isn't that what stories do?

blog dedicated to all things YA, but most specially books. Feel free to request anything. Reviews once a week. "Isn't that what stories do? make real things fake and fake things real?", the winner's curse, marie rutkoski

[yapages]

A Guide to Female YA Leads

Clary Fray: Imma do the thing

Literally anyone: Don't do the thing

Clary: I'm sorry did I fucking ask you?

-----

Aelin Ashryver: Imma do the thing

Someone: Don't do the thing

Aelin: Fine

Aelin: *whispers* Imma do it later

-----

Alina Starkov: Imma do the thing

Mal: Don't do the thing

Alina: Why not?

Mal: *gives reason*

Alina: Hmm. Good point.

The Darkling: Hello

Alina: Imma do the thing

-----

Juliette Ferrars: Imma do the thing

Someone: Are you sure you can?

Juliette: *stares*

Juliette: *rips a car apart with her bare hands*

Someone: Yeah nevermind forget I said anything

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Ruby Daly: Imma do the thing

Liam: Don't do the thing

Ruby: Liam, leave this to the big kids, okay?

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Adelina Amourteru: Imma do the thing

Someone: Don't do the thing

Adelina: Why not?

Someone: Um, because it's morally abhorrent, blatantly disregards every law ever, and will likely end in death?

Adelina:

Adelina:

Adelina: your point being...?

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America Singer: Hey, Maxon, let's say I, hypothetically, were to do the thing...

Maxon: Please don't do the thing

America: Okay, so let's say I, hypothetically, did the thing 20 minutes ago...

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Penryn Young: Imma do the thing

Angels: Don't do the thing

Penryn: IMMA DO THE THING

Humans: Don't do the thing

Penryn: ...maybe do the thing

Raffe: Don't do the thing

Penryn: Imma do the thing

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Tris Prior: Imma do the thing

Someone: Don't do the thing

Tris: *makes direct eye contact, promises she won't do the thing, then does the thing*

-----

Linh Cinder: Imma do the thing

Someone: Don't do the thing

Cinder: Look me dead in the eye and tell me that you think I'm doing this because I feel like it. I dare you. I fucking dare you.

[lukemitchells]

[yapages]

Didn’t they know who I was, what they’d trained me for? If they thought I was going down without a fight, they were sadly mistaken.

[drauco-blog]

anyone can betray anyone, red queen dreamcast.

seychelle gabriel as mare barrow, george mackay as maven calore, jeremy irvine as kilorn warren, sean teale as cal calore, dichen lachman as elara merandus, krystal jung as evangeline samos, shiloh fernandez as shade barrow, gaia weiss as farley.

[silverbookshelf]

101 Books: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray 

[the-manila-institute]

 Book covers come to life: Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus

The circus arrives without warning. 

No announcements precede it. 

It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. 

[onlybylaura]

For all your fandoms needs, my new t-shirt shop is here!!!

I have included a lot of t-shirts for fandoms, especially YA. I hope you like the designs. Available here:

-Redbubble: http://www.redbubble.com/people/onlybylaura/portfolio

-Spreadshirt: http://1050380.spreadshirt.com/

I’ll add more, and you can always make requests (:

[cobaltcharlie]

[yapages]

You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes. That is your destiny.  —An Ember In The Ashes by sabaatahir

[bookishbloomsbury]

This #ManiMonday is inspired by the gorgeous cover design for sjmaas‘s A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES

[yapages]

Book: A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J Maas

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

ACOTAR was another beautiful read by Sarah J Maas. I cannot express myself on how much I love this woman’s writing – honestly, every time I pick up the book I’m half afraid that it’ll turn out into a bitter disappointment. But it’s never, never that – Maas delivers each time.

It’s inevitable to compare ACOTAR to TOG, and for the first fifty pages or so, I found myself doing that – maybe because I loved Throne of Glass so much that I also wanted something in the same style. But of course, this is very, very different, so chuck all of your previous conceptions away.

ACOTAR, for starters, is an obviously adult book. It’s beautiful in every way, and we start in Feyre’s head from the start – it’s told in first POV, but Maas does it amazingly. Feyre is a distinct heroine with her own thoughts and her own way of viewing the world. The setting is rich and beautiful, and I found myself lost between all of Tamlin’s gardens and the fay word. It’s so vivid I could almost feel that I got pulled along.

Feyre was by far my favorite character – but I loved how her sisters were developed, her relationship with her family and all of the other characters. I also especially loved the obvious difference from her and Celaena – both strong females, but with different flaws and different wishes. We also have an amazing villain (seriously – SO GOOD. She’s developed, evil and crazy, everything a girl could wish for), the ambiguous villain sidekick with his own scheme, the faithful friend and the love interest. I don’t want to spoil it any of it – I hope you can enjoy all of it as much as I did. All of the characters were beautifully done, and the whole aura of the book felt so magical, like drifting into another world. Also, have I mentioned: HOT MEN. A LOT OF THEM. So be ready for lots of swooning.

Also, the sexual tension in the romance! I was giddy with anticipation and almost DIED in a couple of parts – seriously, you guys are not ready for this. But Mass balances it perfectly – the romance doesn’t feel overdone, the tension is always there and there’s also a lot of fantasy and action. I loved this book, especially towards the ending and I could not put it down. It’s a classic for adult fantasy, and I cannot emphasise enough how all of you should buy this. Pick this up when it comes out on May 5th  you’re not going to regret it.

[thebookhangover-blog]

♔ endless list of favourite books ♔ ↳ beauty queens by libba bray

Sometimes I just want to go in a room and break things and scream. Like, it’s so much pressure all the time and if you get upset or angry, people say, ‘Are you on the rag of something?’ And it’s like I want to say, ‘No. I’m just pissed off right now. Can’t I just be pissed off? How come that’s not okay for me?’ Like my dad will say, ‘I can’t talk to you when you’re hysterical.’ And I’m totally not being hysterical! I’m just mad. And he’s the one losing it. But then I feel embarrassed anyway. So I slap on that smile and pretend everything’s okay even though it’s not.

[blurgansey]

YA LIT MEME: [8/10] Books or Series » Penryn and the End of Days Trilogy by Susan Ee

“I’ve never killed anyone before. What frightens me isn’t that I’m killing someone. What frightens me is how easy it is.”

[alteridemlynch]

“Here I am frozen, when I deserve to burn.” 

[annaolphant]

Love is scary: it changes; it can go away. That’s part of the risk. I don’t want to be scared anymore.

[bookishcanuck]

Oh God it’s so pretty…

[yapages]

Review: Angelfall, Susan Ee It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with Raffe, an injured enemy angel. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco, where Penryn will risk everything to rescue her sister and Raffe will put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again. 

I’ve been owing an ‘Angelfall’ review for a while, basically because I absolutely fell in love with it. I had been looking for an YA angel book that didn’t make me want to puke or be miserable, and when a friend recommended it with the line ‘dystopian with angels’ I jumped at the opportunity of reading it.

Don’t get me wrong - there is romance in this book, but there is one one hell of a protagonist and a story. Penryn is an amazing heroine and full of flaws - she’s tough and rough, thinks she can manage everything on her own and is frankly quite stubborn. But she’s also loyal and kind - her jorney to rescue her sister from the angels is amazing.

And there’s the worldbuilding - forget everything you heard about angels. Forget those kind and angelic creatures with pretty wings and desire to love humans. These angels are brutal and cruel, and they have come to destroy the Earth and bring around the end of days, the apocalypse. It’s amazing how Susan Ee develops the plot and the story, not to mention the details on the book, where even the most unimportant characters are flashed out and things just get creepier by the minute. Penryn’s journey is full of action and adventure, without being completely without romance. I can say that fromthe very beggining I was shipping Penryn and Raffe so hard I was almost falling on the floor while I read the book.

So all in all - Angelfall is a must-read on YA these days. It’s a gritty book full of the best action, a demanding and believable heroine and it’s got everything to keep readers engrossed. Everyone should give it a try.

Rating: 5/5

[ggansey]

“And no matter what Angra might try to do, he will not stop me from washing away the ashes of this kingdom’s past and filling our lives with glorious icy peace of snow.” - Snow Like Ashes, Sara Raasch

[sararaasch]

Prettyyyyy

[carchive1]

Evolution of a YA Cover!

All the Rage releases April 14th, 2015 from griffinteen.

View a high-res version of the book’s full jacket here.

Learn more about the book, including where to preorder, here, and read the first chapter here.