Shelby

a beautiful, heartfelt, and down to earth feel good story
I was definitely a little concerned going into this book. I had friends in elementary school reading this, so I didn't know if I was going to make it all the way through.
I finished it in two days.
This book is about being seen, being a true friend, and how you can overcome hardship if you look at it the right way. Having struggled with injury and disability my entire life, this book tugged at my heartstrings as it addressed the internal struggles of people who are different than everyone else.
A victory for these characters feels like a victory for the reader. There is a lesson to be learned for people of all ages.

Heartbreaking, twisted, and horrifying, but hopeful, inspiring, and optimistic all at once
This book was so much more than I expected coming in.
It was my grandma's favorite book, so I wasn't expecting much, but this book opened my heart and made me look at my life from a different perspective.
You begin looking at Jeannette's life with wonder and a little bit of jealousy, wishing you were as adventurous and experienced as she was as a young child. But as the story moves on and becomes darker and darker as Jeannette's parents become less and less stable and the children grow more and more mature and independent, you're shellshocked by the harsh realities they had to endure.
I often found myself forgetting this was a true story, because how could someone really endure this much?
Near the end of the book, the perseverance of the Walls children and the hope they hold constant for a better life than their parents had is more than inspiring, and challenges you to find a more creative way to overcome any challenges you face in life.

This book broke my heart and put it back together in a matter of 5 hours. I read the entire book in one day; I couldn't put it down. Dave's story puts you in the mind of a child suffering severe domestic abuse. His perspective gave me a new view of the world, and gratefulness for my life. From this book, you feel hope, heartbreak, pain, and celebration. You feel an overwhelming amount of sympathy and admiration for the determination of a little boy in an impossible situation. This story will forever stick in my mind as proof that in any situation, a little hope and determination can get you through.

As a self-diagnosed overachiever in high school, I had a feeling there were going to be a lot of cliches that were going to annoy me in this book. Luckily, that expectation was very wrong.
Solomon perfectly portrays two overachievers that have the same struggles as everyone else, and realize a little too late what they could have enjoyed had they not worried so much about school.
How they could have enjoyed a friendship and maybe more if school had not been their number one priority. From learning about Jewish culture to reading a character like me with a secret passion for writing, I loved every turn this book took.
I usually have a dislike for high school romances; I think they're basic and boring and overdone, but the story of Rowan and Neil and their complex story and personalities was a good refresher.

I hadn't read a true fantasy with magic in a long time, and was excited to find this fantasy mixed with historical fiction on my bookshelves.
I loved it from the beginning. The romance of France and the reality of the revolution, the double life Camille lives between Paris and Versailles, and the beauty of her friendships and romance alike.
Enchantee has a different kind of magic, and draws you in with every page. With the reality of the times, with revolution, resistance, and sickness, it reveals how easy the aristocrats had it-how they could afford to gamble away their problems.
Magic is hidden in a world full of tradition, and it's fascinating to read this interpretation.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and can't wait for the sequel.

This was the best trilogy finale I think I've ever read...
Rainbow Rowell officially owns my heart. The first book I ever read by her, I knew I was entranced, but I never knew that my trance would last this long. I feel like I grew up with the Simon Snow books. I put off reading this one for a while, not wanting the experience to be over, and fearing the end not being what I wanted it to be.
THIS WAS EVERYTHING AND BEYOND. Between subplots (which I love), the joining at the end, the new love stories, and a happy ending for all of the main characters we've grown to love, I was in love with every word.
It breaks my heart knowing I'll never read another Simon Snow book for the first time again, but many rereads are in my future.

I was genuinely surprised by this book; I had heard a lot of people talk about how boring it was or how much they disliked it. But as a lover of the era this book is set in, and anything with big fancy parties and good plot twists, I ended up thanking my AP Literature teacher for making me read it. The author's style was the first thing to captivate me, and I remained captivated until the end of the day when I finished the book and returned it to the classroom shelf, one of the few students who borrowed her books. The vivid descriptions and passionate emotions of the characters kept me reading for the whole day. Definitely, something I would read again to notice more than the first time.

I genuinely enjoyed this book, but I understand where some of the negative reviews came from.

Personally, I love a story with a lot going on, and very complex world building. This book did that for me in a way no other book has. I love fairy tale retellings, and this mashes up some of the classics.

However, it was occasionally hard keeping up with everything going on. Every character had a different power, and there was a lot to remember throughout.

All in all, this book appealed to my younger inner reader, and is a story I will never forget. I am very exitedly anticipating to read the next book :)

THIS BOOK DESERVES MORE HYPE.
I know it already gets a lot of hype, but this gave me more serotonin than anything ever. It was so wholesome and funny and gives you butterflies just by reading the pages.
I think kids of all ages can learn a really valuable lesson from this series, and as I flew through the entire web comic in three days before binging the show, I learned a lot myself.
This book touches on everything: love, doubt, insecurity, mental health. And everything they address is addressed so well that it makes you feel seen. It makes you feel less alone.
Alice Oseman is a genius. And she might as well be a therapist because of how much joy and counsel her comics bring her readers.

After reading the reviews that came up first, I felt the need to add my own.
I read this book in a single sitting. Every time something happened, I cried and laughed and prayed with the characters because this author is so gifted in connecting you to this world.

The descriptions Tori writes blow me away, from the way that Zélie sees everyone's Ashé to the dreamscapes built by Zélie, Inan and Amari.

I loved this book.

Can't wait for the next one.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.
I was hesitant coming into it because I was like “oh, its just going to be another John Green”, which I'm not mad about at all, but I was looking for something new and exciting.
Little did I know that this would be the first book I ever truly saw myself in.
The insight into Aza's mind as she struggled with her anxiety and intrusive thoughts, seeing her mind as a prison she could never escape, I saw myself relating to her more than I have any character.
At the beginning, I was very nervous that she was mentally ill and she was going to fall in love with Davis and it would magically cure her. But she put her mental health first and was open with him.
This book will forever be close to my heart.
Thank you, John Green, for giving me a character I finally truly saw myself in.

I absolutely adored this book, and had to remind myself at the end that Evelyn Hugo was never really a person.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, although not a true story, reveals many dark truths about Hollywood in the beginning: how hard it was to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a celebrity at once, the things Hollywood and society expected from a woman, and the way she feels the need to fit their mold.
With each character boldly described and Evelyn's deep emotions dripping from every page, this book really lets you forget that you're reading-the best experience a reader like myself can ask for.
This book officially deserves all the hype and more.

This book was captivating, emotional, and unconventionally romantic; I loved every second.
I was drawn to this book from the start entirely because of the format: a book that flipped at the end of every chapter, two plot lines that perfectly intertwined.
It almost immediately became more than a satisfying format.
The journey of all of the characters in this novel are so emotional that you can imagine everything they're feeling. As much as I get tired of cliche romance, this was a refreshing twist.
Its a novel about humanity, about found family, self discovery, and unconventional love.
I adored this book and cant wait to read the sequel.

I ADORED THIS BOOK.
I wasn't expecting anything less than adoration; The Lunar Chronicles will always be a longstanding favorite of mine, and when I remembered this addition existed, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.
And it definitely didn't disappoint- it answered questions about the main characters I never knew I had!
Marissa Meyer's writing style and obvious love for the characters she's created comes through stronger than ever, and the connection the reader feels to the characters makes you feel even more submerged in their world.
While it was a bittersweet end, knowing I would never read anything more from the Lunar Chronicles for the first time, I would easily read it again, as these characters and this universe will forever have my heart.

This book was on my TBR for a long time, so i was excited when I finally got a copy! Unfortunately I was disappointed by it in the end. There were good parts, but too many cliches for me to enjoy. The characters didn't have very much substance, and the plot was very jumpy. From love triangles to the Asian hidden dream stereotype, I found myself rolling my eyes more often than not. This is one of few books I've read this year that I won't read the sequel to. All in all, I don't regret reading it, but wouldn't read it again.

Don't come at me: I didn't love it.
But I didn't hate it, either. At the end of the day, if you give me an action-packed novel with a trope I love, I will always enjoy it. But I've been told by a million people to read it, and I didn't fall in love with it right off the bat.
But what I appreciated about this book is how much it made me want to read the sequel. This duology bleeds into the next book more flawlessly than I've ever seen. One of the reasons it made me bitter was the lack of character growth, but there were hints of it taking place further in the plot.
I ended up tolerating even the most annoying characters in the end, and I was itching to read the next book. It was a good start.

But the sequel was EVERYTHING.
I didn't love Six of Crows, but it kept my attention long enough to want to read the sequel. And boy was I glad I did.
I didn't love the lack of character growth in the first book, but the second met my expectations there. It was equally action-packed and emotional, and it had closure at the end but enough to think about the possible future.
I ended up in love with the characters and the universe by the end and can't wait to dive into the rest of the Grishaverse and read more.

Lowlands, bounty hunters, and caves, oh my!
This book was nowhere close to what I was expecting. Sure, the blurb on the cover sparked my interest, but what I found inside of the pages was something I couldn't have predicted.
I love a good love story, a romeo and juliet. This had not only this, but another trope I LOVE: found family. The relationship between X and Zoe, but also with Ripper, stole my heart. It was a perfect mix of emotion and intimacy, but with enough action to keep the plot moving.
I picked up this book under the impression it was a standalone, but by the time I had finished, I already had the sequel downloaded to my kindle.

There are some reasons this book deserves less than four stars, but there are more important details that give it that fourth star.

At the beginning of the book, you meet A, who inhabits a different body every day (you never figure out why). A is inhabiting the body of a boy named Justin. After being in his body, A falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rihannon. At first, it doesn't make sense, because it's breaking every rule A set for themself.

This epic love story progresses as the story goes on, but there's a seemingly useless event that won't matter until the end: one of the people A has inhabited remembers something. This conflict grows along with their romance.

And then one day, A inhabits Rihannon's body... I get that this was important to the plot, but it really didn't go the way it should have.

At the end, so much happens that I'm not okay with. Rihannon ends things with A, which they should have seen coming. But A refuses to leave it at that, and pairs her up with one of the bodies they inhabit. This made me mad because they once again broke every rule they've ever made for themself.

More on that breakup, Rihannon could have tried harder because A cant control anything. You know that even in the other books of the series, nothing will be the same.

This was a great book overall, but some things don't match up. I recommend this book, unless you're bit picky about details.

I wanted to give this book 4.5 stars, but that's not an option
For the most part... I absolutely adored this book. It started as a recommendation from my English teacher for a project we had to complete by the end of the year in my senior AP Literature class. So it began as another hoop I had to jump through to maintain my high grade in the class. But it became so much more than that.
As the book began, I had a bit of a hard time; this was the reason for the half star reduction. It had a slow start, but once the plot twists started showing up, I became so enveloped that I finished the second half of the novel in one day.
The twists at every turn kept me guessing, on the seat of my chair, at school, at work, and at home, until I had reached the last page.
Goodman has a way of captivating the reader with her Gothic and eerie style like nothing else I've ever read.
It's become one of my favorites, and I wish I could read it again for the first time.