The 5th Wave

The Bookworm says... Maybe. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey was a great book, don't get me wrong. Some parts were just a bit unclear in point of view (although I think this was intended) and some times very vague. That aside, I loved it. After the 4th wave, a few things are for sure. If you're alive, you're very unlucky and definitely not weak. You also know that you can't trust ANYONE. Cassie abides by these rules as she tries to find her little brother Sammy. Until she meets Evan Walker, that is. He decides to help Cassie in her mission to find Sammy. She starts to trust him, but is this the right choice? Trust or do not trust? Run or stay hidden? Surrender or fight back? Some choices prove to be simpler than others.

"In the end it wouldn't be the lucky ones left standing.

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

The Bookworm says... No. I can't say that Glory Obrien's History of the Future by A.S. King was my favorite book. Everything began on "Letter N Day" when Glory's mom committed suicide by sticking her head in the oven. Then, just before her high school graduation, Glory and her sort of best friend Ellie drank a bat. Yes, they drank a bat. The bat gave them the ability to see an individual's future by looking them in the eyes. And let me tell you, the things they were seeing weren't any good. Civil wars, slavery, and lots of war. There were certain passages in this book that I adored, but I didn't overall enjoy the plot. I am, however, a fan of A.S. King's writing style. She was very blunt, which isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it. Additionally, there was one topic that is usually avoided and/or shamed, but King addressed it. She praised it. That topic? Feminism. For that reason, I applaud her.

A.S. King is a Printz Honor Author
"Not living your life is like killing yourself, only it takes longer."

Gone Girl

The Bookworm says... ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY YES! Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was terrifyingly excellent. Nick and Amy have been married 5 years, happily for the most part. Well, maybe not so happily. On their fifth anniversary, Amy goes missing and Nick is the number one suspect. Nick can be hostile and he's definitely not perfect, but would he murder his wife? This novel was outstanding. The sharp plot twists you never saw coming, the amazing characterization, the literary excellence. The ideas put into this book are unheard of. I've never been so disappointed that a book ended.

"It's a very difficult era in which to be a person, just a real, actual person, instead of a collection of personality traits selected from an endless Automat of characters."

Before I Fall

The Bookworm says... Yes! Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver was a lovely read. Samantha Kingston was killed in a drunk driving accident. She is dead. Was dead. The one problem: she wakes up the next morning. And everyone around her? It's like it never happened. She relives this day, her death day if you will, several times. Each day she changes things she realizes she has done wrong. being the most popular girl in her high school, Sam has messed up a few times. Now she has a chance, or seven, to fix her ways, and die peacefully. I adored this book. Absolutely adored it. The main reason I had picked it off the shelf was because of the review on the cover from Jay Asher, one of my favorite authors. I'm indescribably happy with Before I Fall, and Lauren Oliver. In fact, it drove me straight to Barnes and Nobles to buy another one of her novels, Panic. I think I just found a new favorite author.

"Maybe for you there's a thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around in it, let it slide like coins through your fingers. So much time you can waste it. But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know."

The Whole Stupid Way We Are

The Bookworm says... No. The Whole Stupid Way We Are by N. Griffin was not my favorite book. Skint Gilbert and Dinah Beach live in a small town in Maine, and they are best friends. It's the dead of winter, but Skint refuses to wear a coat. Dinah, thinking she is looking out for him, tries to get him to wear a coat. All Dinah ever wants to do is help people, but she doesn't realize that sometimes, people don't need help. Or, her "help" is just worsening the situation. Help help help. Dinah helps everyone from Skint to a dancing donkey to Skint's dad. Skint's dad suffers from dementia, and Dinah just wants to help. But is it really Mr. Gilbert that needs help? This novel was written in the third person point of view, but there were certain points in which the line between third and first person was blurred. I also found it perplexing how Dinah sometimes referred to her parents as "Mom and Dad", and sometimes "Mr. & Mrs. Beach". The use of nicknames was confusing. I feel that the plot took much too to develop, and the amount of side plots was excessive. Over all, I did not really enjoy this book. 

"Go back, go back. Undo these days and let us go back to before."

Every Day

The Bookworm says... Absolutely! Every Day by David Levithan was a brilliant book. Every day, A wakes up in a different body. Always a sixteen year old. Accesses the body's memories, and lives its life. At midnight, he changes bodies again. He leaves lives untouched, and doesn't remember any details about former lives. Until one day, he's  in a boy named Justin's body. While in this body, he falls in love with Justin's girlfriend Rihannon. Every day, A tries to contact Rhiannon. Every day, A loves her more. Every day, she doubts him. Will Rhiannon be able to overlook the constant body/gender change, or will A be able to stop changing bodies? This novel was absolutely breathtaking. The ending was not very satisfying, I'll admit. Ending aside, an amazing book. I wish there was a sequel to this fantastic story. 

"If you stare at the center of the universe, there is a coldness there. A blankness. Ultimately, the universe doesn't care about us. Time doesn't care about us. That's why we have to care about eachother."

Previously reviewed: Will Grayson, Will Grayson  (cowritten with John Green)

Lovely, Dark, and Deep

The Bookworm says... YES! Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Amy McNamara was an outstanding novel. Mamie Wells was a perfect student, but also an avid partier and social butterfly. One accident causes this girl to disappear forever. She moves from New York City to live in a secluded home in Northern Maine to live with her artist father. She no longer goes by Mamie, but Wren. She completely abandons everything from her old life, and tries to build a new one. This being said, she promises herself that someday she will return to NYC and go to college as planned. One day, after nearly being run over by his car, Wren meets a boy named Cal. They keep in touch, but not often. After months of living like a recluse, Wren's parents intervene. She is forced to get a job, and help out around the house. After being pushed to go see a therapist, Wren heads out on a stress run, forgetting it's nearly midnight. There she runs into Cal, who is with his ex girlfriend. She jumps to conclusions and runs away, back into the woods. In her stress and confusion, she ends up hospitalized with hypothermia. She recovers, and is seemingly happier. Until, that is, her best friend from her former life arrives with a stack of letters she had been meaning to send and two bottles of champagne. Will Wren welcome Meredith back into her life, and return to her old self, or will she continue to push Meredith away and sink back into seclusion, accepting her life for what is? After having this book recommended to me by a close friend (and then proceeding to steal her copy), I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it. I even put off reading it for a while; once I started the novel I couldn't put it down until two hours later when I finished it. This book is outstanding, and I would recommend it to any young person that may have, not unlike Wren, lost themselves whilst loosing someone else. An excellent debut novel.

"The only constant is change."

Side Effects May Vary

The Bookworm says... Yes! Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy was an outstanding novel! 

Then

Alice was diagnosed with leukemia one year ago. She always thought life was guaranteed, but now tow weeks aren't even guaranteed. So, there are some things she must do before she dies. Blackmail her ex boyfriend into embarrassing himself after cheating on her, telling people her private information, and making fun of a gay boy in their grade. She must break into the amusement park from when she was little and go on the tea cups. She has to humiliate her former dance rival, and constant enemy onstage during the school play. She needs to buy a puppy for the little girl next door. And finally, she has to go to a prom. For all of this she enlists her childhood best friend Harvey. 

Just after all of Alice's issues are settled, she feels she could die peacefully. She tells Harvey her feelings for him, and falls asleep content with death. Only to learn the next day she has gone into remission. She was living life like she was dying, but now she is going to live. 

Now

Things are extremely awkward between Alice and Harvey. Alice has to return to school. Alice is still weak. She returns to school and faces her dance enemy Celeste. Celeste and her side kick Mindi are horrible to Alice, saying she should have died. While Alice tries to figure out her feelings for Harvey, she doesn't realize that she is leaving his feelings in the dust. She kisses him, but won't say she loves him. She doesn't talk to him at school, yet she is jealous when she sees him with other girls. She doesn't know what to do. Celeste and Mindi are trying to plan something awful for Alice, and it happens. They make her a shrine type memorial that would have happened if she had died. Alice witnesses her own memorial. Harvey has a girlfriend. Alice confronts her mom about what she saw in the window one day. Life is going down hill. Alice realizes that in her quest for revenge and good deeds, she never did soemthing for Harvey. So, she tries to find his dad, and in the process finds her feelings for him. 

This book was excellent. It switches point of view and time period every chapter which is usually enough to make me close a book. But, it works. Julie Murphy, well done. 

It's Kind of a Funny Story

The Bookworm says... YES. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini was am excellent book. Craig Gilner was always a model students and studied his butt off for the admittance test for Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School. He spends all his time studying, and the pressure pushes him to his breaking point. He begins to become more and more depressed. Once he gets to the school he realizes that he will never be an A+ student, just normal 93's which aren't bad but they aren't outstanding and if they're not outstanding, he won't get into a good college and he won't get a good job. The stress keeps piling on and Craig stops eating and sleeping. He finally decides to kill himself. In the middle of the night, he prepares to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. He calls a suicide hotline and they tell him if he is considering harming himself he should check himself into a hospital. Craig decided that death probably falls under the category of harming yourself, and checks himself in. While in the Brooklyn Mental Health Facility, he finds people that are non-verbal, transsexuals, depressed teens, drug addicts, and... love? Will Craig manage to get his depression under control (or experience the Shift as he calls it)? And what will he use to make this happen? Will he escape this hospital and find true love? 

The Impossible Knife of Memory

The Bookworm says... Maybe. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson was a pretty good book! It is the touching story of a girl named Hayley Blue who lives with her father who struggles with sever PTSD from fighting in the army. Hayley has been traveling the country in her Dads truck, but it's been decided she needs to live a real life. Hayley struggles with depression and anxiety. She very clearly knows how to spot people that are living their lives, and those spending it trying to fit in. She refers to the latter as zombies. She is constantly worried about her dad, and does not try very hard in school. When her dads horrible ex Trish makes an appearance, her life starts to go downhill. Her dad seems to be getting better, but then there's a bar fight. And he starts drinking again. Will she get her dad to turn his life around before he starts playing around with the lines between life and death? This book didn't have a major climax until the end, but it was great! It was also somewhat confusing, but it was great for the most part. 

Laurie Halse Anderson is the author of previously reviewed novel Speak.