"The Choice": Not My Best Pick For Reading Material

I already know what you're thinking, this is a Nicholas Sparks book you weenie, why are you reading this? For the record, I really do like Nicholas Sparks books, my favorite being Safe Haven (not the movie, mind you, because the trailer looked nothing like what the book was about). I remember the Last Song pretty well too and I didn't mind that, nor Dear John, even though that was probably my least favorite to date. This one? It was only eh.

First of all, it's short. According to my Nook, it's only 220 something pages. At first, I was psyched because I didn't have to read that much, but after finishing the book, I wish there was more relationship development. In the first half of the book, Sparks tried to do that; he introduces the main love interests and have them interact with each other. To me, though, this was the most unbelievable part of the entire book because they fell in love so fast. Like there was a few meetings where nothing happened romantically, although you were expecting it to lead there and then BAM INSTA-LOVE. I had to check and make sure I wasn't reading a YA novel or like Twilight because I did not think adult romance novels had this concept.

Apparently, as I learned from this book, they do.

The second half of the book I won't spoil for you, but, if you read the prologue and the title, you were probably expecting it by this point. While I liked the emotions surrounding the situation, I just wasn't into it. I felt like it was forced and it was just trying to make me feel for these characters that I barely knew anything about, since the "getting to know the characters" portion was breezed through so fast. Plus there was so much time missing from the first part to the second part that it left you with questions you will never get answered.

It also drove me up a wall that the speeches were so...perfect. Yes, this is a Nicholas Sparks novel; I should be expecting this. But, why NOT have more realistic situations? There is no way that these characters' lives were so happy and problem free. There is no way that these characters could say the perfect thing at the perfect time. It just seemed cheesy and awkward. I would read the passages with a character giving a love speech and I would laugh to myself since there is no way in hell that would happen in real life. I JUST WANT REALISTIC, NOT PERFECT.

The epilogue was predictable as well. If you saw what was coming in the second part, you saw what was coming in the epilogue. Am I mad about it? No. But I just wish that I could have been surprised.

"Gone Girl": It's Not Your Mama's Mystery Novel

I'm not normally an adult mystery novel kind of girl. Granted, I am eighteen, so I usually stick to what I know: Young Adult novels. They're not always good, but, it's my age group so, you know. This time, though, I decided to try something new.

And I'm so glad I did.

Gone Girl is a novel that will keep you on your toes every step of the way. Seriously. Just when you think you know what's going on, Gillian Flynn throws in another twist and it's back to the drawing board. It's wildly addicting and pretty messed up, just like a good mystery novel should be. And there were no sparkly vampires, which is always a plus.

There are also multiple perspectives in the novel, which is something I always find interesting. It was even better in this novel, since their POVs would always change your opinion of the other character. One minute you were pro-Nick and the next you were pro-Amy. This dynamic was cool, since it was realistic and kept you on your toes.

The only thing I didn't care for was the end. I really wanted the book to be resolved and not left where it was. The ending did stick with me for days (and is still shocking to me now), so Flynn did exactly what she was supposed to as an author. I highly recommend it and bet that you will not see the ending coming, not in a million years..

Elizabeth Norris Writes Another "Unbreakable" Novel

It's so hard to find a good YA novel nowadays. It's like every single one has the same whiny main character, the same forbidden romance aspect, and the same blah plot.

So, basically, Twilight wannabees.

When I picked up the first book in this series, Unraveling, I thought it would be just like the others: painful and a waste of my time. Surprisingly, it wasn't. It's main character was a strong and interesting individual, the romance did not take up the entire story, and I was entranced by the plot. It was such a refreshing change of pace that I could not wait for this book to come out.

Now that it's here (and I got the chance to read it), I have to say that Elizabeth Norris has done it again; this book is great.

First off, Janelle is fabulous. She's such a joy to read about because she's not one of those girls who obsess over the boy she cares about. Yes, it crosses her mind from time to time, but she knows that there are more pressing things to think about than what he's up to. She's also not blinded by her love. When she gets news about Ben having gone missing, she's upset, but she doesn't automatically go looking for him. She knows that she has people she cares about in San Diego and, only after a lot of persuading and weighing her options, does she finally decide to go after him.

Norris is also not afraid of killing. Many YA authors shy away from characters killing one another because it's morally wrong. But that's not realistic! If someone was attacking you, would you make sure you didn't hurt them or would you do whatever was needed to survive?

I would choose survive every day.

This is what makes Unbreakable such a great novel. It has the perfect amount of action, suspense, and realism. It doesn't smother you; instead, it brings all these elements together to make a great read.

Awakening the New Year: My Review of "Awaken" by Meg Cabot

Everyone knows that Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors of all time. Everyone also knows that her Abandon Trilogy is my least favorite series of hers. The first book? Thoroughly loved. The second? Couldn't stand. So, going into Awaken, I had no idea what to expect. 

In the end, I got the best (and the worst) of both books. 

THE BAD:
John and Pierce- Their interactions drive me up a wall. It is like nothing can ever get accomplished with the two of them because they are too busy groping and flirting with each other. I didn't mind it so much at the end, but when they needed to make a vital decision, it was like the entire world stopped for them. It's like in a movie where the two main characters are having a moment and the bad guy waits for them to finish before enacting his evil plot. It's just tacky and, in their case, too lovey-dovey for me. 

The suspense- I figured everything out WAY before Pierce figured it out. There were a few times where it was painfully obvious what was going on and Pierce had no idea. I enjoy when I don't have a clue or figure it out right before it happens, but it becomes tiresome when you want to scream at the book because she's not getting it. 

Pierce crying- I CAN NOT STAND WEAK MAIN CHARACTERS. Whining, crying, the whole lot. It's why I did not enjoy the second book, Underworld, because that was all it entailed. While Pierce got better as the book progressed, the beginning had me thinking this was going to be the same exact thing. It was just constant "Pierce had tears in her eyes" and "Pierce let the tears fall". I literally just wanted to yell at her and tell her to grow some balls. Yes, you can cry a little bit, but don't make a huge production out of it. 

THE GOOD:
Pierce after she stopped crying- When Pierce FINALLY got to the point where she could be sarcastic and get things done, she was fantastic to read about. You just had to get through a lot of humps to get to this point, which kind of irritated me. If we had had this Pierce the entire book, it would have been a five star book for me, hands down. 

The end- What can I say, Meg Cabot ended this perfectly. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I am perfectly satisfied with how she wrote it. 

Overall, Awaken is not as good as the first but not as bad as the second. Even with the bad, Awaken manages to keep you interested and invested, with you not wanting to put the book down. I could have done without some parts, but the end of the book is worth it, so I recommend reading it.