Jellicoe Road

At age eleven, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At fourteen, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now seventeen, Taylor's the reluctant leader of her school's underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can't avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future. 

The first half of the book was a little slow but if it hadn't, it would be hard do keep up. There is a lot of characters and a lot of places to know about so I got really confused a few times. In the second half everything gets explained and you get a completely different feeling about the book. It's like a threshold and you just have to cross it.

Marchetta writes in a way that I really like and the story is memorable. What I felt when I was done was that if I had been Taylor had I been really pissed off at Hannah. Jonah grew a lot throughout the story and yeah, I really like most of the characters. A really good book that I obviously recommend but be patient the first half - you will be paid for it later in the book.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta 
Paperback, 422 pages
HarperTeen
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Top Ten Beach Reads

Hi there! It's tuesday and I'm going to participate in Top Ten Tuesday which is a feature/meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. The theme of the week is beach reads and I'm going to try to make a list of ten books that I think is perfect for the beach.

1. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is one of my all time-favorites and it's perfect to read at the beach, or anywhere. I highly recommend it!

2. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares is a real summer read and I like it, a lot.

3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is a cute love story and perfect for the beach.

4. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith is an easygoing and fast read. It's about love (obviously!) and takes place on a flight.

5. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is the first book in a trilogy. It takes place during summer and and I really like it. I'm thinking about buying the whole trilogy in english but I don't know yet!

6. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen. Dessen has to be the ultimate beach read, at least for young people. I've read two of her books and I'm longing for more.

What is your perfect beach read?

The Truth About Forever

Expect the unexpected. 

Macy's got her whole summer carefully planned. But her plants didn't include a job at Wish Catering. And they certainly didn't include Wes. But Macy soon discovers that the things you expect least are sometimes the things you need most. 

This was the first Dessen book I've ever read and I didn't know what to expect. I've read so many wonderful reviews about her books but at the same time it felt like it was not for me. Too much love and too much drama but I was wrong. I really liked this book and I'm so happy about that.

It's a super summery book that probably works just as well to read at age 13 as for someone who is 30 +. The language is good and even though the book is over 400 pages, it is a really fast read.

The reason I only (!) gave this book four stars was because of the characters. Macy was sometimes a really lovely girl and that reminded me a lot about my best friend in high school but just as often she was annoying and the relationship between Macy and her mother was SO disturbing. Macy's mother was so terribly naive and insensitive. And Wes .. yes, Wes. What to say? What a guy!

Read it - preferably this summer!

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Paperback, 374 pages
Speak
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US | The Book Depository

Book Blogger Hop: June 7th - June 13th

It's time for the Book Blogger Hop, which is a meme hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every week, you answer a question on your blog and put your link in the linky list at CAW. Then you can scout through all the blogs that has participated.

June 7th - June 13th: What is your favorite trilogy (series)? (submitted by Tanya)

When I participate in these book blogger hops I realize how many series I have unfinished! I can't even come up with a trilogy that I've finished but so far my favorites are the Delirium trilogy and the Engelsfors trilogy. Engelsfors is a swedish young adult trilogy and the last book is released in the fall.

Shatter Me

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now. 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

OK, this is so good I don't even know what to say. This really is a book that is impossible to put down! I got hooked from the first page and just wanted more.

It is a well-written young adult book with a really good story and it feels real! The only thing that possibly disturbed me at the beginning of the book was the underlined words but I learned quickly that it was a special part of the book and finally I barely saw it. It was poetic.

R-E-A-D-I-T-N-O-W!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Paperback, 340 pages
HarperCollins
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US | The Book Depository

Once a witch

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant. 

It took a few chapters before I got hooked by the plot. Tamsin is a pretty interesting character and her relationship with Gabriel is kind of wierd. One moment they are just friends and haven't seen eachother in years and the next they're kissing. I think I've said it before but I'm not a fan of insta-love. Luckily, there isn't that much focus on their relationship.

It's an interesting plot and as I said, I got hooked. I wanted to know what happened with the family Greene and especially Tamsin's sister Rowena, even though I hated her. I've only read a few books about magic and witches but I'm definately going to read more.

Finally, it was a good book and I'm going to read the second and last book in the series as well!

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCollough
Paperback, 292 pages
Graphia
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US | The Book Depository

Book Blogger Hop: May 31st - June 6th

It's time for the Book Blogger Hop, which is a meme hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every week, you answer a question on your blog and put your link in the linky list at CAW. Then you can scout through all the blogs that has participated.

May 31st - June 6th: What is your favorite series that you've finished all the books (more than 3 books) to? (submitted by Tanya)

I can't come up with any series where I've finished all the books and where it should be more than 3 books. Wierd! I'm going to cheat a little and say Harry Potter. So far, I've only read 4 books out of 7 but I'm on the right way.