All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Publisher:  Knopf     

Publication date: January 6th 2015
My rating: 5 stars

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

I made a promise to myself about reading more books I find interesting because, you see, I'm an impulsive reader and tend to change my mind in a second. Usually, those 'interesting' books end up destroying me completely which might be the reason why I avoid them in the first place. 

When I first started reading All the Bright Places I was expecting to have my heart broken but at the same time I kept thinking things surely wouldn't go there. I won't reveal the ending because that would just be mean. Read it and find our for yourself. Will it make you cry or smile? 

As someone who's been dealing with depression and bipolar disorder as well as ADHD I could see so much of myself in Finch. He's the side of me I try to hide from my family and friends. In fact, no one in my life doesn't know any of this about me, only the friends I met here, on Goodreads. Finch is impulsive, a true fighter, sensitive, fun and a bit strange. His energy is simply contagious and it made me want to be his friend.  

Violet on the other hand is his total opposite. She after losing her sister in a car accident she retreats into herself, breaks up with her boyfriend and stops hanging around her friends. In a way I thought Violet and Finch were a perfect pair. Like fire and ice. 

Elle Fanning was cast as Violet and you don't even know how much sense that makes. It's like Violet is Elle. Can't wait to see who's going to play Finch. 

I loved the fact this book addresses so many problems teens these days deal with-suicidal thoughts, bullying, abuse, eating disorders... I could list so many reasons why you should read but I feel like the most important one would be- read it because of yourself. Read it because you need to be aware of the hidden world around you. 

This book is more than a book. It sends a message to everyone and to quote the author, her it is 

If you think something is wrong, speak up.

You are not alone.

It is not your fault.

Help is out there.

Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

Falling into Place by Amy Zhang 

Publisher: Harper Teen      

Publication date: September 9th 2014
My rating: 5 stars

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road. 
Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect? Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.

Incredible! Absolutely incredible! I am sure Falling into Place will be huge after the release date. I will be ordering it for myself because there's no way I'm going to pass the opportunity to put this among other all time favorite titles on my shelf. 

This book was so complex and yet simple are the same time. It deals with a lot of topics teenagers and older crowd can identify with-bullying,   loneliness, depression, suicide, teen pregnancies, cheating and addiction. I don't think I left out anything out. If you liked Before I Fall, If I Stay and Thirteen Reasons Why I'm sure you'll like Falling into Place as well. 

Since I love torturing myself I had to read this book. I rarely miss a chance to read about someone trying to kill himself. A bit morbid, but that's me! I also had to find out who the 'unexpected and surprising narrator' was. I had a theory which quickly turned out to be wrong. In the end, I was pleased with the answer. 

Liz Emerson's a popular girl who does whatever she wants. She doesn't care about hurting others and enjoys humiliating other, less popular students. Everything is perfect at first glance but once she goes home she's all alone. Her mother is always away, working and her dad died while she was a little kid. She has two close friends but she never reveals her struggle with depression to them. She has a boyfriend but he cheats all the time. Then there's Liam, a guy she humiliated just because she could. Liz is horrible and yet, even she has redeemable qualities. 

I loved the mysterious narrator. His voice was so distinctive, soothing, and pleasant. He was trying to get through to Liz so she could see things in a different light.  SPOILERS I've never read a book told from a childhood imaginary friend. That alone guaranties a mind-blowing experience. 

Liam's character was also great. He saw Liz for what she really was, not just some shallow, cruel girl. I wanted to hug him almost all the time and I actually cried a bit after the crown scene. 

Last few chapters were pure torture. By then I was a sobbing mess and couldn't even read like a normal person because of the tears. If you want to still be my friend, you'll need to read this book by October. See, I'm not a complete tyrant. I'm giving everyone of you a month to buy this perfection and read it. If I was able to finish it in one sitting, I'm sure you will find the time in September. 

Do yourself a favor and pre-order Falling into Space right now! It will be money well spent because you will be reading it to your gran-kids one day until the books starts falling apart. 

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Publisher: Harlequin Teen    
Publication date: January 28th 2014
My rating: 4 stars

Life. Death. And...Love?
Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.
But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.
Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.
Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

I've said this and I'll say it again. Elizabeth Scott is an excellent author. Family issues are always more important than getting a new boyfriend in her stories and I admire that. When I read she teamed up with Harlequin Teen I was so happy because it seems that S&S didn't promote her books at all. I remember when Miracle came out and I didn't even know it was released for months. Not until I was looking for some recommendations and stumbled upon it. 

Emma's mother died but machines are still keeping her alive because she is pregnant. Emma is angry at her stepfather for picking the baby instead of her mom. They had a great relationship and it all changed the day her mother died. Not they hardly talk and when they do, they fight. Emma's best friend is her only solace. She keeps her occupied, away from all the negative thoughts she has about her mother. Emma is still thinking about Anthony, her ex which wasn't even an ex but things change fast when she sees the local druggy, Caleb in hospital. 

At times I was really angry at Emma because of the way she acted towards her stepdad when he was clearly still in mourning. She was either snapping or ignoring him. Sure, he pooled away from her and was more concerned about this unborn son but still... He was so nice and he did love Emma like she was his daughter. In spite of her lashing out I couldn't shake the thought what I would do in a similar situation. Would I try to calm down or blame everyone else for the things they weren't even responsible for? Who knows. 

Emma and Caleb's relationship blossomed with time and they actually had a lot in common. They both lost someone important. Caleb turned out to be a pretty decent guy. It's not every day we get to read about a guy blushing in front of girl. Most are confidant and popular which got old pretty fast. 

Elizabeth developed great minor characters like Emma's talkative best friend who hates gadgets, even the smart ex, Anthony. 

If you enjoy reading heartbreaking stories with 'the light in the end of the tunnel' then you can't miss Heartbeat. It will make you cry at least 3 times and it will make you smile. Another Elizabeth Scott hit! 

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Publisher: Penguin   
Publication date: February 21st 2012
My rating: 2.5/3 stars

Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever. 
BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally. 
But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after. 
With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?

The main reason I picked this book up that I was in the mood for something light. Something to distract me from my depression. I've got a lot of work to do at home and not much time for books so, whenever I got the chance I would listen to this audiobook and I finally finished it. It didn't have the desirable effect. It wasn't as uplifting as I hoped it would. Well, it kinda was but it wasn't an easy, breezy book. 

Most of all, it should be shorter. I just checked how many pages does it have and it's 375, in hardcover. That is a lot. It did have some filler chapters, with small hints, a certain male character provided us with. 

I did think it was good, more than good but it seems that nothing can get me out of this funk. A story about dying, watching loved ones go on with their lives certainly didn't help out. Also, the story was predictable, so I would recommend it to younger readers. 

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Book:The Fault In Our Stars.
Author: John Green
File type: Paperback.

synopsis:Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Review:

“May I see you again?" he asked. There was an endearing nervousness in his voice.

I smiled. "Sure."

"Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Patience, grasshopper," I counseled. "You don't want to seem overeager.

"Right, that's why I said tomorrow," he said. "I want to see you again tonight. But I'm willing to wait all night and much of tomorrow." I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious," he said.

"You don't even know me," I said. I grabbed the book from the center console. "How about I call you when I finish this?"

"But you don't even have my phone number," he said.

"I strongly suspect you wrote it in this book."

He broke out into that goofy smile. "And you say we don't know each other.” 

I have to be honest. I would have never picked up this book if not for the amount of rave reviews it has in it's bag and my amazing friend who spoke about this book everytime and kept on reminding me about it and finally led me to it. (I love you friend.)
This book , for whatsoever supernatural reason always popped up in front of me out of nowhere screaming 'READ ME NOW' every.single.time.But like always , I was still very hesitant.

John Green knows how to write his books. They are funny and they are in my opinion quite realistic.
But that's how far it goes.[[book:Looking for Alaska|99561] was a wonderful book. I remember laughing , loving and enjoying it. It was enough to get me excited about any John Green book that I came across and that's the reason why I had immediately ordered Paper Towns. After reading Paper Towns , I really did like John Green very very VERY much because Paper Towns was kind of fun and I like me some adventure.
I was so madly in 'like' with it until my brain started analyzing everything.

"... is it just me ? or is every female character in Green's book a big bitch with sarcasm flowing through her veins and that she's pathetically adventurous and just wants to live life king size ."
- My review of Paper Towns.

And..Is it just me or are the male protagonists come always with the same attitude?
Not that I'm saying that I hated both the other books because I actually liked them , a lot. (I'm a hypocrite , face it.)

In the end it was natural for me to NOT go into this book blindly.
However..

I liked it. 

But as always , I still have some serious issues.

I love that our characters are different. I love that there are things about this book that make me laugh. I love that this book me feels a little uneasy because hey, it is a cancer book in the end. And I also like the fact that I enjoyed it. The only things I loved about this book are Augustus Waters and that beautiful kill-me-now ending.

I'm not surprised by how this book turned out. I was kind off expecting it to be just like the way I found it. It is a cancer book in the end , so there is no question whatsoever in even parallel universes of the universe that somebody dies. I can't even blame Green because what else could you even write when your treading the cancer-terminal waters?

Here's what I know about Cancer books.
1.Somebody always dies.
2.But before she/he dies , there is always that EPIC journey to _______(Fill in the blank by referring to any cancer book that usually involves a journey. ) 
3.Death talks.

So do we have match?

YES.

Although, I gotta hand it to Green yet again because his writing is in the end of the day fantastic.
There were parts where I went like 'damn. I think that too.' to parts where I went 'Eh?'
Also , if this book was supposed to make me emotional then I didn't feel any. Here me out on this one , you can't expect me to cry in every book that has somebody dying in it. I did at first because they were my first reads but now? I'm bored.
Then there were these other characters that were so underdeveloped. Jeez , were they there just for the sake of it?

What saves this book?
The writing obviously. The funny banter between Hazel and Augustus and in the end , Augustus and also the end. (Did mention that?)

Now people may ask that why do I even like this boy?
Here's what I think.
I like that he's the kind of a guy who thinks about the genius therapy of get-over-your-girlfriend by throwing eggs on her car. I like that he's the kind of a guy who speaks about random shit in the most explainable and metaphorical way which totally screws with your brain but you just end up loving it anyway. I love the fact that he's the kind of a street smart guy. I like guys who rock the world on a single leg , literally . I like a guy who fears oblivion and is deep when he needs to be. I like a guy who never realizes how precious his support has actually been. I love a guy who saves and never needs saving.
I love Augustus Waters. And I like Hazel because she does too.

In the end , I have nothing much to say than to admit that the book according to me was quite enjoyable. But there's always this line between love and like and this just didn't make it. Some would even question my brain cells after seeing that I gave this book 3 stars even if most of my review sounds pretty negative. All I have to say is that I didn't expect it to wow me and even though it didn't , it certainly did make me like it even more than his other books. And also because I kind of like Nerdfighters and that I'm a tad partial.

Review: Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison

Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison
Release Date: March 4th, 2010
Number of pages: 301
Format: Hardback
Purchase: (TheBookDepository)

THE TRANSFORMATION Beth has always been "The Beast",that's what everyone at school calls her because of her awkward height, facial scars, and thick glasses. Beth's only friend is geeky, golden-haired Scott. That is, until she's selected to be her choir's soprano soloist, and receives the makeover that will change her life forever.
THE LOVE AFFAIR
When Beth's choir travels to Switzerland, she meets Derek: pale, brooding, totally dreamy. Derek's untethered passion,for music, and for Beth, leaves her breathless. Because in Derek's eyes? She's not The Beast, she's The Beauty.
THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE
When Beth comes home, Scott, her best friend in the world, makes a confession that leaves her completely torn. Should she stand by sweet, steady Scott or follow the dangerous, intense new feelings she has for Derek?
THE HEARTBREAK
The closer Beth gets to Derek, the further away he seems. Then Beth discovers that Derek's been hiding a dark secret from her ?one that could shatter everything.




This really is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. It had me laughing, and it had me crying. It had me feeling so low, I was effected when I put the book down, yet so happy and hopeful for myself, that it left me smiley and in a bit of a dreamy state. It's just impossible for me to put into words just how incredibly moving I found Sing Me to Sleep. This book has effected me so deeply, it will stay with me forever. Just beautiful. 

It’s hard to say why this book made such the emotionally impact it did on me. In part, it has to do with the character of Derek and what’s he’s hiding. What he goes though is so very heartbreaking, especially for Beth because just as she finds her inner beauty and strength, he must leave her. Angela shows with the character of Derek why some people are in our lives for only a short moment of time. Because Derek and Beth are so in love with one another, they are very intimate with one another. These two can’t stop kissing and touching. It’s handled very well, even when the topic of sex comes up. 

Sing Me to Sleep is a book you easily find yourself involved in, living. Toward the end of the story I felt like I was there, astonished by the actions of those around me, feeling the same feelings the characters were experiencing. The tears sliding down my face proved my involvement. 

5 stars