Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Flavor

 

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

TOP 10 FAVORITE AUTHORS

1. Cassandra Clare 

Clare made me love Steampunk with her Infernal Devices series. I know she's mostly renowned for the Mortal Instruments, and to me, an author who is able to juggle two successful series at the same time is quite remarkable.  

2. Sarah Dessen

Another author with a book to movie adaptation, is Dessen. Her work is always character driven, leaving the reader with a complete profile of the MC in and out. 

3. J.K.Rowling 

I'm happy to mention Rowling in this countdown. It means that no matter how many books I read, her work remain with me. She is such a magical being. 

4. Richelle Mead 

Awww, these book covers should have been kept. Of course, no matter what the covers look like, the words inside remain the same -- enchanting. 

5. Ally Carter 

Love her mysteries, particularly, the Heist Society series, which was supposed to be turned into a movie but sadly, never did. 

6. John Green 

I might not have been Paper Towns biggest fan, but that doesn't mean I would exclude Green from this list. I still feel he wrote a masterpiece with The Fault in our Stars. 

7. India Desjardins

The way Desjardins represents the single women of today struggling with Instagram, Tinder, and grandmas who refuse to give family recipes because ''they are written for a family of four''  is funny/bitter/funny again. I can't wait for these to be translated in English. 

8. E. Lockhart

I loved her even before this book, does that count? 

9. Carolyn Meyer

History was never a favorite topic of mine until I encountered a Meyer book. I've been collecting them and sharing them ever since. 

10. Mo Willems

He's a genius to me. His writing is funny/clever. And there is always opportunity to do voices. Hope to one day be able to write a children's book with half his wit. 

Who is your favorite author?

Review: Echo

Harmonicas used to be given to patients that needed to rehabilitate their lungs. I wish one had been provided for me while reading this book -- because that is how heavy the novel felt on my soul. 

Echo combines several sad stories into one -- all connected to a magical harmonica and the power of sibling love. We meet Friedrich, whose disability alienates him from fulfilling Nazi requirements, Mike who must protect his little brother at all costs and poor Ivy who is subjected to racism. All of these kids lives are at stake, turning this novel into a race against time.

Regardless of scene after scene filled with teary moments, Munoz Ryan made her novel extra gripping, by placing careful attention to her main and secondary characters. All of them had the world working against them, and yet their spirit was always positive. At almost 600 pages, I found the novel too long and frankly a little too sad for middle-graders, but can undoubtedly see a YA crowd devouring this. I only wish the first few pages about witches would have been omitted altogether. 

Worth the read!!

Review and Giveaway: The Truth about Us

He's not good enough for her, and she'll only makes his life worse.

Almost everyone is convinced that Jess and Flynn aren't meant to be. Sent to volunteer at a missionary shelter by her dad, after being caught drinking topless, Jess needs to mature and learn that with money comes responsibility. Meeting Flynn might just be what she needed to get out of her lonely state of mind. He's a good listener, understands her, and is going through tough family problems as well. But when their shared chemistry turns into something more, it becomes everyone's goal to tear them apart.

Gurtler did a fine job providing all her characters with realistic flaws and ways of dealing with their problems. There was a lot of tension amongst Jess's family, since her mom was brutally attacked outside her home and nearly beaten to death. This should've brought the family closer, but caused the opposite. It was great to see how communication in all relationships is key to keeping things together. I would have loved to see more background story on Nance. Hopefully, there's a spin-off.

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JANET GURTLER:

RITA Award finalist Janet Gurtler’s young adult books have been chosen for the Junior Library Guild Selection and as Best Books For Teens from the Canadian Children’s Book Center. She has had her writing compared to Judy Blume and Jodi Picoult and that makes her happy. She has volunteered at a few soup kitchens and hopes to do more. Giving back is so important. Janet lives in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, with her husband, son, and a chubby black Chihuahua named Bruce.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Red Eye Flight

 

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

TOP 10 BOOK QUOTES

The more I read the more quotes I collect (can we mark this as my quote?!?) Here are my latest finds:

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

"To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation."

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"It's enough for me to be sure that you and I exist at this moment." 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world -- a beautiful little fool."

Animal Farm by George Orwell

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

"There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between."

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

"I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves."

What's your favorite book quote?

Review: Tricks

Five teens share the traumatic events that lead them to prostituting their bodies. 

Meet Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger and Cody -- all average teenagers from moderate income homes. In the course of the story, most of them will lose their virginity in traumatic ways, get disowned by their parents or simply fall into the vicious circle of drugs. But once you spiral down into the world of prostitution, can you just as easily get out?

I'd never do that is something you stop saying as you grow up. It's impossible to predict how you'd handle mockery. being cast aside by a parent, rape, poverty -- anything that threatens to permanently remove a smile off your face. Hopkins writing style (verses) is a lot more effective than Crank, perhaps due to the shared spotlight between the five teens. Scenes were cut short, all containing raw details of tricks the characters were forced to perform just so they could survive in the streets.

Not for the fainthearted.