The Night Circus

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

I'm really not sure what the heck to say about this book.

That . . . for a while I thought I'd give it a million stars, and for a while I thought it'd only be 3 or 4.
That . . . I should read more adult fiction if it's like this.
That . . . the cover is incredible and shiny and perfect.
That . . . it was beautiful.

I didn't know what I'd think about this book.  I'd heard some people sing praises about it, especially about the writing, and we all know how I love good writing. But I'd also heard some very negative things about it. I just didn't know.

I started it, and fell in love.  With the gorgeous writing, so old and elegant and beautiful.  With the intriguing, mysterious plot.  The feel of the whole thing.

And as it went on and on, I realized something.  Something besides the fact that while this book is technically 387 pages it's more like 700.

The pitch is a big fat lie.

Oh, some parts are true enough.  The parts about the circus, at least. But the parts about Celia and Marco?  Well, if not lies, they are certainly misleading.  When I hear about the fierce competition between two magicians, you know what I picture? I picture a duel. Two magicians actually confronting one another in a test of magic.

And that is really not the case with this book.

Am I saying that this is a bad thing? No. It worked for the book, and I think the plot of this book is absolutely brilliant.  But there is no dueling, no confrontation.  Their "fierce competition" is the two of them adding tents and attractions to the circus.  That's it.  So if you are entering this book expecting a bunch of action and fighting, I'd suggest you set your mind straight.

But aside from the fact that the publishers mispitched this, I had only a few minor complaints.  Most of it was incredible. The plot was so complex and well thought out that I can only wonder how long it took Ms. Morgenstern to craft something like this.  The writing was beautiful and enchanting and absolutely perfect for the story.  Most of the characters were mysterious and intriguing and well-portrayed.  The whole setting and idea of this book was incredibly original and incredibly alluring.

My minor complaints were just that: minor.  I wasn't always crazy about Marco.  Sometimes I really liked him, and sometimes I wanted to smack him.  If he hadn't strung Isobel along for so long a lot of things might never have happened.  But in the end, he was who he was, and that was enough for the story.  Sometimes, I wished the story would move just a bit faster.  It never bored me so much as I just felt frustrated because the pages were so big and made me feel like I was making no progress in this huge story that spanned over thirty years.  I entered this story filled with misconceptions born from the pitch, and the slow and stately pace was just not what I expected.  And finally, there were a few things that were never fully explained. Obviously some things the reader must pick up, but there are the context clues there for the reader to piece together.  For some things, though, there was never any real explanation, and that just frustrated me a bit. I like to understand things by the end of a story.

But that aside, the fact is, this is incredible.  It is magical and haunting and gorgeous and a bunch of other lovely adjectives.  Some might argue that I shouldn't give a 5 star to something if I had that many complaints, however minor, but truthfully, this is too fantastic for me to give it anything else.

5 stars.

Paper Towns

You will go to the paper towns, and you will never come back.

When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.

Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.

I think this is my favorite John Green novel yet.

I was well aware before I even started this that I would at the very least like it.  John Green's writing and characterization and dialogue are too brilliant for me to not at least like a book of his. But this was so much more fantastic than I thought it would be. It was just more.


This is one of those books where I don't want to do a really in-depth review, because I almost feel like I'm soiling the book by trying to pick it apart. No.  This is too good for that.

There are many things I loved about it: the incredible characters, the hilarious dialogue, the stunning writing that John Green gives us again and again.  The quotes that linger in your head for hours after reading them because they're just that damn good.

But what I really, truly loved about this book was the whole idea behind it.  The idea that we create paper images of those around us, and that we fall in love with these images, not the people themselves.  And that we can do our very best to understand a person, but we can never be that person. In the end, we can be no one but ourselves.

“What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.” 


Every time I read a John Green book, I'm reminded of the fact that he's not just my favorite author because he is made of awesome. He is my favorite author because he has this way of digging straight to the core of things and exposing these truths in such a breath-taking, memorable way that they can never be forgotten.


5 stars.

Here's to you, John Green.  

Dark Inside

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

This was a really fantastic read.

I've been wanting this book for months.  I mean, Jeyn is awesome, the premise is awesome, the cover is awesome, the reviews were awesome, so that all led me to think this would be a pretty freaking awesome book.  And I was not wrong.

There are many things I liked about this book.  It was horrifying and haunting and thought-provoking.  The writing was powerful and even beautiful in certain places. 

But possibly the thing I liked most about this book is one of the reasons I like dystopian/apocalyptic novels in general: I loved seeing just how people, real people, reacted to such a horrible and devastating situation.  Jeyn really took us to the heart of the human spirit and showed us how some can be so courageous in the face of danger, and others so cowardly, and how sometimes, they can be both.  Not all of our characters are heroes.  One of the main characters even commits an extremely selfish act that hurts many others, but the thing is . . . I didn't hate him for it. I thought I would, but I didn't.  Because when I think about it, really think about it, if I had been in that situation . . . would I have done any differently?

The answer is no. No, I probably wouldn't have.

And that's what's so great about this.  There is no pretty sheen to Jeyn's characters.  They are real, intensely flawed human beings, and I love them for it, and I loved seeing just how people changed when tragedy came calling.  Who became the leaders, who became the followers. Who became the heroes, and who became the cowards.  Who couldn't be quite sure what they were.

I only had two problems with this novel.  The first is that some of the dialogue was a bit awkward. The majority of it was actually very realistic, but there were a few lines--mostly ones by Daniel or Chickadee--that just sounded awkward when I tried to say them.  However, I'm going to be lenient here, because despite being unrealistic the lines were really powerful/intriguing.

The second problem is that I still feel a bit left in the dark.  I mean, it's made 100% clear on the last page who Nothing is, though it isn't directly spelled out, but we still have very little information about the Baggers and the evil that's possessed them.  I realize this is only the first book in a series, I just would've liked a bit more information.

But really, overall, this was a stunning debut novel. Harsh, gritty, and surprisingly deep, Dark Inside is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes their books dark.  (That makes me think of coffee.  "Harsh, gritty, in a surprisingly deep cup, Parkland Coffee is a coffee I would recommend to anyone who likes their coffee dark.")

Final note--the cover! I freaking love the cover.  It's so, so fitting.  With the fading, dusty city in the background, the shaded forms, the deep earthquake cracks, the eyes with black veins like the Baggers--it's perfect, and very eyecatching. Bravo, Simon & Schuster!

4 stars.

Beth Revis's Gratitude for Books Giveaway

So Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe, is holding a giveaway of 19 books, most signed, and-and!-a box of Turkish Delights.  And to enter? You just have to make a post saying what book you are most grateful for.  You can find it here.

So now . . . the book that I am most grateful for.
I've thought about this one. I've thought about this one well.  There were so many books I could have said, so many books that have changed me and my outlook on life.  But in the end, I chose this book.  And it is not actually my favorite book.  But it is the book I am most grateful for, because it has changed me more than any book I've ever read.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I first read this book months ago. I still think about it today.
Is it a perfect book? No.  Is the writing stunning? No.  No, this book isn't what it is because it is some flawless, gorgeously written book with an insanely creative plot and kick-ass characters.
This book is what it is because it makes you think. Because it makes you just stop and think.
Through Clay's horrified eyes, and Hannah's own voice, we, the readers, our pulled through this book, story by story, seeing how every person on these tapes led to Hannah killing herself.  We watch it slowly piece itself together, and we sit there, horrified as Clay, already knowing how it will all end up.
But what really gets you, the thing that still has me thinking months later, is that these people didn't know what they were doing. Some of them did terrible things, yes. But some of them, what they did, they thought it was harmless. Or if not harmless, certainly not anything of significance. Certainly not anything that mattered.
Certainly not something for a girl to kill herself over.
But it's the snowball effect. It's one thing upon another upon another, gaining power as it rolls on, until its huge weight just . . . crushes her. Boom. Gone.
Maybe you spread around a list like Alex.  Or started rumors, like Justin.  Or abandoned a friend you didn't know needed you. Maybe you thought nothing of it at the time. Maybe it was nothing at the time.
But maybe they're gone now.
This book makes you realize that the slightest thing, just the slightest, tiniest, most inconsequential thing, can have such a huge effect on others.  That you have such a huge effect on others, more than you can ever imagine.  That you want the effect to be good.  That if you knew Hannah, you wouldn't want to be on one of those tapes.
That is why I am grateful for this book.  Because it made me think. About myself, and about others, and myself and others, and everyone else and the people they interact with.  It opened my eyes.

Looking for Alaska

First friend. First girl. Last words.


A deeply affecting coming-of-age story, Looking for Alaska traces the journey of Miles Halter, a misfit Florida teenager who leaves the safety of home for a boarding school in Alabama and a chance to explore the "Great Perhaps." Debut novelist and NPR commentator Green perfectly captures the intensity of feeling and despair that defines adolescence in this hip, shocking, and emotionally charged work of fiction.

Miles has a quirky interest in famous people's last words, especially François Rabelais's final statement, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." Determined not to wait for death to begin a similar quest, Miles convinces his parents to let him leave home. Once settled at Culver Creek Preparatory School, he befriends a couple of equally gifted outcasts: his roommate Chip―commonly known as the Colonel—who has a predilection for memorizing long, alphabetical lists for fun; and the beautiful and unpredictable Alaska, whom Miles comes to adore.

The kids grow closer as they make their way through a school year filled with contraband, tests, pranks, breakups, and revelations about family and life. But as the story hurtles toward its shattering climax, chapter headings like "forty-six days before" and "the last day" portend a tragic event―one that will change Miles forever and lead him to new conclusions about the value of his cherished "Great Perhaps."

This was one of those books.


One of those books where I can acknowledge that it has faults--it's his debut novel, how could it not?--, where I can acknowledge that this could've been even better than it was, yet it was so moving, so powerful, so thought-provoking and beautiful, that you ignore those faults.  It's not that you forget them; if asked, I could still produce a few things that might've been changed.  No, it's just that they don't seem significant anymore. Faults? Who cares about faults? Alaska had faults. Alaska had many faults, and that was what made her Alaska. These faults are what make this book Looking for Alaska, and its beauty and overall message are what make this a five star book. A must read. A classic.


I will leave you with this:


“Thomas Edison's last words were 'It's very beautiful over there'. I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful.” 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. 

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I expected this to be a great book. It was not a great book.
It was a fantastic, amazing, incredible, stunning, awe-inspiring and-all-those-other-synonyms book.


I'm sorry for abandoning the format once again, but for books I really dislike or really love, I find it hard to talk about them in categories.


This book. It is everything I desire in modern fantasy/paranormal romance and more, everything that has been lacking in today's market.  It is dark and beautiful and haunting and unique and magical and captivating.  The characters leap from the pages and the writing spins a world like you've never seen before.


I had high hopes when I began this, because I thought the summary sounded incredible and all the reviews were absolutely glowing.  I was lusting after this book for months, just hoping that when I finally got it, it wouldn't let me down.  And it didn't.  It far, far exceeded my expectations.


I want to take a pause in the gush for a moment to mention something that might concern some people: the romance.  If you're starting to think that it's too quick, just be patient. There are reasons. And the fact is, though I am an avid hater of insta-love, this romance was so beautiful and the connection so real that it never once bothered me.


Also.  I know I originally had my doubts about the cover, but in real life it's actually very beautiful and striking, and even more importantly, very fitting. You won't see how it's fitting until later in the book, but it is. Same with the gorgeous title.  It is perfect, and you'll understand by the end.


Last matter of importance: I hate Laini Taylor. I hate her for leaving us like that and ripping my heart out with only a few pages to go. Laini Taylor, you had better write fast, because if I have to wait too long for the sequel I may have to storm Little, Brown. And I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one.


Overall: This book was just stunning.  I hope you'll forgive my overuse of adjectives, but it's just so hard to convey how much I loved this book. I think it's both my favorite romance and my favorite fantasy of this year, one of my favorites, period.  
Usually, when recommending a fantasy I liked/loved, I'll say, "If you like fantasy, you should definitely read this." But no. I'm not going to say that. Because even if you're not a big fantasy fan, you can still love this. Anyone can love this amazing work of art.  So read it, please, for your own sake.
Five stars, but I would give it more if I could.

The Book Thief

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . .   

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist- books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found.

With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

I'm not even quite sure how to write a review on this.

Give me a bad book, or an okay book, and I can criticize the hell out of it. I can write you a several thousand word review detailing every reason I did and did not like it. But give me a book like this, and I have no words.

Ironic, really, considering the huge role words play in this.

This is one of those books where I can't say I liked it. I can't even say I loved it. I feel like that's too simple, too shallow of a thing to say for this book. I didn't love it. To express how this book made me feel, a short image, as Death was fond of giving:

A girl sits on a wide hotel bed. There's a book in her hands, dark with the picture of dominoes on the verge of being toppled, the words The Book Thiefscrawled across the top. She isn't moving. She's barely even blinking. Another girl comes up and sits next to her, nudges her shoulder, but she still doesn't move.


That was me.
This book didn't make me cry. It didn't make me sob.
I was too numb for that.

I want to explain to you why this book made me feel the way it did, why every person should read it, but I just can't do that. I can't pick this book apart, even in a positive way.

Just read it. Please. Just . . . please.