Mini Book Reviews: Easter Hols

Hey guys!


Since I have had over a month off university (ridiculous, I know, but it kind of came at the right time tbh), I have had plenty of time to catch up with my reading for pleasure. This Easter I have read Forgotten (which I reviewed HERE), Queen of Babble, Adorkable, Girl Online and All These Things I've Done.



Queen of Babble

Queen of Babble is written by Meg Cabot, one of my favourite childhood authors. Although Meg Cabot's books are primarily aimed at young teenagers and tweens, I will still pick up one if I see it cheaply in a charity shop or on Amazon.

Queen of Babble is about Lizzie Nichols, a college undergraduate who incapable of keeping a secret to herself. A boy comes to Lizzie's rescue during a fire alarm and she ends up trekking all the way to England to spend her summer with him. Unfortunately, Lizzie's love interest, Andrew, is not being honest and Lizzie finds herself with no place to stay. Luckily, Lizzie's friend Shari is also in Europe so she is able to catch the train to France to spend the remainder of her trip in a chateau. Lizzie soon forgets about Andrew and falls in love with Luke, the son of the chateau's owner.

It's undeniable that Queen of Babble is a silly book. However, it is easy to read and has some humour dotted here and there. Lizzie reminds me of Becky Bloomwood, the protagonist of Sophie Kinsella's hilarious Shopaholic series. They are both always getting into sticky situations, Becky because she wants to please others, and Lizzie because she can't stop talking. I found Lizzie to be a fairly likeable character and her constant babbling is what made me not want to put down this book. I have loved Meg Cabot ever since I was in primary school and Queen of Babble did not let me down.



Adorkable

 

I picked up a copy of Adorkable at Summer in the City last August. It seemed like a great book for me since it is about a blogger.

 

Jeane Smith is the protagonist of Adorkable. She's not even 16 yet and lives on her own and has a hugely successful blog. After finding out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her, Jeane finds comfort in Michael Lee, a typical "popular" guy. Michael also just so happens to be the ex-boyfriend of the girl Jeane's boyfriend was cheating with. Despite having absolutely nothing in common (apart from "a pair of cheating exes"), Jeane and Michael start seeing secretly snogging whenever they get the chance.

As with Queen of Babble, Adorkable is a very ridiculous book. Nevertheless, I still found myself laughing out loud at some parts. Jeane is a great female lead due to her feisty nature and reluctancy to follow the crowd. Her fashion sense seems so bizarre! Jeanne could be annoying at times, but overall I liked her character. Michael Lee was also a good character - he was realistic and I could understand why so many girls were after him. Despite this, I will have to say that the relationship between Jeanne and Michael is a bit unbelievable and, yes, it was definitely doomed from the start. I was also fed up with seeing 'totes' constantly throughout the book - it's so unnecessary. However, Adorkable was a decent, well-written book and I finished it in no time. I would recommend Adorkable to fellow bloggers and anyone who loves chick-lit as much as I do.


Here's a snippet of the first chapter:

 

 

All These Things I've Done

Having already read and enjoyed Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, both by Gabrielle Zevin, I had high expectations when starting All These Things I've Done. Like her other books, this one has an unusual premise. It's set in 2082 in New York and chocolate is banned - something I'm sure neither you nor I could imagine.

Although described as dystopian, All These Things I've Done is nothing like other books in its genre. Yes, it does have a crazy overpowering government, with even crazier laws, but the book is quite different to the likes of Divergent and The Hunger Games. Although All These Things I've Done has a female protagonist, something that is typical of contemporary young adult dystopian novels, she does no seem to be interested in rebelling against the government. Anya comes from the Balanchine family, who are known for their involvement in crime. After both her parents die, Anya has to look after her younger sister Natty and older brother Leo, who appears to need constant supervision after witnessing the death of their mother. The three siblings live with their grandma, though she is very elderly and ill and has to leave all the responsibility to Anya. It's evident that Anya has a really tough life, having been an orphan since she was only nine years old. She is so brave and mature, and doesn't let her problems affect her too much.

All These Things I've Done is a brilliant, unique book that I couldn't put down. It was fast-paced and full of plot twists. Zevin is a fantastic author and creates very believable characters. I'm glad that All These Things I've Done is part of a trilogy as the end of the book left me aching for more!




Hope you enjoyed this post!


Hasta luego!


Serena