Best books I read this year...

It's over, 2014 IS OVER.

This is going to be a long one, seeing the number of 5 stars I've given.
But yeah, all these books were shining stars in the dark, scary night of a 2014.
Not all books were published this year, I just read them in 2014.
In the order I read them in....

MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2014 ARE...
1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

2. Choker by Elizabeth Woods

3. Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld

4. This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

5. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

7. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

8. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

9. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

10. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

12. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

13. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

14. We Were Liars by E.Lockheart

15. Blankets by Craig Thompson

16. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

17. The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

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Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

THIS. BOOK. WOW. I MEAN. IT'S SO. WOW.
As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. 

Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special–and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. 
No Word I say can capture the feelings this book made me feel. "Never Let Me Go" changed me with just 300 pages. It was subtle, moving and chilling.
But more than anything, everything about the story was so, so, sad. Imagine being resigned to a fate that you don't deserve, something that's so very unfair. Imagine not being allowed even the possibility of something more. That's Kathy's life, always knowing that she'll have to give herself up before she's even lived her life to the fullest.
Don't expect the usual elements of Sci-fi or Dystopian fiction. when you open the book, because it doesn't exactly fit any of these.Kathy and Tommy's love, though not the most important part of the story, is so touching, I wanted everything to be okay for them and I rooted for them so badly. Even Ruth made me cry.
I always find it so much harder to write about the books I love.
After reading the book, I immediately watched the movie adaptation, and it was beautiful.
(better read the book before you go further)

5 STARS

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The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.
Full of rage and without a purpose, former pianist Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone discovering her past and to make the boy who took everything from her pay.
All 17 year-old Josh Bennett wants is to build furniture and be left alone, and everyone allows it because it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t exist. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.
Everyone except Nastya, a hot mess of a girl who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. The more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he may ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding or if he even wants to.

This was one of those books that could've gotten a 5 star rating...but then as the story progressed, it grew more and more cliched and meh. I mean, I loved the book after finishing it, but now after further reflection, I realized how very cheesy this book was. Broken girl with a dark past. Broken boy with a dark past. Boy doesn't talk much. Girl doesn't talk at all (seriously, there was a point in the first few chapters where I thought her tongue had been cut off). But then Girl talks to boy (or at least stalks him and then stares all the time in a "not-at-all" creepy way).  Said boy and girl fall in luuurve. But Girl's dark past becomes a  problem. Stuff happens. Problems get sort-of resolved. Happy ending. 

One thing I hate in YA Contemporaries is double p.o.v, I mean there's no confusing plot line or too many main characters who are in different situations, then why am I reading the same feelings with just the gender of he narrator changed. WHY? And then there was Nastya, whom I couldn't like, no matter how hard I tried. What happened to her was beyond horrible, but her reaction to it? what can I say.

The book was  intense and I loved some parts of it (DREW)and I went through it really fast, and I might've shed a few tears when the big secret is revealed. But when it came to rating the book, I just couldn't give it a 4.

so yeah,

3 STARS

 Don't let this review hold you down, most people have loved it.

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The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Yep, the book I’d been waiting for all year long: the FINAL book in the heroes of Olympus series, and probably the last I’ll see of Percy Jackson. *sheds a tear* If you haven’t read this series yet, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?! Like seriously? Go and read it right now.

I’ve already posted the summary in my “Cover Reveal” post, so let’s just get down to the point.

So, I start reading the book and guess who got the first chapter? JASON. Yeah, not a fan.

That character is the most boring and over-rated person ever.

Then came Reyna, Nico ,and Leo’s pov’s, and those were great. I really started loving both Nico and Reyna because of this book. They’re one of my favorite characters in the series now.

But I was just waiting for the Percy or Annabeth chapters and they weren’t coming.

What came was Piper.

Like Jason, I couldn’t make myself like Piper either, there’s something about her. Maybe it’s because she is shooting tomatoes out of her cornucopia while everybody else is out being bad-ass or because she say things like “Stay away, I’m too dangerous” while using charm speak.

Not putting Percy and Annabeth’s POV's in the final book of the series was the worst decision ever. It hurt to see Jason saving Percy UNDERWATER, to see them almost about to die from PIPER’s perspective, depressing.

And then, the final fight was a big letdown.

5 books leading up to the battle with Gaea and it just deflated. I couldn't believe that *potential spoilers* Gaea was killed so easily. In fact, that sacrifice (you know which one) was not even needed.

As relieved as I was that I was that no one died, it just didn’t seem real.

Yes, the blood of Olympus did disappoint a bit. But my expectations for this series are really high so don’t let that hold you back.

The final chapter with *SPOILERS* Leo and Calypso was great, though many of my wishes were left unfulfilled. It helps that I’m a dedicated Caleo shipper. 

Now I can't remember anything else to say, because I finished it on the 9th (did you really think I would read this book a month late?), and after finishing it, I was like "okay, that was good." But then it finally hit me with full impact that this was THE LAST BOOK. THAT"S IT. NO MORE PJ, and then, BoO just wasn't that good anymore. (for a final book, that is) I wanted to cry my heart out and then grin like an idiot and then swoon because of Percy (not his fault that I didn't though, he was hardly there in the book), like I did in "The Last Olympian".

Just didn't happen.

4.7 STARS

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Blankets by Craig Thompson

And the most heart-achingly beautiful, stunning, depressingly true, and unique novel I've read all year is...

Blankets is an unforgettable story.

Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith.

Words in this book are as scarce as they are blurb, but we have drawings, and Craig Thompson tells a better story with these drawings than most authors could do with words.

Just, like, look at these.

I'll keep my post just as short.(i'e I'm too lazy to write any more). Just read this book, I recommend this to everyone and I promise you won't regret it.

Needless to say, I fell in love with this book. (and it broke my heart into tiny little pieces and then left a scar)

5 STARS

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The Merciless by Danielle Vega

I went Into this book expecting a stand-alone YA Contemporary with something like mystery or mental-illness...

Guess I should have checked goodreads better.
Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned
Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.
 Sofia Flores knows she shouldn't have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn't realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.
Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . .
 In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?

 Sofia Flores knows she shouldn't have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.
Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . .
 In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?

 

Don't be misguided by the overwhelmingly pink cover.
It's a short read, and I flew through it. The creepy atmosphere and weirdness certainly helped. But really, the first half or so I thought this was just a YA Contemporary. It had the standard set-up for that genre: New Girl, Clique of popular girls with a two-faced leader, Popular boy who falls for the new girl, one eccentric friend, blah blah blah. Boy, was I wrong. "The Merciless" is actually a paranormal fantasy/ horror novel. I sure realized that when I was in the last chapter or something. There's a BIG, jaw dropping plot twist that will leave you stunned. 

Just my type of ending. Except that I found out later that this is part of a series. *Sigh* It would've been really cool if the story had ended just with the first book, but now we'll be getting another Mean Girls-esque paranormal fantasy.

so, read this if you 

1. Like creepy books                          
2. Can tolerate a mostly cliché plot
3. Like twisted endings                          

I give "The Merciless"

3.7 STARS

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Graphic novels/ Comic books

Whatever you call it, pictures and words together are a heavenly combination.

I love reading, I love drawing. I appreciate both equally, but when I can enjoy both together...

 It's perfection, really.

I recently became obsessed with this, It started with manga, which of course isn't exactly in the "comics" category but technically, It's about the same. I've been watching anime for a long, long time, but not reading manga, so when I did, I was completely in love with the feeling of being able to both read and see. Obviously, while reading novels you can use your imagination to picture things too, but here it's a given.

So after reading a manga called "Silver Spoon", I ventured into the graphic novel territory by reading "Blankets", I'll write a separate post on this one, because this book is just too beautiful to be fit into a small para. Then I read a few more ("Asterios Polyp" and "Ghost World"), and that's how I came to love graphic novels. 

And that's about it.

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Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Finally read it. Again this was supposed to be read during "booktubeathon"

Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?Edgy and gripping, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an unforgettable novel: smart, funny, dramatic, and always surprising.

“I miss him so much, but it's confusing, because I missed him long before he was dead, and that's the bitch of it all. I missed him long before he was dead.” 

I've already said it but average ratings on goodreads can be seriously misleading. Like, "Under The Never Sky" gets 4.04 while THIS gets 3.94. Really? REALLY?

Please Ignore Vera Dietz made me feel so sad without ever making me cry (okay, maybe I did tear up). There's so much more going on in the book than what that summary tells. The relationship between Vera and her father was one of the highlights of the book for me. A.S King writes beautifully, one minute I'm cracking up, the next I'm thinking that I shouldn't be laughing in such a situation. Vera's POV is amazing, but what's even more amazing is the notes between the parts of the story. There are notes from Charlie, Vera's dad, the Pagoda (YES.) 

Every character was so real and I wanted Vera to end up well so badly and every time she was drinking, I felt like slapping her to her senses and when she did the right thing I was just so happy. A.S. King made me root for the main character, and that's what I loved.

This kind of reminded me of "Hate List" which is one of my favorites.

My favorite character was probably Vera's dad. (or maybe the Pagoda) 

Despite how much I wanted to, I couldn't, just couldn't hate Charlie. I pitied him. I hated the way things had to turn out.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER**

“I wish we could go back in time and climb trees together again. I love you, Vera. I always will.” 

5 STARS

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Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

It took me 4(ish) hours to finish this 500 page compilation of the strongest feels. It seems like I was misguided by the trailer of the movie adaptation to think this was a typical chick lit/fluffy read. GODS NO.

 (Lily Collins and Sam Claflin just looked so good and cute in the trailer, I knew I had to read the book)
Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S. 

She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while on the rebound from Alex. 

Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn't done with them yet.
There were a few more lines in the summary about how this book keeps you laughing and guessing till the very last page.(It doesn't) (not really complaining) and LAUGHING TILL THE END! pfft more like This book is not a LIGHT HAPPY READ. It could be frustrating to many readers, not to me, I LOOOVEEEEDD this book. I've tried to read Cecelia Ahern's "P.S I Love You" but couldn't really get into it. Love, Rosie though...
The book is written in epistolary form, It's a compilation of e-mails, letters, notes, messages and stuff. Read it, pleeease read it, because it's sad and happy and tragic and joyous. But skip it if you hate books that cover a reaaaally long period, because the only thing I truly HATED about this novel was that *SPOILER ALERT*
It took 50 FREAKING years for the main characters to get together. YEP.*END OF SPOILER*
So yeah, this book just missed my favorites shelf because of that.
Calling all those die hard romantics, this is the book for you.
I give it (guess guess)

5 STARS

for leaving me like this

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Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo

It's time I read this..... you see, booktubeathon didn't work out so well...

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

*reads it out in that lame voice that you find in trailers*"...and the secrets of her heart." REALLY?
Anyway, this book was great! And for the second time (First:TMR), I found myself completely surprised with how my ships ended.
Yep, this book has a love triangle. But don't go all like this....
Because the ending leaves you like this, 
This book had AWESOME world building, which I have learned to appreciate after reading a certain book series *cough cough* The Selection*cough cough*.
Plus, obviously, great writing:
“I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I'd realize that you weren't there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me why we don't belong together," he said fiercely.”
 See, this book does things to my heart.
I'll give it

4 STARS

I'm coming to you! Book 2!!!!

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Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

There's "weird", then there's "WEIRD", then there's "WEIRD Weird". Well, Grasshopper Jungle goes even beyond THAT.
“Good books are about everything.” true that. The scale of grasshopper jungle varies from "Sexually confused protag in a love triangle" to "end of the world by praying mantises"
Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the story of how he and his best friend , Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.

To make matters worse, Austin's hormones are totally oblivious; they don't care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. He's stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it's up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.

Yep. Just as the summary says, this book is full of sexually active human-eating praying mantises, raging hormones and Polish Ancestors. Like I said, a whole new level of weird, and I like it. The book was soooooo funny! Andrew Smith's writing style is WEIRD UNIQUE and he repeats words or sentences a lot (can you guess the words?) and that adds to the humor.
Austin's ancestral history that makes up for about half of the book is really refreshing and It fits together with the present perfectly.
Maybe it was the style of the book but I could never take the "end-of-the-world" thing seriously. Oh, but it happens, It definitely does. So yeah a few things in the book were unbelievable to me, but I'm not complaining!
To sum it up, this book is weird and hilarious and I have never read anything like it, so if you're tired of the stereotypical YA Post-apocalyptic fiction, check this out!
(Don't check it out if you find lots of swearing, um.. procreating praying mantises and horny protagonists disturbing.)
I'd give it

3.7 STARS

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Mockingjay Teaser Trailer

IT IS FINALLY OUT. Do you know how hard it is to sit back and NOT go to comic con?! 
And finally I get this (though the first two teasers were really good too)

Oh and how very good it is, we get to see the part where Katniss visits District 8 for shooting propaganda and stuff. We also get to see Plutarch and Coin discuss about Katniss and her role in the rebellion. And of course, President Snow.

It's awesome, basically. (or as awesome as a teaser can be). Though, I WANT TO SEE PEETA.

Now, we just have to wait for 3 MORE MONTHS for the actual movie.

While watching the trailer I came across this

uhhhhh............

This is just one of those questions where the only answer I can give is, the book wouldn't have happened.THE BOOK WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!

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