Book Review ; Glass by Ellen Hopkins | Book Two in the Crank Series

Title ; Glass 

  Author ; Ellen Hopkins

  Genre ; Young Adult, Poetry, Fiction 

  Pages ; 681

  Publisher ; Margret K. McElderry Books

Synopsis ; This book continues to follow Kristina's downward spiral with addiction but now Kristina also has to deal with the fact that she's had a baby, a baby that was conceived from her being raped. Can Kristina turn her life around and be the mother her baby needs or will the monster take over again?

First Impression ; I didn't have a first impression of this book because I remembered some of it from school.

Rating ; 

Review ; So little words and yet a story unfolds in Ellen Hopkin's Glass. I was excited to start this book after finishing Crank and this book did not disappoint. I like getting to see more into Kristina's life and how things worked out after having a baby. I found myself hoping that Kristina would be the mother that she wanted to be but to also find happiness. I couldn't put this book down and finished it in just a few days. I can't wait to continue this story with the last book in this series, Fallout. 

Cover Rating ; 

Judging a Book by It's Cover ; I knew a bit about this book before starting it so I didn't really get to judge it by it's cover. I do like the basic cover designs of all Ellen Hopkins books so five stars will do. 

 

 

After You by Jojo Moyes | Book Review | Me Before You Book 2

 Judging a Book By It's Cover ; My opinion for this book was pretty much the same as for Me Before You, because they are a set and match pretty well. The difference is the colors were switched. So I loved this cover as well.

First Impression ; I was still a little upset with the ending of the first book when I started this book and I knew this was continuing Lou's story which I was both happy and curious about. The blurb made me more interested in her story because of "Reluctantly she joins a support group and meets Sam Fielding" who is this Sam and will he replace Will!? How could she be over him in such a short time!? And then there's this "Then a figure from Will's past appears and hijacks all of Lou's plans, propelling her into a very different future" who is this person!?

Rating ;

Review ; I loved that Lou's story got to continue. I was eager to see how her life changed and I wasn't disappointed. There was so much action in this book and I got to see into everyone's life a bit more after Will. I loved that Jojo tied in the rest of Will's family in this book so that we got to see how they coped with Will being gone. You saw how things ended and how some things began. You also got to see Lou's family grow as well, her sister in college and her mom stepping out of her comfort zone. This book had it all, action, romance, and a bit of mystery. I want to read more into Lou's life, I saw in the back interview where Jojo Moyes talked about leaving room for another book if the readers wanted and yes, yes we do!

The way the book ended I can definitely see this being turned into a trilogy and I'd love to see Lou growing more.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Book Review

Judging a Book by its Cover ;

I love this book cover, it's minimal and gorgeous. Because this cover is so simple, there's not really to much to say about it.

I know there is also a movie cover for this book which is cute but I prefer the original red cover of this book. There was also another cover (middle image below) that is pretty cute but I just prefer the red cover, it also looks nice with the second book which is After You. They also have an After You version of the middle book as well but again I prefer the simple covers. Maybe because its around the holidays and the red and white spines remind me of candycanes.

First Impression from the Blurb and Movie Trailer ;

So I saw the movie trailer before I got the book and this story seemed pretty cute and I love a good romance novel. So I looking into getting the book. I prefer reading a book over watching a movie and if I know a movie that I'm interested in seeing has a book I like to read the book first.

"They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart? "

This blurb enticed me so much, I immediately added it to my TBR, then I found After You at Goodwill for $2, so of course I bought it, then I ordered Me Before You online. I knew as soon as it got here that this book would be the next book I would read.

Rating ;

Review ;

Me Before You is a five star book for me, I absolutely loved this book. This book was so emotional for me, I felt happy, sad, depressed, and understanding throughout this book.

I love how Lou and Will got along, they didn't at first but even when they were being rude to each other they couldn't help but smile. Will is depressed (understandably) and quite rude but with Lou he has met his match because she's not one to just back down, she's just as sarcastic and witty. I thought this book would be Will and Lou together in a relationship with mushy moments which I love but it wasn't instead it was more a friendship (although there was some random romantic moments, mostly towards the end) and it made me love this book even more. Once I got to page 180 I couldn't help but read the rest of the book. Today I sat for hours reading this book and I didn't even realize how long it had actually been I was so lost in this book.

Jojo Moyes did such an amazing job writing this book, the way she described scenes and how she let other people share their thoughts about Will and sometimes Lou. The only thing really missing from this book is Will's thoughts. I would have loved for there to be more about him  and at least a chapter from his point of view, although the book revolves around him (and Lou) you do get to know a lot about him through the other people in the story but as he mentions in the book everyone has him do what they want him to do, he has no control for his life, everyone does what they think is best for him without really asking him, he doesn't get to share his thoughts in the book which is a bummer for me. Nonetheless I still adore this book. I loved that Will and Lou brought out the best in each other, they made each other happy. Lou made Will's days brighter and Will pushed Lou to realize the potential she had in herself. It's a very moving book that I  recommend to others. I'm actually going to start After You tomorrow, I would start today but I need to sort my emotions after finishing Me Before You. 

Then I'll look in to watching the movie.

Romeo and What's Her Name by Shani Petroff Book Review ! Advance Readers Copy

Judging a Book by Its Cover ;

I actually received an Advance Reader's Edition of this book. It's not the actual cover but it does have the actual cover on the book, left picture. Even with it being an ARC, this book is so cute. The right picture shows the actual cover art which is listed on Goodreads. It's adorable with the little heart doodles. I think it fits the story quite well.

First Impression from the Blurb ;

"Understudies never get to perform

. . . which is why being Juliet's understudy in the school's yearly "Evening with Shakespeare" is the perfect role for Emily. She can earn some much-needed extra credit while pursuing her main goal of spending time with Wes, aka Romeo, aka the hottest, nicest guy in school (in her completely unbiased opinion). And she meant to learn her lines, really, it's just:
a) Shakespeare is HARD,
b) Amanda, aka the "real" Juliet, makes her run errands instead of lines, and
c) there's no point because Amanda would never miss the chance to be the star of the show.
Then, Amanda ends up in the hospital and Emily, as the (completely unprepared!) understudy, has to star opposite the guy of her dreams. Oops?"

Going into this book, I already assumed I'd like it, it seems like a cute love story and I'm a sucker for romance. I was also curious as to how the play would turn out, would Emily rock the play and get the guy of her dreams or would she totally ruin the play, I couldn't wait to find out.

Rating ;

Review ;

I loved this book, it definitely was a funny, cheesy love story. You have Emily, the main character who is a complete klutz, she's always embarrassing herself but she doesn't let it get to her, she just laughs it off. There's also Jill and Kayla, Emily's best friends, who help out with getting over embarrassing moments with her crush Wes. Jill and Kayla are the perfect friends, they are always there for Emily even when she messes stuff up for them. Wes, of course is the guy Emily has a crush on and let me tell you, he seems close to perfect. He's so sweet and caring. Then there's Amanda the mean girl, she just so happens to be perfect as well, she's pretty, popular, and she get's what she wants, and she wants Wes. This book is a fast read with a lot of funny moments that you can't help but to laugh out loud about. Romeo & What's Her Name is a great book if you love romantic comedies, you'll love this book. You get to see Emily try to get the boy of her dreams while she not only keeps embarrassing herself but she has to ace the play for her best friends, her grade, and so that she doesn't embarrass the rest of the cast (including Romeo, Wes) but how can she when  "a) Shakespeare is HARD,
b) Amanda, aka the "real" Juliet, makes her run errands instead of lines, and
c) there's no point because Amanda would never miss the chance to be the star of the show. " but can she do it?

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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Book Review

Judging a Book By Its Cover ;

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover.. but I do. I like an aesthetically pleasing book cover, I love how it looks on my shelf, etc. So for The Girl on the Train I got this book cover ;

I like how simple and cute it is. I love the font, it suits this cover very well. I also like the train tracks going up the cover with part of a face showing, it comes off as a mystery type book just based on the cover and it is, so it works well. I know there are at least two other covers for this book and I think this one is my favorite.

First Impression from the Blurb + Movie Trailer ;

"EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?"

This sounded so intriguing to me. This is the first suspense thriller/mystery book I've actually read which is shocking to me because I love mysteries. I also saw the movie trailer way before getting the book and I really liked it so when I saw this book at Goodwill for $1 I immediately got it and I'm so glad I did.

                           Rating ;  

           Review ; For the first few pages this book was a slow read to me it didn't seem that interesting then around page 6-7 the book began to pick up a bit. I liked the style of writing, how it was from three different peoples perspective, like it's their journal/diary. But early on I felt like I already knew how the book would end but boy was  I wrong and I realized that just pages later when a plot twist ruined my prediction. After that I was hooked and I kept trying to guess how it would end and boy was I surprised. I didn't love the characters but they were realistic, I know people like this exist and everyone fights their own demons, I liked how Paula Hawkins gave some back story to the main characters that lets you in on why they are the way they are. I know a lot of people didn't like the "hot mess" characters but I  felt for them. I didn't like all of their mindsets and I didn't approve of most of their actions but I was still hoping things would work out for them in the end. What I took from this book is people are not always what they seem to be, looking into somebodies life from the outside you might think they are perfect or they have the perfect life but you never really know what goes on behind closed doors. Also you could know somebody for years and never really know them. All in all I really enjoyed this book, I loved the thriller aspect and how I didn't want to put the book down, I wanted to know what was happening with each character.

Character Review ;

Rachel ; At first I didn't like Rachel, she was so weak and felt she needed her ex, I didn't like the way she acted after 2 years of being separated from her ex she was obsessed with his life and other people. Also I didn't like that she was an alcoholic. She relied on alcohol daily but she knew she became a different person while she was drunk. I loved the writing because it was accurate on how some alcoholics black out and don't remember things, etc. I'm on the fence on how much I liked her in the end, I mean she had a gut feeling and she went with it but again she was obsessed with other people's life to find the truth out in the end. With all that being said I was rooting for Rachel to stop drinking and get her life together to move on and try to be happy which I like to believe happened after the book ended.

Anna ; I didn't really care for Anna, she was the other woman and was perfectly fine with it, in fact she liked it. I also didn't like how she hated the house she lived in and the way Rachel acted, Anna felt scared of Rachel and that she might hurt the baby but she didn't leave the house, she stayed, I feel like most mothers would automatically leave if they felt their child was in danger. In the end of the book Anna definitely shocked me.
Megan ; At first when you read about Megan through Rachel's thoughts you couldn't help but like the picture perfect "Jess" but later on you actually get to see that Jess is actually Megan and Megan's life isn't so perfect. I liked that Megan wanted to experience life, she needed that rush but I quickly changed my opinion on that when I realized how she wanted to get the rush. Also after learning her big secret I was disgusted, even knowing it was an accident and she was young I just couldn't get over it. But yet again I was rooting for Megan, she wanted to get her life together, she wanted to come clean.

"Life is not a paragraph, and death is no parenthesis"