June Wrap Up

Let´s call this month “Lena is only reading Cassandra Clare” month, shall we?  Because her books are seemingly all that I have read in the last thirty days. (Except for one book I didn´t like, but who cares)

ClockworkAngel, by Cassandra Clare    3.5/5 Stars 
A “fine” first instalment in TID series

City ofFallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare             4/5 Stars

Liked it; not my favourite in the series so far, but good

Finding theRaven, by Patty Dickson Piezca      1/5 Stars

Really didn´t like it; ended up DNFing it

ClockworkPrince, by Cassandra Clare   4/5 Stars

Loved it, had some problems with it, but I am looking forward to the finale; review coming soon!

Do you guys like it, if I only say a bit about the books in Wrap-Ups or do you want me to do something else? Let me know in the comments down below!

Read on xx

Lena

City of Fallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare

*Disclaimer* This is the fourth book in the “The Mortal Instruments” series, so if you haven´t read the first three books yet please be aware of spoilers. I would not advise reading this post if you want to start this series without being spoiled, but if you don´t mind continue on, just be warned. However if you have read the other three books, this review won´t spoil the fourth book.

Title: City of Fallen Angels

Author: Cassandra Clare

Pages: 480

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Rating: 4/5

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.
But nothing comes without a price.
Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

I enjoyed this book very much. It wasn´t as great as City of Glass, but I was happy to see all my little babies happy again, after having suffered through the events of the past books.  Well kind of happy, since Jace and Clary face lots of struggles in this book. This leads me to one of my complaints for this book: Why in the name of the angel (see what I did there?) is Clary always on the edge of tears? She is pretty much always sad or people worry about her being sad, where did that come from? Luckily that stopped halfway through, or else I would have been really annoyed. Another thing was their relationship in general. The prominent problem I have with Jace is that instead of talking to someone about his feelings, fears or whatever, he just bottles everything up. And now that he is in a relationship one would think that he would talk to Clary, but nope. He much rather leaves her standing and goes off distracting himself.

But let´s talk about Simon. This instalment is the most Simon we have gotten so far and I love it! He is one of my favourites from this series with Isabella, who we also see lots in this book, though by far not as much as Simon. There are new character intruded as well, like Kyle, whom I really like. Sadly we don´t get lots from Alec and Magnus until the end, except from hilarious vacation snaps. Also they went to Vienna, my hometown, so that was cool. Big fan of these two, I ship it.

But gosh the ending! Once again it was the highlight of the whole book! It was really intense and fast moving. For the first time it wasn´t fully relying on fighting, but rather on suspense, which I really liked. One thing I have noticed in Cassandra Clare´s books though is that I am not a big fan of the way she paces her books. They always start out slow, exploring what happened in the last book and slowly starts building plot until the last hundred pages or so, where we finally get tons of action. This is the main reason why I give most of her books only 4 stars, as for the most part of the book I feel like the story is dragging a bit, but then BUM last 100 pages, the action is finally here. Don´t get me wrong I like the formula, but by now it feels a bit generic. I would much rather prefer it if she would give us a bit more of a faster pace in the first three to four hundred paged as well. By now though I finally feel attached to the characters (finally, it took quite some time) and I really want to know what happens next, because that ending gurl, that ending!

Have you read “City of Fallen Angels” and if so, what did you think of it?

Read on xx

Lena

Finding the Raven, by Patty Dickson Piezca

I want to thank the author of this book, Patty Dickson Piezca, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I was really excited to read this book as this is my first ARC I have ever received, so I am really sad to say that I really did not like this book, which was why I did not finish it. My general policy before I stop reading a book is to read at least half of it, which I did so I put it down because I just didn´t enjoy it very much. Before I start with this review I also want to add, that this review is intended as constructive criticism and in no way as just bashing something I didn´t like. I respect how much work the author put into this, but I still want to say what I thought of this novel.

Title: Finding the Raven

Author: Patty Dickson Piezca

Pages: 292

Published by: Ravenswood Publishing

Rating: 1/5                         

When Julia Dulac's father is murdered onstage  and her inheritance is swindled away, she must work through her grief and fear of poverty to find both the killer and a means of survival with help from the Raven, a black crystal that reveals images of past and future truths. While having the crystal appraised, Julia finds love and her life takes unexpected turns through mystery and betrayal against the backdrop of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.
Through the boarding house window, Julia overhears an argument between Rose and her wealthy father over Rose's illegitimate pregnancy. He drops Rose off, saying he will return in one year, that she must be either single and childless or respectably married. Though from completely different backgrounds, Julia and Rose become fast friends, facing lessons of survival and redemption as their fates become irrevocably entwined.

Having never read a book that wasn´t published by a big publishing house before, I didn´t really know what to expect from this book, so I was really disappointed to see how botched it felt. The author took way too little time with practically everything. In my opinion, to make the story more realistic it would need at least 150 pages or so more. The whole thing just felt rushed, already beginning with the setup of the story. The reader just gets thrown into this world and while that may be refreshing if done right, it just doesn´t work. The whole plot in general just seems to fall into place. It doesn´t feel like it is neither character nor plot driven, but more as if the author knew what needed to happen next in order to get to the final point at the end, so she let the characters do something. Their actions just didn´t feel comprehensible to me. The characters in general are all definitely upgradeable. It seemed as if out of nowhere they suddenly had certain characteristics that just weren´t mentioned before.

Another thing that didn´t sit well with me was the pacing of the story. Time was a thrown around variable. While sometimes things just flew by, in an unbelievable amount of time, some things took way too little time. Some of the longest passages were the ones describing how terrible the food or the hostel were. While, yes I get that it was used to emphasize that there weren´t in a good place, which is fine, I do not need lengthy abstracts to remind me of that several times, thank you. On the contrary, I found that lots of details, which often were important to the story, were skipped, so when it came to use I was surprised. For example: As Rose gets sent away to St. Louis in no way was there mentioned that her father was coming with her, but suddenly he began talking to her. And I was just like: What? Where did he come from? So while we got a long description about the label of a wine bottle, the environment or even the looks of characters were hardly touched on.

In conclusion I just want to add that my main impression of this book is, that the author had a vision in her head, which could have worked out wonderfully, but just weren´t mainly due to the lack of description in certain places. But if you personally really enjoy a light guilty-pleasure read without thinking too much and you are thinking about picking this book up, I would say don´t let me discourage you, hopefully you will enjoy it more than I did.

Have any of you read “Finding the Raven”? And if so what did you think of it?

Read on xx

Lena

Top 10 Authors I Want to Read Completely

Hey guys!

So today I am back with another Top 10 post. This one is about my Top 10 authors I want to read completely, so all the novels they have put out so far. In this post I am only talking about authors who have other series in other universes as well, which is why I didn´t mention authors like for example Leigh Bardugo. She only has books out that take part in the Grisha Universe and while I love her books and want to read all of them she doesn´t qualify for this post. I am planning on posting another entry where I only talk about these authors who have only written “one universe” so far soon, so keep your eyes out for that as well!

Gillian Flynn

You may know Gilian Flynn as the author of “Gone Girl”, which I own, but haven´t read yet. What I have read of hers is “Dark Places”, which I liked. It was a very interesting story, with good atmosphere and an excellent resolvement. Many people say though it is not their favourite book of hers, so I am really intrigued what else she has written for me to check out.

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2383.Gillian_Flynn

Jesse Andrews

One of the last books I read was “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”. If you have seen my review (read it here) you know that I wasn´t the biggest fan nof either the story or the characters (except for Mr. Gaines, you go Mr. Gaines!), but really liked the humour and formatting of the book. He recently released a new novel called “The Haters” and lots of people, who had similar problems, to the ones I had, say that this one is better than his first book.

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5227163.Jesse_Andrews

George R. R. Martin

The “Song of Ice and Fire” series is still a work in progress, but the way Martin crafts his world, so careful and fleshed out, has me wanting to read his other books. I love fantasy, which is what he is best at, so I am curious to get more into other worlds of his e.g. “Dreamsongs”

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/346732.George_R_R_Martin

Jonas Jonasson

Jonas Jonasson is the author of “The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Dissapeared” (woah that´s a mouthful) I read that one, as well as his other book “The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden”. Both of these I really liked and had a great time reading, so I am only waiting until my library gets his newest release “Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All”.

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3222554.Jonas_Jonasson

Morgan Matson

It seems like Morgan Matson has been making at least one entry on each of my lists so far. I still haven´t read any of her books, but I will this summer I promise! I already own “Since You´ve Been Gone” and it is on the top of my Summer TBR (which is another post of mine, you can read here). Still, from all that I have heard so far I just know that I will probably love everything she writes, hence the reason she is on this list.

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3351454.Morgan_Matson

Brandon Sanderson

Remember what I said about really liking fantasy? Brandon Sanderson ´s “The Final Empire” may be the only book of his that I´ve read so far, but it is so so great. It has left me wanting to read everything else the man has ever published. And that´s a LOT. This is definitely a long-long term project as most of his books have about 800 pages each and he seems to publish at least two each year. But still, just the idea of the cosmere has me in awe and his stories are great, so why not?

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38550.Brandon_Sanderson

Rainbow Rowell

I am completely in love with every single one of Rainbow Rowell´s books I have read so far. Granted, I have not started any of her adult books, but since “Fangirl” and “Carry On” are one of my favourite books of all time and I liked “Eleanor and Park” I think I will enjoy her others as well.

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4208569.Rainbow_Rowell

Brian K. Vaughan

Most of you probably know Brian K. Vaughan as the writer of the hugely popular comic book series “Saga”. I absolutely love Saga, but recently I have started another series of his called “Y-The Last Man” (which is also on my Summer TBR). As I really like this series as well I now want to read more of his work. I have done some research and I am interested in reading “Ex-Machina” or “Runaways”. He also just released a new tradeback called “Paperback Girls Vol 1”, which sounds really cool as well.

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24514.Brian_K_Vaughan

John Green

Who hasn´t heard of John Green? He is the authors of widely popular books like “Looking for Alaska”, “Papertowns” and, of course, “The Fault in our Stars”. I have read those three and to be honest I wasn´t much of a fan, especially of “Looking for Alaska” I just found it boring and pretentious. “The Fault in our Stars” was fine, but I am probably one of the few people that didn´t cry #sorrynotsorry. “Papertowns” I enjoyed but didn´t love, but still I am determined to find a John Green book I love, as his short story in “Let it Snow” was my favourite.

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1406384.John_Green

J.K. Rowling

As you may or may not know Harry Potter is my favourite series of all time (and my whole life as well, but let´s not talk about that), so it should come as no surprise that I want to read more of her novels. Rowling is just a master in storytelling and I do like a good thriller/crime story, which is what she writes under her pen name Robert Galbraith, so I hope to pick up her other books very soon.

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/383606.Robert_Galbraith

Which authors do you want to read completely? And have you read any of the books mentioned above? 

Read on xx
Lena

Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Angel

Author: Cassandra Clare

Pages: 479

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Rating: 3.5/5

When Tessa Gray crosses the Atlantic to follow her brother Nate to England, she gets kidnapped by the mysterious Pandemonium Club. Tessa find out that there is much more to this world than she knew. Vampires, Faries, Demons exist and she is one of them. She takes refugee with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who promise her to help her look for her brother, if she will help them with her powers.

I am currently marathoning all of Cassandra Clare´s book in order of publication date. I know I am late to the game, but better late than never, right? Having heard lots about this series I expected two things from this book: That it would be faaaaar better than “The Mortal Instruments” and that I would absolutely fall in love with Will Herondale. Now I have read this book but I can´t really approve of either of these statements. I liked the Mortal Instruments. I didn´t love them like everybody else did but I liked them. To be quite frankly I didn´t really see the difference between the two series. Yes, they take place in two completely different time periods and TMI doesn´t have the clockwork monsters, but in both series the main character is a girl who finds out she isn´t who she thought she was and she plays a big role in the Shadowhunter universe, both have a love triangle, where one of the love interests is really rude *hust* Will Herondale *hust* and a girl, who acts like she doesn´t care about anything but can fight real good if she has to (=Isabelle/Jessamine).

But there are some things The Mortal Instruments had that Clockwork Angel just doesn´t. Tessa doesn´t really care about anything except herself and Will and books. Don´t even get me started on Will. On Jace the rudeness was charming, but Will just takes it too far sometimes. It made me smile yes, especially Tessa´s answers, but was it something that made me fall in love with him, so that now he is my ultimate book boyfriend? Heck no! Maybe that will change, the farther into the series I get, because I will learn more about the characters and I will have a greater appreciation of them. We will see.

So what did I like about this book? The change in scenery and time period brought something different. Until now I haven´t really read a steampunk so I had a great time exploring this new genre, which I now really want to read more from, so if you have any good suggestions let me now in the comments down below! Also I loved getting these little nuggets Cassandra Clare put in for the readers of both series. For example the Pandemonium, some of the reoccurring families, church and mostly MAGNUS! I loved how he played a tiny part in this as well. It gave me, as somebody who reads both series right now, a real understanding of how old he really is.

I don´t really have any complex thoughts of this series, but the reason I think this book definitely deserves three and a half stars, was the plot twist at the end. Without it I would have only given it three stars, so yes read it till the end! I am still going to continue with the series, after I finished “City of Fallen Angels”. Hopefully I will love “Clockwork Prince” more, I still have hopes!

Have you read “Clockwork Angel”? And if so what did you think of it? Let me know down in the comments below!

Read on xx

Lena

June Releases

New June Releases

June has arrived, which means I can finally eat tons of ice cream without feeling judged. But apart from that the arrival of this new month also brings new releases for us to devour during the holidays. These picks are mostly YA, since I enjoy reading that genre most, but not all of them are, I promise. Plus they are listed in order of publication.

London Belongs to Us, by Sarra Manning

Sunny has always been a bit of a push-over. But after she sees a picture of her boyfriend kissing another girl, she knows she has to act. And so, a troublesome night in London begins. In the course of twelve hours she visits countless places in London in order to get her romantic revenge.

I read a couple reviews of this book, before putting it on this list and from all I could gather this book is a fun, fast-paced and especially light read, which most people seem to rush through. I reckon it would be a great beach read, especially for people who don´t read very fast.

Published June 2nd 

Gr: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26177619-london-belongs-to-us

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/London-Belongs-Us-Sarra-Manning/dp/1471404617/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465055034&sr=1-1&keywords=london+belongs+to+us

This Savage Song, by Victoria Schwab

Kate and August have something in common: They are both heirs to their divided city. But while Kate just wants to be as ruthless as her father, who lets humans pay for his protection from the monsters, all August wants is to be human and not one of the monsters. When he gets the chance to protect the Troublemaker Kate he grabs it. But after a failed assassination the two now have to flee in order to try to protect their lives.

This book kicks off Mrs. Schwabs new series “The Monsters of Verity” and it sounds like the perfect action packed Urban Fantasy ready to kick off this summer.  With all the praise Victoria Schwab has received for her previous works, even though I have read none of them yet, I believe this will be a great book as well.

Published June 7^th

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28696452-this-savage-song

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/This-Savage-Song-Monsters-Verity/dp/0062380850/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465055190&sr=1-1&keywords=this+savage+song

The Leaving, by Tara Altebrando

Eleven years ago, six kindergarteners went missing. There hasn´t been a single clue leading to them. Now five of them turned up again. Not one of them remembers the sixth victim, Max. Everybody wants answers, especially Max´s sister Avery, who doesn´t really believe in the whole loss-of-memory-claim.

This novel sounds like it would be a very gripping, fast-paced thriller, which is definitely something I enjoy reading during the summer months. I have not really heard something about this book either so if you want to be the first to discover the next big thing, this may be a contender.

Published June 7^th

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26073074-the-leaving?ac=1&from_search=true

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Tara-Altebrando/dp/1619638037/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465055015&sr=1-1&keywords=the+leaving

You Know Me Well, by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

“You Know Me Well” is written in a dual POV. Mark and Kate have set next to each other for years, but their paths have just never crossed outside of class and even there they have never talked to each other. When they meet each other thousands of miles away from home, just after Kate fled from the chance to meet the girl, she fell in love with from afar, for the first time and Mark may or may not be in love with his best friend, they discover that it just doesn´t have to be family or friends who know you well.

I read “Every Day” by David Levithan, which I liked, and have heard only great things about Nina LaCour´s novel “Everything Leads to You”. Both authors are known for their good handling of LGTBQ+ characters and themes, so if you are interested in books with those this may be a good book for you.

Published June 7^th

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18667779-everything-leads-to-you?ac=1&from_search=true

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/You-Know-Me-Well-Novel/dp/1250098645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465055150&sr=1-1&keywords=you+know+me+well

Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale, by David Kudler

Risuko is about a girl named Kano Murasaki, but primarily called Squirrel or Risuko, who lives in the Japanese countryside. We follow the fatherless girl as she gets dragged into the Japanese civil war that has roamed the country for centuries by now. She gets sent to a school, where everything is not quite as it seems.

Risuko is a Japanese inspired Middle Grade/YA book with elements of Fantasy and Historical Fiction. It seems like a book, for a bit of a younger audience (thirteen maybe?) but since I am a big fan of Middle Grade as well I am excited for it. I also really like Japan so the fact that it is Japanese inspired is another factor it has going for it.

Published June 15^th

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25700544-risuko

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Risuko-Kunoichi-Tale-David-Kudler/dp/1938808347/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465055057&sr=1-1&keywords=risuko+a+kunoichi+tale

            

                                        

The Vinegar Girl, by Hogarth Shakespeare

                                                                                  

Somehow Kate ended up stuck in her life, running the household for her eccentric scientist father and her younger sister Bunny. It isn´t helping either that she is always in trouble at work. Her father has to face another problem: His research is on the verge of a breakthrough and it could help millions, but not without his assistant Pyotr, who is about to be deported. So he comes up with a plan to keep Pyotr relying – once again- on Kate.

I don´t read a lot of Adult Fiction, which is a habit I am trying to overcome this year. And I think “The Vinegar Girl” would be a good to start, since I found its description quite interesting.

Published June 17^th

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26210464-vinegar-girl

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vinegar-Girl-Novel-Hogarth-Shakespeare/dp/0804141266/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465055080&sr=1-1&keywords=the+vinegar+girl

And I Darken, by Kiersten White

This story follows the siblings Lana and Radu, two orphans, who ever since their father abandoned them were raised at the court of the sultan Ottoman. Their linage not only makes them special but inevitably makes them targets as well. Lana plans on taking down the empire that holds them captive until she meets Ottoman´s son Mehmed. Without knowing he now stands between Lana and Radu whose bond of loyalty and love is stretched to almost breaking point, transforming them from siblings to rivals.

I love my fantasy reads to have good political intrigues and this book sounds like it could deliver exactly that. Reading the synopsis gives me vibes of this dark political romance story, where our main character will have to manoeuvre this court trying to stay alive, while also being torn apart between family and love. I can´t wait.

Published June 28^th

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27190613-and-i-darken?ac=1&from_search=true

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/I-Darken-Kiersten-White/dp/0553522310/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465054993&sr=1-1&keywords=and+i+darken

Are you planning on picking any of these books up? If so, let me know which ones and what you thought of them in the comments down below!

Read on xx

Lena

Me and Ear and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews

This is a non-spoiler review

Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Author: Jesse Andrews

Pages: 304

Published by: Atlantic Books

Rating: 3/5

“Highschool sucks.” This is an universally acknowledged truth, which Greg Gaines lets the reader know as soon as you start the first chapter of this book. Greg managed to get through high school keeping a low profile, so at least his high school experience doesn´t suck as much. Everybody knows Greg, nobody dislikes Greg and he and Earl can continue making mediocre to bad movies. Until the first day of senior year, when his mom forces him to become friends with the Jewish girl, who has just gotten cancer. This inevitably brings destruction in his life.

This book was fine. I can see why so many people love it, but it just isn´t something for me. Maybe this is another case of me having too high expectations, since it got hyped up a lot on booktube etc.

I found the main character Greg to be quite unsympathetic and unlikeable. Even though he was quite realistic and dorky, which lead to a lot of funny moments, he was also really stuck up and I couldn´t relate to him at all. Also I wasn´t a huge fan of the story itself, due to the issues I had with Greg. The things he said/did were really rude, for example: He just didn´t care about Rachel. Like at all. Apart from Earl she is his only friend and he just sees her as a burden.  Also Rachel has like zero personality. It´s like she is a robot. But probably the most annoying thing was the story. You want to know why? Because there is none! Just like there is no character development, which is a pity, if you, like me, dislike Greg. Yes, Greg says at the beginning that there is no point in this story, but I expected at least a bit more, seeing how beloved this book is. You would think that being auround Rachel and becoming friends with her would have an impact on Greg, but no. 

But on the contrary there were a couple of great things in this book as well.

1.       The humour.

The humour in this book is great. It´s just so funny. Even though it didn´t make me laugh out loud, which is admittedly really hard, it had lots of big smiles on my face. I am in love with Greg´s father, Mr. Gaines. He is the best person on earth and I aspire to be like him one day, as should everybody else in this universe

2.       The formatting

This book is written in a very different way to most books. 50%, or maybe even more, is not normal text, but rather scripts, bullet points etc. It broke the fourth wall very well and engaged the reader into the story. (As far as possible because there is basically no story) It made the book so much more enjoyable and hadn´t it been for the formatting, I probably wouldn´t have finished the book.

3.       It isn´t a “Typical cancer book”

This book doesn´t romanticise cancer, or illness in general. It isn´t even a love story. It is an honest book about friendship (Again not very well done because Greg doesn´t even really like Rachel, but you get the point) It takes a different spin on the whole “sick girl with cancer” trope, which I haven´t read before.

All in all, pick it up if you are want a light read, with a bit of a more serious topic/ have a desire for a new take on an illness YA book. Just don´t expect too much from it, like I did (but still the formatting is REALLY cool) I am still excited to watch the movie, as I think some of my issues will be solved in it.

What about you guys? Have you read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl? And if so what did you think of it? Can you recommend me any other books with an unique formatting? Tell me down, in the comments below!

Read on xx

Lena

Me and Ear and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews

This is a non-spoiler review

Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Author: Jesse Andrews

Pages: 304

Published by: Atlantic Books

Rating: 3/5

“Highschool sucks.” This is an universally acknowledged truth, which Greg Gaines lets the reader know as soon as you start the first chapter of this book. Greg managed to get through high school keeping a low profile, so at least his high school experience doesn´t suck as much. Everybody knows Greg, nobody dislikes Greg and he and Earl can continue making mediocre to bad movies. Until the first day of senior year, when his mom forces him to become friends with the Jewish girl, who has just gotten cancer. This inevitably brings destruction in his life.

This book was fine. I can see why so many people love it, but it just isn´t something for me. Maybe this is another case of me having too high expectations, since it got hyped up a lot on booktube etc.

I found the main character Greg to be quite unsympathetic and unlikeable. Even though he was quite realistic and dorky, which lead to a lot of funny moments, he was also really stuck up and I couldn´t relate to him at all. Also I wasn´t a huge fan of the story itself, due to the issues I had with Greg. The things he said/did were really rude, for example: He just didn´t care about Rachel. Like at all. Apart from Earl she is his only friend and he just sees her as a burden.  Also Rachel has like zero personality. It´s like she is a robot. But probably the most annoying thing was the story. You want to know why? Because there is none! Just like there is no character development, which is a pity, if you, like me, dislike Greg. Yes, Greg says at the beginning that there is no point in this story, but I expected at least a bit more, seeing how beloved this book is. You would think that being auround Rachel and becoming friends with her would have an impact on Greg, but no. 

But on the contrary there were a couple of great things in this book as well.

1.       The humour.

The humour in this book is great. It´s just so funny. Even though it didn´t make me laugh out loud, which is admittedly really hard, it had lots of big smiles on my face. I am in love with Greg´s father, Mr. Gaines. He is the best person on earth and I aspire to be like him one day, as should everybody else in this universe

2.       The formatting

This book is written in a very different way to most books. 50%, or maybe even more, is not normal text, but rather scripts, bullet points etc. It broke the fourth wall very well and engaged the reader into the story. (As far as possible because there is basically no story) It made the book so much more enjoyable and hadn´t it been for the formatting, I probably wouldn´t have finished the book.

3.       It isn´t a “Typical cancer book”

This book doesn´t romanticise cancer, or illness in general. It isn´t even a love story. It is an honest book about friendship (Again not very well done because Greg doesn´t even really like Rachel, but you get the point) It takes a different spin on the whole “sick girl with cancer” trope, which I haven´t read before.

All in all, pick it up if you are want a light read, with a bit of a more serious topic/ have a desire for a new take on an illness YA book. Just don´t expect too much from it, like I did (but still the formatting is REALLY cool) I am still excited to watch the movie, as I think some of my issues will be solved in it.

What about you guys? Have you read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl? And if so what did you think of it? Can you recommend me any other books with an unique formatting? Tell me down, in the comments below!

Read on xx

Lena

Me and Ear and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews

This is a non-spoiler review

Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Author: Jesse Andrews

Pages: 304

Published by: Atlantic Books

Rating: 3/5

“Highschool sucks.” This is an universally acknowledged truth, which Greg Gaines lets the reader know as soon as you start the first chapter of this book. Greg managed to get through high school keeping a low profile, so at least his high school experience doesn´t suck as much. Everybody knows Greg, nobody dislikes Greg and he and Earl can continue making mediocre to bad movies. Until the first day of senior year, when his mom forces him to become friends with the Jewish girl, who has just gotten cancer. This inevitably brings destruction in his life.

This book was fine. I can see why so many people love it, but it just isn´t something for me. Maybe this is another case of me having too high expectations, since it got hyped up a lot on booktube etc.

I found the main character Greg to be quite unsympathetic and unlikeable. Even though he was quite realistic and dorky, which lead to a lot of funny moments, he was also really stuck up and I couldn´t relate to him at all. Also I wasn´t a huge fan of the story itself, due to the issues I had with Greg. The things he said/did were really rude, for example: He just didn´t care about Rachel. Like at all. Apart from Earl she is his only friend and he just sees her as a burden.  Also Rachel has like zero personality. It´s like she is a robot. But probably the most annoying thing was the story. You want to know why? Because there is none! Just like there is no character development, which is a pity, if you, like me, dislike Greg. Yes, Greg says at the beginning that there is no point in this story, but I expected at least a bit more, seeing how beloved this book is. You would think that being auround Rachel and becoming friends with her would have an impact on Greg, but no. 

But on the contrary there were a couple of great things in this book as well.

1.       The humour.

The humour in this book is great. It´s just so funny. Even though it didn´t make me laugh out loud, which is admittedly really hard, it had lots of big smiles on my face. I am in love with Greg´s father, Mr. Gaines. He is the best person on earth and I aspire to be like him one day, as should everybody else in this universe

2.       The formatting

This book is written in a very different way to most books. 50%, or maybe even more, is not normal text, but rather scripts, bullet points etc. It broke the fourth wall very well and engaged the reader into the story. (As far as possible because there is basically no story) It made the book so much more enjoyable and hadn´t it been for the formatting, I probably wouldn´t have finished the book.

3.       It isn´t a “Typical cancer book”

This book doesn´t romanticise cancer, or illness in general. It isn´t even a love story. It is an honest book about friendship (Again not very well done because Greg doesn´t even really like Rachel, but you get the point) It takes a different spin on the whole “sick girl with cancer” trope, which I haven´t read before.

All in all, pick it up if you are want a light read, with a bit of a more serious topic/ have a desire for a new take on an illness YA book. Just don´t expect too much from it, like I did (but still the formatting is REALLY cool) I am still excited to watch the movie, as I think some of my issues will be solved in it.

What about you guys? Have you read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl? And if so what did you think of it? Can you recommend me any other books with an unique formatting? Tell me down, in the comments below!

Read on xx

Lena