My absence explained

Did you know that finals suck? And that they require immense amounts of studying?

So yeah, that's why I haven't been on as much. And I probably won't be able to get any more done over break because I'm trying to finish my book, hanging out with friends and getting my wisdom teeth removed.

Sorry you guys. I'll try to stop doing things other than blogging eventually.

LATAH

Owyn

Book Review: Burn for Burn

NOTE: I got this as an ARC and just wasn't able to read it for a while until after it was published.

(This following paragraph will make sense eventually)

I originally read The Summer I Turned Pretty series by Jenny Han and quite enjoyed them. I had read Not That Kind of Girl but I let that one character who's best friends with Natalie warp my view of the book. I automatically hate any character who longs to be popular because I don't relate to that. But the writing was very good, and I liked the whole feminism aspect since it wasn't preachy. And I want to read The List.

Burn for Burn is a book about 3 girls who extract revenge on the people who've wronged them by Vivian and Han.

I liked this book. It's really captivating. It was a good thing I read it on a plane ride.

I am going to explain each of the three girls and revenges and why I liked them or maybe something I didn't like.

*THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS. WE'LL SEE*

Kat: She wants to go against her ex-best friend Rennie, who is now best friends with Lillia. Kat wasn't the best influence, since she was often under the influence, but I started bouncing in my seat when I read the revenge against Rennie. THAT BITCH DESERVED IT.

Lillia: Lillia wants revenge against the guy who she's always trusted because he started going after her younger sister. Being an older sister, I instantly got this. I wouldn't hesitate to cause bodily/emotional harm to someone who did ANYTHING to my baby sister. But when it turned out it was the younger sister's fault since she aspires to be popular, I just shook my head because I saw that coming. The revenge, while eventually unnecessary, was reasonable.

Mary: Mary wants to get even with Reeve, the guy who completely ruined her life. As a girl who's been bullied, I instantly sympathized with her plight and wanted all harm to go to Reeve. So when his revenge happened, I didn't care that it was a little bit excessive. When you bully people, bad things deserve to happen to you.


But the whole thing with Mary being a bit supernatural was really odd to read. I didn't like it that much. It just seemed off to me and out of place.

I did enjoy this book. I give it 300 Monte Cristos out of 302.

Until later
Owyn

Book Review: Time Between Us

NOTE: I got this as an ARC but, due to my hectic schedule, I was only able to read it in the past week after it was published.

Hello fellow Internet People! So for this post, I'm reviewing Tamara Ireland Stone's debut novel Time Between Us.

This book is about a girl named Anne in 1995 Illinois who accidentally meets Bennett, a San Franciscan time traveler from 2012 and how that can mess everything up.

*SPOILERS AHEAD. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK YET, I WILL RUIN IT*

I liked this book. I really did. Here's a list because I am completely in love with lists.

1. I loves the plot. It was clear, concise and easy to read with still being able to surprise me.
2. I loved the romance. They were both so unassuming and awesome and I just adore that about couples and people in general. Pretentious people annoy me.
3. The comedy was really great but not overshadowing to the romance. Each joke gave me a little titter, which was just what it needed. 
4. Stone did a great job of juggling romance, intrigue, drama, slight historical and slight sci-fi.

But there is only one thing that really bothered me.

The fact that Anne uses Bennett to save her best friend from a devastating car accident.

NOTE THE SEQUEL: This is just a personal thing that I have when characters do things like this. I still will always love this book. Just not this part.

First of all, you can't just use someone or their gift. Especially when you want to be romantic with them. It's completely selfish.

And, this is just another personal thing that has nothing to do with the book, I don't normally read time travel stories because they get twisted around to fit each story. And the women typically take unsafe risks around the leading males.

I mean, I think it's dangerous to go through time with a boy you hardly know just because when you are around him, you feel this "intense" thing.

Luckily, I don't think that any of Anne's decision were too rash.

I rate this book 11 T.A.R.D.I.S.es out of 14.

I recommend it for people who like teen romances where there are obstacles but LOVE TRIUMPHS OVER ALL.

Until eventually,

Owyn

Book Review: Struck By Lightning

NOTE: This is a book based on a screenplay of a movie that's coming out in January.

Not gonna lie, the first season of Glee was actually pretty good. But then the DRAMA and BULLSHIT Meter went through the roof and I stopped watching for the sake of my angst and sanity.

But because of that show, I got to realize my first crush-on-a-gay-guy: Chris Colfer.

#Sexual.

He just screams the ability to write or be written about. He got the creators of Glee to write a character for him. That's just awesomeness. And, you know, he was one of Time's Most Influential Persons.

Then, when I was interning, one of my bosses Liesl told me that he had a book coming out called The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. And she gave me an ARC of it. I was nervous at first, "What if this ruined him for me?" Luckily it didn't.

QUICK REVIEW OF RELATIVE BOOK: It was way better than I'd ever expect. Read it. That is all.

When I heard he had a YA book called Struck By Lightning coming about a cynical high schooler who liked to write I was like: This book was written for me!

I read it in less than 2 hours. I literally could not put it down. I read it during school, in between classes, during my off time, and during my classes. P.S. If I get a bad grade in Spanish, I'm blaming Struck by Lightning.

Here are the reasons I loved it.

One, the first line: "Dear Journal, one more school year with these shitheads and I'll be free." I feel that all the time.

Two, this lovable rogue had me empathizing with him immediately. I am on my school's newspaper, I love to write, I am very cynical when it comes to high school affairs, and I am one of the only sophomores in a 2100+ school who knows what she wants to major in, what she wants to be when she grows up or where she wants to go to college.

Three. I am starting to read this to my mom... Guess what? She loves it too! I was completely happy but shocked with this turn of events.

  

And, *HUGE, WORLD-SHATTERING SPOILERS AHEAD EVERYONE* even with all the amazingness, I am filled with anguish with the ending.



HE ACTUALLY GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING!

I was hoping that entire book that was just a metaphor/simile! But no, Colfer actually had to kill off the only literary character I've been able to relate to completely. But I still adore him, since the rest of the book was better than I could've hoped for.

I give this book 44 Kurts out of 44. Perfect score it up, Colfer!

I have to go back to schoolwork now. Later.

Owyn

10 Kickass Writing Quotes: Part 1

NOTE: I honestly don't know what this is. But enjoy

Everyone knows authors are like the best people ever. I started fangirling internally (and externally) when I met Tiffany Schmidt (author of Send Me a Sign).

And I've always wanted to be an actual published author with people fangirling over me. But in order to do that, I must finish my book. And when I feel the need to be inspired, I read quotes about writing to help. Here are my favorites:

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." -- Benjamin Franklin

"Writing is like prostitution: first you do it for love, and then a few close friends, and then for money." --Moliere

"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else. -- Gloria Steinem

"Writing is the best way to talk without being interrupted" -- Jules Renard

"Writing well is the best revenge" -- Dorothy Parker

"Please don't make me mock you in my novel." -- I saw this on a t-shirt that I now must acquire. I don't know who says it, but I think it's awesome.

"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." --W. Somerset Maugham

"Writing and cafes are strongly linked in my brain" -- J.K. Rowling

"Writing saved me from the sin and inconvenience of violence." -- Alice Walker

"#WhyIWrite because when everything else changes, my writing can only get better." That's me!!!

Hope you enjoyed! And drew some inspiration in whatever you're doing from it. Leave a comment if you have a favorite that you didn't see here.

I have to go do homework. Laters,

Owyn

Book Review: Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

NOTE: This is a book. It was when I read it and it should probably still be one.

Sometimes when I walk aimlessly around the bookstore, books just stare at me and beg me to read them. It's very rare that I can ignore it.

One of those books is this one. Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian. Hell of a title, am I right? No, oh okay.

I just wanted another gif and this makes me happy

It's about a girl named Megan who emails her friend "boy tips" since she's going to be living with 7 of them for some time while dealing with soccer, drama, and romance.

Something about this book just made me HAVE to read it. So I did.

And I genuinely liked it. And I was surprised because I thought this would be a modernization of Snow White due to the fact it had 7 boys in a house away from her family. But no, I didn't actually find a connection to that.

I'm going to list 2 reasons why I liked it and 1 reason I'm kinda pissed.

*SPOILERS AHEAD, MATEY! AVAST YER ASS*

I really liked the characters and how unique they were. You could tell the brothers, the soccer girls, and all the friends apart since they were all different and awesome. With such a huge ensemble, that takes talent.

Secondly, the drama and romance we're actually readable. When it comes to drama, people complain a lot and I want to shove socks down their throats. But here, it just seemed like normal teenage drama that was actually a part of the plot.

Now here is why, as a reader who liked it, I did not like it.

The mother-bleeping ending.

The ending was so vague! Brian didn't tell me whether Megan got with Finn or Evan or even Doug! I was so heartbroken because I don't think there's a sequel planned and she just LEFT ME HANGING LIKE THAT.

I give this book 23 cliffhangers out of 25. You should read it and see if it frustrates you as well.

See you later!

Owyn

Book Review: Guitar Notes

NOTE: This was an ARC when I read it. But now it's published.

I grabbed this book at the bookstore in the ARC closet. I love that closet. If I had to stay late or got there early, my bosses would let me just stand there browsing through the books on the shelf for teen books.

My bosses are awesome.

One of the books that came up in a search was Guitar Notes by Mary Amato. I read the back.

PARAPHRASED SUMMARY: Tripp is an underachiever who plays guitar. Lyla is an overachiever who is supposed to only play the cello. They share the same practice room on opposite days so they pass notes back and forth and form an easy friendship. But when tragedy strikes, will that friendship remain the same?

What intrigued me was the whole epistolary aspect. I love things written in journal, letters or notes. I'd playfully call it a fetish but I'm awkward enough in person, nobody needs that on the internet.

So I read it. In 2 hours. I literally could not put this book down. My dad called me down to dinner but I could not move from this book. So I read it at the dinner table.

I liked the book. It was compelling, funny and interesting. But I did have some problems. So I have 2 reasons why I liked it and 2 reasons why I kinda didn't it.

LIKES:

Like I said before, I loved all the notes. They added something extra to the story. And I really liked that something extra. And I liked how they were actually an aspect for the book. Approval.

And I loved the voices each of the characters had. Tripp sounded insanely different from Lyla who sounded different from her best friend. I've always thought that was a sign of good writing. Approval squared.

DISLIKES:

*THERE ARE EPIC SPOILERS AHEAD. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. OR DON'T, WHATEVER, I'M JUST A SENTENCE*

The whole car crash at the end came out of nowhere. Like KA-BLAMMO

This also leads to my second problem because, up until that point, nothing really happened. They became friends, wrote and played music together, then she's hit by a car.

That kind of bothered me. Plot is always a good thing. And it seemed that this book lacked it.

So I give this book 75 stars out of 100. It's not bad and I probably will reread in the near future, but it's not something I would recommend to a friend who is a lit snob.

So, yeah, that's it.

Have a great day!

Owyn