The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - Review

After finally finishing my reread of Noughts and Crosses, as much as I still really enjoyed it, I knew I wanted to get back to contemporary and pick a contemporary up as my next read.  I've heard so many good things about this book both online and from friends, so I knew it was going to be a really good read and one that just sounded really interesting to me.  So, all that together meant this one just seemed like the perfect book for me to pick up and as much as I say it a lot,  I am so insanely glad that I did end up reading this one.  I just adored absolutely everything about this one, from the characters to the plot, and I honestly just couldn't put it down.

This book follows our two main characters of Natasha, who is fighting to stop her family from being deported back to Jamaica, and Daniel, whose Korean parents want him to go to Harvard but whose own passion lies in poetry, not in becoming a doctor. 

I knew before even picking this one up that it sounded exactly like my sort of read, as I loved the whole concept of it, and was also really interested to see how it played out.  Firstly, I loved how this book followed this two characters facing their own problems and how their two stories began to intertwine and weave together as the story continued, as well as how pretty much the entirety of the book took place over just one day.  By the end of the book it felt like so had happened and so much time had passed, whilst also feeling like everything had happened so quickly, and I loved how this made the story feel almost more magical and really just made me love this story even more.

But as much as I loved the concept and the overall feel of this book, what definitely sold it to me was both the characters, as well as the complexity and beauty of the plot and the story itself.  As I've said, I loved how both our characters were dealing with their own separate issues, and how no matter what happened between them, their own problems and their own lives still had a key role in the story.  I really enjoyed watching how the plot progressed both in terms of their story and relationship together, and their own separate stories as well, as well as watching all the twists and turns that this story took that just left me desperate to keep reading to find out what else was in store for Natasha and Daniel.  But overall, I think that my favourite part of this book must have been the ending, which was so heart-warming and beautiful and was the perfect way to end this novel.

As for the characters, these two are possibly some of my new favourite characters. 

I adored how different they both were and how they both evolved and grew so much during the course of just one day.  Daniel was so sweet and I loved his optimism and his positive outlook despite everything both he and Natasha faced, but I have to admit that out of both of them, I absolutely adored Natasha's character.  Not only did I really enjoy the contrast she provided to Daniel with her realistic outlook, but I adored how determined she was to fight for her family to be able to stay in America no matter what, as well as how much of an individual she was and she was never apologetic for being herself.  And on top of all of this, I adored the diversity in this book, not only in terms of the characters, but also in some of the topics and themes that were present in this novel.  

One thing that I was pleasantly surprised by was how well the split POV worked in this book, and how easy it was to follow who was speaking at what point in the story.  The majority of the time I am someone who is instantly put off by books told through more than one perspective, and so I was really surprised by both how well it worked and how much I enjoyed the story being told in that way, and I honestly believe that it was both the best and in some ways the only way to tell this story in the beautiful way that it is.  

But as much as the majority of this book is told in a split POV between Daniel and Natasha, another key aspect of this story is the little inserts and other points of views from other minor characters that we get throughout this.  I absolutely loved how these sections were integrated into the story and how they allowed us to either see into the lives of other characters who otherwise would have only played a very small role into the story, or acted as almost a little insight or lesson into the history between certain things or aspects of the story.  Not only did they make this book so unique, but they also told some beautiful stories that gave this book so much more depth that added to both the main characters stories and stood as their own small tales as well.  

Finally, I couldn't write a review without mentioning the gorgeous and addictive writing style that just made this story flow so perfectly.  I really loved how easy I found it to get into and how it kept me reading and kept me wanting to read on.  It was just so enticing and drew me in so much that I just couldn't put this book down I was so addicted to the story and how it was being told.  

So overall, I can't say how much I absolutely adored this book with all my heart. 

I loved everything about it, from the characters, to the story itself and all the other beautiful aspects that make up this amazing book.  It was heart-warming and addictive and is definitely already one of my favourite books I've read this year, and I can't wait to see what Nicola Yoon writes next!  

Quote   

'We have big, beautiful brains.  We invent things that fly.  Fly.  We write poetry... We are capable of big lives.  A big history.  Why settle?  Why choose the practical thing, the mundane thing?  We are born to dream and to make the things we dream about.'

Song 
New Religion - The Heydaze

Other book 
Thanks for the Trouble by Tommy Wallach 

Rating:

 5/5

Have you read this one - what did you think?  Tell me in the comments below!

June/ July TBR

Somehow we are already well into June, which means that summer is pretty much upon on, and also means its time for another TBR.  After not a great few months in terms of reading, I am really hoping that now my exams are all over and I've taken a little break from everything that I can really get back into both my reading and blogging and hopefully get round to most, if not all, of these books in the next two months or so.  I also decided to do this TBR a little different to my normal seasonal ones as despite it pretty much being the start of summer, I actually want to save my summer TBR for when I finish school around the end of June, as that is by far the time of year when I read the most, and 
so I know that I will want to create a TBR then as well.  
And so, enjoy!  

Somehow despite almost everyone having read and raved about this book by now, I still have yet to actually get around to reading it.  This one follows a gang of deadly criminals brought together by Kaz Breaker in order to attempt to pull off an almost impossible heist, and honestly just sounds like such an amazing read.  I just love the concept of this one and can't wait to see how it plays out,

This is one that I actually picked up pretty spontaneously a couple of months ago whilst I was in such a contemporary mood, and so for once I actually haven't heard many other people talking about this book, and so for that part I'm not going into this one with many expectations.  This story just sounds like a really cute little romance surrounding our main character, Lexi, who meets author Aidan Green whilst helping out her father with his events business.  Honestly, I'm just really hoping to get to this one next time in the contemporary mood, and am excited to see what this one has in store! 

Despite reading Another Day only a few months ago, I am somehow already desperately feeling the need to pick up a David Levithan book, and so I'm pretty sure this will be one I'll be picking up very soon.  This one follows Naomi and Ely, two best friends who create a no kiss list, but face problems when Ely kisses Naomi's boyfriend, who they never even thought about putting on the list.  I'm just really excited to get to this one as I know already that I will enjoy it and as always just can't wait to read some more David Levithan.  

After finishing Tender is the Night back in April, I suddenly really felt the need to pick up and read more classics, and so decided that this would be the next one I wanted to pick up.  I honestly don't know a huge amount about this one other than the fact that its a dystopian and may have some influence from the Soviet Union, although I have to admit I'm not 100% sure as I really want to try going into this one not really knowing what to expect.  Honestly, I've just super excited to read this one and to see what I think of it as I know so many people love it, and so can't wait to actually read this story.  

Out of the all of the books on this TBR, this one is definitely the one I am both most desperate and most need to get to.  This is the sequel to An Ember in the Ashes, one of my favourite books of last year, and so its safe to say I was so excited to read this one when it came out last summer.  Yet somehow, we have made it almost a year now and still haven't got round to picking this up, despite how much I know I will love it and how desperately I really want to continue on with this series, so now is definitely the time to bite the bullet and pick this one up before I forget everything that happened in the first one.

What books do you hope to read in the next few months?  Have you read any of these - what did you think?  

April Wrap Up

As is always the case, May is already upon us and so with its arrival comes the end of April which means its time for a little April Wrap Up.  Once again, I had a pretty mediocre reading month in terms of how many books I actually read, as four has kind of been my average so far.  However, as much as I still managed to read 4 books, in terms of my actual reading habits, April was likely the strangest month I have had in awhile as I read really sporadically, with one book taking me two weeks and then another taking me just a day.  At one point in the month, I was also in the middle of 4 books, something that never happens to me as I someone who swears by reading one book at a time.  Nonetheless, I did still manage to get to a couple of really good books this month, as well as a few that I didn't enjoy so much.  And so, enjoy!

 As I have already said a fair bit, this was one of my most anticipated releases this year, and so I had to pick it up as soon as I got my hands on it at the end of March.  This book is the sequel to The Girl From Everywhere, which follows Nix and her father's crew as they sail through time in an attempt to save her mother.  I really enjoyed this one when I read it around the same time last year, and so I was so excited about picking this one up and seeing where the story went and what happened to the characters in this second book.  Unfortunately though, I really didn't end up enjoying this one.  As much as I wanted to love it I just really couldn't get into the book and honestly just really wasn't a fan of much about it at all.  I really couldn't get into the plot or grasp it half the time, and the characters just felt alot flatter in this one, with the focus also shifted on some of those who I hadn't liked in the first book, and who I actually grew to dislike even more in this one.  Overall this one just really wasn't for me.

Rating - 2/5

After reading The Ship Beyond Time, I was suddenly surprising in the mood for some historical fiction, and so I was drawn instantly to this one which has been sitting on my shelf for way too long now.  This one follows Matthew and Katherine, two characters who continuously meet and fall in love only to be separated before coming back again and reliving their lives throughout different time periods.  One of my favourite things about this book was the continuous switch between the different periods covered in this book, and how we followed so many different stories all at once without it getting too confusing.  However, whilst I did like the basic idea and story of this and liked how quick a read it was, I'm still a little undecided on my overall thoughts for this one but at the minute I do still think that I will be continuing on with the next book to see what happens next and how the story develops.

Rating - 2.5/5

This was when the month began to get a little different for me.  After finishing The Next Together, I really wasn't too sure what I was in the mood for next and so I ended in a bit of a rut where I couldn't decide what I wanted to read and even when I did pick up a book, I could never get into the story at all.  And so, somehow in the midst of this I ended up deciding that if I wasn't really reading anything properly then I might as well pick up this one again and finish off it off at last, and I'm really glad I did.  I ended up really loving this one and enjoying the complexity of the story and characters that we followed throughout this book.  I also just couldn't get enough of the gorgeous writing style that I adored and so whilst I wouldn't say I completely and utterly in love with this one, it is definitely think that this is a book that I would understand and enjoy more reading more than once.     

Rating - 4.25/5

I somehow just managed to squeeze finishing this one off at the end of the month after starting it earlier on during it.  I read To All The Boys I've Loved Before a good while ago now, and so whilst I was excited about reading this one is was definitely not one that I was insanely eager to get to it and so its safe to say I only really picked it up for a easy and cute read.  However, whilst it did take me a while to really get into this one, I actually ended up really enjoying this one and found it was exactly what I needed to read.  I loved how we got to see more of all the characters of the first book as well as the introduction of some new ones as well, and although I am not sure whether I prefered it to the first book, I will definitely be reading the final book in this series, hopefully sometime soon.  

Rating - 3.5/5

What books did you read last month?  Which was your favourite?  Have you read any of these - what did you think?  

Standalones V Series

As I've said in the past, over the past few months I have been really wanting to mix up and change up some of blog posts that I put up, rather than just always putting up the same kind of things month after month.  I have also been really wanting to do a discussion post for a good while now, but didn't really know what sort of topic to acutally do, so I've just been putting it off for weeks and weeks until I finally decided to give one a go recently.  So, I eventually decided to do an almost series vs standalone type post as I thought this would be a nice little thing to talk about and to discuss whether or not you prefer standalones or series.  And so, enjoy!

Everytime I pick a book to read, one of my biggest debates is whether I want to read a standalone with new characters and a new story that I have never read about before, or whether I want to return to a world I love and read the next book in a series. 

 Personally, I am always a standalone person.  Whilst I do enjoy series and do definitely still love reading them, I am someone who will take so long between reading books in a series, and so alot of the time it will take me years to get through the entire series.  Because of this, I often forget alot of the details of the past books and so it kind of defeats the object of reading a series rather than a standalone as each book it takes me alot of the book to remember and reintroduce myself to a story and characters that I should already know and be familiar with.  As well as this, I am a very big reader of contemporary books, of which most of them tend to be standalones, and so over time I think I have just adapted to generally reading just one book instead of reading alot of series.  

That said, I am definitely not a hater of series, I just personally tend not to read series as often because of my personal reading habits.  However, I have actually been reading alot more of series and leaning towards them alot more in recent months, mainly because I have been reading so much more fantasy than I ever used to.  I also believe that series often work so much better for fantasy books as they often include complex and detailed plots and worlds, and so more books are needed to tell the story without rushing it in one huge book. I just personally tend not to read series  as often because of my personal reading habits.  

Now in order to compare series and standalones properly I thought what better way than to create a list of my favourite things about each!

Everything is wrapped up in one nice little book 


as I've already said, one of my favourite aspects of standalones is the fact that the entire story is just in one book and that there is nothing left out and everything is covered in one story.  I just adore the fact that that book contains one whole story and that you can take 

A sequel or other book in the series can't ruin the book for you  

I can't tell you the times I have adored the first book in a series and hated the second or the third, and as much as my thoughts on later books does not mean I am no longer a fan of the first book, it has to be said that not liking a later book definitely affects my view of the series overall, and so does slightly taint my love for the first book as well.

You feel less guilty when you don't finish the book 

One of my biggest bad habits with reading is always feeling guilty when I'm really not enjoying a book and desperately want to DNF it, and so I often continue on and finish books I know halfway through I'm really not going to be a fan of.  

 The story is less likely to be slow 

Because the whole idea of standalones is that the story is told in just one book, the story is often alot faster paced or not likely to have as many slow moments as series simply because there is not enough time to tell a good story if half the chapters are just fillers.

Character development 

As a lover of characters, this is likely what I believe to be the biggest benefit of a series over a standalone.  Instead of just seeing characters over a short space of time and in one storyline, you get to see them grow and develop through different plots and storylines and in different situations.  

Amazing world building can happen 

Similarly to character development, series give you the opportunity to develop amazing and complex world building that standalones just don't allow you to do.  You get to explore some of the complexities and intricacies of the world in which the story is set without info dumps or without it getting too confusing.

 You get to return to a world and story you love more than once 

It is an amazing feeling when you finish an amazing story with characters and a world that you have fallen in love, but what is even better is finishing that book and realising that you can return to that world and characters in a different book and with a different and brand new story.

More complex storylines and plots can be developed 

One of the key drawbacks of standalones, particularly in fantasy books, is that it is hard to create very complex stories and plots in just one book, and so series are a great way to develop and evolve these as well as adding in so many more different intertwining storylines without it being too complicated or confusing.  

So, what do you think?  Are you a lover of standalones?  Or are you definitely more of a reader of series?  Tell me your thoughts down below!