Reanna's Book Realm

Adam’s dad is the head of the church in his small, conservative town, which means he’s under constant scrutiny. His brother’s on his way to become a priest, but Adam can’t even think about the future. He’s still got one last year of high school, a hard enough feat without being gay. His parents seem to know about his sexuality but ignore it, he has a boyfriend that he thinks he loves, and a boss that’s sexually harassing him at work. Everyday stretches out to a lifetime in Adam’s world, and today is no different. I have mixed feelings about Patrick Ness’s work. Overall, he always has really good concepts for his books. He wrote a trilogy about a world where everyone hears each other’s thoughts and a book about all the sidekicks of superheroes. Yet, they all fall short for me. I was still drawn to Release because of the plot, the cover, and the quote from Andrew Smith on the front. After reading it, this could’ve been one of my favorite books of the year but there was one major is...

After a year of staying at the neighbor’s house, Eleanor is finally being allowed to come back to her house. Except, her house isn’t what it use to be. Now, it seems like all of her siblings worship her abusive step-dad and her family is even poorer than what they use to be. Across the neighborhood lives Park, a teenage boy who’s always had a stable family and loves all things punk. Eleanor and Park are total opposites so when they end up sitting next to each other on the bus they have nothing but displeasure for each other. But on the next bus ride, things change. Things change again on the bus ride after that and the bus ride after that. Soon they’re sharing comic books and then speaking to each other and even better, holding hands. Set in the backdrop of the late 1980s, Eleanor and Park’s relationship seems to come straight out of a movie. Unfortunately, it’s real life and it’s crashing down on them. Eleanor & Park is a really good concept for a book. What I mean is, it gli...

Monty is too progressive for his times (somewhere in the eighteenth century). He has no interest in being a perfect gentleman, making business deals behind closed doors and only drinking within the same class. Instead he likes his parties wild, all the pretty girls and all the pretty boys too. His father doesn’t. In hopes to put him into shape, his father places him, his best friend Percy, and his sister Felicity on a Tour around the continent. With all this formality, Monty of course turn squeamish and “accidentally” steals a item from a duke that may hold the secret to the world’s first cure-all medicine. Suddenly, the three are on a chase across the continent to retrieve the medicine and it only complicates things that Monty is in love with Percy. When The Gentleman’s Guide for Vice and Virtue came out I had no interest in reading it. Mostly, I was turned away from it because it’s historical fiction, something I almost never read. I actually end up liking most of my historical ...

Mina’s past was out of her control, ruled by her tyrant magician father, feared by the locals. Now, she will choose. She will climb up the social and royalty latter to be queen and she will succeed. With marrying the king comes Lynet, his daughter, a stunning image of the previous queen. Sixteen years later, Lynet is a fierce, but childish, princess. She fears becoming queen one day and is in no rush to attain the position. So, when her father dies out of the blue she is rushed with confusion and fright. Mina is too, but for different reasons. She could lose her throne and everything she’s worked toward to Lynet. Soon, their grief turns into competition because only one can control the throne. Thank you to Netgalley, who provided me an ARC of Girls Made of Snow and Glass in return for honest feedback. I have been excited about this book ever since it was announced and even more excited when it was marketed as a “feminist retelling of Snow White.” For me, Snow White is one of my lea...

It’s been five years since the end of the Dark War the took place in Cassandra Clare’s previous series, The Mortal Instruments. Since then, Julian and Emma, who were last seen at age twelve are now both seventeen and Julian basically runs the Los Angeles Institute. Now, the two of them are parabatai, sworn to serve and protect each other. Even though it’s been awhile since the Dark War, Emma and Julian are still reaping the consequences of it. Julian now is the head of his family and Emma is on a mission to figure out who killed her parents. When bodies start showing up in a similar fashion to Emma’s parents, Emma is given another strand of hope. Julian wants to be supportive but he has his own battle: he’s in love with Emma, something forbidden under parabatai codes. Regardless of his feelings, he has to help Emma because it seems that his family are involved in the murders, which is a puzzle to all. A round of applause to me, who got through this massive, 700 page book in a reaso...

August Flynn is a monster. Not the kind of monster that lives under your bed, but the kind of monster the looks human and breathes like a human. August is the result of a mass murder, just like all the other monsters are a result of some kind of terrible action done by a human. When he was created, he was adopted by the Flynns, rulers of the South City. Kate Harker, the daughter of the ruler of the North City, views monsters as something to control, especially since there has been a wave of uncooperativeness from the monsters in the past few weeks. It seems that August and Kate are on opposite sides of a city that’s about to break into madness and to survive they must go against all their instincts and trust each other. Ever since This Savage Song came out in July of last year everybody I follow has been raving about it. Telling me it’s one of the best releases of the year, that it’s amazing. The same goes for all of Victoria Schwab’s books. However, when I read her book The Arch...

It’s been three years since Sam Walsh went missing on a bike ride to the mall. Since then, his best friend Josh and his sister Beth have been tormented with his disappearance, both blaming themselves for what happened. At this point, they’ve both settled into regular life, and while Sam is still on their mind, they’re able to move on. Then, Sam is found. Sam’s whole family is beyond relieved and happy to have their brother and son back, except Sam isn’t the innocent boy that they last knew. Now he’s a fourteen year old who is struggling with the present and isn’t doing so hot emotionally. Beth and Josh have no idea what to do, especially since Josh is hiding some information about what happened the day Sam went missing. They have to find some way to deal with it because regular life has now returned. Going into We Now Return to Regular Life , I had no idea what to expect. I’ve never read a book with a topic like this and I hadn’t read any other Martin Wilson book. Now, I am so glad...

Vivi needs a break from the life she’s built and that’s just what she gets: a move to Verona Cove for the summer. Right away, she’s in love with the town. The small-town feel, the diner, her new job, and the beach a walk away. Things couldn’t be going better and to top it off she meets Jonah Daniels, who is feeling anything but joy this summer. Within the past few months his dad passed away and his mom fell apart, leaving him and his five siblings to fend for themselves. From the moment Jonah and his younger sister walk into the pottery shop, Jonah and Vivi stick together like glue. Vivi is the type of girl Jonah’s never met before he becomes enticed with her. However, soon enough her quirks don’t seem quirky but out of hand and if Jonah wants to help her, he’s going to have to do it soon. And, the award for The Worst Book Ever goes to… When We Collided by Emmery Lord. This book was something else and I’m kind of amazed with how this book not only got published, but has mostly p...

Everything is fine. Okay, everything's not fine but it’s as good as it’s going to get for Sorina and her family of illusions while living in Gomorrah without edging too close to danger. Every night they put on their act, some party, and then they do it all over again the next night. Sure, Sorina doesn’t have any eyes, Tree is made of bark, and Crown is made of fingernails (just to name a few) but everything moves smoothly. Until it doesn’t. All of a sudden, one of them is found murdered on their own stage. Then, one by one, they all start to meet a fate too dark to mention. Sorina needs to figure out how her illusions who can’t die are dying, and quickly, because the bodies are starting to pile up. Woah guys. This book is amazing. Like, out of the ball park. If we’re going for originality, which is sort of hard to find in the YA scene these days, Daughter of the Burning City wins the blue ribbon. This may not just be my favorite book of 2017 but one of my favorite books ever. ...

There are two groups Ali is apart of: Ali, Noodles, and Needles and Ali, Jazz, and Mom. The two groups aren’t exclusive but there’s only so much Jazz and Mom know about what Ali does with Noodles and Needles. Sometimes, it’s better not to ask. No one asks about Needles anyway. Everybody knows he has Tourette’s Syndrome and the he has his ticks but it’s all good to everyone except Noodles, his own brother. Although he loves him, Noodles blames Needles and his disability for the reason why their dad left. So, when they’re all invited to the hottest party on the block with the condition that Needles comes with, Noodles can’t do anything but give in. But, like everything, it doesn’t go as everyone plans at the party and this time it might not be Needles fault. I got a chance to read When I Was The Greatest when it was my book club’s book of the month. Jason Reynolds has been an author on my radar for awhile now, especially with his new collaborative book All American Boys. I didn’t r...