Andye Reads

I recently read *ILLUMINAE by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. You may have already heard of this book, as everyone seems to be RAVING about it. But I thought I should just give you my thoughts, and a little caution before you decide to drop the big bucks on this one. THE 5 BIG PROBLEMS WITH ILLUMINAE  by Andye 1. The cover. Ok, yeah. The cover is freaking amazing. The problem, though, is that when you take off the dust-jacket, the naked book is JUST AS AMAZING . Or maybe more amazing, I don't even know. So, what am I supposed to do? Display it with the jacket on? Or off? How am I supposed to pick? Switch it back and forth every other day? And where do I put the jacket on the off days? It's going to get crinkled! So now I have to buy TWO copies, just so I don't have to stress out about this. Rude, Random House. Rude. 2. People are bothering me about it.  This goes along with problem #1. I took Illuminae with me to my son's baseball game so I could ...

RENEGADES by Marissa Meyer Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (November 7, 2017) Publication Date: November 7, 2017 Sold by: Macmillan Buy the Book: Amazon.com Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice. The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies — humans with extraordinary abilities — who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone... except the villains they once overthrew. Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice — and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both. In this day and age, we all know and love a good villain (I mean take a look at Loki from the MCU, he has people swooning left and right). Renegades by Marissa Meyer c...

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl Paperback: 592 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Mti edition (November 20, 2012) Language: English Buy the book: Amazon Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. At a Glance: I've wanted to read this book for a while now, my mom read it and she loved it. Now that I've finally read it, I'm glad I did. And just in time for...

Delirium by Lauren Oliver Paperback: 480 pages Publisher: HarperCollins; Reprint edition (February 7, 2012) Language: English Buy the book: Amazon Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to ...

Allegiant by Veronica Roth Series: Divergent Series (Book 3) Hardcover: 544 pages Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; First Edition edition (October 22, 2013) Buy the book: Amazon The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. This was definitely my least favorite of the series. The two P...

 Review by Jackie How to Keep Rolling After a Fall by Karole Cozzo Age Range: 12 - 18 years Grade Level: 7 and up Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Swoon Reads (August 2, 2016) Goodreads | Amazon After a cyber bullying incident turns her life upside down, a handsome wheelchair rugby player shows a former mean girl that everyone deserves a second chance in this swoonworthy new novel from the author of How to Say I Love You Out Loud. The party was at her house. The photos were posted to her Facebook account. That's all the evidence anyone needed to condemn Nikki Baylor for a cyberbullying incident that humiliated a classmate and nearly resulted in the girl's suicide. Now Nikki's been expelled from her old school, her friends have abandoned her, and even her own parents can't look her in the eye. With her plans for the future all but destroyed, Nikki resigns herself to being the girl everyone hates - almost as much as she hates herself. But then Nikki meets Pax, a s...

Review by Jen DEFENDING TAYLOR by Miranda Kenneally Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (July 5, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon There are no mistakes in love. Captain of the soccer team, president of the Debate Club, contender for valedictorian: Taylor's always pushed herself to be perfect. After all, that's what is expected of a senator's daughter. But one impulsive decision-one lie to cover for her boyfriend-and Taylor's kicked out of private school. Everything she's worked so hard for is gone, and now she's starting over at Hundred Oaks High. Soccer has always been Taylor's escape from the pressures of school and family, but it's hard to fit in and play on a team that used to be her rival. The only person who seems to understand all that she's going through is her older brother's best friend, Ezra. Taylor's had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But it's hard to trust after having been b...

Review by Jen THE LEAVING by Tara Altebrando Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (June 7, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon Eleven years ago, six kindergartners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to. Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are . . . fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max--the only one who hasn't come back. Which leaves Max's sister, Avery, wanting answers. She wants to find her brother--dead or alive--and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story. But as details of the disappearance begin to unfold, no one is prepared for t...

Review by Jennifer FRAYED by Kara Terzis Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (June 7, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon Dear Kesley, My therapist tells me I should write you a letter. Like flushing all my thoughts and feelings out of my system and onto paper. I tell her it's a stupid idea. But here I am, writing a letter to a dead girl. Where do I start? Where did our story begin? From the moment you were born...or died?  I'll start with the moment I found out the truth about you. Your lies and my pain. Because it always begins and ends with you. And that end began when Rafe Lawrence came back to town... Ava Hale will do anything to find her sister's killer...although she'll wish she hadn't. Because the harder Ava looks, the more secrets she uncovers about Kesley, and the more she begins to think that the girl she called sister was a liar. A sneak. A stranger. And Kesley's murderer could be much closer than she t...

Review by Emily ALL THE FEELS by Danika Stone Age Range: 12 - 18 years Grade Level: 7 and up Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Swoon Reads (June 7, 2016) Goodreads | Amazon College freshman Liv is more than just a fangirl: The Starveil movies are her life...and her last tangible connection to her deceased father. Thus, when her favorite character, Captain Matt Spartan, is killed off at the end of the last movie, Liv Just. Can't. Deal. Tired of sitting in her room sobbing, Liv decides to launch an online campaign to bring her beloved hero back to life. With the help of her best friend, Xander, actor and steampunk cosplayer extraordinaire, she creates #SpartanSurvived, a call that ignites the fandom. But as her online life succeeds beyond her wildest dreams, Liv is forced to balance that with the pressures of school, her (mostly nonexistent and entirely traumatic) romantic life, and her disapproving mother's new boyfriend. A trip to DragonCon with Xander might be exactly what...

Review by Sara... THE LAND OF 10,000 MADONNAS By Kate Hattemer Age Range: 12 and up Grade Range: 7 and up Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Knopf (April 19, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon Five teens backpack through Europe to fulfill the mysterious dying wish of their friend. Jesse lives with his history professor dad in a house covered with postcards of images of the Madonna from all over the world. They’re gotten used to this life: two motherless dudes living among thousands of Madonnas. But Jesse has a heart condition that will ultimately cut his life tragically short. Before he dies, he arranges a mysterious trip to Europe for his three cousins, his best friend, and his girlfriend to take after he passes away. It’s a trip that will forever change the lives of these young teens and one that will help them come to terms with Jesse’s death. I was really excited when I received this book to read because the premise sounded like a great read and the cover looked amazi...

By Becca... Today, I welcome Kate Karyus Quinn, author of Another Little Piece and her upcoming book DOWN WITH THE SHINE, on the first day of Irish Banana's Down With The Shine Blog Tour! Thank you so much Hannah and Kate! This was such a fun post to collaborate on, and I'm excited to persuade EVERYONE to read this epic book! Check out Kate's guest post below, where she lists her TOP 10 AUTHOR WISHES (with GIFs), a la Down with the Shine style, and then stick around for an awesome giveaway! DOWN WITH THE SHINE by Kate Karyus Quinn Age Range: 13 and up Grade Range: 8 and up Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Harper Teen (April 26, 2016) Language: English There's a reason they say "be careful what you wish for." Just ask the girl who wished to be thinner and ended up smaller than Thumbelina, or the boy who asked for "balls of steel" and got them-literally. And never wish for your party to go on forever. Not unless you want your guest...