Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted for us book blogger types by the Broke and the Bookish. They provide a topic, and all of us participants post our answers on our blogs and we hop around checking out one another’s answers! This week’s topic is: 

Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR

1. Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

2. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

3. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

4. Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

5. Unhinged by A.G. Howard

6. Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

7. White Space by Ilsa J. Bick

8. Avalon by Mindee Arnett

9. Darkest Fear by Cate Tiernan

10. A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

Be sure to click on the titles to check out the books so you can add them to your list as well!  

What are some of your Winter Want-To-Reads? 

Book Review: Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy—and Tyler’s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world.

For the next couple of weeks I will be reviewing the 15 Young-Adult Books Every Adult Should Read as chosen by Molly Horan. I will be reading them in no particular order as I do not own any of them and will be ordering them from the library! My first book is Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson. 

Twisted had the same premise of other young adult novels I have read where the main character is a teenage male.  You have an angry kid with some seemingly normal home life but one slip up changes his life.  In this case he does the “foul deed” as he calls it and gets arrested then ordered to do community service.  During his community service he bulks up considerably and is now a bonafide hunk. 

Predictably when he returns to school he gets the attention of the hottest girl in school.  And bad stuff happens and he gets blamed.  While that part of the book follows the normal patterns of most young adult books, the reactions of Tyler and the other supporting characters are more realistic than I have read.  I liked that the people were relatable to your average person.  The fact that Tyler doesn’t just magically accept his new found popularity or fully embrace his bad boy side and really struggles with his emotions is beautiful.  I think it is important to show that males have all of these feelings and how hard it is to keep the emotions inside.  When he snaps it just breaks your heart. 

While I like the emotions created with the story I was a little bored.  I hate saying that because I appreciate what the author was trying to do.  And I understand why this book would be included in the lineup of books to read as a young adult but I would put Perks of being a Wallflower over this one to be honest.  It’s a good book, I can see why people like it but it was just “eh” for me.

3.0 bards

This review submitted to A Midsummer Night’s Read by Missy

Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted for us book blogger types by the Broke and the Bookish.  They provide a topic, and all of us participants post our answers on our blogs and we hop around checking out one another’s answers! This week’s topic is: 

Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

1. If You Find Me – Emily Murdoch
Subject: Abandonment, Sexual Abuse, 6 Stages of Grief, Adaptation

2. Wintergirls – Laurie Halse Anderson
Subject: Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Death

3. Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson
Subject: Rape, Selective Mutism, Mental Abuse

4. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
Subject: The Holocaust, Death, Racism, Genocide

5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
Subject: Rape, Abortion, Homosexuality, Drugs



6. Life is But a Dream – Brian Jones
Subject: Schizophrenia, Mental Illness, Medication 

7. Beneath a Meth Moon – Jacqueline Woodson
Subject: Addiction


8. The Probability of Miracles – Wendy Wunder
Subject: Cancer, Death, Love

9. The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides
Subject: Suicide, Depression, Isolation, Death

10. Stolen – Lucy Christopher
Subject: Kidnapping, Stockholm Syndrome, Isolation


What books do you consider the best at handling tough subjects?