The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan

Genre: Realistic Fiction / Romance
Page Count: 312

GOODREADS SUMMARY:

Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.

Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their love.

I really liked the characters in this novel. None of them were there just to fill up space - they all had stories and purposes.  This book captivated me from the beginning.  I just needed to know more about what happened to Tim, and how everything panned out.

I loved how the romance seemed real; not cheesy or over-the-top.  The way Elizabeth LaBan wrote it made me feel 

like this story, and Tim and Vanessa's romance, was very much alive - not fictional.  I loved it!

The story (mostly) takes place at a boarding school, so it was easy to imagine everything that was going on, since I experience school and everything that comes along with it.

Don't even get me started about the ending.  My emotions were everywhere.  The secret had been threatening to spill ever since the beginning, and when it finally came to light... well, let's just say I didn't see it coming.

Overall, excellent debut, I will be reading more by this author! 

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Pivot Point by Kasie West

Genre: Sci-Fi / Romance

Page Count: 343

GOODREADS SUMMARY:

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Well, this book has definitely made my favorites list.  First of all -- just look at the cover!  I've been wanting to read this book ever since I came across it on GoodReads a couple months ago and eagerly awaited the release date, February 12th, 2013.  I had high expectations for this book, and it managed to exceed them!  The writing style was amazing, the characters were intriguing, the plotline is very original, and then there's the ending.  

The ending completely surprised me and it broke my heart and -- (I should stop talking or else there will be spoilers).

I read this book in under 24 hours because it's very fast-paced and I loved every second of it. Now I can't believe I have to wait a year for the second installment in the series! (Update: the second book is called 'Split Second'. How cool is that?)

I loved how the author had you rooting for a certain potential future in the beginning, and you knew that you wanted Addie to pick that future for sure, but then something would happen in the other potential future that would make you switch sides.  My emotions were all over the place and I never knew what was going to happen next.

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Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The author of this book was touring in my area, so I picked up this book to read.  By looking at the summary, I was unsure whether or not to read this book; it's not the kind of book I would usually read.  There are tons of good reviews for this book though; so I picked it up.

This book completely exceeded my expectations!

I finished this book in less than 24 hours.  It was fast-paced -- there were barely any slow spots.  I loved the characters and the book is not exactly like the fairytale Cinderella like I was expecting -- it's actually quite different, which makes it really enjoyable and intriguing to read!
I recommend this to fans of YA sci-fi and fantasy.

Summary (from GoodReads):
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

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~thespectacularbookworm

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

This is the second book in the Shatter Me series.  To see my review of the first, click here.

First off, I absolutely love Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series.  Her writing style is phenomenal!  There are so many interesting metaphors in this book, just like with the first.  This book is very fast-paced and I loved delving deeper into the world Juliette lives in!  There was also a lot of character development in this one and it was overall everything I was expecting and more.

If you like YA and/or dystopian fiction, you will not be disappointed in this series.

Summary (from GoodReads):

tick
tick
tick
tick
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it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

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~thespectacularbookworm

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

This book is different than I was expecting it to be... in a good way!  I could really connect with the main character, Auden, which makes reading the book all the more fun.  I also loved how all the characters in the book had their own stories, that they weren't just there as fillers.  This was a cute book with drama at every turn! I recommend this book to fans of Sarah Dessen's other novels, fans of Stephanie Perkins, and fans of YA romance novels.

Summary (from GoodReads):
It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.

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For more info, visit the author's website.

I'll definitely be reading more of Sarah Dessen's novels!

~thespectacularbookworm  

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

I really, really liked this book. At first I was unsure of it, but by the end I was dying for the sequel. The plotline is very original, and I loved the main characters Todd and Viola--you didn't really see into them at first, you didn't really know their story, but you soon learn more about them and I liked how the author did that. He kept you on the edge of your seat--this book is really fast-paced and it's just a really good dark dystopian fiction. I recommend it to fans of The Hunger Games, or if you want to get hooked on another YA series!

Summary (from GoodReads):
Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

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This book was a great way to start the year! 
Hopefully, 2013 will be full of spectacular books.

~thespectacularbookworm

My Favorite Books I Read in 2012

It's the last day of 2012, so I figured, why not make a list of your favorite reads of the year? So here they are (in no particular order)...

-The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

-Every Day by David Levithan

-Speechless by Hannah Harrington

-The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

-The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare

-Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

-Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

-Delirium by Lauren Oliver

-Insurgent by Veronica Roth