About- The final installment in the Divergent series; Tris and Four finally learn the truth behind the factions.
Why I picked it– Even though I didn’t love Insurgent as much as Divergent, I wasn’t going to leave the series unfinished.
Grade B In the end, I was kind of disappointed in this series. I really enjoyed the first book, but for me it all went downhill from there. I was less enthused by the second book and by the end of the third book I was over it. There’s a lot of information dumping in this novel, which just gets tedious. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the ending at all. It’s a bit of a twist and I won’t give it away, but to me it didn’t make that much sense in the context of the rest of the novel. Who else has read this series? Did you like it more or less than I did?
About- Essays on various “White Girls” (hint: the author’s definition of ‘white girls’ is different from the obvious interpretation).
Why I picked it– This was a book club pick, so I didn’t choose this one.
Grade D Eeek, this one was a real struggle for me. Remember, last time I was having trouble finishing it? Well, we set a date for a book club meeting this month, so I knew I had to pick it up again and power through. Sadly, this was my least favorite book in recent memory. I didn’t enjoy the writing style or the subject material. My impression of this book is that the only people who would enjoy it are some of the people mentioned in the book or the author himself. Yikes, that was harsh, no? But really, I didn’t like this book and if it weren’t for book club I wouldn’t have finished it.
All in all, it was not the best month in terms of reading for me! One very good note though- I started The Goldfinch a few weeks ago and I’m loving it. I’ve sort of been reading it slowly on purpose, so that I can savor it. Granted, I was watching the Olympics a lot and it’s a huge book (nearly 800 pages), so it’s been pretty easy to space it out. I’m about 2/3rds of the way through right now, so look for it to pop up in next month’s post.
I’d love for you to tell me what you’re currently reading in the comments below!
![It's a very belated book haul! These are the four books I picked up on my trip to Australia back in May. Of course I had to check out some bookstores on my first trip to Sydney and I think I ended up visiting 9 in total (check out my stories to see the mini bookstore vlog I made)!
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It was so fun book shopping over there since majority of the covers are different from our US covers. I couldn't resist this pretty edition of PACHINKO, which I've already read. And when I picked up this copy of PEOPLE PERSON, I was so excited to see it because it wasn't out yet in the US at that time. I also bought two books that I hadn't heard of before I discovered them in the bookstore: IDOL and LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES.
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Do you tend to prefer US or UK book covers?
[P.S. This is an old photo that includes a HarperCollins UK title, but please note that I support the HarperCollins Union.]
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[ID: A stack of the following books sits on top of white bedding in front of a white wall (from top to bottom): PACHINKO, IDOL, LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES, PEOPLE PERSON.]
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#Pachinko #Idol #LoveAndOtherPuzzles #PeoplePerson #whattoread #beautifulbooks #bookhaul #booksandtravel #travelandbooks #bookishaesthetic #bookstacks #bookstacklove #ukbookcovers #ukbookhaul #newbooks #bookbuying #bookpurchases #coolgirlsread #readerslife #bookishcommunity #australiatrip #stackofbooks #bookwormlife #booksandbooks](https://starcrossedsmile.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
I try to steer clear of most dystopian YA novels lol :( I’m sorry to hear neither of your picks this month were awesome but kudos to you for reading them!
You know, the last two dystopian YA novels I read were not as great as I’d hoped (this one and The Bone Season)!
Sorry the books you read were disappointing. I just started reading Life After Life. It’s too early to tell if I will like it yet though.
Oh, Life After Life was one of my favorite reads from last year. I’m curious to hear what you think once you finish!
That sucks that they were both disappointments! I’ve tried reading Allegiant so many times over the past month, but right now I’m only a little more than halfway through. The series really did go downhill after the first one. If you’re looking for a great YA series, you should check out Cinder! It’s so amazing!!
~Sara
Thanks for the recommendation Sara! I will definitely look up Cinder.
I can never finish a book I don’t enjoy, I know some people aren’t like that but I can’t. I’m about to start Orange is the New Black for my book club.
It’s pretty rare for me not to finish a book, but I really came close with White Girls. I’ve been curious about the book Orange is the New Black ever since I watched the series!
I find the fact that I watched the series a little distracting, it’s not the same. I’m about a third of the way in, and so far I like the show better.
So interesting, because usually it’s the other way around! Although I think I read somewhere that series creator used the book as more of a base and really expanded the characters/plot.
Ya, it’s not very closely related. Maybe if I had read the book before ever watching the show I would have enjoyed it a bit more.
I haven’t read any of the Divergent books but I am going to try to fit at least the first one in before the movie is released.
Tracy @ Sunny Days and Starry Nights
I would definitely say the first one is the best of the 3. I want to watch the movie when it comes out too!
I haven’t read these ones but they do seem interesting! I’m currently reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver, it’s a fiction novel. I’m starting it but so far so good!
I haven’t heard of Delirium but I will look it up! Thanks for coming by Maru! :)
I’ve had the Divergent book on my Kindle for awhile now! Just trying to make my way to it! haha! I think it’s next on my list, and I can’t wait! I’m glad you liked the series!!
I had a couple books on my iPad from the library that I had to let go of because I’m still in the middle of The Goldfinch. There’s just not enough time! :)
I just finished Divergent this week and I enjoyed it, but I’m sad to hear you did not enjoy the rest of the series.
That’s how I felt about hunger games. I enjoyed the first book, didn’t love the other two, hated the ending.
Maybe you’ll feel differently that I did about the rest of the series!