Before I jump into March's book review, I wanted to thank you all for all the support you've shown Skylights Magazine over the past two weeks! It's been a whirlwind and I'm so grateful. I've written a post over there about learning how to edit as a writer, if you're interested :)

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Title: Love, Lucy

Author: April Lindner

Publication: 2015

I feel bad for this book. Not because I didn't enjoy it because I did. However, because of the subject matter of this novel, it gets compared to and falls a little short of other novels that I love. Love Lucy is a novel about travel and romance and a bit of self-discovery. In that vein, it gets placed in my mental library beside one of my favorites, Anna and the French Kiss, as well as a recent read, My Life Next Door. As I've mentioned already in a full review, Anna and the French Kiss is a story about travel, first loves and self discovery, while My Life Next Door (thoughts coming later this month) is a story of family and summer romances. Both were phenomenal. And however unfairly, Love Lucy just can't hold a candle to either of those novels.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it because I absolutely did! Linder's writing style was solid and she did a wonderful job of making the reader long for foreign places. I felt like I was 16 again (the age I traveled to Italy) awestruck by all of the Italian scenery. When I visited I really adored both Florence, which is like a European NYC, and Rome, so seeing those places again was a bit nostalgic. And I really loved the mention of the classic Roman Holiday - great movie! I also really liked the message of this novel for our main character Lucy. About following your heart both on a personal and professional level. The pressures of society and family especially can be heavy to bare so it was good to see a character struggling with some of those things and figuring them out. It made the novel interesting, although I have to admit that some parts got a little repetitive and I may have skimmed through quite a few chapters (Eep!).

For me, where Love Lucy falls short of the two novels mentioned earlier is in the love department. Although I liked the characters individually, Lucy and her Italian beau Jesse just didn't seem to have much chemistry beyond the typical "whirlwind foreign romance" variety of most travel books. Don't get me wrong, they serve a purpose in each other lives in this book. But it's a purpose that could be furthered by a friendship just as much as a relationship. That ache of loving someone? I just didn't feel it. And because of that, as one of those readers that loves shipping her characters, I couldn't really connect with the progression of the storyline.

All in all, Love Lucy was a fun read. If you're looking for a novel about travel and how it changes you, this is a decent option. Is it worth an impulsive purchase on your Kindle and a speedy read through? Probably so. Will it change you? Probably not.

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April's book is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Winner of multiple awards, including the Prince Award, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a heart-warming novel about the classic tale of how polar opposites attract, about that friendship that can change the course of your life. Having heard so very much about the brilliance of this novel, I have been looking forward to reading it for over a year, so I'm very excited to jump into it this month! This would be a great month to join us! Review will be on May 5th.

Did you read Love Lucy with us this month? Got any thoughts? Or maybe some recommendations for travel, romance books? Let me know!

To Fill Up & Live | Ugly Love

Title: Ugly Love

Author: Colleen Hoover

Publication: 2014

Major Character(s): Tate and Miles

Main Plot: Tate, fresh out of university and starting grad school, has little time to dedicate to a relationship. So it seems like a blessing when she meets Miles, who is the definition of emotionally unavailable, and the two decide to engage in a purely physical relationship instead. But things are never really that simple, are they?

Favorite Lines:
"God gives us the ugliness so we don't take the beautiful things in life for granted."

"Some people they grow wiser as they grow older. Unfortunately, most people just grow older."

"She's like poetry. Like prose and love letters and lyrics, cascading down the center of a page."

My Rating: 4.7

Confession: I'm a skimmer. Well not habitually but sometimes I'll start reading a new book by skimming it first, just flipping the pages. First thing I noticed about Ugly Love was the switching of point of view between the two main characters and how Miles' chapters were set six years earlier and the prose was formatted strangely. And I groaned because I just knew I was going to hate it. Lies! It was my favorite! I loved Miles chapters. They read like a diary. No more than that. The lovely 'stream of consciousness' writing flowed like the lyrics to a song, bopping along to a melody only Miles could hear. And what makes me love it even more is that it fits his mentality and feelings perfectly, and is surely something Hoover intended and it's perfect!

So it's fair to say that I really enjoyed Hoover's writing style. I also really liked the story! Truthfully, I was surprised by the existence of a storyline - Fifty Shades of Grey really set the bar low for storylines in New Adult books for me - and that said storyline was actually laid out and executed very well. And I enjoyed the sexy times immensely. Am I allowed to say that? Does it make you completely uncomfortable to read that? Oh, well. I did! And you'd be hard-pressed (hehe, a pun!) to find someone who can say they didn't. I found that Hoover used sex as a mechanism to display how either a relationship was developing or falling apart. It never felt arbitrary and so it felt less like reading soft-core porn.

I also really loved Hoover's characters (especially Cap!). Don't get me wrong, I had issues with every single one of them and found myself getting frustrated with their decisions. But I still liked them, which to me is the true test of characters and their development. If I like a character or can really appreciate their story arch - if I care about what happens to them -, then an author has truly done her job. Hoover's characters are believable and feel very real. I get them and their motivation, despite whether I agree with their choices or not. (As my dear Kristen would say, some things were just unforgivable.) My heart felt for Miles while truly understanding Tate. I wanted happiness for them both and found myself rooting for them less than 30 pages into the novel. And most of all, I loved that they both developed throughout the story. Every character in Ugly Love ended up different and, I would argue, better people on the other side of things.

Overall, I'm so glad this was our book choice this month. It was love-related without being too lovey-dovey and it managed to be a heart-warming story despite the heavier topics it handled. It was a quick read because I constantly wanted to know what happened next as I was so invested in the story from the very beginning, only coming up for air after the final page.  If you're into contemporary reads and don't mind a little lust in the pages of your novel, definitely pick this one up!

Did you read along with us this month? Any thoughts on Ugly Love? Link up your review below and of course, let me know what you thought in the comments below.



Also, do you regularly read New Adult books? If so, I'd like some suggestions as this genre is relatively new to me.  

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March's book is Love Lucy by April Lindner. 

During her summer in Florence, Italy, Lucy finds herself falling in love with all the the city has to offer - all of it. Once she returns home, she finds out that moving on from an experience like that is easier said than done. We hope you'll read along with us and join us in reviewing Love Lucy on Tuesday, April 7th!

A Girl Who Reads #1

Towards the end of last year, I realized that I was struggling with how to handle books and book reviews on my blog. Unless I'm in a reading slump, I read fairly often. I read 30+ books last year. But I only reviewed a handful, with many reviews on back up. Either I didn't have enough to write a full review or I didn't want to flood all your timelines with unwanted book talk.

It dawned on me, while rethinking the direction of my blog, to do the blog equivalent of the BookTube wrap up, creating one video (post) in which I review my recent reads. Of course, I'll still review certain books individually, like I did this one (link!) and this one (link!). However, I like the idea of talking about them all in one go. Such posts, dubbed "A Girl Who Reads", will be frequent but not monthly or any other specific span of time. Just once I've read a few, I'll compile what I thought into a single post.

My True Love Gave To Me by Stephanie Perkins et. al.

A collection of holiday-themed short stories that was definitely worth the read. There were stories that I pushed through a bit and other's a flew through but hey, I feel like that's expected with various authors. Regardless, I solidified my love for some authors and got introduced to some new ones. MTLGTM was the book club book of the month for December so check out the FULL REVIEW here!

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

The perfect ending to The Mortal Instruments Series. I can't say I was nervous about it - I'm not usually nervous about final books in series and Clare's final Infernal Devices book was perfection so there was trust - yet still, it did not disappoint. Everything concluded really well. Clare gave each character the ending that was true to their character and just when I thought it was over, she had a few more twists up her sleeve. I was also damn near tears seeing some Infernal Devices characters again - the feels!
I ordered this book off BookOutlet but couldn't control myself so I read it on my iPhone. Legit read it on my phone in the bed in like 3 days. A 700+ page book. Now that I have it, I'm probably gonna read it again because I breezed through it so fast I feel like I need to.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

GAAHHH! This was technically my first read in 2015 (I was basically done My True Love Gave To Me by the 1st), and purposely so. I always hit a reading slump of sorts towards the end of the year, and I picked up the tip of rereading a favorite at the start of each year from Ariel Bissett. Of course, Fangirl didn't disappoint in the slightest. I loved it even more the second time around! Rainbow's characters are just so full and hopeful and real and magnificent. And her writing is so straightforward and relatable. I don't know what I'm saying. I need to do a full review on this eventually. Gaaahhh!

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Sioban Vivian

Burn for Burn was a fun read. That's the best way I know to describe it. The story centers on the lives of three high school friends, each burned (get it?) by someone somehow and each looking for revenge. It's like Gossip Girl meets Revenge, except truly not as good as either, honestly. But that doesn't mean I didn't like this novel, I just love me some GG :) I have the sequel Fire with Fire on my actual shelf and the final book, Ashes to Ashes, on my metaphorical shelf and I plan to get to them both.

Four: A Collection by Veronica Roth

I purchased this book not even a week after it released back in July 2014 and it's just been sitting on my shelf. Maybe it was the other books I was excited to read or the fact that Allegiant threw me into a reading slump (oh hey, Allegiant!), but I wasn't jumping at the chance to read it.
Four is a collection of short stories from Four's point of view. Aside from the final book, we don't get to see inside Four's head and then even Allegiant, we aren't really seeing the faction world through his thoughts. Although I can't say that I absolutely loved this book, I am glad Roth wrote it. I remember not really liking Four's POV in Allegiant because I couldn't get a clear grasp on his voice; it all sounded like Tris to me. I think that without the distraction of jumping into Tris' head every other chapter, Roth does a wayyy better job of giving us Four's story in a voice that feels unique. There were definitely times when that voice annoyed me, but still. My only criticism would be the lack of Four's POV from the series. Roth delves into Four's life before Divergent and what drove him to make the choices he made, which I liked seeing, but I also really wanted to see the relationship unfold more in his eyes and how he perceived the big moments of Divergent and Insurgent.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Ugly Love is the book club book of the month for February, so mums the word. The only thing I'll say is that I didn't hate it. Full review coming soon! (March 3rd to be exact.) And I hope you're reading it along with us!

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

OMG. The only way I know how to describe this novel (novella?) is to say that it's kinda 'trippy'. At least once per scene I found myself thinking "no fucking way" or "Is this real life?", which of course it's not. But still, sometimes I just couldn't believe that the character/the author went there. It wasn't a bad thing that she did, just surprising. This is the story of Queen Levana, the villain in all the Lunar Chronicles books, explaining how she came to be who she is. Teeny tiny spoiler: Meyer doesn't completely redeem Levana in Fairest by finding a way to rationalize her later villain-ness. Reasons are given and as a reader, you can see the things that made Levana who she is, but Meyer doesn't make excuses. It doesn't make it okay, but it kinda makes it better. I like that.

I'm currently reading The Assassin's Blade by Sara J. Maas. I've only got about 75 of the 300+ pages left and I already know what happens at the end, so I could include it here. But on technicality, I'll save it. That makes it seven books (almost 8!) that I read since the beginning of the year. At this rate, I'll hit my Goodreads goal, a thought that excites me more than it probably should. On the other hand, I do realize that every single one of these books is a YA novel. I should really start branching out. We'll see next wrap-up.

What have you read recently? I'm totally open for suggestions because you know, I could always use more books. (Not true. I have zero space for more books, but, you know, so what? Literature, yo!) 

To Fill Up & Live | Orange Is The New Black

Title: Orange Is The New Black

Author: Piper Kerman

Publication: 2010

It's well past midnight on the day this review is suppose to go up and I just can't write this review. I've never experienced this before, and I have no clue how to handle it. I respect the art of writing so much that I always try to support anyone endeavoring into the craft. And I hate the act of bashing a book. But, guys, I really did not like this book. I've rated it a 3 stars out of courtesy because honestly, it was probably more of a 2.5. Grr! I hate to do this. Normally, if I read a novel and really didn't like it, I'd just bypass saying anything negative about it and just won't review it. But, alas, this was the book club book of the month and so I must. 

Despite my rating, I must say that this book had two things going for it (only one really, but I'll get to that in a bit). The writing. Piper Kerman's writing is actually quite good. In terms of technical writing skill, this book gets high marks. It was well written and the author had a very clear writing voice that she employs from beginning to end. Secondly, this book made a wonderful t.v. series. I don't think that's very attributable to the author or the book itself (considering how different the show is), but then again, without the book, there would be no source matter to go off of. The show Orange Is The New Black is outstanding. It's hilarious and the characters are multifaceted and charming. The setting is jarring yet not so foreign to the viewer that we can't relate. I cannot say enough good things about this show, which I think is why I disliked the book so much. In fact, I wonder if I'd known it was a book and read it first, would I have liked it more? Perhaps, having watched it first, I ruined it for myself. It was kind of like when you read a novel and love it and then see the movie and think "the book is always better than the movie". Except well, the opposite.

I don't want to dwell too much on the negatives of this book, because like I said before, I don't like book bashing. But... I think my major issues lie with the execution and characters which combined to make the book quite boring. I really, really disliked Piper. I found her quite offensive and ignorant, and not in that endearing way. And not in that "oh, she'll grow through this experience" kind of way, because, umm she doesn't. Piper enters the prison as a spoiled, educated, priviledged woman who doesn't belong in there and leaves the same way. I didn't see change or growth. I continued reading in large part to see my favorite characters from the show, and they were pale comparisons to the vibrant women of the screen. And because we see them through Piper's narrow view, they are diminished to stereotypical characteristics. For instance, Piper refers to a transgendered character simply as "almost all woman" and another inmate as a "bulldyke", both kinda surprising coming from her character. As Holden Caulfield would say, she's a phony.

What I'm left with at the end of the book is "look at me, I was a good girl and make friends, even though I didn't think such nice things about them and that's how I made it through prison". It began with an interesting premise, but it needed more depth, more something.

So, that's all I'll say, as I don't want to spoil or bash it. But do link up below if you read along with us this month. And tell me,  if you read this book, did you like it? Any thoughts about the show?

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Seeing as February is the month of lurrvveee, I'm really excited to jump into our next book: 

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover!

I've been wanting to read a Colleen Hoover novel for a while now. I'd heard such amazing things for her novels Maybe Someday and Slammed, and then I heard about Ugly Love and the movie that's coming soon and the fact that this guy would be playing the love interest, and... >>>>>>>>>>>

OMG, can you say sold? Ugly Love, our book club's first NA read, is about two characters who don't have time for love so they settle on a purely physical relationship instead. But of course, it's never as easy as that, is it? I hope you'll join us this month! We'll be reviewing the novel on March 3rd. Happy Reading!

To Fill Up & Live | My True Love Gave To Me

Look at me, kicking off my resolutions right with my first book review! Technically, it was December's book, but po-tae-to, po-tah-to.

Title: My True Love Gave To Me
Authors: Holly Black, Ally Carter, Matt De La Peña, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Stephanie Perkins, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, and Kiersten White
Editor: Stephanie Perkins
Publication: 2014

I've never reviewed a collection of short stories and I'm not sure how to do it effectively. I do know that if I wait until I've finished the entire book, I'm sure to forget what I thought of earlier stories. So here's a compilation of my thoughts for each story, recorded as I read each one. (Note: stories marked with a "*" are my favorites.)

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell *
"You're like a kaleidoscope. You change every time I look away."
"'You guys really fell asleep against Michigan.' 'I'm not actually on the football team,' Noel said. 'That's no excuse,' Mrs. Porter said." :)

LOVE. I'm obsessed with this story and the main characters Mags and Noel and their series of New Year's Eves. Especially Noel. This entirely too-short, short story made me laugh, swoon, aww and gasp all within the span of 22 pages. I hadn't read a Rainbow Rowell novel in a while, and although I knew I loved her work so much, I couldn't pinpoint why. Then I read Midnights and a page in I'm face-palming myself because, hello, she just tells such a wonderful story in such a wonderful way. Rainbow is most definitely still my homegirl. I read it again before continuing on to any of the other short stories in the book #sorrynotsorry #notatall.

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han

It was a very cute story with an interesting premise - the only little girl in the North Pole surrounded by Santa and his elves. However, it felt a bit rushed, launching into a new idea two pages before the end, so it feels like an afterthought. I did really liked her character voice, and the writing style sucks you in. It's my first Jenny Han story (although I have two of her books) and it makes me anxious to pick up her novels.

Your Temporary Santa by David Leviathan 

I'm torn about this one. I could sense there were deeper issues that got glossed over in this very short (10 pages!) short story. [I did really like how it featured a homosexual relationship in a way that was ancillary to the story and therefore, equated it with any other relationship, instead of setting it apart.]

The Lady and The Fox by Kelly Link
If I thought I was torn about the last one, than I'm being tormented by this one. In a word: Weird. Really weird. I felt like I was in a haze while I read this story, but I couldn't put it down. The premise started out really interesting, a girl who spends each Christmas with the family of her mother's close friend, but then it spins off into these paranormal aspects that I wasn't sure what to do with. Hmm.

Angels in the Snow by Matt De La Peña *
I hate to admit it but I did not expect to like this short story. I don't read many things from a male point of view and the story of a college boy, house sitting for a wealthy friend and starving over the holidays doesn't sound like something that belongs in a holiday collection of short stories. But I loved it! The protagonist's voice was real and funny, and the interactions in the story were honest and heart-warming at times. What I thought was a story about starving for the holiday turned out to be one about getting your fill.

It's A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins *
"A thrill went through her, hearing his voice again at such a close range. Superior and aloof, but definitely with that paradoxical underpinning of friendly amusement. It probably allowed him to get away with saying all sorts of rude things. "

Eeee, all the feels! I knew Stephanie Perkins was going to bring them (of course!) but I didn't expect so much from 20 pages. North rivals Noel in crushable male characters, for sure. Perkins just knows how to write such interesting characters in the most unlikely situations and make you eat it all up. Like Midnights, I could have used about 200 more pages of this story. The Perkins "girl meets boy + adventure = the feels!" never misses!

Krampslauf by Holly Black 
Reviews says that this short story was one of the worst and they couldn't even read it. I can't figure out why for the life of me. I really, really enjoyed it! It's mostly based in reality, but there's an element of paranormal and it's a darker story for sure. The characters were great (like Wren) and the story was really intriguing and creative. Overall, cool is the best way I know to describe it.

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White *
"The door opens with a rusted jingle, and an animatronic Santa insults my moral virtue three times. Ho, ho, ho."
"And there - when he smiles, his whole faces lights up. It's like his other expressions are placeholders."

If I thought I loved Noel and North, Ben might just be my soulmate. This story, about a little town named after a joyous holiday, told by a less-than-joyous teenage girl, ends up being one of the most heart-warming of the collection. White's characters are realistic and lovable, and her prose is fantastic, I love the ease with which she writes. Also, White is a whiz at dialogue, using witty, funny and charming banter to break up heavier themes. I smiled through the story, laughed out loud a few times and even teared up a little bit. After reading this short story, I only have one regret: not reading a Kiersten White story sooner.

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman *
"Of all the things and people she missed lately, it was odd to find herself at the top of that list."

Oh. This. Was. Good. And so relatable for me. Sophie Roth is a Brooklyn girl attending college in the middle of west bumble, where her classmates call her "big city" and she has to clearly indicate when she being sarcastic which is most of the time. Hello, Kari circa 2006! I smiled, giggled and laughed my way through this entire story. So much banter! And mixed in with a few tender moments and another male of the crushable variety. Six foot five, tall, dark and handsome male lead? Yes, please. (Clearly, this collection has made me boy crazy.)

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

This is a very cute story told from the point of view of the boy who ruined the Pastor's Christmas pageant and is covertly pining after the Pastor's daughter. Classic bad boy likes the good girl but a cute read nonetheless.

The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer by Laini Taylor
After reading the first few pages, I wanted to put this one down, which is ironic because I've heard it takes a few chapters to get into Taylor's phenomenal novel Daughter of Smoke Bone as well. The story was just a bit strange and kind of uncomfortable. Not that it was bad or boring, but it just didn't feel like a story that belonged in a holiday collection. And after completing it, it still doesn't feel like it belongs, but it's less weird and more wonderful. I kind of wish I'd read it separately because expecting it to be cheery and bright is what stopped me from fully appreciating it. One thing was clear: Laini Taylor's writing is wonderful. It's full and luscious and a blend between the easy writing of most YA authors and the complexity of classic novelists.

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter
I feel bad. This was the last short story I read, and I feel like by the time I got to it, I was all burnt out on cutesy holiday stories and ready to plunge into the novels of the authors I'd just discovered. Something about the story felt rushed and like a network Christmas movie to me. It kind of felt like a whirlwind of unlikely, followed by impossible, succeeded by no-freaking-way.   

The skaters on the front cover represent the couples in all 12 stories, which proved to be way too exciting for me as I flipped to the cover after every story to i.d. them. I was almost right - I was so sure  the "Laini" couple was Mags & Noel from Rainbow's story because they're dancing :)

Here's my rating for the collection as a whole. (Btw, I'm rating with bows now. Not that it's particularly significant to books or my blog. I just really like bows!)

4.5!

This collection may have been the perfect way to end the new year with. Now, I have new authors I'm excited to read! What did you think of My True Love Gave To Me? Got a favorite short story of the bunch? If you reviewed the book along with us, please link up below!

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Note to self: deceptively short stories = long reviews :)

With a new year comes new books for our book club! And a new genre of books as well. Kay suggested this month's book and I'm glad she did because we've never read a non-fiction novel. January's book of the month is: Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman.

Buy this novel!

If the novel is anywhere near as hilarious as season 1 of the show, we are all in for a treat! A ten year old decision becomes Piper Kerman worst nightmare when it lands her in jail for a year and a half. Pick up this memoir to find out what landed her there and all the hilarious and heartbreaking stories she has to share about it. As you read, you can take a look at these discussion questions to get you thinking about the book. I hope you'll be joining us this month, and sharing what you thought come Tuesday, February 3rd in a review!

Happy Reading!

To Fill Up & Live | Anna & The French Kiss

First, a huge THANK YOU! to everyone that has continued to read and comment by blog posts in the rare occasion that I blogged last month. I will be back consistently this month! I truly, truly appreciate you, and will be showing your blogs lots of love very shortly <3

I feel like a total stranger. It feels like NaNoWriMo, which ended on Sunday night, has drained all creativity out of me. I've been binge-watching episodes of Reign every free moment I get for the past 24 hours because it requires little brain power and I am a girl obsessed. A wrap-up post will be coming shortly for anyone interested in NaNoWriMo or writing related topics.

But today is "Book Review Day." The book club's November book, and the only book I read this month, was a re-read for me, Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. And seeing as I feel the same way about it now as I did then, I've reproduced my review of it from last year.

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below if you read it too! Also, if you've reviewed it, please do link-up with Kay and I below :)

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Title: Anna and The French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publication: 2010

Major Characters: Anna, St. Clair, Meredith, Rashmi, Josh

Main Plot: When Anna gets shipped off to The School of America in Paris leaving a best friend and an almost-boyfriend back home in Atlanta, she expects it to be miserable. But when she falls into step with a friendly foursome, one of which is a super attractive boy with an adorable accent, she wonders if maybe she could belong to the City of Light as well.

Favorite Line(s):
"Girl scouts didn't teach me what to do with emotionally unstable drunk boys."

""Soap?"
"School of America in Paris" he explains. "SOAP".
Nice. My father sent me here to be cleansed."

"And, suddenly, I want to touch him. Not a push, or a shove, or even a friendly hug. I want to feel the creases in his skin, connect his freckly with invisible lines, brush my fingers across the inside of his wrists."

My Rating: 5

To start off, it's not this classic monster of a book. It's not going to make you stop and think about your decisions or bring your morals into question. It's not going to change your life. It's not a Pride & Prejudice, Of Mice & Men, The Catcher In The Rye. It doesn't bring you to an alternate world that's been forever changed by our rampant consumerism like The Hunger Games or Divergent. Yet, it's still one of my favorites. Because it is such a charming, feel good book.

Stephanie Perkins perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to fall in love. That feeling of not knowing whether you're friends or more than friends, and feeling like your heart might just pop right out of your chest when he gets a little too close. The electricity of a first touch or the moment when flirtatious banter is capped by a look that makes the ground fall from beneath your feet. When I read this book, both times I found myself giddily smiling into its binding and kicking my feet into the air, vicariously living through Anna and her Parisian experiences. There are particular scenes I reread multiple times before continuing because of how endearing they are to read.

Sometimes, when you read a romance-y type of novel, especially one with teenage characters (most of the characters are seniors in high school), you expect to feel "over it" because the romance is so unrealistic and the characters are so naive. This novel didn't feel that way. Aside from the typical teen-angst moment here or there, the problems they faced felt real and the situations they found themselves in weren't so far removed from the drama of adults my age. It ran the gamut from family issues, to loss, to discovering a new place, to being scared to ask "hey, are you into me?", and none of it felt tired or old. And surprisingly, the way Perkins develops relationships and friendships in the novel is great on timing. It isn't rushed. A quote from Pride & Prejudice is actually perfect to illustrate this point: "I was in the middle before I knew it had begun." There aren't "insta-best friends" or "I love you's at first sight". You feel the relationships growing and stretching to fill the page and in the process, you fall in love as well.

I really enjoyed the simplicity with which the novel was written. As someone who struggles with using too many words in her writing and making things sound too complicated, the straight-forward, conversational writing of the novel was refreshing and easy to read. Plus, the way Stephanie Perkins explains Paris with such beautiful descriptions kind of transports you from your bedroom right into the City Of Love - if only until the final page is read. Or if you're like me, you go right back to the beginning and fall in love all over again.

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Feel free to link-up below, and of course, join us next month!

If you've never read along with us before, you may want to start now. And if you usually do, then (1) we love you, and (2) you don't want to quit on us now. The book-of-the-month for December is a novel I've been looking forward to reading! 

My True Love Gave To Me 

by Various Authors

It's a collection of twelve holiday stories written by various authors but all edited by the wonderful Stephanie Perkins, and I'm sure it is going to delight. We hope you'll join us and post a review on Tuesday, January 6th!  

Cheers to being back!  

To Fill Up & Live | Wuthering Heights

It's nearly Halloween, but I'm not done with the Fall-O-Ween posts just yet! I've got a few more up this sleeve of mine, starting with today's dark and spooky book review.

Title: Wuthering Heights

Author: Emily Brontë

Publication: Originally 1847

Character(s): Heathcliff, Catherine Earnshaw, The Earnshaws, The Lintons

Favorite Quote(s):
"She burned too bright for this world."

"...he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

"It is for God to punish wicked people; we should learn to forgive."

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So quick disclaimer: It's a very rare case that I don't love a classic novel. From what I can remember I've given every classic I've ever read at least a 4 star rating. I even loved Tess of the d'Ubervilles if that gives you an incite here. So take it with a grain of salt when I say I loved this story yet again.

My Rating: 5 stars

Before I begin my review of the story, I have to note - this was Emily Brontë's first and only novel. A year later, she died of consumption. It is also rumored that she was kind of reclusive and didn't see much of the world. Yet with her novice talents and limited experiences stacked against her, she still managed to write a staggering novel that wakes the reader up and comments brilliantly on the world around her. It makes me wonder what she would've been capable of writing had she had the opportunity. Those Brontë sisters, man. Literary geniuses.

Why was Wuthering Heights so brilliant, even the second time around? For one, and I think most significantly, the characters. Through all of my writing research, I've been advised of one thing: characters drive the story. It has been suggested time and time again that if the characters are robust, if you can make the reader like and care about them, you have the basic and most important element to a story. Brontë proves this advice wrong, wrong, wrong. I don't like these characters. They're monsters. I don't particularly like Heathcliff, although I sympathize with him in some ways, and I certainly don't like Catherine. Not at all. (Think Daisy from The Great Gatsby.) Yet still, against my better judgment and in the midst of semi-hating some of them (cough, Catherine), I really care about what happens to them. When that certain spoiler-y thing happens to that certain character in the middle of the book, my brain told me I didn't care but my heart cried out. Because I cared. Damn me for caring! And when an author can do that, make me give a damn in spite of myself? Hats off, bow down b!*&he$.

Also, call me crazy, but I really love the tone of this novel. Maybe it's just the Fall-O-Ween spirit peeking through, but the novel is haunting, violent and deliciously dark and I eat it all up. The descriptions in the book drive the lonely and dreary theme home perfectly. I can see the fog-laden moorland and can envision Heathcliff's vengeful desires so well that I can almost smell them radiating from his every action. Even the romance in this novel takes on a uniquely dark and passionate tone. Again, against my better judgment, I long for a relationship like the main one in this novel. How messed up is that? To desire a love that under any other circumstances would be totally undesirable and unhealthy. Damn you, fated, twisty, magnetic, passionate love, for making me want you!

This novel is messy. Emily Brontë uses her story as a mirror, forcing the reader to visualize the worst part of ourselves, of our humanity. The characters, the setting, the conflicts that arise and the resolutions that come from them. It's monstrous. It's a mess. But it's life.

Did you read along with the book club this month? Have you read Wuthering Heights before? Let me know what you think in the comments and link up below if you've reviewed it.


We haven't decided on the book for November, but I will update either on twitter or in a post as soon as I know!

Also, enter my final Fall-O-Ween giveaway if you haven't already! I'm giving away a $25 Fandango gift card. That's enough for two (2) tickets to one fantastically spooky movie :)

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To Fill Up & Live | The Darkest Minds

I haven't blogged in week. Because I've been reading. I know, I know. Crappy excuse. But true, so I get points for that, yes? I got sucked into the world that is Sarah J. Maas' Crown of Midnight and then I had to bury myself in The Darkest Minds so I'd have a review for our bookclub book of the month. So in a way, I've been such a bad blogger last week so I can be a good blogger now :) So, about this book review...

Title: The Darkest Minds

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publication: Hyperion 2012

Character(s): Ruby, Liam, Chubs, Zu

Main Plot: Ruby thought she was lucky to survive IAAN, the disease that killed most of America's children. Having spent 6 years in a treatment camp, she soon realizes that there are fates far worse than death. And Ruby's lethal, and she's looking for a safe haven. But what is "safe" anymore?

Favorite Quote:
"Well, we'll just have to try to make better mistakes tomorrow."

"Let's carpe the hell out of this diem."

"Try to imagine where we'd be without you, darlin', and then maybe you'll see just how lucky we got."

"Did you know... you make me so happy that sometimes I actually forget to breath?"

My Rating: 4.5

I need to note that I really dislike writing full reviews right after I've finished a novel. Sure, I'll jot down a thought or two, but I never feel like my thoughts are coherent enough for a review directly after. I'm left without a choice here as I just flipped the final page of The Darkest Minds less than an hour ago. So bare with me.

And trust me when I say, this needs to be read. By you. Was it perfect? Nope. But overall, it's a must read. Why? Well, because not only is it a fast, action packed novel akin to a car chase (pun intended), but something about it just feels important. After a disease wipes out a large portion of America's teenage population, surviving children are rounded up and placed in a treatment camp, where they are classified into colors based on mental abilities. Ruby, our protagonist, is masquerading as a harmless color for years, but really she's one of the dangerous ones. This novel sucks you in and swallows you up, in the best way possible. Bracken handled the complicated world-building in an expert way, keeping us on the edge of our seats but not in the dark. She utilizes flashback brilliantly to do this. She let me know just enough about what was going on without info-dumping everything on me, yet still maintaining suspense. There were quite a few WTF moments. Which reminds me, while Bracken doesn't use slang terms like "wtf" in her novel, I really love her use of a more casual tone in her writing. It made me smile and made me love certain characters even more.
   
The only downside? I love pretty much all the characters, even those that weren't around very long. But, Kari, that's not a bad thing. Well... except the protagonist. Ruby is, she's a bit of a mystery to me in so far as her character is concerned, which, believe me, is an improvement from how I felt about her in the very beginning. Up until about a third of the way through the novel, Ruby frustrated me. Although I understood her position (being locked up in a camp for most of your adolescence does little to make you a fierce, super hero), I found myself angry with her at times. I warmed up to her eventually, but, basically, the jury is out for the moment regarding the feels towards Ruby. Bracken did an excellent job with her character development throughout this first novel. But despite how far she's come and how strong she is (seriously at the end, homegirl is stronger than I could ever be), I still feel like I don't know her well enough, something I'm not use to feeling when a novel is written from the first person point of view aka Ruby's own head. (I mean, hello? If I still don't know you after swimming in your head for 500 some odd pages, will I ever?) The Darkest Minds was a great story. It just seems like it wasn't organically her story. Ruby as a narrator feels lackadaisical for quite a bit of the story and I found myself wishing Liam or bloody mouth boy from the beginning were telling it instead. 

With that said, I know, why would you want to read it? Oh, but you do! This adventurous novel is a perfect fall read. It's dark and captivating and just the book to lead me into the season - and the series :)

Have you read The Darkest Minds? If so, link up with us down below!


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Our September book of the month is - TA DA! - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, a masterpiece about the all-consuming power of love, passion and revenge. It's a welcome reread for me, and I hope you'll join us to rediscover the magic of this one! This gothic-romance classic is the perfect read for October.

How fantastically creepy is this cover?! [Source]

Speaking of October, tomorrow marks the start of my favorite time of year, and I can't wait! Tune it tomorrow to see what all the fuss is about!

A Girl Who Reads: Scarlet

I've mentioned it here, and here, and kinda over here, but it's finally time to give you the low-down on the unnamed, unofficial book club, which now has a name and is sort of official. Hello, Fill Up & Live BookClub! Created by Kay and I, the title is taken from a quote I love, "she reads books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live". Because isn't that how books just make you feel? If so (or if you want them to), you should join us! I love reading and more than that, I love talking about what I'm reading. In my reviews, I'm limited to what I say because I don't want to spoil anything for others. This book club gives me the opportunity to chat with you all about my favorite parts, characters and quotes of a novel in detail. We plan to navigate multiple genres, reading novels that open us up to something new or just remind us of the things we love.

For the first month, June, we are reading and discussing The Fault In Our Stars. As said before I'm sure everyone has already read it, but I thought it fitting for the month since the movie gets released in June - today actually! So whether you're reading it for the first time, re-reading for the premiere, or just wanna fangirl over Augustus Waters (YES!), join us. Non-spoiler-y book reviews will be posted on the final Thursday of the month, while the spoiler-y stuff will happen over on the Goodreads page. Once we get a button made (see? told ya we're semi-official), I'll have a "book club page" on this blog with all this information including any books for future months, but for now, head over to our Goodreads page to join the book club! Can't wait to see what you all think about the novel/movie!

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Before we jump into this review, let me say: (1) despite the plethora of book reviews appearing here, this is not going to turn into a book review blog, at I'm pretty sure it won't, and (2) if you haven't read Cinder you may want to stop reading here (I try not to spoil things but there may be minor ones as this is a sequel of sorts). Okay, so Scarlet.

Title: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles Book #2)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publication: 2013

Main Plot: Equipped with new major information as well as some new gear, Cinder struggles to figure out what to do with it all, but first, she's gotta get out. Half way across the world, Scarlet's grandmother's been missing for two weeks, and after local French police give up the search, Scarlet resigns to look herself. The small farm where she lives with her grandmother and a mysterious street fighter, Wolf, may hold the key to multiple secrets, including where her grandmother has gone and why she left her ID chip behind.

Favorite Quote(s):
"If you were a gentleman, you would offer to buy me one as well."
"If you were a lady, you would have waited for me to make the offer."

"I don't see that her being cyborg is relevant. Next question?"

"You'll be fine... You'll be fine, because you're strong, like me."

"It would be easy to abuse a person when they never recognized it as abuse."

My Rating: 4.7 - 5 stars.

I won't reiterate the entire premises of The Lunar Chronicles except to say that all of the books are fairytale retellings. If you're interested in more information about the series, check out my review of Cinder. You know, how the best book in most series in the 1st one and many sequels are kind of a let down? Not this one. In my opinion, Scarlet was better than Cinder. But only by the smallest of percentages, and only because I happen to like the character of Scarlet better than Cinder. Cinder is a wonderful character who starts off pretty shy and lacks confidence, but eventually develops into quite the kick-ass protagonist. But Scarlet, she's badass from the start. With flaming red curly hair as fiery as her personality, Scarlet is a strong, secure character from the start. She rocks a red hoodie throughout most of the novel and carries a gun in her waistband. She knows exactly what she wants and what she has to do, and it's refreshing to see a female protagonist that's so sure of herself. Not that Cinder isn't strong but she kind of needs others to remind her how powerful she can be, whereas Scarlet already knows it. As they said back in the day, she's "one tough cookie."

This has nothing to do with Scarlet, but I just love this quote from AHS Asylum so much.

Note: Marissa Meyer is not a character-abandoner (yup, made it up!). No character left behind. And I love her and her novel for it. She weaves everything together with expert precision. At the end of Cinder, many issues are left unresolved. Furthermore, a huge bomb, perhaps a predictable bomb but a bomb nonetheless, is dropped into the story within the last few pages of the book. So it would've been frustrating had Meyer only focused on Scarlet's story. Instead, Meyer switches from Cinder's storyline to Scarlet's storyline half-way across the world and doesn't miss a beat. Usually when authors switch point-of-views, I end up favoring one or the other and suffering through half of the chapters. But strangely, when a Cinder chapter would wind down, I'd be frustrated for a moment because I want to continue following that journey. After turning the page to a Scarlet chapter, it took only a second to fall right back into step, remembering how eager I am for her story as well. In a word, it was delightful.

Although both protagonists stories are intertwined in many ways, Scarlet definitely gets her own arc. In fact, I think it could stand alone in many ways. Scarlet's journey is for the search for her grandmother. The town police don't take her missing too seriously because she had a reputation of being quite eccentric. By about the second chapter, we see what Scarlet does to people who think ill of her grandma and we know from that moment on what her MO is. The character develop happens quickly and in my opinion it drives the novel forward. When she meets Wolf, a street fighter, she is initially hesitant to trust him until she realizes he may be the only one who can help. Her story is an adventure, a trip from a small town in France to Paris where she hopes to discover the truth to more than just her grandmother's whereabouts. Although the pacing is excellent, quite a few of the twists are predictable. Granted, it's a fairy-tale retelling and it has to remind us in a few ways of the famous Little Red Riding Hood. We need a red hood(ie). Check. A big, bad Wolf? Check. A missing grandmother? Check. Unfortunately, there were other things that were predictable yet not fairy-tale predictable, if that makes any sense. Although they didn't hinder the story drastically, it was those moments that produced a bit of a groan from me and knocked off a few tenths of a star.  

Meyer has sent a precedent. With two books left in this quartet (the third book, Cress, was released this year), I'm expecting it to get better and better.

A Girl Who Reads: Pride and Prejudice

Title: Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

Publication: 1813

Major Characters: Elizabeth Bennett, Jane Bennett, Lydia Bennett, Mr. & Mrs. Bennett; Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley.

Main Plot: Elizabeth Bennett, the second of five daughters, thinks herself an excellent judge of character, especially of those around her who are driven by status and the desire to marry whomever in good-standing that shall have them. But not everyone is so easily pegged, and sometimes when you prejudge someone, you can be entirely mistaken.

Favorite Line(s):
"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a good book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library."

"I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that it had begun."

“I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice. I am happier even than [her]; she only smiles, I laugh.”

My Rating: More like 100 million trillion

I begin writing this review from my bed at 2am in a hazy state of absolute love after turning the final page of this novel. Like I may need a cigarette. I doubt I have the words to express how much I adore this book. After closing the book, with my head propped up on my headboard, I pressed the book to my mouth and looked over its binding. I felt vulnerable and overwhelmed, and for a while, it was all I could do not to cry. Yes, cry. And then, of course, within a few seconds time, that is exactly what I did. I allowed two tears to stroll down my cheek before deeming myself absolutely ridiculous and pulling the backs of my hands across my face. I am utterly in love with this remarkable novel.

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Returning to this review, I look back on the paragraph that I hastily typed minutes after finishing this book, and I still feel the same way. I read it weeks ago, and I'm still in love with it, maybe even more so. And this is to be expected as, in many ways, Pride and Prejudice is largely a romantic novel, transporting its reader to a world full of formalities and grandeur. This is a genuine love story - the love story to spark all those that we love currently. Yet, in many ways, it's nothing like the love stories we know. There's no damsel in distress, at least not permanently so. Elizabeth Bennett can take care of herself, and is unwilling to accept a husband for any other reason than all-consuming love. At the same time, Elizabeth doesn't pretend to be above the affairs of the heart and admits freely to his sister that, although prepared to wait for it, she wants that love. I identified with Elizabeth Bennett in a way that I've never connected with a character before. More than loved her, I felt like I was her. A sarcastic, secure, stubborn woman with much to say and no filter, Elizabeth judges the people around her for their desires and first impressions. She's not evil-spirited, but she is "the prejudice". And when she meets "the proud", she's affronted by his words, his "too good for everyone" demeanor, and his ability to frustrate her like no one else. In a word and without even knowing it, she feels challenged.

This romance novel has an incredible satire folded into it but not hidden at all. And as the perfect combination of hilarity and a sappy love story, the novel has easily shot to the #1 spot on my favorite books list. From the very beginning, Austen's description pokes fun of early 19th century status-driven society. The first line is saturated in sarcasm: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Austen's witty commentary on the world in which the Bennett sisters (at least most of them) strive to find their rich husbands, and her tone through Elizabeth's point of view makes the reader love both the character and the author. Austen looks at the institution of marriage in her society with a critical eye, as something that was the only option for many women, yet not necessarily the best option. But, she's no cynic. Using her characters as examples, she examines the wrong reasons for marrying, and the right ones between characters whose hearts seem to fall in sync from the very beginning.

Austen's writing is descriptive and lush. I didn't just read about Pemberley; I saw the rolling hills and stream full of excellent game. Not only was I disgusted by Lydia Bennett's complete disregard for her family, but I felt it as if she were my sister and wanted to strangle her just like Elizabeth. I made faces at some characters and felt badly for others. I could name dozens of quotes that I loved and language I thought perfect. Austen's writing pulls you in that way. There were moments while reading when I thought a short chapter here or there was extraneous or an unnecessary character was introduced, but within a few pages, I was shown exactly how necessary it was. Every single page pushed the characters and the story towards the final resolution and all the pieces fit perfectly together.

I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it, but if you have, leave a comment so we can fangirl over it! And if you love the novel, check out the link in my favorites post of a modern day adaptation. For now, I'll leave it at this: Pride and Prejudice is simply flawless and I'm sure that no review I write could ever do it any justice.

A Girl Who Reads: L.A. Candy

Title: L.A. Candy
Author: Lauren Conrad
Publication: 2009
Major Characters: Jane Roberts, Scarlett Harp
Main Plot: Jane Roberts and her best friend, Scarlett Harp, moved to Los Angeles just a few weeks ago, and they have already been thrust into the spotlight of reality television. Of course, said spotlight includes luxuries that they could only dream of yet never afford before. But it also comes with price -  a price they can now afford but just might be unwilling to pay.
Favorite Line(s):

"The only way to belong is to act like you belong. Or not give a s#!+ whether you belong or not."

So while trying to decide which book I was going to read next, I plucked this novel from my bookshelf and began reading it just because I wanted to read something. That isn't to say that I had absolutely no interest in reading it, because I did purchase it and put it on my bookshelf after all. I really like Lauren Conrad and her writing style, and I read her blog daily. So I thought to get the first novel in her series, L.A. Candy, for when I was in the mood for easy flowing chic-lit. But a week ago, it just wasn't something jumping off my shelves, screaming "read me" and so it wasn't really a contender. You can imagine my surprise when I found myself 150 pages into the story after one night of reading!

My Rating: 3.0 - 3.5

So if you love L.C. and you enjoy her writing style, why give it only 3 stars? The characters! I wasn't necessarily so jazzed about the plot either (which seemed at least partly based on L.C's personal story which we already know from Laguna Beach and The Hills), but I think that the book went totally awry for me regarding many of the characters, specifically the main protagonist. Jane Roberts is a blonde hair, blue-eyed pretty girl next door. She's fresh out of high school, a bit naive, and seems eager to please pretty much anyone. Quite frankly, she's a bit annoying, and although I think L.C. meant for her to be relatable, her "innocence" actually made her quite unrelatable. I didn't hate her, but I'm pretty sure it's never a good sign when a reader isn't invested in the protagonist of the novel. What somewhat saved the book were the characters of Scarlett and Braden (both of whom I really liked). I wanted to know what happened to them, and because both of their stories intertwined somewhat with Jane's, I became somewhat interested in her. Yet, I still found myself plowing through chapters waiting for mention of either Scarlett or Braden and merely tolerating the rest. 

Overall, I don't feel let down at all (I know this is her first novel), but I suppose because of how much I adore L.C., the novel fell short of my expectations. It seems as though she was pushing the story in a particular direction instead of developing it and the characters fully, so there were gaps and jumps that sometimes seemed out of place. That's not to say I won't read the rest of the series in hopes that the next few books are better with lots more of Braden and Scarlett (I'm a sucker for a series), but I'm not running out to buy them. 

A Girl Who Reads: Mockingjay

QUICK INFO

Title: Mockingjay

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publication: 2010

Major Characters: Katniss Everdeen and friends

Main Plot: Katniss Everdeen has sparked something that she can no longer control. But should she want to? And, how can it be the subject of both her dreams and her nightmares? When she's become the face of a movement but not truly at it's all-knowing center, it's nearly impossible to know what's true and what isn't. But the odds are in her favor - real or not real?

Favorite Line(s):
"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart."

"You're still trying to protect me. Real or not real," he whispers. "Real," I answer. "Because that's what you and I do, protect each other."

"There are still moments when he clutches the back of a chair and hangs on until the flashbacks are over. I wake screaming from nightmares of mutts and lost children. But his arms are there to comfort me. And eventually his lips."

My Rating: 5

Considering that this is the final installment of the Hunger Games series, I have to be careful not to give too much away. (We're in the business of reviews not spoilers). It's tough not to gush about this book though because I thought it was the perfect culmination to the story of Katniss Everdeen. The first two books introduce us to Katniss, a 16 year-old girl from one of the 13 districts of Panem, the post-apocolyptic nation that arose after the fall of North America. The reader learns to love this young girl, whose rebellious yet fiercely loyal nature is on display from the first page. She's compassionate but not afraid to kill when she must, big-hearted but capable of holding back tears when she needs to. By the time of the Reaping in the Hunger Games book, I wanted to be Katniss Everdeen. And that hasn't changed in the 1,200+ pages of her story.

When I closed the cover of Mockingjay, her story felt finished. Those who've read the 3rd book may disagree because, without ruining it for those who haven't read it, it's not a neat little bow. But life's not nice and neat. It's messy. That's true of war and true of life. While some things get resolved, other things remain undone. And that's okay. I particularly loved the final chapter. There isn't much action really, but the chapter covers a lot of ground, taking us months deeper into the story. It's quite a bit of thinking and reflecting, but it answers what I consider to be the burning question of the series: What will be left of Katniss, of everyone, when this is all over? Collins answers this question indirectly as she explains in simple, elegant language the everyday life of most of the characters. Not all the characters ended up as I would've hoped because we all play favorites. Yet, in my opinion, the future of each character rang completely true to who they were - warts, (liquor-addictions,martyrdom) and all.

Have you read Mockingjay? What did you think of the ending? And better yet, what should I read next?!