Review: Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Release Date: Febuary 14th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 336
Flirt Factor: Chaste
Overall: 5/5 stars

Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn't.
I go to a new school now--one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I'm not still here because I'm stupid; I just don't age.
You see, I'm immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years--except for when to take my powers and butt out.
I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal, remember?), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the "Titanic" lifeboat? I don't even want to think about it.
Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn't get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl--and it isn't an enchanted pumpkin. Although you never know what will happen when I start . . . bewitching.

Alex Flinn is probably one of my favorite authors. I love retellings of fairy tales and she does the perfect job at them. Bewitching contained a retelling of Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, The Princess and the Pea, and The Little Mermaid all wrapped up into one story and it was perfection.

The story is focused on a witch named Kendra, who was the enchantress in Beastly for those of you who read that one, who enjoys helping people find their happy ending. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it goes terribly wrong. While the story is focused on her, there are three different speakers all in first person. There is Kendra, Emma who is the second main character and has a life based on Cinderella, and Doria who is this story's Little Mermaid. One of my favorite parts of the book was the Doria interlude because of the way Flinn combines The Little Mermaid and Titanic is magical.

The worst thing for me that a book can be is predictable, I am a huge unexpected twists and turns. Flinn did an amazing job doing this in Bewitching through the complex characters she created. The most complex characters were Lisette and Emma. The two girls suddenly become step sisters and throughout the book you see how their feelings change towards the situation. Emma is this average girl who most girls can relate to. She doesn't have many friends and she thinks of herself as ugly and weird, constantly comparing herself to her new gorgeous step sister Lisette. Most teenage girls are constantly comparing themselves, and to see Emma go through the journey of learning to love who she is, is incredibly relatable. Lisette on the other hand is a girl you feel bad to hate because everything she does is filled with wickedness yet she had a terrible life and you can see where she is coming from. My feelings towards her were conflicted the entire book.

You also can't have a fairy tale without a love story, and this love story was one that I believe could actually happen. I don't want to talk too much about the love story because I don't want to ruin it for you.

The only thing I would change about this was the ending seemed a little too abrupt because a new plotline was started and ended in the last two chapters. I was really enjoying the new plot line and wanted to learn more about it but there wasn't any time. I'm crossing my fingers for a sequel.

XOXO,
Jenni

Teaser Tuesday(Sept. 25th)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers: "'Tis tempting fate to say a ship is unsinkable'" "After all, I had given something. I had saved a boy's life"

- p.233 Bewitching by Alex Finn

I would love if you commented below with your own teaser because I'm always looking for new books to read!

XOXO,

Jenni

LOTW 13: Dress Lust

I just picked up Bewitching by Alex Flinn and I am in love with the cover. The dress on it is gorgeous and got me thinking about how many books have dresses I would die to have. It only made sense to me to make my list this week on my dress lust. So here is my five favorite dresses in no specific order.

1. Bewitching by Alex Flinn

2. Fever by Lauren DeStefano

3. Rumors by Anna Godbersen

4. Beautiful Days by Anna Godbersen

5. Everneath by Brodi Ashton

XOXO,

Jenni

How I Review Books!

Hey guys! Since I don't have a review ready at the moment, I decided to do a post that's a little bit different. So today, I'm showing you my review process for the books I read. I don't know if any of you will actually find this interesting, but I thought it would be kind of fun. Also, please excuse my really low quality photos (and my bad handwriting) in this post. I couldn't find my camera's memory card so I just used my phone's camera instead.  Also, most of the writing on my post-it notes is just random examples, not actually things that apply to the book I'm reading. Anyway... let's get to the post!


So first, I start off with a few basic supplies that I use while reading a book.

1. Three different types of post it notes. 
Technically, I could just use the big ones and rip them up, but having three different sizes already prepared is just way easier.
2. A pen
I write in my books even when I'm not reviewing them. So for me, a pen is a must. I use a pen since I usually write on post-it notes rather than writing directly in the book. However, sometimes I use a pencil when I do feel inclined to write on the actual pages.
3. Highlighters
These are even more essential than the pen and the post it notes. I use my highlighters to highlight important lines from a book. For example, when there's foreshadowing, something significant a character says, a turn in the plot, etc. I also use them to highlight my favorite quotes from the books. This comes in handy a lot when I want to skip to my favorite part of the book if I re-read it or when I'm writing up a book quotes post.

4. Reading Journal (not pictured)
I absolutely love having a reading journal. I first use the pens, highlighters, and post it notes to record my thoughts while I'm reading and may not have my journal with me. Then when I'm done reading I use my journal to outline reviews and record my reactions and personal thoughts about a book immediately after I finish reading it. Even if you're not a book blogger, I definitely recommend you start a reading journal. It helps you have a better connection to the books you're reading and can be used to refresh your memory if you every want to go back and see what you thought about a book.

Now to the actual review process!

Okay, so a key part of my review process involves the large post-it notes. Before I even start a book I place three of them on the inside cover. These help me keep track of things that happen in the book, some general thoughts about the book, and things that I need to bring up in my reviews.

The first one I place under the title - I'm currently reading Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs - and label it "Characters." This helps me keep track of every single character that pops up in the book. As the book goes on I'll add notes about different relationships, what characters I like, etc.

Next, I make a t-chart on another post-it note that says "Likes" and "Dislikes." I then write down things that the author did well, and things they did badly. Usually these include the things we base our reviews off of like writing, plot, characters, and the ending.



The last large post-it note I use I label "Favorite Parts." On here I might write down certain scenes, quotes, or page numbers. It's really helpful for adding specifics to my reviews and to refer back to if I ever read the book again.


Aside from taking general notes on these larger post-its, I also take more specific notes in the actual text. I use the little yellow post-it notes to write down any questions or thoughts I may have while I'm reading and mark important parts of the book like plot twists.

I then use the smallest post-it notes and my highlighters to mark my favorite lines from the book. Mainly this is just for my enjoyment so I can go back and re-read my favorite parts, but usually I will mark quotes that show great character development or good overall writing, both elements that I take note of in my reviews.

After I'm done reading the book I write a response in my reading journal and then review all of my notes and highlighting. From there I rate the different elements of the book, give the book an overall rating, and then write my review!

That was just a quick overview of my review process and how I annotate my books. I hope it was somewhat interesting to you and as always, feel free to leave comments below!

Love always,

Amanda

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Release Date: 2/28/2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 375

Flirt Factor: Playful

Overall: 5/5 Stars

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,

pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, 

 push,  

push,  

push,  

like Raven taught me to do. 

The old life is dead. 

But the old Lena is dead too. 

I buried her. 

I left her beyond a fence, 

behind a wall of smoke and flame. 

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

Just when I thought the series couldn't get any better, Lauren Oliver writes Pandemonium.

HOW DOES SHE PLAY WITH MY EMOTIONS SO MUCH I DON'T UNDERSTAND

I'll try and keep this review as cohesive and spoiler free but my mind is sort of a jumble of love for Lauren Oliver this review might just be like me drooling.

Once again Lauren Oliver has created a horrible world full of believable characters. Almost all of the characters introduced are brand new and I love and feel for them all so much. I think that part of what makes this story amazing is how well each and every character is developed, even if they're minor. I'm trying not to spoil it but THAT ONE CHARACTER THAT GETS INTRODUCED NOW RUNS MY WHOLE LIFE and the ending had me so depressed.

This story features Lena after she has escaped into The Wilds and flashes between her time there and her time in New York with a group of invalids with whom she's created a new family. The flashing between what is titled as "then" and "now" was a really interesting way to tell two stories at once without overly confusing the reader. Gah it's so hard to type this without spoilers! I really enjoyed this plot line, I think that the way the story was presented was very interesting and different. The story had just enough emotional scenes to get me teary, scenes that showcased the invalid's love for each other that made me sigh, and nail biting moments that kept me turning the page.

If Lauren Oliver ever stops writing I think that Earth might just stop spinning, I touched on this a little bit before but you can spell perfection with her writing. I loved how she wrote Pandemonium really rough and short while Lena was in The Wilds, and then contrasted that while she was in New York. I think that that particularly showed the roughness of the world outside the city. Every scene was written so well I just wanted to weep while reading. Lauren Oliver stop being so perfect.

Finally, If you thought the ending of Delirium was bad, just wait. Oliver really knows how to how to take my heart and crush it into a million tiny pieces.

Well, I hope you could sort of follow that; and, if you are looking for line for Requiem it starts right here. Ugh, I can't wait another minute for it, let alone a couple months.

xoxo,
Shelbie