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    Aprendo Inglés

    Aprendo Inglés

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    Aprendo Inglés expone a los niños a palabras de alta frecuencia en inglés. Las palabras de la...

Fire & Ice (Faerie Song Trilogy #1)
Fire & Ice (Faerie Song Trilogy #1)
Michele Barrow-Belisle | 2013 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
When we first meet Lorelei she is quiet and unassuming, trying hard to remain that way as she works in her (deceased) Gran's cafe. However, things quickly start moving along as she invokes the wrath of a cheerleader who is dating her best friend, a boy appears out of nowhere and insinuates himself into her life (and she's completely okay with that) and we won't even get to the fact that when she was younger she thinks she did a deal with some sort of angel, except he had black raven's feathers on his wings, and he now controls her singing voice.

There is such a lot going on in this book and that is just the beginning. It all changes when she falls into Adrius' world and discovers that nothing is what it seems. I have to say that for someone who gives the impression of being unassuming in the 'normal' world, she certainly has a lot to say in a world she knows nothing about. I liked Lorelei but I did find her annoying at times with her 'quick wit' and complete disregard for anyone's opinion other than her own. And don't even get me started on how she can't do as she's told! Like I said, quiet and unassuming?!

The relationship between Lorelei and Adrius is complicated, to say the least, and certainly lives up to the title of the book. There is intensity and passion, along with a frisson of the forbidden. There is also, however, a strong hint of a love triangle which I'm really hoping doesn't come to anything. There is enough going on, and they have enough against them, without the need for a triangle. This would just add something completely unnecessary in my opinion but then I'm not a big fan of them anyway.

On the whole, this is a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy novel that starts off a new series with oomph. Definitely recommended to all YA Fantasy fans out there.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
August 27, 2016
  
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Merissa (12069 KP) rated Cinderfella in Books

Apr 12, 2023  
Cinderfella
Cinderfella
Xavier Neal | 2015 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This story is about a young man, little more than a boy himself, who finds that he has to become the 'man' of the family at far too young an age. For Connor, life sucks but he is still trying to do his best as he has a beautiful little girl to try for. Mak is indeed a blessing and certainly steals the show whenever she is around. Those nearly three-year-old tantrums though? Yeesh! Far too lifelike 😉 Gianna is the total opposite of Connor, from what he can see. A privileged lifestyle, nothing that's needed and what she has, she doesn't appreciate.

This story shows you that you cannot judge by what you think you know. Everyone lives behind a mask of some form or another. What may look like a privileged life may be anything but that. This is a lesson that Connor has to learn, along with others, if he is going to make a go of his life.

I loved that the book was written from the male's perspective and I also loved the fact that they didn't just jump straight into bed. How this was written made the growth of their relationship all the more special and all the more heartbreaking when it didn't work the way you wanted it to.

There were a couple of things that didn't sit right for me which is why I've given 4 stars, but to be fair, I can't actually think of a different way to do it either. I loved that they were putting on a show and it was pressured, but the idea of him wanting to be an actor just didn't feel right.

This is a feel-good story with a twist on the classic fairytale (obviously) but still manages to stand on its own feet. Definitely recommended for all fans of YA/NA Contemporary.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
August 13, 2016
  
Reap This Three: Getting Back Mine (Oh So Happy Holidays #3)
Reap This Three: Getting Back Mine (Oh So Happy Holidays #3)
Rafe Jadison | 2021 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
loved the history between Seamus and Mine!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarain, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 3 in the Oh Happy Holidays series, and you really MUST, I mean MUST read books one, Reap This, and book 2, Reap This Two before this one. Preferably, back-to-back. I had a big gap between book 3 and 3, and I think I lost a little bit of the experience by not reading all three together. And you won't get the massive cliff hanger after book 2, if you read them together, either!

Seamus wants Mine back. His coven discover a way to find Mine before he was the sceptre he is now. There follows a chase across time and space to get the two lovers back together.

And for the most part, I did enjoy this, I really did. I'm left felling . . .kinda . . bereft . . maybe? This is an ending, and Seamus IS happy, but I'm feeling there is more, you know?? I'm feeling (and ya'll know I'm all about my book feelings!) that there is more to come, and that Seamus and Mine really do get their very happy holiday. Again, I just can't see how that might happen!

I loved the trips back in time, and I loved that we learnt (learned? I can never get that one right!) more about Ian and Khnurn's relationship and just how much history they had. And I love love LOVED that Mine and Seamus had history too and that was a total surprise!

Mr Jadison has a way of pulling you in, keeping you fully engaged, and cutting you off just when you think you got the book sorted, you know?? So again, there were a few choice words, and the sky had a tinge of blue, just not quite as bad after reading Reap This Too!

So, thank you, yes, it was totally worth the wait, but are you really REALLY done with Seamus and Mine, huh?? Are you?? Are ya, huh, huh????

Cos I don't think so 🙂

4 slightly streaked blue stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Ali A (82 KP) rated The Meadows in Books

Sep 11, 2023  
The Meadows
The Meadows
Stephanie Oakes | 2023 | Dystopia, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Trigger Warnings: conversion therapy, homophobia

Every youth hopes to get a letter to attend one of the places where only the best and brightest go to be even better and brighter: the Estuary, the Glades, the Meadows…

When Eleanor is accepted to go to the Meadows, it means her escape from the Cove and a hard life by the sea. But, though the Meadows is filled with beautiful and wonderful things, it hoards dark secrets: its purpose is to reform its students from their attractions, to show them that the way of life is only possible through their way. Maybe Eleanor starts to believe, but then she meets Rose, and everything changes.

A year after leaving the Meadows, Eleanor and her friends are on the outside, living back in society - but not everything is as they hoped. Eleanor is an adjudicator, someone who makes sure former students haven’t strayed from the lives they were trained to live. But the past isn’t letting go of Eleanor and as secrets unravel, Eleanor must fight against everything she has been taught to be, especially if she can find the girl that she lost.

I originally was interested in this title when I saw it on BookishFirst because it was being marketed as “a queer, YA Handmaid's Tale meets Never Let Me Go” and I was all about that. I also love a good dystopian novel so this was really right up my alley.

That being said, I absolutely loved and devoured this novel over the course of the weekend when I didn’t have the interruption of work. The world building is intriguing and the “perfect” society is everything but (aren’t they all). The characters were also complex and engrossing - even the ones I wasn’t the biggest fans of, I still wanted them to succeed.

I absolutely recommend this book to those not only those who love dystopian novels, but those who want a page turning science fiction with queer characters.

*Thank you Dial Books and BookishFirst for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
  
The Wolves of Winter
The Wolves of Winter
Tyrell Johnson | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I keep doing this. Reading books about pandemics during a pandemic, and then scaring the living daylights out of myself. Thank goodness I’d read Justin Cronin’s The Passage trilogy pre-Covid, because that would really have had me battening down the hatches!

This is about a different flu-like virus, but the mortality rate is far higher than Covid. And then nuclear bombs are also involved, so it’s a pretty full-on start to this remarkable book.

The sensible people move north. In this case, they move to the Yukon, where the virus is less virulent and people can hunt and trap their food. Lynn McBride lives here with what’s left of her family. They’ve carved out a life for themselves and live in relative safety in the barren, white landscape. But they can’t keep everyone away, and soothe outside world starts to encroach in the form of a loner called Jax, and a frankly scary group of people who are intent on seeing the end of the virus, no matter the human cost.

I loved the descriptions of the landscape - I do tend to love a book set in frozen landscapes (Arctic, Antarctic, just somewhere plain cold!), which is odd really, because I can’t think of a worse place to live. It’s a morbid fascination, I suppose. And the descriptions in this book of the cold, the landscape and the difficulties of living there are so evocative. People surviving against the odds always a winning theme.

It wasn’t until I sat down to write this, that I found out that the book was YA. Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Ok, there’s no sex, but in my opinion it just seemed too cold anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️. The main protagonist is in her late teens, and there is a sexual assault and some shooting/ bloodshed. There’s a very cute dog though (also a winning formula for me).

So if you’re feeling brave and like a post-apocalyptic story, you may well fancy reading this. I do wonder if there will be a follow up, because I’d love to know what happens after the final page (it does seem open to that). I’d definitely read it!
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated 13 Minutes in Books

Feb 13, 2018  
13 Minutes
13 Minutes
Sarah Pinborough | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
When they pull Natasha out of the river, she's been dead for thirteen minutes. Thirteen dark, cold minutes. It's amazing the teenager even lives; in fact, it's just pure luck that a man and his dog stumble upon her and pull her from the river's icy clutches. Tasha, as she's known, has no memory of how she wound up in the river, but she knows it wasn't intentional on her part. In fact, she's pretty sure two of her closest friends, Hayley and Jenny, had something to do with it. The two seemed weird in the days leading up to the incident. The trio of beautiful, popular girls--known as "the Barbies" at school--were supposedly the best of friends. But after the accident, Tasha feels drawn to her former friend, Becca, whom she dropped in middle school. Becca isn't sure why Tasha is suddenly being so nice to her. Tasha isn't sure either. And no one is exactly sure how or why Tasha ended up in that river.

I've never read a novel by [a:Sarah Pinborough|457300|Sarah Pinborough|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1463056151p2/457300.jpg] before, and I was pretty impressed. She's a great writer, and <i>she certainly knows how to capture the voice of the teenagers within the pages of her novel</i>. I don't think I realized this book would be quite so YA, if that makes any sense. I <i>kept waiting for there to be a bit more to the story than teenage politics</i>, but it's truly sort of a <i>Pretty Little Liars</i>-type tale. That's not to say it's not well-done. It may have just been a tad bit young for me; still, <i>it's an excellent novel and would be a truly wonderful read for most teens</i>, too.

Part of the novel's brilliance comes in its format. It's told from the point of view of Becca and Tasha, but we also get excerpts from Tasha's diary; case files from the Inspector on Tasha's case; notes from Tasha's psychologist; texts between the teens; and more. <i>I enjoyed the format, and it was quite effective at building suspense and tension. </i>

Because,<i> wow, yes, the book is certainly tense and compelling.</i> You're constantly wondering how reliable our teenage narrators are and questioning everything that happens. Now, as mentioned, there's a lot of teenage drama. A LOT. <i>These teens are truly a little scary</i>, and this was yet another book that makes me a tiny bit frightened for my five-year-old daughters to grow up. My goodness. At times, I got a bit bogged down in all the teen antics, but it was still quite interesting.

Becca was definitely a bit of a kid, but I still liked her (for the most part). She was well-written, just a little young for me. Pinborough is truly amazing at getting in the head of these teenagers--capturing the pettiness, meanness, and honestly, sometimes the dumbness, of their mindset. But she also caught the brutal neediness behind some of their actions: that raw need of kids that age to fit in with their peers.

I had a decent idea how this one was going to play out pretty early on, but that didn't stop me from reading (as mentioned, I tore through this in about 24 hours). There's something oddly compelling about this book and its characters. Pinborough weaves in <i>The Crucible</i> as a backdrop--it's the school play--which is a really clever move, as there are a lot of parallels between said drama and the melodrama unfolding among Tasha, Hayley, and Jenny.

Overall, this novel really just hinges on the duality of the hatefulness and vulnerability of teenagers. It may come across as a little too YA and predictable for some adults, but I can't deny that it's well-written and crisp. It's hard to like some of the characters, but I think it would make a great book for teens (albeit it's rather freaking scary). I was leaning toward 3.5 stars before writing this review, but I think I'll do 3.75 and bump up to 4 stars here on Goodreads (that's not complicated at all, right? Perhaps fitting for this complicated and twisty novel).

I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley and the publisher (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 10/03/2017.

<center><a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">Blog</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mwcmoto">Twitter</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristyHamiltonbooks">Google+</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/justacatandabook/">Instagram</a>; </center>
  
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Laura (40 KP) rated Moxie: A Novel in Books

Oct 21, 2017  
Moxie: A Novel
Moxie: A Novel
Jennifer Mathieu | 2017 | Gender Studies, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Feminist Novel I wish I had as a teen.
Moxie, the book that I wish had been around when I was younger. The book that smashed my reading slump to smithereens. The book that I fiercely related to. Moxie is such an important read, a YA book that looks at everyday sexism, rape culture and feminism, while also telling a good story.
Something I really liked is that Vivian is not some perfect all-knowing feminist. She listens and learns to people, after the Moxie zine starts the conversation. Through these conversations between various characters, so much is discussed, taking advantage of different perspectives. There is this wonderful feeling of community, of support and safe spaces. The very concept of feminism is analysed, challenging the misconception held my many that feminism equals men hating, and exploring the stigma attached to the word ‘feminist’.

There is also a romance plotline running through the book. Vivian is attracted to new boy Seth, and she is even more interested when she realised that he is actually a nice guy, unlike so many other boys at school. He actually likes the Moxie zines, and shows his support for the movement. However he is not perfect, and sometimes he just does not get certain things. This opens the discussion that while a man can be a feminist, it is important to listen and learn about how everyday sexism effects women.

The overall message is about girls supporting each other, and Moxie being an inclusive movement for everyone. I loved that there was next to no girl hate in the novel, and that the way women and girls are pitted against each other was brought up and addressed. There are so many wonderful, empowering moments in this book, I used a lot of sticky notes to mark them all. Having said that, obviously this book deals with sexism, but it also covers sexual harassment, and sexual assault/attempted rape, which may be triggering for some readers. Please be aware of this going in, it’s addressed, there is an overall atmosphere of female empowerment and overcoming, but I don’t want anyone to get caught by surprise.

I wish this book had been around when I was in high school. I really wish it had been around for my younger sister, who had a similar experience with dress-code enforcement as shown in the book. This book is so powerful, and so important.