Ten Book Challenge!

Thanks to

Izzy @ The Reading Izzy

for tagging me for this fun tag!

Oh my god. Izzy tagged me in this almost two months ago. I didn't forget about it but I blame work and the fact that I got this crazy cold for no reason. Seriously, this cold was insane. I've never slept so much in one day ever. It just knocked me out. Then work, then Blood of Olympus.  The world basically stopped for me in anticipation for and during my reading of BoO and then, of course, I proceeded to get into a post-Percy Jackson-era reading slump which bummed me out. AND THEN Blogger randomly decided it wouldn't let me post properly anymore. I figured it out though.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I wholeheartedly apologize to Izzy for taking so ridiculously long to complete this lovely tag.  The rules of this tag are simple just list ten books that have stayed with you in some way without thinking too much about your choices then copy the rules and tag some friends. Don't forget to comment below so I can read your list!

1. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton - I read this book for the first time when I was nine after my mom insisted that I read it. I,  of course, having been a normal nine year old, did not want to just because my mom said I should. Because why would a book that my mom read when she was younger be cool, right? Needless to say, I am so glad that I mom made me read it. The Outsiders has been one of my favorite books ever since and I've read it far too many times to count. I've actually gone through two different copies of it because I gave my first copy away to someone who needed to remember to "stay gold."

2. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - This is the first book I ever read to have taken the feels stick and whacked me so hard with it that I just couldn't anymore. Oh my god. All the things that happened in it and WILL HERONDALE!!!! The epilogue killed me. Like it took my silly little heart and just said, "Hahaha I will crush you." It was perfect though. A few too many happy endings but so, so perfect.

3. The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce - The Realms of the Gods was the final book in my all-time favorite Tamora Pierce Tortall Quartet. I just love Daine and Numair. They were my original OTP enough so that my eleven year old self wrote a really, really, really bad fanfiction based on them. But, yes, The Immortals Quartet was just my favorite growing up. Aside from Harry Potter, it was Tamora Pierce that really got me into reading and it was because of her that I tossed my parents' hopes and dreams of me becoming a doctor away and decided I wanted to be a YA fantasy writer. 

4. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan - This particular Percy Jackson book was the one that truly got me hooked into the series. I read this series for the first time last January. As a twenty-something year old reading PJO, I thought the first too books were too kid-ish for me but then this book happened. I'm not really sure what it was about The Titan's Curse that really hooked me but after reading this one, I officially jumped aboard the Percy Jackson bandwagon.

5. Old Magic by Marianne Curley - This book was a first for me in a lot of ways. One, it was the first book I ever read that dealt with time travel. Two, it was the first book I ever read written in first-person, present tense with two alternating POVs. And three, it was the first book I ever read that was not set in the US - rather, it's set in Australia (as are all of Marianne Curely's books, I think. I haven't read her most recent ones.) I think that's the part that intrigued me most about Old Magic. To my silly American self, Australia is an exotic place of wonder and awesomeness that New Jersey just isn't. This is another one of those books that I read over and over almost to the point of my copy falling apart.

6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - This is the first book I ever read that made me go, "wow, that was really beautiful" as soon as I finished it. At first I actually didn't like The Night Circus. It took me a while to get into it, but suddenly the gorgeous imagery and writing took over and I couldn't help but keep reading. I definitely need to reread this one at some point.

7. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien - It's no secret that I love anything related to Lord of the Rings. Of all the books in the LOTR world, The Hobbit is most definitely my favorite. I read it for the first time when I took a LOTR class in college - yes, you heard me right. I took a Lord of the Rings class in college and it was marvelous. I've reread The Hobbit a few times since then and I'm already itching for another reread. Have to prepare for the last movie ever of course. 

8. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman - This book is the only book to ever make me cry. TFIOS didn't even bring me close but this book got me. That ending! It was for the greater good though. I love Lyra and Will so much. Aside from that though there are just so many great ideas in this book. If I could choose, Pullman's idea of being returned to the earth after death, with your daemon of course, is what I'd want to happen.

As it's Thursday, let us pause in this post topic for an appropriate Throwback Thursday musing because when you happen to be in Oxford, England you must make this appropriately bookish side trip:

That's right! Lyra and Will's bench is real! I've sat in it!

Aaand we're back...

9. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson - Okay, new game. Take a shot any time I mention this book on this blog then call out of work/skip school tomorrow but you will not be in suitable condition to function in public. Seriously though, I love every aspect about this book. It was without a doubt my favorite book I read this year. Everything the imagery, the gorgeous writing, the characters - just everything about this book was absolutely wonderful.  

10. Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling - Really, what kind of list would this be if Harry Potter wasn't on it? Harry Potter was my childhood. It was one of the reasons why I love reading. It was such an epic experience to grow up with these books and almost literally being the same age as Harry every time a new book came out. And J.K. Rowling is such an amazing human being. She's one of my favorite people ever. 

Thank you again to Izzy for tagging me in this great post! And I'm sorry again that it took me forever to do it. As it's been a long time since I was tagged, I won't tag anyone back but if you're interested in doing this tag, do let me know so I can read your list or if you've already done this tag, link your post to me. I love lists! I want to read them all!

Top Ten Tuesday #5: Top Ten Books I've Read This Year

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

Lists, lists, lists. Before I start listing, I want to apologize for not blogging a lot recently. I'm currently in the middle of redoing my room so my blogging space is an absolute mess and everything is everywhere. I can't think in this madness! But my new closet is put together and semi-organized now. I just need to clean... a lot. Enough about that though. I've only read 23 books so far this year which make me horribly behind on my 70 book challenge for the year. Most of them I've talked about in previous blogs and slightly less than half of them consisted of me marathoning through all the Percy Jackson books. But without, further ado:

Top Ten Books I've Read This Year

(in the order that I read them)

 

1. Champion by Marie Lu - This was my favorite of the Legend Trilogy. After Allegiant, I was kind of afraid that this would follow the same disappointing path but I was wrong. I really liked how this ended. I won't go into details because that would involve spoilers but I really liked it.

 

2. Skyraiders by Brandon Mull - I've never a Brandon Mull book before but I got this as an ARC from work so I figured I'd read it. Skyraiders is a middle grade book set in an alternate universe. It starts out with Cole and his friends going trick-or-treating. One of the houses they go to has completely set up a haunted house attraction. Once inside however, Cole's friends get kidnapped by slave collectors from another world and whisked into a portal. Cole, who only barely escaped getting taken himself, goes after them to a world called the Outskirts. The Outskirts is made up of five kingdoms all set within a realm somewhere between reality and imagination. It's up to Cole and a mysterious girl, Mira, to save his friends and find a way home - if that's even possible. I really liked the world building in this even though I thought it was a little on the lengthy side for no real reason.

 

3. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu - I've definitely mentioned this book before but I really enjoyed it. It's the perfect mix of hope, melancholy, and childhood innocence.

 

4. Forsaken Dreamscape by Lani Lenore - Dark!Peter Pan! I love this trilogy. Lani Lenore needs to be a household name. She's an indie author who I've been following ever since she only did fanfiction. This is the second book in her original retelling of Peter Pan and it's amazing. I can't wait for the third to come out.

 

5. Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan - This is the book that hooked me into the Percy Jackson series. I was a little iffy about The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters. Initially, I thought they were too kid-ish for me. It's a toss up between this one and The Last Olympian for my favorite of this series. Plus, Nico was introduced in this one. Cute little Nico.

 

6. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan - This book. This. Book. I just can't with the feels all over the place. Tartarus and Nico and Percabeth4Life! (Even though Percy is totally my fictional boyfriend.) Gah! October needs to be now just so I can know what happens next!

 

Out of curiosity, has anyone read the Carter Kane? I'm thinking of reading them but somehow I can't see them living up to Percy.

  

7. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson - This has to be at least the third time I'm gushing about Tiger Lily here. Anderson's words are just so pretty. If this book were a painting, it would be in the Louvre.

 

8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I have mixed feelings about this one but I truly did enjoy it. I thought it was a good story - not entirely worthy of the insane hype that it's caused - but good nonetheless.

 

9. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - I want to hug this book. It's just so cute!

 

10. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira - As much as this reminded me of Perks of Being a Wallflower, there were some seriously great quotes in here. I took pictures of my favorites before I actually just broke down and bought the book.  

 

 

That's it for now! Have you read any of these? What were your favorite books that you've read so far?

Tiger Lily Review

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Published:  July 3, 2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart
My rating: 4/5

Before I get started with this review, I'd like to just take a moment to admire the cover. I don't know about other editions, but the US paperback is all black with a watercolor-esque tiger lily on it. It actually took me until I was halfway through the book to realize that the flower on the cover was actually an image of a girl in an orange dress. (In the cover picture above, more of her torso and legs are showing than on my copy.) It wasn't blatantly obvious until I flipped the book over while reading to hold my page for a minute. The girl's arm and knees can't be seen from the front cover itself, only when you open the book completely. Instead, the part of her torso that's partially shown looks like the center of the flower. After finishing the book, I thought the double image suited Tiger Lily herself - a girl who no one saw or loved as she truly was only as they wanted her to be. I wanted to see a flower on the cover because that's what a tiger lily is; only when I looked harder did I see the girl.

Let me tell you something straight off. This is a love story, but not like any you've ever heard. The boy and the girl are far from innocent. Dear lives are lost. And good doesn't always win. In some places, there is something ultimately good about endings. In Neverland, that is not the case.

- Chapter 1, page 3

 



This is the opening paragraph to the first chapter of Tiger Lily and it cannot be more perfect. It adequately sets the tone for a story that is beautiful but sad, full of love yet full of loneliness and fear. It's about circles, connections, choices, beginnings, and endings. Jodi Lynn Anderson's writing is gorgeous filled with descriptions carrying the proper amounts of beauty and melancholy. She was able to take a well-known and well-loved story and explore the dark recesses that make the Peter Pan the classic tale of adventure, innocence, fun, and tragedy.

The story is told through Tinker Bell's point of view. Anderson explains that faeries have ways of communicating with each other but to humans they are mute. However, a faerie is empathic and can sense the thoughts and emotions of the humans around her. By choosing Tinker Bell as the narrator of her story, Anderson is able to harness the omniscience of third person narration while keeping the intimacy of writing in first person. Although Tink remains close to our protagonists, Tiger Lily and Peter, for most of the story, she has the freedom to stray off to spy on the pirates when needed.

Tink chooses to remain with Tiger Lily rather then the other faeries. This is one of the many choices that the characters in this book make that separate them from their peers and the expectations placed upon them. Tiger Lily is the adoptive daughter of the Sky Eater tribe's shaman, Tik Tok. She is more like the boys than the girls in her tribe. She has a wild spirit and on top of that she is believed to be guarded by the crows. Because of this, the other tribes folk remain wary of her. When Tiger Lily eventually meets and falls in love with Peter - who along with the lost boys are feared by the Sky Eaters - she is separated even further because she must carry her love for him as a secret she knows will never be accepted and will force her to be alone.

Peter himself is a character of extreme loneliness. He is every bit of the careless, adventurous boy J.M. Barrie created but he is burdened by leading the lost boys and protecting them from the truths that he himself refuses to believe. He fears that they'll discover the true danger of the pirates and that he's not the leader they need him to be.  He is a boy who is broken and feels everything with his whole being but tries to lie about it to cover up the truths that can shatter his illusion. He craves a companion who he can depend on and feel safe with but who will not question the lies that he's wrapped himself up in.

What makes Tiger Lily even more poignant aside from the beautiful prose and heart wrenching characters is that, as readers who are familiar with the classic tale, from the beginning we know how it will end. We know that Tiger Lily and Peter cannot be together though throughout the book we hope that they'll overcome everything and find a way. It's not a story about happy endings though it is a story about endings themselves. It questions the idea of who is good or bad and what makes an ending a happy one. Is Phillip is a villain for preaching what he believed in? Is Hook evil for being angry at coming so close to achieving his life goal only to realize he failed? Can a person find a happy ending with a broken heart? Tiger Lily doesn't offer the answers to any of these questions but rather offers the hard truths that allow us to decide for ourselves.