Want to Go Back...

Second Kiss by Natalie Palmer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I remember he day I found this book. A year ago. Shame on me for not reading it before. It was epic, amazing and just so darning SWEET!
It is so under my age by who cares. It was a simple read but the writing is not bad, not bad at all. This author knows what she is doing, the writing isn't sloppy or boring and the pace is just quite right!
And you know, it is my kind of story, the one that always takes my heart with it.
Gemma and Tess have been best friends for so long that they can't think of one another without the other one.
And this their story. The difference between clumsy Gemma and popular Jess through middle school and the changes they both have to go through due to growing up. Not kids anymore. Not more fort fights, or silly childish games. But, even though those are going out of the picture quickly, some stuff's coming to replace all of that. And it's a good trade if you think about the whole picture.
After all, it killed me that through almost the whole book they wouldn't accept their new feelings for each other.
But those little life shattering events will be the things that will bring them together, more than they already were.

It absolutely made me wish I had 15 again. :D
I could totally relate to Gemma in every way, although I never had a friend from that early in life, not one that was that awesome. Because, let's face it, Jess alikes do not exist outside this book.
And when the ending came rolling by, just to spoil it a little, just a bit, it was raining over where I live too. Thunder and all, so I got the whole effect of it.
And after I finish it I had the biggest of smiles until I went to bed. It was that cute of a story. The letter is my favourite part. And the last paragraph is just cute in every way.
Read it, come on. Easy read, cute story, good characters. What else can you ask for a cloudy afternoon? It made my day. One of the cutest stories ever.



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A Rushed Adult...

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Now I'm ready to review this one.
It usually takes me an hour after finishing a book, just so I have all my thoughts fresh and true to the book in question but this one was a bit different...I needed time.
Why? Because, I didn't know how to review it. Mr. Mullin, you touched me. If I have a soft spot, other than books, is the sense of never seeing my family again and the third in line is to survive on my own. A little background here, I'm 18 and have never lived on my own and to top it all, I'm a Med student so the possibilities of living on my own are still a long way from me. And it can not be compared to what Alex went through when he is only 16, but still, adulthood is scary at times.

What did Alex went through? You have no idea. And if you have one, is worse than that.
It's a typical Friday, his family is out, visiting  relatives that live in an another state, for the weekend. A weekend on solitary that transforms into a month long adventure trying to find his family in a new country, in a new world. So, what happened? A volcano. Yep, the almighty volcano, the father of all volcanoes, found in the beautiful Yellowstone National Park, did KABOOM! and all hell went loose.
So, here is one of the reasons I didn't give it all 5 stars... Is just difficult to me to believe that a 16 year old would know that Yellowstone is basically a Super Volcano waiting to explode... Come on, no offense, but if you don't even know the difference between Australia and Europe, how would you even know that there is a super volcano. The last sentence is based on a video I saw some time ago.(Apologize for the Americans that do know that very important piece of information.)
So, yeah, as you can imagine, everything is a disaster. Ashes everywhere, the sound is unbearable, and the sun is to be missed. I love that about this book, it's so very believable, the weather implications of an explosion of this nature. And not only that, not even three days after that first explosion, the people was desperate and didn't stick to normal society rules. Stores were emptied of anything that was thought could help survived this disaster. Riots were commonplace.
But Alex can't stay, he has to find his family. That's when all the good stuff happens. He has a long way to go, very little food, an even more little amount of water but motivation, he has plenty. And let me tell you, he is not stupid. He knows when to stop, where to rest and the direction he needs to follow. But, any precaution that he could have ever foresighted couldn't have prepare him to the dangers that awaited him on his journey.


So, here is reason number two to why not give this a 5 star review.
Darla. No, do not get me wrong, she is awesome, she is the reason why Alex lived to so many dangers and , actually, she helped him keep his good spirits and will. In so many levels.
Let me explain, although I'm a girl who cries when she reads about fictional characters dying, even real life people that didn't even know...I should've been happy just with Alex and Darla's adventure through this whole mess. When you read it you'll know why we can't take Darla out of the equations and why they are to be together.
But no, there has to be something for the romantics out there.I was hoping for the The Maze Runner little romance kind of thing, something that couldn't be avoided.(Go read that one too, BTW) And I'm grateful and all but ,seriously? It was so different of my expectations, it was like, nooooo! How can you been thinking in sex when there are killers out there, crazy people turning into cannibalism to withstand the harsh winter and lack of food supplies? WHY? I understand, basic need of human beings, but come on, are you kidding me? And some of you will be thinking this, "They are teenagers. They are missing their lives from before. They want to be normal teens again." And I completely agree with those thoughts, but if I were to be on their shoes, that would be the least of my worries.
It's a personal thing. Again, apologize. It's just such a good plot, amazing characters and much more, that some things that weren't really necessary, in my opinion, cast a shadow over it's greatness.

But my opinions are not important. READ IT! It's fantastic and just a good book. Makes you think about stuff.
And I can't get over that part, almost at the end, when you think that OK, this is it, and BAM! It's not.
Can't wait for the sequel! :D




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Like feathers

In the Middle of Nowhere by Julie Ann Knudsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Where to start?
By the beginning, I suppose.

Before I continue I want to thank the author for letting me check on this fantastic book. :D

This is Willow's story, a 16 y.o. girl that for a series of events has to start a new life with her family in a barely known island by the Portland shore named Pike's Island.
What does exactly make a seemly normal girl and her family to move to a place where she is forced to take a ferry everyday to school? Sadly, for Willow, all her problems started when her dad died.
So now she has to deal with everything that comes with moving to a new place and leaving her whole life back.
But, also for Willow, there will be a mysterious boy that will come with necessary changes for her.

If you are like me, you'll feel slightly annoyed, at first. I just wasn't connecting with the story or characters. But I've learned that you can't judge a whole by it's pieces so as always I went on reading. And I'm glad I know that little piece of information. Eventually, a few chapters after, the whole story starts to make sense and it actually makes you get into the story and feel like you are a part of it, too. Don't believe me? I'm telling you, you'll cry, laugh, and actually yell at Willow for some stuff that goes on.
I have to admit that I couldn't stop myself of rolling my eyes a time or two. Willow is immature and, to me, fell flat a couple of times.
But it was just for a couple situations and that is just my normal reacting to bad judgement and lack of common sense. But still Willow is a likeable character that matches the story perfectly.
And you may be asking about the boy. That one was Michael Cooper, a boy that comes and goes for most of the book while Willow discovers herself and her personal strength.

This book was a combination of very common problems for teens such as the loss of a parent, dealing with alcohol and drugs, trying to fit in in a new place, seeing the remaining parent moving on, even first love.
Personally, I love all that's romantic and stuff, but even I have to admit that very very soon all books start to look alike and eventually bores you to death.But In the Middle of Nowhere was like a breath of fresh air. Unlike so many books out there this one does not stuck the main character and this character's love interest together as if they were joined by the hips. Believe me when I tell you that this is all about Willow and her personal growth, dealing with her mom finding someone that cares for her and her children, trying to make some sense out of the high school's "most bitchy" girl and the girls that surround her, experiencing her first hangover, smoking her first joint, even her desire to learn how to drive and get her first job. Like I said, a normal teenager with teenager problems.
So what does all that mean for Michael? Oh, do not worry, he is there alright. But his part was of the subtle type but that doesn't mean that it was not a huge part. After all, it is through Michael that Willow learns more about herself than with anything else that is currently happening in her life. It is him that teaches Willow to open herself up and to try to embrace her life and let go of her fears for those are her only obstacles of truly living.
I loved Michael form beginning to end, he is a writer and a poet with a secret of his own. The reason why he doesn't go to school  and disappears from Willow's life from time to time.
I do not know if it would be right to tell you...
I couldn't believe it when the truth came out, not because of what it was, you could practically figured it out in a second, but because this was the second time that I encountered it in a book. If you've read  Sing Me to Sleep you may know what I'm talking about. And you may also know what I immediately imagined. I dreaded that possible outcome because the heartache would be unbearable a second time.

So I'll leave it there because it's your mission to find out what happened to Willow those first months of her new life. What Michael's secret is. And if everything went right at the end.
Hint: it does not finished as heartbreaking as Sing me to Sleep did.Just so you'll know.

It was a very good read.The language a little too proper sometimes. I felt that maybe it should've been set in England rather than in Maine.
And it has some faults here in there that I won't lose my time trying to explain because you may not look at them as such. My interpretation is mine alone. Yours may be different, and I'm pretty sure it will be. The thing that I want most is for you to enjoy it and to finish it with a feathery feeling inside you.
This story will stuck with me for many, many reasons for a long, long time.
I'll leave you with Michael's words of wisdom:

"Sweet dreams, my dear. Sweet dreams, you dare? Be done with dreams and face your fear."



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The Bastian Effect

What A Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My, my. Did I needed to read something just like this. Last night I was a little bummed out because of school and stuff and I wasn't doing anything productive. It had been over two weeks that I could sit and try to read something that wasn't school related. And to be honest I have a to-read list since last year, but as always, when I get a new book I just want to read it immediately, so I have a lot of books waiting. But I do not regret reading this one...IN ONE NIGHT! I just couldn't stop. I wasn't even finish with the second paragraph when I was already hooked! And the whole ride I had that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach.

Sebastian, this amazing guy that just didn't believe in love or falling in love or anything related to love because he had a difficult time every time his mom broke up with the newest boyfriend or end up a marriage. So he wasn't a believer, and that is just so original,right? It is because Sebastian, he is a good guy, a very good guy and not only talking about his good looks, he protected his friends with iron fist. Losing some hook-ups on the way, it didn't matter, Jaden, his best mate, Pris, the sharp tongued girl and, of course, Aspen, the daughter of a hippie couple that was just his best friend since ever. But living with his mom, that was a complete believer of true love, didn't came without consequences. With time he learned his fair share of knowledge about relationships and everything someone needed to do to get the perfect hook up, so he became the Hook-up Doctor. Helping girls getting the guy they wanted helped him perfect his game and the money was much appreciated, and it always is when you want to afford your own car, isn't it? So that how he lived, hooking up whenever he wanted, hanging out with his friends whenever they could and just be. But Bastian doesn't know that is about to change. His latest client, a PA rocks (a privacy policy of his) makes a deal with him, so it will be the usual, he receives the money, she receive the tips, when she gets the guy he gets paid off and everyone happy. Or so he thought.
While everything is going smoothly with his client, things are changing with his friends, particularly with Aspen, and he does not why. First it was Jaden's comment on Aspen's butt, and now she, although Aspen is no different at first sight, whenever he doesn't talk to her or hang out with her or just when he is with her he feels rather strange himself, noticing things he didn't before. when did she had her hair looks so smooth, and why hadn't he notice how she smelled, and why can't he concentrate on an every day hook up, and why can't he stand seeing her talking with other guys.It was just so damned confusing. And then, BOOM, he got it, he was in love, or at least thought he was, but it was a very strong feeling, too strong and real to be just a mirage, and he wanted to kiss her so badly, touch her in a very different way to the way he did before. He didn't want to treat her as any other hook up, it was Aspen after all,he wanted to protect her from every harm. He definitely wanted to protect her, yeah, it must be love. And how to tell your best friend you love her in a very unfriendly way, that you want to be with her, that you want her? It's not going to be easy but he will think of something.
So, one day, before the leave for the coast to celebrate Pris' birthday, he checked his Hook Up Doctor account to see if PA Rocks had some success after he told her some tips of his and what he finds out is very much a surprise. PA Rocks is Aspen, and Aspen likes him, she's been trying to hook up with him. And he couldn't feel any happier and this trip is just the opportunity he need. Nd to make a long story short, because I want you to read all the unmentioned details, he gets the girl, but decides to do the only gentlemanly thing he knows, to brake up with her so she won't be hurt if what they felt was only a passing thing.
And well, here you go, find out if he recovers the girl, discover the real reason Aspen contacted the Hook Up Doctor.

And for the ending, I think I got a hint of a possible follow up story, and if is not, I want to demand a follow up book, and I may or may not mean a follow up on Sebastian and Aspen's story. ;)
Please! Read it. I don't think all my stomach twisting was just because I didn't eat dinner. The rumors are real. Where are the guys like Sebastian?



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The Austen Effect

A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It was...to put it lightly....a turn off...I was expecting so very much of it. The title, the cover and the overview got my attention immediately, making me put other books I've  putting off reading to read this one..but I can't quite say I regret it because I've gave it 3 stars. So I did like some of it but it wasn't what I wanted. I must confess that my experience with Ms.Austen is quite unexistent..I know! And I walk through life calling myself a reader but it is true, and after this one, maybe my Janeite potential was lost..not for good but for quite some time. I hope. I have been allured by Mr. Darcy's advances,yes, but for the time..I'll prefer to wait.



One of the mayor thing that didn't work for me was the whole thing with Robyn. I never got to like her, to know her and to even agree with the author to pair her up with Dan. What a waste! For most of the book she was complaining about her boyfriend who she admittedly didn't love or like, for that matter. Finds herself in love with Dan, perfection in flesh. But she still make the stupidity of saying yes when said boyfriend proposed to her after a few of embarrassing moments.. And she calls herself CONFUSED! Confused was Lochan and Maya from Tabitha Suzuma's Forbidden when they started feeling the way they felt for each other. Confused was Forrest Gump when Jenny told him about his son. A lot of confused characters have crossed paths with my eyes and imagination, but not adorable Robyn, no, she wasn't confused she was just a fool. A fool I say! Everytime a chapter or paragraph was about her I had to stop and just watch something as deep as Toddlers And Tiaras just for me to be able to survive her, Robyn. Let's just say that she was a secondary character with the dreams of a main one. Not good.

But enough with her. The next thing that killed it for me was the whole Austen thing. I know it is a very Austenian book, but you didn't have to say it in every single paragraph of the book. Every.Single.One There is something called the Austen Effect...I had an overdose. Hence my decision of putting off Austen books for some time.



I read this one and finished it just because of Katherin and Warwick. I wanted to know that everything was going to turn out great for them. Besides, they are the ones who appear at the overview,no silly Robyn. And ther is a reason for it. Why it wasn't only with those two and them books. It would've been better.  I even liked Jace at the end. I feel sorry for Dan. What a catch! What a loss.

You can only ask so much of a book.



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Genius...

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Read it three weeks ago and I still cry a bit whenever I think of Gus.

Being this my first John Green Book...I was not disappointed!
I'm a fan of his and his brother, Hank, in their YouTube channel, VlogBrothers. A nerdfighter to death, my friends. But even though I knew John writes and me being the reader that I am, I couldn't possibly imagine making myself read one of his books. A bit afarid, I think, that I wouldn't like it perhaps. Yeah, I know, he won an award and everything and made a book with David Levithan, one of my top 20 favorite authors of all time, but still I had my doubts. But after watching video after video of him not talking about TFIOS, signing all those books, and all the effort he made to keep it a secret as long as he could, I admit I was curious.
So, after the must awaited release date, I waited to see how it did. Didn't read a review in order to not spoil my own experience in case I decided to read it, but I kept track of the scoring, listen to a word or two about it's awesomeness and well, here I am, unable to decide which book by John Green to read next. Now I'm scare I won't like them as much as I LOVE TFIOS.

Just FYI, one of my best friends gave me this fabulous Christmas present, a Parisian Notebook for Quoting, her words! And I didn't read a really good book worth keeping quotes to start up my Quoting Notebook until THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. Now I always read Gus's words to Hazel, Hazel's own opinions, and whatever line I thought worth remembering. I worry that maybe John will sue me for the amount of quoting I have in this Notebook, almost the whole book if I have to be honest with you. I'm exaggerating, of course, but hey, I came close to do it. It is just such an AWESOME BOOK!

I have to come clean at something, I didn't actually liked Augustus at first. Too cocky, confident, forward...a too much for me. But did I ever regret anything in my life was this. How could I not love Augustus Waters. After some chapters you understand him and Hazel and EVERYONE! Even the freaking writer! Anna and the Hamster!

Every turn was a surprise, even if I guess the way it was already just ahead of me.
Hazel is just so sad, comfortable with her fate that doesn't want to do much with her life, or what is left of it. That when Augustus Waters
appears is just like a new air going through her sickened lungs. I loved how Gus taught Hazel everything she needed to really live her short life at it's fullest. How he made her wish come true. How they made this whole relationship from scratch in a short amount of time. Love ought to be like that, one day it is not, the next it is. And that's exactly how Gus was. Like he said, he didn't have the right to deny himself to say the truth or to live life. Sometimes it is just too late and you wouldn't want to regret it.

Oh, and when he died, he died like 6 chapters before the end or something like that but I cried the whole time. Barely reading because of the non-stopping tears. And yeah, this whole review goes around Augustus Waters but without him what would've been of Hazel. Dying alone, without knowing what life was truly about, even though hers is suppose to be a short one? How? Tell me!
I just love it. I need a physic copy. I need to hug that book. Even if you can hug it, your laptop is just some metal and plastic, not the real deal. I need to shed some tears in my favorite parts. I need the world to read it, too.
I feel just like Hazel did with An Imperial Affliction, a book so good that you want to be the only one to know about it but you can't possibly live with the idea that nobody know of it's geniusness.I don't care if that's not a word. This book is what it is. Genius, Grand...Anything you would use to describe the best thing of all time. 
We need more stars for books like these, GoodReads. Five are just not enough.





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Clever...

Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Oh, man! This is my first. No context, no plot whatsoever but still a better love story than Twilight. hahahah xD IT WAS THERE, I HAD TO DO IT! Team Jacob! LOL..But still, Oh My God. You connect with the character in so many levels. And do we get a name? No! And that's the most interesting part. And I don't want to search anymore than I already have but I understand that this is fiction, even thought the authr has written a couple of books based on real facts. But even so..THIS IS SO REAL! And, yeah, it was publishe quite a while ago but it is still our modern reality. Apply it to the 21st century and BANG! you have it, right here in those 213 pgs!
Everytime I went to the bookstore I would be drag by it everytime I saw it on the bookshelf. And one day I had extra cash and bought it. And, you know what? i do not regret it. While reading it I decided to keep it and when I have children (IF something like that ever happens to me) or my sisters' and brother's children are old enough I will give it to them so they will see that drugs are not fun, at all.
Maybe it's a stupid idea but what better way than this way! I'll even give it to my little sisters when they come to age. And I am sure it will still be a very real reality (if you know what I mean) for many many years to come. It is sad, but the world has come to this. It is our responsability to try to it to not go unchanged.
A couple of weeks ago I read a phrase that call my anttention very much, "Instead of trying to make a better world for the children, try to make better children for the world." And I can't agree more, generation after generation is getting worse than the previous one. Even Socrates knew about it in his time. We are losing focus people. Let's try because there is something worst than failing and it's not trying at all. :)
It is a toughy, and very confusing because, while it was written as I teenager writing a diary, it does not explain every single detail. Soemwhere in the middle you will read a name and you will be wondering who is that one or how come it was in one place and now it's in another. Don't expect a full story,character interaction or something like any other book you've read before. It is not. And try not to read it on a sick day. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. :)



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Giveaway!!! :D

Ok....I just have to do this real quick!
I have a major physics exam tomorrow & I'm right here..deciding what book to review next and not studying! And look what I found! :) I have not entered a Giveaway in such a long time...I live out of the States, and as You know, most of the giveaways are for Canada or USA readers,only. Yes, I know, it is sad for us that have to manage with poorly stock bookstores, no access to a credit card (no internet shopping) and the lack of our culture of the joy of reading. So..this is just a one more try..not the last but definitely I'm reluctant to enter too many of these giveaways.....but it is ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS!!!! St. Clair for goodnessakes! <3

 Catching Books Blog

I do not know how long it will be up..but for everybody looking forward to winning.. A Big Almighty GOOD LUCK! :)

Comment if this happens to you in a regularly basis! =) Thank you, beautiful! =)

P.S. Make sure to say some bookloving things to the lovely blogger doing this giveaway! =D

A reading worth a day...

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I can't believe I finished this in ONE day..is not like I haven't done that before but I didn't expect this to grab me and nail me to my phone until there were no more words left. And man, was it a roller coaster. This is the first time that that expressions REALLY means that very same thing..UPS and DOWNS and LOOPS and just MINDBLOWNED-NESS.... F word is in order. Hands down one of the best plots I have read in a while.



Let me explain all those funny looking words for you. You see, we meet London Lane, a high school girl, very normal looking, with a mom and and absent dad, not that that may call to a Surprise expression. BUT, she does not have a memory. Not like mine or yours or like anybody else's. She remembers forward, she knows the future but not the past. Once she lives one of her memories BANG! she forgets it, it doesn't exist for her anymore. So, in order to have a normal life or an attempt for one she relies on her daily notes and reminders, so she doesn't depend that much on her mom or her best friend, aka, her only friend. Lets just say she is not very popular in her higschool, in fact you may call her the Freak of the class, even though she tries to make notes about every single detail she thinks she'll need, she is bound to make mistakes just like everyone else. So she sometimes seem very forgetful or just plain distracted to not recall very simple things. That is just how it is, she can't do anything about it except form theories to why she has that condition. And her best one so far has being the fact that her dad left her after her parent's divorce without so much as a glance back. I know, ok, is that the great plot you were talking about up there? Well, that is just the start.

So before I continue, please stop, and go read the book and come back afterwards because herE it is : SPOILERS ALERT*



It started the day he started at school. Without knowing, London just met her true love, a handsome boy named Luke, that as cute as he is, hides the key for all the twists and turns this book has in store for you. First, London starts having this dream, a nightmare really, a funeral, Luke's maybe, or a child, hers? Who knows but the images there,the people she finds surrounding her are her long lost father and, surely, that old lady is her grandma. But what to do? Now, she finds some pictures of her dad along with some birthday cards for her form her dad. Secrets. Secrets she wants to take out to the light but her relationship with her mom, once a very open one, is starting to shutdown. She is lying to her anyway. (Very immature of her, didn't quite understand that part myself) And to top it all, once she has managed to start dating Luke, no matter how the first date went (she no remebering any of it and me wishing that a real guy was just like Luke), her best friend Jaimie starts to date Mr. Rice (yep, a teacher. A married teacher.) and does not want to know how that will end up, because you know, London knows, but she does not want to hear any of it, and after fighting her notes, London tells her anyway and that is the end of their firendship,at least for a while, because, again, London knows. That is a terrible thing, knowing how stuff will be but not being able to remember afterwards. Kind of sucky sometimes. But as the story keeps going, it helps when you find out that your boyfriend for 4 months has been lying to you, knowing everything about you. Quite handy, all you do is erase it form you notes, and Voila! it's done. No more Luke. But he is a fighter, people! He will not take no for an answer so he makes her see that the brake up is a mistake and over something so trivial as a "You lie to me. I lie to you." fight. Again, i didn't quite get it myself, but I try to put myself in London's shoes. She can't trust in just anybody. But well, who would've guess, that fight will teach Luke a lesson and he is just as happy to know that because, it is London! And that's the part were the first unexpected twist came, LUKE KNOWS! He knew all along, since they were 11 years old. That story is just so cute. I just love it when the male character hides a secret crush on the female character. But, unlike other novels,you didn't expect it at all! I surely did not see that one coming!

The second twist happens when London realizes that her nightmare, her memory (keep in mind she only remembers the future) is that, a memory, of the past. The funerl was something that happened, before. She lived that and somehow is able to remember it. And the loop in that twist is that is her little brother's funeral. Jonas' funeral. And from this everything goes rather smoothly. London reconciles with Jaimie. Her mom and London herself start to have hope about the possibility that Jonas might be alive. Her relationship with Luke morfs, because now she can remember him, from her future, something that had bever happened before.

And the final twist is that she remembers the day everything went downhill for her family. The day Jonas was kidnapped. She letting the strange lady come in the car, taking Jonas away. Her dad rushing behind them, ending up in a crash. She dying and brought back to life, leaving her with a major fault. Her unique memory. Followed buy the divorce and him, disappearing.

And, well, once you think of it, everything is plot convenient (in a way) but man that I'm glad that you find that one out just after you finish it. You have expectations but they might be fulfilled in a way you never expected. I know mine were. And I cannot escape the feeling that this is just so 50 first Dates but backwards. From the girl's point of view but the guy just the same. He not taking advantage of her memory problem and all that. Just loved it. It was a reading worth the day it took me to read it. Try it. I give it a mighty big Thumbs-Up for a week-end read. If you feel like it. ;)



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"TO DIE WILL BE AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE"

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The World War II...a time in the world's history marked by murder, despair, regrets and ,why not, adventure. Yep, I had a pair to say the word "ADVENTURE" and if in your little mind you think I mean about the fun,laughter and good times such a thing as an adventure brings to someone's life you, friend, are wrong..adventure is not always a good thing, or let's rephrase it, an entirely good thing. All those who took their time and review their possibilities of survival and knew they wouldn't make it unless they face a time of dangerous adventure, dark adventure...an adventure they didn't knew how would it end or if it would end at all. And most of them, died during that adventure but they did with the taste of freedom in their whole bodies. That's the main reason I decided to use the word "adventure". I just can't help it, I always wanted to live in that time just to know the feeling of being in an adventure no matter how dangerous it might be. I know I will never know, wishing will be the only feeling I will ever sense on that matter. The World War II brought a lot consequences, some of them good, like the UN, some of them very bad, like the deaths of millions of innocent people..but consequences in the end, consequiences of human actions, brought upon ourselves by our own stupidity. I may live in the 21st century but I can't help but feel the need to awknowledge those whose lives where marked by a time of darkness and death. There is not other better or more fantastical place than a war zone, where true heroes are out there, shown to the world to see.

Is it terrible for me to think of a war as magical? I do not know the answer but I do love the concept better than a made-believe land or world.

If you are still with me, after that overdramatic introduction, I want to invite you to read the book that brought all that thinking to my little brain. It is a historical fiction but the best historical fiction you can possibly think of, the time? WORLD WAR II..( a big DUH! is in order)...the place? FRANCE (my favorite place in the whole world, the country I will live in about 10 years, mark my words!). To be more accurate it is July 1942, the last time many jewish family saw the sun in freedom and in life during the occupied France. The last time Sara Starzynski ever knew how a family was suppose to be.



But the Vel D'Hiv Roundup didn't only affect those french jew who lived through it but also many years since then, the story of it all touched the journalist Julia Jarmond's life. After finding out that her new home was the home of a jew family of the unspeakable Vel D'Hiv roundup and getting to write about that day for the 60th anniversary, she decided to look up for that family and without knowing, started an adventure of her own, that would change everything.



Julia will become obsess with Sarah's life, she will do anything to know what happened to her after that day that she lose everything. With flashback chapters, the reader will be able to follow the adventure Sarah went through to be able to escape and return to Paris to save her little brother that was hiding when the police came for them that morning but after an unsurprising end to that adventure, Sarah will be an enigma both to the reader and Julia.



I couldn't help but cry in so many chapters that it is difficult for me to point them out and it will also be a Ginormous spoiler for you, friend. And you have to understand that I read this last december, after over a year of search. I wanted to read this so badly since '10 that I would always look for it in bookstores and such. I know there is a movie, here is the link to the trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzDZ9e3mG... ... I haven't seen it yet. I needed to read the book first, a matter of choice. I do not know how faithfull it is to the book but the trailer looks good and can't wait to watch it.



The end..oh the End! It made me feel butterflies. If you get what I did at the end please TELL ME! because I think I was the only one to realize what I realized. Warning: it is an ending that is not an ending. It suggests so many things that I couldn't believe Tatiana de Rosnay left it there but so glad a the same time.

5 stars are not enough. I knew since the beginning that it was a fiction but it felt so real since the beginning! Please! PICK THIS BOOK UP! A must-read, indeed! =)



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A little hole in one's spirit.

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Here we go... My official first review of the year. Yep. This is the first. No judging.



Ok...what did I like about this one? For starters the thing that called my attention fisrt was the cover, obviously. It's my kind of cover, bright colors but not that bright; a person is in it but when you really look at her you know there are a million things going through her mind. Not really looking at anything, and you know that, not because you can see that part of the set, no, but because you just know. You've being there. If not, where have you been?! You should be doing your time of day dreaming. Is healthy and helps you with stress. Do not hold that to me, I'm just saying. And well, continuing with the issue at hand, I liked it, as simple as that. I just have the most weird taste, I know, but it's who I am. Can't help it.

Then I read the little overview that comes with books..and just for the record, publishers should think twice before deciding on an overview, sometimes it just makes it too easy for one to make a whole plot out of those few words, it may differ from the actual story but, not that I'm bragging, I have come real close at guessing. Although, many authors still manage to prove me wrong and twist everything and blow my mind.

So friend, if you are still reading, bare with me, I will get to review the book at some point. Promise.



Ok, so if you go some reviews back, you will notice that I don't like the use of spoilers, in fact I avoid them at all costs, and that is exactly what I will try to do with this one because the story really deserves for you to go fresh, clear, unguided ( is that even a word?) because it is another I-lost-my-whole-family story and , Yes! you guess correctly, it has a I'm-dealing-with-grief teeanger, a girl to be exact. 16 years old, Laurel Meisner is living her "after".

But before I continue, keep reading. It may have a looooooot of similar elements to a lot of other novels you've probably read before but this has a twist, that not even I expected to be there. I'll explain further ahead, Just Keep Reading.



Laurel, straight A's student, perfectly normal teenager never realized of what she had until that night that everything was lost. Her mom,her dad and even her little 13 year old brother passed away so suddenly that she didn't even had time to blink. One moment they were the next there were not. And just like that her life changed forever.

But, life being how it is, didn't let Laurel grief by herself. Next door neighbor, David Kaufman, lost somebody too in the very same accident that took Laurel's family to that unknown place you go when you've come to the end of your life. But, as the story evolves from Laurel being dumbstruck by the whole thing, David dropping out of school, she hooking up with some guy, he driving all over the country, and a lot of other situations that make both Laurel and David to face their lives without their love ones, you realize they manage their pain in very different ways.

So, stop it, do not start making ideas, David is mentioned at the very start of the book and you will, like I did, start thinking: "Laurel and David have this secret love for each other that, unfortunely, came to light after the accident and will end up together, happily ever after.The End." NO! Not at all..wich part, I'm not telling, but I can assure you, David plays a VERY VERY different part than what you expect it.



And so on, the story is just that, Laurel dealing with her new life, trying to fill up the whole she suddenly had in the middle of her spirit. David's comings and goings. David's dog, I can't bealive I'm saying it, but this time the pet actually played an important part! And, well,the start of their new improved relationship.

If I continue I'm bound to use the Spoiler alert and I'm not going to fall for that one. But I actually hope you get the whole "The Beginning of After" thing beacuse it took me the whole book, to the very last sentence,to get it. And if you feel like reading it in one sitting, prepare some ice tea, snacks and very strong tissues..you will cry, guaranteed. ;)



If you've already read it, please leave a comment and share this review. THANKS! MUCHAS GRACIAS! MERCI BEAUCOUP!

P.S. Have you told your mom, dad, sister(s)/brother(s) that you love her/him/them today?

P.P.S. That color looks great on you! =)





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