Can't Wait Wednesday- Meet Cute

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read!

I want this so bad! I'm almost afraid to read it. I'm going to get this book, read these meet cutes, and I'll be mad that I don't have the rest of their stories. Ugh.
 ***

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of "how they first met" from some of today’s most popular YA authors.

Readers will experience Nina LaCour's beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard's glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon's imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno's story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick's charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants.

This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.
****
Release date: January 2, 2018
 

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Review: Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes

 

It's city-girl Maddy's first summer in the bayou, and she just falls in love with her new surroundings - the glimmering fireflies, the glorious landscape, and something else, deep within the water, that only she can see. Could it be a mermaid? As her grandmother shares wisdom about sayings and signs, Maddy realizes she may be the only sibling to carry on her family's magical legacy. And when a disastrous oil leak threatens the bayou, she knows she may also be the only one who can help. Does she have what it takes to be a hero? Jewell Parker Rhodes weaves a rich tale celebrating the magic within.

 My online Youth Adult at Heart book club read this book for the month of August and hats off to my friend Crystal for choosing it. This book has family, friends, bravery, magic, imagination, and growth. (All the same things Harry Potter had, how about that).

LIKED:

• There were mermaids. Need I say more. (If you didn't guess that big fin was a mermaid you're ridiculous).
• Maddy and Bear are squad goals. Enough said.
•  The imagery in this book was on point. The author managed to describe Maddy and Bear's adventures, and the Bayou, and what Maddy was feeling BEAUTIFULLY but without talking to much (I'm look at you Stephen King).
• Watching Maddy and the other members of the Bayou bond and become a second type of "family" almost brought tears to my eyes. IT WAS ALL SO LOVELY.
• I don't know much about the Bayou (actually who am I kidding, aside from the fact that they eat a ton of crawdads I don't know a thing about the Bayou) I liked the French words that were peppered throughout the dialogue.
• This book was about belief and imagination, something that slowly begins to dissolve as we're beat up by life. This is a story every adult and child should read.  

NOT SO MUCH:

• Although Maddy's older siblings kind of sucked, I would have been interested to see more of them. They're so different from Maddy (and her mom?) that it would have been an interesting dynamic to watch then interact more.
• So I know what we were suppose to think happen at the end of the book with the... disaster (I'm trying to stay away from spoilers), but it was a tad abrupt for my taste. That being said, I still thought it was great because, MERMAIDS.

IN CONCLUSION:
Did the mom know about the magic? I don't know! Were the mermaids and magic read? I don't know! I don't know, and I don't care, because this book is so sweet and I will suggest it to anyone and everyone I meet. My kingdom for a Novella.

4 STARS

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Blog Hop: Books in Foreign Languages

Book Blogger Hop

This blog hop is hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer.

Question:
Have you ever read a book written in a foreign language you might be fluent in, and then read the same book in English?


Answer:
I took four years of Spanish and I'd be lucky if I could introduce myself properly. The only language I'm fluent in is English, so no, I have never read a book in another language. I really wish I could though. I wonder what lost when books are translated from one language to another.

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Can't Wait Wednesday- Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read!

As we can see, there's no cover yet, but I CAN'T WAIT for this book. It's the fourth book in the Shatter Me series that I was pretty sure I would never get but have wished for!!
 ***

Juliette Ferrars thought she'd won. She took over Sector 45, was named the new Supreme Commander, and now has Warner by her side. But she's still the girl with the ability to kill with a single touch—and now she's got the whole world in the palm of her hand. When tragedy hits, who will she become? Will she be able to control the power she wields and use it for good?
****
Release date: March 6, 2018
 

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Review: Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

4 Stars!

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed "America's Fattest Teen". But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: He can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He's the guy who can reengineer and rebuild anything in new and badass ways, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game - which lands them in group counseling and community service - Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

Jennifer Niven delivers another poignant, exhilarating love story about finding that person who sees you for who you are - and seeing them right back.

I'm going to need someone to tell me why EVERYONE hasn't been listening to this audio book.

LIKED:

• Jack Masselin is black with a huge afro that he loves dearly. 
• Libby, while she obviously wants to fit in and be a normal kid, she couldn't care less about what the jerks at her school think.
• She's GENUINELY happy with who she is, size and all, although she has insecurities like any other kid (or adult for that matter). 
• Jacks parents are in an interracial relationship and the woman was black while the husband was white. If you're not sure why an interracial relationship is a big deal, click here and to learn about the controversy over a Cheerios commercial. While a majority of people reacted positively to the commercial, there was enough anger to make you a little nervous.  
• Libby in the purple bikini. I can't say anything else, you just have to read it. 
• Jack has prosopagnosia. I've been interested in learning more about that diseases since I first read about it in Bone Gap. 
• The chapters alternated between Jack and Libby. I don't know if it was the fact that I listened to the book or what, but I thought they had very defined and "real" voices. Two thumbs up.

NOT SO MUCH:

• I'm going to be real, I can't think of anything. I wish Jack had told his parents about his condition earlier in the book, but his parents were kind of a mess so I can understand why he didn't.
• Libby was VERY mad at Jack when she found out where he lived, and while I sort of understand why... I thought it was a little ridiculous, but it all worked out in the end. 

IN CONCLUSION:

This book is almost five stars, for me. I'll suggest it to EVERYONE. 

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Blog Hop: Readathons

Book Blogger Hop

This blog hop is hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer.

Question:
Do you participate in readathons and/or reading challenges?


Answer:
Absolutely not! I have no time for that. As a librarian I can sit on book award committees which require you to read certain books over a specified amount of time.With the exception of those committee's and my Goodreads challenge, no way.

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Can't Wait Wednesday- Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read!

 

We've got a black girl, in a beautiful dress (I'm not about those ruffles), and a dragon tail curling around her feet. Need I say more.

Before

Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer. Since the day she was born, she’s been told she’s special. Important. Perfect. She’s known across the Fallen Isles not just for her beauty, but for the Mira Treaty named after her, a peace agreement which united the seven islands against their enemies on the mainland.

But Mira has never felt as perfect as everyone says. She counts compulsively. She struggles with crippling anxiety. And she’s far too interested in dragons for a girl of her station.

After

Then Mira discovers an explosive secret that challenges everything she and the Treaty stand for. Betrayed by the very people she spent her life serving, Mira is sentenced to the Pit–the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. There, a cruel guard would do anything to discover the secret she would die to protect.

No longer beholden to those who betrayed her, Mira must learn to survive on her own and unearth the dark truths about the Fallen Isles–and herself–before her very world begins to collapse.    

Release date: September 12, 2017

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Review: Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: Macmillan
Publication Date: April 6, 2016
Rating: 2.5 stars

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She's a model daughter and sister, she's well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she's dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation where she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule. And now faces life-changing repercussions.
She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.
In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society where obedience is paramount and rebellion is punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her-everything. (Goodreads)


This is an old review from my old blog. Although the book wasn't my favorite, it did feature a person of color. Besides, what do I know, maybe someone else will like it. 

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. From the description the book was a dystopian (which I like although I know some people are over it) and from the cover, the main character was a POC and being a POC myself, I really try hard to find characters that I can relate to on a physical level (particularly with all of this election foolishness). However, though I tried, I didn't like this book at all.

Celestine followed all of the rules of her society until she didn't, (MINI SPOILER BUT YOU SHOULD REALLY SEE THIS COMING FROM THE BOOK DESCRIPTION) and she's found Flawed. I must say, the part where Celestine is branded flawed is actually my favorite part of the book. Judge Craven is a pretty awesome and malicious villain, everything else, was less exciting. Celestine then sees a guy through the glass of her prison wall and although they never speak, except for one line of his, she's obsessed with him, he's constantly on her mind. I didn't buy it. I'm honestly pretty forgiving with things like this, but not this time, the author wasn't convincing at all so it got to the point that every time she though about this guy I wanted to throw my tablet across the room. If all of that had been left out (or done well) I think I would have liked the book more. The scenes with the reporter... great. The mom... weird but amusing. I also liked the Celestine's perfectionist personality at times, it's what made her leader and hero for the flawed people. I can't say I was a big fan of Art though, he just felt like a flat character.

*sigh* I wanted to like this book, I really did, it just wasn't well done in my opinion.

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Young Adult @ Heart- Saving Red

My friends and I do an online, transcontinental, book club and we had lots of thoughts about the book Saving Red. Here they are!

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Blog Hop: Reading Old Posts

Book Blogger Hop

This blog hop is hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer.

Question:
Do you ever go "way back" to when you first started blogging and look at your old review posts? Do you see any differences from then to now?

Answer:
I haven't looked at old posts in a while. I use to do it all the time. My tone generally hasn't changed, but I think my thoughts are a bit more organized than they were before (and by before, I mean my old blog).

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