April Wrap Up 2013...

April Wrap Up

Hey everyone,

So it's the end of the month again so time for my wrap up, this month has been extremely productive on the book reading front because during my spring break when I was supposed to be studying I was reading.

The first thing that I read this month was Now is good by Jenny Downham

I adored this book, it was everything I wanted it to be. It was beautifully written, it gave a massive message that is so clear through the whole book and it was so tragic that it had me in tears multiple times while I was reading it. This book was one that i'd definitely recommend to anyone, especially those who have read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver because for me it gave off a similar message and overall it was a really tragic yet enjoyable book that i'd definitely pick up again.

The second thing that I read was Unwind by Neal Shusterman 

This was another really good book that i've been wanting to read for a good while now, it was compared to The Hunger Games but for me it was so much better, I loved the concept of the dystopian world and it is definitely something that i'll pick up again in the future. For this one i'd recommend it to people who read the Hunger Games Trilogy even if you didn't enjoy it I think that this book was similar but not too similar to put me off. Also anyone who read Divergent would really like this because I really liked that book even if I found the second book in the trilogy to be a letdown. 

The third thing I read this month was We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han.

I've been meaning to read this one after reading the first two in the trilogy last year, after the last book I just felt like the story wasn't going very far and I didn't really know what they could possibly do to make it any better but i'm really glad I read it because the story definitely picked up and I loved the way it ended. The perfect ending for a wonderful little trilogy.

The next book I read this month was Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler 

This book was a really good summer read, even though it's still threatening to snow here I really enjoyed this book, the story isn't exactly the same as others that i've read and the plot has it's own creative twists and turns that I really enjoyed. The book really pulled me in and I devoured it within a few days because I really couldn't put it down. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a nice quick summer romance. 

The last book which I read in April was The Elite by Kiera Cass,

This book was amazing, considering that I only received it 3 days ago and i've already finished it is definitely a record for me. The story carried on perfectly from the first book and I just want to read more. The storyline is fabulous and I love the whole concept. While I expected this book to have the usual dystopian "fight with the government" for the whole book it actually didn't and was really enjoyable. Hopefully i'll get a chance to read this book again in the next couple of months. 

Thanks for reading 

Talk to you all soon

Leigh xoxo

Unwind by Neal Shusterman Review...

Unwind Review

Hey everyone, so today i'm doing a little review of the book Unwind by Neal Shusterman. This book is set in a dystopian world where abortions are no longer legal, instead parents can make the choice to unwind their child when the reach the age of 16. Unwinding is basically where the child is killed and all of their body parts are used to help those who need them. This seems like such a morbid society but while reading it the whole Unwinding thing started to make sense. Parents tell their children that essentially they will still be living however it will only be parts of them, this means that one part of them may go onto someone who achieves great things and in turn the child that has been unwound has gone on to do great things also.

This book is told from 3 different perspectives of three very different characters and it explains their back-story and why it is that they are being unwound. 

Connor is 16 years old, his grades have always been average and he lives with his parents and younger brother, one day he discovers the tickets to a trip that is planned for the family, however there are only 3 tickets. He then finds the form that his parents have signed to unwind him in a few weeks, during that time Connor gets his grades up and tries to impress his parents and even though he knows that he will be unwound and there is nothing he can do about it he wants to make his parents suffer for what they have done.

Risa is 16 years old, she has no parents and has been living a State Home since she was a baby, when we meet her she s performing a piece on the piano and is struggling to get it perfect. We do not yet realise that her life depends on this performance and when she makes a few mistakes she is taken into a room and it is explained to her that because her grades are only average and her piano performance was only good that she will in fact be unwound.

Lev is 13 years old, he lives with his parents and 9 siblings, at the beginning of the book he is having a party to celebrate his life. This is because he is also to be unwound or tithed as his religion calls it. Lev's family give 1/10 of everything to their church as an offering to God, this also means that one of their 10 children must be offered and so Lev was always to be unwound even before he was born. He believes that what is about to happen to him is for the greater good as he will be blessed for being the sacrifice to God.

These three very different children all happen to be going to be unwound when they bump into each other, Connor is on the run across a freeway when the bus with the people from Risa's StaHo crashes because of the cars piling up because of Connor and then Lev's fathers car almost hits Connor.

The minor characters really bring this book together, we are introduced to a series of people known only as The Cop, The Mother, The Teacher, The Pawnbroker, Cy, The Admiral, Emby, Mob, Roland, etc. These people really are central to the story and they really add a new perspective.

Overall I absolutely loved this book and it's definitely something that i'd pick up again and again. I recommend this to anyone who likes the dystopian genre and also anyone who enjoyed the Hunger Games and Divergent trilogy but for me this series definitely beats the Hunger Games because we all know my feelings on that one.

Thanks for reading 

Leigh xoxo

My Book Update...

BOOK UPDATE

hey guys, so it's been a while since I updated you all on my book that I was writing well i've given up on it slightly, it's too difficult to change all the bits that I want to change but maybe i'll go back to it in the future. In terms of writing last night I started writing again. I wasn't even sure on what I wanted to do I just started writing, again it's a romance, and so far I only have 2 chapters one from the perspective of Megan and one from the perspective of Jeremy. 

I'm enjoying writing this book so much more than the last one and this time I feel like i'm a lot more organised in terms of characters and setting etc. 

Hopefully i'll keep going with this one and maybe i'll even let you all read a bit of it to get some feedback.

Speak to you all soon

Leigh xoxo

March Wrap Up 2013...

Hey everyone, so this month has been a really quick one and i'm sad to say that I haven't done much reading.

In terms of college i've changed blocks again and so all of the assessments all piled up at the start of the month.

I also finished my Graded Unit 2 development stage and handed that in so fingers crossed I get the marks back soon and at least got a decent mark for it. I'll be sure to post my mark as soon as I get it, At the minute I got 6/10 for the planning stage so just need 64 Marks to get an A but right now i'm hoping for 50-55 then I can pick up more on the evaluation.

Anyways down to what I actually read this month,

The first book that I read was The Guardians: Book 1 The Girl by Lola StVil

This was actually a really good book, I loved the story of it and because i've never read anything with Angels in it before it was an interesting new genre for me plus with it being free on kindle how could I say no. Anyway the next book is also available on kindle but it's not free so not sure when i'll get around to buying it. 

The second thing I read in March I didn't actually finish...yes i'm a disaster but in my favour it is a massive book and i've not had very much time but that book is A Dance With Dragons Part 1 Dreams and Dust by George R R Martin.

This book is amazing, I read it before bed, I read it on the bus in the morning, I read it on the bus at night, I read it waiting outside the class, I read it on breaks when there is nobody to talk to. I cannot put it down, however I am reading a lot slower than I used to and i'm definitely enjoying this book more than the last one. The pace is a lot faster and the characters in this one are my favourites and so i'm so glad to have them back also with a few faces from the past popping up in the most unlikely of places. This book is simply amazing and is definitely one of the best of the series so far. I tried so hard to finish this book this month but I only made it to page 434 but i'm really really enjoying it so much.