Underrated books recommendations 20/3

I've read so many books in 2016 so far! I thought I'd share some here. These are the last 4 books I've read, and I've realised they're all pretty underrated and not overhyped on Booktube =)

Read Between The Lines / Jo Knowles

The first chapter begins with a constantly-bullied guy who fractures his finger during gym class; his middle finger, no less. The accident's left his middle finger up always, making him constantly flipping off the entire world.

What makes this book unique is how it doesn't have just one or two points of view, but ten. Ten different perspectives, ten different characters, ten different lives, all that intertwine within a day. One chapter could mention how bitchy a character is; and then when you get to the perspective of that bitchy character, you see a different side of her.

This book makes you think twice before judging someone by putting you into the shoes of different types of teenagers and know what they're thinking. I really loved this one, despite picking it out randomly at the library.

Daughters Unto Devils / Amy Lukavics

Amanda's family decides to move from their small mountain cabin to the prairie, where she decides is a place and time for a fresh start, after being shunned by a boy she thought loved her. Well, you already know by the cover that creepy shit happens.

It's best going into this book without knowing anything about it, like all great books. But just know, the writing gave me goosebumps and some of the paragraphs were really on point. I was scared to read this by myself, no joke, and yet I couldn't stop reading it til after midnight. (with my mom beside me)

I loved the setting of this book, somewhere in the 1900's I think, not too sure? But it did add to the story. It just felt like that typical horror movie where everything else is really quiet and nothing much happens, and then you get near the ending and SHIT HITS THE FAN.

They All Fall Down / Roxanne St. Claire

Every year, 10 junior girls are selected as Vienna High's hottest girls. Our main character has never been popular or even noticed, and yet she makes it 5th on this list. Great for her, isn't it? Well other than the fact that she thinks this list thing is retarded, the girls on it start dying one by one, in the order of that list...

It really was a great premise, and the writing makes you stick with it, dying to find out more, but personally for me, the revelation wasn't very top-notch and didn't seem well-planned, and the ending wasn't so satisfying. But that's just my personal thought, you should read it for yourself to know =)

52 Reasons To Hate My Father / Jessica Brody

Lexington Larrabee is the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire, and her father, the CEO of said company, gives a trust fund of 25 million dollars to each of his children, aka Lexi and her 4 older brothers, when they turn 18.

Lexi has been counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, but then she crashes her car into a convenience store, drunk, a few days before. What's a spoilt brat got to do when her father decides to hold that 25m dollars from her??? She's got to work 52 low-wage jobs, every week for a year, that's what.

It was a lot of fun to read, and honestly even though she's a spoilt brat I thought Lexi was kinda adorable. The misery she went through, her doses of bad luck, were all too hilarious to read about. I thought she went through such a huge character development, from a brat to a strong and smart woman.

I liked this kind of books in secondary school, and that's why I enjoyed this one so much =)

All these books are underrated and are hardly noticed, so do give them a try =) They were all such unique and fun reads which stick to you for a long time, be it positively or not xD

Graphic novel recommendations

I'm sorry I haven't been updating. I've been at my granny's place the past few weeks and I didn't bring my laptop there, so... *shrugs*

I've read 4 graphic novels this year so far, which is a lot compared to my past 21 years of my life. (unless you count manga because I've definitely read hundreds of those) They were all pretty great in their own ways, so I thought I'd share them with you =)

Just bear with me not giving a shit about my photography skills.

Nimona / Noelle Stevenson 

I had no idea what was going on when I started this. There's this girl who appears out of nowhere, tells this super-villain that she wants to be his sidekick, and turns into a shark. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON. I LOVE THIS ALREADY, my exact thoughts.

This was action-packed and the relationship between Nimona and Lord Blackheart was really cute and memorable, like a father and daughter (": Also, probably the only fantasy-ish thing I really enjoyed so far.

Seconds / Bryan Lee O' Malley

I find it hard to summarise a graphic novel because I always jump into them without knowing a single thing.... This one has a girl who owns a restaurant, and who was given second chances again and again under mysterious circumstances.

The artstyle in this is really cute and it reminded me of some children's manga, but with colour. The story was gripping, and although it was really funny it had its dark and deep sides; you'd not only enjoy it but it'll also make you think.

This One Summer /  Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki

Every summer, Rose and her parents go to this beach house for their holiday, where there's this other girl Windy whom she always hang out with. 

Well, pretty much that's it. I really liked the art in this, but the story itself was a bit off. It's supposedly about growing up, which I guess was represented properly in the mundane parts of it? The story or characters didn't leave any impact on me, not positive not negative, and that's kinda sad. 

Through The Woods / Emily Carroll 

5 short horror stories. That's all you need to know.

This was really creepy and it legit gave me goosebumps, and even my other half thought it was scary, which is something. The cliffhanger endings will leave you like "Whaaaaaaat?" and your imagination will run wild with all the possibilities.

Plus, the artwork is really beautiful *.*

And that's all for tonight. All the libraries and bookstores are closed for today and the next 2 days, which leaves me rotting out of boredom because there's no work )= but lucky I have an infinite stock-up of books to read! =D but I'm currently reading Station Eleven and if that happens in real life, I wouldn't have anymore infinity books.

10/12: Best standalone

10th December: Best Standalone

Okay, so I had a hard time choosing because I read a lot of contemporary, which almost always comes as a standalone. Not complaining though, because I love books that comes on its own.

These are just some of my favourites: (R-L)

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
I loved Violet so much. I related to how she felt, how she couldn't continue writing anymore after the loss of a loved one. Also this book wasn't 100% cute and butterflies, and while everyone who read it got mad because the characters' problems went unsolved, I thought it was perfect; it's realistic, because in reality people wouldn't notice anything wrong with you either. This book's flaws was what made it perfect. Just like a real human.

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
If you've had social problems, difficulty fitting in, the main character's shoes are just perfect for your feet. This book, the protagonist, everything she did to try to fit in; we've all been there before. We all have something we do that gives us another identity; and lastly, we all have love for music in one way or another.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
This was unexpected. I went into it without expecting much, maybe because this book was kinda underrated. But I flew through it, it tugged at my heartstrings, despite the fact that the main character was the bully of the story. Also, if you loved Life Is Strange (the game) some of the characters kinda mirror one another in my opinion :p

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas 
I've talked about this book a few days ago, which you can read here.
READ THE BOOK.

and last but definitely not least, tucked away in the corner there,

The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Yes yes, I've mentioned this book so many times. But I'm writing about it now because it was the best standalone novel! I'm possibly still having a hangover from this book. A 12-months long hangover. Yep.

Til tomorrow hopefully :)

Top 5 Wednesdays: Diversity in Books

This is my first Top 5 Wednesdays post! *clap clap clap clap clap*
The topic for today: favourite diverse characters.

When you see the word 'diverse', what do you think of? The first thing that usually comes to people's minds is race. But I am not going to pick out 5 books with entirely different races other than white. That's just kind of weird.

So instead I'm gonna list 5 things that make a character different from your usual protagonist and give you some examples :) easy enough? No pictures for today because I am so tired from my 3 days of training!

*edit: after writing my first 3 points I realised the title 'favourite diverse characters' doesn't really cut it haha! I'm so sorry to the Top 5 Wednesdays group for not sticking to the title! Will be changing it to 'diversity' instead.*

1. Race/religion
The first thing that comes to people's minds when it comes to diversity. Race i.e. culture/skin colour, more of the physical stuff, and religion i.e. beliefs and more of the internal stuff.

Most of the books that have characters of different races usually focus so intently on that fact, that the entire book becomes all about the problem.

I seldom read books about eg how a Muslim girl lives in the United States, what she puts up with etc even though I am Muslim myself, because somehow it just doesn't interest me to read a whole book whereby her being different religiously is the only plot of the story. Do I make sense?

Instead, I prefer books whereby a character's ethnicity is normal to the people around her, where at no point of the story does anyone touch on a racial/religious issue.

Some examples: To All The Boys I've Loved Before and PS I Still Love You, by Jenny Han. The books aren't about how Lara Jean Song has trouble coping because she is Asian, blah blah blah. Instead they are about a girl and her love life. Simple.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell also has a Korean boy, and while the author does highlight some of the problems at school that he faces, the book still revolves around a bigger love story.

2. Sexuality
Same with the above ^ I respect books that talk about a character's struggle to be accepted by society because of her/his sexuality, but I love it more when a girl's interest in another girl is normal, a boy's in another boy.

Everything Leads To You by Nina Lacour is one example. Emi works in the film industry: you see all the props and furniture in a scene of a movie? It's her job to make sure it all matches the script. Oh, and she has a girlfriend. One that she's gone back to too many times even after all the times she's hurt her.

Oh yes you should read this book because Emi is so cute! She was my second fictional girlfriend after Tessa Gray.

Other examples: Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius, which I'm currently reading. One of the characters Nico has a crush on this other guy named Martin and his best friend Fallon is trying to help him. Again, this isn't the plot of the book which I love. It's just the side quest.

Also Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, although this one sort of focuses on the sexuality issue in a way?

3. Age
Sometimes I read middle grade fiction, my main reason being because there are no sex scenes or random romance. I get irritated with instalove really easily, because I swear sometimes the 'love' is just too sudden! I personally don't think it takes you only two interactions for you to wanna sacrifice your life for this person. (I'm talking about the Mara Dyer series and Fire and Flood, I can't stand you)

Best way to settle this annoying problem? Read middle grade! Or at least protagonists that are 12 or 13. Most of them focuses on family, like Violet Ink by Rebecca Westcott: a 12-year-old girl has been close to her sister their whole lives, but when she started dating, Izzy feels lost and rejected, distant from her beloved sister.

Or friendship, like The Hidden Summer by Gin Phillips, whereby two 13-year-old best friends sneak off to spend their summers together secretly after their mothers had a fight and told them never to see each other again.

But the best middle grade book I've read so far is Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller. Read it and you shall know. You definitely want to read it. READ IT.

4. Mental illness
Books with mental illness. Yes, they are abundant. Yes, you may feel like they aren't so special anymore. You may feel like you aren't special. But sigh, you are. Especially because you are reading my blog. I love you so much!

Social anxiety: the main character of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Cath, suffers from this.
Depression: Violet suffers this in All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, after her sister's death.
Books about suicide in general, in case you are interested: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga; I Was Here by Gayle Forman.

5. I don't know what to title this point but characters that aren't human
Yes! They are also characters of diversity. If you realised I only touched on contemporary Young Adult novels. (that's my favourite genre anyway so I think it doesn't matter hehe)

Here may be where the fantasy and magical realism fiction come in. You have the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series by Rick Riordan where we have sons and daughters of Greek Gods; The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare, with our beloved shadowhunters and warlocks; even Cinder by Marissa Meyer, with my favourite cyborg Cinder and android Iko!

REMEMBER: DIVERSITY DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN RACE OR RELIGION!

There you have it. Diversity in books. Not just your usual white or straight characters, not that there's anything wrong with any of them. Just in case you want a change :)

p.s. I only mention books which I've read before :) and these books can easily be found at Popular bookstores, if not, Kinokuniya or the library. Read them okay!

Books for those who can't live without music

This post is exactly what the title says. I see no point in dilly-dallying so let's just get right into it: my book recommendations for the people who can't live without music. ***a very quick post as I am tired from work as usual!***

If I Stay / Gayle Forman
Yes yes you've watched the movie. Yes yes you know it's about music. But what's so special about it to me? It's how music was the reason two people were brought together, and also the reason they were almost torn apart. Music was what led Adam to Mia, and music was also the bricks that kept building up between them.

Eleanor & Park / Rainbow Rowell
This isn't exactly revolving around music, but one of the best parts of it was how Park would always let Eleanor listen to new songs and she'd always love it. Their love story started with comic books and music. This book takes place in the 80's, so you see a lot of talk about Walkmans and cassette tapes, which just touches further into the whole music thing.

This Song Will Save Your Life / Leila Sales
Not only will you relate to Elise for how she was never accepted into society no matter how hard she tried, for how she'd always plug in her earpiece and go for walks; but she'll remind you of you, when she finds a love in DJ-ing, in being able to run from her problems with music. You may not be a budding DJ, but if you're an aspiring singer or always on your guitar or piano, then you'll be walking so easily in her shoes.

Maybe Someday / Colleen Hoover
This is a book in the New Adult genre, which is usually meant for those 18 to early-20's of age. What's so special about this book is there's an actual soundtrack for it as well. You see the two characters writing songs together, you see the lyrics printed on the pages, but there's also the real music that was made specially for this book. (and they're really good too!)

I'm so sorry for the rushed post, but I hope you'll pick up these books soon especially if you can't walk 5 steps alone without being plugged into your headphones. Trust me ;)