Reading, Reading, Reading!!

Since school ended last semester, I've had so much more time to dedicate to reading.  Last spring, my wing-mate Kayla and I created a list of books we hoped to read.  In less than one month I was able to read six of these books.

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The first books I read were:  Hate List by Jennifer Brown, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, and Willow by Julia Hoban.

Hate List - was a heart-touching book as it follows Valerie Leftman's senior year in high school, after her boyfriend was involved in the school shooting.  Because of a "hate list" they created together, although she's injured while saving another girl she is implicated in the homicides.  This book is a pretty simple read and quite entertaining.  I really enjoyed it and recommend it.

Before I Fall - Samantha has it all, the perfect boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and anything else she wants.   Unfortunately, she doesn't get tomorrow.   What would you do if you had only one day left to live?  In this story, Sam relives her last day seven times, untangling the mystery to her death and discovering the true value of life and death.  I absolutely loved the lesson taught in this book as it made me really evaluate what's important in life, and the importance of time.  However because of some of the moral issues presented in the story such as sex, smoking, and such, I would not recommend this for younger readers. 

Definitely my favorite quote from the book: 

"Maybe you can afford to wait. Maybe for you there's a tomorrow. Maybe for you there's one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around it, let it slide like coins through you fingers. So much time you can waste it.

But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know."

Willow - The pain of losing both parents in a car accident must be horribly tragic but to know that you were the one driving would be unbearable.  Julia Hoban does an amazing job at revealing the mind of a cutter and expressing the pain one feels after such a tragic loss.  Intertwined with romance, this book makes an excellent read.  I enjoyed it, however the book does take a while to pick up pace, about 100 hundred pages lol but it's still pretty good.

And I don't think there was a better way to end break and start the new semester than reading Scott Westerfeld's trilogy: The Uglies, Pretties, and Specials.    This quick-paced series was so good!  Although it is swamped in political agendas and a false perception of beauty, I found it as a good way to re-evaluate what I believe and why.  I felt it also high-lighted that our imperfections are what make us beautiful.  Filled with action, adventure, and romance;  I recommend this series to everyone!   There is also a 4th book called Extras which is placed in the same setting as these three although it is not the sequel to it.  I definitely plan to read this book later on this year.

 Anyways I'm on the last book from the Hunger Games Trilogy right now and DEFINITELY recommend them!   Especially since the first movie comes out this March :)  Hopefully later this week or next week I'll post a review on them as well.