This is something different than I normally read, and I had a hard time getting into the book. It definitely wasn't very fast paced, and I couldn't seem to find any common ground with the characters. This doesn't mean that is was necessarily poorly written, just something that didn't really work for me.

Dominic Hall lives in the shipyards in northern England, where he traverses between two different worlds: one with Holly Stroud, where they live in stories, art, and dreams of being tightrope walkers, and one with Vincent McAlinden, full of danger, recklessness, and rebellion. Dominic must learn to balance between the two before he finally becomes a man.

Though I personally couldn't get into this book, there were some beautiful moments; the writing itself was quite lyrical and poetic, actually, like the quote I included above. But there was just one major thing that bothered me throughout the entire novel, the way the dialogue was used. Almond used an English dialect within his text that was hard to read at times, and while I understand the effect that he was going for, I think the book would have worked just as well without it.

The other aspect of the book that threw me off was the pacing of events in the story. It felt incredibly slow moving at the beginning, and it took awhile for me to find the driving conflict of the story. It made the book really hard to get engaged in. But I finished it none-the-less! I always try to finish books, to get the full effect.

I'm not usually one to see the movie before the book, especially if the book is one I've been wanting to read for a while, but this is one time I did things backwards. I saw The Girl on the Train a week or so ago with my mom, and afterward, I was finally able to pick up the book and read it. And let me say, I was not disappointed.

Rachel takes the same train to and from her home every day, fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple that she sees through the window. She thinks about them so much that she almost feels like she knows the couple. Everything seems perfect, until one day Rachel sees something that jolts her fantasy, so much that she goes to the police, but her testimony is unreliable. Rachel quickly becomes entangled in the investigation and the lives of the people involved. Is she really as innocent as she thinks she is?

This book is told from three different perspectives, Rachel, Anna, and Megan. And honestly, none of the characters are all that likable. I couldn't help but cringe at some of the things that these characters did; but that's what makes this book great. Kind of like Gone Girl in that aspect. This kind of portrayal of women, women who have bad intentions, indulge in bad habits, etc., is important because it reflects reality. All women aren't the same, so why should women be portrayed the same in literature?

The format of the narrative also helps to add to the mystery and suspense of the novel. Jumping around in time, place, and narrator leaves it up to the reader to piece together the story in a similar way that Rachel is. And Rachel's unreliability as a character makes you wonder if what she's seeing is really true, if she's someone we can trust to tell us the truth. These elements combined draw you into the story quickly and don't let go until you know the truth of what happened. In fact, this element of truth draws together every piece of the story, much like a running current throughout the book.

Overall, this is an engaging read that fans of Gillian Flynn would definitely enjoy.

This is another book that I read with my friend Alyssa for a book club that she's doing for one of her classes. It's also a book that I've had my eye on for a while, and I'm glad that I finally got the chance to read it. It definitely didn't disappoint.

Henry Denton has had a rough year. His grandmother's Alzheimer's keeps getting worse, his brother just dropped out of college because his girlfriend is pregnant, his mother is struggling to keep the family together, and his boyfriend committed suicide. Among all of these things, Henry keeps getting abducted by aliens, who have given him the opportunity to save the world from impending disaster. Henry just doesn't know if its worth saving. Until he meets Diego Vega.

This story is just heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Shaun David Hutchinson has crafted a story that feels so realistic, yet it is intertwined with all of these theories about how the world is going to end, theories that pull the reader from important points in the story. In fact, these interruptions coincide with Henry's own interruptions from his own life, giving the reader a glimpse into Henry's mind and thought process.

It's just so real. I can't really think of any other way to describe this book. Hutchinson's prose makes you feel so many emotions from beginning to end that by the time you finish the book, you are exhausted. Major book hangover. It was hard for me to get into my next book because I was still feeling all of these emotions from We Are the Ants.

Hutchinson also deals with suicide in a very realistic and important way. He not only shows how suicide affects the friends and family left behind, but he shows that the depression that Henry's boyfriend (I think it was Jesse?) was feeling wasn't something that was just going to "go away;" it was a sickness, an illness that Jesse had to deal with, but in the end, he wasn't able to. I can't really think of any other YA books that deal with suicide in this way that I've read, and I think it's incredibly important that this one does.

This is a complex, insightful, all-encompassing book that will leave you thinking long after it's over. And maybe even prompt you to want to read it again.

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout and Jack Masselin. No one takes the time to see past Libby's weight, and Jack puts up a facade that allows him to fit in, hiding his biggest secret: he can't recognize faces. After an incident at school, Libby and Jack become unlikely friends. They find that the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel.

Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places is one of my favorite young adult novels, so I was excited to finally get to read her latest novel. And I wasn't disappointed. Niven has a knack for creating complex characters that have more to them than meets the eye. Libby and Jack are both dealing with difficult things. However, it does represent a somewhat unfortunate trend in young adult literature that in order for the adolescent protagonists to feel accepted and wanted, they have to be in a romantic relationship. Nowadays, it's almost impossible to find a young adult novel in which the main characters do not end up together (except This Savage Song, which gets bonus points!).

Despite my annoyance at the romantic relationship, I really did enjoy this book overall, especially for the message that it sent: "You are wanted." Many teens need to hear that message, and I thought it was well done. Despite my views of it, this novel has apparently been getting a lot of bad press and reviews because some reviewers are saying that Niven uses her characters insecurities in order to create an angsty romance; that Libby doesn't wholly accept herself until she is with Jack. While yes, the romance aspect of the book wasn't necessarily my favorite, I don't think that this is the case. Libby stands up for herself when her and Jack aren't together, and I don't think she needs him to feel whole.

Overall, the message of this book is powerful, but I do think it could have done without the romance. Not every novel needs to end in a relationship these days.