Monthly Rewind: May & June 2018

I missed out on doing a May rewind because I was very mentally exhausted from finishing my first year of university that I didn’t even do much blog wise but I feel like I’ve jumped back from that dull feeling and I feel like I’m doing much better now! So I’ve quickly tacked on my May reads and music just so its documented.

B O O K S

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M A Y

Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi | Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope | Skylarks by Karen Gregory

J U N E 

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman | The House of Islam by Ed Husain | S.P.Q.R. by Mary Beard | The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang |My ID is Gangnam Beauty by Gi Menggi | The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty | Amazing Women by Lucy Beevor | From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon | Hungry by Shveta Thakrar | Want by Cindy Pon | Something in between by Melissa de la Cruz | The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

There’s a big difference between me in a bad mood and a good mood and it can really be seen here. Haha.

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#1KBE A Thousand Beginnings and Endings Reading Challenge | Sign up + TBR

#1KBE A Thousand Beginnings and Endings Reading Challenge | Sign up + TBR

Hello, I am basically back from the dead and to kickstart my comeback and to make myself get back into the habit of reading, I am doing the #1KBE A Thousand Beginnings and Endings Reading Challenge. This started two days ago and in my usual fashion, I am starting it very late.

What is A Thousand Beginnings and Endings?

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings is an upcoming anthology featuring retellings of mythology and legends from East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The collection is edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, and will feature stories from a variety of authors.

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How am I participating?

Every prompt from the image above is an author and to complete the prompt you have to read one of their published book/short fiction/poetry/article. The challenge is completed when you finish four prompts in any direction.

I am reading from the top left-hand box and moving to the right. And here is my TBR!

32333174Cindy Pon – Want 

Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits that protect them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother, who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined Hungry
by Shveta Thakrar (Goodreads Author)
3.44 · Rating details · 9 Ratings · 1 Review
When a rakshasi — a monster from Hindu mythology — awakens after centuries,she’s very, very hungry.to change things, no matter the cost.

Hungry by Shveta Thakrar
When a rakshasi — a monster from Hindu mythology — awakens after centuries, she’s very, very hungry. (No Cover because this was a short posted on Tumblr)

28688476Melissa De La Cruz – Something in Between 

Jasmine de los Santos has always done what’s expected of her. Pretty and popular, she’s studied hard, made her Filipino immigrant parents proud and is ready to reap the rewards in the form of a full college scholarship.

And then everything shatters. A national scholar award invitation compels her parents to reveal the truth: their visas expired years ago. Her entire family is illegal. That means no scholarships, maybe no college at all and the very real threat of deportation.

18798983The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Okay!! This is a very rushed post but here is the TBR and I’ll get started on this very quickly!

 

Monthly Rewind: March 2018

B O O K S

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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (3/5) – From what I can tell, this book is clearly a beloved children’s series in the US but here in the UK, it isn’t as popular. I wasn’t even aware of this book until the film project was announced. But this is a really cute and fun story, I kind of wish I had read this as a child. (I vaguely remember my primary school focusing on UK authors when it came to English and reading groups)

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus (3/5) – The first half of this book was soo good, it was really engaging and fun but I felt a bit disappointed towards the end.

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (2/5) –  Interesting plot but I found it a bit too ambiguous to really enjoy it.

Final Draft by Riley Redgate (5/5) – Stolen from my review of Final Draft: Final Draft is a coming of age story about grief, first love and self-love as Laila learns to manage the fear that holds her back. It’s very relatable, straightforward and entertaining to read.

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Books On My Spring 2018 TBR

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature once hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but has now moved to That Artsy Reader Girl! Each week, a new topic is put into place and bloggers share their top ten (or your own amount) accordingly.

I’m a very messy reader, I can never decide what books I want to read (unless it’s a review copy) and I was never really the kind of person to read certain books during different seasons. Seasonal TBRs seem to be really common, but I’m so behind on what books I want to read, keeping to a TBR has always been so hard for me. So, here is a ‘maybe I’ll read it soon, but because of who I am as a person, who knows?’

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City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Wild by Hannah Moskowitz
American Panda by Gloria Cho

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Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles (this comes out today!!)
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

Have you read any of these yet? What did you think?
What’s on your spring TBR?

Book Review: Saints and Misfits

Book Review: Saints and Misfits
 Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

 

I can’t imagine what it means to love everyone, but I’m going to start right here, by loving a bit more of myself. And maybe then the rest will follow.

Janna Yusuf is surrounded by saints and misfits. She’s just trying to make sense of her life, and her feelings for an unreachable boy. But a particular monster, masked as a saint, is making it difficult for her. She can’t ignore him but she isn’t ready to speak the truth and if she does, what will others think of her?

Saints and Misfits has one of the most appreciable Muslim representations I’ve seen in a young adult novel. Ali nicely and quickly captures the life of Muslim teen that felt real. We see Janna living an ordinary life: Janna attends mosque events, wears the hijab while also going through typical teen drama and daily school life. Islam isn’t this HUGE block that’s separated from her, it’s weaved and incorporated into the plot, in a way that felt natural.  It’s a coming of age story that felt normal. There was nothing wrong with Janna being Muslim, and that felt so good to read.

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World Book Day 2016!

World Book Day 2016!

HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY EVERYONE!!

I didn’t even realise it was WBD until my little brother told me on our way home from school today. It just reminds me of how long ago it was since Year Six because when I entered secondary school, they don’t celebrate it as much as they did in primary schools.

For those who don’t know about World Book Day, it’s a UK’s own version of World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Days) On World Book Day, every child in full-time education in the UK is given a voucher to be spent on books. You can either get £1 off any book (I think) or you can get one of the WBD books which were made especially for today. I wasn’t a huge fan of last years’ books but judging from this year, I think I’ll definitely be getting these ones…

Spot the Difference by Juno Dawson

An emotional and thought-provoking story about a bullied child who turns into a bully, then doesn’t like what she sees in the mirror.

Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space by Cavan Scott (Egmont)

Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space by Cavan Scott

Your parents have been captured by the evil Galactic Empire, so what do you do? If you’re Milo and Lina Graf you head into space and declare war on the Dark Side.

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell (Macmillan Children’s)

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

Elena is a die-hard Star Wars fan but when she goes to her local cinema to see the new film expecting to find like-minded aficionados of Han, Luke and Leia, she finds something quite different…

See the other books here!