howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

I read this many years ago, and while it is a book that has really stayed with me, I don't know if I would ever be willing to put myself through the heartache of rereading it. A Child Called "It" is a memoir highlighting Dave's childhood, and it describes some of the most godawful abuse I could ever imagine. I remember raging and sobbing through the majority of the book, and that was YEARS ago; now that I'm an adult, and a mother, and these things have become so much more realistic and impactful for me, there's no way I could stomach imagining even a fraction of the pain that Dave Pelzer underwent in his childhood.

Don't let my review dissuade you from reading it; by all means, if you don't think it will be too damaging for you (ex.: I would not recommend this to a survivor of intense child abuse), pick it up. Let this book bring you to tears. Rage for Dave's lost childhood, and then remember to rage and cry for the lost childhoods of little ones all over the globe, throughout history and now. There are some things that must not be swept under the rug, and child abuse is one of those things.

I'm so due for a reread on this one. Will anyone judge me if I just devote the entire month of October's "horror-athon" to reading and rereading Joe Hill titles?

“I’ll love you forever. Even when I can’t.”

When Auburn Mason Reed returns to Dallas after the loss of her first love, she's desperate for work - anything to get her rent paid so that she can stay in this city that she hates, this city so far from home, this city that she refuses to leave. When she walks right past the art studio with its HELP WANTED sign, she says it's luck; when she realizes the artist shares her middle name, he says it's fate. Just one evening with Owen Mason Gentry, and both of their lives are sent into a tailspin full of delight and regret, lies and confessions, heartache and a shot at love - and all of it comes at a price.

---

Where do I even begin with this book? Aughhhhh! I put off writing this review for two weeks, all because I couldn't quite figure out words for how it made me feel. This was my first CoHo read, and I'll be honest - it had been on my shelf for a few months, but the only reason I picked it up when I did, was because I'd heard it was being made into a TV show, and I wanted to read the book before watching the trailer (or the show itself). That said, I could barely stand to put this book down. I wanted to stay up all night reading it from cover to cover (and would have, if adult responsibilities hadn't stood in the way).

Colleen Hoover has such a flair for drama. I honestly don't know how much I can say about this book without spoiling the entire thing, because I've never read a contemporary book with so many twists. It felt like I couldn't go 50 pages without hitting another gasp-inducing scene or finding out a new truth that changed my entire view on the situation and the characters alike. The book opens with a prologue that explains Auburn's boyfriend and first love is terminally ill, and the next thing you know, we're being swept into her modern life, she's five years old, and the reader is left with so many questions - why is she in this city if she hates it so much? Who are the people she has to work so hard to impress? Why does Owen need help so fast, and what kind of 21-year-old artist can afford to pay his cashier $100 an hour? None of it makes sense!

... Until it does. As you read on, each twist and turn of the labyrinth brings you closer and closer to this devastatingly sad and purely enraging heart of the plot, where you can't help but find yourself aching for these characters and desperately rooting for them to find happy endings. Colleen Hoover writes such amazing, beautiful characters who have been dealt such bizarre and unfortunate hands in their lives, and then she spins this web that is thoroughly enrapturing and altogether lovely.

I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I raged, and by the end of the book, I could only say that I eagerly await my next chance to let Colleen Hoover suck me into the world of her imagination, because this book was delightful and I would recommend it to anyone, whether they are a typical contemporary reader or not.

WARNINGS: This book does contain some short scenes of abuse (physical and sexual), so proceed at your own risk.

#1 The Raven Boys ★★★★★
#2 The Dream Thieves ★★★★★
#3 Blue Lily, Lily Blue ★★★★★
#4 The Raven King ★★★★★
#4.5 Opal ★★★★★

Spoilers ahead for Blue Lily, Lily Blue!

This review is so difficult to write, in the best possible way. I have started and erased my thoughts on this book too many times already (which is why the review is coming nearly two months after I finished reading it), because I feel like Maggie Stiefvater literally pulled pieces of my soul into the world of Cabeswater, and now, I don’t know how to get them back.

It was not that the women in 300 Fox Way weren’t her family—they were where her roots were buried, and nothing could diminish that. It was just that there was something newly powerful about this assembled family in this car. They were all growing up and into each other like trees striving together for the sun.

I do not call books my “favorites” lightly, so I do not say this carelessly: The Raven Cycle is one of my favorite series in my entire life thus far, and I am so happy that I read it, and I will carry this story, and these characters, in my heart forever. I know it sounds dramatic, but I believe books truly are a special form of magic, and this series is proof: that magic can sometimes crawl right off the pages, into your veins, and transform something in you. As you can imagine, with how much I have treasured these books, it was both a blessing and a curse to pick up the finale and watch things all come to an end, but it was a ride worth every damn second of heartache.

These days, they all had their hands thrust into the sky, hoping for comets.

Of course, the beauty in this series is credited to Maggie’s masterful storytelling and beautiful, flowery prose, but it’s also thanks, in much part, to the brilliant characters she creates and the ways they seem to come to life. When I call these books magical, what I mean is that, when you fall in love with Blue and her Raven boys, it’s hard to remind yourself sometimes that they’re not living, breathing beings, with hopes and dreams and tragedies.

She was always hugging her mother or holding Noah’s hand or linking her elbow in Adam’s or resting her boots on Ronan’s legs as they sat on the sofa. Touching Gansey’s neck just between his hair and his collar. This worry in her tone demanded fingers braided together, arms on shoulders, cheeks rested against chests.

→ Blue Sargent / Richard “Dick” Campbell Gansey III ←
I tried to write this review by splitting my feelings up for each character, but honestly, by the time I started this book, so many of my feelings were about each relationship that I couldn’t stand to separate them. Prickly, practical, angry Blue and sweet, cloud-gazing Gansey—I couldn’t love them more if I tried. I relate so much to Blue’s views on the world that I love her regardless, but who she becomes with Gansey (and vice-versa) meant the world to me. Watching this slow, forbidden romance come to fruition… my heart could barely take it.

His feelings for Adam were an oil spill; he’d let them overflow and now there wasn’t a damn place in the ocean that wouldn’t catch fire if he dropped a match.

→ Ronan Lynch / Adam Parrish ←
Where do I even begin with these two precious, troubled little souls? They’re both so broken and fragile, though they show it in such different ways. I love every single interaction between them both, but Ronan specifically is the character that I most cherished the development of in this series. Watching him come to face his fears and self-loathing, admitting his secrets and learning to embrace the feelings that plague him—I could have sat through hundreds of pages with only his inner monologue. I cannot possibly describe how excited I am for his trilogy, and how much I need more time with these precious boys.

“Jesus was not there, unfortunately,” Henry said. “Or perhaps fortunately. The hole was barely big enough for me.”

→ Henry Cheng ←
Henry isn’t a new character by this point in the series, but this installment is the first in which we are given a deeper glimpse into who he is as a person, what he has to offer Gansey—besides kind friendship and hilarious quips—and what moves him forward in life. I know Henry is a bit of a controversial aspect of the series, as many people didn’t like his abrupt introduction into the gang, but I loved him to pieces. He feels so lonesome in his soul, but he clicks so magnificently with Gansey that I couldn’t help cherishing their interactions, no matter how reluctant I was to accept his newfound presence in their lives.

It did not escape Adam how well they knew each other. The Orphan Girl was no random creature taken from a fitful dream. They had the well-worn emotional ruts of family.

→ Opal (Orphan Girl) ←
Of course, this review would not be complete without mentioning Opal, the little girl from Ronan’s dreams, and how much I adore her entire relationship with Ronan and Adam, and how much I want chapters upon chapters of Ronan in his protective big brother role with her. ♥ I’ve already reviewed her short story, but I’ll say it again here: she is precious, hilarious, bizarre, and oh, so lovable.

Maggie Stiefvater is an artist, a witch, and has probably sold her soul to the devil for the writing prowess it takes to make me adore a series as much as I loved this one. I would read her grocery lists, I would listen to her talk about anything and everything, and I cannot wait to see where she takes these sweet Henrietta babies next. I am utterly devastated to see the end of this gorgeous series, but damn, was it a satisfying journey.

You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!

When Jessie loses her mother to cancer and her father uproots their lives to move cross-country for a woman she's never met, she's plunged into a world of silicon, mountain climbing, bullying, and $10 minimums on snack machines. Enter Somebody Nobody, a mysterious email correspondent who offers to guide her through her new world, to teach her that home isn't always a place.

5 ⭐️! This book was adorable, sad, funny, and sweet. I loved Jessie and her nerddom, and totally would've been friends with her (and Scar, Dri, and Agnes) at 16 - and I could've used a Somebody Nobody a time or two in my life.