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Book Review: Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich | A Story of a Boy Who's Not Having The Best Day

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When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family's grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend. Suddenly, Evan isn't invisible anymore--even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy's parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he's doing can't be right, but if he's helping people, how wrong can it be? No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He's confident. He's a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and ...

Book Review: The War Outside by Monica Hesse | Two Girls, One War, Every Country Against Them

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It's 1944, and World War II is raging across Europe and the Pacific. The war seemed far away from Margot in Iowa and Haruko in Colorado--until they were uprooted to dusty Texas, all because of the places their parents once called home: Germany and Japan. Haruko and Margot meet at the high school in Crystal City, a "family internment camp" for those accused of colluding with the enemy. The teens discover that they are polar opposites in so many ways, except for one that seems to override all the others: the camp is changing them, day by day and piece by piece. Haruko finds herself consumed by fear for her soldier brother and distrust of her father, who she knows is keeping something from her. And Margot is doing everything she can to keep her family whole as her mother's health deteriorates and her rational, patriotic father becomes a man who distrusts America and fraternizes with Nazis. With everything around them falling apart, Margot and Haruko find solace in their ...

Book Review: Bonjour Girl by Isabelle Lafleche | Three Dislikes and One Love

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Between schoolwork and glitzy fashion shows, Clementine launches a blog, Bonjour Girl , and her wit, originality, and flair quickly catapult the site to cult status. Unfortunately, this comes with a price: Clementine is faced with online abuse and public humiliation. In the midst of all the drama, she finds out that a classmate is not what she seems, and Clementine has to find a way to save both her reputation and Jake’s fashion collection. When Clementine Liu arrives in New York City to study at the Parsons School of Design, she knows that she’s found her place. It isn’t long before she meets her fashionista soulmate, the loud and charismatic Jake, and Jonathan, a dreamy fashion photographer that turns her world upside down. Between schoolwork and glitzy fashion shows, Clementine launches a blog, Bonjour Girl , and her wit, originality, and flair quickly catapult the site to cult status. Unfortunately, this comes with a price: Clementine is faced with online abuse and public humil...

A Bookish Letter to the Book Community: 10 Reasons Why I Love You

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Dear All in the Book Community, To introduce myself, I am Nicole, or am known as newbookcats on the line, and I run my blog NewBookCatsREADS. Most likely, you have never heard of a book and cat getting along unless if the cat is allowed to play with the pages; however, on my blog, anyone who can appreciate the luxurious smell of a book or the tiniest sound you hear when you flip a page is my friend. I might dwell on the great smell of books for a while, but who can keep away from the sweet smell of a new or old book? Anyway, the book community has become a part of me; therefore, I need to give thanks to it through a letter listing ten reasons why I believe the book community is one of the best ones in the world. Gather your tissues and enjoy the list because books are a few of my favorite things! *imagine I have Julie Andrews' voice for just a minute* 10 Reasons Why the Book Community is Awesome: 1. You can grow in this community. I have only been a book blogger...

My Ambitious BookTube-A-Thon 2018 TBR

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For two years, I have unofficially been participating in BookTube-A-Thon. Throughout the seven days, I have always completed seven books. I have always been dedicated; plus, I have never been busy as summer vacation occurs during this time. Sadly, I decided to complete some summer classes since I want to graduate earlier. Therefore, there is less time to read sometimes and there are more responsibilities rather than getting up before noon. Usually, I have just read any unread books on my shelves; however, since I am traveling to Michigan while competing in  joining this readathon, I need to keep light. Sadly, this means I can't travel with the usual fifty books I stuff into my suitcase just the night before. Before I start packing my bookshelf, let's look at the challenges to see what I can accomplish during the week. 1. Let a coin toss decide your first read.   VS.                              ...

Book Review: Fire by C. A. Harland | An Unexciting Adventure with Gangs and Demons Doing What They Do Best

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Tala Morgenstern lives for the hunt, embracing her heritage as a demon hunter. When her younger sister, Hartley, disappears while on the trail of her long-lost father, Tala must seek the help of her other sister Aiva, who has turned her back on the underworld of magic and hunting. Suspecting demonic involvement, Tala and Aiva race to find Hartley before she can be claimed by hell. Their search takes them deeper into the bowels of Dublin’s criminal underground, where the gangs are led by demons, and the currency is souls. With each Circle of hell bringing new dangers, and new revelations about their own place in the demon hunting world, Tala and Aiva have to rely on each other if they are to stand a chance of fighting their way to the Ninth Circle, and the demon lord who is waiting for them. Discussion: " But tell me something, Nighthunter, who are you to decide which has more right to live, the man or the monster?" ⭐⭐-DNF When I had read the summary of this b...

The I Spy Book Challenge

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It has been almost a month since Lili from Lili's Blissful Pages tagged me to do this tag. Others may wait a day or two, but I guess a month is the amount for me. I don't like using school as my excuse, but what am I going to do? Sorry not sorry. When I was tiny and used to travel around my home state, I used to force my brother to play I Spy with me. He never wanted to play because I always made it impossible to find the correct answer so I would automatically win. At least, I think that is why. Anyway, once I saw that Lili tagged me, I was ecstatic to see one of my favorite childhood games mixed with a couple of books. The only thing I was nervous about was the five minute timer and the variety of books I had to choose from to answer the questions given. Hopefully, I will survive! Without further ado, let's start the timer and let me spy a bunch of books! - I SPY BOOK CHALLENGE 1. Food (that I want to eat)- Love  à  la mode (Just look at that cake !) 2. T...