January Wrap-Up

Since I started my reading challenges less than a week ago, I only have one book pertaining to those endeavors. So far I read nine books this year. Most of them aren't much to talk about but I will quickly review a few that stood out to me:                                                                                                                       

This book is about a girl named Gretchen Yee who goes to a high school for gifted artists in New York City. She feels like an outcast, usually sitting only and drawing comic strips until one day she wishes she could be a fly on the wall of the Boys' Locker Room. The next day her wish literally comes true and she is an insect. There, she learns so much about body image, relationships, bullying and more. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a realistic view of high school and the life of a teenager.
  

This book is a reread from the popular children's series Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. Throughout this year I plan on reading the other four books in the series and The Heroes of Olympus series, which is a continuation of this story, as well. This book is about a 12 year-old boy named Percy Jackson who is very troubled. He has dyslexia and ADHD growing up in New York City with his kind mother and sleazy stepfather. He has never completed more than one year in a single school because of the odd events that occur on field trips when he is around. This year one of his teachers turns into a Fury and battles him. From there he is sent away to a special summer camp for kids like him. As the story progresses he realizes his origins and, shall I say, epic potential. This is an enjoyable, fast-paced read for fans of Greek mythology, monsters and lots of action.

Although it didn't particularly fit the season this was an adorable summertime read. This contemporary novel is about a 16 year-old girl named Samantha who lives with her tightly wound mother in Connecticut. Since she was a little girl, the Garrett family has lived next door. This isn't an ordinary family though. The whole clan consists of two parents and eight children ranging from one to 23. Since they moved in, her mother has been appalled and Samantha has been fascinated by the Garretts, watching them from her window often as she grew up. During this particular summer she meets one in person; Jase, a 17 year-old boy who is kind, charming, helpful and adorable all at the same time. In no time they fall in love as the summer progresses. This book is a great, light, summery read for any fans of teenage romance and forbidden love.
   

This was another adorable contemporary, though a little more realistic than My Life Next Door. This novel is about an 18 year-old girl named Cath who goes to college in Nebraska, her home state. The thing about Cath is that she is a twin with extreme social anxiety. She also is a huge fanatic of The Simon Snow Series (this world's Harry Potter). She has read all the books and seen the movies as they came out and collects ton of memorabilia based the books. She also writes fan fiction about the series, building a relationship between the two main characters Simon and Basil. Under the username "Magicath" she is a hugely popular fan fiction writer, getting thousands of views. Once she enters college though she has to face the real world filled with mean people, irresistible boys and what happens when a girl full of fiction enters a world of mere reality. This book is great for fan girls and boys, writers or someone in the mood for a creative contemporary.
    

The last book I read this month was one I finished today. This is about an 18 year-old girl named Allyson who just graduated from high school. As a gift from her parents she goes on a month long Teen Tour! where she visits cities like Prague, Rome, London and the like in a very touristy fashion. On the last day of the tour, the day before her flight leaves, she meets a Dutch man named Willem who is an actor in a traveling troupe. She decides to ditch the scheduled performance of Hamlet and go see the troupe's rendition of Twelfth Night. On the train the next day she meets him again and they converse resulting in an agreement to visit Paris, the city Allyson didn't visit, for just one day before she has to leave for America. From their romance, beauty, passion and all sorts of emotions are found. I enjoyed this book because of my European travels and how I could relate to some of their journey. This is a great read for travelers, adventure-seekers and contemporary fans. This book also qualifies for my One Book TBR square for the Book Bingo Challenge.

This concludes my January Wrap-Up. Since this month was packed with contemporary, romance and young adult novels I'm planning on venturing into dystopian and fantasy for February. If you have any questions, recommendations or other observations, feel free to leave them in the comments below! 

2014 Reading Challenges

I must say last year was not the best for my reading. I didn't read much or post much on this blog. Granted it was a busy year but nonetheless I have set some large goals for 2014. Here is a list of reading challenges I will be participating in and why. I will be posting further updates as I read:

This one sounds like fun for a few reasons. One is because The Story Siren is a great book blog that I have been following. Another is that I feel that I don't branch out of my comfort zone for reading. I read books by famous authors who have been writing since the 90's and I want to change that. Here's the link to the original blog post: http://www.thestorysiren.com/2013/12/2014-debut-author-challenge-sign-ups.html

This one sounds challenging but also very fun. Basically, you have a bingo card with different categories (TBR pile, Mix It Up, Series, Genres and New Releases) and you try to read a book that fits each square. The goal is to fill up the whole board (if you do that, you can start another) and read more books! Here is the link: http://readinginwinter.com/2013/12/16/challenge-anne-kristilyns-2014-book-bingo-reading-challenge/

I chose this because a horrifying fact about me is that I have only completed one series (The Hunger Games) in my life. This challenge is a great way to encourage me to finish series I have started and read through other entire serieses. There is a badge system accompanied: Bronze(1-3 series), Silver(4-6 series), Gold(7-11 series) and Platinum(12+ series). Learn more at: http://www.readsleeprepeat.org/2014-series-challenge/


I think these will be enough for this year. I am excited to see how far I go!