ARC Review: All The Things We Never Said (Yasmin Rahman)

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Publication Date: July 11th 2019
Format: ARC Paperback
Source: Pansing Books
Page Count: 448

Blurb from Goodreads:

16-year-old Mehreen Miah’s anxiety and depression, or ‘Chaos’, as she calls it, has taken over her life, to the point where she can’t bear it any more. So she joins MementoMori, a website that matches people with partners and allocates them a date and method of death, ‘the pact’. Mehreen is paired with Cara Saunders and Olivia Castleton, two strangers dealing with their own serious issues.

As they secretly meet over the coming days, Mehreen develops a strong bond with Cara and Olivia, the only people who seem to understand what she’s going through. But ironically, the thing that brought them together to commit suicide has also created a mutually supportive friendship that makes them realise that, with the right help, life is worth living. It’s not long before all three want out of the pact. But in a terrifying twist of fate, the website won’t let them stop, and an increasingly sinister game begins, with MementoMori playing the girls off against each other.

A pact is a pact, after all.

In this powerful debut written in three points of view, Yasmin Rahman has created a moving, poignant novel celebrating life. ALL THE THINGS WE NEVER SAID is about friendship, strength and survival.

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RATING

5 STARS

HERE’S MY REVIEW!

Wow, this year is truly a good year for diverse and mental health young adult books! First, The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf is truly a masterpiece, and then comes All The Things We Never Said, this indeed blows my mind!

Why am I saying that this book is a masterpiece? This book revolves around three awesome and relatable characters who share their own journey on fighting their mental health issues until their destiny intertwines by a website, they finally meet with each other. We don’t always get to see mental health books with multiple POVs, and that makes the story even reachable and profound at the same time. This book is a page-turner, once I start, I cannot stop reading it. Their lives are so interesting, I love reading about how they interpret and discover their own self while facing their mental illnesses.

They have their own struggles that they face and when they become friends, they share their feelings and problems with people who are in their shoes, the ones who can truly understand themselves. Even though they come from various races, religion and sexual orientation, they are able to support each other very well.

This stunning UKYA debut is totally a book you don’t want to miss reading this year!

Special thanks to Pansing Books for providing me this awesome ARC!

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Sabrina

 

 

 

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ARC Review: The Words That Fly Between Us (Sarah Carroll)

Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s UK
Publication Date: May 2nd 2019
Format: ARC Paperback
Source: Pansing Books
Page Count: 256

Blurb from Goodreads:

Lucy’s father is a successful lawyer making a killing on the property market. She and her mother want for nothing. Nothing, that is, that can be bought.
But money cannot buy Lucy the words she needs. The words to stand up to her bully of a father. The words to inspire her mother to do something about the family life that is suffocating them both. The words to become the person she wants to be.

Then Lucy finds something else: An escape route…
Soon she discovers that every building on her row is connected, through the attic, to the next. As she explores the inner lives of those who live on her street, Lucy realises that she is not the only one to suffer in silence. She also sees ways she can help some, and ways to punish those that deserve it.

But as the mighty fall, Lucy is forced to realise that while she can affect the lives of others from the safety of the attic, she will need to climb down to face her own fears.

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RATING

4 STARS

HERE’S MY REVIEW!

I think this is the most heavy middle grade book that I have ever read. The reason I say this book is particularly heavy is because the main character has gone through such an ordeal, that she has done something that truly changes her life as a whole. Her realisation towards on what is right and what is wrong in investment is truly daunting to me that she believes that whoever who is guilty in money laundering must be punished.

Lucy is such a brave and mature main character and I am truly impressed on her mental growth and development throughout the book. She has observed such abusive relationship between her parents and she has learned that it is truly despicable to wrongly treat someone like that. I feel for her, when she feels so unhelpful and scared of her abusive parental figure. This emotional pain has made her to become someone who can stand up for her mother and doing the right thing to correct them.

I can see through the perspective of Lucy on how stressful it is to be involved in the property investment because there are many ups and downs that you have to face and not everyone can be trusted when it comes to money. Lucy is also an artist, she loves to draw and I love it when she follows her heart to do something that she dears the most.

Many thanks to Pansing Books for allowing me to review this book for them!

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Sabrina

ARC Review: Check Mates (Stewart Foster)

Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s UK
Publication Date: June 27th 2019
Format: ARC Paperback
Source: Pansing Books
Page Count: 345

Blurb from Goodreads:

A funny, moving and utterly original story about one boy’s struggle with dyslexia from Stewart Foster, award-winning author of THE BUBBLE BOY

My name is Felix Schopp and I am 11 years old. Some people think that I’m a problem child, that I’m lazy and never pay attention in lessons and will do anything to get out of them. And it’s true. I will. I’d rather climb a tree than do English, do the washing up instead of homework and I’ll walk anywhere than have to study a map or the bus timetable. But that’s not so bad is it? You see the thing is, I’m not a problem child at all. I’m just a child with a problem.

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RATING

4 STARS

HERE’S MY REVIEW!

It has been a while since I read Middle Grade books. One of my little joys is reading them because I truly love reading about children and exploring their thinking process.

Felix, an 11-year-old boy, is an ADHD sufferer. He finds it very hard to focus in class and doing his school work. His granddad comes out with a very good plan on how to keep Felix out of trouble, and the plan is to teach him play chess. As someone who is not able to concentrate well, he hates playing it. Until one moment when he truly sits down in front of his granddad to play chess, he realises that there are many things that can be learned from chess.

I am not an avid fan or player of chess, but I do play chess with my little brother to kill some time. It is so interesting and impressive to read about the history behind chess and the strategies that we can learn to beat our opponent.

Throughout the book, I truly love the connection between Felix and his granddad that they have developed. I love how his granddad is persistent to help Felix to change. I am also impressed by Granddad’s backstory, how Cold War happened and the division of East and West Germany with the Berlin Wall.

Thank you Pansing Books for providing me this ARC!

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Sabrina

Review: City of Ghosts (Victoria Schwab)

Blurb from Goodreads:

Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn’t sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn’t belong in her world. Cassidy’s powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

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RATING

4 STARS

HERE’S MY REVIEW!

I love reading Middle Grade books. Middle Grade books bring joy to me, even though they are mainly focused on children. Their perspective to the world and towards their own lives as a whole mesmerize me the most. Their capacity to enjoy and explore the world with their own developed minds makes me feel like a kid again.

I have only read Victoria Schwab’s The Savage Song, unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of it. I could not understand the story at all, the characters were so one-dimensional and uninteresting. So, when City of Ghosts comes out and I find out that it is indeed a middle grade book, I have a feeling that I must try to at least read this masterpiece.

City of Ghosts is whimsical and quirky adventure of Cass and Jacob, following their journey to Edinburgh, Scotland to hunt for ghosts. I truly love reading about how passionate Cass’ parents are in documenting their findings on their new show on paranormal matters. I also love the dynamics between Cass and Jacob, even though they are different. they are still there for one another.

To be honest, the story is kind of easy and simple to read, since it is targeted to young audiences. However, I don’t have any problems reading it and it does not stop from enjoying it. I appreciate the fact that the author puts many Harry Potter references in the book, like Hogwarts house names and the origin of Harry Potter, which is Edinburgh itself.

I am interested to read the next book!

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Sabrina

Review: Wildcard (Marie Lu)

Blurb from Goodreads:

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo’s new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she’s always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo’s grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone’s put a bounty on Emika’s head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn’t all that he seems–and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

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RATING

4 STARS

HERE’S MY REVIEW!

My review for Warcross.

I am happy to say that I truly enjoy reading this sequel to Warcross. Despite all of the mixed reviews on Goodreads regarding the story and characters, it does not stop me from enjoying it. It is way better than I anticipated!

After reading The Young Elites trilogy, I was kinda disappointed because there was no specialty about it whatsoever. However, this series blown me away! I have never enjoyed reading science fiction this much other than this series. Some sci-fi series are pretty much bland with no clear plot but this one is truly the best out there! I live for good sci-fi stories with elements of morality and Wildcard is one of them. It is not like other sci-fi stories that leave you completely confused with the story.

Even though I have read Warcross during January last year, I don’t have any difficulty in comprehending the story at all. The story is fantastic, honestly I don’t know what to expect from the story while reading since anything can happen to the characters. Marie Lu’s writing is always amazing and it never fails to make me captivated.

All of the explanation on artificial intelligence are very interesting to ponder and how scientists used to imagine stuffs about A.I. back then and turn them into reality is so surreal. Preserving human intelligence in A.I. is totally their goal that they want to achieve someday. However, abusing other people by implementing immoral human experimentation to achieve their goal does not abide to the Law of Nature. At the end of the day, people only care about your end result of the experiment, they don’t bother to know what is the true cost of it.

I totally recommend you guys to start reading this series because they are so well-done!

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Sabrina

Review: Flame in the Mist (Renée Ahdieh)

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor’s favorite consort—a political marriage that will elevate her family’s standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace.

Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of the Black Clan, determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her back. But she’s quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, his best friend Okami. Still believing her to be a boy, Ranmaru and Okami eventually warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. As Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets, of betrayal and murder, which will force her to question everything she’s ever known.

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RATING

3.5 STARS

HERE’S MY REVIEW!

I’ve read The Wrath and The Dawn series last two years and I totally love it. We all know that Renée Ahdieh’s writing is always flowery and magical, with her intricate and fascinating world that she introduces to the readers. It’s very easy to get lost in her world, not realising how many pages and chapters that you have gone through.

I start this not knowing anything, but I do know for a fact that this is a Mulan retelling, so I am intrigued. I love Mariko as a character, with her wit and courage to fight her inner self, to prove to her family that she is more than just a women. I find the main character to be similar in personality, like Shahrzad from The Wrath and The Dawn. They are both so good with words and have great courage.

The main theme about Flame in The Mist is the worth of women. During Feudal Japan, women were not respected and often undermined by the society. By the time they reach seventeen years old, they would be married off to their parents’ choice. What I love about Mariko is she wants to prove to everyone that she has something better to offer to the world. She can be a warrior and a protector, just like anybody else. Reading about Mariko’s story about her journey in finding her strengths truly inspires me.

However, while reading, I somehow come to a point where I don’t really retain any important information whilst reading the story, I am not sure it is because I read it too fast, maybe it is because of the foreign world that I have yet to accustom that makes me confused with the storyline.

I would totally recommend you guys to check out this book, since the writing is so fantastically done.

Looking forward to read Book 2 soon!

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Sabrina

Review: The Burning Maze (Rick Riordan)

Blurb from Goodreads:

The formerly glorious god Apollo, cast down to earth in punishment by Zeus, is now an awkward mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. In order to regain his place on Mount Olympus, Lester must restore five Oracles that have gone dark. But he has to achieve this impossible task without having any godly powers and while being duty-bound to a confounding young daughter of Demeter named Meg. Thanks a lot, Dad.

With the help of some demigod friends, Lester managed to survive his first two trials, one at Camp Half-Blood, and one in Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words she uttered while seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil triumvirate of Roman emperors plans to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor—and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles—somewhere in the American Southwest. There is one glimmer of hope in the gloom-filled prophecy: The cloven guide alone the way does know. They will have a satyr companion, and Meg knows just who to call upon. . . .

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RATING

3.5 STARS

HERE’S MY REVIEW!

It’s good to be back to the world once again! Other than delving into the Wizarding World, Percy Jackson’s world is also my most favourite place to settle down once in a while.

I started reading the first book of the series last year, and to be honest with you, Lester is not my favourite character. I mean like, he’s not like Percy or Annabeth who you can always count on to when it comes to saving the world and giving jokes etc. He’s definitely the opposite from them all. However, there is something about Lester that makes me stay with him till the end of the book. He has learned to have a sense of humility and to be more understanding, since he was once a God and Gods in his world are always often boastful and indifferent towards others.

This series also includes other characters from the Heroes of Olympus series so it is good to read about them as well. It is heartwarming to see them all helping Lester in completing his quest for the well-being of their universe.

There is a part where I feel like this is not even real. I could not get over with that particular scene and I really hope that it is not true. I cannot believe that it just happened. I am hoping for more exciting adventure from the wonderful characters!

I look forward to the next book from the series!

My review for

The Hidden Oracle
The Dark Prophecy

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Sabrina