Review: Telling the Bees by Peggy Hesketh

Book: Telling the Bees
Author: Peggy Hesketh
Series: N/A
Pages: 305
Genre: Mystery/literary fiction
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Goodreads page

Usually, I wouldn't like a book like this very much. It was very slow and the main character was much more contemplative than in most books I enjoy. I'm not a huge fan of contemporary fiction or mysteries either. However, I did enjoy this book. I'm not sure why but I definitely liked it.

The main character, Albert, is an old beekeeper and has been his whole life. He's never really had any adventure or done anything interesting in his life. At first I thought he was going to be very boring, but he's not. He's full of interesting facts about bees that I never new before. For example, a queen bee isn't born a queen bee, but is nurtured on royal jelly to make her develop the right organs to be a queen bee instead of a normal worker bee.

Some would find these seemingly random facts about bees annoying and distracting but they actually all relate to the story. Albert will explain something about bees and a few pages later it will be revealed how a human character has done the exact some thing he just described with bees. The author uses descriptions of bees' lives to foreshadow all the time, so by the end I'd read something simple about bees and would be scouring my head for how that could relate to the story and what it meant. Plus, they were really interesting, and I much prefer learning random things in books than school and am much more likely to remember something I learnt while reading.

As for the mystery side of the book, it was decent. I'm not keen on mysteries but like I said above the author used the bees to foreshadow, which made it more interesting for me. It was quite well thought out and I didn't spot any plot holes. The thing is, the big revelation at the end of the book wasn't really a big shocker. It was more of a "yeah, that makes sense" while nodding head sort of thing. I guess a relaxed revelation matches the tone of the book though, which was very slow and laid-back. All the same, don't go expecting a big "wow, I never would have guessed that!" moment.

All in all a very sweet, simple book. No action or adventure, but a sweet old man and many hives of bees. It was a slow read, but still enjoyable. Though, come to think if it, if I'd read this two years ago I don't think I'd have been able to finish it; I'd have wanted a more interesting plot and more fast paced action and wit. I think this is the sort of book you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy properly, and maybe older adults would find it a more enjoyable read than teenagers and young people. Still, I liked it and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it.

I won this book through Goodreads First Reads but in no way does that effect (affect?) my opinion of it.

Letter To: Maximum Ride

Every week I will post a letter to a fictional character. This week's letter is to Max from the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. No spoilers this time.

Dear Max

You are extremely cool. Seriously cool. You're the most kick-ass heroine I've ever read. You're the epitome of awesome. Really, you are.

When I was first introduced to you at 11 years old I was completely blown away. How could such an amazing character exist? You were a 14 year old who talked back to adults, fought superbly against them and actually won arguments against them. You were sarcastic and witty and kick-ass. Not only that but you could fly. I couldn't very well not be amazed by a flying girl with an attitude. 

You were there when I started secondary school, showing me how cool I could be if I wanted to. Every year a new book featuring you and the flock would come out and remind me that I didn't have to wear loads of makeup and follow all the fashions and be a girly girl to be cool. I just had to be a 98% human with wings, on the run from mad scientists and half-human half-wolf creatures. Or, failing that, just be myself. 

Yes, you weren't as great in the later books. You lost some of your kick-ass-ness and started caring too much for certain characters I wasn't keen on. But you still kept your strength and were still so protective over your flock, especially little Angel. 

You were, and still are, one of the coolest characters I've ever met. I just wanted to write this letter to thank you for being so awesome and for making my boring life so much more interesting. Also, thank you for introducing me to YA books. Without the Maximum Ride series I might never have found that great genre. So thank you for everything, Max.

Yours sincerely

Lilac 

Old Review: Qeya by Jennifer Silverwood

Title: Qeya

Author: Jennifer Silverwood

Series: Heaven's Edge #1

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy 

Pages: 88

Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads Page

I'm reading the second book in the series at the moment so I thought I'd post my short review of this from October 2012.

I recieved this books as an R2R in the Goodreads group Young Adult Reads.

This is such a sweet little book that I really enjoyed reading. It's quite short so it's quick and easy to read and perfect for challenges. It's really easy to get into to the story and I was really intrigued to find out about these strange "hunans" that are similar to people but have gills and silvery hair. The story kept my attention the whole time and was very nicely written. I will probably be reading the next in the series at some point 'cause I want to know what'll happen with Ohre, the miner.

The only thing I wasn't too keen on was Ohre's way of speaking. Just about everyone in this book spoke normally but than Ohre would say something and I'd have to re-read what he said because it just didn't match the rest of the book. Here's an exaple of something Ohre says in the middle of a completely normal sounding conversation: “How it be cranking there, Navigator?”

For me this was just annoying but I understand why he speaks like this. It does set him apart from the hunans (he's a miner) but in my opinion it would have made more sense if he talked more normally.

Feature and Follow Friday #2

  This weekly meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a way for new bloggers to get more followers and find cool new blogs.
This week's features are ~ Bookingly Yours ~ and Book Junkie Joint.
This week's question is:

Q: The #FF is 150 weeks old! And we want to hear from you! What would you change about the hop? What do you like about it? Or just suggest a question to be used for next week!

Well, I'm sort of new to this so I haven't had enough experience with it to know what needs to be improved. I think it's fine as it is so far, and is a great way for new bloggers to get more followers and find interesting new blogs. I don't think I'd change anything.

. 

What about you?

P.S. Please follow via Bloglovin' or email. :)

Waiting on Wednesday #2: Unsouled by Neal Shusterman

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, which highlights upcoming book releases we're really looking forward to. My pick this week is:

Unsouled (Unwind #3)  by Neal Shusterman

Release date: 15th of October 2013

Goodreads Page

Goodreads synopsis

Proactive Citizenry, the company which created Cam from the parts of unwound teens, is planning to mass produce rewound teens like Cam for military purposes. And below the surface of that horror lies a sinister layer of intrigue: Proactive Citizenry has been suppressing technology that could make unwinding completely unnecessary. As Conner, Risa, and Lev uncover these shocking secrets, enraged teens begin to march on Washington to demand justice and a better future.

But more trouble is brewing. Starkey’s group of storked teens are growing more powerful and militant with each new recruit. And if they have their way, they’ll burn the harvest camps to the ground, and put every adult in them before a firing squad—which could destroy any chance America has for a peaceful future.

My Thoughts

Did you read that synopsis?? Squeee! I love this series! It's amazing! I can't wait for Unwholly to be released! Only 5 more months! If you haven't read Unwind yet I advise you to do so as soon as possible. You won't regret it (unless you have a weak stomach, in which case maybe you shouldn't read it). It is awesome and mind blowing and wonderful! 

Only 5 months left to wait for Unwholly! And the cover is just as great as the other covers! So creepy and great and relates to the synopsis! :D :D

Top Ten Tuesdays: Book Covers of Books I've Read

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is:

Top Ten Book Covers of Books You've Read

1. Matched by Ally Condie - I just love this cover so much. It's so simple and modern and cool. Plus all the covers from the books in this series have a lot of meaning. With this one she's trapped in the ball just as she's trapped in the society, the colour green represents the green pill which Cassia is strong enough not to need and she's wearing the green dress she wore to the matching ceremony. 
2. The Blemished  by Sarah Dalton  - The beautiful cover is what drew me to this book. I just love the shades of purple in it and love the background. Wonderful cover.
3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman - The reason this cover is so great is how creepy it is, with the thumb print covering up the trapped person. In that way it's just like the book.
4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - This is really really pretty! I love the blue colour and the font of the title.
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer - I love how simple and modern it is. The red of the shoe really stands out against the pale lag and plain background.
6. Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate - This isn't the edition I read, but I prefer this one to the plain black UK cover. It's a lovely colour and the jigsaw apple is really cool.
7. Forever by Maggie Steifvater - I like all the covers of Maggie Steifvater's books but this one is my favourite. It pretty and it fits the story very well.
8. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Roth - It's the lovely warm colour and the swirly writing that I like most about the cover.
9. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi - I really love this old edition of the cover. The new one's pretty cool too but  this one is just great.
10. Divergent by Veronica Ross - This isn't the cover that's on my copy but it's the cover that first drew me in to this book. I think this cover is perfect for this great book.
    

Anyone else love these covers? I think they're all really good.

I've just realised that all the covers I've picked are YA. I guess that means that means that YA books have the coolest covers. Either that or I'm only attracted to them because I'm a teen, in which case the marketing people have done a great job in guessing what sorts of covers appeal to teens.

Letter To: Tris Prior

Every week I will post a letter to a fictional character. This week's letter is to Beatrice Prior from the Divergent series by Veronica Roth.

SPOILER ALERT: Contains spoilers from Divergent and Insurgent

Dear Tris,

I have a bone to pick with you. And I'm sorry but it cannot wait; it's extremely important. The thing is, at the end of Divergent, you did something I can never forgive you for. 

You shot Will.

Why why why why why? Why would you do something like that? Why Would you shoot your best friend's boyfriend in the head?

What bugs me most is that it was in the head that you shot him. Not the leg of foot or something to stop him being able to walk until he was back to normal. Nope, you had to shoot him in the head. You had to kill him didn't you? Gah, Tris you frustrate me sometimes. Any normal person would have shot their friend in the leg so that they couldn't move, not the head! I hope you've learnt your lesson now, learnt that it is not okay to shoot your friend in the head, not matter how crazy he happens to be at the time. Understand? Good.

By the way Tris, I do like you. You're a cool character who shows that even small people can be kick-ass if they want to be. Yeah, I do like you, but I had to tell you the truth. You had to understand just how mad I was (am?) at you for your terrible crime. Just never do it again. That's all.

Your friend,
Lilac

Feature and Follow Friday #1

  This weekly meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a way for new bloggers to get more followers and find cool new blogs.
This week's features are The Bookish Confections and Picture Me Reading.
This week's question is:

Q:  School is out! What is your favorite Summer Reading book?

All of you whose holidays have started are so lucky! I still have another 8 weeks left in school. :(

But, when the holidays do some I definitely have some summer favourites. In summer I have so much more time that I'll read anything really, but every year I like to read at least one kids' classic. My all time favourite for summer is The Secret Garden, but I've also found some other good summer books: Anne of Green Gables, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Five Children and It and Peter Pan.

The thing with classic kids books is that they are so innocent and sweet. The Children play outside and enjoy the summer and have cute little adventures. These books will always mean summer to me. 

What about you?

P.S. Please follow via Bloglovin' or email. :)

Adult Dystopia Challenge

This great challenge comes from Lea at Uncorked Thoughts. The idea is to read as many adult dystopia books off the list of 70 as possible. It's an open-ended challenge so you can take your time with it.

Personally, I think this is a wonderful idea. I'm a huge fan of dystopian books, but find it very hard to find any adult dystopian books, mainly due the the huge trend in YA dystopia. Trust me, I love YA dystopia, but sometimes it's refreshing to read a dystopian book aimed at adults. It's especially great to read old ones so we can see how authors' ideas of the future have changed over the years. Hopefully this challenge will get me reading some more of the best adult dystopian fiction available.

So without further ado let's look at the list. I've crossed off all the books I've already read.

1. White Horse by Alex Adams

2. Feed by M. T. Anderson

3. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 

4. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

5. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

6. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

7. Nod by Adrian Barnes

8. City of Bohane by Kevin Barry

9. Jennifer Government by Max Barry

10. Mountain Man by Keith Blackmore

11. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

12. The Postman by David Brin

13. The Sheep Look Up by David Brin

14. Armageddon’s Children by Terry Brooks

15. The End of This Day’s Business by Katharine Burdekin

16. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

17. The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess

18. Veracity by Laura Bynum

19. The Death of Grass by John Christopher

20. The Passage by Justin Cronin

21. The Twelve by Justin Cronin

22. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

23. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

24. Alas Babylon by Pat Frank

25. The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall

26. The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

27. Into the Forest by June Hegland

28. The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

29. The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq

30. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 

31. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

32. This Dark Earth by John Hornor Jacobs

33. The Children of Men by P. D. James

34. When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

35. The Trial by Franz Kafka

36. In a Perfect World, by Laura Kasischke

37. The Stand by Stephen King

38. Always Coming Home by Ursula LeGuin

39. Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

40. The First Century After Beatrice by Amin Maalouf

41. I am Legend by Richard Matheson

42. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

43. A Creed for the Third Millennium by Colleen McCollough

44. I Have Waited and You Have Come by Martine McDonagh

45. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

46. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

47. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

48. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

49. Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov

50. Sulphuric Acid by Amelie Nothomb

51. 1984 by George Orwell 

52. Anthem by Ayn Rand

53. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

54. Blindness by Jose Saramago

55. Seeing by Jose Saramago

56. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

57. Earth Abides by George R Stewart

58. Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling

59. The Domination by S. M. Stirling

60. A Voyage to Kazohinia by Sandor Szathmari

61. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

62. Far North by Marcel Theroux

63. The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks

64. The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells

65. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

66. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Charles Wilson

67. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

68. The Crysalids by John Wyndham

69. We by Yvengy Zamyatin

70. Corpus delicti by Juli Zeh

There we have it. As of the 15th of April 2013 I've read 4 books off the list, and have many more on my to-read list. To join this challenge head over to Uncorked Thoughts and sign up.

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books dealing with tough subjects

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is:

Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

  

  

 

1. Ma, He Sold Me For a Few Cigarettes by Martha Long -This book records Martha's terrible childhood from the ages of 4 to 13. It tackles subjects of physical, sexual and emotional abuse but the author manages to keep it lighthearted at the same time.
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosk  - Most of you probably know at least something about this book. Hidden within the amazing story is molestation of children, drug use and mental health issues. These are so well disguised with the interesting story that I barely realised the severity of what I was reading.
3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman - I'm a huge fan of this book. Not only does it have an amazing story-line and a scary vision of the future but also manages to tackle issues of death and pro-live vs pro-choice arguments, which are really big deals in some parts of the world.
4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - This book mixes humour, wit and interesting characters with the reality of cancer and what it does to the sufferer are all those around them. Very sad, but very good.
5. The Almond Tree by Michelle Corasanti - I reviewed this book just last week, which describes in more detail what I'm saying here. Really this book is such and eye opener to all the suffering in third world counties.
6. XVI by Julia Karr - Tackles issues of teen sexuality in a world where the media constantly shoves sexual ideas down our throats.
7. A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer - The very sad real life account of the author's childhood while being abused terribly by his cruel mother. When I read this as a nine year old I was utterly terrified and shocked.
8. You Against Me by Jenny Downha - About a rape trial and the effects such an accusation has on both families involved.
9. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman - In this dystopian book the roles of different races are switched round, giving us a closer look at racism and prejudice.

That's all, I don't have a number 10. I really liked this week's theme. It was a little dark but sometimes it's good to read books that tackle tough issues.

P.S. I've decided to only do Waiting on Wednesdays every other week.

Review: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Unravel Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: Shatter Me #2

Genre: YA Dystopia

Pages: 461

Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads Page

4.5 stars

This. Was. Amazing.

Seriously, this book was really really really good. I absolutely adore Tahereh Mafi's wrting style. I can't believe I didn't read this book when it first came out in February. I went a whole year without reading Tahereh Mafi's amazing writing!

I especially love the crossing out of sentences. It's so much more effective in this book than it was in Shatter Me, when it was mostly to show how crazy Juliette was. Now it just shows her conflicting emotions and really adds so much to the book. And the repetition of words when she's stressed out and just can't can't can't can't handle it is great too. I mean, it's exactly how a person's mind works in tough situations.

Honestly, I think the writing is what makes this series great. Without it you'd still get a pretty interesting book but you wouldn't feel half as connected to all the characters. Juliette would just seem like a normalish teenage girl if the writing wasn't so unique. Instead she is this complex character with so many different thoughts and battles going on inside her head.

I think it was partly due to this that the author was able to wrench my heart out a few times during the book. This and the pure intensity of every scene. I changed my mind about what Juliette should do about certain things so many times while reading it. At one point I even shouted at the book! I was so mad about what she was doing!

The whole book was just tension, romance, action, tension, romance, tension, action, romance, tension, tension. It was great! So fast paced and unputdownable! I seriously couldn't put it down at all and devoured a huge part of it in one afternoon. Now I just need to sequel.

ASAP!

Letter To: Shane Collins

I've decided that from now on every week I'll post letters to fictional characters from my favourite books. This is my letter to Shane Collins, from the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine.

SPOILER ALERT: Contains spoilers from The Morganville Vampires books 1 - 13!

Dear Shane Collins,

May I first may that I LOVE YOU! I love you so so so much Shane, you are the best book boyfriend out there and I can't believe I only get to spend two more books with you! You've no idea how sad that makes me! I love everything about you, from your witty sarcasm to your super amazing looks to your soft inner self. I just had to tell you that Shane, because I really do love you.

Now, let's get down to business. Here's what I need to say to you: get back together with Claire. You would be lost without her and you know it. Remember the time you thought she'd died?? Remember what you nearly did?? Eh? Eh? I remember. That's right, I remember what you were going to do. You don't want that to happen again do you? Nope.

The only way you can stop that happening is to get back together with your wonderful girlfriend. She is the best thing that ever happened to you. Now that you're out of Morganville and don't even have Michael and Eve you need her more than ever. Look after her while she goes to college. Do whatever she needs you to. Do whatever it takes to get her forgiveness. She will forgive you in the end, as long as you are super nice to her and NEVER betray her again.

After all, if you're not nice to her then I know someone else who will be. Someone with cute fanged bunny slippers  Someone who's not human. Do what you have to do, just make sure you get back together with her before she realises her love for someone else.

Please Shane, I'm begging you. Just do me this one favour.

Thanks,
Lilac

Waiting on Wednesday: Noble Conflict

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, which highlights upcoming book releases we're really looking forward to. My pick this week is:

Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman

Release date: 6th June 2013

Goodreads Page

Goodreads synopsis

Years after a violent war destroyed much of the world, Kaspar has grown up in a society based on peace and harmony. But beyond the city walls, a vicious band of rebels are plotting to tear this peace apart. It is up to the Guardians - an elite peacekeeping force - to protect the city, without ever resorting to the brutal methods of their enemy.

When Kaspar joins the Guardians, he has a chance encounter with a rebel - a beautiful girl named Rhea. Haunted from that moment on by strange visions and memories - memories that could only belong to Rhea - he realises he hasn't been told the truth about what the rebels really want, and what he's really fighting for.

My Thoughts

Well, it's a YA dystopia, which is my favourite genre at the moment (and has been since autumn 2011 when I discovered the genre). Plus, it's written by Malorie Blackman, who wrote the really interesting Noughts and Crosses series. And the synopsis is just so intriguing, isn't it? All of that mixed together makes a really really good book that I can't wait to read!

Anyone else excited for this book?

Review: The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Carasanti

Book: The Almond Tree
Author: Michelle Cohen Corasanti
Series: N/A
Pages: 348
Genre: Historical Fiction - War
Rating: ★★★★☆


I won this book through Goodreads First Reads but that does not affect my opinion on the book.

I usually really like historical fiction books, and this was no exception. Just like any good books from this genre it provided insight into how people used to live. But this is different in one way: it is set in wartime Palestine (1955 and onwards).

Now, I'm ashamed to say that prior to reading this book I knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. I knew that there were always wars in the Middle East, but that's it*. You can imagine how shocked and disgusted I was to discover that Jews, after everything that'd happened in the second world war, had then gone and done something so terrible to Palestinians. It's explained more further into the book, but at first it was just a "wow" moment.

This book was such an eye-opener into how they lived too, and how terrible they got treated. I was so disgusted and saddened to read about the main character's life as a child, all the hardships and injustices his whole family faced. And the thing is that this sort of thing actually happened to millions of people, it's not just fiction. That was the thought that was nagging at me the whole time, that countless other people had to live through this.

I think what made this story good was that it was based on real history and exposed so much of the terrible life Palestinians had. But it was good in other ways too, of course. I was completely unable to put it down while I read the first two parts. It grabbed my attention from the first page and didn't let it go until I was 200 pages in. I was put off reading it around that point because I really didn't like the person that Ichmad (the protagonist) had become. In fact, I just wanted to slap him across the face. He didn't want to solve any of the problems in his home country, only take everyone to America, which he seemed to think was so perfect. He was just so selfish and naive when he was an adult, much more than he had been as a child/teen/young person. I forgave him in the end, and realised that the author was just trying to show us what a life like that can do to a person and show us that Ichmad was a real person, not a Mary-Sue.

All in all, a wonderful book which I highly recommend to anyone, even if you do not like this sort of thing. The Almond Tree really raises awareness about so many issues and everyone can learn from this book. If you read this book then I'm sure that the next time you're watching the news and see x number of people in ______ country killed and wounded, it won't just be more of the same thing, you'll feel connected to all these people suffering miles and miles away. Yes, you might feel guilty, but at least acknowledging that this sort of thing is happening is much better than turning a blind eye to it all.



(*Isn't that terrible that I knew nothing about any of it? I mean, we're not taught anything to do with this is school. We spend countless history lessons learning about the first and second world wars, yet get taught nothing about things in other countries, unless it's related to our country and we were in the right. That's really  annoying me right now)

The Book Notes Project

So, I've just come across this post at A Wordless Blogger. It's basically about putting nice little notes into library books when you return them so the next person to check them out can get a lovely surprise. I think this is a really great idea! You can't imagine how excited I'd be to find a note in a library book. I'd feel like there were actually other people like me in my area, fellow bookaholics. I'd probably start squealing in excitement  that's how great I'd find it!

I'm definitely going to do this next time I check a bunch of library books out, and just hope hope hope that there's someone else out there who'll do the same. Now that this is like "a thing", there might be, but most of the books I check out look almost unread, so I don't even know if any teens in my area read books from libraries. Oh well, whether I get one back or not it'll be a nice feeling to know that someone might be smiling because of a note I left in a book!

Thank you for thinking of this great idea Emma!

Review - If You Die Before I Wake by Michelle Frank

Book: If you die before I wake
Author: Michelle Frank
Series: Saving Sabrina #1
Pages: 265
Genre: YA Paranormal/Horror
Rating: ★★★★☆


So, I really, really liked the story of this book. The plot was great. Every time I picked it up Sabrina's story sucked me in and I was no longer myself, I was Sabrina. If I read some of it in the morning then all through school I'd be trying to figure out this mystery of who Devon was. At first I thought it was a bit cliché having a girl who's been in a mental hospital most of her life and is haunted by a little boy. However, Michelle Frank made the idea her own, so that it was unlike other books from this genre.

What let this book down was the lack of editing. Within the first 30 pages I'd spotted about 5 mistakes, and they kept coming. A few sentences didn't make sense, and at one point I think there was a mix up of past and present tense. The many grammatical errors in it really let this book down, and had the story not been great I wouldn't have put up with these mistakes. There were less mistakes by the end, but for some readers the lack of editing in the beginning would have completely put them off.

Another little annoyance I had with If You Die Before I Wake was how fast Sabrina's relationship with a certain someone went. Within a week of her going on her first date she was acting as if she was in a long term relationship, and could think of nothing else. I can understand that it may have been her hormones catching up with her after years without ever seeing guys her own age, and when we learn about his story it makes sense that their relationship was going fast, but I still think it could have been slightly more realistically paced.

Other than that I thought the characters and their relationships with each other were great. You can really see the character development in Sabrina as she goes from a naïve girl from a mental home, to a fairly independent young woman. Michelle Frank does this wonderfully, with Sabrina changing slowly over the course of time. You can even see how all her experiences help her along the way, and that's one of the best things about this book. The other characters are realistic too, and I absolutely adored Sabrina's grandfather, who was so simple and sweet. I hope we still read about him in the second book in the series, even though Sabrina's growing up and won't need as much family support.

In summary: a wonderful book with a severe need of editing, and some great characters. I think I'll probably read the next one in the series, though there was enough closure in this one that I don't need to (another thing that's good that many books from a series don't have). I definitely recommend this book.


P.S. I received this book through Goodreads First Reads, though that does not affect my opinion on this book.

P.P.S. Thanks you very much to the author for the hand written note and the sticker :)

A Little Introduction

Hello, I'm Lilac, and this is my book blog. I've been a reader my whole life, and a reader of random book blogs for about a year now, but I've never had the courage to actually make one for myself. It just seemed like such a daunting thing to do; there's such a huge book blogging community and I didn't know if anyone would want to read anything I had to say. Then I thought, who cares? It'll be a fun experience anyway, whether anyone else is interested in it or not. My only worry now is that I'll forget to post for ages (I'm very lazy) but I'll try my best to post regularly.

I love all sorts of books, especially Young Adult. I love writing what I have to say about the books I read, but don't write full length reviews very often. Maybe that'll change, maybe not. The point is that books are my life, and I always have an opinion on the books I read. So this blog will be partly reviews, partly my random book related musings, and partly other random stuff and memes.

Thanks, and bye!