Reviews That Never Happened

It appears that I've been reading a lot of books that I don't necessarily have to review. It's kind of freeing to not have that type of responsibility, but then I realize, I still have thoughts! So presenting, "The reviews that were never meant to be", or more concisely, the "reviews that never happened".

    

The Memory Book by Lara Avery
Publisher: Poppy
Release Date: July 5th, 2016
Source: Amazon
Date Read: 7/22/16 to 7/26/16
357 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰✰

They tell me that my memory will never be the same, that I'll start forgetting things. At first just a little, and then a lot. So I'm writing to remember.

Sammie was always a girl with a plan: graduate at the top of her class and get out of her small town as soon as humanly possible. Nothing will stand in her way--not even a rare genetic disorder the doctors say will slowly start to steal her memories and then her health. What she needs is a new plan.

So the Memory Book is born: Sammie's notes to her future self, a document of moments great and small. It's where she'll record every perfect detail of her first date with longtime crush, Stuart--a brilliant young writer who is home for the summer. And where she'll admit how much she's missed her childhood best friend, Cooper, and even take some of the blame for the fight that ended their friendship.

Through a mix of heartfelt journal entries, mementos, and guest posts from friends and family, readers will fall in love with Sammie, a brave and remarkable girl who learns to live and love life fully, even though it's not the life she planned.

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I heard from Shannon about this book, and even without her rave review, I think I would have still bought it. You know why? Well let's just say I am a huge sucker for the..uh.."memory loss trope".

The plot is self-explanatory based on the title. Sammie is suffering from a disease that affects her cognitive abilities, and in turn, her memories. But she thinks she can overcome it, and so she keeps with her a diary, like a memory book. One that she can read when she's having trouble remembering. And Sammie is amazingly smart, a writer, a debater, ready to go to NYU, and overall, her own person. But that doesn't stop such a debilitating disease *sobs*.

I'm not sure if you have heard of Still Alice, but this is the adult version of The Memory Book, only with Alzheimer's. It's no surprise that I absolutely loved The Memory Book, seeing as Still Alice is one of my all time favorite novels.

     

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Publisher: Candlewick

Release Date: October 18th, 2010

Source: Kindle (Thanks Shannon!)

Date Read: 7/22/16 to 7/26/16

497 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee - whose thoughts Todd can hear, too, whether he wants to or not - stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden - a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

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HAHAH I stayed up until 2am to finish this. I couldn't put it down. Who knew that a society of mind readers could be twisted into such an engaging and action-packed story?

I'm not even sure how to sum this up? At first, I was completely misled (on my own accord) as to what this would truly be about. I don't even KNOW what I expected. Not a dog that's for sure. Not the "noise" from the minds of men. Not the lack of women. Not an adventure from start to finish. And for sure not aliens? That was the furthest from what I expected haha.

There are two points in this novel that I felt shocked and 100% emotional. I'm sure you'll know which points these are if you read this.

     

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
The Winner's Trilogy #2

Publisher: Farrar Strauss Giroux

Release Date: March 3rd, 2015

Source: Jordin @ A Bottomless Book Bag (Thanks Jordin!!)

Date Read: 7/9/16 to 7/10/16

416 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement... if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

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I'm a little sad about The Winner's Crime because I so very much liked the first book, but honestly I just couldn't get into this one. This seemed way more political, with both characters meeting in secret, but then having huge misunderstandings, etc. I just felt a little bit bored.

Though I have to say, I'm going to keep reading the series. I do have one book left after all haha. I'm just sad that this didn't live up to The Winner's Curse. But I have faith because others have mentioned that this was their least favorite out of all three!