Ten thousand Skies Above You
By Claudia Gray
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Personal Rating: 7/10

This is the sequel to A Thousand Pieces of You. These books are incredibly interesting and unique and I have really enjoyed this series so far. The story is all about traveling through alternate dimensions. The whole plot has the possibility of being confusing but I feel like the author explains and sticks to the rules of her world really well. I won't say much more about the plot of this book, since it is a sequel, but the ending left me in complete suspense for the next book.

My favorite aspect of these books are the amazing and thoroughly developed characters. I feel like each character is unique and interesting. Also since this book is all about alternate dimensions--alternate worlds--each chapter is a new experience. Every world described is so intriguing.  Not to mention, how absolutely gorgeous is this cover? I'm excited for the next book simply to have another cover like this on my shelf.

Bottom line, I felt like this was a wonderful sequel to a fun and interesting series. I knocked down a few points for some mild language and sexual references, though nothing graphic.

2015 Reading Challenge!

A book with more than 500 pages: The Odyssey by Homer
A classic romance: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
A book that became a movie: Paper Towns by John Green
A book published this year: The Heir by Kiera Cass
A book with a number in the title: The 5th Wave by Rich Yancey
A book written by someone under 30: (I'm sure I did but I don't know most authors' age)
A book with a nonhuman main character: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
A funny book: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
A book by a female author: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby
A mystery or thriller: (can't think of one)
A book with a one word title: Unleashed by Sophie Jordan
A book of short stories: A sense of Order by Jack Harold
A book set in a different county: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
A nonfiction book: Bossypants by Tina Fey
A popular author's first book: Red Queen by Victoria Avyard
A book by an author you love: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
A book a friend recommended: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
A Pulitzer prize winner: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A book based on a true story: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
A book at the bottom of your TBR list: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
A book your mom love loves: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin (another repeat)
A book that scares you: (not one for being scared)
A book more than 100 year old: Hard Times by Charles Dickens
A book you bought based on the cover: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
A book you were supposed to read in school: Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare
A memoir: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
A book you finished in one day: Firegirl by Tony Abbott
A book with an antonym in the title: (a what?)
A book set where you want to visit: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
A book that came out the year you were born: (nope)
A book with bad reviews: Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer
A trilogy: The Madman's Daughter's series by Megan Shepherd
A book from your childhood: Meet Addy by Connie Rose Porter
A book with a love triangle: The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
A book set in the future: These Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman
A book set in high school: The Fill in Boyfriend by Kasie West
A book with a color in the title: (nope)
A book that made you cry: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
A book with magic: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
A graphic novel: (nope)
A book by an author you've never read before:The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
A book you own but never read: Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
A book that takes place in your home town: (Haha I don't think that book exists)
A book originally in a different language: The Odyssey by Homer (repeat)
A book set during Christmas: (does the Polar Express picture book count?)
A book by an author with you initials: (Nope)
A play: The Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
A book based or turned into a tv show: (considered Vampire Diaries but...na)
A book you started but never finished: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

My Top Ten Books of 2015!

Well the year is over, hard to believe. It's been such a wonderful year full of wonderful books and I am excited to share the top ten books I enjoyed out of the seventy I read in 2015. It was hard to choose just ten, but in the end I chose the books I feel have resonated and stuck with me the most. You can easily find my full reviews on these books by typing the title in the search box above.

10. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

This is a junior fantasy I read for a class this last semester. I wasn't expecting to even like it, first because it was required reading, and second because I'm not a huge fan of fantasy in general. However, within the first two paragraphs of this book I was hooked. This is an incredible series I'd feel comfortable recommending to anyone.

9. The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

This was another  surprising book for me. It's isn't popular and I hadn't herd any great reviews on it, but the premise interested me so I decided to pick it up. I read this book in one sitting. It is a classic dystopian novel with a not so original plot, but I completely fell in love with the characters from the start. The story and characters evolved in such a way that I was surprised and in tears by the end.

8. A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

This is the last book in The Madman's Daughter series, and while I did love all three, this one was the most compelling to me. This book is based off of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and is most definitely the most disturbing book in the series. All the books are pretty dark and spooky but this one left me gripping the pages in suspense and terror. I read it around Halloween time which may have added to my enjoyment, but I overall think Megan Shepherd is an incredible writer.

7. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

This book is short but powerful. It follows a man on his journey in Heaven after an accident on a rollarcoaster kills him. He meets five people in Heaven. Five people who greatly influenced his life, or who he unknowingly influenced. What I loved about this book was how each person was someone I wouldn't expect. This book really made me think about my own life, and who my five people might be, and for what reasons they would be there.

6. Courtships of the Prophets by Mary Jane Woodger

This was a simple and cute book about some of the Prophets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and how they met their eternal sweethearts. I adore the Prophets and Apostles. It's always been easy to tell how much they love and cherish their wives, so seeing into the stories of their courtships was quite a treat.

5. The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

I love Kasie West's books, and this one might be a my new favorite. It is a cute and silly contemporary novel that just warmed my heart. It's clean, funny, and I just loved all the characters. It was just a joy to read.

4. My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt

This book covers a more controversial topic, but the author handles it beautifully by writing in prose and with minimal details. This book follows Angel as her life falls apart and how she tries to scrape it back together. It is honestly a beautiful story and a quick read.

3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Another cute and funny book. Actually probably the cutest and funniest book I've ever read. I don't know why I put off reading this book for so long but it was so much fun! It is a book I would re-read whenever I'm down. There is some language in this book, which is why I gave it a lower rating, but the story and the characters and the overall cuteness of it all won it a spot on my top ten.

2.Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Another cute contemporary novel, but with a more serious and heartbreaking undertone. It's about a girl who makes contact with the boy who received the donor heart of her dead boyfriend. I cried so hard while reading this. I thought it was wonderfully developed and the story just left me in a puddle of emotions.

1. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

My favorite book this year is also the most powerful and heartbreaking. This book is the true story of Corrie Ten Boom, a brave woman who risked everything to save Jews from Hitler during WWII. What I loved most about this book was that it told a story that is not heard as often. I've read plenty of books about the horrible things the Jews went through, but nothing about those who helped them. Corrie and her family are thrown into a prison that may as well have been a concentration camp. and her bravery and faith during all of it is incredible. This is a book I feel everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.

My Year In Books, 2015! A Grand Total of 70!

Reboot
By Amy Tintera
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Personal Rating: 5/10

After a deadly diseased wiped out half the country, a strange thing began to happen--people were beginning to rise from the dead. At first it was a miracle, until it was discovered that these reboots were stronger than an average human, and almost completely void of emotions. The longer a person says dead before rebooting, the less humanities remains in them. Our main character, Wren, was dead for 178 minutes, and now she is a weapon. When Wren is charged with training a new reboot named Callum, a boy who had only been dead for 22 minutes, she begins to see the positives of human emotions, and decides that being the perfect weapon isn't everything.

The reason I gave this book a 5/10 is because for me there was absolutely nothing good or bad about it. It was just a book that floated in the middle between interesting and boring. I didn't feel like it offered me anything, nor did I find the characters worth reading about for more than a few pages. To me, it was just another post-apocalypse sci-fi that offered very little in the way of uniqueness. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to anyone, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it either. There wasn't anything inappropriate in this book, I just personally didn't find it interesting.

Meant to Be
By Lauren Morrill
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Personal Rating: 7/10

A class trip to London is a dream come true for list making, organized Julia, until she gets partnered with Jason, class clown and her personal nemesis. But once Julia starts receiving mysterious text messages from an unknown number, Jason promises to help her find the mystery suitor. The two are led on a wild goose chase all around London, breaking rules and encountering things Julia never imagined when she was carefully planning out this trip. But neither her mysterious suitor or Jason turn out to be what she has expected.

This was a very cute, very funny book. It definitely had a Stephanie Perkins feel to it, so I think fans of her books would really enjoy this one. I honestly loved the characters in this book and the hilarious inner voice of the narrator, it was very entertaining. The descriptions of London as the students go on their tour was incredible, I felt like I was there. My only real complaint about this book is the language--including one F-word and a handful of mild swears--and the couple of scenes that include underage drinking. There wasn't anything sexually explicit in this book, aside from a dirty joke or two. And while the plot-line was funny entertaining, the twist wasn't really a surprise to me, I knew what was going to happen for most of the novel.