Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Emily's best friend Sloane disappears, almost without a trace - the only thing left is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that wallflower Emily wouldn't normally do, and definitely without her best friend. But what if completing the list could bring Sloane back?

Dance until dawn? Sure, why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um...

Go skinny dipping? Wait... what?

Emily only has the summer to check everything off Sloane's list. The question is, what will she find at the end of it? (Goodreads description here)

Shall we all just take a minute to appreciate how beautiful this cover is. That font though (it makes me swoon). Seriously. I think this is a pretty good description of what's inside. Very pretty, very american, and very very contemporary. That certainly isn't a bad thing though, it was just what I was in the mood for. And yes, I have been singing the Kelly Clarkson song ever since I read it. It is a cracking tune though, so I've linked the video here.  

The concept of the book, basically a lonesome teenager completing a bucket list in order to make friends, and change for the better, though not original, was very well pulled off. The actual list was quite unique, and there were some very specific  tasks on there. For example 'hug a jamie'. Now i've never seen that one before!

The characters in the book were also very well developed. Even Sloane, who was the disappeared best friend. Although we only met her in flashbacks (nearly) I thought I had a real sense of her character. At first I was under the impression that she was a perfect american teenager, living the dream. But we soon became aware that this wasn't really true, and she just created this image to cover up everything that was wrong with her family. 

The narrater and main character, Emily, was also very relaistic. She was likeable and quite relatable. Although she was bland at times, this just added to how endearing the book was and how relatable Emily was. I got the impression that every reader would interpret her in their own way, which is something I really think shows a good author. It made me realise that romance and amazing friends are out there! (Man, I will read this back and cringe sooooo much!) However she was still quirky at times, and I can sort of imagine being friends with her in real life.

This book was 450 pages long, but I found it quite a quick read, perfect for the holidays! It wasn't up there with Anna and the French Kiss, but it was still very good, and now, whenever I think of contemporary, I will think of this. It basically fitted that genre perfectly. I was lovey dovey, but didn't take itself too seriously, and a real coming of age story.

I give this 

****

I will certainly be picking up Morgan Matson's other book, Amy and Roger's Epic Detour.

Have you read Since You've Been Gone? What do you think makes an MC relatable?

Booktubeathon Summary

Last week I did the Booktube-a-thon!! (or tried...) This is a week long readathon run by Ariel Bisset (off youtube) and the challenge was to basically read as many books as possible from monday 14th-21st of July. I saw Ariel's video about it and knew that I had to do it (booktubeathon's youtube channel is linked here).

On reflection it wasn't a great time considering last week was something called celebration week, in which we go on school trips everyday. Mine included a walk (that wasn't fun), and Blackpool Pleasure beach (which was much better!). This meant that I had very little time at home, I also had a ballet exam yesterday and spent most evenings at the river with my friends, trying to recover from the heatwave in England. It was very fun, but it did mean that I had hardly any time to read. 

The Readathon included a selection of challenges that we could choose to try and complete during the week. It also included vlogging challenges, but I refuse to vlog! The reading challenges were: 
A book with pictures.
Start and finish a series.
A book with red on the cover.
A book someone else picks out for you.
A book from the genre you've read the least this year.
A book to movie adaptation
Read seven books

My aim was to complete all the challenges, apart from read 7 books. How is that possible? You may ask. Well, you can double up challenegs. For example I could read a book to movie adaptation with red on the cover. However you weren't allowed to 'triple up'. Overall I completed 3 challenges and read 4 books. I'm not too disappointed with this, but I think I could've done better. After all, this was my first reading challenge. 

The challenges I completed were:
A book with picture (Since you've been gone)
A book with red on the cover (The Elite)
Start and finish a series (The Selection trilogy)

So, the books I read!
I knew that I wanted to read a trilogy because my YA trilogy TBR is never ending! I chose the selection by Kiera Cass as I've amazing things about these books. I've also heard them be described as a cross between reality TV and that sounded perfect. These books were amazing! They were quite quick, and I often found myself grinning uncontrollably while reading the scenes between Maxon and America (especially in the first book, The Selection. This series consisted of The Selection, The Elite and The One. This ticked off two challenges, as it is a full series, and The Elite had red on the cover. I should be reviewing these soon.

Then I attempted to read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. However 50 pages in I gave up as it was taking me so long to read, and although I really liked it, I needed speed!

So my 4th and final book was Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. I recently bought this book and was planning on saving it for one of my contemporary cravings (they're very common!). But I gave in and really loved it. It was quite and easy read, but was on the long side for a romance. It was so summery and I learned a lot with the main character.(expect a full review soon)

Did any of you do the Booktubeathon? Do you like reading challenges? Let me know in the comments!

Top 5 Friday: Adult Books

Now, I know it's not Friday, but I was on school trips all last week, so my time has been very minimal! So this weeks top 5 Friday is adult books. While I prefer YA books, I am very conscious of the fact that sometimes I crave something a bit more sophisticated and want to read adult books. I haven't really read many adult books, but these are my favourites of the ones that I've read. (Click on the links for their Goodreads pages)

1. Room by Emma Donoghue

Now I was arguably too young when I read this book (12) but I really enjoyed it. It was harrowing and like nothing I'd ever read before. It covered new topics to me, and when reading it I felt very sophisticated in deed!


2. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

I read this when I was quite young (12 again), but I just loved it. Although it was a challenge to get through, it really began my love for historical fiction. I find some Philippa Gregory to have too much internal thought, but I thought this one had a good balance. (And it has a film which always helps!)


3. 1984 by George Orwell

You've probably heard this all before, but this book really makes you think and puts things in perspective. I only read it revelry, and felt like it was compulsory considering I love the dystopian genre so much. It was amazing. I was a bit intimidated by it before I read it, but I don't know why!!

4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I watched the film of this a few years ago, then spotted it on my mums bookshelf and thought I may as well read it. It's soooooo much better than the film. It's not at all clique, and heaven is so much more believable to me than it was in film.  I found the perspective on how her family fell apart, and came back together without her so interesting.


5. Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart

Words cannot describe how much I love Miranda Hart. She's a hilarious British Comedienne who's so relatable. If you've watched her TV or listened to some of her old podcasts, you may recognise some of the jokes. But personally I will never tire of the things she says! 


Have you read any of these? What are your favourite adult books? Let me know
in the comments!

Classics TBR

I love classics, and for somebody who loves reading classics as much as I do I read embarrassingly little. Why? You proboably ask and to be frankly honest I'm not entirely sure. I think its' because classics aren't particularly easy reads, whereas YA books take minimal effort to complete for me. Thought I think I often forget just how rewarding I find it when I'm finished and can think about what I've read. So, in an effort to read more classics I've complied a TBR of classics that  feel guilty about not reading, and really want to get me teeth stuck into. 

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

I feel pretty bad about not reading this yet. It's been sitting on my bookshelf for years just waiting patiently to be read. I attempted to start it about a month ago, but feel asleep, so put it back down. (It was very late and I was tired, it was nothing personal towards the book!)





2. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I don't really know what this one is about, but my english teacher keeps telling me to read. My teacher seems to have a pretty similar taste to me in books, so I think I should give it a go. 




3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Like most people, I absolutely love the BBC TV series. But, also like most people, I almost always read the book before I see the film. This is an exception and I have to sort that out. I've heard mixed reviews of this, but I'm prepared to look past those and just concentrate on trying not to let my modern view on Sherlock Holmes change my perspective on the story. 

4. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Considering most of my friends are Lord of the Rings superfans, I feel extremely bad for not reading this, and lying to them about it... oops. In truth I have read half of this, but when I was about 9 and too young to appreciate it. So it's about time I read it before I have to think of an excuse not to attend another their Hobbit film marathons!

5. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

I have read and loved Pride and Prejudice, and have been meaning to read this for ages. I have heard that it's better than my beloved Pride and Prejudice, so want to test the theory!






So that is my classics TBR. However these are only the top 5 (in no particular order) because I don't want to drown in Classics 

Do you have any recommendations for me? What's your favourite classic? Leave your answers in the comment section! 

Currently Reading: The Raven Boys

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

I picked this at the library. About 6 months ago... I kept on forgetting about it, ok?! I haven't completed any books by Maggie Stiefvater before, but have heard great things about this book and it sounded like something a little different to what I normally go for. I did attempt to read Shiver from the wolves of mercy falls trilogy about a year ago, but I really didn't enjoy it. I just found it dull, and not very gripping, so I gave up about half way through. However I thought it was about time for me to give Maggie Stiefvater another go. I'm only about 30 pages in but so far I am quite enjoying it, and look forward to doing a review when I'm finished! 

Review: Wonder by R.J Palacio

'My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.' Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things - eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all? 

I've sent this book so many times in bookshops and on blogs, but have never picked it up, until I saw it in then library and thought I may as well. I certainly don't regret it! 

This book was so moving and relatable, I loved it. However it showed how harsh reality could be, but in the simplistic, pure way that children see the world. I think this is what I liked so much. It was just the truth, so personally I didn't feel too weighed down by the book. I can see how mother would be very upset but this book,but personally I found to real. (don't fear, I cried!)

I've never been in any situation similar to August, but I still the found all of the characters extremely realistic. When I was reading about the different characters (which were very well developed may I add)I kept on thinking. 'Oh, they're like so and so' or 'Wow, don't I know them?!' Even with August, his personality was so real, I can image it was quite hard for the author to develop august and his acceptance of his face abnormality. And also with Jack, he was just like so many ten year old I've encountered. At first he seems nice, but later we discover he can be a but harsh. However he doesn't realise the severity of what he's doing, and is just struggling to fit in, like so many others his age. 

This leads me to my favourite feature of the book, the viewpoints (yes that's plural). The book was narrated from  about 9 (don't hold me to that!) viewpoints of various people in Augusts life. My favourite was his sister, Via's viewpoint. She was very truthful, and I liked seeing the effect that Augusts face abnormality had on his family. She was very honest, but still humorous, and her unconditional love for him was very heart warming.

So I loved this book. Although it's a YA book, I think it 

would be suitable for middle grade+. It really has changed my perspective on others and has taught me that your inside can be so 
different from your outside. (So clique!) but that's what the book aimed to do, and it has certainly been successful.

***** (that's 5 stars for future reference) 

READ IT! That's all I have to say. 

Have you read Wonder? What did you think? 

Currently reading: We Were Liars

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.

                                             

Surprise, surprise, another person reading We Were Liars by E. Lockhart! I've heard so much about this book and was planning to save it for the holiday. But then my friend mentioned it was only £2 on kindle and I couldn't resist. Turns out it was £2.99 but oh well, not bad! As you are probably all too aware, this book had been everywhere in the last few weeks. I have to admit the marketing campaign did work. I was very intrigued with what could be so secret about it, and decided to read it. (Also I really like the cover, which always helps)
So far I'm not regretting it!