No Book Left Behind

Sunday, January 22, 2017

"The Merciless": A Book That Will Not Only Chill You To The Core But Will Make You Question Everything

"The Merciless" by Danielle Vega is the only book I have read so far this year, but I can tell it will be one of my favorites. It follows Sophia, a girl whose life is turned upside down when she begins attending a new school and befriends three other students.

Sophia's new group of friends, Riley, Grace and Alexis, believe that a girl at their school named Brooklyn is possessed and convince Sophia that in order to help Brooklyn they must perform an exorcism. Little did she know that this would mean she would be stuck in an abandoned house, looking at Brooklyn, who is laying in her own blood and being gagged in the basement. Despite her efforts to escape or to not be involved, she is not only trapped in the house, but trapped in the world of despair laid out in front of her.

This book had me turning the pages from the very beginning. It was fast paced and I read it very quickly. One big event happened after the other and it really kept me on my toes. Evil can take form in all shapes and sizes and it was really hard to point out who was innocent and who was evil. This wasn't predictable at all and I was constantly surprised and shook by the turn of events.

"The Merciless" is a book that includes not only a teenager's struggle in high school, but a paranormal aspect as well. This book literally gave me chills because it was so unnerving. It is a really good combination of horror and the paranormal, and had aspects of "the mean girl" in high school.

The characters were not only very dynamic, but they also were very diverse; which I really appreciated. The character development was also spot on and the characters all had different flaws that made them who they are. The sins or flaws in this book were major aspects that really wove the story together beautifully. Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned, is in the premise of the book and it does a good job of describing this story. All of these characters are teenagers in high school and have their own flaws and no one is perfect. All together, the character development was magnificent and I really could relate to Sophia, because I remember what high school was like.

I absolutely loved the twists and turns and the rollercoaster this book took me on. "The Merciless" was a very gripping read and I highly recommend this book if you want something to keep you on the edge of your seat and give you chills!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paw Prints

Sunday, January 8, 2017

My 2017 Writing, Blogging and Personal Resolutions

Blogging

Post a blog post at least every weekend
Keep my blog up to date
Be better at replying back to comments on my blog
Post at least two book reviews a month
Email authors back in a timely manner

Writing

Finish writing my book I am currently working on
Participate in Nanowrimo everyday throughout the month of November
Get my portfolio together for the Creative Writing program at my college
Write for at least an hour every day

Personal

Do Bible Devotional Everyday
Do Demi Lovato Devotional Everyday
Spend more time with my sorority sisters
Actually read the material for my literature classes
Get better grades
Floss and use mouthwash every night
Learn how to play the ukulele
Relearn how to play guitar
Start playing piano again
Exercise for at least a hour every day
Reconnect with old friends
Drink 8 glasses of water everyday
Only eat fast-food once a month
Only eat dessert every other night (except for the weekend or special occasions)
Watch the entire Gossip Girl series on Netflix (including the revival)

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

2017 Bookish Resolutions

1.Read 50 books

2. Read for at least an hour every day

3. Can buy one book for every 5 you read ( books I need to read before I see the movie or books I need to read for a group read during a read-a-thon are the exception)

4. Read one review book per month and review it

5. Finish reading the 5th Wave trilogy

I have to read:

6. Finish reading the Hunger Games trilogy

I have to read:

7. Finish reading the Everneath trilogy

I have to read:

8. Finish reading the Shades of London trilogy

I have to read:

9. Finish reading the Maze Runner trilogy

I have to read:

10. Finish The Caster Chronicles

I have to read:

11. Finish reading the Harry Potter series

I have to read:

12. Finish reading the Mortal Instruments series

I have to read:

13. Finish reading the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series

I have to read:

14. Read the Infernal Devices trilogy

15. Read the Lord of The Rings series

16. Read at least 5 non-fiction books

17. Reread at least one book

18. Keep a Bookish journal (post explaining this coming soon)

19. Finish all of the books on my currently reading shelf

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Participation Announcement: 2017 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

I am so excited to announce my participation in The 2017 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge hosted by Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf! I have only read a few books about witchcraft throughout my life so far and I am looking forward to immersing myself into some more during this challenge this year!

I am planning on doing the Maiden level, which means I plan on reading 6-10 books that are about witches/witchcraft.

Here are the books I am planning on reading for this challenge:

January Read-a-thons I Am Participating In

There's no better way to kick off the new year than to participate in read-a-thons! Here are some of the read-a-thons I am participating in during January!

I only read one of the short stories and I want to hopefully read the rest of them during the read-a-thon.

I am currently on page 127 out of 279 and hope to finish it during the read-a-thon.

I want to get a good way through this, if not the whole thing.

The Winter Biannual Bibliothon 2017

January 8th- 14th

1. Read the group book

4. Read a book a BookTuber recommends to you

5. Read a book you were really excited for but never picked up

6. Read a retelling

Monday, November 28, 2016

"The Telling": Book Review

"Lana used to know what was real.

That was before when her life was small and quiet.

Her golden step-brother, Ben, was alive, she could only dream about bonfiring with the populars, their wooded island home was idyllic, she could tell the truth from lies, and Ben’s childhood stories were firmly in her imagination.

Then came after.

After has Lana boldly kissing her crush, jumping into the water from too high up, and living with nerve and mischief. But after also has horrors, deaths that only make sense in fairy tales, and terrors from a past Lana thought long forgotten: Love, blood, and murder."

The Telling by: Alexandra Sirowy is probably one of my favorite books I have read this year! The Telling is a thrilling and chilling ride, with twists and turns that you never see coming. This book follows Lana who previously lost her step-brother, Ben. Lana used to be an outsider, a goody two shoes and she only had one friend, her best friend Willa. After her step-brother died, her whole world shattered, and the girl who planned every step of her future dies along with him.

Lana starts hanging out with the popular crowd at her school, "the core". One day, when they are swimming in a spring, they find a dead body. They become suspects in the detectives' eyes and they also become the killer's pawns.

This book was a mixing pot of a horror, thriller and mystery. Some Young Adult books with elements of mystery in them seem to be very predictable, but this book had me constantly turning the pages to see what will happen next. I was hooked to this book from the very first page and I tried to figure out what would happen next or who the killer was, but every event would be a surprise to me.

This book really brought me back to what high school was like. Lana is just like every other teenage girl dealing with constant humiliation from other teenage girls and trying to find her place in the world. Except, her life isn't normal at all and there is a murderer that has her and her friends on a thread.

I found Lana's character very unique. She wanted revenge from all of the people who did wrong to her and her step-brother Ben and she keeps on saying that they deserved to die because how horribly they treated her and Ben. However, I think no one deserves to be brutally murdered, no matter how much of a horrible person they are. I still rated this book 5 stars, because I thought the vengefulness of the main character, Lana, really helped to add suspense and mystery to the plot.

I also found it amazing that Lana became friends with "the core", who spread rumors about her and made her first years in high school a living hell. One of the main themes in this book was forgiveness and I think this comes to show that Lana is capable of forgiveness, and that every teenage girl wants to belong in the crowd.

I didn't see the ending of this book coming and I didn't even see the events that happened in the distance. I was so shocked and literally read the same words on the same page about five times. I kept on thinking, "Did that really just happen? No way that happened".

I felt like after I read the last words on the last page of The Telling, that I was in shock and denial. A good and unpredictable suspense, thriller or mystery, always leaves you in shock. This book was different threads of the elements you need to have a good book, woven together. If you want a thrilling ride, that is also a coming of age story, and that will constantly surprise you, I highly recommend The Telling to you!