Review: Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity is an extremely raved about book in the publishing world. It's adored for good reason as well. Code Name Verity is amazing. It's a little unconventional, with a strong focus on friendship and a lack of romance, but I loved it. The book is split into two parts. Both are first person narration from the POV's of Julie and Kitty. If you start it and it seems iffy, the book does start off a bit slow. It's worth the read, though.

The story is set in Paris, France, World War II era. I can't say much about Julie because everything about her is laced with spoilers, but I can say that I love her to death. She speaks in a loose, stream of conscious way, which shows us insight on her prison. Honestly, at times she seems completely unhinged, but that only caused me to pity her more because of her circumstances. It's rare that I form such a strong connection with a character because the characters are usually the first I forget when it comes to novels. But here she is! It's been months and I still can't forget this woman.

So, Julie. Love her to death. She's eccentric and it's kind of fascinating and horrifying at the same time to watch imprisonment change her. Yet, at the same time some of her best qualities manage to stick with her through her struggle. Love. Her.

The second half of the book is from Kitty's point of view. She's less crazy and seems more cautious. Her personality differs from Julie's social magnetism, yet her strength in her desires and beliefs are admirable. Through Kitty, we learn more about her past with Julie and how Julie comes off to the rest of the world. It also shows Kitty's tenacity to cope with her worry for Julie and her adjustment to a completely different country. Kitty's such a hardworking character and so sweet at the same time. I liked her, but definitely not as much as Julie.

The second half of the book is shocking. I can't say anymore without spoiling the entire thing, but let's just say we get some new insight on the events told through Julie's point of view.

The side characters are very interesting, but take a back seat to our leading ladies. They serve their purpose in the story, but instead of seeing them as villains or heroes, the author crafts such realism and life into them that they seem like real people with faults.

The ending is tragic. So many tears have been shed over Code Name Verity. If you're looking for a happily ever after story, this isn't it. It's heartbreaking, mentally scarring, but so beautifully crafted.

Code Name Verity is a great book. Great, great, great, GREAT book. Despite the slow start, it's a must read. If you want a book with history, friendship, and slightly different, Code Name Verity is the book for you! 

Rating: 5/5 stars

(I apologize for the formatting errors. I wrote this review from my iPhone on vacation.)

Review: Unspoken

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

Review: Sarah Rees Brennan is one of the most comedic authors I know. Yet, at the same time she also makes my heart hurt so much I want to rip it out while I read her books. Interesting combination, right?

I had a hard time relating to Kami because I'm neither brave nor funny, but I loved having her as the main character. She's a sassy, short, Asian, journalist who goes on crazy adventures to get the scoop. It's difficult to get bored when you're with her, because she dreams up these plans. Kami is a far cry from perfect and her flaws are a little annoying, but charming and keep her grounded as a real person. When things get difficult, I love how Kami manages to stay positive and continue pursuing the truth. Her thirst for knowledge is a refreshing change from the passive characters in other stories. Did I mention that she's short? A girl after my own heart.

How do I even begin to explain the cast of characters? If there's any complaint about them, it's that they're too charming and too witty. Every character has a funny little quibble to add to the conversation, which may be unrealistic, but has the same kind of feel as the amazing characters from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. The love interest is more of a friend throughout the entire book, which works, because Jared's the closest friend Kami's ever had. Because, you know, he's in her head. It's also the first book in a trilogy, so there's plenty of time to get into the romance stuff. 

Did I mention how funny everyone is?

Despite how I make Unspoken sound, it's not all wit and giggles. The characters suffer and suffer bad because Sarah Rees Brennan is evil. There's more depth behind this story than word battles, I swear. Sarah Rees Brennan tackles a lot of difficult topics in a natural way that doesn't take away from the plot or become so focused that the book transforms into a life lesson.

Another aspect about the story that stuck with me was the setting. Unspoken is essentially a Gothic novel, so it includes its fair share of shady townies and old architecture. Sorry-in-the-Vale is almost a character itself, with the rich town history and creepy but unclear secrets the town holds. The author does such a great job of creating the town naturally, without spending paragraphs describing the town. She crafts it together so subtly, you don't notice until suddenly you can draw a map of the town at the end of the novel.

There's no lull in the story so make sure to read this when you have a sizable amount of time. You will not want to put this down once you've started. I promise you that you won't be able to put this book down once you've started.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Twelve Books for 12/12/12

Hello, lovely readers. I'm sorry that I haven't blogged for such a long time. It's 12/12/12, the last repetitive date for our lives (unless you're immortal) so I compiled a list of twelve great books that you all should read, in no particular order. If you think you should spend today doing something more special than reading, you're crazy! (Or it's finals week. Ugh) Without further rambling, here's the list.

12. Legend by Marie Lu

11. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stievater

10. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

9. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

7. Code Name Verity by

6. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

4. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

3. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

2. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

What are your twelve suggestions for today?

Weirdest Reader

So…I’m probably the worst person to be around if I’m reading. Normally, I’m either really bitchy sarcastic or just silent. But when I’m reading…when I’m reading I seem to forgot that I’m an actual human being. You want me to act civilized? You’re lucky if I’ll set down the book for a minute to listen to what your saying. 

What? A fire? A cute guy? Food? I’M SORRY, BUT CAN’T YOU SEE I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF IMPORTANT SOMETHING!?

The characters are running away from a bad guy/having a serious conversation/acting adorable/kissing. That’s what’s really important. Obviously.

While reading a book, I also have a habit to forget how to form actual words. I will make half laughing/screeching noises, whale noises, squees, extensive cusses, and many “I knew it”s. For the sake of this post, cusses and “I knew it” don’t count as actual words, even though they do. 

Thankfully, my sister’s learned to ignore me by now or else I’d be in a lot of trouble. If something awkward or awesome happens, I’ll jump, dance, run up and down the stairs, cackle like a maniac, or all of the above. My family probably thinks I’m insane, but whatever.

Because I’m talking about books, guys. BOOKS.

Yeah, so I probably shouldn’t read in a library. Ever.

Cover Reveal: Clockwork Princess

For those of you who don't have a twitter or who were absent from today's exciting hashtag fest, here's the cover of Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Princess, the last book of The Infernal Devices. To "fight the mist" that covered this image, we had to tweet #ClockworkPrincess. It was a lot of fun and we wound up making #ClockworkPrincess trend worldwide. Now that's dedication for you!

Isn't it beautiful? It's probably my favorite cover from this series. I mean, just look at Tessa. She's so pretty. And her book is glowing. The book is glowing. I wish my books glowed because then I'd always have a light with me.

YA Crush Tourney: Team Tod

Guess whose match begins at 12:00 pm Eastern time tonight. Magnus? Well, yes, but I wasn't really talking about him. I'm talking about Tod, you silly person. Tod, the lovely reaper from Soul Screamers. 

His first match is tonight and will be on for the next 24 hours. Keep watch of Ina's blog and twitter for updates because she's Tod's advocate.

Check out my twitter and my tumblr today and tomorrow for some of my favorite Tod Hudson quotes! 

Get the word out via twitter, blog, facebook, tumblr, a sign taped to your cat, ect. #TeamTod

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that showcases future releases we're looking forward to.

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
Expected Publication Date: February 5th 2013

No blurb available.


Frankly, I want to see more of Warner. It must make me some kind of sick, twisted person, but I really enjoy his character. There's something so fundamentally wrong with him that just draws my attention to him every time he appears on the page. So yeah, maybe by loving his character, there's something wrong with me too.

Oh yeah, I want to see more of Juliet too. And Adam. And Kenji. Basically, I want to see everyone again!







Sorry for disappearing for a week with just another meme to show for it. I've been extremely sick recently and being on the computer for extended periods of time gives me a really bad headache. I'm such a bad book blogger.