Book Review | I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

There's so much hype surround this book. So much. 
But it's well deserved. Honestly, I have not read a book this amazing in such a long time. I feel as if it is safe to say that this book, I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, made a huge impact on my life. 

Summary: (from Goodreads) 

A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell 

photo courtesy of yours truly 

Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once




I truly cannot pinpoint the exact moment that this book blew my mind away (and boy, did it blow my mind away). Words cannot explain how phenomenal this book really is. At first, the writing style confused me slightly with so many metaphors used and thoughts flying here and there. But as I continued reading, I discovered that the writing corresponded to the characters, Jude and Noah, and their point of views. Each writing style was unique to the individual and I loved that. 
Speaking of Jude and Noah, I really enjoyed them as characters. They were both refreshing and unique in their own ways. I found their personality changes before what happened and after what happened interesting, how Jude described it as their personalities just switched. 
The plot was so dynamic and fascinating as well. I absolutely enjoyed the way that everything tied together in the end. I thought that it was clever and brilliant of Jandy Nelson to do so. Everything about this book was simply spectacular.
All in all, I give this book a solid 5/5 stars and a 10/10 on my own personal rating system. Anyone and everyone should give this book a shot. It holds many important messages about life, love, fate, and family.

Book Review | Winger by Andrew Smith

Winger. Before I read this book, I thought, "What in the world could this book possibly be about?" The only thing I've heard about it was that it was about a boy who went to boarding school. That was it. And of course, the cover is intriguing enough: a boy in a uniform with some stitches and a bloody nose. It makes someone curious about the contents inside.

Summary:

Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids in the

Pacific Northwest. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.

Now that I've read this book, it has filled me with so many emotions beyond imagine. And when I say I've read this book, I have just finished it a little over five minutes ago so I am filled with those emotions!
I never thought, when I began reading this book, that I would end up loving it this much. I thoroughly enjoyed Ryan Dean's voice. It was refreshing and witty. I loved hearing about rugby, especially the origin of "Winger", and Pine Mountain as a whole. I enjoyed all of the other characters as well; I loved how they added to the story.
At the end, this story left me completely speechless. It took a shocking turn that absolutely broke my heart. The ending was quite swift and abrupt; however, I was happy with it. It resolved pretty well, in my opinion.
Overall, I give this book a solid 5/5 stars and a 10/10. I believe this is a book anyone should and can read. I'm in love with it and Ryan Dean West (even though he's in love with Annie).
Thank you for reading my little review! Happy reading (:

(photo copyrighted to yours truly)