Hey everyone! I'm back in the swing of things with grad school, so sadly I haven't had as much time to be on here... bummer! Just wanted to give you a quick update on how things are going with me and post some mini-reviews of the books that I've been reading lately. 

 

The biggest news in my life is that my husband and I found out about a week and a half ago that our baby is going to be a GIRL! We can't wait to meet her - only about 18 weeks left, assuming she arrives on June 2 as planned! 

 

School, again, has me super busy, as I'm taking 15 credits this semester so I'll only have to take 9 in the summer when baby comes. In undergrad, this would have been sooo easy, but in grad school, it's definitely challenging! Thankfully, I'm very organized and as long as I continue to micromanage my schedule, I should come out alright. 

 

And here are the mini-reviews, as promised - all are for books I read for my Resources for Young Adults course: 

 

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen - I read this for an author project that I have to do (also see my review for Just Listen). I selected Sarah Dessen because I'd adored her books in high school and wanted to see how I'd feel now, five years later. Thankfully, she did not disappoint! I really enjoyed reading about Emaline's reactions to all of the changes in her life and I loved the way that this book ended. I think that by the end of the book, Emaline was definitely a stronger, more confident individual who felt more in charge of her destiny, and that's a great way to leave things at the close of a story. 4 out of 5 stars for this one. 

 

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard - This book was selected as a part of the theme "Why do we care about what others think about us?" I'd never read PLL before, but I'd been meaning to for a while. And wow, this  like the definition of a guilty pleasure book. Like, I was kind of embarrassed to admit to anyone outside of Library Land that I was reading this... but I secretly kind of loved it! All the drama just sucks the reader right in. I will say that I think that Shepard drew things out a bit more than necessary - I feel like she used a whole book to tell something that could've only taken half of a book, if that makes any sense? But this is definitely a series that I would like to continue, once my schedule goes back to normal. 4 out of 5 stars. 

 

The Battle of Jericho by Sharon Draper - Another book for the theme "Why do we care about what others think about us?" I had actually never heard of this before this past week, so for those of you who haven't read this or heard of it, basically it's about a high school with a social club that on the surface is super philanthropic but behind the scenes has a really horrible hazing culture for new members to endure. As an alumna for a sorority, this was fascinating to read. My sorority, ΣΣΣ, has a very strict anti-hazing policy (thank God!) so I was never hazed. At the time, I have to admit, the policy seemed a bit over the top - we weren't even allowed to do scavenger hunts with our new members because they were deemed "too dangerous." After reading this and seeing how something that seems like a harmless little tradition can get horribly out of hand, I can see why our national headquarters is so cautious! While this book definitely got me thinking, I was kind of bored while reading it. The dialogue didn't feel real to me and I also felt that this one was longer than necessary. But it definitely had a fantastic message to deliver! 3 out of 5 stars. 

 

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen - THIS BOOK. Omg. <3333 Okay, so this was part of my Sarah Dessen Author Project, and it's my first 5 star read of 2015! Which, honestly, isn't super fair because I read this SO MANY TIMES in high school and so I knew going in how much I'd adore it, but still. So many feelings for this book! I think it's just beautifully told, and the characters are wonderful - Owen Armstrong will forever be one of my top literary crushes, because he is just that fantastic, and Annabelle totally deserves his awesomeness. So yeah. This is hardcore chick lit and every time I read it, I turn right back into my swooning sixteen year old self. And that's exactly what should happen. 5 out of 5 stars. 

 

Hope everything's going well with all of you! Let me know if you've read any of these books and, if you have, how you liked them - do you agree with my opinions? Have a great week! 

Battle of Jericho Hill suffers from uninventive and empty story barely improved by two pages artwork throughout. There is even rehashing of same betrayal plot as in Fall of Gilead. One of the things that is particularly painful in this issue is the difference between Gilead before and after the fall represented only by a couple in front of the same ruin.

It got two stars because of the mood and coloring but still it is only for die-hard Dark Tower fanatics.

Review can be found at Greedy Bug Book Reviews:

Greedy Bug Book Reviews

This book was provided by Harmony Ink Press in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I knew this one was going to be a tough read, but I honestly expected most of it to come from the death of Alain. His death, described in just a couple sentences in the books, was a gutpunch - to have come so far with his friends only to be accidentally gunned down by them?But his happened so fast - and he seemed so unaware of how it had happened in his last moments - that it was sad, but it was okay. And then we got to Jericho Hill. To the last stand.To Cuthbert's death. And that one... that one got me. His last jokes in the face of death, and especially Roland's reaction - Roland having one of the rare breaks where he just loses control. It was heartbreaking to watch. I didn't think parts of this volume were as strong as the previous two, but the part of the story being imparted here was more than enough to make up for it.

The Battle for Jericho - Gene Gant A friend at Good reads recommended this book to me and I am very happy with the recommendation. I really liked Jericho's voice, his narration felt very believable to me as a voice of a sixteen year old teenager. But I always want to put a qualifier - I am not a sixteen year old teenager, have not been one for quite some time, so young people may react completely differently. I have read a lot of young adult coming of age novels in the last couple years where teenagers are struggling with their identities, where they struggle to find who they are, not just whom they are sexually attracted to, but that's a big part of figuring out who you are.

In that sense this story also has Jerricho work through his confusions and his feelings, but as blurb tells you, he finds out that he is attracted to both boys and girls and likely is a bisexual. I am not going to tell you at what stage his romantic life is at the end of the book, but it was a nice and refreshing change to read about a teenager who may be a bisexual.

And the love story was just so beautiful - even if a lot of it was showing how confused he was, but I just felt so much joy when I was reading these pages.

What pleased me even more about this story is how flawed Jerricho is and how much he changes from the beginning of the story to the end. Or maybe he is not changing that much, but just realises what his true feelings on the subject are and what kind of the person he truly is?

Supporting characters are wonderful, almost all of them feel real and despite smaller roles feel multidimensional enough.

Definitely recommended.

4.5 stars