Title: Optimists Die First Author: Susin Nielsen Publisher: Penguin Random House UK Children’s/ Andersen Publication Date: 02 Mar 2017 Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mental Illness Format: Ebook My Rating: 4/5 stars Links: GoodReads . Amazon Blurb: Petula has avoided friendship and happiness ever since tragedy struck her family and took her beloved younger sister Maxine. Worse, Petula blames herself. If only she'd kept an eye on her sister, if only she'd sewn the button Maxine choked on better, if only... Now her anxiety is getting out of control, she is forced to attend the world’s most hopeless art therapy class. But one day, in walks the Bionic Man: a charming, amazingly tall newcomer called Jacob, who is also an amputee. Petula's ready to freeze him out, just like she did with her former best friend, but when she’s paired with Jacob for a class project, there’s no denying they have brilliant ideas together – ideas like remaking Wuthering Heights with cats. But Petula and Jacob each have desperately painful secrets in their pasts – and when the truth comes out, there’s no way Petula is ready for it. My Review: I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange with an honest review. Want to start by saying how much the cat references made me laugh hysterically while reading this book. The author even dedicated this book to all of the people who are like me. " To all the other crazy cat people. You know who you are." Reading the title of this book, and this part of the blurb " ideas like remaking Wuthering Heights with cats." made me so excited to read this book. The start and end were absolute perfection; I just felt a little bit bored in the middle of the book. I also wished that somethings were a bit more descriptive, than they actually were. We meet Petula, who is more that just a pessimistic person. She is also struggling with anxiety. This was portrayed perfectly, that even those who believe that people with anxiety are over-reacters, would get to see the illness itself. Everything Petula does and believes may seem extreme at first, but all of that is 105% justified. I really do need to take a moment and applaud Susin because of what she has accomplished with this book. She was able to send a loud, clear message to shatter the ignorance of the disbelievers, without them even realizing that. I really want to read more books by Susin Nielsen. I absolutely loved Optimists Die first. I give it 4/5 stars. About the Author: Susin got her start feeding cast and crew on the popular television series, Degrassi Junior High. They hated her food, but they saw a spark in her writing. Nielsen went on to pen sixteen episodes of the hit TV show. Since then, Nielsen has written for over 20 Canadian TV series. Her first young adult novel, Word Nerd, was published in 2008 to critical acclaim. It won multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards, as did her second novel, Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom. Her third novel, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, was published in August 2012. It went on to win the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year Award, and a number of Young Readers’ Choice Awards. Author Wally Lamb named it his top YA pick for 2012 in his “First Annual Wally Awards,” and recently Rolling Stone magazine put it at #27 in their list of “Top 40 Best YA Novels.” Her books have been translated into multiple languages. Susin’s new novel, We Are All Made of Molecules, will be published in Canada, the US and the UK in Spring of 2015. She lives in Vancouver with her family and two naughty cats. She is delighted to have finally figure out how to "claim" her author profile on Goodreads!
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Title: The Sun Is Also A Star Author: Nicola Yoon Publisher: Delacorte Press Publication Date: November 1st 2016 Genre: Contemporary , YA, Fiction, Romance Format: ebook My Rating: 5/5 stars Links: GoodReads Amazon Blurb: Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story. Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us. The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true? My Review: I received an eARC of The Sun Is Also A Star from the publiher via Net Galley in exchange with an honest review. By only reading its prolouge, I realized that I was going to end up loving this book!!! This book literally celebrates diversity in every aspect. It revived my faith in humanity, despite everything that is ongoing in the world right now. With everything that was going on,and is still ongoing ,this diverse book restored bits of my shattered hope. In its own way, the writing was very beautiful. No, not the kind where I stare at the beauty of the words, but the one where the metaphors,puns, and descriptions are seriously genious! The interludes in the story were simply, magnificent. They gave the story a pretty, unique touch. If you've listened to Paramore's Self-Intitled album, you will get the complete picture. This book proves the theory that states that opposites attract. I mean, a person who believes in Fate vs one who doesn't. Seriously, read this book. I fell in love with characters, story, and events. Nichola Yoon has just become one of my favorite authors, and I seriously can't wait to see what she writes next. I give it 5/5 stars. Read my review of Nicola's Everything, Everything here. |
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