Mini Review: Two Boys Kissing

Title: Two Boys Kissing

Author: David Levithan

Genre: glbt, romance, contemporary, realistic fiction

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 200

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Published: August. 27, 2013

Source: Library

Description: New York Times  bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS. 

While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.

Review: I love this book. love the writing, the words are so deep and real. You can feel what these characters are going through or been through. Its just an Amazing book, I gave it 5 stars and If you love GLBT or is Gay, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Quotes (there are so many good ones)

• “Love is so painful, how could you ever wish it on anybody? And love is so essential, how could you ever stand in its way?”
• “Things are not magical because they've been conjured for us by some outside force. They are magical because we create them.” 
• “Freedom isn't just about voting and marrying and kissing on the street, although all of these things are important. Freedom is also about what you will allow yourself to do.” 
• “There are all these moments you don't think you will survive. And then you survive.”
• “It is hard to stop seeing your son as a son and to start seeing him as a human being.
  It is hard to stop seeing your parents as parents and to start seeing them as human beings.
  It's a two-sided transition, and very few people manage it gracefully.” 
• “There is no reason that we should ever be ashamed of our bodies or ashamed of our love.”
• “Pink is female - but why? Are girls any more pink than boys? Are boys any more blue than girls? It's something that has been sold to us, mostly so other things can be sold to us.” 
• “We know that some of you are still scared. We know that some of you are still silent. Just because it's better now doesn't mean that it's always good.” 
• “Then he picks up the first book and holds it so Peter can read the title.
  I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This
  
  Peter quiets. Watches as Neil holds up the books one by one.
  
  Just Listen
  Stay
  You’re the One That I Want
  So Much Closer
  Where I Want to Be
  The Difference Between You and Me
  Positively
  Matched
  Perfect
  Wonder
  You Are Here
  Where I Belong
  I’ll Be There
  Along for the Ride
  The Future of Us
  Real Live Boyfriends
  Keep Holding On
  
  When Neil is through, Peter smiles and holds up his hand, gesturing Neil to wait there, to not say a word. He picks out two books from the YA section, then runs to the fiction section for a third. He is still smiling when he returns to Neil and shows his selections one by one.
  
  Take a Bow
  A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You
  Keep Holding On”

  (I love how he put the book titles into a poem message)

              5 out of 5 stars

Review: To all the boys I've loved before by Jenny Han

Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han

Genre: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Romance

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 368

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Published: April. 15, 2014

Source: Library

Description: What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them... all at once?

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

My Review: Cute and funny. It's not just about the boys, it's also about her family and how close they are. Her older sister, Margot goes off to college leaving Lara Jean with the reasponsabilities of taking care of the house and family. This book had me laughing. Lara Jean reactions towards stuff was funny and believe able. There are also some serious moments too. She puts herself in this predicament and it blows up in her face. I loved the writing, it was real and perfect. I didn't like how it ended, I NEED MORE. I want to know what happens with Lara Jean and xx or the other boy. (Sorry if you don't understand this, I don't want to spoil it)

Likes: 

Kitty the younger sister was the best. She's smart and knows what she wants. She has more of a social life then Lara Jean and she's only 9. She even has a fashion sense. 

Dislike: 

Chris, Lara Jean friend. She seems reckless. She never hangs out with Lara Jean and they don't seem to have a lot in common. I know they been friends since they was kids but I didn't see any friendship there. But she was hardly present.

Genevieve. She was friends with Lara Jean as kids but they grew apart. Also Chris's cousin. She is mean. She is the girl who you would call a bitch. 

Quotes: 

"It's a lot of responsibility to hold a person's heart in your hands" 

"It doesn't matter that they're broken up. He was hers first, which means he's hers always."

5 out of 5 stars

Mini Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss (#1)

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: Paperback

Pages: 372

Publisher: Speak

Published: August 4, 2011

Source: Library

Description: Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend. 

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Review: I LOVED IT! All the characters were likable except the ones that weren't. Anna and St. Clair moments together were so cute, I was like hurry up and get together. It was funny, some parts had me laughing out loud. I also loved the drama and fighting, too me it was just right, a perfect balance of humor and drama. I usually hate when someone's in a realationship and another person  likes them, and they take forever to get together but this was different because the girlfriend wasn't really there. I love Stephanie Perkins writing in this.

Quotes:

• “For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.”
• “Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?”
• “I love you as certain dark things are loved, secretly, between the shadow and the soul.” 
• “Why is it that the right people never wind up together? Why are people so afraid to leave a relationship, even if they know it's a bad one?” 
• “Why do I care so much about him, and why do I wish I didn't? How can one person make me so confused all of the time?” 

5 out of 5 Stars

Read: February 26, 2014 - March 14, 2014

Review: Saving Max by Antoinette Van Heugten

Description: Max Parkman;autistic and whip-smart, emotionally fragile and aggressive—is perfect in his mother’s eyes. Until he's accused of murder.
Attorney Danielle Parkman knows her teenage son Max’s behavior has been getting worse—using drugs and lashing out. But she can't accept the diagnosis she receives at a top-notch adolescent psychiatric facility that her son is deeply disturbed. Dangerous.

Until she finds Max, unconscious and bloodied, beside a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death.

Trapped in a world of doubt and fear, barred from contacting Max, Danielle clings to the belief that her son is innocent. But has she, too, lost touch with reality? Is her son really a killer?

With the justice system bearing down on them, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth, no matter what it is. She’ll do whatever it takes to find the killer and to save her son from being destroyed by a system that’s all too eager to convict him
.
Review:  Here (WARNING, MAJOR SPOILER) IF YOU ARE GOING TO READ THIS BOOK, DO NOT READ THIS.
(NO SPOILERS HERE) I loved the book, great pace, the suspence was really great. the end was surprising. great details. I could not put it down. (I read on the authors blog and she said she is working on a sequel. I CAN NOT wait for that!)

5 out of 5 Stars
Read: August. 20, 2013 - August 22, 2013 2:20am

Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Description: It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

My Review: I love everything about it, how its about games from the 80's, the whole plot, the characters, the romance, the humor, the details, the information (the was a lot of info, but to me it wasn't useless info), the author because he must of had to research all this 80's stuff unless he already knew stuff. Love the Game Action. I love when Aech and Wade met. And when Wade and Art3mis met, that was cute. Love the happy ending. I love the Oasis (being inside a game would be cool plus virtual school and all that other stuff that was mentioned in OASIS) but it's was kinda crazy how Wade can just lock himself inside all day without going out in the real world but people do, do that in real life too. But he found Love so he wouldn't spend all his time in OASIS anymore. Anyways, If you are a game nerd or just a nerd, this book is for you. Again, I LOVE THIS BOOK!

5 out of 5 stars

Read: July. 17 - July. 22 , 2013

Review: Golden Boy

Description: The Walker family is good at keeping secrets from the world. They are even better at keeping them from each other.

Max Walker is a golden boy. Attractive, intelligent, and athletic, he's the perfect son, the perfect friend, and the perfect crush for the girls in his school. He's even really nice to his little brother. Karen, Max's mother, is a highly successful criminal lawyer, determined to maintain the façade of effortless excellence she has constructed through the years. Now that the boys are getting older, now that she won’t have as much control, she worries that the façade might soon begin to crumble. Adding to the tension, her husband, Steve, has chosen this moment to stand for election to Parliament. The spotlight of the media is about to encircle their lives.

The Walkers are hiding something, you see. Max is special. Max is different. Max is intersex. When an enigmatic childhood friend named Hunter steps out of his past and abuses his trust in the worst possible way, Max is forced to consider the nature of his well-kept secret. Why won't his parents talk about it? What else are they hiding from Max about his condition and from each other? The deeper Max goes, the more questions emerge about where it all leaves him and what his future holds, especially now that he's starting to fall head over heels for someone for the first time in his life. Will his friends accept him if he is no longer the Golden Boy? Will anyone ever want him — desire him — once they know? And the biggest one of all, the question he has to look inside himself to answer: Who is Max Walker, really?

Written by twenty-five-year-old rising star Abigail Tarttelin, Golden Boy is a novel you'll read in one sitting but will never forget; at once a riveting tale of a family in crisis, a fascinating exploration of identity and a coming-of-age story like no other.

My Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I HATE IT. I JUST WANTED TO SKIP TO THE END TO READ WHAT HAPPENS TO MAX, BUT I KNOW I COULDN'T BECAUSE I WILL MISS SO MUCH. ALSO I JUST WANTED TO TELL THE CHARACTERS, LIKE MAX TO TELL HIS PARENTS AND KAREN TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE MEDIA. THAT'S HOW INTO THE BOOK I WAS.

I HATE THE SITUATION, ABOUT WHAT MAX AND HIS FAMILY HAS TO GO THROUGH, BUT I LOVE IT BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD. I LOVE THE CHARACTERS BUT KAREN ANNOYED ME IN THE BEGINING (SEE MY COMMENTS) I LOVE THE POV'S OF THE CHARACTERS. THE DIFFERENT PERSONALITY. DANIEL'S 10 YEAR OLD TO ARCHIE A DOCTOR TO MAX ETC.. IT IS WELL WRITTEN.

THIS REALLY HIT ME DEEP INSIDE. I THINK BECAUSE INTERSEX HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE AND PEOPLE GO THROUGH IT. BOOKS LIKE THIS (GBLT, DRUGS, CANCER) REALLY GETS ME THINKING BECAUSE LIKE I SAID THESE SITUATIONS HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE AND I'M ALWAYS CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE GO THROUGH.

*EDIT* THE ONE THING ON MY MIND IS WHY ARE THEY HAVING SEX SO YOUNG? SYLVIE IS 16 AND SHE ALREADY HAD SEX, SO SHE HAD TO BE 15 OR YOUNGER. MAX WAS 14 WHEN HE WAS MAKING OUT WITH A GIRL AND SHE ALMOST TOUCHED HIM. (ITS JUST ME BUT I REALLY HATE BOOKS ABOUT TEENAGE SEX AND PREGNACY, BUT THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT. I LOVE IT)

My thoughts while reading

• "Amazing start. A perfect family but they secrets or problems of there own. Love the details, I can imagine what's going on at the moment or what is in the room/outside."
• "*spoiler* I find Karen annoying. She worrys to much about being a good parent or a bad parent. She babies Max because of his condition. She doesn't give Daniel enough attention and she wonders why he acts up. I just want to tell her that Kids act up even if you are a good or bad parent. She also worries about to much of her and steve reputation to much. I know she want's to look good for the media but family is first"
• Max should tell his parents. His parents needs to stop pushing things aside. They need to tell him about intersex. He deserves to know what he is, wheater its good or bad."
• "OMG! It just got even better, I LOVE IT. I just want to skip everything and read the ending to see what happens. Poor MAX. And his mother Karen I don't like her. I said it before all she worries about the media finding out and she blames herself about Max. Like its not her fault her son is intersex. It happens to people. Also like Steve said she needs to stop protecting Max, she can't do it forever."
• all I can say is WOW. I started reading where I left off (pg.12-something at 2am and I just finshed at 6am. I couldn't put it down. I LOVED IT. 

5 out of 5 Stars!

Read: June.7 - June.10, 2013

Review: Forbidden

Description: Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives--and the way they understand each other so completely--has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

My Review: It's 2:00am and I just finished this book. I don't think I can read another book for weeks. This book will always be on my mind. I don't really have anything to say. It was good, crazy. I couldn't wait to get to the ending and now that I did, I don't even know what to think right now. I have a headache and feel like crying. If you haven't read it, READ IT!!

5 out of 5 Starts

Read: April.16 - April.18, 2013

Review: The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy)

Description: The False Prince is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

My Review: Not much to say but that, I LOVED IT!!!! I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. THE TWIST AT THE END (LAST TWENTY CHAPTERS). READING THOSE LAST CHAPTERS, I HAD TEARS IN THE CORNER OF MY EYES, NOT BECAUSE I WAS SAD BUT BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY REALLY GOOD. I'M GLAD I PICKED THIS BOOK AT A SCHOOL BOOK FAIR. I CAN'T WAIT TO READ BOOK 2 AND I HOPE BOOK 3 COMES OUT THIS YEAR.

5 out of 5 Stars

Read: April.6 - April.12, 2013

Review: Getting Over Garrett Delancy

Description: Can a twelve-step program help Sadie kick her unrequited crush for good? Abby McDonald serves up her trademark wit and wisdom in a hilarious new novel.

Seventeen-year-old Sadie is in love: epic, heartfelt, and utterly one-sided. The object of her obsession — ahem, affection — is her best friend, Garrett Delaney, who has been oblivious to Sadie’s feelings ever since he sauntered into her life and wowed her with his passion for Proust (not to mention his deep-blue eyes). For two long, painful years, Sadie has been Garrett’s constant companion, sharing his taste in everything from tragic Russian literature to art films to '80s indie rock — all to no avail. But when Garrett leaves for a summer literary retreat, Sadie is sure that the absence will make his heart grow fonder — until he calls to say he’s fallen in love. With some other girl! A heartbroken Sadie realizes that she’s finally had enough. It’s time for a total Garrett detox! Aided by a barista job, an eclectic crew of new friends (including the hunky chef, Josh), and a customized self-help guide, Sadie embarks on a summer of personal reinvention full of laughter, mortifying meltdowns, and a double shot of love.

My Review: 
Likes
- The Characters
- Sadie Mental break down of getting over Garrett
- LuAnn 60's look
- Sadie denying that everything she likes is because of Garrett. She likes the music,
movies, and books that he introduced to her. Denying that she wouldn't
throw everything away just to follow him like LuAnn did. I think she would
- sadie realizes that her style, the way she dresses is because Garrett likes that kind of style and wants to change it to find the real her.
- Quote, "Don't Write off a book (or person, or movie) just because it has a pink, Sparkly cover.
- I knew Carlos and Dominique had a thing for each other. pg 198
- Everyone has there own Love problems
- Quote, "Real-life relationships...they're not like they are in books and movies. Life is, well, it's a whole lot messier."
- Kayla and Blake, LuAnn and her ex, Dominique and Carlos, Josh. I would love to read more about them.
- I like how the female characters changed because of a guy they love(d). But I don't think people should change who they are for anybody, but themselves. They should love you for who you are.
- Sadie and Josh (I really wanted Sadie and Garrett together, but NVM)
- THE LAST THREE CHAPTERS
- THE KISS
- THE CONFFESSION
- THE FRIENDSHIP BEING OVER (IT'S SAD)
- EVERYTHING

Dislike
- Garrett not realizing Sadie loves him
- Garrett falling in love with a girl that is just like Sadie/reminds him of sadie
- Garrett critizies everything and then Sadie agrees. For example like the preppy teen girls,
the movies Josie and the pussycats, Clueless, Bring It On. She stashed away these movies
because Garrett said they are teen-girl trash. But shes changing that. She used to read these books her mom had, but she stopped because Garrett laughed at them.
- Garrett Declaney, all he cared about was writing and then the ending.

I love this book, I couldn't stop smiling at the end.

5 out of 5 Stars

Read: March.23 - April.5, 2013