Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book.
TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.
My pick this week is Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart.
Goodreads Synopsis:
From the author of the unforgettable New York Timesbestseller We Were Liars comes a masterful new psychological suspense novel–the story of a young woman whose diabolical smarts are her ticket into a charmed life. But how many times can someone reinvent themselves? You be the judge.
Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat. Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete. An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two. A bad romance, or maybe three. Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains. A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her. A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: A Midsummer Night #nofilter Author: Brett Wright, William Shakespeare Genre: Young Adult Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers Source: Purchased Format: Hardcover Release Date: January 5, 2016 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of the greatest stories ever told . . . in texts?!
Imagine: What if the fairies and star-crossed lovers of the forest had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays!
Four lovers who can’t decide who they have a crush on.
One mischievous fairy with a love potion.
Total chaos in the fairy world, the human world, and everywhere in between!
and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. 😉
tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, posting photos, checking in at locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens.
A glossary and cast of characters are included for those who need it. For example: tl;dr means too long; didn’t read.
Review:
I love this series of Shakespeare plays told through texts.
It can be difficult to read Shakespeare. I was introduced to his plays in elementary school, so I’ve always loved them. However, I find that modern adaptations can be a great tool to help kids decipher classics. A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream is a complicated story, with lovers getting mixed up by magic. This book is a fun way of telling the story through texts and social media.
I even learned new things while reading this story. There is a glossary of emojis and abbreviations at the back of the book. I had to look up a couple of the abbreviations while reading, because I had no idea what they meant. Still, this was a fun and hilarious book!
I highly recommend this book to fans of Shakespeare, and to people who struggle to understand his plays.
What to read next:
YOLO Juliet by Brett Wright, William Shakespeare
srsly Hamlet by Brett Wright, William Shakespeare
Have you read A Midsummer Night #nofilter? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.
The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant by Laura Dockrill. The release date is July 16, 2019.
Goodreads Synopsis:
This honest, laugh-out-loud novel brimming with body positivity, bite-sized nuggets of feminism, and commentary on eating will have readers rooting for sixteen-year-old BB as she navigates her world while maintaining her plucky zest for life even in the most trying of times.
It’s a food diary. I have to tell the truth. That’s the point.
Sixteen-year-old Bluebelle, also known as BB or Big Bones, lives her life unapologetically. She loves life! She loves food!
When BB has a worse-than-usual asthma attack, her mom insists she go to the doctor. There, she is told that she is overweight (no surprise) and prediabetic (big surprise) and must lose weight, move more, and keep a food diary. To get out of this immediate health crisis, she agrees to make an effort.
Then a tragedy occurs in the family, and things get seriously complicated. Suddenly, losing weight and moving more are the least of her worries. As for the food diary, though, BB doesn’t just document what she’s eating, she documents what she’s feeling–and she has a lot to say!
A CLIP Carnegie Medal Children’s Book Award Nominee
Title: The Last Guest House Author: Megan Miranda Genre: Thriller, Fiction Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada Source: Publisher Format: Paperback Release Date: June 18, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Littleport, Maine is like two separate towns: a vacation paradise for wealthy holidaymakers and a simple harbour community for the residents who serve them. Friendships between locals and visitors are unheard of – but that’s just what happened with Avery Greer and Sadie Loman.
Each summer for a decade the girls are inseparable – until Sadie is found dead. When the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name before the facts get twisted against her.
Review:
This is a great new thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.
I was so excited to read this book because I love Megan Miranda’s thrillers. Like in All the Missing Girls, this story flashes back to revisit a mysterious death of a young girl in town. Sadie’s death was ruled a suicide, but her friend Avery never felt comfortable with that conclusion. While searching for answers about Sadie’s death, Avery learned more about herself and her family.
I couldn’t figure out the solution until the end. I love it when a book surprises me, and this one definitely did. There isn’t really enough evidence given until the end to figure it out, because the reader discovers the clues along with Avery. I loved the way that the new clues she found pointed at Avery as being Sadie’s murderer. It really kept up the suspense! Though she would be an unlikely suspect, since she’s the narrator, I couldn’t rule her out with all the evidence pointing to her.
I loved this thriller!
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
The Au Pair by Emma Rous
Have you read The Last Guest House? What did you think of it?
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019. Here’s my list:
1. Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black
2. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
3. Tunnel of Bones (Cassidy Blake #2) by Victoria Schwab
4. American Royals by Katharine McGee
5. No Judgments by Meg Cabot
6. Black Canary: Ignite by Meg Cabot, Cara McGee
7. Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee
8. Midnight Beauties (Grim Lovelies #2) by Megan Shepherd
9. Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford
10. Hello Girls by Brittany Cavallaro, Emily Henry
Title: Doctor Who: The Day of the Troll Author: Simon Messingham (narrated by David Tennant) Genre: Science Fiction, Audiobook Publisher: BBC Books Source: Library Format: Audiobook Release Date: October 8, 2009 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
When the Doctor arrives on Earth in the far future, he is horrified to find the planet beset by famine and starvation. England is a barren wasteland, and scientists are desperately seeding the ground to make the crops grow again. But now it seems that something even worse is happening.
Karl Baring, the owner of research facility The Grange, has been snatched away in the middle of the night. His sister Katy was with him when he vanished, but is now in catatonic shock — so it is up to the Doctor, with the help of the scientists at The Grange, to investigate. What is lurking under the old bridge, and why is it preying on people?
The Doctor must find out, before it strikes again…
Review:
I loved this audiobook!
The Doctor Who audiobooks are so much fun, especially the ones that are read by the actors from the show. David Tennant played the tenth Doctor. He was my favourite one! I love the way he reads the audiobooks. He switches between his real accent and the voice he uses for the character of the Doctor seamlessly. It was very entertaining.
This story was creepy. A mysterious troll-like creature came up from the ground and terrorized a research facility in a futuristic Earth. The secret behind the troll becomes a bedtime story, where children were told not to go under the bridge where the troll could get them. This story plays on our childhood fears. Even though it’s science fiction, it was highly relatable.
This is a great audiobook!
What to read next:
Dead Air by James Goss (narrated by David Tennant)
Have you read Doctor Who: The Day of the Troll? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished The Castle in the Seaby Mardi McConnochie.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
Title: The Castle in the Sea Author: Mardi McConnochie Genre: Middle Grade Publisher: Pajama Press Source: Publisher Format: Hardcover Release Date: June 14, 2019 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
The adventures of the Sunfish continue as twins, Annalie and Will, inch closer to finding their missing father in this highly original nautical adventure story with a speculative fiction twist. This time, the twins face even more challenges, including terrifying pirates and a devastating storm that will test the strength of their small wooden boat and their friendship.
Once more, Annalie, Will, Essie and Pod set out on the Sunfish to look for Spinner – their only clue a coded list Spinner left behind, naming four scientists who were once his colleagues on a top-secret project.
When a terrible storm separates the crew and almost wrecks the boat, Will and Essie must use all their courage and ingenuity to try and make their way back to the others. Meanwhile, Pod and Annalie, travelling in the crippled Sunfish, are captured by pirates, who agree to fix the Sunfish – at a price.
Not all of Spinner’s former colleagues can be trusted. Worse still, their old nemesis Beckett is still on their trail. Can they follow the clues, track down the scientists, and find Spinner before Beckett does?
The second breathtaking adventure in the Quest of the Sunfish series.
Review:
This was a great middle grade adventure story!
I didn’t read the first book in the series, but I understood this one. It began right in the middle of a storm, which ended up separating the kids. I was thrown right into the action. The story made sense, even without reading the previous story.
There was a lot of science in this book, but it was different from the typical science themed stories for kids. They didn’t do experiments or use technology. The kids had to solve their problems using the things they found in nature. Since they were on a boat, there were many nautical problems, such as sailing without any wind and navigating through a storm. This is a great way to teach kids how to solve their problems anywhere.
I really enjoyed this story!
Thank you Pajama Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Skeleton Coast by Mardi McConnochie
Have you read The Castle in the Sea? What did you think of it?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Littleport, Maine is like two separate towns: a vacation paradise for wealthy holidaymakers and a simple harbour community for the residents who serve them. Friendships between locals and visitors are unheard of – but that’s just what happened with Avery Greer and Sadie Loman.
Each summer for a decade the girls are inseparable – until Sadie is found dead. When the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name before the facts get twisted against her.
