The Sky Is Everywhere

There has been a lot of buzz going around the blogosphere about this book. I am a follower, so of course I got it from the library to check out what all the talk was about. Well, thank God I did!

Seventeen year old Lennie is trying to figure out how to get through life after her sister Bailey's death. No one seems to understand what she's going through. No one shares her grief except for Bailey's boyfriend, Toby. Toby gets it. He knows what it feels like to lose the one person in the world that you are the closest to. Their grief brings them closer together.

Toby isn't the only boy who is occupying Lennie's time. Joe, the cute new boy in school, is popping up all over the place. Lennie, the bookworm and band geek suddenly is interested in these boys and they are interested in her too! How can she juggle both boys without her world falling apart all over again?

WOW. Just WOW! This book was so beautifully written that I found myself laughing and crying all on the same page. It's amazing that this is Jandy Nelson's debut novel. Reading this book was like reading poetry (that I could actually understand.)

Writing can only get a book so far so it's a good thing that the plot was also wonderful. It was so original and inspiring. This book teaches life lessons without beating them over your head. This book speaks to everyone who has ever lost someone they love. This book is the best book I have read so far this year.

Before I Fall

Before I Fall is a book by debut author Lauren Oliver. I'd been hearing awesome things about the book, so when I won a free book on Temeka's blog, I asked her to send me my very own copy. I've been putting off reading it for several weeks because I had so many library books to get through. I finally caught up with my library books so I got a chance to read it.

Sam (Samantha) is a popular girl. She has a hot boyfriend, super popular friends, and dibs on any and everything at her high school. Cupid Day starts off like any other day. She rides to school with her best friends, eats lunch with her boyfriend and heads to a party. That night, everything changes. What started out as a normal day, turns out to be her last day. Now she must relive her last day over seven different times until she gets it right.

I had really high expectations for this book. I knew a little about the premise before reading it, and I figured it would be a little strange reading about the same day over and over. It really wasn't that strange at all. I grew to like Sam. She grows in the book and you can almost see the wheels turning as she figures things out. She wasn't a lovable character, but she definitely was a likable one. I also didn't love her friends, but the plot was so good that it almost didn't matter. It's usually the characters that make a book great for me, but that wasn't the case with this book. The plot really grabbed me and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. It also made you think. It wasn't a fluffy book solely for entertainment. This book made you think about the choices you make in life and how the effect others. Little things can make a big impact. I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read more from Lauren Oliver

Going Bovine

I have been reading such wonderful things about Libba Bray's books and so I picked a few of them up from the library. I decided to read a stand alone first and Going Bovine just sounded so interesting that I gave it a try.

Cameron is a 16 year old boy who is coasting his way through high school with a minimum of effort. He has a twin sister who is popular and makes great grades, a mom is teaches English 101 at a local college, and a father who is a physics professor. His life seems pretty normal if not boring until one fateful day when he discovers that he is sick with a fatal disease. Cameron's life changes instantly. He's not ready to die; he's only 16 and is still a virgin! He begins to prepare himself for the worst until one day a punk rock angel appears and tells Cameron that there is a cure and that he must go on a road trip with his friend Gonzo, a paranoid dwarf who is obsessed with video games. Cameron's journey through America is filled with chaos, adventure, love, and lost.

This book started out to be hilarious and fun. After the first 100 pages or so, it started to get a little trippy like I was taking a ride on psychedelics. It actually took me weeks to finish this book. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the book, but there was something about it that I just couldn't get into. I must say, the writing was wonderful, but the plot was sub par. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.