Book Talk: Shutter by Laurie Faria Stolarz

AUTHOR: Laurie Faria Stolarz

PUBLISHED: October 18th 2016  
PUBLISHER: Disney-Hyperion

PAGES: 337

SERIES/STAND ALONE:Standalone

SOURCE: Book Box
CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

Sixteen-year-old Day Connor views life through the lens of her camera, where perspective is everything. But photographs never tell the whole story. After Day crosses paths with Julian, the world she observes and the truths she believes—neatly captured in black and white—begin to blur.

Julian does not look like a murderer, but his story is full of holes, and his alibis don’t quite add up, either. This time, Day is determined to see the entire picture…whatever it reveals.

Did he kill his parents? Or didn’t he?

While Julian remains on the run, Day digs deeper into his case. But the more facts she uncovers, the longer her list of questions becomes. It’s also getting harder to deny the chemistry she feels with Julian.

Is it real? Or is she being manipulated?

Day is close to finding the crack in the case that will prove Julian’s innocence. She just needs time to focus before the shutter snaps shut. 

My thoughts in bullets

• I love the photography aspect in it
• I love that both parents are present not together, but present in the child's life.
• I love the thriller/mystery since we barely see it in YA
• Day wants to see the good in every one
• The ending didn't give me my fulfillment I was looking for

Journey through Goodreads

Status

April 17, 2019 – Finished Reading April 16, 2019 –  page 300    89.02% April 13, 2019 –  page 70    20.77% "So far I'm interested." April 13, 2019 – Started Reading November 27, 2017 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read March 7, 2016 – Shelved as: wishlist March 7, 2016 – Shelved as: ya March 7, 2016 – Shelved as: waiting-on-wed-pick March 7, 2016 – Shelved as: to-read March 7, 2016 – Shelved

Book Talk: Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West

AUTHOR: Kasie West

PUBLISHED: February 5th 2019
PUBLISHER:  HarperTeen

PAGES: 384

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Standalone

SOURCE: won and arc

CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

Lacey Barnes has dreamt of being in a movie for as long as she can remember. However, while her dream did include working alongside the hottest actor in Hollywood, it didn’t involve having to finish up her senior year of high school at the same time she was getting her big break. Although that is nothing compared to Donavan, the straight-laced student her father hires to tutor her, who is a full-on nightmare.

As Lacey struggles to juggle her burgeoning career, some on-set sabotage, and an off-screen romance with the unlikeliest of leading men, she quickly learns that sometimes the best stories happen when you go off script.

Video

I adored this book. The only reason it was 4 stars and not 5 is because I was all ready for a big reveal on who was sabotaging the set, and it didn't happen. I know this is mainly contemporary so I set myself up. Loved Donovan Lacey has all of her family. Mom/Dad/ Siblings Loved the movie aspect (parts were scenes from the movie) No love triangle with main characters

March 13, 2019 – Finished Reading March 8, 2019 – page 100  26.04% March 7, 2019 – page 50  13.02% "So far it's good, and we even see some characters from her other book." March 7, 2019 – Started Reading February 22, 2019 – Shelved as: arcs February 22, 2019 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read December 7, 2018 – Shelved as: to-read (Hardcover Edition) December 7, 2018 – Shelved (Hardcover Edition) April 30, 2018 – Shelved as: to-read April 30, 2018 – Shelved

Book Talk: Smoke by Ellen Hopkins

AUTHOR: Ellen Hopkins

PUBLISHED: September 10th 2013 
PUBLISHER:  Margaret K. McElderry Books

PAGES: 543

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Book 2

SOURCE: Book Outlet

CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

Pattyn’s father is dead. Now she’s on the run in this riveting companion to New York Times bestseller Burned, which Kirkus Reviews calls “a strong, painful, and tender piece about wresting hope from the depths of despair.”

Pattyn Von Stratten’s father is dead, and Pattyn is on the run. After far too many years of abuse at the hands of her father, and after the tragic loss of her beloved Ethan and their unborn child, Pattyn is desperate for peace. Only her sister Jackie knows what happened that fatal night, but she is stuck at home with their mother, who clings to normalcy by allowing the truth to be covered up by their domineering community leaders. Her father might be finally gone, but without Pattyn, Jackie is desperately isolated.

Alone and in disguise, Pattyn starts a new life as a migrant worker on a California ranch. But is it even possible to rebuild a life when everything you’ve known has burned to ash and lies seem far safer than the truth?

Video

In a nutshell

Characters

My Journey through Goodreads

October 3, 2018 – Finished Reading October 3, 2018 –  page 342    62.98% October 2, 2018 –  page 342    62.98% "I feel for Pattyn and Jackie" September 28, 2018 –  page 72    13.26% September 28, 2018 – Started Reading October 13, 2017 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read August 14, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read August 14, 2017 – Shelved

Fun pictures

Book Talk: Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

AUTHOR: Ellen Hopkins

PUBLISHED: August 26th 2014 

PUBLISHER:  Margaret K. McElderry Books

PAGES: 550

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand alone

SOURCE: Book Outlet

CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

"There is no God, no benevolent ruler of the earth, no omnipotent grand poobah of countless universes. Because if there was ... my little brother would still be fishing or playing basketball instead of fertilizing cemetery vegetation."

Matthew Turner doesn't have faith in anything.

Not in family—his is a shambles after his younger brother was bullied into suicide. Not in so-called friends who turn their backs when things get tough. Not in some all-powerful creator who lets too much bad stuff happen. And certainly not in some "It Gets Better" psychobabble.

No matter what his girlfriend Hayden says about faith and forgiveness, there's no way Matt's letting go of blame. He's decided to "live large and go out with a huge bang," and whatever happens happens. But when a horrific event plunges Matt into a dark, silent place, he hears a rumble … a rumble that wakes him up, calling everything he's ever disbelieved into question.

Video

In a nutshell

Characters

My Journey through Goodreads

Status

September 19, 2018 – Finished Reading September 19, 2018 –  page 200    36.36% September 18, 2018 –  page 200    36.36% "The dad is an asshole." September 18, 2018 – Started Reading December 9, 2017 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read August 14, 2017 – Shelved as: to-read August 14, 2017 – Shelved

Fun pictures

Book Talk: Burned by Ellen Hopkins

AUTHOR: Ellen Hopkins

PUBLISHED: April 1st 2006

PUBLISHER: Margaret K. McElderry Books 

PAGES: 431

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Series book 1

SOURCE: Book Outlet

CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

I do know things really began to spin out of control after my first sex dream.

It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls. Raised in a religious—yet abusive—family, a simple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation.

This dream is a first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell or to a better life? For the first time Pattyn starts asking questions. Questions seemingly without answers—about God, a woman's role, sex, love—mostly love. What is it? Where is it? Will she ever experience it? Is she deserving of it?

It's with a real boy that Pattyn gets into real trouble. After Pattyn's father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control until Pattyn ends up suspended from school and sent to live with an aunt she doesn't know.

Pattyn is supposed to find salvation and redemption during her exile to the wilds of rural Nevada. Yet what she finds instead is love and acceptance. And for the first time she feels worthy of both—until she realizes her old demons will not let her go. Pattyn begins down a path that will lead her to a hell—a hell that may not be the one she learned about in sacrament meetings, but it is hell all the same.

In this riveting and masterful novel told in verse, Ellen Hopkins takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride. From the highs of true love to the lows of abuse, Pattyn's story will have readers engrossed until the very last word. 

Video

In a nutshell

Characters

My Journey through Goodreads

Status

September 27, 2018 – Finished Reading September 25, 2018 – page 140  32.48% September 25, 2018 – Started Reading October 13, 2017 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read September 7, 2011 – Shelved

Fun pictures

Book Talk: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

AUTHOR: Margaret Rogerson

PUBLISHED: September 26, 2017
PUBLISHER: Margaret K. McElderry Books

PAGES: 300

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand Alone

SOURCE: Book Box
CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts—even as she falls in love with a faerie prince—in this gorgeous debut novel.

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes—a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love—and that love violates the fair folks’ ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

Video

In a nutshell

 I keep trying to find a fae book that I can really love. I really loved the ACOTAR series, but besides that, I haven't come across any. I haven't read some of the more popular ones like The Wicked Lovely ones by Melissa Marr or The Iron Ones by Julie Kagawa, or the newest book by Holly Black.  Perhaps my heart just loves other dark creatures more. 

Characters

Ending

As much as I loved the ending it seemed like it wrapped up way too easily. 

My Journey through Goodreads

No Journey with this one.

Fun Pics

Book Talk: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

AUTHOR: Victoria Aveyard

PUBLISHED: February 10th, 2015

PUBLISHER: HarperTeen

PAGES: 383

SERIES/STAND ALONE: Series book 1

SOURCE: Book box

CHALLENGES: None

OUTLINE:

This is a world divided by blood - red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.

Video

In a nutshell

Characters

My Journey through Goodreads

November 10, 2018 – Finished Reading November 5, 2018 –  page 148    38.64% "Powers was all I needed to read in order to know I'll probably love it." November 5, 2018 – Started Reading May 27, 2018 – Shelved as: books-i-own-not-read January 31, 2015 – Shelved as: 2015-dac-challenge (Other Hardcover Edition) December 7, 2014 – Shelved as: to-read December 7, 2014 – Shelved September 22, 2014 – Shelved as: to-read (Other Hardcover Edition) September 22, 2014 – Shelved (Other Hardcover Edition)

Fun pictures.