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Sunday 13 September 2015

review: queen of shadows (spoilers ahoy)

From Goodreads:

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past...

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.




Question: How is it possible that every book in this series is so much better than the rest?

Answer: Because Sarah J. Maas is a fucking queen, that's why.

Just a warning in advance, this whole post is probably going to contain quite a bit of profanity. So if you're not into that, this is your cue to move along. I just finished this beast about two hours ago and am still catching my breath, so you'll have to excuse my overly-excited sailor talk. Okay? Great.

Queen of Shadows was 100%, absolutely perfect. Honestly, I can't say a bad thing about it.

That's it for non-spoilery stuff. Proceed with caution.

Wednesday 2 September 2015

waiting on wednesday - just visiting


Hello, my lovely internet pals! Today is another Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you're new, it's a weekly feature that allows crazy book addicts to gush about upcoming releases that will drain their bank accounts even further. What's not to love? 

This week, my can't-wait pick is... 
Friday 28 August 2015

book cake tag

Here's a fun little tag for you, because who doesn't love cake and books? The main idea of this tag is to pick a book that fits each ingredient for delicious, wonderful cake. Like this: 


I don't know who this tag was started by, and I don't have any intention of tagging anyone else, so we're just gonna answer the questions and get back to our merry lives. Sound good?

1) Flour - A book that was a little bit slow to start off but that really picked up as it went along. 
Throne of Glass! For some reason, I could not get into it for the first hundred pages or so. But damn - once I was hooked, there was no looking back. 

2) Margarine - A book that had a really rich and great plot. 

The entire Harry Potter series. Hidden eggs everywhere, just perfect.

3) Eggs - A book that you thought was going to be bad but actually turned out quite enjoyable. 
I'll probably have to go with Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway. It's not that I thought it was going to be bad, it's just that I loved Audrey, Wait! so much and didn't really hear a ton about it from other people. So when I picked it up, I was kind of scared that Audrey, Wait! was a fluke and I would be disappointed. 

4) Sugar - A sugary/sweet book. 
Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler. Mostly because the title just fits so well, but also because it actually was such a nice, sweet book. (And also because it made me crave cupcakes like nobody's business, but let's not dwell on that.)

5) Icing - A book that covered every single element that you enjoy about a book (funny moments, action moments, sad moments, etc.). 
The first one that comes to mind is Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman. It was one of my first ventures into the world of graphic novels, and I absolutely adored it. By the way - Tracy, if you're reading this, which I know you are: READ IT NOW! 

6) Sprinkles - A book series that you can kind of turn to for a little pick me up when you're feeling down. 
Again, Harry Potter. It will forever be my favourite. 

7) The cherry on top - Your favorite book this year so far. 
It's an extremely close toss-up between Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Both of them were absolute, sheer perfection. 

Well, I'm hungry now and have a sudden urge to bake until my hands fall off. 
Thursday 27 August 2015

waiting on wednesday (on thursday) - this is where it ends


Well, hi! I know this is a day late but we're rolling with it. Because we're rebels. And since I'm late for almost everything else in my life, I thought this would be fine. You forgive me, right? 

Can we just talk about my new WoW header for a second? How cute is it? I have another one for Top Ten Tuesday that you'll get to see next week. Spoiler alert: it's also adorable. 

Anyway. I'm doing another Waiting on Wednesday (thanks to Breaking the Spine for hosting this every week!). This week's pick is.... 
Saturday 22 August 2015

a new look

Hi, all! This really has nothing to do with books, but if you happened to see my post yesterday (it was only up for about an hour before I had the issue fixed), I was complaining about how I couldn't reply directly to comments. 

Well, I got a new template/blog theme, and all is well. I'm absolutely obsessed with how it looks right now, and even better - I can reply to comments! I hope you guys like the new layout and colour scheme. It definitely fits my personality better than the pink did! There may be a couple new updates as time goes on, but for now, I'm loving it. 
Thursday 20 August 2015

what's in a name? (harry potter update #1)

Full disclosure here: my Harry Potter re-read isn't going so well. I haven't even finished Philosopher's Stone yet, if we're being completely honest. My excuse is that BookTube-a-Thon took up a week of potential HP reading time, and my newfound obsession with the Throne of Glass series isn't helping much. So I am hereby revoking my promise to have the series done by September. Basically, I'll finish it when I finish it. Definitely Hopefully by January, when my Harry Potter class starts. 

One of the things I've noticed so far is that J.K. Rowling is really quite fantastic and placing little hidden eggs throughout the text. It's especially fascinating look at these hints from the perspective of someone who has already read the series, watched the movies, bought the t-shirts, the whole nine yards. 

Monday 17 August 2015

bout of books 14 tbr!


Hello, all! So I recently (read: fifteen minutes ago) found out about the Bout of Books readathon and decided that I'm going to take part in it this year. Luckily for me, it just started today so I'm really not behind at all! Since there are a couple highly anticipated books coming out this fall that happen to be part of series, I thought this week would be a good opportunity to catch up on a couple that I'm most excited about. You're not going to see me reading any standalones during this readathon, that's a promise. 

Here's what I'll be reading this week: 

The Assassin's Blade  by Sarah J. Maas 
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas 
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Cress by Marissa Meyer

I won't be doing today's challenge but I'm going to try to do all of them for the rest of the week! Let's hope I have an incredibly productive reading week and can power through all these massive books. Wish me luck! 
Wednesday 12 August 2015

waiting on wednesday - queen of shadows

Hello, lovely people. Today is another Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine. If you didn't know, WoW is a weekly feature where we get to talk about our most anticipated upcoming releases. This week, my can't-wait pick is... 

Monday 10 August 2015

booktube-a-thon 2015 wrap up

We have officially reached the end of BookTube-A-Thon (well, as of 11:59 tonight), and I 'm here to share with you how my reading went over the past week. You may have noticed that my posts on this blog have been quite lacking in the past few days, and I'll proudly say that the blame lies with my constant reading. While I didn't complete all of the challenges, I feel like I did pretty well overall, and I'm proud of my progress. 

Tuesday 4 August 2015

ten fairytale retellings on my tbr


Happy Tuesday, my lovely little unicorn friends! And for my fellow Canadians, I hope you enjoyed your long weekend! I had a little bit of a Disney binge over the weekend - I watched The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Well, it turns out this was very fitting, because this week, Top Ten Tuesday (hosted weekly by The Broke and the Bookish!)  is all about fairytale retellings! Now, I'm going to stretch this a little bit to incorporate some other stories - things like myths, legends, ancient tales, you get the gist. All in all, these are some of the retellings that I'm dying to read!


1. The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer
Inspired by: Cinderella/Little Red Riding Hood/Rapunzel/Snow White
Exciting news, guys! I finally started reading Cinder! I'm currently about a hundred pages into it and absolutely adoring it so far. Really don't know why I didn't read this sooner!

2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 
Inspired by: Beauty and the Beast
Ever since I started the Throne of Glass series, I've been hooked on Sarah J. Maas's writing. Not to mention the fact that Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favourite Disney movie (is there any book lover who doesn't want that library?)

3. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston 
Inspired by: A Thousand and One Nights
I met E.K. Johnston when she did a signing/panel at my local Chapters with Kendare Blake and Michelle Krys, and she was awesome. I haven't read her other books yet, but this is very high on the tbr. And just look at that cover.

4. The Wrath and the Dawn  by Renee Ahdieh
Inspired by: A Thousand and One Nights
My friend Tracy (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACY!) recommended this one to me and of course I had to buy it. And judging by the reviews and how hyped up this book has been, I'm sure it'll be worth it.

5. Antigoddess by Kendare Blake  
Inspired by: Greek mythology
Again, Kendare Blake was at the signing in Chapters a couple months ago, and she was awesome. I loved Anna Dressed in Blood (it's set in my hometown), so I was immediately a fan of Kendare after reading that! I'm also very interested in Greek and Roman mythology, so this is definitely appealing to me.

6. Never Never by Brianna Shrum
Inspired by: Peter Pan
I'm going to be honest here: I've never been a huge, die-hard Peter Pan fan. I know a lot of people are, but I never fully connected to it as much as some other stories. Nevertheless, I've always been intrigued by books that tell the villain's side of the story, and that combined with the fact that I kinda think Peter's a bit of a jerk makes me very excited for this!

7. The Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Inspired by: Greek mythology
Jennifer L. Armentrout is one of those authors that I never fully jumped on the bandwagon for. I loved the one book I read by her, but I've never been as addicted as some people seem to be. I really want to get into her books more, and I feel like a mythology-based series is the perfect way to do it!

8. The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes
Inspired by: The Handless Maiden
How deliciously creepy does this sound?! I'm all about the non-watered-down, terrifying original Grimm stories, and this sounds like it's not going to hold back any punches when it comes to sticking to the original. Tracy also read this one and said it was pretty disturbing, so weirdly enough, I can't wait to be scared shitless.





9. Alice in Zombieland  by Gena Showalter
Inspired by: Alice in Wonderland 
I don't even feel like I need to explain this one that much. I mean, Alice and zombies. I've heard kind of mixed reviews about this one to be honest, but I don't even care. I'm giving it a try and that's all there is to it! 

10.The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman 
Inspired by: Sleeping Beauty 
Would you believe me if I said I've never read anything by Neil Gaiman? I think a nice, illustrated retelling of Sleeping Beauty would be a wonderful start to my collection. I've been eyeing up this particular set of his books for a while now, so I think I'm going to read this one and then take the plunge into some of his other books.



What fairytale retellings are on your must-have list? Let me know in the comments!










Sunday 2 August 2015

booktube-a-thon 2015 tbr!

It's that time of year, and we're going to make it count. That's right: BookTube-A-Thon 2015 is upon us! If, for some reason, you haven't heard of BookTube-A-Thon before, here's what we're looking at: a week-long readathon (August 3-9) hosted by a lovely group of BookTubers. Throughout the week, there are seven reading challenges that you can choose to complete, as well as a ton of other fun challenges that will get you PRIZES! Every day, a different BookTuber will host the readathon and upload a video to the BookTube-A-Thon YouTube channel, which you can check out here

Today, we're going to be looking at the seven reading challenges for 2015, and I'll tell you how I plan on completing them.

1. Read a book with blue on the cover. 
Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughn

2. Read a book whose author shares the first letter of you last name. 
What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick 

3. Read someone else's favourite book. 
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard 

4. Read the last book you acquired. 
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

5. Finish a book without letting go of it. 
Wytches by Scott Snyder 

6. Read a book you really want to read.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer 

7. Read seven books. 
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 

Are you guys taking part in the readathon this week? Let me know what's on your tbr! 


Friday 31 July 2015

upcoming august releases

Hello, all! The beginning of August is upon us, so that means it's time for another look at some upcoming releases for this month. Here's what I'm most looking forward to in August. 


Never, Always, Sometimes by Adi Alsaid 
August 4, 2015 (Harlequin Teen)

From Goodreads: 

Never date your best friend
Always be original
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken 

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids—the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, ever do in high school. 
Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, never die your hair a color of the rainbow, or #7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he's broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It's either that or break rule #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember. 
Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they've actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.


Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly 
August 4, 2015 (Kathy Dawson Books)

From Goodreads: 

Preparing to survive a typical day of being Digbys friend wasn't that different from preparing to survive the apocalypse.
Her first day not in school (because she cut) in her new hometown that will soon be her old hometown (because she's getting out of Dodge as fast as she can) Zoe meets Digby. Or rather, Digby decides he's going to meet Zoe and get her to help him find missing teenager. Zoe isn't sure how, but Digby—the odd and brilliant and somehow…attractive?—Digby always gets what he wants, including her help on several illegal ventures. Before she knows it, Zoe has vandalized an office complex with fake snow, pretended to buy drugs alongside a handsome football player dressed like the Hulk, had a throw-down with a possible cult, and, oh yeah, saved her new hometown (which might be worth making her permanent hometown after all.)
A mystery where catching the crook isn't the only hook, a romance where the leading man is decidedly unromantic, a story about friendship where they aren't even sure they like each other—Trouble is a Friend of Mine is a YA debut you won’t soon forget.


What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi
August 4, 2015 (Sourcebooks)

From Goodreads: 

It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead, he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college.
The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions, and Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?


Reawakened by Colleen Houck
August 11, 2015 (Delacorte Press) 

From Goodreads: 

When seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification.
And she really can't imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe to find his brothers and complete a grand ceremony that will save mankind.
But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world.
From New York Times bestselling author Colleen Houck comes an epic adventure about two star-crossed teens who must battle mythical forces and ancient curses on a journey with more twists and turns than the Nile itself.  


August 25, 2015 (Point) 

From Goodreads: 

Asylum meets Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, in this riveting tale of ghosts, secrets, and family, from master of suspense Katie Alender.
Delia's new house isn't just a house. It used to be an insane asylum, a place to lock up "troubled" young women long ago. And a restless, wicked spirit is still at play--and it doesn't want defiant girls like Delia to go anywhere.
So the house kills her.
Now Delia is a ghost, trapped in her creepy home forever. As she meets the other ghost girls who haunt the narrow hallways, as well as the handsome ghost boy on the grounds, she learns shocking truths about the house's history. Delia also realizes that her alive and grieving sister might be the house's next target. Can Delia unlock the mystery of the old asylum, save her sister, and free herself? 


Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman 
August 25, 2015 (Harlequin Teen) 

From Goodreads: 

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.
Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.
Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.
Thursday 30 July 2015

unpopular opinions

So I was browsing around the world of BookTube (as one does at 2:56 in the morning) and I came across a wonderful unicorn called the Unpopular Opinions Book Tag. It stuck out to me and I immediately wanted to do my own variation on it! If you'd like to watch the original video, as created by TheBookArcher, you can do so here.



1. A popular book or series that you didn't like. 
For this one, I have to go with To Kill a Mockingbird. And I'd like to clarify - it's not that I particularly didn't like the book, I just didn't feel as deep a connection to it as I know a lot of people did. I am planning to reread it in the future, so maybe that'll change my opinion. 





2. A popular book or series that everyone seems to hate but you love.
I actually couldn't think of a book that everyone hates that I love, but to me, Audrey, Wait! is severely underrated. Granted, it does have a 3.81 rating on Goodreads, but I gave it a 5 and I feel like it's not as popular as it deserves to be. 



3. A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you didn't want them to end up with or an OTP you don't like.
Harry and Ginny. I just didn't feel the connection and thought they were better as friends. But I honestly can't think of a substitute, I think I like Harry alone for some reason. I kind of just picture him, Ron, and Hermione all living in a house together and Harry being the cool, single uncle. 




4. A popular book genre you hardly reach for. 
Sci-fi! Especially the alien books like The 5th Wave and the Lux series. I just don't seem to gravitate toward them but I wish I could!  I do have a lot of these types of books on my shelf so I'm hopefully going to get to them eventually, and I did really enjoy the first book in the Lux series. It's just not a genre I'm usually drawn to right away.



5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like. 
Augustus Waters annoyed the shit out of me. Don't get me wrong, I loved TFiOS and I totally get that his personality is integral to the plot, but he's just not the kind of guy I would want to be stuck in a room with. I feel really shitty for saying that, to be honest. Is it bad juju to talk shit about a fictional dead guy? 






6. A popular author that you can't seem to get into. 
David Levithan. I've read a couple of his books and did really enjoy them, but he's never been one of those authors that I get excited about. Which is really strange, actually, because I love his writing style and the issues he tackles - something just hasn't clicked between us, I guess.





7. A popular book trope that you're tired of seeing. 
The whole "I'm a mysterious and angsty bad boy but this ONE SPECIAL GIRL will turn me into a respectable gentleman" thing. Like, COME ON. Stop that. What's wrong with nice, normal guys, I ask you? I'm ready for us to all move on from this fad, thanks. 






8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading. 
Pretty much anything with vampires. My Twilight obsession gave me wayyyyy too much exposure to the whole vampire fad and now I've had enough of it to last me a lifetime. Series like the Vampire Academy just don't appeal to me. Over it. 



9. The saying goes, "The book is always better than the movie," but what movie or TV show adaptation did you like more than the book? 
Obviously I can't speak to Part 2 yet, but Mockingjay: Part 1 was fantastic! I don't even know if this counts as an unpopular opinion because it seems like this is pretty widely agreed upon. But still!

Wednesday 29 July 2015

waiting on wednesday - why not me?

Happy Wednesday, friends! Today is another Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine. Today, we're talking about a super exciting NON-FICTION release! What?!?! Ryley's reading non-fiction? Call the cops! 
Tuesday 28 July 2015

top ten characters who are fellow book nerds

Happy almost August! Today, Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, you know the drill) is all about characters who LOVE books. Like us! This one's really exciting for me because literally whenever I find out that a character is a book nerd, I immediately love them. It's just science. Today, we're switching things up a bit: instead of just looking at bookish characters from books, I'm including TV and movies as well. Because why not? (also because I couldn't think of 10 characters from books but shhh) 

1. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) 
2. Cather Avery (Fangirl)
3. Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
4. Jane Eyre (...Jane Eyre)
5. Celaena Sardothien (Throne of Glass)
6. Alaska Young (Looking for Alaska)
7. Charlie (Perks of Being a Wallflower) 
8. Matilda Wormwood (Matilda)
9. Rupert Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
10. Tyrion Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones) 

Someone write a fanfic with all of these characters in a book club, okay? 
Sunday 26 July 2015

book club babble #2: me and earl and the dying girl


Isn't my little icon cute? It feels kinda Harry Potter-ish to me. I'm into it. 

Anyway, it's been a while since I posted my first Book Club Babble (it's here, if you want to check it out!) and I figured it was time to do another. Now I have to be honest - since that last update, the book club hasn't been going too strongly. The three of us haven't even met up yet for discussion, if you can believe it. But I'm determined. As long as we're still reading, it counts! Right? 
Friday 24 July 2015

how majoring in english has changed the way i read

Every time I mention to someone new that I'm an English major, I get the same reaction. Their faces contort into something like this: 


And then, of course, the dreaded question that literally everyone asks. 

So, are you going to be a teacher? 

Don't get me wrong. Obviously, there's nothing wrong with being a teacher. I wouldn't know how to read or write without teachers. Without teachers, this whole blog wouldn't exist. I'm just saying, I'm not a teacher-y person. Simple as that. And it's honestly quite comical how people seem to think that the only thing you can do with an English degree is teach English. 

I'm getting away from the point. 

Since I started this wondrous journey of literary endeavours (read: my degree), I've noticed a big change in the way I approach books and react to them. Here are some of the big ones. 

I sticky-note everything. 
Even books I'm just reading for fun end up with flags and post-its all over them. When I'm feeling really intense, I'll colour-code my notes depending on theme, character, setting, plot...you get the picture. What if I need to remember that tiny detail for my dissertation one day?! 

It's physically impossible to read without analyzing. 
They weren't kidding when they said that Intro to Lit Theory & Criticism would ruin my life. I should have believed them. I can't pick up a book and not notice how it perfectly follows the theory of Panopticism. It just doesn't happen. 

I have a favourite literary theorist, and I thoroughly enjoy talking about his theories. 
For reference, it's Michel Foucault.

I have editor brain. 
If I'm reading a book and I see a typo or some incorrect use of grammar, I get cringe-y. Sometimes it's enough to make me put down the book, or even worse, email the publisher. Even random little things like food labels and visitor guides are subject to my relentless proofreading.

I love picking out references and allusions and researching them. 
We're not just talking the obviously marketed retellings here. There's basically no such thing as a fully original work at this point, so I'm a huge fan of trying to pick out references to old stories and myths, and seeing how far the author takes them.

If possible, I love books even more now. 
Overall, my appreciation for the written word has increased substantially throughout my three years of studying English. Even the simplest stories have so much work put into them. Just think: when you go into a bookstore, you're immediately surrounded by thousands of people's life work; the products of their blood, sweat, and tears.

Majoring in English has made me a better reader in every possible way. I'm more active in my reading style, more attentive, and more willing to put the work in to figuring out exactly what a writer is trying to tell me. Maybe it's not the most practical of majors, but I don't regret a thing. 
Thursday 23 July 2015

review: everything, everything

Release date: September 1, 2015 (Delacorte)

 From Goodreads

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.



My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.


Wednesday 22 July 2015

waiting on wednesday - the boy most likely to

Welcome back to another Waiting on Wednesday! As we all know by now, this is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we all get to gush about upcoming releases. What's not to love? This week, my pick is....