Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 417
Source: Bought
Genre: YA | Contemporary
My Rating: 4/5
First line: "Would the defendant please rise."
Showing posts with label 4stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4stars. Show all posts
Monday, February 8, 2021
Review | Saint Anything: Of pizza, first loves & delinquent brothers ❀
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
[Review] Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 288
Book Tunes
♪ x ♪
My Rating
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| 4/5 stars |
My thoughts
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| {AU} |
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
[Review] Past Perfect by Leila Sales
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 336
Book Tunes
My Rating
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| 4/5 stars |
My thoughts
After having read two tiresome/dreary/heavy literary/classic novels, I was so in the mood for a cute, swoony summer read! As I scanned my bookshelves, my eyes fell on Past Perfect, which I think first hit my radar when Nomes (inkcrush) raved about it in full, and I thought, Yes, it's finally time to lay this bad boy out! And it was everything, absolutely everything! ❤
This book was so cute! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Chelsea and her summer at Essex. I've never been to a reenactment historical village before so it was fascinating to read a book set in one.
I liked Chelsea and could relate to her difficulty in moving on with the past. I liked her friendship with Fiona. Reading about her family and life growing up was engaging and fun. And the whole whole war thing that went on with Essex and Reenactment Land, and especially with Dan... all of it was just the best escape away from reality, it was sort of like I had gone on vacation myself!
Past Perfect was adorable, swoony, fun and the absolute best to kick me into gear for summer. Highly recommended for a quick and enjoyable read. :)
**(Sorry for the short review, I don't have too much to say about this one. I really did enjoy it though! Read Nomes' review for a more thorough scoop!)
Quotes
Favourites:
"Dan looked furious. 'No, when I ask you what you're thinking, it's because I want to know what you're thinking.'
And with that sentence, I loved him. I sat on the ground, bruised and muddy and spat-upon and I just loved him. In a weird way, that was one of the nicest things that anyone had ever said to me. (295)
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
[Review] They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 304
Book Tunes
My Rating
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| 4/5 stars |
My thoughts
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| US Cover |
Sunday, September 3, 2017
[Review] The Dream Walker by Victoria Carless
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| Add to Goodreads |
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Pages: 265
Source: Library/Bought
Genre: YA {Contemporary}
Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
My Rating
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| 4/5 |
My thoughts
The Dream Walker was dreamy, atmospheric and wholly engrossing. Carless' lilting prose wrapped me up and pulled me under; I became helplessly attached to the story and its characters, as if in a spell, or a dream. While the depiction of small-town Queensland life, writing style and all its quirks were pitch-perfect I felt emotionally disconnected from Lucy's struggles, disappointments and familial tragedies. Overall, The Dream Walker was a mesmerising and beautifully written story about the complicated nature of family, dreams and friendship.
Monday, July 31, 2017
[Review] Love-shy by Lili Wilkinson
Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 01/04/2012
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Pages: 309
Source: Publisher
Book Tunes
My Rating
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| 4/5 |
My thoughts
I am admittedly quite a shallow person and therefore tend to judge books based on their cover. I was given the impression that Love-shy would be a tweeny, very light-hearted book about romance, and to me that just didn't sound all that appealing. So I put it off. The only reason why I have finally picked it up is because there was a book event coming up which the author, Lili Wilkinson, was attending. I am honestly so glad that I did read this book because it was a fun and quick and really interesting read, and certainly not just for tweens at all.
Love-shy is part-mystery, part-romance, and a whole lot of other things in between. Penny Drummond, 16 years old, wants nothing more than to be a top-notch journalist in the future - the best of the best, re-shaping the very name and nature of journalism just like her role model and inspiration Nellie Bly. A model Year 10 student, her extra-curriculars include SRC, swim team (where she is the best swimmer), debate team (they always win because of her), writer at the school newspaper, The East Glendale Secondary College Gazette (her stories always make the front page) and First Oboist at the school orchestra. One day at the library, she discovers someone has visited a website for the Love-shy and just like that, she has her next big story.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
[Review] The Ones That Disappeared by Zana Fraillon
Publisher: Hachette
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher
Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
Book Tunes
My Rating
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| 4/5 |
My thoughts
The Ones That Disappeared is one of those books packed with the power to make a difference to the world. Fraillon has quickly been marked as an author to watch amongst readers when her debut novel The Bone Sparrow, a supposedly outstanding fictional account of young refugees, received much positive acclaim. I still have not read it, but it has been pushed to the top of my to-buy list if it's anything like The Ones That Disappeared! This time, Fraillon has placed a spotlight on human trafficking, and the very disturbing and realistic portrayal of its presence in our society spoke volumes to me and shook me to my core.
Monday, July 24, 2017
[Review] The Things We Promise by J.C. Burke
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Pages: 369
Source: Library
Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
Book Tunes
My Rating
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| 4/5 |
My thoughts
I'm at a loss for words. I have literally just been typing words and erasing them, scratching my head as to what the heck I'm actually going to write. I didn't quite know what I was getting myself into when I picked this book up - all I knew was that it was set in 1990 and that was pretty cool. As I delved deeper in the story I grew more and more invested in its characters, and while I do think that it was a bit slow-going at times and some readers may be offended by the language used, I have to applaud the author for taking all the risks that she did because this story was a difficult one to tell, and painfully accurate as far as I'm concerned. And for that reason alone I had to bump this book up to a respectable 4 stars.
The Things We Promise follows Gemma Longrigg, an ordinary teenage girl living in Sydney, Australia in 1990, whose biggest worries are what she's going to wear to the upcoming Year 11 formal, and whether her crush since Year 7, Ralph, would ever fall for her, too. Her brother, Billy, who lives in NYC with his partner Saul, has promised Gemma that he will do her hair and makeup for the formal, even though it's months and months away, and in that amount of time anything can happen. Especially in the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Monday, July 17, 2017
[Review] Night Swimming by Steph Bowe
Publisher: Text Publishing
Pages: 311
Book Tunes
My Rating
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| 4/5 stars |
My thoughts
I've been wanting to read Steph Bowe since she first debuted in 2010 with Girl Saves Boy. Firstly, she got published at 16 years old, which I think we can all agree is a major feat. Clearly she must be doing something right to have her name out there at such a young age. Most 16 year olds are sleeping in, cruising through high school and working the stoves at Maccas - but not this Steph Bowe chick! That alone drew my curiosity... and then the other day I was positively moved by Mands' review [The Bookish Manicurist] for Night Swimming, and it became the only book I could imagine reading next. I had borrowed a copy from the library but I will most certainly be purchasing my own copy!
Night Swimming is a coming-of-age story that follows Kirby, one of the only two 17-year-olds still left in rural town Alberton, Australia. She enjoys her simple life and is content with a steady job as an apprentice carpenter. Her best friend Clancy, the other 17-year-old still left in rural town Alberton, Australia (and also the only Asian in town) is counting down the days before he can leave for the big smoke - Sydney.
But if Kirby also leaves, just as some others in her family have been known to do in the past, where will that leave her pet goat Stanley, or her rational-thinker mum, or old man Mr Pool who she works for? And when a new family floats into town, Kirby finds herself falling in love with the new girl, Iris . . . what now?
Thursday, July 13, 2017
[Review] The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
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| Add to Goodreads |
Publisher: Penguin Corgi
Pages: 348
Source: Library
Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
*one fight, some kissing, talk of sex
Book Tunes
My Rating
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| 4/5 stars |
My thoughts
I adore Nicola Yoon. I haven't seen her speak, haven't read or heard any interviews that might shed more light on who she is. But her books speak to me. I think she has a knack for tapping into the core of humanity and writing characters that are easily accessible to readers, dealing with topics that feel real and important. I loved Everything, Everything, even if the disease (SCID) was misrepresented. I think her writing has this unique magic of pulling you in, and so it was the same with The Sun is Also a Star.
The Sun is Also a Star follows two teens who meet on a busy street in New York City, and the one day that they spend together. Daniel is a dreamer, Natasha prefers science. Daniel is determined that fate brought the two together, and that he can make her fall in love with him.
Saturday, June 24, 2017
[Review] The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman
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| Add to Goodreads |
Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 01/01/2013
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pages: 321
My thoughts
Reading The Fire Horse Girl was a long time coming. Back in 2013 it was placed highly on my wishlist and I knew that I needed to read it. How often do you read about an Asian female protagonist who cross-dresses as a man to escape China in the 1920s? My interest in this book was tied largely with my intense obsession with the Disney hit film Mulan - see: Asian female cross-dressing - but that desire to read it had dulled somewhat when I began to worry about the potential disappointment. What if I didn't like it? Thus why I never picked up my own copy, and I was even about to return this library book back to where it came from when I thought to revisit Goodreads, and luckily for me the reviews I skimmed through were favourable enough that my curiosity was piqued and so the journey began...
Friday, June 16, 2017
[Review] Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology
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| Add to Goodreads |
Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 24/04/2017
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 336
Source: Library
Genre: YA - Anthology (12+)
Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
My Rating:
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| Solid collection of #LoveYA short stories |
My thoughts
This anthology makes me proud to be Australian. What a great collection of short stories full of lively and diverse characters and worlds! I had a hard time pulling away from some of these stories, and this was overall just a really great way of showcasing all the awesomeness that some current Aussie authors have to offer!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
[Review] Poppy in the Field (#2) by Mary Hooper
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 288
Pages: 288
Source: Review
Genre: YA (14+) - Historical fiction
Genre: YA (14+) - Historical fiction
Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
My Rating:
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| Awe-inspiring |
My thoughts
Poppy in the Field is a continuation of Poppy by Mary Hooper. As the title suggests, we, once again, follow the hopeful young VAD Poppy who decides to apply for a position at a base hospital in France in the wake of turbulent heartbreak that has come with the recent news of her love Freddie's marriage to a sophisticated debutante.
Hooper has evidently done extensive research and in amongst the pages there is ample amount of descriptive detail that places you right in the time period. From the character portrayals to the world building to the language used, Hooper excels at creating the right environment in her writing.
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