Poems and Poets

                                                              Publication Date: February 28th, 2017 Genre: Young Adult, My Goodreads Rating: 5/5 Source: Own Copy Starr Carter attends a fancy suburban prep school. She has friends who live in suburbia and spend hundreds of dollars on clothes and makeup. Starr can't afford that. Starr goes home to a poor neighborhood, where tragedy seems to be the norm. The balance she's managed to strike between her two worlds is shattered when tragedy befalls her community again. Starr witnesses a policeman shoot her childhood friend, Khalil. He was unarmed. Now his death is making headlines around the country. People are calling him a drug dealer, a gangbanger and so many other things. The cops try to intimidate Starr. The local drug lord tries to intimidate Starr's family. All the while, sh...

Hey guys- it's that time of year again! Those of you who've been around for a while will know exactly what I'm talking about- Sue Jackson's Big Book Summer Challenge! What is the challenge? Every year, she hosts a challenge which encourages participants to read books over 400 pages. For those of us who're in school, reading large books over the course of the year can be a slow process. Working parents may also share in this struggle. Sue relegates her big reading to the summer- and all participants follow her at least partially. I've participated in this challenge for three years already- and I'm really glad to be joining Sue for my fourth year! You guys should consider joining as well, even if you don't have a blog. You can check out all the details by visiting her blog or Goodreads page.

I only signed up for 3 challenges this year- and unfortunately I'm not doing so well with any of them! I signed up for the "Travelling the World with Books" Challenge, hosted by Mom's Small Victories. The book encourages you to read books set in different countries. So far, I've read books set in 12 countries. (All links go back to my reviews) Mali : Blood and Ink by Stephen Davies Italy: The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone Heist Society by Ally Carter The 12 Dares of Christa by Marissa Burt Australia: Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta Germany: Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas Smoke and Ashes by Barbara Rogasky Brazil: The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone United States of America: Back Home by Michelle Magorian Far From the Tree by Robin Benway Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson The Escape Artist by Di...

Publication Date: 26th September 2017 Genre: Historical Fiction My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Source: Publisher (Through Edelweiss) Daughter of a well-respected General, Elizabeth Schuyler is well-versed in the standards of social etiquette. Her family often entertains officers and messengers, but none of them leave as much of an impression as her future husband. Alexander Hamilton, soldier and aide to General George Washington, causes Elizabeth's heart to flutter and never really leaves her heart. She courts Alexander briefly and they marry quickly. Amidst the chaos of the American Revolution, Eliza and Alexander find time for their ever-growing family. After the war, Hamilton finds himself devoting more time to work and less to his health, as he becomes an essential part of the government. Hidden from the public eye, Eliza manages the house-hold, calms her husband and helps to stabilize her family. In the capital, she entertains regularly, socializing with the wives of ...

"It's Monday! What Are You Reading?" is hosted every week by Kathryn @ Book Date. I'm trying to update you guys every week regardless of how much I've read- but I'm happy to report that I got in a decent amount of reading this week! I finished reading "I, Eliza Hamilton" by Susan Holloway Scott- a historical fiction I received through Edelweiss. The book doesn't come out till late September, so you'll have to wait awhile for my review. I also finished reading "Nothing" by Annie Barrows, another review book I received through Edelweiss. I didn't enjoy this book as much, but it got much better around the end. I am currently reading "Running Full Tilt by Michael Currinder- you guessed it- yet another review book! I'm loving this one much more than I expected to, and my review should be out sometime in August. I'm quite happy with this progress, especially since this week was my first week of school! Le...

Hey everyone! I'm linking up with Kathryn@Book Date again this week to share an update of my reading week with you. I finished reading " The Gallery of Unfinished Girls" by Lauren Karcz - a young adult book I received for review from HarperCollins through Edelweiss. I finished reading  "The Secret History of Us" by Jessi Kirbi - another YA book I received for review through Edelweiss. You can expect my review by 30th July 2017.  I'm (still) currently reading "I, Eliza Hamilton" by Susan Holloway Scott - a historical fiction about Alexander Hamilton's wife, another Edelweiss review copy. (This counts as a Big Book for Sue's challenge) I began reading "Nothing" by Annie Barrows , (Review copy) a story about young book lovers that has me really intrigued. I haven't had much time for regular reading this week, but next week I hope to pick up  "The Dream Thieves" by Maggie Stiefvater.  I hop...

I actually got a decent amount of reading in this week- because I was travelling by train, which gave me a lot of time to read (12 hours)! I'm linking up with Kathryn @ Book Date for this post- thanks for hosting every week! This week I finished reading " The Raven Boys " by Maggie Stiefvater . It's the first in the trilogy, and counts as one of my "Big Books" for the summer challenge. It's an interesting story, but I'm looking forward to the second book because I've heard that it's the best in the series. I also finished reading " Unbecoming" by Jenny Downham . This was also one of my Big Books this summer. I loved this story- it was written extremely well and presented great points of view. Another book I finished this week was "This is Where it Ends " by Marieke Nijkamp . I've been meaning to read this book for an extremely long time- and I'm so glad I finally did. I was crying by the end of ...

Publication Date : March 1st 1997 Genre: Adult Fiction, Mystery-Thriller My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Source:  Own Copy Susanna Miller has just lost custody of her beautiful eleven-month-old son, Tyler, but there is no way she is giving him away. Her ex-husband Jimmy and his new wife, Peggy, may be able to offer Tyler financial stability, but they will never be able to replace her motherly lvoe. Susanna leaves Boulder, Colorado as a fugitive, who has defied the law to stay close to her son. She doesn't say goodbye to anyone, including the man she has always loved.  Linc Sebastian has been her neighbor and confidante since she was a school-girl. She realized her love for him after her divorce. But confiding in him now poses too much of a threat to Tyler's safety. She hides herself in Annapolis, Maryland and finds herself drawn to a troubled artist. When Susanna encounters evidence that could save lives, she debates approaching the police and revealing her identity ove...

Every year, Sue @ Book by Book hosts a "Big Book Summer Reading Challenge" and this will be the third year that I am signing up for it!   The aim of the challenge is to read at least one "Big Book". Any book that has over 400 pages qualifies as one of these books. The challenge isn't restrictive at all- you can decide which books you want to read, how many books you want to read, and when you want to read them! The challenge spans the entire summer, beginning on Memorial Day Weekend and ending on Labour Day.    I'm signing up so late because I've been travelling the past week, but I'm glad that Sue allows people to sign up at any time over the summer! If you'd like to participate but don't have a blog, you can visit Sue's blog where she leaves instructions stating how you can do so through Goodreads or a blog comment.    I took advantage of my travel time and decided to start reading a Big Book before I even wrote my sign-up post....

Hello everyone! I'm back with another IMWAYR post. This meme is hosted by unleashingreaders.com and teachmentortexts.com . I didn't blog about my reading week last week because I felt it was quite uneventful. However, this week I have a little more to share, so let's get right into the post.

Publication Date: January 1st 2009 Genre: Historical Fiction My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Source:  Own Copy Hello everyone! Today, I'm going to be reviewing "Raiders from the North" by Alex Rutherford. It is the first book in her "Empire of the Moghul" series, and revolves around the life of the first Mughal emperor, Babur.  Babur became king of Ferghana at the young age of 12, following the death of his father. From the moment of his coronation till his last few breaths, Babur's life was one of danger, ambition, courage and war. He lost control of his lands several times, but came back to build an empire in India ( that was previously known as Hindustan).  The book takes us through the long journeys that Babur undertook as a child, and shows us his growth from a King to an Emperor, and from a warrior to a leader.  Rutherford tells her tale as a narrative from the third person point-of-view, and creates fictional characters along the way. Most of the...

Hey everyone! I'm back with another reading update for IMWAYR. This meme is hosted by unleashingreaders.com and teachmentortexts.com . I've had quite a good reading week, and I've made good progress with my reading challenges as well.  I finished reading " The Leaving " by Tara Altebrando . I loved the book. It was different, thrilling and suspenseful. Look out for a review of this book soon. This book was 432 pages, and therefore counts for my Big Book Challenge, which ends on September 5th this year.

Hello everyone! I'm back with another IMWAYR* post. It's been a while since my last reading update- and I've read a lot of books since then. I'm just going to write about this last week though.  I finished reading " United as one " by Pittacus Lore, the last book in the Lorien Legacies. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, but it was quite gripping, and a good ending to the series. This book was more than 400 pages, and so it counted for my  The Lorien Legacies are one of the only series I've ever read about aliens- but it did feel quite like a normal series after the first book.   I also finished reading " Cards on the Table" by Agatha Christie . I'm absolutely loving it so far, and I think it may be one of my favourite Christie novels! I'm currently reading " Brothers at War " by Alex Rutherford . It's the second book in "The Moghul Empire" series, and it's about Humayun. I'm enjoying...

 Hey everyone! I'm back with another IMWAYR post. As you all know, I've recently come back from a trip to Singapore. That has slowed down the number of posts I've been publishing, but the flights gave me an opportunity to read another Big Book for the Big Book Challenge.   I finished reading "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown , the third book in the Robert Langdon series, and I quite enjoyed it. The book was fast-paced, and full of suspense. Science and symbology were more prominent in this book than Christianity, although religion was one of the major themes as well. I'd recommend this series to anyone who likes mystery, and is able to keep up with sudden twists and changes. Look out for a review of this book soon!

Hello everyone! I'm back with an extremely short IMWAYR* post. I've been in Singapore, and between sight-seeing and spending time with my family I haven't had much time to read. I still thought that I should update you on my reading, since I missed the last post. This week, I started one book and finished another. * This meme is hosted by teachmentortexts.com and unleashingreaders.com

 Publication Date: March 18th 2003 Genre: Thriller, Suspense My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Source:  Own Copy Hey guys! I'm back with another update for my Big Book Challenge of 2016. This challenge is hosted by Bookbybook. If you're unsure of what it is- you can check it out here.   The first Big Book I read was "Inferno" by Dan Brown*. Someone had gifted it to me- and I started reading it without realizing that it was part of a series- the Robert Langdon series.  Inferno was in fact the fourth book in the series. Fortunately, my parents had the 2nd and 3rd books at home already, so I found two more big books to read this summer. "The Da Vinci Code " is the 2nd book in the series.

Hey everyone! I finished reading Dan Brown's "Inferno" a few days ago. It was my first "Big Book" of the Summer. If you are unsure about The Big Book Challenge, you can read my blog post here , or check out Bookbybook's description. Publication Date: May 14th 2013 Genre: Thriller, Science-Fiction My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Source:  Own Copy If you hadn't guessed already, Dan Brown's Inferno revolves around Dante's Inferno. The story is about a Harvard Professor and a young doctor as they run from governments for reasons unknown to them.   The story is a blend between science fiction, action and adventure. Merged with countless tales of European History, Inferno truly is an exciting read.  The book begins in a hospital, and continues through monumental settings. As the characters are introduced to the reader, audiences have a lot of time to speculate about the cause for hospitalization and the events that follow. Nothing is known to the re...

Hey everyone! I'm participating in BookbyBook 's Big Book Challenge again this year! I participated last year, and I read 8 big books last year! I don't expect to read that many this year, but I do want to read at least 2. The reason I read so many last year was because I was reading Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series- and all of them classified as Big Books.  I'll kick off the challenge this year, by reading Dan Brown's Inferno. The copy I have is around 600 pages, but the regular version is 461 pages- so it does classify as a Big Book.  Look out for reviews on the Big Books I read- but don't expect them next week. I'm quite sure it'll take me a while to read Inferno.  This post was just to inform you of my participation in the challenge. You can click the annotation "Bookbybook's" you see above to participate in the challenge as well. You only need to read one book of 400 + pages from May 27 to September 5th. That's m...

Hey! I'm writing my last post about the big book summer challenge this year. I have read a total of  8 big books. They are: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Book Thief by Markus Zusak City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare City of Glass by Cassandra Clare City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare My longest big book this year was 733 pages. My shortest however, was 416 pages!! I think I did well, this being my first year. I think the only reason I read so many big books this summer is because I was enthralled by Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, of which each book is at least 400 pages. I only hope to read this many books next year. If you are interested, you can sign up for the big book challenge next year. I can assure you that I will !

Hey! I'm writing yet another post about the Big Book Summer challenge. I have read so many " big books" this summer, most of which you know about. I've read Death on the Nile, Pride and Prejudice, The Book Thief, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, and I'm currently reading City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare.    I'm so close to finishing the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. I read the prequel trilogy, the Infernal Devices based on someone's recommendation, and decided to try the main series. After reading City of Bones earlier this year, I have picked up book after book. I've loved all the books, though I have to say that I loved City of Glass and City of Fallen Angels the most. I can't say anything for sure until I finish City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly Fire, the last two books in this amazing series.    I have read 6 big books this summer!!! I think that's a great achievement. I probably read the s...