Wrap Up/Book Haul: April 2016

Physical Books Read:

E-Books Read:

Audio Books Read:

April Book Haul

I went to the store to get some milk, and I somehow ended up buying this as well:

And then, I found this one on one of my Dollar Tree trips and couldn't leave it behind:

My boss went to one of the book conferences and brought back a stack of books. These are the ones that I chose to take home with me:

I also received my pre-order for this graphic novel. I've already started reading it and I love it so much!

I also received my Owl Crate for the Month. This month's theme was dystopia.

And lastly, I had to order my books for my summer class. I'm going to be taking diverse children's literature so I'm really excited to read all of these books, but not excited that I only have 3 weeks to do so.

Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

TITLE: Everything, Everything
AUTHOR: Nicola Yoon
PUBLISHER: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
PUBLICATION DATE: 9/1/2015
FORMAT: Hardcover
PAGES: 320
SOURCE: Bought





















MY RATING: 

INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: 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.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Oh, this book. I'm not really sure where to begin with it. It's been a very long time since I've given a book a 5 star rating. I only reserve those for my absolute favorites, and Everything, Everything has made it into that group. I had been wanting to read this one since I first heard about it. The only thing that I knew about it was that it was about a girl who was, essentially, allergic to the world and it had gotten some great reviews. I love books where people are shut off from the world or from other types of communities that would be considered "normal" so I knew I had to read this.

To play off the title of the book, this book was everything. I loved it so much.. I loved the story line and how the romance between the two main characters developed. And then, there was the twist. I wasn't expecting it and was pretty shocked. I also loved the resolution at the end of the book and the sketched pictures that were thrown in every once in a while were nice too.

CHARACTERS: I loved the interaction between pretty much all of the characters. I thought that Olly and Madeline has a really sweet, cute relationship. The relationship between Madeline and her mom was nice as well, I loved how close they were. And the relationship between Madeline and her nurse, Carla was really nice as well.

COVER: The cover is really pretty. I love all of the colors that pop on the white background.

Review: Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology (Audio)

TITLE: Trouble Maker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology
AUTHOR: Leah Remini
NARRATOR: Leah Remini
PUBLISHER: Random House Audio
FORMAT: Audio Book
LENGTH: 7 hrs 12 mins
SOURCE: Bought
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (From Goodreads): Leah Remini has never been the type to hold her tongue. That willingness to speak her mind, stand her ground, and rattle the occasional cage has enabled this tough-talking girl from Brooklyn to forge an enduring and successful career in Hollywood. But being a troublemaker has come at a cost.

That was never more evident than in 2013, when Remini loudly and publicly broke with the Church of Scientology. Now, in this frank, funny, poignant memoir, the former King of Queens star opens up about that experience for the first time, revealing the in-depth details of her painful split with the church and its controversial practices.

MY THOUGHTS: Before I picked up this book, I only knew of Leah Remini from her show King of Queens. I didn't even know that she had previously been a Scientologist, but I love listening to autobiographies especially when they are on social culture. I think Leah did a great job at the narration of her book - I always enjoy biographies more when they are narrated by the author themselves because they are able to emphasize parts they feel are important. Although, since I know nothing about Scientology, because of her New York accent, I thought through the whole book she was saying "Ella Rach" instead of  "L. R. H."

The book itself was enjoyable. I feel like Leah described her experiences really well and she did a good job of explaining why she left the Scientology religion while still being fairly respectful. I really enjoyed listening to her and I'l have to check out her reality television show sometime soon because I think it would be fun to get a glimpse inside her life as it is now.

Wrap-Up/Book Haul: March 2016

Physical Books Read:

Audiobooks Read:

MARCH BOOK HAUL

First up, is my OwlCrate. I'm really impressed with this months box. I loved everything. I haven't heard of the book, but I'm excited to give it a try.

The next books I received from the publishers.

And the last two pictures are books that I purchased. All of them came from the dollar store and cost me $1 each.

Reviews Written:

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (3.5/5)