Books I've Acquired Lately That I'm Excited to Read

I've acquired a lot of books lately, and today, I'd like to share some of the ones I'm most excited about. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm excited about everything! I'll be sharing a mix of trades, publisher acquisitions, and eARCs I've gotten recently that I'm excited to read.

The Belles - Dhonielle Clayton

I was super psyched to get this one via a #booksfortrade (oh, the joys of Twitter!) I had an eARC of it, but really wanted a physical copy because it is so pretty and I have a feeling I'm going to end up wanting to own it. I don't automatically reach for fantasy, but I always enjoy it when I do, and this particular fantasy sounds very unique and interesting. It's about a girl who wants to be the best Belle in Orleans, a city where people are born gray and need the Belles to add color to them (at least I think. Fantasy plots are always so complicated to explain). Plus, the heroine is a black girl, which is pretty unusual for YA fantasy, and I'm all about pushing diverse books!!

The Brightsiders - Jen Wilde

Little Do We Know - Tamara Ireland Stone

Actually, I don't know much about either of these books, but clearly something made me request them on NetGalley. The Brightsiders is another queer release with fantasy hair color aesthetics from Jen Wilde, author of Queens of Geek, which I still need to read, and this one is about rockstars! I love books about music and bands, so this one is sure to be a contemporary win for me. As for Little Do We Know, I've been meaning to give Tamara Ireland Stone a try for a while now, and this one sounded quite good, though of course as I'm writing this post I can't remember a darn thing it's about, but I'm pretty sure a broken friendship is involved.

Depression and Other Magic Tricks - Sabrina Benaim

This poetry collection was a Hannukah gift from my boyfriend, since poetry is the only genre we can agree upon. I may be done with this by the time this post is published, but as I'm writing it, I've only read a few of the poems, but thus far, I'm in love with it. I'm not usually one for longer poems, but Benaim's poetry is very accessible and readable. I also relate to it super hard because of my own experiences with depression, and think she captures all the nuances of the illness so perfectly and heartbreakingly.

9 Days & 9 Nights - Katie Cotugno

99 Days was one of my favorite books the year it came out, and I literally shrieked with excitement when I discovered that not only was there going to be a sequel to it, but that I discovered it because I'm autoapproved for HarperCollins books on Edelweiss. I am so worried for Molly Barlow in this book, but I also can't wait to see what happens. Plus, I love the symmetry of the titles: 99 Days and 9 Days and 9 Nights is just too perfect a duology. 

The Hazel Wood  - Melissa Albert

If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say - Leila Sales

In Search Of - Ava Dellaria

A Girl Like That - Tanaz Bhathena

I got a bunch of amazing books from Farrar, Straus, & Giroux and one from Flatiron that I am so, so, so excited for!! The Hazel Wood is one I've already read, but it was probably my favorite read of 2017, and I definitely plan to read it again in 2018 because it was that good, even though I'm not a big rereader. If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say sounded like a really interesting contemporary: it's about a girl who says something offensive on social media and has to deal with the consequences. I'm interested to see how this is dealt with. 

In Search of Us is about a mother-daughter pair and tells their stories when both are seventeen. This sounds like a very interesting storytelling method, and I'm excited to see how it turns out. As for A Girl Like That, I knew I had to read this one a) because of the awesome cover, and b) because it's set in Saudi Arabia. I've never read a YA novel set in Saudi Arabia, and only read a couple others set in the Middle East, so I'm very intrigued by this novel as well.

The Way You Make Me Feel - Maurene Goo

I didn't love Goo's debut, Since You Asked, but she totally stole my heart with I Believe in a Thing Called Love, which was one of the most adorable books of 2017. This book is by far one of my most anticipated 2018 reads, right up there with Katie Cotugno's new book. The fact that the main character has to work on her father's food truck for the summer makes it all the more exciting for me, because I love foodie books and I hope this one delivers all the foodie (and romantic, of course) goodness! I am ridiculously thrilled to have an eARC of this and can't wait to start reading it.   

French Lit, French Food, French Kisses // Kids Like Us

Title: Kids Like Us

Author: Hilary Reyl

Pages: 288

Date published: November 14, 2017

Martin is an American teen on the autism spectrum living in France with his mom and sister for the summer. He falls for a French girl who he thinks is a real-life incarnation of a character in his favorite book. Over time Martin comes to realize she is a real person and not a character in a novel while at the same time learning that love is not out of his reach just because he is autistic.

If I had to describe Hilary Reyl's YA debut in three words, they would be: intense, unique, and delightful. I read this book based solely on a post from Paper Fury, and I'm so glad that Cait wrote about it, because otherwise I might have missed this utterly wonderful, special, #quietYA of 2017. There are so many things I liked about this book, so let me share a few of them with you:

• The French-ness. At first I was just going to say the French setting, since I do love that it's set near a French castle in a little French town, but so many things about this book are influenced by French culture that I decided to change this bullet point a little bit. I've read books about Americans traveling abroad, but none of them compare to this one in terms of going as in depth in the culture. This is a lot because of the premise of the book and because Martin's father is French, so he comes to the country already knowing a lot about French culture, including the language, literature, and food. I learned so much from Martin's narration, and he really immerses the reader in the culture of the French with his discussion of language and food. There were so many small details that I haven't found in other books about Americans abroad that really made this story come alive, and they all made the setting that much more vivid for me as a reader and I absolutely loved it. And someone get me a madeleine, please!!
• The discussion of literature. Obviously, French literature, particularly Martin's favorite book, Search, as he calls it, by Proust, is a major factor and plot point in this story. I loved seeing how literature, and this book in particular, were how Martin connected to the world. At first, the book Search is just a mirror to him as he falls for who he thinks is the book's heroine, but then it becomes a window that allows him to have deeper interactions with Gilberte/Alice as well as the other people around him.
• The relationships. Every relationship in this book was so nuanced and well-developed, even the one that took place off the page, that between Martin and his father, who is off-page for reasons that are not revealed until later. The way Martin processes interactions with each character is so unique and particular to each person that it makes each relationship a mini-story in itself, like a whole new world with each new character who is introduced. Of course, Martin's relationship with Alice is at the forefront in some ways, because he believes her to be an incarnation of the love interest in the Proust book, but it is also clear that him realizing that she is a real, original person influences his other relationships as well.
• Martin's voice. Martin's voice is probably the most unique writing I've read all year. His voice was very well-written. It was fascinating to be inside his head, and I found the way the story was written to be extremely addicting. I also liked how it certain aspects of his voice were explained throughout the story, making it that much more rich of a read.

All in all, Kids Like Us turned out to be one of my favorite reads of the year. I can't speak to how accurate the autism representation is because I don't have personal experience with it, but I did learn a lot about autism from reading this book. There was also a brief discussion of the neurodiversity movement, which I found very illuminating and interesting. In short though, this book is just amazing. Martin's voice is truly unique, the story is intricate on all levels, and it is not a book I will soon forget and is one I will be recommending to everyone I know. 

Top 4 Worst Books Addition // S. T. A. G. S.

Title: S. T. A. G. S. 

Author: M. A. Bennett

Pages: 304

Date published: January 30, 2018

Seventeen-year-old Greer, a scholarship girl at a prestigious private school, St Aidan the Great School (known as STAGS), soon realizes that the school is full of snobs and spoilt rich brats, many of whom come from aristocratic families who have attended the institute throughout the centuries. She's immediately ignored by her classmates. All the teachers are referred to as Friars (even the female ones), but the real driving force behind the school is a group of prefects known as the Medievals, whose leader, Henry de Warlencourt, Greer finds both strangely intriguing as well as attractive. The Medievals are all good-looking, clever and everyone wants to be among their circle of friends. Greer is therefore surprised when she receives an invitation from Henry to spend a long weekend with him and his friends at his family house in the Lake District, especially when she learns that two other "outsiders" have also been invited: Shafeen and Chanel. As the weekend unfolds, Greer comes to the chilling realization that she and two other "losers" were invited only because they were chosen to become prey in a mad game of manhunt.

When I first started reading S. T. A. G. S., all I knew about it was that it was supposed to be creepy and it was set at a boarding school, which are both easy sells for me. However, I started having my doubts about this book early on, even from the very first paragraph. You know right away that someone dies, because Greer says on page one that she is a murderer. The way the story is told is kind of as though it is a confession, because the telling is clearly being done after the events of the book take place, but there is literally no reason for this and it switches to just being a regularly-told, first-person past-tense novel sometime during either the Huntin' or Fishin' sections; I can't recall which one. The structure is only the first messy thing about this book, unfortunately.

Though I hadn't read the summary, which gives away another major plot point of the book, I quickly figured out that the "loser" of the school, nicknamed STAGS, were not being invited to the Medievals' weekend outing for fun and games. I also had a hard time believing that they would all go to the house of people who had been so mean to them. The reader is told that nobody talks to Greer, the bland main character who has no personality outside of having a bob haircut and an interest in films, for her first semester, but since that part is told and not shown, it is hard to believe she would go to the house, especially when she is warned by another student not to go. The style in which the story is told (and I do mean told; it's like a weird, creepy storytime instead of watching a story unfold naturally) just made a lot of it hard to believe, including that Greer would go to the weekend outing in the first place, as well as the weird romantic subplots.

Goodness, don't even get me STARTED on the romances. I was shocked that Greer was so gullible that she would believe Henry was interested in her when he hadn't spoken to her until the invitation, and it made me dislike her even more, since now, in addition to being excruciatingly boring, she was naive and silly, too. The second romance was slightly more believable, since Greer had had the basest of interactions with this person prior to the weekend of Shootin', Huntin', and Fishin', but it wasn't at all resolved and there was little chemistry because only the love interest had a personality. 

After reading some of this book, I went back on Goodreads to see what kind of reviews it was getting, and, lo and behold, its comp title was one of my top three worst books of all time, WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart. The books do have a similar vibe in storytelling, but honestly, this book was even worse than WE WERE LIARS, and that takes a lot for me to say because I really, truly DESPISED that book. As I read, I grew more and more shocked that this book was even being published. If I had seen this during my time as an editorial intern, I would have immediately said no and probably not even bothered finishing the manuscript because the writing was so poor and the story so obvious and predictable, plus it had a terrible message about being an outsider.

Basically, I really, REALLY did not like this book. The writing was juvenile and amateur, and needed a lot more editing work. The protagonist had no personality aside from being extremely gullible, and I didn't care much about any of the other characters either. The twist of the plot made me sick to my stomach and not in a good way. This book was just all around awful and I'm honestly super surprised it is being published at all because the writing is so poor. I have also added it to my list of top worst books of all time, because it was truly that dreadful.

2017 Books I'm Embarrassed I Haven't Read Yet

This post is going to feature--you guessed it--books published this year that I'm very, very embarrassed I haven't read yet. 

My embarrassment for not having read John Green's latest book is admittedly only mid-level embarrassment. To be fair, I have had a hate-hate relationship with John Green's books for a few years running, and it was only when I read Paper Towns over the summer and accidentally ended up liking it that I decided maybe he wasn't such a terrible human. Then, when I found out this book was about anxiety and OCD, obviously I had to have it, and then I super couldn't hate him as a human because we actually have that in common. I still think he's way overrated, but I am rather excited to read this book. I bought it pretty near to its release date, but somehow I haven't been in the mood to read it quite yet. I do have to read it soon though, since I need to let my boyfriend borrow it when I'm done, so let's hope the mood strikes me soon!

I also haven't had that great of a Maggie Stiefvater experience as of yet. I read Shiver twice trying to like it, but it just didn't happen and I still really, really hate that book. I decided after Shiver that I wasn't going to ever read another Stiefvater, but I've let the Raven Cycle hype get to me, and a few months ago I started The Raven Boys and, even though I dropped it for reasons unknown, I did really like what I read. I was also excited about this one because it's a standalone, so it's not as major of a commitment. I mainly haven't read this because I don't have a copy of it in my possession. I've debated buying it numerous times but haven't, and new books take forever to come in at my library because of our stupid state budget cuts, and I'm a mood reader, so even if I get the copy of it, it might come at a time when I'm just not in the mood for it.

This is the book I'm most ashamed not to have read. I adored ACOTAR and ACOMAF, and was wicked excited for book 3, and it's been sitting on my shelf since May. I mostly haven't read this one yet because I'm very, very intimidated by the length. It's actually not a super fat book because they used thin pages, but I know it's approaching 800 pages, and that makes me nervous because who has time for that? Hopefully me, and hopefully soon, because I need more Feyre being a badass and Rhysand!!!

I am pleased to say that I have actually started this book. I started reading it a couple weeks ago and really like it, but I realized I wasn't really in the mood for a book about a girl who washes dead bodies for a living and really wanted to read some fluffy stuff both for fun and as research for my novel writing. However, this book is definitely getting read before the end of the year because it is so good, since Tahereh Mafi can apparently do no wrong (and is a way better writer than her husband, Ransom Riggs, but that's a topic for another post). 

I am very, very embarrassed not to have read these very popular books yet. Thankfully, there's still time in 2017 to get them read and done with. So good luck to me!

The Stages of Disappointment in the New Book of A Favorite Author: As Told Through a REPLICA Review

I'll admit it: though I say Lauren Oliver is a favorite author, the more I think about it, I have had a somewhat rocky relationship with her books. I like Delirium okay, but wasn't blown away by it. I really fell in love with that series with book two, Pandemonium, and by Requiem, book three, I was a total Lauren Oliver fan. Then, Panic came out, and really the only thing I liked about it was the tigers. I still haven't read Before I Fall, any of the MG books she's written, Rooms, or Vanishing Girls, which I've had on my Kindle since it came out. Still, I loved the Delirium books on the whole so much that I count her as a favorite author.

As you can imagine, I was very excited with she came out with her new series, Replica, last year, but I was in a reading slump for a good portion of that year, so I didn't get around to reading it until last month. Replica has been super hyped because of its format: it's dual POV, but you can read it in a variety of ways. You can read Lyra's story first, then Gemma's, or Gemma's, then Lyra's, or alternate chapters and flip the book upside down every other chapter. It's about clones, basically, and the idea is that different things get revealed through the two stories.

Let me tell you, the format was not all that unique, because you could do that with literally any dual POV book if you really wanted. The POV gimmick was pretty much the only cool thing about this book, because it was depressing AF.

But anyway, onto the stages of reading a disappointing book by a favorite author, as told through my thoughts about Replica:

- Pre-reading: OMG, what if this isn't as good as XYZ previous book
- also pre-reading: OMG, new book by XYZ author, can't wait
- while reading: surprise, I actually like both POVs and don't like one more than the other
- actually, I don't like one more than the other because neither is very interesting
- the writing is very simplistic and juvenile compared to her other books, but she's a favorite, so maybe it will get better
- writing does not get better
- story gets really depressing, consider DNFing
- but wait, it's a favorite author, so I have to give it a chance
- almost done with the book, still debating DNFing, but okay, now I'm almost done and have to finish it
- upon finishing: I kind of want to know what happens, but do I really want to go through a mediocre book again?
- But it's Lauren Oliver, so maybe Ringer will be better
- plus I have it as an eARC, so I don't necessarily have to buy it
- but it's really depressing
- but I also kind of want to know what happens
-but it's not very good
- but it's Lauren Oliver
- but but but...

That was basically the thought process I had while reading this book. Overall though, it did not deserve the hype and the gimmick was not that great, in reality. If I did end up reading the sequel, I'd probably try reading it in another format, so I'd just read the story straight through and read them separately. But who knows; maybe I won't read it because it was just very depressing, mediocre, and simplistic in writing in a way that did not make me want to read more.

But we'll see. Maybe I'll read it just because I have the eARC, and it'll probably be quick. Hopefully. Maybe. We'll see. As you can tell, I am having much conflict about this book.

Priority November Reads

Since I'm doing NaNoWriMo I obviously hope to write at least as much as I read, but I've still got my priorities in order in terms of my TBR list for the month. There aren't a ton of books coming out this late in the year, but what is coming out sounds super good, plus I have books from October and also 2018 to read, so I have some serious reading goals for this month.

Here are some of the eARCs I have that I hope to read in November (currently reading The November Girl as of the writing of this post)

The November Girl - Lydia Kang

Here We Are Now - Jasmine Warga

The Becoming of Noah Shaw - Michelle Hodkin

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

Turtles All the Way Down - John Green

Whichwood - Tahereh Mafi

Turtles is def a priority since it came out last month, as is Whichwood since I've had an ARC for a few months but have yet to read it. I really want to read The Cruel Prince because I've been excited about it forever, but it's lower on the list because it's a 2018 release, so I have time. I'm super nervous to read Here We Are Now because I loved Warga's first book, My Heart and Other Black Holes, so much, and HWAN has a somewhat low rating on Goodreads.

I'm also debating reading/buying Renegades by Marissa Meyer because I ended up liking the Lunar Chronicles even though I never read Winter (800 pages is too damn long), but at the same time I'm not sure because I don't know if I want to invest in another series. I get terrible series amnesia, plus if I buy the first one that means I have to buy all of them, plus there's the waiting in between time, but I also want to read something new by her in a different world, so I have confusions. 

I'm also nervous about reading the Noah Shaw book because it's been 5 years since I finished the Mara Dyer books and I don't remember what happened other than she went crazy, and I just had really hoped for a new book for Michelle Hodkin for so long, and I am skeptical when authors can't write outside of one world or story. But we shall see.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

I feel like I am often a black sheep when it comes to popular books or highly hyped books. If everyone else loves it, usually I hate it. If everyone hates it, sometimes I like it. For today, I've compiled a list of books I've been a black sheep on in some way.

Everyone was really excited for Gayle Forman's next book after If I Stay and Where She Went, and I was for sure one of them. Those two books are two of my all-time favorites (don't see the movie though; it'll ruin the magic of them a bit for you because it's so terrible), so naturally I was psyched to hear about Just One Day. However, unlike the rest of the book world, I found it very disappointing. I didn't buy the one night stand romance, and found Alison/Lulu boring and sheltered, even though she tried so hard to step out of her comfort zone. In short, I just didn't buy this book and couldn't get on board with the characters or romance, which left me with nothing to like about it.

When We Were Liars came out, everyone was like, "OMG this book is so sophisticated and literary," and I was over here thinking, "this book is confusing and terrible and everyone in it is terrible and I don't care about them or their rich people problems." This book had all the worst tropes in YA, especially when it came to showcasing the "problems" of extremely privileged and rich people. The writing was also bizarre and came off as trying too hard, and was so pretentious my eyes were stuck in a permanent eye-roll loop throughout the whole book. And oh god, the twist. I hated the twist. It was so dumb. I just...I don't think I can talk about this book anymore.

To be fair, I still haven't managed to actually finish this book. I've tried reading it twice and got a little further the second time but...I just couldn't. I love books in weird formats, but I hate space sci-fi YA, so it was a mixed bag for me. I wanted to like it so badly, but I just couldn't follow the story to save my life and kept forgetting what was happening every two pages. Maybe I'll try it again eventually but for now...no.

I've already talked about disliking Adam Silvera in general, so I'll try to keep this one short. Everyone thought this book was so emotional and sad, but I found it to be entirely too reliant on the gimmick of the concept with little substance where characterization and writing was concerned. Overrated.

In the past, I have made no secret of my hatred for John Green, which has since somewhat abated because I kind of liked Paper Towns and reading about his experiences with anxiety and OCD. I think in general he's way overrated and gets too many accolades for mediocre books while other better writers get compared to him even though they're BETTER. This one in particular, I did not like though. Alaska is total Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and it's just not very well-written. I may not hate John Green anymore, but I still kind of resent his fame, which is basically due to his Internet, video, and podcast fame, and not as much whether he's a good writer.

This is the only book on this list that's here because I liked it more than everyone else. That was probably due to the fact that I hated the author's first book, This Song Will Save Your Life, so I was ready to be more impressed by her second book. In retrospect, it's not that great a book, since Arden is pretty boring for most of it and also vaguely creepy for stalking her favorite blogger, but it's still better than Sales' first one, IMO. It's more of a character-based book than everyone was expecting, I think, which is why people didn't really like it, but that's more up my alley in contemporary YA anyway, so I think that was also why I was more open to liking it somewhat more than the rest of the YA world. 

Bisexual Romps, Pirates, and Manhunts // The Gentleman's Guide To Vice & Virtue

Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

Author: Mackenzie Lee

Date published: June 27, 2017

Pages: 513

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.
But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.
Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

This book was so delightful. I'd seen it hyped up by nearly everyone who's anyone in the YA community, and I can happily say that this book lived up to, and even exceeded, its hype. This is honestly probably the most unique book I've read in a while, and definitely the most unique historical fiction novel I've ever read, so it deserves all the hype, all the stars, all the love.

Here is a small sampling of all of the amazing things you will find between the pages of this remarkable, wonderful book:

• Diversity. OMG, a historical fiction novel where not everyone is white and straight? Be still my fluttering heart. Even better, a bisexual MC? Be still my fluttering, bisexual queer heart! Monty is a roguishly sassy MC with a crush on his best friend, who is black, which is also something we never see in historical novels, despite the fact that people of color existed in history, and not just as slaves or servants, which is generally the narrative the mainstream forces upon us. This book dealt really well with racial issues, and even had a few moments where Monty himself slipped up, but even then, the book addressed those quite well. Percy is also diverse in other ways that I won't explicitly state because SPOILERS, and those were explored in an interesting way also and brought up a lot of interesting questions and points of view about the lives we value and what makes life have value.
• Sass. Goodness, this is by far the sassiest book I've read this year, and again, for sure the sassiest historical fiction novel. For a lot of the book, Monty is a fresh arsehole, but all of his dialogue is purely delightful and hilarious to read. His sassiness will make you laugh and cringe for him, and the banter between him and Percy (WE HATE RICHARD PEELE!!) is also wonderful to behold.
• Character growth. As just noted, Monty is often a total butthole. However, he is a multidimensional character who is very complex and grows throughout the story. He grows through hardships, his friendship with Percy, and even HAVING HIS PRIVILEGE CHALLENGED, which is not shown nearly enough in YA. 
• Adventure. To be fair, I did not read the entire Goodreads summary before I read this, so I did not know about the manhunt aspect until it happened in the book. So, I was quite surprised by many happenings in the book, which does not happen for me very often while reading YA anymore, probably just because I've read so much of it. There were lots of fun twists and turns that made the 500+ pages go by quickly, which is definitely a feat worth noting since I do not usually gravitate toward large books because I just don't have the time, or at least feel like I don't. 
• Venice!!!! It has been a dream of mine since childhood to visit Venice, so to see it featured prominently in the story was very exciting and nostalgia-making for me. In fact, I loved all the settings in this book, and found them very vivid and well-written. Venice, however, was for sure the favorite, other than Barcelona, where I have actually had the pleasure of traveling to. 

Basically, if you have been like me and been putting this book off because either you don't normally go for historical fic or because of the page count, GO FORTH AND READ!! This book is so wonderful, delightful, and full of joy. I promise it will be unlike anything you've read, and it will go by so fast you'll wish there were even MORE pages. 

Dewey's Read-a-thon closing survey

Hello, fellow Read-a-Thon-ers! It's the last hour of the read-a-thon. We made it! Or at least some of us did; I went to sleep at around midnight, plus I lost four hours to work :( I did not read as many books or as much as I intended, but I had a bit of a breakdown in the middle because of other things and that really tired me out. But anyway, here's how I did:


1. Which hour was most daunting to you?

Honestly, the second hour, because I had gotten up around 6:00 and was very tired. I almost napped, but instead just rested for a minute, recaffeinated, and got back to it.


2. What did I read?

I only read two books, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and Bone, a poetry collection by Yrsa Daley-Ward, both of which I had started before the event and had hoped I would finish much more quickly than I actually did. Note to self: do not start a 400+ page book a couple days before a read-a-thon.

3. Which books would you recommend to other read-a-thoners?

Definitely GGTVAV even though it's super long. It's a great, fun, diverse historical YA that's really unique from anything I've read.

4. What's a really rad thing we could do during the next event?

um...just do it again?

5. How likely are you to participate again? Would you be interested in helping organization and prep?

Yes and yes!

#readathonmemories

The fourth-hour readathon challenge is to share what your favorite book was from past readathons. I unfortunately do not remember how many times I have participated in the readathon, so I can't do one book for each one, but last spring 2016, I most loved Summer of Supernovas. It's about a girl obsessed with astrology who uses it to control her whole life after her mother dies. There's a lot of fun and romance and silly teenage mistakes and it's simply a delightful read. I remember ripping through this one in my dorm the year I graduated and just adoring it. If you haven't gotten to this adorable contemporary yet, GET ON IT!!

Dewey Mini-Challenge: 10 Books for 10 Years

Not only is it Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon day, but it's the 10th year of the event! As such, the first challenge is to recommend a book from each year the challenge has been running. Of course, I find it impossible to recommend only one book per year, so each year on this post will have at least 3 books.

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017