tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70068578089840535752024-03-13T02:36:01.156-07:00Stardust and Words libraries with books numerous as the starsStardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.comBlogger323125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-70180477865315013992017-06-01T08:23:00.002-07:002018-08-28T10:50:57.885-07:00may wrap up<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to another monthly wrap up here at Stardust and Words! May absolutely flew by, and I took a little bit of a hiatus in the middle there to deal with the end of school and starting a new job and things, but now things have settled down quite a bit, and I should be back for regularly scheduled programming! I ended up reading 9 books in May, but I only posted 2 reviews, so hopefully June will be better! I hope all of you had a great month as well :)<br />
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Avalon High – Meg Cabot ☆☆☆*<b> </b><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText10343235643864734695">To newcomer Ellie,
Avalon High seems like a typical American high school, complete with
jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and even the obligatory senior class
president, quarterback, and all-around good guy. But it doesn't take
Ellie long to suspect that something weird is going on beneath the
glossy surface of this tranquil hall of learning. As she pieces together
the meaning of this unfolding drama, she begins to recognize some
haunting Arthurian echoes, causing her to worry that she has become just
a pawn in mythic history. A powerful novel by the author of The
Princess Diaries.</span><b> </b><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/06/how-to-make-wish-stardust-arc-reviews.html"><b>How To Make a Wish – Ashley Herring Blake ☆☆☆☆</b></a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText12587657443687517850">All seventeen year-old
Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps
in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn't have to
scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid.
Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape
on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming
audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s
latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.<br />Her
attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets
Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun.
Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and
feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls,
both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a
connection with Maggie. As Grace's mother spirals downward, both girls
must figure out how to love and how to move on.</span>
<b></b><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/06/seeking-mansfield-stardust-arc-reviews.html"><b>Seeking Mansfield – Kate Watson ☆☆☆☆</b></a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4976050078613067476">Sixteen-year-old Finley
Price has perfected two things: how to direct a world-class production,
and how to fly way, way under the radar. The only person who ever seems
to notice Finley is her best friend, the Bertram's son Oliver. If she
could just take Oliver's constant encouragement to heart and step out of
the shadows, she'd finally chase her dream of joining the
prestigious Mansfield Theater. <br /><br />When teen movie stars Emma and
Harlan Crawford move next door to the Bertram's, they immediately set
their sights on Oliver and his cunning sister, Juliette, shaking up
Finley and Oliver's stable friendship. As Emma and Oliver grow
closer, Harlan finds his attention shifting from Juliette to the quiet,
enigmatic, and thoroughly unimpressed Finley. Out of boredom, Harlan
decides to make her fall in love with him. Problem is, the harder
he seeks to win her, the harder he falls for her. <br /><br />But Finley
doesn't want to be won, and she doesn't want to see Oliver with anyone
else. To claim Oliver's heart—and keep her own—she'll have to find the
courage to do what she fears most: step into the spotlight.</span><b> </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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Alex, Approximately – Jenn Bennett ☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText15398956916191846948"><i>The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.</i><br /><br />Classic
movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty
film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens
until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California
surfing town as her online crush.<br /><br />Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or <i>worse?</i>),
Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s
landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being
heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter
Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the
movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between
hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.<br /><br />And
as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a
dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality
with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she
realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is
Alex…<i>Approximately.</i></span><br />
<span id="freeText15398956916191846948"><i> </i></span> <br />
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The Love Interest – Cale Dietrich ☆☆☆.5<b> </b><b></b><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText8099969968857259252">There is a secret
organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love
Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means
getting valuable secrets.<br /><br />Caden is a Nice: The boy next door,
sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: The brooding,
dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing
for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will
she choose a Nice or the Bad?<br /><br />Both Caden and Dylan are living in
the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the
top of their games. They have to be – whoever the girl doesn’t choose
will die.<br /><br />What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.</span><br />
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<b> </b><br />
<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2015/06/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin-to-all.html"><b>To All The Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1) – Jenny Han ☆☆☆☆☆*</b></a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText2138846147849269906">Lara Jean’s love life
gets complicated in this New York Times bestselling “lovely,
lighthearted romance” from the New York Times bestselling author of <i>The Summer I Turned Pretty</i> series. <br /><br />What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once? <br /><br />Sixteen-year-old
Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.
They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones
she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she
writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she
would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only.
Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s
love life goes from imaginary to out of control.</span>
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2015/06/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin-to-all.html"><b>P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #2) – Jenny Han ☆☆☆☆☆* </b></a><br />
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<span id="freeText13054913012731559692">Lara Jean didn’t expect to <i>really</i> fall for Peter.<br />She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.<br />When
another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for
him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?<br /><br />In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the <i>New York Times</i> bestseller <i>To All the Boys I've Loved Before</i>,
we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love
is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.</span><br />
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Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #3) – Jenny Han ☆☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText9597995614735806873">Lara Jean’s letter-writing days aren’t over in this surprise follow-up to the New York Times bestselling <i>To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before</i> and <i>P.S. I Still Love You.</i><br /><br />Lara
Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is
head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally
getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and
Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.<br /><br />But
change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and
keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the
big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to
go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She
watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara
Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college
and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind.<br /><br />When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?</span><br />
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Windfall – Jennifer E. Smith – ☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText3459343756124392690"><i>Let luck find you.</i><br /><br />Alice
doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does
believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best
friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might
be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To
their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything
changes. <br /><br />At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially
since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice
won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a
year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not
long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts.
Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as
they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf
opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a
curse than a windfall. <br /><br />As they try to find their way back to
each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have
imagined…and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes
intersect.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText3459343756124392690">xx</span><br />
<span id="freeText3459343756124392690">Caroline </span>Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-14928949850618659022017-06-01T08:09:00.001-07:002017-06-01T08:09:30.749-07:00seeking mansfield: stardust arc reviews <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Seeking Mansfield<br />
Kate Watson<br />
<br />
release date: May 16 by Flux<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32713479-seeking-mansfield">goodreads</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Mansfield-Kate-Watson/dp/1635830028/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">amazon</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seeking-mansfield-kate-watson/1124895885?ean=9781635830026">b&n</a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText6589526718582870634">Sixteen-year-old Finley
Price has perfected two things: how to direct a world-class production,
and how to fly way, way under the radar. The only person who ever seems
to notice Finley is her best friend, the Bertram's son Oliver. If she
could just take Oliver's constant encouragement to heart and step out of
the shadows, she'd finally chase her dream of joining the
prestigious Mansfield Theater. <br /><br />When teen movie stars Emma and
Harlan Crawford move next door to the Bertram's, they immediately set
their sights on Oliver and his cunning sister, Juliette, shaking up
Finley and Oliver's stable friendship. As Emma and Oliver grow
closer, Harlan finds his attention shifting from Juliette to the quiet,
enigmatic, and thoroughly unimpressed Finley. Out of boredom, Harlan
decides to make her fall in love with him. Problem is, the harder
he seeks to win her, the harder he falls for her. <br /><br />But Finley
doesn't want to be won, and she doesn't want to see Oliver with anyone
else. To claim Oliver's heart—and keep her own—she'll have to find the
courage to do what she fears most: step into the spotlight.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText6589526718582870634"><b>full review under the cut!</b></span><br />
<span id="freeText6589526718582870634"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>Thanks so much to Flux and Netgalley for letting me read this one! Mansfield Park is absolutely one of my favorite books ever, so you can imagine my utter joy when I received this book! And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! I think that this is the perfect modern retelling of the Austen classic. I loved the ways that the story was kept similar and I loved the ways that it was changed or updated for a modern day story. I think this was a totally adorable and endearing read, and I would definitely recommend it to you, even if you haven't read Mansfield Park itself, I definitely think you would still enjoy this book.<br />
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Mansfield Park is the story of Fanny Price, who grows up extremely poor, as she is being sent to live with her aunt and uncle, who are rich, so they can improve her quality of life. Seeking Mansfield is about Finley Price, a girl with a dead father and a mother in jail, being raised by the Bertrams, who were close to her father. Fanny is in love with Edmund Bertram, and Finley is in love with Oliver Bertram. See the pattern here? A lot of the elements from the original story are taken and updated (esp the whole falling in love with your cousin thing, which I appreciate). I also like how this book gives Finley more spunk and drive than Fanny originally had, and how Oliver is not as oblivious as Edmund was.<br />
<br />
Okay, I'm done comparing this book to Mansfield Park, let's just talk about this as a whole. I really liked Finley as a character, I thought she was really great to be along for the ride with. She was fiesty and knew what she wanted, but she also had a lot of unresolved things still going on from the death of her father. It was nice to see her develop throughout the book, and I really liked that she went from this person who was super content to be invisible to someone who was okay with being really seen every once in awhile. I also liked that she was strong in a way that a lot of these characters weren't, because she provided the sort of moral backbone that the rest of the story and the characters went from. Oliver was an equally enjoyable character. I really liked how he and Finley both had feelings for each other from the beginning, but they both thought it might be a bad idea to act upon them. I really love when two characters obviously like each other but have to go through some stuff before they realize they need to do something about their feelings. I think Oliver also changed over the course of this book, from someone who wanted to protect and better everyone to someone who realizes that it's okay to focus on himself from time to time. Together, I think Finley and Oliver were so cute, and even though I knew a lot of shit was going to go down, I was always shipping them and looking forward to the moment when they would get together.<br />
<br />
I loved that this book took the Crawfords and made them into teenage movie stars, I think that was a perfect way to update the original material! I have to say that I liked Emma and Harlan wayy more than Henry and Mary from the original book. I was so hopeful for Emma, because I wanted her to be friends with Finley and not fall into the mean girl trope, and she didn't! It was so great! She and Finley actually got along and I think she really liked her, before the falling out caused by Harlan. (sorry, not really a spoiler tho because this is a retelling) Harlan was okay. I didn't trust him for one second, because I knew what was coming, but I was still pleasantly surprised by how I was inclined to like him despite myself. I love the idea of the paparazzi getting involved and exposing the cheating, instead of Fanny/Finley simply stumbling across it. There's a lot of good drama involved already when Harlan and Emma become movie stars, so I liked that aspect a lot.<br />
<br />
I just thought this book was a lot of fun. I liked that Finlety's dad was a movie star, and that is why Finley loves the theater so much. I loved the relationship between Oliver's parents and Oliver, and Oliver's parents and Finley. I liked the drama and the scandal and the back and forth between Oliver and Finley, because it was all at once very Austenian and very modern at the same time. I would absolutely recommend this as a summer read, it definitely hooked me from the start!<br />
<br />
xx<br />
CarolineStardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-71235617385350785512017-06-01T07:26:00.001-07:002017-06-01T07:26:52.055-07:00how to make a wish: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How To Make a Wish<br />
Ashley Herring Blake<br />
<br />
release date: May 2 by HMH Books for Young Readers<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆ <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26626118-how-to-make-a-wish">goodreads</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I4FPKR0/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01I4FPKR0&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-make-a-wish-ashley-herring-blake/1124079723;jsessionid=22FA562789B300937DEBA0D23D60F4E1.prodny_store01-atgap01?ean=9780544815193">b&n</a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText6990775066063825366">All seventeen year-old
Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps
in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn't have to
scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid.
Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape
on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming
audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s
latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.<br /><br />Her
attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets
Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun.
Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and
feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls,
both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a
connection with Maggie. As Grace's mother spirals downward, both girls
must figure out how to love and how to move on.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText6990775066063825366"><b>full review under the cut!</b></span><br />
<span id="freeText6990775066063825366"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>
Thanks to HMH and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this! Sorry that my review is a little delayed, but the month of May was so crazy busy that I had to take a step away from blogging for a bit. However, I am back and this is the first book that I wanted to review. I absolutely loved it, I thought it was so freaking on point in all of the emotions that it evoked in me. It is definitely a more serious summer read, maybe for the muggy summer nights instead of the bright days, but I definitely think you should throw it in your beach bag!<br />
<br />
This is the story of Grace, a girl who is defined by two things: her love of the piano and her tumultuous relationship with her flaky mother, Maggie. Ever since she was little, Grace has had to figure out how to grow up fast and deal with things on her own, because her mother is unreliable at best and dangerous to herself and others at worst. Grace has always been capable, and has turned to the piano as a method for coping with her unpredictable life. I thought that the relationship between Maggie and Grace was really well done. I think Blake did an incredible job of really making me feel the dilemma that Grace was going through, torn between loyalty and love for her mother and the knowledge that their lives are not normal or healthy. I got really upset for Grace when her mother would do something completely unfair, and I was always always rooting for Grace, even when she would make mistakes, so I thought that was great. This book definitely hits some hard topics, like dealing with the hope you can have in parents who continually let you down, addiction, loyalty to family, and mental health. I thought it handled all of these topics and more with a delicate hand, but it definitely did not shy away from them either. These parts of the book were some of the best writing, and you could tell that the author took extra care with them.<br />
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Because the relationship that Grace had with her mother was so complicated, I was glad that she had people in her life who were uncomplicated in their love and support for her. Especially Luca and his whole family, oh my goodness they were so great!! Luca himself is, like, the best best friend ever and I want him to come into my life. His mom and his brother were also amazing with the way they loved Grace. Even when there were fights and misunderstandings, I never once doubted these characters love for one another, and I think that was a really good balance to the unpredictability in Maggie's character. I thought the scenes in the diner were great, and I also loved how Luca and Grace wouldn't let each other off the hook: they pushed each other even when it was hard. I thought it was a really great friendship.<br />
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Also, this book has a wlw relationship that was so freaking cute! When Grace first meets Eva, you can tell that there are sparks between them. Also, hooray for freaking bisexual representation! And biracial representation! I absolutely loved Grace and Eva together. I loved that Grace is a pianist and Eva is a ballerina, I loved that they just seemed to understand each other, even when they weren't speaking. I loved that they became friends and special to each other in that way first, and then I also loved their many meetings on top of the lighthouse together. I liked that there wasn't a whole lot of will they/won't they, and that we got to see their relationship unfold through the back half of the novel. I just thought they were so cute, I squealed at the fourth of july scene oh my god!<br />
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This book was really really great. It made me feel SO many of the emotions, from anger to sadness to joy to love. I think of this book as pretty intense, and it definitely isn't a light and fluffy read, but there are parts of it that are super cute, so I just think of it as a deeper summer contemporary. Definitely pick it up if you like complex relationships, f/f ships, chosen family stories, cute best friends, and music. I absolutely loved it. Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-71759219866999370292017-05-02T10:12:00.000-07:002017-05-02T10:12:07.796-07:00strange the dreamer: stardust reviews <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1)<br />
Laini Taylor<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆☆ <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28449207-strange-the-dreamer?ac=1&from_search=true">goodreads</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strange-the-dreamer-laini-taylor/1123199429?ean=9780316341684&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004">b&n</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316341681/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316341681&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a><br />
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<span id="freeText13692085476298651053">The dream chooses the
dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and
junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since
he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of
Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world
in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the
person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors,
and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.<br /><br />What
happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of
the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of <i>god</i>? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?<br /><br />The
answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the
blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her
before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she
seem so real?<br /><br /><i>Welcome to Weep.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText13692085476298651053"><b>full review under the cut!</b></span><br />
<span id="freeText13692085476298651053"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>I never quite know what to say to people about Laini Taylor's books. They are always so hauntingly, gorgeously strange that trying to explain them never works. However! I will try for the sake of whoever will read this, because I loved this book too much not to share my thoughts about it! I'll say one thing before I start this review, though, just to let y'all know. This book is LONG, like, over 500 pages long. And this book has a lot o world-building and slow burn aspects to it that have caused some people to grow bored. Now, I myself was absolutely rapt from the very first page and did not experience any feelings of boredom or lagging, but if you aren't in the right mindset to appreciate all of the building blocks that are being assembled, then I could see how you wouldn't get along with this one at first. But if you can be patient and enjoy the breathtaking writing of Laini Taylor, I know that you will love this book.<br />
<br /><i> </i><br />
This is the story of Lazlo Strange. He is a war orphan, raised by monks, librarians, and most importantly, by books and by stories. He has been obsessed, since he was a child, with one story in particular: the story of the lost city of Weep, which disappeared from civilization two hundred years ago and who's true name Lazlo felt stolen from his tongue when he was young. Lazlo spends his days in a great library, gathering what information he can on Weep, learning its customs, its language, and devouring every scrap of story he can. He reads about the bell towers, the marketplaces alive with magic, and the Tizerkane warriors, fearsome and strong. So imagine Lazlo's surprise when a Tizerkane warrior, a person he thought had been lost to time, shows up at the library, asking for people to journey with him to Weep. The warrior calls himself the Godslayer, and Lazlo knows he has to go with him, no matter what.<br />
<br /><i> </i><br />
I don't want to say too much about this book, because I think it is just one of those stories that is better when you know practically nothing. That way, the surprises and the choices that Laini Taylor makes are that much more effective. But I will say a few things, mostly opinions and not plot explanations!<br />
<br /><i> </i><br />
The worldbuilding... wow... the first word that comes to my mind is masterful, and I'm not exaggerating. Every little thing has a place, nothing is included in this book arbitrarily, and paying attention to the details will make the story richer, blooming out before your very eyes. I loved that so many connections were set up in the very beginning and them brought together in the end. I loved the system of magic that was at work here. I love that Weep is a city that mingles together humanity and godlike powers, and the people that are half and half have struggles that no one else can understand. I love that half god half human children have blue freaking skin!!! how cool is that!! The city itself, with all of its traditions, just felt so real to me, even as it was one of the most fantastical settings i've ever read. Laini Taylor just did such a good job setting this all up in such a meticulous way that I felt like I could walk into the story and clearly see everything. Same goes for the set up of the characters. Just as there were details and nuances to the worldbuilding, there are also tons of nuances to the character building as well. I absolutely loved the fact that there were tons of characters, but none of them were all good or all bad. Like, obviously, there are antagonists, but sometimes the identity of the antagonist changes based on who you ask, and even the antagonists sometimes have pure motivations. I just... everything in this book was complex and had a depth that made me want to reread entire chapters over again, just to bathe myself in the loveliness of the words and the complexities of the characters.<br />
<br /><i> </i><br />
Lazlo is so pure. I wanted to hug him and tell him everything is going to be okay. You know how I just said no character was 100% good or 100% evil? I lied, because Lazlo is 100% good. I just loved the innocence of his mind, how his motivations weren't selfish, and how he was known, from the moment we met him, as a Dreamer (capital D because it is that important) I love his imagination and his love for books, because relatable, and I love the way he was always thinking about other people.<br />
Sarai, as well. PURE! She has some more darkside to her than Lazlo does, I think, but she is still such a lovely character that I wanted to hug her as well. Not telling you exactly who Sarai is, because you'll want to be surprised for yourself, but just know that she is not only soft and sweet, but also badass.<br />
There were so many other characters that I enjoyed too. Eril-Fane and Azareen, Calixte, Sparrow, Ruby, Feral, Master Hyrokkin, even Thryon. Everyone was just really really interesting and I loved learning about their lives and motivations. I think Lazlo is a good perspectival character because he has spent most of his life in a library, and so when he gets out and starts to move around the world, everything is a little bit new to him, so we get to experience everything with him for the first time.<br />
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Last thing I'll say: the plot really picks up in the second half, when this book becomes less world-building and more putting that world into action, and the ending is CRAZY. I was holding my breath for probably the last thirty or forty pages, just wondering what was going to happen. Some of the plot twists I sort of guessed at, but there was no way I could see the full story before it was revealed, so that was really fun to read. I just thought this book was absolutely so gorgeous. The writing is lyric and lovely, the plot was twisty and light and dark at the same time, the world was so inventive and the characters jumped off the page. I would highly HIGHLY recommend this one<br />
<br /><i> </i><br />
xx<br />
Caroline<br /><i> </i>Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-27242597003081501532017-05-02T09:11:00.003-07:002017-05-02T09:11:54.140-07:00the upside of unrequited: stardust reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Upside of Unrequited<br />
Becky Albertalli<br />
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☆☆☆☆☆ <br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30653853-the-upside-of-unrequited?ac=1&from_search=true">goodreads</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-upside-of-unrequited-becky-albertalli/1123951157?ean=9780062348708&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004">b&n</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062348701/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062348701&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a><br />
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<span id="freeText17317590162712903218">Seventeen-year-old
Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many
times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t
stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have
to be careful.<br /><br />Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and
for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess.
Meanwhile, Molly's totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part
where she is. Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute
hipster-boy sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she'll get her first
kiss and she'll get her twin back. <br /><br />There's only one problem:
Molly's coworker, Reid. He's a chubby Tolkien superfan with a season
pass to the Ren Faire, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall
for him. <br /><br />Right?</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText17317590162712903218"><b>full review under the cut!</b></span><br />
<span id="freeText17317590162712903218"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>If you've known me at all in the past two years, via this blog or goodreads or whatever, then you'll probably know that i am obsessed with <i>Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda</i>. I've read it three times, I've hungrily followed movie news about it, and all around it is just one of my favorite books to revisit and talk about. SO when Becky Albertalli's second book, this beauty right here, came out, I knew I absolutely had to read it. I wanted to know if my love for Simon was a one time thing, or if Becky's words and I could have a long term relationship. Good news!!! They totally can. I consider two five star books in a row from the same author to be something of a miracle, and it puts Becky Albertalli right up there with some of my favorite authors ever. This book was just a joy to read. I loved the diversity in the characters, not just in race and sexual orientation, but also in personality, because that made it so fun to read. I loved the relationships that we get to follow, both romantic and non-romantic, I loved the cameos from some of the cast of Simon, I loved the Pinterest crafts, and I mostly loved how I could feel the heart that went into writing this book. If you're looking for a contemporary to try out this summer, let this be your pick!!<br />
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This book is the story of Molly Peskin-Suso. (for those of you following along the Simon train, she is Abby's cousin). She lives in Washington D.C. with her twin sister Cassie, her little brother, and her moms. Four things you need to know about Molly. She is an avid pinterest crafter, she's pretty shy, she's fat, and she has had over 20 crushes in her lifetime, though she's never been kissed, never admitted her feelings to anyone, never taken a romantic risk. Her twin sister Cassie, on the other hand, is always flitting from one girl to another, never really getting attached, and always telling Molly that she needs to put herself out there. This is the way they exist, until one night, Molly and Cassie meet Mina, and Cassie falls head over heels for her. As Mina and Cassie grow closer and start a relationship, Molly can't help but feel like her twin is growing closer to Mina but further from Molly. This, along with Cassie trying to push Mina's hipster friend on Molly for a romantic interest and Molly's burgeoning crush on her coworker, the nerdtastic Reid, makes for a very interesting summer in the Peskin-Suso household.<br />
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Okay, let's do this in list format, because otherwise I will guaranteed go on forever and ever.<br />
<br />Things I liked:<br />
<br />
1. Molly. Just, everything about her. I felt like she was so real, I just felt like I GOT most of the stuff she was saying, on a deep level. She is a fat Jewish girl with anxiety, and she loves herself. That was... I can't even tell you how refreshing. I mean, sure, she has insecurities, just like the rest of the seventeen year olds in the universe, but there was never a doubt that Molly loved herself exactly the way she was. She wasn't trying to lose weight or not be anxious, and I thought Becky Albertalli did such a good job with making Molly just a person. (which sounds stupid, but with other overweight characters or characters struggling with mental illness, there's usually a "curing" or "changing" aspect) I loved Molly's quirks, her obsessions, and they sort of became my quirks and obsessions as I was reading. I just thought she was a really great main character, and I love what she represented.<br />
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2. Diverse rep! We've got all types of people here, which, hey!, is just like real life. Everyone was so different from one another and I was living for it! Molly (fat, Jewish, anxious, remember?), Cassie, who likes girls and is cynical and sometimes selfish but has a good heart and always stands up for what is right, their moms, who are supportive and understanding, even though they sometimes clash with their daughters. Mina, who is a Korean-American pansexual girl, and Reid, who is big, tall, and nerdy and unashamed of any of it. So on and so forth. I loved how lively this world was because of all of the different characters.<br />
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3. Realistic teens. Sometimes, with YA, the teenagers end up sounding more like people in their mid-twenties. (not mostly, but you can think of some I bet) And sometimes the teens are really young-sounding. Sometimes the teens are fine but there is just a sparkle that is missing. I think Becky Albertalli gets it so freaking right, here and also in Simon. In this book, these teenagers felt like I could walk into a high school and find them sitting at a lunch table, for real. They were happy and angry and rebellious and passionate. They had insecurities, fights, crushes, and diverse interests. None of them were cookie cutter, and all of them had depth that just felt so true to life. I had a seriously such a blast reading about these characters, and I was so sad when this book ended.<br />
<br />
4. Positive relationships with parents. I loved seeing Molly and Cassie with their moms, even when they fought, there was always a fierce underlying love and loyalty in all of their interactions. I loved how their moms supported the girls and told them that they were fine the way they are, and that they don't have to rush into anything, that they can do things on their own time, and that they can choose their own paths. That was just so positive to me, and I loved seeing it. Also, Mina and Reid both had visible and great relationships with their parents as well, and I just thought that made this book even more real and wonderful.<br />
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5. The romances!! Mina and Cassie were cute. I liked how they kind of represented like a honeymoon phase of a relationship, where they just forgot about everyone and everything around them. I thought this was good because Cassie isn't the hopeless romantic, like Molly is, so it was cute to see her fall so hard for Mina. I also LOVED Reid!!! Holy crap he was so cute guys! I don't know what it is about Becky Albertalli and writing adorable scenes in grocery stores, but she really knows that that will get me, because the one in here was so cute. There was a bit of will-they, won't-they with Reid and Molly, but I loved the way it all got cleared up in the end. I like how Molly had to kind of get out of her own way and decide to put herself out there for the romance to start blooming, I think that is a really positive message about being brave and believing in yourself. Reid and Molly were just adorable. I love that he walks his cat on a leash and is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and got so excited when Molly made him edible cookie dough. UGH!! They're just too cute for words!<br />
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6. Of course, I adored the cameos we got from the Simon characters. I like that we got to see what Abby's life was like before she moved to Shady Creek. I loved that we got to see Simon on Skype and I just about died when Abby mentioned him and Blue. I also CHOKED when Carter Addison showed up, you guys. I exclaimed something aloud. Alone. I was just surprised and then cracking up. So cute, it made me miss the Simon gang, but then I loved Molly too, so it was the best of both worlds.<br />
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7. Lastly, I love that this book didn't shy away from serious subjects. It was talking about sexuality, anxiety, and family in a way that I found really refreshing and nice. I also loved Molly's moms wedding. Like, a lot.<br />
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Okay I think that's it but probably not everything I wanted to talk about because I loved so many things about this book but seriously if you haven't read Becky Albertalli please for the love of God pick up one of her books they are so freaking amazing and this sentence is really long but I'm just trying to express my love for her words!!! READ THIS BOOK<br />
<br />
xx<br />
CarolineStardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-29613552912511939202017-04-30T10:19:00.001-07:002017-04-30T10:19:22.036-07:00the names they gave us: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Names They Gave Us<br />
<br />
Emery Lord<br />
<br />
release date: May 16 by Bloomsbury <br />
<br />
ALL OF THE STARS/5 (infinite stars. a whole multiverse full of stars for this one)<br />
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<span id="freeText2586773776781912387">Lucy Hansson was ready
for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible
camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in
faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses”
their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one
for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle.
Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her
vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a
fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy
set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText2586773776781912387"><b>Full review under the cut. Definitely top two favorite books I've read all year. </b></span><br />
<span id="freeText2586773776781912387"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> Oh man, guys. </b>I really don't know what to say. I requested this book on Netgalley just because I was <i>so desperate</i> to get my hands on it, and I was really just waiting for the rejection email. I was not expecting to get approved for this one at all.... but when the email came.... it wasn't a rejection. I was ecstatic. I devoured the book in one day. I cried a lot, but my heart was so full. That was days ago, and I've been trying to get my thoughts together ever since. By the time you guys read this, the book will be close to its pub date, and I just want to say YOU NEED THIS ONE. You need it.<br />
<br />
I think books that you truly truly love are 10000x harder to write reviews for, but I'm going to try my best to communicate a small piece of my love. <br />
<br />
For a little background. Emery Lord is in my top five favorite writers ever. Right up there with J.K. Rowling, Shannon Hale, and Gail Carson Levine. She is the writer who, with every book that she releases, I think it can't be as good as her other ones, and then it exceeds my expectations. I've done entire posts about how much I love her, how I think she is writing some of the truest YA out there, how her words are such a positive force in my life. <i>The Start of Me and You </i>changed my life. I read it twice in a row, just finished it and then opened the book back up and restarted. <i>Open Road Summer </i>made me want to gather my best friends and hug them for approximately a year. <i>When We Collided </i>was imaginative, hopeful, and jarringly realistic all at the same time, and it taught me a lot about mental illnesses and living with them. I truly did not think that <i>The Names They Gave Us </i>could top these books, which are among some of my favorites to read and reread. But within the first two chapters of this book, I could tell that it was something special. I was so filled with so many different emotions throughout this book, which I will unpack in a minute, but I just want to take this moment to say that if you aren't reading Emery Lord, you need to be. I'm so thankful that I picked up her work, and I will gladly read anything she publishes.<br />
<br />
So basically with this book we have Lucy. She is the daughter of a pastor and a nurse, and is basically the quintessential Good Girl. This is partly what makes her so endearing throughout the book: she is earnest, innocent, and really trying her best to be a good person, a good Christian, a good daughter, a good friend. But life is nothing if not unpredictable, and Lucy soon finds her perfectly curated world thrown into a wood chipper, and she comes out on the other side to find herself almost unrecognizable. Firstly, her mother, the person closest to her in the entire world, finds out that the cancer that was thought to be gone has returned, with a vengeance. This causes the faith that Lucy has always felt rock solid in to be violently shaken as she wonders how God could let something like this happen to her family for a second time. She starts doing things that pre-diagnosis Lucy would never do, like walk out of church, drink, and try to go further with her boyfriend than she ever has before. Secondly, Lucy's too-good-to-be-true boyfriend, Lukas, is questioning their relationship in the wake of Lucy's post-diagnosis outbursts. He puts their relationship on "pause" for the summer, because Lucy is going to work at her family's Christian camp with her parents. Thirdly, Lucy's mom asks her not to work for their camp, the tranquil Holyoke, but for the next camp over, a diverse place for people dealing with trauma called Daybreak. Lucy, of course, goes along with her mother's wishes, but is staring down a summer where she is separated not only from her boyfriend, but also from her terminally ill mother, while working at Daybreak, where she knows no one and is intimidated by the secular nature of the camp.<br />
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At first, Lucy is terrified, feels completely out of place, and wants to quit immediately. She is sure that she won't fit in with her fellow counselors, who are already close, and doesn't know how to deal with the lives of the girls that she is supposed to be in charge of. But slowly, through hard work and through the kindness of those around her, Lucy begins to find her footing. The number one most important thing to me in this book were the relationships that Lucy formed at Daybreak. Starting with Anna, who is the sweetest and friendliest person in the world, and who does everything she can to make Lucy feel at home. I loved Anna's personality and the way she was such a giver, even though she herself has really bad anxiety and could've felt sorry for herself. Also, A+ for trans rep in here, I was so scared that Lucy was going to be dumb about this part of Anna, but I was glad to see that, though Lucy fumbled a bit, it didn't change their friendship. (sidenote: I really appreciated the fact that Lucy talked about her parents when she's thinking about Anna's transitioning, because I think that, while some "Chritians" are the ones driving the push to dehumanize and take rights away from trans individuals, the best Christians that I know are the ones who actively embrace everyone with open arms. I'm glad that Lucy's parents were portrayed as so understanding and open in their faith.) Anyways! Anna was the best. She's probably my favorite character in here. I loved that scene where she and Lucy were laying in bed watching their favorite show together, it was just so beautiful. I feel like Anna was the linchpin in the friendships at Daybreak, and I loved that she just pulled Lucy in and loved her, no questions asked. <br />
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I loved the other relationships that Lucy had at Daybreak as well. Keely and Mohan and Henry. Keely is this like kickass, super strong girl who lost someone close to her when she was young. She's a big sister and an amazing counselor and I was so glad that she and Lucy shared a cabin. I think she really showed Lucy how to be there for the girls in their cabin, how to be strong when all eyes are on you, and how to look at life and fight the bad things, instead of just laying down and letting them roll over you. Mohan was sort of like the comic relief, but also so much more than that. I loved all of his graphic tees, the way he was unabashedly excited about everything in life, and his fierce loyalty to his friends, especially the gentle and unconditional way that he was there for Anna always. (SPOILER: I loved that scene where Lucy asks Keely if Anna and Mohan are together and Keely says "that's a someday. when they get together that will be it for them," I just felt like crying it was so beautiful. OKAY END SPOILER). And, of course, Henry. HENRY. I WANT A HENRY! Sweet, sensitive, great-with-kids, trumpet-playing, kind eyes Henry. I really liked that there was no back and forth and will-they, wont-they. They obviously liked each other, and they were respectful of each other in every way. Lucy didn't get confused when Lukas came to camp, she just broke up with him. When Lucy was freaking out because she thought Henry would want to sleep with her, he talked her down and they moved forward together. When he was mad that she didn't tell him that her parents were nearby, at Holyoke, they had a fight and talked about it, but it wasn't a huge drama. Also, they were together in the middle of the book, and we got to see their relationship play out a little bit. I just loved it, I thought it was a really great portrayal of a healthy relationship, and Henry is literally the cutest person ever. There were so many scenes where I was just filled with so much joy while reading about them! The time where they danced in the bar place, the time they went camping, the fourth of July, just SO MANY. So good. SO GOOD.<br />
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What else what else. The campers! I loved how learning about her campers and bonding with them helped Lucy through her own struggles. I loved the bright and vibrant diversity at Daybreak, from the skin colors of the counselors and campers to their backgrounds to their religious beliefs to their personalities, there were so many differences between them all, but they all came together in love at camp. I thought it was so beautiful. The excitement and activity and silliness reminded me of when I used to go to a summer camp not unlike this one (minus the dealing with trauma part), which are some of the happiest memories of my life. I was feeling so nostalgic and in love while I was reading, and I just think this book does such a good job at really getting feelings across.<br />
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I loved Lucy's parents as well. Her dad, the pastor, was hilarious and steadfast, and I loved that he was just loving and supportive and not judgemental at all. I also liked that we got to see him struggling with his wife's cancer. Pastors are, after all, just human, so I liked that it was really clear how imperfect he was too. Lucy's mom was just... everything. I loved how understanding and selfless she was, and I loved that we saw her struggling and stubborn and mad as hell too. I usually don't really like books that deal really closely with religion, not because I'm not a religious person or anything like that, but because it always comes off either really fake or holier than thou. But with this book, I didn't feel that discomfort at all. It felt super natural, especially in terms of Lucy's parents, and I ended up loving that part of the book as well. So even if you aren't religious or aren't Christian or just don't like books having to do with religion, I still think you'll love this one. It isn't in your face or preachy, it's more just like there, and you can pay as much or as little attention as you want. But anyways. Lucy's mom was great, and I loved how close they were. I also loved her mother's friend Rachel, because that was another amazing female friendship in here that I adored. There were a couple plot twists or secret reveals with Lucy's mom: one that I saw coming and one that I TOTALLY did not, which I really liked. I won't say too much about them here, but I just really thought they were amazing and they showed the power of forgiveness and of getting help to move on from trauma.<br />
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I'm almost done, so kudos if you've made it this far. I adored so many things about this book. I really thought it did an amazing job of portraying Lucy questioning her faith. I think a lot of people, when they grow up in one religious tradition or another, have something in their life that shakes the faith that they've always had. Whether that is a loss of someone or something, or a turn of events that makes life hard, or a diagnosis like Lucy, it can be terrifying and so scary to see the faith that your life has revolved around slip through your fingers. And I really thought that this book did an amazing job of showing Lucy's anger, her questioning, her bargaining, her sadness, and the way she couldn't even bring herself to pray. I just liked how real and raw those parts were. I also, liked I have previously mentioned, loved the representation in this novel. It made Daybreak feel that much more real, because I could really picture all of these people there. I also liked the fact that Lucy was able to be humbled and learn a lot from the people around her. I loved the friendships, and I get emotional thinking about Lucy having 100% true friends for the first time in her life. I liked how the ending was a little bit open ended, and the story could really go either way after the end of the book. I always want contemporaries to be a little bit longer, just so that I can spend more time with the characters, but I totally get why this ended when it did. I loved the way that secrets were revealed, and I loved that the characters in this book communicated with each other like normal people, instead of keeping dumb secrets for no reason. I loved the settings, and I fell in love with each of the characters. I think this book is so important, and I think it will touch people in a million different ways, and probably help people who are going through hard things. I want to thank Emery Lord a million times for writing it, because I can imagine that it was pretty difficult.<br />
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I love it so much, I don't even know if these 2,000+ words have captured my feelings exactly, but it will have to do. Read this book, guys! Give it a chance, and I bet it will make you feel things.<br />
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xx <br />
Caroline Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-45737470670870014302017-04-25T07:26:00.001-07:002017-04-25T07:26:44.536-07:00girl out of water: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Girl Out of Water<br />
Laura Silverman<br />
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release date: May 2, 2017 by Sourcebooks Fire<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29640839-girl-out-of-water?ac=1&from_search=true">goodreads</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1492646865/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1492646865&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">b&n</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/girl-out-of-water-laura-silverman/1124657524;jsessionid=69193751FB20D1A0F4EDD50A96B9F39F.prodny_store01-atgap04?ean=9781492646860&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004">amazon</a><br />
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<span id="freeText4958013999230387070">Anise Sawyer plans to
spend every minute of summer with her friends: surfing, chowing down on
fish tacos drizzled with wasabi balsamic vinegar, and throwing bonfires
that blaze until dawn. But when a serious car wreck leaves her aunt, a
single mother of three, with two broken legs, it forces Anise to say
goodbye for the first time to Santa Cruz, the waves, her friends, and
even a kindling romance, and fly with her dad to Nebraska for the entire
summer. Living in Nebraska isn’t easy. Anise spends her days caring for
her three younger cousins in the childhood home of her runaway mom, a
wild figure who’s been flickering in and out of her life since birth,
appearing for weeks at a time and then disappearing again for months, or
even years, without a word. <br /><br />Complicating matters is Lincoln, a
one-armed, charismatic skater who pushes Anise to trade her surfboard
for a skateboard. As Anise draws closer to Lincoln and takes on the full
burden and joy of her cousins, she loses touch with her friends back
home – leading her to one terrifying question: will she turn out just
like her mom and spend her life leaving behind the ones she loves</span><br />
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<span id="freeText4958013999230387070"><b>full review under the cut!</b></span><br />
<span id="freeText4958013999230387070"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to sneak an early peek at this one on Netgalley! I have been looking forward to this book for forever, and it did not disappoint! I absolutely think that everyone should be throwing this book in their beach bags this summer, because it is a perfect thing to read as you're getting a tan or basking in an ocean breeze. Reading this book by the water is what our protag Anise would want! Basically this book has everything: solid and amazing friendships, families that are mixed up and wonderful and difficult and amazing all at once, absoltuely adorable romance, surfing, skateboarding, food, and ~finding yourself~. I loved it all, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a summer read that will hold your attention!<br />
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This book revolves around Anise, who is a surfer girl TO THE CORE, who loves her California home of Santa Cruz and never wants to leave it, and who has an amazing group of friends who are perfectly content to hang out on and around the beach, all day everyday. She has a great relationship with her single dad, but a more complicated one with her absent mother. Anise is looking forward to a summer full of surfing and bonding with her friends before some of them leave for college, but that all changes when her Aunt, her mother's sister, is in a horrible accident, leaving it to Anise and her dad to fly to Nebraska and take care of her three young children. Anise is devastated and angry at the loss of her summer plans, but she soon comes to find out that she can find joy in the flat Nebraska heat, and that change isn't always a bad thing.<br />
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I thought Anise was a great main character. Her motivations are pretty simple at first: SURF ALL DAY LONG, eat, talk to her friends. She is someone who is very comfortable in her life and routine, and doesn't like going outside of it at all. I really liked it, though, when she got pushed out of her comfort zone. I totally understood her anger over having her summer taken away from her, but I was also like... come on!!! You gotta help your family! But as we find out more about Anise's experience with family and with people leaving, you totally understand where she's coming from. I liked that she wasn't just being selfish, she had a legitimate worry that she would turn out like her mother, and that played out in a great way throughout the book. I also loved Anise's relationships with her little cousins. I loved the way they started out kind of wary around each other and then by the end they were all like her little siblings.<br />
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Also: the romance!! SO GREAT. Lincoln is so freaking charming and adorable, I loved him so much from the very first time he popped up. I love that he keeps on pushing Anise to go outside her comfort zone, no matter how much she resists at first. I was a little bit annoyed that Anise didn't get any closure with Eric, and just let him hang over the entire summer, but the cuteness with Lincoln more than made up for it. The cutest parts were when they had their roadtrips together, and how Anise felt herself becoming totally comfortable with Lincoln as they kept on driving together. I also love how his taunting made her learn how to skateboard, which was really the turning point for her summer! I think they're so great together, because they're both really competitive and will keep on pushing each other.<br />
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I think that Laura Silverman did a great job with all of the relationships in this book. Anise and her dad were great, I definitely felt their shared history and how at ease they were with each other. I loved the trust that existed between them. The relationships between Anise and her dad and then her aunt and the cousins was also really cute, because her dad definitely didn't have to keep up with her aunt, but he did! Then Anise and Emery and the boys, Anise and Linclon, Lincoln and his little brother, Anise and her friends, Anise and her mom. They were all really well done and felt super real to me. I liked that we got to see a richness and a depth in a lot of these relationships, and even when it was difficult, like with Anise's mom, it still showed us something about her character.<br />
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I also really felt like I learned a lot about surfing and skateboarding, and I loved how Anise was a competitive athlete through and through, without making her out to be a super cliche tomboy or whatever. I loved that!<br />
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Anyways, this book is super great and exciting and cute, and I loved it so much <3 p=""><br />
xx<br />
Caroline</3>Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-5002518521795415422017-04-11T05:57:00.000-07:002017-04-11T05:57:40.351-07:00top ten tuesday: unique reads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is: "<span style="background-color: white;"><b>April 11</b>: <i>Top Ten Of The Most Unique Books I've Read (<a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/2014/04/top-ten-of-most-unique-books-weve-read.html">topic originally done 4/14</a>) </i>Some variations: top ten unique sounding books on my TBR, top ten most unique books I've read in X genre, etc"</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Top Ten Most Unique Books I've Read</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">1. I Am Princess X – Cherie Priest </span></div>
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<span id="freeText15994772760980851415">Best friends, big fans,
a mysterious webcomic, and a long-lost girl collide in this riveting
novel, perfect for fans of both Cory Doctorow and Sarah Dessen;
illustrated throughout with comics.<br /><br />Once upon a time, two best
friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures, May wrote
the tales, and their heroine, Princess X, slayed all the dragons and
scaled all the mountains their imaginations could conjure. <br /><br />Once
upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving
across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went over the
side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her.<br /><br /> Once upon
a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle,
when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window.<br /><br /> Princess X? <br /><br />When
May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches.
Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused around a
webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the
more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess
X online. And that means that only one person could have started this
phenomenon---her best friend, Libby, who lives.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">2. Done Dirt Cheap – Sarah Nicole Lemon </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText15398753190112169344">Tourmaline Harris’s
life hit pause at fifteen, when her mom went to prison because of
Tourmaline’s unintentionally damning testimony. But at eighteen, her
home life is stable, and she has a strong relationship with her father,
the president of a local biker club known as the Wardens. <br /><br />Virginia
Campbell’s life hit fast-forward at fifteen, when her mom “sold” her
into the services of a local lawyer: a man for whom the law is merely a
suggestion. When Hazard sets his sights on dismantling the Wardens, he
sends in Virginia, who has every intention of selling out the club—and
Tourmaline. But the two girls are stronger than the circumstances that
brought them together, and their resilience defines the friendship at
the heart of this powerful debut novel.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText15398753190112169344"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">3. Vicious – V.E. Schwab </span></div>
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<span id="freeText1485627601749850445">Victor and Eli started
out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized
the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a
shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and
seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that
under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary
abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the
experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks
out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided
by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability.
Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered
person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with
an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by
the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for
revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">4. Rejected Princesses – Jason Porath </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText5828506396580934092">Well-behaved women seldom make history. Good thing these women are far from well behaved . . .<br /><br />Illustrated in a contemporary animation style, <i>Rejected Princesses</i>
turns the ubiquitous "pretty pink princess" stereotype portrayed in
movies, and on endless toys, books, and tutus on its head, paying homage
instead to an awesome collection of strong, fierce, and yes, sometimes
weird, women: warrior queens, soldiers, villains, spies,
revolutionaries, and more who refused to behave and meekly accept their
place.<br /><br />An entertaining mix of biography, imagery, and humor
written in a fresh, young, and riotous voice, this thoroughly researched
exploration salutes these awesome women drawn from both historical and
fantastical realms, including real life, literature, mythology, and
folklore. Each profile features an eye-catching image of both heroic and
villainous women in command from across history and around the world,
from a princess-cum-pirate in fifth century Denmark, to a rebel preacher
in 1630s Boston, to a bloodthirsty Hungarian countess, and a former
prostitute who commanded a fleet of more than 70,000 men on China’s
seas.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText5828506396580934092"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">5. The Female of the Species – Mindy McGinnis </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText7729534104307376209">Alex Craft knows how to
kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister,
Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex
uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence.<br /><br />While
her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other
people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the
shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high
school hallways.<br /><br />But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all
other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with
the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night
Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years,
and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his
attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.<br /><br />So
does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled
with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste
of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex
start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and
Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats
they care for.<br /><br />Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay
together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s
darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that
will change their lives forever.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">6. Illuminae – Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText7104179770243471721">This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.<br /><br />The
year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet
that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the
universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With
enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even
talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating
fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.<br /><br />But their problems
are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is
mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be
protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will
say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to
find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to
light: the ex-boyfriend she <i>swore</i> she'd never speak to again.<br /><br /><b>BRIEFING NOTE:</b>
Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including
emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews,
and more—<i>Illuminae</i> is the first book in a heart-stopping,
high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the
courage of everyday heroes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">7. When the Moon Was Ours – Anna Marie McLemore </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText593110122959989404">To everyone who knows
them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable.
Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a
water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and
hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life
before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers
Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful
sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from
Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love.
And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to
make sure she gives them up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">8. And I Darken – Kiersten White </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText14089790864992958544">No one expects a
princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since
she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their
homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the
Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to
survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an
unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes
them special also makes them targets.<br /><br />Lada despises the Ottomans
and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can
return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a
place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and
lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and
Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.<br /><br />But
Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight
against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and
Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty
to the breaking point.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText14089790864992958544"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">9. The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span id="freeText16155227447879294381">Greece in the age of
heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court
of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their difference,
Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men
skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into
something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a
cruel sea goddess. <br /><br />But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has
been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his
destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with
him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything
they hold dear.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">10. A Little Something Different – Sandy Hall </span></div>
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<span id="freeText9434941040641703286">The creative writing
teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best
friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in
common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe
are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture
references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same
places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite
their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work
things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, <u>something</u> is happening between them, and <i>everyone</i>
can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The
baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus
driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner
automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the
college green believes in their relationship. <br /><br />Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....</span></div>
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<span id="freeText9434941040641703286"><b>what's on your lists this week? </b></span></div>
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<span id="freeText9434941040641703286"><b>xx</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText9434941040641703286"><b>Caroline </b> </span></div>
Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-37546413578381458722017-04-09T14:57:00.000-07:002017-04-09T14:57:03.180-07:00noteworthy: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Noteworthy<br />
by Riley Redgate<br />
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☆☆☆☆☆<br />
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release date: May 2 by Amulet<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31447601-noteworthy?ac=1&from_search=true">goodreads</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419723731/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1419723731&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/noteworthy-riley-redgate/1124357852;jsessionid=0ACC6A57393C2BE0C8AB0782D4678C58.prodny_store01-atgap08?ean=9781419723735&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004">b&n</a><br />
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<span id="freeText9491106428216578855">It’s the start of Jordan
Sun’s junior year at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the
Performing Arts. Unfortunately, she’s an Alto 2, which—in the musical
theatre world—is sort of like being a vulture in the wild: She has a
spot in the ecosystem, but nobody’s falling over themselves to express
their appreciation. So it’s no surprise when she gets shut out of the
fall musical for the third year straight.<br /><br />Then the school gets a
mass email: A spot has opened up in the Sharpshooters, Kensington’s
elite a cappella octet. Worshiped ... revered ... all male. Desperate to
prove herself, Jordan auditions in her most convincing drag, and it
turns out that Jordan Sun, Tenor 1, is exactly what the Sharps are
looking for.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText9491106428216578855"><b>full review under the cut! </b></span><br />
<span id="freeText9491106428216578855"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>I'd like to thank Amulet for allowing me to read a copy of this book! If you've heard of this one, you've probably seen it described as "the love child of She's the Man and Pitch Perfect," and it is my firm belief that this is the absolute most perfect description of this book. If you're into really funny characters that relate to one another in easy and hilarious ways, cross-dressing shenanigans, a cappella, and great diverse rep told by an #ownvoice, then you'll definitely want to check this one out when it comes out next month. I had an absolute blast reading this one, I'm still not over how funny, heart-warming, and well-written it was!<br />
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The basic premise of this book is this: Jordan Sun is a scholarship student from an extremely poor California family, attending an incredibly prestigious performing arts school in upstate New York. Jordan's love lies in musical theater, but it hardly seems to love her back. As a second alto (that's the lowest female voice in the choir for those of you who are clueless about music), Jordan has never been able to find her place in the performances. All of the female roles feel all wrong for her too-tall, boyish, too-deep voice and body. Just as Jordan is on the brink of depair, the fall of her junior year, the school gets a mass email. There is an opening in the Sharpshooters: the best all-male a cappella group on campus. The Sharpshooters and idolized as celebrities on campus, and Jordan knows that it is ridiculous for her to entertain thoughts of joining them. But, desperate, Jordan auditions as Julian Sun, male tenor 1, and unexpectedly lands the spot. As Jordan's life becomes a series of ever more complicated changes between her boy persona and her girl self, and as she begins to feel a real connection to the rest of the Sharpshooters, Jordan is forced to confront real truths about herself and her place in school. She also has to learn a lot about a cappella, wigs, and trying to act like a boy while being subjected to uterus crushing cramps, but that's all part of the fun.<br />
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I absolutely loved the characters in this one. That was the basis of this book's appeal. Of course, there's Jordan, who is a really great MC. Though there were times when I thought she acted stupid, there was never a time when I wasn't rooting for her 100%. I thought her struggle with fitting into a standard of femininity was incredibly moving and relatable, probably for a lot of girls who don't feel like they fit into the boxes set before them. I really loved this part of her character, and I just thought it was so funny as she tried to transition back and forth from her boy costume to her girl self. Then, of course, there were the Sharpshooters. Laid-back, confident president Isaac, uptight musical genius Trav, sweet, supportive Nihal, Jon Cox and Mama: the best best friends there ever were, eager, involved Marcus, and preppy Erik. These boys were so GREAT! I loved the friendships that existed between them, from the seniors to the freshman, and I just felt like it was a really amazing portrayal of positive and invested male friendships. I also thought the representation in this book was amazing. Jordan is Chinese-American and bisexual, Isaac is Japanese-American I believe, Nihal is Indian and gay, and Jon Cox has a learning disability, just to start off. And it was even better because I didn't feel like these characters had these qualities just to check off a box, but these traits were genuinely useful in understanding them as characters, and they were all treated with respect and love by the author. I also really liked that Jordan's cross-dressing led to a lot of meaningful and thoughtful discussion by the author about trans issues. Jordan is incredibly sensitive to the fact that what she is doing is something that is often incredibly scary for many trans people, and she tries to be as respectful as possible of that fact. I just thought everything in this book was incredibly well-done, nothing felt fake, it was all really seamlessly folded into the larger story, which was the world of a cappella. Even the main antagonist had a really fleshed out backstory, and you could almost see why he would act the way he does.<br />
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Aside from the characters, the plot of this book is a ton of fun. First of all, I think there is a ton of inherent drama folded into the fact that Jordan is cross-dressing as a boy in an a cappella group that has a lot of history attached to it as being all male. If she gets caught, there is no telling what will happen to her. So I thought the moments of near-misses and almost being found out had a hightened sense of drama and also a sort of giddy hilarity to them. Also, I loved that Jordan was a girl getting a front row seat to what boys are actually like when they think they're alone. There is the aforementioned really painfully relatable and hilarious spell when Jordan is on her period and has to disguise this from the boys. I really loved the genuine friendships that form not only between the boys but also between Jordan and the guys. I was really interested in the whole a cappella world and all of the work that went into making them sound as good as possible. Also, there is a great rivalry, complete with pranks, between the guys and another a cappella group, so that was also a ton of fun.<br />
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I thought this book was really thoughtful, covering a ton of topics that should be more prevalent in YA today, but also it had an amazingly hilarious and fun side as well! I am obsessed with music, so it definitely had that to pull me in, but I don't think you have to be in order to enjoy this one. There is so much in here to love, that I definitely think that fans of fun contemporary should try it!<br />
<br />
xx<br />
Caroline<br />
Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-14328340819910680932017-03-30T10:13:00.000-07:002017-03-30T10:13:15.406-07:00march wrap up <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to the March 2017 wrap up! I seriously cannot believe that March is already over... I feel like it honestly just started. It flew by, and maybe it has something to do with having Spring Break right in the middle of the month, but I just really feel like March slipped through my fingers. Not that I'm complaining, I am more than ready for this semester to be over. March was pretty good though, I managed to read 17 books and post 6 reviews, so nothing too shabby :) Really don't know how I read 17 books, but apparently it happened!<br />
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MARCH WRAP UP </div>
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-hating-game-stardust-reviews.html"><b>1. The Hating Game – Sally Thorne ☆☆☆☆☆</b></a><br /><span id="freeText17271629873210624485"></span></div>
<blockquote>
<i>Nemesis (n.) <br />1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;<br />2) A person’s undoing;<br />3) Joshua Templeman.</i>
</blockquote>
Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not
dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem
displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive
aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive
assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand
Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is
clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and
Pollyanna attitude.<br /><br />Now up for the same promotion, their battle
of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their
latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy
and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering
that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her
either. Or maybe this is just another game.<br />
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<b><a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-inexplicable-logic-of-my-life.html">2. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life – Benjamin Alire Sáenz ☆☆☆☆</a></b></div>
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<span id="freeText4867263917012642429"><i>The first day of senior year:</i><br /><br />Everything
is about to change. Until this moment, Sal has always been certain of
his place with his adoptive gay father and their loving Mexican-American
family. But now his own history unexpectedly haunts him, and
life-altering events force him and his best friend, Samantha, to
confront issues of faith, loss, and grief.<br /><br />Suddenly Sal is
throwing punches, questioning everything, and discovering that he no
longer knows who he really is—but if Sal’s not who he thought he was,
who is he?</span> </div>
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3. The Merchant of Venice – Shakespeare ☆☆☆1/2 </div>
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<span id="freeText8937773329960644725">The Merchant of Venice
is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, but it remains deeply
controversial. The text may seem anti-Semitic; yet repeatedly, in
performance, it has revealed a contrasting nature. Shylock, though
vanquished in the law-court, often triumphs in the theatre. In his
intensity he can dominate the play, challenging abrasively its romantic
and lyrical affirmations. What results is a bitter-sweet drama.<br /><br />Though
The Merchant of Venice offers some of the traditional pleasures of
romantic comedy, it also exposes the operations of prejudice. Thus
Shakespeare remains our contemporary.</span></div>
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4. The Lost Daughter – Elena Ferrante ☆☆ <b> </b></div>
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<br /><span id="freeText5824767638195602433">"Elena Ferrante will blow you away."-Alice Sebold, author of <b>The Lovely Bones</b><br /><br />From the author of <b>The Days of Abandonment</b>, <b>The Lost Daughter</b>
is Elena Ferrante's most compelling and perceptive meditation on
womanhood and motherhood yet. Leda, a middle-aged divorce, is alone for
the first time in years when her daughters leave home to live with their
father. Her initial, unexpected sense of liberty turns to ferocious
introspection following a seemingly trivial occurrence. Ferrante's
language is as finely tuned and intense as ever, and she treats her
theme with a fierce, candid tenacity.</span></div>
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/03/youre-welcome-universe-stardust-arc.html"><b>5. You're Welcome, Universe – Whitney Gardner ☆☆☆☆ </b></a><b></b></div>
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<br /><span id="freeText5345318533344553828"><b>A vibrant, edgy, fresh new YA voice for fans of <i>More Happy Than Not</i> and <i>Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda</i>, packed with interior graffiti.</b><br /><br />When
Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of
the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful
(albeit illegal) graffiti mural.<br /><br />Her supposed best friend
snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up
with a one-way ticket to a “mainstream” school in the suburbs, where
she’s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing
she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her
to give that up.<br /><br />Out in the ’burbs, Julia paints anywhere she
can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she
might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags,
making them better, showing off—and showing Julia up in the process. She
expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined
getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war.<br /><br />Told with wit
and grit by debut author Whitney Gardner, who also provides gorgeous
interior illustrations of Julia’s graffiti tags, <i>You’re Welcome, Universe</i> introduces audiences to a one-of-a-kind protagonist who is unabashedly herself no matter what life throws in her way.</span></div>
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2015/12/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin.html"><b>6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Sáenz </b>☆☆☆☆☆<b>*</b></a> </div>
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<span id="freeText15036718061423033625">Aristotle is an angry
teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual
way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool,
they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending
time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the
kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this
friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about
themselves and the kind of people they want to be.</span></div>
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7. We Are Okay – Nina Lacour ☆☆☆☆</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText8835607023528321489"><i>You go through life thinking there’s so much you need…<br /><br />Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.</i><br /><br />Marin
hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left
everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not
even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the
California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of
the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in
an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit,
and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and
finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText8835607023528321489"> </span> </div>
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-bone-witch-stardust-arc-reviews.html"><b>8. The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1) – Rin Chupeco ☆☆☆☆ </b></a><b></b></div>
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<br /><span id="freeText13196333433187328007"><i>The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite. But the girl was fiercer.</i><br /><br />Tea
is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for
necromancy makes her a bone witch, who are feared and ostracized in the
kingdom. For theirs is a powerful, elemental magic that can reach beyond
the boundaries of the living—and of the human.<br /><br />Great power comes
at a price, forcing Tea to leave her homeland to train under the
guidance of an older, wiser bone witch. There, Tea puts all of her
energy into becoming an asha, learning to control her elemental magic
and those beasts who will submit by no other force. And Tea must be
strong—stronger than she even believes possible. Because war is brewing
in the eight kingdoms, war that will threaten the sovereignty of her
homeland…and threaten the very survival of those she loves.</span></div>
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-hate-u-give-stardust-reviews.html"><b>9. The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas ☆☆☆☆☆ </b></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="freeText10239897209667209693"></span></div>
Sixteen-year-old
Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she
lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance
between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal
shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police
officer. Khalil was unarmed.<br />
Soon afterward, his death is a
national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer
and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's
name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her
family. What everyone wants to know is: what <em>really</em> went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. <br />
But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.<br />
<br />
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10. Othello – Shakespeare <b>☆☆ </b></div>
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<br /><span id="freeText11562241328242393710">In Othello, Shakespeare
creates a powerful drama of a marriage that begins with fascination
(between the exotic Moor Othello and the Venetian lady Desdemona), with
elopement, and with intense mutual devotion and that ends precipitately
with jealous rage and violent deaths. He sets this story in the romantic
world of the Mediterranean, moving the action from Venice to the island
of Cyprus and giving it an even more exotic coloring with stories of
Othello's African past. Shakespeare builds so many differences into his
hero and heroine—differences of race, of age, of cultural
background—that one should not, perhaps, be surprised that the marriage
ends disastrously. But most people who see or read the play feel that
the love that the play presents between Othello and Desdemona is so
strong that it would have overcome all these differences were it not for
the words and actions of Othello's standard-bearer, Iago, who hates
Othello and sets out to destroy him by destroying his love for
Desdemona. As Othello succumbs to Iago's insinuations that Desdemona is
unfaithful, fascination—which dominates the early acts of the play—turns
to horror, especially for the audience. We are confronted by spectacles
of a generous and trusting Othello in the grip of Iago's schemes; of an
innocent Desdemona, who has given herself up entirely to her love for
Othello only to be subjected to his horrifying verbal and physical
assaults, the outcome of Othello's mistaken convictions about her
faithlessness.</span></div>
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-blood-rose-rebellion-stardust-arc.html"><b>11. Blood Rose Rebellion – Rosalyn Eves ☆☆☆1/2</b></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="freeText13525130960324007023">Sixteen-year-old Anna
Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is
part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to
perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her
fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her
sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman
to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s
once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.<br /><br />Her life might well be over.<br /><br />In
Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the
people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and
handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for
discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of
magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t
seem to stop herself from breaking spells.<br /><br />As rebellion spreads
across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone
is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies,
Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s
always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.</span> </div>
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12. The Education of Margot Sanchez – Lilliam Rivera ☆☆☆</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="freeText4341776634501153905"><i>Pretty in Pink</i>
comes to the South Bronx in this bold and romantic coming-of-age novel
about dysfunctional families, good and bad choices, and finding the
courage to question everything you ever thought you wanted—from debut
author Lilliam Rivera.<br /><br /><br />THINGS/PEOPLE MARGOT HATES:<br /><br />Mami, for destroying my social life<br />Papi, for allowing Junior to become a Neanderthal<br />Junior, for becoming a Neanderthal<br />This supermarket<br />Everyone else<br /><br />After “borrowing” her father's credit card to finance a more stylish wardrobe, Margot <br />Sanchez
suddenly finds herself grounded. And by grounded, she means working as
an indentured servant in her family’s struggling grocery store to pay
off her debts. <br /><br />With each order of deli meat she slices, Margot
can feel her carefully cultivated prep school reputation slipping
through her fingers, and she’s willing to do anything to get out of this
punishment. Lie, cheat, and maybe even steal…<br /><br />Margot’s
invitation to the ultimate beach party is within reach and she has no
intention of letting her family’s drama or Moises—the admittedly good
looking but outspoken boy from the neighborhood—keep her from her goal.</span></div>
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13. Swinging at Love (Suttonville Sentinels #2) – Kendra C. Highley ☆☆☆☆</div>
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<span id="freeText6919275540530864340">Outfielder Tristan
Murrell has a problem. As the number two slugger for the Suttonville
Sentinels, his team is counting on him to make their very first run at
the state championship. But he has a secret—his swing has totally
deserted him. As in, he can’t hit anything. He needs to fix the issue,
and fast, but how? <br /><br />Ballerina Alyssa Kaplan has a problem, too.
The shiny new sports complex in town has left her family’s batting cage
business on the verge of going under. Nailing her audition for a
prestigious dance company is everything, but there’s no way she’s
letting her some shiny big-box company destroy her family’s livelihood. <br /><br />Tristan needs a miracle. So does Alyssa. And maybe, just maybe, Tristan’s secret weapon might be the girl of his dreams…</span><span id="freeText6919275540530864340"><br /></span> </div>
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14. Aced (PresLocke #1) – Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine ☆☆☆☆</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText1210297811025315192">Ace Locke is Hollywood’s
hottest action hero. Women across the globe fling their panties in his
direction, but Ace isn’t interested in those—he’s more of a boxer briefs
kind of guy. Specifically, those of the nearly naked male model on a
billboard he drives past every day.<br /><br />Though he recently made
headlines for his public coming out, Ace is wary about pursuing a
relationship, fearing what the court of public opinion will do to his
career. But there’s something in the model’s expression that intrigues
him and has him wondering what if?<br /><br />Dylan Prescott just scored his
biggest modeling campaign yet. One that has him plastered all over L.A.
in not much more than what he was born with. And when he’s cast in
Ace’s latest blockbuster, it puts him in close proximity to his ultimate
fantasy.<br /><br />Outwardly confident, Dylan has no problem with his
sexuality or his pretty-boy looks, and uses both to his advantage to get
what he wants. And what he wants is the impossible—Ace Locke.</span></div>
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15. Locked (PresLocke #2) – Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine ☆☆☆☆</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText17092099321238452986">Sorry, ladies—and fellas—Hollywood’s hottest action star, Ace Locke, is officially off the market!<br /><br />The
man on Locke’s arm has been identified as Dylan Prescott, the sexy new
“it” model currently featured in the latest Calvin Klein ads. Sources
tell TNZ the men met on the set of Locke’s upcoming action film
Insurrection 2, and that “they only have eyes for each other.” <br />This
is the first public gay relationship for Locke, who came out a year ago,
and there has been much speculation on who would finally be the one to
catch his eye.<br /><br />According to multiple eyewitnesses, Locke whisked
Prescott away on his private jet for a romantic weekend at Syn, the most
exclusive hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. After pictures recently
surfaced of the new couple, affectionately named PresLocke, it appears
from the possessive way Locke keeps his new beau close that things are
heating up.<br /><br />The world is watching #PresLocke, and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date on this budding relationship!</span></div>
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16. Wedlocked (PresLocke #3) – Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine ☆☆☆☆</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeTextContainer9048199640360757677">Because you have believed in them,<br />Celebrated with them,<br />Loved and encouraged them,<br /><br />Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine<br />Invite you to join<br /><br /><i>Ace Samuel Locke</i><br /><br />and<br /><br /><i>Dylan Prescott</i><br /><br />Saturday, the twenty-fourth of May<br />at six-o’clock in the evening<br /><br />The Grand Floridian Hotel<br />4406 Palm Way<br />Orlando, Florida<br /><br />For Love, Laughter and Happily Ever After</span> </div>
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17. Bluets – Maggie Nelson ☆☆☆</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="freeText9119002211098765397"><i>Suppose I were to begin by saying that I had fallen in love with a color...</i><br /><br />A
lyrical, philosophical, and often explicit exploration of personal
suffering and the limitations of vision and love, as refracted through
the color blue. With <i>Bluets</i>, Maggie Nelson has entered the pantheon of brilliant lyric essayists.<br /><br /><b>Maggie Nelson</b> is the author of numerous books of poetry and nonfiction, including <i>Something Bright, Then Holes</i> (Soft Skull Press, 2007) and <i>Women, the New York School, and Other True Abstractions</i> (University of Iowa Press, 2007). She lives in Los Angeles and teaches at the California Institute of the Arts.</span></div>
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<span id="freeText9119002211098765397"><b>what did you guys read and love this month? </b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText9119002211098765397"><b>xx</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText9119002211098765397"><b>Caroline </b></span><span id="freeText9119002211098765397"><b> </b> </span> </div>
Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-34404373644499560772017-03-30T09:54:00.000-07:002017-03-30T09:54:05.090-07:00spotlight on: new beginnings <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to another installment of Spotlight On, a monthly feature here at Stardust and Words. You can find the rest of the spotlight on posts <a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/search/label/spotlight%20on">here</a>. This month, I've been thinking about how the beginning of spring often feels like the perfect time to start over, to claim a new beginning, even if nothing much is changing. I just like to think the freshness in the air is something that spurs goodness in everyone. So here are a few of my favorite books that have to do with New Beginnings and starting over.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>New Beginnings </b></div>
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1. We Are Okay – Nina Lacour </div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="freeText5437191481976527340"><i>You go through life thinking there’s so much you need…<br /><br />Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.</i><br /><br />Marin
hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left
everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not
even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the
California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of
the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in
an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit,
and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and
finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.</span></div>
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<span id="freeText5437191481976527340"> </span> </div>
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2. The Names They Gave Us – Emery Lord</div>
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<b>release date: May 16! </b></div>
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<span id="freeText14598330586701514909">Lucy Hansson was ready
for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible
camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in
faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses”
their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one
for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle.
Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her
vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a
fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy
set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?</span> </div>
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3. Alterations – Stephanie Scott</div>
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<span id="freeText2624062846232465517">If anyone saw the prom
boards Amelia Blanco makes on her favorite fashion app, they'd think
Ethan Laurenti was her boyfriend. They wouldn't know that all the plans
she's made for them are just dreams, and that she's the girl who watches
him from the kitchen while her parents cook for his famous family. <br /><br />When
Amelia's abuelita enrolls her in a month-long fashion internship in
NYC, Amelia can't imagine leaving Miami--and Ethan--for that long. As
soon as she gets to New York, however, she finds a bigger world and new
possibilities. She meets people her own age who can actually carry on a
conversation about stitching and design. Her pin boards become less
about prom with Ethan and more about creating her own style. By the time
she returns to Miami, Amelia feels like she can accomplish anything,
and surprises herself by agreeing to help Ethan's awkward,
Steve-Jobs-wannabe brother, Liam, create his own fashion app. <br /><br />As
Liam and Amelia grow closer, Ethan realizes that this newly confident,
stylish girl may be the one for him after all . . . even though he has a
reality TV star girlfriend he conveniently keeps forgetting about. The
"new and improved" Amelia soon finds herself in between two brothers, a
whole lot of drama, and a choice she never dreamed she'd have to make.</span></div>
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<span id="freeText2624062846232465517"> </span> </div>
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4. This Adventure Ends – Emma Mills </div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span id="freeText3698573386708820951">Sloane isn't expecting
to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to
Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so
all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens.<br /><br />Sloane becomes
closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe,
Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met. When a
beloved painting by the twins' late mother goes missing, Sloane takes
on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her
across state lines—and ever deeper into the twins' lives.<br /><br />Filled
with intense and important friendships, a wonderful warts-and-all
family, shiveringly good romantic developments, and sharp, witty
dialogue, this story is about finding the people you never knew you
needed.</span></div>
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<span id="freeText3698573386708820951"> </span> </div>
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5. Love & Gelato – Jenna Evans Welch </div>
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<span id="freeText13264137597006451410"><i>“I made the wrong choice.”</i><br /><br />Lina
is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for
Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there
because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father.
But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants
to do is get back home.<br /><br />But then she is given a journal that her
mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a
magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that
inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her
mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too
long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her
mother, her father—and even herself.<br /><br />People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.</span> </div>
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6. One Paris Summer – Denise Grover Swank </div>
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<span id="freeText3831463309356171458">Most teens dream of
visiting the City of Lights, but it feels more like a nightmare for
Sophie Brooks. She and her brother are sent to Paris to spend the summer
with their father, who left home a year ago without any explanation. As
if his sudden abandonment weren't betrayal enough, he's about to
remarry, and they’re expected to play nice with his soon-to-be wife and
stepdaughter. The stepdaughter, Camille, agrees to show them around the
city, but she makes it clear that she will do everything in her power to
make Sophie miserable.<br /><br />Sophie could deal with all the pain and
humiliation if only she could practice piano. Her dream is to become a
pianist, and she was supposed to spend the summer preparing for a
scholarship competition. Even though her father moved to Paris to pursue
his own dream, he clearly doesn't support hers. His promise to provide
her with a piano goes unfulfilled.<br /><br />Still, no one is immune to
Paris’s charm. After a few encounters with a gorgeous French boy, Sophie
finds herself warming to the city, particularly when she discovers that
he can help her practice piano. There’s just one hitch—he’s a friend of
Camille’s, and Camille hates Sophie. While the summer Sophie dreaded
promises to become best summer of her life, one person could ruin it
all.</span></div>
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7. Mosquitoland – David Arnold </div>
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<span id="freeText3005379678838020597"><i>I am a collection of
oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster,
my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds
strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange.</i><br /><br />After
the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home
in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a
medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a
chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.<br /><br />So
she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to
her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow
travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few
turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons,
redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.<br /><br />Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, <i>Mosquitoland</i> is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.</span></div>
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8. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour – Morgan Matson</div>
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<span id="freeText14298863050588028349">Amy Curry is not
looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the
country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from
California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in
a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger.
An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and
has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar -
especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory -
but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.</span> </div>
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9. Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell </div>
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<span id="freeText11287856256813455247">From the author of the<i> New York Times</i> bestseller <i>Eleanor & Park</i>. <b>
<i>A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.</i>
</b><br /><br />Cath is a Simon Snow fan.<br /><br />Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...<br /><br />But
for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and
her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series
when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother
leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing
Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie
premiere.<br /><br />Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.<br /><br />Now
that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to
be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort
zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around
boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end
of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk
about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving
and fragile and has never really been alone.<br /><br />For Cath, the
question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her
hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own
stories?<br /><br />And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?</span></div>
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10. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen </div>
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<span id="freeText9801703864491853662"><i>'The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!'</i><br /><br />Marianne
Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with
the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister
Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip
and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention,
is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from
those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its
threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility
if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and
money govern the rules of love.<br /><br />This edition includes explanatory
notes, textual variants between the first and second editions, and Tony
Tanner's introduction to the original Penguin Classic edition.</span> </div>
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<b>Hopefully you guys are embracing your own little new beginnings! </b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>xx</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Caroline </b> </div>
Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-37726969848952140222017-03-28T06:36:00.000-07:002017-03-28T06:36:26.824-07:00top ten authors I'd love to meet (and one I have) <br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at Broke and Bookish. This week's theme is "<b>March 28</b>: <i><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; color: black;">Top</span> <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; color: black;">Ten</span> Authors I'm Dying To Meet / <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto auto; color: black;">Ten</span> Authors I Can't Believe I've Met</i> (some other "meeting authors" type spin you want to do)." </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Living in rural South Carolina for the past few years, I haven't gotten much of a chance to meet my favorite authors, so this is definitely a wishlist of people that I would love to meet. This mostly comes down to the fact that I adore their books and also think that they are super hilarious/relevant/retweetable on twitter. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">1. Emery Lord </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">2. Victoria Aveyard</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">3. Jenny Han</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">4. Becky Albertalli </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">5. Adam Silvera</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">6. Shannon Hale</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">7. Sabaa Tahir </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">8. Victoria Schwab</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">9. Angie Thomas </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">10. Morgan Matson</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">and then, there is one author that I have had the privilege to meet! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">11. John Green </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">xx</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Caroline</span>Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-14589736804819001032017-03-25T12:04:00.000-07:002017-03-25T12:04:19.682-07:00the hate u give: stardust reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Hate U Give<br />
by Angie Thomas<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075671-the-hate-u-give">goodreads</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hate-u-give-a-c-thomas/1124651146;jsessionid=E0A23716E8B73DDE1ADD5C3F272A5402.prodny_store01-atgap04?ean=9780062498533">b&n</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062498533/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062498533&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a><br />
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<span id="freeText2879675612104061501"></span><br />
Sixteen-year-old
Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she
lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance
between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal
shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police
officer. Khalil was unarmed.<br />
Soon afterward, his death is a
national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer
and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalils
name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her
family. What everyone wants to know is: what <i>really</i> went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. <br />
But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.<br />
<br />
<b>full review under the cut! </b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b> Okay, I know by now you've either read and adored this book OR seen about 87 reviews telling you that you should read and adore this book. Seriously, I've rarely seen a YA book with such positive reviews, across the board, from goodreads and beyond. But, I did just finish this one, and though I know my review is going to become a little bit redundant in the grand scheme of things, I did just want to really quickly spell out the reasons why I loved this book a lot. And if this is the review that pushes you over the edge and convinces you to read this one, then I'll be happy.<br />
<br />
So, basically this book is about the Black Lives Matter movement, and it centers around a 16 year old girl named Starr who saw her friend, an unarmed black teenager, get shot by a police officer. If you think that sounds heavy, you're right. It is. This horrible thing happens within the first couple pages of the book, so right off the bat we're thrown into the "After" part of a before and after look at Starr's life. But this book isn't sad. I mean, it is sad. But I wouldn't call this a Sad Book (capital S, capital B). I think that there are tons of sad things in this book, and there are tons of things that made me angry as well, but I also think that this book does an amazing job of highlighting the little glimmers of happiness that have to be found in the midst of tragedy, in order for people to stay sane. I absolutely loved getting to know Starr and her family, and I laughed and cried along with them when they went through things that brought joy and things that brought sorrow. If anything, this book feels raw and fresh and real in a way that nothing else ever has. It's current but it is also timeless, if that makes sense. It explains the way bodies get politicized in the same breath as it talks about teenagers getting crushes. It walks the fine line between talking about an issue that affects tons of people and losing a story while talking about that. Because I loved the things that this book talked about, the real life issues, but I also loved that, at the same time, it was a novel and it had a plot that was engrossing and moved itself forward, intertwined with the issues.<br />
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Starr is an amazing main character. I thought it was so so clever that Angie Thomas had Starr and her brothers, Seven and Sekani, attend a majority white school while living in a majority black neighborhood. The contrasts that can be so easily seen and drawn from this dichotomy were really dramatic on the page. I'm not black, so I felt like I was being educated while also being pulled into the story, so I could relate to these characters that aren't like me, but like me all the same. (If that makes sense) I absolutely loved that this is as much the story of Starr finding her strength and being proud of who she is as it is about her friend Khalil getting shot. Through this horrible tragedy, Starr has to figure out a way to stand up for herself, her friends, and her community, in a way that means she is still being true to herself. It was amazing to be on that ride with her, and I was cheering so hard for her the whole time. I also really REALLY loved her family. I loved her Dad, a local businessman who will do anything to keep himself and his family off of the streets and out of the mess of gang rivalries that cover it. I loved her mom, who was SASSY and so in charge, but also super caring and there for all of her kids, even Seven, who is not even her biological son. I love Seven, the way he was so freaking smart that everyone brought their computers to him to fix and that he was super protective of his family. Sekani was hilarious and provided some really great moments as well. I just loved how tight knit and supportive this family was of each other. I also loved how many adults were present and involved, even outside of Starr's parents. Her Uncle Carlos and his wife, her grandmother, her neighbors, the people who owned businesses around her father's store, her lawyer... there were just a lot of adults that were there and involved in Starr's life, and I think that played a big role in her finding her voice. I liked that Starr found it in herself to stand up to the racism that she faced at school, and I liked that she realized that even when it wasn't intended, it is still racism and still shouldn't be left alone. I liked her friends Maya and Kenya and her boyfriend Chris. I wasn't expecting to like Chris, I thought he was going to turn out to be shitty, but he actually was really awesome and stood by Starr through everything.<br />
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Gosh, there's just so many amazing things in this book. There's the fact that Starr takes a long time to come to terms with the fact that she has to stand up and tell the truth about what happened to Khalil. I thought her fear and reluctance at first was really believable. I loved that, though her family was behind her, there were disagreements to how much she should be involved. I thought it was so interesting that her uncle was a police officer!!! That made it so much more dramatic when she finally did start to stand up. I also liked how he stood with her eventually as well. Their relationship was really cute to me. I liked how Thomas set up the neighborhood, with the violence and gang fights and danger, but also with the old ladies tending to their gardens and the support that comes from a community that goes through all this shit together. I liked that Starr was able to see the place that she grew up from the outside as well as the inside, because that allowed me to see it through her eyes. I loved all of the relationships between the characters, aside from Hailey and King, there was no one that I didn't like. I loved how Thomas portrayed the realities of growing up in a neighborhood like this, the good and the bad, equally. I just felt really wrapped up in this world, and I so much enjoyed seeing Starr grow from a scared girl into a full-blown activist, fighting for what's right. I felt like I went on that journey with her, and this book definitely inspired me to want to do more in my community with groups that continue to fight for equality and justice. This book made me laugh, cry, and gave me goosebumps, and I think it is one of the most important things I've ever read.<br />
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xx<br />
CarolineStardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-56265767243609464732017-03-25T11:11:00.000-07:002017-03-25T11:17:33.044-07:00blood rose rebellion: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Blood Rose Rebellion (Blood Rose Rebellion #1)<br />
by Rosalyn Eves<br />
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release date: March 28 by Knopf <br />
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☆☆☆1/2<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31020402-blood-rose-rebellion">goodreads</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-rose-rebellion-rosalyn-eves/1124063877?ean=9781101935996">b&n</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101935995/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1101935995&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a><br />
<span id="freeText3572225209531918450"><br />Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is
barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of
the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform
the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate
takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s
debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show
her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once
powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.<br /><br />Her life might well be over.<br /><br />In
Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the
people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and
handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for
discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of
magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t
seem to stop herself from breaking spells.<br /><br />As rebellion spreads
across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone
is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies,
Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s
always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText3572225209531918450"><b>full review under the cut! </b></span><br />
<span id="freeText3572225209531918450"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>I'd like to say thanks to Knopf for letting me read a copy of this book on Netgalley! Basically, ever since I heard about this one, I was super interested in it. Historical Fiction is sometimes kind of hit or miss for me, but whenever I heard about a book that takes place in a time period that I don't know much about, I get intrigued. This book takes place in 1840's Hungary, and blends together historically accurate elements with high fantasy ones. I enjoyed this book a lot, there were tons of things in it that really intrigued me, but there were also a couple of aspects that kept bringing it down, and so I settled on a solid 3.5 star rating. If you're super interested in this time period, or if you love books that blend actual history and high fantasy, then I think you would definitely enjoy this one!<br />
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The thing that I really loved in this one, and the thing I think is most important in new high fantasy worlds, was the setting and the world building. Anna, our main character, starts out the story in London and is soon exiled to Hungary, so there is a chance to get a little bit of perspective from Europeans living in different places during this time period. I found myself getting a little frustrated because there were tons of words that I didn't know while Anna was in Hungary, but there is a helpful glossary in the back, which I wish I had known about while reading! Anyways, I liked getting a glimpse into what Hungary looked like during this time period, even if there is the added bit of magic in there too. If you didn't know, there was an actual real rebellion in 1848 in Hungary, so this book is definitely playing off of that a little bit, as well as the Austo Hungarian war that took place in the 15th century. I also really liked how Eves added to the already interesting historical context with her portrayal of magic and the high fantasy elements. Anna belongs to the upper class in Europe, a group that can wield magic, called the Luminate. When a member of this class is young, they go through a ceremony called the Binding, where their powers are revealed and they start working towards becoming a full member of this magical class of people. There are four persuasions of magic, consisting of manipulation of living bodies, manipulation of the mind and heart, manipulation of nonliving substances, and manipulation of forces like time or gravity. When Anna was young, her binding didn't work, causing everyone to label her as Barren and cementing her status as a pariah in the world that she is supposed to belong in. When her sister goes to her Binding, Anna accidentally messes the whole thing up, which gets her sent from London to Hungary, where she is exposed to a completely different life.<br />
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I loved the world that this book took place in, but I do understand why some people felt that the plot suffered a bit at first. It was a bit of a slow start. The very beginning was exciting, but then it took awhile to get everything set up for the real action to start rolling. I personally didn't have a problem with this, I think that with any first book in a high fantasy series, there has to be a certain time when things are established, or else the next books get confusing. So I appreciated the care with which Eves set up her world. The action really picked up when Anna got to Hungary and came into contact with the rebellion from the title, so from then on I felt like there was never a dull moment with the action.<br />
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The thing that pulled this book down from a four star review, for me, was a lack of connection that I felt with the characters, starting with Anna. I feel like, in a high fantasy, there is a two fold process that allows me to really connect with the story and love the book. The first is a really awesome and well-set up world, which Blood Rose Rebellion definitely has, and the second is characters that I would be willing to hang out with, follow into battle, etc etc. I felt like this one kind of missed the mark on that, and that's why I wasn't 100% obsessed with it. Anna was a little bit annoying to me. I felt like I could kind of understand where she was coming from as someone who has been shunned for something that she can't help, but at the same time I was like just GIRL. STOP. It felt a little bit like she was so starved for attention that she didn't care where it was coming from. And let me be clear, I have nothing against unlikable heroines. I think stories with unlikable heroines can be super interesting and amazing, but with an unlikable heroine, there still has to be an element of me understanding where she's coming from and seeing the reasonable progression of her actions, not being embarrassed and confused over why she's acting the way she is. Anna just did dumb things and I was annoyed, so that is how the book progressed for me. Also, while I liked the secondary characters like <span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1414163396"><span id="freeText9473689827586770408">Mátyás, Noémi, and Gábor, I didn't feel as deep of a connection to them as I wanted to. </span></span><br />
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<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1414163396"><span id="freeText9473689827586770408">I don't want to say too much more about the plot because I found myself pleasantly surprised a bunch of times towards the end and don't want to ruin anything, but I do want to say that I definitely do think that this book is worth a read if it is something that you are interested in. You might find the characters more relatable than I did, and if that is the case, you may end up with a four or five star read on your hands. I personally enjoyed the story, and will definitely read the second one :) </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1414163396"><span id="freeText9473689827586770408">xx</span></span><br />
<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer1414163396"><span id="freeText9473689827586770408">Caroline </span></span><br />
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<b></b> Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-33785924240258813792017-03-13T19:17:00.002-07:002017-05-01T21:22:12.001-07:00top ten tuesday: spring tbr <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgASSZXC2WH7qJ3bLsJ-rdaef-kOVh36mssY6yGsGBNmg61Gc-AmFjbyEDlKTKzx5th89KmDvpxisOu9x_XHFDuo2Lmg77LH82a5bUoKy4axoSNDnUw8umQ4-Bfk7wkX88J4VuRIl1t9G/s320/toptentuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgASSZXC2WH7qJ3bLsJ-rdaef-kOVh36mssY6yGsGBNmg61Gc-AmFjbyEDlKTKzx5th89KmDvpxisOu9x_XHFDuo2Lmg77LH82a5bUoKy4axoSNDnUw8umQ4-Bfk7wkX88J4VuRIl1t9G/s320/toptentuesday.jpg" /></a></div>
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Boookish, and this week's theme is: "<b>March 14</b>: Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR," which is always a super fun week for me to creep everyone's posts and add to my TBR exponentially!!! Can't wait!!!!<br />
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Spring TBR</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30313265-alex-approximately">1. Alex, Approximately – Jenn Bennett </a></div>
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release date: April 4 </div>
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<span id="freeText13520141816828059610">In this delightfully charming teen spin on <i>You’ve Got Mail</i>, the one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.<br /><br />Classic
movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty
film geek she only knows online by “Alex.” Two coasts separate the teens
until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California
surfing town as her online crush.<br /><br />Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or <i>worse?</i>),
Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s
landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being
heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter
Roth—a.k.a. her new arch-nemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the
movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between
hate, love, and whatever-it-is she’s starting to feel for Porter.<br /><br />And
as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a
dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality
with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she
realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is
Alex…<i>Approximately.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30653853-the-upside-of-unrequited"><span id="freeText13520141816828059610"><i> </i></span><span id="freeText13520141816828059610">2. The Upside of Unrequited – Becky Albertalli </span></a></div>
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<span id="freeText13520141816828059610">release date: April 11</span></div>
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<span id="freeText13520141816828059610"></span><br />
<span id="freeText4190136723479395704">Seventeen-year-old Molly
Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times
her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the
idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be
careful.<br /><br />Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the
first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile,
Molly's totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she
is. Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy
sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she'll get her first kiss and
she'll get her twin back. <br /><br />There's only one problem: Molly's
coworker, Reid. He's a chubby Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the
Ren Faire, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. <br />Right?</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30163661-spindle-fire"><span id="freeText4190136723479395704">3. Spindle Fire – Lexa Hillyer </span></a><br />
<span id="freeText4190136723479395704">release date: April 11</span><br />
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<span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738">It all started with the burning of the spindles.<br />No.<br />It all started with a curse...<br /><br />Half
sisters Isabelle and Aurora are polar opposites: Isabelle is the king's
headstrong illegitimate daughter, whose sight was tithed by faeries;
Aurora, beautiful and sheltered, was tithed her sense of touch and her
voice on the same day. Despite their differences, the sisters have
always been extremely close.<br /><br />And then everything changes, with a single drop of Aurora's blood--and a sleep so deep it cannot be broken.<br /><br />As
the faerie queen and her army of Vultures prepare to march, Isabelle
must race to find a prince who can awaken her sister with the kiss of
true love and seal their two kingdoms in an alliance against the queen.<br /><br />Isabelle
crosses land and sea; unearthly, thorny vines rise up the palace walls;
and whispers of revolt travel in the ashes on the wind. The kingdom
falls to ruin under layers of snow. Meanwhile, Aurora wakes up in a
strange and enchanted world, where a mysterious hunter may be the secret
to her escape . . . or the reason for her to stay.<br /><br />Spindle Fire
is the first book in a lush fantasy duology set in the dwindling,
deliciously corrupt world of the fae and featuring two truly
unforgettable heroines.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30312860-always-and-forever-lara-jean"><span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738">4. Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #3) – Jenny Han</span></span></a><br />
<span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738">release date: May 2</span></span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738"> </span></span><span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738"><span id="freeText7735819246670131114">Lara Jean’s letter-writing days aren’t over in this surprise follow-up to the New York Times bestselling <i>To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before</i> and <i>P.S. I Still Love You.</i><br /><br />Lara
Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is
head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally
getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and
Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.<br /><br />But
change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and
keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the
big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to
go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She
watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara
Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college
and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind.<br /><br />When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30145666-the-dark-prophecy"><span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738"><span id="freeText7735819246670131114">5. The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2) – Rick Riordan </span></span></span></a><br />
<span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738"><span id="freeText7735819246670131114">release date: May 2 </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738"><span id="freeText7735819246670131114"><span id="freeText16654370690452609204">Zeus has punished his
son Apollo—god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more—by casting
him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old
mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place
on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark.
What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo do anything about them
without his powers? After experiencing a series of dangerous—and
frankly, humiliating—trials at Camp Half-Blood, Apollo must now leave
the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a
hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in
godly graces he's gaining in new friendships—with heroes who will be
very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes
of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing,
hilarious, and haiku-filled ride. . . .</span> </span></span></span><br />
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<span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29640839-girl-out-of-water">6. Girl Out of Water – Laura Silverman </a></span><br />
<span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738"><span id="freeText7735819246670131114">release date: May 2</span></span></span><br />
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<span id="freeText691253010000129420">Anise Sawyer plans to
spend every minute of summer with her friends: surfing, chowing down on
fish tacos drizzled with wasabi balsamic vinegar, and throwing bonfires
that blaze until dawn. But when a serious car wreck leaves her aunt, a
single mother of three, with two broken legs, it forces Anise to say
goodbye for the first time to Santa Cruz, the waves, her friends, and
even a kindling romance, and fly with her dad to Nebraska for the entire
summer. Living in Nebraska isn’t easy. Anise spends her days caring for
her three younger cousins in the childhood home of her runaway mom, a
wild figure who’s been flickering in and out of her life since birth,
appearing for weeks at a time and then disappearing again for months, or
even years, without a word. <br /><br />Complicating matters is Lincoln, a
one-armed, charismatic skater who pushes Anise to trade her surfboard
for a skateboard. As Anise draws closer to Lincoln and takes on the full
burden and joy of her cousins, she loses touch with her friends back
home – leading her to one terrifying question: will she turn out just
like her mom and spend her life leaving behind the ones she loves</span><span id="freeText691253010000129420">?</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32713479-seeking-mansfield"><span id="freeText691253010000129420">7. Seeking Mansfield – Kate Watson</span></a><span id="freeText691253010000129420"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32713479-seeking-mansfield"> </a></span><br />
<span id="freeText691253010000129420">release date: May 16 </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText691253010000129420"> </span><span id="freeText7413147416261640255">Sixteen-year-old Finley
Price has perfected two things: how to direct a world-class production,
and how to fly way, way under the radar. The only person who ever seems
to notice Finley is her best friend, the Bertram's son Oliver. If she
could just take Oliver's constant encouragement to heart and step out of
the shadows, she'd finally chase her dream of joining the
prestigious Mansfield Theater. <br /><br />When teen movie stars Emma and
Harlan Crawford move next door to the Bertram's, they immediately set
their sights on Oliver and his cunning sister, Juliette, shaking up
Finley and Oliver's stable friendship. As Emma and Oliver grow
closer, Harlan finds his attention shifting from Juliette to the quiet,
enigmatic, and thoroughly unimpressed Finley. Out of boredom, Harlan
decides to make her fall in love with him. Problem is, the harder
he seeks to win her, the harder he falls for her. <br /><br />But Finley
doesn't want to be won, and she doesn't want to see Oliver with anyone
else. To claim Oliver's heart—and keep her own—she'll have to find the
courage to do what she fears most: step into the spotlight.</span>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485833541l/31145148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485833541l/31145148.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31145148-the-love-interest"><span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738"><span id="freeText7735819246670131114">8. The Love Interest – Cale Dietrich </span></span></span></a><br />
<span id="freeText4190136723479395704"><span id="freeText296903007411593738"><span id="freeText7735819246670131114">release date: May 16 </span></span> </span></div>
<br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517">There is a secret
organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love
Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means
getting valuable secrets.<br /><br />Caden is a Nice: The boy next door,
sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: The brooding,
dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing
for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will
she choose a Nice or the Bad?<br /><br />Both Caden and Dylan are living in
the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the
top of their games. They have to be – whoever the girl doesn’t choose
will die.<br /><br />What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476724612l/23308087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476724612l/23308087.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23308087-flame-in-the-mist"><span id="freeText14602439640373086517">9. Flame in the Mist – Renée Ahdieh </span></a><br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517">release date: May 16 </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><span id="freeText10404469980793732663">The daughter of a
prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an
accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother
Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of
her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto
Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort—a political marriage
that will elevate her family's standing. But en route to the imperial
city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous
gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired
to kill her before she reaches the palace.<br /><br />Dressed as a peasant
boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of the Black Clan,
determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her
back. But she's quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret
hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru,
and his second-in-command, his best friend Okami. Still believing her to
be a boy, Ranmaru and Okami eventually warm to Mariko, impressed by her
intellect and ingenuity. As Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she
uncovers a dark history of secrets, of betrayal and murder, which will
force her to question everything she's ever known.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475687488l/28458598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1475687488l/28458598.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28458598-when-dimple-met-rishi">10. When Dimple Met Rishi – Sandhya Menon</a></span><br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517">release date: May 30 </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><span id="freeText11250786216487806005">A laugh-out-loud,
heartfelt YA romantic comedy, told in alternating perspectives, about
two Indian-American teens whose parents have arranged for them to be
married. <br /><br />Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation
behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from
Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian
Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some
level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now,
they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring
web developers…right? <br /><br />Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So
when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the
same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on
board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi
wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and
being a part of something much bigger than himself. <br /><br />The Shahs
and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested
arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed
them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why
not? <br /><br />Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured
out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the
most unexpected ways.</span>
</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31145133-i-believe-in-a-thing-called-love" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473268908l/31145133.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31145133-i-believe-in-a-thing-called-love"><span id="freeText14602439640373086517">11. I Believe In A Thing Called Love – Maureen Goo </span></a><br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517">release date: May 30 </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><span id="freeText12226775361900097678">Desi Lee knows how
carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school
senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in
her entire life. She's for sure going to Stanford. But—she’s never had a
boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering
humiliation-magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become
legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have
ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her
flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in
her life. She finds her answer in the Korean dramas her father has been
obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems
to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It's a simple
formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Rules for
True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and
boat rescues, love triangles, and fake car crashes ensue. But when the
fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about
way more than just drama.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><b>AND ONE MORE THAT I'VE READ BUT THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR TBR: </b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474998295l/30038906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474998295l/30038906.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30038906-the-names-they-gave-us"><span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><b>12. The Names They Gave Us – Emery Lord </b></span></a><br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><b>release date: May 16 </b></span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><b><span id="freeText15979659383748601240">Lucy Hansson was ready
for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible
camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in
faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses”
their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one
for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle.
Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her
vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a
fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy
set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?</span>
</b> </span><br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517">what's on your lists this week? </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517">xx</span><br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517">caroline </span><br />
<span id="freeText14602439640373086517"> </span>
Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-76748337102778308642017-03-11T08:20:00.002-08:002017-03-11T08:20:56.291-08:00the bone witch: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462464739l/30095464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462464739l/30095464.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
The Bone Witch<br />
by Rin Chupeco<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30095464-the-bone-witch">goodreads</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bone-witch-rin-chupeco/1123725845?ean=9781492635826&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004">b&n</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1492635820/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1492635820&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText16400711046860520427"><i>The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite. But the girl was fiercer.</i><br /><br />Tea
is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for
necromancy makes her a bone witch, who are feared and ostracized in the
kingdom. For theirs is a powerful, elemental magic that can reach beyond
the boundaries of the living—and of the human.<br /><br />Great power comes
at a price, forcing Tea to leave her homeland to train under the
guidance of an older, wiser bone witch. There, Tea puts all of her
energy into becoming an asha, learning to control her elemental magic
and those beasts who will submit by no other force. And Tea must be
strong—stronger than she even believes possible. Because war is brewing
in the eight kingdoms, war that will threaten the sovereignty of her
homeland…and threaten the very survival of those she loves.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText16400711046860520427"><b>full review under the cut!</b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a>Things that drew me to this book: gorgeous and haunting cover, necromancy, witches, beasts, girls with really awesome powers<br />
Things that I didn't know to be excited about until I read it: POWERFUL WOMEN, a diverse high-fantasy world, a younger sister/older brother relationship, really intricate and detailed worldbuilding<br />
<br />
I was a little bit scared to start this book, because I had seen quite a few low ratings and DNFs from people that I respect as reviewers. And I do agree with some of them in that I thought this book started out a little bit slow, I did not share their negative views about this one. I thought this world was absolutely fascinating, and I found myself actually thinking in depth about the things that were going on in it. I think there is great diverse rep in these characters, and the place where the main action takes place is sort of like a fusion between eastern European and Asian elements. I didn't mind the parts that were mostly just explaining the world, because I was eager to find out more about it. I think, if you're looking for something that is 100% action, you might find this a little bit slow. But I loved the feeling that I was getting totally immersed in the world, and I thought that all of the world-building really paid off when the action did pick up.<br />
<br />
This is the story of Tea. When she was only around 12-13 years old, she accidentally raises her brother, a soldier who had died in battle, from the dead. Though this type of witch, called a Dark Asha or more colloquially a Bone Witch, is not unheard of, they are often reviled and mistrusted. So when Tea's powers manifest, she leaves her home in a small village and sets off for the capital of the neighboring kingdom with another Bone Witch, Lady Mykaela, and her brother Fox, who is now bonded to her through her raising of him. When Tea gets to the capital, she begins training as a novice in a house of Asha, or witches. Bone Witches are used primarily for slaying beasts called Daeva that terrorize the eight kingdoms, and Tea is scared but eager to learn. She meets tons of interesting people and learns all about the way of life of an asha.<br />
<br />
Most of this book takes place in Tea's perspective, from the time she raises her brother to the time she becomes a full asha at around age 15. But there are also interchapters that are from the POV of a traveling bard. These chapters take place at some time in the future, when Tea has been exiled for a mysterious reason, and is living alone. She tells the Bard her story. I liked this dual POV structure, because the Bard "chapters" weren't really distracting, they were just short and revealed some important information. I also liked that we knew were Tea ends up, but there's still so much we don't know as well.<br />
<br />
I liked being in Tea's head. She was smart and interesting, and always looking to learn more. She is also incredibly brave and selfless, while also having a temper and being quick to leap into situations that she doesn't know anything about. In other words, she isn't perfect, but she's easy to empathize with. There are a lot of complicated things to say about being an Asha, which the book does a great job at outlining, but here's the basics. Asha (all female) are witches. They can draw and control runes that have to do with the four elements, except Tea, who can only control dark runes. Asha also have very specific clothes that they wear, are focused on the beauty of their garments, and are educated in combat and history and bodyguarding, as well as dancing, singing, flower arranging and court life. Their vocations are wide and varied, from court ladies to fighters. I really liked that there were Asha who were super girly and loved dancing and parties, and Asha that couldn't care less and were more into politics and fighting, but neither one was portrayed as better than the other, and both were important to the Asha's survival. There is also some subtle trans rep in here (at least that is how I perceived it) one of Tea's friends is a young boy, Likh, who wants nothing more than to be an Asha, he says he has never felt like the other boys, etc. It wasn't a huge plot point, but I think it will become more important, because Tea really stands up for Likh and wants him to be able to become an Asha, but he can't because he is not a girl. Anyways, that was something small that I liked, because Likh wasn't judged or teased because he acted more like a girl.<br />
<br />
I really loved the cast of characters. Fox, Tea's brother, was really great. I liked that he and Tea had a great relationship and they were always taking care of each other. Lady Mykaela was a great mentor to Tea, as well as Lady Polaire and Lady Althy. I loved the friendship between these three, as well as the way they loved and took care of Tea. I liked Lady Shadi and Lady Zoya as well. Rahim, Prince Kance, Kalen, Parmina, etc. There were a ton of characters, and each one of them was super distinct.<br />
<br />
The main conflict in this book is that there are eight kingdoms, but there is a rebel group called the Faceless that is always threatening the peace of the kingdoms. The daeva, monsters that only Bone Witches can take care of, don't help matters either. Tea is directly tied to both of these conflicts, and there is a really good plot twist with the faceless that I did not see coming! There is a lot about these conflicts in the Bard POV chapters, and I honestly liked that these conflicts, as well as the mystery of Tea's exile, were left unresolved. I definitely want more from this world, because I'm super curious about these mysteries.<br />
<br />
Definitely a fresh and different high fantasy with a fascinating world and tons of complex characters. I will definitely read the second one!<br />
<br />
xx<br />
Caroline Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-47065772989756220472017-03-06T11:34:00.003-08:002017-03-06T11:34:52.073-08:00you're welcome, universe: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464012477l/25701463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464012477l/25701463.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
You're Welcome, Universe<br />
by Whitney Gardner<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25701463-you-re-welcome-universe">goodreads</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/youre-welcome-universe-whitney-gardner/1123910162?ean=9780399551413&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004">b&n</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399551417/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0399551417&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText17809172127511579728"><b>A vibrant, edgy, fresh new YA voice for fans of <i>More Happy Than Not</i> and <i>Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda</i>, packed with interior graffiti.</b><br /><br />When
Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of
the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful
(albeit illegal) graffiti mural.<br /><br />Her supposed best friend
snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up
with a one-way ticket to a “mainstream” school in the suburbs, where
she’s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing
she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her
to give that up.<br /><br />Out in the ’burbs, Julia paints anywhere she
can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she
might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags,
making them better, showing off—and showing Julia up in the process. She
expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined
getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war.<br /><br />Told with wit
and grit by debut author Whitney Gardner, who also provides gorgeous
interior illustrations of Julia’s graffiti tags, <i>You’re Welcome, Universe</i> introduces audiences to a one-of-a-kind protagonist who is unabashedly herself no matter what life throws in her way.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText17809172127511579728"><b>full review under the cut! </b></span><br />
<span id="freeText17809172127511579728"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>Thanks to Knopf for allowing me to read this one a scooch early! I had a really great time with this one, it only took me a couple of hours to finish it because I was just turning pages at super rapid speeds! Also, I really love this cover, all the way down to Julia's yellow doc martens! This book is a really great look at a Deaf Indian girl, her passion for street art and graffiti, her troubles fitting into a mainstream school environment, and the process of finally letting her walls down to allow a super great friendship in. Not only did I really enjoy the plot of this book, I also felt like I learned so much while reading it, about being Deaf in a world that isn't kind to people who are different, about street art and everything dangerous and wonderful that goes along with it, and about this main character, who is spunky and imperfect and talented and lovely. I would definitely recommend this to those of you who favor the more friendy side of contemporary, not the romance (because this book doesn't have one). And to anyone who is interested in diverse rep and street art!<br />
<br />
Basically, everything begins when Julia covers up the worlds "Jordyn is a slut" with an amazing mural at her high school, Kingston school for the Deaf. Jordyn is Julia's best friend, and there was no way she was going to let a slur like that stay on the walls of the school, visible for everyone. Except when Julia finishes her amazing mural, Jordyn rats her out, and Julia gets expelled. So not only is Julia having to deal with the fact that her supposed best friend is a lying backstabber, she also is dealing with her moms forbidding her from tagging as well as fitting in and navigating a mainstream school as the only Deaf person, the only person who has a translator constantly. Basically, it's a shitty situation for Julia, and she does her fair share of lashing out, especially at her ex-friend Jordyn, who she still sees because they both work at McDonald's. But when Julia's interpreter Casey gets on her back about making friends, Julia pulls in YP (short for Yoga Pants), an ex-cheerleader who is struggling with weight and body image issues, to be her friend. Thus is the beginning of the rest of the story. Julia begins tagging places with huge, amazing murals, and she's super proud of her work. Until! Soon after she tags something, someone comes along behind her and adds to her murals, twisting them, making them better. Julia's pissed that someone's trying to show her up, and she jumps right into the middle of a graffiti war that is soon attracting the attention of her art teacher, the press, and the cops, though no one knows it's her.<br />
<br />
Gosh, I loved Julia. I've never read a book with a Deaf protag before, I'm sorry to say, and I thought that Whitney Gardner did an amazing job of describing the frustrations that Julia had with trying to communicate with hearing people, or "hearies." Julia is irritable and impatient, and I loved that about her, because I'd definitely be 100% angry all the time if I had to interact with people who didn't even try to communicate with me. I had never thought about the fact that ASL is a totally separate language from English, and now that I think about it, I feel stupid for never considering that. This is what I mean when I say that this book taught me things. It made me check myself and my thinking about people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, all while telling a really awesome and relatable story. I liked how Julia was proud of who she was, Deaf, Indian, daughter of two amazing moms, street artist, all of it rolled into one. She is super different from me, personality-wise, but I felt so attached to her and I was rooting for her the whole time. I also LOVED that Whitney Gardner included art in the book that showed what Julia's murals would have looked like. The art was amazing, and that really helped me picture what was going on in the book.<br />
<br />
I also really loved YP. She was such a good friend to Julia, and she was the one of the only people who sincerely tried to communicate with Julia, even eventually becoming really good at communicating in ASL. I thought she was a great foil to Julia, bright and bubbly and blonde where Julia was anything but, and I thought their interactions were just really funny and endearing. There is a lot of miscommunication, but you can tell that they're both really trying, and it makes it super fun to read. I also liked Julia's interpreter Casey, even though she was annoying at times, I liked that she was another person who was genuinely on Julia's side.<br />
<br />
I have to admit that I definitely did not see the huge plot twist coming. The mystery throughout this book is "who is the other artist that is messing with Julia?" And I had SOO many guesses and none of them were right. And I loved that! I was so shocked to discover who it was. I just really loved that part and then from there to the ending was really great as well. The ending warmed my heart. I thought this book was a lot of fun and really well written, I liked that the use of technology and texting was really seamlessly integrated, because it made Julia's life so much easier. Like I said, the art was amazing, I can't wait to get my hands on the real book (not the e-book) and see it actually spread out on the page. I definitely recommend this one, it taught me so much and I had a blast reading it!<br />
<br />
xx<br />
CarolineStardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-59315158328320113122017-03-06T11:07:00.001-08:002017-03-06T11:07:23.671-08:00the inexplicable logic of my life: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465572387l/23447923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465572387l/23447923.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life<br />
by Benjamin Alire Sáenz<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23447923-the-inexplicable-logic-of-my-life">goodreads</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-inexplicable-logic-of-my-life-benjamin-alire-s-enz/1124464203;jsessionid=58E0E79BC63A9445396CCCD2E6C77FAA.prodny_store02-atgap07?ean=9780544586505&st=AFF&2sid=Goodreads,%20Inc_2227948_NA&sourceId=AFFGoodreads,%20IncM000004">b&n</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544586506/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0544586506&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">amazon</a><br />
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<span id="freeText511833761622310826"><i>From the multi-award-winning author of <b>Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe</b> comes a gorgeous new story about love, identity, and families lost and found.</i><br /><br />Sal
used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving
Mexican-American family, and his best friend, Samantha. But it’s senior
year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and
realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal’s not who he thought he
was, who is he? <br /><br /><i>This humor-infused, warmly humane look at universal questions of belonging is a triumph.</i></span><br />
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<span id="freeText511833761622310826"><i><b>full review under the cut! </b></i></span><br />
<span id="freeText511833761622310826"><i><b></b></i></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><i><b> </b> </i>I absolutely love Bejamin Alire Sáenz, <i>Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe </i>is absolutely one of my favorite books ever, so I was super excited to be approved for this on Netgalley! This is a really introspective book about growing up, and there are no love interests or romantic dramas or even really friendship dramas. So if you're looking for a contemporary that feels mature and flows really nicely, with not a lot of high school drama involved, this would definitely be one that I would recommend to you! I still love Ari and Dante more, I really wasn't expecting this one to top it and it didn't for me, but I definitely still enjoyed this and I loved to get a different perspective from Benjamin Alire Sáenz!<br />
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This story revolves around Sal and his life over the course of his senior year, during which time a lot of changes are taking place in his life and the lives of the people who are closest to him. Sal is a normal kid: he's seventeen, as is his best friend Samantha, living in El Paso with his adoptive father Vicente. Sal is extremely close to his little family of his father, dog, and Samantha, as well as his larger extended family, especially his grandmother. Sal feels like everyone around him is getting their life together and figuring out who they are, but he is having a little bit of trouble in that department. When he starts getting into fights and feeling angry for reasons that are beyond his control, he feels like his life isn't under his control anymore. And it just gets worse when he finds out that his grandmother, Mima, has an advanced form of cancer.<br />
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I really liked that this book didn't solely concern itself with Sal's issues. I like that it really explored what happens when people close to you are going through things as well. I've seen some reviews that say they felt like nothing happened in this book, but I don't feel that way at all. There wasn't a lot of like, in your face action, because I don't think that's Sáenz' style, but goddamn a lot of things happened in this book. Sal's fights, the whole storyline with his grandmother and her cancer, his father having an old boyfriend show up and try to insert himself back into their lives, Sam having family drama and eventually having to move in with Sal, Sal's friend Fito and his drug-addicted mother causing problems, Sal feeling mad at his mother because he never got to know her, etc. I felt like there were a ton of things going on all at once, and I felt like this book did a really good job of showing how different struggles affected people in different ways. Sal dealt with things differently than Sam, and differently than his father. There's different types of joy and grief, and I think that one of the main points of this book was to show that.<br />
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I thought Sal was a good main character. He was pretty quiet, and there was always a lot going on in his head. I loved that he had a really present family, even past his dad, and I loved how he commented on the fact that his extended Mexican-American family just accepted him and never treated him like he was adopted. I thought that was really cute. I absolutely loved Sal's dad. He was so understanding and generous, and I loved how he just seemed to be collecting teenagers that needed a father figure. Samantha was hilarious to me, super precocious and always pushing the envelope, but super loyal at the same time. Fito, their other friend, was so adorable, he made me want to cry practically every time he showed up in the story. I also loved Sal's grandmother, Mima. She reminded me a lot of my maternal grandmother, and it was bittersweet to see a character like that on the page. I feel like there aren't a lot of grandparents in YA, even though a lot of people I know have grandparents that are super present in their lives, so I was happy to see that.<br />
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I don't want to say too much more about this because there are a lot of things that happen that I don't want to spoil, but I just want to impress upon you how much I liked this book. It is a different sort of read, one that you sort of have to sink into and let surround you, and though I thought the beginning was a little bit slow, I ended up loving the ending. There's a lot that goes on in here, having to do with families and relationships and friendships, all with the backdrop of senior year and the end of childhood. It's definitely a coming of age story, in which an adopted boy has to come to terms with the fact that there's parts of his life that he doesn't know about. Sal realizes, throughout the story, what things he wants to know and what things he can live without. He learns how amazingly thankful he is for the people that are in his life, and I think we, as readers, will look at our own lives after reading this one and be grateful for what we have. Lots of love for this one.<br />
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xx<br />
CarolineStardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-88370304681951710462017-03-04T08:03:00.001-08:002017-03-04T08:03:39.933-08:00the hating game: stardust reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Hating Game <br />
by Sally Thorne<br />
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☆☆☆☆☆<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25883848-the-hating-game">goodreads</a>/<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hating-game-sally-thorne/1122785062?ean=9780062439598">b&n</a>/<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hating-Game-Novel-Sally-Thorne/dp/0062439596/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488304044&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Hating+Game">amazon</a><br />
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<blockquote>
<i>Nemesis (n.) <br />1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;<br />2) A person’s undoing;<br />3) Joshua Templeman.</i>
</blockquote>
Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not
dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem
displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive
aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive
assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand
Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is
clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and
Pollyanna attitude.<br />
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Now up for the same promotion, their battle
of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their
latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy
and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering
that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her
either. Or maybe this is just another game.<br />
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<span id="freeText3036837639690502421"><b>full review under the cut! </b></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<span id="freeText3036837639690502421">GUYS. This book is so adorable, I'm still squealing and I finished it yesterday. Also, file this under "How the heck is this not in the works to be a movie yet??" Because it would be completely and totally perfect for a rom com. Like... PERFECT. <b> </b></span><br />
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<span id="freeText3036837639690502421">I picked this book up, totally on a whim, because I really wanted to read something cute and fun. I had seen a bunch of super positive reviews for this on goodreads, and I started this book at around 9pm. I finished it at 3am. And then I suffered the next day, but it was SO. WORTH. IT. If you're looking for something quick, fun, and ridiculously cute/sexy/swoony, then you should definitely consider making this your next read. </span><br />
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<span id="freeText3036837639690502421">Setting the scene: your most adorable set up. Two publishing companies merge in order to same themselves from going under. One publishing company is what we may call a little bit hippie, one is solely focused on numbers. The two CEO's of these companies share the top floor of their building, in separate office, and bicker all day. Their two assistants share adjoining desks outside the CEO's offices. Their two assistants ~hate~ each other. Lucy is a tiny spitfire who wears knits, red lipstick, and collects smurf figurines. Josh is tall, buff, and terrifying to most everyone in the company, and is completely serious, joyless, and horrible (according to Lucy). We pick up the story not when the two first meet, but when they've been working together for about a year, and are deeply entrenched in a power struggle that consists of bickering, jabs, and passive aggressive comments and actions. It's AMAZING. They fight all the time, but.... I mean.... it's obvious that there's tension between them, of the romantic or sexual variety. From the beginning, it's so obvious that they fight because they're attracted to each other and don't know what to do with that fact. That much was clear. But the amazing thing was getting to see them slowly drop their walls and face their feelings. The chemistry was off the charts, and there were some scenes that made me TRULY swoon. </span><br />
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<span id="freeText3036837639690502421">Okay, besides the enemies to friends to lovers trope here that I absolutely adored (that's not a spoiler... because... come on guys. If you didn't guess that immediately, that isn't my fault), I loved so many other things about this book. I loved Lucy for one! I thought it was so funny that she always made such a big deal about being so short, and then Josh did too. I especially love that she is so much shorter than him, but that they always seemed to fit right together. I love that her red lipstick is called Flamethrower. I love that she is sassy and spunky but also really vulnerable at the same time, and when Josh sees this part of her, he doesn't make fun of her. I freaking loved how she collected smurfs. I loved how she was determined in her career, and she never lost sight of her ambition, even when things started up with Josh. I love the fact that she grew up on a Strawberry farm? That's amazing. She was just a really funny, active, three dimensional character that wasn't reduced to one defining trait. I sometimes feel like, in a book centered on romance, this can happen to one or both sides of the relationship, and I liked that Lucy jumped off the page and never lost her spark. </span><br />
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<span id="freeText3036837639690502421">I also loved Josh. I mean, COME ON. There's this giant hulk of a man who is handsome and successful, and you think that he's such a jerk and arrogant, but really he's just extremely shy and hides his true self under about 500 layers. It takes a small woman armed with Flamethrower to get past all of his walls and see the real him. This isn't a new trope, but I did love the way that Thorne went about writing Josh. I have a professor that says it doesn't matter if you take the most cliched tropes for your stories, it matters in the telling of them. The quality of writing and the little twists here and there can make it feel like a brand new story. And that is what happens here. This isn't a new story, but the way Sally Thorne tells it made it feel novel and really delicious to read. But anyways. JOSH. He was assertive and take-charge, except when it came to Lucy, who had the ability to reduce him to a puddle in about .5 seconds. I also liked that we got to unlock his semi-tragic backstory once Lucy got close enough. I thought the whole time they were at his brother's wedding was really sad, but it helped me understand so much about Josh. HATE his dad! But I loved the scene where Lucy stood up for him. They are just so adorable. </span><br />
<span id="freeText3036837639690502421"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText3036837639690502421">I had so many favorite parts, it would be impossible for me to choose one. Firstly, the elevator scene when Josh and Lucy kiss for the first time. AMAZING. Also I love the weird tense scenes when they were in the office and trying to assert power, like when Lucy snooped in Josh's planner, or when they were like racing each other to get coffee. I loved the whole paintball scene. I loved when Lucy wore the short dress and told Josh she was going on a date so then she had to go FIND a date!!! GOLD. Josh taking care of Lucy while she was sick is definitely in the top ten. The first time Lucy went over to Josh's house! The Wedding scene and what happened after. The last chapter of the book. I LOVED IT ALL. This book did an amazing job of giving me what I expected, but also subverting my expectations at the same time. </span><br />
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<span id="freeText3036837639690502421">I just thought that this book is as good as it gets. It has snappy dialogue, really easy to read prose, and the story keeps the pages flying out from under your fingers. It has smart, appealing characters that have a lot working under the surface, and scenes that are hilarious, awkward and adorable, in their own way. I just would really really recommend this to people looking for fun but also really engaging contemporary. This isn't a throwaway book that you just read for a laugh, it definitely has deeper things going on, but it is all in such fun packaging that you barely even notice. I just thought it was clever and heart-warming and fabulous. I can't wait to see what else Sally Thorne can do, if this was just her debut! </span><br />
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xx<br />
CarolineStardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-44609259310364209922017-02-27T15:52:00.000-08:002017-02-27T15:52:26.088-08:00february wrap up <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi everyone and welcome to another monthly wrap up here at Stardust and Words! I feel like January and February always just drag on for me... and this year was no different, aside from being warmer than it normally is. I ended up being able to read a lot, but I didn't post as much as I wanted to! I read ten books but only got to post two reviews, though this is partially because I read a couple of books that won't come out for awhile and wasn't able to post the reviews yet! But anyways, I hope you guys had good months and Happy March!<br />
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1. Him (Him #1) – Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy ☆☆☆☆ (reread) <br />
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<span id="freeText13876272658210693439"><b>They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?</b><br /><br />Jamie
Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest
friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking
roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a
little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were
eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.<br /><br />Ryan
Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet
that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their
college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll
finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his
longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.<br /><br />Jamie has
waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more
questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six
more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one
more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his
old friend... and a big one to learn about himself.</span><br />
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2. Us (Him #2) – Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy ☆☆☆☆ (reread)<br />
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<span id="freeText181183788790623252"><b>Can your favorite hockey players finish their first season together undefeated?</b><br /><br />Five
months in, NHL forward Ryan Wesley is having a record-breaking rookie
season. He’s living his dream of playing pro hockey and coming home
every night to the man he loves—Jamie Canning, his longtime best friend
turned boyfriend. There’s just one problem: the most important
relationship of his life is one he needs to keep hidden, or else face a
media storm that will eclipse his success on the ice. <br /><br />Jamie
loves Wes. He really, truly does. But hiding sucks. It’s not the life
Jamie envisioned for himself, and the strain of keeping their secret is
taking its toll. It doesn’t help that his new job isn’t going as
smoothly as he’d hoped, but he knows he can power through it as long as
he has Wes. At least apartment 10B is their retreat, where they can
always be themselves. <br /><br />Or can they? <br /><br />When Wes’s nosiest
teammate moves in upstairs, the threads of their carefully woven lie
begin to unravel. With the outside world determined to take its best
shot at them, can Wes and Jamie develop major-league relationship skills
on the fly? </span><br />
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3. To The Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf ☆☆☆<b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br /><span id="freeText12460259144923993628">The serene and maternal
Mrs. Ramsay, the tragic yet absurd Mr. Ramsay, and their children and
assorted guests are on holiday on the Isle of Skye. From the seemingly
trivial postponement of a visit to a nearby lighthouse, Woolf constructs
a remarkable, moving examination of the complex tensions and
allegiances of family life and the conflict between men and women.<br /><br />As
time winds its way through their lives, the Ramsays face, alone and
simultaneously, the greatest of human challenges and its greatest
triumph--the human capacity for change.</span><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/02/piper-perish-stardust-arc-reviews.html"><b>4. Piper Perish – Kayla Cagan ☆☆☆☆</b></a><br />
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<span id="freeText14857927768592783205">Piper Perish inhales
air and exhales art. The sooner she and her best friends can get out of
Houston and into art school in New York City, the better. It's been
Piper's dream her whole life, and now that senior year is halfway over,
she's never felt more ready. But in the final months before graduation,
things are weird with her friends and stressful with three different
guys, and Piper's sister's tyrannical mental state seems to thwart every
attempt at happiness for the close-knit Perish family. Piper's art just
might be enough to get her out. But is she brave enough to seize that
power, even if it means giving up what she's always known? Debut author
Kayla Cagan breathes new life into fiction in this ridiculously
compelling, utterly authentic work featuring interior art from Rookie
magazine illustrator Maria Ines Gul. Piper will have readers asking big
questions along with her. What is love? What is friendship? What is
family? What is home? And who is a person when she's missing any one of
these things?</span><b> </b><br />
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5. Lace Bone Beast – N.L. Shompole ☆☆☆☆ <b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br /><span id="freeText11176046495929190132">Here is emptiness. Here
is a mouth after a recent excavation, black with soot, devoid of
kisses. Here are hands, trembling against the soft ache of morning, here
are eyes, wet, wide, half-full of sky and loneliness. Here is belly,
back, femur, spine, ragged and smooth all at once, <i> all at once.</i>
Here are dreams, ink black and speckled, lost behind the eyes. Here is a
muted elegy, crow’s feet feathered over the eyes like lace. Here are
the last strains of a dirge, wild, discordant, free.</span><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/02/done-dirt-cheap-stardust-arc-reviews.html"><b>6. Done Dirt Cheap – Sarah Nicole Lemon ☆☆☆☆</b></a><br />
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<b>
</b><span id="freeText16147677438519048660">Tourmaline Harris’s
life hit pause at fifteen, when her mom went to prison because of
Tourmaline’s unintentionally damning testimony. But at eighteen, her
home life is stable, and she has a strong relationship with her father,
the president of a local biker club known as the Wardens. Virginia
Campbell’s life hit fast-forward at fifteen, when her mom “sold” her
into the services of Hazard, a powerful attorney: a man for whom the law
is merely a suggestion. When Hazard sets his sights on dismantling the
Wardens, he sends in Virginia, who has every intention of selling out
the club—and Tourmaline. But the two girls are stronger than the
circumstances that brought them together, and their resilience defines
the friendship at the heart of this powerful debut novel.</span><br />
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7. The Names They Gave Us – Emery Lord ☆☆☆☆☆– review forthcoming<br />
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<span id="freeText12166579117638354393">Lucy Hansson was ready
for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible
camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in
faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses”
their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one
for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle.
Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her
vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a
fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy
set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?</span><br />
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8. The Princess Saves Herself in This One – Amanda Lovelace ☆☆☆1/2<br />
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<span id="freeText17596312423227011793">"Ah, life- the thing
that happens to us while we're off somewhere else blowing on dandelions
& wishing ourselves into the pages of our favorite fairy tales."<br /><br />A
poetry collection divided into four different parts: the princess, the
damsel, the queen, & you. the princess, the damsel, & the queen
piece together the life of the author in three stages, while you serves
as a note to the reader & all of humankind. Explores life & all
of its love, loss, grief, healing, empowerment, & inspirations.</span><br />
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9. If on a winter's night a traveler – Italo Calvino ☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<i>If on a Winter's Night a Traveler</i>
is a marvel of ingenuity, an experimental text that looks longingly
back to the great age of narration--"when time no longer seemed stopped
and did not yet seem to have exploded." Italo Calvino's novel is in one
sense a comedy in which the two protagonists, the Reader and the Other
Reader, ultimately end up married, having almost finished <i>If on a Winter's Night a Traveler.</i>
In another, it is a tragedy, a reflection on the difficulties of
writing and the solitary nature of reading. The Reader buys a
fashionable new book, which opens with an exhortation: "Relax.
Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade."
Alas, after 30 or so pages, he discovers that his copy is corrupted,
and consists of nothing but the first section, over and over. Returning
to the bookshop, he discovers the volume, which he thought was by
Calvino, is actually by the Polish writer Bazakbal. Given the choice
between the two, he goes for the Pole, as does the Other Reader,
Ludmilla. But this copy turns out to be by yet another writer, as does
the next, and the next. <br />
The real Calvino intersperses 10 different
pastiches--stories of menace, spies, mystery, premonition--with
explorations of how and why we read, make meanings, and get our bearings
or fail to. Meanwhile the Reader and Ludmilla try to reach, and read,
each other. <i>If on a Winter's Night</i> is dazzling, vertiginous, and
deeply romantic. "What makes lovemaking and reading resemble each other
most is that within both of them times and spaces open, different from
measurable time and space."<br />
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10. The Bad Boy Bargain – Kendra C. Highley ☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText1085028679267053337">Baseball player Kyle
Sawyer has many labels: bad boy, delinquent, ladies’ man, fearless
outfielder… Only one of them is actually true. But then sweet ballet
dancer Faith Gladwell asks him to help wreck her reputation, and
everything goes sideways.<br /><br />Faith knows a thing or two about love,
and what she had with her cheating jerk of an ex wasn’t it. When he
starts spreading rumors about her being an Ice Queen, Faith decides it’s
time to let a little bad into her life.<br /><br />Lucky for her, Kyle
Sawyer—dark, dangerous, totally swoonworthy Kyle Sawyer—is landscaping
her backyard over Spring Break. Shirtless. And if she can convince him
to play along, “dating” Kyle will silence the rumors.<br /><br />But Faith’s plan threatens to expose Sawyer’s biggest secret of all…and that’s a risk he’s not willing to take.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText1085028679267053337"><b>hope y'all had a great reading month! </b></span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText1085028679267053337"><b>xx</b></span><br />
<span id="freeText1085028679267053337"><b>Caroline </b> </span>Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-35575469307456732212017-02-27T15:24:00.000-08:002017-02-27T15:24:12.260-08:00spotlight on: cuteness overload <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spotlight On is a monthly feature here at Stardust and Words, where each month I talk about something random/bookish/life-related of my own choosing. You can find the rest of the Spotlight On posts <a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/search/label/spotlight%20on">here</a>! And to make up for being basically AWOL through the month of February, I'm trying to make this a Spotlight On post worth waiting for :) I decided to compile a list of the books that make my heart go SQUEE every time I think of them. Whether that's an adorable romance, friendship, or just a really cute pet, these books are super cute to me. (Though, just because these books are "cute," that doesn't mean they aren't deep, sad, lovely, or well-written. They are a multitude, each) Enjoy!<br />
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1. The Names They Gave Us – Emery Lord (I know this is sort of unfair, since this book doesn't come out until May, but I'm just going to try to get you guys as excited as possible for this book. Or at least annoy you into buying it.)<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText12166579117638354393">Lucy Hansson was ready
for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible
camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in
faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses”
their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one
for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle.
Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her
vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a
fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy
set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?</span> <br />
<br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/06/one-paris-summer-stardust-arc-reviews.html"><b>2. One Paris Summer – Denise Grover Swank </b></a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText17050933325647616056">Most teens dream of
visiting the City of Lights, but it feels more like a nightmare for
Sophie Brooks. She and her brother are sent to Paris to spend the summer
with their father, who left home a year ago without any explanation. As
if his sudden abandonment weren't betrayal enough, he's about to
remarry, and they’re expected to play nice with his soon-to-be wife and
stepdaughter. The stepdaughter, Camille, agrees to show them around the
city, but she makes it clear that she will do everything in her power to
make Sophie miserable.<br /><br />Sophie could deal with all the pain and
humiliation if only she could practice piano. Her dream is to become a
pianist, and she was supposed to spend the summer preparing for a
scholarship competition. Even though her father moved to Paris to pursue
his own dream, he clearly doesn't support hers. His promise to provide
her with a piano goes unfulfilled.<br /><br />Still, no one is immune to
Paris’s charm. After a few encounters with a gorgeous French boy, Sophie
finds herself warming to the city, particularly when she discovers that
he can help her practice piano. There’s just one hitch—he’s a friend of
Camille’s, and Camille hates Sophie. While the summer Sophie dreaded
promises to become best summer of her life, one person could ruin it
all.</span><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-loose-ends-list-stardust-arc-reviews.html"><b>3. The Loose Ends List – Carrie Firestone </b></a>(this was my absolute favorite book of last summer!) <br />
<br />
<span id="freeText16646058615160932723"><i>It’s a summer for first love, last wishes, and letting go.</i><br /><br />Maddie
has big plans to spend the last months before college tying up high
school “loose ends” alongside her best friends. Then her beloved
grandmother drops two bombshells: (1) Gram is dying. (2) She’s taking
her entire family on a round-the-world cruise of dreams come true—but at
the end, Gram won’t be returning home.<br /><br />With a promise to live in
the now without regrets, Maddie boards the Wishwell determined to make
every moment count. She finds new friends in her fellow Wishwellians,
takes advantage of the trip’s many luxuries, gets even closer to her
quirky family, and falls for painfully gorgeous Enzo. But despite the
copious laughter, headiness of first love, and wonder of the glamorous
destinations, Maddie knows she is on the brink of losing Gram, and she
struggles to find the strength to let go in a whirlwind summer shaped by
love, grief, and laughter.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText16646058615160932723"><b><a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/07/my-lady-jane-stardust-words.html">4. My Lady Jane – Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows, and Cynthia Hand </a></b> (the LOL factor is through the roof with this one) </span><br />
<span id="freeText16646058615160932723"><br /></span>
<br /><span id="freeText9979018029776550115">The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In <i>My Lady Jane</i>, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of <i>The Princess Bride</i>,
featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble
steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because
sometimes history needs a little help.<br /><br />At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey
is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy
to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling
problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane is about to become the
Queen of England.</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin-to-all.html"><b>5. To All the Boys I've Loved Before – Jenny Han </b></a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4134768897364791472">To All the Boys I’ve
Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted
her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt,
sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean
discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed,
causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters:
her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's
ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to
face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these
letters after all.</span><br />
<br />
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<span id="freeText4134768897364791472"><a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2015/04/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin-simon.html"><b>6. Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli </b></a></span><br />
<span id="freeText4134768897364791472"></span><br /><span id="freeText7307131394123051113">Sixteen-year-old and
not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school
musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at
risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being
blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his
sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of
Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.<br /><br />With
some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends,
and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every
day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated.
Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort
zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising
himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing,
adorable guy he’s never met.</span><br />
<span id="freeText7307131394123051113"> </span><span id="freeText7307131394123051113"> </span><br />
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<span id="freeText7307131394123051113">7. Steering the Stars – Erica Cope and Autumn Doughton </span><br />
<br /><span id="freeText7253734660910966700"><b>Two girls. Two stories. One journey.</b><br /><br /><i>Be careful what you wish for…</i><br />Aspiring
writer Hannah Vaughn worries that she is doomed to live out the rest of
her existence in a sleepy Oklahoma town. For as long as she can
remember, she’s dreamed of something more – adventure, excitement,
intrigue. When her sister invites her to London and she’s accepted to a
prestigious writing program at The Warriner School, she jumps at the
chance. But will it be epic or an epic fail?<br /><br /><i>You’ll never know if you don’t try…</i><br />Nothing
ever happens to straight-A student Caroline McKain and that’s exactly
the way she likes it. With her best friend in London and junior year
looming on the horizon, all she wants is to remain invisible. So when
she is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, she must ask herself: Can an
invisible girl really take center stage?<br /><br />Follow Hannah and
Caroline as they navigate the complexities of first love, family and
growing up. As their bond is tested, the girls will learn that being
apart can ultimately bring you together. <i>Steering the Stars</i> is a fresh, heartfelt young adult story about fate, discovery, and the magic of friendship.</span><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/06/love-gelato-stardust-reviews.html"><b><span id="freeText7253734660910966700">8. Love & Gelato – Jenna Evans Welch </span></b></a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText7253734660910966700"><span id="freeText6510439540979695940"><i>“I made the wrong choice.”</i><br /><br />Lina
is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for
Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there
because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father.
But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants
to do is get back home.<br /><br />But then she is given a journal that her
mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a
magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that
inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her
mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too
long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her
mother, her father—and even herself.<br /><br />People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.</span> </span><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2015/12/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin.html"><b><span id="freeText7253734660910966700">9. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Sáenz</span></b></a><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText7253734660910966700"><span id="freeText12586433271314815423">Aristotle is an angry
teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual
way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool,
they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending
time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the
kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this
friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about
themselves and the kind of people they want to be.</span></span><br />
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<span id="freeText7253734660910966700">10. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour – Morgan Matson </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText7253734660910966700"><span id="freeText5107372730580005360">Amy Curry is not looking
forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country
and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to
Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car
accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old
family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has
plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar -
especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory -
but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.</span> </span>
Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-67021173746634371792017-02-19T09:26:00.004-08:002017-02-19T09:26:58.304-08:00done dirt cheap: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Done Dirt Cheap </b><br />
by Sarah Nicole Lemon<br />
<br />
release date: March 7 by Amulet Books<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4678464637504192139">Tourmaline Harris’s life
hit pause at fifteen, when her mom went to prison because of
Tourmaline’s unintentionally damning testimony. But at eighteen, her
home life is stable, and she has a strong relationship with her father,
the president of a local biker club known as the Wardens. Virginia
Campbell’s life hit fast-forward at fifteen, when her mom “sold” her
into the services of Hazard, a powerful attorney: a man for whom the law
is merely a suggestion. When Hazard sets his sights on dismantling the
Wardens, he sends in Virginia, who has every intention of selling out
the club—and Tourmaline. But the two girls are stronger than the
circumstances that brought them together, and their resilience defines
the friendship at the heart of this powerful debut novel.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4678464637504192139"><b>full review under the cut!</b></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><b><br /></b>
I saw this book on Netgalley and requested it on a whim, since I hadn't seen much about it yet, and BOY was I in for an amazing read. I can't believe I haven't seen more people raving about this book, because it's pretty fabulous and really different from any other YA book I've ever read. I'm so glad that I got a chance to read this one, and now I am taking that opportunity and recommending it to you! If you like motorcycles, friendships that you want to be a part of, mystery, girls banding together to rise above their circumstances, and some really steamy love interests, then this would be the book for you. It's pitched as Thelma and Louise meets Sons of Anarchy, and I think that is a really apt description. I had an absolute blast reading this one, and each page kept me so hooked.<br />
<br />
This book is about Tourmaline Harris (which, BTW is an amazing name) and Virginia Campbell, who have recently graduated from high school and are spending the summer in their small town in southern Virginia. Both girls are from somewhat extraordinary circumstances. Tourmaline is still coming to terms with the role she played in sending her mother to jail for possession of heroin when Tourmaline was fifteen. Her mother has been in jail ever since, and as a result, Tourmaline has been sheltered and pulled closer to her father, who is the president of a local biker club that is shrouded in local legend, mystery, and fear. Virginia has been on her own since she herself was young, when her mother basically sold her to a lawyer in town to cover her DUI debts. Virginia was put into pageants by the "lawyer," Hazard, but has spent the years since using the pageants to sell drugs and do whatever else Hazard asks her to. After she graduates, she feels her position in Hazard's business life become perilous, and is attention towards her becomes dangerous. When he asks her to find a way to infiltrate the Wardens (aka Tourmaline's dad's biker club), she befriends Tourmaline with the hope of finding out the clubs secrets. Both girls are wary of one another, each of them try to stay one step ahead of the other, but the one thing they don't expect is to actually become friends. Which is exactly what happens, in a wonderful turn of events. I loved seeing the girls go from wary acquaintances to ride-or-die besties, and in the end, they didn't even hesitate to have each other's backs or forgive for things that happened in the past. I think that their friendship was truly the center of this book, and all of the drama with their families, the mysteries, and the romances are secondary to that.<br />
<br />
I really loved how atmospheric this book was. I definitely got the distinct impression that I, too, was in the damp mugginess of a Southern Virginia summer, even though I am in South Carolina and it's winter. Lemon's prose is beautiful, and she describes things so melodically, I was just automatically drawn into the story that was being woven by these beautiful words. The one negative for this whole book, for me, though, was that, at a few points, the clarity of the story suffers a bit for the beauty of the language. I was left guessing over what actually happened, because the book kind of danced around the things that were happening. I always figured out what was happening, but it sometimes took me a minute. It's the one reason that I gave this book four instead of five stars, because I really did adore the way the story was told.<br />
<br />
The romances were super.... hot? I guess that's the word I'm going with here. Like, steamy hot with a lot of tension building up to the moment that the two people actually acted on their feelings. Also, the boys are 5+ years older than Tourmaline and Virginia, which was fine with me since they were both eighteen, but I feel like it could be sensitive for some people, so be aware! Anyways, I personally fell in love with Cash and I claim him, but you guys can fight over Jason, no problem. I loved that there was tension with Cash falling for Tourmaline because of his precarious position in the Wardens, and I loved the give and take nature of Jason's feelings for Virginia. I loved how these boys represented something new for the club, a generation of people who have respect for their significant others and who don't underestimate them. There were some scenes where I was just so completely taken in by these slow burn romances, I just loved it.<br />
<br />
I also really liked the mystery behind what the wardens actually did. To Tourmaline, they were just a club, just a part of her life, and she never had a reason to delve deeper into why everyone was intimidated or afraid of them. For Virginia, they are a source of town lore, something that she thought she would always be on the outside of. But when the girls come together, they discover the secrets of the Wardens and the things that they wouldn't ever want anyone to know. It ended up being a lot different than I was anticipating, so I really liked that my expectations were subverted in a good way here. I don't want to say too much here, because that would spoil the surprise, but let me just tell you that it was half what I was guessing and half really not.<br />
<br />
Obviously, I love our protagonists, and I thought the antagonists here were really great as well. They are Hazard, who subjected Virginia to things that no girl should have to go through, and Tourmaline's mother's drug dealing ex-boyfriend, who is angry at Tourmaline for putting him in prison. They both were scary in a real life way, because any time a grown man has it out for a teenage girl, I think the fear that is felt in that situation is visceral and universal for most girls. I liked how Tourmaline and Virginia decided to take matters into their own hands and control their own fates. They didn't want for someone else to come in and protect them, they realized that no one was going to do that but themselves, and they decided to fight. It was really inspiring.<br />
<br />
Overall, I thought this book was really great. It achieved a clear mood, built up at least four characters that I was truly rooting for, had mystery and some truly heart pounding moments, and Lemon discusses sexism, racism, familial relationships, and friendship in a way that is at once effortless and effective. I would definitely recommend this to people who are looking for a contemporary that is a little bit darker, but altogether compelling.<br />
<br />
xx<br />
CarolineStardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-66708688511630157182017-02-14T07:54:00.001-08:002017-02-14T07:54:51.687-08:00piper perish: stardust arc reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Piper Perish<br />
Kayla Cagan<br />
<br />
Pub Date: February 28<br />
<br />
☆☆☆☆<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText1229285598052456424">Piper Perish inhales air
and exhales art. The sooner she and her best friends can get out of
Houston and into art school in New York City, the better. It's been
Piper's dream her whole life, and now that senior year is halfway over,
she's never felt more ready. But in the final months before graduation,
things are weird with her friends and stressful with three different
guys, and Piper's sister's tyrannical mental state seems to thwart every
attempt at happiness for the close-knit Perish family. Piper's art just
might be enough to get her out. But is she brave enough to seize that
power, even if it means giving up what she's always known? Debut author
Kayla Cagan breathes new life into fiction in this ridiculously
compelling, utterly authentic work featuring interior art from Rookie
magazine illustrator Maria Ines Gul. Piper will have readers asking big
questions along with her. What is love? What is friendship? What is
family? What is home? And who is a person when she's missing any one of
these things?</span><br />
<span id="freeText1229285598052456424"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a> I have a question for you guys. Are you always looking for a fun contemporary that isn't centered around romance, that is fun and a breath of fresh air without being fluffy, and that has to do with teenagers who are passionate and unapologetic about who they are and what they like? Then I have news for you! You should definitely definitely try Piper Perish! Thanks to Chronicle Books for allowing me to read this one a lil early, because I had a total blast with this one, and I will recommend it to anyone who is even slightly interested :) If you love art and fashion and wonky family dynamics and best friends that will die for you, then this one is for you. If you love a fresh voice from a character that is so utterly believable, then this one is for you. This book is so much fun. It isn't perfect, of course (what is?), and there were parts that I was a little overwhelmed by all of the drama, but in the end, I have such a positive impression of this one.<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText1229285598052456424">This is Piper Perish's story. Piper is a high school senior, and this book picks up at the very beginning of her second semester. Piper is part of a three person friend group: her best friend Kit and her boyfriend Enzo. The book picks up when Enzo very publicly breaks up with Piper, leaving her devastated and with tons of questions about her life and her future. She, Kit and Enzo have always planned to go to New York after graduation, to a small art conservatory. These three characters are obsessed with art, whether it is in the form of painting, sketching, jewelry making, fashion, or anything else. I loved how colorful their lives were because of it. But Piper's senior spring doesn't go smoothly at all. After Enzo breaks up with her – for a boy named Phillip – Kit finds out that she didn't get into art school, while Piper, who is going to struggle to afford it, did. Also, Piper's older sister, who (i got the feeling) is borderline sociopathic, moves back home from college because she is pregnant. So Piper is left to navigate how crazy her life has gotten, with everything changing even before she graduates. </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText1229285598052456424">Piper was an amazing protag. She has such a strong voice, and I loved how this book is in the format of a journal, but it was kind of different from the other journal style books that I've ever read. I love that there is art and drawings throughout this one, it adds something special to the book. I also loved how Piper was always getting herself into things. She was unafraid to go to the party, to wear the costume, to say the thing that everyone is thinking but is too afraid to say. That got her into a lot of trouble, but it made the plot basically nonstop. At first, I was confused by the fact that everyone was calling Piper super dramatic, because I just didn't see it, but as the book went on, I got it. I loved her relationship with Kit, it was such an easy friendship that had to shift and change when these big things happened to them. I also liked how Piper was able to forgive Enzo and go back to being friends with him. I was a little confused by her relationship with Marli, her sister, honestly. I think it's just because I wasn't expecting Marli to be as mean and spiteful as she was, and it surprised me every time. </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText1229285598052456424">Basically, what made this book for me was that some really key things combined to make the pages fly by super quickly and in an entertaining way. Firstly, the fact that it was in journal style made it read faster than a book that is in just normal prose style. Secondly, there were a ton of conflicts that could be played off of, and you never knew when one was going to explode. First there was the breakup with Enzo, then it was Enzo's sexuality and the fact that it was a secret, then it was getting into school, then it was Kit not getting in and Piper keeping her own acceptance a secret, then it was their senior art project and all of the stress from finishing that, then it was Marli's baby and all of the bombshells from that experience, then it was worrying about the fact that Piper's family might not have enough money for her to go to New York, then it was a fight with Kit about Kit not feeling good enough at art, then it was dating a guy that none of Piper's friends liked, then it was the super dramatic ending that was crazy but awesome. I was kept really occupied by all of the little conflicts along the way, and then the bigger arcs were also interesting. Like I said earlier, sometimes the events and reactions of the characters would steer into the melodramatic, but with teenaged artists, what do you expect? But really, I did notice when it went a little too dramatic, but it didn't bother me as much as I would've thought. I really adored all of the art and mentions of art in this book, that was another thing that kept me hooked. </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText1229285598052456424">In the end, I really wanted this book to be just like ten pages longer, because it ended at a really good moment, but it was already pretty long and I understand Cagan ending it when she did. I have a few small problems with this book, which I've already mentioned, but overall I had a really great time getting into Piper's crazy head and crazy world. I was captivated by her passion and love for art, and I was rooting for her in her relationships. I would definitely recommend this to fans of contemporary, and someone looking for something that doesn't follow any sort of formula that they've seen before. </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText1229285598052456424">xx</span><br />
<span id="freeText1229285598052456424">Caroline </span>
Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-41111782580440266702017-02-14T07:26:00.000-08:002017-02-14T07:26:20.487-08:00top ten tuesday: i love love!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at the Broke and the Bookish! <b>"February 14</b>: All About Romance Tropes/Types -- top ten favorite
hate-to-love romances (from books or movies or tv), top ten favorite (or
least favorite) instalove romances, favorite slow-burn romances,
favorite starcrossed lovers, etc. etc. Can go so many ways with this
one)."<br />
<br />
I did an enormous post about all of my favorite couples in fiction last year, <a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/02/spotlight-on-all-about-love.html">which you can find here</a>, so I am just going to augment that with all of the couples that I have been loving in the year since then.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
2016-2017 Favorite Couples</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
1. Damen and Laurent – Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat<br />
2. Natasha and Daniel – The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon<br />
3. Jesper and Wylan – Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo<br />
4. Mare and Denna – Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst<br />
5. Lena and Ren – Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch<br />
6. Jane and G – My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows and Cynthia Hand<br />
7. Andie and Clark – The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson<br />
8. Amani and Jin – Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton<br />
(BONUS TV SHIPS) <br />
9. Jake and Amy from Brooklyn 99<br />
10. Even and Isak from Skam </div>
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Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7006857808984053575.post-38639863482714890822017-01-30T11:45:00.002-08:002017-01-30T11:45:52.189-08:00january wrap up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi and welcome to another monthly wrap-up here at Stardust and Words. I feel like January lasted 87,000 years and I am so glad that it's over, even if it means we're one month closer to the hot weather (which I hate). I do often love the month of February, so I am looking forward to seeing what this month brings. I ended up reading 14 books in January, which isn't too shabby if you ask me. I posted five reviews as well! I hope you guys had a good January :)<br />
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1. Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions and Heretics – Jason Porath ☆☆☆☆<br />
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<span id="freeText14933281168393283054">Blending the iconoclastic feminism of <em>The Notorious RBG</em> and the confident irreverence of <em>Go the F**ck to Sleep</em>,
a brazen and empowering illustrated collection that celebrates
inspirational badass women throughout history, based on the popular
Tumblr blog.<br /><br />Well-behaved women seldom make history. Good thing these women are far from well behaved . . .<br /><br />Illustrated in a contemporary animation style, <em>Rejected Princesses</em>
turns the ubiquitous "pretty pink princess" stereotype portrayed in
movies, and on endless toys, books, and tutus on its head, paying homage
instead to an awesome collection of strong, fierce, and yes, sometimes
weird, women: warrior queens, soldiers, villains, spies,
revolutionaries, and more who refused to behave and meekly accept their
place.<br /><br />An entertaining mix of biography, imagery, and humor
written in a fresh, young, and riotous voice, this thoroughly researched
exploration salutes these awesome women drawn from both historical and
fantastical realms, including real life, literature, mythology, and
folklore. Each profile features an eye-catching image of both heroic and
villainous women in command from across history and around the world,
from a princess-cum-pirate in fifth century Denmark, to a rebel preacher
in 1630s Boston, to a bloodthirsty Hungarian countess, and a former
prostitute who commanded a fleet of more than 70,000 men on China’s seas</span><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/02/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin_29.html#more"><b>2. Captive Prince (Captive Prince #1) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆☆*</b></a><b> </b><br />
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<span id="freeText4979424304300482387">Damen is a warrior hero
to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. But when
his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his
identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure
slave.<br /><br />Beautiful, manipulative, and deadly, his new master,
Prince Laurent, epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the
lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and
when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must
work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.<br /><br />For
Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity.
Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to
hate him than anyone else…<br /></span><b><br /></b><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/02/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin_29.html#more"><b>3. Prince's Gambit (Captive Prince #2)</b></a><a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/02/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin_29.html#more"><b> – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆☆☆* </b></a><b> </b><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText17259782547594134987">With their countries on
the brink of war, Damen and his new master, Prince Laurent, must
exchange the intrigues of the palace for the sweeping might of the
battlefield as they travel to the border to avert a lethal plot.<br /><br />Forced
to hide his identity, Damen finds himself increasingly drawn to the
dangerous, charismatic Laurent. But as the fledgling trust between the
two men deepens, the truth of secrets from both their pasts is poised to
deal them the crowning death blow…</span><b> </b><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/02/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin_29.html#more"><b>4. King's Rising (Captive Prince #3) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆☆☆*</b></a><b> </b><br />
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<span id="freeText9701028512782453327"><i>Damianos of Akielos has returned</i>.<br /><br />His identity now revealed, Damen must face his master Prince Laurent as Damianos of Akielos, the man Laurent has sworn to kill.<br /><br />On
the brink of a momentous battle, the future of both their countries
hangs in the balance. In the south, Kastor’s forces are massing. In the
north, the Regent’s armies are mobilising for war. Damen’s only hope of
reclaiming his throne is to fight together with Laurent against their
usurpers.<br /><br />Forced into an uneasy alliance the two princes journey
deep into Akielos, where they face their most dangerous opposition yet.
But even if the fragile trust they have built survives the revelation of
Damen’s identity—can it stand against the Regents final, deadly play
for the throne?</span><b> </b><br />
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<b><a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2016/01/look-at-her-go-reviewin-reviewin_25.html">5. Passenger (Passenger #1) – Alexandra Bracken ☆☆☆☆☆* </a></b><b> </b><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText15688824232560641066"><i>Passage</i>, n.<br />i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.<br />ii. A journey by water; a voyage.<br />iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.<br /><br />In
one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she
knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a
dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled
not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she
knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of.
Until now.<br /><br />Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free
from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude
he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger
on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape
and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are
searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only
Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must
ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.<br /><br />Together,
Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and
continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will
do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they
get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the
Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not
only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.</span><b> </b><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/01/wayfarer-stardust-reviews.html"><b>6. Wayfarer (Passenger #2) – Alexandra Bracken ☆☆☆☆ </b></a><br />
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<span id="freeText17265801504122677260">All Etta Spencer wanted
was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous
world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the
one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the
one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place
and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see
her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person
Etta ever expected—Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master’s heir who has long
been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta’s
past could put them both at risk. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Nicholas and
Sophia are racing through time in order to locate Etta and the missing
astrolabe with Ironwood travelers hot on their trail. They cross paths
with a mercenary-for-hire, a cheeky girl named Li Min who quickly
develops a flirtation with Sophia. But as the three of them attempt to
evade their pursuers, Nicholas soon realizes that one of his companions
may have ulterior motives. <br /><br />As Etta and Nicholas fight to make
their way back to one another, from Imperial Russia to the Vatican
catacombs, time is rapidly shifting and changing into something
unrecognizable… and might just run out on both of them.</span><b> </b><br />
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7. Green But For A Season (Captive Prince Short Stories #1) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆<br />
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<span id="freeTextContainer17688840643996386097"><i>Green but for a Season</i> is the first of a series of four <i>Captive Prince</i> short stories. It follows the relationship between Jord and Aimeric and is set during the events of <i>Prince’s Gambit</i>.</span><br />
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8. The Summer Palace (Captive Prince Short Stories #2) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆☆<br />
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<span id="freeTextContainer14697508011068705070"><i>"When all this is over, we could take horses and stay a week in the palace..."</i><br /><br />Set after the events of the <i>Captive Prince</i> trilogy, The Summer Palace is a story about Damen and Laurent. It's an epilogue of sorts to the <i>Captive Prince</i> series.</span><br />
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9. It Ends With Us – Colleen Hoover ☆☆☆<br />
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<span id="freeText17872980423650950547">Lily hasn't always had
it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she
wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she
grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her
own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon
named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too
good to be true.<br /><br />Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a
little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft
spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is
disturbing.<br /><br />As questions about her new relationship overwhelm
her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the
past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When
Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is
threatened.<br /><br />With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen
Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground
for her as a writer. It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love
that comes at the ultimate price.<br /><br />This book contains graphic scenes and very sensitive subject matter.</span><br />
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10. The Two Gentlemen of Verona – William Shakespeare ☆☆<br />
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<span id="freeText6601562872653227368">The Two Gentlemen of
Verona is commonly agreed to be Shakespeare's first comedy, and probably
his first play. A comedy built around the confusions of doubling,
cross-dressing, and identity, it is also a play about the ideal of male
friendship and what happens to those friendships when men fall in love.</span><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/01/ill-give-you-sun-stardust-reread-reviews.html"><b>11. I'll Give You the Sun – Jandy Nelson ☆☆☆☆☆*</b></a><br />
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<span id="freeText14556617384573605587"><i>A brilliant,
luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of
John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell </i><br /><br /> Jude and her
twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah
draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next
door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and
does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah
are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in
different and dramatic ways . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken,
beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new
force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later
years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have
only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one
another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.<br /><br /> This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of <i>The Sky Is Everywhere</i> will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.</span> <b></b><br />
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<a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-bear-and-nightingale-stardust-arc.html"><b>12. The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden ☆☆☆1/2</b></a><b> </b><br />
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<br /><span id="freeText4916519064288870608">At the edge of the
Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts
grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter
nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings,
listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling
story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid
night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and
honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes
from evil.<br /><br />After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to
Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred,
Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household
spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing
that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.<br /><br />And
indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer,
and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother
grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious
stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.<br /><br />As
danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on
dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her
family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most
frightening tales.</span><br />
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<b><a href="http://thesestardustwords.blogspot.com/2017/01/history-is-all-you-left-me-stardust.html">13. History is All You Left Me – Adam Silvera ☆☆☆☆ </a></b><br />
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<span id="freeText1315515903761870802">When Griffin’s first
love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe
implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and
started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to
him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for
himself has gone far off course.<br /><br />To make things worse, the only
person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how
much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues.
He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive
choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart.<br /><br />If
Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his
history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.</span><br />
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14. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce ☆☆☆1/2<br />
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<span id="freeText5519628588863714351">The first, shortest, and most approachable of James Joyce’s novels, <i>A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man</i> portrays
the Dublin upbringing of Stephen Dedalus, from his youthful days at
Clongowes Wood College to his radical questioning of all convention. In
doing so, it provides an oblique self-portrait of the young Joyce
himself. At its center lie questions of origin and source, authority and
authorship, and the relationship of an artist to his family, culture,
and race. Exuberantly inventive in style, the novel subtly and
beautifully orchestrates the patterns of quotation and repetition
instrumental in its hero’s quest to create his own character, his own
language, life, and art: "to forge in the smithy of my soul the
uncreated conscience of my race."</span><br />
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<span id="freeText5519628588863714351">Caroline </span> Stardust Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02391139202695201107noreply@blogger.com1