New New New

*SPOILERS*

I have just started a new book called A Great and Terrible Beauty, the first book in the Gemma Doyle series, by Libba Bray. The book is about British girl named Gemma Doyle who lives (at the very beginning) in India with her mother and father in 1895. At the murdur/suicide of Gemma's mother, Gemma is sent to the Spence Academy for Young Ladies, in the countryside not far from London, where Gemma has always wanted to go. Gemma has some trouble fitting in at first (naturally), and has to hide the fact that her mother died from murder. Soon Gemma is part of the "popular" group of girls at Spence. But Gemma isn't like everyone else. Gemma has visions and magic is linked to her strongly.
So far I am really enjoying the book. The book is a little slow-going, but I am still enjoying it. Because I am still at the beginning, I am still getting to know the characters, so I don't have much of an opinion yet. Because of this, I'm excited to keep reading!

End of the Puzzle

*SPOILERS*

I just finished Why We Broke Up by Maira Kalman and Daniel Handler. In the end, you finally discover (sort of) why Ed and Min broke up. At the end, Min finds out that Ed cheated on her with a girl that Min thought was really nice. Min felt really betrayed by Ed and the girl he cheated on her with, because Min thought they could be friends.
I was really shocked by the ending of this book. Just like Min, I was really mad at Ed when I read that Ed had cheated. I really hate cheating in relationships, so I felt really strongly. I knew this book was really good from the beginning, but when I felt betrayed by Ed as much as Min did, I realized how much I connected with the book. Throughout the book, in the letter, Min had kept saying "and that is why we broke up" which makes me think that all these things that happened during the relationship would have ended their relationship anyway. All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it if you like girly books.

Puzzle Book

I am in the middle of the book Why We Broke Up by Maira Kalman and Daniel Handler. So far the book is really good and I am enjoying it a lot. The book is currently describing Ed and Min's relationship and doesn't seem to have a very strong plot right now.
The book is in letter form, accompanied by items (in the book, pictures in real life) from there relationship (movie tickets, etc.) Because the letter is going by the different items, it does not tell every second of the relationship, so there are gaps that you do not read about. Reading a book like this reminds me of a mystery or a puzzle because you are piecing the story together. I think that this way you can almost fill in the blanks and think of the missing pieces yourself. I think that this is helping me stay close to the characters and is helping me like the book better.

New Start

I just started a new book called Why We Broke Up. The book is a letter from Min, a teenage girl, to Ed, her recent ex boyfriend.

When I first opened the book I was really surprised to see that all the pages were glossy and there were full page pictures at the beginning of every chapter. I usually don't read picture books so it was a shock to see the format. However, I soon realized that the book is a novel so saying it is a picture book isn't really fair. So far I really like the book and can't wait to keep reading!

Long Time to Finish

*SPOILERS*

I just finished So Big by Edna Ferber. I really enjoyed the book even though it was on a hard level and was slow going. Towards the end of the book the chapters and point of view started changing to Dirks point of view has well as Selena's. The book had a happy, positive ending but it wasn't fake. Roelf (from the beginning of the book when he was 12) came back to the farm to visit Selena which was nice. By the end of the book Dirk had a very nice, privileged life as a business man. I felt like Selena was disappointed in Dirk because his original dream of being an architect was abandoned for money. Selena had worked hard all her life for what she had and to help Dirk but Dirk did not do the same.

If I were Selena I would also be disappointed in Dirk as well. As soon as Dirk moved into the city of Chicago, he changed. This really opened my eyes to show how much society can change you. Dirk learned the way of life in the city and abandoned his old ways. For some people, this change can be positive but for some it can be negative (like Dirk). If society can change someone's views and make them forget what they believed in then that is a negative thing. Overall I thought the book was really good and I recommend it. 

Slow Going

*SPOILERS*

I am about halfway through So Big by Edna Ferber. So far the book has taken a sad turn. Pervus (Selena's husband) has died, leaving her the farm and a son named Dirk. However, the farm is bad and does not produce any goods.

I was sad that Pervus died but I was also happy. Selena had many good ideas about the farm that would bring them more money and more goods but Pervus would always turn them down. Now that Pervus has died, Selena can use all her ideas to make the farm better. I think that I wasn't upset about Pervus dying because he wasn't in the book for very long, so I didn't become attached to the character.