Half Bad

Title: Half Bad

"The trick is to not mind. Not mind about
it hurting. Not mind about
anything."

Author: Sally Green

First Published: 2014

Series: Half Bad series (Book 1)

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Available As: Paperback, Ebook

My Rating: 9.5/10

Goodreads Summary:

Wanted by no one.

Hunted by everyone.

Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan's only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it's too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

Nathan is a Half-Code. He's half White Witch and half Black Witch. What does that make him? Evil. Well, according to the Whites Witches.

I'm loving this book! I really loved the way Nathan narrates the story, since it really reminds me of Tumblr and Wattpad stories that I really like. Although many may say his grammar is horrible, it doesn't really matter. He isn't the easiest to relate to, but his story just really attaches to you, and you won't forget that easy.

Nathan is a strong-willed boy, and he doesn't give up easily. I mean, his life goal was kept since he was really young. And everyone knows how easy it is to change your life goals, right?


Oh yeah! Of course. Annalise and Nathan. Do you ship them? I don't, not really. I just feel like Annalise is annoying and too perfect. But I can see why Nathan would fall in love with her. What I do ship though, is Nathan and Gabriel. Yes! They seem so cute together, and I really hope Nathan chooses Gabriel in the end.

This book really deals with discrimination and labels. Sound familiar? Yeah, it's like our world today. Labels - the White Witches are 'good' and Black Witches are 'bad'. Ha, yeah right. This isn't true, 70% of the time. Notice the percentage isn't that high? Look at Nathan. Okay, he's half-half, but he's not evil. And all those 'good' White Witches. They're not 100% good anyways. You can't judge a person by their label.

All The Bright Places

"It's not what you take. It's what
you leave."

Title: All The Bright Places

Author: Jennifer Niven

First Published: 2015

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Available As: Paperback, Ebook

My Rating: 9.5/10

Goodreads Summary:

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the 'natural wonders' of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

Meet Finch. The boy who wants to die. Meet Violet, the girl who wants to live again. How did they meet? On a bell-tower. What happened afterwards? They found peace.

It's an absolutely amazing book. It really makes you think about life and death, especially with the people suffering from depression and those who think about suicide. It unearths all these questions that have different answers, and you just want to keep reading and reading in hope for one.

The book deals with loss, suicide and all these kinds of touchy subjects. But it really opens up the topic and that's how we can learn about what really happens. Suicide is not an easy topic to talk/write/read about, but Niven does a great job at it.

I miss Finch. He was the best character and the perfect boyfriend for Violet. Aaaand, that never really happens. Sorry, spoiler there!

I cried. And cried. And cried. I've never cried so much over a book since TFIOS. And that wasn't even waterworks. That was just sniffles. Why?! This book made me cry too much. That's how good it is. Well, bad for my eyes though. They're a tiny bit swollen.

Definitely recommended if you want a heart-warming but heart-breaking read. Woah, that's a bit contradicting. Oh well. :)

Extra note: if you are suffering from depression or having suicidal thoughts, please, tell somebody. You are not alone, and you never will be. There are hotlines where you can talk to people if things get too unbearable. Talking really helps.

My True Love Gave To Me

Title: My True Love Gave To Me

"Long, cold nights are for falling
in love."

Author: Stephanie Perkins (Editor)

First Published: 2014

Series: Stand-Alone (12 short stories)

Genre: YA, Romance

Available As: Hardcover, Ebook

My Rating: 9.5/10

My True Love Gave To Me is a book, edited by Stephanie Perkins, containing 12 winter romances! This was my Christmas present, and I was so excited to read this book, especially during Christmas! I was definitely not disappointed by the book!

Goodreads Summary:

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year's there's something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.

1. Midnights by Rainbow Rowell. It tells the story of a young girl who meets a boy
with whom she slowly falls in love with. The story revolves around each New Year's Eve they spend together. It's cute and sweet. I was captivated by the plot straight away. From the beginning, you can tell it's going to be a great story.

2. The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link. It was a nice story, but the writing wasn't as captivating as it could've been.

3. Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña was epic. It started strongly, and ended strongly. It's not your cliché love story, but the main character was definitely someone you could relate and sympathise with. Of course, Haley was awesome. You can tell those two are in loooove!

4. Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han. I haven't read any books by her (but I'm planning on it!) but I've heard mixed reviews about her writing. Some say she's a great writer, but some say she's not the best. I agree with the former! Her writing is really nice! (Minus the open ended ending)

5. It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins absolutely warmed my heart. The characters were really unique, especially North. It's not everyday a guy comes and helps you rearrange your apartment and life, for that matter.

6. Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan was quite good. The style of writing was nice, and it was quite funny. It isn't your average Christmas romance, so *winks*, get ready.

7. Krampuslauf by Holly Black was interesting. I've seen reviews about her writing, and they were pretty mixed as well. Apart from the title (that my brain found confusing to pronounce - or that's just my limited vocal chords), the story was okay!

8. What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman was an okay read. I have ready other books by her: If I Stay and Just One Day. Her writing is fabulous! The plot was well though out, just... I took longer than expected.

9. Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire was pretty interesting. The characters were likeable and so was the plot.

10. Welcome to Christmas, CA  by Kiersten White was amazing. Maria works at a restaurant, and they just hired a new chef. She's experiencing some family troubles, and the chef helps a lot. This story nearly made me cry buckets, especially the ending. It was so heart-warming an I re-read it twice!

11. Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter was a very interesting story. There was also a touch of mystery, so it really brought forth the mood.

12. The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer by Laini Taylor was a really different story from the others. This seems to be set in some alternate universe where magic is everywhere. The title is also quite eye-catching and I loved the story.

So, these 12 winter romances were absolutely amazing to read. I was sitting there, with my hot chocolate, devouring the book. And it was the time of my life! This is one of the best books to read during the winter, and you can also find this book on my Winter Recommendations post!
So, happy winter! And enjoy what's left of it! :)

Movie Adaptations of 2014!

Movies are so exciting in the cinemas!

Is it just me, or do you get excited to see your favourite book being made into a movie? I love it! Unless the movie turns out to be horrible, like some certain movie I can think of ;)

Usually the movie adaptations are not horrible, they're pretty good. Directors miss out details here and there, but it's not much of a big deal.

Does anyone remember the movie adaptations of books in 2014?

1. Mockingjay, Part One was crazy! It missed out a couple of details, but does it matter a great deal? No. Josh Hutcherson's acting was incredible; he portrayed tortured Peeta in the most intense and amazing way. The ending though, was a (sort of?) cliffhanger! Why another year?
2. The Maze Runner was absolutely amazing! It was like the book, apart from missing out a few details here. They took out the complicated code and the telepathy between Thomas and Teresa! It would've been cooler, but it might've been too complicated. The movie was a bit simpler, but was as exciting as the book!
3. Divergent was pretty good! I read the book a couple of years back, back when nobody had even heard of it, so my feelings for it were quite neutral. Once I heard a movie was being made, I decided to re-read it, and I was quite excited! The movie took out the butter-knife scene, which disappointed me a bit, but nevertheless, it was great!
4. The Fault In Our Stars was such a heart-breaking book, and a heart-wrenching movie! The cast was impeccable, and they stuck close to the book. I loved how John Green appeared in a small scene (I screamed!) and of course, the movie made me cry, as did the book.
5. If I Stay was a great movie. It followed the book to an extent, and really brought forth the waterworks. Isn't Chloe Grace Moretz a great actor? She totally fits Mia perfectly!

If I missed out any movies, I'm sorry! But, if you liked or didn't like these movies, let me know what you thought of them! And have a Happy New Year!

The Chrysalids

"If you run away from a thing just
because you don't like it, you don't
like what you find either."

Title: The Chrysalids

Author: John Wyndham

First Published: 1955


Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Classic, Dystopia

Available As: Paperback, hardcover, ebook

My Rating: 7.5/10

Watch thou for the mutant! These phrases has stuck with David all his life. Anyone found with a deviation must be killed. At first, David believes in this saying, but as the years go by, he slowly by slowly loses his faith. He just doesn't understand! What makes them so different, just because of a small physical difference? Until David realises he also has a
deviation. And everything is now at stake.

Reading The Chrysalids was like a taste of fresh dystopia. It was told a bit differently from the dystopian books we read nowadays. It is almost scary how much Wyndham was close to predicting how our world is like now.

David started off as a young, naive boy in the beginning. He blindly accepted everything that was happening, even when he knew it was wrong. Throughout the book, he slowly opens his mind more and more to the world around him, and he finally understands how it is wrong to live the way he has lived all his life.

One thing irked me in the book though. Why does David have to fall in love with Rosalind? And vice versa? But I guess, love is love and there is no controlling it.

The ending is an open ending. We never really find out what happens to all the characters (do we ever?), and all we know is that most of them will get their happy ending. This was a really good dystopian book, written about half a century ago. Does it remind us of our world today? In some ways, it does. These older dystopian books aren't really just for enjoyment (although it can be), but rather some kind of foreshadowing, if we're assuming our whole existence is like a book. Foreshadowing for a future that is yet to come.

Winter Reads

Winter is here! And it's the perfect time to find a great book to snuggle and read with. A cup of hot chocolate anyone? Cookies? Gingerbread cookies? Or... Starbucks? Tea?

Enough about food. What about the books?!

Here in this little post, I'll give you a small list of my all-time favourite books to read during the winter, and maybe you would like to check them out! Or maybe tell me your favourite winter books, if you have any!

Let's begin.

1. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. Who doesn't love this book for Christmas-y feels? It is a winter romance anyways. Three little stories about different people. But they all link together in the end! It's really cute, and I love how they seem to intertwine and end. It's a really sweet story; what can you expect from these three authors? They're the best!

2. Girl Online by Zoe Sugg. It's a cute love story, but it's not only about love. It's also about life, facing fears, and standing up for what's right. Who doesn't love a story with so many different themes? Oh yeah, the main character Penny is also a kind girl, and it's hard not to like her.

3. Sweet Honey by Cathy Cassidy. It's actually the fifth book in the Chocolate Box Girls series, but who cares? Although, it may be better if you read the first few books in the series. It's great, really. It's about Honey turning over a new leaf, but of course, the past never really goes away. Like they say!

4. My True Love Gave To Me, which is a collection of 12 short stories. The stories are very cute, and the short stories are written by famous romance authors! The book was put together by Stephanie Perkins, and it's really pretty.

Are there more? Yeah! Of course! They're tons of books to read over the winter, and here are just some suggestions. If you have any recommendations, feel free to just comment!

Stay warm, and read a book!

Girl Online

"Every time you post something online
you have a choice."

Title: Girl Online

Author: Zoe Sugg (A.K.A Zoella)

First Published: 2014

Series: Stand alone

Available As: Hardcover

My Rating: 8.5/10

Under the pseudonym 'Girl Online', Penny writes all about her life, her troubles, her happiness on her anonymous blog. It was just her way of escaping her life and be herself. She was able to write all her feelings without the fear of being found out. Except for her best friend Elliot, of course. He was the only one who knew about her blog.

When her parents bring Penny to America to help with organising a wedding, she meets the charming, mysterious, sweet Noah. The guy that seems to be her soulmate, her first love. Life just seemed to get a lot better in a couple of days. And of course, she blogs about this Brooklyn Boy. But, what if her sweet relationship just got a whole lot sour?

Girl Online was such a great book about facing your fears and first love. Penny was an awkward, down-to-earth girl, who is likeable. She learned to face her fears and conquer them through many different ways, thanks to the support of her family and friends. She's quiet, shy, but also stands up for what's right. And this book can teach you so much.

This here is Penny's tent. Keep out!
... unless your name is Noah.

Girl Online is Zoe's first novel, and it was written perfectly. It had those moments where you would just want to melt, cry or laugh at the same time. It was very mature, and told exactly from the perspective of a teenage girl. Overall, it was a really good read, and it is perfect for a warm winter day.

Why winter? I don't know. Probably because I read this during winter. By the way, don't you wish for a tent with fairy lights? How beautiful would that be?