Nadia's Favorite Books of 2015!!!

     Yet another year has come to a close, and I have read over 150 books this year- my Goodreads goal. (Yes, I'm on Goodreads, go check it out). Anyway, as I already mentioned, I've read over 150 books this year. Some of them were fantastic, others...not so much. But this list is dedicated to my favorite books that I read in 2015. The list is in no real order because I loved a lot of this books in different ways, and this list isn't a Top Ten or Top Five because who knows how many books will end up here.

1: Stolen by Lucy Christopher: This book kind of came out of nowhere. I've been wanting to read it for awhile, but I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of it because the plot really freaked me out. All of that being said, I LOVED this book. I fell in love with the characters, the plot, and the writing. My only complaint is that the story felt unfinished, and left me wanting a bigger sense of closure.

                                                         



2: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers: This book was earning SO much hype earlier this year, that I had to read it to find out what the big deal was, and I totally got it. This book was not over-hyped, and although the rest of the series left something to be desired, this book can exist entirely by itself, and I love this installment.

                                                               



3: Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli: Stargirl is one of my favorite books, and when I saw that there was a sequel, it was a very happy day for me. This book made me cry, but it also made feel happy in some twisted way. This isn't really a feel-good book, but I walked away feeling satisfied with how things turned out.

                                                                 



4: If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin: I was not okay after reading this book. It was one of the saddest books that I have ever read, and I even found it sadder than if I Stay by sad book extraordinaire Gayle Forman. The characters in this book made me feel things I wasn't ready to feel, and I was very upset by the ending of this book. Yes, I know it had to end that way, but that doesn't mean that I'm happy with it.

                                                                  



5: Panic by Lauren Oliver: I have tried to make myself read her Delirium series to no avail, so I decided to give this little standalone a shot. It was everything that I had been expecting and so much more. I got to read the writing style that I so loved without any of the other things that I didn't  love so much. I could relate to some of the characters, and I grew very attached.

                                                                   



6: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid: Take a super cute contemporary female, and mash her with some superhero and that is what this book's protagonist is like. She's super sweet and kind, but she also has some hidden depths that I wasn't expecting. This book deserves a lot more popularity than it has gotten in the past, in my opinion.

                                                                   



7: My Heart and Other Blackholes by Jasmine Warga: Again, I had been expecting the hype machine to take this one way out of its ballpark, but this book deserved every second of fame that it got and so much more. The way that it handled some of the heavy issues that it did was stellar, and I could relate to the characters in some painful ways.

                                                                  



8: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven: Another excellent product of the hype machine, and a real, raw look at mental health issues and all their ups and downs. Be prepared to sob grossly because this book stomps on your heart.

                                                                     



9: The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp: A real, painful look at alcoholism and the effects of when things spiral out of control. Include a lot of relatable characters, and some truly sad moments. Yes, I cried.

                                                                     



10: An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: An amazing dystopian, creepy kind of book with gorgeous writing, painful moments, and truly major plot twists.

                                                                     

11: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas: This book needs no explanation. This is one of my favorite series, and it's getting kind of close to wrapping up. Basically, think kick butt assassin and truly amazing writing. There is no flaw with the entire series, but this is book four.

                                                          




     This year was a great year for books, and 2016 already has a stellar line-up. I can't wait to see what next year has in store for everyone.

     Happy New Year's everyone!!!

None Of The Above by I.W. Gregorio

 Title: None Of The Above

 Author: I. W. Gregorio

 Publisher: Balzer + Bray

 Date Published: April 7th, 2015

 Genre: Contemporary

 Pages: 352

 Age Range: 15+







                                                                       Summary:

     What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

     When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

     But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."

     Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

                                                                         Review:

      I've been reading hyped up books lately because I feel so behind of the times, and this book is no exception. But, I LOVED this book. And it's kind of rare that I love hyped books so much. To prove my point, my average rating on Goodreads is a 3.21, and I've reviewed over 300 books. I'm a tough reviewer, but this book did everything right for me. This book really made me think though, about gender and what it means, and I appreciate that.
      The book opens with a nice scene between Kristin and her boyfriend, Sam. Honestly, I thought that their relationship was kind of perfect, at least in the beginning. Their relationship seemed to be mutual, healthy, loving, respectful, and all the positive things that come from true love. I opened the book with fuzzy feels, but those vanished in a matter of chapters. Pretty soon into the book, Kristin finds out that she is intersex, and then stuff hits the fan. The pacing of the book always moved pretty quickly, except for a few necessary moments where the story stalled a bit to let things sink in not only for the reader, but for Kristin.
     I truly felt for Kristin. I felt physical pain at her plight, and I was near tears in some parts. Her plight was so real and the consequences so cruel, yet realistic, that I was left reeling. At some points, when Kristin reached out for help, I cheered her on, and when she was in her lowest parts, I just wanted to give her a huge hug. Obviously, I loved Kristin's plight and her character, but I also really loved Darren's character. Throughout the whole book, he was very caring and sweet and I just really liked him and his support. I also greatly appreciated Gretchen and her presence- she was in the book just enough, and she was perfect! Pretty much everyone else I disliked. Faith, I could understand why she did what she did, but it doesn't mean that I have to like her. Vee, Sam, and the other slew of bullies, I despised. But in a good way. They were the perfect villains.
      All told, I loved this book, and I hope that I. W. Gregorio writes again. Although, she is a surgeon, so she's just a lil' busy.


                                             

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

 Title: The Spectacular Now

 Author: Tim Tharp

 Publisher: Ember

 Date Published: July 9th, 2013

 Genre: Conteporary

 Pages: 304 (Paperback)

 Age Range: 16+

                                                                           Summary:

     SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

                                                                            Review:

     There are very few books that I read where I need a few more chapters, or at least an epilogue if not another entire book. The Spectacular Now is one of those rare little gems. It was very real, raw, and poignant- a painful read about a subject that really shouldn't be so painful to read about. So few books make me cry, and shake my fist, and pull out my hair, and cry some more, but the Spectacular Now made me do all of those things.

     First, the characters were incredibly flawed. Sutter Keely really is a good guy at heart, but he is a terrible alcoholic. I have never read a book that had so much alcohol in it before. Now the thing is, in YA, alcohol is usually presented at parties and in kegs. In the book, the alcohol was a very main element. Usually alcohol is portrayed in a negative light, girls get drunk and go off with strange men, boys trash the house and say things they shouldn't have. Through this all, alcohol is portrayed as a bad thing while it truly isn't. The people abusing the alcohol are the real problems,and this book kind of gently delves to the root of that.
     Amy is introduced as Sutter's opposite, and she never really stops being his opposite. He's a fun-loving guy, knows everyone, wants to a lot of people, etc. But Amy is much more reserved and quiet. It was fun to watch Sutter pry apart Amy's shell and watch her really come into her own. She was a girl that everyone can relate to,and I liked her character a lot.
     Now, as the book progresses, Amy falls into a downward spiral. She spins from being this straight-laced, uptight girl, to letting loose way too much. I really liked Sutter's character, but his character pulled Amy to be more like him in his attempt to help her. Then, he realized what he had done, and that miserable excuse for an ending came by.
     This book actually made me hurt in many ways. I hurt for Amy and Sutter's positions at first, and then I really did feel for Sutter. When he lost his job, my heart broke into a million pieces, and the ending made me cry a little bit. I loved the openness of the ending, and the overall feel because it just fit with the book, but I didn't like how everything wasn't perfectly resolved.
     I really wanted this book to end with a happily ever after (that doesn't happen too often), but instead I was left with an ending that made my heart hurt, and my eyes leak. I would definitely read this again, and since the movie has Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller, I will be watching it very soon!