Mini Reviews + BOOK RECS! // ft. Hyped Books & Even More Screeching

Hello everyone!

I recently read a lot of extremely wonderful books. 🙂 So wonderful, in fact, that I decided to do a whole post about all of them! Today I’m going to be sharing my thoughts on these books (a lot of which have been pretty hyped in the blogging community).

If you read my library haul last month, then you already know what books I’m going to be talking about today! I just realized how overdue my library books are. I’ll also be adding in a couple of other books that were such a good read I couldn’t leave them out. 😉

I’m so excited to be screeching about all these books today! I really hope this post gives you some book recommendations and helps your TBR become more of a monster grow.

This is How it Happened, by Paula Stokes

 

Page Count: 384

Genre: YA Contemporary

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★★

 

I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS BOOK. If I could make everyone read this, I’d be so happy. I felt all the emotions while reading this, and I *may* have read it all in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. This is How it Happened deals with topics like Internet and social media shaming, drowsy driving, and more. It’s relevant, it’s real, and it’s incredibly important. I beg you, read it!

I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak

Page Count: 360

Genre: YA Mystery (I don’t even know)

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★★

 

 

This is the only book in this post that I didn’t get at the library (it’s my sister’s copy). I read it back in February, but it’s still worth mentioning now. 😉

I know a lot of my readers (and me!!) love The Book Thief, and this is written by the same author. Needless to say, I don’t think I would have been able to tell that it was the same author if I hadn’t known- at least, I never would have guessed.

I LOVED I Am the Messenger. In my opinion, it was more understated than The Book Thief– the two aren’t really comparable. But even though I Am the Messenger followed the more ordinary life of Ed Kennedy, it was still amazing. The mystery surrounding Ed is intriguing, suspenseful, and will keep you reading the whole time.

If you’re worried that it won’t live up to The Book Thief, you’re right. It doesn’t. But it’s not a sequel, it’s not a spinoff- it’s its own story that holds its own.

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

Page Count: 444

Genre: YA Contemporary

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

 

Let me just say- everything you’ve heard about The Hate U Give? All the hype surrounding it? It’s not hype- it’s the truth.

I was blown away by this book. It changed my perspective on many things, opened my eyes to the world outside my safe neighborhood, and I truly think part of me is a different person because of reading this book. I don’t even think I can put this eloquently enough, so I urge you to go read as many reviews of this book as possible.

Plus, as a side note, I LOVED the characters! Seven, Starr’s older brother, was such a protective older brother and it was so sweet. And Starr’s boyfriend, Chris, could be a little annoying, but I loved him. And Starr’s mom. And, and…I loved all the characters.

My only major negative surrounding this book was the language. I know that doesn’t bother a lot of people, but I just don’t like a ton of swear words in books, and there were so many that at times it was affecting my reading experience. But, that’s just my only personal thoughts on it! It might not bother you.

They Both Die At the End, by Adam Silvera

 

Page Count: 368

Genre: YA Fantasy (but contemporary too?!)

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★★

 

I will be recommending this book to people until the day I die. Too soon, Olivia, too soon.

Okay, I need to screech about this book. So if you have read They Both Die at the End, then feel free to click the toggle button below and hear my spoiler thoughts… BUT YOU HAVEN’T READ IT, THEN DON’T CLICK IT! I don’t want this book to be spoiled for you.

 

 

I am clicking here because I have read TBDATE and I want to hear your true thoughts…

 

 

Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, let me talk like a normal human being again. I know it can seem a little pointless to read this book, since it seems like the ending is giving away in the title. However, you still should read it anyway. 😉

This book was an emotional rollercoaster, and I enjoyed every single step of reading it. I can’t wait to reread it, even though it won’t have the same mystery as it did the first time.

The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon

Page Count: 348

Genre: YA Contemporary (Romance)

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★☆☆

I had mixed feelings about this book.

 

It was definitely cute. Very cute, and very fluffy. There were some good aspects, like the fact that different chapters were written in different perspectives. It was super interesting to understand the motives of all characters, and I would’ve misjudged them otherwise.

What I didn’t like? The book took place in just one day. It was cute and all, but it just seemed so unrealistic. I personally don’t believe in love at first sight, and for one of the characters, it was love at first glance- before even a conversation. Although it was definitely adorable, I thought it was a little too unrealistic. (THE ENDING, THOUGH. If anything, read this book for the epilogue.)

American Panda, by Gloria Chao

Page Count: 311

Genre: YA Contemporary

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

 

I loved this book! American Panda was sweet and cute I overall enjoyed it a lot. Much of the plot centered around Mei’s relationship with her parents, and the conflict between them. I liked reading about her interactions with the love interest, Darren, and with her estranged brother, Xing. This book got me feeling all the feels!

Love, Hate, & Other Filters, by Samira Ahmed

Page Count: 281

Genre: YA Contemporary

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

 

Before I begin, I just want to say that if you are looking for an Own Voices review, please do go read Ilsa’s review of this book! That will paint you a more accurate picture of what this book (about a Muslim teen) was like from a Muslim teen’s perspective.

I personally really enjoyed this book! I liked how Maya’s love for film was incorporated into the book at various points. (It explains the title, which I initially thought was just a reference to current-day phone filters.) I shipped the romance between her and *insert name of which I shall not say because spoilers.* And, the messages of fear and hate were displayed in this book- important messages that everyone should hear.

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

Page Count: 313

Genre: YA Romance

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★★

 

 

If I had known how good this book was, I would have read it a long time ago.

But seriously?! Why did I join the bandwagon so late?? The Fault in Our Stars was everything I expected it to be. It was adorable. It was heartbreaking. IT WAS HEARTBREAKINGLY ADORABLE. The beginning had me screeching, the middle had me screeching, the end had me screeching. Let’s be honest, I made lots of pterodactyl noises during the reading of this book.

If you don’t like fluffy romances, you just think TFIOS is over-hyped, I urge you to give it a try. You just might like it. 😉

Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green

Page Count: 288

Genre: YA Contemporary

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

 

I really liked this book! (Although note that I didn’t read it with as much expectation as someone who had been waiting for a new John Green book would have read it with. Since I had just read TFOIS for the first time and didn’t have to wait for this book to come out…it’s not like I had too much riding on it.)

It was super interesting to experience Aza’s mental health through her constant thoughts. I can’t relate to what it’s like to have extreme OCD, but reading this book helped me understand it a little more. I also thought the romance was absolutely ADORABLE and just fluffy enough. It was the perfect balance between being a focal point of the story and… not being a focal point. And there was an amazing friendship between Aza and her best friend, Daisy!

Overall, I loved it. But I did go into it with less expectations than most readers would, so just a heads up on that. 🙂

Page Count: 320

Genre: YA Contemporary

{Goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★☆ (TENATIVE!)

 

This book has a tentative rating because I’m not done with it yet. But I’m really close to being done, so I still wanted to include it in this post!

When I first started reading this book, I was not getting into it. But, since I’d heard it was good from multiple sources, I kept reading. And then…everything connected.

AFJDOIFUAODICNOIEUAC. That was my exact thought process when EVERYTHING IN THIS BOOK FINALLY CONNECTED! It took the reading experience from a 2 to a 10. Suddenly, I was intrigued and couldn’t put the book down.

I still haven’t officially finished, but if you’re considering this book and just aren’t sure, I encourage you to go for it. And don’t DNF it just based off the beginning- so much more lies inside!

Okay, that was a lot of reviewing. Maybe I shouldn’t have saved this post for the last minute. I’m so glad that I got to share all these wonderful books with you all, and I really hope you enjoyed reading this, and that you might check some (if not all 😉 ) of these books out!

Before you go… here a few pictures that my dog, Brees, got into while I was taking some pictures of books outside…

In the one on the left, she was looking a little guilty after knocking over my pile of books. Look at those squinty eyes! And on the right, that was a failure of me trying to get her sitting in the background. She most definitely did not want to pose, she wanted to lick my face. XD

So, have you read any of these books? Do you want to now? Thoughts? And…did you enjoy the blooper pictures of Brees? I’d love to chat with you in the comments!

Photo by Jamie Taylor on Unsplash >> Credits for the image I used on my featured image!