Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Game of Thrones + A Clash of Kings

Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin.

American Gods

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I didn't hate this book, but it wasn't my favorite. The premise was interesting, but due to the vague nature of the main character (this was done on purpose), I don't think I was really able to feel get behind him in his journey.

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier

Poison Study

Poison Study by Maria Snyder

Room

Room by Emma Donoghue

Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

I really liked this book. It was incredibly thoughtful, and not just about Asberger's Syndrome, but about real life issues and conflicts.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Children of Men

The Children of Men by PD James

Unwind

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Shadow of the Wind

Summer time is finally here! That means I can begin to read again. The first was a book that I had tried to read while still in school, which was a massive failure, of course. "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon began relatively slowly for me - I wasn't quite hooked from the start. I must say I did enjoy it a lot, though, as once I finally started reading again about a day ago, I became pretty determined to finish it as soon as possible. It is definitely a novel. A lot of adventure, intrigue, romance. I can't say this book is life-changing for me, but I did really enjoy reading it. Though, I don't mean that it was an empty adventure - it's a complex novel and I didn't feel like I was reading anything empty. A good book to start off this summer! It's wonderful to sink back into imaginary worlds again. I feel like I was unable to do that for the majority of this semester, sadly.

Suite Francaise

I managed to finish this before school begins again. I really enjoyed this book. The second appendix is so hard to read - and by that I mean painful because of its content (not because it was technically tricky). The fictional parts were great as well, though sometimes I found myself needing to push onwards to finish. WWII novels can be so difficult to read. I will never be able to understand how someone could inflict so much pain on so many people.

Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky

Stardust

I wasn't supposed to read. I have a lot of schoolwork and work to finish during this holiday break, so I purposely prohibited myself from reading. Unfortunately, I have a fresh stack of used books in the corner of my room that were given to me for Christmas and I was too tempted. It started as a way to pass time as I waited for Sketchup to stop being temperamental. And Stardust is not a difficult read, so I managed to get through about half the book this way. I ultimately stopped working and just finished the book. It was not bad. I enjoyed the plot and the final sentence in the book was so hauntingly sad and beautiful that it pushed the book, in my mind, into the "good" category. That being said, the characters were not very well developed. I watched the movie long ago and watched it a second time recently and I really enjoy the movie. In fact, the characters are better developed in the movie and if it hadn't been for that fact, I think I would have enjoyed the book less. The storyline in the book differs from that in the movie and I like that aspect, to some degree. Overall, it was a pleasant read. This type of fantasy novel always appeals to my romantic (in the nostalgic sense), imaginative side.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Thirteen Reasons Why

This was a very fast read. I'm pretty satisfied with the way the book dealt with the topic of suicide- I was afraid it would be kind of one sided, with blame falling on one side rather than another. In the end though, there's plenty of blame to share amongst all of the characters. It's an interesting book.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath. It's interesting because her madness doesn't seem too unusual. It seems like a very approachable madness, if that makes sense. And that's kind of creepy.

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath