All I Want for Christmas Book Tag

Happy Holidays!



Here's a new tag for you! This is called the All I Want for Christmas Tag. I first saw this on YouTube at Abookutopia.
 
1) What fictional character do you want Santa to leave under your Christmas tree?
I'd LOVE for Santa to leave Jace from The City of Bones under my tree.

2) What character do you want to kiss under the mistletoe?
See the answer to number one.

3) You write your Christmas list for Santa, what are the top 5 books on it?
1. The One by: Kiera Cass.
2. Allegiant by: Veronica Roth.
3. The House of Hades by: Rick Riordan.
4. The City of Fallen Angels by: Cassandra Clare
5. Going Rogue by: Robin Benway  

4) It's secret santa at Hogwarts, what do you most want to receive?
An owl. Or a pygmy puff. Or a Ron Weasley.  

5) You get to the spend the day with the characters and movie adaptation actors from one fandom, what do you pick?
Harry Potter!

6) What fictional animal would you like to replace Rudolph and be able to meet on your roof?
A unicorn.

7) You invite 10 fictional characters to your new years eve party, who do you pick?
1. Maggie from Also Known As
2. Bex from The Gallagher Girls
3. Meg from A Wrinkle in Time
4. Hester Prynne from A Scarlet Letter
5. Fred Weasley from Harry Potter
6. George Weasley from Harry Potter
7. Clarisse from Percy Jackson
8. Caymen from The Distance Between Us
9. Tanya from 13 Treasures
10. Daisy from The Candymakers

-That would be an interesting party...

8) What character would make a good Santa? (Doesn't have to be appearance, personality counts too)
I think that Hagrid from Harry Potter  would make an excellent Santa for both appearance and personality.


I hope you all have a lovely and safe holiday season!

 

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Coco Chanel

Author: Ann Gaines

Publisher: Chelsea House Publications 

Release Date: 1 January 2004

Rating: 

Amazon Synopsis: 

As the world struggled to recover from World War I, it was Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel who decided what the woman of the twentieth century would look like. Her designs, showing the motley influences of soldiers, cabaret singers, and nuns, liberated women from the ruffles and flounces of the Gilded Age. They popularized arms, ankles, low waists, clean lines, and costume jewelry; through Chanel's innovations, every woman, regardless of her income, could create a personal style. Although her own origins were humble, Chanel's name has become synonymous with elegance and good taste.

Goodreads Synopsis: 

- Explores the contributions of women in the science and arts, whose paths allowed them to break gender barriers. - Lavishly illustrated with photographs and memorabilia. - Presents inspiring portraits of achievement.

My Thoughts:

      Coco Chanel was a very interesting book. Gaines was extremely talented at providing all of the information in a thorough yet engaging manner. The layout of the information was fantastic! Instead of beginning with Chanel's birth and carrying through to her death as one might expect, the author began with an event that happened later in Chanel's life and then transitioned into her childhood and continued from that point. This was an attention-grabber and I completely  loved that the author did this. Once I was finished reading the book, I had no questions about Coco Chanel, because Gaines covered it all. 

      One thing that bugged me about the book were the boxes of quick information below the pictures. The pictures themselves were lovely. Correct me if I am wrong but the point of the boxes beneath pictures are to provide new information, or facts that may fit with the picture and not necessarily into the paragraphs themselves. In this book, however, the author did occasionally give new information, but she mainly either restated something that I had previously read or took the exact sentence out of the paragraph. This irked me because I wanted to learn more about Chanel, not have old information reinforced to me the same way. Something else that slightly irritated me was that Gaines brought in other people as sources, but did not necessarily explain who they were. This left me questioning who they were and why the author would quote them.

     Generally, I would recommend this to ages 12 and up. Be aware that the author does mention a sensitive topic in one sentence of the book. I just realized that the length of the negative criticism I have is a lot longer than the positive things I have to say about the book. This is a children's book, so I can tell you that if I did read this when I was 12 I would not have recognized most of the things I mentioned in paragraph two. So bear that in mind if you take a peek through this book that it is geared towards a younger crowd. Overall, I found the book to be a pleasant read and I do not regret reading it, so definitely check it out if it appeals to you!  

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The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars: John Green

Release date: 2012

Rating: 5 stars

The Fault in Our Stars (commonly known as TFIOS) is told from the perspective of the young seventeen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster. Hazel is different from other seventeen-year-old girls. She doesn't drink, go to clubs, crash parties, and her parents are her two best friends. There is one thing that does make Hazel different, however.

Hazel Grace Lancaster has cancer, and she is going to die. 

Hazel has come to terms with her cancer and is just trying to get by for the sake of her parents. That's why Hazel takes so many medications and attends the boring Support Group. Support Group is supposed to help survivors join together and help each other, but it only succeeds in having Hazel hate to go to every meeting. However, in the most unlikely place, Hazel Grace Lancaster meets the handsome cancer survivor, Augustus Waters. Together, the couple will bond together to live in their own little infinity.

Words cannot express how amazing this book was. I laughed, cried, and had my feels generally destroyed. TFIOS completely turned my world upside-down. I gave this book to all of my reader friends and they absolutely adored this book. John Green captivated readers hearts from page one. You definitely DON'T want to miss this book.  

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The Sound of Your Voice, Only Really Far Away

 

Author: Frances O'Roark Dowell

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Release Date: 8/27/2013

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the conclusion to the bestselling Secret Language of Girls trilogy, Marylin and Kate find that boys can be just as complicated as friendship.Marylin knows that, as a middle school cheerleader, she has certain obligations. She has to smile as she walks down the hall, be friends with the right people, and keep her manicure in tip-top shape. But Marylin is surprised to learn there are also rules about whom she’s allowed to like—and Benjamin, the student body president, is deemed unnacceptable. But maybe there is a way to convince the cheerleaders that her interest in Benjamin is for their own good—maybe she’ll pretend that she’s using him to get new cheerleading uniforms!

Kate, of course, finds this ludicrous. She is going to like whom she likes, thank you very much. And she just so happens to be spending more time than ever with Matthew Holler. But even a girl who marches to the beat of her own guitar strings can play the wrong notes—and are she and Matthew even playing the same song? She’s just not sure. So when Matthew tells Kate that the school’s Audio Lab needs funding from the student government, she decides to do what she can to help him get it.

But there isn’t enough money to go around, and it soon becomes clear that only one of the two girls can get her way. Ultimately, though, is it even her way? Or are both girls pushing for something they never really wanted in the first place?

My Thoughts:

I think this book was absolutely adorable! It really explored friendship and the difference between healthy friendships and unhealthy friendships. From the first book in the trilogy to the third book in the trilogy, the readers are extremely connected to the characters. The author did a great job conveying the emotions that Marylin and Kate were experiencing. I did, however, wish that there was more of an interaction between Marylin and Kate (Marylin's previous best friend), as well as Marylin and Rhetta (Marylin's new best friend). This was generally a cute read, of which I would recommend to 6th graders and up.



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Liebster Award

Hi everyone!

We have been nominated for the Liebster Award by My Bookshelf is Never Full!  Here's how it works: Once you are nominated, you mention who nominated you and you answer the 10 questions that they posted. Then you nominate 10 more blogs followed by less than 200 people and write 10 questions for your nominees to answer. Don't forget to post a comment on each of your nominees with a link to your post, so they know that they were nominated! Because our blog has multiple authors, we are each answering the questions briefly in different colored font. Two of us will nominate two blogs and post on their blog, and two of us will be nominating three blogs and posting on their blog. This goes for the questions as well-two of us will write two questions, and two of us will write three.

Color Key:

Kathy will be writing in pink. 
Emily will be writing in purple
Katie will be writing in blue

Here are the questions:

1) What was your favorite series of the past year?
My favorite series of this year (although, it's been around for a few years, the most recent was just released) is definitely The Gallagher Girls Series by: Ally Carter.
My favorite series that I have read so far this year has been The Selection Series by Kiera Cass.
My favorite series that I have read this year was the Watersong Quartet. I read all four of the books this year. This is a hard question, though, because there are a lot of other series that I like.

My favorite series that I have read this year is the Infernal Devices.  I spent the majority of my Christmas holiday reading the final book in the series.

2) Who is your favorite minor character in all the books that you've read?
Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter by far.
Either Nico from the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books, Issac from The Fault in Our Stars, or Marlee from the Selection series.
I like Tris' friend, Christina, from the Divergent trilogy.

William Herondale, from the Infernal Devices series, is, by far, my favorite character.

3) Have you quit a book recently? If so, what was it's name and why'd you quit it?
No, I have not. I try not to quit books in the hopes that they might eventually pick up.
I recently quit the Mortal Instruments series. It sort of lost its touch for me, but I'm trying to pick them up again.
Earlier this year, I quit reading 17 & Gone because there were some other books that I wanted to read instead.  I think I wasn't in the mood for it.

A few weeks ago, I stopped reading the Unseen 2 due to a lack of time and overcommitment at school.

4) What is the largest amount of books that you've bought at one time?
I actually don't often buy books, because I usually get them from the library, so I guess maybe three.
Normally, if I'm allowed, I'll buy three books.
The most I've bought at once is probably two or three. Typically, I buy one book per bookstore visit.

The largest number of books that I have bought during a single trip to the bookstore was 9 books.

5) Why did you start blogging?
I had been toying with the idea of starting a blog for quite a while, so I was excited when Olivia asked me to co-own her new blog. I wanted to share my love of reading with others and hopefully convince more people to read.
I started this year on Kathy's request. I really like blogging and I think that it was a great decision on my part.
I started blogging because I love books and wanted to write about books that I love. I started in March 2012.

I started blogging because I wanted to share my love of books with others and share my thoughts and opinions with those who enjoy similar books.
6) What are some books that you love, but most others don't?

Their Eyes Were Watching God by: Zora Neale Hurston. I know many people do like this, but in my age group, they don't seem to enjoy it. If one can't grasp the language of the book, it can be quite difficult to read.
A majority of people I know love reading, so I'm not exactly sure. Most likely any book because people my age hate books with a fiery passion that could rival the burning of 5 suns. (Kathy says that this was dramatic, but it's true.)
I like a lot of books, but I'm not really sure which of the books aren't loved by other people.

One of my favorite books was A Separate Peace, which was a summer reading book that the majority of my classmates despised.

7) Have you ever been ashamed to read a certain book in public? Which one?
Nancy Drew. In 9th grade. Yeah. Erm. YOLO.
Twilight. All of them. I wasn't ashamed at the time, but now I am.
I'm not usually ashamed to read books in public.  Sometimes, if there is a couple kissing or almost kissing on the cover, I don't like to be seen reading the book at school.  But I still bring it to school anyway.

I was embarrassed to carry around the Mortal Instruments books, particularly City of Bones, due to the pictures on the front cover.

8) What are your favorite reading spots? 
I like to read everywhere and anywhere, so I don't necessarily have a favorite spot to read.  
My room or the library. I like it quiet. However, I'm extremely good at tuning people out, so I can read pretty much anywhere.
I like to read on my bed, or in my family room.

I like to read in bed or in an armchair by the fire.

9) How do you organize your bookshelf?
Yeah....I use the, uh, "stack, cram and shove method."
I use the same method as Kathy.
Yeah, I use the same method as Kathy and Emily.  I tried to organize alphabetically, but it didn't work for long.  Now, not all my books fit on the shelf, so I have stacks of them on my floor.

I initially tried to organize my books alphabetically, as well, but I currently have Rowling next to Clare.  So that evidently didn't work out well.

10) What author would you love to meet? Why?

I'd love to meet Jane Austen. It was so courageous of her to write when women were discouraged from it. I'd love to have a conversation with her!
Either J.K. Rowling because she's amazing or John Green because he is what fights off all the world-suck.
I would love to meet Trish Doller because Something Like Normal is probably my favorite book ever, and I love Where the Stars Still Shine.

I would love to meet J.K.Rowling due to her amazing rags-to-riches story.
Our  blog nominations:

1.Pink Polka Dot Book Blog
2.The Ultimate Bookworm's
3.Weaving Pages
4.Ice Queen Bookshelf
5.Nook Book Merlin
6.Buckling Bookshelves
7.Musings of a Bibliomaniac
8.Spun With Words
9.Eternity Through Pages
10.Mo Books

Our questions:
1. What was your least favorite book and why?
2. When did you start to enjoy reading?
3. What stand-alone book do you wish there was a sequel to?
4. What books do you think kicked-off your love for reading?
5. What book that had a sequel did you think should not have had one?
6. Do you ever DNF books?  If so, what book have you DNF'ed recently?
7. What is your favorite genre?
8. What is one of your favorite books in your favorite genre?
9. What book(s) have you been wanting to read for awhile, but just haven't gotten around to?
10. What is the greatest number of books that you have been read at one time?

Hope you all have a lovely day!
-Pages in Paris

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Book Sacrifice Tag

Hello lovely blog followers and Internet surfers! Welcome to our monthly Book Tag. I just discovered (literally, like, three minutes ago) the Book Sacrifice Tag. I saw this awesome YouTuber doing a really funny and creative version of this Book Tag, so that is what I'm hoping to do. I've linked the YouTuber, Ariel Bissett , so please go check her video out! So, this tag is called the Book Sacrifice Tag. These are all the books that you absolutely HATED and wouldn't feel bad about setting on fire. So, going along with Ariel Bissett, I am going to make a scenario in which you get to destroy all of the novels, sequels, and classics that you hated. Ready...Set...GO!

Alright, so you're sitting in Barnes n' Noble when BAM, Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters attack! However, you saw somewhere on the Internet that all evil characters from books HATE books that everyone was raving about that was actually a huge let down. You know exactly what to do. You run to the sci-fi section and grab...

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.
Okay, I had to read this book for my high school's book club and I thought that it was going to be really good. It had an interesting cover that reminded me of the video game, The Last of Us, and it had a really strong beginning. Of course, this book was a HUGE let down. The main character, Cassie, was really flat. She didn't really learn or do anything. Also, she fell in love with pretty much every guy she saw. It wasn't like she was a teenager who survived the end of the world. It was like she was a 13-year-old girl in the mall with her friend. Also, the ending to this book didn't answer any questions! There's a difference between ending a book with suspense and to just stop writing. This book just stopped. I know that sci-fi books are hard to write, but seriously. I just didn't like this book. At all. So, The 5th Wave gets thrown out the window of the Barnes n' Noble at Voldemort. No question about it.

The 5th Wave worked in scaring off Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but after they leave, Peace Keepers from the Capitol are trying to get into Barnes n' Noble! You remember that some friend told you that Peace Keepers HATE horrible sequels to an amazing first book. You run to the Teen Fiction section and you take...
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.

New Moon was a horrible sequel to Twilight. Now, I know a lot of people hate the Twilight series in general. I used to hate it with a burning passion as well. However, I realized that Twilight isn't meant to be taken all that seriously. It's just supposed to be a sappy boy vampire meets girl book. All it is is a sappy love story. Going on with that argument, I HATED NEW MOON SO MUCH. Stephenie Meyer took a fun story and and totally killed it. Bella just sat around and did nothing. In my opinion, if the love of your teenage life breaks your heart, all it means is that you have to show them what they're missing, not mope around like a half-dead thing. The plot was non-existent, and the foreshadowing in the beginning of the book about the Volutri  was way to obvious. I can live with the 3rd and 4th book, but New Moon should feel ashamed of itself.




So FINALLY you drive away the Peace Keepers. However, aliens have now taken their place. However, you watched Ancient Aliens the other night for a laugh and you remembered that the "experts" said that all aliens had one major weakness. Horrible classics that should not be praised as much as they are. So you run to the Classics section and you pull out...

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
Alright, let's get something straight here. I love Les Mis. I love it so much that I have an Instagram account dedicated to pictures and posts about it. However, this book was TOO LONG. It was 1,232 or so pages. A majority of it was like the driest history book you've ever read. The other parts were about minor characters that you don't care what happens to them. The last minuscule part was the actual story that we all know and love. I read this whole book from cover to cover, and I have a piece of advice for all who think that they want to read the whole story. Don't. I never say, "Yes, you should read the abridged version." However, Les Miserables is the book that I believe should be printed in the abridged version. One last side note before I move on; Fellow Mizzies, please don't kill me. You know that I'm right.



Finally, all of the evil things happen and all of the bad books, you decide that you missed a horrible book that you want to burn. So you choose...

I hate Romeo and Juliet. I hate it. Juliet is 13 or 14 years old. She's basically a child being penalized for falling in love with some guy. However, my biggest problem with story is Romeo. Romeo is, like, 18 and he falls in love with a 14 year-old girl. Also, Romeo said that he would always love some other girl his own age until the end of time. Then he sees Juliet and falls in love with her almost immediately after he says that. Also, this story takes place within three days. In the span of 72 hours, Romeo and Juliet fall in love, get married, and kill themselves for each other. Also, why didn't Juliet just tell Romeo that she was going to fake kill herself and to not overreact? All in all, I really despise this story. Also, me being required to read this book this year isn't doing the Montagues and Capulates any favors.

This was my book sacrifice Book Tag. I really hope you guys liked this and thought that it was at leas a bit entertaining. Goodbye and I'll write you all soon.

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Transitions

*I was sent this book for a review by the author*

Author: Greg Schroeder

Publisher: Smashwords

Release Date: September 2013

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis:

More poems of calm, quiet, hope, and everyday happiness. Featuring a series on Hurricane Sandy as well as the transitions we all face - summer to fall, child to adult, storm to quiescence.

My Thoughts:

I thought this poetry collection to be very well written and filled with emotion. My favorite work would be "Dichotomy," which explored the inner workings of a father's mind.

"Oh, the dichotomy of a dad Loving the good but dreading the bad. So proud he’s growing up. So sad he’s growing up" (Schroeder 4).  

I think that Schroeder is a most talented poet who possesses a gift of conveying emotions in a relatable way.

I did, however, feel as if the collection was missing something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it did leave a bit to be desired. Perhaps it needed the poems to be divided into more tangible categories. I was a bit confused because there were specific groups for certain poems, however, I couldn't tell how some were meant to be related. 

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. Age-wise, I would recommend Transitions to ages 14 and up.

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Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

 

Author: Trish Doller

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: June 19, 2012

Rating:

This is an amazing book that I have read three times.  Every time, I have loved it just as much as the first time.  I can see myself rereading this book again in the future.  The characters and the story of this one are just so amazing that I can read it over and over again.

POSSIBLE MINOR SPOILERS

Travis is an amazing narrator. In YA fiction, there are not many male narrators or nineteen year old narrators, and Travis is both. He is a nineteen year old male Marine on leave from Afghanistan. He does not come from Afghanistan unscathed since he saw his best friend die in combat, and he now has nightmares remembering his friend Charlie's death. Travis is not a perfect guy. He has flaws, but they make him realistic. He made mistakes when he was younger, but war changes him.

Next there is Harper, Travis' love interest. In middle school, Travis ruined her reputation by letting people believe Harper had slept with him. He didn't start that rumor, but when it spread, he didn't stop it. Harper doesn't want to forgive Travis right away, and their relationship begins with Harper punching Travis in the face. He deserves that punch for what he did to her, too. Harper slowly begins to realize that Travis has changed, and the two of them become friends. Eventually, they become romantically involved, but the romance happens slowly and realistically. I love the two of them as a couple, and as individuals. They are so adorable together.

Next there are Travis' friends from the Marines. There names are Kevlar and Moss, and they come to visit Travis in Florida. They are a great group of friends. They like to play tricks on each other, and they insult each other, but they are still loyal and have each others' backs. They seem like realistic young men. They drink, say bad words, and talk about girls. I love the trick that Travis plays on them in the Waffle House. It has to do with a bet. I won't say all the details, but that is a great scene with these three friends. Though Charlie is dead during the course of the novel, the reader can get a sense of his character through flashbacks. A great scene is the flashback when he mentions how his mom tried to talk his out of joining the Marines.

Finally there is Travis' family. They have many problems, but the problems are realistic. Travis' dad is cheating on his mom, yet she is not standing up for herself because she thinks she will be lonely without him. There are few great mother-son scenes between Travis and his mom. I am glad she decides to divorce the dad by the end of the book. I did not like Travis' son at all. He basically became his dad's least favorite son because he stopped playing football. I did not like Travis' brother, Ryan, either. While Travis was in Afghanistan, Ryan took Travis' girlfriend and car. Travis' ex-girlfriend's name is Paige, and I disliked her. She breaks up with Travis in a letter. Once Travis is back, she sneaks into his room at night to sleep with him even though she is dating Ryan. Luckily, Travis ends it all with Paige when he realizes he can have a better relationship with Harper.

If you like YA contemporary and male narrators, read this book.

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The Reckless Engineer by Jac Wright

This review may contain spoilers.

This book was sent to me by an author for a review. 
Author: Jac Wright

Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing

Release Date: Not set
Recommended Age: 16+

Rating: 

In The Reckless Engineer by Jac Wright, we travel all the way to the Portsmouth seaside as we follow the story of Jack Connor. Jack has it all. Caitlin McAllen, daughter of the wealthy McAllen family, is Jack's wife. Jack has a steady and well-paying job as an engineer, caring friends and family, two sons from a previous marriage, a daughter from Caitlin's previous relationship, and a beautiful house. Jack has it all. Told in the perspective of Jack Connor's best friend, Jeremy Stone, this story has everything-but-the-kitchen-sink. This book was filled with romance, action, mystery, and murder.

Wait, murder?

That's right. Jack Connor has allegedly murdered his mistress, Michelle Williams. Jeremy stands for Jack and hires one of the best lawyers in town to defend Jack. Jeremy has to crack this seemingly impossible case, before his best friend is convicted and sent to prison. Will Jeremy be able to pull a Sherlock Holmes and solve this deadly puzzle?

I thought that The Reckless Engineer was an okay book. I'm not really the type for murder mysteries, so this book wasn't really my area of expertise. However, I can see someone who loves mysteries to really enjoy this book. I liked the main character, Jeremy, but I couldn't help but feel somewhat in-the-middle about Jack. On one hand I felt bad for him because he's losing everything in the span of one week. However, on the other hand, I couldn't help but feel that Jack kind of deserved it. This book really played with my feelings about certain events and characters. I give this book a 3 star rating. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love love love it either.

*Warning! The Reckless Engineer is NOT a book for young children or teens. It is an ADULT book. Thank you. 

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Autumn Book Tag

The Autumn Book Tag

Part of our monthly non-review-yet-still book-related-type-post

Book tag originally by: Dani on Books http://tinyurl.com/nr5k355

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) What is your favourite thing about Autumn?

I love autumn for many reasons. I love starting school because it's almost as if I have a new perspective and I'm motivated to be a better student and person. I love the weather and how cool, yet sunny it still is. I absolutely adore the seasonal drinks in autumn, like apple cider. I love Halloween and how much fun it is to see virtually everyone walking around with a smile on their face and a piece of candy in their hand.

2) What book on your shelves reminds you of going back to school/your school days?

I would have to choose The Mother Daughter Book Club by: Heather Vogel Frederick because it involves fresh starts, new friendships, and new schools. 
 

3) Find a book on your shelf which has something Autumn related on the cover.

For this I would choose Walden by: Henry David Thoreau. It has leaves on it and traditionally fall colors of red, brown, and yellow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) What is your favourite horror/Halloween story?

I'm not sure if this counts because it's a movie, but I LOVE It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

 

5) What is your favourite horror film?

I honestly don't like horror that much, so I guess I can't really answer this.

 

6) Which book release are you most looking forward to this Autumn?

I'm SUPER excited for the newest Rick Riordan book House of Hades, which, according to Goodreads, is published on October 8th! 

7) Which film release are you most looking forward to this Autumn?

I'm not really sure of many movies that are being released in a month or so, so I'll choose one I saw listed as premiering September 27 which is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. I really liked the first one, so I'm excited to see what this will be like!

8) Show three books that you are hoping to read this season.

 

 

This would be a "finish," as I am about halfway through.

 

 

 

 

 

So that's the end of the tag! Wishing you all a *SPECTACULAR* autumn season, and I hope you read plenty of books!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Live Through This by Mindi Scott

 

Author: Mindi Scott

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: October 2nd, 2012

Rating:

 

After reading Freefall and loving it, Live Through This immediately went on my TBR list.  As soon as this came out, I went out and bought a copy of the book, and read it, loving it just as much as I loved Freefall.  Live Through This is a quick read, and it keeps you engaged in the story the entire time.  The book contains the perfect mix of lighter and darker elements, and the issues in the book are covered so well.  I love this book so much that I have read it several times since its release.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Coley is an amazing character.  She's hiding a huge secret from everyone around her because she just wants to have a normal life.  She wants to have fun on dance team, and date Reece.  She is strong, despite the fact that she sometimes feels broken by the abuse she is receiving.  She is ashamed because of this abuse, and the book does a good job showcasing her feelings.  She's a character that you can immediately root for and sympathize with.

Coley's family is woven into the story well.  Coley, her brother, and her mom lived with a man named Patrick who was physically abusive until they left him.  Coley was too young then to actually remember him.  Her mom remarried a man named Tony, and had triplets with him - Zach, Jacob, and Emma.  In the story, you can tell that Tony cares about Coley and her brother Bryan, though they aren't his children.  Coley's half-siblings are good characters as well.  I wasn't a fan of Bryan at all, for spoilery reasons that I'm not going to explain here.  If you read the book, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

The other secondary characters are well-developed and interwoven into Coley's story.  Reece is Coley's crush.  He's a sweet guy who plays the sax in band.  The relationship between Reece and Coley is well done, slow, and realistic.  They make a good couple.  Alejandra is Coley's former best friend.  There is a rift between the two for reasons that are unclear at first.  Near the end, there is a great scene with just Coley and Alejandra that is emotional and well written.

If you like contemporary YA, read this book.

 

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