Review: To all the boys I´ve loved before

Author:Jenny Han
Published: April 15th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Reader
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary,
Pages: 288
Goodreads page
My rating: 2 stars







Review 
This story is about a sixteen year old girl, Lara Jean, who had been writing love letters to guys she had a crush on. This letters are secret so she keeps them safe in a vintage box, but mysteriously this letters are sent to the five boys she had liked before, including her sister´s ex-boyfriend.

But in order for her sister´s ex-boyfriend not realizes that she actually has feelings for him, she starts a false relationship with Peter K, her childhood crush.


And the whole book is about  Lara Jean having feelings for her sister´s ex-boyfriend (he and her sister broke up a week before this disaster happened), who seems to like her back; and also developing feelings with her fake boyfriend, who also seems to have feelings for her.

Opinion

I started liking the book at beginning with her sister Margot being like a second mother to Lara Jean and Kitty and how sad they were when Margot was moving away for college.

I also liked Lara Jean´s purpose of writing the secret love letters to her crushes, which was fun.

But when the whole high school drama erupts the story became pointless for me, I really don´t know why people say this book is cute, I didn´t read anything cute; there is no romance at all or cutesy moments.

Why I say it  was pointless?, because at the middle of the book the letters didn´t mattered anymore and the only thing that mattered was that weird love triangle between them.
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What I like the most in YA contemporary novels is to see an immature character that throughout the story grows up in character and becomes mature, but sadly I didn´t see that on this book.
This is my opinion and I don´t mean to offend anyone.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publication date: April 15th 2014 by Poppy (first published April 10th 2014)

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

In Goodreads

Brief summary: 
This book is about two teenagers (Owen and Lucy) that met in an elevator when the power goes out. After being taken off the elevator they stayed together the rest of the night, passing the best and unforgettable night of their lives.

 In night goes on they talked as if they were old friends, telling each other things they normally would not tell annyone they just met. 

As the days passed they are forced to move out to opposite places of the world, literally, leaving their relationship inconclusive. And unfortunately the only way to stay in touch is throughout postcards and emails 
This book is about their relationship progresses and pauses as they travel around the globe.


This book wasn´t what I was expecting, this book was serious, dramatic (in the good way.) and exciting to read; It really surprised me.
What it is best of book or what I liked the most was the book wasn´t narrated in first person as books usually are, it was narrated in third person which was unusual(not in the bad way.) and so well done. I say this because many contemporary young-adult novels are usually narrated in first person, which is fine, but I was surprised.(well maybe I have only read Contemp. books  narrated in 1st person.)
I really like it.

Discussion (Minor Spoilers)
I felt that with Owen and Lucy going in separate ways put their relationship in a “maybe” or a “what would have happen if” and the lack of communication after this separation made their relationship even weaker. But as times goes on they came in realization that they really loved each other.
I think that all the trips that Owen and Lucy did ,helped them to grow with their relationships with their parents, and for Owen also helped him to have a new beginning in his life. I really liked this about the book.
My favorite character was Owen maybe because he was going through much more serious things than Lucy.
I was happy with the ending, it was cute; but what I liked the most was that they actually made plans for the future; because some books end with no further conclusion, and that really annoys me; but this book told me that what is going to happen after their encounter.  So I was happy!


Favorite quotes

“And the geography of the thing -the geography of them was completely and hopelessly wrong.” Chapter 9
“The most basic sort of love: to be worried about the one who was worrying about you.” Chapter 37

He was like one of her novels, still unfinished and best understood in the right place and at the right time. She couldn’t wait to read the rest. Chapter 48  This one is my favorite!

Spoilers Warining, Stay away if you haven´t read the book!
When Lucy met Liam I was happy and sad, (Liam was such a funny and sweet character) I couldn´t hate Liam, he was so sweet and I think he genuinely liked her. I felt sorry when Lucy broke up with him, It broke my heart; I wish he had his own story. 

But for Paisley, I didn´t feel the same thing, but I was also sorry for her. I was kind of angry with Owen because how he treated her after he moved to San Francisco, she really liked him.

I think this was my only frustration in this book, but I think this is what happens when nothing is certain in long distance relationships. 

I was kind of upset with Owen, because if perhaps he had sent her e-mails more often it would have saved him a lot of drama with Lucy.  And when he finally sent her the email  I was like: “See, It wasn´t that difficult!” and “See, she still cares.” 

Conclusion, Safe to read!

I really enjoy this, it was exciting to read about their trips and reading what was going to happen next in their lifes.

I gave this book five stars

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

This is more like an opinion of the book, so it may have minor spoilers!

Georgie is a comedy writer for TV shows. But when the show is finally accepted she isforced to cancel the  Christmas trip to Omaha with his family.

Her husband Neal is upset with her, so he decides to not cancel the trip but go without Georgie and take the girls with him to Omaha.

Georgie not wanting to stay in her house alone, she stays at her mother's house.

With the concern that Neal is avoiding her phone calls, she calls to his house in Omaha, but she soon realizes that she is not talking with the present Neal but the Neal of 1998.

...

 Opinion

What I really liked about the book is Georgie realizing that her husband Neal wasn´t happy with the live that they were living, that she always kept him waiting since the very begining of their relatiionship.
I am impreased of how Neal love her putting aside the thigs that really pissed him off; the fact that he was the one who did all the stuff in the house was surprising.

It was really interesting at how the calling present to past was like ment to happen in the story, because that made Neal to propose to her in 1998. Beacuse of talking to the 1998 Neal made her began retelling and analizing what she had done wrong and why her marriage was the way it was.

I think it was necesary for Georgie to have so time apart from Neal so she could realize how much she neaded him in her life.

The ending was very touching, he was waiting for the Georgie that putted him first. They both kissing and their daughters hugging them while they were kissing.

I whish I could know what happen next. I really like this kind of stories, the marriage restoration stories.

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I didn´t like that the book had to many curse words.
Final opinion

I did like it but I didn´t love it as much I have love her other books. I think I was a great book!

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Prisioner of night and Fog review

Prisioner of night and Fog by Anne Blackman is set in Munich,Germany in 1930s

 

Prisioner of night and Fog by Anne Blackman, set in Munich,Germany in 1930s

The book starts by Gretchen, Reinhardt (Gretchen´s brother),Kurt (Reinhardt’s friend) and Eva (I was astonished to know that Eva Braun was Gretchen´s best friend.) were on their way to see attend to Hittler´s meal invitation but while Kurt was driving a Jew crossed the street and Kurt jerked out  that almost hit the Jew.

 

Both Kurt and Reinhardt went down the car and they rushed were the Jew was. They take him to towards an alley to beat him, Gretchen knew what they were going so she rushed towards them and she panicked when she saw them beating the Jew. She had been taught that the Jews are this sub-humans that don´t care anything more than destroy pure Germans and that they were her eternal enemy, but when she saw that Jew being beaten by the guys she felt compassion for him. Gretchen confronts his brother telling him that “Uncle Dolf” (Adolf Hitler is not her uncle, he is a family friend that Gretchen looked at him as a parental figure.) would be angry if he knew what they were doing, of course he laughs at her. After saying two more excuses for them to stop, a policeman arrives at the scene making Reinhardt and Kurt leave.

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Reinhardt and Kurt leave her at the alley and then  a shadow appears and says to her “You are no like the others.” And just before she was going to know the identity of this young men and Eva arrived complaining because Reinhart and Kurt leaved without them.

Reinhardt is Gretchen mean brother, he is part of the SA, he often gets into fights with communist and Jews. When he is into fights he seems emotionless and merciless. He is mean with Gretchen and he tries to make her pay for whatever little thing she do to him.

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After a few days Gretchen received a letter saying that the he(the writer of the letter) have some information that she didn´t about her father´s death at putsch, at first she was a little hesitant but she agree to go.

They encounter in front of her boarding house but she takes him to the woods so no one can she them, suddenly she realizes that he is the shadow that she saw on the alley. The fellow said to her that some National Socialist killed her father, (Hitler had told her and not only to her but the entire Germany that her father sacrificed for him at putsch receiving all the bullets that were meant to him.)

Later on her mother tell her that she didn´t have money to send her to school or to college, so she must find a job; later on she discovers that  it was for Reinhart welfare, because he didn´t finish school and he didn´t want her sister to finish it. Desperately, she goes to Circus Krone looking out her(were Hitler was going to give a speech) to look out her “uncle Dolf” for help.

But he instead of helping her he finds her a job at the Braunes House.

At the Circus Krone the name of the mystery guy is revealed by Geli (who is the half niece of Hitler.),his name is Daniel Cohen and he is a Jewish reporter at the Munich post, which is socialist newspaper that opposes the Nati onal Socialist party

Days later Gretchen decides to inspect her father´s uniform that he was wearing the day he died, while she was inspecting it she saw bullet powder in the back of the uniform, which meant that someone aim at him with a gun into his back.

Daniel and Gretche venture  into dangerous investigations  to find the truth about her father´s death.

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But between those adventures she realizes that the Jews aren´t as she had been taught to, she realizes that they are human beings, and all she had belived was built in a lie;  all thanks to Daniel Cohen. Eventually they fall in love with each other!

The book ends with Gretchen and Daniel escaping from Germany to England, after Gretchen confronted Hitler with all the proofs that he had killed his father in putsch, after that confrontation things get really dangerous for both Gretchen and Daniel, but luckily the scape for England.

 

My feelings

 

The book started with the right kind of emotion that makes you want to keep reading. The writings style is great, and the description that Anne Blackman uses make you interested throughout the entire book.
The character development was well done, I mean when book stated we have this Gretchen infested by Hitler´s beliefs but little by little with the help of Daniel the shelf starts to crumble and later on we see a new Gretchen that thinks by her own. I was so proud at Gretchen when she cut her hair the way that a National Socialist girl will never do.

Daniel Cohen was such an incredible character. I really liked the compatibility that they both have, He is always caring for Gretchen and being so supportive to her even though she treated him like trash at the very beginning. I was glad that Gretchen and Daniel escape together at the end.

Please Anne Blanckman, don´t kill him!

One of my favorite parts was  when Gretchen´s mother asked him if he loved her and he said “I love her with all my heart”, after reading that line I was fangirling and making weird sounds in the living room and then my mother ask me if I was ok,but I responded “ I am in love!”

 I have never liked so much a male lead character before as I liked Daniel.

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I wish I could have tell a more extended review but  there is so many things happening that is really hard to tell everything. This book kept me excited towards the end, It was by no means predictable.

 

This book is such a great book, I really enjoyed and I will give 5 in good reads. .

Well done Anne Blanckman! I am excited for the next year to read the next one.

This book has history, cutesy romance, suspense, mystery, I really recommend it. 

Go read it I you haven´t!

 

Blessings, bye!