Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten favorite book covers of books I've read...

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (my review)
I didn't love the original cover for this novel, but the new ones are gorgeous. 

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield (my review)
I simply adore this cover. From the colors to the font to the imagery; it's perfect.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (my review)
Love these photos and the covers for all these novels totally work.

The Listeners by Leni Zumas 
This cover is a lot of fun and relevant to the story, which is awesome.

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers (my review)
Love this cover. It's very eerie. The blood makes it. 

A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle (my review)
This is a very fancy cover and I quite like it.

Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison (my review)
I loved this cover so much that I bought a print of the original photo.

Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard (my review)
I like the simplicity of this and it represents the book perfectly. It's also rare to see a real boy on the cover of a novel.

Peanut by Ayun Halliday & Paul Hoppe (my review)
It's simple. Super simple.

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter (my review)
This book is super gorgeous all around. 

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Middle Grade Monday| Blog Tour | Guest Post: Jessica Day George

Middle Grade Monday is a feature started right here at Reading Nook. It's a way to share news or reviews of middle grade novels on a blog that doesn't exclusively post middle grade content. Feel free to join any time and link up. 

Today I have the lovely Jessica Day George here to answer a couple of questions in honor of her recent release Wednesdays in the Tower. 

1. What's your favorite story that features a castle? 

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 

2. You write fantasy novels, do you have some other genre stories sitting around your house unfinished? Or are you strictly fantasy?

I have two Regency romance novels on my hard drive that I will one day publish! 

3.What are some differences between writing middle grade and young adult? 

In middle grade I feel less pressure to include a romantic subplot. I also tend to have more action-driven plots in my middle grade, and more character-driven in my YA books. 

4. What is a book you've read recently that you can't stop recommending? 

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? By Maria Semple. A lovely, well, dramedy that’s for adults, but I totally recommend to teens as well. 

5. Describe the Castle Glower series in 5 words. 

Magic castle loves its princess.

Jessica Day George is the author of many novels including the Princess series, Dragon Slippers series and of course the Castle Glower series. 
You can visit her at her website http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/

This is a Middle Grade Monday Post feel free to link your middle grade reviews/news below :) 

(doesn't have to be posted on a Monday)

Stuff I Got This Week

For review:

Truth or Dare - Jacqueline Green

It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin “Angel” Thomas to prove she’s more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn’t even there; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they’re forced to play along—or risk exposing their darkest secrets. 

 How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from surfacing? And who’s behind this twisted game?

I also got two copies of If He Had Been with Me for my giveaway here.

That's what I got this week. What did you all get?

Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

Where I got it: Movie Theater
Rating: 4 stars 
Rating: Rated PG-13
Run Time: 2 hour 22 minutes

I adore Baz Luhrmann and this movie only grew my love for him more. It's funny, I expected this movie to be a lot more fantastical than it was. Usually there is lots of extra silliness in a Luhrmann film(close-ups, sound effects), but this one was toned down. It was more fitting for the novel I guess. A bit disappointing, but still okay.

The reason the movie ranked higher than the book for me is two main reason. First, there was none of that Nick Carraway dithering on bits. Second, When I can see people talking I know who is talking and I don't have to re-read the same chapter ten times to figure out who's talking. Both of those things made me like this movie a lot more.

This seems like an easy book to film adaptation to be able to follow the book. I mean, it only takes a couple of hours to read the book anyways. For the most part the film followed the book nicely. There were a few things that were done differently and some were okay while others I didn't like. When Nick shows up to Gatsby's first party there is a strange guy pulling Jordan away from him the whole time. It seemed to set up a connection between Nick and Jordan that didn't happen again in the film. It was a bit strange but okay.

One thing that drove me a little crazy was the "Old Sport" thing. In the film it sounded like "Old Spore". Why? Why was DiCaprio pronouncing it like that. It's probably the way that it's supposed to be pronounced, but there is a "t" in there! I hate it...I don't care if it's correct I still hate it.

I enjoyed this movie though and if you are looking for a book to film adaptation that works, check this one out.

Review: The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Where I got it: My collection
Rating: 3.5 stars  
Cover Rating: 2 stars (Looks like a boring classic.)
Genre: Adult
Publication Date: 1953/1925
Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons
Page Count: 182 p.
Buy it: Book Depository | Indie | Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

I don't feel like I need to write a summary for this novel, because you either have read this or are not going to.

Nick Carraway was an interesting character, not a great writer though. His story jumped around a lot and sometimes it was confusing about how these random events fit together. (I suppose this is really Fitzgerald's doing, but I feel they could be one in the same.) Beginning of chapter four lists a bunch of names for quite a few too many pages. I understand that it's supposed to show all the various types that attended Gatsby's parties, but it just seemed dreadfully boring to me. They weren't even really people, so it didn't really seem all that important. I did love picture Gatsby's parties and his huge house. Gatsby and Nick were such real people. Even though Gatsby was very mysterious about his past, his present was endearing. You could hear the emotion in his words, even if he was cool.

There was plenty to like about this novel and I liked all those bits. There were a few slow parts though and a few parts I just didn't understand. Maybe a second read through will make things more coherent. Luckily this is a short novel, so it's one that you can stop and re-read parts of without taking a very long time to finish it. It was an enjoyable read for the most part.

Gatsby. He was a unique fella and so in love. So crazily, stupidly in love. I feel so awful for Gatsby. He tried so hard. He felt so much. In the end things don't always work out for people who may deserve it, even when the ungrateful hordes dance in the sun. That's what I took away from this novel. Is rich people get richer, while the poor get poorer. It doesn't matter if it's money of life. There are always grateful people and ungrateful people. Dreamers and those content to have life always be the same. We need those dreamers though, otherwise we wouldn't have any inventions and still just be cavemen.

I won't say much more; Gatsby is Gatsby. This novel is definitely worth the read, if only so you know that book that people mention now and again when they are trying to sound sophisticated. Who knows, maybe you'll love it...

First Line:
"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind since."

Favorite Line:
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Giveaway: If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

As some of you may have read yesterday in my review of this book, I loved it. Absolutely and completely. So I bought two extra copies and I want to give them to you my dear readers. I want to spread the story of Autumn and Finn. So simply Enter Here and you will have a chance to win one of 2 copies of this lovely novel. There will also be some swag to go with it...I'll post more about that later. The giveaway is open to anyone on Earth and will run until the last day of May.

For an extra entry please answer below with the title of the last book that made you cry or (for those of you too tough to cry) the last story that you fell in love with completely.

Review: If He Had Been With Me - Laura Nowlin

Where I got it: Netgalley
Rating: 5 stars  
Cover Rating: 5 stars (It's a great cover.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: April 1, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Page Count: 330 p.
Buy it: Book Depository | Indie | Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Finn and Autumn were the best of friends until middle school. That's when they seemed to grow apart. Finn was with the popular crowd and Autumn was with the not-so-popular crowd. Their moms were still friends and they were still neighbors, so they saw each other most days. Autumn has Jaime now and they have been going out for practically forever. So what if she feels a pang in her chest when she looks at Finn. She's happy with her new friends and her new life...right?

Love this book. This will most likely be my favorite for the year. Laura Nowling just gets it. Everything is just completely brilliant in this novel. The characters are totally great and the story is heartbreaking and just so honest. "I want to savour this wonder, this happening of loving a book and reading it for the first time, because the first time is always the best, and I will never read this book for the first time ever again." She also totally gets being a reader. It always draws me into the book when the character is a big reader too.

Finn and Autumn were the best characters. I always wanted a friend like Finn. I wanted that kind of easy friendship where the line between two people is blurred. It was devastating to me to see them not together. I could feel the pull in Autumn's chest each time she saw Finn. Even though she was happy with her other friends and Jaime, she wasn't as happy as she could be. Her heart still wanted more. It crazy how such a small little thing could drive people apart without them even realizing why. A simple miscommunication and two lives are left incomplete. It's awful, but I'm sure it happens all the time.

Jaime was an okay character. I think I loved Finn too much to really give Jaime a chance. It seemed a little bit mean at times, but nothing too bad. He just wasn't a good fit for Autumn's eccentricity. Their little group seemed to function like any group of friends and they all seemed to work okay together.

The only bit that I wasn't crazy about is when we read Autumn's story that she wrote. She was supposedly this really wonderful author, but the story was fairly juvenile. It wasn't bad it was just kind of basic and plain.

This book is everything I want my realistic fiction to be. Just beautiful and honest. I knew how it was going to end early one, you kind of know from the first few pages. Regardless, you are still wishing and hoping that the outcome isn't what it seems to be. It was awful in a good way—in a I don't ever want this book to end kind of way. It made me laugh, it made me bawl my eyes out, it made my chest hurt and it made me close the book and immediately want to pick it up and start from the very beginning. It made me feel everything as if it was my own story.

First Line:
"I wasn't with Finny on that August night, but my imagination has burned the scene in my mind so that it feels like a memory."

Favorite Lines:
"No one is perfect."

"'I think we're supposed to experience as much beauty as we can.'"

"The icy wind burns through my gloves and my fingers ache until they fall numb and silent."

"I can feel them in my mouth like three smooth pebbles."

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books dealing with tough subjects...

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
A very interesting take on the story of a suicide. Let's you into a troubled mind that just wanted a kind person to take notice and help them. 

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides 
I really enjoyed this novel and I liked the whole premise. This novel shows that there is always more to the story and that appearances can be deceiving. 

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams (my review)
A fictional inside look at cult life. It's heartbreaking to think about this going on. 

Scars by Cheryl Rainfield (my review)
A lot of raw emotion in this read. A great glimpse into the mind of a troubled teenager.

Cut by Patricia McCormick
This was one of my favorite books in middle/high school. I just felt like Patricia McCormick know exactly what it felt like to be a teen. It made me feel less alone.

Lark by Tracey Porter (my review)
This was a beautifully tragic story about a young girl being murdered and two girls trying to come to terms with it. 

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
A story from the perspective of a girl who was kidnapped years ago and has been living with the terrible person who took her. Totally horrifying and heart-wrenching. 

Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Weiss
A girl's sexually abusive father is let out of prison early, so she still lives at home and has to deal with the new circumstances of his release. 

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown (my review)
A realistic look at how a teen girl can be sucked into an abusive relationship without hardly realizing what happened. 

But I Love Him by Amanda Grace (my review)
A teenage girl finds herself in a very abusive relationship and looks back on how she got here. 

Well, now I'm thoroughly depressed...

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Middle Grade Monday

Middle Grade Monday is a feature started right here at Reading Nook. It's a way to share news or reviews of middle grade novels on a blog that doesn't exclusively post middle grade content. Feel free to join any time and link up. 

This week I want to share with you a book I'm super excited about: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson.

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings — merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles. 

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing — kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery — one that will change Rithmatics — and their world — forever.

This is a Middle Grade Monday Post feel free to link your middle grade reviews/news below :) 

(doesn't have to be posted on a Monday)

Stuff I Got This Week

Bought:

If He Had Been With Me - Laura Nowlin 

(Already read and adored this novel. Review and giveaway are coming later this week!)

Unnatural Creatures - stories selected by Neil Gaiman

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck

The Unidentified - Rae Mariz

Modelland - Tyra Banks

The last three were only around $3.00 a piece, so I couldn't resist giving them a try. 

So that's what I got this week. What did you all get?

The Great Gatsby | How things change as you get older

 So you might have all heard about this little movie that came out yesterday called The Great Gatsby. I remember that it was assigned reading in school and I hated it. It could have been because it was assigned reading and I hated being told what to read, but I never finished it. Since then I have never picked it up to re-read it because I thought I hated it.

Then, I hear that Baz Lurhmann has a new film coming out and it's a remake of The Great Gatsby. I was torn because I have this memory of completely despising the book, but I love Baz Luhrmann movies. I decided I might as well watch it. Then recently the soundtrack came out and I quite enjoy the direction it seems this movie will go in.

Anyways, so I started re-reading The Great Gatsby and strange because thus far I am actually enjoying it. I am only about a chapter into it, but I find myself very much enjoying the voice. This whole story is just a friendly reminder that if you didn't like a book in high school and it's been a fair handful of years, you might want to try it again because it might surprise you (it also might still just be terrible). So if you haven't already watched this movie and it's been awhile since you read the book and didn't like it. Maybe you should give it another shot.

Nail Art Friday

So ever since Mandee from Vegan Ya Nerds started The Bookish Manicurist blog, I've been thinking of great book to nail designs. I thought I'd give it a whirl and post what I come up with here. It's a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I don't know how she does it so often and has it look amazing. Maybe I'll get there too. I really love nail polish and have a ton of it, so this should be fun. For my first nail art, I have decided to represent Icons by Margaret Stohl.

For the background I used the Maybelline and then sponged on a mixture of the other two with a foundation sponge.

These were used to write "Icons" and add cracks.

I used the nail art pen for the lightning and the others for
the dots. I finished it all of with Seche Vite.

Review: Icons - Margaret Stohl

Where I got it: ARC from publisher
Rating: 4.5 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (I appreciate that it's gender neutral.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Page Count: 429 p.
Buy it: Book Depository | Indie | Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Dol lives in the countryside with her best friend Ro and their Padre. They were both rescued by the Padre after The Day. The Day when the Icons came from the sky and many people died. They live in the country to escape the Icons and their influence over all things electrical (even a person's electricity). Life is guarded but nice, until they come for Dol. One day they show up; guns fire and Dol is taken. She ends up on a train going to the Hole (what used to be Los Angeles). She doesn't know what they want from her and she's not really sure what she is. She may find out soon enough what power she holds though and she'll have to figure out who to trust and what she must do.

Fantastic. I was a little nervous that this was going to be disappointing. I don't know why, but I thought it just wouldn't be that good. It was amazing. Lots of excitement and secrets and world building. Just great.

Dol and Ro were very much a case of opposites attracting. Ro was full of a firey anger and Dol was his calming force. I loved how they played off of each other. Lucas, Lucas, Lucas. I'm still not sure how I feel about him. I fear the love triangle that will inevitably arise in the next book. Lucas is a very complex character and I haven't quite made out what I should think of him. I think he's going to be different in the next book seeing as how this book concludes. Tima is a great character, a bit prickly, but willing to do what is right. The four of them make a mis-matched but great team. And I can't leave out the Doc. I wished that his name wasn't explained, because I caught it right away and thought it would be a nice little Easter Egg for those paying attention. Of well. He had some unexpected actions and it was easy to forget that he was an AI. I also really like the Merk.

The world that Margaret Stohl created is a bit terrifying. The idea that these alien monoliths can stop you dead in your tracks whenever they feel like it is awful. It would be terrible to live in constant fear of instant death. Everyone seemed to be on edge and it's completely understandable. Really it makes me uncomfortable thinking about the control that certain people have over our lives now—this is nearly unfathomable.

I loved all the propaganda flyers that are interspersed throughout the novel. I loved the layout of this novel in general. They're were the e-mails in between chapters and Doc's autopsy reports. These added this nice other layer to the novel, some outside information beyond the narrative. I found all these extra tidbits completely delightful.

This book had plenty of action and though some things were obvious, other things still need to be figured out. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up as soon as you get a chance. It's a fantastic read that you most likely won't want to put down. I can not wait until the next book comes out so I can dive right back into the Icon Troupes' next mission.

First Line:
"One tiny gray dot, no bigger than a freckle, marks the inside of the baby's chubby arm."

Favorite Line:
"Her halo is the sky."

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books when you need something light & fun

Georgia Nicolson (series) - Louise Rennison (my review)

Babe in Boyland - Jody Gehrman (my review)

Scott Pilgrim (series) - Bryan Lee O'Malley (my review)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart (my review)

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (series) - Maryrose Wood (my review)

43 Old Cemetery Road (series) - Kate & Sarah Klise (my review)

Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins (my review)

The DUFF - Kody Keplinger (my review)

Sparks - S.J. Adams (my review)

Bloodthirsty - Flynn Meaney (my review)

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Middle Grade Monday| Review: Destiny, Rewritten - Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Middle Grade Monday is a feature started right here at Reading Nook. It's a way to share news or reviews of middle grade novels on a blog that doesn't exclusively post middle grade content. Feel free to join any time and link up. 

Where I got it: ebook from library

Rating: 4.5 stars  

Cover Rating: 4 stars (Lots of fun. I don't remember there being a cat though.)

Genre: Middle Grade

Publication Date: February 19, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Page Count: 176 p.

Buy it: Book Depository | Indie | Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

Emily's destiny is set in stone. Her mother named her after the famous poet, Emily Dickinson, and she says that Emily's destined to be a great poet. The only problem is that Emily doesn't really care much for poetry; she doesn't get it. She wants a different destiny. When she accidentally loses her baby book (a book full of Dickinson poems that her mother wrote all the important information in) she finds out just how much control destiny holds over her life and what she can change.

This was such a fun novel. I loved Emily. Her mother was totally pleasant and a little strange which was excellent. I loved following Emily while she tried to discover where her book went. This was a great tale about how destiny plays a part in our lives.

The characters were one of the best parts of this book. Each one of them just came to life and they were very fun. The voice for this novel was great too. Emily jumped around with her focus just like a real person would. Her adventures were much more fun through her eyes than they might be if they were written differently.

Whether or not you believe that we are controlled by destiny, this is a complete delight of a book. The characters are fun and just a tad quirky. I hadn't read anything from Kathryn Fitzmaurice before, but I'm glad that this one caught my eye.

First Line:
"My destiny was decided in a secondhand bookstore the day before I was born when my mother, Isabella, found a book of poems."

Favorite Line:
"I'll make it a scientific poem and entitle it 'Scattered Nothingness' if you want."

This is a Middle Grade Monday Post feel free to link your middle grade reviews/news below :) 

(doesn't have to be posted on a Monday)

Stuff I Got This Week

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

Chains - Laurie Halse Anderson

What I Didn't Say - Keary Taylor

Love in the Time of Global Warming - Francesca Lia Block

Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything—her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy.

Openly Straight - Bill Konigsberg

Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write. And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. 

And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time. So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben...who doesn't even know that love is possible.

So that's what I got this week. What did you all get?

Review: Rebel Fire - Andrew Lane

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4.5 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Much better.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Square Fish
Page Count: 342 p.
Buy it: Book Depository | Indie | Amazon
Add it: Goodreads
Sequel to: Death Cloud

Sherlock solved one puzzle only to be thrust into a new one. Now, Sherlock hears that John Wilkes Booth is alive and in England. He hears there's a conspiracy afoot, since Sherlock's brother has asked Amyus Crowe to attend to the matter. Sherlock can't resist going to the house he supposedly inhabits and trying to gain a peak at this infamous assassin. Unfortunately, that's where things start to go wrong.  Sherlock gets into a heap of trouble and my have to travel across the Atlantic to get himself back out of it.

Can I just start by mentioning how disgusting leeches are. You may be thinking to yourself "Britt, what do leeches have to do with this book review?". In which I would reply..."Everything". The UK title of this book is Red Leech and that is what this story opens with. A huge, fat, disgusting, blood-sucking leech. If you're still with me though let me say that regardless of that quite gross beginning (and middle-ish ends bits) this book was just as amazing as the first.

Sherlock is a magnet for trouble and is inquisitive by nature and those things just don't mix well for a person. He is constantly inserting himself where he doesn't belong. Even though he often makes the mess in the first place, he is always eager to help clean up. Which makes him a good character that you don't have to hate for being so troublesome.

This series is just a lot of fun and this novel caused my heart pound a bit because I just wasn't sure how they were going to get out of some of the situations. I mean, obviously Sherlock will survive, because there are more books and he becomes an adult, but Matty and Virginia's fates aren't so secure. Read this series. Now. Seriously, you won't regret it.

First Line:
"James Hillager thought he was hallucinating when he first saw the giant leech."

Favorite Line:
"'That isn't a logical course of action. Just Give in; it'll be easier and less painful.'
'You promised me that before,' Sherlock panted, 'and you lied.'"

Review: Peanut - Ayun Halliday & Paul Hoppe

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 3.5 stars  
Cover Rating: 5 stars (I quite enjoy this.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: December 26, 2012
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
Page Count: 216 p.
Buy it: Book Depository | Indie | Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Sadie wants to start over when she goes to her new school. She wants things to be different, wants to be noticed. So, she makes up an allergy to peanuts. Seems easy enough to fool people at first, but what about all the little things that come from having an allergy? Like an epi-pen and you know, not eating peanuts. Sadie certainly has her work cut out for her with this deception and when she finally decides maybe she should come clean it's so much harder since too much time has passed. Sadie's about to find out the cost of lying to be interesting.

This was a great story. The overall message is: if you lie, you will be caught and you will die (of embarrassment). It may seem like a preachy message, but it's true and it was such a great story. Sadie was pretty bad at having a peanut allergy. I guess it would be a bit tricky without the constant threat of DEATH looming over you. A fake allergy is significantly less worrisome for the person faking it, but seems much more stressful for everyone else.

Sadie was just a typical girl, trying to fit in and stand out all at the same time. She didn't want to become a wallflower, so she needed that extra push. This story is a great reflection of growing up and moving a lot. She tried to keep in touch with her old life, but it's hard. People change, especially in the middle/high school years. Everyone is trying to find themselves and this story really reflects that.

This was a great graphic novel. I enjoyed the illustrations. They were mostly black and white with hints of salmon woven in. If you like stories about growing up or being the new kid, check this one out.

First Line:
"No one at my old school knew about my peanut allergy..."

Favorite Line:
"Have fun with your shallow, homophobic friends!"