Hello, my fellow bookworms!
It has been almost a year since I have posted on my blog, and I have decided that I need to start posting again. This year, I will be posting reviews of the fabulous books that I read this summer, but I will also be posting a series of short stories on this blog as well. I am extremely excited for this journey, and I can’t wait to have discussions with everyone.
Hey, readers!
Today is Wednesday, which means that it is time for another Top 5 Wednesday. The topic this week is top five book series you wish had more books. This was an easy topic to write about because there are so many series that should have more books added to them. This topic was created by Gingerreadslainey on YouTube. You can find the topics over on the Goodreads T5W group. Let’s get started.
Everyone can agree that J.K. Rowling needs to create more books in the Harry Potter universe. These books have been such a big part of my childhood, and now even my life as an adult. I have been reading these books for over 10 years and I will not stop anytime soon. The characters and the fantastical elements are breathtaking and we need more books.
2. The Grisha Trilogy
The Grisha trilogy consists of Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising. These books are written by Leigh Bardugo. The characters and the world in this book are fantastic. I need more backstories and world building. Each of the books does not go into too much detail about the world of Ravka. Ravka is a fantasy version of Russia, and I would love to get more history and reasoning to why and how the characters have their powers.
3. The Shatter Me Trilogy
The Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi are great books. However, like the Grisha trilogy, they lack character and world building I would have liked. We do not get backstories of any of the characters except for Warner. Furthermore, Mafi never explains how the characters got their powers. She does talk about radiation, and how the people with gifts are immune to them, but she doesn’t say that radiation is the cause of their powers. Moreover, if it were radiation why are there not more people like them. Also, the trilogy ends abruptly with a slight cliff hanger. I need to know how it all ends!!!!
4. The Host Series
The Host by Stephanie Meyer was supposed to have more than one book. However, it has been years and we still haven’t gotten another book. I actually really liked The Host and I would have loved a second book. The concept of the book was incredible and I would have loved to see it explained more.
5. The Lord of the Rings
Everyone would have loved to have more books that dealt with Middle Earth. I would have loved to see a book that talked about Gandalf and his adventures as a young wizard. I also know that this is incredibly impossible because J.R.R Tolkien has sadly passed away. However, if one of his children wanted to write something in the next year or so that would be incredible!
There you have it! That is my Top 5 Wednesday. What are book series that you wish could continue on? Comment down below!
Read ya later!
Maddie
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes is a suspense thriller that follows a time-traveling serial killer. This novel has an interesting plot and a wide variety of characters. The idea of a time-traveling serial killer is unique and original. The story follows Harper Curtis who is a man that is able to step out of his time and Kirby Mazrachi the one girl who got away. Kirby is what Harper likes to call a shining girl, which is a girl who burns with potential. The women he targets range from 1934 until 1992 and include women that were involved in anything from strippers to scientists. Harper simply believes they have a shine in their eyes that he must extinguish. His mode of transportation through time is a decrepit house in the heart of Chicago. Overall it was a good read and I would give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Here is my Five Things Wrap Up!
This book has multiple perspectives. It switches from Harper, the girls, Kirby, and Dan a man who works with Kirby at the Chicago Sun. Each chapter heading indicated the narrator and the time period for the chapter, however, with the shining girl chapters it was hard to keep all of them in order. At times, I would get confused about the girl and the time period, especially when specific girls were referred to in time periods separate from their own. Also, the time periods switched drastically from chapter to chapter, it could get hard to follow. I would have preferred the perspectives to just be Harper and Kirby only.
Kirby was the only shining girl to survive with her life and she wants to find the man who attempted to take her life. She is a spunky character who doesn’t care what anyone thinks. She has not let the circumstances in her life destroy her. She has been through a lot of shit, but she survives with her sense of humor and badassness. However, at times she does suffer from stubborn character syndrome. For instance, at times she does really stupid things, such as chase down Harper alone. Kirby is a smart character and does not wait for anyone to fix her problems, and does not complain about her problems. She is a refreshing female character. She represents a strong woman, and this book could be a commentary on how strong women are usually snuffed out by men that don’t think they can be in control and succeed. All of the shining girls were strong women making changes in the world, and Harper extinguished them.
When Beukes is writing from the perspective of Harper, the writing style is aggressive. The word choice and descriptions at times can be a lot to take in. I understand that Harper is a serial killer, and it is justifiable that he uses the language that he does, however, it made me uncomfortable at times. This only happened while Harper was the narrator, so it was not the whole novel. Just beware there is vulgar language.
The plot is very predictable. We knew that Kirby wanted to find Harper and reveal her attempted murderer. Moreover, we knew that Harper was trying to find the girls to kill. There were no unexpected moments in the novel and lacked any type of nail biting moment. There were also many plot holes. The time-traveling aspect was not explained at all. There were loose ends that were tied at the end of the novel and things were explained. However, there was no explanation of how the house was able to time travel, or why it was only able to go as far as the early 90s. Beukes never explained how the house could travel. It was unsatisfying.
Beukes never explained why Harper was a serial killer. She never went into his defining moments throughout his life that led him up to this. Moreover, she never even explained that there could be a possibility that he was born this way. I would have liked to see more development. Furthermore, there was no glorification of Harper, though, which I liked. Too often authors and TV producers focus on a type of glorification of serial killers making them enticing or even incredibly attractive. I have seen so many descriptions of serial killers and sociopaths as “very attractive,” and that is the last thing you should focus on with a serial killer.
Do you like thrillers? Have any suggestions? Leave your comments down below!
Read ya later!
Maddie
Hey, readers!
Today is Wednesday, which means that it is time for a Top 5 Wednesday! Today’s topic is most hated tropes. A trope is sort of a cliche that is found in a piece of literature. This topic was easy to write about because there are plenty of stories with tropes that I dislike. Here we go!
Love triangles are one of my least favorite tropes of them all. They do not portray healthy, realistic relationships. How many people do you know that are involved in a love triangle? Moreover, the girl that is involved in said love triangle usually acts like being in the triangle is the worst thing in the world. I mean come on… I’m sure anyone would love to have two people fighting to the death for them. Anyway, they are unfair and unrealistic of what love is supposed to mean. Love triangles get me so angry because the one in the middle takes advantage of both parties in love with them.
Books with love triangles: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
2. Absentee parents
Absentee parents are a trend in YA literature, which I feel is unrepresentative of real life. Most YA characters are parentless, or they run around and do whatever the hell they want. That is not real life… Like what are you doing? Where are your parents while you are fighting evil and crime and shit. Also, not all families are abusive or broken. Although, it is nice to have families that are unconventional represented in literature, however, it seems to be in all of the YA books at the moment. However, this is a trope that can be done well if the author makes it justifiable. There are a lot of books where this trope is done well, but if it is not… Then get it out of here.
Books with absentee parents: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Which is justifiable), The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
3. Characters who die to further the development of a main character
When characters die to further the devolpment of another character, it pisses me off. There are some characters that I grew to love, and they were torn away from me. There are instances where the author does this justifiably, but sometimes it hurts beyond belief. There is no excuse sometimes to create a character just to kill off to further propel a main character’s devlopment. Ahhh! It gets me mad!
Books that kill off characters: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
4. The “John Green” trope
This is what I like to call the “John Green” trope. This is a trope in which the story is about the boy who finds the “special” and “unique” girl that takes his breath away. This trope is absolutely ridiculous and sums up everyone of his books. I enjoy John Green’s writing, it is spectacular, however, his characters fall short for me. He executes his stories so well, and he isvery talented. However, I can’t read his books because of his characters… they can sometimes be douche canoes.
Books that feature this trope: All of his books
5. Instalove
This is the most aggravating tropes of them all. There is no way you fall in love with someone you just meet. There is no possible way. I understand instalust, but instalove is just unrealstic. If two characters meet, and then instantly profess that they would die for each other, I instantly cringe away. There is nothing healthy about realtionships like this. There is a progression to love. Yes, you may really like someone when you meet them, but you’re not ready to say you love them just yet.
Books that feature instalove: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
What tropes do you hate? Comment down below and discuss! Also, check out my BookTube channel with Quirkymadsreads. Happy reading!
Read ya later!
Maddie
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi is the last book in the Shatter Me trilogy and was by far the best. This final installment displayed the most character development and completed the series sufficiently. Each of these books got better as I felt Mafi was able to get comfortable with her writing style and voice. I will probably read another novel by her in the future. Moreover, there weren’t any more strikethroughs in this novel, which made it easier to read, and the metaphors were few and far between. I gave this one a 3 out of 5 stars. Here is my Five Things Wrap Up!
Despite Juliette’s fantastic character growth, she still relapsed into “annoying insecure girl” every so often. She would still continue to say things such as: “Why would I ever think anyone could accept me. Stupid girl.” No. Just no. I can’t stand the phrase “stupid girl.” It is seen everywhere on the internet when teenage girls want to whine about how unimportant they feel. I blame books such as this one that give girls the idea that they are stupid, and that it is cool to feel worthless and hate yourself. Hating yourself is so 87′ (haha Heathers reference). Seriously, though, get a grip, girl. You just need to accept yourself, stop always complaining about how you don’t think you’re good enough. Ahhh, I just really hate that phrase. If I met Juliette I would punch her in the face and say “Stupid girl, you should learn how to block some punches.” Moving on…
Adam is the worst character in the world. He berates and belittles Juliette. He is mad at Juliette because she finally has confidence and enough courage to be a badass. However, Adam whines that she has “changed.” Sorry Adam, I think you’re the only one who enjoys emo, Juliette. The things he says to her are unforgivable, and honestly he deserves to lose everyone he loves. He is completely prideful and selfish. I loathe his character.
Warner had some great character growth. He turned out to not be such a malicious person in the end and gained some mad respect. I still believe that his character is unredeemable. Furthermore, we should not be glorifying guys with bad attitudes, however, he started to grow on me more in this book. Mafi was definitely trying to make her audience fall in love with Warner, and it worked. I definitely liked him a lot more than Adam in this book.
I will not reveal who she ended up with, however, I will say that she should have ended up alone at the end of the series. Juliette throughout the entire trilogy defined herself by a man. Despite the things she learns about herself in the final book, she still has a lot more character growth to do. I believe that she would have been stronger if she decided to learn how to be herself and grow into the new world rather than do it in a relationship.
This book contained better writing and more character development. The writing style was clearer and more concise, which made this the best book in the trilogy. It had a satisfying ending and did not leave too much unanswered. Kenji was amazing as always, and still holds the spot for my favorite character. We saw him put down his walls and succumb to pressure in this book, which was nice to see. He kept the comedy coming and never failed to make me smile. The action in this book was not what I wanted though for a final book. There was barely any action that led up to the ending. Also, the superpowers in this book were never explained, which was disappointing. I felt Mafi focused too much on the romance and less on what made this book categorized as a “dystopian” trilogy.
What did you think of the trilogy? Comment below with your thoughts!
Read ya later!
Maddie
Hey, readers! This Top 5 Wednesday is your top 5 favorite required reads from school. This was a great top 5 topic because I always loved reading for school, and I have plenty of books to choose from. Let’s get started!Th
This was a book I read my sophomore year of high school. This was such an influential book and was one of the first books that sparked my interest in historical fiction. With references to racial divisions in South Africa, it followed a young boy Peekay in his journey to becoming the welterweight champion of the world. However, he may find that learning self-preservation and survival in society will be harder than his physical training. I recommend this book to people of all ages and is definitely a classic.
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This book is a definite favorite of a lot of people from high school. I read this book my freshman year of high school and I instantly fell in love with the story and the meaning behind it. This is another book that dealt with the racial division within society. Taking place in Alabama in 1936, racism boils between the white and black citizens. This story deals with the loss of innocence and the introduction to cruelty and prejudice.
3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
This I read in 7th grade and was the first book that got me excited about analyzing pieces of literature. This is the first book that I tore apart and studied closely. I had to write page summaries and annotate the pages of the text. My teacher saw that I had a gift for understanding literature, and sparked my love for analyzing and consuming everything I read. It taught me to be a critical reader.
4. Auschwitz and After by Charlotte Delbo
This was one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of literature about the Holocaust that I have ever read. I read this book my freshman year of college, and it has impacted me in ways I never imagined. It was so raw and emotional that it was hard to read at times. The imagery and the writing style was so unique and gave Delbo’s retelling of her experiences a new take on the Holocaust. She was a French woman taken into a camp for her political affiliation, which also was something I never read about. It is to this day one of my favorite books I have ever read. Read it, please.
5. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Another memoir has made it onto this list. I read this book my junior year of high school and loved it dearly. This is my favorite book of all time, and it was miraculous. McCourt talks about his childhood and how he lived with nothing in Ireland during the famine. He lived in filth and with his mother who has lost three children. She is a hollow shell of herself, and McCourt and his brother have to grow up too fast. Their father is an alcoholic and treats them terribly. It is a difficult read, but the life lessons and the humor that he brings to his darkest times were incredible. This another must read.
What were your top 5 favorite required reads from school? Comment below!
Read ya later!
Mads
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi was the sequel to Shatter Me, which was the first book in the Shatter Me trilogy. This book was definitely a step up to the first book of the trilogy in regards to writing style. There were less obscure metaphors and strikethroughs in this novel. However, there was not as much character growth as I wanted in this one, but there are some glimmers of character growth that I hope will resurface in the last book. I gave this one a 3 out of 5 stars. Here is my Five Things Wrap Up.
The love triangle in this book was disappointing to me because there was no reason for there to a be love triangle with these characters. The one character, has no regard for other people, and lacks empathy. Juliette wants to “fix” him and allow him to see that he is a “good person,” however, this character cannot be redeemed in my eyes. This love triangle is extremely unhealthy and is not representative of realistic relationships. Both guys are abusive in their own ways, and Juliette seems to need a man to validate her worth, which I am not a fan of.
Adam is such an aggravating character. He has no likable characteristics, and constantly whines. He wants to make things right with Juliette, and she does not want to have it. Also, for the entire book he was keeping secrets and allowed them to make him a miserable person. He does not open up no matter how hard Juliette tried to reach out to him. He made the people at Omega Point incredibly uncomfortable by putting on reality television worthy performances with Juliette in the cafeteria.
Mafi definitely amped up her writing in this novel. She graduates from her nonsensical metaphors and writes more concisely in this sequel. Her writing is more sophisticated, and it made the reading experience more enjoyable.
Every time I thought Juliette was finally maturing, she would take two steps back. Her relationship with Adam was destroying her, and she still felt the need to constantly cry over him. She made no effort to work with the people at Omega Point or make friends. She constantly cried about not being able to focus and control her powers, and would throw major tantrums when things did not go her way. She still thought she was a monster and had no growth. However, towards the end of the novel, we see a shimmer of badassery that is hopefully more apparent in the next book.
Kenji does not take Juliette’s shit. He pulls her aside and tells her she is not the only person in the world, and she needs to take responsibility. Kenji gained so much respect from me in this scene. I always found myself laughing out loud at everything he said. He is definitely smarter than we thought in the first book, so he is definitely a character I am glad is in this book.
It was not the best book, but it was far better than the first. If the next book is better than the first two I will very happy. Regardless I found this an entertaining read, but it is still just a romance book set in a dystopian setting.
Read ya later!
Mads
Hey, readers!
I did not have enough books with awesome maps in them currently, so I decided to change the topic to my top 5 books that I read in July. I read about nine books in July, and they were all fabulous. Here we go!
This was definitely my favorite read of the month. I have a review of this book up, and it was just incredible. I am currently watching the television show, and it is just awesome. Check it out!
2. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Of course, I had to mention Heir of Fire. This book was fantastic, and it really displayed the character development of Celaena, Dorian, and Chaol. They all had to make difficult decisions and seeing that play out in the book was fantastic.
3. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
This book was great. I loved the Darkling. The Darkling was the perfect villain and he was so multidimensional. He was my favorite character in the first book and added the action and mystery that the book needed. The other characters were likable as well. There were some aspects that I did not enjoy, such as the emphasis on beauty, however, it did not detract from the integrity of the story.
4. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
This was the second book in the Grisha trilogy, and it was even better than Shadow and Bone. This book did not fall into second book syndrome. It was packed with even more world and plot building. It was amazing. However, the Darkling is seen less in this book. However, we learn a little bit more about him.
5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
I reread The Hobbit this month, and it will always be a favorite of mine. The attention to detail and the story building is flawless. The elements of medieval oath taking and merry making is fabulous. I am a history major, so I am a huge fan of Tolkien’s works. This book leaves me speechless each time.
What were your favorite books that you read this month? Leave your comments down below. I also have a review coming up soon.
Read ya later!
Mads
This month I read Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, and I was surprised that I did not enjoy this book as much as everyone else has. Don’t get me wrong it was incredibly entertaining and I finished it in less than two days, but it was not my favorite read of the summer. This book follows Juliet and her love obsession interest, Adam. Juliet is not your everyday girl, though; she has the ability to drain the life force from any living creature with just her touch. This causes her to be of interest of the terrible new regime, The Reestablishment. These awful people are trying to wipe everything from our society that makes individuals unique. Warner, is a general of the Reestablishment who takes an interest in Juliet and her abilities, and takes her from the insane asylum that she has been locked in for a year, or almost a year I can’t seem to remember. I would rate this one a 2 out of 5 stars. Here is my Five Things Wrap Up.
Tahereh Mafi was taking an artistic leap with her strikethrough text. This device was used to allow the reader to see what Juliet was actually thinking. It also fit in with the idea that the book was a journal. However, the first part of the book was littered with the strikethroughed text, and it got distracting. Moreover, you can tell that Mafi was getting tired of the device and cut down on it significantly towards the end of the book. Also, the metaphors in this book were nonsensical at points. For example, “He says it with a small smile the size of Jupiter” (p. 119). She does realize that Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, right?? That metaphor is completely contradictory and does nothing for me. I know Juliet is the artistic type, but the metaphors are clichéd and kind of pretentious. Another one to entertain you: “My jaw is dangling from my shoelace” (p. 310). That is quite grotesque, and it does not help make the writing any better. These metaphors are in every other line, so if you can’t handle this type of writing style I would not recommend you read this one.
This book is associated with dystopian novels, however, this was more of a romance novel to me. Juliet and Adam are nauseating. They have an instalove relationship that is extremely unhealthy. Juliet talks about Adam constantly. There is not a page that goes by that she doesn’t: ask about Adam, worry that he will leave her, talk about how “beautiful” he is, or try to suck his face off. They always seem to be fighting about how their love is dangerous. Neither of them seems mature enough for a serious relationship, and their obsessiveness just proves that even more. Moreover, the dystopian aspects of this book are just skimmed over and not developed very well, thus, the reason why I think that this is romance, not dystopian.
Warner is completely disturbed, but he has depth. He has the potential to be a dynamic character, and I hope Mafi takes advantage of that. He is a monstrous 19-year-old general who completely lacks empathy. He also seems to have mommy issues, which I hope are explored in the next book. He kills without thinking and shows no remorse. He wants to rule the world with Juliet, but we see there is more to him. He is a character that I really hope Juliet does not fall for, though. He is a great villain, but please Mafi do not go there. He is a psychopath… just because he is hot doesn’t mean Juliet should hit that. I hate seeing assholes being accepted because they are “hot” and only “misunderstood.” He is crazy, end of story.
Now, I understand that Juliet has been ostracized and bullied her whole life, but she is so whiny. She lets her experiences destroy her, and she basically becomes Bella Swan. Someone who does not think they are good enough for anyone, and they just deserve to die. She would die without her love interest. It is sickening. She is not strong at all, and it is just excuse after excuse with her when she isn’t obsessing over Adam. She even acknowledges she needs to learn to be strong on her own, but never even tries to put in the effort. Ahhh…. Man, I really don’t like her.
As much as I didn’t like some of the key elements of the book, it kept me reading. It was not the best written and the characters were nothing spectacular, however, I still blew through this book. I would not recommend this book to some as a “must read” however, it was not the worst book I have ever read. I own the second book as well, so I am going to continue on and read the second book. I will let you know if there are any improvements.
Read ya later!
Mads
Hey, readers! I was on vacation last Wednesday, so I was not able to do a Top 5 Wednesday last week. This week the topic is Top 5 Favorite Character Tropes. So, here we go!
I really enjoy mysterious characters, and I don’t really think mysterious characters are not represented much in literature, especially YA. However, let me make this clear, by mysterious I mean that there seems to be more to a character that meets the eye. I DO NOT mean that they are mysterious in a brooding “you don’t want to get too close to me” type of mystery. A character that perfectly fits this would be Gandalf from The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. Gandalf is so compelling and mysterious because we are only ever allowed to see the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his powers. However, we know there is more to him than meets the eye. He is immensely powerful, and yet we have never uncovered his true potential. I would love a series of just Gandalf and his adventures.
I love me an adorkable character who grows and comes into his own. They may seem weak, but then one day the blossom into a badass. The first person that comes into mind is Neville Longbottom. He is fanfreakingtastic! We first see him a young, insecure wizard trying to find his pet toad, and then in the last novel he bursts out of his shell and wreaks some havoc. What a great character.
I don’t know if I would exactly consider this a trope, but it should be. There are too many characters that shy away from responsibility. They are always “wahh I didn’t ask for this” (aka Katniss Everdeen). However, sometimes we have characters such as Hermione, Harry, and Ron who all embrace the difficult journey that is to come, and don’t care what will happen.
When the author does this one correctly, there is nothing like a bone chilling sociopath. A sociopath lacks empathy and usually are stone cold killers. Without giving spoilers, I will not reveal my favorite sociopath. However, this character is in Gone Girl.
Old, wise mentors are great. I know this is not exactly the best character because he was hardly old. He is more of an old soul and that is Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just the sarcasm and wisdom from these mentors I just love.
What are your favorite character tropes? Comment below!
MadLit 