BOOK REVIEW: Everything Everything

Hello All,

Guess what? I finished another book! Yup I've been a reading fiend lately. For those of you who may be interested that means I've read 7 books (As Old As Time, When It Happens {No review}, Since You've Been Gone, Just One Day, Anna and the French Kiss & The Hating Game) out of my goal of 15! That means that I am 47% of the way towards my goal and two books ahead of schedule. Now that all those boring stats are out of the way let's talk about the most recent book. Was it everything?

The seventh book I read this year was Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon. This book wasn't orginally on my To-Be Read List mainly because it was so hyped up and I often avoid books that are too hyped. That is until they get made into movie, then I have to read them. Which is why I decided to read Everything Everything. And for all of you who haven't seen the Everything Everything movie trailer yet I'll add it right now.

Looks cute right? Plus I love the male actor (Nick Robinson) from his days on Melissa and Joey. So, I had to see but I wanted to read the book first because 8 out of 10 times I feel the book is better then movie. So, one day when I was at Barnes and Noble buying a different book I decided to pick it up.

Everything Everything follows the main character Madeline who has SCIDs which basically means that everything and anything can make her sick. Because of that her mom keeps her indoors in order to keep her safe. One day a boy named Ollie moves in next door and almost imedatily Madeline is enthralled. They start a relationship via emails and IM. The more Madeline gets to know Ollie the more she wants to get to know the rest of the world. 

I read a few reviews on Good Reads where people stated that they feel that Madeline is a very selfish character.  But I didn't feel that she was. Instead I felt that she was a character who was too sheltered and never got a chance to make her decisions. I didn't fault her for being selfish, I actually loved that she had a selfish feeling to her. 

There was a plot twist to the novel but I guessed it about one hundred pages in. I didn't want to believe that it could be the actual twist. And then it was and I loved it! It made sense with the rest of the book and instead of being angry about the twist I had a feeling of empathy towards the situation. I'm trying to be vague so I don't give it away.

My least favorite part of the novel was the ending. It went by way to quickly and I wanted to know more about what happened next. I had more questions about where the characters lives will go from there.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. It doesn't surpass The Hating Game for me but I still really enjoyed it. On a scale of 1-5 with five being AMAZING and one being horrible I rated this book a 4.20. I would recommend the book to the typical I love cheesey Young Adult book readers. 

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Have you read Everything Everything? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments down below.

BOOK REVIEW: The Hating Game

Hello All, 

I'm chugging along with 2017 reading goal and I am 40% done with it! That's right I've read 6 books out of my goal of 15. (Read reviews: As Old As Time, Since You've Been Gone, Just One Day, Anna and the French Kiss) Recently I have been super into reading, the 45 minutes to an hour each day that I have set aside to read is a time that I look forward to, especially with this last book. So, without further ado let me tell you about what has been my favorite book so far this year.

The sixth book that I read this year was The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. This book followed the narrator, Lucy who is the executive assistant of the co-CEO of a large publishing house. She spends most of her day playing "games" like the Staring Games with other executive assistant, Josh. And she believes she knows one thing, she HATES Josh. But after the announcement of a potential promotion the two start being push together more often and Lucy starts to question just how much she really knows. 

I discovered this book thanks to Gabby from gabbyreads on YouTube.  In a few of her videos she raved about this book and since almost every other book I've discovered from her I loved I decided to give this one a shot. And I was hooked by the end of chapter two. 

First is that I loved both the characters. Lucy was confused and self conscious about the changes in her relationship with Josh without be obnoxious. And Josh felt like a much more likable verison of Christian Grey from the widely popular book series Fifty Shades of Grey. He has his demons and was distant without having the slightly abusive feeling to him. 

The romance was the perfect pace, the feelings at least from Lucy's side (the only side we truly get to see) felt natural. One of my favorite things about romance in books is when the moments between the two romantic leads give me butterflies. So many of the moments between Lucy and Josh gave me intense butterflies.

The one of the things about the book that I didn't like was the timeline and the pacing. It often felt like the interview for their big promotion was coming up quickly  but then all the sudden it was still over a week away. I would often get confused by that. But if we're being honest I might have been missing reading the time line. If you have read the book or if you do let me know if this something you struggled with.

The other thing that I didn't really like was the ending. Yes, the book and the loose ends were tied up nicely but for me the moment fell pretty flat. Especially after so many of the moments throughout the novel gave me butterflies. I just didn't experience them in the last chapter and I feel like with this book I should have.

Overall on a scale of 1 to 5 I rated this books a 4.75. I highly recommend this book to just about anyone especially if you like contemporary romances.

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 Did you read the hating game? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments down below.

*This post was not sponsored by any of the linked sites. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own 

and I was in no way compensated for mentioning them ***

BOOK REVIEW: Anna and the French Kiss

Hello All,

I am chugging along in my goal of reading 12 books this year. I don't think I'll exceed it but I do believe that I will at least meet it by reading fifteen books. If you've missed out on the pass reviews you can read them: As Old As Time, Since You've Been Gone, Just One Day and When It Happens which I never got around to reviewing. So, without further ado here's my book review for Anna and the French Kiss.

Anna and the French Kiss follows the main character Anna during her senior year of high school while she studies at the American Academy in France. When she first arrives she is miserable because she didn't want to leave her high school in Atlanta, her best friend Bridget and the boy who maybe might be her boyfriend, Toph. But after a few weeks Anna isn't thinking about Atlanta as much because she's made a new friends and meet a new boy named Etienne St. Clair. Soon her heart is conflicted between the boy back home and the cute boy with an English accent. 

This book became part of my To-be read list because many book-tubers compared it to my favorite contemporary novel To All The Boys I Loved Before (Find it on Good Reads). Within the first few pages I knew that I didn't have the same feeling and magic that I felt when I read To All the Boys I Loved Before. That doesn't mean this it wasn't good, it was just too obvious to me. 

When it came to the romance of the novel it was good. From the summary you know exactly who Anna is going to end up with. And you see the good of him and the bad. He feels like someone that you could potential fall in love with if that is the personality you're into. But Anna is an annoying cliche of young adult character who seems to know exactly who she is into but is to stubborn to admit it to herself. Because of that the romance felt to drawn out,  especially during the last few chapters. 

There were a few side characters. And although I don't believe that side characters need to be looked at too in depth I do appreciate when they are. The author looked into one of the character's past and who she is. But every time I became invested in the character she would move on with the story and almost forget her. 

My final complaint of the book is that there were too many love triangles. Everyone was interested in either Anna or St. Clair which felt somewhat unrealistic to me. Like is there really no other appealing people at their high school? 

I know I've done a lot of complaining but don't get me wrong there were pieces I loved. I love reading a book that took place in France and the description of different areas that people who live there would go rather then touristy places. There were also references to old movies which I loved as well because I love movies.

I know I just crapped on the romance a few paragraphs ago but there were certain parts of their relationships I loved. The build up to their first kiss gave me butterflies. There were other small moments that made giddy but I don't want to give to much away. I think for a first love story that the characters are experiencing it's a great story and brings you back to that high school puppy love feels.

On my ranking scales of 1 to 5 stars with 1 being horrible and 5 being amazing I ranked Anna and the French Kiss a 3.85. I really enjoyed the love story but some of the other technical parts of the book that I didn't really enjoy.

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Have you read Anna and the French Kiss? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments down below.

BOOK REVIEW: Just One Day

Hello All,

I have officially finished book 4 of my 2017 reading goal! In case you've missed the reviews so far this year you can catch them there ---> Since You've Been Gone & As Old As Time (I didn't write one for the second book I read because I was so busy right around the time I finished it). According to Good Reads I am 27% of the way through my 2017 reading goal of 15 books! But that's not why you guys came here, you came here to read a book review so let's get started.

The fourth book I read this year was Just One Day by Gayle Forman (I added the Good Reads link because it tells you places where you can buy it).  Which follows the character Allyson through one year of her life. It starts at the end of her summer trip the summer between high school and college. The biggest and most exciting summer of your life. On the last day of the trip she meets a Dutch boy named, Willem and the two of them go to France for just one day. The next morning she wakes up and Willem is gone and she spends the rest of the year attempting to find Willem again as well as find the girl she was that day in France. 

This book has been on my To Be Read list for such a long time. Mainly because I loved the books If I Stay and Where She Went by the same author, Gayle Forman (You can read the joint review I wrote here). I had heard in a few different places that these books was not as good as the fore mentioned novels. But I still wanted to give this book a chance. And to be honest I agree with the opinion I've seen floating around the internet. 

I guess I should start with my biggest issue, I didn't like the main character of the novel. I felt like she spend the majority of the novel complaining instead of doing something about her issues. She also came across as very judgy in my opinion. In fact I think the only character she didn't judge harshly was Willem. 

After reading the back summary of the novel I knew that the majority of the book would follow Allyson life post the day with Willem but she spend 100 of the 360-some odd page novel with Willem. Which was good to build the love connection between Allyson and Willem but it made the rest of the book feel rushed. There were pieces of her life post that day that I would have loved to learn more about. 

The ending to me also felt like it drew on forever. Like I kept thinking I was at the end and there was still like twenty more pages. Maybe if I had liked the character more then I would have like how drawn out it felt but I just wanted her to figure it out what she wanted.

As much as I didn't like the book I do plan to eventually read it's sequel, Just One Year which follow Willem through the same year. Maybe I'll like Willem more. Although I won't be reading it right away because I need a break from these characters.

I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to. I don't want to say no one because there is a very huge chance that because I didn't like the main character I wasn't able to see the positive side of this book. I feel that this book has the potential to be read by someone at that exact time in their life when they need to read it and have the message help them through whatever hurdle they are struggling with. So, maybe I would recommend it to anyone who is sitting on the edge of who they were and who they are going to be, people going through a huge life change.

I like to rate the books I read on a scale of 5. I've gone back and forth about what I was going to rate this book and I have decided that this book is getting a 3.25 on my scale. The writing was good and the story was a good concept I just didn't love the other elements. 

Have you read Just One Day? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below.

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*This post was not sponsored by any of the linked sites. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own 

and I was in no way compensated for mentioning them ***

BOOK REVIEW: Since You've Been Gone

Hello All,

I'm back with another post! I'm actually trying to marathon write post today so that there may be content on my blog again. I know I've been bad, if you miss me I have been active on YouTube (same name as blog), Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat which all use the user name @judy_judy94. But that's not important. Today I am here to do another book review!

I have officially completed my third book this year! My goal is to read at least fifteen books this year and review as many as possible. I did review the first one (You can read it here) although I didn't review the second one because I was pretty busy around the time I finished it and never got around to writing it. 

So, what was the third book I read this year? I read Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. Which a book about Emily during the summer between junior and senior year of high school. She goes away on family vacation and returns to find out her best friend, Sloane, has basically disappeared. But Sloane left behind a list of challenges for Emily to complete. The list was:

 1. Kiss a stranger 

2. Go Skinny Dipping 

3. Steal Something 

4. Break Something 

5. Penelope 

6. Ride a horse 

7. 55 S. Avenue, ask for Mona 

8. The Backless dress and somewhere to wear it 

9. Dance until dawn 

10. Share some secrets in the dark 

11. Hug a Jamie 

12. Apple picking at dawn 

13. Sleep under the stars. 

Emily becomes convinced that if she completes all these activities she will find Sloane. Along the way Emily develops a friendship with classmates Frank and Collins. And with Dawn the girl who works in the pizza place next to the ice cream shop Emily works in. Along with the help of her new friends Emily sets off to cross things off her list. 

I must say I loved this book. At the beginning I was worried I would hate the book because Emily fell in a YA troupe I'm not a huge fan of, where the main character is shy and let's her loud best friend does all the "talking" for her. But the more I got to know Emily the more I liked her. Matson also did a great shop of showing the good and bad of having a best friend like that. 

I love reading books that have a romantic element, even if it's not the main element. This book did have a sub plot of romance and I will say I shipped Emily with the book's love interest so hard. Although there was a character who was Emily's boyfriend from before the story started that I low key liked him a little more. 

My favorite part of the book was how developed the side characters were. I feel like I truly got to know the side characters and really could put myself into Emily's shoes. So, many of these characters feel like they could one day get their own novels and stories. 

Overall I rated this book a 4.35 out of 5. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoy YA books, especially if you like the more emotional adventure ones or the ones about friendships. 

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Have you read Since You've Been Gone? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments below!

BOOK REVIEW: As Old As Time

Hello All,

This year I made a Good Reads goal of reading fifteen books over the next twelve months. And I am excited to be able to say that I have officially finished the first book! And since I love to share my opinions on books and movies on this lovely blog I decided I would review it!

The first book I read this year was the novel As Old As Time by Liz Braswell. Which is the third novel in Braswell's series A Twisted Tale. I have not read the first two books in this series though because I believe that they are all stand alone books that have the common theme of re-telling traditional Disney movies. 

In this case the book re-told the story of The Beauty and the Beast which is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. The twist in this novel is that the Enchantress who be-witches the Beast is actually Belle's mother. Together Belle and the Beast have to break the curse and try to uncover the mystery of the real reason the Enchantress cursed the beast. 

This novel is broken into three parts. The first part is written in Flashbacks where we see Maurice and Belle's mother meet and fall in love. But it also re-tells the first part of The Beauty and the Beast. The re-telling is pretty much exactly what we see in the animated classic. During this part I question whether I wanted to put it down and give up or continue on. 

When I got to the second part I was glad I did. This is when the novel starts to twist on the original story and bring life to a new story. I was also really excited for this part because I was hoping to get a better idea of why Belle and the Beast were such a perfect match (But more on that later). While at the same time keeping to the original story when we saw what Maurice was going through.

The final part of the novel was a little bit of a let down. By this point I had pretty much guessed why everything happened the way it had happened. And was even disappointed by the answer to one of the mysteries. The last chapter of the book made want a sequel though because Braswell left it open for Belle and the Beast to start a whole new adventure. But from what I've seen online there doesn't seem to be a sequel in the works. 

Now the piece of the book I was most excited about was to really get to see what made Belle and the Beast such an amazing couple. I mean in a book that is almost 500 pages long we had to get an in-depth look at the characters. But in that regards I was disappointed. I learned a little more about Belle as a person. And good amount more about the Beast's past. But I didn't romantically ship them. I didn't find myself hoping they'd get together...I would have been just as happy to see them shake hands and go there separate ways. That was something that disappointed me to no ends because they are such an iconic Disney couple. 

Overall I rated this book a 3.75 out of 5. It was very close to making it to 4 stars but the slow start and the lack of romantic connection between the leads did hurt it in my ratings. With that being said I know everyone has their own taste so I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy or fairy tale novels and someone with an open mind when it comes to telling the story in a different way. Although I WOULD NOT recommend this book to anyone who is a big fan of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and who wouldn't want to see the story change. 

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Have you read As Old as Time? If so, did you enjoy it? How would you rate it? Let me know in the comments down below. 

BOOK REVIEW: Hunger Games - Catching Fire

Hello All,

Remember last week when I wrote my Hunger Games review and I said that I was flying through the books? Well I already finish the second book in the series, Catching Fire and I figured that this is the prefect time to write a book review. 

This book was just a captivating as the first one. I loved the story of the time before the Quarter Quell and getting to know what Katniss was like after the games and how they really effected her and Peeta. There also this weird comfort during the time pre-games, I'm not sure how to explain. I guess Suzanne Collins did such a good job at writing the traditions of the Hunger Games that I felt like a was a citizen of Panem and watching the Hunger Games was something that I did every year.

Once again the romance of the novel swept me up. It broke my heart that at the beginning Peeta and Katniss were barely talking. But as the book progressed their dynamic came back. Every time Peeta said something sweet to Katniss I swooned. He is just so sweet and so in love with her and so confident that he couldn't love anyone half as much as he loved her. 

Once again I didn't see the chemistry between Katniss and Gale that would possess people to be #TeamGale. In this book they talk about how during the Hunger Games the Capitol came up with the lie that Gale was Katniss' cousin. And I feel like in the back of Katniss' mind she looks at Gale like her cousin. But hey that's just the way that I'm reading it.

My major complaint when it comes to this installment is the fact that the end of the book, namely when they are in the arena. It moved a lot slower than the time in the arena in the during the first book. Especially because there were so many events jam packed into what was supposed to be a short period of time. But yet it dragged on for what felt like forever!

All and all I really enjoyed this book. I have (while I'm writing this) 10 days before the semester starts (about a day when this published) and my goal is to finish reading the final novel because even though I've seen the movies and know how they end, I want to finish the series and really know how it ends.

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Have you read Catching Fire? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments down below.

BOOK REVIEW: The Hunger Games

Hello All,

Leave it to me to finish the one book I needed in order to cross off one of my 2015 Goals on the first day of 2016. But I finished it and I wanted to review it. I know that you can find reviews for this book all over the internet, but I wanted to share my opinion on it. 

Right around Thanksgiving I went and saw Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. I left that movie wanting to either watch all four of the movies or read the books. I bought the first novel back before going on my 2014 Disney Cruise with the idea that I would read it on my trip. But I read The Fault in our Stars instead. I kept looking at the book with the idea of reading it. Almost every trip I have gone on I have packed the book with the idea of reading it. But I always got side tracked with another book. But when I moved home this break I started reading it.

There was something about the first chapter. I always had a hard time getting past the first chapter. Not because it wasn't good. But actually because I couldn't picture it. But after seeing the movies I really could picture what was going on. And I started burning through those chapters like nobody's business.

When you look at how much happens in the book you would think that it would last forever and move slowly but it didn't.  This book is beautifully paced. There a perfect combination of life before the games, life after the games and the time during the games. There is also a perfect amount of time between each kill. I never got to point where I wished things would start moving faster.

As much as I loved the action my favorite part of the book was the romance. Peeta and Katniss have chemistry from the beginning. And Katniss confusion between how she feels about Peeta and how she feels about Gale is extremely relatable. Plus every time that Peeta did something sweet or romantic I got all smiley like it was actually happening to me. And then wanted to yell at Katniss for being too dense that she can't see how much he loved her.

I have already started reading the sequel, Catching Fire and have been blowing through the second one faster then I flew through the first one. I can't wait to finish the books and re-watch the movies. I also was super impressed by how much of the book was included in the movies. There were only a couple of big storylines that I notice were missing but other than that it was well converted.

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Have you read The Hunger Games? What did you think of the book? Let me know in the comments below.

My 2016 Goals {Introduction}

Hello All,

I can't believe that's in 2016 already! For the last two years (2014 & 2015) I have come up with a list of goals to try to accomplish in the the new year. I focus on goals rather then resolution because I'm not looking to change myself I am looking to make a my year a memorable year. Every year I share my goals in the beginning of January and then check-in at the end of March, June, September and December so I can see how I am doing on those goals.

1. Go to the gym 2 times a week

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Most years I make a goal to start eating better and going to the gym. But this year I'm going to focus on going to the gym. I feel like 2 times a week is a manageable number of days to go to the gym every week. Plus I can work it into my schedule and maybe even work up to going more then twice a week. In the past I have enjoyed going to the gym but was bad at keeping up with it.

2. Either cross or start planning to cross 3 items off my Bucket List

Like a said above I want to make my years memorable and I want to live a life where I collect memories instead of things. So, this year I want to try and complete 3 items off the list. And if I can't complete them I want to at least start planning the items, like planning a trip. I think that this goal is should be pretty accomplishable. Actually looking over the list again I can tell that 3 items is very much accomplishable. 

3. Finish 1 Blanket for my 180 Blanket for 180 Days

Every year the number of blanket I want to make goes down but this year I am determined to finish at least one blanket. I really want to do something good in the world with my talents and I have the talent to make blankets so why not make blankets for sick kids.

4. Read 6 Books That Aren't for School

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I love to read books and I read almost every night before I got to sleep when I'm home. In 2015 I got so close to finish 6 books but came up one book short. This year I want to try and finish the 6 books. In fact its less then a week into the year and I already finished my first book (keep an eye out for the book review). 

5. Start Recording My Budget

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I found a format on Excel that helps you keep track of how you're spending your money. This year I really want to do a better job of keeping track of how much I'm spending and where. Because in the next year I would love to work towards buying a new car and start planning my first European adventure. 

6. Get My Room At Home in Check

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At this time next year I will most likely be moving back to my mom's house, pretty much for good. Because of that I want my room at home to seem just right so I can enjoy it when I'm living at home again.

7. Go on 5 Blog Worthy Adventures

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I love sharing all the adventures I have on this blog. And this year is bound to packed with some awesome adventures. I can't wait to share all of them with you guys!

8. Work my butt off at school

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I only have two semesters left in college and I want to make them count. I want to get the best grades that I possibly can and I want to make sure that I'm proud with how I leave school. I learned a lot this last semester about putting school first and I plan to bring that into this coming semester.

9. Come up with fun content for the bloggy and my YouTube Channel

I feel like sometimes I let my blog and especially my YouTube channel seem like my lowest priority. And although I have some priorities that come before these outlets they are both still really important to me and I want to come up with some really cool content.

I think this year I'm going to end my goals with a solid 9. I think that all of these goals are manageable and trackable. I am so excited about 2016 and I have such a good feeling about this year. 

What are your goals for 2016? Let me know in the comments below.

BOOK REVIEW: The Third Twin

Hello All,

Recently I have been having a really hard time finding books that can keep my attention for more then a couple days or that truly interests me. I have started about three books this summer that I haven't been able to finish because I was just bored and couldn't get into the book. But this week I finally finished a book and now its time to review it.

In the past week I read the book The Third Twin by CJ Omololu. The book is about two teenage twins, Ava and Lexi. When they were young if they broke a rule they would tell their dad that their triplet, Alicia, did it. As the twins grew up the twins would pretend to be Alicia when they dated boys that they didn't deem good enough to date them.  But when one of the boys that Alicia dated ends up murder Lexi (the more responsible twin) gets worried that the cops are going to connect them to them and wants to quit the Alicia thing. Ava is very nonchalant about it and wants to keep up with charade. But when a second boy that Alicia has dated ends up dead too, Lexi finds herself the number one suspect.

This book moved very slowly through about 75% of the book. But I don't know if the author could have written it any other way in order to add in all the detail. Even though I understand why the author might have drawn it out so much I will say that I wasn't a big fan of how long it took for the first murder to happen and then how long it was between the first and second murder. There were times where I had to keep checking the book cover because it took almost 200 pages for the book to hit the end of the summary. 

For me very few of the characters had depth, a lot of them felt stereotypical following a semi stereotypical path. For example the identical twins had one nerdy sister who worked really hard in school. While they other one was very self absorbed, paid more attention to boys and being popular rather then paying attention to school. 

My favorite part of the book though was how the mystery was written. For the first about 150 pages I was convinced I knew who the killer was and was probably who the killer want us to believe was killer all along. But then there was this moment and it clicked. I realized who the killer really was and I loved the twisted. At the moment it felt like it was completely out of left field. But now a day after finishing it I keep thinking of moments where hints are dropped. The ending made sense and was perfect because it was predictable.

Although I spend to paragraphs down playing the book I actually really would recommend it.Mainly because the twist was so perfect. The author did such an amazing job building up the suspense and dropping small hints that you'd really have to pay attention in order to pick up on. I think I would give it 7 out of 10 stars.

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BOOK REVIEW: P.S. I Still Love You

Hello All,

I know I have been missing from this blog a lot recently. This whole sharing a computer thing has been hard but hopefully by the end of August I will once again have my own computer and we'll get back on a schedule. But I'm here now and I want to talk about this book I read.

Now if you were around these parts about a year ago, 1 thank you for sticking with me. But 2 you may remember a book review I wrote for To All the Boys I've Loved Before. In that book I raved about how much I loved this book and how I wanted Jenny Han (The author) to write a sequel. Well a few weeks after that post was published I learned that she was going to be writing a sequel and then I waited a whole year to read the sequel.

In this book titled PS I Still Love You Lara Jean and Peter decide to be in a relationship for real. Everything is going pretty well until a video is leaked of Lara Jean and Peter making out in a hot tub (a scene from the first novel) and tension starts to grow between the couple. That only gets worse when Peter starts hanging out with his ex-girlfriend and Lara Jean receives a response from one of her final love letter she sent out. Slowly their relationship gets more filled with tension as they start to wonder if they can trust one another. 

I will be honest with you I didn't enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first one. I didn't read it as fast and I wasn't as hooked. I felt like Peter who was my favorite character in the first book seemed to have done a completely 180 and it didn't seem realistic to me.It was like he had become a whole new character and I didn't like it.

It also felt like it took longer for this story to actually start. I knew that the guy was going to be getting the letter because I read the summary. But it felt like it took him FOREVER to get his letter and respond. 

The things I did like about the book were that I still felt a very deep relationship with the main character. I also loved the ending! For the most part this book gave some really good closure but it still left me with some questions. 

Would I recommend this book? If you read this book and still have questions then yes read this book because they'll probably be answer. If you read the first book and don't have questions then I would say don't read the book because it really wasn't as good. And if you haven't read the first book then go read the first books and see above.

Have you read the sequel? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below.

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BOOK REVIEW: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Hello All,

 

While you guys are reading this book review I'm up in Boston getting ready to go to a Red Sox game. You could say I'm pretty excited to be going on an adventure. But while I'm away (if only for a few days) I left you guys a book review to read.

 

So the 3rd book I read this summer was Jesse Andrew's Me and Earl and the Dying Girl the reason that I decided to read the book was because of a movie trailer I saw for the movie that is being made based on the book. {Could that sentence be any more awkward, I couldn't figure out to phrase. Sorry guys}. Anyways since the movie trailer is what got me into the book I figured I'd share it here.

 

This book is about a guy name Greg who is an inspiring film maker but he really doesn't think that he's very good at all. When he finds out that Rachel who of his childhood friends, kind of sort of not really girlfriend gets diagnosed with cancer. His mom thinks its a good idea for them to re-connect. So, with the help of his co-worker Earl he befriends Rachael and attempt to make a movie for her.

 

Unlike every other book about a kid with cancer this book IS NOT a love story and I love that fact! Last summer I read The Fault in Our Stars and to be honest I didn't like the book, it became to predictable. (You can read the review here) But while I was reading this book I didn't feel like I knew everything that was going to happen.

 

As a lot of you probably know or have figured out I like to read, like a lot. But I feel like this book would be a book that could non-readers to read. For one thing it is a funny a book. The chapter titles are so funny and so random. Its also written in so many different ways. From bulleted list to outlined list to a script format to just regular out book writing. Also

 

Greg breaks the fourth wall. He makes snarky comments and it really helped build who he was as a character. I feel like every other book written in the first person they are just telling a story instead of adding to their characterization.

 

Overall I give this book at 9 out of 10 and definitely recommend it. I can't wait to see the movie ASAP since it came out on Friday. Definitely keep your eyes movie review because it will definitely find its way on to this blog.

Have you read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl? Have you seen the movie yet? Tell me your thoughts and opinions down below.

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BOOK REVIEW: Gone Too Far

Hello All,

I have been reading like crazy the last few weeks. In just a few weeks of summer I have completed 2 books and I'm almost done with my third. Summer really is the only time I have to read so I take full advantage of it. So without further ado let's start the book review.

The second book I read this summer was Gone Too Far which is by the same author who wrote Six Months Later, Natalie Richards.

This book follows Piper  a high school senior who takes pictures for the year book and HATES the popular. one day when she's running extremely late for school she slips on a notebook which is filled with secrets about everyone in the school, including one about her best friend. Later that day she witnesses a group of the "popular" kids bully a girl whose sex tape got released on the school website. The next day Piper wakes up with a phone call from her friend that the girl who was being bullied has been hit by a train the night before. Followed by an anonymous text message asking her to help this mystery person take down member of "popular" group. For the rest of the book Piper tries to figure out her partner is in the vigilante take downs.

After how much I enjoy Six Months Later I had very high expectations for this book and it didn't live up to it. It took me until I was probably 75% of the way through the book to realize what I didn't like. Which was that I HATED the main character. She played victim throughout the book and even when she had a her grand character transformation she still was annoying and gave off this presence of being better then the rest. 

Another big problem I had with the book was that I felt as if the story moved at a snail's pace. Every time I felt like the book was going to get exciting it slowed down again. The main thing that kept me reading the book was that I really wanted to know who the vigilante was and when I found out I was disappointed and looking back I realize that I shouldn't character have been surprised at all. It was the most obvious option.

If I was being completely honest with all I wouldn't recommend this book. I didn't like book and I felt that the story was very poorly written.

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Have you read Gone Too Far? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below.

BOOK REVIEW: Six Months Later

Hello All,

Remember at the beginning of the summer when I set a goal to read at least 4 this summer? No, well check it out here. The reason I am saying this is because in just over a week I already finished my first book! (I finished this book on May 15, about a week before I posted this post.)

One of my favorite things to do after finishing a book is writing about it. Or sharing about it, so today I'm going to do a book review.

The first book that I read this summer was Six Months Later by Natalie Richards. This book is about a girl, Chloe, who falls asleep in study hall during May of her junior year and wakes up November of senior year in the same classroom but at night.  She has lived a whole six months period without remember any of that. Not only that her whole life has done a complete 360. She has almost perfect grades in schools, amazing SAT scores, she dating the popular guy, you know the type that every girl in the school is in love. But she also has a new emotional connection with bad boy and she's no longer talking to her best friend. With the help of the bad boy Adam Chloe must discover the secrets of her missing past but also figure out how she lost her memories.

Now comes the honest part. From about chapter 4 to chapter 30 I couldn't put it down. In case you were wondering there are about 33 or 34 chapters in the book.

For me the beginning of the book started out really slow, at first I had a hard time connecting with the main character. She never really relished in the fact that she was "popular" instead she pouted was negative from the start. I mean I know if I went to sleep one day and then woke up six months later that I'd probably freak out too. But I feel like I'd spend around 24 hours enjoy the unrealistic successes that happen when you lose 6 months. I would take the time to young dating the hot popular guy and having the perfect grades. 

Then I hit the middle of the book and it got really good and interesting. At times there was some parts that were really predictable but moved at a really good pace. Also there weren't too many stereotypes or characters that you see time and time again.

But then we got to the end. Chloe figured out the mystery and then the book start to move at snail pace which I didn't like, it felt like the author was dragging out the end of the story. But then got to the last little bit and tried to throw to it all together and I feel like I was left with a few questions about the Chloe's future. 

Although I didn't love the ending I really liked Natalie's writing style for the majority book and I am currently reading another one of her novels. For a recommendation I would recommend this book as a beach read. Although the story has its exciting moments it was a really easy read which would be perfect when your just relaxing.

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Have you read Six Months Later? Tell me what you thought about it in the comments below.

2015 Goals and Resolutions Introduction

Hello All,

Last year I created a list of goals and resolutions that I want to try and complete during the 12 months of 2014. And for the first time I was able to work and feel good about how I did with my goals at the end of the year. Probably because I made myself check in with the goals every 3 months. But whatever the reason I decided I wanted to do it again this year. 

1. Start Exercising and Eating Healthier

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I'm taking this goal off of last year's list. Reason being is one that I want to be healthier. I have a good immune system and rarely get sick but I want to make sure that I'm healthier all around and taking care of myself to the best of my ability. But also this year I went through the most moments (days sometimes week) of feeling like crap about how I looked and felt. This year I want to make that I feel good, if not great about myself rather then bad. 

2. Either cross or start to plan 3 things off my bucket list

I had a lot of fun this past year working on crossing things off my bucket list. Last year I was able to cross 2 things of my goals of 3 things. I still feel like 3 things is a good goal so I'm keeping the same number to see what I can cross off this year.

3. Finish 2 blankets for my 180 Blankets for 180 Days Project

Last year my goals was to complete 2 blankets but I realized that was too lofty of goals considering how much I do in life. But I still want to try and complete a couple this year and I don't think 2 is too insane of number to try and complete. 

4. Read 6 Book That Aren't for School

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I love to read. Last year I was able to read 5 books, my goal for this year is to read one more book then last year. Plus the sequel to my favorite book that I read in 2014 has a sequel schedule to be realized in early June so I'm excited to read it. 

5. Blog at least twice a week

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 Last year I was blogging about 5 days a week and I loved it. But eventually life got in the way and I had a lot of writer's block. This year my goal is to try and make sure that every week for the next 52 weeks has at least 2 posts going up per week. 

6. Create and Live By a Budget

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College can be a difficult time with finances. I want to start habits now that can help me in the future when I'm on my own and eventually one day when I have a family. Plus I just don't want to be broke. 

7. Stop Procrastinating

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Last year I found a way to organize that I like. Now I just need to keep up the organization and stop the procrastination. I put things off, to the point that I put off doing things that I want to do. This year I want to stop procrastinating and doing things early on.

8. Become a Neater Person

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I have found away to organize my school work and my list so that everything gets done. This year I want to make both my dorm room and my bedroom at home neat. I want to be one of those people that make their beds everyday and everything has place. 

9. Go on 4 totally awesome, blog worthy adventures

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I love doing things. Going places and having new experiences. This year I want to go on 4 blog worthy adventures whether its a road trip, day trip or hike somewhere. I just want to experience new things and see what happens. 

10. Work on my novel more

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That's right ladies and gentlemen I'm working on a novel. Back in my junior year of high school I started to write in. During the summer before my freshmen year of college I finished the first draft. From page one to the cliff hanging ending because I want to write a series. Recently I went and printed all the pages to that I could edit and revised it. I'm not sure what I want to do with it, if I ever want to try and get it published or just get it to the point where I'm sure that its the best possible copy of the book I'll ever write. Either way I want to work on it and see what happens.

And those are my 10 goals/resolutions for 2015. I feel like they are reachable and I'm excited to see where this year brings me. 

What are your goals for 2015? Let me know in the comments below!

Summer 2014 Goals Recap!

Hello All,

Happy Wednesday, today I am moving into school for my junior year! Seriously where has time gone?

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Since I'm moving into I figured that its the perfect time to tell you guys how I did on my summer goals this year. Remember those goals I made back in May? No? Well you can check them out here. Now that that shameless plug is over let's start the actual post.

Not Even Attempted

In Progress

Completed

1. Redecorating and Reorganizing my Room

I did really well with this during the beginning of the summer but then the days got away from and I was too tired at night so this will have to wait until Winter Break.

2. Read and Review 3 Different Books on the Bloggy

I did that and then some! If you weren't able to check out the reviews you can read them by clicking on the links (The Fault in Our Stars, The Maze Runner, To All the Boys I've Loved Before and If I Stay/Where She Went and I think I read another book that didn't review) My favorite? A tie between If I Stay and To All the Boys I've Loved Before!

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3. Try New Foods Each Week

I don't think I tried anything! Ooops!

4. Go on 4 Awesome Adventures

This summer I went to the Beach with Tori, Boston with Amelia, my mom and Amelia's mom, went to Mystic/ Providence with my mom and went to New Hampshire with my fam jam!

5. Get Back into Shape

I did a little bit of walking but not a whole lot of it!

6. Visit some of my friend's from school

Yeah, I failed at that one but its okay I'll see a lot of them in the next few days.

7. Relax Renew and prepare for Junior Year!

I am beyond determined to make this the best year of my life! I'm ready to be organized, outgoing, go on adventures and meet new people! To some people this summer may seem boring but for me it was exactly what I needed!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic summer! Those of you guys who are starting school in the next few days or for those who have already started I hope you all have a fantastic semester!