The Crown by Kiera Cass

The Crown 

by Kiera Cass

Released: May 3, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: The Selection, Book 5
Preceded By: The Heir
Page Amount: 279, US Hardback
POV: 1st Person (Eadlyn)
Buy it here: Barnes & Noble•Amazon

OVERALL:

Plot-17/20
Characters-17/20

Creativity-17/20

Writing-18/20

Pace-9/10

Ending-9/10

= 87/100 B

★★★★/5

SUMMARY:

When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone. Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.-Goodreads.com

REViEW:
WARNING: May contain some vague spoilers about the plot of the novel.

Seeing as I loved The Selection trilogy and enjoyed The Heir, I made sure to pre-order The Crown so I could find out what guy Eadlyn would choose in her own selection the day the book was released. I devoured this book in one day because, like Cass' other novels, this book was quick, adorable, and fun. When you go into this series knowing that it is addictive fluff, it is incredibly enjoyable.

When I was reading this book, I was kind of surprised that there wasn't really any plot other than Eadlyn deciding which of the selected she will marry. This is because the original trilogy seemed to always have a political subplot to aid tension to the selection. However, in The Crown, I feel like Cass focused entirely on the selection while trying to add in little tidbits of political and social drama. This bothered me because it seemed like the drama with Marid and his family as well as the caste uproars were added as an afterthought. Both political events seemed to have no purpose other than eliciting drama and an ending. I wish Cass would have either introduced this political plot earlier and spent more time on it or instead focused on character development to drive this novel. I would have loved to see Eadlyn rush to choose her man because she was maturing and learning to love rather than her rushing to marry in order to avoid another proposal. This book just had too many things going on for a short 279 page book.

Even though I didn't get the exact transformation of Eadlyn that I had wanted to see, I was still happy with her growth. She was still annoying at times, but her voice was realistic and consistent. She really grew on me during the course of this book. I genuinely cared about what guy she wanted to marry and admired her for her ambition. However, I was really upset that Maxon and America relinquished nearly all of their power to their young, immature daughter without a second thought. I'm thoroughly shocked that they wouldn't even really help Eadlyn transition to regent. That seemed really out of character to me and really lessened my opinion of both America and Maxon. I understand that this is Eadlyn's story, but come on, most of us readers are only reading this book because we fell in love with America and Maxon. 

Anyway, as for the boys in the selection, oh how I loved them. I wish we could have spent more time in this novel exploring Eadlyn's relationships with each of them. I really could have used some more Kile action, but I was happy to see more of Hale. I was happy with who she picked, but I wish I could have seen more of how she started to fall for that particular guy because it seemed like instalove to me. For over half this novel, she barely seemed to consider this guy and then all of a sudden she was like "I love him." It seemed very abrupt to me. That being said, I wish I could have seen her relationships with all of the boys blossom more throughout this novel, but I was thoroughly happy with how it all ended.
The ending was cute. Although the book did not end the way I had originally had hoped, I am very happy about how everything concluded. By the end, I firmly believed that this was the only way that things could end for Eadlyn. However, I did wish that America and Maxon weren't pushed to the side. I know that this is Eadlyn's story, but I really wished to see the Schreave family interact more. Nevertheless, I closed this book feeling elated because of how cute and fun this series is. I know I stated a lot of things that I wish Cass would have done, but quite honestly, I did love this book. It was a sweet end to The Selection Series.

My Favorite Part: How everything wrapped up. I was pretty comfortable with the ending of this fun series.

ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Yes, this book made me smile.

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass

Happily Ever After 

by Kiera Cass

Released: October 13, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Amount: 416, US Hardback
POV: 1st Person 
Series: Companion to The Selection
Buy it here: Barnes & Noble•Amazon

OVERALL:

Plot-18/20
Characters-18/20

Creativity-16/20

Writing-18/20

Pace-9/10

Ending-8/10

= 87/100 B

★★★★/5

REViEW:
Happily Ever After contains the novellas The Queen, The Prince, The Guard, The Favorite, and The Maid as well as some scenes about Celeste and other girls from the Selection. Like many super fans of Kiera Cass' work, I had already purchased The Prince and The Guard when they were both released in 2014, so I wasn't too thrilled with them being repackaged into this fancy new hardback. I really had no intention of buying this book until I saw a signed copy, making me need to have it. I'm glad I did buy it because this book had so many really neat exclusives. I loved the illustrations scattered throughout the book as well as the detailed maps that make up the inside cover. They were really beautiful and added a special charm to the stories. The stories did not really add that much to The Selection Series but it was fun to find out some more about secondary characters like Aspen, Maxon, Amberly, Lucy, and Marlee. I felt very indifferent about most of the stories because not much happened in the novellas. I wish Cass would have focused more on the background of these characters instead of re-narrating events that we already know from the main series. All in all, this book wasn't special, but it was a nice way to go back into the palace.

My Favorite Part: Celeste's scenes.


ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Only if you really want to spend some more time with the characters of The Selection.

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer

Life and Death 

by Stephenie Meyer

Released: October 6, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown
Page Amount: 389, US Hardback
POV: 1st Person (Beau)
Buy it here: Barnes & Noble•Amazon

OVERALL:

Plot-16/20
Characters-16/20

Creativity-18/20

Writing-15/20

Pace-8/10

Ending-8/10

= 81/100 B

★★★★/5

REViEW:
I am a huge Twilight fan, which you probably already know if you have been following me for awhile.  The Twilight Saga is the series which originally got me into reading, so it will always hold a special spot in my heart.  Therefore, I was super excited once I heard that Stephenie Meyer stated that she was releasing a gender swapped version of Twilight.  Of course, I had my reservations about this strange, albeit interesting, concept.  Nevertheless, I gave this book a shot.  I'm truly glad I did.  This book has almost an identical plot to Twilight, seeing as though just the genders are swapped around.  However, I did not feel like I was reading the same story, which was both good and bad.  

The characters were the driving force of this novel.  The gender swap affected all of the characters of Twilight except Charlie and Renee.  The swaps for Bella, Edward, and Bella's friends did not bother me.  They were really fun.  However, I did not really like the Cullens all being gender swapped.  I found those swaps very confusing and really ridiculous, because unlike the other swaps, the Cullens kept their original personalities despite having a different gender.  I believe that Meyer's main problem with this novel is inconsistencies with gender.  For example, Beau, who is the narrator, seemed like a guy for the first hundred or so pages of this novel, which was good because, ya know, Beau is a guy.  But for the following 300 pages, he became more feminine and weak, which was disappointing.  At points, Meyer just kept the identical narrations of Bella, which did not fit with Beau being male.  I just don't understand why she didn't just change all of narrations because she was so good at it at the start of the novel.  It had far more potential than this end result.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the characters of Beau and Edythe.  They were different from Bella and Edward yet were still lovable.  To be honest, I loved Beau from the beginning of this novel.  He seemed like a nerdy, likable guy, and if you know me at all, you know I like me some nerdy boys.  On the other hand, Edythe was a kick butt, strong, independent, sassy female.  I loved Edythe.  She snide remarks were hilarious and perfect.  However, I was sad that Meyer did not carry through with her tough attitude.  As soon as Edythe starts falling for Beau, she becomes soft and not in a good way.  A 150 pages in, Edythe began to be indecisive, which was really annoying.  For example, as soon as Beau and Edythe start getting closer, Edythe keeps changing her mind concerning whether he is worth it or not.  If this only happened once, it would have been fine, but this happened at least six times.  By the end of this novel, I just wanted to scream "Make up your mind already!!!"  But they didn't.  Even in one of the last scenes of this novel, Beau was still in disbelief that Edythe would love him.  I cannot say much about that scene because I do not want to spoil it, but if you are curious, I'll be posting a spoiler review on YouTube on Wednesday! 

That being said, the ending was different from Twilight.  I really enjoyed this change, and it gave me greater insight into a certain component of vampirism.  I'm really glad that Meyer changed the ending because Beau and Edythe's story was different from Bella and Edward's.  Although I did not enjoy this books as much as Twilight, I believe it was a fun book for dedicated Twilight fans.  If you are still leery to read this book, then just read the beginning and the ending because, let's be real, those were the only good parts of this book.  Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book.  I did not love it, but it still was an amazing story to include as bonus content to the 10th Anniversary edition of Twilight.  Readers should be thankful that instead of getting a short interview, random short story, or some other bland bonus content, Meyer included a nearly 400 page novel for her readers.  That shows that she really cares about her readers, which is awesome.

My Favorite Part: Being able to go on another journey in Forks!


ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? If you love Twilight as much as I do, then yes.

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns 

by John Green

Released: October 16, 2008
Publisher: Speak
Page Amount: 305, US Paperback
POV: 1st Person (Quentin)
Buy it here: Barnes & Noble•Amazon

OVERALL:

Plot-18/20
Characters-18/20

Creativity-17/20

Writing-17/20

Pace-8/10

Ending-7/10

=85/100 B

★★★★/5

SUMMARY:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...-Goodreads.com

REViEW:
I, like almost EVERYONE in the YA book blogging world, love John Green. So naturally, I had to read Paper Towns before the movie came out. Sadly, I ended up loving the movie far more than the book. When I first began reading, I enjoyed the comical remarks and dynamic of Quentin, Radar, and Ben. However, very very quickly it started to feel very similar to the humor in An Abundance of Katherines, another John Green book I absolutely adored. Normally, that wouldn't bother me too much, however, I have read many reviews that even the plot is very similar to Looking for Alaska, which I have yet to read. That being said, I feel as if this book is something we have seen from Green before. It was not unique, and it was lacking in the intrigue department. This book would have been my favorite book ever if it had just centered around Margo and Q's escapades the night that she comes to his window, because let's be real that was the only good part about this book. The scenes with Margo and Q were so fun and hilarious without it seeming like Green was orchestrating the events. However, as soon as she disappears, the book became a little dull. Nothing really happened for 75% of the book and that really bugged me. I felt as if Green was trying to hard to add a lot of symbolism with the "paper towns" and with the "strings" and it was just too much for this YA book. Maybe if the symbolism would have been executed more fluidly and did not seem so abrupt and forces, it could have been successful. But alas, it was not. It made the book seem weirdly philosophical, which does not sit well with most YA readers looking for a fun read.

Q was an interesting character. I can't say I loved having him as the protagonist, but it worked for this book and for this message. He really wasn't anything special, but his devotion to Margo was adorable and I loved watching him interact with her. The best characters of this novel were Radar and Ben. I loved their goofy personalities and their quips. They were a lot of fun to read about. Margo was also a very cool character. Although we don't get to see much of her, her scavenger hunt does give us hints about her personality. She seems like the kind of girl I would want to have as a friend just to go on adventures with. I really enjoyed the characters in this novel, but I feel as if their dynamic personalities were shielded by the mundane plot. 

I must admit that once I read Green's intended meaning of this book, I liked the ending more. Well, I made more peace with the ending so to say. I always wanted to read a book that ended this book, but in this case, the ending made the book feel incomplete. The ending was abrupt and rushed. I felt as if nothing really was tied up, which upset me. I at least wanted an ounce of closure. That being said, if you watched the movie, you might know that the ending of the movie added a couple scenes and summed up what happened next. I loved that, if the theme of senior year and moving on was conveyed in the book's ending, I would have loved it. The movie gave me the closure that I needed, and I'm thankful for that. All in all, I did enjoy the book, but I didn't love it. If you don't want to read the book, fine. But at least watch the movie, because it perfectly depicts what this book had the potential to be.

My Favorite Part: Q's adventure with Margo! 


ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Yes, I do recommend the movie more though. I know, that's like scandalous to say as a book lover.

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye 

by J.D. Salinger

Released: January 30, 2001
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Page Amount: 277, US Paperback
POV: 1st Person (Holden)
Buy it here: Barnes & Noble•Amazon

OVERALL:

Plot-17/20
Characters-17/20

Creativity-17/20

Writing-19/20

Pace-9/10

Ending-7/10

=86/100 B

★★★★/5

SUMMARY:

Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.-Goodreads.com

REViEW:
I began reading this book after one of English professors recommended it. Therefore, I was in the thick of essays and tests when I began reading it. However, this book, through revered as a "classic," did not add extra stress as I originally thought. Instead, this book was a super fast and fun read. I must say that this book has no defined plot, but this book did not need it. This book chronicles Holden as he treks around New York trying to find his place in the world. This is not a unique premise and, to be honest, this book wasn't spectacular. However, this book did have something that not that many books have: hilarity. Numerous times throughout the novel, I laughed out loud because Holden says some hilariously stupid and witty things. Plus some of the scenes in this book are just gold in the laugh department (like when Holden hired a prostitute, I just about died laughing). Basically, the best thing about this book is that it is straight up funny. However, I do believe that this book is much funnier the younger you are and the more able you are to relate to Holden's confusion on life. 

Moving on, Holden is the leading man of this book. Many critics think Holden is annoying and whiny, and while I can't say they're completely wrong, to me it added to the hilarity of the novel. This is most likely because I, like most college kids, have felt lost and confused about my future and my life. I did especially like how Holden is not just a crazy, stupid kid that dropped out of school. On the contrary, his character goes a little deeper than that. The most moving scenes in this book occurred when Holden talked about his brother, Allie, or interacted with his sister, Phoebe. I absolutely adored Phoebe and Holden's dynamic and even just the characterization of Phoebe. She is just like the little sister I always wanted. Quite honestly though, if you pick up this book, you're either going to laugh out loud and enjoy Holden's spontaneity, like me, or abhor this novel, like most of my friends.

I personally believe you should give this book a chance. It is a quick, easy read and is easy to dive into. This may not be the most emotional or deep book you've ever read, but Salinger did not fail to meet his goal of entertaining the reader. This novel encompasses a feeling of confusion that everyone faces in their life. Sure, the events of this novel are a tad outlandish, but what fun would a novel be without a little bit of adventure? 


My Favorite Part: The hilarity of this novel.


ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Yes, however, I do believe it is best suited for adolescents. As one of my English professors put it "If you want to have a chance to enjoy this book, you have to read it while you're young, because once you get older you miss your opportunity to relate to the confused Holden."


Thanks for reading! If you read this book, comment below if you loved or hated Holden!

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

P.S. I Still Love You 

by Jenny Han

Released: May 26, 2015

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Book 2

Preceded By: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Page Amount: 337, US Hardback

POV: 1st Person (Lara Jean)

Buy it here: Barnes & Noble•Amazon

OVERALL:

Plot-18/20
Characters-18/20

Creativity-18/20

Writing-18/20

Pace-9/10

Ending-8/10

=89/100 B

★★★★/5

SUMMARY:

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter. She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever. When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once? -Goodreads.com

REViEW:
I read this book in one sitting, something I rarely ever do. I ran to the bookstore the day it was released, came home, crawled into bed, and then read until four in the morning. The sleepiness that resulted the following day was worth it. I really enjoyed this book. I have always been a fan of Jenny Han's books ever since I first read The Summer I Turned Pretty, and I have yet to be disappointed by her. Her books are light and airy, perfect reads for summer. However, this book also had a bit of drama and developed a more complex plot.

This book picks up right where To All the Boys I've loved before ended. Lara Jean is wrestling with having real feelings for Peter Kavinsky and is on her way to give him an apology letter. However, of course drama ensues as soon as she talks to Peter again. Eventually, John Ambrose McClaren enters the picture again, which creates quite the love triangle. Then Genevieve once again enters the picture leading to a love square. Needless to say, Lara Jean is confused. I found the plot of this book very entertaining because first loves are a little messy and confusing. It was interesting to see how Lara Jean wrestled with her feelings for the other three characters. This book also encompasses an Internet scandal, family dynamics, secrets, and the difficulty of friendships. Each of those additional plotlines and aspects of this book made it real and totally relatable. Once again, I loved seeing how Lara Jean interacted at home with her sisters Margot and Kitty. This book is more than just a love story. It's a depiction of one girl's journey through high school.  

These characters were very well developed throughout this book. Lara Jean is a typical sixteen year old girl. She didn't think sometimes which could found a little frustrating, but to me that made her voice all the more realistic. I really loved getting inside of her head. She went through a lot of feelings that every teenager does, and I loved being able to see how she handled them. Contrary to many readers though, I'm not a huge fan of Peter K. I believe Lara Jean deserved better. Peter is arrogant and a stereotypical "cool" jock. He was not very good at all at communicating with Lara Jean which led to many problems in their relationship. For being such a manly man, I would've thought he would fight for his love. On the other hand, we finally get to officially meet John Ambrose McClaren. John is a good guy and a good friend. I loved seeing how John's relationship with Lara Jean grew throughout the book. However, Kitty was by far my favorite character. She is fierce. Her relationships with Lara Jean and Peter were really fun to read about. I also loved how she kept trying to set her dad up on dates. All in all, the characters all brought different personalities which made for some interesting scenarios.

The ending did not end exactly how I wished it would, but it was still a satisfying conclusion. Personally I still dislike Peter. I feel like he was rarely heartfelt with Lara Jean. I don't think he's ready for a serious, committed relationship yet. I loved how all of the storylines were tied up, especially John's. I also thought that it was fitting that not everything went Lara Jean's way even at the end. If Han had made everything go instantly perfectly, this book would have lost its realistic feel. All in all, I loved reading this book. This series holds a soft spot in my heart. I cannot wait to see what Jenny Han is working on next! 

My Favorite Part: The "do you want to build a snowman" scene!


ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Yes, most definitely! This duology is such a quick, fun, light read.

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥