If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Where I got this book: Walmart

Why I read it: I saw another review on it from a different blogger and added it to my TBR List.

Rating: A






Blurb from the back of the book:

Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, adoring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. Then, in an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left--the most important decision she'll ever make. 
Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving. 




When I first started this book, I didn't like it. I thought it was TOO "young adult-ish" for me, and TOO unreal. As I kept reading it, I was feeling that way a little bit more. Then, one day I happened to see on the top corner of the book that it said, "Will appeal to fans of Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT"-- USA Today. I didn't agree with it then, and I still don't agree with that.

As I kept reading the book, I was getting more and more into it. As I got to the middle of the book, it was really hard for me to put it down. I kept reading and reading. I'd set the book down to get something to eat, or to use the bathroom, and when I'd pick it back up, I'd say, "Whoa! How did I get this far!?"

I'm not really into the whole make-believe, paranormal type stuff, but this book is amazing. It makes you realize, or think about, "Does this kind of stuff REALLY happen?" Because, we will never know until when, or if, it does. This book has an incredible story line, with incredible characters that you find yourself routing for, and liking a whole lot.

I don't want to say too much about what happens to Mia in the book, because it's a mystery. All I can is that you'll find out the climax/big event right away, in the first chapter of the book. Now, some of you might think that this is too soon, and that the rest of the book would be boring, but that's not the case at all. The rest of the book just makes finding it out so soon that much more enjoyable.

I highly recommend this book to all Young Adult readers. If you haven't read this book yet, definitely read it! It's heart warming, heart breaking, romantic, funny, and amazing all put together. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I don't really have any complaints. I'm not too sure if I like the way the book ended though. I won't tell you what happens, but you'll be sitting there like, "REALLY!?" And it made me wonder if there was going to be a second book. I kept saying  "I sure hope so, because I want to hear what happens next for Mia and her boyfriend and the rest of her friends and family." And, after doing research on Gayle's website, I found out that there IS a second book!! It's called, "Where She Went", and it's going to be released in April!!!

Also, as a side note to those of you who have read this book, and/or will read it.. Did you know that Gayle Forman sold the rights over to a movie producer to make this book into a movie?? How cool is that!? It's the same people who bought the rights to Twilight.

I probably should talk more about the comment I said earlier. This book is not anywhere near the same type of story, or story line as Twilight, but on the romantic aspect of the story, I think that might be the only comparison.

I hope you all go out and get this book and read it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

My Rating:

Recovering Charles by Jason F. Wright

Title: Recovering Charles

Author: Jason F. Wright

Where I got it: Library

Why I read it: I read a review on someone elses blog about The Wednesday Letters that he also wrote, and I fell in love with him as an author, so I decided to read all of his other books as well.

Rating: A

First let me say that Jason F. Wright is an AMAZING author! He is a new found favorite of mine, and as with all of my new found favorite authors, I will read all of the books hes written. 

Jason F. Wright is the author of the book, The Wednesday Letters, which was the first book I read by him, and I did a review, which you can read HERE.

This book is about a "normal" family, with a "normal", "happy" life in the beginning, but as it sometimes happens in everyone’s life/families, things change quickly. Luke, the son to Charles, has to deal with his mother going into a deep, dark depression after her mother passes away, and the story unfolds into the childhood that Luke endured. As the story progresses, it changes to when Luke is older, and when Charles (Luke's Dad) becomes an alcoholic, and they lose their tight knit friendship quickly. Luke becomes a very successful photographer living in New York where he is surrounded by the love of close friends. One day he gets a phone call from a stranger, which basically changes his life. The stranger asks Luke to come find his estranged father in post-Katrina New Orleans. When Luke receives this phone call, it's a testament to finding out what kind of man he truly is; and who the man is that his father has become.

This story/book/novel is about finding forgiveness not only with yourself, but with others who have hurt you, or you've lost touch with, etc. It's about finding true love, and one's true self. This book should be read by every single person and/or family who has had rough times, for those of us who have regretted things never said, or things that were said, and for those who need to know their has a second verse. (Some of the words used here were taken from the inside flap of the book. I tried to put it in my own words as much as I could.)

As it was it, this book takes place in post-Katrina New Orleans. I didn’t personally experience this terribly tragedy, and Praise God that none of my family members or friends didn’t either. But by reading this book, it makes your heart break hearing some of the things that happened. I’m not entirely sure if Jason F. Wright actually experienced any of this himself, If he was a relief worker, or if he had family/friends down there, but the things that he explains in such great detail is astounding, yet scary and heart breaking. You find yourself crying for these people, and wishing you could do something for them, even though you’re reading just a story, and this event happened some time ago.

You will also find yourself routing for Luke. He has some issues of his own, about needing to forgive his father for the things that happened, needing to find him, alive or dead, and he is stuck trying to find true love. Luke is such a loveable character, even with his flaws, that you find yourself rooting for him from the very beginning.

Something that I absolutely loved about this book, it wasn’t predicting at all. Jason kept you guessing, changing your mind, and would throw in the littlest detail to make you say, “Or maybe not!” when you think you’ve figured out how the book was going to end. I won’t say what happens in the, end obviously, but I will say that it’s not predictable in the least. Another thing that I absolutely loved about this book was that it continuously talked about the love of music. Luke’s father was a huge music lover, and a saxophone player. The story frequently reminds us of the healing power that a good song can give us.

This may be considered a spoiler so please READ WITH CAUTION!!!!!! Charles wrote his own music in this story, and at the end of the book, there is a song that was written. It's got the lyrics, and the actual page of notes, if anyone knows how to play an instrument, and would like to follow and play. Also, you can go to www.recoveringcharles.com and hear the song being played. It's absolutely amazing, and beautiful.

This is probably one of the best books I've read this year. It was the book to get me out of my reading slump (finally) and one I would recommend to anyone. I enjoyed this book so immensely, that I want to go out and buy a copy to pass on to someone else, then when they return it, pass it on to yet another person, and/or, the first person I pass it on to, pass it on, etc.

It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me want to call up all of my family and friends just to tell them that I love them. We never know how long we've got left in this world, and this book teaches us just that, and that we should NEVER EVER go to bed angry. Resolve all issues/problems/concerns when they arise.

Please, go out and read this book ASAP. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

My Rating:

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay 

Author: Suzanne Collins

Where I got it: Library

Why I read it: It's the third book in The Hunger Games series, and I kept hearing about how good it was so I wanted to find out for myself.

Rating: A


Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding. 

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss. 

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost. (Summary from Goodreads)




First let me say that I thought this book was WAY better than the first two!!!! I absolutely LOVED this book!! It was entertaining, enjoyable, and I found myself wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next. I found myself with my jaw dropping numerous times through out the book, and those are the type of books that I like to read.


I think that if the first two books were even remotely as good as the third (and final!) book, then I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Just from this book alone, I'd recommend the series to someone so they could see how well this book is. 


The reason I'm giving this book an A is because it was suspenseful, interesting, and jaw dropping. Plus, towards the end of the book, it had me in tears!!! 


The only thing that I didn't like about it was the ending. I felt like the ending could have been detailed a little bit more, and that the Epilogue could have been written better. But, that doesn't make the rest of the book bad!


I do recommend this series, solely based on this third book. It was amazing!!!


My rating:

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Title: Safe Haven

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Why I read this book: Because Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors, and it's his newest book so of course I read it!

Where I got the book: I won it in a book blog contest!

Rating: A

Inside flap description: When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. Be even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her... a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathetic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards... and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

This was actually a really great book. At first I didn't think I liked it, and it took me a minute to get into, but I would definitely recommend it to everyone. I feel like Nicholas Sparks wrote this book a lot differently than he did his other books. While yes, this is still a romantic love story, it's not quite as "gushy" as his others have been. But, that doesn't take away from his story, or the way he wrote this particular book. The way the book is written is kind of like in parts. In the beginning you're told about her moving to Southport and not being very outgoing, then you've got the part where she briefly speaks about her past, then another happier part, and so on. We don't find out about what exactly the kind of past she had until well into the book, closer to the end. I'm not sure if i like this or not. It felt like it was backwards to me. The 'good' was first, then the 'bad' was second. Usually books have what happened bad happen in the beginning of the book, then the middle to end of the book is how they over come the struggle(s). But Sparks did it the total opposite, which made for an interesting book.

Apparently this book has already been sold to become a movie. I kept this in my mind as I was reading it and I basically kept picturing it has a mysterious, love story with a side of horror mixed in. That's pretty much how the book goes down.

It's heartwarming, and has a few funny parts, it'll make you smile, and you'll actually find yourself scared during parts of it too, wondering if the characters will escape the madness that they're going through. I do believe, however, that this is the first book that Sparks has written that hasn't made me cry. But! Don't get that confused with it being a bad book, because it's not at all. He still did a fantastic job writing it, even without the heartbreaking, sobbing and crying stuff that his other books have. But then again, maybe it's just me and I wasn't in the "crying mood". You be the judge if it's a tear jerker!

I highly recommend this book. I don't really have anything bad to say about it. It's a quick, sort of light, heartwarming, family loving, learning about your past and moving on book. I think you should go read it today!!

 

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

Title: The Wednesday Letters

Author: Jason F. Wright

Why I Read This Book: I read a review on this book on another blog, and I wanted to check it out!

Where I Got It: You'll never guess... the Public Library!

Rating: A

This book is about two older couples who own their own Bed and Breakfast, and the husband, Jack, has a brain tumor that he and his wife, Laurel, have to get through. They've got three children, Mathew, Malcolm and Samantha.

Jack and Laurel have been married for 39 years, and have what appears to be, the perfect marriage. They had the dream of opening up their own B&B someday, and luckily they were able to. One night while Jack and Laurel were in bed, Laurel was complaining of heartburn, but all of a sudden she was clutching her chest, and gasping for air. She was asking Jack for help, but he was incredibly weakened by his brain tumor that he could not help her. Sadly, she passed away. During their 39 years of marriage, Jack wrote a letter to Laurel every Wednesday. After Laurel took her last breath that night, Jack wrote his final Wednesday letter to Laurel, then tucked it away, laid down in bed next to his wife, putting his arms around her, and took his final breath as well. Their three children come together in the grieving process before the funeral and happen to stumble upon the boxes and boxes of Wednesday letters that their father and written to their Mother. As they were reading through the letters, they each found out something about their past that they hadn't known before, most of the secrets being a trying realization.

This book is about redemption, forgiveness, longing, remembering, grieving, and understanding that life is the hardest thing you'll ever life through, but with family, God, and friends, you can live through anything.

I personally thought this was a fantastic book. It was cute, funny, sad, heart warming and heart breaking. I found myself bawling like a little baby in some parts, laughing in others, and there are a lot of jaw dropping events as well. I highly HIGHLY recommend that you ALL add this book to your TBR pile/lists. To tell you how much I enjoyed this book, it's 280 pages long, and I finished it ONE day! Less than 12 hours. And the best part of the book... at least in the copy I had from the library, was an envelope that said "Epilogue" on it, and it was a letter. I won't tell you who wrote it, or what it said, but that was AWESOME! It was the perfect ending to a perfect story!

Please, if you've read this book, or when you do, let me know how you liked and/or disliked it!