In your epic pursuit of great books to read, you’ve probably run across hundreds thousands of book reviews, and occasionally you stumble across a real gem. . . of a book review, that is. Maybe it glows with the kind of genuine adoration that touches your book-loving heart, or is so sizzlingly snarky it burns a hole in your computer screen. Maybe the review is so clever and insightful you wish you’d written it yourself.
If you HAD to choose. . .
If a book has “girl” in the title, I am instantly drawn to it. I don’t why, but a lot of other readers must be, too, because publishers are pumping them out like crazy. Who knows? Maybe the “girl-”title craze kicked into high gear with the popularity of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Whatever the reason, there are a LOT of books with “girl” in the title!
I’ve read man good books with “girl” in the title, but no GREAT ones yet. Do you have any favorites to recommend? Here are some of the more recent, highly-rated ones.
The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts by K.C. Tansley
These “girl” books were all pretty enjoyable, which made them difficult to rank. . . but I managed. 🙂
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (a popular YA book, but I’m not good with tragedies.)
Something happened that took me out of the mad rush of my busy life and put me in a better mood. It forced me to slow down, be in the moment, and put thought into something I so rarely do: what I like about myself. For that I would like to sincerely thank Lila @ The Bookkeeper’s Secrets and her Miranda Sings Award nomination. Lila’s blog always gives me lots of delightfully bookish things to think about, and I hope you get a chance to check it out, too.
(1) Announce your win with a post, and link the blogger who nominated you.
(2) Include the featured image on your blog post.
(3) Nominate 10 bloggers (or as many as you can think of) and link your awardees in the post.
(4) List seven (7) things you love about yourself. (This can be about your appearance, your personality, your achievements, etc.)
(5) Don’t use negative connotation (i.e. Don’t say things like – “I’m prettier than an average person.” or “People have told me I’m smart.” You are pretty. You are smart.)
Dear nominees, if your bucket of awards and tags is already way too full, feel free to decline. And, by all means, please know that even if you’re not on this list, you are on it in spirit. If you’d like to give this award a try, go for it! –Eve Messenger
Jesalin @ –Blogging Everything Beautiful–
Reverie of a Glitter Aficionado
Michelle @ Michelle, Books and Movies Addict
Mackenzie @ Mackenzie Bates Writes
Hello, fellow book junkies! Just a quick question. . . Do you prefer seeing a movie before or after reading the book?
I am freakishly averse to knowing too much about a story before reading it. I enjoy being tantalized by a vague notion of the plot and characters but am the first to cover my eyes at even a hint of a spoiler. Why? Because if I know too much about the plot, I won’t read the book! I can’t. Because, for me, the most enjoyable aspect of reading a book is the thrill of discovery. Without it, reading a novel feels like going through the motions, as in: Oh, that was nicely written, but I know the girl is going to wind up with guy #2 by the end. You get the idea.
As you may have guessed, my answer to the question of whether I’d like to see a movie before or after reading the book is a resounding AFTER. Reading the book beforehand also gives me a more complete picture of the characters and subplots, which makes watching the movie adaptation feel like a more complete experience.
What do you prefer? Are there good reasons for reading a book after watching the movie?
Congratulations to Erika @ The Book’s the Thing!
Erika is the lucky winner of book swag from Kathryn Purdie’s book, Burning Glass, which was featured last week in my “Best YA Debut Novels” interview series. By “liking” that post, Erika was entered to win Burning Glass book swag kindly provided by the author.
Erika, if you’ll message me with your mailing address I’ll be happy to get your prize out to you.
–Eve Messenger
Thank you to Brittany @ Grisha Lieutenant for tagging me to do this fun “Totally Should’ve” book tag (created by lively video blogger Katytastic.)
1. A book that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE had a sequel.
It’s no secret that I adore Lauren Oliver’s novel, Before I Fall. The lovely writing and compelling story make me want to read more, plus there’s a certain male character I’d love to see get another chance–sorry if that’s vague, but we’re spoiler-free here at Eve Messenger’s OtherWORDly Endeavors. 🙂
2. A book/series that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE had a Spin-Off series.
Fangirl already has a spin-off with Simon and Baz in Carry On, but one-of-a-kind, adorable Levi is the character I’d most like to read a spin-off about: growing up with his big, blond brothers, working in the coffee shop, overcoming his unique challenge.
Artist: Noelle Stevenson (I think!?)
3. An author who TOTALLY SHOULD write more books.
V.E. Schwab, V.E. Schwab!
4. A character who TOTALLY SHOULD’VE ended up with someone else.
What randomly popped into my head just now is that Cinderella should end up, not in a cliched relationship with Prince Charming, but in a loving relationship with his dark, lovely, girl-knight sister. That would be cool.
5. A book/series that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE ended differently.
Not that I’d like a different ending, just a more complete one. In Sarah Dessen’s book, The Truth About Forever, a major plot question is raised at the beginning, which is never answered. That was kind of frustrating.
6. A book/series that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE had a movie franchise.
If it’s done right, Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking would be amazing.
7. A book/series that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE had a TV show.
Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any novels I’d want adapted into a TV series.
8. A book/series that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE only had one point of view
The Future of Us. Emma and Jay’s POV voices were confusingly similar, and the story was really about Emma anyway. One POV would’ve worked great.
9. A book/series that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE had a cover change.
I wholeheartedly agree with Brittany @ Grisha Lieutenant on this one. I love the story Ella Enchanted, but nothing about this cover works.
10. A book/series that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE kept the original covers.
I appreciate beautiful covers but am not adept at keeping track of originals vs. new edition covers, etc., so I abstain from answering this question.
11. A series that TOTALLY SHOULD’VE stopped at book #1.
I must have issues with attention span or something because I rarely stick with a series past books one or two–with some notable exceptions, including Throne of Glass and A Darker Shade of Magic. . . . SQUIRREL.
— Eve Messenger
I Nominate:
Michelle @ The Bibliophile Struggle
Carolyn @ A Hundred Thousand Stories
Lila @ The Bookkeeper’s Secrets
Astra @ A Stranger’s Guide to Novels
Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books
Marie Lu, V.E. Schwab, Gretchen McNeil – photo by Eve Messenger
Within a week of reading (and loving!) my first V.E./Victoria Schwab book, A Darker Shade of Magic, the author tweeted that she would be doing a book signing 15 miles from my home. My first book signing? With my new favorite author? Sign me up!
Though I was crazy nervous, I got myself to the event without hyperventilating. Alas, I had to go alone because I couldn’t find anyone else who was available.
Perfect even though the meet-and-greet line was super long and slow-moving (over a hundred fans were there!) But here’s thing, the REASON the lined moved slowly was that fabulous Victoria Schwab spent lots of time talking with each and every fan. I LOVED watching fans step away from the authors’ table carrying freshly-signed books in their hands and HUGE GRINS on their faces.
Perfect because Marie Lu and YA horror writer Gretchen McNeil were there, too! Marie Lu signed my copy of Legend. 🙂 All three super-talented authors were friendly, enthusiastic, smart, and super fun. They were obviously good friends, and their banter created a positive vibe for the entire event. (Note to self: Someday, when I have my own book signings, I will ask author friends to join me.)
Perfect because, even though I THOUGHT I didn’t know anyone there, I ended up running into and chatting with a writer I’d met through NaNoWriMo. Unbeknownst to me at the time, writer/reader/blogger, Jennifer F. Santucci, was also there. And SHE noticed that Nicola Yoon (Everything Everything) was there as a fan, too!
Author/fan Nicola Yoon is on the left. The top of a blonde head in the back is me. 🙂 Photo by V.E. Schwab.
Okay, so I mustered up the courage to ask Victoria Schwab if–since I am an aspiring writer–she might write something inspirational in my copy of the first book of hers I’d read. She wrote something nice in all three books. 🙂 Thank you, Victoria Schwab!
Victoria, Marie, and Gretchen have known one another since before they were published, as members of a writers’ group called “YA Rebels.” They initially “bonded over all things evil.”
Victoria Schwab calls herself a “chipmunk author,” or a “connect the dots writer,”gathering little pieces for a year and a half until she has enough for a story. Darker Shade of Magic started with an image of a boy walking through a door covered with blood and then running into a girl dressed as a boy. Once she has images for her story, she asks herself questions about them to fill out the plot. Before she starts writing, she needs to have five to ten moments, one of which must be the ending.
Gretchen McNeil’s microphone kept cutting out, so she said, “No problem. I can project because I used to be an opera singer.”
Marie Lu said that when she was a little girl there were two things she wanted to be, a writer and a fighter pilot.
Marie Lu said that her agent, Kristin Nelson, is so blunt that when Marie sent Kristin the first 100 pages of her early draft of Young Elites, Kristin asked,“Marie, when you sent this to me, did you think it was good?” Ouch. Marie ended up completely rewriting Young Elites from the villain’s point of view.
All three authors agreed that every single book is, in its way, painful to write.
Victoria said she bought an audio version of her own book, A Gathering of Shadows, so she could repeatedly listen to pp. 307 to 308– a super hot scene between Prince Ry and his ex-boyfriend. 😉
Victoria said she listens to a lot of music–but never while writing. Because she started out as a poet, listening to music messes with the rhythm of her words. Instead, she listens to white noise and uses a site called noisli to build her own white noise with sounds of rain, static, coffee shop sounds, etc.
Marie Lu said she has to listen to music while writing because the “silence gets too loud.” She splits up her playlists by mood, e.g., exciting, evil, happy (which she says she never uses, haha).
All three authors talked about writers they get totally starstruck around. Victoria is a huge Neil Gaiman fan and wears her WWNGD (“What Would Neil Gaiman Do?”) bracelet every day. Why? Because Neil Gaiman was the first writer to teach her that she didn’t just have to write one thing, that no matter what genre she writes, her voice will still come through.
I am now seriously toying with the idea of getting my own “What Would V.E. Schwab Do?” bracelet. I am so glad I overcame my introverted nature and got up the nerve to attend my first book signing. I honestly don´t think it could have gone any better. I´d love to attend another one, and the only thing I´d change is to find other people to go with next time– there was just too much excitement to keep all to myself!
–Eve Messenger
I am so in the mood to read a lyrical, dreamy YA book with beautiful writing. What are some of your favorites?
–Eve Messenger
Hello, fellow book junkies! In February I’m happy to report I was able to shorten my tower of owned books by four, and I read seven books in all (. . . sort of–see below). My “Rock My TBR Challenge” is looking good so far.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This book takes the reader deep into what it must have been like to grow up poor in Brooklyn in the early 20th century. I definitely felt like I was there, and learned a lot about cultural history. There were also some great observations about human nature and family relationships. I’m glad I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, though I didn’t love it.
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
A heavyset teen girl bucks the system and signs up for her small-town beauty pageant run by her mother, a former beauty queen. Good concept. I expected the main character, Willowdean (a.k.a. Dumplin’) to be a big girl who’s comfortable in her own skin, but she isn’t. . . or is she? The theme is frustratingly unclear. There’s a cute jock who loves Willowdean, but we never get any insight into the nuances of their relationship. The writing is good, and there are cute moments with lots of potential, but overall a disappointment.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
A Darker Shade of Magic was the highlight of my month. I loved the writing, the darkness, the imaginative world-building, the memorable characters, and whoah does Victoria/V.E. Schwab know how to write villains. Her writing is so good that reading it feels as if it´s making me a better writer. Coincidentally, within a week of reading this, my first, V.E. Schwab book, the author tweeted she would be doing a book signing less than 15 miles from my house. Do not pass go, do not collect $200–I had to meet her! In a later post, I’ll share more about what it was like to attend my first book signing event.
Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle
The title and concept grabbed me–something about a cult, a girl surviving the bizarre disappearance of her mother and father, and the apparent end of the world. This book veered hard into preachy agenda territory, but overall it turned out to be a good, solid read.
Angelfall by Susan Ee
This plot grabbed me and did not let go until the epic ending. Excellent world-building, and a plot that new exactly where it wanted to go, like a bullet. The only thing I had a hard time with was that a 17-year-old human girl and a 2000-year-old archangel might have a romantic attraction. He’s gorgeous and doesn’t look like an old man, but he is. The angel also had the unfortunate nickname Raffe (pronounced Raffi), which solidly planted in my head an image of an affable guy strumming guitar while singing Baby Beluga to a bunch of kids. That’s just me, folks. The book was really good.
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
A girl finds out she has inherited the ability to time travel. Sign me up, I thought, but as I read Ruby Red, I kept wishing more would happen. This book turned out to have good staying power, however, because a few days after finishing, I found myself wanting to return to this imaginary world. I definitely plan to read the next book in the trilogy, Sapphire Blue. I was surprised to learn that the Ruby Red trilogy was originally written in German, which definitely added interest for a linguistics nerd like me. Translators deserve more credit! Sure, they’re translating someone else’s words, but they’re also WRITING A BOOK, so, kudos to Anthea Bell for doing a great job on the translation–not that I read German (I wish I did so I could read my favorite poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, in his original language), but the story read well.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
I just want to start by saying I love author Jenny Han, her personality, her openness, her humor, just everything about her. But wait a minute. Hold up. Cue screech of a needle across record album. I could not finish this book. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before ended up being a DNF. The main character was sweet, the concept was intriguing (letters Laura Jean privately penned to all the boys she’s loved end up mistakenly being mailed to them), but as hard as I tried, I could not get through this book. I may have to face that saccharine, very-young adult books might not be my cup of tea.
I’m sorry to end on a DNF note, especially re: a book that so many people adore but, all in all, it was a really enjoyable month of reading. I hope you’re getting to read lots of good books, too. 😀
–Eve Messenger
What an honor to be interviewed by one of my favorite bloggers Jess in her weekly Featured Follower meme.
Heeeello, my lovely internet users! Today I am back with another FWF post!
Feature with Followers is a weekly meme created by JBelkBooks (me) where I will be showcasing one of my AMAZING followers. This gives me an opportunity to really get to know them and give them an opportunity to get their blogs out there in the community. The way I choose my featured follower is Top Secret, so wait for your chance to be featured!
Again, I am so very happy to share yet another wonderful blogger in our blogging community. This lovely lady is very interactive with her followers/following and I just love that so much about her. Here are some hints that may reveal who this week’s featured follower is:
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Eve Messenger 