book until the very last page.

Book Review | The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn

Title: The Sky So Heavy
Author: Claire Zorn
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Genre: YA Apocalypse/Dystopia
Publication Date: 24/7/2013
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher - UQP
Star Rating: 4 stars
GOODREADS

Synopsis -->
For Fin, it's just like any other day - racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class, and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe, Lucy. Only it's not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated.


I just finished this book, hugged it to my chest and let out a small wail. Wow. What an engrossing and gripping debut. The Sky So Heavy follows the aftermath of Nuclear testing gone wrong, resulting in a nuclear winter. Our main characters live just outside of Sydney, Australia and it is their harrowing story of loss and survival, of love and friendship and ultimately, it's a powerful allegory in which the reality of Australia's asylum seeker crisis is brought to light. 

This book was also scarily realistic, in that this isn't a dystopian revolving around a disaster that could never happen in real life (e.g. zombies), but a nuclear war? That could happen and the results would be absolutely devastating, like worldwide famine and entire nations completely demolished. The book was brutal, honest and raw. The last 50 pages had my heart caving in in agony. 

The characters were really what made this book for me. We have Fin, who is just trying to keep his 12 year old brother alive. We Lucy, the girl that Fin has had a crush on from the minute she first walked into the classroom. And then we have Noll, my precious cinnamon roll. He was severely bullied in school and nobody did anything to stop it, not even Fin, who was best friends with one of the biggest bullies in the school. But disaster brings people together and things like this get put into perspective. There were also some amazing side characters that honestly stole my heart. Mr Effrez OMG i love him so much <3 and Alan! What a precious old man.

An absolute stunner of a debut and a book I wish I'd read sooner! I highly, highly recommend this one if you want a realistic look into a devastating disaster and a book that will leave you sobbing with the pain of it all. 

A V. Personal Review of Bridget Jones's Diary

Title: Bridget Jones's Diary
Author: Helen Fielding
Series or Standalone: Bridget Jones #1
Genre: Adult Contemporary/Retelling of Pride and Prejudice
Publication Date: 1996
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Star Rating: 1 star
GOODREADS

Synposis ---> A dazzling urban satire of modern human relations?
An ironic, tragic insight into the demise of the nuclear family?
Or the confused ramblings of a pissed thirty-something?
Helen Fielding's devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton launched a genre and transcended the pages of fiction to become a cultural icon.

Prepare yourselves, it's about to get personal up in here.

So, I've never seen the movie of Bridget Jones's Diary, so I thought I would read the highly acclaimed book before doing so and, to my great surprise, I ended up hating almost everything about it. I 100% understand why people like it - it's funny and relatable and reminiscent of the great decade that was the 90's, but because of a purely personal problem, this book made me feel like garbage and therefore making me absolutely loathe my reading experience. 

Bridget is always writing down her weight and saying she's fat, but the thing is, it's not just herself saying this. Friends, family and other characters also call her fat throughout the novel and then I look at me, who weighs over 15 kilos more than Bridget, and it honestly made me feel like crap. I have already been struggling with confidence and self-loathing because over the past couple of years I've put on 25 kilos due to changing medications for my mental health, so this book honestly just made it worse. Is this what people on the street think about me when I walk by? Do my friends and family secretly discuss how much weight I've put on behind my back? It honestly took me back to when members of my own family were making snide remarks about my weight or offering suggestions for how exercise and dieting could benefit me, thinking they were helping when really, it made it ten times worse. 

I was 3/4 of the way through the book, when I thought to myself, has anything plot-wise actually happened? Nope. Just a bunch of damaging self-hatred that triggered my own. 

I get that a lot of people love the book and that's fine, I totally get it, but for me, it ended up being a damaging and destructive novel that ended up being quite triggering for my depression.

Let me know any thoughts you guys have on this book or any of the things I've discussed!

BOOK REVIEW | JANE EYRE

So, I recently read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë for the first time and it swiftly became my favourite book of all time! Watch my review here ->

BOOK REVIEW | Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira

Title: Bookishly Ever After
Author: Isabel Bandeira
Series or Standalone: Book 1 in a series!
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publication Date: January 19th 2016
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley & Spencer Hill Press
GOODREADS

Synposis ---> In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins’ life would be a book. Preferably a YA novel with magic and a hot paranormal love interest. Unfortunately, her life probably wouldn’t even qualify for a quiet contemporary. But when Phoebe finds out that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her, she turns to her favorite books for advice. Phoebe overhauls her personality to become as awesome as her favorite heroines and win Dev’s heart. But if her plan fails, can she go back to her happy world of fictional boys after falling for the real thing?


Thank you to NetGalley & Spencer Hill Contemporary for providing me with a copy of this book to review! As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I had to request it. I mean, it's every YA booklover's dream! A book about a main character obsessed with books? SIGN ME UP! 
THE PROS:
Okay so before I say anything else, I'm just going to say that this book is SO relatable and adorable - from the book signings, to the ignoring the world through reading, to the crushing on fictional characters! It was just so much fun to read about! I also LOVED the diversity! Dev is Indian and one of Pheobe's friends is a lesbian, but what I loved was that she wasn't stereotyped. She's a cheerleader and she's fashion and make-up obsessed and she just happened to like girls. SO WHAT? I loved how it wasn't made into a big deal and it didn't feel like the author just shoved an lgbt character in there so that there was diversity in her novel, you know? 
The other thing I really LOVED about this book is that the last 1/4 takes place at a camp for 6th graders and Dev & Phoebe sign up to help out and it was SO CUTE! And it totally took me back to my school camps and how fun it was and who I was crushing on at the time and it gave me all the nostalgic and giggly feels!
THE CONS:
So Phoebe was REALLY annoying because every time Dev put himself out there and gave her signs that he liked her, she just pushed him away. And I understand that she's an introvert and she's shy (I can relate), but she did it time and time again and it got a bit repetitive and frustrating.
If you've read the novel Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Bookishly Ever After followed the theme of having snippets from the MC's favourite books. And just like while I was reading Fangirl, I found myself skipping those parts because I honestly didn't care about them. I just wanted to get back to Phoebe and Dev! *heart eyes*
The writing wasn't anything spectacular or beautiful, but it wasn't bad in any way and definitely kept me hooked!

I definitely recommend this for fans of adorable YA Contemporary who want a relatable main character who fangirls as much as you do! 
~3.5 STARS~

2015 END OF YEAR BOOK SURVEY!

This survey was created by The Perpetual Page-Turner, an amazing blog that I follow! 

I left out one section of the survey, so if you want the full thing, click here. 

Number of books you read: 200
Number of re-reads: 20
Genre you read the most from: Young Adult Contemporary

1. Best book you read in 2015: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
3. Most surprising (good or bad) book you read: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
4. Book you 'pushed' the most people to read (and they did): Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
5. Best series you started? Best sequel? Best series ender? The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, Queen of Shadows & Winter by Marissa Meyer
6. Favourite new author you discovered: Meg Cabot, Nicola Yoon, Renee Ahdieh, Becky Albertalli
7. Best book from a genre you don't typically read/was out of your comfort zone? Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
9. Book you read in 2015 that you are most likely to reread next year: Illuminae & The Wrath and the Dawn
10. Favourite cover of a book you read this year: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
11. Most memorable character of 2015: Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass
12. Most beautifully written book you read: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book: Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper & Feed by M.T. Anderson
14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
15. Favourite passage/quote from a book you read this year: 
“She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.” - Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
“She looked at them, at the three males who meant everything—more than everything. Then she smiled with every last shred of courage, of desperation, of hope for the glimmer of that glorious future. “Let’s go rattle the stars.” - Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
16. Shortest and longest book you read: Just One Night by Gayle Forman & Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
17. Book that shocked you the most: After You by Jojo Moyes
18. OTP of the year: SPOILERS FOR QUEEN OF SHADOWS ---------- Celaena & Rowan <3
19. Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year: Celaena & Lysandra 
20. Favourite book you read from an author you've read previously: The Just One Day Duology by Gayle Forman
21. Best book you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
22. Newest fictional crush: IS THIS EVEN A QUESTION? ROWAN WHITETHORN.
23. Best 2015 debut: The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
24. Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting: The Wrath & the Dawn. again.
25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most fun to read: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
26. Book that made you cry: Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry
27. Hidden gem of the year: Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
28. Book that crushed your soul: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
29. Most unique book you read: Illuminae!
30. Book that made you the most mad: Where Rainbows End (AKA Love, Rosie) by Cecelia Ahern

1. One book you didn’t get to in 2015 but will be your number 1 priority in 2016: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Book you are most anticipating for 2016: The 5th book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas!
3. 2016 debut you're most anticipating: Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor
4. A series ending/a sequel you are most anticipating in 2016 ToG 5, The Rose & the Dagger (Renee Ahdieh), ACOMAF (Sarah J. Maas), Gemina (Illuminae #2).
5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2016: BUY LESS BOOKS THAN I READ (Like that's ever gonna happen tho let's be real)
6. A 2016 release you've already read and recommend to everyone: Remembrance by Meg Cabot (the 7th and only adult instalment in the Mediator series!)