June 2013 To-Be-Read (TBR)

I got a lot more reading done last month than I thought I would be able to do, but June will probably be a different story.  Since I'm taking summer classes, I'll be having a lot more homework assignments due. In other words, I'm gonna keep my reading goals realistic here and probably only be able to read five books, tops, this month. But hey, it doesn't hurt to dream big, does it? Anyways, without further ado, here's what's on my TBR pile for the month of June:

Hex Hall - by Rachel Hawkins
I just rented this book from the library, and I have to say that I'm extremely excited to start this series. I don't know why it's taken me this long to get into it, but it looks like a very entertaining read. Vampires and witches and ghosts OH MY! But first I must wait til my younger sister finishes reading it. This is what I get for having a shared library with her... (by the way: it took every fiber in my being not to add a "bewitching" or "magical" pun in there. Every. Fiber.)

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
I am determined to read an Austen book this month. I have Austen fever! If I finish this TBR list before the end of June, I may have to add an extra Jane Austen book to the list for me to read (Persuasion mayhaps?).

Just Listen and The Moon and More - by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen is releasing her novel The Moon and More on June 4th, and I will definitely be purchasing it as soon as it comes out.  And I'm trying to read as many Dessen books as I can because she's doing a signing for her new book release at a local bookstore so I'm not clueless when she talks about her earlier novels (which I heard there will be a trivia session on them for book swag as well. Very exciting!). Side note: how gorgeous is this cover? It has all of my favorite YA book cover elements: lovely colors, a faceless girl, an excellent landscape, and movement. I love it!

Impulse - by Ellen Hopkins
Hopkins' poetic prose is calling my name saying, "read me, Meredith, READ ME!" How am I to resist?! I was pulled in when reading Crank last week and I'm so intrigued to see how more of her stories will play out in her unique style of writing.

The Selection - by Kiera Cass
I've heard so many good reviews about this book, and now that the second book to The Selection series is out, The Elite, I feel even more compelled to pick this one up. My sister read it, the self proclaimed "ice queen," and she loved it. If this novel can make her feel all gooey inside, then I'll be hook-line-and-sinker with this one. I'm easily swooned when it comes to books like The Selection. But it doesn't seem like some chick-lit book where the female protagonist is completely helpless and needs a man to come and save her. No, it seems kind of like the opposite of that tired and overused cliche. Which is another reason why this book looks so good!

Mid-Week Bookish Update

I have mentioned before that I consider book-buying a disease, and I've got the fever. But I've been better about going out and buying books on impulse. Instead I'm making my library card useful and renting a lot of my books recently. Not only that, but I went to my favorite used bookstore, sold a few books from last year's English classes and some others I didn't want anymore, and bought a few books at a great discount.

If you're low on funds but really want to go out and buy a book or just read something new, I highly recommend using your local library or used bookstore to satiate your reading thirst. Or even going to websites like Bookdepository.com (which has free worldwide shipping) or Amazon.com (where I like to get my books used a lot of the time) to get some great deals on books, especially if you're a broke college student like me and you end up spending most of your money on forms of nourishment and textbooks and what not.

Without further ado, here are the books currently in my possession and that I hope to read within the next month. Look for reviews on these in the coming month, too! (Clicking on the title will take you to the goodreads page and the summary for the book).

The Program - by Suzanne Young
I rented this young adult book from the library hoping to read it on my memorial day break (yay for four day weekends woo!) but didn't get a chance to start reading it until yesterday.  It's only just come out, and has a unique premise that I've never come across before. I just hope I can read it all and balance my oncoming onslaught of summer school homework before I have to return it to the library. I've heard very little about this book, what with it being so new, but so far it's really good and I'm quite enjoying it! Oh, and another thing: I've noticed that you get a lot of weird looks when reading a book with a bunch of black, orange, and yellow pills pictured on the back cover while waiting for class to start... Just sayin'.

Impulse - by Ellen Hopkins
I bought this one from the used bookstore, and after reading and being completely pulled in by Hopkins' infamous New York Times Bestseller, Crank, I wanted to see what other books she had to offer. I wasn't really mentally ready to read the sequel to Crank, which is Glass, with it being such a heavy topic (guess what! it involves more meth! A very light read, I'm sure). Don't get me wrong, I though Crank was an amazing, beautifully written book, but I thought I'd take a break and venture into a different subject matter such as mental health (much more cheery, I know. I'm a regular ol' ball of sunshine). And yeah, there is kind of a darker theme among my more recent reads, but I've just really been in the mood to read darker genre/themed books. You know how you'll get into a funk and want to eat Mexican food everyday or read a fluffy chick-lit book everyday, well I'm in a "darker book" themed funk right now. But hopefully that will change into a "classics" themed funk when I read the other book I got from the used bookstore, which is....


Tender is the Night - by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This is another book I found stashed away and on a dusty shelf of the used bookstore I went to this week. I, like so many others, went to see The Great Gatsby in theaters the other week, and I've been bitten by the 20's era bug. This novel is a semi-autobiographical account of Fitzgerald's life, which from what I've heard is very intriguing as well as sort of on the sad side. I also would love to read more classics this summer, and that brings me to my next used bookstore find:

Sleeping Murder - by Agatha Christie
For the longest time, I've been addicted to PBS's Masterpiece Mystery series. It features mostly BBC productions such as Sherlock, as well as my favorites, Agatha Christie's Poirot and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Agatha Christie is known as the queen of mystery, and has sold more mystery books than anyone else.  She's had loads of amazing crime thrillers published, this one being the last before her death, featuring Marple and Poirot, and sadly I have yet to read a single one. I know, it's blasphemous, especially since I claim to be a huge fan of hers when if fact I'm just a fan of the Masterpiece adaptations. Which is exactly why I bought one of her books, to see if I'll enjoy the books as much as I've loved the adaptations.

Northanger Abbey - by Jane Austen
One of my favorite movies is the 2005 adaptation of Austen's Pride and Prejudice (you know, the one with Keira Knightly), and sadly that is the only book by Austen that I've read. And thanks to my recent viewing of the movie The Jane Austen Book Club, I have Austen fever. The movie was amazing and heartfelt and now I just really want to dive into one of her books again. I loved P&P (as I so lovingly call it), and I'm probably the only one of my female bibliophilic friends who hasn't read all of Austen's works. It's weird, but I'm slightly ashamed by that fact. And I own the giant leatherbound Barnes & Noble book with all of Austen's novels in it, so it's not about whether I or not I have the books to start with. I just haven't been in the mood to read them, which is everything when it comes to choosing which book to read next.

I probably won't even end up sticking to this list verbatim for the next month, because as I just said, I've found that whatever mood you're in when you're in between books is usually the deciding factor as to which book you'll pick up next. So we'll see where the wind blows me this coming month.

I bid you all adieu and bon voyage on all of y'all's reading adventures! Hopefully you'll stick to your "To-Be-Read" pile a little better than I do. If you have any suggestions for what I should add to my TBR pile, let me know in the comments section below, and happy reading!

13 Reasons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Pages: 288 (paperback)
Publication: June 2011
Summary: You can't stop the future. You can't rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret. . . is to press play.

Clay Jensen doesn't want anything to do with the tapes Hannah Baker made. Hannah is dead. Her secrets should be buried with her. 

Then Hannah's voice tells Clay that his name is on her tapes-- and that he is, in some way, responsible for her death.

All through the night, Clay keeps listening. He follows Hannah's recorded words throughout his small town. . .

. . .and what he discovers changes his life forever.

My Thoughts: You know that theory called the butterfly effect? How everything you do and everything that happens, even the beating of a butterflies wings, has an effect on the future. Every gesture, glance, moment of eye contact, or seemingly innocent action can be a build up to one of these "13 Reasons Why" Hannah Baker killed herself, it seems.

Let me just tell you right now that I really enjoyed this novel. It completely lived up to the hype it's been given and even drove me to tears at one point. Hearing Hannah's account on a set of cassette tapes of how she started down the road of depression and who influenced her to start down that path in the first place was haunting, but I loved it. It wasn't just one event or person she encountered that made her say "Hey you know what, why live?" It was an accumulation of those people and interactions and events as well as having to live with her own increasingly suicidal thoughts. I felt like this part of the story was accurate on a lot of levels, too, and I'm sure a lot of other people who have struggled with depression can relate to Hannah Baker's tale.

And you feel so bad for Clay, our narrator, because he's received these cassettes as one of the "reasons why." He seems like such a nice guy and even he has no idea why he's on this list at the beginning. My heart broke for him. And he has to listen to these stories about people he sees on a day to day basis, learn their dirty secrets, and now he can't look at them the same way ever again.

This isn't to say that Hannah wasn't a flawed human being. No, she certainly is, and she acknowledges that, which makes you like her even more (I can't stand a Mary Sue, can you?). Clay is also flawed, although it may not seem like it in the beginning. But this novel doesn't end as a sob story. It's intention is to make you think about your actions towards others and how you treat them, in my opinion. It built up hope in me which is why I loved it.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Crank

Title: Crank
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Pages: 537

Series: Crank (#1)
Summary: In Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank.

My Thoughts: Ellen Hopkins brilliantly paints a story about a how a seemingly put-together, perfectly normal teenage girl became a meth addict. Hopkins' pacing and tone were amazing through out the entirety of her novel and her words haunted me. What's even more chill-inducing is that this story is loosely based on Hopkins' own daughter and her fight with and addiction to the "monster."

This was quite a serious (yet very quick) read and completely written in prose. Meth addiction is a terrifyingly brutal thing, and Hopkins brings this theme to fruition with enough graphic details to make you hope for better in people and their choices as well as steal you clear of the stuff. I had heard a lot of different reviews about this book, but I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up enjoying this roller coaster of a ride that the author takes you on. Hopkins has completely pulled me in with her writing style and her words, so yeah I will definitely be reading the sequel to this novel, Glass.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Title: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
Authors: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Pages: 260 (hardcover)
Summary: “I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

My Thoughts: My favorite parts of this book were when Dash and Lily wrote in their book of dares, went and did the dares, or tried to figure out who they were writing to was. The scenes like where Dash would go to a party just to be told something by someone of little importance to the plot line (in my opinion) that maybe one of his other friends could've pointed out felt a little slow and boring to me. I loved the little clues Dash would leave Lily and vice versa. They challenged each other to go outside their comfort zones and to better themselves as people.

This novel is very much a wintery read, but honestly the wit and unique story line transcend the seasonality of this book. And Levithan and Cohn bring New York City to life through the adventures if Dash and Lily. I had high expectations for this book, and it fell slightly short, but I wasn't too upset about that. Also, although some of it wasn't very believable (catching babies midair, seeing everyone in your acquaintance by chance around one of the biggest cities in the world, a boy who uses the word "heretofore") and the main characters were slightly pretentious, the novel tries to inspire the reader to step outside their box and try something new, and succeeds in doing so.
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Chopsticks

Title: Chopsticks
Authors: Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral (illustrator)
Pages: 272
Format: Graphic Novel (sort of?)
Summary:  After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks."

But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along....

My Thoughts: I read this novel within a couple of hours (this is a feat because I'm actually quite a slow reader). This is a love story between Glory and Frank told through a series of photographs, news articles, IM, and letters, essentially. A very touching account of young love, Chopsticks as a whole is so beautiful even when words aren't enough. I found the most touching parts of this story to be when there weren't any written words on the page, just significant images of items or of Frank and Glory together. Very simplistic and an easy read, Chopsticks succeeds in conveying a deep, heartfelt coming of age love story in as few words as possible.
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Unfinished Book Series

Inspired by one of my favorite book bloggers', The Readables, blog post of the same title (which can be found HERE), I have a new found determination to finish book series that I started some time ago. Especially with so many book series ending this year (I'm looking at you Divergent series), I've gotten behind on my to-be-read list. However, this year it shall be done. I can do this. Reading challenge accepted!

Delirium series by Lauren Oliver
Why the wait?: busyness and then I kind of forgot about it on my shelf
All of the books of this trilogy have been released, and I own them all, but I always seem to want to read something else instead of these books. It's not like they're bad, I actually really liked Delirium, but after I read it I had final exams and papers that I needed to focus my energy on. 

Divergent series by Veronica Roth
Why the wait?: the final installment, Allegiant, doesn't come out until October.
I'm not behind on this series, but the third book to this series is probably one of my most anticipated book releases for this year. I loved Divergent, and really enjoyed the second book of the series Insurgent, as well. This trilogy has to be one of my favorites, by far.

The Caster Chronicles by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia
Why the wait?: I'm OCD and wanted to wait until I could buy the rest of the series in paperback to match the books I already owned.
It's sort of a vain excuse, I know. And I wanted to wait until I owned the entire series because The Caster Chronicles is one of those series where where you're done with one book, you feel the need to start the next. By the way, this is another one of my favorite series. I'm in love with the southern-Gothic feel of Stohl and Garcia's writing. It's absolutely spellbinding.

The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater
Why the wait?: I couldn't find the second book of the series anywhere until last year.
The first book, Shiver, was a great YA paranormal romance book, but it wasn't the kind of book that made me want to run to the bookstore and pick up the second one, Linger, immediately.  I completely forgot I even owned this series until the other day when I was cleaning my bookshelf and looking for books to sell. I vaguely remember what happened in the first book, and I've started the second already, but I don't know. I'm not sucked in yet like how I was when I first read Shiver.  I'm pushing through, though, so I can finally finish the series and depending on whether or not I love the rest of the books, I may end up selling those, too.

Maze Runner series by James Dashner
Why the wait?: Once again, I'm OCD and was waiting for the third book to come out in paperback
I just like for all of my books to match on the shelf, okay? I can't help it. It's more aesthetically pleasing that way.  And I'm still waiting for the prequel to the series, The Kill Order, to hit the shelves in paperback edition.

Matched series by Ally Condie
Why the wait?: When I finished the second novel of this series, Crossed, I fell into a sort of reading slump and I haven't picked up the last installment of the series, Reached, because of that.
This series is one of the few that I have signed by the author. I hadn't even finished reading the first book of the series, Matched, when I went to the signing, but I had heard great things about Condie's work.  So I picked up the series, started reading Matched, got my books signed, and then the reading slump hit when I was halfway through Crossed. It wasn't due to Condie's books, but more due to the fact that I had midterms around the same time.


Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
Why the wait?: I'd heard mixed reviews about this series, but my younger sister raves about it so I decided to pick it up.
I read the first book of this series, Vampire Academy, on an 8 hour drive to Florida last year. In the beginning I was ambivalent towards the plot line and the characters, but then the story picked up and I actually ended up really enjoying it. But I heard the second book, Frostbite, is hard to get through. However the series is supposed to get better as you go along, just as soon as you get past Frostbite. So I'll be looking forward to that when I attempt to finish the series this summer.

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: Anna and the French Kiss series
Pages: 338 (hardcover)
Summary: Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket--a gifted inventor--steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

My Thoughts: You know how most YA books are "innocent girl meets more experienced, unpredictable boy. they fall in love effortlessly. end of story"? Well Lola and the Boy Next Door is kind of the opposite. Switching gender roles from the usual girl-next-door who falls for the bad boy, Perkins has Lola, a bombshell in her own right, dating an older guy who's determined to become a rock star.

She's even settled in with her job at a movie theater where we get to see Anna and St. Clair from Perkins first book of this series, Anna and the French Kiss, once more (which was a total treat, I must say). Then Cricket comes along. And man, do I love Cricket. I really liked Lola's character and her character development, too, don't get me wrong. But I'm a girl who is easily swooned, and Cricket is definitely swoon-worthy.

Perkins has done it again, writing a male character that you can't help but fall in love with yourself, thinking, "Why isn't he real?!" Not only does she write great characters and great character development, she writes in a voice that is relatable, believable, and very realistic. You feel like you're in Lola's head during the entirety of the book. This was amazing most of the time, but sometimes you just wanted to leap into the book and shake Lola, and scream "What are you doing?! Open your eyes, child!"

Unlike Perkins first book of the series, Anna and the French Kiss, I didn't feel like the setting was such a pivotal part of the plot that it became a character in its own right. In this book, which takes place in San Francisco, you get the feel of San Fran, but it's exactly as you'd imagine it, but with fewer stereotypical archetypes. However, this didn't take away from the quality of the story by any means. I still fell in love with Perkins novel, just as I did with Anna and the French Kiss. And just like Anna's story, I think Lola's will make it's way to my list of favorites.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Girl, Interrupted

Title: Girl, Interrupted
Author: Susanna Kaysen
Pages: 170
Summary: In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele -- Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles -- as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its sanctuary.

Kaysen's memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a "parallel universe" set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties. Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.

My Thoughts: The movie adaptation of this book is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's raw, gritty, and realistic, and the book it's based on pretty much has the same tone throughout.  A memoir of Susanna Kaysen's stay at the infamous McLean Hospital, Girl, Interrupted is more like a series of essays on her point of view of what was happening in her ward at the time.  They aren't exactly in chronological order, but it isn't hard to follow along.

Kaysen's descriptions of the ward she lived in for almost two years and the people around her during that time aren't watered down or sugar coated, which I really appreciated. And when you first dive into this memoir, you start asking yourself, "Am I crazy?" Then you come to the realization that everyone has something "different" about them and how their brain works. To quote Kaysen: "Crazy isn't being broken or swallowing a dark secret. It's you or me amplified."
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Looking for Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Pages: 221
Summary:  Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. 
After. Nothing is ever the same.

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. John Green delivers once again in writing his Printz Award winning novel not just for adolescents, but for anyone who has ever lost someone suddenly or went seeking "The Great Perhaps." He created relatable characters that you either love or love to hate and you would follow their journeys to the end of their meaning-seeking lives. Especially Pudge and the Colonel. Pudge is our narrator who's obsessed with famous last words and who is new to the Culver Creek Boarding School of Alabama, and the Colonel is his roommate who sort of shows him the ropes from the beginning. They become sort of a team and with the help of some friends, adventure out to live life, prank, and maybe even partake in self-destructive activities.

Not only were Green's characters interesting and multifaceted, but you also felt for them. If an author can achieve that, then he's done his job.

Although this wasn't my favorite John Green novel (The Fault in our Stars takes that spot), I would definitely recommend everyone I know to read this.  It's witty, it's beautifully written, and it provokes you to feel and think about finding your own "Great Perhaps."
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The Great Gatsby

Before I went to see the newly released The Great Gatsby movie this weekend, I was a little fuzzy on the details of what happened in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel of the same name set in the roaring 1920's. I had a general idea of the splendor that was Gatsby and that the story was told from Nick Carraway's perspective.  And as a fan of the director's, Baz Luhrmann, previous works, such as Moulin Rouge, and Romeo + Juliet, I fully expected his newest venture to be just as extravagant, if not more so.

Prepare yourself for a gush-fest, because boy did Baz Luhrmann deliver.  Every scene was like a work of art to be framed and admired. It was beautiful! I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I felt like Luhrmann's take on this timeless classic was fresh, modern, and extraordinary in more ways than one. This adaptation really brought across the theme that was so prevalent in Fitzgerald's novel: the jazz age in all it's shining glory. I haven't read The Great Gatsby or any of Fitzgerald's other works of literature in years, but I can feel a '20's lit binge coming on.

Also, can we talk about that soundtrack? A+ to Jay-Z for being an executive producer and being a part of the musical production on this movie. I don't buy a lot of movie soundtracks, but I suddenly feel the need to run to Target to snatch this one up. The soundtrack transformed the movie and gave it a life of it's own. Not only that, but the acting was superb. Leonardo DiCaprio's take on Gatsby was amazing and haunting at the same time, and everyone else was perfect for their roles and now I feel like I'm gushing. Honestly, it was that great, for me. I went to see it in 3D, and it was a cool experience, but it isn't necessary to enjoy the film.  The cinematography in and of itself took you on a journey and was perfect no matter what dimension you see it in.

Now the question is: will I be adding this movie to my film collection when it comes out on DVD? Yeah probably.

My Halfway Through May Book Haul

It's not even halfway through May, though, and I've already bought 7 books. Book buying is a disease, am I right? And I told myself I would read at least a few of the books I already own before I went out and bought any more. But alas, I am impulsive when it comes to buying books, which proves for interesting hauls. So without further ado, here's a list of the new additions to my book family:

It's Kind of a Funny Story - by Ned Vizzini
I watched the movie recently and thought: "Hey this movie is based on a book. I really liked this movie therefore I'll like the book," so I bought it.

Girl, Interrupted - by Susanna Kaysen
Bought it for the same reason that I bought Vizzini's novel. There's a theme here and that theme is that I'm fascinated by psychology and the human mind.

Behemoth - by Scott Westerfeld
I have yet to read the first novel of this series, Leviathan, but I've only heard good things about it. I thought why not complete the set. Very slowly.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - by Michelle Hodkin
Another novel which I've heard nothing but good reviews about in the book blogosphere. And the summary on the back is so mysterious and vague. Every time I look at it I grow curiouser and curiouser (by the way, how awesome is Alice in Wonderland) and I just want to know what exactly IS the unbecoming of Mara Dyer? Also, the cover was really soft and I couldn't stop stroking it. I know, I'm one of THOSE people who strokes books publicly.

13 Little Blue Envelopes - by Maureen Johnson
I just bought the first two books to Johnson's other series called The Shades of London series after she came through town for a signing of the most recent of that series, The Madness Underneath. I wasn't able to attend, but I got a signed copy from the bookstore and inside it was a ton of book swag. So many stickers, your head would spin. This sparked my interest, so I did some research and thought this book looked really interesting and cute and mushy, which I love, so I bought it.

Lock and Key - by Sarah Dessen
Because I felt the need to complete my Dessen collection and this was the final piece to the puzzle. Also, it was one of my favorite books I've read from her so far.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald - by Therese Ann Fowler
Ever since I learned about the chaotic relationship the Fitzgeralds had, I've become fascinated by them.  This book will just further satiate my thirst for all things Fitzgerald-y.

The Iron King

Title: The Iron King 
Author: Julie Kagawa 
Pages: 368 (paperback) 
Series: The Iron Fey (#1) 
Summary: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

My Thoughts: The short version: Great beginning, mediocre middle, good ending. I do intend to read the rest of the series, though, and recommend this book to those who enjoy faeries, mythology, and other-worldly adventures. The long version: If I had given it a rating from about halfway through the book, I would have given it a 3 out of five, and that's being generous. The unexpected and exciting ending really saved this book for me.

From the first few chapters, I didn't get the feeling like Meghan had much a relationship with anyone at all except Robin/Puck. So when she tries to move heaven and earth to save her brother and return to the family who practically neglected her, it felt a little forced and made her annoyingly hardheaded and ignorant, if you will. Maybe it's because Cassandra Clare's City of Glass is still fresh in my mind with Clary's signature stubbornness, but I'm getting tired of the heroine of so many YA novels being reckless to the point of endangering everyone around her with hardly any permanent life threatening consequences, which would be expected with such behavior.  Everything rights itself or a prince in shining armor comes in at the last moment to save the damsel. Meghan, our main character, would do things that were so illogical that I often couldn't help but scoff at her. 

Another part of this novel that didn't really appeal to me was the sort of insta-romance bit. For me at least, it was predictable and when it finally did happen it was sudden and came from nowhere with a lack of courting from both parties aside from accidentally falling into each other and the occasional lingering eye contact.

But she did have her moments where you would see some character development and the effects of that. And the dialogue was witty and quite believable for a "faerie tale." As for the other characters, Grimalkin was a treat to read about. I loved his parts. His character was pleasantly reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire Cat. Ash and Puck were great, too. When I read the next book of this series, The Iron Daughter, I hope to see much more of them. It wasn't a bad book, it's just that I was expecting so much more from it. This is the first novel I've read that was centered around the world of the fey, so it was kind of an info-dump of mythology for me. But it wasn't too hard to keep up with, and I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars   

My 2013 Summer/Beach Reads List

Yes, that's right. I'm a sucker for the stereotypical "set in the summer and by the water" novel. But every year I find it harder and harder to find novels that are worth lugging to the beach to read in my lounger. I've been preparing for this summer, though, since this summer will be my last real summer until I graduate in the fall. So here's my to-be-read list for this summer (many a-beach book and maybe even a couple paranormal/adventures included):

The Moon and More - by Sarah Dessen
This will Dessen's 11th book she's published, and just from the summary I know it's going to be the perfect beach read. It's about a girl named Emiline who has been with the same boy in the same sleepy beach town, Colby, for a long time until the summer before she goes to college. Then a New Yorker college-boy comes to Colby and offers her a new perspective of her role in the world, the same perspective that her slightly absentee father has been trying to get her to see. Should she cling to the roots she has in Colby, or set off for bigger, better horizons? Just from the summary, I know this book will be packed up with me on my beach trip later this summer.

Lola and the Boy Next Door - by Stephanie Perkins
This is the second book in Perkins' kind-of-a-series book series that includes Anna and the French Kiss, which I read about a week ago and absolutely LOVED! And since I've fallen hopelessly in love with Perkins' writing, I thought hey why not feed this romance with another one of her books.  This story follows budding designer Lola Nolan, and even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket--a gifted inventor--steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. No it's not set at the beach, but who cares when you have an amazing book at hand that you can't put down. You can bet this will be the book I'll be sneaking a read from between my classes I have at the beginning of this summer.

Keeping the Moon - by Sarah Dessen
One of Dessen's many YA coming-of-age novels, Keeping the Moon is about a girl named Colie who is sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt in the beach town of Colby. Colie doesn't have many friends, but then she gets a job at the Last Chance Diner and meets fellow waitresses and two best friends, Morgan and Isabel. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along. Keeping the Moon doesn't look like a difficult read, which is exactly why I included it in this list. It seems light, yet I feel like it'll end in a lesson about friendships and relationships, which I honestly love about Dessen's writing. You always learn something from her books whether it be about yourself or the others around you.

The Infernal Devices Series - by Cassandra Clare
 I've only just finished reading City of Glass, part 3 of Clare's The Mortal Instruments Series, and while I love that series, I've heard this one is even better and more action packed. The Infernal Devices is a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments set in nineteenth century London. I didn't even need to know anything other than that and I was all in.  In between my sappy YA beachy reads, I sometimes like to read a more adventure-centered novel so this series will be my go to gets-your-heart-racing series this summer. And I know I'm a little late on this bandwagon, but I expect it will be a fun-filled ride.

The Truth About Forever - by Sarah Dessen
 Oh look another one by Sarah Dessen, but guys hear me out. Her writing really is that good AND most of her stories take place in a beach town so it's a win-win for this summer reading list. This one is about Macy, a teenage who isn't excited about this coming summer. Her boyfriend will be gone and she'll be working most of the time, so she expects it to be a long boring summer. But then exciting things start happening, like getting a fun new job at a catering business, beach house renovations, or meeting Wes. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to wonder, Is it really better to be safe than sorry? I've heard from many a-Dessen fan that this is their favorite of her novels by far, which makes me even more excited to read it, the sooner the better.

Frostbite - Richelle Mead
I once again find myself playing catch-up in trying to read past the first book of a series. This time it's with Richelle Mead's Frostbite, the second of her Vampire Academy series. I loved the first installment, Vampire Academy, much to my surprise. My younger sister highly recommended I read it, so of course I expected it to be cheesy and predictable, but was pleasantly surprised about midway through the book when I started to grow fond for the story and it's characters.  I don't want to give away any spoilers for what happens in the first book, so I won't give a synopsis for this one.  However, I will say that this series in general is about these teen vampires who go to a vampire boarding school in the US and events happen, and it also comes in graphic novel form. Okay, I know that's not a very good summary, but give me a break I read it almost a year ago and my memory isn't that great. And yes, it does sound like a set up for a really bad melodrama, but if you give the series a shot like I did, I'm sure it won't disappoint.

(If you click on the titles above, it'll take you to the goodreads pages of each book if you want a better idea of what they're about).

Happy summer and happy reading!