Review: Some Boys by Patty Blount

Some Boys by Patty Blount

Published: August 5th 2014 by Sourcebooks Fire

Number of Pages: 339 Pages (Paperback)

Series: No

   Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.

   When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.

   But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?

   A gut-wrenching, powerful love story told from alternating points of view by the acclaimed author of Send. (goodreads.com)

   I have so many thoughts and feeling about this book that it's hard to figure out where to start. As you all know I love me my stories about hard topics, especially when the stories are done well, deal with the topics in all the right ways. I'm happy to say that my first read of 2016, being this brilliant book, was many things, but definitely not a disappointment.

   Some Boys is one of those amazing books that don't shy away from the real talk, from shining light on problems we tend to not talk about, because they are not glamorous or easy, not something you can discuss in two minutes and be done with. Unfortunately we live in a world where victim-blaming is the new black, something that can go viral online and destroy someone's life. Of course, not the rapist's life, no, the life of the victim because our society has a cruel tendency to blame woman for "bringing it upon themselves" by getting drunk or wearing the wrong clothes.

   There's a very good quote in the book that questions if all the laws we have, if only because you are someone's girlfriend, wife, or a stripper, if that makes rape okay and those laws not apply. Of course it doesn't make it okay, which the book argues. It discusses this by pointing out that women are not property for a guy to play with, that women are human beings with rights and feelings, too.

   "The cops wanted to know if I was Zac's girlfriend, if I was drinking, doing drugs, if I ever worked as a stripper, if I ever kissed Zac before that night.

   What the hell does any of that have to do with what happened?

   Do the laws against sexual assault not apply to strippers? To girlfriends? I don't get that. (...) He thinks because I went to the woods, drank alcohol, and dressed the way I dress, I should have expected this to happen. That I actually wanted this to happen."

   This book picks up this topic and shows the reader all the ways in which rape, victim-blaming and shaming is wrong. We get to see two points of view: that of the victim (Grace) and that of a close friend of the offender (Ian). Because of this dual point of view and the brilliance with which this book is executed, I think it is one of the most important books I have ever read. 

   Personally, and I know many English teachers would disagree with me (just like my former english teacher definitely would), I believe that books like Some Boys are the ones we should have high schoolers read instead, or along with classics. Books like these are valuable to show boys that acting like the offender and his friends, and the rest of their school, is wrong, and to show girls that backing down, giving up, isn't always the right way, even if it's the easier one. You have to stand up for yourself, fight the damon and show the world that this isn't how girls should be treated in the 21st Century.

"Every guy in school feels so justified calling me a slut." (Grace)

"I never called you that." (Ian)

"Really? Not once? That's great, Ian, but what did you do when your friends said it?"

   Another thing that hit me hard in this book, besides the obvious, was the shaming Grace had to endure because everybody was on the offenders side. Growing up I went through my portion of being bullied, but this takes it to a whole another level. Gossip is cruel and in many cases merely spreads uninformed opinions accepted as truth. Just because the lacrosse star said he didn't do it, well, it must be true then, right? No need to second guess his words, better go and call the victim, aka the liar, a "slut" or "whore".

   In Some Boys even Grace's two best friends turn their back on her, take sides with the popular guy, simple because one of them has the hots for him. I don't know about you, but if my best friend would have accused a guy I'm into of raping her, I would definitely change my mind about the guy and not throw away my friend ship for his attention.

   But the thing I might love the most about this book is the fact that Grace wasn't a damsel in distress that needed a guy to save her, no, she saved herself. She was strong enough to march into school every day and not run away screaming and hiding. She didn't just give up, didn't "admit" that it wasn't true just to make the gossip stop. Grace stood her ground and fought back. This is important, especially for younger female readers. We need girl to know that they are strong, that they don't need a guy to save them but that they have the strength to save themselves. It's hard but in life, nothing is easy and free.

   Grace was an amazing protagonist and I love her dearly. She is strong, smart and a fighter, something we need more in books, especially ones dealing with hard topics. She could have gone down the easy rout, stay silent, say nothing, but she didn't and that is great. I love the fact that even after so many days and weeks passed after the party where it all happened, she still got scared, still had panic attacks. This only made her feel more like an actual human being instead of a one dimensional book character whose only trait is 'victim'.

   I also really liked Ian. I loved seeing his mind change over the course of the book, the way he slowly started to process everything, started to realize many things and his feelings, and the way, in the end, he stood up to the challenge and did the one and only right thing. He was an amazing character and I love him. But, he wasn't just a supporting character, as in that his only reason for being the second POV was showing the reader the male view on the topic, no, he had his own problems going on, his own things to take care of. Ian was his own character with opinions and interests.

   It's my face. It's my body. I can dress it up or down however I want. Why is that such a hard concept for guys to accept? All that crap Jax said about dressing to be noticed - being noticed is fine. But being noticed isn't the same as being ridiculed, insulted, ostracised, shamed.

   Being noticed isn't an open invitation to guys to do whatever they want to me.

   Something that was amazing to watch, especially through Ian's eyes, was the discussion if, when a girl dresses a certain way, she basically invites attention and thus is at fault for males advancing on her. I love the way his option slowly changed and he realized that maybe this isn't quite right. Just like Grace pointed out, she didn't wear the clothes she wore to get attention or to make guys want her, but simply because those are the clothes she likes and should be able to wear without guys "loosing control over their own bodies".

   All in all Some Boys takes the incredibly hard and complex topic of rape and rape culture and shines a light on victim-blaming, shaming, and the general problem that we have with dealing with this topic. I salute Ms. Blount for doing such a brilliant job with this novel and I hope more people will pick it up and read it. Books like this are the reason why I love reading, why I think reading is so important. Sure, fantasy or sci-fi are great genres, but contemporaries like this one, they are important and should be discussed, used by teachers to teach young people about what is right and wrong. I love this book. I recommend it to everyone, even if contemporary isn't your favorite genre, just read it. And I admit, I might have cried/had tears in my eyes so many times while reading this that I legit lost count.

I give Some Boys by Patty Blount 5 out of 5 stars.

Cover Lust Friday: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

   Cover Lust Friday is a new weekly meme that's all about covers. Pick a cover that's beautiful, intriguing, creative, stunning, you name it, and add your reason why you've chosen that particular one or what you like about it. Let's have fun with it and share the love for our favorite covers.

   The Cover:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Published: September 27th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Number of Pages: 452 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: Yes, #1 in the Mara Dyer Trilogy

   Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
   It can.
   She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
   There is.
   She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
   She’s wrong. (goodreads.com)

   The Reason:

   Since this is the first ever Cover Lust Friday post my choice of cover and book definitely won't surprise anyone who has been around a while now. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin is one, or even my favorite book of all time along with the entire trilogy, really. The book is very dark so I think the cover perfectly mirrors the atmosphere.
   Besides the picture used I also love the font that was created for the cover, or at least I think it was created for this book, since it is amazing and I would love to have it and be able to use it. It fits with the trilogy perfectly, and also into the entirety of the cover.
   So, basically, I love this book and I am infinitely in love with the cover so much that I even had the original photoshoot picture of it as background on my MacBook. But, as I mentioned in the beginning, none of this will really surprise anyone who has followed my blog for a while now.

* * *

Want to join in? No problem! Just follow the 'rules' below:

1. Write a blog post about a cover you love.
2. Add your link in the comment section of this post so we can have something like a list going on.
3. And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
4. Check out other posts, and have fun!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Amazing Book is Not on Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester

   Hey guys!
   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases.

   The book:

The Amazing Book is Not on Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester
Expected Publication: October 8th 2015 by Ebury Press
Number of Pages: 224 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   Hello reader,
   In this book is a world. A world created by two awkward guys who share their lives on the internet!
   We are Dan and Phil and we invite you on a journey inside our minds! From the stories of our actual births, to exploring Phil's teenage diary and all the reasons why Dan's a fail.
   Learn how to draw the perfect cat whiskers, get advice on what to do in an awkward situation and discover which of our dining chairs represents you emotionally. With everything from what we text each other, to the time we met One Direction and what really happened in Vegas... (goodreads.com)

   My thoughts:

   I never read this types of books but I really, really like Dan and Phil so when I heard that they were writing a book I immediately know that I would make an exception for them, no matter what type of book it would be.
   Would I prefer a novel over what this book is? Definitely.
   Do I mind that this book isn't a novel? After that whole Zoella ghostwriter chaos/drama months ago, not at all.
   Dan and Phil are super funny and have so many different, interesting and fun stories to tell that I'm sure this book will be great. If you don't know these two yet, however that would be possible, go and check out their YouTube channels.

Ask the Author: Jennifer Niven (All the Bright Places)

   Hey guys!
   I am very exited to share this weeks Ask the Author with you guys. I had the pleasure of asking the very lovely Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places, a couple of questions, nine to be exact. It took me a while to come up with them but they are nothing compared to the beautiful and honest answers she gave me.
   Here is her book and her interview:

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Published:
Number of Pages:
Series: No
Buy it: Book Depository

~ Free worldwide shipping ~

   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.

Interview with Jennifer Nieven

    1 – Describe All the Bright Places in form of a haiku/or six adjectives.
    Here’s my haiku attempt:

With all the colors

in one at full brightness, they

wander. Not lost. Found.

   2 – Before writing All the Bright Places you wrote novels for adults. Why did you decide to write YA and what lead you to writing a story which deals with as heavy, though still important to be talked and read about, topics such as teenage mental health?
   I love to read YA and have always wanted to write it. When I was thinking of story ideas, I kept coming back to an event in my own life and a boy I used to know. I’d always wanted to write about it and him, but was never sure I’d be able to. Back then, through that experience, I felt firsthand the stigma associated with mental disorders—both from the boy’s perspective and from mine—and I realized that we need to make people feel safe enough to come forward and say, “I have a problem. I need help.” If we don’t talk about suicide or depression or mental illness, how can we expect anyone to reach out for help when they need it most?

   3 – How much research went into All the Bright Places and how important was it for you to depict Finch’s bipolar in a truthful manner?
   While I did do some research into mental illness/depression—which included speaking with experts—in many ways, I really just wrote the story I knew. Years ago, I knew and loved a boy, and that boy was bipolar. I witnessed up-close the highs and lows, the Awake and the Asleep, and I saw his daily struggle with the world and with himself. As for Violet, she is struggling with loss, and that is something I know too well. I’ve lost both my parents, all four grandparents, and numerous other family members and friends, so loss is something I know inside and out.

   4 – When you were deciding on where All the Bright Places should play, why did you decide upon Indiana? How important was it for you to show some of the things Indiana has to offer?
   I grew up in Indiana and went to high school there. Because of that, it felt like the most natural setting for my high school story. When I was living there, I—like Violet—thought it was ugly and boring. My mom used to tell me, “Just remember, what’s ugly to you is beautiful to other people.” I couldn’t imagine Indiana could be beautiful to anyone, but she made me stop and at least try to look at it differently. All these years later, I have this newfound appreciation for growing up there, and I thought it would be great (and important) for Finch to help Violet see their state in a new light.

   5 – Writing a book as long as All the Bright Places can, depending on the author, take a year or more, how did you manage to write it in just six weeks?
   Finch’s voice came out pretty much fully formed, as if he’d been waiting for me to write him. Violet took a bit more work, but for the most part, the writing of the story just flowed. I like to say it’s the book I’ve been carrying around inside of me for some time, but didn’t put on paper until 2013.

   6 – Are you happy with the cover the book has received?
   Yes! Omg I love it! By the time Random House showed it to me, they had been working on it for months and had gone through many, many different versions. The final cover is very similar to the one they first showed me. I love how different it is from a lot of other books. I think it stands out. :)

   7 – Mild or Spicy?
   Somewhere in between.

   8 – If you were forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
   Hmm… I think it would really depend on the situation. I supposed I’d fight if I absolutely had to, but I’d prefer flight—not in a cowardly way but in a super-stealthy, Katniss sort of way.

   9 – In terms of YA books, what comes next? Are you working on something?
   As soon as I finish touring, I’m going to work hard on my next YA novel. It’s about a boy who can’t recognize faces and a very visible girl who feels invisible. It’s about seeing, being seen, and learning to recognize what’s important. It’s about what makes us love someone.

About the Author

   By the time I was ten, I had already written numerous songs, a poem for Parker Stevenson ("If there were a Miss America for men, You would surely win"), two autobiographies (All About Me and My Life in Indiana: I Will Never Be Happy Again), a Christmas story, several picture books (which I illustrated myself) featuring the Doodle Bugs from Outer Space, a play about Laura Ingalls Wilder's sister entitled Blindness Strikes Mary, a series of prison mysteries, a collection of short stories featuring me as the main character (an internationally famous rock star detective), and a partially finished novel about Vietnam. I was also an excellent speller from a very early age.
   In 2000, I started writing full-time, and I haven't stopped... I've written eight books (two of those are forthcoming), and when I'm not working on the ninth, I'm contributing to my web magazine, Germ (www.germmagazine.com), thinking up new books, and dabbling in TV. I am always writing.

Ask the Author: Lily Paradis (Ignite and Volition)

   Hey guys!
   This week on Ask the Author I have the lovely Lily Paradis, author of Ignite and Volition, for you guys. I read and reviewed Ignite back in January and already started reading Volition, which I quite enjoy so far, so of course I had to ask her for an interview!
Here are her books and her answers:

Ignite by Lily Paradise
Published: August 26th 2014 by Empire Books
Number of Pages: 326 Pages (Paperback)
Series:Yes, #1

   After her father’s untimely demise in a mining accident and her mother’s abandonment, Lauren Lindsay is no stranger to loss. She’s used to living life for one person: herself. That is, until another family tragedy thrusts three children into her care and uproots her life in ways she could never imagine.
   Lauren's first instinct is to run, until she meets their striking, mysterious neighbor Dean Powell. Their immediate chemistry and his connection with her late father just might be enough to keep her in town long enough to uncover pieces of her past that she never had answers to. Dean’s shady past and her reluctance to trust him could cost her the life she's always been searching for, but will she run back to her old life?
   Or will she choose to stay and live the life her father always imagined for her?

Volition by Lily Paradis

Published: January 16th 2015 by Empire Books

Number of Pages: 396 Pages (Paperback)

Series: No

   You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach that stays with you, then tears you apart slowly at first, and all at once shreds every fiber of your being?

   It’s because you’re contradicting the universe.

   Everything lines up so perfectly that you couldn’t have imagined it to work out better, but then you have to go and do everything humanly possible to ruin it because you can’t stand to have it go right?

   That’s what I did.

   I did it because there’s a darkness that surrounds me, and I think I want it there.

   My name is Tate McKenna, and my soul is blacker than my heart.

Interview with Lily Paradise

   1 – Could you tell us a little something about your two books, Ignite and Volition?
   Sure! I guess I would classify them both as YA/NA Contemporaries. I say YA because they don't contain anything too explicit, but NA because I like to write about characters in their late teens/early twenties! They are both extremely different in nature. Read Ignite if you're looking for something fluffier, and Volition if you want something that will make you think.

   2 – Volition, and its protagonist Tate McKenna, are more on the ‘dark type of story’ side, where did you get the idea for it from?
   I got the idea from my own personality, as selfish as that sounds. I was tired of seeing female characters as tropes. I wrote Lauren in Ignite as a typical (ish) main character that you'd see in a popular book. Some people reacted well to her, but the ones who didn't like her inspired me to write Tate. Before I wrote Volition I felt like I had to write books that would fit in and sell. I didn't write what I wanted, I wrote what I thought everyone else would want. So then I decided to write a main character who had thoughts like I did and acted more like me, and Tate McKenna was born.

   3 – What made you ultimately decide that you do want to publish Volition, despite your doubts?
   The foreword can probably explain this better than I can, but a good friend of mine really connected with Tate after many, many beta readers did not. I was afraid people were not going to like this book because it wasn't the fluffy, air-head kind of stuff that can be popular right now. Tate wasn't giving and wonderful and oh-so deserving of a man. No. She's the darker part of all of us that we like to pretend doesn't exist. I wanted people to relate to that, and to my surprise, they did!

   4 – How long did it take you to write Ignite and Volition? Which took you longer and why?
   I honestly don't know because I don't remember when I started writing Ignite officially. They took probably around the same amount of time. It takes me forever to write a book anyway because (at the time) I was getting my undergraduate degree, and now I'm in graduate school. I wish it was my full time job! That's up to you all, so please tell your friends! :)

   5 – You are currently working on Ragnarök which is a very different type of story compared to Ignite and Volition, which were both contemporary novels. Could you maybe tell us a little bit about it?
   Well, Ragnarök looks like it's different, and it is, but it's not as different as it seems. It's an end of the world novel, as you can tell by the title. But it's not fantasy, and it's not really science fiction. It's not even too far into the dystopian genre, but its not contemporary either. I literally have no idea where to put this book, and people are going to want a genre. I still haven't come up with what to call it. It's going to have "before" and "after" chapters, so I suppose you could call the "before" chapters Contemporary? I'm not fully finished with it yet so I don't want to say too much just in case I change things. I can tell you that Rafe Kiley is going to be your new book boyfriend. Originally this book had four different perspectives but I split it up into two books. The second one will be called Leviathan!

   6 – How did you feel when the first reviews for Ignite came in?
   I think I was honestly just more in shock that people were reading words I'd written. It was surreal! Of course it was hard when reviews bashed the editing because I'd had such an issue with that company (you can read more in a blog post on my website) but overall, I was just really happy that people were (for the most part) enjoying something I'd written.

   7 – What is your process for deciding on a book title? Do they change over the course of writing?
   Once I decide on a title, it stays. I usually even decide before I start writing it. I really like strong, one-word titles. I also like them to have a lot of meaning regarding what the content of the novel is! If you ever can't figure out why I decided to use a certain title, google the definition and think about the novel. I never pick randomly.

   8 – Do you have a specific writing schedule or do you write whenever inspiration hits you?
   I don't have a schedule because I'm so busy with classes, but I find writing at night works best for me. That's when my mind is most creative - when I'm about to fall asleep! I also have an issue where I can't FORCE myself to write. It all just comes out terrible, and I should probably work on that.

   9 – Coffee or Tea?
   I love both! Probably coffee, though.

   10 – What are your three favorite authors and, if you’d run into them on the street, what would you say or ask them?
   My three favorites are Garth Nix, Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men and The Road are my favorites), and Meg Cabot. Interesting trio, I know. I'm pretty sure I'd just fangirl. Kind of like if I ever met Leonardo DiCaprio.

   11 – If you’d be forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
   I'd like to think that I'd channel my inner Tate, fight, and win the whole thing. Hmmm... maybe I should write that for fun...

About the Author

   Lily lives with her family and loves reading, running, and hiking. Although she's a Colorado native, New York City is her favorite place in the world and fosters her borderline unhealthy obsession with the Empire State Building and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ignite is her debut novel.
   She loves hearing from her readers and can be reached at paradis.lily@gmail.com.
   Find more information at lilyparadis.com
   Send Mail (And get a letter back!)
   P.O. Box 270514 Louisville, CO 80027

Review: Ignite by Lily Paradis

Ignite by Lily Paradis
Published: August 26th 2014 by Empire Books
Number of Pages: 326 Pages (Paperback)
Series: Yes, #1

   After her father’s untimely demise in a mining accident and her mother’s abandonment, Lauren Lindsay is no stranger to loss. She’s used to living life for one person: herself. That is, until another family tragedy thrusts three children into her care and uproots her life in ways she could never imagine.
   Lauren's first instinct is to run, until she meets their striking, mysterious neighbor Dean Powell. Their immediate chemistry and his connection with her late father just might be enough to keep her in town long enough to uncover pieces of her past that she never had answers to. Dean’s shady past and her reluctance to trust him could cost her the life she's always been searching for, but will she run back to her old life?
   Or will she choose to stay and live the life her father always imagined for her? (goodreads)

"This was turning out to be a quick lesson in what not to do when you find out 

you've been given children as an early Christmas present." (Lauren)

   This book is an absolutely beautiful debut by author Lily Paradis. It had about anything and everything I wanted it to have and it was exactly what I needed. It also happened to be the first book I read in 2015 and it was great!
   Ignite follows Lauren Anabelle Lindsay who happens to meet the stunning Dean Powell at the DMV and, over the course of this novel, they have something wonderful going on. Besides that Lauren is also faced with the fact that her dad's wife dies unexpectedly and leaves Lauren her three kids, which of course is definitely not something Lauren expected to have to deal with at twenty one. But, she manages to handle the situation way better then I think most people would, especially at her age.
   This book is packed with twists and turns and unexpected events and it just seriously made me admire the author for managing to squeeze just so many things into these 326 pages, it's really unbelievable. But all of it was amazing and on point. Sure, it was just a tiny bit unrealistic and only a tat too sweet at times but that doesn't matter. It's perfect!

   The characters in Ignite are amazing. Lauren was a great protagonist and reading from her point of view was just really a lot of fun. She always found a way to say the right things or stay silent when needed but she also had her flaws which made her a very real, likable and strong character.

"No shit, Sherlock. It was my fault we'd been trapped by an avalanche. Who does that?

Only really, really stupid people." (Lauren)

   Dean on the other hand was flirty, witty and just all around a really fun character. His past was horrible but he grew a lot over the course of this book and, to be honest, I think every girl deserves to have a Dean in her life, despite his past.

“He was wearing glasses. Who was he, Clark Kent? No one looked this good all the time. 

It just wasn’t possible.” (Lauren about Dean)

   Even though I am not the biggest fan of kids I found the three, Chase, Emma and Callie, to be very interesting characters which never broke character and were very distinct and appropriate for their age. I didn't like Callie for a big part of the book but in the end I started to like her and Emma was just the cutest kid ever.

   All in all, Lily Paradis managed to simply craft a beautiful plot with great characters and fun dialogues which always gave you all the feels, especially toward the end of the book when all the pieces started to be put together and just this gorgeous picture opens up in front of it.
   Ignite is a great contemporary novel which I highly recommend to anyone who is up for a nice read which has it all.

   I give Ignite by Lily Paradis 5 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir
Published: February 11th 2014 by Crown (first published 2011)
Number of Pages: 369 (Hardcover)
Series: No
Buy it: Book Depository
 ~ Free shipping worldwide ~

   Apollo 13 meets Cast Away in this grippingly detailed, brilliantly ingenious man-vs-nature survival thriller, set on the surface of Mars.
   Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first men to walk on the surface of Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first man to die there.
   It started with the dust storm that holed his suit and nearly killed him, and that forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was already dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his food would be gone years before a rescue mission could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to get him first.
   But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills--and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit--he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

"I'm pretty much fucked."

   This first line perfectly describes the entire novel. I'm not even kidding you. Way to go, Mr. Weir!
   After that opening line, paired with the blurb and the cover, I was sold. I had to get my hands on this book. I had to read it so I decided to buy it for myself for Christmas.
   I did not regret buying a hardcover copy.
   This book is nothing like what I usually read. It doesn't really fit into any of the genres I usually turn to and I loved it. This book was very different from what I have read so far throughout my years of reading. I admit, there was a lot I didn't understand simply because there is a lot of science in this book. A LOT. But, despite all the science, I still enjoyed this book a lot. I had a fantastic time reading it and exploring all these things involved in trying to survive on a planet where everything is out to kill you.

“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. 
Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”

   Mark Watney, the protagonist of this breathtaking novel, is a botanist and engineer who flew to Mars with his Crew where he was supposed to stay for 31 days. But, everything came differently and he ended up up there all alone. Through his "diary" entries we explore what is on his mind and how he tries to do everything he can to stay alive. He has an awesome sense of humor and never loses hope, as far as that is possible when you consider the fact that you have no way of telling anyone that you are actually still alive. Mark is a great protagonist and I would gladly read another story from his perspective. 

“As with most of life's problems, this one can be solved by a box of pure radiation.”

   The way this book is written is very unique and captivating, not only because of the extraordinary setting, but because of all the things that happen throughout the story, the science and the humor. There are many things I want to say about this book, point out things I liked most, but that would spoil the story for those who have not yet picked this book up. You definitely should.

“I started the day with some nothin’ tea. Nothin’ tea is easy to make. 
First, get some hot water, then add nothin’.”

   All in all The Martian is a very unique, spectacular and outstanding novel which has a lot to offer and, despite all the science which most humans without a degree in math, chemistry and/or engineering won't really understand, the story is more than just worth it. Don't let the science scare you. Just accept the science because it really isn't completely crucial to understand it. Mark's story is definitely worth reading. And I mean how often do you come across a book set on Mars?

   But, if The Martian still doesn't sound like a book for you, don't worry. The movie starring Matt Damon, Sean Bean and Jessica Chastain is set to come out November 2015 (Wikipedia). I hope they won't mess it up. Either way, I'm super excited.

I give The Martian by Andy Weir 5 out of 5 pirate-ninjas.

Taylor Swift Book TAG

   Hey guys!
   I recorded this TAG a few days ago and finally came around to edit and upload it. I must admit I'm not the biggest fan or listener of Taylor Swift but this TAG was fun. PLUS I've never seen a TAG before which mixed music and books so props to the creator of this TAG.

   By the way, you who is watching this video, feel yourself tagged to do this video too if you want.

   Cheerio!

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Published: May 7th 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens 
Number of Pages: 404 Pages
Series: Yes, #1 

   In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.
   The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world. (goodreads.com)

Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Published: May 1st 2012 by HarperTeen 
Number of pages: 447 (Paperback)
Series:Yes, #1  

   Embrace the Forbidden.
   What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?
   This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.
   Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

   Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns? (goodreads.com) 

   I disliked this book. Yes, that's right. I didn't like a book, which happens rarely. So prepare for a review that's a little different then usually, because I just cannot write this review in my normal style. It's my first review with such a rating so bare with me on this one.

    Let's start from the beginning.

   Meet Anna - the ultimate good girl. So sweet, innocent and naive that it actually makes her seem as unrealistic as a talking chair. But, Anna is not only overly perfectly good, no, she also happens to have super powers. Anna can see people’s emotions, which more or less works like those mood rings that I'm sure each and every one of us had at some point when we were kids. Only that it's not in ring form but rather like an aura. But that's not all. Anna can also hear everything in the radius of one mile, see and smell amazingly. Saint Anna also happens to never every lie - except once, on purpose, and let's be real, that was the lamest lie ever.

   Besides Anna, there's also Kaiden about whom Anna said the following: “He was smoking hot. As in H-O-T-T, hott. I’d never understood until that moment why girls insisted on adding an extra t. This guy was extra-t-worthy.” I'm not kidding. And she also said: "Kai, like Thai, only yummier!". Kaiden also happens to be the drummer in a rock band and also has one of those English accents. Now why doesn't that surprise me at all. By the way, Kaiden also has that mood aura superpower going, more or less like Anna.

   But I didn't tell you the 'best' part about them yet ... they are related to angels. Yes, angels. Kaiden's dad happens to be the Duke of Lust and Anna's the Duke of Substance Abuse, which totally explains why Anna feels a pull toward both alcohol and drugs. So, them being the kids of these Dukes means that they are supposed to do their daddies dirty work. In Kaiden's case this means he is supposed to have sex with random girls and ruin their lives which he treats and calls his 'work', which is just straight out wrong if you ask me. Each time he excused himself to go and 'work' I felt like throwing my copy of the book across the room. 

“Good gracious, he was sexy—a word that had not existed in my personal vocabulary until that moment. This guy was sexy like it was his job or something.”  

    Unfortunately that isn't all, Anna's adoptive mother, Patti, also happens to be the most irresponsible parent out there. Patti wouldn't allow Anna to go to a Party without calling the parents of whoever throws the party to make sure adults will be there, but she lets her daughter go on a road-trip with a seventeen year old boy, who I repeat is the son of lust, across the country. Sure, sounds like something that every logically thinking parent would do, right? No. Especially because the first time Anna told Patti about Kaiden, Patti told Anna to stay the hell away from him.

    Also, Sweet Evil put's an extreme emphasis upon the fact that Anna is a virgin and should in every case possible stay that way, which makes sense because she just turned sixteen, but the way this topic is discussed is just mildly disturbing.

   The LOVE part of Sweet Evil - I saw it coming. I knew it would happen at some point but it still make me want to stop reading. Of course Anna and Kaiden have to fall for each other. Big time. And it's all put out there in the most cheesy and predictable way possible. Okay, this entire book is predictable but oh well. And the author also introduces another male who will join in so they can form the thing we all love most - a love triangle.

   The 'plot' of Sweet Evil caused me to dislike the book even more then the exaggerated main characters. Higgins unfortunately didn't succeed in creating a angel/demon story which would captivate me. The plot just went from one pointless thing to another and the narrative was horrible. Sometimes I just couldn't stop myself from face palming at the ridiculous things Anna thinks or does. A lot of the interactions between the characters seemed awkward and made me as reader feel uncomfortable. The way the story moved from point A to point B seemed to lack any logic, which makes me wonder if Higgins even really considered putting more thought into it or if she just went along with it. Here are two examples:

   Anna's dad is in jail, but he is needed out of it right about now, how handy that he happens to have a parole hearing coming up! 

   Or, there's also the thing that neither Anna nor Kaiden are adults, so they cannot rant a room in a motel on their way to California. The solution? Let's just make Kaiden a emancipated minor.  

   See my point? 

   The last two chapters also just put the dot above the ‘i’ for me. They were straight out horrible and made the cringe all the way through both of them. The ending was awful and kind of obvious.

   One thing I almost forgot which made me laugh was that in the second to last chapter Higgins makes one of the characters say a sentence in German. As German speaker I felt more than confused by what she was trying to say because the sentence was neither a real sentence nor grammatically correct in any sort of way, which makes me wonder if she just used google translate. If you want your characters to speak in foreign languages, at least put in enough effort so the sentence is correct and doesn't just look fancy to everybody who doesn't speak that language.

    Anyway, all in all, I guess it's obvious that I really didn't enjoy this read. For me the whole package - characters, plot, and mythology - just did not work. Who knows, maybe it's because I don't dig the whole angel/demon genre. I don't know. Maybe if you like that, this book may be for you, but it most definitely was not my cup of tea. 

  I give Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins 1 out of 5 Stars.