Book Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver [SPOILERS]

My Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Plot: For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night. [click the link above to continue reading]

My Thoughts: [Contains Spoilers, I Think?] I knew Sam was going to die in the end. I knew that. So why did the end of the book affect me like it did? Every time Sam woke up to start February 12 all over again, I was relieved. This time she will live, I thought to myself. When she did live, I was thrilled. She didn't deserve to die. I didn't want her to die. She put all of this effort into fixing things, which meant that she couldn't die. Right? Wrong. She was just making things right, setting things the way they really needed to be, before she died. And that hit me like a brick wall. All throughout the book, she kept saying "You never know when it's your last day" or something along those lines, and although she got to redo her last day seven times, no one is really that lucky. No one gets a second chance to make things right before the end. That really made me think hard about my life and how it impacts those lives around me.

I felt myself relating with all of the characters in this book in some way or another. The characters were so incredibly relateable that I felt like they could have been my friends or my classmates. That really made this book so real to me. I couldn't put it down.

I'm glad that I read this book. I wasn't going to because I read a bad (spoiler free) review on it when I bought the book. But I am so glad I read it anyway. I really was a great book, and I will definitely be adding it to my list of go-to recommendations.

Book Review: Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson by Mark Siegel

My Rating: ★★★


Goodreads Plot: One hundred years ago. On the foggy Hudson River, a riverboat captain rescues an injured mermaid from the waters of the busiest port in the United States. A wildly popular—and notoriously reclusive—author makes a public debut. A French nobleman seeks a remedy for a curse. As three lives twine together and race to an unexpected collision, the mystery of the Mermaid of the Hudson deepens.

My Thoughts: Graphic novels aren't really my thing. But I won this book from a giveaway and it was really pretty, so I decided to give it a try. The story was an interesting take on the temptation of the Siren's Song. The drawings were pretty and the plot was entertaining. If there is a sequel eventually, I might be interested in picking it up just to see where the end of the story takes the characters. If you like graphic novels and/or mermaids, this book might be for you!

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn [SPOILERS]

My Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Plot: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? [click the link above to read more]

My Thoughts: [WARNING: Contains Spoilers!] This book was a trip. I wrote predictions along the way: Amy's parents did it... Nick did it... Amy ran away. I had no idea that my final prediction was the correct one. When I finished the first act of the book, I actually had to go back and reread a few pages because it just didn't make sense that she would disappear on her own. As I got to know Amy-- Real Amy, not Diary Amy-- I was sickly fascinated by the fact that someone could be that twisted. Once I found out that Amy was alive and very much okay, I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know why she ran, and I wanted to know how Nick was going to react when she inevitability came home. I honestly thought Nick was going to kill her because everyone already thought he did anyway. I was totally blindsided by the ending. I cannot imagine having to live with someone that insane for the rest of my life, and Nick is totally trapped with Amy forever. That is just crazy. 

I really, really enjoyed this book, and I cannot wait to see the movie when it comes out. I might even (dare I say it?) watch it in theaters. The book was that good. If you haven't read Gone Girl, you should read it. Now!

This book was recommended to me by Fatma over at the3gryffindors.tumblr.com