June Wrap Up
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★★★☆☆
★★★☆☆
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Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.3/5
Pages: 454
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Published: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Plot: (I'm going to put the plot of book one (Cinder) so I don't spoil anyone!)
Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.
Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.
But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.
Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.
But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.
Thoughts: I'd just like to say that this book was great and I really Wolf and Scarlet! If you haven't read this series yet you should definitely start it.
I was hesitant to start this series because I didn't think I'd like the cyborg situation, but it's a great addition to the storyline and it's not really as in your face as you'd think it would be.
This series also has a lot of cute romance, so if you like that, then you'll like this series!
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.05/5
Pages: 409 pages
Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Published: September 18th, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Plot:
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
My Thoughts:
This series was something everyone raved (hah, get it "raved") about and it was something that I knew I would eventually get into. When the books went on sale at Chapters for an average of $8 a book, I couldn't help myself!
The plot of this book is very weird and you would never really expect it to be about what it's about. Basically it follows Blue (daughter of town's psychic household) and Gansey and this friends who are looking for a sleeping Raven king. If they find the raven king then they get one wish.
This story was weird but it was oddly addictive and I'm not surprised to see that, seeing as how everyone is obsessed with it.
I must continue this series!
The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan
Goodreads Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.82/5
Pages: 208 pages
Series: N/A
Published: April 8th, 2014
Publisher: Scribner
Plot:
An affecting and hope-filled posthumous collection of essays and stories from the talented young Yale graduate whose title essay captured the world’s attention in 2012 and turned her into an icon for her generation.
Marina Keegan’s star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash.
As her family, friends, and classmates, deep in grief, joined to create a memorial service for Marina, her unforgettable last essay for the Yale Daily News, “The Opposite of Loneliness,” went viral, receiving more than 1.4 million hits. She had struck a chord.
Even though she was just twenty-two when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation. The Opposite of Loneliness is an assemblage of Marina’s essays and stories that, like The Last Lecture, articulates the universal struggle that all of us face as we figure out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to make an impact on the world.
Plot:
An affecting and hope-filled posthumous collection of essays and stories from the talented young Yale graduate whose title essay captured the world’s attention in 2012 and turned her into an icon for her generation.
Marina Keegan’s star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash.
As her family, friends, and classmates, deep in grief, joined to create a memorial service for Marina, her unforgettable last essay for the Yale Daily News, “The Opposite of Loneliness,” went viral, receiving more than 1.4 million hits. She had struck a chord.
Even though she was just twenty-two when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation. The Opposite of Loneliness is an assemblage of Marina’s essays and stories that, like The Last Lecture, articulates the universal struggle that all of us face as we figure out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to make an impact on the world.
My Thoughts:
This novel was something I'd had on my shelf for over a year and hadn't read it. It is a collection of essays from a young, successful, woman who died in 2012 just after graduating from Yale.
Marina was an incredible student and writer and her death was unexpected and extremely unfortunate.
Reading this novel I understood how she was an incredible writer. It's a collection of short stories both fiction and non-fiction, and they written so well but at the same time they're unique and incredibly pure.
I enjoyed a couple of the short stories in this collection but there were also several that didn't really speak to me as much as I would have hoped. I do think this collection is not for everyone, but with the writing being so beautiful, I do recommend everyone to read a couple of the short stories from the collection.
Guardians of the Galaxy: New Guard Vol. 1: Emperor Quill by Brian Michael Bendis & Valeria Schiti
Goodreads Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.38/5
Pages: 136 pages
Series: Guardians of the Galaxy, Modern #1
Published: December 27th, 2016
Publisher: Marvel
Plot:
Peter Quill has abandoned the Guardians and his role as Star-Lord to be emperor of the Spartax! Now, Rocket has grabbed the reins as team leader - backed up by Drax, Venom, Groot, Kitty Pryde and brand-new Guardian Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing! But what could put the team into the crosshairs of Emperor Quill and his Imperial Guard? Another old face is back, too - but will it be a welcome return for Gamora, or have circumstances changed in the eight months she has been away? When friends like these cause complications for Rocket and the gang, who needs enemies? They don't, but they seem to attract them anyway. And the newest threat to the galaxy is a doozy. His name is Yotat the Destroyer - and he will have blood.
My Thoughts:
This was the first Guardians of the Galaxy comic I've ever read, and let me tell you, it was great! I've only recently been getting into comic books and they've really become a favourite of mine.
If you liked either one of the GotG movies then you'll definitely love this comic. It does include a couple new characters, but you get used to them very quickly, and you do learn to love them.
I'm very excited to get into the next comic in this series!!
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.13/5
Pages: 491 pages
Series: The Lady Janies #1
Published: June 7th, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Plot:
Lady Jane Grey, sixteen, is about to be married to a total stranger—and caught up in an insidious plot to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But that’s the least of Jane’s problems. She’s about to become Queen of England.
Like that could go wrong.
Like that could go wrong.
My Thoughts:
This book was a very nice and quick read for me. It was funny, but not as funny as I would have liked it to be. This novel has some supernatural aspects to it and it's a great addition to the plot and I really did enjoy the slight romance that was featured.
I do have a full review for this novel if you'd like to know more of my thoughts!
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★★★★☆
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Cress by Marissa Meyer
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.46/5
Pages: 552 pages
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3
Published: February 4th, 2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Plot: *Look above for Cinder plot so you don't get spoiled!*
Thoughts: This plot line follows a character that resembles rapunzel and it's amazing. I really loved this book as well and let me just say that Cress is hilarious. Read this series!!
Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda & Rus Wooton
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.03/5
Pages: 202 pages
Series: Monstress #1
Published: July 19th, 2016
Publisher: Image Comics
Plot:
Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers.
My Thoughts:
This was a very interesting graphic novel.
I found it kind of hard to understand at first, but once you got into it, it was a great read. This comic has a lot of action and the plot is incredible, plus you get a pretty long graphic novel for a great price (better than those that are $30 and only last you 30 minutes).
The main character of this novel was very interesting to follow and I do admit that I did not expect the twist that came at the end of the novel.
I really do recommend this to anyone looking for some great graphic novels, but just be warned that it's harder to get into as opposed to something like the Saga series.
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.26/5
Pages: 341 pages
Series: N/A
Published: September 20th, 2016
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Plot:
Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister, Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence.
While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways.
But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years, and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.
So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats they care for.
Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.
While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways.
But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years, and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.
So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats they care for.
Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.
My Thoughts:
This novel is was something I was looking forward to for the longest time and it didn't disappoint. Despite the plot of this novel being dark, it didn't overwhelm the reader.
I do think that this book is for an older reader, only because the topic and some of the writing in this novel is a bit graphic and inappropriate for younger readers.
All in all I was pleased with this novel and I thought that the ideas were portrayed in a great manner.
I will be posting a full in-depth review for this novel so keep an eye out for that!
All in all I was pleased with this novel and I thought that the ideas were portrayed in a great manner.
I will be posting a full in-depth review for this novel so keep an eye out for that!
Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 3.92/5
Pages: 208 pages
Series: N/A
Published: July 15th, 2014
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Plot:
Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.
These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.
Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...
These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.
Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...
My Thoughts:
This was a collection of 5 short stories that were put into a graphic novel format. I have seen this around a lot and finally decided to pick it up and I was so happy with my choice.
These stories are creepy. They're creepier than I anticipated and I'm not mad about it at all. I finished this book very quickly, not only because there were more pictures than words, but also because once I started I couldn't put it down. That's not to say that it's a "waste of money" because I can see myself picking this book up very frequently, just to refresh the stories or to look at the amazing art once more.
If you're into scary stories and art, this is the perfect book for you!
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★★★★★
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When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Goodread Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.32/5
Pages: 230 pages
Series: N/A
Published: January 12th, 2016
Publisher: Random House
Plot:
For readers of Atul Gawande, Andrew Solomon, and Anne Lamott, a profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis who attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living?
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor making a living treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. Just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air, which features a Foreword by Dr. Abraham Verghese and an Epilogue by Kalanithi’s wife, Lucy, chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a young neurosurgeon at Stanford, guiding patients toward a deeper understanding of death and illness, and finally into a patient and a new father to a baby girl, confronting his own mortality.
What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir.
Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. “I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything,” he wrote. “Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: ‘I can’t go on. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor making a living treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. Just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air, which features a Foreword by Dr. Abraham Verghese and an Epilogue by Kalanithi’s wife, Lucy, chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a young neurosurgeon at Stanford, guiding patients toward a deeper understanding of death and illness, and finally into a patient and a new father to a baby girl, confronting his own mortality.
What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir.
Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. “I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything,” he wrote. “Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: ‘I can’t go on. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.
My Thoughts:
This book is my life. This read was my second and the major reason I wanted to do a re-read was because I wanted to listen to the audiobook of it.
This novel is heartbreaking and so uplifting at the same time.
I have a full review of this novel if you'd like my in-depth thoughts!
Saga, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.56/5
Pages: 144 pages
Series: Saga #3
Published: March 25th, 2014
Publisher: Image Comics
Plot:
(Saga Vol. 1 Plot - so you don't get spoiled!)
When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.
My Thoughts:
I just love all of the Saga comics. I really don't have more than that to say, it's great. You're going to love it, read it.
Saga, Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.47/5
Pages: 152 pages
Series: Saga #4
Published: December 17th, 2014
Publisher: Image Comics
Plot:
(Saga Vol. 1 Plot - so you don't get spoiled!)When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.
My Thoughts:
I LOVE THESE!!!!
Saga, Vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆
Pages: 152 pages
Series: Saga #5
Published: September 9th, 2015
Publisher: Image Comics
Plot:
(Saga Vol. 1 Plot - so you don't get spoiled!)When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.
My Thoughts:
READ IT!
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.19/5
Pages: 429 pages
Series: The Nevernight Chronicles #1
Published: August 9th, 2016
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Plot:
In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.
Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.
Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.
Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.
Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?
My Thoughts:
This novel was high on my TBR list and I loved it. It is a book about an assassin school and that's one of the reasons I decided to just read it no matter what. I am so glad I decided to do that, because it was an amazing plot and had amazing characters and so much more.
I did a more in-depth review for this novel if you'd like to see more of my thoughts!
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.44/5
Pages: 248 pages
Series: Harry Potter #1
Published: October 6th, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Plot:
(Do we really need this?)
When a letter arrives for unhappy but ordinary Harry Potter, a decade-old secret is revealed to him that apparently he's the last to know. His parents were wizards, killed by a Dark Lord's curse when Harry was just a baby, and which he somehow survived. Leaving his unsympathetic aunt and uncle for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry stumbles upon a sinister mystery when he finds a three-headed dog guarding a room on the third floor. Then he hears of a missing stone with astonishing powers, which could be valuable, dangerous – or both. An incredible adventure is about to begin!
My Thoughts:
I had been anticipating reading this since I got it for Christmas, and I'm happy I finally did. The illustrations by Jim Kay were fantastic and they really enhanced my reading experience.
If you are a fan of Harry Potter, and you should be, you will love this edition of Harry Potter!
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That concludes my June Wrap Up!
I hope you guys enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun revisiting the books I read last month, and I'm already thinking about picking up Through the Woods by Emily Carroll again...
Really it's great.
Please leave a comment down below letting me know what books you read this month or if you've read any of the books I did this month and what you think about them.
Thank you so much for reading!
Until next time!
