Book Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Series: The 5th Wave #1

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Release Date: 7th May 2013

Read Date: 25th December 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, favourites, book review, 5, science fiction, YA fiction, dystopian

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Book Summary

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. 

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The begins who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother - or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Series: Howl's Moving Castle book #1
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: 1986
Read Date: 14th December 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, book review, YA fiction, fantasy, 3
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Book Summary

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl - and herself - than first meets the eye.

Book Review: Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Series: Firebird (book #2)

Will need to read the first book prior to this one

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: 3rd November 2015

Read Date: 5th December 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, 4, fantasy, romance, YA-fiction, book review

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Book Summary

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse - even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul's soul. The hunt sends her racing across a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

Book Review

Book Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (Book #4)

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Release Date: 10th November 2015

Read Date: 28th November 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, fairy tale, favourites, romance, science fiction, YA fiction, book review, 4

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Book Summary

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. 

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend - the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long. 

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

Book Review: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Standalone Novel

Publisher: Scribner

Release Date: 6th May 2014

Read Date: 28th August 2015

Tagged Under: 5, 2015 read, 2015 favourites, favourites, historical, literary, book review, adult fiction

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Book Summary

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure's reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum's most valuable and dangerous jewel. 

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure's converge.

Book Review: The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone

Standalone novel

Publisher: Redhook

Release Date: 20th October 2015

Read Date: 10th September 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 3, book review, review copy, new adult, mystery or thriller

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Book Summary

For fans of The Guild, New Girl, Scott Pilgrim, Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars, or anyone who has ever geeked out about something. 

The odds of Dahlia successfully navigating adulthood are 3,720 to 1. But never tell her the odds. 

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. Unemployed, broke, and on her last bowl of ramen, she's not living her best life. But that's all about to change. 

Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own, she's offered a job. A job that she's woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?). 

Turns out unfortunate decisions abound, and she's just the girl to deal with them.

Book Review: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Series: The Princess Diaries (Book #1)

Publisher: HarperTrophy

Release Date: 30th May 2000

Read Date: 20th September 2015

Tagged Under: 5, 2015 read, book review, audiobook, book to film adaptation, romance, YA-fiction

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Book Summary

Mia must take princess lessons from her dreaded grandmere, the dowager princess of Genovia, who thinks Mia has a thing or two to learn before she steps up to the throne. 

Well, her father can lecture her until he's royal-blue in the face about her princessly duty - no way is she moving to Genovia and leaving Manhattan behind. 

But what's a girl to do when her name is PRINCESS AMELIA MIGNONETTE GIRMALDI THERMOPOLIS RANALDO?

Book Review: The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

Standalone novel
Publisher: Vintage Australia
Release Date: 23rd September 2013
Read Date: 9th July 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, 5, adult fiction, favourites, historical, literary, book review
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Book Summary

A novel of the cruelty of war, and tenuousness of life and the impossibility of love. 

Richard Flanagan's story - of Dorrigo Evans, an Australian doctor haunted by a love affair with his uncle's wife - journeys from the caves of Tasmanian trappers in the early twentieth century to a crumbling pre-war beachside hotel, from a Thai jungle prison to a Japanese snow festival, from the Changi gallows to a chance meeting of lovers on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

Taking its title from 17th-century haiku poet Basho's travel journal, The Narrow Road to the Deep North is about the impossibility of love. At its heart is one day in a Japanese slave labour camp in August 1943. As the day builds to its horrific climax, Dorrigo Evans battles and fails in his quest to save the lives of his fellow POWs, a man is killed for no reason, and a love story unfolds.

Book Review: Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

Standalone Novel (semi-companion to Stitching Snow)

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Release Date: 6th October 2015

Read Date: 20th August 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, fairy tale, review copy, YA-fiction, science fiction, 4, book review

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Book Summary

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired. 

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: one word and her brothers are dead. 

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home - a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strenght and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Book Review: Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Standalone Memoir

Publisher: Dey St

Release Date: 28th October 2014

Read Date: 26th July 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, audiobook, non-fiction, memoir, 4.5, book review

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Book Summary

In Amy Poehler's highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy's charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.

Book Review

Book Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Standalone Novel
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Release Date: 1st September 2015
Read Date: 24th August 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, 3, book review, review copy, contemporary, YA-fiction, romance
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Book Summary

"My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I'm allergic to the world. I don't leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. 

"But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He's tall, lean and wearing all black - black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. 

"Maybe we can't predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It's almost certainly going to be a disaster."

Book Review

Series Review: Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

Number of Volumes: 23

Publisher: TokyoPop

Release Date: 1998 - 2006

Read Date: July 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, manga or graphic novel, 5, YA-fiction

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Series Summary

A family with an ancient curse... 

And the girl who will change their lives forever... 

Tohru Honda was an orphan with no place to go until the mysteriour Sohma family offered her a place to call home. Now her ordinary high school life is turned upside down as she's introduced to the Sohma's world of magical curses and family secrets.

Series Review

Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Standalone novel
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: 18th October 2007
Read Date: 12th June 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2, book review, YA-fiction
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Book Summary

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier. 

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. 

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Book Review

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Series: ACOTAR (Book #1)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Release Date: 5th May 2015
Read Date: 4th June 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, fairy tale, fantasy, new adult, review copy, romance, 4, book review
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Book Summary

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin - one of the lethal immortal faeries who once ruled their world. 

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transforms from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient and wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin - and his world - forever.

Book Review

Book Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Series: The Winner's Trilogy (Book #2)
Will need to read the first book prior to this one
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Release Date: 12th March 2015
Read Date: 4th February 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, fantasy, review copy, YA fiction, book review, 3
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Book Summary

Lady Kestrel's engagement to Valoria's crown prince calls for great celebration: balls and performances, fireworks and revelry. But to Kestrel it means a cage of her own making. Embedded in the imperial court as a spy, she lives and breathes deceit and cannot confide in the one person she really longs to trust... 

While Arin fights to keep his country's freedom from the hands of his enemy, he suspects that Kestrel knows more than she shows. As Kestrel comes closer to uncovering a shocking secret, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. 

Lies will come undone, and Kestrel and Arin learns just how much their crimes will cost them in this second book in the breathtaking Winner's trilogy.

Book Review [Spoiler Free]

Book Review: The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

Series: The Archived (Book #2)
Will need to read the first book prior to this one
Publisher: Hyperion
Release Date: 28th January 2014
Read Date: 9th January 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, fantasy, YA fiction, book review, 4
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Book Summary

Imaging a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. 

Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she started her junior year at Hyde School, she's struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn't easy - not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she's really safe. 

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She's sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. And unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she'll lose everything, not only her role as Keeper, but her memories, and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels? 

With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance and horror, The Unbound delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feels like two sides of the same coin.

Book Review [Spoiler Hidden As White Text]

Book Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Series: The Winner's Trilogy Book #1

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Release Date: 4th March 2014

Read Date: 3rd February 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 3, fantasy, YA-fiction, book review

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Book Summary

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love. 

As a general's daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. 

Arin's eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him - with unexpected consequences. It's not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she could ever have imagined.

Book Review: Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Standalone novel
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: 24th September 2013
Read Date: 1st February 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, paranormal, YA fiction, 5, fantasy, favourites, book review
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Book Summary

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world. 

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 superpowered person that he can find - aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible powers 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?

Book Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Series: prequel to The Lord of the Rings
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: 7th November 2013 (first published 1937)
Read Date: 6th January 2015
Tagged under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, fantasy, classics, favourites, book review, 5, book to film adaptation
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Book Summary

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-holes in Bag End. 

But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey "there and back again". They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon... 

The prelude to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century.

Book Review: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Series: The Archived (Book #1)

Publisher: Hyperion

Release Date: 22nd January 2013

Read Date: 8th January 2015

Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, fantasy, YA-fiction, book review, 4.5

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Book Summary

The dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead, called "Histories", rest in the Archive. 

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a tool for staying alive. 

Being a Keeper is dangerous and a constant reminder of those she lost, Da and her little brother. Mac wonders about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. Yet someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.