This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

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Wow! Long time no talk! Sorry about the long wait, I have had a few computer issues which has made uploading a tad hard. Plus school is crazy. But anyways, lets get onto the book review! I was recommended this book by Emma on emmabooks. You can find her Youtube channel here. Check her out, she is amazing!

I absolutely LOVED this book. I felt like I could really relate to the main characeter, even though she is a few years older then me. The main characters name is Elise, and she struggles from severe depression. No one likes her at her school, and she feels like she has nothing to live for. This story is how she finds her passion, Dj-ing, and discovers what friendship is through it. Over the course of the story you get to watch Elise meet new friends, get rid of old ones, and get through and overcome her depression. I gave this book five stars (or now, music notes!). It is everything I could have asked for, and more. I definitely recommend checking it out! So now, to the spoiler section!

WARNING: SPOILERS

Ok, I am going to start with the characters. I LOVED Elise. I loved her family dynamic, I loved her family, I loved everyone at Start. All of the characters were so unique and worked so perfectly together. I felt like Elise's depression was written really realistically. It was realistic enough that if you have had depression you could relate to it, but it was unique enough that it belonged to Elise. It was Elise's depression, which is what I think is the same for everyone. The main idea of depression is the same, but everyone's is unique with different reasons.


I feel like Chris was a great addition to the story. He added so much demension to the story, and though I was a tad disappointing that he didn't end up with Elise but to be honest that would have been a tad unrealistic. Pippa and Vicky were both great. I loved how they were both opposites of Elise, but they still got along with her. Elise's family had a great dynamic, and I loved how they all worked together. It just fit.

The plot of this book was great. I was constantly entertained, and always wanted to read more. It never got boring or predictable. Everything fit so well together. The sad parts were perfectly evened out with the funny, happy parts. There weren’t any cliche moments, and everything felt super realistic. I could relate to it on every level, from how Elise is the loner at school to her depression. Her thoughts and words didn’t feel fake, or something the author made up. It felt real, which I really appreciated.I love how the book focused more on Elise’s recovery from depression then her actually in depression. It definitely offered a different viewpoint on the mental disorder.

Overall, I thought this book was great. The characters were amazing and the plot was entertaining. This is one of the best books I have read in a while, and has gotten me out of my much hated reading slump. I highly recommend it to everyone and anyone. Don’t be scared because it deals with dark topics (unless you are triggered by those things, then I wouldn’t reccomend it). Otherwise, this book deals with those topics in a light way that doesn’t make them seem less important or normal, but something almost relatable. So if you see this book in your library, I highly suggest you pick it up!

May Wrap-Up

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of posts. Life has gotten insane these past few weeks. But I still managed to read a bunch of books in the midst of all the chaos! So here are all of  the books I read last month.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Rating: ★★★★★

I finally finished the Mortal Instruments series! I absolutely adored this book. It was a wonderful conclusion to the series. It answered everything that needed to be answered, it had tons of action, and was the epic conclusion the series deserved. I loved how that even though it was the last book, there was still plot twists scattered throughout it. Everything was resolved at the perfect moment, nothing felt rushed or drawn out. I was sad to say goodbye to all of the characters I have come to love, but it was comforting to know they were each given their own realistic and happy (sorta) endings.

Once was a Time by Leila Sales

Rating: ★★★★

Overall, I loved this book. The plot wasn't too complex, which is probably due to the author not sharing how exactly she perceived time travel to work in the novel. Whilst I feel like that was kind if lazy on the authors side, I think it fit with the story well. . I also loved how the time travel was from the past to the present (kinda). Not even that-but also to a completely different country! It was really interesting to read about Lottie adapting to the modern world, along with the American world with all of our weird customs. The fact that she had a 'normal' life besides being a time traveler was also really interesting. She had to deal with bullying (being the victim AND the bully), what the true meaning of modern friendship was, and just how to be independent and be herself not what others wanted her to be. It was really cool. 

Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart

Rating: ★★★★★

It's hard to express how or why I love this book so much. It deals with many important topics, all of which are dealt with very well. The author does the characters justice. The story was a rollercoaster of emotions, and was written very well. One chapter I would be near tears and the next I would be giddy from happiness and the next I would want to throw the book in frustration. It was really well done, and was a hard but enjoyable read. 

The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly

Rating:  ★★

I wanted to like this story-but I just couldn't. I felt like the characters had a lot of potential, but they were under developed. The plot was also kinda of flat-nothing really exciting happened. Problems came, and the characters resolved them in some way. I feel like it had a lot more potential, but the author didn't take full advantage of it. I ended up forcing myself to finish it, because I was really bored by the end. But I think younger kids would like it, because of the simple plot and characters. But for me it was a big flop.

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Rating: ★★★★

I loved this book. I have a full review of it here. This book was amazing. The plot and idea behind it was really creative, and even though it was the first book in the series a lot of things happened. I loved how he reintroduced new characters, and almost let go of all the old ones. But not quite, Rick isn't done with them yet. They still have a whole bunch of adventures awaiting them, and I can't wait to go along!

Demigods and Magicians by Rick Riordan

Rating: ★★★★

This book was really good. It was short, since it only consisted of three novellas, but it was really fun to read. It was cool to read about the Greek demigods meeting the Egyptian magicians, and how their magical powers could combine to create a super powerful force. It was super fun to read about percabeth, and Percy and Annabeth fighting together. And Sadie and Carter were hilarious as always, and combined with Percy and Annabeth, made a great group. The humor was really well done, and so was the action. 

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Rating: ★★★★★

This book was amazing. My librarian recommended it to me when I told her I was interested in reading books about the Holocaust, and boy am I glad I did. This book was everything I ever wanted out of a Holocaust book. It made it feel real. Some books set in this time period make what happened seem like a made up story, but this one made it feel real. The plot was unique, and I really enjoyed it. I couldn't get my nose out of this book, and it really enlightened me about what people went through during the holocaust. I recommend it to everyone who is interested in the Holocaust, or wants to learn more about it.

So yeah, that's it! I'm pretty proud of myself for reading seven books this month. I had a really good reading month, and I hope I can keep it up for the rest of the year!

Book review: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan (SPOILERS)

Hey guys! I just finished Rick Riordan's new book, Trials of Apollo. It's kind of like a continuation of his Heroes of Olympus series, but this time it is in the point of view of the god Apollo. Zeus blamed Apollo for Octavian going all phsyco in the war, and so to punish him he made Apollo mortal and set him out on a quest. He gets dumped into an alleyway of New York and is claimed by Meg, a daughter of Demeter. He then goes to find Percy to bring him and Meg to Camp Half-Blood so he can sort out what is going on and what Zeus wants him to do.

WARNING: SPOILERS

Overall rating: 

Thoughts: I loved this book. Before I get into the details, I want to address something. I know some people feel like Rick should let go of this world, and that he has dragged it out too far. I honestly don't care. Rick created a huge world with thousands of possibilities. I love the world of Demigods and Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. I won't ever get enough. As long as he isn't using the same characters for every single story (He isn't-I'll get to that later.) I don't mind, because I love this world and all the stories Rick has made from it.

Now that that is out of the way, let's get into the actual review. I gave this book four stars, which in no way means it isn't a fantastic book. It is. It just wasn't the most gripping story-which I understand since it was the first book. This book was mostly a set up book. It explained what was happening, caught you up on what had happened since Blood of Olympus, and (sort of) sets up the rest of the series.

First I'll talk about how I feel about everything that has happened since Blood of Olympus. So yeah, here are my thoughts:

OMG PERCY IS GOING TO HAVE A SISTER WHAT IS THIS CRAZINESS I NEVER THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN WHAT THE HECK THIS IS INSANE.

Not that I mind. It certainly was a bold move to take, because we all grew up with Percy as an only child, and now his mom is pregnant. Percy is grown up now, studying to pass his senior year and get into the Roman college with Annabeth. It was sad to read about him, all mature and grown. I was like 'Where is the funny witty Percy we read about?" But he is gone. But I feel like that's a good thing, sad as it is. People grow and mature, and it's only natural that that happens to book characters.

AND HOLY HERA WE GET TO SEE LEO AND CALYPSO!!!!!!

I swear, the last 10 pages where we got to see Leo and Calypso were probably my favorite pages of the entire book. Leo hasn't changed a bit, and I missed him soooooooooo much. His humor is just the best, and I didn't realize how much I missed it. And Caleo is just adorable and gahhhhhhhh.

Anyways. The plot was really interesting. Like I said, the story is narrated by Apollo. So the first 100 pages were kind of annoying with him being so self obssessed and everything. But eventually you got used to it, and it became really funny. Also, throughout the book you see Apollo's personality change A LOT. At the end I compared his personality from the beginning and at the end, and it was a huge change. So he went through major character development over the course of the book, which was really interesting to read about.

Meg is also a very interesting character. I can't say I enjoyed her very much-she annoyed me a lot. But I have a feeling she is going to grow on me. Or at least I hope she does. And Peaches. PEACHES IS ADORABLE. Omg, I love peaches.

So yeah, that is my pretty random review of  The Hidden Oracle! I hope you enjoyed it! If you have read it, tell me what you thought of it! I would love to discuss it with anyone :P

May Recommendations: Friendship Stories

Hey guys! So today I am doing my monthly recommendations for the month of May. Monthly Reccomendations is a goodreads group led by Kayla from Kayla Rayne and Trina from Between Chapters. My recommendations focus more on books where the friendships play a large role in the story. So, without further ado lets go onto the monthly recommendations!


1. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

This book is all about friendship. It focus' on two characters-Jess and Leslie. I won't go too much into the summary, because I feel like this story is best to go into without much knowledge. The friendship in this story is written beautifully. Even though Jess and Leslie have grown up in two completely different backgrounds, they become super close friends and create Terabithia,  a made up kingdom in the woods. Jess learns to trust Leslie, and she becomes his first official 'friend'. It's hard to explain their friendship really, without rambling on about the same things over and over. It's one of those things you have to read to understand. But Jess and Leslie's friendship is just so strong, and beautiful. When I think of book friendships, this is one of the first I think of.


2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan 


Ah. The Percy Jackson series. There are tons of friendships in this series, but one of my favorites is the one between Percy and Grover. From the beginning, you are aware of their friendship and how strong it is. And it only gets stronger throughout the books. Grover and Percy would protect each other with their lives, and would do anything to help the other. Even though their friendship isn't the central idea in the series, it is woven into the story of every book. Percy and Grover are as tight as brothers, and I loved watching their friendship grow throughout the series.
3. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Again, a series with a lot of minor friendships. But my favorite has to be the one between Clary and Simon, which is the friendship shown the most. I love this friendship so freaking much. At first I hated it because I felt like Simon kept getting in the way, but then I slowly warmed up to him and realized how strong his and Clary's friendship was. They had known each other for years, and even when Clary discovered she was a shadowhunter, Simon stuck with her. And when Simon was a doofus and got himself into some crazy predicament, Clary didn't hesitate to go out and save him, even if it meant breaking a thousand rules in the process. And Simon did the same for her. They cared about each other so so so much, and it was awesome to see that.
4. Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy by Trenton Lee Stewart

This series focus' on a friendship between four kids, all of which are orphans. They all meet each other because they had all succeeded in passing a test in the first book. Throughout the trilogy you get to see their friendship grow stronger and stronger as they learn more about each other, and are faced with bigger and bigger challenges. They learn to depend on each other, and overall become really really good friends. They become so close that they are almost like a family by the end. I loved reading about their friendship, because even though all the characters were unique and different they all got along. Not without fights, they do have their fights which only adds to the realistic nature of their friendship.

5. Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling 

This is a pretty obvious one. There are SO many friendships in this series, and I love them all. But the friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione is just so perfect. I couldn't go through this list without adding them. Their friendship is just so real. You get to see their friendship grow from when they are tiny 11 year olds to when they are adults. They stick together through EVERYTHING, and would (or should I say do) risk their lives for one another. They have their fights and disagreements, but eventually they get over them just like you do in real life. Gah, this friendship is just the ultimate bookish friendship.

7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This book has such wonderful friendships in it. I love love love them! They all come about so naturally. They are all beautiful in their own unique ways. Each one plays a certain role in the book, contributing to the overall awesomeness of the book. All the friendships were so REAL, which I guess is why I loved them so much. Once again, this is one of the first books I think of when I think of friendship stories.


8. The Ability duology by M. M. Vaughn

Last but certainly not least is the Ability duology. This series also focuses on friendships, but not exclusively. Its about 6 children who at the age of twelve are brought to a secretive society where they learn to use mind control to help the government. But because they are in a secretive society, the six become good friends. They are all REALLY different, and in the first book not all 6 are the greatest of friends. But as you move into the second book, their friendship gets stronger and they begin to trust each other more and support each other more.


So yeah! Those are my recommended friendship stories. Have you guys read any of these? Oh! And I know I have been posting irregularly lately, but I think I have figured out my schedule. I am going to post on Sundays and Wednesdays, and maybe a random post sometime during the week. If you want an in-depth review on any of these books let me know in comments, and I will do it! Hope you guys are doing well <3

Top 5 Wednesday: Characters you are most like

Hey guys! So today I have my Top 5 Wednesday of the month. This is a Ggroup created by Lainey from Gingerreadslainey at Youtube. The topic for this week is Characters you are most like. This is a tough one for me-because I don't see a lot of characters similar to me. Mostly because I think of them as an actual person, and I don't compare myself with other people which means I don't compare myself with book characters. But there are a few that stand out, so here they are.

1. Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell  Cath is literally my book twin. Like literally our mom's have the same first name. I think we can all relate to Cath with her obsession with books and fanfiction. Me especially. I have been, and still am obsessed with fanfiction. I might not be as popular as Cath is, but I am still addicted. And that makes it hard to write originally (which I also love to do.) I feel like if I were in college, I would be exactly like Cath. A hermit with no clue what to do at all. But I love her for it. Plus my friend and I literally edit each other's writing projects like Cath and Wren. We have come to call it CathWrenning after we both read this book. But yeah. The similiarities never end.

2. Hermione from Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling

I'm not exactly Hermione, but we do share the same pashion for school. I remember reading about Hermione as a child and thinking, 'we are so alike! Hermione and I both love school! It isn't insane to be smart!' (keep in mind I was 7 at the time and my thoughts were very childish :P) But yeah, I don't share her bravery, nor her skills at making excellent quotes but we do share our love for knowledge and school.



3. Annabeth from Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan


Another common character (Sorry!). I don't know what exactly makes me feel similiar to Annabeth. But when I read about her as a 12 year old, it always reminds me of when I was 12. Maybe it's how she is bold but also shy. I'm not that into architecture, but we both do love to read and learn (are you starting to see a theme here? lol). Our personalities are mostly similiar, besides the fact that she is this super awesome fighter and has an infinite amount more bravery than I do.

4. Simon from Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Simon and I share geekiness. We both are the loners who are like 'I don't care about popular things. I'm just gonna do what I want and you can handle that however you want.' We both are loyal friends and socially awkward. Even though he is more of a video game nerd and I am a book nerd we are still hardcore nerds. And nerds are the same on all sides of the spectrum in my mind :P.

5.  Sandstorm from Warriors by Erin Hunter

Sandstorm and I go wayyyyyy back. Okay, maybe it's only 4 years. But she holds a special place in my heart. Sandstorm and I are both loyal to our friends, and obey and respect our elders. We both have a sharp tongue to those who annoy and irritate us. Plus, to half my friends I am known as Sandstorm. Because at this camp I go to, Camp Kesem, we all pick nicknames. And I chose Sandstorm. So yeah, we even share a name (kinda). Can't get much closer than that :P

May TBR

Hey guys! So May is upon us...... and that means so is the end of school! Or at least until August-but that's 3 months away. We don't need to think about it yet.

I know its already like a week into May, but I still wanted to share my TBR with you guys (even if that means being a week late!) Life has gotten insanely busy- and I have found myself babysitting my own siblings 15+ hours a week, which makes my brain go insane. But that is what books are for! So here are all the books I plan on reading this month:

1. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

As lame as it sounds-this book is one of my most anticipated books of the year. I. Can't. Wait. Its basically a sequel to the sequel of the original Percy Jackson series. It's going to be part of a 5 book series called the Trials of Apollo. It's set a few months after the events in Blood of Olympus, when Apollo angers Zeus (Who doesn't? Zeus is a huge jerk who just likes to show off his power by making peoples lives miserable.) Zeus turns Apollo into a mortal, and so Apollo, being completely disoriented and lost, makes his way to camp half-blood for help to become a god again. Uncle Rick has already told us we will be seeing every character from the last series, AND I CAN'T WAIT OH MY GOSH. I pre-ordered a signed copy, which should be here any day now. I know as soon as I get it, I am going to open the package, plop on my bed, and read it in one sitting. I feel bad for the mailman-his ears might break  from me squealing so hard.

2. Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart

I meant to read this a month ago-but never got around to it. So here it is again on my May TBR. I swear I will read it this month. This book is about two kids, Lily and Dunkin. Lily is transgender-a girl inside a boys body, and Dunkin suffers from Bi-polar disorder. I am really looking forward to how this author is going to deal with these issues, but am also slightly worried it will be a horrible interpretation. They are such serious topics, and if dealt with in the wrong way, can make a really good story a really awful one.
3. Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly

I am really excited for this story-mostly because it features someone of my culture(kinda). This story focuses around two Filipino girls, whose mother died. Their father remarried and then moved to America and then left. So its kind of like a Cinderella retelling but not fully. I am one-eight Filipino (so exact, right? Can you tell I like math?), so I am super excited to see the cultural implements in this story. Plus the premise sounds really promising. So yeah, this is probably going to be my next read.
4. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

I am not going to lie. I have already finished this book. But for the sake of this TBR, I am going to pretend I haven't, okay? Okay. *cough* TFIOS reference *cough* Okay, enough of my bookish references. This is the last book in the Mortal Instruments series. Which is terribly sad, exciting, and terrifying all at once. This is a whopping 700 pages, 300 more than any of the other books in the series. And if I learned anything from this series, it's that a LOT can happen in a tiny amount of pages. So the fact that this is the end, and is 700 freaking pages, and Cassandra Clare the master of plot twists, all of those facts makes this book terrifying. NO ONE CAN DIE, HEAR ME CASSANDRA CLARE? NO ONE DIES. Thank you.
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

It's really sad that I haven't read this book yet. I really really really really need to. I have even read 50 pages of it! But one day I was like "Ooo, look a butterfly1" and put it down, never to pick it up again. But here I am picking it back up! I'm really looking forward to it. Not sure how to really explain this book, so I'll just give you the Goodreads description:

"Little Women is the heartwarming story of the March family that has thrilled generations of readers. It is the story of four sisters--Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth-- and of the courage, humor and ingenuity they display to survive poverty and the absence of their father during the Civil War."
6. Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

And lastly, the most ambitious book of them all which I probably won't get too, Sherlock Holmes. I don't know much about this, other than its about a detective and a lot of people like it. So yeah, those two things intrigue me, so I am reading it. LOL. I probably won't get to them all this month, unless I end up with a sever sickness that leaves me in my bed unable to do anything but read, so I will probably just get to a few. But that's still a few more than I would have read otherwise ;) But have any of you guy's read Sherlock Holmes? If so, do you reccomend it? What are your favorite of the stories?

Welp, that's it I guess. What books are you guys planning to read this month? What is the most ambitious one? Which one are you most looking forward too? Love ya guys, see you (I guess? How should I put that?) Sunday with my next blog post!

April Wrap-Up

This month was really productive for me! I didn't get to all of the books on my TBR, but I read half of them. I went on a Cassandra Clare spree this month-most of the books I read this month were by her. Seriously, the Mortal Instrument series is addicting. I have been near nonstop reading it for the past two months, reading one or two books in between them to prolong the experience.

1. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Techniqually, I started this book in March but I finished it in May so I am going to say it counts ;P I really really really enjoyed it. The ending was perfect-and despite my hatred for perfect endings, I couldn't help but love this one. Cassandra Clare did it really well, making it perfect but not so perfect you hated it for it's cheesiness. Plus, you couldn't really hate an epilogue where Clary and Jace were finally allowed and wanted to be with each other. I gave this book four stars-it wasn't the best in the series so far, but it was really impressive.

2. The Giver by Lois Lowry

I finally read this book! I gave it 4 stars, because I just couldn't give it 5, not sure why though.
 I went into it thinking I would hate it, but I wanted to read it neverthless. I am so glad I did! I know some people who hate this book, and others who love it so I was wary on how I would feel about it. I loved the world, and the plot flowed really well. I never felt as if some things weren't explained enough, or that the plot was dragged out. The ending was tough-but I felt like it suited the book. The Giver had this aura about it, as if there was something mysterious that you would never understand about everything. But that was okay, because it just fit with the book. So the ending really fit with that mood and tone.

3. City of Fallen Angels

Next, I read the next book in the Mortal instruments series, City of Fallen Angels.I gave this 3.75 stars. This book was okay, but was more of a transition from City of Glass to the next book, City of Lost Souls (Lots of cities!). It was as if someone had made a fanfiction of what would happen after City of Glass, and then published it as the next book. Not much happened, so it was kinda boring. Most of the drama that happened was relationship based, or was a very minimal fight or battle. It got more and more interesting as you read on and more things happened, but overall I didn't enjoy it as much as I had the previous 3 books.

4. City of Lost Souls

Continuing my Mortal instruments streak, I read the fifth book in the series. I gave this one 5 stars. This one was my favorite out of all of the ones I had read so far, and definitely made up for City of Fallen Angels. So much happened. So so much. My mind was an emotional mess when I finished this book. The last one hundred pages tore my heart out, then put it together, and then ripped it again over and over. Plot twists were scattered everywhere in the book, and the relationship drama was done fantastically. There wasn't too much too overshadow the main action, but there wasn't too little that the relationships were forgotten. It was simply brilliant, and I loved it.

5. Shadowhunters Codex

It probably won't surprise you that my next one is ALSO related to the Mortal Instruments. I gave this 4 stars. It was super informative, and gave me a much better understanding of the world. It was really rich with information and I found it hard to read all at once, so instead I read it in between books this month. That worked out great. Plus, Clary, Jace, and Simon's little notes in the margins never failed to make me laugh.

So those are the 5 books I read this month! If you want me to write an in depth review of any of them, listing the pros and cons in more depth, comment down below which ones! I hope you all had a good reading month!