What I've Been Reading

I haven't been really keeping up with my lovely blog lately. I think it's because I follow so many blogs that post every day, and then I get really intimidated by how little I post. But I'm back at it now, mostly because I've been reading some great books that I wanted to share. 

1 & 2. In The Woods by Tana French and The Likeness by Tana French 

I liked both of these books, although I much preferred The Likeness. I kind of hated the main character in In The Woods, which made it hard to like the book even though I appreciated the writing style. I also didn't love the ending to In The Woods, but I'm not sure how else I would have ended it. It didn't wrap up nicely like a normal story does, which was unsettling. I would still recommend both of these books to anyone who enjoys mystery books.

3. The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To by DC Pierson

This book was surprisingly captivating to me, even though it's set in a high school and is very male oriented. It's a great example of science fiction without being too isolating or out there. I'm always able to identify and empathize with an outsider, which is exactly who Darren and Eric were. The ending was a point of contention in a lot of reviews that I read, but I think it's exactly where the book needed to go. What else were they going to do with a boy who never sleeps? This does seem like much more of a teen book, which a lot of science fiction these days is. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy it, just that I felt a little old while I was reading it.

4. Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered was a quick read, and had an interesting idea, but was very teen oriented, which drew me out of the story at times. I'm sorry, but I really don't need a description of what kind of striped leggings Alyssa was wearing. But I always love a revamped fairy tale, and the new take on the Alice in Wonderland world was entertaining. The darker side of Wonderland really drew me in, but the awkward love triangle between Morpheus, Jeb, and Alyssa was very teen-angsty and kind of expected. There would have been enough conflict in the story without having to bring that aspect in. I still liked the book, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who has roots in the Alice world, but it's probably not something I would read again.

5. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

This story is a great example of a teen book that doesn't isolate it's older readers. John Green is basically amazing at that, and I would really recommend any of his books. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is set in high school and deals with teenage homosexuality in a funny and musical way. I even laughed out loud at some of the songs in the book, and that's rare when I read. Usually only funny dog pictures or stupid autocorrects can make me do that. I read this book to see if I should get it as a present for someone, and I pretty much went straight to Amazon and purchased it as soon as I finished.