Reading in Review | Winter 2013/2014

In December, I mentioned 10 books I wanted to read this winter. Yesterday was the last day of winter and here are my reading results!

What ten books did I want to read this winter?

Tandem by Anna Jarzab

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

You Are Mine by Janeal Falor

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn

Unbreathable by Hafsah Laziaf

Wide Spaces by Shelly Crane

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

Defiance by Shelly Crane

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Mystery book jar pick - Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Which books did I actually read this winter?

(Click the titles to read my reviews)

Tandem by Anna Jarzab | The Selection by Kiera Cass | The Prince by Kiera Cass | Just One Day by Gayle Forman | The Elite by Kiera Cass | Blood Will Tell by Samantha Young | Wide Spaces by Shelly Crane | Reverence by Shelly Crane | Defiance by Shelly Crane | Independence by Shelly Crane | Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers | That Boy by Jillian Dodd | Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins | Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn | Wide Open by Shelly Crane | The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini | The Other Fish in the Sea by Jenn Cooksey | Shark Out of Water by Jenn Cooksey | Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins | Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys | Cinder by Marissa Meyer | Incarnate by Jodi Meadows | Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker | A Father's Kiss by Colleen Hoover | Consequence by Shelly Crane | Scarlet by Marissa Meyer | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll | Night by Elie Wiesel | Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi | Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi | Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi | This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Grace Earl with Lori and Wayne Earl

(The last two were not featured in the collage because...oops!) 

Just One Year by Gayle Forman | Glitches by Marissa Meyer 

Any short stories/extra scenes? Yes,

A Very Hexy Valentine's Day by Rachel Hawkins

Anna and the French Kiss Deleted Chapters by Stephanie Perkins

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

If I Were a Man by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

Everyday Use by Alice Walker

Which books didn't I get to?

You Are Mine by Janeal Falor

Unbreathable by Hafsah Laziaf

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

Success Rate

Based on the top ten I wanted to read, my success rate is a 7/10. But I don't know; do the twenty-five other books make up for the loss of three books?

Most Surprising

When going into these books, I either a) did not know what to expect or b) did not have very high expectations. However, I'm so pleased to say I thoroughly enjoyed each of these books, rating them between four and five stars!

Most Frustrating

The main character in each of these frustrated the HECK out of me!

• Regina from Some Girls Are is not a very likable character. She's the protagonist so you want to root for and sympathize for her; and yet, she makes some really nasty, vindictive decisions that made me want to pull out my hair.
• I am not a fan of Warner in the Shatter Me series so whenever Juliette was going all ga-ga over him and swooning at the words he said that I found utterly unromantic, I could not see her point of view for the life of me.
• I am not even going to go into how much Adam in Fracture Me ticked me off because expletives will soon follow, but if you'd like to read my thoughts on this novella, scroll up and click the linked title. 

Most Disappointing

I read Anna Jarzab's mystery novel All Unquiet Things a few years a go and quite enjoyed it. I was excited to read another novel of Jarzab's but this one simply did not do it for me.

Most Moving

• The Kite Runner is a historical fiction novel about two best friends who grow up in Afghanistan before the Afghan War. The story that plays out is heartbreaking, captivating, and so indescribably beautiful.
• This Star Won't Go Out is the collection of journals and drawings of the girl and fellow nerdfighter Esther Grace Earl who passed away from thyroid cancer in 2010. This autobiography/biography of Esther includes updates written by her parents as she battled cancer for almost four years and letters and passages from her family and friends. Her story and friendship with author John Green fueled what would be The Fault in Our Stars. There were so many touching parts to her story and it made me sob.

New Favorites

I loved them all for different reasons, but the aspect they all have in common is that they made me feel.

Overview

I read forty-one works of literature this winter! Twenty-five novels, seven novellas, eight short stories, and one children's chapter book.

How many books did you read this winter? What were your favorites? Did any surprise you? Let me know in the comments! 

Click HERE to see what ten books I want to read this spring!

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

About the book:

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay.

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Genre: YA contemporary + romance

Published by: Dutton Juvenile (January 8, 2013)

Pages: 368

My rating of Just One Day:

She went looking for him and along the way she found herself

Just One Day is more than a love story. It's a story of searching and introspection and living.

The story was written beautifully and impacting with clever analogies and relate-able moments. Allyson's growth was just that: growth. It didn't happen overnight but in stages and I almost feel honored to have experienced it all with her. In the beginning and middle of the book, I didn't know what to think about the story because it was hard to gauge how good it was when “nothing” (also known as the experiences that led to the character growth) was happening or the action was “slow”. But I soon realized that I couldn't judge this story in sections: only as a whole. And as a whole, I think Just One Day is worthwhile and eye-opening. 

I think Allyson is an enjoyable character, “normalcy”, “snark” and all, because she is easy to identify with. What makes Allyson's self-discoveries so fulfilling for me was how almost every chapter or scene break ended with a new lesson, theory, epiphany, or revelation. They weren't cheesy and they weren't overdone. 

"And for one small second, I do imagine the person I could talk

 to, about finding this door, and losing it. He would understand. 

But that's the one door that needs to stay shut."

That is one of the fourteen quotes I metaphorically highlighted in the book. But really, I'm not overstating things when I say that all of the scenes in this book were fulfilling. As a romance lover, could I say I wished it had more fun and happy romance? Yes, well, no, not really because then it wouldn't have been the story it was. The events that occurred, the people that stepped into Allyson's life--even for the briefest of moments--were necessary for Allyson's self-discovery. The beauty of Allyson's search made my heart so content and I really wouldn't have wished it any other way. The only thing I wish I could have been different was the very very ending. After everything that had happened, everything they had been through, I wish the end could have been extended for another page at least. Like I said, I'm a romance lover.

In my mind, aspects that make a book wonderful are great character growth, beautiful story-telling and pacing, and morals and motifs. Just One Day has it all.

"I think of what my mom said. About being grateful for what you have instead 

of yearning for what you think you want. Standing here, on the campus 

where he once walked, I think I finally get what she was talking about. 

I think I finally understand what it truly means to quit while you're ahead."