The Young Elites

Okay so not going to lie; I started another post a while ago where I was going to have short snappy descriptions of a bunch of books I read recently but it was taking too long so I'm going to start from scratch.

The Young Elites

By: Marie Lu 

(same author as the Legend series- if you haven't read it yet, you definitely should)

Picture From of Goodreads

I got off to kind of a rocky start with this book as I checked it out from the library a couple times and both times ended up not being able to read it, but in the end I'm glad I went for magic number 3 because it was really good.

This book is about this girl named Adelina who lives in an abusive household. When she was really young she got the blood fever. Some of the survivors of this fever have marks and so they are labeled malfettos and are a disgrace to their families. However, some of these malfettos have powers and it turns out that Adelina is one of them. These people are called the Young Elites and there is a group of them called the Dagger Society who recruit Adelina.

However, there are complications which of course I can't give away because that would spoil the book but suffice it to say that Adelina's powers are much stronger than everyone expects and she isn't able to control them as well as the Dagger Society would like.

I really enjoyed this book because it was different. Especially at the end, you think you know how everything is going to work out and then BAM! it doesn't work out the way you expect which was incredibly refreshing. The whole thing with the powers was kind of similar to Steelheart (I don't know which came out first) but at the same time it was totally different and it didn't occur to me that they were even remotely similar until just now.

I definitely recommend this book to everyone looking for something out of the ordinary- especially if you are a fantasy fan and even if you're not, broaden your experiences, try something new and read it anyway.

Wow It's Been Awhile

Wow, okay so it's been a really long time. I don't think I've posted since September, yikes. I doubt any of the people who used to read this blog will still be checking or anything but I'm going to go ahead and post anyway and hopefully I'll be a lot more regular about it now that it's summer.

So I just took a break to skim over the last thing I posted and I was wrong- I haven't posted anything since August, albeit the end of August. Sorry about that! (to those of you who have actually been checking on a regular basis) So... I guess I'll just get to it. I'm thinking that for this initial post I'll just list a bunch of the books that I've read recently (or even in the last year if I can remember them) and maybe some thoughts on each one and then if you guys want more information, depending on how long ago I read it I'll try to give you a decent post specific to the book. Otherwise, I'll just try to post about a book after I finish it.

Ripper: This is a really good historical fiction (I'm pretty sure) book about Jack the Ripper. Basically the author took the story of Jack and made it his own. There's a plot twist at the end that you really don't see coming (you know how much I love a good plot twist). It's sooo good!! Anyway, I read this book about 9 months ago and I still remember that it's good and the major plot points so you can tell that it's definitely memorable. Although I don't remember the main character's name... I mean I remember some of the characters' names- just not the main character's *rip*. Oh well, I still recommend it because it's really good and isn't just one of those cookie-cutter books that I seem to be finding a lot of recently.

The Testing (and the rest of the series): Ahh this book is soooo good! I read it in like 2 days which considering the fact that this was my first year of high school is really impressive. I know it may seem like your classic dystopian novel- in fact it was kind of a combination of The Giver and The Hunger Games- but for some reason I really really liked it and I never like copy-cat books. I don't remember a ton of details because I read the entire series really quickly (I think in less than 2 weeks actually) but I do know that the other 2 books in the series were not as good as the first; which honestly is typical of trilogies with a really good first book. However, I'm not saying that the other books were bad. I'm saying that I liked the first one soooo much that the others didn't meet my expectations. I am also saying that I DEFINITELY recommend this book to anyone in search of a good book to read, especially if you are into sci-fi dystopian novels. I just realized that I should probably tell you guys what the book is about, shouldn't I? Basically, the Testing is set in the future in a world (our world) dealing with the aftermaths of a war (or a natural disaster) (or both- I think many things happened, it's been awhile since I've read it sorry) that killed thousands of species and wiped out thousands of cities. It's about a girl named Cia who wants to be a mechanical engineer but her only chance at a college education is to be chosen for The Testing. The book just follows her through her journey and her internal struggle (you'll know what I mean when I read the book- or just read the official summary). Also, there is a love interest (which you will also learn of if you read the summary). Oh yeah, just remembered, there is a plot twist; lots of betrayal; how could I forget? All in all it's a really fun read and gets 5 stars from me.    

Out of the Easy: This book is by Ruta Septys. Oh that name sounds familiar? Probably because she is the author of Between Shades of Gray and Salt to the Sea, both of which have previously been featured on this blog. You're probably thinking, wait those are the really sad historical fiction books, right? That is correct. Now you're probably thinking, why would I want to read another super sad book? Why thank you for your question, let me help you with that. 1) Because they are AMAZING!!! Ruta Septys is such a good author, I love all her books (the 3 that are out). 2) This book isn't as sad as the others; yay!! The number of deaths is considerably less when compared to the other books -probably because this book isn't written during a time period of war. It's set in 1950 in the French Quarter of New Orleans and it's about a girl named Josie who wants to escape the quarter and go to college. It's pretty inspiring. Two really memorable things from this book: the first one is that the death of one of the characters was really sad which was surprising because I didn't realize how much I actually liked that particular character until he/she (no spoils XD) died. The second memorable thing is that there were 2 boys. 2 boys oh no that sounds tragic =| Well for me it is tragic because I can never pick which guy I want the girl to end up with and with this book it ties together really well and I didn't have to go wish that she ended up with the other one because it worked and by the end of the book it's obvious that it couldn't have ended any other way. You probably won't know what I mean by this until you actually read the book because I'm not gonna spoil. Anyway, if you read either of Ruta Septys's other books then I know that I don't even have to tell you to read this book because you will anyway but I am telling you and anyone else who seems interested regardless because it really is sooo good. *Interesting Fact* The next book that Ms Septys is writing is set during the Spanish Inquisition (I'm only 90% sure though so don't quote me or anything) and I can't wait until it comes out!!


The Perks of Being a Wallflower: This book is also really sad- for those of you who haven't watched the movie (me) or don't know what it's about (not me - anymore), it's about a boy named Charlie who is entering his first year of high school. Charlie is kind of different from the other kids and as a result doesn't really have friends until one day he meets these 2 seniors named Sam and Patrick who open up a whole new world to him. Essentially this book is about navigating high school and finding yourself. One thing that I especially enjoyed was the format of the book. It was written as a series of letters addressed to someone named "Friend". Unfortunately, we never find out who "Friend" is or how Charlie finds out about him. Disclosure: This book includes topics such as drugs, alcohol and sex so if you are uncomfortable with those things I would strongly suggest NOT reading this book. 

Wow this post is getting really long and I still have a lot more books I was planning on talking (writing) about so I think I'm gonna stop here and make it a multiple part post and I'll try to keep the other ones brief. Bye for now!

PS. Sorry I didn't include author's names but I did include pictures so hopefully that will help and if you are really just dying to know an author's name then just ask me down below in the comments.

Pictures Courtesy of Goodreads

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

So, as some of you may have noticed- summer is almost over. And by that I mean that it is. I'm going back to school tomorrow and some people probably went back to school today. This means that my freedom is gone. Swoosh! Out the window! I'm not ready for school!!! It feels like summer just started!!! But you're not reading this blog to hear (read) me talk about how I don't want to go to school. You are reading this to find out about a book.

In the spirit of going back to school, I'm going to write about the new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child where we journey back to Hogwarts with Harry's son Albus.

Interesting Fact: This book came out on July 31st which just so happens to be Harry Potter's birthday.

I know a common misconception is that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a book. It's not. It's a script. Just be prepared for that. JK Rowling wrote the 8th installment of Harry Potter in a play format, but because not everyone can watch a play, she decided to publish the script.

Courtesy of Goodreads.

The play is about Albus Potter and how he doesn't want to be Harry Potter's son. Albus and Harry have many problems and they just can't connect with each other very well. When Albus hears about how his father just watched while Cedric Diggory was murdered, he decides to right his father's wrongs without knowing many of the details. Albus journeys into the past with his friend Scorpius Malfoy, in effort of saving Cedric. However, things go terribly wrong and with every attempt to fix it, things just spiral further out of control. Meanwhile, Harry is trying to improve his relationship with Albus but to no avail. Read the book to find out if Albus can fix the present after messing with the past and if Harry and Albus can finally move past their differences and be regular old dad with a regular old son.

Right so I absolutely LOVE Harry Potter, but if I'm being honest this "book" was not one of the better books that I have read. I don't know if it is because it is in a play format or because I had really high expectations for it but it was a little disappointing. Many of the iconic characters were, I guess different. Harry Potter defeated Voldemort many times as a child, but as an adult he can't talk to his son. It's kind of pathetic. Also Ron's character was ruined. He jokes all the time and can't take anything seriously. Hermione wasn't the same either. The character that stayed the closest the original was probably Draco Malfoy and Scorpius Malfoy was (in my opinion) the best developed. The book doesn't mention Luna, George, Bill, Molly and Arthur, and  barely mentions Neville, Hagrid and the rest of Harry's children. In fact, I think it mentions Hermione and Ron's youngest child all of once.

All in all, I'm sure the play is much better than the script and if you are a Harry Potter fan like me I still think you should read this book. There are some interesting twists but it could have been better. It's probably because JK wasn't the only author. Don't let this post discourage you if you haven't read the book yet. After all, Scorpius Malfoy is AMAZING!!! Haha, but that's not the only reason you should read the book. You should read it because script or not it is still the 8th installment of the Harry Potter series!
(Also, like I said before, it's probably better than I say it is. I'm just biased because I had sky-high expectations)

In other Harry Potter news, the movie for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is coming out in November. Yay! Also JK Rowling is writing 3 new eBooks (only eBooks) that are coming out this September! Check out this link for more information: New Harry Potter eBooks

You might have noticed that I changed the title of my blog. Let me know what you think. That's it for now! See you next time!

Oh, I almost forgot- if you read this book and want to know my opinion on the ending just let me know in the comments and I would love to tell you.

Summer Books

Hi, guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've just been really busy this summer and since I haven't posted in a while, I've read a lot of books. Also, blogger keeps glitching so I've had to rewrite this post or parts of this post multiple times. I had this ready like a month ago and it was really nice and had a picture of every book mentioned but it didn't save and I have already spent way too much time working on this. As it is I'm just going to name a few books and give some basic information about each book- unless I really really liked it. Also not many pictures because half of them don't cooperate well and it takes a while to get them in the right place. Hopefully it actually saves/publishes this time. Ready, let's go-

Trials of Apollo:
This is Rick Riordan's latest book. In it, Zeus has made the god Apollo a mere mortal and sent him to Earth. To become a god again, Apollo has to successfully complete dangerous tasks- the trials. With the help of his friends, Apollo must find out who is kidnapping the campers and return them to Camp Half-Blood. I strongly recommend reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and the Heroes of Olympus series before reading this book.

Isle of the Lost/Return to the Isle of the Lost:
These to books are basically the prequel and the sequel to the Disney movie The Descendants. That's what I think at least- I haven't actually seen The Descendants yet- oops! ;D It is not necessary to watch the Disney movie to read these books (after all, I did it). At the beginning of Return to the Isle of the Lost the author explains what happens during the movie. At least I assume so, again I haven't seen it so don't quote me on this.

The Da Vinci Code: 
I really enjoyed this book. It took a while for the book to capture my attention, more so than other books, but it was definitely worth it. 
Basically, this symbologist Robert Langdon is accused for the murder of a museum curator whose body is found in a strange position with strange symbols nearby. Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu must follow the clues through the streets of Paris from works of Da Vinci to faraway cathedrals to find the truth before it's too late. Racing the police and a mysterious person who is also following the clues, Langdon and Neveu travel through the streets of Paris learning startling secrets including those about the mysterious secret society the Priory of Sion.
Okay I didn't do a great job explaining that book... For those of you that have read the 39 clues series, it is kind of like that but for adults. I think one of the reasons that I like this book so much is that about a week after finishing the book my family went to Paris (one of the reasons I haven't posted), so I got to see so many things referenced in the book and look for the secrets mentioned in it. Also it's ingenious to see how Dan Brown connected everything and came up with the riddles and how everything ties together so well. Wow, I literally just said the same thing twice in one sentence.
The Da Vinci Code is the second book in a series but I didn't know that until today and I personally don't think it makes a difference if you read this book before the first book, but just for those of you who want to read the first book first it is called Angles and Demons. I strongly recommend this book to everyone, but especially to people who enjoy mysteries and treasure hunts. Oh, and I almost forgot, there is a plot twist at the end that I just didn't see coming!

See How They Run:
This is book number 2 in the Embassy Row series by Ally Carter. I kept planning on writing a post about book number 1 All Fall Down but it never happened sadly. Both books are really good and both have plot twists. In the first book, Grace returns to Embassy Row. It has now been 3 years since she witnessed her mother's death. Her grandfather is the US ambassador to Adria which is now her new home. For 3 years Grace has been yelling that her mother's death wasn't an accident as believed. The Scarred Man killed her mother, but no one believes her. They just send her to more doctors, more pills, more therapists, everyone believes she is crazy, but Grace knows the truth. So when the Scarred Man appears in Adria, Grace knows she has to do something. With the help of her friends Grace finally manages to uncover the truth of what happened the night her mother died- once and for all. In the second book in this series, someone is killed and everyone blames Alexei. In order to protect him, Grace and her friends must get to the bottom of who or what killed the person in question whose name I can't disclose due to spoiling. While finding out the truth, Grace uncovers a secret that contradicts everything she though she knew about herself and her family.

We Were Liars:
This is a book about Cadence Sinclair Eastman who is a part of the beautiful Sinclair Family. This family owns a a private island and every year all the aunts and the uncles and cousins go there during summer. One year Cadence gets into a terrible accident and doesn't remember what happened. She now gets terrible migraines. The next Cadence doesn't return to the island. When Cadence finally returns to the island 2 years after her accident many things have changed. The book is about Cadence reclaiming her life while figuring out just what happened that summer.


Okay, this post was sooo much better before. What happened was that I had it all typed up and I added all the pictures and it looked so nice, but when I tried to publish it, it didn't work. I decided to just publish it later but when I pulled it back up to publish half of the post was gone along with all the pictures. It didn't save! So it's not as nice as it was before and neither are the descriptions of the books so sorry. I'm also sorry that I haven't posted all summer even though I've been planning to. Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed this post and you should definitely search the books up because they are good.

PS. I finally watched the Disney Movie the Descendants. The story of the movie is in between the books as I stated above. Also, the (in my opinion) the movie is super cheesy and the books are better.

Pictures courtesy of Goodreads

Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan

The Ranger's Apprentice Series by John Flanagan is amazing!!! I am currently reading the 3rd book in the series but today I'm going to talk about the first one- The Ruins of Gorlan.

Picture courtesy of Goodreads.

Will has turned 15 so it is now time for him and the other wards at castle Redmont to be chosen by a master for their apprenticeship. This choosing will determine the rest of their lives. Will, like most boys his age, wants to be chosen for battle school. However, unlike Horace, a fellow ward, he is not big or muscular. Still, it comes as a disappointment to him when he is not chosen. Instead, Will is chosen by the mysterious Ranger Halt. Nobody knows who Rangers are, or what they do. Some people rumor that they are sorcerers who dabble in black magic. Others say that Rangers can make themselves invisible at will. Whatever the case, needless to say that Will was a little apprehensive about his new life as a Ranger's apprentice. However, he soon realizes that there is more to being a Ranger than what meets the eye- a lot more. Rangers are responsible for keeping the kingdom safe. With their inhuman accuracy with the bow and arrows and their seemingly magical ability in the art of unseen movement. And now, they need all the help that they can get. As Will soon discovers, there is a war brewing. Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, was exiled 15 years ago. Everyone thought that was the last they would hear of him- other than the stories mothers told their children to get them to go to bed at night. Nevertheless, he has bided his time, growing his forces until they became ready to attack the Kingdom of Araluen and now it is time. Will Morgarath be stopped before it is too late? And what happens to Will? Read this great book to find out.

This book is so good! I love it so much! So much, in fact, that I somehow found the time to read the entire book in about 2 days. To be fair, it is a bit shorter than some of the other books I read. The characters just attach themselves to your heart, and you end up loving every one of them (at least the nice ones). I have to say, one of my favorite characters is Halt the Ranger. He is really sarcastic and says the most amusing things. Not just that, but he is also like a father-figure for Will who is an orphan. I loved seeing the way that they grew close over the course of the book. I also really liked seeing the friendship that grows between Will and Horace. They go from being childhood enemies to being the best of friends.

All in all, this book is a definite must-read. It is so good! Furthermore, the rest of the series (so far) is really good too! It's not like one of those book series where the first book is good and the rest, aren't as good. My friend, who has read the entire series (all 12 books) said that the books just keep getting better and better. I think everybody should read this book, especially if you are a fan of the False Prince or other books similar to it.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. I know I haven't posted in a while, but I'm hoping to post more regularly during the summer. And yes, even though technically I don't have to blog after school ends, I am definitely going to try to keep up with it.

One more thing, I know I keep saying this, but please, please, please check out my poll. It's been up there for a while, but only 3 people have voted. Thank You!

Salt to the Sea

Picture courtesy of Goodreads

Greetings Earthlings,
(I have no idea why I started like that. it has no connection to the book I'm talking about at all.) Anyway, I mentioned this book earlier when I made my post on Between Shades of Gray. So, this post is going to be in a slightly different format than usual. It is going to be similar to a question answer format; you'll see. Let the post Begin:

Title: Salt to the Sea

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary: Salt to the Sea is from the points of view of 4 different teenagers whose paths cross over the course of World War II. All have secrets and all seek safe passage aboard the ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff. The bulk of the story takes place as millions of refugees flock to one of two ports that can take them to freedom. Joana, who does everything she can to help whoever she can is haunted by the fact that she couldn't save those she cares about. Florian is haunted by his fate: will he die, or can he escape in time? Emilia is haunted by shame and what her friends will say when they find out what she has been hiding. Alfred acts like a hero, but does everything in his power to shirk responsibility. By the end of the book, you will see who survives and who becomes salt to the sea. 

Favorite Passage and Why: One passage that I like is from Emilia's point of view. "The shoe poet softly placed his hand on my shoulder. "Una, dear, are you all right?" Una. How could I steal Una? "As you can see, Una's quite far along," said Poet. "And she appears to be ill." " I liked this passage because it connects to Between Shades of Gray. In this passage, Emilia is pretending to be a dead Latvian woman named Una. In Between Shades of Gray, a Latvian woman named Una died. It is my opinion that they are the same person. Another passage that I liked is from Joana's point of view. "I spoke without hesitation. I wasn't sure, but I was sure I wanted to try. I leaned down to tell the soldier that he would see his son and give him the book. He was already dead. The condition of the soldiers spoke to the fate of the Reich. The voice was clear. Defeat. But I would get these wounded men on the big ship. The Wilhelm Gustloff would save them." I liked this passage because it really shows Joana's personality. Joana and a doctor had to assess many wounded soldiers and decide whether they would survive the voyage as the ship had limited space. It shows that she wanted to save as many people as possible, even if it only reassurances moments before they died as in the case of the soldier she speaks to.

I'll Remember: One thing I will most definitely remember about this book is the heartbreak. Ruta Sepetys is an incredible author and her books are magical but they are also some of the saddest books that I have ever read and I likely won't forget the end in a hurry.

Opinion: I love and hate this book at the same time but I definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone out there!

Anyway, I hope you liked this post and I hope you read this book. Just some advice, if you are the type of person who cries when reading books like this, don't read finish it right before you go to bed- it makes it hard to sleep because you just keep thinking about the ending. If you liked this format more than the other format, let me know in the comments. Also, Answer My Poll!!! Only 2 people have answered it!!! 

Just an update on my previous post: My friend told me about a plot twist that happens later in the series (The Mortal Instruments) that I didn't see coming that may just persuade me to finish the series, but we'll see...

Bye-Bye for now!

City of Bones

Picture courtesy of Goodreads

Hello friends,
I am going to apologize in advance if you find this post offensive. However, you don't have to agree or disagree with anything I say so...

I want to start off by saying that I did not think this book was not worth the hype. People are all like, that is my favorite series, I've read it like 3 times. I'm sorry if you are one of those people, but I personally didn't think it was that good! Keep in mind though, that I am a die hard Potterhead, so to someone who hasn't read Harry Potter or didn't like it, maybe the series is very good. You are entitled to your own opinion as I am to mine. So I planned to read this book a couple of years ago, and I haven't actually gotten around to it until now and after 2 years of everyone around me reading it, I wasn't amazed beyond belief. It was average.

City of Bones is a book about a girl named Clary who is pulled into the world of demons and demon hunters after her mom disappears and she herself is attacked. Most humans can't see demons; only shadowhunters (demon killers) can. When Valentine, a demon hunter gone rouge that everyone thought was dead for 16 years is back, it becomes obvious that he has Clary's mother. In order to get her back, Clary and her new friends, Jace, Alex, and Isabelle must find the Mortal Cup and exchange it for her mother before it is too late. What Clary doesn't realize is that old friends may be more valuable than new, and nothing is what it seems. 

This book is like any other fantasy/adventure book. It had some really good part, but some were parts were boring. There is definitely a plot twist though, so if you like books with twists that you don't see coming, check it out. 

I can't really explain why I didn't like this book. I guess it was just not what I expected. I mean, I had really high expectations for this book and they just didn't get met, you know? Also, I read this book right after reading Between Shades of Gray which was AMAZING!!! So that might contribute to why I didn't like it all that much. 

Anyway, if you like fantasy maybe you should check it out anyway. I know a lot of people like it, maybe you will to. I also know a lot of people who didn't like it though, so I don't know.

That's kind of it for know, this post became a lot shorter than usual. Sorry I haven't been posting very regularly. Hopefully I will have another post ready soon. Bye for now!
(Check out my poll. It's been up for a while and only one person has answered!)