[Review] Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 10/03/2015

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 368

Source: For review
Genre: YA (16+) - Contemporary

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Mr Probz - Waves ♪

My Rating: 

Intense, captivating

My thoughts

I can say with absolute certainty that I have said this in the past but I have no reservations against repeatedly saying it for ever-- Lauren Oliver can do no wrong. I went into this book expecting something akin to a Gone Girl for teen readers/audience, and in a way I was sort of right. Reading this new book that had been written by one of my more favoured contemporary authors I was struck with something like déjà vu--of the best kind. Because, like Gone Girl, Vanishing Girls surprised me, captivated me, provoked me to think about issues and topics that hadn't previously been on my mind. It is bold. It is a lyrical masterpiece in the young adult genre (as are all of her other novels). It is relateable and remarkably human and beautifully disastrous and just a book of the best kind.

In Vanishing Girls, sisters Dara and Nick were inseparable until the accident that tore them apart. Now Dara has a permanent reminder by the scars on her face, thus ending her popularity. Then, on her birthday, she disappears. Around the same time another young girl, Madeline Snow, has been reported missing and it is all over the news. Nick believes that there may be a connection between the two disappearances and she is going to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of it, no matter what.

[Review] I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

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Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 16/09/2014

Publisher: Dial (Penguin)
Pages: 371

Source: Bought
Genre: YA (14+) - Contemporary

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Jessie J - Sweet Talker ♪

My Rating: 

A masterpiece

My thoughts

Jandy Nelson's debut novel, The Sky is Everywhere, was one of my absolute favourite debut novels of 2010. Its strong depiction of the ailing effect of music and love in the midst of a grieving period in a young teen's life quickly landed the author a place on my list of authors I will follow no matter what. In that book she showed a unique sensitivity and delivered a beautifully-woven story that I could not forget.

Her sophomore title, I'll Give You the Sun, surpassed her debut by far. I cannot even begin to describe how invested I had become with the story and the characters; everything was so powerful, so emotional, so beautiful. Contemporary YA will always be my home genre and I think I'll Give You the Sun just confirms to me that Jandy Nelson can do no wrong. 

[Review] Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

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Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 14/09/2014

Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 352

Source: Bought
Genre: YA (14+) - Contemporary

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Christina Perri - Arms ♪

My Rating: 

Feel good read

My thoughts

Let me preface this review by saying that I am madly in love with Stephanie Perkin and her previous books (Anna and Lola!). Her stories and characters are so incredibly realistic, fun and interesting. You can't help feeling happy reading her books. In the case of Isla and the Happily Ever After... I'm not sure if it's just a personal thing (where I am compared to where I was back when I read her previous novels), but there was just too much of it. It was too cutesy, too happy, too easy. Instead of feeling excited to continue reading I was groaning and waiting for the agony to end.

The first 150~ pages is practically a recount of Isla and her mad love affair with the dreamy, swoony, perfectly gorgeous bad boy artist with whom she had been crushing on for the past three years--turns out he has been crushing on her all this time, too! It was just... too sweet for me to swallow. But afterwards there was actually some substance and STORY and now my feelings for this book as a whole is a jumbled mess. On the one hand I love where the story ends, but the beginning was such a struggle to get through. It pains me to even say this about Isla. All things considered, I am glad that this book exists and I applaud Perkins for finishing all of their stories. :)

[Review + Giveaway] The Infinite Sea (#2) by Rick Yancey

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(#2, The 5th Wave)

The 5th Wave | The Infinite Sea | Untitled

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 16/09/2014

Publisher: Penguin Australia
Pages: 336

Source: Publisher for review + Bought
Genre: YA (14+) - Dystopian

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ x ♪

My Rating: 

Mindblowing

My thoughts

Warning! Spoilers if you have not read The 5th Wave!

THAT ENDING.

WHAT EVEN HAPPENED IN THIS BOOK?!?!?! I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS. I finished this book whilst on night shift at the hospital and I was just gaping from ear to ear, thinking that there must be more, that Yancey couldn't have ended the book like that. But he did, and now I--we--have to wait for the next installment... it's going to be excruciatingly painful and long. I hope it will be more than worth it.

[Review] Heir of Fire (#3) by Sarah J. Maas

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(#3, Throne of Glass)

The Assassin's Blade | Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight | Heir of Fire | Untitled

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 11/09/2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 560

Source: Bought
Genre: YA (16+) - Fantasy

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Evanescence - Bring Me To Life ♪

My Rating: 

THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING!!!

My thoughts

Warning! Spoilers if you have not read Crown of Midnight!

This book. Man, this book was DEEP. Maas pulls so many powerful punches in Heir of Fire; without question, even more than she did in Crown of Midnight (and that's saying something because that book was flipping intense!). I feel so strongly about this book, and my thoughts are kind of all over the place, so I'm glad that I did write notes right after I finished reading it initially. I've since read another book in between to try and gather my thoughts, but still I don't know.