Top Ten Tuesday - the Rebel Version!

Top Ten Books to Read if everyone seems to be going to the beach....without you...

We don't go on vacations. I mean, we did go on a few road trips when I was a kid and my mom went camping with me once, but usually the money was needed elsewhere,so we stayed at home. Which has its perks, too. Everyone in my family was generously providing me with books that I devoured, I learned to speak and write in English more fluently and had a lot of time to be creative.

It can be annoying if you're the only one of your friends who's at home all summer -while they are on the beach. So here's my list of books to read in case you don't go to the beach!

1/2) The Harry Potter or Mortal Instruments Series

If it's your first time or your 13th reread doesn't matter. These epic series can be read over and over again, forward and backward, as well as in every language you could ever imagine ( in case you choose HP, at least) 

3) The Gossip Girl Series

If I didn't had so many other books to read, I'd totally make it my goal to spend the summer finishing the series. I always feel like whenever you start one of these books, you can't stop reading...

4) Looking for Alaska by John Green

If you haven't read it, now would be the perfect time since it's a book that really made me think. If you've read it once but - like me - still feel like you'd need a reread to get the story entirely, a long, hot and maybe sometimes boring summer is the perfect time to do so!

5) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

This is an adult book - and one I was really impressed with. Not a beach read at all, this book does need some concentration and will probably make you cry. It's worth it, though.

6) The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling 

This one is very, very sad, as well. It makes you think, no doubt about that! So if you feel like making your mind up about society - related topics, this one is for you!

7) Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus

Hey, stop! Before you declare me crazy, let me explain! It's true, I was/am a fan. But that's not why I recommend this book. I'm very aware it could be she doesn't even know what's written in there. The message that shines through the whole autobiography is a great one, though, and something everyone should remember once the summer is over and school starts (for those of you who, of course, still have to go).

8) Dear Bully (anthology)

Because everyone should read this book and summer usually gives you the time you might need to read all these stories.

9) Geek Girl by Holly Smale

If you find yourself bored or depressed on an otherwise beautiful summer day you might want to consider this book. It will have you on the floor laughing within the first two minutes.

10) Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

These books will totally transfer you to a place so much cooler and more exciting than the beach!!!

Review: The Rules by Stacey Kade

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

Hardcover, 416 pages

Published April 23rd 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

A Long Story Short:

The Rules is a must for everyone interested in YA - or good books in general. I completely underestimated it in the beginning, but it grew on me the second I started reading it.

The characters are sympathetic and three-dimensional, the narrating voices come with a good portion of wit and sarcasm and the plot keeps you on edge the whole entire time.

A definite three Smarties for this one!

Review for You:

The Rules was one of those books I try to stay away from. The kind that I get at my rare trips to Netgalley (usually in a state of absolute boredom) to entertain myself. The kind that sounds good but that I know I'll never actually be eager to start reading it. And then, of course, Netgalley lets me read it. And I am...torn. Because if you request a novel and get it (and maybe someone else therefore doesn't get it) you better go and read (and enjoy?) that treat.

So, eventually, I did. And I didn't just read it, oh no. I flew through it, devoured every page, found myself trying to catch my breath laughing and on the edge of drowning in tears.

Seriously, this was one of the best books I've read all year. 

First of all, this was conspiracy at its best. I love books where the whole plot and world is a mystery to you as a reader. Where page after page dark (family/business/governmental) secrets and intrigues are revealed and where at the end you have a completely new image of the world you thought you knew.

That's how I felt about everything going on in The Rules.

One of the perks of conspiracy in books is that people, obviously, aren't always what they seem to be and that made for not one but several serious turns in the story that I did not see coming at ALL, I promise you!

Something else I absolutely didn't expect in this book was humour and yet, it was there. 

I guarantee you, you won't be able to stop smirking once you get to know Ariane and her way of thinking/speaking. What she thinks about us humans - especially the teenage version - is just plain hilarious and made me think about myself and my (sometimes....) very shallow thoughts :) 

Ariane is only one of the alternating narrators, though, and this is what I had a little problem with. The two voices telling the story, Ariane and Zane, in my opinion where way too similar. I don't think I could have always told immediately who was telling the story if it weren't for the names in front of every chapter.

As I said, though, that didn't bother me too much and the story was still absolutely funny and unique.

I'd say The Rules overall is a lot easier to read than Dan Well's Partials but it comes with the same kinds of plot twists and suspense. Other similar books would be Tempest and especially Vortex by Julie Cross.

I can only recommend this book to everyone even if you might not be interested in aliens/Sci-Fi or conspiracy theories. The Rules should definitely be on your TBR pile :)

Oh, the Places You'll Go...

There are days when Pinterest and Tumblr are killing me. Seriously, it's like looking at Pictures of friends you don't talk to anymore. I get all teary and nostalgic and miss going somewhere SO freaking much.

I think as we get older most of us (and especially the Internet Junkies among us) just crave to see places, meet People, grow wings and fly far, far away. 

I, for example, crave to see Japan. And Asia in general. China, Tokyo, Russia. I want to see India and Sweden and Finland and Great Britain, of course. I want to visit African countries and surf in Australia. Most of all I want to go to the US at some point in my life, but most of you guys know that already, so I thought I'd put it at the end.

My point is, travelling the world is one of my biggest goals in life. 

You know, all that "hippie" talk about being wild and free? I like that. 

After all, we only have one life and even if it's going to be a long one, I still think we should make the best out of every day we get.

I mean, you've got to pay rent and food somehow, I'm aware of that. 

However, this week's Top Ten Tuesday (travel was the topic, in case you missed it) really reminded me of all the travelling I've yet to do.

It doesn't even matter where I'd go. I see a picture of say...Thailand, and I decide that I'd really like to go there someday.

Now, I know that at age eighteen I'm still very young and most people my age don't get to travel much before they got a proper education and the job to pay for it, but - at the same time I think that eighteen is a much better age to start seeing the world than say...30 would be. 

I guess it comes along with turning into an adult that you think the world will open up for you  like a magical door on the day of your birthday while actually, it's always you who has the key.

So, where do you want to go really badly right now? And - even more interesting - where do you come from? The Internet is SO awesome for getting to know people from all over the world and I'd like to know more about you :) So tell me in the comments, please!

Greetings,

the Booksmartie

Review: My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short.

Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.

A magical, suspenseful, heartbreaking story of true love, My Name is Memory proves the power and endurance of a union that was meant to be.

Long Story Short: 

You get a handful with this book. It lets you visit very interesting times in history and places in the world, it introduces unique characters with great personalities, it shows the development of a man throughout the centuries. It has - as the synopsis says - a very magical, mystical touch. However, you have to be up for an open ending (and, I promise) frustration to go with it.

RATING: 2/3 Smarties

Review:

This book was a bit weird. Interesting. Different from what I ususally read.
Let's start with what I liked.

My Name is Memory definitely reminds me of Alyson Noel's The Immortals Series - the premise is basically the exact same thing. You could even see the book as some kind of prequel to Damen's story,because the concept is so similar.

Special about the book is that Brashares does not put a too heavy focus on the Paranormal aspect. She weaves Daniel's ability and Lucy's reaction into the real world and makes her concept almost sound like reality - or, at least, like a very philosophical discussion. On top of that, I did not expect the author to put so much emphasis on Daniel's other lives and his story and development. However, by doing that she brought historical elements into the story which gave it an even more unique touch.

The basic idea and the way Brashares brought it to paper is something I really, really admire. Not only is this novel different from every YA book I've ever read, it also appeared way more mature and grown - up than most YA books.

The characters fit into that scheme perfectly. Both, Daniel and Lucy, were very calm and centered. In school, they were the kind of people who didn't reallly belong with anyone but got along with everyone and then later, they just seem to lead their own, a bit lonely lives. 

This could have been something to ruin the book completely, because especially Lucy's life in college was not enough to entertain me throughout the whole entire book. As I said before, though, Lucy doesn't even play that a big role in the first half of the book - the focus is on Daniel's story - which helped the reader connect to Daniel as the MC and get to know him while still seeing how he developed throughout the years.

One thing that bothered me a bit was how the real villain was only introduced towards the ending. With all the flashbacks to Daniel's past Brashares did give enough story to keep me glued to the book, but letting the antagonist into the game at such a late point left me with the feeling of a rushed ending.

The ending in general gets a big no from me,too. It didn't work (for me) at all! First, we get to shiver and hope that our characters will finally find to each other, then we get something that kind of looks like a cheesy happy ending and then we're left in the dark without a sequel? A cliffhanger at the ending of a standalone is a complete no-go for me, so that's why ultimately I can't recommend this book very enthusiastically. If you like Brashares's writing style and/or are looking for somehting unique in the YA - universe then yes, give it a try. If not, leave it be. 

Wishlist Wednesday - a boy, in Tokyo - I Don't Think I Need More Than That!

The book I chose this week features a boy who does his soul searching in probably one of the most interesting settings you could ever imagine - Tokyo! It really doesn't get much cooler than that :)

Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man-death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity. 

Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.

Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.

When he gets a letter from his mom's property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died

Top Ten Books Featuring Travel In Some Way

1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

I was actually one of the people who hoped SO much that the last HP book would - despite all odds - take place in Hogwarts. The fact that it didn't, though, proved once and for all Rowling's ability to create a world in our real one - even outside of a boarding school.

2)Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Time travel! Seriously,I really crave a dystopian/sci-fi novel where people time travel just like we go to other countries these days... :)

3)Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This was a must on the list. Anna is an American girl, starting her senior year at a boarding school in France. I was not at all interested in France before (terrible, evil French teacher!), but Stephanie Perkins made it one of the places I want to see most in my life.

4)The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

This one is not exactly a travel book in the truest scense, either. We get to follow the MC through his life and as he is growing up, he does travel a lot...in a way. You'll just have to read the book to get what I mean :)

5)Shadow and Bone

There's travel in the beginning, then not anymore, but that's not the point, anyway. Siege and Storm (the sequel) is coming out this month (today even?) and if you've been waiting  for a sign to read it THIS IS IT!!!

6) A Midsummer's Nightmare

Again, the MC travels in the beginning and it takes place over one summer,so at least in my (weird) mind, this makes sense. The MC definitely has to adjust to a new environment and completely new people and that is, after all, almost like travelling.

7) Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

I have a hard time calling this book a travel book, as travelling is usually what I associate happy thoughts with - and Lina's journey is everything but. Anyway, the novel does take the reader on a journey and I honestly think this book is SO important for all of us to read. It's not only amazingly written, it's also immensely educating.

8) Defiance by CJ Redwine

9)Going Bovine by Libba Bray

This is a book I actually didn't really like. It features a journey through a magical world - and it had the one thing in it that I always fear. It's why I don't like to read books that feature journeys in general - too many stops, not enough plot to keep me entertained. If journeys take too long I usually get unbelievably bored.

10) Under the Never Sky and Through the Evernight by Veronika Rossi

If you think about it, these two books are only about travel. Because the characters are moving almost all the time. Different from other travel books,though, this doesn't slow the story down or make it dragging. Rossi managed to put action, character development and worldbuilding right into the journey- which turned out to be amazing!

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Hardcover, 462 pages

Published May 28th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

A Long Story Short:

Dare You To is a great contemporary read with realistic, unique characters and a writing style that can give you goosebumps. The alternating narrators were absolutely perfect and gave the reader not only a great perspective on the plot, but also more insight in each of the main characters' feelings. The novel could have been shorter, though, in my opinion and I don't think it can keep up with the companion novel, Pushing the Limits.

RATING:

3/3 Smarties

Review for You: 

There are several things to consider before uttering my final opinion on this book. I could simply say that I liked it, it was great, actually, but that - compared to Pushing the Limits - Dare You To just couldn't deliver. It'd even be the truth...just not...the whole truth.

1) Pushing the Limits Came as A Surprise

And a big one. I had never even heard of Katie McGarry before! And I didn't believe NetGalley would even let me read the book (I was a blogging baby, a really small one at that). Then I got it and kind of didn't want to read it, but also couldn't just dismiss it, so I started reading. And I hated it at the beginning. And then BOOM - I loved it. Noah and Echo and MrsCollins and everything was just SO perfect! With Dare You To it was the other way round. I liked it - but I expected to be blown away by it. Did I set my expectations (unrealistically) high? Probably. Did it ruin the book for me? By all means -no!

2) Dare You To is a Companion Novel

Why is that a problem, you ask? Well, it has something to do with no.1. As I said, I loved Pushing the Limits and after finishing it, I could not let go of Noah and Echo. And then in Dare You To, they are mentioned several times. And they are in the book. Just never...for long. I felt like I was in a love triangle with two books (oh man, I should stop writing right now and try to get help. Seriously.) I wanted to love Dare You To, but I couldn't get Pushing the Limits out of my head (there. I wrote it. This is bad.)

3) I Read What the Next Companion is Supposed to Be About

Okay, this is completely superficial and shallow, too, but after I finished Dare You To, there was a sentence at the end of the book that introduced the reader to Katie McGarry's next book. Which will be about Isajah. Honestly? That shattered me. Because the one and only person that I could not stand in Dare You To, the one character I absolutely disliked about it was - of course - Isaiah.

Now, all of these things are not something the author did wrong or could have changed. They are all aspects that made it harder for me to give this book the appreciation it deserves, because, trust me, it does. Katie McGarry is a really, really talented author - not only but especially when it comes to the characters. 

Beth and Ryan were fleshed out, thoughtfully created characters. To me, they were like actors completely living in their roles. Also, they were sympathetic. I liked Beth for her strength, of course, but also for her sense of humor and for her attitude. 

Ryan was...protective of girls. Every girl. And as cute as it is to look at a guys who will open doors and apologize and be polite - sometimes he exaggerated. Much. That's why the things he said appeared a bit flat and superficial to me. If a boy in real life talked to me like that I would maybe even be offended. It's one thing to be nice and polite. It's a completely different thing to not let a girl fight for herself just because she's a girl.

But maybe that's just me.

The different points of view were, of course, amazingly done again.I wouldn't even have had to read the characters' names at the beginning of every chapter. The voices were so different that it was perfectly clear at all times who was the one talking.

When it comes to plot I had my doubts from the beginning. Dares, in my opinion, are always a difficult thing in novels because we all know how they end but we have to wait until the very end to read about it - which can be dragging and I'm sorry to say that I did find Dare You To a bit dragging. 

There was a lot of back and forth, it took the love interests forever to get together and even then every little problem resulted into big drama.

Anyway, I make this book sound bad, which I really don't want to do.

Overall, I enjoyed it a LOT. Especially during the first half I couldn't stop reading, that's how amazing it was. I did not find it as mindblowing as Pushing the Limits but STILL. It was an amazing read and I'd recommend it to everyone - contemporary fan or not.