2016 Wrap-Up!! Best of….

Posted on January 2, 2017 by The Novel Girl

As we say goodbye to 2016, and usher in 2017, I can honestly say that it has been a good year in the book world! We have had some amazing books published this year, and some awesome new authors have emerged. We have also suffered some great losses. It was a wonderful reading year for me, personally, as well. I think that I read more this year that I ever have in a single year before, and I was introduced to some wonderful new authors that I look forward to reading much more from in the future.

I have taken the majority of this week to try and determine what was actually my best of this year, and I had a very difficult time with it! I had to break it down in to categories, because I wasn’t able to pick just one!

Here goes!!!

Favorite Overall Read of the Year: There was a tie in this category!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes cover

Blood Curse by Quincy J. Allen

Favorite Thriller of the Year: In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

in-a-dark-dark-wood-cover

Favorite YA of the Year: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska cover

Favorite New Author of the Year: J.D. Spikes

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I’m looking forward to an awesome new year with all of you!! I hope you all have a wonderful new year!! As always, thanks for reading!!

-T

An Abundance of Katherines

Posted on April 25, 2016 by The Novel Girl

An Abundance of Katherines cover

Author: John Green

Genre: YA Fiction

Publisher: Dutton Books

Pages: 227

Colin has a problem with Katherines- Yes, that’s Katherines with an “s”. He can’t stop falling for them. So far, he has fallen for nineteen of them, and nineteen of them have dumped him. A child prodigy, who has just graduated from high school and is determined to make his mark on the world, Colin sets out on a road trip with his best friend. He decides, while on this trip, that he is going to determine the Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability in order to predict the future of relationships. All of the happenings add up to one crazy summer adventure.

This was a fun read. I will say that I did note enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska, but that may be because I didn’t relate to it as much on a personal level. Overall, though, it was still an entertaining book with the great character development and “finding yourself layered with comedic relief” style that I have come to love from John Green’s writing. I would recommend it, if that is what you’re looking for.

Looking for Alaska

Posted on April 17, 2016 by The Novel Girl

Looking for Alaska cover

Author: John Green

Genre: YA Fiction

Publisher: Dutton Books

Pages: 221

Miles Halter has decided to leave his safe, but boring, sheltered life (which includes little-to-no friends) in Florida for his dad’s alma mater boarding school in Alabama. A boy who is fascinated by people’s last words, he is on his way to seek the “Great Perhaps”. Once at school, Miles (now nicknamed “Pudge”) finds a few good friends and a whole lot of firsts. His first drink, his first smoke, his first love, his first kiss…and his first death of someone close. In that death, he will find what it truly means to live.

I decided to read Looking for Alaska, after falling in Love with Paper Towns. I can honestly say that it was just as good. Much like Paper Towns, I could relate to these kids. They reminded me a lot of myself and my close-knit group of friends, in high school. It reminded me of what it felt like to feel a lot of those feelings. It also reminded me of what it felt like to lose someone close to me for the first time, and to examine how that related to me, personally. I loved the references to The General in His Labyrinth (a great classic!), and the way that it was central to and woven in to the story. I think that this novel made for a great story, and one that will make the reader think. I think that I will read An Abundance of Katherines, as well. I am becoming a great fan of Green’s writing style, and the introspection that it inspires. Overall, a great read!