Review: Every Day by David Levithan

Title: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Fantasy/Romance
Release date: August 28th, 2012
Pages: 336 (ARC)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Won
Goodreads | Amazon | Author

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Every Day completely blew me away.  The main character, A, has always experienced life through another person's eyes.  Ever since A was a child, they thought it was normal to wake up in a different body each day, in a new place, surrounded by completely different people.  Now A is a teenager and when they wake up in the body of a teenage boy who doesn't appreciate his girlfriend nearly enough, A spends time with her and quickly falls in love with the person she is.  The day ends, life goes on, and A wakes up in various bodies, but there's only one thing--A can't stop thinking of Rhiannon.

Just one of the things that I loved so much about this book is the fact that the reader is never told what gender A is, and A fits so naturally in any of the bodies they wake up in.  I also love that throughout the book, the reader is experiencing the lives of all of the different people A wakes up in; people of all different race, sexual orientation, etc.  All A wants is to get to know this girl and have her see the person they really are on the inside, not what changes every day on the outside.

A's character is done really well.  As the reader, I could feel their pain of not being able to have what "normal" people have.  While A can feel strong emotion, such as love, it seems as though it would be impossible for them to do anything about it.  A will never have a permanent family like the people whose bodies he/she wakes up in, and the thought of that is heartbreaking.  Rhiannon is also a character you grow to love.  She's just trying to deal the best way she can with everything she's given.

David Levithan surely knows how to tell a story that you won't forget.  By the time I reached the last page, I was consumed by the same bittersweet emotion that I feel whenever I finish reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Every Day will definitely be a book I go to again and again.

Waiting on Wednesday #50

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by, Breaking the Spine, which spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on! 

Title: Chantress

Author: Amy Butler Greenfield

Release Date: May 7th, 2013
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Shipwrecked on an island seven years ago, Lucy has been warned she must never sing, or disaster will strike. But on All Hallows Eve, Lucy hears tantalizing music in the air. When she sings it, she unlocks a terrible secret: She is a Chantress, a spell-singer, brought to the island not by shipwreck but by a desperate enchantment gone wrong. 

Her song lands her back in England — and in mortal peril, for the kingdom lies in the cruel grasp of a powerful Lord Protector and his mind-reading hunters, the Shadowgrims. The Protector has killed all Chantresses, for they alone can destroy the Shadowgrims. Only Lucy has survived. 

In terrible danger, Lucy takes shelter with Nat, a spy who turns her heart upside-down. Nat has been working with his fellow scholars of the Invisible College to overthrow the Lord Protector, and they have long hoped to find a living Chantress to help them. But Lucy is completely untrained, and Nat deeply distrusts her magic. If Lucy cannot master the songspells, how long can she even stay alive?

This book sounds so interesting, but I have to admit that I'm most drawn to its gorgeous cover!

What awesome title are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Also, I'm currently holding a giveaway for copies of Embrace and Entice by Jessica Shirvington!  Click here to find out more and enter to win!

September Wrap-Up and October TBR

Although the beginning of September was slow and I didn't get to read all of the books I planned to, I was certainly able to catch up near the end of the month.

The books I managed to read:

-34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues

-Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

-If I Stay by Gayle Forman

-The Blemished by Sarah Dalton

-Entice by Jessica Shirvington

-The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

-Saving June by Hannah Harrington

-Eve by Anna Carey

Not the worst, but I know that I could have done better.

The books I will definitely read in October:
(books I've gotten for review)

I know that Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft was on my TBR for last month, but I never it around to it and I thought it would be more fitting to read near Halloween.

The books I hope to get to (list may change depending on mood):

The amount of books I have in my TBR pile for October is ridiculous, but how could I resist adding some creepy stories to the mix?

Review: Eve by Anna Carey

Title: Eve
Author: Anna Carey
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Dystopian/Romance
Release date: October 4th, 2011
Pages: 318 (Hardcover)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Won
Goodreads | Amazon | Author

Where do you go when nowhere is safe? 

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth's population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school's real purpose--and the horrifying fate that awaits her. 

Fleeing the only home she's ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

This story shows the dangerous world from the point of view of an eighteen-year-old girl named Eve.  Orphaned girls are taken to school, where they spend their lives with the wool pulled over their eyes.  They learn about the plague that has killed most of the population, but what they don't know is that their fate has already been decided for them before they graduate.  All of those years spent studying has gone to waste.  Feeling the need to escape, to find a way to free herself and eventually her friends, Eve makes a run for it.  After days spent traveling alone through the woods, she's able to find hope for her future in the form of a boy named Caleb.

Eve is a likable character who has been in the dark for far too long.  Everything in this live has been a disappointment to her, and I know that all she wants is to have a family again, to feel that protection that she hasn't felt in a long time.  When she runs into an old schoolmate on her way to a safe haven called Califia, they team up and try to find the safest way possible.  This girl, Arden, won't be your favorite character at first.  She seems selfish, but slowly she begins to peel off her mask.  They meet a boy, Caleb, who becomes a large part in their survival.  He's interesting, caring, and may actually be my favorite character of them all.

Throughout the book, you notice that Eve isn't the strongest heroine, but that didn't bother me at all.  She needed to be saved more than once, but it's pretty understandable after being shielded from harm her entire life.  If anything, those girls at school weren't being kept safe; they were being kept captive, and that's bound to put you at a disadvantage among those who have been living in the wild for years.

Overall, the plot was absolutely captivating.  The action will keep you turning the pages, but the characters and their emotions will really draw you in.  Anna Carey's writing alone makes me want to begin reading the sequel straight away.  Once the story ended, I sat there with my heavy heart, wondering what could possibly happen next.

Review: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Title: Saving June
Author: Hannah Harrington
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary Romance
Release date: November 22nd, 2011
Pages: 322 (Paperback)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Won
Goodreads | Amazon | Author

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why. 

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going, California. 

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs. 

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

Saving June is an incredibly emotional story about love, loss and how to cope with both.  When Harper's older sister commits suicide, she couldn't feel more alone in the world.  Not only did Harper live in the shadow of June when she was alive, but she remains in that shadow even after her death.  Shortly after the funeral, she realizes that instead of splitting her sister's ashes between their divorced parents,  she and her best friend will take a road trip to California, the only place that June wanted to be.  With the help of a boy June once knew, they slowly but surely make her dream come true.

Out of all the characters, Harper was my favorite.  It was easy to see her grief and the guilt that she felt over her sister's death.  She was left without answers, and in a way, this trip across the country helped her heal.  Jake was another one of those characters you learn to love.  The connection they both had to June brings them closer than they could have ever imagined, and I loved seeing the bond grow between them.  Laney is Harper's best friend.  She's her rock, really, and a friendship like that can be hard to come by.  The characters, the situations they had to deal with, and the relationships that both blossomed and strengthened made the story feel incredibly real.

This book will tug at your heartstrings.  I know that I had to blink away a few tears after reading certain scenes throughout the book.  Our main character is experiencing so many different emotions, it's difficult not to feel them yourself.  One thing I loved most about this book, though, was that the story revolved around music.  Jake introduces Harper to all of these amazing songs that make you feel.  It changes the way that she looks at everything.  With the help of that, she slowly learns how to express how she's feeling before the emotions consume her whole.

Hannah Harrington is simply amazing.  Her stories are plagued by struggle for her characters, but always end on a high, hopeful note.  This book holds a beautiful story full of more life than one would imagine upon first picking it up.  Saving June will make you appreciate those around you more, and for that, I can easily call it a new favorite.