starkiwi's reviews
306 reviews

Amazing and terrible. It left you with a total cliffhanger ending. You have no idea what will happen next, nor if they will even be together ever again. And right after a really good scene. This book brings out a lot of feelings and gives you a lot of view points into different kinds of people. Also in two different kinds of lives that these people have. This book is very enlightening and Engaging. The only reason I do give it four stars is for the cliffhanger. Plus, I have many other books that I have to read by a certain date so I do not plan on reading the other two books in the series anytime soon. I would recommend this book, only if you have time afterward to read the rest of the series.

I thought this book was, yet another, great Cassandra Clare book. It was educational. In the way of the shadow Hunter world. You learned a lot about Magnus and his character, some of which you would never figure out from the original series. Some stories, of course, I did not like and I felt it might have ended at a, sort of bad place. But that does not mean you should not read it, it is still very good. And, like all other Cassandra Clare books, I would totally recommend it. Also, spoiler alert, it has a lot of Malec. Wink, wink.

Hmmm, where do I even start? Get the book, read the book, live the book!! It is just a great book and I love it. I don't know how anyone could sum something so great up into only a few sentences. The other books were a roller coaster of emotions but this is another roller coaster in itself. I don't know what your favorite couple is, but this book brings out them all, and he is amazing as is the rest of the book. I cannot see how any one wouldn't love this book if you have not read it yet you should read it. If you don't want to read it, you should. Well, stop reading this review already and go get the book.

I have heard a lot of great things about this book, and its movie. And I agree. This book was very meaningful and heartfelt. There is this big boy who has no home, so this rich family decide to take him in. As I said, heartfelt. He has to work through all the problems in life, and face his past which he has so gratefully forgotten. So it is meaningful in many themes laid throughout the book. The only reason I give it three stars is because it wasn’t for me.
I am not a big football fan. In fact, when anyone turns on football, I’m out of the room. I have never liked it, and that is the reason I didn’t really enjoy this book. At first I thought it was interesting, the story part at least. There are some chapters that focus and relate the history of football before Michael Oher came along. Those I did not like and for the most part didn’t understand. The story was interesting enough and kept me for most of the book. One of the only problems is that I already knew where he ended up, so it wasn’t going to be that much of a surprise for me. As the book got more into football, the more it lost me.
I would only recommend that you read this book if you play or take a particular interest in football. As you can tell by my recollection of when I read the book above, you need to have at least a little interest in football before you read this book. Maybe if you have a very open mind to it you can also read this book without wanting to abandon it not only half-way through.
Football people, this is a great book for you. I would totally recommend it for all the reasons I said above and more. It could really be a great book if you like the subject. And I hope you read it because I think this book is really in need of someone to read it who likes football and cares enough to.

I thought that this book was exceptional. It exceeded all my expectations (which weren’t very high) and was a joy to read. At first I was unsure, it seemed like so many other YA realistic fiction books, I was wondering how similar it would really be. I find that I don’t like these kind of books too much. I feel they are to generic to normal life and I like new and unexpected. This book was unexpected.
The characters I felt vary attached to. Adam - don’t worry, no spoilers - was joyful and always carefree. Some traits I really admire in another. It is hard to be or find people like that in our world of stress, work, and sides. Adam puts all of that behind him. As Timon and Pumba would say, “hakunna matata”. Julian. My heart went out to him. As you will soon learn - if you decide to read the book - that he has a very hard life. It is hard for me to see how anyone can live through what he does. I know it would be hard for me, and I’m not sure I could do it. Whether he knows it or not, he is strong and brave.
I also loved what the book stood for and was about. At first I could not find any reason for writing this book. And that annoyed me, because I don’t like reading things without a point. After a couple chapters I eventually found my point and held on to it throughout the whole book. This book is full of surprises and feelings. You really just dive in and feel yourself changing as the book changes you. Little by little any good book would do that.

Cassandra Clare did another amazing job in this book, the second in the Mortal Instruments. If you read my review for the City Of Bones you may notice that I have given that one five stars, while this one is only four. I do that because I am a in depth reader. I immerse myself into the book, and I feel that the first one was just better.
This book is still great, though. I love it. It’s just not my favorite. The suspense still carries from the first book. It is very engaging and keeps you on the edge for the whole book. New characters are introduced and it is not hard to fall in love with them once you meet them.
Jace and Clary continue their struggle with each other and their feelings. It is infuriating. But that is what makes the readers come back for more. And keep coming back. Cassandra has figured out how to keep us all into her series, and for it to never leave us. As this book keeps the magic of the first, you will be drawn into this world even more.

This was one of the few books I read in a day. I know it doesn’t look like it on my Goodreads account, but that is because i enter in books when I plan to read them, and enter in that i finished the book whenever i get the time. Not just because it was so short, but because it was very engaging and a great story with great characters. And I might have had to read it for book club that afternoon and I just hadn’t started it before now. This was also one of the few books where the movie was better. I might be a little bias on that side since I watched the movie first. However, after reading the book and rewatching the movie, It was plain and true. Everyone else in my book club thought so too.
The characters are great and funny. Even Charlie, who is a little awkward to begin with. You really connect with the characters in that they become your friends. But you can’t really relate to them. Being a wallflower is being kinda shy and detached from the world. Unless that really happens to you on a daily basis you cant really relate to what these characters are going through.
The format is in letters, which is kinda hard to read if you like to know everything that is going on. At first I was skeptical about this format because I normally don’t like the narrator doing it first person story telling. The story can sometimes become a little bias and unreliable about how others are. Gradually throughout this book I got used to it, though. And I do feel it is the best way that the author can present everything about the main character they need to.
Even with all this it is a pretty good book, with a better movie. And if for some reason you cant watch the movie, at least try to listen to the soundtrack. This movie/book has introduced me to some of the best songs I believe to be out there. The songs really reflect on who the characters are and all the events of the book. I feel I got to know how the characters really were not from the book, but from the songs in the movie. And some of the songs do make their appearance in the book. I would still recommend reading the book before watching the movie, as I try with every book. I made that mistake with this book and missed some information from the book that I needed to understand the movie.

My favorite song: Come on Eileen.

I picked this book up on a blind date. Which was good because I would never have picked this book up if I saw it lying on the shelf. The title just wouldn’t appeal to me. It doesn’t seem like that kind of book I would like. But it was. I was really surprised how much I liked it. I am also surprised about why I liked it so much: I don’t know.
When I walked into my library and saw the blind date cart filled with books bound in black paper I was curious and thought that I should try one. I looked at all the summaries placed on the black covers. This one appealed to me the most. And without knowing too much about it, I checked it out.
I was suspicious if I would even like the book when I saw the title, but as I said before, I really liked it at the end. I was a funny, contemporary read. Obviously filled with romance. I don’t think that is why I liked it, however. It was more just there and you can really focus on the storyline. On whatever aspect about the book you wanted to really.
This book is told in two different perspectives. The two authors write for one character each. Girl for girl, boy for boy. That I think very unique. This was the first time I had ever seen a book written like that before. Still not why I liked it so much.
I think it was just the feeling of the book. I thought it was just a good romance. I didn’t fall in love with the characters. I just wanted them to be together and when anything brought them apart, you end up laughing because it is just so ridiculous. It is not one of those hard ship, together or die books. It is a playful book that makes you smile, laugh, and cry in the best ways.

I did not like this book at all. I had thought that the idea for the book was a good one. Girls cursed to have any boy they love die. However, it was executed poorly. The characters were unlikable, and there was almost no plot. What is a story without a plot?
The characters were un-relatable. I know it is sometimes hard for authors to make characters so unlike us (cursed) to be somewhat like us. But so many authors are able to do it. It is the main point of attracting the reader. The reader has to be able to feel what the character is feeling if they are to want to be with that character through the whole book. You need to know that your readers will be able to connect with your characters. This author did not seem to do this in this book.
There was also no specified plot line. Yes, there seems to be one in the summary, but it is absent throughout the book. Without a plot line the reader feels lost and does not know what is happening in the story. This book was basically just the girls going about their day to day activities with slight variations then the normal. That is not exactly an engaging plot line. Sometimes I like when a book is just the characters going about their day with all different and strange things happening. But this book did not do a good job with it.
Maybe if the author was a bit more descriptive I would have been into the book more and would not feel this way. I could not easily imagine any of the characters, nor settings and had to think up a lot of the details on my own. I do not feel this is a good way to have a book be. It turns off most readers as it is not too clear who and where they are reading about. Most people like to put themselves into the story. That is what keeps the reader through most books. This book did not have that and was very difficult for me to read, despite its lower lexile level than books I normally read. It was just very disappointing for me. Thank goodness that I got this book as a free giveaway. I would have regretted buying it if I had.

I was amazed at how good this book was. It was not one of the best books I have ever read, but it affected me in a good way. It was very eye-opening and I know I will be telling others to read this. When I first picked it up, I think I had just seen it in my recommended on Goodreads, I was unsure of how I would like it. I knew a few transgender people. That is what spurred me to take on this book. I was confused about the topic and didn't understand those people, nor how it worked. I wanted to though, I wanted to be able to understand how they felt. I knew no non-fiction book would help me with this. Especially since my attention span of non-fiction is very low.
When I first started this book, it was very confusing. I had no idea what she (he?) was going through. I couldn't picture it in my mind, nor feel it to help me understand the character better. As the book went on, things slowly became more clear and I learned what they were going through and how hard it was for them. I still have a few questions, but everything is mostly cleared up. And I like knowing how these people feel.
This book was really eye-opening for me. I never knew this side of people before. Most would not like to talk about this either, as I suspect it might bring up bad memories. But that's why this book is so great. It gives you the experience that almost no one goes through. It is such a real and riveting tale- no matter how fictitious is really is.
I have recently learned that the author is transgender as well, and that she wrote this book based on her experience coping with that. That is what I think makes the book all more real. The author knows what she is talking about and understands her character. I admire the author for having the bravery to relive that as she was writing and editing her book. I have gone through some tough experiences in life and whenever I try to revisit those I never can because I get way too emotional. Some of the bravest people in this world are the ones we never notice as brave.
And sometimes the people we never notice or pay attention to are the ones who need it. Amanda has a tough life, so do a lot of people. This book can open your eyes to the world around you and let you see inside others. Anyone and everyone needs to read it. We all need our eyes opened.