Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Hey guys! Before we move on to the review, I have some good news! Reading For a Living has hit 100 followers! Ahhhhh!!!! That makes me so happy! Thank you all so so much! And as a thank you, look out for a giveaway next week! Thanks again guys! And now onto the review!


Dreamland
Sarah Dessen 

Wake up, Caitlin

Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He's magnetic. He's compelling. He's dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else--her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?

Summary taken from Goodreads

Dreamland was very different from any of Dessen's novels that I have read so far. Dreamland dealt with a much more serious topic then the others, an abusive relationship. I thought it was handled very well. 

I think what made this book so intense for me is that I listened to it on audiobook instead of reading it. Since I don't have any personal experience with the topic, having it read aloud to me gave me serious chills a multiple occasion. It made it so much easier to really get inside Caitlin's head. There were quite a few times I had to turn on some very happy music to keep myself from slipping into a deep depression. Which if that isn't proof of a great novel, I don't know what is!

Caitlin life is completely alter on her birthday, when her sister leaves without a word. Her family now has a hole that Caitlin feels she needs to fill. But she doesn't feel like she can ever live up to her. When she meets Rogerson, she feels like he's the first person to ever really see her, not just a shadow of her sister. And because of that, she lets her whole life spiral so far out of control

Rogerson was a great bad character. At first, I felt so bad for him! He had some very serious family issues that he didn't know how to deal with. And when he met Caitlin, he thought that she was going to save him. He put her on a pedestal. And when, in his eyes, she let him down for the first time, he couldn't handle it. He completely snapped. It was a horrifically sad story that will stay with me for a long time.

Dessen has quickly become a new favorite author. It makes me sad that I wanted so long to read her books!

Quotes I Liked: may contain spoilers

"If you didn't love him, this would have never happened. But you did. And accepting that love and everything that followed it is part of letting it go."
  
"I had this wild thought that he was the only one in all this chaos who was just like me, and that was comforting and profound all at once/"

"I took his wildness from him and tried to fold into myself, filling up the empty spaces all those second place finishes left behind."



Have you read this? What did you think?

Waiting on Wednesday (14)

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. And not so patiently waiting for!

 The Moon and More
Sarah Dessen
Release date: June 4th, 2013


Emaline works at her family's vacation rental company the summer before she leaves for college. She must confront her values, goals and choices as her relationship with city-boy Theo evolves and she's forced to say goodbye to the beach town where she grew up.

Summary taken for Goodreads

Sarah Dessen is a recently new author for me. But since I read my first novel by her, I've been devouring all of them! I love her so much! When I saw she had a new book on the way, I got so excited! I cannot wait! 

What are you waiting on this week?

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

With palpable drama and delicious craft, Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the YA scene with the story that everyone will be talking about.

 Summary taken from Goodreads 

It took me a really long time to figure out exactly what I thought of this book. If you've read it, you know what I mean. It just kept throwing you through loop after loop. I couldn't figure out what was real and what was just in Chloe's mind. I had to put the book down for almost a week before I really processed what I thought of it.

Suma's writing made this story. I think if anyone else would have attempted a novel like this, they would have failed. This is a story that is really just about two sisters. Nothing else. But Suma drags you in to this beautiful, haunting world of two sisters that you can't escape.

 A world that lies underneath the reservoir called Olive. 


Was Olive just a story that Ruby made up, or do the citizens still live there, dragging anyone down with them who swam into their territory? The whole thing was just so creepy.


Ruby and Chloe's relationship was beyond anything I have ever experience. I know what it's like to worship your older sister, since I'm the baby in my family. But this was something beyond that. Chloe really believe that Ruby could change their world just by wanting something. Chloe's whole world revolved around Ruby. She didn't feel like she existed unless Ruby was with her. It was a scary devotion that I will never understand. Sometimes it felt like Chloe hated Ruby a little, but she couldn't live without her. Their relationship was the most tangled and confusing I have ever read. 


Honestly, I'm still having a hard time putting this book into words. Because, well, nothing really happens. And usually that would be a bad thing. But that's not the case in the least with Imaginary Girls. It's completely creepy, haunting, eerie, and a mess of other adjectives to describe the chills this book left you with. It's not something I can write in a review, it's something you have to experience for yourself. 


It's been a long time since a book left me speechless and unsure of what I just read. But Imaginary Girls did so in the best way. Basically all I can say is read it. Then you'll know what I mean.

The Unbecoming Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.


It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember 
that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
 
She's wrong.

Summary taken from Goodreads 


There probably isn’t anything I can say about this book that hasn’t been said. But I don’t care. I’m gonna say it anyways. Holy crap this book was amazing!!

The book start with Mara waking up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there. Her parents tell her she just survived a terrible accident that claimed the like of her best friend, her boyfriend, and his sister.

Mara develops a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and starts seeing her friends everywhere. In order to help save her mind, her family moves her across the country. But it just seems to be getting worse. And strange things start happening to people around her. Trying to figure out what was real with Mara was enough to spin your head.

Then Mara meets Noah. Noah!!! He is just the most steamy. I loved ever scene he was in.

This book threw me through the loop so many times. The middle! The end! Oh my gosh. The twists in this just kept coming. Really there isn’t much more I can say without giving it away.

The only thing left to say is.  Read it. Now! 

Month in Review: January

Can you believe January is  already over?? I sure can't! Where did this month go??

Well it was a great month for me reading wise at least! Here are the books I've read and some other highlights this month.

Books read in January: Links go to my reviews
1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevens
2. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
3. Heist Society by Ally Carter
4. Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
5. Away by Terri Hall 
6. Clarity by Kim Harrington  
7. Halflings by Heather Burch 
8. The Iron Daughter by Julia Kagawa
9. Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann
10. Max by James Patterson
11. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins (review to come!)
12. Hunters of the Dusk by Darren Shan
13. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard (review to come!)

Other reviews posted:
1. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
3. Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison

Favorite book of January:

Super hard to choose between this and Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, but I am so in love with this series and everything Clare does! Loved every moment of this book.
















Favorite post of January:
Daily Dose (2)
I am just loving this meme. It's so fun to post pictures that inspire me or that I just think are fun. You should check it out!






Well that was my January! Did you have a good month too?

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on... until Kendall's boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace. Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it's crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear...and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating...and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico's mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

Summary taken from Goodreads

I loved this story. It was a super unique idea and I don't think anyone but McMann could have played it off. Her writing style is fantastic. She has such a lyrical style that flows so beautifully. The imaginary is so vivid. I think she could an idea that could have been laughable by other authors and turned it into something great.

Kendall was a unique main character, to say the least. She has extreme OCD that effected every area of her life. And she just accepted it as part of herself and was coping with it. I've had no personal experience with OCD but it sounds terrible. Kendall was an extremely strong person for living with it like she was.  

I wish we could have seen more of her and her best friend slash boyfriend's relationship. It was clear he was wonderful to her and they loved each other very much. It sucked that he went missing so quickly before we could really get to know him. Kendall's reaction when he went missing broke my heart so much. I couldn't imagine losing my best friend, but not knowing if he was alive or dead?  That would be a million times worse.


Her and Jacian's relationship was so wonderful. You could tell it was hard for Kendall to let him in, but she was trying so hard. I thought it was so cute and genuine. Jacian was kind of a jerk when he first entered, but once he let his guard down I couldn't get enough of him.

I can't really say much about the missing kids or the desk, because it's all too spoilery. But I will tell you I've never read anything like it. I loved how it all came together. All in all, what a wonderful book! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish

For this Top Ten Tuesday, we could pick anything we wanted. I decided to look at past topics that I missed, and I chose Top Ten Books That Their Covers Made You Buy (Slash Read) Them. I'm not going to leave any description for the ones I chose, so you get the full effect. Would you buy any of these based on just their covers?

So that's my choice for anything goes Top Ten Tuesdays. What's yours?

Daily Dose (2)

Hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Summary taken from Goodreads

Another fabulous book from Clare, as always. But what really sets this series apart from the TMI series is the setting. Clare's writing never fails to impress me and her Victorian London is so vivid and beautiful. I felt completely transported back in time when I read this.

Another thing that Clare does way too well, love triangles. Even more in this than TMI. She makes it almost impossible to choose between Jem and Will. They are completely different people, both wonderful in there own way. Though if I'm being honest, Will has my heart completely after this one.

We finally get to see more into Will's past and we gain a  much better insight into him. Thank god! I was furious at the end of Clockwork Angel, so many unanswered questions! And while she doesn't wrap everything up, my Will curiosity was satisfied.

Jem is just wonderful too. He is such a sweetheart and has been such a loyal friend to Will, no matter how horrible he's been. If I didn't have such a soft spot for damaged bad boys I'd be head over heels for Jem. But I see him more as someone Tessa should be best friends with. Just friends, Tessa, you hear me?

The mysteries of the Magister just grow! Not to mention how Tessa came to be! Ah I cannot wait for Clockwork Princess to finally answer all my questions!

I can't say one bad thing about this book. Seriously. I think Clare is pretty much flawless and just keeps getting better with each book. I can't wait to read more by her. I hope she never stops writing about the Shadowhunter world.

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

Summary taken from Goodreads. 

Right from the beginning, I knew this book was going to be different than any I'd read. Sure there was the whole girl who knows she's not normal but not why. But other than that, completely original. You know that insta-love thing that was been happening more and more lately in YA books? Starcrossed has the exact opposite. Helen and Lucas (semi spoiler!) tried to kill each other on their first meeting!

From there on, I was hooked. The mythology was amazing. The Furies, the Greek gods, and a very popular Greek legend that I'm not going mention. Too spoilerish. They were all so well done! You can tell how much time and research went into this book. I was completely captivated.

I loved all the side characters in this novel. Helen's dad so was caring without being over protected. Their relationship was a treat to read. Helen's best friend, Claire, was hilarious! I loved every scene with her. So snarky, funny, and above all, loyal. The two fought, but when it really mattered Claire was there for Helen without a second thought.

Lucas' cousin, Hector, was my favorite. He came off cold and harsh, but you could tell everything he did was out of fear for his family's safety. To me, he was completely forgivable. He did what he thought was right but admitted when he was wrong. I loved him.

I had gotten this from the library, but I will be buying my own copy. This needs to be on my bookshelf so I can just gaze at it and reread it whenever I want. This book is definitely going to be in my Top Ten for the year. READ IT NOW! Anxiously await book two with me!

30 Day Book Challenge. Day Four.

Day 04- A Book that reminds you of home.

Not because it's anything like my home, but because I spent hours escaping into this world when things weren't great at home. All of the books by this author make me feel like I'm home. Sometimes her books are more real to me than anything else. If you've ever had a book affect you in a way you can't put into words, you know what I mean.