#shuffle repeat

[beleszerettem-a-hazugsagaiba]

„Ne feledd: azt az arcod mutasd a világnak, amelyik arcát szeretnéd, hogy a világ mutassa neked.”

Jen Klein - Rád hangolva

[jellybeanbeing]

My Summer Contemporary Reread(ish)-athon TBR

I’ve been rereading a lot of old favorites recently so I decided at the beginning of the year that I was just going to binge read most of them. I’ve developed more as a reader so my taste have changed. I want to see if I still enjoy my old favorites or if they are a no no now. Some of these books aren’t going to be rereads but I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to put them on the list. A lot of these books felt like a fever dream when I was reading them because I read most of them in one night which is crazy for me. Also, I am aware of how cheesy and cringeworthy a lot of these books are.

1. Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein

I thought this book was the best thing in the world in junior high so we shall see how I feel about it now four years later.

2. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

I thought the banter was super cute and sweet, and that the relationships were really good. I’m nervous about this one, but hopefully I’ll still enjoy it.

3. When We Collided by Emery Lord

I remember how sad this book was and how angry I was at the end. I also remember loving these characters and gushing over them. I’m not too nervous about this one. I’m hoping I’m right.

4. A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody

The first four from here and up were my favorite romantic YA contemporary books when I was around 12 to 14, but this one was my favorite out of the four. I’m starting to remember bits and pieces as I think about it and it’s honestly scaring me because it was so cheesy and cringy.

5. The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter

One of my favorites from last year! It was so sad and the writing was so beautiful. I thought that the toxic relationship between the MC and her mother was well portrayed, and so I’m hoping I still have the same thoughts or that I love it even more.

6. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

This was a really dark and pretty gruesome story. I read this last year and it became one of my favorites. After reading a couple of reviews where they analyze more of the characters and the topics of the book, I’m afraid that my opinion on the book has changed a bit so I want to be able to see that myself and still judge it with my own opinions (and hopefully still like it).

7. Kids of Appetite by David Arnold

This was the first contemporary book to make me bawl my eyes out. It was beautiful and sad and so good. I had a few comments on characters (which I talked about in a past review on this) but nonetheless, I enjoyed it and loved it. I’m hoping that I still get the feels when I read it again.

8. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

I reread this last year as well but I can’t remember a lot of details. I’ve been in the mood for a lot of sad contemporary books and this fits the bill. It’s supposedly one of John Green’s better books so I will see in this reread. (I’ve read like, 3 of his books in the past if you were wondering)

9. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

This is where the list goes into the new reads territory. I’ve been meaning to get to this book since 2016 and I’m really hoping that I can finally read this. It has a lot of mixed reviews so I’m kind of nervous about it.

10. How to Make Friends With The Dark by Kathleen Glasgow

I haven’t heard many people talking about this book, but from what I have heard, it’s a good one where it’ll make you cry. I’m ready to be hit with all the feels.

11. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I’m not sure this is a contemporary and it is the more obscure one because all the others are YA and this one isn’t. Nonetheless, I’ve heard many great things about this book and it does sound really interesting so I’m excited for this one!

[libertyreads]

Book Review #34 of 2019:

Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein. Rating: 3.5 Stars.

Read on April 12.

I added this one to my TBR after I realized I had read two longer Fantasy novels back to back. I needed something easier to read to prevent what would probably have been a reading slump. This cute Contemporary definitely helped me after reading so much Fantasy. I think it was a great palate cleanser. I just wish I had heard of it sooner so I could have read it by now.

I wanted more out of this book than what was delivered. There was a lack of depth to almost all the characters and the miscommunication comes out of nowhere. Of course, this being a contemporary naturally means that a miscommunication is going to happen somewhere in the last 75 pages or so that has to get resolved in the last 20. I got that going into this one. But the miscommunication that happens doesn’t make enough sense. I say “enough” because the author does try to get some evidence into why things are happening, but there’s no real explanation whether in the character talking things out with the other person or with the character just getting to the point where they realize they need to try to work everything out with the other person.

There was a lot to enjoy with this book though. I enjoyed the competition they had that got rewarded with song choices on their morning playlist. I also liked that I could feel that the two characters were longing to be together despite the fact that they were both in other relationships. (Angst, I want it. I need it. It gives me life.) I loved Oliver as a character because he was so much more than June gave him credit for. Which really gave the reader a chance to watch while June’s world view was expanded from Jocks Bad, Outsiders Good to everyone can be a bit of an asshole. Which is just so beautiful to see. *gets emotional* There were a lot of scenes that the author threw in to show June that things in high school do matter and those were probably my favorite scenes: June going to her first football game, Senior Ditch Day, the night of the Senior Prank. All of those were just great moments where we got to really feel the emotions that June was feeling.

It took me a couple of hours to read this one. I just flew through it. So it’s definitely at least worth your time to pick up even if it does sometimes fall into the trappings of Contemporary YA.

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

so many books, so little time

[jellybeanbeing]

Rereads I Ended Up Not Liking

I recently reread a lot of my old favorites and did not like a lot of them, unfortunately. Disclaimer: If you like these books, great. Keep loving them. They just didn’t work for me. I’m not trying to offend anyone. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Okay, on to the list.

1. The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter -

This is the one that I’m the most sad about because it was one of my favorites just last year. When I read it again this year, I didn’t really enjoy myself while reading. It’s kind of understandable because of the subject matter that is in this book, but honestly, it was just a story I couldn’t fully engage in anymore. I found many characters to be irritable and it made reading this not enjoyable. I still find the writing to be beautiful and poetic, and the storyline to be as equally as heartbreaking as I had first read it. *TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING FOR SEXUAL ASSUALT/ABUSE*

2. Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein -

This was one of my favorite romantic YA contemporary a few years back. I thought it was the cutest thing ever. Rereading it, I still think it’s really cute and I’m always on board with the hate to friends to lovers trope sooo. Anyways, the reason why I didn’t like it this time around was because the ending was so messy and some things were unnecessary. I didn’t really like the main character, June. She was just so mean and judgmental. There was this whole thing with June and her dad, and I honestly thought it could’ve done without it because it wasn’t really a big problem to the character or made her “develop.” I will say though, Oliver Flagg, I love him. He was just the best thing in this book.

3. Leftovers by Heather Waldorf -

I read this in middle school and really liked it. I was itching to reread it again and finally got my hands on a copy. Turns out, it’s not a book I really like anymore. I think it’s mostly because the book is so short. It’s a little less than 300 pages, and fitting in a whole story that needs a lot of things for it is hard. I did feel like there could’ve been more, and other things and characters that could’ve been delved into more. The pacing too, felt a little bit too fast for me. The love interest is kind of an asshole. I remember him being the sweetest thing ever, but what the hell was I thinking? I mean, he’s not that bad, but he just says things that make me so angry. *TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING FOR SEXUAL ASSUALT*

4. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S King - 

I loved this book in middle school, and that was probably because it was so different from the books that I was reading at the time. Rereading it again, I can see why I liked it and why others would too, but it just ain’t it for me. I enjoyed it, but not as much as when I first read it. This is the oddball in this list because I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t like it. I found the book to be a bit bland for me. I didn’t necessarily love any characters, really. It is a very atmospheric and melancholic book. I cried the second time around when I read the ending so there is that.

5. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven -

I read this when I was in middle school, and this was a time when I didn’t really understand mental health or anything of that subject. I read it and I loved it for probably all the wrong reasons. I reread it again a year ago for my health class because we were learning about mental health issues and it was alarming at how much I looked over when I first read it. I found parts of it to be very problematic and the romance to be very cringy. I know a lot of people can identify with this book and absolutely love it, and I don’t wanna take that away from anyone. If you loved it, that’s great. It just was not it for me.

6. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord -

Now we get into DNF territory, even though I only have two books for you. You have no idea how disappointed I am that I didn’t like this book this time around. This was my absolute favorite romantic YA contemporary in middle school. I thought it was so cute, so sweet, and just amazing. BRO, I DNF’d this book around the first chapter. I was cringing so hard already, and I was not going to do that to myself, putting myself through that cringe-fest. The dialogue was already not my favorite, and then the characters were not even characters to me but more just tropes with names.

7. When We Collided by Emery Lord -

Again, I’m so sad that I didn’t like this book a second time. I will say though, it’s a bit better than The Start of Me and You, but not by that much. I got farther into the book, like halfway, but I couldn’t do it anymore. Everything was just so cringy. Vivi is your typical MPDG with a disorder. She’s not my favorite, but I don’t hate her. Jonah was meh. Not memorable for me. The thing about Emery Lord’s teenage characters is that they don’t feel or act like teenagers, and that bugs me a lot. This goes for The Start of Me and You as well. 

[beleszerettem-a-hazugsagaiba]

„Nemcsak szívdöglesztő külsejét látom, hanem azt is, ami emögött van – és a szívem egy töréssel kitárul. Hirtelen letaglóz a fájdalmasan biztos tudat, hogy ez a srác valami megmagyarázhatatlan módon beférkőzött oda. Hiába építettem falakat magam köré, hiába a gondos tervezés és tagadás, valahol volt egy kis rés, és Oliver megtalálta.”

Jen Klein - Rád hangolva

[beleszerettem-a-hazugsagaiba]

„És ekkor megtörténik. Egyszerre minden elnémul körülöttünk. Oliver tekintete az enyémet fürkészi, és hajának angyalszőkesége az egyetlen fényforrás a teremben. Nemcsak szívdöglesztő külsejét látom, hanem azt is, ami emögött van – és a szívem egy töréssel kitárul. Hirtelen letaglóz a fájdalmasan biztos tudat, hogy ez a srác valami megmagyarázhatatlan módon beférkőzött oda. Hiába építettem falakat magam köré, hiába a gondos tervezés és tagadás, valahol volt egy kis rés, és Oliver megtalálta.”

Jen Klein - Rád hangolva

[libertyreads]

Starting a light hearted Contemporary today to break up all the Fantasy I’ve been reading.