Book Review | Miss Peregine's Home for Pecuilar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #1)

Author: Ransom Riggs
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Publisher: Quirk

Page Number: 352

Genre: Paranormal
Publication Date: June 7, 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads: 
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography.

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My Review:
This book. Is very strange. But unique. And I did enjoy it. Somewhat.

I think the thing I liked the most about this book was the vintage photography, mainly because it scared the hell out of my friends, much to my amusement. All the pictures were really cool, as they displayed their powers in a mysterious, but beautiful way. 

HOWEVER.

This book didn't live up to my expectations. Jesse from Jessethereader loved this book, so I thought I'd love it too, because we usually have similar taste, but no.

I hated all the characters, and you all know that the characters are usually my favorite part in books. 

The characters were all so bland and cliche and boring and stupid. I didn't connect to any of them, at all. Especially Emma. I just don't get her. 
This book wasn't scary at all. It felt like a children's book. Yes, the photographs were creepy, but no, the story wasn't very horrifying or terrifying. 

This book had one of the things I DESPISE when not done well: insta-love. *shudder*. The two main characters fell in love out of NO WHERE, because of his grandfather? No. Please. No. I felt no bond between the two, no purpose in the romance, other than to add another 50 pages of them kissing. 

The writing was BORING. I didn't like it at all. It didn't flow much, and felt weird. 

The story was sort of boring at times as well. I didn't need to know about how he walked on a beach for about two pages. Put some action. Betrayal. Something to spice it up.  

However, I did love the photography a lot, which probably bumped it up another snowflake or something. It really did add to the boringness of the writing sometimes. It also was really interesting and help me infer somethings, which made the mysteries in this book a little more interesting. 

Final conclusion: Forget the hype. As with all YA books these days, this book was overhyped, and I'm glad I read it after the hype, it's not that good.

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

~Beatrice

Book Review | Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Article 5 (Article 5 #1)

Author: Kristen Simmons
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Publisher: Tor Teen

Page Number: 362

Genre: Dystopian
Publication Date: January 31, 2012

Synopsis from Goodreads:
New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

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My Review:
I hate Ember. SHE DRIVES ME FREAKING INSANE. She's so stubborn, yet she doesn't know a single thing.

Have I got your attention yet?

Good.

Article 5 is a typical dystopian, with a corrupted government, rebels, terrible romance, etc. There's nothing special about it, just the stupid laws.

IF I WERE THERE, I'd just be like, fuck this shit, I'm outta here. 

No, just kidding, I'd probably freak out XD. 

Article 5 follows a seriously annoying girl named Ember, and her mom basically doesn't listen to rules. So, her mom gets taken by the law, and stuff happen. 

The world building, I'll say, is pretty good. I could really imagine the harsh environment they were in. 

The romance. Urgh. WHAT EVEN. I don't even know why Chase likes her, she's so annoying. If you were going to get killed, and a guy saved you, would you yell at the guy who saved you that they killed another man? NO. I'll shut up about Ember now. Hopefully.

The ending though, man. The ending was pretty amazing. It was tense, and I still hated Ember.

Okay, I should get all my thoughts out about Ember. Chase is there, fighting, all heroic and stuff, and Ember's just on the side like, "Oh, this is bad." And what does she do? Help? She hesitates.  Honestly, I've just gotten used to strong characters in YA dystopians, and so when I see Ember, I'm all like: What?!
Basically.

Okay, I did enjoy some parts of this book, but I'd only recommend it for hardcore dystopians. Like, you only read dystopians. But who'd do that?!

 Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

~Beatrice

Book Review | We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars

Author: E. Lockhart
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Page Number: 227

Genre: Contemporary
Publication Date: May 13, 2014

Synopsis from Goodreads: 
A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. 

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

My Review:
This book hurt. A lot. It made me feel guilty. This book touched a lot of things in my heart, and omg...FEELS.
I'm just going to ditch all the fancy ratings and rant.
THIS BOOK. Touched my heart.
It wasn't hard to get through, but it was very, very deep. It talked about racism, inequality, family, love, money, greediness, and hope. 
I can't even get through this review.
This book fucked my mind. 
The author used a strange, but beautiful writing style that was so descriptive, yet so lost and mysterious. 
I went into this knowing nothing, so listening to a girl talk about these four friends and family on an island, I was all like, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a JLaw gif for EVERYTHING. :)
I felt like nothing was happening, and my thoughts were all cluttered.
HOWEVER.
When we got to the middle of the book, I noticed that things picked up. Cady, our main character, was talking emotionally. Like talking about these things hurt. It was hard to get through, not because it was a bad book, but it was so emotional.  
HOLY CRAP.
THE ENDING.
I can't even. 
The love, the family, everything was so intricately woven together. 
It truly is a story of reality, how when people suffer, they turn to alcohol and other substances, how people change. Just because of one little issue.
Dude, I'm not even going to try to write a legit review. I'm mentally screaming inside.
Besides, I wanted to keep this review short and sweet. Because, as you might have heard, the less you know, the better off you are.  

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

~Beatrice

Book Review | See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles

See You At Harry's

Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick Press

Page Number: 310

Genre: Contemporary
Publication Date: May 8, 2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: 
Starting middle school brings all the usual challenges — until the unthinkable happens, and Fern and her family must find a way to heal.

Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. It seems as though everyone in her family has better things to do than pay attention to her: Mom (when she’s not meditating) helps Dad run the family restaurant; Sarah is taking a gap year after high school; and Holden pretends that Mom and Dad and everyone else doesn’t know he’s gay, even as he fends off bullies at school. Then there’s Charlie: three years old, a "surprise" baby, the center of everyone’s world. He’s devoted to Fern, but he’s annoying, too, always getting his way, always dirty, always commanding attention. If it wasn’t for Ran, Fern’s calm and positive best friend, there’d be nowhere to turn. Ran’s mantra, "All will be well," is soothing in a way that nothing else seems to be. And when Ran says it, Fern can almost believe it’s true. But then tragedy strikes- and Fern feels not only more alone than ever, but also responsible for the accident that has wrenched her family apart. All will not be well. Or at least all will never be the same.

My Review:
Characters: 
The characters were certainly a main part of this story; since this is a contemporary about hope and families and friends. The main character, Fern, wasn't one of my favorite characters, but I still liked her personality and her relationship with her younger brother, Charlie. She had a shy but strong personality, and she still loves her family, even though they half ignore her. Holden was also an interesting add to the story. This story is LGBTQ+, and I love these types of books because you can see the struggles that these kids/people face, and try to sympathize with them. So yeah, it was interesting to see that. 
RAN. OMG, Ran. Ran is so sweet and lovely and askdjfla;sdkjf;a I LOVE HIM. Fern mentions that he used to be that dirty and poor kid, but now he's just this lovely sweet kid with such inspirational quotes and he just loves and cares for both Fern and Cassie (mostly Fern ;)) so much, and he's just so kind and helpful and sweet when Fern needs it the most. 
Finally, her family's so sweet and loving, even though they sometimes ignore Fern. Sara really is a big sister, even though she can be careless. She takes them to places when they are in trouble, and is just awesome. Charlie is adorable and sweet and so innocent, and you can't help but love him. Finally, the parents. Fern's father is sort of naive, and he cares about his ice cream business a bit too much, but he still loves them. Fern's mother loves her children. *chokes*
10 Snowflakes

Plot:
The plot was heart wrenching. Such an emotional read...I can't go further. Or spoilers will occur. I do feel like there was some parts that  unnecessarily, but it was pretty emotional. *sob*
8 Snowflakes

Writing:
Jo Knowles writes in this way that is so emotional. Her writing really choked me up, and I could feel like I was there, living the story with Ran and Fern and Holden and Charlie. It wasn't very fast-paced, but it was so, so heart wrenching. 
9 Snowflakes

Cover:
To be honest, I didn't like this cover much. I mean, what is that brown blob? Is that ice cream? It looks like chocolate and peanut butter that's been out too long for me. *shudders* The blue checkered pattern, however, do add a brightness and cute tone to the cover. The typography and title fonts were okay, they weren't that eye-catching. 
7 Snowflakes

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

~Beatrice

 

Book Review | Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Where She Went (If I Stay #2)

Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Page Number: 264

Genre: Contemporary
Publication Date: April 5, 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads: 
It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.


My Review:
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My thoughts on this book.
I basically read this book after testing, and I was hyperventilating in my seat. Literally.
This book was just as gorgeous and well written as If I Stay. 
I was a bit hesitant to read this book because it was written in Adam's perspective, and seeing that he was smoking and stuff, I didn't want to immediately read this after If I Stay. However, since If I Stay was such a good book, I surprisingly, still remembered quite a few things.
My problem with this book was Adam.
I loved him in If I Stay, but in this book...
No.
Just no.
I know that he's heartbroken without Mia and stuff, but why would he do all this???
I just...
no.
I'm sorry, Gayle Forman, this book should've earned at least a 95%, but sorry.
I didn't like Adam.

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

~Beatrice

Book Review | Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)

Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: HarperCollins

Page Number: 388

Genre: Dystopian
Publication Date: November 15, 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads: 
I have a curse.
I have a gift.
I am a monster.
I'm more than human. 
My touch is lethal.
My touch is power. 
I am their weapon.
I will fight back.

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

My Review: 
Gods of Olympus, I have NEVER seen a dystopian like this in my whole life. This is insane. I really enjoyed Juliette's character development in this whole story, from being a insecure, not confident, shy girl, to becoming not the strongest heroine I've ever seen, but having the biggest character development. She freaking kicks Warner's ass butt good in this book. Adam is so lovely. I haven't been spoiled yet at all, because none of my friends really like dystopians, so I haven't seen anyone read it. Also, the writing style was so different from what I've read before. (And I've read a weird books before. Like a book written from the ending to the beginning. It was insane.) I enjoyed reading from this new way, with crossed out words, and run-on sentences, although the sentences did get a little long. However, I do think that it was a bit gushy and the romance was a bit cheesy, and seriously. No offense, Juliette, but I know how hot he is. 

Final Rating: 

❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

~Beatrice