Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Pick A Book & Hear A Song | Issue 3





Pick A Book & Hear A Song is an original feature here at I Write, You Read. This featured was created because I enjoy listen to music while reading. If a book is quickly becoming one of my favourite reads of all time, I create a playlist specifically for that book. I'd love to share my faves with you and would also enjoy to see what songs you listen to well reading!



Every month I will be posting a new issue with a different theme.






This month's theme is:


Favourite YA Covers





Image result for throne of glass series


Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas


On paper, college dropout Pablo Rind doesn’t have a whole lot going for him. His graveyard shift at a twenty-four-hour deli in Brooklyn is a struggle. Plus, he’s up to his eyeballs in credit card debt. Never mind the state of his student loans.



Pop juggernaut Leanna Smart has enough social media followers to populate whole continents. The brand is unstoppable. She graduated from child stardom to become an international icon and her adult life is a queasy blur of private planes, step-and-repeats, aspirational hotel rooms, and strangers screaming for her just to notice them.



When Leanna and Pablo meet at 5:00 a.m. at the bodega in the dead of winter it’s absurd to think they’d be A Thing. But as they discover who they are, who they want to be, and how to defy the deafening expectations of everyone else, Lee and Pab turn to each other. Which, of course, is when things get properly complicated.


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Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia


Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.
 


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Legendary (Caraval, #2)Legendary by Stephanie Garber



Series: Caraval - Book 2





A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.



After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister, Scarlett, from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.



The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice, but now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever...



Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.





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Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen




Up all night.



Nights have always been Auden's time, her chance to escape everything that's going on around her.



Then she meets Eli, a fellow insomniac, and he becomes her nocturnal tour guide.



Now, with an endless supply of summer nights between them, almost anything can happen...










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The Last to Let Go by Amber Smith


A twisted tragedy leaves Brooke and her siblings on their own in this provocative new novel from the New York Timesbestselling author of The Way I Used To Be.



How do you let go of something you’ve never had?



Junior year for Brooke Winters is supposed to be about change. She’s transferring schools, starting fresh, and making plans for college so she can finally leave her hometown, her family, and her past behind.



But all of her dreams are shattered one hot summer afternoon when her mother is arrested for killing Brooke’s abusive father. No one really knows what happened that day, if it was premeditated or self-defense, whether it was right or wrong. And now Brooke and her siblings are on their own.



In a year of firsts—the first year without parents, first love, first heartbreak, and her first taste of freedom—Brooke must confront the shadow of her family’s violence and dysfunction, as she struggles to embrace her identity, finds her true place in the world, and learns how to let go.




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Have you read any of the books mentioned or currently have them on your TBR? If so leave a comment below letting me know whether or not you liked it or are excited to read! 😄


~ Aimie


Saturday, January 11, 2020

Review | Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen







Loveboat, Taipei


45730524by Abigail Hing Wen

Published by HarperTeen on January 7th, 2020

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance

Format: ARC

Source: Kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!





Summary from Goodreads: 









Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, and praised as “an intense rush of rebellion and romance” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Garber, this romantic and layered Own Voices debut from Abigail Hing Wen is a dazzling, fun-filled romp. 



“Our cousins have done this program,” Sophie whispers. “Best kept secret. Zero supervision.” 



And just like that, Ever Wong’s summer takes an unexpected turnGone is Chien Tan, the strict educational program in Taiwan that Ever was expecting. In its place, she finds Loveboat: a summer-long free-for-all where hookups abound, adults turn a blind eye, snake-blood sake flows abundantly, and the nightlife runs nonstop.



But not every student is quite what they seem:



Ever is working toward becoming a doctor but nurses a secret passion for dance.



Rick Woo is the Yale-bound child prodigy bane of Ever’s existence whose perfection hides a secret.



Boy-crazy, fashion-obsessed Sophie Ha turns out to have more to her than meets the eye.



And under sexy Xavier Yeh’s shell is buried a shameful truth he’ll never admit.



When these students’ lives collide, it’s guaranteed to be a summer Ever will never forget.










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Review





Loveboat, Taipei has quickly become one of my overall favourite books of 2020. 



Loveboat, Taipei centres upon Ever Wong, a college bound teen, whose summer plans become a complete mess when her parents send her off to Taiwan to attend Chien Tan, an educational program meant to help  Ever with her Mandarin skills and more. However, when Ever arrives she finds out the program is known for so much more than simply its educational background. Known as the Loveboat, it enables young adults to party all summer long without adult supervision, spending nights out and hooking up as much as they could ever want. Discovering what she really wants from life, her passions, and more, this unforgettable summer will change Ever's life forever.




Ever's parents were immigrants and though her father was a doctor in Taiwan, he struggles in America both trying to give their daughters a better chance at life. The hopes and dreams of an immigrant parent may be passed to their children, whether it is dictating their future or simply pushing them to achieve a higher level of education so they may be set later in life, both of which are not unusual. This aspect is shown through Ever's passion for performing dance and the struggle she goes through in making a decision, that will not disappoint her parents, between going to Art School and living her dreams or going to Med School and making her parents happy. 



Loveboat, Taipei is an absolutely amazing book to read! It tells the story of finding oneself and identifying how both cultures, Taiwanese and Western, have the power to shape you and make you who you are. As a debut, Wen managed to masterfully write about love, family, honesty, angst, friendship, finding oneself, competitiveness, and sacrifices. I adored how Wen managed to write Ever's character growth, her process of growing into her own person and the love she has for her family while trying to stand up for who she is. The only thing I didn't particular like was Ever's choice in regards to her ultimate love interest. I thought she had better chemistry with another character and felt like she didn't give as much of a chance compared to the other. Nonetheless, this frustrating romantic aspect is quickly redeemed by how the novel comes together in the end. I felt that Wen did an amazing job portraying these characters realistically, discussing and divulging into serious and sensitive topics, and creating a diverse and immersive read.



A wonderful debut with immersive characters that you couldn't help but root for, glimpses of Taiwanese culture, and themes that are completely relatable. Loveboat, Taipei is one I highly recommend picking up today!


 








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About the Author










Abigail Hing Wen holds a BA from Harvard, a JD from Columbia Law School, and an MFA from the Vermont School of Fine Arts. Like Ever, she is obsessed with musicals. When she's not writing stories or listening to her favourite scores, she is busy working in venture capital and artificial intelligence in Silicon Valley, where she lives with her husband and two sons. Loveboat, Taipei is her first novel.












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