Book Review: Wild

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Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed ~ 315 pages ~ published 3/20/12 by Knopf

Goodreads Synopsis:

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.
Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

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Book Review: The Poet X

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The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo ~ 368 pages ~ published 3/6/18 by HarperTeen

Goodreads Synopsis:

A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

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Book Review: The Witch of Willow Hall

thewitchofwillowhall

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox ~ 368 pages ~ published 10/2/18 by Graydon House (Harlequin)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two centuries after the Salem witch trials, there’s still one witch left in Massachusetts. But she doesn’t even know it.

Take this as a warning: if you are not able or willing to control yourself, it will not only be you who suffers the consequences but those around you, as well.

New Oldbury, 1821

In the wake of a scandal, the Montrose family and their three daughters—Catherine, Lydia, and Emeline—flee Boston for their new country home, Willow Hall. The estate seems sleepy and idyllic. But a subtle menace creeps into the atmosphere, remnants of a dark history that call to Lydia, and to the youngest, Emeline.

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Book Review: The Belles

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The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton ~ 440 pages ~ published 2/6/18 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Synopsis:

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

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Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone

childrenofbloodandbone

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi ~ 525 pages ~ published 3/6/18 by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Synopsis:

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

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Mini Book Reviews: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before Series + Movie Review

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When I heard that the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series was being made into a Netflix movie, I knew that I wanted to read the series before watching it. I was able to get the series box-set for super cheap before I left my job at the bookstore, so this was the perfect time and opportunity to read it in its entirety! I’m going to do three mini reviews, and then talk about my thoughts on the movie as well. Let’s get to it!

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