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-Devin Reads

Review: Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Publisher: First Second

Source: Purchased

Pages: 221

Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 7, 2011

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Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century.

Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend--even a ghost--is just what she needs.

But Anya's new B.F.F. isn't kidding about the "forever" part...

I'm not really sure what it is about graphic novels that makes them so awesome. I mean, I guess it could be the awesome stories mixed with the beautiful artwork.. Yes, we will go with that.

I absolutely loved the artwork in Anya's Ghost. I thought that it really helped capture you and pull you into the story. I thought that the artwork fit the story very well with the development of the plot and it really enhanced the book rather than just having artwork.

So I heard that this book was "scary." At first I wasn't quite sure how this book was going to become scary.. But then the book took a dark turn and the book became super creepy. This creepy element in the book made me REALLY enjoy this book a lot!

I loved the characters in this book. I thought all four of their roles (Anya, her brother, her mom, and the ghost) were very well written. Each one of unique but awesome.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. I think that this would be a perfect graphic novel for those of you who are new to graphic novels or haven't read them before. It's a quick and easy read as well as a really good book.

Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

 

Publisher: Dutton

Source: Borrowed

Pages: 339

Series: Anna and the French Kiss #3

Release Date: August 14, 2014

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From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

I'm not sure why Stephanie Perkins decided to do this to us.. Again. I think she enjoys breaking our hearts just to pick the pieces right back up and then having us ball our eyes out from all the cuteness. But thank you Stephanie Perkins for another amazing book.

I don't know about you guys, but I loved Isla's character. I think that throughout the book, she has to learn a lot of things in life. By learning these things, I think that she was able to mature a lot as well as find out who she was somewhat. To be honest, her character reminded me a lot of myself. I am not one who likes to take risks. Taking risks scares me to death. 

Then you have Josh.. Oh Josh. Why do you have to be so cute?! You can really tell that he cares so much for Isla (even if she doesn't realize it.) He really seems like an awesome guy that any girl would kill to have!

Can we talk about that ending real quick (without spoilers of course...) But.. THAT ENDING. Like if I had to think of a perfect ending for this book, the ending I came up with would be crap compared to what Perkins did. THE FEELS. THE TEARS. THE BUTTERFLIES. THE EVERYTHING. Such an amazing ending to an amazing book and series!

Another thing.. That acknowledgment Stephanie Perkins did about her husband.. SO FREAKIN' CUTE! I'm going to be completely heart broken if she doesn't write any more romance books. NEED MORE ROMANCE FROM STEPHANIE PERKINS!

So, as you can tell... I really loved this book a lot. It is definitely one of my all time favorite series and I would recommend them to anyone. Especially if they want to feel all of the feels. If you haven't read these books, you need to go do that. Now. GO!

If you have read all three books, which was your favorite? 

I thought mine would remain Anna, but I think with the ending that Isla had, I'm going to have to pick this one as my favorite!

Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Source: Purchased

Pages: 296

Series: Standalone

Release Date: September 18, 2012

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SHHHH!

Don't spread the word!

Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.

You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

WOW. This book was crazy. It was not only really good, but it was also really scary. I'm not one for liking scary things because I get nightmares really easily but I could not stop reading this book!

All of the characters were very unique in their own way. I really enjoyed getting the perspective of Meg. I think that she was the best character to get the POV from.

I also really liked the romance in this book. I was really hoping that the two people who wanted to be together actually ended up together in the end. 

Throughout the whole book, it had me really wanting to know who the murderer was. Just when I thought I knew, they would get killed off and I was left confused again. I loved having to try to figure out who it was. But then that ending.. THAT ENDING. That was NOT what I was expecting. Oh man. When the stuff happened at the end, I'm pretty sure my eyes grew wide and my mouth dropped open. A big plot twist for sure.

Although this book was a spin off of another book (And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie) I still really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was really well written and very enjoyable. 

Overall, I am so glad that I decided to give this book a shot. It helped me out of my reading slump! If you like mysterious and scary books, this one is definitely for you!

Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Source: Purchased

Pages: 294

Series: Monument 14 #1

Release Date: June 5, 2012

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Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. 

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

When I first heard what this book was about, I knew that I wanted to read it as soon as I could get my hands on a copy. I wanted to know what was going to happen to these 14 kids who got trapped in a superstore and had to survive some sort of natural disaster. Although I wasn't blown away by the story, I did enjoy a lot of things that happened in it. It was a really quick and entertaining read.

There isn't a lot of character development which isn't surprising since this book is under 300 pages. However, it is a little disappointing because there are 14 characters in the book and I'd at least like to know the main character a little more than what we know about him (which isn't much!)

There are some things in this book that bothered me, other than not really knowing much about the characters. For example, I didn't really like how we didn't get an explanation as to why these kids were making certain decisions. There were some things that would happen and they would have to make a quick decisions. But after they made it, there was never any reasoning behind it. It just kind of happened. There is another part of the book, which I won't mention because I don't want to spoil anything, but it wad me going "what in the world?!" and literally laughing. Hopefully if you read it, you will know what I am talking about. If you want to know what I am talking about, you can contact me and I will be more than willing to tell you!

Overall, I liked this book. It wasn't the best but it definitely wasn't the worst. I will be picking up the second and third books eventually, just not right away. 

Review: Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Source: Borrowed

Pages: 336

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 1, 2014

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It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

I am so glad that I picked up this book. I had been hearing so many people rave about this book all over goodreads and booktube. Let me tell you.. It deserves every bit of rave it gets. It is such an amazing book. I have seen a lot of people say that it has a Perks of Being a Wallflower feel to it and I will have to agree with them for sure. Such a great book that you definitely need to pick up asap!

One thing that I absolutely loved about this book is the development of out main character, Laurel. I think that throughout the whole book, she is growing and learning to be her own person. In the beginning of the book and a lot of the way through the book, she struggles with a few things. She definitely had to do a lot of growing and learning in this book. I am really glad that the main focus was her coping with the loss of her sister and not too much on the romance. However, I did really enjoy the romance as well. It wasn't overdone like a lot of YA books tend to be. 

This book is about conquering fears and accepting things for what they are. It also teaches you that you should not be ashamed of who you are and to not be what other people want you to be. I think it also teaches that you should stand up to your problems instead of running away from them. Running away from a situation can just makes things worse.

I could really relate to Laurel. No, I didn't lose a sibling, but I have had to deal with a lot of other really devastating things that have happened to me. I used to be like her and keep everything to myself. I would never really talk about my problem and that caused a lot of friendships and relationships to go wrong. Like her, I had to learn that I needed to talk about things and that this would help me a lot by getting it off my chest. I think that Laurel did an amazing job with realizing what she needed to do to fix things and went out and did it.

Overall, I think that this is a book that should be read by everyone. It has a lot of issues in it that a lot of people have to deal with and it teaches you how to deal with them. Like I said, I am really glad that I picked this up. I will definitely be recommending this book to other people!

Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Purchased

Pages: 528

Series: Mara Dyer #2

Release Date: October 23, 2012

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Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.
She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.
They aren’t.

She couldn't imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.
She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

Okay, so I have no idea why I did this to myself. This book.. THIS BOOK. It was SO good. And of course it had to end the way it did.. and now I have to wait till freakin' November for the third book! WHY?! I really don't want to have to wait. Ugh.

Another book where Mara was an amazing character. Just like in the first book, I loved being inside of her head and trying to figure things out while she was. She is such a strong and amazing character, for sure.

Then Mr. Noah Shaw. Just when you think he couldn't get more perfect, he does. I love how he has these flaws but that doesn't change how perfect he is. It just makes him perfectly imperfect. LOVE him.

I loved Mara and Noah's romance. It was so unpredictable. You would think one thing was going to happen, then something else would. They are just too freakin' cute together.

I loved how this book was a little more creepy than the first book. It made the story a lot more enjoyable because of that. While I was reading, so many questions popped in my head. Who's gonna die? What's going on? WHAT IS HAPPENING?! It was just so so good.

I can't really say that much about this book because it is the second of the series, but if you haven't picked up this series, you definitely need to. I am so glad I finally picked it up. I have no idea why I waited so long to read it! COME ON NOVEMBER!

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Purchased

Pages: 452

Series: Mara Dyer #1

Release Date: September 27, 2011

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Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

I have had this book on my shelf for a little while now. I was a little hesitant to pick it up. I kept seeing more and more people reading it and posting such great things about it on Goodreads. I finally decided that it was time that I pick this book up. And let me tell you, I am SO glad that I did. This book was far beyond what I expected it to be. 

Before I go on my rave about Noah Shaw, I'll talk a little about the other characters and the plot first. 

First, I think that the concept of this book is really neat. I enjoyed the fact that Mara had no idea what had happened to her. I loved being in her head trying to figure out what had happened to her along with her. I think that that made the book even better. I'm gonna be honest and say that when I first started reading the book, I was a little confused by the hallucinations. Not that I didn't like them or anything, but at first I was really confused as to what was happening. As I kept reading though, I was able to tell that she was having another hallucination instead of wondering why the story changed all of a sudden! Once I was able to get used to that, I actually really liked being able to know about her hallucinations. I think that it helped me really connect with Mara as a character. 

I loved how we got to discover what was going on with Mara step by step. I thought that it was written so wonderfully. I think that helped with making the story more mysterious and exciting! This is a book that will have your heart racing and make you feel like you can't turn the pages fast enough at some points! I'm usually not into the whole paranormal thing because I get nightmares pretty easy (yes, even from books), but this book's paranormal aspect wasn't too overwhelming at all. I think that it had just the right amount to make it seem real, but not enough to really "scare" anyone. It was just enough to leave you saying "what the heck?!" This book will make you want more. It will make you sweat, it will make you feel, and it will make you think. 

Mara Dyer..oh how I felt so bad for this girl. She has to deal with the loss of her friends, relocating to a new state and a new school, and these awful hallucinations and dreams. There were so many times throughout the book where I just wanted to grab her and hug her. I thought that the way she handled everything that she was having to deal with was amazing. I know that I would not be able to handle things like she does throughout the book. I really disliked how her mother treated her. Babying her and treating her like she is "sick" isn't going to help her. I think that her mother needed to be a little more supportive of her and try to allow her to make her own decisions. Mara is really the only one that knows how she is feeling. Her mom may be a psychologist, but she doesn't know what all Mara is feeling and dealing with. This kind of really annoyed me in the book, if you couldn't tell.

Now on to Noah. NOAH. Noah freakin' Shaw. I could just picture what he looked like in my head and man, he is such a stud! What girl wouldn't swoon over a guy who was British, mysterious, and a total sweetheart (even though he does have a reputation of a heart-breaker.) I think he may be my number one book boyfriend now. Sorry Four! Not only is he this hot and mysterious guy, but he's just al overall wonderful character full of wittiness, mysteriousness, and gentleness. He's just so amazing. Gosh, Noah! I can't wait to read the next book in the series just so I can get more Noah Shaw!!

I don't think that words can really describe how incredible these characters are. All I can tell you is that you definitely need to give this book a shot. It is such an amazing read and I can't wait to read the rest in the series!

Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Purchased

Pages: 288

Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1

Release Date: April 15, 2014

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Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control in this heartfelt novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them... all at once?

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

I really really like this book a lot. I was SO sad when it ended. But then I found out there is going to be a second book and got very excited. I mean, that ending.. You can't just end a book like that and NOT have a second book to explain! This was my first Jenny Han book and definitely won't be my last!

The concept of this book was too good. Personally if all of my love letters "accidentally" got sent out, I would be freaking out a lot more than Lara Jean did in the book! I did feel that there needed to be more about the other guys who were sent letters. The only ones we really deal with in the book are Josh and Peter. I would have liked to have seen some sort of closure with the other guys as well.

I love how important family is in this book. The relationship between the Song sisters is so amazing. There aren't a lot of families that can say that their siblings get along that well and are that close. I also liked how the dad in the book was. Sure he may have worked a lot, but you could tell that he really cared for his children and wanted to be there for them in every single way, which is how a parent should be. Reading about such a loving family was definitely very enjoyable.

Can we just talk about Kitty for a moment?! For such a little girl, she's so feisty! I love her! I'm pretty sure that she was my favorite character in the book. You do NOT mess with Kitty! And how in the world does she know how to braid hair so well?! I don't even know how to do a french braid!

I loved the relationship between Lara Jean and Peter that is develops throughout the book. Reading about them just made me want more and more. I loved how well Peter got along with Kitty. I loved how he picked up Lara Jean to take her to school. I love the little notes that he wrote her every day. I just loved them!

There was SO much hype around this book, and now I can see why. This book was such a fast and easy read. It was also super enjoyable. But I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW! I have no idea how I'm supposed to wait until 2015 for the next book to find out what happens. But if you are looking for a cute and easy read, I definitely recommend this book!

Review: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Publisher: Speak

Source: Purchased

Pages: 250

Series: Standalone

Release Date: May 11, 2004

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Wake up, Caitlin

Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He's magnetic. He's compelling. He's dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else--her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?

This is by far my favorite book by Sarah Dessen. This story os so heartbreaking. Actually, heartbreaking may not be a strong enough word to describe this book. 

As I read this, I would literally cringe and want to cry/scream/punch things. Okay, that may be a little dramatic, but this book caused me to go through so many different emotions. It was haunting and disturbing. I feel so bad for Caitlin throughout the whole book. She feels like she will never measure up to her sister, Cass. She ends up getting tired of trying to be like her that she is lead to trouble. In this case, trouble is named Rogerson. I'm not going to say much about him because that would be a spoiler, but I will say that I HATED him SO so so much. At first, things seem to be just find between them... then things happen. (I won't mention what things because again, spoiler.) There were parts in the book where I literally wanted to shake Caitlin because I felt like she should have known better in some situations. She knows that she is on a destructive path, but she feels like she can't do anything to get herself out of it. I feel like this isn't true. I feel like you have a choice whether or not you really want to or not.

This book is one of those books that is so raw. The things that Caitlin had to deal with, I could relate to in so many ways. I unfortunately was in a situation like her before, so I felt a real connection with her and her story. Although we took different actions to help ourselves to get out, I still understand why she did certain things. I feel like Dessen did an awesome job with showing the negative effects of drugs without being too preachy. Sometimes you need to go through pain to heal, but drugs cheat you out of the opportunity. Sarah Dessen is a beast at showing how all the choices we make add up to what path we are lead to. She does this in all of her books. 

There isn't a lot that I can say about this book without giving too much away. All I can say is that you should definitely give this book a read. It is one of those books that after you read it, you won't forget it.