The Paige Turner

A blog for young adult book lovers

Random Thoughts #5: 2012 Year in Review

Well it's been a great year! A lot has changed and I'm so thankful to everyone who has followed, or even glanced at my blog once. I never thought I'd get so many books to review or even a single follower. So, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me and looked at my blog I really appreciate it. Without you guys there is no me! I've come across some great books this year, WAY too many to put in a single list, but I will do my Top 12 books of 2012! This was an extremely hard list to put together and it actually took a lot...

November Book Haul

Sorry this is so late! I didn't get any books in October, so I got a few more than I normally would in November. Here's what I got: Tan Lines by Katherine Applegate (Paperbackswap.com) Spring Break by Katherine Applegate (Paperbackswap.com) The D.U.F.F. by Kody Keplinger (Paperbackswap.com) Envy (The Luxe #3) by Anna Godbersen (Paperbackswap.com) The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (Paperbackswap.com) It Had To Be You: The Gossip Girl Prequel by Cecily von Ziegesar (Paperbackswap.com) City of Angels (Hollywood Royalty...

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 141 I actually didn't read this book, I listened to it on audio book and it was one of the first books in a really long time that I've listened to and it was great! The way the reader did a different voice for the characters and added a more sombre theme to the story that gave a really great tone to the story that probably couldn't be achieved if I had read it myself. The story itself was amazing. I had heard about how great this book was but wow, no one has really done it justice. Animal...

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 505 I had really high hopes for this book and I REALLY wanted to like it, but it thoroughly disappointed me. I actually thought it was going to have more of a horror element (I mean look at that gorgeous, yet creepy, cover). However, it actually took on more of a...underdeveloped theme. Let's make a list of what was underdeveloped: the characters, the plot, the setting, the conversations between the characters, the back story...everything? I felt that the back story was described WAY too...

September Book Haul

Here's what I got last month! For Review: Sheltered by Debra Chapaton Ask the Passengers by A. S. King Purchased: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne Nocturne by Syrie James Envy by Anna Godbersen On Fire: A Teen Wolf Novel by Nancy Holder (the following books were given to me by my mom. She wanted to get these off her bookshelves and passed them down to me) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Black Beauty by Anna Sewell The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Uncle...

Sheltered by Debra Chapoton

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 236 This was such a creepy book (but in a good way)! Sheltered is not only creepy, but it is a dark and disturbing novel that deals with many issues including schizophrenia, self-mutilation, family/home life issues, and a variety of other topics. Basically, five teens are put together in this house organized by the "leader" Ben. Ben is one of the five teens and he makes sure that everything gets paid for and that the other kids do their fair share around the house. The rest of the teens start...

The Ivy by Lauren Kunze with Rina Onur

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 322 The Ivy was actually a good book! It wasn't great, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well the story line was written and carried out. The Ivy starts out with Callie Andrews on her first day at Harvard, and she begins to get to know her roommates, and the extremely attractive boys living just across the hall. Of course Callie continuously falls and has a few social blunders in the following weeks, and she feels as if everyone will know her as the klutz from California. This I found a...

Painted Blind by Michelle A. Hansen

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 331 I was thoroughly disappointed by this book. So much that I couldn't even finish it. According to my Kindle, I got about 35% through before I said enough is enough. Even though this is young adult fiction, I found it too unbelievable...or relatable. I thought the characters fell in love too quickly, there wasn't much of a set up for a back story (I would have loved to hear more about Eric and his mother's strained relationship and more about Psyche's life). The story was set up so quickly...

Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite by Lianne Simon

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 232 Release Date: September 18, 2012 I've never read such a deep emotional book like this one. Especially in the YA genre. I've read more serious books for school that were nonfiction, but this fictional story about real life events deeply moved me in a way that few other YA books have ever before. Confessinos of a Teenage Hermaphrodite is the story of a boy/girl who is trying to come to terms with what sex they want to live with for the rest of their life. Jamie, wants to live as a girl, but...

August Book Haul

Here's what I got last month! Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (Won this in a contest) Scary School by Derek the Ghost (Sent to me by the author) Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite by Lianne Simon (Sent to me by the author) Painted Blind by Michelle Hansen (Received through NetGalley) Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (Received through Paperbackswap.com) That's all for this month! See you soon! Pai...

Scary School by Derek the Ghost

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 256 Since this is a middle school level book, I wasn't sure how it was going to be reading it for me since I haven't read that level of a book in a REALLY long time, but it was so much fun to read! It was such a cute story and I flew through the book because it was so easy to read, and because the plot was so cute! (Probably not the best way to describe a "scary" book...alright it was frighteningly funny!) Scary School is written from the point of view of Derek the Ghost, a previous student of...

Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 277 Release Date: 08/21/2012 Over You was such an amazing book! I actually won this ARC (Advanced Review Copy) in a random drawing on EpicReads.com and I was actually pretty skeptical going into it. The premise sounded alright, but I think the synopsis sort of dulls down how awesome this book actually is (Not to mention, that the cover sort of threw me off too; that girl looks WAY too old to be in high school. I get that they were going for mature but she looks like she's in her mid-20's). Also,...

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Read a synopsis here! Number of pages: 351 So, as I was reading this book I was thinking about what a fantastic and joy-filled review I was going to write for this book...however, then I finished the book. It was such a weak ending and it really disappointed me. I felt that things were just quickly resolved and the way things were resolved wasn't very strong. There was too many flaws (thankfully there's a second book). The first half of this was absolutely fantastic! The book moved along at a great pace and things were exciting but...