Jenn

The writing in this book was quite a shock and it took some getting used to - very fantastical and quirky. It was hard for me to get into the story at first. As I continued, I adjusted and instead of thinking that the characters were crazy, I realized that the language was more poetic and emotive than realistic and was able to adjust my expectations.

As the story unfolded, my affection for this story kept growing; I'm so glad I stuck with it.

This is the story of a boy and a girl - twins - who lose themselves and each other. That's about all I'll say about the plot, because the journey and the self-discovery is the best part.

It was interesting the way the POV changed. The chapters switched between Noah at age 13-ish and Jude at age 16-ish, so each POV change came with a change in the timeline.

I read this book as an audiobook, but I think that I'll pick up a copy to have on my bookshelf. This is one where you will want to underline passages.

I thought the twists at the end were fantastic and unexpected. There were a few times where I was reading and audibly gasped in surprise, which is such a great feat for an author to be able to surprise the reader that much. It didn't earn 5 stars for me because the fact that an adult woman would become so obsessed after just a week doesn't read true for me. I can see digging a little bit, but I wouldn't upend my life over it. The book also spent quite a bit of time in this uncomfortable space, and this made the book difficult to continue reading in places. Once the reveals started picking up, it was much more enjoyable.

I love to be entertained and I have a great ability to suspend my disbelief in favor of a good tale. This is perhaps why non-fiction and history are some of the hardest genres for me to read. In a similar way, war stories are hard for me to get into because I don't tend to see them as lived experiences. The only ones I really relate to are the modern stories of American military, because I used to be in the Navy and know something of that life.

However, some years ago now, I had the privilege of meeting Immaculee Ilibagiza, who wrote “Left to Tell,” which was another story of the Rwandan Genocide. I was able to hear her speak and give her a hug after the talk. This made Rwanda real for me. So, when I heard about this book as one of my Book of the Month options, I had to pick it up.

Gael Faye has a different perspective than Immaculee, and was younger when the events occurred, but he speaks with a compelling voice and really has a gift for making you feel the burgeoning horror of the events as they unfold and the increasing tension in the country and those in the immediate vicinity.

Immaculee's story is one about faith and hope and strength and doing good with your life in the face of all this evil - and forgiving even the most unforgivable. Gael's is more of how a country can mark you and live in your soul, long after you have moved away. How events and people change and color the entire trajectory of your life.

It was moving and heartbreaking and beautiful. I would especially recommend it to those who have not had a chance to travel outside of the Western world with it's privilege and wealth. It sounds rather odd to say that it will help your heart to learn compassion and respect for other places and people around the globe, but it does.

This book made me laugh out loud on page 2! It has a zesty, wicked humor that I love. Even better, I have several friends who would absolutely love this book right with me! I fully intend to buy at least two copies: one for me and one for K. Maybe one for my brother, too. So good.

I used to draw sassy little stick figures in all sorts of situations, and this is that idea to the nth level. Not only was it funny, but it was funny because it contained so much truth about life. At the same time, you are laughing, but you are also nodding along and recognizing yourself in these cartoon characters.

The squishy emotions though - those are my favorite!

I read a pre-pub version of this book via NetGalley.

This was truly a great read. From the beginning, the writing was fantastic and the characters vibrant and compelling.

I picked up this book as one of my Book of the Month choices, but it took me a while to actually bring myself to start reading it. Perhaps because it was an adult contemporary novel, and I tend to find these a little less exciting than the bubble-gum YA that I usually prefer. But even 9 pages in, I knew that this was going to be a gripping story. And it did not disappoint. I read it in two marathon reading sessions and enjoyed every sleep-deprived minute.

The story within the story basically takes over the plot of the book, and this is fine. It is an epic tale that teaches you in a subtle way some truths about human nature, both admirable and despicable.

I didn't expect this to be a favorite book, but I have a feeling that this story will stay with me for quite some time to come.

I read the hardcover edition of this book, which I borrowed from the library. It is YA fiction, basically set in the present day, with the addition of some medical technology that we do not yet have in real life.

Central to the book is the question, “What does it mean to move on?” I guess part of my answer to that question is the reason why, while I liked her, I couldn't identify as much with the main character.

This was an interesting story, but I wish the trauma that caused her to make her decision (sorry, I'm trying to be vague and non-spoilery) had been fleshed out and described in more detail. As it is written, it feels more superficial and poorly reasoned.

Addie as a character does have a lot of growth as she discovers more about herself and her past, and I have a feeling that she will do just fine going forward.

This book made me feel grateful for all of my past - both the good and the bad memories. They make me who I am today.

Overall, I liked the story. I'm a little bit of a hard grader, so it only gets 3/5 stars, but for me, this is not a bad rating. I'm glad I read it. I may or may not re-read it. I would probably read a sequel, if one were ever written. It might be interesting to read a story about Zach or from Zach's POV.

Jen's writing has drawn me in from back in the early blog days when she ran Et Tu? (Before it became Conversion Diary and then JenniferFulwiler.com.) She has a way of making the ordinary extraordinary and relating events with a lot of negative emotion in a way that shows great perspective and understanding. Her books always make me laugh out loud and shed some tears.

She has a way of sharing stories that would make you look forward to reading her grocery list, while at the same time she will slip in some profound insights and wisdom that will deeply change the way you live your life.

Needless to say, I recommend this book to everyone. Especially those who are in the middle of the storm of raising littles and worrying that they are not enough; you completely are. God has made us for community; never be afraid of leaning on your people.

Apparently, this is my day for finishing books I've started a long time ago, and the day for reading Jen Fulwiler!

Thank you, Jen, for taking Texas completely off the list of possible states to live. No thank you to living with scorpions. I suppose I'll have to appreciate my black-ice laden Michigan winters just a little longer.

It's all fun and games and delightful internet stories until someone's stung in the face in bed in the middle of the night. NOPE.

Hang in there!

I wasn't a fan of the book, “There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves,” but since Gabby had me read it 3 times in one week, I figured there was something about it that she really liked, so I looked on Amazon for some similar stories that we could read together.

I found out that there are a lot of these books! Since Gabby loves Halloween stories, I picked this one. Before we even started, she said, “I bet she eats a ghost!” She was also interested to see what the Old Lady would make, since in the Leaves story, Spoilershe ends up sneezing out a scarecrow. In this one, what comes out is Halloween, which was a little too abstract for Gabby, but cute nonetheless.

I would recommend this one, if you are new to the Old Lady Who Swallowed... series.

This was a cute little read about a girl who was hungry, but dinner wasn't ready yet. I read this to Gabby from my Kindle account on my phone last night. She enjoyed it too.

This was a cute story and a book you can (and I did) read in one sitting.

While the back of the book makes it seem as if there were 10 things that the protagonist did to the prom dress which resolved all of her issues, the 10 uses were really just in her imagination, for the most part.

I liked the characters and felt they were pretty authentic. There were a couple scenarios that didn't ring quite true, but I'll let a lot slide for the sake of entertaining fiction.

This book is the third in the Bright Side series. I really enjoyed the other two books, so I was excited to read this one.

I liked Franco and Gemma. They were enjoyable people to hang around and listen to their story. I loved that both of them were bad ass in their own arenas and that Franco never assumed that Gemma's career would take a back seat to his own. His humility and regard for her were refreshing.

I found their struggles to be realistic and engaging.

I really appreciated that this book was just a good read, and not the sob-fest that prior books had been. It didn't have the same emotional rollercoaster, but it felt more like the gentle ending of the trilogy. The other books gripped your emotions by the throat, while this one just made you hold your breath from time to time.

I was not as big of a fan of this story as Gabby is. She's had me read it to her about 3 times in the past week or so. I think part of the draw is the “Halloween/Fall” theme to the story.

The illustrations were done with short strokes, almost like pointillism. It was probably technically very difficult to draw. The bugs were super cute and I loved watching the animals' reactions to this woman.

This book was a little edgier, darker, and more explicit that Colleen Hoover's other novels. I read it as an audiobook, and I have to admit that there were quite a few times where I had to decrease the volume of the radio as I was arriving at work, lest I scandalize coworkers and passers-by.

I enjoyed the characters in this book, particularly Sloan and Asa. Asa is a very complicated character, but that made him especially interesting. Carter was interesting in a way, but he wasn't on the same level as the other two characters. I would have liked to have known more about his back story or how he got into the situation we find him in.

This book did have me on the edge of my seat several times and I was frequently wincing as characters did things that I knew were going to come back to cause them pain and suffering.

It is more sex and explicit situations than I typically prefer to read, but it was enjoyable. I felt that the situations were believable.

If I were to meet a character in real life, I'd probably pick Dalton. He was a good supporting character and I feel that he would be fun to hang out with and has good priorities in life. Asa would be interesting, but in real life, you don't want to attract attention from someone like him - he's just too dangerous.

This was a really good read!

It comes across more in the genre of a Tom Clancy/Vince Flynn thriller, which is unexpected from a Stephenie Meyer novel, but I think she pulls it off remarkably well. I'd love to see more books of this genre from her.

I really loved this book. I loved how Colleen could craft so much dysfunction and strain between people who were still so in love with each other. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot was really one that needs to be discussed in society more.

I wanted to like this book more than I did.

First, the male lead started off as a complete jerk and didn't really improve over the course of the book. I kept waiting for his horrible behavior to be explained and for him to have some real character redemption, but that never happened.

The heroine was surrounded by jerks. Not even her best friend was truly supportive. Let's look at the best friend, Vee. Utterly vapid and superficial. She was described as being a few pounds over curvy, but then she was continually fat-shamed throughout the book and she always talked about how hungry she was and was looking for her next meal. Even after being attacked, she didn't see any reason to be cautious about going to sketchy neighborhoods with even sketchier guys that she just met, but that she instantly had an attraction to. She made horrible choices and attempted to manipulate Nora into making the same horrible choices.

Miss Greene is an angel and was formerly Patch's girlfriend, but they broke up and she came down from Heaven to save him. Okay, so she's supposed to be a good guy? But then she's written really creepy and ends up turning evil? Because...? Of the evil influence of humans? Because no one in this book has any real moral fortitude?

Nora's mom is always gone due to work and is overworked and underpaid. But they have a housekeeper/quasi-parent figure... that we rarely see. So, less than a year from when her father was murdered and Nora essentially is unsupervised for long periods of time.

Patch. The reader knows that he's a fallen angel because of the book's blurb and cover and.... However, we don't actually get to the meat of the plot until 3/4 of the way through the book because we have to suffer through a few more “mysteries” and stupid high school BS. (Of course the pretty cheerleader is also a raving bitch. #stereotype)

So Nora can't depend on her vapid BFF. Can't trust the sketchy, stalker potential love-interest. Can't trust the sketchy, stalker, violent potential love-interest/murder suspect. Can't trust love-interest #2's friend who always mysteriously disappears. Can't trust her own perceptions and memory. Can't trust her mom to ever be around. Can't trust the cops to take her seriously. Can't trust the guidance counselor to have her best interests at heart. There is no one in her world that is trustworthy.

For whatever reason, she decides to trust Patch and be on his side. Even after this, he still doesn't treat her any better than before. He admits to having wanted to kill her, and she still sacrifices her life for him because... I'm not sure, she's not that attracted to him, really.

So, he decided to not profit from her death, which of course makes him an ideal boyfriend. And he had just enough moral fiber to just barely not be okay with her death, so eh, why not let her be your girlfriend or whatever. Neither one seemed to be really into the other person. He liked goading her and she thought he was an ass. (Which he was.)

I don't see a great future for either one of them.
Apparently, this is a series. I kept reading this book hoping it will get better. I'm not sure if I'm willing to keep reading the series. I keep thinking that the author has to redeem these characters at some point, right? Right?!

This was a fantastic book that I read in one sitting. I especially loved the characterizations and how the decisions they made were very true to who the characters were as people and not to provide a tidy ending to the story.

The themes of super-happy endings not occurring due to human flaws, but also that you can still have a great life despite your Big Dream not going as planned are important and real and I'm so glad this book deals with these issues.

I liked the additional world-building that was done to show the changes made in the world after the events of Specials.

There were a couple of sections that moved a little slowly, but overall, I think it was a worthy addition to the Uglies series.

And... now I want a hovercam in addition to a hoverboard.

This book started off a little slow and I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but it picked up speed until I had read the remaining 300 pages in one sitting on the second day.
Now, I just have to stalk out the sequel to continue the story...

I enjoy reading other perspectives of the same story. Here, we get to see a scene from The Selection from Maxon's point of view. I like how his POV informs some of the decisions he makes later in the series. I think books/novellas like these really point out of us, the readers, how much the author has considered the motivations and character of the people she has created.

For me, this book started slowly, but perhaps this is because I'm used to reading YA where things tend to be a little more angsty and dramatic. It felt very true-to-life, and sometimes life and be a little unexciting. And when we meet the main character, she's grieving. However, the author doesn't wallow in that feeling too long and we see Aimee slowly start to rebuild her life, despite several devastating blows.

As the book progresses, the author doesn't drag out periods of time where the characters are waiting for something, but jumps from one thing to the next, one question to the answer. I really appreciated that.

By the middle of the book, I was invested in the characters and it kept getting more enjoyable until the end. For a book that I was almost ready to mark as DNF, I was smiling by the end. I am looking forward to reading the sequel.

This was a really enjoyable book. I liked hearing the difference in tone and writing styles between Dash and Lily. The premise of the book was imaginative and plausible, with just the right hint of wonder. It was great to see how each character grew and matured as they interacted with each other.

This is the first book I've read by these authors, but it definitely makes me want to read some of their other collaborative works. The fact that the book was written by passing back and forth completed chapters without knowing where the other person was headed with the plot is amazing - just like the Book of Dares itself!

This book was the perfect mix of geeky and hilarious! It is actually my brother's book and I started reading it on Thanksgiving, and finished on Christmas. So, really, I read it in 2 sittings - pretty good!

The illustrations are all of stick figures which makes me remember my Physics classes in high school fondly.

It was raw and real and a great story. At times, it was a little too graphic for my taste, but I can't say they didn't warn readers about the explicit sexual scenes.