Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Title: Me and Earth and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 295
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Purchase this book:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Book Depository

Greg Gaines, senior, had everything down. He knew just how to slip into the world of high school with no enemies, no friends, and no commitment. Of course the only way for his set up to be ruined would be the result of intervention from his mother. When childhood friend Rachel was diagnosed with cancer, Greg's mother forced him to rekindle their friendship in an attempt to give the girl something happy in the last moments of her life. And also, there's an Earl involved.

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This is not a sad book. I don't think it was ever meant to be a sad book either. From the beginning it's made clear that this is not supposed to be your typical YA contemporary. So if you're expecting a tearjerker, Fault in our Stars lookalike, look again. This isn't it. In fact, this book is anything but sad- it's funny. Part of that may be due to the title putting everything out there in the open. You're aware Rachel is a dying girl from the get go. But truthfully, this was a really funny, lighthearted book.

I feel the need to introduce Greg's friend Earl, as he does have a spot in the title. Earl is hilarious. His raw humor and grim outlook on life always left me laughing, and his default mood is grumpy, which makes for a snarky and sarcastic character. So he's a huge part of the comedy in this novel. 

I actually listened to this book via audiobook, and I highly recommend you do to. I don't think I'd have liked it as much if I had read it instead of listened to it, because the narrator is so talented. He gets each voice so perfect, and it really contributed to the overall quality of the book. I don't think I would have read Earl's dialect in his accent if I'd been reading it physically, so hearing the narrator mimic his accent pulled his humor and dialogue together completely, allowing me to truly appreciate his comedic taste. 

I found Greg to be a somewhat relatable main character in the sense that I do strive to have no quarrels with people in school. However, that's where my ability to relate to him stops. I would much rather have friends and a couple people I didn't get along with than have no friends and no enemies. Greg's strategy to having no enemies is to have no close friends, and I don't think I could go through life like that. And Greg and Earl are not much of overachievers when it comes to school. In Greg's defense, he was a bit of an achiever before he began devoting all his spare time to visiting Rachel, but we don't really get to see pre-Rachel-Greg. I just find it difficult to relate to people who just don't care. Whether that be about school or just things in general. 

But I did find this book extremely funny, touching, and fun, and I'd recommend it to everyone, because it's truly an exciting book to read. 

Click here to view Me and Earl and the Dying Girl on Goodreads 

Top 16 of 2016

It's that time of year again in which I highlight some of the best books I read this year. Today, I bring you my top 16 of 2016! (Check out my top 15 of 2015!) Please note that these are not in order of preference, (I'm too indecisive for that lol) but ordered by when I read them.

1.  Winter by Marissa Meyer

Okay fun fact- Cinder was the first book on my Top 15 of 2015  list. Anyway, it's no shock that this amazing conclusion novel won a spot here. I gave this one five, well deserved stars. 

2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Gosh dangit this book left me emotionally wrecked. I've always had a daunting fear of classics, given the awful ones I've been forced to read for school, but I truly enjoyed Of Mice and Men. If you haven't read this one, I would highly recommend it. It's super short (was the shortest book I read all year) and it's plot is so gorgeous I just want to as;dkjaiad. Caution- tears will fall. 

3. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

So I don't think I've kept it a secret that Alexandra Bracken is literally my favorite YA author, like, ever, and I will endlessly spend my money on anything and everything that she produces. I loved her novel, Passenger, and gave it a 5 star review (which she retweeted!!!). I also had the pleasure of meeting her at BookCon this year! 

4. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

This book was so overwhelming that I literally couldn't even think about picking up another book after I finished this one. It was so good. If you haven't read this, you need to. Right now. I gave it five stars. I also had the honor of meeting this duo at BookCon, so that was pretty cool! (Understatement of the year- it was absolutely awesome.) 

5. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Yoooo if you haven't read this one you're doing yourself a disfavor. I gave this one 4.5 stars, so I know what I'm talking about. Honestly. Read it. Love it. Reread it. Even if you hated the inserts in Fangirl, READ IT I PROMISE YOU'LL LIKE IT.  

6. The Siren by Kiera Cass

So Kiera Cass rewrote this novel that she wrote a while ago, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is this a YA standalone- it's a YA, fantasy standalone. We don't get many of those. This was such a sweet, refreshing romance, and I hope you pick it up! (4.5 stars)

7. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

You can hate on Cassie all you want, but I adored Lady Midnight. It was one long, awesome, epic ride, and I can't wait for Lord of Shadows. It got five well earned stars! 

8. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This is a crazy book. Honestly, it left me feeling so many different things. It's a book that makes you think. It got 4.5 stars from me, so I definitely recommend it. My brother recently finished it, and he loved it too. (So obviously it's good- he said so.) 

9. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

SOS please someone help me it's not healthy for me to feel so strongly in love with this book. For those of you who have begun to feel burned out by all the Riordan books, never fear, The Trials of Apollo are here. This new five book series got off to a really good start with me, and I gave it five shining stars because dang this book. 

10. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I wasn't the biggest fan of The Grisha trilogy that Bardugo put out, but Six of Crows was phenomenal. It got 4.5 stars from me. 

11. The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

I sort of want to force McDaniel to spill her author secrets to me because THIS BOOK IS LIFE CHANGING. I literally want to go around throwing this book at people's heads until they finally read this book because it is so, so, sooooo amazing and I really wish I could convey the feelings I have for this book accurately. (Honestly just go read my review- it's so much more coherent.) But yeah, this was possibly the best book I read all year, and I gave it five stars. Also, check out my interview with the amazing Tiffany McDaniel!

12. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 

Wow all I can say here is that this book really messed with my mind. Low key thought I was going crazy. 

13. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I'm super sad because I just realized I never finished writing my review for this book, and I think it's too late for me to recollect my thoughts. However! I can tell you that this is definitely one of my new favorite books, and you need to read it because Jandy Nelson has the most beautiful writing humankind has ever seen. 

14. Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavksy

Another great read I didn't review (not sure why this is a trend all of a sudden...) but this novel was bizarre in all the ways you don't even realize. 

15. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo 

Aha Bardugo strikes again. I liked the sequel to Six of Crows even more, and gave it 5 stars. 

16. Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Honestly, are we even surprised here? The next book in the Illuminae Files did not disappoint- I loved every page of it. Crossing my fingers in hope that we'll get a cover and/or title release for book three soon! 

Aaaaand that concludes my Top 16 of 2016 list. I had a year full of some amazing 5 star and 4.5 star reads, and I hope that these are all books you've read or plan on reading in the future! Let me know some of your favorite reads this year! 

Gemina

Title: Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)
Authors: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Pages: 659
Rating: 5 Stars
Purchase this book:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Book Depository

Hanna and Nik are celebrating Terra Day on the space station they live on, Heimdall, when it is attacked by terrorists from BeiTech. Fortunately, (or unfortunately- depending on how you look at it) the two were separate from the rest of the civilians when BeiTech locked everyone in. The two are pressed to find help in escaping their attackers as they're hunted down.

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Of course this book was phenomenal. I gave Illuminae five stars, and Gemina was just as good. For those of you who have read Illuminae, be prepared for a new set of main characters. Hanna is the daughter of the station captain, and lives a life of luxury. Nik is part of a notorious crime family and does not. I was somewhat worried that I wouldn't like having new characters, but I instantly fell in love with them and became invested in the story. Plus, their story still connects to the characters in Illuminae, and we get to see a little bit of them here and there.

Like with Illuminae, Gemina is told through IMs, transcripts, journal entries and more. In fact, the lovely Marie Lu did the sketches inside Hanna's journal, and they are absolutely fantastic. The typography, graphics, and images found in Gemina are so gorgeous and powerful. It really adds much more feeling to the story. True, it was a little awkward having to turn the book upside down and sideways to read some pages, but it was worth it. (Mini arm workout am I right?) 

Also! On the pages with "random" names, (lists of casualties and whatnot) I highly recommend you actually read through the names. You'll recognize many beloved YA authors scattered here and there!

If there's anything negative I have to say, it would be that I find the dialect of the characters a little too similar to ours. This book takes place five centuries into the future, and I feel like some of the things they say would be different. Like, the references they make are so... earthly. I don't know if the characters actually understand their references, or if they've just become old sayings at this point in the future. I'm not sure. Also, I'd love a little more worldbuilding. I understand that wouldn't really work with the story and format, but I really, really want to know more about what life is like in this world. What is Terra Day? What happened to Earth? How far into space have we colonized? However, these are so insignificant that I can't even dock down any stars for it. 

Gemina was an incredible book. The plot had my mind whirling- I couldn't believe the roller coaster it had me on. If you're even debating not picking this series up, please do. It's such a great read. And don't be intimidated by the size- the format allows you to read it quickly. 

Click here to view Gemina on Goodreads

Other books in this series: 

Illuminae

2017 Goals

Woah woah WOAH where has the time gone? I feel like December 2015 was just yesterday. Regardless of my inability to measure time, it is in fact the end of 2016, and I figured, "what better time to make plans and goals I probably won't accomplish than right now?"

1. Stay consistent

Okay, okay, so I went MIA there towards the beginning of the school year, and it was really hard to get back into blogging. This time, I want to consistently blog throughout the entire year. I don't necessarily want to keep to a strict schedule, but I also don't want to take months at a time off either.

2. Network more

I need to embrace the fact that I can't be totally immersed in the book blogging community if I don't go out and explore other people's blogs. I've been getting better at it, but I could still be doing more commenting, reading, and networking with other people.

3. Meet my Goodreads reading challenge

I'm going to tell you a secret, I changed my Goodreads reading challenge this year. *gasp* I know. What a scandal. But shhhhh I had a three month streak in which I did not pick up a book, so I think it's justified that I lowered my goal from 75 to 50. I did, in fact, reach my goal of 50, so.... yay? I think I'm going to set it at 50 again, but in my mind I'll shoot for 75. I just didn't like feeling so pressured to read as many books as I possibly could. I'd rather have some extra room to reread books and things like that. (Speaking of, Goodreads really needs to come up with a reread feature.)

4. Make my own TBR Jar Challenge

I haven't picked out the topics for this one yet, but I looooove the whole concept behind the TBR Jar Challenges. I think I'll write a post about it when I make mine, but I need to come up with some challenges that'll work for me first.

5. Start bullet journaling again

I bullet journaled all of the 2015-2016 school year, and I really loved it. When this year came around, however, I used a standard planner instead. I miss all the creativity I got to put into bullet journaling, and I recently flipped through my old one, and now I really want to get back into it.

6. Reread Harry Potter

I like to do a Harry Potter reread at least every other year, and I think that 2017 would mark another Potter year. (I'm not entirely sure, as some of my rereads have gone from, like, October to February, happening in the span of two years.) Regardless, I want to reread Harry Potter in its entirety this year!

7. Be happy :)

In the end, the only thing I can ask for out of 2017 is happiness. I started this blog because I figured it'd bring some amount of joy, and that's most certainly proved to be true. Whether it's within or outside of blogging, I'd like to get through 2017 happy and healthy!


What goals to you all have this coming up year? And does anyone have any challenges they're participating in? I really want to join some, but I have no idea where to start!

Wishing you all a happy new year,

Julia