(*my overall rating is a 3.0)

yet another book i had to read for school. i’m not gonna write a whole fancy review for it but...why did i lowkey like this?

it was actually not that horrible and i actually kind of liked the characters (especially Eliza and Nathaniel) the plot wasn’t horrible and the writing didn’t make me want to puke? anyways, i liked it and it’s definitely better than some books i’ve had to read for school.

-rebe

(*my overall rating is a 3.6)

the phantom tollbooth is such a nostalgic read for me. i had to read this in the fifth grade for school, and i had originally hated it. but recently i remembered how creative it was, and i decided to give it a reread. i had forgotten how beautifully written the story is and i forgot how creative the whole world was.

there's so much world-building while also being extremely vague so that you can imagine your own things for the story. the characters are so well thought out: from the awful DYNNE, rhyme and reason, azaz, and the mathemagician, all the characters are so original. i love how the author incorporated language and math into the story.

my only problem with this book was 1) it was too short so we only got a few pages (or less) of each character and place, which didn't give us much time to really get attached and 2) there was a little too much going on at all times, so i got confused from time to time.

anyways, aside from those two things, it was an amazing book and i would definitely read it again!


-rebe

(*my overall rating is a 3.5)

so...i was a bit disappointed.

now, before all the SDH fans come for my throat, let me explain myself. i was so, so, so, excited for this book. i thought this was gonna be a new favorite of mine. i was so excited and i thought that i would really relate and enjoy it, but it turns out that this book just disappointed me. i mean, it wasn't disappointing, because i still enjoyed it, but it was just...less...than what i was expecting.

the book was still GOOD. i'm not necessarily saying it was a bad book, i surely enjoyed it, it just wasn't what i was expected/what i wanted.

i liked a lot of things in this story (family dynamics, talk of suicide, lgbtq+ rep, found family) but there were also a lot of things i didn't like (the random cussing that just didn't fit, the sexy talk scenes, the random love triangle with a dead dude, the abortion that wasn't talked about enough). so this book was sort of a 50/50 for me.

this is a short review (I'm in language class right now) but i really don't know how to elaborate on my feelings. its a bad review, we can all admit it, but whatever.

-rebe

(*my overall rating is a 4.5)

okay, we all know how my reviews go. backstory time!

so, i bought this book literally yesterday morning (along with The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas) and i was actually very excited for it. i've wanted to read a Nina Lacour book for a very long time now and i thought that this one sounded interesting enough. the concept of ghosts that no one talked about was very cool. (and the cover is absolutely gorgeous).

now i'm just gonna start off with what i didn't like. there were very few things but they were there.

first, the...sexual? i guess you could say, part of it. i just didn't understand why they had to make Billy and Liz a thing or why they had to make Mila pleasure herself because of it. It was weird and awkward and i'm glad they didn't have a threesome (or worse, a relationship) together. it seemed like a one-time thing that was a sort of an afterthought to make Mila feel more ostracized in her new home.

second, i wish the book was just a tad longer. now, don't get me wrong, the pacing was perfect and i think that the book was better off short than long, but i wish Lacour wouldn't have ended the story so abruptly. i would've liked to have seen a little more of Mila and Lee and possibly what happened the day after Terry and Julia gave Mila the bracelet (another thing that i kind of didn't understand).

NOW. what i enjoyed.

starting off, i'm the biggest hoe for the found family trope so it's no surprise that i loved that aspect. Terry and Julia were such sweet yet hardworking people. i loved Lee and i loved Billy and Liz. i wish we would've seen a bit more of Emma and the other highschoolers, wish we would've seen a bit more of the preschoolers and a bit more of the twins, but i understand that it's hard to focus on 10+ characters at once so i'm not blaming Lacour for not including them more.

second, i just loved Mila as a whole. in some odd way, i related to her. her past was very mysterious and i like how Lacour only revealed it piece by piece. it keeps you sort of on the edge, trying to find out what happened to her. and this book really showed that just because it isn't physical, doesn't mean its not abuse. she was a very complex character that i grew to love immediately.

third, writing style. if i could choose one person on this big green earth to write my biography or write the thoughts in my head or write my stories or my poetry or literally anything that i write or think or say i would choose Nina Lacour. the writing style in this book was whimsical and beautiful and i would die to be able to write this well. like, if i could marry Nina's writing, if i could marry this book, i would. absolute ART.

the final thing I'm gonna talk about today are the ghosts. with the way they mention it in the description, you'd think that ghosts are a much more central part of the story, but they really aren't-- which was surprising. but i liked it. i really thought that the ghosts would be the dealbreakers for me, but i actually liked how they were barely there. it was a nice concept and i think it was cool that these ghosts were past versions of the kids. i still don't understand why they gave them bracelets/necklaces after they faced their ghosts, but that's alright.

any who, if this isn't a good review i don't know what is. this is one of my favorite reviews i've ever written so i hope you enjoyed it. PLEASE read this book, i read it in less than 10 hours.

-rebe

(*my overall rating is a 4.0)


“

*4.5

CANT DECIDE BETWEEN FOUR OR FIVE

REVIEW SOON!!

DONT BOTHER ME IM TOO BUSY CRYING MYSELF A RIVER OH NY GOD

(*my overall rating is a 4.5)

oh. my. gosh.

so.

shall we begin?

so, this book follows two girls, Brynn and Mia, who were accused of killing their best friend Summer. on the fifth anniversary, they finally decide to find out who actually did it.

I LOVED THIS STORY TO DEATH.

this is my second book of Lauren Oliver’s and she has yet to fail me.

anywho, lets start.

the story started pretty generic. i was a bit confused about Lovelorn but other than that i was intrigued. Brynn and Mia were both characters that i liked! they were great!

i totally get Cat and Jade from Victorious vibes?? Brynn is just such a badass who will fight you if you cross her and Mia is the softest baby ever i don’t know how they could possibly assume she’d commit a murder.

Abby was also such a BAD BITCH! she was the best i love her so much. she had confidence that i could only DREAM of having but like still.

also, Owen is officially my new fictional crush.

the story developed so well and i felt the rush as we weaves through the story and as we uncovered more and more about the killer.

my favorite part of the story was definitely when all of them were together in Owen’s house and they were reading through Summer’s pages of the story of Lovelorn.

speaking of Summer, i really hated her.

but i feel like the way that Lauren Oliver write how she abused Mia and Brynn was so great? Summer manipulated the girls and verbally and mentally abused them and i just feel like it was handled very well.

AND I AM SO DAMN HAPPY THAT MIA AND OWEN ENDED UP TOGETHER LIKE YES YOU GO NEW OTP PEOPLE.

one last thing, i would’ve NEVER expected Ms, Gray to be the killer.

-maya