The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody

Title: The Geography of Lost Things
Author: Jessica Brody
Pages: 458 pages
Release Date: October 2nd, 2018
Source: Hardcover from Simon Teen
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

After Ali’s father passes away, he leaves his one and only prized possession—a 1968 Firebird convertible—to his daughter. But Ali doesn’t plan on keeping it. Not when it reminds her too much of all her father’s unfulfilled promises. So when she finds a buyer three hundred miles up the Pacific coast willing to pay enough money for the car to save her childhood home, Ali can’t wait to get going. Except Ali has no idea how to drive a stick shift. But guess who does?

Ali’s ex-boyfriend, Nico. And Nico has other plans.

He persuades Ali that instead of selling the car, they should “trade up” the items they collect on their trip to eventually reach the monetary amount Ali needs. Agreeing with Nico’s crazy plan, Ali sets off on a unique adventure that is unlike anything she ever could have expected.

And it’s through Ali’s travels, through the strangers she meets and the things that they value—and why they value them—that Ali eventually comes to understand her father and how his life may not have been as easy and carefree as she previously thought. Because just like the seemingly insignificant objects Ali collects, not everything is exactly as it appears.

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**I received an unsolicited copy of this book from the publisher. This has not affected my opinion of the book.**

Road trip contemporary stories are my kryptonite. This book tickled my desire to read a cute contemporary story about a road trip but also delivered in other aspects. I despise how I initially thought this was going to be yet another "road trip romance book", fitting the mold of all the road trip contemporaries I had read in the past. Beyond the surface, it is so much more. In fact, this book is one of the strongest contemporaries I've ever read.

I love contemporaries that are good at being cute and romantic, but I also appreciate when they succeed in teaching me valuable life lessons. I mean, going on a road trip with your ex-boyfriend? Straight from the start, I knew this book was going to be juicy! However, I did not think I was going to tear up, much less feel any emotional attachment to the characters in this story.

The relationships in this book are fragile and complex. In fact, there were so many relationships that could have each had their own books written about them! Ali and her father, Ali and her mother, Ali and Nico, Nico and his mother... Too many to name! I cared for these characters' well-being and carried their emotional burdens with me as I read on. I found the ex-boyfriend, Nico, to be especially interesting because from the start of the story he's introduced as this mystery.

There are some really small details in this book that I appreciated and GOD, THEY MADE ME LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH MORE. The story is so well thought out and the author pays so much attention to details like the information she puts in at the beginning of each chapter. You're going to have to read the book to find out what I mean. As you can see, I'm trying really hard right now to keep the spoilers out of this review!

There are so many beautiful things about this book, but mostly the true beauty lies in the lessons and message the book imparts. Messages about forgiveness and finding value in things and in relationships. This book isn't your typical road trip YA. It will tug your emotional heartstrings and possibly make you see the world in a new way. Although this book is nearly 500 pages long, it didn't feel that long. It was fast-paced and it almost felt like I was embarking on the road trip with these characters.

I was really nitpicky with my rating, which is perhaps the only reason I didn't end up giving it a 5-star rating. The book alternates from present to past with flashbacks, but I often felt it quite confusing determining whether we were in the present or the past. But overall, this book exceeded my expectations and I couldn't recommend it more. Brody's writing is reminiscent of a Morgan Matson book, which is probably why I flew through this one. For you die-hard contemporary readers, you will devour this book. For those who haven't read much contemporary, this one would also be perfect to start out with.

From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

Title: From Twinkle, With Love
Author: Sandhya Menon
Pages: 328 pages
Release Date: May 22nd, 2018
Source: Hardback from the library
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Rating: 4/5 stars

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

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Update | Where I've Been + What I've Been Doing

Even though I know this a book blog, it always makes me really happy to be able to connect with my readers behind the screen. I haven't written an update post in a while, so here is my attempt at coming back from a semi-long hiatus to write a post about where I've been and what I've been doing. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Where I've Been

Since my last update post, I finally finished high school! I graduated on June 21st with my twin sister, Kristina. Right before graduation, I left to take a 10 day trip to Japan. Our first stop was the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. It had been on my bucket list to go to Japan for years now since I had been learning the Japanese language for three years now.

What I've Been Doing

This summer, I've been working two jobs to save up for college. I know I shouldn't have signed up for so many things, especially during the summer before I head to college, but I was interested in too many things to just settle with one! Ever have that moment in a store where you like the look of two things and can't decide what to get, so you buy both of them? 

Other than working, my off days have been super chill. I've spent them catching up on blog posts and hanging out with friends who I won't see in college. 

I've also started writing for a new website called Frolic. Frolic is an entertainment site with articles for booklovers by booklovers. It is meant to provide fun and intriguing articles about books and pop culture. I am so excited to be a contributor because lately I've been in a blogging slump and writing for them has encouraged me to be more creative and flamboyant. Earlier in June, I wrote an article about my favorite bookish tattoos from Instagram. Read it here! 

I have another article coming out today about books that will make you care about the environment. You can read it here! Finally, I was able to bridge the gap between my love for the environment and my love of books. 

I move in for college during the last week of August, so I'm trying to schedule a lot of content for you guys in the meantime. However, as college comes around the corner you will be hearing less of me throughout the school year. Thankfully, I have two wonderful co-bloggers (Yingchao and Gabby) to help lighten the load and provide unique content. I want to thank you all for supporting my blog and any of my other social media platforms. Talk to you real soon! 

Unpopular Opinion: I did not like A Court of Frost and Starlight

Title: A Court of Frost and Starlight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Pages: 229 pages
Release Date: May 1st, 2018
Source: Hardcover
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young/New Adult
Rating: 2.5 stars

Hope warms the coldest night.

Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve.

Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated--scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.

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I wanted to like A Court of Frost of Starlight, but I'm fairly certain I'm at the point where I'll be hesitant about purchasing another Sarah J. Maas novel. Although I was abroad when ACOFAS was released, I was luckily near a Waterstones Bookstore and was able to obtain a copy on release day. But when I started reading it on the plane the next morning, I wasn't entirely sure if it was the story I had been waiting so eagerly for.

To be frank, ACOFAS was disappointing in the way that not only was there hardly any plot, but it read so much like a piece of fanfiction that I rolled my eyes more times than there were even number of pages. The "story" takes place months after the events of ACOWAR, during the Winter Solstice, which also happens to be Feyre's birthday. Our beloved characters spend the majority of the book shopping for gifts, being unsure of what to shop for, and finally opening the presents they received from each other.  There is a small side story that dives a bit into Cassian's past and another pertaining to reaching out to Nesta. But otherwise, it was like a classic Hallmark Christmas movie featuring the Inner Circle and friends (minus conflict).

As a fluffy read to purely kill time, ACOFAS could have been enjoyable. But throughout the read I couldn't help but wonder where the intrigue and suspense from a "classic" Sarah J. Maas story had gone. For years, her stories have always had a way of slipping beneath my mind and keeping me on my toes until the final page. And despite the enormous lengths of some of her work, there was never a second where I could let out my breath. With ACOFAS, I only managed to finish it while reading on my multiple flights last month. Needless to say, this book hardly held on to my attention.

But I wouldn't have been quite so bothered, had this novella been more about the underlying story (the one with Nesta and the big reveal) and less about the sexual tension between Feyre and Rhysand that was crystal clear on every. other. page. Not to mention the sexual tension between all the ships in this book. Is sex the only thing the most powerful people in the Night Court seem to think about during their gatherings and free time? And I'm pretty sure I would lose my mind if I ever heard another bloody mention of the word MATE. and...gentlemales ? ...question mark ?

Overall, this book makes me quite anxious about the upcoming Kingdom of Ash and the spin off trilogy to the ACOTAR series. If the bulk of Kingdom of Ash is anything like ACOFAS, I might just read the final chapter of it at a bookstore and wave goodbye to Sarah J. Maas books for good. It's said to be nearly 1000 pages and I probably won't be surprised if the word 'mate' makes an appearance a minimum of 800 times.

ARC Review: What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Title: What If It's Us
Author(s): Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera
Pages: 448 pages
Source: ARC from Bookcon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Romance
Rating: 4.5/5

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?
Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.
Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.
But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?
What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?
What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?
But what if it is?

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What If It's Us definitely lives up to the hype that has been building. Usually, I tend to wait a few months before diving into a book that's super-hyped, unless it's by one of my all-time favorite authors. I was lucky enough to obtain an advance copy of this Albertalli-Silvera masterpiece at Book Expo, and as my first Adam Silvera read, I was certainly not disappointed. 

As a gal who grew up in New York City, my favorite part about this book was definitely being able to instantly recognize the places our cute couple visits in the city. This story cracked me up and knocked me down emotionally, so many times. It's the kind of love story that tugs at all your heartstrings and makes you believe in fate, in the universe, and in love. It's the kind of love story that makes you wish you were in love right now and had someone who would take you to have fun spontaneous dates.

The story begins immediately with a meet-cute and progresses into a whirlwind of adventures. For a story that ultimately takes place over the course of two months spent in the city, it felt as if time simply flew right by. I loved Arthur and Ben like they were my best friends. They're both cute, quirky, hilarious, and also relatable with their flaws. The chemistry between them feels so incredibly real that I could almost imagine seeing them sitting over coffee at a cafe in the Village. The dynamic between ALL of the characters is also real and raw. There were awkward friendships that didn't sugarcoat the reality of relationships. And the story reminds us that it's always important to acknowledge that no relationship-whether romantic, familial, platonic, or other-is ever perfect and it takes obstacles and hurdles to build the foundation of a relationship. It is also okay for friendships to be rocky and unstable.

I also became much more appreciative of New York City after finishing this book. Arthur and Ben's dates make me want to explore this city, while I still have the opportunity and appreciate the beauty and whimsy that simply radiates from it. Sometimes, after living in the same place for all your life, you grow to take it for granted. Throughout these years, I've definitely taken for granted the ease of transportation, the daily endless adventures, and the bustle of the city far too many times that I've forgotten at one point or another, NYC's magic has touched everyone who now call themselves a New Yorker.

What If It's Us comes out on October 9th and I cannot recommend this book enough! Go preorder it so you'll have it in your hands on release day because this is a book that can be read multiple times over for its sensational cuteness and incredible characters. Seriously, this book manages to describe the spirit of an entire city within a 400-page novel. But one more thing... I couldn't help but wonder if Adam and Becky intentionally gave their characters' the same initials as their own...

ARC Review: Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman

Title: Dry
Author: Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman
Pages: 352 pages
Release Date: October 2nd, 2018
Source: ARC from the publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Rating: 5/5 stars

When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman.

The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers.
Until the taps run dry.

Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return and her life—and the life of her brother—is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive.

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A book about the harrowing effects of climate change? Fuck yeah. Finally, even modern Young Adult literature is calling attention to the most important environmental issue of our decade that won't just affect one certain group of people. Oh no, climate change is coming for us all. Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman's all-too-real portrayal of the amplified effects of climate change is horrifying and upsetting. You will feel mad. You will feel sad. But most importantly you will feel so helpless while reading this book because you realize how much we as humans have no control of a situation that we are responsible for causing. You will also come to realize how some forces, such as water, have power over humans.

While reading this book, I realized how small I was in this whole wide world. You want to believe that when things go downhill, the government will be looking out for you. But yet, how can they help you when they can't even help themselves. The authors expose this startling fact in the most brutal way possible- by following the POV of a group of teens who must fend for themselves in a world without water.

"The only difference is that we're the victims now, rather than the ones sitting comfortably in our homes, sending five bucks on a charity app and patting ourselves on the back because we're so goddamn generous."

- from an uncorrected galley of Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman 

I went into this book with the knowledge of Neal Shusterman's world-building mastery. He can create worlds with such a complex and well-developed foundation, and it feels like the world actually exists. In this case, he didn't really create a new world but it's like he created a new reality in our world. A reality in which our environment has been devastated by climate change and the resources that we thought would be around forever have been completely exhausted. It is a world in which we cannot comprehend right now, but one that is in our near future if we continue on this path. He has essentially predicted the near future in such great detail and precision, thinking of every single thing. If I were you, the world-building alone is a reason to pick up this book.

What I loved most about this book was how it was written. It is written in multiple points of views, however, these characters' perspectives are often interrupted with what the authors call 'snapshots'. These snapshots, ranging from about a page to two pages in length, were glimpses into the lives of other people who were also being affected by the Tap-Out. I think this was an ingenious idea on the authors' part because when you're writing a story like this that has such an incredible impact and call to action, it's important to illustrate the stories and testimonies of as many people as you can.

Reading this book was like living through the apocalypse, which is something I hope and pray I'll never have to experience in this lifetime. Dry has to be one of the most terrifying books I've ever read. None of the horror books I've read compare to the amount of dread you'll feel while reading this book (and I've read multiple Stephen King books .-.). For me personally, the idea of living without water, a basic necessity, scares me more than any zombie apocalypse.

"Sometimes it's the monsters who survive. And now I am the monster."

- from an uncorrected galley of Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

This title is very relevant to what's been happening around the world. Because of the subject matter and the authors' ability to tell this story, Dry will be one of the most memorable books you read this year. I implore you to read this not because I am an environmentalist, and I strongly want to share my fear of climate change with you but because I think that this is what the world needs right now in order to make a change. Sometimes people need a scare to push them in the right direction. If you've read Scythe and enjoyed it, I am positive you will enjoy this one too. Please check out my page on Instagram (@thebooksbuzz) because I will be giving away a copy of this wonderful book!

BLOG TOUR | Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson + My Undead Girl Gang

Title: Undead Girl Gang
Author: Lily Anderson
Pages: 272 pages
Release Date: May 8th, 2018
Source: ARC from Penguin Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery

Mila Flores and her best friend Riley have always been inseparable. There's not much excitement in their small town of Cross Creek, so Mila and Riley make their own fun, devoting most of their time to Riley's favorite activity: amateur witchcraft.

So when Riley and two Fairmont Academy mean girls die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone's explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life.

Unfortunately, Riley, June, and Dayton have no recollection of their murders, but they do have unfinished business to attend to. Now, with only seven days until the spell wears off and the girls return to their graves, Mila must wrangle the distracted group of undead teens and work fast to discover their murderer...before the killer strikes again.

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Lily Anderson's newest novel follows a story of friendship, mystery and... the undead? Yep, that's right. The main character Mila Flores brings her friends back from the dead to uncover the truth behind their murders. This got me thinking: Who would I bring back from the dead if I had a mystery in need of solving? In today's post, you're going to be reading about the three women from history that I would bring back from the dead to be apart of my Undead Girl Gang. I took this opportunity not only to choose women that I thought would be successful to this mission, but I also chose women from history that I admire.

MY UNDEAD GIRL GANG!

Rachel Carson is one of my favorite women in history. I've done extensive research on her and have even written a scholarship essay about her. Carson has always been one of my inspirations for pursuing a field of research and the reason for why I am so dedicated to helping the environment. In her days, the world was relatively unaware of the consequences certain chemicals had on the environment. She exposed the harmful effects of a very popular pesticide back in the early 70s, which led to a ban on the harmful substance. To be honest, I don't know how helpful Rachel Carson would be on my mission to uncover a murder mystery, but I'd sure as hell bring her back from the dead just to have a conversation over a nice cup of coffee. Plus, she's a scientist so she definitely has a scientific way of thinking. 

I'm sure we've all read about Helen Keller when we were in elementary school. She truly is a notable woman in history. Keller has a different perception of our world, as she became deaf and blind when she was young. She became the first deaf-blind person to attain a bachelor's degree and was an influential social activist for political and disability issues. Of course, I'd love to meet her! But besides that point, I'd love to have her apart of my undead girl gang because her optimism and perseverance would most likely contribute a lot to the mission.  

Mildred Benson, better known as Carolyn Keene, was the original author of the Nancy Drew mystery stories. Those were some of the best mystery stories I had ever read when I was a young adolescent girl who craved adventure. Nancy Drew is such an iconic teenage detective, and I'm sure if she was real I'd bring her back to join my girl gang. But the creator of Nancy Drew, Mildred Benson, is the next best thing. I think her extensive background in writing mystery and crime novels could be the greatest contribution to our undead girl gang alliance. 

Author Bio

Lily Anderson is a school librarian and Melvil Dewey fangirl with an ever-growing collection of musical theater tattoos and Harry Potter ephemera. She lives in Northern California. She is also the author of The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You and Now Now, Not Ever. She tweets at @ms_lilyanderson. 

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi | Mini Review + GIVEAWAY!

Title: Emergency Contact
Author: Mary H.K. Choi
Pages: 391 pages
Release Date: March 27th, 2018
Source: Hardcover from Simon Teen
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Rating: 4/5 stars

For Penny Lee high school was a total nonaevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.

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Emergency Contact is a mature and adorable novel about two young people falling in love. Don't let the pink and light ambiance of the cover fool you. This book touches upon topics like alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual assault, and anxiety. I wasn't expecting it to be as hard hitting as it was, and it made every minute of reading this book completely worth it.

We usually read books to get off our cell phones and escape this age of mass texting and social media. Because people have become so consumed with their cell phones, communicating through text and social media has since received a bad rep. There has long been a debate over whether cell phones are doing more harm than good to users. Sure, it distracts students from schoolwork and diminishes the chances of face-to-face interaction. But it also brings communities of people together and connects long-distance relationships. Also, I'm not the first to admit that meeting people face to face can be daunting.

At the beginning of the book, Sam has a panic attack. As someone who has experienced what it's like to have a panic attack, it was incredibly hard to read. But after I made it through that part, I was grateful that Choi added it in the first place. It's an experience everyone should be familiar because it's incredibly hard to understand what someone goes through during a panic attack. And of course, Sam's experience will mirror everybody's, but it's a start to talking about mental health in young adult literature.

Emergency Contact is not your topical meet-cute contemporary novel. Penny's fear of confrontation and her awkwardness makes her such a relatable character in the story. The fact that this book also took place in a college setting was just the cherry on top. I feel like we don't get enough college YA's that actually have scenes where the character is in a class! If you're even in the slightest bit interested in picking this one up, consider entering my giveaway below!

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The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

Title: The Astonishing Color of After
Author: Emily X.R. Pan
Pages: 480 pages
Release Date: March 20th, 2018
Source: ARC from publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Magical Realism
Rating: 5/5 stars

Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.

Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.

Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love.

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** I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher. All of the thoughts and opinions stated in this review are my own. **

Everyone deals with grief in their own way. When her mother commits suicide, Leigh Chen Sanders refuses to believe that she's really gone from the world. She's sure that when her mother died, she took the form of a crimson bird. When Leigh receives a mysterious package that leads her to travel to Taiwan to meet her grandparents, she discovers a whole other side of her mom's life she wasn't aware of and even learns a thing or two about herself.

The writing was descriptive and gorgeous without being too flowery. Trust me, I'm a picky person when it comes to writing style. It kind of reminded me of the writing in The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee, which you must know is a book I could talk your ear off about. Pan does something completely unique, which is use color to describe emotion. Whoosh. Absolutely mind blown. It came so naturally and it wasn't like someone intentionally finding colors to match their emotions with. Read it for yourself:

"... I was colorless, translucent. I was a jellyfish caught up in a tide, forced to go wherever the ocean willed."

- Emily X.R. Pan, The Astonishing Color of After 

The book followed a non-chronological sequence that was both entertaining and fulfilling. At first, it was a little disorienting to jump back two decades, but it's something you pick up quickly and the chapter titles make it even easier.

Before reading this book, I was convinced that magical realism was not my genre. The magical realism element was used as a coping mechanism for Leigh, so that she could remember her mother and learn how to live on with her life. There was symbolism that appeared in carefully constructed times throughout the story making it feel like an easter egg hunt. I don't think this book would have been what it was without that element, and I am grateful to this book for showing me a new side of this genre.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the exploration of mental illness and suicide. Some books stick to you years after you read it, and I can predict this being one of those titles. The author states in the author's note that her family previously lost one of their own to suicide. She partly wrote this book in homage to breaking the stigmas behind mental illness and suicide.

I don't mean to get personal, but there was once a time in my life when I felt like suicide was the only option. Just like it was hard for Leigh to understand why her mother was depressed, my friends and family would often ask me why I felt that way when I had such a good life. First of all, that doesn't help. Second, there doesn't have to be a reason to explain someone's depression. Leigh's mother, like so many people, fell victim to a terrible disease. Depression is different for everyone. When I noticed that this was a recurring theme in the novel, I appreciated it a billion times more. Yes, you probably would have guessed by now that I cried while reading this book.

In the story, Leigh struggles with blaming herself and the people around her for her mother's dead. I just wanted to crawl through the pages, enter the story and hug Leigh because she didn't deserve to be so hard on herself. Even though we follow Leigh as the narrator, we're not just simply following her actions through the story. We also get a glimpse of her motives and desires through her internal thoughts.

"Whose fault was it? That's the question on everyone's mind, isn't it? Nobody will ever say it out loud. It's a question people would call inappropriate. The kind of thing where everyone tells you, 'It's nobody's fault.'"

- Emily X.R. Pan, The Astonishing Color of After

Let it be known that I absolutely adored this book. It is everything I ever wanted in a Young Adult contemporary that not only entertains but teaches and promotes. Why read this book? It's hard to understand mental illness, depression, and suicide. Sometimes when we, as humans, don't understand something we automatically fear it. We need to promote books like this to end the stigma. Help people. Break the cycle.

BLOG TOUR | To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo + Book Review

Title: To Kill A Kingdom
Author: Alexandra Christo

Pages: 384 pages
Release Date: March 6th, 2018

Source: ARC from Macmillan
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Rating: 4.5/5 

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

Purchase it now!

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2018 is the year of mind-blowing and spectacular Young Adult fantasy books, I just know it! First Everless by Sara Holland blew me away with its unique plot and well-executed world-building and magic system, and then To Kill A Kingdom steals the spotlight with a dark spin on the classic, The Little Mermaid. I wonder what's next...

In the short time that I've been reading avidly as a book blogger, I don't think I've ever actually read a good Young Adult mermaid book. There is a scarcity of really popular YA mermaid books, so I think that the pitch that this book has going for it- "dark Little Mermaid retelling" - is going to help this book sell really well. Not to mention, that the cover is drop dead gorgeous. And thankfully in this case, looks are not deceiving. This book is beautiful both inside and out.

With every chapter, I was enticed to read more and more even if that meant sacrificing sleep. There was no shortage of adventure and intrigue. I don't think the world was so difficult to understand that the author had to fill the reader in that much, but there were a lot of rules that were cleared up in the first 50 pages. I think the only critique is that I wasn't able to get a sense of how far or close the kingdoms were to each other. There might be a map of the world in the hardcover copy, which would really help. What I liked especially was the clear distinction the author drew between mermaids and sirens.  Although mermaids and sirens bow down to the same Sea Queen, they are very different. Our main character Lira is a siren, not a mermaid.

Anyone who is a huge fan of The Little Mermaid (me me me!) will appreciate the small things that the author kept in the novel to keep the authenticity and the classic tale alive, but with dark and deadly twists. It was really intriguing, and I was just honestly blown away by how the author was able to take the infamous classic and make it her own. I won't spoil anything, but she takes really big elements of the classic Little Mermaid story and completely turns them around. It's very unexpected and simply refreshing.

A note to make: there is a lot of verbal and physical abuse from Lira's mother, so please be cautious. Like shit, it gets really intense. Trigger warning for verbal and physical abuse! 

We've got a host of fabulous leading ladies, and of course your occasional prince charming. But Prince Charming be damned, I wanted to take all the strong females in this book and put them in a all-female singing group. Lira, the main character, is a ruthless and ambitious siren. There's Madrid, another fearless female who holds a high rank on the Prince's fleet. Let's not forget Kahlia, Lira's siren cousin.

A lot of people will read the synopsis and simply dub it as a "mermaid book". What people don't expect though, is a pirate adventure filled with mischief, mayhem and a LOTTA romance.

I think one of Christo's biggest challenges with writing this book was to try and set her book apart from all the other Young Adult mermaid novels out there. And she did just that. Her writing is something that can only be experienced by reading this book. She's so descriptive, and she was really able to capture the beauty of the ocean and what it holds.

"With it comes the smell of dawn as the pink-lipped sky barely stays tucked behind the line of the ocean."

"When I open my mouth to sign, the air caramelizes on my tongue."

- quoted from an uncorrected proof of To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

For all you folks that love the trope of hate-to-love romances, you will eat this book up. It was steamy and just...

Take whatever preconceived notion you have of this book and throw it out the window! This 2018 debut is already turning heads with the promise of being a book about "mermaids", and I'm glad to say that it lived up to my expectations and more. It's already out, so don't forget to get your hands on it. 

BLOG TOUR | Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Title: Children of Blood and Bone
Author: Toni Adeyemi
Pages: 525 pages
Release Date: March 6th, 2018
Source: ARC from publisher
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5 stars

Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.

Buy it now!

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I am so honored and thrilled to be apart of the #NowWeRise blog tour, inspired by the book Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi. Before publication, COBB was acquired by Fox 2000 in one of the biggest YA debut publishing deals ever. And for good reason... this book is lush with beautiful writing and rich world-building that sucks you into a world filled with magic and blood. I don't remember loving YA characters this much but the cast in this book was so flawed and three-dimensional. Not to mention that this book features an all black cast of characters. This is one of the very few fantasies I've read that have done a good job in confronting race.

This book had no shortage of fast-paced fight scenes, and at times I felt like I wanted to jump into the book and throw down some punches! This book was more than 500 pages long, but I wanted more. Some moments were light-hearted, while others were tear-jerking and serious.

I highly encourage any fantasy lovers out there to give this one a go. It is very unique and diverse, as it mixes West African culture with magic to create an entirely new world and history. I hope you enjoy today's post inspired by the magic in COBB!

What's your maji power? 

The world in this book centers around a magic system composed of different clans that have different powers. Our main character Zelie is a Reaper, which means she can manipulate the spirits of the living and the dead. Look at the graphic below to find out what your maji power is. 

I am a... LIGHTER! 

My birthday is on May 23rd. 5 + 23 is 28, which means I am a Lighter! I honestly thought I was going to be a Tider because of how much I love the water, but I'm really happy to be a Lighter. As a Lighter, I can manipulate light and darkness. I think this power fits well with my personality because my emotions can either be really light and upbeat or sometimes I'll be down in the dumps. I can imagine myself as Alex Pettyfer in I Am Number Four throwing those flashing balls of light at the bad guys. 

American Panda by Gloria Chao | Book Review

Title: American Panda
Author: Gloria Chao
Pages: 320 pages
Release Date: February 6th, 2018
Source: Hardcover from Amazon
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

An incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate.

At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents' master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.

With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can't bring herself to tell them the truth--that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.

But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?

Buy the book!

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I am so touched to see someone that looks like me on the cover of a highly promoted book in the Young Adult genre. When I first heard about this book, I was too excited to get my hands on it. I preordered the book, which is something I don't do anymore and it just shows how excited I was. I'm so delighted to be featuring this book on my blog and to be part of getting this book into the hands of other readers.

That being said, I really wanted to love this book. I don't read contemporary often, but when I do its usually diverse contemporaries. American Panda took me a little more than over a week to get through. While it was a pretty short book, I noticed that I wasn't that eager to pick up the book from time to time. Maybe that's why it took me so long to finish it! I'll be honest and say the book was slow and the plot didn't entice me as I originally hoped it would.

17-year-old Mei Lu knows that when she grows up she's going to be a doctor, marry a pre-approved Taiwanese man, have lots of male babies and provide for her family. What her parents don't know is that Mei doesn't want to follow the path they've carefully constructed for her. However, there is even more pressure on Mei to do what's expected of her because her brother shamed the family. Mei struggles with appeasing her family's age-old traditions while also trying to follow her own dreams.

Although I am Asian American, I have yet to face some of the things that the main character faced in this book. I think that's such an important thing to note- just because I come from the same background as a character, doesn't mean I'm going to have the same experiences. This is extremely important and something I stress because we can't judge a book based on how similar the character's experience was to our own. We must value all experiences. Fortunately for me, my parents did not push the notion that I had to be a doctor or a lawyer when I was growing up. They told me that I could be anything I ever wanted, as long as I was happy. Even though I didn't really grow up with the same experience, I could totally relate to Mei.

If you're looking for an authentic representation of what it's like to live under the pressure of cultural traditions, I would highly recommend this book. I think that a lot of Chinese traditions are very misunderstood and could even be considered cruel. This book explores what it's really like for someone to live under the pressure of these traditions and how difficult it can be to reconcile your own life with your parents expectations of you.

I enjoyed this book. It won't be making my list of top books any time soon, but I appreciated it for the representation and the storytelling. I just know this book is going to help a lot of people who feel the same way as Mei- pressured by her family's expectations and her culture to follow an already set path in life. The author said she wished she had this book when she was in school. I'm very grateful that I was able to read it at this stage in my life. So please, I encourage you to read and share it for others who might be experiencing the same thing.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman | Best Book of 2018 Already?

Title: Scythe
Author: Neal Shusterman
Pages: 435 pages
Release Date: November 22nd, 2016
Source: Hardcover from Amazon
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Rating: 5/5 stars

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Buy it now! 

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Guys, I read a lot of books. It's basically the point of this blog and the perk of being a book blogger. When you read as many books as I do, it's easy to get lost in the same old boring tropes and reused plot lines. However, I can firmly say that Scythe by Neal Shusterman is unlike anything I have ever read before and it could, quite possibly, already be one of my favorite books this year.

Scythe takes place in what I would call a "perfect world". In this world, there is no hunger, no war and no misery. Humanity has even conquered death. Now Scythes, charged with the power to kill people, are the only ones who can control population growth. They call it gleaning. The story follows our two main protagonists, Citra and Rowan, who are chosen as apprentices to a Scythe. They will be trained in the history of the mortal world and in the art of killcraft to compete against each other in a battle where only one one will survive. Citra's and Rowan's lives are altered forever as they learn what it really means to live and they are thrust into the Scythedom, which holds more corruption than they ever realized.

The synopsis does a great job of pulling the reader in. I was quite skeptical about the concept of a utopian society because I had read other books I didn't enjoy that featured the same concept *cough cough The Giver*.  Unlike the criticism I had for those other books, Scythe had such interesting world-building and Shusterman was really able to develop his vision.

We are introduced to the Thunderhead, which is kind of like an all-seeing god that is responsible for keeping the world in this perfect state. My only qualm was that we didn't get to see more of how the Thunderhead came to be and what events led to its creation. However, I didn't think the lack of its history deterred this from becoming a great story in any way. In fact, I was glad the author focused on the present, where we were introduced to present-day technology and rules that were associated with this world. My favorite part was that the author substituted some of the most fundamental constitutional amendments for his own amendments! That takes a lot of creativity and thought.

As much as I want to reveal every part of this world that I loved, I really want you to read and discover it for yourself. It was very complete world-building. Every question I had about the world that came up in the book was quickly answered as I kept reading. I felt very fulfilled.

Even though this was a perfect world, no character in this book was perfect. Each character is defined by their morals and beliefs, especially the Scythes. The Scythes have the freedom to choose who they glean and with what method, as long as they don't surpass their gleaning quota for the year. A lot of their choices are based on each individual Scythe's personality. There are Scythes that never wanted to become one in the first place, but they don't think anyone else would be more fair at the job. These Scythes are usually more compassionate and merciful. On the other hand, there are Scythes who kill because they enjoy killing; these are mostly the corrupt ones. This book made me question a lot of things, but most of all: If I was a Scythe, how and who would I glean? Is this system of killing really fair?

If the plot and characters aren't enough to draw you in, the twists and turns might do the trick! Scythe was incredibly enjoyable, and I found that putting down the book for more than a few hours was IMPOSSIBLE. I wanted to finish the book as fast as possible to find out what happened in the end. It was a fast-paced book that didn't at all feel like 400 pages. Not to mention, the book is a lot darker than most YA sci-fi fantasies, so it's something you'll find unique from your daily reading regimen. If you want to pick up something that is far from light but makes your morals, read this book.

2018 New Year's Resolutions 🎉

I have commitment issues.

For me, it's always been difficult to propose a New Year's resolution and then actually commit to it. For many years, proposing New Year's resolutions has always been about the attention. Of course it doesn't hurt to set yourself some goals for the new year, but I've noticed that I never actually complete the goals I set for myself. It may sound silly but I think 2018 is going to be different than last year. In many ways, it is going to be my defining moment. I am going to be 18, and I will start my first semester of college. Without a doubt, this year is going to get busy. I want to cut through the chaos and propose the fives most important goals I want to achieve in the new year.

1. Revive this blog

This blog is my baby. It was how I entered the book community, and I've recently been neglecting it to work on my Booktube channel and Bookstagram. I wish I could make the excuse that I didn't have enough time in 2017, but my watch history on Netflix would certainly object. The thing is, I had the time to churn out some blog posts or write a short review. I was just sooooo lazy. I always imagined this blog as being strictly about books, after all I am The Book's Buzz. However, lately I've been thinking about posting some non-bookish content as well. It would certainly make sense since I haven't been reading lately, but I have been exploring, discovering and experimenting. This year, my goal is to POST, whether it be about books or not.

2. Have a fucking awesome second term senior year

Sometimes I forget that I'm a senior in high school, who is going to college next year! I spent majority of my first semester of senior year crying, complaining, and being depressed. I was in a bad state for the first half of the year, and I don't want a repeat. I want to enjoy school, even though I dislike homework and tests. At the end of 2017, I received the greatest news of being accepted into my dream college. It was a great way to end the year because now I can spend the rest of senior year happy and excited for my future! I will study hard, but I will not let school get in the way of my mental health and social life. I promise to make the most out of the rest of my senior year!

3. Become a minimalist; live minimally

Some of you are probably giving me the stink eye right now. How can I be a minimalist when I collect and hoard so many books? That's something I ask myself every day. Truth is, I've been trying really hard to donate a lot of my books and give them away, especially now since I'm moving away for college. To me, becoming a minimalist means reducing the waste that I make and the things that I own. I can achieve this by packing lightly for college. Another huge goal of mine is to become zero waste in college. This will actually be easier to achieve because my college is also becoming a zero waste institution, so it will make my transition a lot easier if my college has the same values as I. It's so easy to see something in the store and immediately buy it. Something I want to start doing is evaluating what tangible objects I need and what I don't need. NEED being the key word here. In my opinion, this will likely be the hardest goal to accomplish because I am a sentimental person who will find a reason for everything to be in my life.

4. Be daring in college

I will be starting college this year, and I will be moving out of the state. I would say I'm already being daring by moving out of state for school, but I really want to explore outside my comfort zone. What do I like to do besides reading, blogging, taking pictures and sleeping? I've already been doing some research on my future college and plan on trying out for the school's female a cappella group, joining a house (which is their version of a sorority), attending parties, and running for a leadership position of some kind. In this new year, I want to be daring and spontaneous, not just in college but in life.  

5. Drink more water

This isn't just a filler goal for me. Because of the little fluids that I drank, I experienced some health related problems in 2017. Drinking water has so many health benefits, that I really don't know why I can't just drink water! It's more of a memory thing, where I just forget to drink water through the day until I'm ready to go to bed (which by the way is really bad because you end up having to go to the bathroom a lot before bed or even wetting the bed altogether!). In this new year, I need to be happy and healthy so drinking water is imperative.