Red Queen, Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard 

This is the third time that I have the first novel of the series. I read it for the first time a couple of weeks after it came out and I completely fell in love with it, I was charmed by the different abilities of the characters and by the simple, yet different welcoming that the author offered us from the very beginning. The relationship that I have with this book made me go above and beyond that, I completely fell in love with the way the three main characters worked and progressed throughout the novel. A year afterward, Glass Sword came out and I read the first book once again before reading the new installment and once again I was completely lost in this dystopian, yet fantastical world. So, two years forward, I have decided that since the series ended, it was time for me to take the time once again and re-enter the world that became so dear to me. Now that I read it years later, I did notice different aspects of it that have made me simply enjoy more the story. 
Red Queen happens in a country that we come to know as Nortia, its society is divided in two: Silvers and Reds, these being the color of the people´s blood. Yet, Silvers have different abilities, some families are able to control fire, enter people´s minds or even control metal. Our main character, Mare, is a Red and as a consequence, her family is extremely poor, which is the common life for Reds. All of Mare´s brothers have been sent to war as a consequence of them not being able to find a job and Mare is sure that her fate is the same since she wasn´t able to get a job and cooperates to her household by stealing from other people, specially Silvers. By her desperate attempt to save not only herself but her best friend, she makes the choice to connect with people that are working in the underground market and she soon realizes that there is a whole new world out there that is trying to make a change for the society. Yet, Mare moves on with her life and her life completely changes when she meets a young man that she was about to steal from. After somehow getting a job at the palace, Mare´s life changes when she realizes that she is completely different from what she was thinking. She has the complete power to control lighting.
First, I want to talk about Aveyard´s incredible way of narrating and writing a novel. The first thing that has caught my attention every single time that I have read this novel is the intricate way in which she describes and exhibits, not only Nortia but the society that they live in. She is able to take this complex bubble, which holds a whole world, and presents it in a way that every single detail seems fascinating, and I truly believe that it has nothing to do with the story being super creative, which it is, but it has to do completely with the fact that her writing is just so incredible because the words that she uses makes it seem as if it was real. 
Also, I loved the perfect mix she was able to get between romance and action, meaning that it wasn´t just too full of action or dramatic scenes like most dystopian novels do, but it had several romantic scenes that made me swoon over the two princes that I absolutely love at the moment. Something that I want to point out is that since she was able to reach a balance between the different type of scenes, we did get only a few scenes for each prince, but those were just so memorable and showcased them greatly that I believe that any more scenes would have been too much. Also, Aveyard did a great job giving the stepbrothers a distinction because every word and movement that was narrated matched the character, which I thought would be very hard to achieve in a novel that is so complex as this one.
Red Queen is pretty fast paced and I really enjoyed that because I don´t like following the same problem over and over again, so Aveyard was always able to keep my mind going and wandering around the different problems and important scenes that were happening throughout the novel. 
I think the only thing that I felt a little disappointed with was that it followed the typical dystopian pattern. In the sense that it first introduced everything and then, problems and more problems happened and several of them were pretty easy to predict beforehand and the surprise factor was not always present, but I do understand that dystopian novels are harder to write and therefore, the similar pattern is usually the easiest way to get the novel done. 
On the other hand, I want to discuss the characters. I am not going to talk a lot about them since I preferred to discover different aspects of their personalities as the story went on since they all have only small scenes throughout the novel that truly make them shine. But I would like to mention that I absolutely adored the different powers that each house had and the way those powers changed their personalities and the way they acted regarding their surroundings. 
I think I didn´t hate Mare, I just disliked her because she is like other dystopian female leads. She acts without thinking about things and later blaming herself and she is too headstrong, which causes her to get into trouble and get emotionally hurt. Yet, I highly enjoyed her personal comments because they were usually funny and it felt nice to be able to laugh after going through so much with the characters and the atmosphere.
Lastly, I want to mention how I found it so detailed the ways that the characters were planned because every single detail about each one of them was so intricate that it truly enhanced the reading experience for me. 
Overall, Red Queen is a super creative, fun and swoony first installment to a series that will take you to another world, which you will find fascinating and inspiring after following characters that are sometimes heartwarming and other times heartwrenching, all while delivering to give you laughs and tears. 

4 1/2 out of 5 Stars 

Love, Sua

The Summer I Turned Pretty, Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

I´ve read just too many summer beach romances in my life that I always feel like I have read everything that I need to read in that category, but once again, I was swept off my feet by a gorgeous teenager. I have read To All the Boys I´ve Loved Before by the same author and I absolutely loved Peter! So, I was a little bit excited to start reading this series, but at the same time, I felt a little nervous because I tend to enjoy summer books, but never really love them as others.
The Summer I Turned Pretty tells the story of Belly, a soon-to-be sixteen-year-old that has been visiting Cousins every year of her life during summer. Her family always goes and stays with Sussanah, her mother´s best friend´s family, and they are like a big family. Belly is sure that this summer is probably going to be the same, but when she gets there, she realizes that there may be something different this time.
Belly has always had a crush on Conrad, one of Sussanah´s sons, and when she sees him again, she tries to convince herself that her feelings for him are over, but that may not be the case.
On the other hand, Belly and Jeremiah, Conrad´s brother, may have left some things unclear last year.
When summer starts with people mentioning that she is different now and with guys actually checking her out, she realizes that this summer is going to be completely different to others.
Eventually, she meets Cam, a very good-looking guy that seems to be Belly´s age, they eventually end up spending a lot of time together.  
Who is going to steal Belly´s heart this summer? Is this going to be the summer that changes everything for her? Will there even be more summers after this one?
I think what I liked the most about this novel was the way its story. Okay, the plot is not that interesting and the things that happen aren´t that story-changing, but what I really liked was the story about their beach house, Conrad, Jeremiah, Steven, and Susannah, I just fell in love with the way Mr. Fisher always visits during summer and barbecues, I guess I just loved the way this novel gave us a look at what having traditions like this feels like. I think that almost everybody wants to be able to just leave the life that they are living for a couple of months and go to a small bubble with the people that you love being with and The Summer I Turned Pretty did that.
On the other hand, I really liked the characters and their relationships. I just loved the way Steven, Conrad, Jeremiah, and Belly had a unique bond that made them friends and almost siblings. I adored the way they had things that only they understood because that made them part of something that they were very emotionally attached to. I liked Steven, although he wasn´t part of the story a lot because he was just like the typical older brother that every sister should have and it was adorable to see how he protected her and how the other guys just automatically did the same when he left. 
Furthermore, I believe that having a love triangle with two brothers was just so dramatic and intense, which I absolutely loved! I fell in love with Jeremiah almost immediately and although I liked him so much, I did believe that Jeremiah and Belly weren´t that compatible, so I actually found myself rooting for Belly and Conrad, so yes, I absolutely hated Cam and although I do love his name, I thought that he was a character that wasn´t that useful, he appeared through most of the novel, but he didn´t really impact Belly in any way and he seemed to be almost like her second plate, something that she only wanted when Conrad wasn´t talking to her. 
On the other hand, I didn´t really like how Belly is always focusing on Conrad, I mean, yes, I adored them, but she was always talking about him that it got a little bit stressful. I wanted more of the story, I expected more character development from other characters as well, such as Jeremiah, who is a love interest in this novel. 
Similarly, The Summer I Turned Pretty did have a pretty interesting story that kept me reading until the end, but nothing very essential seemed to happen, almost as if we were actually living that summer with her completely instead of only getting the juicy parts of it. I believe that the only story that I did like was the drama about Taylor, the girl that used to be Belly´s best friend. I liked how the author built an anticipation that made the readers eager to find out what Taylor, a 14-year-old had done, and honestly, I did enjoy the outcome of that. 
Similarly, I really liked how the story had chapters from different time periods from Belly´s point of view because we are able to follow Belly´s family and friends throughout the summers and understand how summers always tend to be for these families. 
Overall, The Summer I Turned Pretty is a very enjoyable summer tale of growing up and trying to continue traditions and a story that you will not want to see the end.

4 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua

Eight Days on Planet Earth, Cat Jordan

Eight Days on Planet Earth by Cat Jordan

Imagine that you go out of your house once and you find a very skinny and pale-looking girl, she is beautiful , but she just doesn't look normal. Once you approach her, she starts telling you that she is an alien and that she is collecting data to send it back to her planet. This sounds extremely unrealistic, but that is exactly what happened to Matthew Matty Jones.
Matthew is a very average teenager, he has a close friend, Brian, who is always smoking weed and getting high, and he usually hangs out with Brian's older sister, Sam, whom Matty really likes; he lives in a very small town, where there is not much to see and he lives an ordinary life with his parents. Well, that is until Matthew's life changes completely.
DJ, Matthew's father has always loved stars and consequently, Matty used to love them too, but he simply grew out of it. But once his father leaves him and his mother, Matthew is in charge of taking care of her mother, who was left heartbroken after her husband left. While he is trying to make sure her mother is okay, he sees something new near his house.
There's a girl. Very skinny. Very pale. With very white hair. And very beautiful.
Matthew gets closer to her and realizes that she is different, and well, she says that she is different too. Priya, the girl, says that she comes from another planet and that she has come to the Earth to collect data to send back to her planet, where everyone is just like us but with different ways of doing things. For example, they can all share information through their heads. Priya says that her spaceship is coming to get her and that she is going home soon, she says she is sure that the spaceship is coming for her because that's what her calculations showed her. Yet, the days keep passing and Priya continues to be there, exactly where Matty says goodbye to her. 
After a couple of days, Matthew decides to show her around and help her with her investigation. That´s why he ends up showing her his extremely boring town. Later, he decides to go to the lake with Brian, where Priya is in an accident because she doesn't remember how to swim, that´s where Sam tells Matty that there seems to be something wrong with her and that he should be careful with her. This only makes Matty realize that there are many things wrong with Priya and that he should be more careful. This makes him start feeling uneasy with her. Is Sam correct? Is there really something wrong with Priya? Is she even from another planet? If so, why did her ride put her exactly in his yard? 
When I first read that a normal teenager met an alien outside of his house, I thought this was going to be really great story. I mean, I thought that this was probably going to be a little but like Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, which I REALLY enjoyed reading and made me fall in love with aliens, so I thought I would really enjoy this novel. But honestly, this is just completely different from Daemon. 
I really tried to like this novel a lot, but I found it to be too peculiar for my taste. I mean, I am always open to different plots because after reading the same type of stories, as a reader, I get tired of some plots, and yes, Eight Days on Planet Earth by Cat Jordan is definitely something new and refreshing, but I found out too weird for me. 
I did like the pace of the novel, it was slow, but at the same time quick. By this mean that although there are only eight days (which is the number of chapters), the days pass fairly quickly because so many things happen in such a short time for both characters that sometimes, it is even hard to remember that all of that happened in a single day. But the novel is a fairly quick reading because it only focuses on two things in Matty´s life: Priya and his father. So, overall, it is a reading that you will be able to finish in a sitting.
On the other hand, I did enjoy Matthew´s character a lot because he was a funny narrator and seeing the story from his perspective was very interesting, but I didn't like Priya. I found her a little annoying and the ending just really frustrated me. I just didn't like her attitude at all and at times, I found myself cringing. 
Sam is a character that I was hoping to get to know better because I was expecting to get some drama from her relationship with Matthew, but there wasn't´ anything that kept me going because she only appears in like two chapters, which is exactly what happened with Brian, her brother, too. Although I didn't really like Brian, I was expecting to get to know him better because Priya was just too boring for me, but he just disappears on the second chapter with his family. 
I really wanted to read some character development from everyone, but I didn't really notice any changes from Matthew or Priya, and like I mentioned, Sam and Brian weren't even part of the story. 
In addition, I didn´t really like the story itself because I found it to be too boring because nothing really happened, the whole story just revolved around Priya and although I really like novels focused on the romantic relationship, I found it annoying to notice that Matthew was not caring enough for his mothers although he actually took the time to talk about her. Similarly, I found the story to be weird, as mentioned before. I just didn't really feel the whole dating an alien and eating pizza with a random girl that just didn't look normal and the whole idea of knowing someone that considers herself to be an alien and actually having someone, like Matthew, believing in that without any real proof. For example, Daemon actually shows Kat his powers and how she shines like a Christmas tree, but Matthew was just a naive teenager that believed everything that the beautiful girl told him. 
As much as I disliked this novel, there were some things that I liked as well, such as the way the chapters were organized, which is by days. It was a simple, but at the same time, really effective because it was creative and really enjoyed reading it like that. 
On the other hand, I really liked the writing, in fact, I found it beautiful because Jordan was able to write a story that was fun, romantic and at the same time, realistic in the sense of Matty´s point of view. 
In addition, I really enjoyed the ending because it was realistic and very touching. I think I enjoyed it because it was very different from the whole story since the story was very optimistic while the ending was sad and realistic. 
Overall, Eight Days on Planet Earth is a quick sci-fi book with a funny narrator and the main character that you won´t forget. You will also get to know Earth like never before. 
I would like to thank Edelweiss and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this novel.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua

Trusting You and Other Lies, Nicole Williams

Trusting You and Other Lies by Nicole Williams

I was super excited to start reading this book because I thought that it was a very different plot, it is not very common to read a story about a girl attending a summer camp. I mean, we tend to read a lot about summer romances that are short term, but I thought that reading a creating a new world for the summer and meeting a partner would create a very good story, and this novel was indeed entertaining, but there was something that didn´t match to my expectations and I will make sure to explain that later.
Phoenix is going to a summer camp with her whole family to "bond" and have a special experience. She has been going through some rough times because her father has lost his job and has been unemployed for a couple of months and they are running out of money, but her parents never seem to tell her and Harry about their current situation, which makes Phoenix start distrusting her parents and begins to have trust issues with people. So, she is left as a connector in her family because she has too many things to worry about, her parents seem to be going through a divorce and Harry, her younger brother seems to start realizing that maybe their family is going to separate, which means that she has to stay strong and protect Harry.
When they are traveling to the camp, Phoenix is so angry at her parents and she is sure that she will hate it and that her summer is going to be awful. But once she gets there, she starts realizing that maybe summer camp isn´t that bad and that she might actually start enjoying her time there and her experience as a counselor.
On her first day, she meets a very hot guy that goes by the name of Callum. Soon, he asks her for her help to teach campers how to use a lifejacket. After that, she gets to know that Callum is actually the head counselor and he will be giving her instructions during her session.
But before she realizes it, she starts finding him very cute and starts taking an interest while trying to be strong and protect herself and Harry from her family.
In general, I loved the story and I was immediately charmed by Callum (and his name because it reminded me of Calum Hood, my husband), he seemed to be the type of guy that was going to make the reading very pleasant with that charming smile of his. Also, his comments completely made my life complete during the reading. In a sense, he did have a similarity with Jude Ryder, a character by the same author, because he had a very boyish charm to him. Besides his smile, his freaking flannel made my heart race every single time! Callum ended up feeling like a very mature and strong male character because he had so many things going on because he had all these crazy stories about his life, but at some point, those were it, like I was expecting more from him, I guess something more easy to grasp onto, and I will admit that I may be feeling like that because I had a book hangover with Peter Kavinsky from To All the Boys I´ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, my hangover lasted like three days and it was like the only thing that I could think of, just like when you get out of a relationship that you treasure and have absolutely no grudges over (I have never been in a relationship, but I think that is probably what it feels like), but in the past story where I was living, Kavinsky had such a clear background that readers could pin point that is was weird to see a character without a past so clear, but I do understand because this is a single novel and not a series like Kavinsky and I do realize that I have mentioned Kavinsky TOO many times, I apologize but I just love him so much. Aside from the background thing, I loved how unique he seemed. I mean, he was the character that was able to bring out the best side of Phoenix and he was probably the only reason why I ended up accepting her. Also, he rides a motorcycle, which reminded me of Jude and Travis Maddox. Oh, and he liked crazy-flavored ice creams. He sounds ADORABLE, I KNOW and HE IS!
On the other hand, Phoenix seemed like a very cool main character, she is one of the strongest female characters that I have encountered in my whole bookworm career. The way she always protected Harry was very nice to read about and it reminded me of my own siblings. Also, the way she was able to adapt to different environments so easily was something I liked about her. As much as I loved her, the one thing that made me hate her was the way she was so quick to judge and she only knows opposite sides, like she has no idea that in betweens exist in life and that made me be so angry at her, but I guess everyone´s different. Other than that, I loved how much she tried to keep it together and be responsible for her actions and to make everything better. It was very interesting to see how Phoenix´s point of view started changing throughout the story while summer was going by because it happened like anything happens in life, you don´t notice until one page you realize that she is different and that things have changed, this characteristic of hers made her much more human and interesting to read about.
Another thing that I loved about the novel was the way that the family problem was portrayed because it was realistic. I mean, we do read a lot about teenagers that are experiencing a breaking family, but this novel included something that not all of them include and that was the perspective that her parents had. The book doesn´t contain other points of view, but it included a very different ending, where you were able to notice the story from other character´s eyes and I believe that this shows how great Williams´writing is.
I loved the story and the way the novel was written, but there was something that bothered me besides Callum not having a background and that was the way that other characters appeared. I didn´t like the way some characters were included, like Naomi, Evan, and Ethan, but they never really appeared that much. In my perspective, these characters were used more as the extra characters that were created and only used when they were needed, like when someone needed to come to the room when Callum and Phoenix were having a hot making out session or a counselor´s name they needed. So, I would have loved to read more about those characters as well.
In general, Trusting You and Other Lies by Nicole Williams was a very pleasant reading for the summer because it was fun and it included different themes that definitely made me realize new things and I fell in love with Callum. I highly recommend this novel and believe that many people will enjoy them. 

4 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua. 

To All the Boys I´ve Loved Before, Jenny Han

To All the Boys I´ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

This is the second time I read this book and surprisingly, I enjoyed this reading better than last time, which was like three years ago, and I was able to notice different things that made this story very unique and different than others.
So, the story is about Lara Jean, who has had five crushes throughout her life and every time she falls in love with someone and she wants to get over them, she writes love letters about how much she likes them or just some simple confessions she has or thoughts about them. Being a rising junior, she has to say goodbye to Margot, her older sister, who is going to Scotland to study and she eventually breaks up with their neighbor, Josh, the guy that Lara Jean has a crush on and has had for many years.
But that´s not the only problem Lara Jean has to face being a junior, suddenly all of her letters have been sent, including Josh´s.
So, while trying to get away from him since he´s Margot´s ex-boyfriend, she kisses Peter Kavinsky, one of her older crushes to get Josh to forget about the letter, and suddenly, Peter has the fantastic idea of them pretending to be dating because he has just broken up with Genevive, the girl he has been dating since seventh grade, and surprisingly, Lara Jean accepts.
But Margot being gone, Lara Jean has to take care of the house, including her father and her little sister, Kitty, and things that were usually under Margot´s responsibility.
Lara Jean´s junior year is all about trying to take care of her family and surviving a crazy love life with the school´s most popular guy.
I loved this novel because it tells so many different sides of a story that I truly felt like I always got the whole picture of the things that were happening in the lives of the characters.
First, I want to talk about the relationships that the characters had with each other. I loved seeing romantic relationships, family relationships, and friendships. My favorite was probably the family relationships that we could see because they felt more natural in a way because they seemed much closer to our reality. The Song sisters (Margot, Lara Jean, and Kitty) lost their mother when they were very young, so they are under the care of their father, who is a very busy doctor, and Margot is in charge of the family and the household, she literally takes care of everything, from packing lunches to Thanksgiving cooking. And what stayed with me the most within this family was that when Margot and Lara Jean were supposed to be having fun with their friends, they still took the time to care about their family, try to create a cozy atmosphere for Kitty and also take care of their father. So, in a way, they matured quicker than others. Also, the manner in which the sisters were almost pushed to take responsibilities seemed very natural under their circumstances and they seemed very real and humane to me.
On the other hand, it was heartbreaking to read about Lara Jean´s childhood friendships because I think that we all have those kinds of friendships that we move on from throughout the years and at some point they are just kept inside of us as little memories or moments that may have brought us happiness sometime in our lifetime, but we never really do a lot to keep them alive, so reading about little Lara Jean with her little friends was a way of realizing that there are so many things we forget about in our lives, including people that may have changed our points of views or our realities. I truly believe that although it was expressed as a very unimportant topic, it really touched me because I personally have friendships that have been lost and I don´t really cherish them because I have moved on, yet I still have a part inside that wonders if things could´ve been different.
Now, I want to talk about the characters because they are very special to me.
First of all, her family members. I love her father because he really tries to keep an ideal family and tries to act both as a father and mother figure to the three daughters. Margot was a character that I liked to read about because she is like the typical older sister you want to have with you, you could always look up to her since she is always right and knows how to keep everything under control. Lastly, Kitty is the little sister we all need, she is funny and can create the best atmosphere for the other characters, and I think that she played a crucial part in the improvement in Lara Jean and Peter´s relationship.
Moving on to love interests, I loved both Josh and Peter. I have to admit that the first time I read the novel, I was swept off the ground by Josh and his boy-next-door charm because I just loved simple and sweet guys, but now that I had given Peter a chance after having read the second book a couple of years ago, it was easier for me to like him and adore him because let´s admit it, Peter is adorable! I loved Peter´s sense of humor and the way he brings out a new side of Lara Jean after saying goodbye to her older sister. Also, Lara Jean gets to experience new adventures in her junior year with Peter.
We could say that Peter and Josh are the exact opposite. Josh is sweet, while Peter is arrogant and cocky, but they are both definitely charming and lovely. Oh, and they hate each other because Josh called Peter out during a Spanish test in seventh grade because Kavinsky was copying.
On the other hand, I want to talk about how much I LOVED Lara Jean. She was the character that I could identify myself with the most because I just realized that we have the same age and that she had a crush on Peter at the same age that I fell in love with him too, but I believe that besides the age similarity, it was the culture. After all, she´s half-Korean and I am Korean, so it was very interesting to notice part of my culture in a YA book, but I would like to explain that later on. Now, going back to the whole age similarity thing, I loved how I could relate to being eager to get an activity done, be part of a club or nailing your ACT and SAT scores for college, so seeing a girl that was so similar to me was amazing. Not only we had a similar cultural background, we were both stranded in high expectations from someone we look up to because of college.
Now, going back to the whole Korean culture part, I loved reading about it because it made me feel like I belonged. Being able to read about Korean festivities, like how we wear hanboks in New Year´s Eve and we get money from our elders, or all the amazing dishes, like bo ssam, made me so so happy.  I think to see a part of my culture so nicely portraited in our media platform today was the best part of the novel because it is very easy for someone to mess it up or say something that could not be right, but Jenny Han did it just right! 
Though, there was this one part that´s really going to stay with me. So, Lara Jean is going to celebrate Halloween at her high school and she is choosing her costume and at the end, she has to go dressed up as Cho Chang from Harry Potter because if she decides to wear some thing else, people think that she´s just dressed up as a manga character and being an Asian myself, I know that feeling very well. It´s as if you feel different when other people are able to dress up as something as simple as a princess or a very well-known character costume because you don´t look the part and when people notice that you are far too different from the character that you were trying to be, they immediately think that you are another character that you may not even know about! Noticing the real struggles that were portraited in the story for being from a different ethnicity was something that the novel took lightly, but I will cherish it because it was the best way to show the media how different we feel at simple times as Halloween.
Another thing that I absolutely loved about the novel was how Lara Jean feels pressured by the society into being part of a relationship and being like everyone else because Lara Jean and I are so alike in the sense that we prefer being with our family and we don´t really like going to parties, so actually reading about peer pressure in our society today was something that I really liked. Also, I  liked how Lara Jean was still herself after she was Peter for too long and after going to all those parties and being in the spotlight at her high school, she still preferred being with her family and I really admired that because I believe that if I was in her position, I would do the same thing. 
In conclusion, To All the Boys I´ve Loved Before by Jenny Han is a fun and refreshing story that portrays a lot the different topics in our society today. Also, it will keep you up all night thinking about Peter and Josh because of all their adorable flaws. You will love the characters that surround Lara Jean as much as you will like her, although she sometimes frustrated me with her decisions. I recommend this book a lot if you want something very funny to read, yet with a little drama. 

4 1/2 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua