Category: Book Reviews

Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia ~ Book Review

by GirlReading
Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster. In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try. Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

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A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard ~ Book Review

by GirlReading
Steffi doesn’t talk, but she has so much to say. Rhys can’t hear, but he can listen. Their love isn’t a lightning strike, it’s the rumbling roll of thunder. Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life – she’s been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He’s deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she’s assigned to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn’t matter that Steffi doesn’t talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she’s falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it. From the bestselling author of Beautiful Broken Things comes a love story about the times when a whisper is as good as a shout.

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Invictus by Ryan Graudin ~ ARC Book Review

by GirlReading
Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far’s birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he’s ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past. But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far’s very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems. In this heart-stopping adventure, Ryan Graudin has created a fast-paced world that defies time and space.

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Which Beauty and the Beast Character Are You? ~ Beauty and the Beast Review

by GirlReading

 

In celebration of the release of the gorgeous new MinaLima illustrated edition of Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, which I was very kindly sent from HarperCollins and being the Disney fiend I am, I couldn’t not create a blog post inspired by this books beauty (pun unintended but very much appreciated!) So, as well as a few photos to give you a sneak peak at the stunning illustrations and interactive elements of this book, I have, of course, created a quiz. So, for the people out there, who like me, can’t resist a bookish/disney themed personality quiz, this one’s for you…

Are you more Beauty or Beast? Lumière or Cogsworth? Maybe you and Gaston have more in common than you think! Take this quiz and finally find out which Beauty and the Beast you are truly most like…Read More

#famous by Jilly Gagnon ~ Book Review

by GirlReading
In this modern-day love story, Girl likes Boy, Girl takes photo of Boy and posts it online, Boy becomes accidentally insta-famous. And what starts out as an innocent joke spirals into a whirlwind adventure that could change both their lives—and their hearts—forever. But are fame and love worth the price? Told in alternating points of view, #famous captures the out-of-control thrill ride of falling for someone in front of everyone.

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American Girls by Alison Umminger ~ Book Review and *Somewhat* Rant

by GirlReading

She was looking for a place to land. Anna is a fifteen-year-old girl slouching toward adulthood, and she’s had it with her life at home. So Anna “borrows” her stepmom’s credit card and runs away to Los Angeles, where her half-sister takes her in. But LA isn’t quite the glamorous escape Anna had imagined. As Anna spends her days on TV and movie sets, she engrosses herself in a project researching the murderous Manson girls—and although the violence in her own life isn’t the kind that leaves physical scars, she begins to notice the parallels between herself and the lost girls of LA, and of America, past and present. In Anna’s singular voice, we glimpse not only a picture of life on the B-list in LA, but also a clear-eyed reflection on being young, vulnerable, lost, and female in America—in short, on the B-list of life.
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The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon | Book Review

by GirlReading
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story. Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us. The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

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