Everless by Sara Holland

January 30, 2018 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

Book Overview:

Author: Sara Holland | Series: Untitled | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Eileen Stevens | Length: 10 hours, 1 min | Publish Date: January 2, 2018 | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: HECK YES

“Maybe I am a mystery— a secret— that needs unravelling…”

Oh. My. Gosh.

I can’t believe the kind of adventure I took while I read this book. I can’t even believe that I was lucky enough to get this book a little bit after its release date, although I only got to read it just recently. I had heard mixed reviews before I decided to dive into it, from absolutely loving it to thoroughly hating it.

I have to say that I’m on the absolutely loving it team.

So first of all, the concept of someone’s blood being used as currency was weird in and of itself. I had never heard of a book or TV show or anything that has done that before. But that’s not all! Their blood shows how much time they have left in their life. The more blood irons you own, and consume, the longer you will live. How crazy is that? They even had cases where people have lost all of their time because they owe too much of it, bloodletting their life source in order to pay for their taxes and rent and anything else they need to pay for. Of course, the only people that don’t really have to worry about it are the Gerlings, basically considered royalty and almost immortal. The main protagonist Jules and her father used to live in Everless, the home of the Gerlings, until they were banished by one of the Princes of Everless, a jerk named Liam. But when her father is about to lose whatever time he has left, she realizes that the only way to save him is to go back to Everless, and work as a maid to earn enough time to save him.

I honestly loved the concept of this book, and it made me really think about what I would do if my life was determined by how much time I had left, and what I would spend my “time” on when it was taken out of my body. We all know I love books, but would I even have enough time to spend on books if my time was limited? I don’t know! That’s such a scary thought, isn’t it?

It was so interesting to know that Jules’ life was not what she remembered. It was like her memory of her childhood, spending time with the Gerling boys before she was forced to leave, wasn’t entirely what it seems to be. When she moved up in her station in the castle, from working in the kitchens to being basically a lady in waiting for the future Queen of Everless, she learns about her origin story and has to deal with loss, an identity crisis, and some form of betrayal that may end up breaking her heart.

I can’t wait to read the sequel! Especially since the ending had me completely heartbroken and I wanted to cry. The way it left us hanging was terrible! In a good way, though… except for the fact that now I want to know what the heck is going to happen next!

Author Spotlight

Courtesy of Goodreads

Website: http://sarahollandwrites.com

Twitter: Sara__Holland

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction

Goodreads Member Since: January 2011

Sara Holland grew up in small-town Minnesota among hundreds of books. She graduated from Wesleyan University and worked in a tea shop, a dentist’s office, and a state capitol building before heading to New York to work in publishing. These days, she can be found exploring the city’s bookstores or finding new ways to put caffeine in her bloodstream. EVERLESS is her debut novel.

ttyl by Lauren Myracle

January 29, 2018 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Audacious author Lauren Myracle accomplishes something of a literary miracle in her second young-adult novel, ttyl (Internet instant messaging shorthand for “talk to you later”), as she crafts an epistolary novel entirely out of IM transcripts between three high-school girls.

Far from being precious, the format proves perfect for accurately capturing the sweet histrionics and intimate intricacies of teenage girls. Grownups (and even teenage boys) might feel as if they’ve intercepted a raw feed from Girl Secret Headquarters, as the book’s three protagonists–identified by their screen names “SnowAngel,” “zoegirl,” and “mad maddie”–tough their way through a rough-and-tumble time in high school. Conversations range from the predictable (clothes, the delicate high-school popularity ecosystem, boys, boys in French class, boys in Old Navy commercials, etc.) to the jarringly explicit (the girls discuss female ejaculation: “some girls really do, tho. I read it in our bodies, ourselves”) and the unintentionally hilarious (Maddie’s IM reduction of the Christian poem “Footprints”–“oh, no, my son. no, no, no. i was carrying u, don’t u c?”).

But Myracle’s triumph in ttyl comes in leveraging the language-stretching idiom of e-mail, text messaging, and IM. Reaching to express themselves, the girls communicate almost as much through punctuation and syntactical quirks as with words: “SnowAngel: ‘cuz–drumroll, please–ROB TYLER is in my french class!!! *breathes deeply, with hand to throbbing bosom* on friday we have to do “une dialogue” together. i get to ask for a bite of his hot dog.'”

Myracle already proved her command of teenage girl-ness with Kissing Kate, but the self-imposed convention of ttyl allows a subtlety that is even more brilliant. Parents might like reading the book just to quantify how out of touch they are, but teens will love the winning, satisfyingly dramatic tale of this tumultuous trio. (Ages 13 to 17) –Paul Hughes

Book Overview:

mad maddie: zoe, angela is her own worst enemy, you know.
zoegirl: i love her so much, but i do kind of understand what you’re saying. but i don’t know how to tell her that to her face. i don’t even know if i want to say it to her face.

I am so glad I was able to buy the entire series from Barnes & Noble, not to mention that I was able to get the 10th-anniversary edition! Trust me when I say that the story was different from what I remembered all those years ago. The 10th-anniversary edition updated the story to include current shows and trends, like Pinterest and Netflix, all while keeping true to what this journey was basically about.

I loved this book a lot because of its unique format. I remember when I first read this, thinking how it was so cool that the story was told entirely through IMs. I still love that aspect as I read it for the second time in my life. I especially liked that each girl – Zoe, Angela, and Maddie – had their own fonts customized so we could tell the difference between them visually. If you read this book and see the way they message each other, you’d be able to tell who is who easily.

This story takes place during the girls’ sophomore year in high school. It’s a big year for them, as they are getting to the age of being able to drive legally without any parental supervision. They are growing up, learning about love, friendships, betrayals, and everything else that comes with high school. It has been described as a coming of age story, and I can really agree with that statement. They still have some growing up to do, and they do need to learn that their friendship is more important than any arguments or fights they may get into, but I have a feeling these girls will be able to pull through whatever obstacles come their way.

I look forward to rereading the rest of the series, including the newest addition to the story, “yolo”. See? Lauren Myracle really has kept up with the times.

Author SpotlightCourtesy of Goodreads

Born: in Brevard, North Carolina, The United States
May 15, 1969
Website: http://www.laurenmyracle.com/
Twitter: LaurenMyracle
Genre: Children’s Books, Young Adult
Influences: Judy Blume

Lauren Myracle is the author of numerous young adult novels. She was born in 1969 in North Carolina. Lauren Myracle holds an MA in English from Colorado State University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. she has written many novels, including the famous IM books, ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r.

Her first novel, Kissing Kate, was selected as one of ALA’s “Best Books for Young Adults” for the year 2004. It was named by Booklist as one of the “Top Ten Youth Romances” of the year, as well as one of the “Top Ten Books by New Writers.” Her middle-grade novel, Eleven, came out 2004, followed by its YA sequels (Twelve, Thirteen, Thirteen Plus One) .

Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

January 28, 2018 by Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A searing #OwnVoices coming-of-age debut in which an Indian-American Muslim teen confronts Islamophobia and a reality she can neither explain nor escape–perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Jacqueline Woodson, and Adam Silvera.

American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.

There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.

Book Overview:

Author: Samira Ahmed | Series: None | Format: Hardcover | Length: 281 pages | Publish Date: January 16, 2018 | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

“These terrorists are the antithesis of Islam. They’re not Muslim. Violence has no place in religion, and the terrorists are responsible for their own crimes, not the religion and not us.”

This is probably the first #OwnVoices book that I’ve read – unless you include The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, then it would be the second – and I have made it my mission to read more of these books.

I hurt when I read this book. I hurt when I witness anyone being treated like crap for something utterly ridiculous. Whether it’s their skin color, their religion, their physical appearance, or even any disabilities, people do not deserve to be treated like a second class person because of it. Islamophobia is a real problem here in the United States, and this book showed what the aftermaths could be if a terrorist was assumed to be Muslim.

“It’s selfish and horrible, but in this terrible moment, all I want is to be a plain old American teenager. Who can simply mourn without fear. Who doesn’t share last names with a suicide bomber. Who goes to dances and can talk to her parents about anything and can walk around without always being anxious. And who isn’t a presumed terrorist first and an American second.”

Maya is the only brown girl at her school, and I know exactly how that feels. She is the only Indian Muslim girl at her high school, and while the majority of her classmates treat her with respect and enjoy her, there is one boy that is so full of hate whenever he sees her. He has even referred to her as the “help” in a local bookstore, completely disregarding her presence when she is standing right in front of him. He gets worse, and there is no evidence that he even gets better. It’s the kind of pure hate that this boy shows towards Maya, who has never done anything in her life to give him a reason to treat her this way, that hurts my heart.

All Maya wants to do is going to NYU to study film. She’s always carrying her camera around, her friends knowing when to get in their “acting poses” and when it’s just a time to be normal. She’s really good at what she does, and yet to her family, it’s just a “wonderful hobby”. Her parents do not see her dream as anything more than that. They would rather her stay close to home, go to school to become a lawyer and marry a suitable Indian, Muslim boy like they do in India. To them, anything less would make her less than a good Indian daughter, and they have commented on more than one occasion that they should have sent her to boarding school in India so she would have grown up to be a good daughter. It’s hard enough that being an Indian Muslim girl subjects her to racism and hate, but how can she break out of her shell and follow her dreams when her parents don’t understand?

I really enjoyed this book, and I felt that it was an important one to read if you have never experienced hate in this capacity. There was love in the book, between Maya and two boys in her life that represented the two paths she had in front of her. There was hate in the book, enough hate that Maya and her family were physically affected and traumatized. But there was good in this book too, and I am so glad that I picked it up to read and cherish forever.

Author Spotlight

Courtesy of Goodreads

Born: Bombay, India

Website: https://samiraahmed.com

Twitter: sam_aye_ahm

Genre: Contemporary

Goodreads Member Since: February 2016

SAMIRA AHMED was born in Bombay, India, and grew up in Batavia, Illinois, in a house that smelled like fried onions, spices, and potpourri. She currently resides in the Midwest. She’s lived in Vermont, New York City, and Kauai, where she spent a year searching for the perfect mango.

A graduate of the University of Chicago, she taught high school English for seven years, worked to create over 70 small high schools in New York City, and fought to secure billions of additional dollars to fairly fund public schools throughout New York State. She’s appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Fox News, NBC, NY1, NPR, and on BBC Radio. Her creative non-fiction and poetry has appeared in Jaggery Lit, Entropy, the Fem, and Claudius Speaks.

Her writing is represented by Eric Smith of P.S. Literary.