BOOK REVIEWSWAYFARER, HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME, & MORE

Here we go (music) So I managed to finish five books last month
which I'm quite happy with Because I'm right on track with my
goal of finishing about a book a week And also I happened to read some
pretty great books in January. So, let's get into talking about them. So, first up I have here "Wayfarer" by Alexandra Bracken. This was the BOOKSPLOSION book of the month pick for January, which was sponsored by Disney-Hyperion this month.

And this is also the second book
in the "Wayfarer" duology. It's the conclusion to the series. The general set-up here is that we
follow a teenage girl name Etta who discovers that she can travel through time. And not only can she travel through time, but her mother has hidden this very powerful object somewhere in the world, at some point in time.

And Etta is being blackmailed into finding it Because she's the only one who might be
able to understand her mother's clues. So, that's the basic set-up for book one. I did do a full spoiler-free review so I'll link that below If you want to check it out and learn a little bit
more about the first book in the series. Because I can't really say much
plot-wise about book two.

I don't want to spoil you. I can say that I enjoyed book two
even more than book one And I really enjoyed book one. I love the characters, and I'm just
enthralled by this world here. And, like, all the places we get to go And all the history and action and romance.

And the writing is beautiful. Like, I loved Alexandra Bracken's
other series, "The Darkest Minds" But the writing in this duology is like next level. Although, I did feel like the writing kind of slowed
the pacing down a little bit at times. Like, even during actions scenes there would
be longer, more beautiful sentences that I would want to kind of linger with and absorb instead of being propelled through the story.

But, still overall this was a fantastic conclusion. Like, it just met this great balance of being satisfying, yet also leaving me wanting more. Like, not even necessarily with the same characters Like, a spin-off, a prequel, a sequel I would just love to see more of this world And this society of time-travelers that
Alexandra Bracken has created. If you're looking for a satisfying series with great characters and beautiful writing and time-travel and romance and adventure This series.

You've gotta check out this series. Next up, I have here "The You I've
Never Known" by Ellen Hopkins And I received this copy from the
publisher Simon & Schuster who I'm working with this month. This is the second book by Ellen Hopkins that I've read And I've started to realize that her
books are more about characters And kind-of slice of life But, around these defining moments in people's lives In this book we follow a teenage girl named Ariel who is struggling with feelings
for both a girl and a boy. This is further complicated by Ariel's father who
is very controlling and homophobic.

There's also another plotline that
is mentioned in the synopsis But I don't want to give it away Because it doesn't happen until later in the book And I think it's better if you start it without knowing that. I read this book a while ago, in a single sitting And it still packs an emotional punch Like, I don't know Maybe it was something about just the
very end that really got me the most 'Cause that's -- that's just where I had the most feelings. And that's all I'm going to say about
that because I don't want to spoil you. But yeah, after reading this book, I definitely
want to read more by Ellen Hopkins.

Like, with the first Ellen Hopkins book I read, "Rumble" I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it Because I didn't connect much to the main character Whereas with this book, even though Ariel's
situation is super different from my own, I did feel like she was more relatable And I felt more for her. And again, I don't want to get into spoilers But I feel like there's a lot of important, relevant
subjects going on in this book. I know Ellen Hopkins has a lot of books And I'm pretty new to her So, if any of you guys have recommendations As to which Ellen Hopkins book I should pick up next I would love that. Like I feel like I am much more on board with
her different story-telling structure and style.

And I liked it, I want more. If you're looking for a stand-alone
contemporary that's different It has a different writing style It's very poetic and beautiful And it's very raw and real These characters are in a tough situation. This, I recommend this. Or, probably any Ellen Hopkins book Because this seems to be, like, her thing But, I really enjoyed this one And if anything that I've said sounds interesting
to you, you should give it a go The next book I have here is, "The Hundred Lives of Lizzie Lovett" by Chelsea Sedoti.

This is a debut novel, I believe it's a stand-alone That focuses on the disappearance
of this girl, Lizzie Lovett Our main character is a girl named Hawthorne who went to school with Lizzie and becomes
obsessed with the mystery of her disappearance. She's so determined to figure out what happened She starts investigating Lizzie's
disappearance on her own And kind of inserting herself into Lizzie's life. She takes up Lizzie's old job, and
she gets close to Lizzie's boyfriend And this was a very interesting book. Mostly due to the main character Hawthorne who is just unlike most YA characters
I've, like, been in the head of Her personality and her voice shone through so much That, like, she makes the book.

But, ultimately I had trouble
connecting to her as a character Like, some aspects of her life
and her situation were relatable Like her feeling left out and her being curious
about what happened to Lizzie But, a lot of the things that she thought and did were just things that I, personally,
would never think or do. So, it was hard to, like, get on board with her. But, I was still completely hooked into her narration And just like fascinated by everything she was doing and what was happening here. I can't say a lot about the mystery, because of spoilers.

I had so many theories and they were all wrong But, the actual, like, answer/solution is one
of my favorite parts of the book now. Because it's what hit me the most emotionally. If you're looking for a book with humor and mystery and an interesting main character
who is full of personality you might want to check this one out. Then I have here, "History is All You Left Me"
by Adam Silvera.

[Sigh] I still have a lot of feelings about this book This story opens on a boy names Griffin who is attending the funeral of his
ex-boyfriend and first love, Theo. Even though Theo had moved to California
and was dating someone new Griffin still felt like they were end-game. They were going to get back together down the line But, then Theo had to go and die. And now Griffin has to make sense of everything
and go into a future without Theo.

This book really got to me It's told in two different timelines The first timeline is the present day It's when Griffin is attending Theo's funeral and trying to make sense of his life moving foreward and the other timeline is history It's in the past It's the start of Theo and Griffin's relationship, Of them falling in love and then breaking up
when he moves to California Because we're dealing with love and loss and grief And we have this dual timeline This book is just like primed to
give you emotional whiplash I'd be reading from the history timeline and cracking up because something really cute and funny was happening And then I'd turn the page, and I'd be back into
the present and on the verge of tears Aside from these two timelines that are just perfectly woven together
to punch you right in the heart the other thing that I loved about this book was just how real and raw and flawed the characters are If you're looking for a book that will make you feel things A book that will make you laugh
on one page and then cry the next You gotta check this one out You gotta check this one out 'Cause that was my experience and I don't often cry while reading books This one got me This one got me Alright, there you have it. Those are the books I have finished in January And that is gonna be it for this video today Thank you so much for watching I hope you enjoyed it I hope you have a great night And I will have another video up soon So, I will  see you then Goodbye.