Best Parents in YA Lit

The Best Parents in YA Lit

Valentine's Blog Week Day 5

The concept of parents is probably one of the biggest elephants in the room when it comes to YA literature. They usually aren't even there, and when they are, they are often just mentioned or are completely awful. HOWEVER, there are also quite a few YA parents that are completely amazing!!!! Here are some of my favorite parents in YA literature.

Mr. Song

From: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster

From: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Kate Mercier's Grandparents

 From: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Almost every parent from:

Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent

Mrs. Prior

From: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Unfortunately, I had a pretty hard time putting together this list. Hopefully, that is something that can be changed in more future YA books!

Thanks for reading!

OTPs (as of February 2017)

Top 10 OTPs (as of February 2017)

Valentine's Blog Week Day 4

These OTPs are in no particular order... but these all come from books. If they have a ship name that I know of, I used that. :) I think I am most excited about this post for the entire week!!!

Rowaelin

Rowaelin

From: Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas 

Lizzy and Darcy

From: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

MADNESS

Wessa

From: The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare 

MADNESS

From: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michele Hodkin

Daemon and Kat

From: Lux series by Jennifer L Armentrout 

Jamie and Claire

Feysand

From: A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas 

Jamie and Claire

From: Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Feysand

Juliet and Warner

From: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Aiden and Alex

From: Covenant series by Jennifer L Armentrout 

Vincent and Kate

From: Revenants series by Amy Plum 

I'm always getting more ships and having them take precedent over each other, so that's why this one specifically says "as of February 2017". I also have a lot more ships than the ones I list here, so feel free to check out my fleet of ships (hahaha, ship humor. I'm too cheesy for my own good).

Thanks for reading!

Shadowhunters 2x07

Shadowhunters 2x07

"How Are Thou Fallen"

Thoughts and Feels

 
Jumping into the episode, one of the first things that we see is the circle rune being like activated or something? I got some serious Harry Potter vibes from that and I'm sure a lot of other people did too. Another thing that I was wondering about with that scene is whether or not Valentine knew that Jocelyn is dead? Later in the episode, Luke makes a vague comment that references that, and Valentine says that he doesn't care, but I feel like that is really out of character for him, which makes me think that he still doesn't know all the details of Jocelyn's death. How could he? A demon killed her and then the demon was killed.
I still don't like the Soul Sword Lightning thing

I think one of the best things about this episode was that they introduced Ithurial! The angel blood and communication is so important to the books, and I am so glad that that aspect is being introduced in the show now. Small comment on that though, when Clary was hearing Ithurial in her head, my mind immediately jumped to Supernatural when Cas was originally trying to communicate with Dean and couldn't find the right frequency. I am not sure if that is what they were trying to go for, but then when Cleophys (?) hears it too she says that he is crying out for help. But then we go to a shot of him screaming as he's dragged across the floor. So how exactly is all of this communication stuff working? The last scene of the episode was very confusing too. It looked like a demon/person trying to grab a blade and then poofing into dust. I think that was maybe Jonathan related....almost like Ithurial was trying to tell them that they need to defeat this guy and we don't know him yet. I don't know, but I do know that I am super happy they brought in the angelic abilities and the angels.


This episode could have easily been just an episode about all of the Simon ships. We see him go out with Maia, and there's a moment with Clary, and then Simon talks to both Maia and Jace about having feelings for Clary. There was also a moment when Izzy makes a comment about saving Simon's butt all the time, which seemed a little like Sizzy to me. So in recap, there was SimonxMaia (I don't know their ship name), Sizzy, and Climon. They're probably going to try a bit more with Climon, because that seems like the natural progression, at least to me, before Sebastian comes into the show. And then things will get rocky again.


There were a few Shadowhunter world questions that bothered me during the show. First, a rune app? Is this like a batman signal in the night sky? Can I buy this app on iTunes? It just didn't make sense to me. Second, who the heck was that one shadowhunter that kept coming up?!?!!! Seriously, all of those other shadowhunters have always just been like background people, but in this episode we had one interact with both Izzy and Clary, in separate scenes. Who knows, maybe they'll bring her in again in a later episode as like a spy for Valentine or something. Maybe she's Sebastian with a shape-shifting rune. If that is the case, I will flip a table.

MALEC!!!! I LOVED all of the Malec moments in this episode. This is good. If they don't give us an overload of Malec every episode, it makes the moments so much better when they are there. And it develops their characters at a much better, believable, pace too. I really liked all of these scenes, especially when Magnus told Alec that he didn't want to go too fast and mess up the relationship, because that seemed like such a Magnus thing to say.... grenoihreigaoerhneagi. It was so great.

What on Earth was going on with Izzy's character? All of the yin fen madness adds up, but she seemed really moody and tempermental. Is that just a side effect of being low on yin fen? And where is she right now??? They just finished the episode with her surrounded by vampires!!! My favorite line of episode was connected to this yin fen stuff:
"It nearly cost my friend Jem his life"  <---- Something like that
SO MANY FEELS IN ONE SENTENCE DAMN IT MAGNUS WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING UP JEM??????????? I may need to also revisit my yin fen theory because of this one sentence. Le sigh.

I have to mention Jace in this episode. The. Sass. Was. Perfect. I think this is the most book Jace we have ever seen in the show Jace, and it was freaking fantastic. There were just so many small moments too when it was really just facial expression, but it screamed attitude, and each one made me so happy to see. With Jace, I also feel like there were Clace moments, even when there were no actual "Clace" moments. For example, Luke walks in and says he needs Jace. Nothing immediate happens until he says Clary's name, and then the response is instantaneous. Jace just jumps up and practically runs out the door. It's amazing how they did this indirect characterization of their relationship and I am so excited to see where they take it!


That is all for this episode! As always, we are one more episode closer to meeting Sebastian and I cannot wait to see that happen.

Thanks for reading!

Valentine's Day Book Tag

Valentine's Day Book Tag
Valentine's Blog Week Day 3

Favorite Stand Alone Book You Love

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Dystopian Book You Love

Divergent by Veronica Roth 

A Book That You Love But No One Else Talks About

Everneath by Brodi Ashton 

Favorite Book Couple

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy

Red Book Cover

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Pink Book Cover 

Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Favorite Male Character that You Love

Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Favorite Female Character that You Love

Aelin Galathynius

TV Show to Watch on Valentine's Day

Gilmore Girls--- there's always a reason to watch Gilmore Girls

Movie to Watch on Valentine's Day

Pride and Prejudice

Thanks for reading and Happy Valentine's Day!

Romanitc Books

Romance Books
Valentine's Blog Week Day 2

I don't actually read too many books that are just considered "romance" books. Many of the books that I read have romantic elements in them, but there's actually only 5 books shelved on my Goodreads "Romance" shelf. So this is going to be a mix of books that I've read and enjoyed, and books that I have heard are enjoyable. I'm also not going to mention books like Fifty Shades of Grey or Nicholas Sparks books because I feel like those are obvious ones that most people automatically go for.


Books I've Read:
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
The Royals Series by Erin Watt
Frigid by Jennifer L Armentrout
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West


Books I've Heard Are Good:
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Beautiful Disaster by Jaime McGuire
 Bared to You by Sylvia Day

There's a fair mix of different levels of romance in those books listed above, but there are also a few authors that in general have a connotation of being romance writers.

E.L. James <--- Duh.
Nicholas Sparks <---- Even bigger DUH.
Colleen Hoover
Sylvia Day
J. Lynn


This is not exactly my area of expertise, but I hope that this helps if you are trying to find a romantic book to read this week! I am currently in the middle of November 9 by Colleen Hoover myself because I figured it's Valentine's Day this week....

Thanks for reading!

About Valentine's Day....

Valentine's Day In General

Valentine's Blog Week Day 1

Generally speaking, I hate Valentine's Day.  But it isn't because of the PDA, or Hallmark greetings, or abundance of chocolate and flowers. I'm fine with those things- they're cute and romantic. My issue with this holiday is that it exists. That there is a specific day of the year that promotes something that should be done on a daily basis- expressing love for loved ones. "It's Valentine's Day! I will buy so-and-so flowers to show how much I care about them!" Me: Why does it have to be Valentine's Day for you to do this? Do you not do this mid-July? Why not? If you do, this holiday is just a economic holiday for the flower shops and candy makers so that other people will give treats and flowers too.

This holiday is really beneficial for only the markets, because strong relationships shower each other with goofy sayings and stuff all the time. What's worse is that for rocky relationships this holiday can turn into almost an obligatory event that becomes stress for the people in the relationship. Who benefits from it then? The card, flower, and candy companies. Maybe I'm too much of a romantic and I think that the disguise of the essence of love of the holiday should be throughout the entire year, but this holiday really bothers me. Who knows, this may be something that will change for me as I get older, but for now, this is my least favorite holiday. The only benefit is that I get sent chocolate from people.


Thanks for reading!

Valentine's Week Schedule

Valentine's Week Blog Schedule

As many of us may be (painfully) aware, Valentine's Day is this upcoming Tuesday, when we single out one day of the year to show exuberant amounts of affection. In honor of this holiday, I am going to be creating several posts about love, and I don't just mean romantic love. I think that it is just as important to remember that there are several kinds of love, like for family and friends. So this is going to be a week of all kinds of love, not just the couple-y stuff.

Day 1 (2/12): My opinion on Valentine's Day

Day 2 (2/13): Romantic Books

Day 3 (2/14): Valentine's Day Book Tag

Day 4 (2/15): Top 10 OTPs (as of February 2017)

Day 5 (2/16): Parents in YA Literature

Day 6 (2/17): Top 10 YA Best Friends

Day 7 (2/18): Review of November 9 by Colleen Hoover

I am actually super excited about this week despite the fact that this is probably my least favorite holiday! Looking at the schedule, I think I am most excited to put together my top 10 OTPs. I am also looking forward to reading November 9 by Colleen Hoover, because I have heard just great things about her writing.

Thanks for reading!

The Different Kinds of Readers

The Different Kinds of Readers

As I have been reading for a very long time now and have known many other readers, I have come to see that there typically tend to be three different kinds of readers. Now, not everyone falls into one of these categories, and some fall into more than one, but these are the things that I think people usually tend to read for: the characters, the plot, or the writing. These three things are actually what I try to review books by too, because then people can pick apart my review and read it in pieces if they want to according to what they like to read by. Sometimes, if I don't think I can write a whole section on the writing, in that it is unique and compelling (one of the more rare things in books), then I will switch that section out for the world that the book takes place in.


The Characters:
These are the readers that love the characters. The plot can be completely pointless, but if there is good character development and characters that are addictive and compelling, then the plot and the writing simply won't matter. One of the best series I think for character development is the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi. Seriously, this series is amazing, go check it out. Another one that is, in my opinion, pure character and nothing else is the Fifty Shades of Grey series by E.L. James. I have read both of these series, and I think one of the things they are great for is the development and evolution of their characters.

The Plot:
Within this category, I lump together people who care most about the overall plot, the setting of the book, etc. A book where nothing really happens or if there is no importance to the world around the characters probably won't appeal to these readers. For example, I think people who read for the plot would really like Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard because there is a very full-fleshed political system that is central to the story and the action and travels of the characters is very intriguing.

The Writing:
For people who read for the writing, think about almost lyrical writing. Or writing where the words are almost poetic and there are some of the most unbelievable and powerful quotes of all time. There aren't as many books that really stick out to me for the writing, but one that does come to mind is We Were Liars by E. Lockhart . If you have read this book, you know what I'm talking about. The whole book is full of such strong writing and it really takes you on a ride, like an emotional roller coaster.


I personally am a sucker for the characters. I love getting into the personalities and relationships and then trying to evaluate the psychology of the characters. There have been books that I have read where the writing is super simple and there really is no plot line, but I have loved the series because of the characters. If there is good character development, I will probably continue with the series no matter what. On the other hand, if there is really poor character development, or if I feel like there is no connection with the characters, then I will probably not like the book. I enjoy and appreciate good plots and writing as well, just not as much as the characters.

Thanks for reading!

Reading Reviews

Reading Reviews

Hello! If this is the first time you are visiting this blog, you may not know that I review books and post the reviews here. With reviews, they can be very tricky to navigate and I think that they should be used, but used properly(?), if that makes sense. This post if fairly random too, so sorry for the break in the usual feed of book, movie, and TV show stuff.


As a reader of reviews, I always try to pick apart what the review says about certain things about the story. For example, if a review says that there is going to be poor characterization- that will matter to me. But if the review is poor because the reader didn't like the love triangle, I'll probably ignore that because I love love triangles. It's just something that I know I try to do when I'm deciding whether or not to read a book and I'm looking at reviews.


As a reviewer, this is something that I also tend to be very aware of. I never want to accidentally discourage someone from reading a book because I didn't like it. There are times when I'll even put giant disclosure on my review saying that this is my opinion and that it may be very different from others. That being said, it is also partially the reason why I usually break up my reviews into three parts: Characters, Plot, and World/Writing. For people who read for certain things, they can sort of jump to the part of the review that they care most about, because that's what they care most about in a book.

Overall, I love reading and writing reviews. I think that they are a great way to get excited for books or simply learn more about them or get a new perspective. However, I think it is also SUPER important that everyone, myself included, remember that every review is coming from the opinions and perspective of one person (usually). Just because they do not like a book means that I will not like it; and just because they like a book, it doesn't mean that I will like it too. The same goes for my reviews- they are my own thoughts. Always be open to reading books, even if some people have bad reviews of them, because only you can have your thoughts about a book.


If you want to see any of my reviews, you can click here and see all of them!

Thanks for reading!

Fallen Movie Trailer Reaction!

Fallen Movie Trailer Reaction

So after what feels like forever, there is now a movie trailer for Fallen by Lauren Kate! It actually came out a little while ago, I think somewhere around end of October? But I only saw for the first time the other day. If you also haven't seen it yet, you can go here to see it!


Going from the beginning, I am really looking forward to the setting of the movie. Sword and Cross looks great and I really really hope that we get to see a lot of different angles of the building/castle that they chose. A bit after I got over that, we see Cam. Cam is probably my favorite angel in this series and he is who I wanted Luce to be with for awhile before she got annoying. Based on what was in the trailer, I think the actor who plays him, Harrison Gilbertson, is going to do a really nice job portraying his character.

Another actor that I think that they got spot-on was Penny. Just from what was in the trailer, I totally felt like this actress was playing the character amazingly. Penny is like the socially awkward but really kinda awesome character of the story and I think that this is going to be shown in the movie. I hope so at least! :)


I really appreciated the pool scene. And then they started to swim, and I was a swimmer, so that part stuck out in my mind like a sore thumb. Daniel starts doing butterfly, which is book-wise correct, but there were a few things with his technique that made me cringe. Not necessarily because it was wrong, but I know how that must have felt!! Especially if he had to do it over and over again- oh me oh my, that must have been painful!

Towards the end of the trailer, we see the wings. At least, we see Daniel's wings, because they're white and glowing. I don't think we've seen Cam's wings, or wings from his side of things, because I don't recall seeing the black wings. There may have been a quick shot of them that I missed, but I don't think so. I hope that they do a good job with them and don't make them white too because that's  kinda important to the story. Black wings versus white wings.


I am so excited to see this movie when it comes out in the United States! I loved reading Fallen and I hope that they do a good job with the movie!

Thanks for reading!!

King's Cage and Fifty Shades Darker

SO MUCH BOOKISH STUFF THIS WEEK!!!

Ok, there are two gigantic things that are coming out this week in the bookish world. The first, King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard is going to be released. And second, Fifty Shades Darker comes out this weekend. There are probably a lot more things happening this week, like the release of Wintersong by S. Jae Jones, but these two really jump out to me.

King's Cage:
OH MY IT IS FINALLY HERE AND I CANNOT OH ME OH MY WE FINALLY HAVE THE NEXT BOOK AND I AM GOING TO SCREAM AND CRY AREN'T I?!?!?!?!!


King's Cage comes out today actually, February 7, 2017. This is the third book of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. I have this book pre-ordered and it should be coming in at some point this week. I will probably stay up the entire night that it comes in the mail. The great upside to this- there is one more book coming out after this one! This is going to be, overall, a four book series.

Fifty Shades Darker:
To be completely honest, I am more excited about King's Cage coming out, but this is exciting too because it's another page to screen adaptation that is being released. I am a sucker for good adaptations and I really hope that they did a good job representing the book and making it a good movie.


What I find really interesting is that they filmed this movie and the last one, Fifty Shades Freed, at the same time. It makes me wonder if you'd be able to tell during the movie, so even though I hate to say it, I may be looking for that while I watch it.

This is overall going to be a great year for books and page to screen adaptations and I can't wait to see how they all turn out!

Thanks for reading!

Shadowhunters 2x06

Shadowhunters 2x06

"Iron Sisters"

Thoughts and Feels

 Thinking about it, there wasn't too much that actually happened in this episode. There was some stuff right at the very end, but thaaaaaaat'ssssss about it. I would still rather have an episode like this though, where it is well-paced and has a few different plots, than an old one where we go at break-neck pace with a thousand things going on.

I think they did a pretty decent job with the Iron Sisters! Some of the training/fight scenes with them were slightly disappointing, but the outfits looked good. I'm not totally sure what the shining stuff on their faces were. Or what that story with the Mortal Sword was about. Can the Sword kill all downworlders? I don't think so.... I'm pretty sure its only powers were that it made shadowhunters tell the truth and is used to summon Raziel. Please correct me if I'm wrong though. I thought the setting of the barren landscape around the castle was awesome! They portalled through and there was just- wasteland. And it was 100% great.



To be completely honest, I think I loved the commercials most while watching this episode. I watched it live, and I don't know if this will happen for the other ways to view it, but while it was live, they went straight from the show into a commercial with the Shadowhunters actors in it, for a Fifty Shades Darker promo. I was so confused at first, but then I realized what it was, and I LOVED it!!! Especially Simon's part in the commercial! Oh my, that has got to be one of my favorite Fifty Shades promos to date.

I also really loved the Malec development! They get to go on a date and they talk about so many things that are also issues and point of interest in the books and it was so nice to see them get a minute to themselves, where they aren't trying to work or were just hanging out with other people. They carved out time for themselves and they progressed their relationship and I cannot wait to see what happens with them in the next episode!

The last thing that I think I need to mention is the growth of Simon and Maia's relationship in this episode. They sort of had a few moments in this episode, and it was nice to see that part of the books come through a little bit. It makes me wonder if Jordan is going to come onto the scene soon, because we meet him in City of Fallen Angels right? But we've already met Maia, so I don't see why we couldn't meet Jordan soon too. This all means that the timing of the show is slightly off from the timing of the books, but that has been the case for a while now, so nothing new.


One of the things I am most excited about is the fact that with every episode we get one episode closer to meeting Sebastian!!! He is actually one of the worst villains I think in YA history, but that's part of the reason why I want him to be on the show so much- he is such a critical part to the story! I am also really interested to see what they do with his plot line and how it is going to differ from the books.

Thanks for reading!

WWII Books

I love almost all historical fiction, even sometime just history in general (I'm not kidding you, I mean history textbooks). One of my favorite time periods to read about is World War II. There are just so many different things that were happening at that time and it seems like no matter how much I learn about it, there is always going to be more to learn. I've read quite a bit of WWII books already, but there are still so many out there that I want to read!!

Top 5 WWII Books that I've Read

1. Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

2. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank 

3. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

4. The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Top 5 WWII Books that I Want to Read

1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

2. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

3. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

4. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

5. Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye by Marius Gabriel

Thanks for reading!