The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Title: The Duff

Author: Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy

Release Date: September 7, 2010

Genre: YA Contemporary

Pages: 280

Format: Hardcover

Source: Bought (Amazon)
Goodreads | Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. 

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it.

Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

My thoughts:

I firstly love the cover, I think it fits perfectly with the story. I don't read contemporary very often, if at all usually during the year, so it would really have to catch my attention, and sound unique for me to read one. This book was so funny, and real to me that months later I'm still thinking about it. Bianca had a sarcastic, negative (funny) personality, without the cliched teenage angst, which I appreciated. One thing I can't stand are whiny characters who can't go a page without complaining, The Duff had no one like that.

Omg, Wesley was such a jackass, but a complete lovable, smoking hot guy! When reading I really craved Bianca, Wesley scenes. Normally in young adult you get a couple glances, a few innocent kisses. This was so much better, and more realistic, they didn't really waste any time if you know what I mean. ;)

Besides the "sex" scenes and witty banter, The Duff deals with real problems everyone can relate to. It's more than just a casual, fun read. Bianca's mother is never home, her dad is a recovering alcoholic, her friends just don't seem to get her, and she's wondering what she has to offer other people. Wesley's family is never around, and he is basically living on his own, taking care of himself. Anyway, I ended up reading this book in just a couple hours, I only put it down once, and that was because I was laughing so hard! Kody Keplinger has such a fun, casual writing style with perfect pacing, and I'm looking forward to getting more novels by her. The Duff is one of a kind. 

This passage totally emulates their relationship:

“Spanish, huh?" he said, glancing down at the scattered papers as he grabbed them. "Can you say anything interesting?"
"El tono de tu voz hace que queria estrangularme." I stood up and waited for him to hand over my papers.
"That sounds sexy," he said, getting to his feet and handing me the stack of Spanish work he'd swept together. "What's it mean?"
"The sound of your voice makes me want to strangle myself."
"Kinky.” 

-Kody Keplinger, The Duff.

-Happy Reading,

Amelia.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer(Mara Dyer #1)by Michelle Hodkin

 
Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Genre: YA paranormal
Pages: 452
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought ( Barnes and Noble)

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

-Goodreads Summary

My thoughts:

Before I begin what I thought of the actual story I have to talk about the cover, it is absolutely breath taking. It just doesn't do it justice unless you see it in person. What's cool about it, is the the velvet touch, and that you can only see the cover title in certain lighting's . Even if you have no plans to purchase, or read the book I suggest checking out the cover if you happen to be in a book store. 

In my opinion this is a very difficult book to review. There's just so much craziness that went on. Let's start with the plot, or what the story is supposed to be about. The story focuses on Mara Dyer who has an average teenage life. Within the first couple of pages we are drawn into her world of mysteries surrounding who she really is, and some pretty tragic, and down right creepy things begin to unfold. The reader really never knows if something Mara is experiencing is real, or if she is crazy. With that, I don't want to say much else without giving away the major points in the book. 

We are introduced to a good amount of interesting characters. Mara Dyer the main protagonist, whom I really liked! She was independent, had a sarcastic, snarky attitude, and stood up for herself when needed. She was also vulnerable, and kind. Mara was perfectly well rounded, but managed to have a few human flaws like the rest of us. Noah the love interest is the quintessential bad boy.  He dressed like a slob, but still managed to look hot. I thought they really balanced each other out. There's also some side characters that stood out to me. Jamie you becomes Mara's best friend. He's a really nice, genuine guy. Daniel, Mara's older genius brother, and Anna the mean girl. 

The writing style was something I had to get used to as I continued through the story. It was sometimes overly descriptive which irritated me at times, and I thought some passages really didn't need to be there. Though it was easy to imagine, I just felt like I didn't benefit. The other thing that bothered me was the romance. The first quarter of the book was amazing! We learned a lot, got mystified, and I was ready for the nightmares! As soon as Noah is introduced it's like everything I was promised from the vague synopsis was thrown out the window. The story becomes more about their relationship, and Mara's struggle to figure out her feelings. So basically the middle portion of the book was a miss for me, and I was asking myself when is something going to happen again?

The last portion of the book really made that up to me. It was intense, some questions were answered, and you began to question Mara's sanity again. The cliffhanger at the end was intense, and now makes me eagerly await the second installment. 

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance, humor, and loves a small paranormal twist. I'm still seriously asking myself if anything in this book was actually real. For all we know Mara could be a mental patient in the middle of know where feeding us her crazy. Hopefully that answered some of your questions whom have not read it yet considering all the hype. 

-Happy Reading

Amelia.

Bella & Daph's Epic Review Month

                  This event hosted by Bella & Daph from Loving Books and Cheezyfeet Books (both really lovely bloggers I've recently discovered!)

I'm really looking forward to starting, and think it's a fun, awesome idea! I'm fairly new to the blogging community, but have loved reading books for many years. Though non of the books I will be reading are technically for review it will help dwindle down my tbr pile. I have an addiction to buying more books than I can read! I'm hoping it will also improve my reviewing skills, and get a chance to meet some new people. 

I'll post a link to my tbr pile below that I'd like to get through this month. 

MAY TBR

I'm terrible at explaining things so anyone who wants more info, or who wants to join in there should be a button linked to the guidelines somewhere on my side bar. XD

Happy reading and reviewing!

-Amelia.

May TBR

This month I hope to read a total of twelve (12) books. Normally this would be an easy goal for me, but for the last couple months I've really been slacking sometimes reading less than five. Most of these I have either had for a while, or are new and I'm dying to read! I will also be doing reviews on all of the books listed upon completion.

The Books: (in no particular order)






If I manage to finish those I'll add on these two as well:


I hope everyone has a good reading month, let me know what you plan to read in the comments!

W.W.W Wednesdays (1)

WWW Wednesday is hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions...

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish?
• What do you think you'll read next?

1. I'm currently reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

I've had this book on my shelf since its release date last year! I don't know why I'm only reading it now especially with all the hype about it. Currently I'm about half way through, the first 50 pages were a bit slow for me, but now I have trouble putting it down. The only thing I'm not sure about is the writing style, but I love Mara, and her snarky attitude. :)

2. I recently finished Fever by Lauren Destefano

Great book, I'll have a review coming soon.

3. I have a couple of books I'm wanting to read next.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth, and The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. 

I would love to know what you've been reading and what you'd like to! Leave your link in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out. :)

Top Ten Books You'd Like To See As A Movie

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I love when my favorite book are made into movies, it's awesome to see what I imagined come to life, so needless to say choosing ten books I'd wish would be movies is easy. These are in no particular order, I love them all the same.

1. The Duff by Kody Keplinger

This is one of my favorites of 2012 so far, and could think of so many kick ass females to play Bianca. I don't think many teen movies these days have a strong message behind their story, and this one does. I could almost see this turning out to be the next mean girls. :)

2. Across The Universe by Beth Revis

This could probably turn out to be a blockbuster if the right visual team is involved. Their's romance, action, mystery, and tender moments, everything that makes a great movie. 

3. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

This is such an incredible mystery book! This got me into research about Vlad the Impaler, and "real" vampires. Every time I think about it I wish I was traveling around the world looking for a secret society, and constantly in danger. xD

4. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella 

Actually I wish all of her books were made into movies, but this is my most recent favorite. It would make an awesome adult comedy!

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I mean need I say more? The only thing that could ruin Divergent would be bad casting.

6. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Gosh I would love to see Archer on the big screen. :o

7. Wither by Lauren Destefano

I'd love to see this world come to life, with the mansion and the weird holographs. Sometimes I'd like a dark, gritty world. 

8. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

I'm a true fan girl for this book, I read it a couple years ago, and still can't get it out of my head. Please make it a movie! OWEN!

9. Legend by Marie Lu

Another great dystopian with a focus on the military, and inner cities this could be a stand out.

10.  The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Though I wasn't the biggest fan of the The Iron Fey series I liked it enough that the movie I feel like would be even better! I'd especially be excited to see Puck, and Grim. 

Those are my top ten! I'm sure some people won't agree with all of them, because of the chance of getting ruined, but it's just a thought!

What are your top ten? Comment with your link, and I'd love to see!

-Happy Reading

Amelia. :)

Musing Mondays #1 (April 30)

Musing Mondays is hosted by MizB at the blog Should Be Reading

This weeks question:

Do you listen to audiobooks? If not, why not? And, if so, what has been on of your favorites so far?

I have actually never listened to a single audiobook before. It's not that I have a reason to dislike them. I just always thought it took the point out of reading, and wouldn't give you the same appreciation for the story as reading would. It would be almost like listening to music, and when doing so I get completely distracted, and get the need to work on other things, my brain just wanders too much for audiobooks. Then, I always here these reviews where the people portraying the characters sound nothing like they are written, and that makes me nervous that I'd be put off by the story, even though the book is probably amazing, but I'll never know now. 

Audiobooks are incredibly expensive as well, and my library doesn't have very good ones from what I've seen. Also, I feel if someone is reading for you room for interpretation is completely out the window. I know the narrator said she had blonde hair, and your explaining it to me, but I want her to be brunette. That's what I do sometimes while I read, if that makes sense. With an audiobook with the constant talking I couldn't picture anything else, or use my own imagination. Who knows maybe I'll listen to an audiobook someday if people have an amazing recommendation, until then I'll stick to good old reading.

Happy reading/listening! :)

-Amelia.