*non-spoiler review*

Another book I gave a rating of 5/5 stars. It was wonderful! However, I don't like the fact it took me so long to finish. And school doesn't count as a real excuse for once.

You've probably all experienced a reading slump at least once in your life. I'm going through a major slump at the moment and am still looking for a perfect book to pull me out completely. Although I did really enjoy Scarlet, this book only pulled  me out half. I guess I'll have to make me pull myself through the last half to get out of this slump.

Enough about slumps. Let's talk about Scarlet! I haven't seen anyone hating this book. I've literally heard no hating comments towards the complete Lunar Chronicles series whatsoever. So if you haven't read this book, pick it up! Even if you don't like fairytales, but do like space, pick it up! And if you don't like space, but do like fairytles, pick it up! If you don't like either of them, you should still pick it up! I can assure you you will love it. And if you like both fairytales and space... Why haven't you picked it up? There's no excuse.

Does any of you watch Once Upon a Time? If you do, you will probably get why I love Little Red Riding Hood so much. It made me connect to Scarlet even better. Moreover, I liked her being French. France is awesome :D

For those who have read Cinder and don't want to read Scarlet because they think we won't see Cinder, you're wrong, Cinder is there too! And more kickass then ever! Also, we will meet new characters. They are all special and funny and awesome and so much more, but most importantly: they all have their flaws.

The flaw-part from Prince Kai is very unclear to me, by the way. Yes, I really really like him, but he seems to be perfect. His flaws aren't really described. However, I d o think he can be annoying at times. How long could it possible take to get it all figo, ured out? It wasn't that difficult for me either.

The plot in Scarlet was sometimes a little slow, which I felt better due to my reading slump, but worked out really well. In addition to Cinder, I didn't see the plottwists coming. Okay, maybe one, but I don't think that one was meant to be an unexpected twist. However, the rest was so unpredictable and really got me into the story. 

Even though I didn't read that much, I could never put Scarlet down. I really couldn't. Strangely enough I couldn't pick it up either. so typically me.... :/

In conclusion, Scarlet is a wonderful book everyone should've read. The plot is worked out very well and you will love the characters for everything they stand for, especially their flaws. I really want to read Cress right now, but I'll have to wait for the book to arrive. 

Here's some advice by me: make sure you have all the books when you start the Lunar Chronicles. You don't want to be wait for the third book*

*Exceptions for those who are in a reading slump (like I am)

"I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard."

-If I stay, (pg 175, US Paperback edition)

If I Stay is a story about love and tragedy, that makes your heart hurt, but at the same time brings you to hope.

My Initial Thoughts: To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like this book when I first started. I had no emotional attachment to the characters when the accident happened, and everything seemed so rushed and unemotional at first. However, I have to give miss Forman props for the way she carefully wove in the backstory of the characters and how eventually the reader does start to care for them. Everyone becomes a loveable, real person and the loss and tragedy of what had happened just hits you hard.

The Plot: This book isn’t a thriller, the plot isn’t particularly exciting or fast-paced. This book more so causes the reader to feel and to think. It draws you in and doesn’t let you go. It causes you to step back and look at your own life, at the people you love and cherish and makes you contemplate what you would do if you were put in Mia’s position.

The Writing: This book isn’t filled with breathtaking poetic prose, but it has a simplistic beauty to it. Forman’s writing style is very easy to follow and to get into.  It’s not filled with a bunch of fluff or long descriptors, but it has just enough of everything to build the characters and scenes and make the reader understand and tugs at the emotional heart strings.

Overall Thoughts & Rating: I really like this book for what it was, it’s emotional and thought-provoking and I would recommend it to fans of deeper, thought-provoking contemporary. It’s not all gloom, it does have its lighter, cute moments, but the overall feel is quite heavy. I really loved the way the characters were developed, I loved the part the music played throughout the book. I did think it was a little too short, it ended quite suddenly, but that didn’t take away from the impact of the story. 

I give this book a solid 4 ½ stars out of 5.