Why I Didn't Finish "Another Little Piece"

This will be a rare entry because I'm reviewing a book that I haven't actually read in its entirety. However, I felt the need to blog about it because 1. I don't want my readers to think I've fallen off the face of the earth or stopped reading haha and 2. This entry may intrigue some of you enough to read this book, or warn others of you not to!

The book in question is Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn. I can't remember why I picked out this book to read to be honest! I believe I saw it on a Buzzfeed Books YA list or something, and it looked interesting, but I had no idea what I was in for. I knew it would be a mysterious book about a girl who couldn't remember her past but that was about it. I think that had I read a summary, such as the one below from Amazon.com, I would have been better prepared for the dark plot.

Amazon's summary: "The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon. Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past."

This may, in fact, intrigue some of you who are fans of Steven King or similar. I was at first interested in the dark plot and original ideas. However, I decided to give up about halfway through, after becoming too disturbed by some of the darkness and having wacky dreams all night. I did look up the ending to satisfy my curiosity, and I think that if you are interested in dark, twisted stories, you will enjoy the book. It was just too much for me, but I figured I'd pass this review along to inform any of you who may be interested in the book or have come across it.

I've begun reading another book and will blog my review as soon as I'm done! Until then, happy reading!

"Pointe" Keeps Readers On Their Toes :)

Brandy Colbert's debut novel, Pointe, is about so much more than ballet (though if you're a fan of dance, you will appreciate the references)! Honestly, I think she should have chosen a better title, because the current one may defer some readers. However, the book was fantastic, and I hope some of you give it a chance, even if you're not quite into ballet.

The novel is about Theo, a teenage girl who has lived quite a tough life already. She was previously sent away to deal with her eating disorder, sparked by her quest for thinness that she thought would better her dancing. She was involved with an older boy at age 13, who had suddenly ditched her without warning and she never heard from him again. Oh, and her best friend, Donovan, also disappeared four years ago without a trace, kidnapped, leaving his parents, Theo, and the community stunned and scared.

Fast forward to the present: Theo is now 17, a junior in high school, with all of those problems in her past...sort of. She's trying to navigate high school life, including a potential romance, as well as training hard in the hopes of attending a prestigious ballet academy for her senior year. Then, just as suddenly as he was taken, Donovan is found, and returned home. Theo is shocked and relived, and excited to have her best friend back, but Donovan isn't talking, not even to her. As a trial is set to try Donovan's alleged kidnapper, Theo is forced to face much of her ugly past, and decide if she can let go of some of the secrets she's been holding for years.

Oooo isn't that intriguing? I should write book jacket summaries! :-p Anyway, the book really was intriguing, and I just loved it. I saw it as three major plot lines twisting together: Theo's journey with ballet and struggle to be thin, her high school drama and heartbreak, and the mystery surrounding Donovan's kidnapping. With all of this action and emotions running high, what's not to love?

The book kept me interested through the very last page, and the surprising, yet satisfying, ending. Pointe is a great summer read, because you can sit outside with it for hours, as you tan or hang out poolside, and never want to put it down. I found it to be a quick read, that artfully intertwined the different plots and subplots, and kept me guessing the whole way through.

If you happen to try the book, love it or hate it, let me know! I love to hear reviews from my fellow readers. :) Happy reading!

Revisiting the world of "The Giver"

Remember when you read The Giver (P.S. If you haven't caught on, you can click these links I keep posting and see past book reviews and such :) ) in middle school? If you didn't, you missed out, much like me, until I finally discovered it last year and loved it! And now with the movie coming out in August, I figured it was as good a time as any to continue with Lois Lowry's "Giver Quartet". (I read book #2, Gathering Blue, about a year ago). So I recently read book #3, Messenger.

I was a little confused when I first decided to read it, trying to figure out if I should reread books #1 and #2 first. I've heard the four books (The last one is Son, which I also plan to read!) referred to as a series, as "companion novels", and a whole host of other things, and I wasn't sure if I could read book #3 without a strong recollection of what happened in the other two. Spoiler alert: you can! There are a few characters from book #2 (Gathering Blue) that reappear in Messenger, but even without remembering much about them, I was still able to enjoy and comprehend the book. I would suggest reading them all, and in order, if possible, but they can still be enjoyed as standalone books.

Messenger takes place in the same "world" I suppose you can say, as the previous two novels. It is about Matty, a boy who lives in a utopia simply called "Village". People come to Village to escape their horrific old towns and lives, and are happily taken in by the residents. Matty followed this journey, as did the father figure that he lives with, referred to as "the blind man" or "Seer", as he sees more than anyone else with physical sight, though he lacks that.

Everything is going well, until the utopia starts to fail, as most do in literature. Some of the residents have been "trading" for materialistic items...but trading what? And the trading seems to get more mysterious and odd as people start to change, and may be trading parts of themselves. And what's worse, many of the residents of Village are pushing to have the community closed to any newcomers. Matty and Seer, along with a minority of others are deeply concerned about this, and Matty is sent on a dangerous journey to try to reach an old friend before Village closes its doors, or worse.

This book, like the others in the quartet, is very short (less than 200 pages), so it's a nice quick read, fast-paced and intriguing. I was hooked by the mystery of the Village residents, and of the dangerous Forest that lies between Matty and his friend. The themes in the book will easily resonate not just with young readers, but adults as well, as you consider what you might give up in order to obtain something else, and think about fairness and community. The book was up to the standard of its predecessors, and I'm excited to read the final book in the series!

13 Reasons Why I Liked "13 Reasons Why"

I recently read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, as it is part of the summer reading list for my Fall student teaching placement! I had first heard of the book a few years ago in my YA Literature class (which inspired many of the posts from my 100 book quest, but my classmates gave it mixed reviews, so I decided to skip it, until I saw it again on the summer reading list, and figured I'd give it a shot.

Note: This book contains mature themes that some people may find difficult to read about, including suicide and sexual assault, involving teens.

This book revolves around a series of cassette tapes (yes, cassette tapes, and this book was published in 2007), left behind by Hannah, a teen girl who has recently committed suicide, something her classmates are left shocked and confused by. But should they be so confused? The tapes, which are secretly being passed around, according to the late Hannah's instructions, detail 13 reasons why Hannah made the choice she did...in her own words. Days before Hannah's tragic death, she created these tapes, and ensured that they would be passed along to the people whom she talks about, and to, in these tapes, so that they would know the part they played in her decision. Clay, a boy who barely knew Hannah, but perhaps wanted to, finds himself with the tapes at the beginning of the book, and we follow his roller coaster of emotions as he listens to the tapes, trying to figure out how he fits in, and what he possibly could have done wrong to Hannah.

Now you're probably thinking...wow this sounds awfully depressing. Why would you even want to read this? (Unless you're like my sister, Kate, who loves reading depressing books :-p). I'll tell you why...in 13 reasons. =)

1. The book is suspenseful. Despite the dark themes, it's a page turner. I devoured it in two days, wanting to know what role Clay played in Hannah's choice to end her life, and why she felt she had no other choice.

2. The cassette tapes were an interesting touch. As someone familiar with cassette tapes (my first one was Backstreet Boys' "Millennium" by the way :-p), I was intrigued by the idea that a modern book would feature such outdated technology. An author's note in the back explained that books so quickly become dated anyway, but to purposely choose a dated piece of technology, and to have the characters acknowledge this, can remedy that problem.

3. It doesn't hold back. This book stares tragedy and heartbreak in the face, and brings all the emotions with it, in a real, raw way. It was hard to read at points, but all of the hardship that the characters faced wasn't exaggerated or cheesy. It was purposefully written and necessary to the story.

4. It leaves you feeling at least a little uplifted. You know while reading the book that Hannah will still be dead at the end, no matter how much you root for her. However, the author does add a spark of hope in the end that will, ideally, help lift you out of the sadness, at least a little.

5. It doesn't shy away from real teen issues, such as sexual assault. As much as it was hard to read about it, this kind of thing isn't discussed enough I don't think. Teens are often afraid to come forward and ask for help, especially when someone they know is involved. Awareness should be raised, and in its own small way, this book does that.

6. The book weaves different events together, with some interconnecting with others a year later. It demonstrates the ripple effect nicely.

7. This book does not condone or glamorize suicide. That is a real fear, considering that many teens are reading this book, and could get the wrong idea. However, despite Hannah's rationale for her choice, Clay is the strong voice that reminds us that Hannah did have other choices, even if she couldn't see that. In fact, the author noted that many teens recognized themselves in Hannah, and it scared them enough to reach out after reading this book.

8. The double narrative style of the book is well done. It goes back and forth from Hannah's voice on the tapes to Clay's responses, verbal and nonverbal, and the two characters are distinct from one another. (Readers of Veronica Roth's Allegiant will appreciate the good example of a dual narrative, as Roth disappointed many readers when trying this!)

9. I can't vouch for this, but I've heard that this is a good one to listen to on audiobook, for those who may prefer listening to someone read over reading themselves!

10. It's not one of those instant YA cult-following books/series where everyone jumps on the bandwagon. People love it or hate it. It's a hard book to get through, and it's not for everyone. Some people think that it isn't well-written, that it isn't believable, etc. I like that there is some dialogue, and back and forth between readers. Not everyone has to love it. Decide for yourself!

11. It's different. How often do you see a concept like this in a book, let alone a YA book? If nothing else, it's not your run-of-the-mill vampire, dystopian YA trilogy! Nice to see some fresh ideas for a change!

12. It's easy to relate to Clay, as you, too, want to stop Hannah, to reach out to her and tell her that there are people who care about her, and that she has options.

13. It teaches a lesson. As cheesy as it sounds, this book reminds readers, especially young readers, that all actions have consequences, and that even the smallest action can have a huge impact on someone's life, positive or negative. This is something that even adults need to remember more.


So I hope that I've convinced you to at least give this book a try. Though it is YA, I think that adults can benefit from reading it just as much as young people. In fact, I am a little wary of the fact that Shenendehowa has included it on their summer reading list for incoming 8th graders, even though it is marked as "for mature readers" (They've also included Sold, which is a wonderful book, but once again, dark). But if you can handle the dark, sad themes in the book, I think you'll find that it is a compelling read that will make you think.

Welcome to the brand new blog!

Hello fellow readers! I don't know about you, but I certainly have more time to read when summertime rolls around. Since I had so much fun blogging previously, I figured I'd give it another shot, at least for the summer, now that I'm catching up on some reading. I hope that I can inspire you to pick up a good beach read this summer, and maybe even get some great recommendations from other readers! (See my "Book Suggestions" page if you have a great title you'd like to pass along). And if you've read something recently that you can't stop talking about, feel free to send me your own review of the book, and I'll feature it on the blog!


First blog post to come soon! Until then...happy reading everyone!

-Mary :)