Wrap Up/Haul: October 2016

Physical Books Read:

Audio Books Read:

Ebooks Read:

October Book Haul:

Owlcrate:


ARCs from work:


I couldn't resist picking up this magazine:


I won this coloring book in a giveaway:


Some of the books I picked up at the library in October:

Reviews Written:

Replica by Lauren Oliver (3.5/5)

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi (4/5)

Review: Furthermore

TITLE: Furthermore
AUTHOR: Tahereh Mafi
PUBLISHER: Dutton Books for Young Readers
PUBLICATION DATE: 8/30/2016
FORMAT: Hardcover
PAGES: 416
SOURCE: Library
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn't miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it's been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she's about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she'll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit--and with a liar by her side in a land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself--and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Adventure. This book is just filled to the brim with adventure, color and magic. It was such a joy to read this book. Tahereh is amazing at creating these magical worlds. While I was reading, I could picture all of these colors and textures everywhere. She came up with so many imaginative pieces of the story and she was able to describe everything in a way where I had no problems whatsoever recreating the visions in my mind.

CHARACTERS: I loved Oliver and Alice's relationship. Are they friends, are they not friends, do they get along, do they not get along? It felt like a real relationship that would actually happen between two kids their age.

COVER: The cover is stunning. It's so bright and colorful and has so many tie ins to the story.

Review: Replica (ARC)

TITLE: Replica
AUTHOR: Lauren Oliver
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/4/2016
FORMAT: ARC
PAGES: 544
SOURCE: Publisher/Amazon Vine
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing, they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever...

OVERALL IMPRESSION: As I'm sure most of you know by now, this book is a unique reading experience. The story is told from two different perspective, Gemma and Lyra. You can start on one side and read all of Lyra's story, then flip the book over and read all of Gemma's story, or you can flip back and forth reading one chapter of each girls' story alternating. I chose to alternate chapters. For me, this was pretty annoying. I wish the story had just been written in alternating chapters as it was frustrating to have to keep flipping the book over and try not to lose my bookmark and then when I set the book down, I had to remember which side of the story I was on. But that might just be me nitpicking.

The book itself was great. The further I got into it, the more desperate I was to keep reading to find out what was going on and what was going to happen next. The mystery involving this story was interesting to me. There were some things that were a little predictable, but it was still exciting and shocking all the same. I think the next book in the series will clear up some questions I have and give more insight into Haven and Gemma's parents.

CHARACTERS: I really enjoyed the group of characters that we follow in this book. I enjoyed learning about all of them and finding out who they were.

COVER: This book essentially has two covers. Both of them are nice. I like that they are the same but different.

Wrap Up: September 2016

Physical Books Read:

Audio Books Read:

September Book Haul:

September OwlCrate:


Also, I went to DragonCon this month and got to see Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) and Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone from NSYSNC: