Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour-Morgan Matson

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

I had this book on my to-buy list for probably a year. I wanted to read it BADLY! So I had high expectations. But *expletives here*, I loved this book! It was just so lovely and adorable and full of discovery.

It didn't take itself too seriously, just told a wonderful story. I've always loved the idea of road trips. I love all the playlists in the book, as well as the other little goodies. I cared about the main characters, Amy and Roger. I loved them and they became more and more real to me.

I loved how they each had things they needed to deal with. It was full of adventure and self discovery. I also loved all the people they met along the way. Every character in this book popped off the pages.

I loved loved loved this book. It exceeded my expectations. In my opinion, it was similar to Sarah Desson but much better. I loved how Morgan Matson took her own experiences of road trips and incorporated them into this book. It made the novel seem completely real.

I will now proudly display this on my bookshelf and I can't wait to read Morgan Matson's next book!

I rate it 5/5 and recommend it to anyone who loves YA books, especially anyone looking for the perfect summer read.

Leave me a comment if you've read this book! Let me know what you thought of it.

Lisa aka fauvely xx

The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants

I have started to re-read this series. I read them all years ago but not in order. I remember my sister bought me the second book for Christmas one year. She said she bought the second book because I'd seen the movie. So I read the second book first.
Eventually, I read the other three. It was probably all within the time period of a year. I remember buying the fourth one when it was brand new. I bought it and devoured it in one sitting.
I guess my point is that now I've begun to re-read them but this time it'll be in order and within a week or two. I'm on the second one now.
Why have I decided to re-read them? Well, first of all I've been meaning to but secondly

There is a fifth one coming out!!
It`s supposed to come out on June 14th apparently. I'm terribly excited as I thought it was over.
So now I get to re-read them in order AND have a new one waiting for me when I finish! I can't wait to read the new book. I love the series. I think it's quietly brilliant in the way it can take rather simple situations and put so much feeling and depth into them. I will admit to crying while reading these books. They are quite magical.
Here is the synopsis for this lovely new book by Miss Ann Brashares:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.

I recommend the series to anyone who has not read it. It's lovely and has four distinct characters who all have different thoughts and dreams but they love and complement each other. They are lovely stories. Bridget and Tibby were always my favorite characters to read about. Bridget was the most interesting to me and I could relate to Tibby.
I can't wait to read about these characters lives again! Is anyone else excited to read this?

lisa aka fauvely xx

What I read in...

MAY!

This is just a quick summary of the books I read in May.

The summer I turned pretty- Jenny Han
Airhead- Meg Cabot
You against me- Jenny Downham
Guitar Girl- Sarra Manning
Being Nikki- Meg Cabot
Runway- Meg Cabot
Diary of a crush:Kiss and make up- Sarra Manning
The kite runner- Khaled Hosseini
The last little blue envelope- Maureen Johnson
Rules of attraction- Simone Elkeles
Summer of skinny dipping- Amanda Howells
The other Boleyn girl- Phillipa Gregory
Diary of a crush:Sealed with a kiss- Sarra Manning
Divergent- Veronica Roth
Forgotten- Cat Patrick

My favorite reads of the month were:
You against me
The kite runner
The last little blue envelope
Rules of attraction
The other Boleyn girl
Divergent
Forgotten

Really, I didn't read anything I considered "bad" this month. The Meg Cabot books were extremely fluffy but I expected it, really. They were library books.
It was a good month for reading. I got in a lot of fluffy girly books, as well as a couple of "adult" books. I finally read The Kite Runner(in one sitting. about three hours) and it was one of the saddest books I've ever read.

I might get a job this month(if someone hires me!) and then I won't be able to read as much, but it's been fun having all this spare time to read! I wish it was my job to read and review books. Especially if my job was reading Y.A fiction, which is by far my favorite genre.

I still need to post my to-be-read list.

If anyone is out there reading, what did you read in May? What was your favorite(s)? What was your least favorite(s)?

Lisa aka fauvely xx

Book "Haul"

Okay, this is just a list of books I've bought in the last two weeks.

From Waterstones I bought:

From a charity shop in aid of dogs I bought(for 3 for a pound..so cheap!):

From Read It Swap It, I got:

In the mail, I got:

Divergent-Veronica Roth (read)
Forgotten-Cat Patrick (read)
The Boleyn Inheritance-Phillipa Gregory
Second Glance-Jodi Picoult
The Curious Incidence Of The Dog In The Nighttime-Mark Haddon (read years ago)
The Mediator(1)-Meg Cabot
Rachel's Holiday-Marian Keyes
The Marsh King's Daughter-Elizabeth Chadwick
The Pillars Of The Earth-Ken Follet
Shopaholic Abroad-Sophie Kinsella
Naive. Super-Erlend Loe (started)
Diary Of A Crush:Sealed With A Kiss-Sarra Manning (read)

So that's my haul from the last couple of weeks. Most of the books I bought only because they were cheap. I don't think I'll be reading Ken Follet, Marian Keyes or Elizabeth Chadwick any time soon. I always reach for my Y.A books first and I still have a lot to be read.

Which means I will do a To-Be-Read list soon.

Lisa aka fauvely xx

Review: Forgotten-Cat Patrick

Here's the thing about me: I can see the future in flashes, like memories. But my past is a blank. I remember what I'll wear tomorrow, and an argument that won't happen until this afternoon. But I don't know what I ate for dinner last night. I get by with the help of notes, my mom and my best friend Jamie, and the system works ...Until now. Everything's falling apart. Jamie's going of the rails. My mom is lying to me. And I can't see the boy I adore in my future. But today, I love him. And I never want to forget how much ...

When I first saw the cover of Forgotten in the bookstore, I didn't think I would like it. The cover is lovely, yes, but from first glance I thought it would be another vampire/paranormal novel. Luckily, I picked it up and turned over the cover to read the back(which looks lovely btw.) From the first sentence, I was sold.

I love the idea of this book. I love the unique plotline. I love the idea of a girl who forgets while she sleeps but "remembers" the future.

London Lane is a sixteen year old girl who is struggling to get through high school even though she struggles every day to be some semblance of normal. She does this pretty well, considering how difficult her life is. Every night before she goes to sleep, she writes herself notes about anything important that she'll forget while she sleeps. Every morning she reads through her notes. Somehow, she pulls this off really well and doesn't even really complain. The only people in her life that really know about her problem are her mother and her best friend, Jamie.

Then she meets a boy named Luke. She starts to build a relationship with him. She doesn't tell him about her condition. Every night she writes about their relationship and their relationship grows and deepens. This was one of the sweetest love stories I've read in a while. It's simple but it was sweet how every day she was amazed when she'd see him, like it was the first time she'd seen him ever. Also, Luke was a really great character. I fell in love with the two of them together.

This story is a bit of a mystery. She starts to remember things from the future. She "remembers" a funeral. But whose funeral is it? Also, why can't she remember Luke in her future? There are questions she needs answered. Also, her mother seems to be lying to her, she wants to find her father and Jamie is mad at her.

I'm really glad I bought this book. I thought it was a unique idea and I loved London and Luke. I thought the story was interesting but it left me wanting more. The way it ended made me think there could be a second book. It didn't feel like her story was over. I hope there will be a second book. I would love to read more about London and her life.

Another thing, my favorite band was mentioned at the end of the book. So that was a "yay" moment. :P

While looking for the picture of the book, I found another cover which I thought I'd share. But now that I've read the book, I think my cover probably suits the story. This one is so pretty though!

This is Cat Patrick's first book. The "About the author" for the book says "On a rainy November morning, new-baby sleep deprived, Cat Patrick forgot what she was doing. She retraced her steps but instead of remembering, the idea for Forgotten was born. Cat lives near Seattle with her husband and two young children who now, thankfully, sleep through the night. Forgotten is her debut novel." You can check out her blog here:
http://www.catpatrick.com/blog/

I definitely recommend this book, especially for anyone who likes a bit of a mystery and a nice love story. I rate it 4/5 and I hope to read more from this author!

Leave me a comment if you've read this book! Let me know what you thought of it!

Lisa aka fauvely xx