The Young World (The Young World Trilogy #1) by Chris Weitz

After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he's secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.
The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park...and discovers truths they could never have imagined.

First of all, the fact that the author is a director really had me worried. 
Most books I've read that are written by directors are TOTAL nightmare novels.

I'm glad to say that this is the exception (Although it did dance a very fine line for me.) 
I found the characters overall extremely realistic and likeable, I found them each to be individual and I appreciated the multiple POV standpoint (Which really advantages the novel.) I even found myself getting attached to characters that died *no spoilers* 

I loved the plot. The plot was great. It had a straightforward objective, and the world kept building and building on top of itself. I loved the different societies they encountered and how likely those societies would be, should a pandemic like this one occur. 

Brainbox was my favorite character. I identified with him as a loner, and as someone often misunderstood. 

The ending brought a smile to my face, Chris pulled that one right over my eyes. I didn't see it coming in the slightest. 

I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a refreshing dystopian read.
Four stars.

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About the Author:

Chris Weitz is an Oscar-nominated writer and director. His films include The Twilight Saga: New Moon, A Better Life, About a Boy, The Golden Compass,   and  American Pie.  The Young World  is his first novel. 

You can find him here:

Chapter by Chapter #1 - TFIOS

The Fault in Our Stars and I have had this appointment long coming.
The purpose of this meme, is to give insight to the readers about the process of how we figure out what we are going to say about a particular novel. You take the book, and type and share your thought on that chapter, and by the end the blog readers can see your thought process grow and change a long the way! The thought can be as small as a sentence or as long as you like. Linky at the bottom!

Chapter 1: How come I never knew it was in female POV? for whatever odd reason I assumed it was from Augustus's POV.

Chapter 5: I had to stop and express something. I resonate DEEPLY with Hazel. At one point Hazel gets a shoulder pain because her heart is working too hard. I have that problem too, You see, I have Cystic Fibrosis which is technically a terminal diagnosis (It kills you eventually, the question is, how long can advancing science make you live.) and I resonate with her so deeply. I know what it feels to wake up like a zombie in the hospital, I know what its like to shuffle around after your lungs have been cleaned out. I know what it's like to revel in good nurses who give you extra ice chips and try their best to give you a few hours uninterrupted sleep. I know what it's like to be a human dartboard when it comes to starting IV's and drawing blood. I know what it is to stare at hospital ceiling tiles and I know what its like to watch ancient reruns on crappy hospital televisions. I know what it's like to feel like you have a leg inside the grave while HELLO you're still alive!

I just know.
I know her feelings...

and finally, I've found a character whom I completely 100% identify with. Her parents at one point call her " A brilliant young reader with a side interest in horrible television shows." and that is ME to a T.

In love with reading, writing, blogging, being human and yet, I am perpetually dying at a faster rate than is considered normal.

How beautiful a thing is it that I have found a book that features someone so much like me?
Is this what other bloggers rave about in other books? Has it been, that I've just come across the perfect novel to give me the epiphany that I'm not missing some piece of my heart? I've always wondered why I never quite connected with characters...is maybe this why? That this whole time i've been reviewing books through the lenses of death?

Wow..I've never experienced such a connection with a character.

I marvel at this book. At chapter five it has ensnared my heart. I can tell right now; I will be utterly destroyed by this novel.

Feature & Follow #2

What is your favorite tv series that you can watch over and over again on Netflix?

Without a doubt - Roswell. If you like JLA's Lux series, you'll LOVE Roswell. There's Aliens and lots of intense kissing. 

It's supercharged and superfun. DRAMA EVERYWHERE. Also, the series poetically begins and ends. Novel lovers will love the symmetry of the narrative. GO WATCH IT. Also, this is for Parajunkee's bloghop so please follow her and Alison and follow me and everyone else. 

Like No Other by Una LaMarche GIVEAWAY

Fate brought them together. Will life tear them apart? 
Devorah is a consummate good girl who has never challenged the ways of her strict Hasidic upbringing. 
Jaxon is a fun-loving, book-smart nerd who has never been comfortable around girls (unless you count his four younger sisters). 
They've spent their entire lives in Brooklyn, on opposite sides of the same street. Their paths never crossed . . . until one day, they did. 
When a hurricane strikes the Northeast, the pair becomes stranded in an elevator together, where fate leaves them no choice but to make an otherwise risky connection. 
Though their relation is strictly forbidden, Devorah and Jax arrange secret meetings and risk everything to be together. But how far can they go? Just how much are they willing to give up? 
In the timeless tradition of West Side Story and Crossing Delancey, this thoroughly modern take on romance will inspire laughter, tears, and the belief that love can happen when and where you least expect it.

I have mixed feelings on this novel. On one hand, this novel excellently brings diversity to the table and lets average Americans peek in to the Hasidic religion; but on the other hand, Jax was an extremely flat character. He went in to the romance with nothing to lose and as such the west side story comparison is a little lost (until it's regained in the off-kilter ending.)

Devorah is a gem, I identify with her a lot as my religion wrestles with me too. She goes out on a limb to explore the non Hasidic world with a boy named Jax and she gets it. She just doesn't know exactly what she wants or how much she can explore within reason. She struggles with her reason and to me that makes her a very real character.

The story flowed pretty quickly from the beginning, and continued at a steady pace throughout the novel. The ending was a little jerky however. I feel like Jax made this huge effort not to give up and then in the end he just kind of threw his hands up and said "Ah well..." and that transition just didn't flow very well with the rest of the story.

I did like, however, like Devorah's ending narration, about how she's adopted some of the world, while still keeping her faith. She even expresses that her journey of exploration isn't quite over, and that she looks forward to exploring her new life of faith and compromises.

It was all in all very lovely to read. So on this basis I give it four stars. The only other problem I had with it, was the fact that Devorah did continue to compromise with her faith. It's strange to think about but in Christianity there is no compromise. You are either expending all energies to become more like Jesus, or you are compromising with the world and in return aren't living a Christian lifestyle.

So to see Devorah's family accepting this new mixed version of her was unusual for me. nonetheless, four stars. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a #WeNeedDiverseBooks novel.

About the Author

Una LaMarche

Una LaMarche is a writer and amateur Melrose Place historian who lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, her son, and her hoard of vintage Sassy magazines. Una used to be a fancy magazine and newspaper editor before she had a baby and started writing from home, sometimes pantsless, for a living. Her first novel, Five Summers, is being released from Razorbill in May, and she’s currently in development on a second. She also writes for The New York Observer (of which she is a former managing editor), The Huffington Post, Vegas Seven, NickMom, and Aiming Low. Una continues to blog at The Sassy Curmudgeon, which she started in 2006 as a way to bring shame to her family. You can find her on Twitter under the handle @sassycurmudgeon. (If she’s not there, she’s probably trolling the internet for celebrity blind items or bulk candy.)

You can find her on social medias here:

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Chapter by Chapter - New Meme

Chapter by Chapter is a weekly meme hosted by me.  

The purpose of this meme is to give insight to viewers about the reviewing process. 

Basically, what it is, is sharing your thoughts on a book, chapter by chapter.

You can do it a chapter at a time, or do multiple chapters in one post.

My first Chapter by Chapter Meme will take place next Monday

and will feature my thoughts while i'm reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

(Yes, this is my first time reading it, yes, I'm probably going to ruin the rest of my life.)

I'll post a linksy next monday!

Curriculum planned!

In a night of pure inspiration, I set out my ten lesson plans and all their details.
It's beautiful and I can't wait to get to talk to these students and teach them all about blogging.

In a surprise twist I've been given another blessing by getting in contact with a literature teacher who runs a group called "The Silvertongue Society" He'd like me to come speak to them on some occasion.

I'm so happy doing this.

Who knew that the kid that could barely spit out an oral book report in 3rd grade would go on to teach entire classrooms?

The lessons at the library will consist of about ten lessons, and if all planning goes right, we'll have one epic field trip at the end.