Book in Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

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Title: Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: October 6th 2015
Pages: Hardcover, 522 pages

Summary (via Goodreads):
Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.


Holiday Blogger Highlight 2015: Sarah Clare @ Behind On Books


Hi everyone! Are you guys feeling the Christmas spirit? Honestly, for some reason, this year we haven't been feeling that merry or Christmas-y, maybe it's because we've been too caught up with other things that time has sped up and suddenly it's Christmas Eve already without us noticing! Well, to keep the Christmas spirit alive, we've decided to do this little feature in our blog, where we'll interview and highlight fellow bloggers and ask them what they're up to this holiday season. 

For our second Holiday Blogger Highlight 2015, we've got Sarah Clare from Behind on Books!

Merry Christmas 2015 from Geeky Chiquitas!


Merry Christmas, from Geeky Chiquitas!

We hope you guys are having a wonderful holiday. As I (Kimi) write this, I am sitting on my bed at home, snuggled under a blanket, and listening to the Under the Mistletoe playlist on Spotify, as occasionally a firework goes off (which is pretty weird since it's morning here). Meanwhile, Audrey and Beryl are off at Osaka, Japan, doing who knows what (I haven't had an update from them yet) but probably having fun, taking lots of selfies, slurping ramen, and building snowmen (is there snow in Japan right now??? I'm not sure).

Last night for Christmas Eve, we had dinner at my grandparents' place with some relatives. I've been complaining for the past few days that I can't seem to feel the Christmas vibes, no matter what I do or how hard I try. And now that it's finally Christmas, meh, still no holiday vibes. A few years back, Christmas was such a fun holiday and I remember all my cousins would be around at my grandparents' house, since it's our tradition to spend it there. This year, a lot of them have other plans with their family (ehem Beryl and Audrey are gone) so I'm stuck spending the Christmas with my own immediate family, plus a few of my cousins, who are all unfortunately toddlers - and while toddlers are cute, they are no use making conversation with and usually sleep early, so you get stuck doing nothing as you wait for the clock to strike midnight for Christmas day, which is basically what I did last night.

Feature Follow Friday: Best Christmas Gift Received

Happy Holidays everyone! We're still wrapping up our official Christmas day post, but for now here is our Feature Follow Friday! :)


The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!


How does this work?

The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools — keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them “hi” in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you! What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to WordPress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don’t have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed. All features are chosen randomly to be the feature. They are not chosen by content or name.

Question of the Week: What was the best Christmas (or other holiday) gift you ever received? - Suggested by Alison Can Read

KIMI:
The best gift I've ever received was a laptop! I received it late, like around January, because it was shipped all the way from the USA. Some other notable gifts I've received: a train set, art paint toy thing, and of course angpao (red envelopes with money inside)! :)

BERYL:

I think the best Christmas gift I've ever received is a box full of pajamas! That was about 2-3 years ago and during that time, I was really fond of anything that has to do with sleeping (lol), up until now. It might not be the most expensive, but I got something I really liked so it was just unforgettable. 

AUDREY:

I believe that the best Christmas gift that I've ever received was my very first phone. It was not a very expensive phone. In fact, it was one of those quite cheap ones, but as a young girl, I thought of this as a step towards becoming more mature. Because of this, the phone became very important to me. To be honest, I didn't use it much at the time, and I got rid of it after a while, but I feel its significance whenever I look back at my past Christmas celebrations. I remember being ecstatic when I received it. That moment became one that I can never forget. 

Follow us below! :)

 

Holiday Blogger Highlight: Jessica @ A GREAT Read


Hi everyone! Are you guys feeling the Christmas spirit? Honestly, for some reason, this year we haven't been feeling that merry or Christmas-y, maybe it's because we've been too caught up with other things that time has sped up and suddenly it's Christmas Eve already without us noticing! Well, to keep the Christmas spirit alive, we've decided to do this little feature in our blog, where we'll interview and highlight fellow bloggers and ask them what they're up to this holiday season. 

For our first Holiday Blogger Highlight 2015, we've got Jessica from A GREAT Read!

1. Do you have any holiday traditions?
Well with my family one gift we can all expect is socks! It's something my grandma used to do for all of us. So it's stuck with us even after she passed away.
Other is one I do for my older sister. I always double box and double wrap her gift because she hates opening presents.

2. 
What's your favorite thing about the Christmas season?
I just love Christmas in general. I love surprising my family with gifts. I love looking at Christmas lights on all the houses. And Christmas cookies are good too! Though not for my waistline! Lol.

3. 
Do you have any book recommendations that are great for the holiday season?
Hmm...that's a bit harder as I rarely read holiday themed reads at the right time! One anthology that I read some years ago was Holidays are Hell. It had some novellas by Kim Harrison, Marjorie M. Liu, Lynsay Sands, & Vicki Pettersson! Another anthology was Wolfsbane & Mistletoe. Those were a bit shorter stories as there were a lot of authors in that one!


4. 
What is your favorite Christmas treat?
Favorite Christmas treat is definitely cookies! Some of them we only make at Christmas time. Like frosted sugar cookies, gooey butter cookies, peanut blossoms! Yum!

5. 
Do you prefer the cold weather or the warm weather?
Definitely the cold! I'm a winter baby. Sorta. So I prefer colder weather. Though St. Louis has crazy weather. Right now it's raining & on Christmas we'll be in the 50s which isn't normal for us.

6. W
hat's your new year's resolution?
I think one of them will definitely be to figure out some self-publishing for my book. Right now I submitted it to a publisher & am still waiting for a response. After that I will figure out what to do!

7. 
Share a picture of your go to outfit this season.



8. Have you decorated for Christmas? If so, please attach a picture. If you haven't, is there any design that you find attractive?





9. 
Movie recommendations?

As some of my blog followers might know my favorite Christmas movies are A Christmas Story and then a more recent favorite Elf! And omg that movie is already over 10 years old! Where has the time gone!

10. 
Share your social media links, etc. (Blog, Twitter, Instagram, etc)


Blog: Jessica-agreatread.blogspot.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/agreatreader
Instagram: Instagram.com/agreatreader

Thank you so much for taking the time to be up on our blog! We're glad to have you for our first Holiday Blogger Highlight. If you guys still haven't, check out Jessica at the links above.


Stay tuned for our next HBH 2015! :)

Waiting on Wednesdays: Summer Days and Summer Nights Twelve Love Stories


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:


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Title: Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories
Author: Stephanie PerkinsLeigh BardugoFrancesca Lia BlockLibba BrayCassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev GrossmanNina LaCourVeronica RothJon SkovronJennifer E. Smith 
Publication Date: June 14th 2016
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Book in Review: Lullabies by Lang Leav


Title: Lullabies
Author: Lang Leav
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: September 16th, 2014
Pages: 248, Paperback

Summary (via Goodreads):
A sequel to the hugely popular, best-selling Love & MisadventureLullabies continues to explore the intricacies of love and loss.


Set to a musical theme, love's poetic journey in this new, original collection begins with a Duet and travels through Interlude and Finale with an Encore popular piece from the best-selling Love & Misadventure. Lang Leav's evocative poetry speaks to the soul of anyone who is on this journey.


Leav has an unnerving ability to see inside the hearts and minds of her readers. Her talent for translating complex emotions with astonishing simplicity has won her a cult following of devoted fans from all over the world.


Lang Leav is a poet and internationally exhibiting artist.

Our Bookish Christmas Wish List 2015

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've last blogged. It's been a crazy term for me, I'll tell you guys all about it in a separate post, but for now, I'm checking in to let you guys know about my Christmas wish list for this year! :) There's only 3 days left til Christmas and I'm excited! Are you?

So here is my bookish wishlist, and although I'm surely not getting any of these, it's great to daydream sometimes, right?

1. Kincso Nagy's Harry Potter design concept
This designer created a design concept for Harry Potter books, which includes glow in the dark covers and pop up illustrations inside. Isn't it beautiful?! I would totally buy these books if they were actually created!

Book in Review: Love and Misadventure by Lang Leav


Title: Love & Misadventure
Author: Lang Leav
Publisher: Andrew McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: April 26th, 2013
Pages: 176, Paperback

Lang Leav is a poet and internationally exhibiting artist. Awarded a coveted Churchill Fellowship, her work expresses the intricacies of love and loss.

Beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully conceived, Love and Misadventure will take you on a rollercoaster ride through an ill-fated love affair- from the initial butterflies to the soaring heights- through to the devastating plunge. Lang Leav has an unnerving ability to see inside the hearts and minds of her readers. Her talent for translating complex emotions with astonishing simplicity has won her a cult following of devoted fans from all over the world.

Beryl and Audrey's 2016 Bucket List

We're pretty excited to finish this year already and just say hello to 2016. We feel like a huge mess this week cause of being unproductive, eating more than 5 times a day lol, and having no pep training. :( Finals are also coming next week! UGH! SAVE US!

Enough of us blabbering and ranting, let's get down to business! (to defeat the Huns) HAHAHA. Kidding guys.

NUMBER 1:
GET FREAKING ABS

Since last year and the year before that and before that and before that, we've been wanting to have abs! It's just a mixture of hard work and perseverance which we don't really have.

HASHTAG GOALS
NUMBER 2
MAKE A PERSONAL BLOG

Don't get us wrong we LOVE this blog, but we love other things too like fashion, beauty, and food. We've also been wanting to create one since forever, so we hope to make one SUCCESSFULLY, It's not that easy ya know from creating the design and all those especially since we're not experts.

NUMBER 3
BERYL WILL FINALLY DECIDE WHAT SHE WANTS TO BE

I need serious help because I have zero idea what I want to be in the future, what i want to take in senior high and in college! I have no choice though because I can't be a bum forever.

BOOK IN REVIEW: The Selection by Kiera Cass


Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: April 24th, 2012
Pages: Hardcover, 336
Rating: 2/5

Summary (Via Goodreads):
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.


I read this book upon the recommendation of many of my friends. There came a point in time where everyone I knew were raving about the series, talking about how cute it was and how it gave them intense feels. I had a feeling I wouldn't like it very much, just from reading the synopsis alone, but I decided to trust my friends on this one and read it. After reading it, I'll admit that I didn't dislike it as much as I thought I would, but I didn't really like it either. I think it was an odd mixture of all that hype and my personal expectations for this book that caused me to feel the way I feel about this novel.

This book has that cliche romantic feel to it that I'm sure a lot of teenagers would like. It's a rather feel-good book with not much angst, a perfect guy, and an 'I- don't-think-I'm-pretty-but-I-actually-am' heroine. I felt like this type of story is rather overused. I know that there's a reason why this trope is very popular in the YA genre, but I guess I was just expecting more from a book that everyone told me was amazing. It was nothing special, really. It was sweet. It had its moments. There were some parts where I could definitely see why people would love the book. The thing is: a good book cannot rely on just those moments alone. Every book is unique, but not every book is special. I was looking for that special thing in this, but I just couldn't seem to find it. The plot was normal. The writing was fine. The characters fit perfectly into the usual character archetypes. I'm so frustrated because there is nothing inherently wrong about this book, nothing bad at all, but there's nothing particularly good about it either. Everything is just completely... average. 

Through all of that, there are still a couple of good points this book had. It touched on certain topics like poverty, starvation, elitism, and politics that I thought were really good to see in a YA book of this kind. Although those themes were not the main focus of the story, the author made sure to highlight them at least once in the story. That makes you realize a bunch of things about society and how it really works.

I won't be recommending this book or re-reading it, but I will not warn you against it either. A lot of my friends really enjoyed this, and as everyone has different book tastes, you might find this to be an absolutely charming read. For a new reader of YA, this might be a good book to get hooked on the genre, but if you already read YA, have already explored more daring stories, you might want to let this one go.






Feature and Follow Friday: Dream Jobs




The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work?

The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools — keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them “hi” in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you! What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to WordPress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don’t have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed. All features are chosen randomly to be the feature. They are not chosen by content or name.
This weeks Question:
If you could have any job, what would you do?
KIMI:
If I could have any job, I'd be a film director or a writer. I love being on set and shoots and I've always wanted to turn my ideas and stories into film!
If not in film, I'm okay with TV as well. And one of my dream jobs is to work on the TV show Doctor Who, even as an extra or an assistant, I'd do anything to be part of my favorite show !

BERYL:

I don't really know what specific job I want yet, but I definitely want something related with fashion or beauty! I enjoy watching look books and tutorials, and I think I can see myself creating outfit ideas or make-up looks. :)

AUDREY:

As of right now, I don't have anything in particular that I want to do. I don't have my mind set on any particular thing and every single time I'm asked this question, my answer changes. I want to do a lot of different things that don't even seem to be related to each other. 

I wanted to do something related to cosmetics before, but now, I'm a bit more interested in entertainment, especially those jobs that require a lot of speaking as I do really love talking. I also like learning new languages and speaking is something that I am, for the most part, confident in. I also want to do some programming? IDK. Something related to technology? That has always interested me too. One thing that I am sure about is that I want to study in a different country in the future. I actually have my eyes set on Singapore, but I don't know if I could even get the opportunity to study abroad. Well, I still have a lot of time to think about this, so I won't stress over it too much right now. 

How about you guys? What job would you want? :)

 

LIFE UPDATE


We've been gone for a while in the blogging world so we feel like we haven't shared to you details of what we've been up to. We have the exact same excuse as all the other times we've been gone, which is that school's been taking up all of our time. It was finals week last week, so we've all been really busy trying to catch up with all the deadlines and cramming for all the exams. We can't be sure of whether or not we'll be busy this week, so we'll try to update you with this blog post as much as we can and give you all the details now in case we don't have time to blog again.







So as we've said earlier, all we've done this week is basically study, study, study. We've also been really stressed out for the past two to three weeks, literally we've been breaking out and everything. A lot of things have been going on really, apart from the finals, we've had a lot of projects, papers and essays due too. Another thing is that we have an upcoming performance for our intramurals that we've been practicing for non-stop. We finally found the time to blog today since we pretty much finished everything already. Even though we're definitely more chill than we were a few weeks ago, we still feel quite horrible actually. We haven't really been getting enough sleep and all the aspects of our life from school to family to friends to extracurricular activities have been overloading, so we have been sleeping late and waking up early even on weekends. Even so, we're taking the time to blog right now since we've really missed it. We hope that we can be more consistent in the weeks to come. 

By the way, we're nearing 200 followers!!! We're super happy and excited about it, and we would like to thank you all so much for sticking with us even though we haven't been doing anything lately. We'll try to blog more and maybe host a giveaway??? No promises! We would also like to apologize in advance because we might not be posting a lot of book reviews in the near future since we really haven't had the time to read anything at all. We'll try to think of new things to post that you guys will hopefully enjoy just as much. :)







Hey guys!! Kimi here! And I'm so scared to face the blogging world because I haven't been doing any blogging or reading in the past month! frown emoticon Ever since school started I've been bombarded with never ending acads and org work. You guys might now know, but I'm a president of my organization in college and it's taking up most of my time these days. We've been organizing a lot of activities and been doing outreach projects (since my org is a socio civic org) so I've been quite stressed lately. I really was on the verge of a breakdown for a while back there, but I was able to pick myself back up by watching The Duff (my ultimate feel good movie from now on) and listening to Hannah Montana music (yes it still works for me until now!). I'll probably find more time to read, and blog by October; hopefully things have settled down by then. And I'll be posting my hauls and travel stories soon! I just went to the Manila International Book Fair and I can't wait to share my experience with you guys! It's my 3rd year and it's still so wow to see so many books in one place! I hope I can do it soon. Thank you so much for sticking around with us, despite all our shortcomings.

We promise we'll be around more once we're less busy! And we'll do something for you guys just as a little thank you! <3




October 2015 Book Releases That We're Looking Forward To

Hi guys!

We know we have been MIA for so so long, but we're trying to work on that right now. Since, we're not that busy this weekend, we're currently making queued posts that we'll be posting all through next week (technically this week, actually, because this will be posted tomorrow...). This is so that we can still give you guys good content when we're busy.

September is quickly ending, so we're here to give you a list of book releases to look forward to for the next month! Let's start with YA books (our fave genre), shall we?

1. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Expected Publication: October 6, 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin

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Synopsis (via Goodreads):
Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.


2. Future Perfect by Jen Larsen
Expected Publication: October 6, 2015 by Harper Teen
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Synopsis (via Goodreads):
Every year on her birthday, Ashley Perkins gets a card from her grandmother—a card that always contains a promise: lose enough weight, and I will buy your happiness.

Ashley doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with the way she looks, but no amount of arguing can persuade her grandmother that “fat” isn’t a dirty word—that Ashley is happy with her life, and her body, as it is.
But Ashley wasn’t counting on having her dreams served up on a silver platter at her latest birthday party. She falters when Grandmother offers the one thing she’s always wanted: tuition to attend Harvard University—in exchange for undergoing weight loss surgery.

As Ashley grapples with the choice that little white card has given her, she feels pressured by her friends, her family, even administrators at school. But what’s a girl to do when the reflection in her mirror seems to bother everyone but her?

Through her indecisions and doubts, Ashley’s story is a liberating one—a tale of one girl, who knows that weight is just a number, and that no one is completely perfect.
 

3. What We Left Behind by Robin Talley
Expected Publication: October 27, 2015 by Harlequin Teen
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Synopsis (via Goodreads):
From the critically acclaimed author of 
Lies We Tell Ourselves comes an emotional, empowering story of what happens when love isn't enough to conquer all.

Toni and Gretchen are the couple everyone envied in high school. They've been together forever. They never fight. They're deeply, hopelessly in love. When they separate for their first year at college—Toni to Harvard and Gretchen to NYU—they're sure they'll be fine. Where other long-distance relationships have fallen apart, their relationship will surely thrive.

The reality of being apart, however, is a lot different than they expected. As Toni, who identifies as genderqueer, falls in with a group of transgender upperclassmen and immediately finds a sense of belonging that has always been missing, Gretchen struggles to remember who she is outside their relationship.

While Toni worries that Gretchen, who is not trans, just won't understand what is going on, Gretchen begins to wonder where she fits in Toni's life. As distance and Toni's shifting gender identity begins to wear on their relationship, the couple must decide—have they grown apart for good, or is love enough to keep them together?
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4. First and Then by Emma Mills 
Expected Publication: October 13, 2015 by Henry Holt and Co.
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Synopsis (via Goodreads):
Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn't want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.





5. Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall
Expected Publication: October 20, 2015 by Swoon Reads
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Synopsis (via Goodreads): 
The author of A Little Something Different brings you the most adorkable romance ever.


Jane, a superstitious fangirl, takes an anonymous babysitting job to avoid an unpaid internship with her college-obsessed mom. The only problem? She’s babysitting the siblings of her childhood friend and new crush, Teo. 

Teo doesn’t dislike Jane, but his best friend Ravi hates her, and is determined to keep them apart. So Teo’s pretty sure his plans for a peaceful summer are shot. His only hope is that his intermittent search for his birth father will finally pan out and he’ll find a new, less awkward home. Meanwhile, at Jane’s house, her sister Margo wants to come out as bisexual, but she’s terrified of how her parents will react.

In a summer filled with secrets and questions, even Jane’s Magic 8 ball can’t give them clear answers, but Signs Point to Yes.


So, what did you guys think? Are you as excited about these books as we are? We really, really, really can't wait. As soon as these are out, we're gonna go broke buying them! Well, comment down below your thoughts, and tell us about books that you're looking forward to in October. :)




Book in Review: Secret of the Sevens by Lynn Lindquist

Title: Secret of the Sevens
Author: Lynn Lindquist
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: June 2015
Pages: 408 pages, Paperback

Synopsis (via Goodreads):

Everyone at Singer, a boarding school for underprivileged kids, knows the urban legend of the Society of Seven. Decades ago, the original members of the secret guild for elite students murdered the school's founder and then perished in the fire they lit to hide the evidence. Or so the story goes. Talan Michaels doesn't care about Singer's past. He's too focused on his future and the fact that he'll be homeless after he graduates in May. To take his mind off it, he accepts a mysterious invitation to join a group calling itself the Sevens. He expects pranks, parties, and perks. Instead, he finds himself neck-deep in a conspiracy involving secret passages and cryptic riddles about the school's history. Even worse, he's now tangled in web of lies someone will kill to keep hidden. 
When I read the synopsis of this book, I was very excited to get to read it. Now, it's not that the book disappointed me, I just know that it could be better. Although the plot isn't cliché, it isn't uncommon either, certainly not something that is completely foreign to me. I thought that this book is, in fact, very average. There's nothing particularly terrible, and there's nothing all that great either. This is disappointing considering that with the plot Lynn is working with, she could do a lot more to make it stand out. 

It took me a very long time to get through this book, even though i thought the story was interesting. I attempted to read thrice and ended up stopping just a couple of pages in. The book just couldn't seem to absorb me, hook me, get me to empathize with its characters. The character development was a bit abrupt and gratuitous, but acceptable enough. I felt like things went too smoothly, especially with all that hype surrounding the Sevens and the mystery of the murders. The riddles weren't very complicated although that is understandable since they are high school students and not genii. 

One thing I can say though is that this book was a sweet tale about friendship, family, loyalty, strength, love, maturity, and growing up. Those aspects of the story we're, I believe, portrayed well. Maybe in a bit of a cheesy manner, but certainly satisfying for people who just want a happy story. Some people might not like it because they succeeded not really because of their own ingenuity but because of sheer luck and other people's help. 

All in all, Secret of the Sevens is an normal(ish), sweet story that is mostly angst-free and doesn't keep you in the dark for long.



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2015 Reading Challenge
Kimi has read 3 books toward her goal of 100 books.
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