Stacking the Shelves #56: April 10

-Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme by Tynga's Reviews
where us bloggers share our latest hauls and goodies!-

This Week's Headlines:

Hello! It has been a loooooooong time since I have actually posted a StS post and shared my latest reads with you all! It's been a real long time since I have been caught up with blogging and reviewing, too. That's something that I need to manage better! (As well as commenting. That's always a struggle). What have all of you been doing lately? I have been gearing up (slowly) for BEA in Chicago and counting down the days! 20 more school days and one actual month left today to when I leave for the Windy City! 

I am so excited to go to Chicago. I love exploring new cities and I was extremely fortunate to experience New York City's BEA last year! Anyways. I have been receiving so many assignments and tests in the last week that I literally was ready to blow up. I hate having more than one thing due in a day! This week hopefully will die down. Next Saturday I'm heading over downtown to a Math conference, so that'll be interesting, hopefully! I'm currently reading The Girl With Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee. It's soooo good!

How was your week? How are you?

My Book Haul:

I didn't receive this all this week, but I have accumulated all of these beauties in the past little while!

Ten Thousand Skies Above You is now in my shelves! I am still in shock over this. More than a year ago, I fell in love with Claudia Gray's story and I kept anticipating the sequel. When I was coming home from a March Break trip to Mexico (which I have to give a recap about), I spotted a paperback copy at the airport! In case you did not know, this was just released so there's only hardcovers around. This fit my budget (LOL) and was the most recent book I actually purchased!

I received Complicit, The Hidden Twin and The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem thanks to St. Martin's Press! THEY LOOK SO INTRIGUING AND MY TYPE OF READ. I'm sure that I'll be satisfied!

Twenty Questions for Gloria, The Glittering Court and Lab Girl all came to my door in a huge package a few weeks ago. I was shocked! THEY ARE GOING TO BE BOTHERING ME UNTIL I READ THEM. I am so angry that I have a huge TBR pile! *laughs* Thank you Penguin Random House Canada!

Recent Posts:

• The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey // The Most Powerful Messages I've Seen in a Long Time
• Release Day Review: The New Guy by Amy Spalding // Just as Good as Spalding's Other
• Bone and Bread by Saleema Nawaz // This Needs to Win Everyone's Debate
• The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah // Was I Missing Something?

How was your week? What have you been reading lately? 

The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey // The Most Powerful Messages I've Seen in a Long Time

The Sister Pact, by Stacie Ramey
Publication: November 3, 2015, by Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Suicide
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

A suicide pact was supposed to keep them together, but a broken promise tore them apart.
Allie is devastated when her older sister commits suicide - and not just because she misses her. Allie feels betrayed. The two made a pact that they'd always be together, in life, and in death, but Leah broke her promise and Allie needs to know why.
Her parents hover. Her friends try to support her. And Nick, sweet Nick, keeps calling and flirting. Their sympathy only intensifies her grief.
But the more she clings to Leah, the more secrets surface. Allie's not sure which is more distressing: discovering the truth behind her sister's death or facing her new reality without her.

My Thoughts:

Stacie Ramey literally stunned the heck out of me with this gorgeous, light but heart-felt story that confronts the problems of the aftermath of a suicide in a family. We read about a suicide pact, two sisters who have completely different personalities and secrets, betrayal, romance and problems in a teenager's life, which seems rather general but beautiful. This is the realest story of the real. I cannot help but freak out and wish that there are many more contemporary stories out like this one. You know, I have read many suicide stories about a teenager (and her friend or sister) who is undergoing so many problems and battling some kind of mental illness. Stacie Ramey, with this precious story, decides to take a different route and remind readers of traditional feelings that are kept inside of a person. There's no therapy sessions, no cyberbullying or bullying in general. There's so much depth through this and I want to hand it to everyone like a heart of gold.

"What's the easiest thing to paint? Still life. The words come to me. Not from Leah but from my mind, like it's taking over for me in this chess match. Still life. Still alive. Leah. It always comes back to her." (92)

The Sister Pact is about two sisters who lost each other. Allie is living and Leah is gone. They promised to do it together if they ever wanted to, but Leah left before Allie could even say goodbye. Allie is trying to move on, trying new things, maybe kind of falling in love and trying to deal with everything, all on her own, in a way.

I recommend this beautiful story to everyone. It touches the heart in many ways—different ways for each person. A reader who even cannot relate to Allie's situation feels a connection somehow. We all undergo our dark moments where we feel like we have nothing left. Allie felt that, and throughout the work, she tries to configure her future and see where and how she will move on afterwards. Allie is the kind of person that you want to be friends with. She has a selfless personality where even though she undergoes so much in her life, she puts her parents and friends first. She's such an interesting character. It's easy to wish something great to occur for a character, but for Allie, I felt like I was in this journey with her.

What a transformation, too. This whole novel was formed and crafted together beautifully. I couldn't stop reading when I began, and it all turned into one sitting. It's a story that grows with you as you read, and it could come into your life at any season, month or day of the year, whether you feel depressed or not. NICK AND ALLIE FOR LIFE. *shakes* There may or may not be a love triangle included. Just saying. Beware. I was okay with it, at least.

The Sister Pact is such a charming story. There's a touch of romance, a touch of touchy-feely stuff and context that will make your heart squirm and wish for more from this new debut author. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, MY FRIENDS.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What is a recent good suicide book you have read? What about books that feature sisterhood? 

Waiting on Wednesday #35: Heartless

Heartless, by Marissa Meyer
Publication: November 8, 2016, by Feiwel and Friends
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 416

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.
Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.
At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king's marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.
Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS? MARISSA MEYER? ALICE IN WONDERLAND? RETELLING? Those are just some of the things that initially intrigued me when I set my sneaky eyes on this cover. THIS LOOKS JUST SO GOOD. Marissa Meyer is the author who introduced me to good fantasy fiction with Cinder (I have not read Winter yet! Ugh!), and I just want to continue reading good fantasy. I hope that I'll see this pretty at BEA! ONE. MORE. MONTH. I can handle this!

What are you anticipating the most this week? Are you excited for Marissa Meyer's newest?

Release Day Review: The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions) by Amy Spalding // Just as Good as Spalding's Other

The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions), by Amy Spalding
Publication: April 5, 2016, by Poppy
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

A ridiculously cute, formerly-famous new guy dropping into your life? It's practically every girl's dream.
But not Jules McCallister-Morgan's.
I realize that on paper I look like your standard type-A, neurotic, overachiever. And maybe I am. But I didn't get to be the editor of my school's long-revered newspaper by just showing up*. I have one main goal for my senior year-early acceptance into my first choice Ivy League college-and I will not be deterred by best friends, moms who think I could stand to "live a little," or boys.
At least, that was the plan before I knew about Alex Powell**.
And before Alex Powell betrayed me***.
I know what you're thinking: Calm down, Jules. But you don't understand. This stuff matters. This is my life. And I'm not going down without a fight.
----
* Okay, I sort of did. But it's a sore subject.
** I mean, I guess everyone knows about Alex Powell? Two years ago, you couldn't go anywhere without hearing about viral video boy band sensation Chaos 4 All. Two years ago, Alex Powell wasfamous.
***Some people think I'm overreacting. But this. Means. War.
Filled with romance, rivalry, and passive-aggressive dog walking, Amy Spalding delivers a hilariously relatable high school story that's sure to have you falling for The New Guy.

My Thoughts:

A year ago, I was fortunate to receive a review copy of the beautiful, memorable debut novel by Amy Spalding: Kissing Ted Callahan. I was mesmerized by the plot, and how music spoke to the author and the characters of the story, bringing all musical lovers together into a story that had a bittersweet, but fluffy ending. A year later, I discovered that Spalding is going to release another bittersweet, funky story of her own that I knew I'll enjoy just the same as the one with Ted Callahan, or even more, possibly. My fingers smacked my phone screen when I requested it for review, and voila: THIS WAS THE PERFECT PLANE READ THAT A GIRL COULD ASK FOR. Being able to perfectly relate to a main character is difficult, difficult for many authors to conquer because at the same time, they don't want their characters to seem boring and bland. (Not that readers are boring and bland! I hope you all know what I secretly, inwardly am trying to say).

The New Guy was focused on so many concepts and themes. This was not just about Jules' romance with a pop-star-turned-ordinary-teenager. Amy Spalding played with modern, diverse issues that YA fiction needs more of. Jules has two moms, which plays an interesting role into how she seeks help with her relationship problems with Alex. She also has big dreams (as I do) to get into Brown University and be able to conquer the world. She becomes the editor-in-chief for her school newspaper, which turns into a battle once a weekly podcast on the school's televisions begins by her mortal enemy, Natalie. Just when things could not get worse, there is a romance to worry about, impressing her teachers for good letters of recommendation, and friendship-related issues that she needs to keep in mind in order to save her friendship with her best friend. Sounds like every teenager, right? Just kidding, everyone is different! I do kind of see myself in this chick. Overachievers rule!

There were little to no issues with this book. I fell in love with the story from its first page, which I had begun the night before an airplane trip back home from my relaxing vacation. I had a night flight, and finished it in one sitting. Everyone on the plane was sleeping, while my row was the only one with the light on. (Okay. That's a little over-exaggeration). I know that a book is good when I'm that addicted to it. Jules especially captivated me with her sweet, innocent but wicked voice. Wicked as in amusing, of course. She and Alex made a perfect power couple, and I love how Amy Spalding always incorporates music culture into her stories. I can tell that she is a HUGE fan of boybands. That's adorable! Spalding adds that extra quirk into contemporary fiction that many authors do not have; the lyrics to the songs that she makes up are hilariously catchy!

Alex was such a hottie. Although his and Jules' relationship seemed rushed and very instant-ty, I am a big fan of Julex, or Ales, or whatever ship name you decide to pair the two with. They instantly clicked, bonding over dog walking and the cute things in life. That's a kind of man I need. Another fictional boyfriend to add to the list? I do think so. 

In a rush, here are fifty reasons why (I wish), eight reasons why The New Guy would be perfect for you:

•This could help persuade you and cure your senioritis. Not that I know what that feels like.

•Jules has the quirkiest attitude ever. A reader cannot help but adore her personality and life mottos!

•It is a chick-lit, but encounters so many more YA issues that need to be explained. A hint of LGBTQ, a hint of gorgeous friendships, a hint of music... this is absolutely stunning.

•It gives you a perspective of what it's like to be an overachiever and have dreams... without procrastination. Jules' life shows that you could make time for everything at any time. It's crazy. 

•Alex and Jules' relationship is so, so sweet. They go on and off within the story, for reasons that make sense. They are a strong, power couple.

•The humour! I had so many laugh-out-loud moments with this story, which doesn't happen often.

•The pacing. I read this in a jiffy and I cannot help but yearn for it again. Who knows? Maybe once my TBR pile weakens (NEVER. BEA IS COMING) I'll give it a go again! It's too good.

•I say it's good. You know, you should all trust me some more.

I think that I have more than enough convinced you to buy this. IT'S RELEASE DAY, GET YOUR BUTTS MOVING. *giggles*

What is a good contemporary YA story that has to do with music? Do you like the vibe of this story?

Bone and Bread by Saleema Nawaz // This Needs to Win Everyone's Debate

Bone and Bread, by Saleema Nawaz
Publication: February 26, 2013, by House of Anansi Press
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 445
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

Beena and Sadhana are sisters who share a bond that could only have been shaped by the most unusual of childhoods -- and by shared tragedy. Orphaned as teenagers, they have grown up under the exasperated watch of their Sikh uncle, who runs a bagel shop in Montreal's Hasidic community of Mile End. Together, they try to make sense of the rich, confusing brew of values, rituals, and beliefs that form their inheritance. Yet as they grow towards adulthood, their paths begin to diverge. Beena catches the attention of one of the "bagel boys" and finds herself pregnant at sixteen, while Sadhana drives herself to perfectionism and anorexia.
When we first meet the adult Beena, she is grappling with a fresh grief: Sadhana has died suddenly and strangely, her body lying undiscovered for a week before anyone realizes what has happened. Beena is left with a burden of guilt and an unsettled feeling about the circumstances of her sister's death, which she sets about to uncover. Her search stirs memories and opens wounds, threatening to undo the safe, orderly existence she has painstakingly created for herself and her son.
Heralded across Canada for the power and promise of her debut collection, Mother Superior, Nawaz proves with Bone and Breadthat she is one of our most talented and unique storytellers.

My Thoughts:

I was originally captivated by Saleema Nawaz's Canadian-born story after hearing so many positive things about it because of the Canada Reads debate. Sadly, SPOILER ALERT, it didn't win the debate, but it was pretty great anyways. Bone and Bread is a story that not only intrigues readers and keeps them going, but shares so many themes that every reader would love to see in any contemporary story. This is about two sisters who deal with their own problems as young children, but years later, one is left and readers see problems for Beena: she lives with grief for the rest of her life. This is such a beautiful, beautiful story that I cannot forget about.

Bone and Bread. Think about that title and what do you actually think of? I know that I see a dog bone in the middle of two slices of bread. That's it. That title has so much more depth to the story than readers realize. One of the sisters is bone, the other bread. This has so much sense to it. Saleema Nawaz does not create a story that is just about the characters, though. I really enjoyed this one because it kept me hooked. We readers are kept in a story that features a fast-paced plot in a beautiful city, Montreal. I haven't read a Canadian story in a long time, that's for sure. 

One gif. That's all.

Looking back at my experience, it could have been better when looking at the grief part of things, but I enjoyed it either way, you know? I felt like I was underwater, trying to swim for the surface at times. I wanted to grasp that extra inch of goodness, but it never came towards me, that last fish. I enjoyed the flashbacks back and forth to the sisters' childhoods and back to where Beena stays on her own. And then of course, there is the mental illness factor that everyone is obsessed with. I'm not complaining. That is the best thing that an author could add to put the puzzle pieces together.

Bone and Bread deserves every piece of hype that it has gotten, but of course, only the good hype. The fabulous author provides readers a beautiful relationship of a sisterhood that ended too quickly, and an amazing character of a girl who has to undergo grief, living in a beautiful city, understanding her demons. This is a must-read for every teen, adult, mom, sister, daughter out there. Right now. 

What is another really good Canadian novel? Does this intrigue you? What are other good mental illness stories?

The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah // Was I Missing Something?

The A to Z of You and Me, by James Hannah
Publication: May 3, 2016, by Sourcebooks Landmark
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

He has all kinds of everyday joy in his life -- he's young, he's in love, he has friends who promise to stand by him if life ever goes wrong.
Then one day, life does go wrong.
He makes a mistake, and it's big and unforgiveable. Now time is running out, and his life is falling apart. But he's going to put it back together again. His own way.
This is a story about how far love must stretch to gather a life in pieces -- and about how a strong friendship never dies.

My Thoughts:

The A to Z of You and Me originally had the potential to become something unique, somewhat indie and fresh for an adult audience. James Hannah, a tremendously talented author, seemed to captivate me with the cover of his story and the plot. I thought that because there was a misuse of information in the summary, the actual novel would provide more clarity towards the whole situation and the story would go into more depth about the main character's issues and how he battles his own personal demons. Honestly? This was one of the strangest novels that I have ever read, to be clear. James Hannah wrote this novel with every chapter starting a different letter of the alphabet, and the main character, Ivo, uses each letter to name a body part that begins with that letter. It's pretty complex.

Why The A to Z of You and Me didn't work out so perfectly for me (and maybe for you, too):

•The confusion I felt with the plot. For me, there was no clear point to this story. Readers were just put into the life of a man who is in his 40s, and feels sad. I liked Ivo as a character, and found the variety of the adventures that he experienced prior to his hospice situation are totally relatable and enjoyable to read about. I just could not see the main point of the story. Other reviews found this to be extremely lyrical and poetic, while I plainly saw a man retell bits of his life story while feeling sad, naming different letters of the alphabet as a sort of therapy lesson. Eeek? I guess that I only enjoy stories about depression when they are YA. Not Adult. Sorry fellas!

•Confusion equals mass boringness. I wasn't too interested in this book after I realized how much it would drag and lean out of my interest zone. I liked the parts where we readers got the chance to discover who Ivo was really addressing this whole story to—and especially, the girl's name. This story has its perks, and negatives, as I have come to conclude. 

••••••

Do not suspect that this is horrible or nasty of any kind. James Hannah is a great writer—his ideas are expressed through an interesting character who has different problems than adults in other fictional stories that I have read. But at the same time, this story is real. So real. I cannot help but squirm when I think about other people in reality who have had to deal with something that Ivo had to deal with. This was great in some moments, after all!

The A to Z of You and Me is a deep story that may or may not touch the hearts of readers. I found it particularly slow and a little out of my league, you know? What was really catchy for me is the romance. It's kind of a mystery, but you'll see for yourself if you ever decide to give James Hannah's newest story a try. Beware the plot twists and weird chapter names. Other than that, I'm sure you're good. *thumbs up*

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

Have you ever read a story that has weird chapter names? What is the most confusing book you've read?

Hosting Two Blogs: Is it Really That Difficult?

As you all are reading this post, I am sitting in a stench-filled classroom writing a provincial required literacy test. Yuck. We tenth graders in Ontario need to write (and pass) the test in order to graduate high school. All of the juniors and seniors are saying that we shouldn't study or even try hard on the test... but I'm an overachiever. Anyways. 

I HAVE NEWS. I am proud to announce that I have opened a new blog! Readers of my one and beloved Thousand Lives Lived, I have to say goodbye. BYE SO LONG! 

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I'm kidding. April Fools is tomorrow so I'm kind of in the mood to scare you all! *peeks around* Not like I have any readers anyways. *sad face* I KNOW YOU ALL ARE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. A Thousand Lives Lived is here to stay, at least for a little while!

Key to Book City is my new blog, on Wordpress' platform, and it's a project that I have been committed to for the longest time. It's just... I never had the time to make it happen. I thought about the idea of opening the glorious thing one hot sunny summer afternoon where I realized how I wanted my blog (one day) to compare to that of Nose Graze or Paper Fury, for example.

Why?

• I would like publicity
• I would like to go/feel professional with my own domain, plugins, coding experience...
• I prefer Wordpress' formatting experience
• I feel experienced. I want to save money to go Premium!

There's a thousand reasons why I wanted this to happen. After months of preparations of reviews, themes, ideas and hopes, I opened the blog on Monday. I hope to have it really going by BEA on May 11! For now, the experience is magical.

I co-blogged for some time on a fabulous site, but things got out of hand for me when I couldn't commit to it. I had begun high school, and everything seemed very overwhelming. Now, because of the IB program that I'm in, time management is key and I have gotten it. It will take some work, but it's manageable. It honestly just depends on how much time you have. I know some bloggers who blog on three sites, one including their own. It's amazing!

As for A Thousand Lives Lived, you might be wondering what kinds of posts and things happening you should expect:

• Comments on your blogs (YES, I'm going to be social!)
• Monthly recap posts coming back again
• Cool discussion posts
• A guest post from a friend of mine? (I haven't asked anyone yet.)
• Stacking the Shelves
• Twitter interactions with y'all
• Chicago (BEA) prep

How do you manage your blog(s)? If you are on more than one blog, is it difficult at times?

Waiting on Wednesday #34: Run

Run, by Kody Keplinger
Publication: June 28, 2016, by Scholastic Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 288

Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and a mama who's not exactly sober most of the time. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks.
Agnes Atwood has never gone on a date, never even stayed out past ten, and never broken any of her parents' overbearing rules. Rules that are meant to protect their legally blind daughter -- protect her from what, Agnes isn't quite sure.
Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. And it's the sort of friendship that runs truer and deeper than anything else.
So when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, with police sirens wailing in the distance, desperate to get out of town, Agnes doesn't hesitate to take off with her. But running away and not getting caught will require stealing a car, tracking down Bo's dad, staying ahead of the authorities, and -- worst of all -- confronting some ugly secrets.

I am in love with this cover and Kody Keplinger's novels. THIS LOOKS SO GOOD. I need a fresh book that is about friendship and second chances. I am so excited to see what Kody has in store for readers again. If you haven't read The DUFF before, I would recommend standing up and walking straight to your nearest book provider.

 What is your favourite Kody Keplinger novel? What are you anticipating the most this week?

The Ward by Jordana Frankel // Not the NYC-Based Dystopia Expected

The Ward (The Ward #1), by Jordana Frankel
Publication: April 30, 2013, by Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopian, Romance
Pages: 465
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.
However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.
Jordana Frankel’s ambitious debut novel and the first in a two-book series, The Ward is arresting, cinematic, and thrilling—perfect for fans of Scott Westerfeld or Ann Aguirre.

My Thoughts:

I was originally captivated by this story because of its cover and the promising setting: New York City. New York City is my favourite place in the world, and honestly? When a story is taken place in the 'City That Never Sleeps,' I feel connected. I know the coffee shops that the author is mentioning, the street corners and traffic lights and the mood of the city itself. I thought, you know, that a dystopian book wouldn't be any different. Oh, let me tell you, it was. It's probably like people thinking that Divergent is going to mention the Willis Tower and The Bean when reading about Tris and Four in the setting of futuristic Chicago. The Ward just features that mistaking cover that makes readers be completely wrong about what it is promising. The cover looks like NYC placed beside Niagara Falls, haha. I am done with dystopian fiction. That's it.

Dystopia used to be my favourite genre of all time. I used to buy every dystopian novel that was out there that sounded great with positive reviews, and after Divergent and Matched, I knew that this was the best ever. But I bet that if I read the two now, I wouldn't like them so much. The Ward was boring, so similar to other dystopians that are all about a female protagonist fighting the government that she has to live under and falling in love with another rebel. It's been a few weeks after I have read this, and it seems like a blur. I do not remember anything and the names of the characters here. Meh.

The Ward was more boring than entertaining. I did like Ren's character, and I have to say that she saved my whole experience of the novel and the fate of putting this down. I didn't really like this so much, and the sequel isn't really captivating me too much either. 

Manhattan is flooded. That's all we really got to know about the setting. Ren and her sister live in this Ward city that's surrounded by water and danger. Ren has to save her sister from an illness that is plaguing the city because of the smog and pollution. Blah blah blah, she falls in love on the way and hopes that she could save the world. This basically is the over-exaggerated apocalypse that everyone is imagining. 

So you may be asking why I gave this a 3.5 star rating if all I am doing is complaining. I liked this book, but of course, I didn't love it. It had its flaws, especially with the concept itself. It was boring, but I liked all of the characters and how everything fit together. Recommended? Sure, if you like dystopian-romance. But if you're over the phase and coming here for a fresh, new read, this doesn't cut it. Good luck, though.

The Ward looks intriguing, I know. That's why I decided to pick it up. Depending on your YA taste, you may decide to choose to read it. I know that for me, I felt that the negatives were very effective, very heavy on my whole reading experience. I guess it could go either way?

What is a recent good dystopia for you? Have you read a really good one lately?