19 new releases i can't wait to read in 2014!

the year is coming to its end and soon it will be 2014. a whole new year of completely different stories to enjoy! some old and some new. well, i thought i'd list some of the books i can't wait to get my hands on in 2014!

Sharon Biggs Waller:

A Mad, Wicked Folly

Hardcover, 448 pages, Viking Juvenile, Goodreads
Expected publication: January 23rd 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Short synopsis: In 1909 London, Victoria Darling dreams
of becoming an artist, something of an impossible dream
for a woman of that time.

Why I can't wait to read it:
it's an interesting premises and i really wish to read more broadly
(meaning more than just contemporary fiction) next year.

Esther Earl, Lori Earl, Wayne Earl:

This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl

Hardcover, 384 pages, Dutton Juvenile, Goodreads
Expected publication: January 28th 2014
Genre: Biography

Short synopsis: Esther Earl died of cancer in 2010 at the age of 16. She had a strong presence in the online community and befriended the author John Green, among others. She continues to be an inspiration to people all over the world.

Why I can't wait to read it:
it's Eshter! i didn't personally know her, but i still miss her.

J.C. Carleson:

The Tyrant's Daughter

Hardcover, 304 pages, Knopf Books of Young Readers, Goodreads
Expected publication: February 11th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Short synopsis: After Laila's father is killed in a coup,
the 15-year old girl and her family have to flee
to The United States to a life of exile and anonymity.

Why I can't wait to read it:
this was written by a former CIA-agent!
it's like teenage version of Homeland, in book form
it also has The Best Cover!

Makiia Lucier:

A Death -Struck Year

Hardcover, 288 pages, HMH Books for Young Readers, Goodreads
Expected publication: March 4th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Short synopsis: A story of a teenage girl
and her struggle to survive during the 1981
Spanish Influenza pandemic in North America.

Why I can't wait to read it:
it seems like a such an interesting story!

Helen Oyeyemi:

Boy, Snow, Bird

Hardcover, 230 pages, Riverhead Hardcover, Goodreads
Expected publication: March 6th 2014
Genre: Literary Fiction, Retelling

Short synopsis: A retelling of the fairy tale of Snow White,
turned into a story of family secrets, race, beauty and vanity.

Why I can't wait to read it:
because it's something very different from what i usually read
and it sounds interesting!

Deborah Ellis:

Moon at Nine

Hardcover, 240 pages, Pajama Press, Goodreads
Expected publication: April 1st 2014
Genre: Young Adult, LGBT

Short synopsis: Farrin and Sadira have been arrested
for homosexuality and are in danger of being executed.

Why I can't wait to read it:
LGBT-themed story set in Middle-east,
what could be more intriguing than that?!

Sara Benincasa:

Great

Hardcover, 272 pages, Harper Teen, Goodreads
Expected publication: April 8th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Retelling

Short synopsis: A modern retelling of the
F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic The Great Gatsby.

Why I can't wait to read it:
The Great Gatsby is my all time favorite book.
this has the potential of being absolutely genius or an utter disaster!

Ann Brashares:

The Here and Now

Hardcover, 256 pages, Delacorte Press, Goodreads
Expected publication: April 8th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Short synopsis: Prenna James immigrated to New York
from the future, escaping the pandemic that killed millions.
Things get complicated when Prenna, against all the rules
 falls in love with a boy from the present time.

Why I can't wait to read it:
Science Fiction! Time Travel! Ann Brashares!

Wendy Wunder:

The Museum of Intangible Things

Hardcover, 304 pages, Razorbill, Goodreads
Expected publication: April 10th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Short synopsis: An epic road trip story of Hannah and Zoe,
who leave behind their hometown and troubles
and head west in Hannah's old dead-beat of a car.

Why I can't wait to read it:
i love road trip stories, and i love the cover!

Jenny Han:

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Hardcover, 368 pages, Simon & Schuster Books of Young Readers, Goodreads
Expected publication: April 15th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Short synopsis: Lara Jean has written a love letter to each boy
she has ever loved. She keeps them in a hatbox her mother gave her.
One day the secret letter are mailed and Lara Jean's love life
turns from non-existent to complicated.

Why I can't wait to read it:
i have to say i fell so hard for the cover i didn't care
what the book is about! although the synopsis sounds great.

Ken Kalfus:

Equilateral

Hardcover, 207 pages, Bloomsbury USA, Goodreads
Expected publication: April 16th 2014
Genre: Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical, Fiction

Short synopsis: A story set on just before the turn of the century in Egypt,
where a British astronomer Thayer has become to believe,
that beings more highly developed than humans are living on Mars.

Why I can't wait to read it:
an astronomer in historical Egypt and martians! this is a book i've been waiting for my whole life!

Irvine Welsh:

The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins

Hardcover, 480 pages, Jonathan Cape, Goodreads
Expected publication: May 1st 2014
Genre: Adult Fiction

Short synopsis: Depressed and overweight Lena Soresen becomes obsessed with the personal trainer Lucy Brennan. When the two women find themselves more closely aligned, and can't stop thinking about the sex lives of Siamese Twins, the real problems start.

Why I can't wait to read it:
it's Irvine Welsh! it sounds so effin weird!

Joshua Ferris:

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour

Hardcover, 352 pages, Little Brown and Company, Goodreads
Expected publication: May 6th 2014
Genre: Literary Fiction

Short synopsis: Paul O'Rourke is dentist with a nicotine habit
who doesn't know how to live in the world. When someone begins
to impersonate him online, Paul becomes afraid that the
online version of him might be better than he real thing.

Why I can't wait to read it:
best book title in a long time! it sounds just my kind of story, too.

Ava Dellaira:

We Were Liars

Hardcover, 323 pages, Farrar, Staus and Giroux, Goodreads
Expected publication: May 13th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Short synopsis: Due to an English assignment
Lauren starts to write letters to the famous and dead
in order to cope with the death of her sister.

Why I can't wait to read it:
The premises of this books sounds interesting,
also it has gotten some early hype!

E. Lockhart:

We Were Liars

Hardcover, 240 pages, Delacorte Press, Goodreads
Expected publication: May 13th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Short synopsis: A Story of
a brilliant, damaged girl
and a passionate, political boy.
Story of secrets and lies.
Story of the truth; true love.

Why I can't wait to read it:
John  Green describes the book utterly unforgettable!

Kyung Sook Shin:

I'll Be Right There

Paperback, 320 pages, Other Press, Goodreads
Expected publication: June 3rd 2014
Genre: Literary Fiction

Short synopsis: A story of friendship, European literature,
and a charismatic professor defying war, oppression and the absurd.

Why I can't wait to read it:
i don't think i've ever read anything by
a South Korean author (shame), i need to read this!

Julie Anne Peter:

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me

Hardcover, 256 pages, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Goodreads
Expected publication: June 10th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT

Short synopsis: After Alix's girlfriend Swanee dies,
Alix finds out her grislfriend has led a double life
by dating an other girl, Liana, the whole time they were going out.

Why I can't wait to read it:
Because i have a weak spot for good LGBT-themed stories!

Sarah Tregay:

Fan Art

Hardcover, 256 pages, Katherine Tegen Books, Goodreads
Expected publication: June 17th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT

Short synopsis: The story of a boy
falling in love with his best friend.

Why I can't wait to read it:
it looks so adorable!

Kym Brunner:

Wanted: Dead or In Love

Hardcover, 288 pages, Merit Press Books, Goodreads
Expected publication: June 30th 2014
Genre: Young Adult

Short synopsis: Two teenagers possessed

by the spirits of Bonnie and Clyde

soon discover that the infamous outlaws

are about to continue where they left off.
Why I can't wait to read it:
i'm sucker for Bonnie and Clyde type of stories!

Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Paperback
Number of pages: 424
Release Date: 10th of August 2010 (first published in 2009)
Publisher: Phoenix (originally published by Crown)
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller
Topics: family, poverty, class issues, Satanic cult hysteria in the 1980's
Similar books: Sworn to Silence, Into the Darkest Corner
Dark Places on Goodreads

Synopsis: When Libby Day was seven years old, her two sisters and her mother were murdered in "The Satanic Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas". Her older brother Ben was convicted for the murders and has reminded behind the bars for the past twenty-five years. Libby on the other hand has lived most of her life in solitude, living of off her family's life insurance and the kind donations that people have given her over the years. But the money is running out and in the mist of her money troubles Libby finds herself getting involved with The Kill Club, a group of people invested in her family's murder case. The members of The Kill Club believe in Ben's innocence and Libby, trying to profit from her tragic history, gets entangled in the clubs investigation.

Thoughts: Gillian Flynn's newest book Gone Girl was probably one of the most talked about books last year and it was also the first book I read from her. I'm not someone who reads crime books too often, so it's not a genre I'm most familiar with. But I definitely liked Gone Girl enough to pick up Dark Places.

What I most like about Gillian Flynn's books is her amazing writing. She has the ability to write really moving, real and honest characters. All of her characters have a very distinct voice, not just the main character, like Libby but even the smallest side characters are written in depth, you get interested and invested in them and wish they had their own books written about them so you could know their full story.

That amazing skill of writing and those characters are what make Dark Places (and Gone Girl too) to stand out from other crime novels. But to be honest, I did find the story a little bit predictable, especially towards the end. There's a problem with hyped books and authors, I assume that I will be absolutely blown away by them just because others have. And because I've built up my expectations when the mystery is resolved it feels a little underwhelming.

Dark Places is twisted, dark and surprising, but I'm not a person who cares too much about surprise endings. But I do love character driven books and with Gillian Flynn you get both; intense crime drama and absolutely brilliant, strange, infuriating, lovable characters. If you like neither, I recommend this book for you. If you like both, well you'll probably be one of those people who can't shut up about this great author.

Favorite Quotes:

“There are few phrases that annoy me more than I won't bite. The only line that pisses me off faster is when some drunk, ham-faced dude in a bar sees me trying to get past him and barks: Smile,it can't be that bad! Yeah, actually, it can, jackwad.” 

“I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it.”

Discussion: Star ratings

I just started this blog but I’ve actually thought about starting a book blog for quite some time. And one of the things I had to give some thought was how am I going to rate the books I read. Most people use star ratings with their reviews and I personally also use them at sites like Goodreads, but in reality, I don’t like star ratings!

Why don’t I like them? Well first of all, I am very bad at giving star ratings. When I rate books on Goodreads, I usually do it immediately after I’ve finished a book. So I don’t really have time to think about the book, so how I rate the book is the feeling it leaves me with right after reading it. That might work with some books, but very often I feel like I have rated a book unfairly. That maybe the book just made me feel all the feels and that’s why I gave it five stars when in fact it wasn't a book worthy of the highest rating. And on the other hand, sometimes I don’t know how I feel about a book, and I end up giving it three stars when in fact it turns out to be a book I think about weeks later after reading it. Of course I could go back and change those ratings, but what do star ratings actually tell about the book?

Star ratings are ambiguous, someone can give five stars with careful though when someone else gives them to every good book they read. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but my stars might not be worth as much as yours and sometimes when I try to find books to read, I get confused what’s actually good and I find myself wishing that my Goodreads friends would write reviews or at least some thoughts about the books they’ve read.

Of course I could use star ratings alongside of reviews, that’s what most people do, but I feel like often people just look at the star ratings and if a book hasn’t got enough stars they won’t even read the review. When in fact maybe it wasn’t a book for me, no one likes everything. Here’s a little reading secret of mine, I couldn’t get through Lord of the Rings and I actually really just don’t like it! But if I did read it, would I give it two stars because I found it boring or would I give it four stars because I can appreciate the amazing world building and characters in the book. And which rating would be fair?

That’s another thing, Lord of the Rings is a classic, and I have no doubt that it’s not brilliant and that there’s a reason why every person I’ve ever met loves those books so much. Rating classics is hard, because even as someone who is kind of a fan of classics, I sometimes find them boring or just really hard to get through. But I can still appreciate what those books have achieved, what is so amazing about them that people read them decades or even hundreds of years later.

So, I don’t want to be ambiguous. I want people actually read my reviews and that way find their next book to read. I want to have good discussions about books and what the words on those pages meant to me. I want to tell you about good books, great books and awful books and more importantly, let you decide whether you agree with me or not. I don’t want you to be fooled by the stars that I'm not very good at giving. And that’s why you won’t find star ratings on this blog, but I promise to tell you honestly what I think, even if I sometimes don’t love, or even like, everything I read.

Review: Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Number of pages: 208
Release date: 27th of August 2013
Publisher: Knoof Books for Young Readers
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult fiction
Topics: LGBT,equality, teenage relationships, depression, AIDS-epidemic
Similar Books: Ask the Passengers, With or Without You
Two Boys Kissing on Goodreads

Synopsis: Harry and Craig used to be boyfriends but now they are just friends who are trying to break the world record of kissing. While attempting this 32-hour kissing marathon, Harry and Craig become the focal point in the lives of other teen age boys, who are trying to deal with relationships, sexuality, gender identity and coming out. And all this is narrated by the generation of gay men who were lost to the AIDS-epidemic.

Thoughts: I absolutely adored this book! This is the first solo work I've read from David Levithan and I absolutely love the way Levithan writes. He's funny and thoughtful. He writes characters that feel very real and there is always a lot of diversity in the characters in his books. 

Two Boys Kissing is a quite short book, but it's still enough to tell the story that Levithan set out to tell. The narration is done in a unique way and I've never read anything like it. The book has multiple characters and smaller storylines that tie up together nicely. 

The biggest theme of the book is equality, especially in sexual and gender minorities. It talks about how things were before, especially during the AIDS-epidemic in the 80's and the 90's, but also the struggles people face today. Despite the very difficult things the book deals with it still manages to be hopeful and positive, but in a way that doesn't feel fake. It shows how much better things are now, but also reminds us how much we still need to do for all of us to truly be equal.

I think Two Boys Kissing is an important book full of positivity and love. And that it's wonderful that book like these are written and published, especially for young people. I mean, look at that cover, how amazing is that we can have books like these at bookstores marketed for the younger generation! We truly have come a long way, and writers like David Levithan are doing their part for making this world just a little bit better and accepting.

I recommend this book to absolutely everyone and anyone. Even if you're not into YA or contemporary fiction, read this, it's lovely and it will make you happy! And most importantly, people who have issues with sexual and gender equality, give this book a chance to change your mind!

Favorite Quotes: 

"There are all these moments you don't think you will survive. And then you survive." 

"You will miss the taste of Froot Loops.You will miss the sound of traffic. You will miss your back against his. You will miss him stealing the sheets. Do not ignore these things."