Tag: 2015 releases

: The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet by Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley

September 21, 2015 / 4 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Webseries
: The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet by Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley

The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is a love letter to fans of the wildly popular webseries, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. There’s no other way to put it. In the Acknowledgments, the authors say that the book would not have existed if people hadn’t voiced their love, affection, and concern for this version of Lydia Bennet. So it seems absolutely right that Lydia should finally get her own story via the voices of those who loved her…because this book, in, itself, is all about Lydia reclaiming her voice. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If you haven’t heard of The Lizzie Bennet […]

[GIVEAWAY] Win a September 2015 new book!

September 15, 2015 / 143 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Blog Hop
[GIVEAWAY] Win a September 2015 new book!

Hey guys, it’s been awhile since I’ve done this, but there were so many great books this month that I knew I wanted to share the book love by having a giveaway! You know the drill: I’m giving away one young adult, middle grade, or new adult book released this month, under $20 USD. I’ve also included some coveted adult titles that I will be reviewing soon. In the interest of not making myself crazy, I’m only posting covers for the ones I’m super interested in reading. Feel free to comment with your own choices!    My review of Everything, […]

Mini-Reviews: Meet the Austins, When the Stars Align & Scarlet

September 7, 2015 / 3 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Mini-Reviews, Review
Mini-Reviews: Meet the Austins, When the Stars Align & Scarlet

Despite my enduring love for Madeleine L’Engle and my obsession with her lesser-known heroine Vicky Austin, for some reason I never quite got to Meet the Austins. Maybe because I knew that it didn’t involve any of the scientific elements that feature in so many of her later novels, maybe because Vicky is only 12 in this novel. I’m grateful that my book club forced me to finally read it! Meet the Austins is a very sweet middle-grade, and a great introduction to the loving, warm Austin family. Chapters are essentially episodes in the Austins’ lives as they bring spoiled orphan […]

Waiting on Wednesday: Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler

Waiting on Wednesday: Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler

I’ve had several of Dahlia’s books on my TBR for ages, and I’m pretty excited to read them, but this one…this synopsis really got me. Maybe because it’s a bit more grounded than her Daylight Falls series, which features Hollywood actors. Either way, I love the whole senior year visiting colleges thing – it’s something that resonated a lot with me because as a senior at my American high school in Hong Kong, figuring out the right college for me dominated my every thought (especially since I couldn’t visit myself). I can’t wait to see Reagan and Victoria figure out […]

“This Slope is Treacherous” Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

August 31, 2015 / 10 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“This Slope is Treacherous” Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon is about a female Bubble Boy. Madeline has had to live most of her life in isolation in her house because she’s allergic to a ton of things. But then new neighbors move in, including a teenage boy named Olly. Slowly, she gets to know him, but that knowledge comes with the recognition that they can never be together…or can they? I fell in love with Madeline as a character immediately. The very first sentence of the book is “I’ve read many more books than you,” which, you know, pretty much is me (challenge: accepted!). […]

“Beauty Beyond Compare” Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

August 24, 2015 / 8 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“Beauty Beyond Compare” Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Dumplin completely and utterly spoke to me. I cried two times reading it – that, right there, should tell you just how emotional and resonant a book it is. It’s not that it’s sad – it’s that it’s relateable, and the issues that Willowdean was facing were ones I faced as a teen, especially with her mother, her friends, and feeling good enough to be with a guy. Let me explain: When I was eight, my mom showed me an article in the newspaper that showed Princess Diana and how she wore a lot of pink and purple, and told me that […]

“Sad Beautiful Tragic”: Another Day by David Levithan

August 17, 2015 / 0 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“Sad Beautiful Tragic”: Another Day by David Levithan

Spoilers for Every Day – but honestly, I’m not convinced that you should pick up this book without reading Every Day first, even though I know it’s written so that you can. If you haven’t read Every Day yet, please go check out my review of that first! Another Day is definitely going to be one of those books that polarizes people – you’re either going to like it or hate it. I fall more on the side of liking, because I really liked Every Day and I’m a person who appreciates literary exercises, even if they don’t seem to […]

“They Don’t Know About Us”: The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

August 4, 2015 / 7 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
“They Don’t Know About Us”: The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

Stella and her twins Cara and Drew have been through a lot together – Cara has non-Hodgkins lymphoma and has been in and out of the hospital as a teen. Now, with their eighteeth birthday coming up, Drew and Stella concoct a scheme to get her signed memorabilia from the world’s biggest boy band, the Heartbreakers – and Stella’s worst nightmare. A bunch of coincidences throw them together with the band for a night, where they have an amazing time together, especially Stella and lead singer Oliver. When an opportunity comes up for Stella to work with the band again, […]

[GIVEAWAY] Lessons from Paige: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

[GIVEAWAY] Lessons from Paige: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Hi guys, for my first post for The Start of Em and You Week, I decided to talk about how Paige and her story made me have a kind of revelation – one that’s made me more accepting and fearless about my own life. Read on for my thoughts about The Start of Me and You, Emery’s latest novel, and for an AMAZING handpainted book tote giveaway! TELL ME, WHAT IS IT YOU PLAN TO DO WITH YOUR ONE WILD & PRECIOUS LIFE? -Mary Oliver In the past year, I’ve continually noticed this quote in the footer of Emery Lord’s website, and […]

All We Have is Now by Lisa Schroeder

July 23, 2015 / 5 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
All We Have is Now by Lisa Schroeder

All We Have Is Now was on my 2015 most anticipated books list because frankly, I’m a little stressed by the idea of annihilation. The synopsis immediately gave me a heady feeling that what we do matters because the main characters in this journey decide to make their last moments on earth count by helping others fulfill their dreams. Does it sound noble? Yes. Is it a bit unrealistic? Definitely. But ultimately, the feelings I got while reading this book were ones of reading something beautiful and true, even if it’s wrapped in a bit of a sheen. The novel is […]