To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Synopsis: "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all."

Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Genre: Contemporary YA, Romance
Series: TAtBILB #1
Ages: 13+
Pages: 355
My Rating: 5 stars 
One Word: *sigh* adorbs
Fave Quote:
"He also writes Lara Jean will make Peter's picture her phone wallpaper.
"And vice versa!" I say. I point my phone at him. "Smile." Peter smiles, and ugh, it's annoying how handsome he is. Then he reaches for his phone and I stop him. 'Not right now. My hair looks sweaty and gross.'
'Good point,' he says, and I want to punch him" (179).

Review
FOREWARNING: I typed this on my iPhone (have yet to edit on my laptop) so please excuse all of the grammatical errors

I don't even know what to say... This book was so adorable and cute and I'm actually depressed that it is over.

I'm so used to reading the sci-fi dystopian AKA depressing books, and once in a while I will read one of these contemporary chick-lot books and I'll realize how much I love these types of books. This book was the exact opposite of dystopia. It was a perfect book with perfect moments, like when Han describes Lara Jean's school mornings I just sigh with the perfection. Everything in this book jut feels right and I just wish it was my life, having to choose between two guys.

Of course it wasn't always so perfect, I mean Lara Jean's letters to her past crushes got sent out for crying out loud, but I still thought (since it wasn't my life) that it was a perfect set up for Lara Jean and Peter.

Peter omfg.
"I'm sleepy.' He closes his eyes and snuggles against me.
'Tell me a bedtime story, Covey" (162).

DAMN. I fricken loved Peter so much and I was absolutely 100% rooting for Lara Jean and Peter throughout most of the book. Except in the beginning of the book, I though Han was going to make it a love story between Lara Jean and Josh but boy was I wrong (and happy that I was wrong). I really wanted to find out what letter she writes at the end and I wanted to see Peter's reaction when he receives it, but I guess I'm supposed to use my imagination *sigh*. The only part that I did NOT like was that Peter was all like "I like you Lara Jean but I love Gen too" like NO Peter you need to only love Lara Jean duhh.

Okay, Peter was a great character, but I have to say that Kitty was my all time favorite character. Without her, this book would've only gotten 4 stars. She just made the book so much more perfect; with the puppy and cookie baking and the hair braiding. This girl really makes me wish that I had a younger sibling.

I really loved the connection between Margot and Lara Jean and I can totally relate with them when my own sister left for college. I hated the change with a burning passion but I soon got used to it and it still sucks but whatevs :/. Their relationship with each other was just amazing how they always made up with each other even with harshest of fights (you know what I mean if you read it ;) )

Anyway, the drama, the funniness (I literally cracked up after every page) and the quirky-romance of the book was definitely enough for me to give this 5 stars. This book was adorable and had me smiling all the way until the end. Everything from Halloween to baking with Peter and Kitty to dancing the running man. This book was perfectly quirky and I loved every bit of it.
★★★★★

Panic by Lauren Oliver

Before I start this review, I just wanted to apologize for not being on this blog for a while! I had so much to deal with the last few weeks of school (FINALS :( ) but now it's summer so I'll give you guys PLENTY of book reviews :D
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Synopsis: "Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes he very things we fear are those we need the most."

Title: PANIC
Series: None
Genre: Romance, YA Fiction, Suspense, Contemporary
Pages: 408
Ages: 14+
My Rating:
My Word: Heart Racing, freaking anxiety filled
My Fave Quote:
"But Autumn nibbled the blue sky with its teeth, tore off chunks of the sun, smudged out that heavy veil of meat-smelling smoke. It was coming. It would not be held out much longer.
It would bring rain, and cold, and change.
Just before that: the final challenge.
The deadliest challenge.
Joust" (375).
Review
I live in a bubble. Every day, I go to school, see my friends, go home, do homework, and repeat. My town is filled with some rich kids and seeing them waste their money on extra drinks in the cafeteria or wearing a new outfit a day makes me want to cringe. I've learned from an early age not to spend more money than I have to, and now I don't even have to remind myself. It's just a habit to conserve my money.

In Panic, many residents in Carp are poor. There is Meth Row, where Dodge and other poor residents live, and there is the trailer park, where the even poorer people live, including Heather. It was fascinating to read about their lives and their families and the trouble that they endured.

Not only that, but hearing people say "This novel is just like the Hunger Games! It such a copy." First of all, this book isn't set in the futuristic dystopia where you're forced to play a game to show power. This game was created by students and personally I thought this book was more exciting and thrilling due to the absurd stunts and tasks the students have to do. That said, the plot was definitely original and the different challenges made my heart race for these fictional character.

Speaking of fictional characters, the absolute reason why I got this book to be four stars were the characters, specifically Heather and Bishop.
“They had their own language, their own jokes. They were constantly touching each other too – pushing and shoving, pinching and hugging, like kids flirting on a playground.”
*sigh* best relationship ever.Literally, I was waiting for their perfect relationship to happen and once it did I could not contain my feelings.





Not to mention Dodge. He was absolutely perfectly imperfect and his and Heather's background story made me sympathize for them throughout the whole story. Nat on the other hand was a little annoying for the first half of the story and very reckless (not that all of them weren't). She was crying over the stupidest things and making horrible decisions. During the end though, she didn't bother me as much.

One of the things I didn't like as much was that Oliver kind of rushed the last challenge, and she never showed Heather resolve any of her problems, like with Bishop. She just skipped right to the epilogue. I liked the epilogue, but I think I would've been a lot happier if we got to read that scene.

This story was a quick and fun read, and literally had my heart racing for the characters as they went through each challenge. I figured out the twist at the end with Bishop when Dodge started suspecting it and I was shocked and mad at myself for not figuring that out sooner! This story was very creative and I can't wait to read more of Oliver's upcoming books!
★★★★

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

Synopsis: A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.
When I was fourteen, I made a decision. If I was doomed to live in a trailer park next to an airport, I could complain about the smell of the jet fuel like my mom, I could drink myself to death over the noise like everybody else, or I could learn to fly.

Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.

But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.

By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they’re determined to keep the banner planes flying.

Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly.

Title: Such a Rush
Series: None
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 325
Ages: 14-18 (involves some make out sessions)
Date I Finished: January 22nd, 2014
My Rating: 4 stars
My Word(s): LoveTheMainCharacter, BlewMeAway (no pun intended), DifferentYetAmazing
My Fave Quote(s):
"'He's not your type.'
'Oh, really?' I laughed, 'Who's my type, Patrick?'
'His brother,' Patrick said.
'Grayson?'...
'We were pretty good friends. You and me, we like playing with fire for some reason'" (193).

"Most people hear an airplane in the sky and think 'there's and airplane,' and go back to what they were doing. A few folks look around for the airplane, try to figure out what plane it is, and watch it from the time they spot it to the time it disappears on the horizon, maybe after that. Those kids are the ones who will be pilots." He pointed at me. "I knew that about you. I've just been waiting for you to show up."

“When I’m with you," he began again, "it’s like… I still don’t feel normal. But I can see normal at twelve o’clock on the horizon." He pointed past me, through the windshield of an imaginary airplane. "At least I know normal is still out there. I’ve spent the last three months not sure of that at all."

Review

Wholy god....I wrote an amazing review for this book and GoodReads just deleted it D: WHHY??

So basically here it went:
I was wary of reading this book at first because I'm not a fan of contemporary novels. They usually bore me to death through the first 100 pages.

But not this book.

The plot of Such a Rush was absolutely brilliant. It wasn't any of those "boy next door" books like the regular contemporary-romance books. Instead, it involved a trailer park, an airport next door, and two guy pilots trying to run their dead father's business.

The characters were definitely amazing as well. Let's just say, I envy Leah Jones. Leah, the main character, lives in a trailer home, and has a horrible mother and father who she doesn't know and still has the I-don't-give-any-shits kind of attitude. She decides to try to fix the life that her mother put her into by getting a job at the airport near her. Ever since she laid eyes on one of her boss's sons, Grayson, she never stopped crushing on him.

Now, the two sons...Grayson and Alec. After their father's death, Grayson decides to keep the banner-towing business running and Alec helps. Alec is the nice, goody two shoes boy, and Grayson is the I-also-don't-give-any-shits adrenaline junkie. The only thing that confused and frustrated me was that Grayson had two personalities throughout the book. At first he was all "Do as I say" attitude, and then he became a mix of that attitude and the "lovey-dovey perfect boy" personality. Imagine those two personalities together...if I hadn't read the book, I would imagine a bipolar dysfunctional crazy guy...actually maybe I still do... Despite that and the "Do as I say" part of him, I would've fallen for him as well.

The plot. That was probably the reason that this book got four stars. I mean, the main character lives in a trailer park for crying out loud! How interesting does that sound?! After I read the summary, I was very curious to what was going to happen in the book, and my expectations were pretty blown away. When I say pretty blown away, I'm excluding the two personality Grayson because although he was okay at the end, I'm surprised Leah still liked him after all the mean stuff he did and all the fights that they had before they were together. Grayson, Leah's crush, blackmails her by dangling the secret that could ruin her pilot career so she could keep working for him. The whole blackmailing mess results in one fake relationship with Grayson's brother and another relationship at the same time that Leah thinks could never work out (if that makes sense). Basically, once Leah does what Grayson says (not just work for him), a lot of shit goes down that knocked me off my socks (yes...I just said knock me off my socks).

Overall, this review is so messy, and I promise you the one that got deleted was so much better D:. But seriously, this book totally beat my expectations, the characters and plot are deliciously different, yet amazing (besides two faced Grayson although he was still sexy enough for me to like ;) ).
★★★★