Review: Crazy Beautiful

Title: Crazy Beautiful

Author: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Publishers: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Date: September 29, 2009

Length/Format: 193 pgs / Harcover Finished Copy

Genre: YA Romance

Source: My local library

Summary from Goodreads (Crazy Beautiful)

In an explosion of his own making, Lucius blew his arms off. Now he has hooks. He chose hooks because they were cheaper. He chose hooks because he wouldn’t outgrow them so quickly. He chose hooks so that everyone would know he was different, so he would scare even himself.

Then he meets Aurora. The hooks don’t scare her. They don’t keep her away. In fact, they don’t make any difference at all to her.

But to Lucius, they mean everything. They remind him of the beast he is inside. Perhaps Aurora is his Beauty, destined to set his soul free from its suffering.

Or maybe she’s just a girl who needs love just like he does.

~ My Opinion ~

I realize that this book was published a few years back, but I had not heard of it until my sister checked it out from our library and declared JUST HOW MUCH SHE LOVED IT! So I thought I would give it a try. At first when I read the synopsis, I did not understand what about drew my sister in...It sounded pretty morbid to me but the romanctic aspect was enough for my sister. Admittedly though, I was intrigued. It was a completely new topic for me, I have never read about a teen boy who accidently became a double amputee.

The book itself is described as a contemporary re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite fairytales!

 It is written from two perspectives, Lucius and Aurora's. Early on, Lucius describes the losses he has suffered because of his accident. I actually felt really bad for him. He lost more than his hands...He lost his home, his freedom, and even feeling like he belongs anywhere. Aurora is also recovering from aterrible loss...the loss of her mother to cancer. Can I just say that recently cancer has become way TOO familiar and her loss affected me on a personal level. Needless to say, I was sad for both characters. Their losses eventually bring them a sense of understanding to draw them closer but how they handled their hardships differed immensely.

As both characters were high school sophomores, the setting was easy to relate to , although some of the other charcters were generally a bit cliche but it did not take much away from the story. Lucius is of course bullied relentlessly in such a setting. He is humiliated on the first day and repels everyone except for Aurora. Aurora has it easy in the friendshp department, people are attracted to her because of her beauty and amiable ways. However she is claimed by the popular kids leaving Lucius to sit all by himself, wondering if Aurora is "maybe" his friend.

The characters in this story were easy to like, and I really did like Lucius, he was incredibly witty and mostly humorous save when he became upset with his circumstances. Aurora on the other hand, was way too nice, she didn't seem like any one I know. I liked her but I'm not sure she would exist in real life.

The other characters were cliche high schoolers and the setting was good enough and believable. What I really liked about this book was how easy it was to read and how much it made me laugh. It was sad but delightful and I am completely satisfied with having read it because it was original in it's own way and a light enjoyable read. My sister was not too happy with the ending but I thought it was perfect!

I think this is a fabulous book for a not too comprimising read. I would recommend it to fans of fairy tale retellings and YA romance.

That said, you should also check out Beastly by Alex Finn, another Beauty and the Beast variation !(it was recently made into a movie)

Rating: 4 stars (I really liked it)

LC's 500 follower Giveaway!

If you're looking to snatch up some good books, I suggest you visit LC's Adventures In Libraryland. She is offering up some really great prizes in celebration of having reached 500 followers, but by now she's already over 600 ;)

So get ahead, become a follower of her blog and get your name tossed into the batch :D

Good Luck, it's running until August 31st and Is open Internationally as long as the Book Depository will ship there.

Review: Past Midnight

Title : Past Midnight (Past Midnight #1)

Author: Mara Purnhagen

Publishers: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: September 1, 2010

Length/Format: 216 pgs/ Paperback Finished Copy

Genre: YA Paranormal

Source: Harlequin Teen Panel

Summary From Goodreads (Past Midnight)

 Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear.

All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….

~ My Opinion ~

While visiting some blogs, I stumbled upon a review for this series. I really liked the sound of it, so I added it to my TBR pile upon receiving it from the Harlequin Teen Panel.

 Once I started reading I immeadiately got into it! It was such an easy read that I finished it in one night.

The concept for this book is actually in itself pretty interesting. The Silver family is not an ordinary one but then again fictional families from the paranormal genre hardly ever are. What makes this book different from other "Ghost" stories is that Charlotte's parents are reality tv ghost hunters who attempt to debunk ghosts myths by offering a rational scientific explanation. The twist though is that in one special occasion things go a bit haywire in which Charlotte and her college aged sister Annalise experience something that their own parents are having a hard time to come up with a logical explanation for. It's actually the first time that the Sliver family team feels something so extraordinary. Annalise being the most affected.From then on, we see that Charlotte's family puts their job on hold for a while and try to live a normal surburban life to make their daughter comfortable. Of course things don't go as planned and Charlotte starts having bizarre dreams that she tries to find out more about. As a subplot, Charlotte is also trying to fit into high school and make friends which is a new thing for her since her family has never stayed in one place for long. She ends up having to solve two mysteries, the one revolving around her dreams and strange incidents and the one she gets into when her new friend and neighbor Avery acts strange towards a fellow classmate.

The characters in this book are very likeable and Charlotte especially is very realistic and easy to relate to as a teenager not so much with the ghost thing though haha. I also thought that her love interest with Noah (the sweet classmate) was very cute and I can't wait to see where their relationship goes. The high school aspect in the book was just okay, it seemed realistic enough but I did have a problem with Bliss the mean peer who decides to hate on Charlotte. Bliss was an annoying character but I guess that WAS the point.

Although this is the first book in the series, I can definitely see it as a stand-alone mostly because it's a light, fun and mysterious fast paced book and because it did not end on a cliff-hanger.

Overall, I would recommend it to fans of supernatural and paranormal YA lovers.

Rating: 4 Stars (I Really Liked It)

First Blog Post OMG!

So as I write this, I have 0 followers! It doesn't matter though! I have been wanting to start a book blog for a while now and it has taken me this long because I was afraid that it would be too confusing and it would end up nowhere. Now though, I see that it isn't so bad and I aspire to have a blog focused on the books I read. What I really want is to review my books here, get feedback and expand on my love for books. Wish me luck!