Review | The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Spellman Files series, Lisa Lutz’s latest blistering thriller is about a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past: you’ll want to buckle up for the ride!

In case you were wondering, I didn’t do it. I didn’t have anything to do with Frank’s death. I don’t have an alibi, so you’ll have to take my word for it...

Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It’s not the first time.

She meets Blue, a female bartender who recognizes the hunted look in a fugitive’s eyes and offers her a place to stay. With dwindling choices, Tanya-now-Amelia accepts. An uneasy―and dangerous―alliance is born.

It’s almost impossible to live off the grid today, but Amelia-now-Debra and Blue have the courage, the ingenuity, and the desperation, to try. Hopscotching from city to city, Debra especially is chased by a very dark secret…can she outrun her past?

With heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, The Passenger is an amazing psychological thriller about defining yourself while you pursue your path to survival. One thing is certain: the ride will leave you breathless.

4/5 stars

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The more I read mystery books, the more I fall in love with this genre and this book could have easily made it to my all time favorites. One thing that didn't stick with me is why did Tanya Dubois leave her husband's dead body all along? There is absolutely nothing to make people even consider her a person of interest. It just was weird leaving that's all. One thing that I really loved about this book is that it read like a movie, the writing flowed beautifully and the events were smartly interwoven together. I loved every minute of this book that I read 80% of it in a sitting and the other 20% in another.

Tanya- or Amelia, our main protagonist struck me as dumb at first. I couldn't quite understand her actions, she wasn't as smart as Amy from Gone Girl and she didn't have that criminal mind that the mystery MC mainly has. I felt like she was just impulsive and her actions weren't calculated as much as they should be, since she is a woman on the run.

I loved the sequence of actions, the author was hinting at stuff all along the book. Eventually, everything just unraveled and it shocked me. Whatever the author did with putting the shock factor in the end and building up to it throughout the whole thing was indeed smart.

I mistrusted and should have trusted a lot of characters in this book. I just didn't know who was good and who was terrible. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and I wanted to know more about the characters and their history and all. I think the author should make a novella or a prologue about Blue's life because I would love to look deep into her past and she was always a mystery for us readers.

The characters grew on me, no matter how untactful Tanya was at first, I admired her a lot. Blue was smart. She was the smartest character in this book and I loved how smart she was. Blue was the epitome of the perfect criminal mind. I loved all the characters in this, with their good and their bad.

This book -although a mystery- had some romance elements and it tugged at my heart. I loved the family dynamics in this and the portrayal of messed up parents, siblings and friends. I connected to some of the events that occurred in this, even though it is an adult book. I would recommend this to everyone to read. It's absolutely amazing.

I really want to get into spoilers, so if you'd want that let me know! I'm also scared of saying more because I'm afraid I'll say more than I should.

ARC Review | Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Goodreads Summary

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Expected publication: September 1st 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A new favorite FOR SURE. This book is about a girl, Madeline who has SCID which is a very rare disease and is literally allergic to everything. Ever since she was a kid she didn't leave her house, the air she inhales is filtered, the food she eats is carefully cooked and she doesn't have any human interactions or visitors of any sort (except for her nurse, Carla & her mother who is a doctor herself). She one day spots a guy moving in next door, Olly, who intrigued her from the very first second their eyes locked through her bedroom window.

I had a feeling that this will be a favorite, the writing was incredible and it hooked me from the very first page. The effortless way in which Nicola Yoon writes made the book extremely fast-paced, not to mention the way the book is written (including short chapters, diagrams and doodles by Maddy). It felt very personal and it read like a diary, although it really isn't, but I felt really connected to Maddy and saw whatever crossed her mind clearly in my own.

I fell in love with the characters. Maddy is a smart girl who despite her sickness, dealt well with every obstacle that stood in her way. She annoyed me a little towards the ending, but other than that, I really admired her personality and her bravery. She fell in love with Olly purely and unconditionally and it made me feel ALL THE FEELS. I also loved Olly, he is extremely hot and mysterious, he sincerely loved Maddy as well and it showed in multiple ways. I was dying every time something adorable happened.

Halfway through this book, I still didn't fully understand Maddy's sickness and I was very very satisfied by the ending of this book. I also felt like the love was somehow insta-lovey at the beginning, but it redeemed itself by the ending so that is probably why I initially gave this book 4.5 stars then upped it to 5 because I'm still thinking about it a day later.

 I didn't expect the ending and I was fully surprised, I loved this aspect of the book (and every other one..) The diversity was insane, since Madeline is half Asian, half African American, there's also a gay character which is always a plus. IT DEFINITELY MADE IT TO MY FAVORITES OF THE YEAR SO FAR. GO READ IT NOW!!

Have you read this book? If not, are you excited?! Tell me in the comments down below, I'd love to know :)

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Book Review | The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Goodreads Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. 

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Bianca Piper was a strong character that didn't take anybody's bullshit. That was probably one of the main reasons that made her my favorite character and unlike other people, she didn't annoy me.. maybe a little bit?.. and I have my reasons that belong in the spoiler section. Wesley is a man whore, but the fact that I started liking him in the end kind of took me by surprise, it showed how much of a good writer Kody Keplinger is.

DID YOU KNOW she wrote this book when she was seventeen years old?! The thing is, this was extremely relatable and knowing that it was written by somebody who were the same age as the characters (and myself) was very refreshing. I also felt bad for being 18 now and haven't done something as great as write a book. The writing style and the pace of this book were incredible; the writing was easy and simple. The words flowed quickly and I had absolutely no trouble understanding the words, the language used was exactly the language that teenagers use (full of cursing and stuff, that didn't once tick me off). I really think this book is targeted towards high-schoolers and they would greatly enjoy this! Not to mention how fast it will take them to get through this book. 

Don't you just LOVE relationships that start out with the love interests despising each other? It reminded me of Kat & Daemon from the Lux Series [My all-time fictional OTP], it made me giddy how much they were attracted to each other and trying to deny it because of the hate that has been brewing between both of them for the longest time. I liked the aspect of not making this an insta-love, because I hate that about most comtemps and is simply a turn off. The romance was developed nicely and I was eagerly waiting for them to be together, just like Anna and the French Kiss. 

Aside from being a contemporary, this book dealt with some serious topics like family issues, body-image problems and a lot more. I liked the greater picture that is being painted of loving yourself and that it's completely normal to dislike something about your body because everyone in the world goes through this. I especially liked that that something you utterly dislike, can be someone else's favorite thing about you. It's a matter of opinions. 

I recommend this book to everyone pretty much, it's VERY relatable, but it is a little bit on the cliche side, so if you don't like that, then you will not like this book. I also mentioned that this contains a lot of cursing, so if you are easily offended by curse words, (nothing too drastic) then don't bother.

ALSO, this book is now a movie, and I loved the trailer. I don't see why most people say that it deviated from the book (maybe because I watched the trailer before reading the book). We'll see how this turns out though.. 

SPOILERS 

(highlight to view)

Onto the things that I didn't like about this.. I didn't like that it took Bianca a guy for her to realize her self-worth. I despised the thought of a man boosting up her self-esteem, but Bianca has grown A LOT by the end of the book and it just wasn't an issue anymore by the end of it. 

I disliked the excessive objectifying of the female body, but I must say that this is EXACTLY the way that high-school kids think, so it just portrayed real-life situations. On the other side, I fell in love with the "not calling anybody a whore" part, I don't exactly remember where it was actually located in the book, but I took note of it and wrote down that it was a very good call. 

I loved the journalism aspect, because in fact, it's my dream to major in journalism and become a journalist one day :) 

Have you read The Duff?! Comment down below if you did and how excited you are for the movie. 

Have a great day everybody! 

Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Goodreads:

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high-school stage.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I couldn't help but feel the feels!! This hooked me from the very first page, only really witty books make me laugh out loud. Whenever I was reading this, I felt like I was reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is my favorite book, it had this "perks vibe" which made me love it even more.

We're firstly introduced to Will Grayson, then a chapter later, the writing is in lower-case and it's confusing.. it took me 3 chapters to realize that the book is from both Will Grayson's POVs and the way you'll be able to differentiate is in the writing. 

I was anticipating Will and Will to be together the whole time, I totally didn't expect a change of events (read the book to know what I mean *evil grin*). Overall, I loved most of the characters, Will Grayson went through some character development that I loved, he stepped out of his shell and it made me happy to see him happy. On the same hand, the other will grayson went through a ton of crap only to get picked up again by someone.. I can possibly say that I liked will and was interested in him more than Will. Maybe the reason is because I fell in love with Tiny and his quirkiness. You can't help but love Tiny. Am I right, or am I right?

will grayson was just in the middle; he lacked a dad and was neither okay with it or extremely upset about it. He suffered from a heartbreak and wasn't as dramatic as Tiny was about it, he just moved on. Seeing such a character that also suffered from depression live normally with the hardships of his life affected me deeply. The lower-case writing also added in to the aspect of him not caring about anything which I loved.

I didn't like the love stories as much as I expected to, I thought they were unoriginal and cliche, but they still made my heart flutter. Aside from that, this book really made me think, you can always appreciate contemporaries that make you stop. Put down the book. And think. That is why I gave it such a high rating, it's not just a story about love. This book will stay for a long time with me, as it was truly memorable. I picked out some of my favorite quotes and I will include them down below..

Will Grayson, Will Grasyon dealt with LGBT, which was one of my 2015 reading resolutions, it also tackled some major depression aspects. It was my first time ever reading anything by David Levithan and I must say, I'm missing out! The writing of both of these authors captivated me..

Friendships, family and relationships, this book had it all! It's fast-paced and heart-warming! I needed such a light read.. I recommend it to all! 

" The things you hope for the most are the things that destroy you in the end."

" Love is tied to truth." 

Have you read Will Grayson,Will Grayson? Tell me in the comments below!

Have a great day everyone! 

- Jay