The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault In Our Stars
Author: John Green
313 Pages

Rating: 5/5

I read this book last year and it quickly because my favourite book of all time. Since it came out in January last year I thought it was a good time to re-read it and I'd forgotten just how much I loved this book.

The Fault In Our Stars is the story of 16 year old Hazel who has a form of cancer that affects her lungs and 17 year old Augustus who lost his leg to cancer. Although cancer and illness are obviously one of the main themes of this book, it's about a lot more than that.

I think one of the reasons I love this book so much is because it shows how 2 teenagers make the best out of the situations they find themselves in, often without meaning to. I also like the fact that what you think will happen doesn't and things don't always go their way. I also think the other characters are all really believable, from Hazel and Gus' parents to their other friends.

I really can't recommend this book enough. I think it's truly one of the most amazing books I've read and it's one that, if I had the time, I would happily sit down and read cover to cover.

This book has several paragraphs and sentences in it that I think are truly amazing pieces of writing, so I thought I'd share one with you:

"My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations."

(Book 2/50)

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
295 Pages

Rating 4/5

After seeing many BookTubers rave about this book (mainly padfootandprongs07 and jessethereader) I asked for it for Christmas and if was definitely worth it! There's just something about this book that I found amazing and couldn't put down. I wouldn't recommend it for younger readers because it's got a lot of humour in it that wouldn't be understood by younger people and some of the language used isn't appropriate for anyone under the age of around 13 I would say. Obviously, that's just my opinion though.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is written from the perspective of Greg Gaines, a typical high school student who's main aim is to remain 'friendly' with everyone without committing to one social group. His only real friend is a boy named Earl and even then, they describe their relationship as 'professional'. One day, Greg's mother tells him how a girl named Rachel that he knew when he was younger has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Greg then decides to spend time with Rachel, more because he feels as though he has too than wants to.

This book says so it's self, it is not a typical 'caner book'. There's something about the way this book was written that made me fully believe that Jesse Andrews was really Gregory Gaines and the character was so believable, even in writing style, that I found this book was really unique.

I can see how this isn't the kind of book everyone would enjoy but if you think it might be your cup of tea, try it because it's definitely worth reading.

(Book 1/50)

50 Books Challenge!

The end of the year marks the end of the 50 books challenge. It was my first year attempting this and I didn't start properly until around April time but I decided I wanted to finish it now so I could start fresh with a new year. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to read 50 books in 2012 but I finished with 41 read which I still feel is pretty good. To me, the whole point of the 50 books challenge is to encourage yourself to read more by setting yourself a goal and although I didn't quite reach my goal, I think I probably read more books in 2012 than I have in any other year of my life.

I have a good feeling about 2013 as a reading year and I am setting myself the goal of 50 again because I feel as though it's a good number to aim for. I'll try and document how I do by writing reviews for as many of the books I read as possible and if you're taking part in the same challenge please leave a comment letting me know! I'd love to see other people's reviews to encourage me to read even more!

So here's to a great 2013, both in reading and otherwise.

Happy New Year :)

My Top 12 books of 2012!

2012 is the year that I fully began to love books. It's the year I discovered the online book community with it's book bloggers and booktubers, the year I discovered my now favourite author of all time (John Green) and the year I started this blog. Because of all this, I decided to create a list of my top 12 favourite books of 2012. Let me know whether you agree with any of them or not and what you think I should read in 2013. As a side note, these aren't really in any particular order. I love most of them equally with the exception of a few at the top of the list. :)

10. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

I read this book just before Christmas and fell in love with it. It's the perfect Christmas book in my opinion and definitely a must read around the festive period!

9. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

After hearing loads of rave reviews about this book I decided to read it and could absolutely see why it deserved those reviews. The plot of the book is so original and unlike anything I've ever come across before.

8. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

I know this isn't one book but I decided to cheat a little as it would've taken up too many spaces in the list otherwise. With the film coming out this year I decided to read all 3 books and instantly fell in love with them. They were the first dystopian books I read and I would definitely try more in the genre and have done this year! Anyone thinking of reading them should.

7. Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

As much as I feel that this series is probably aimed at people younger than myself, I really enjoy every addition to it. The idea of a spy school is one that makes me wish I was part of the novel and is a must read for any teenage girl who would secretly love to be a spy.

6. Looking For Alaska by John Green

I read all of John Green's books this year and Looking For Alaska was the one that made me wish I went to boarding school. It's a perfect example of John Green's excellent writing and ability to create characters that leave the reader wishing they were best friends with them. 

5. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

As a girl who loves a good romance novel from time to time, I fell in love with this book instantly. I fell in love with the characters more than anything. A quick read, but one that is still worth the read.

4. Paper Towns by John Green

Yet another example of John Green's phenomenal writing skills in Paper Towns. This book made me feel like I was actually a part of the journey that the characters went on and I loved it so much.

3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Stephanie Perkins has a way of writing that makes you fall in love with her characters and you find yourself completely unable to put her story down for even an hour. It was the perfect summer read and I will be reading Lola and the Boy Next Door next year!

2. Divergent/Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Again I have cheated a little bit with this one and decided to combine the 2 in one spot on the list. The world that Veronica Roth created in the Divergent books is so amazing that I found it completely impossible to stop reading. The way Insurgent ended also was by far one of the most gripping endings I've ever read in a book and I can't wait for the 3rd book to come out!

1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I love TFiOS more than any book I'd ever read before when I read it and the reason I've put it at the top of my list for 2012 is that it was the book that started my love of reading. I've always read books but after seeing so many people online talking about The Fault in Our Stars I decided to read it around April and it opened up a world of online book lovers to me, that I soon discovered I was part of. This book opened up a world of books that I never knew existed before it and since reading it I've found many favourite books and discovered the writing of many amazing authors. John Green has a way of writing about a sad topic in a way that remains happy and positive until the exact right moment and it is a truly amazing book.

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

Title: Let It Snow
Author(s): John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
352 Pages.

Rating: 5/5

As a massive fan of John Green's books, this was the very last book that he's been involved with that I had to read. I have to say, it was worth the wait. For me, this was the perfect Christmas book and I loved each story as individual stories but the 3 fit together in such a perfect and beautiful way, it would have been difficult to not fall in love with it. I've never read anything by the other 2 authors and after reading it, I will definitely be reading more of their work!

The book is split into 3 different stories that all link in with each other in subtle ways. The first, by Maureen Johnson, follows Jubilee as her train gets stuck and she has to spend Christmas in a town she's never been to with a family that she's never met before.The second, by John Green, follows Tobin, the Duke and JP as they ditch their James Bond marathon on the evening of Christmas eve in the quest for cheerleaders. The third and final story, by Lauren Myracle, follows Addie as she learns that not everything is about herself and that sometimes it's important to put other people before yourself, even though you may not want to.

*SPOILERS* The first story was truly one of the most adorable 'fall in love with a stranger' stories I've ever read. I found it really endearing and I just couldn't put the book down at all. John Green's story was also an adorable and sweet story and very much the kind of romance I personally found the most realistic and the one that left me literally thinking 'awhh' after reading it. It was such a simple idea yet utterly adorable at the same time. The third story was my least favourite, however I liked the meaning behind it and I also loved the final chapter and the way that all 3 stories came together in the end so I felt it made up for it. *END OF SPOILERS*

I definitely recommend this book and I just wish we had snow here as it'd be a perfect book to read while its snowing. This book confirmed my love with all of John Green's writing and also made me develop a love for Maureen Johnson's writing too. If you're looking for a quick read at Christmas time, read this!

Merry Christmas! :)

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
288 pages

Rating: 4/5

I was a little skeptical to read this after reading The Future of Us earlier this year and not enjoying it but it was on my shelf so I thought I'd give it a go and I'm so glad I did! I thought this book was really good and I can see why it gets so much attention. Not only is it written in a way that makes it absolutely impossible to put down but I found that it also had a really original idea behind it. The plot wasn't necessarily surprising but the general idea of the book and the way that it was written made it really gripping and impossible to put down.

Clay Jensen gets home one day to find a package on his doorstep that contains 7 cassette tapes. He quickly discovers that these tapes contain the 13 reasons his class mate, Hannah Baker, committed suicide. Hannah recorded these tapes just before killing herself in order to explain to certain people the 13 reasons why she did it. Clay listens throughout the night and what he discovers changes his life forever.

*SPOILERS* The one thing I thought was a little bit of a let down with this book was the fact that Clay's name 'didn't belong on the list.' I found that a little predictable and in a way, I thought it could have been better if he had done something to Hannah without knowing it. I did really enjoy the ending as well as I thought the way it ended with him going to talk to Skye left it finished but not in a way that left everything solved. It  left me wondering what had happened to the characters afterwards and I always think that makes the book good. *END OF SPOILERS*

I really enjoyed Thirteen Reasons Why and would definitely recommend it! It's not really for younger readers as there are certain bits that might be a little too mature for people under the age of about 13 but then the nature of the book, I would have thought, doesn't really appeal to young readers any way. A fantastic book though and definitely worth the read. :)

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

Title: Out of Sight, Out of Time
Author: Ally Carter
323 Pages

This is book five in the Gallagher Girls Series

Rating 4.5/5

I read the other Gallagher Girls books last summer after getting one of them free with a magazine and I fell in love with them, so when I saw this one a few months ago I had to buy it. I didn't get around to reading it until this week but I finished it in about 3 days, despite the fact I seem to be reading slowly at the moment. It's an amazing book and it reminded me of how much I loved the first 4 so I plan to go back and re-read them sometime next year!

This series focuses on a girl named Cammie Morgan who goes to the Gallagher Academy, a school which to the outside world is for 'exceptional young women' but to the people in the know is a school for training spies. When this book begins Cammie wakes up in a convent in Austria with no memory of how or why she got there. She soon learns that it is October, yet she can not remember anything past June. The novel follows Cammie and her friends Bex, Liz, Macey and Zach, along with her Mother and Aunt as they try to piece together the few clues they have and help Cammie remember her summer. But is remembering the summer the right thing to do or are there parts that are better left forgotten?

*SPOILERS* I have to say, at the beginning of the book I was a little confused as to what was going on when Cammie woke up in the convent but not in a bad way. I found that that confusion just made the reader feel a similar confusion as Cammie was meant to be feeling in that moment, as neither had any idea what had lead up to this moment. I found the music in Cammie's head was really clever, however all through the book I found myself thinking that it was obvious that this was going to be something key to her remembering something. Other than that, everything in the book was totally unexpected, especially the bit where they are at the castle in Ireland and Zach's mother turns up. Also, the ending where Dr Steve manages to hypnotize her into almost jumping off the roof and the fact that he turns out to be working against her I found was very clever. *END OF SPOILERS*

I would recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of YA. It's probably more of a girls book than a boys book but I still think it could be enjoyed by either. The other books in the series do need to be read first in order to understand a few little sections but it is well worth the time! I loved this book and I can't wait for book 6 to come out!