The I Am More Happy Than Not Tag

I was tagged by Joey at Thoughts and Afterthoughts to do the I Am More Happy Than Not Tag, which was adapted by Shelumiel @ Bookish and Awesome as a companion to Adam Silvera’s upcoming novel More Happy Than Not. Joey says there are no rules for the tag other than to “highlight ways you’ve been able to express happiness from the things—big and small—in your life.” Thanks for the tag, Joey! I’m super excited for More Happy Than Not, so this was a fun way to fill the time until publication!

Disclaimer: The image used in this tag was created by Lumi himself.

---

I am more happy than not when…

I sit down at the end of a long day with a cup of coffee and a good book.
I am driving down the road with the windows down and a song I love blaring through the speakers (most recent song obsessions: heavydirtysoul and Doubt by twenty one pilots)
Someone tells me they’ve read a book on my recommendation and LOVED it
I actually get to sleep in past 6 a.m.
A patron at the library is totally fine with me word-vomiting all over them while I give them recommendations
I Skype one of my best friends in Scotland for a chat because we’re always able to make each other laugh
I’m standing at the barrier surrounded by tons of strangers singing along at the top of my lungs with my favorite bands
My online job boss tells me I’m doing a great job and that she appreciates everything I do
I resurface after a few hours of being completely engrossed in a book

When I get restless and stressed and unhappy, I get more happy than not by taking a road trip, even if it’s only a few hours each way, taking a small road trip every few weeks helps settle me and my wanderlust. It makes me exceedingly happy to see new places, to meet new people, to be in the car by myself or with friends for hours just driving.

My family makes me more happy than not when we sit down for dinner and quote silly movies and joke about anything and everything.

Our new puppy and our crazy bird make me more happy than not when they cuddle up with me (definitely NOT at the same time).

Not going to lie (this might be silly), but getting mail (especially bookish mail) definitely makes me more happy than not. I love book mail or letters.

Whenever I’m at a book event surrounded by other bookish people, I’m way more happy than I usually am, and it just further confirms I should be working with books for the rest of my life.

I am more happy than not to help people with anything if I am able.

When I actually have time to paint or make art in one way or another, I am way more happy than I was before. Art is a release.

What makes you More Happy Than Not?

I’m tagging:

Rachel at Confessions of a Book Geek
Selah at A Bibliophile’s Style
Jenny at The Books, The Art, and Me
Katherine at Neon Yeti Reads
Ashley at Dear World…
Alison at Hardcovers and Heroines
Eden at Blogging Between the Lines
Shannon at It Starts at Midnight

AND YOU! Tell me why you are more happy than not.

Book Review: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (ARC)

Author:  Sarah Dessen

Genre: Young adult, contemporary

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Publication Date: May 5, 2015

432 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

Shout out to Kelly from Live, Love, Read for letting me borrow this ARC!

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Dessen since I was in high school and after having read Saint Anything, I’ve now read all of her books. Because this was written by Sarah Dessen, it is, of course, very enjoyable, but it’s not my favorite Dessen book by far.

I think the main reason I didn’t enjoy it as much is because it’s…loud? It’s loud about what it’s trying to say, and the reason I’ve enjoyed so many of her other books (especially Just Listen and The Truth about Forever– my favorite Dessens) is because they are quiet and earnest in the message that’s coming across, whether it’s about friendship, family, love, or growing up. Personally, I saw a lot of the story coming, especially the part revolving around the creepy older family-friend. It’s obvious, and I think that’s what I didn’t like about it. I definitely think this is one of those it’s-not-you-it’s-ME things because I know several people who’ve loved Saint Anything.

HOWEVER, it’s still Sarah Dessen and its pages are still full of her wonderful, easy-going writing. Dessen has this amazing knack of writing absolutely perfect conversations between friends about every day nonsense. Like I always do, I LOVED the friendship storyline in the book, especially the one between Sydney, our main character, and Layla, the French-fry-obsessed girl she meets at her new school. Plus, Sarah Dessen is always able to make me fall for the boy even when he is practically ordinary (in the best way). I also thought it was interesting to see the dichotomy between Sydney’s rather uptight family and Layla’s (the Chathams) somewhat crazy, loud, and wonderfully fun family. (Quick note to say I think the storyline with Sydney’s super-controlling, over the top mom went on WAY too long)

The bottom line: So – did I like this one or not? I did. Of course I did. I always enjoy Sarah Dessen’s writing and characters. I was just a little disappointed in how obvious it was. Despite my personal opinions about Saint Anything’s shortcomings, I still think A LOT of people will fall head over heels for this one. Some people prefer books that are straight-forward and apparent with their message. That’s this one. No matter what, I will read EVERYTHING Sarah Dessen writes. Forever.

Rating: 6 – good, but not great

Book Review: None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Author:  I.W. Gregorio

Genre: YA, Contemporary, LGBT

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: April 7, 2015

352 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

None of the Above is incredible. I finished reading it more than two weeks ago and I still can’t quite figure out how to properly tell you why you should read this important, incredible, entertaining, beautiful book.

Kristin is in her senior year of high school and she’s the star of her track team and loved by both her friends and her boyfriend. But when Homecoming night doesn’t really go the way it should, she makes an appointment with an ob-gyn and finds out that she’s intersex. Her life, identity, and world are completely turned upside down and she must figure out who she really is while everyone else does too.

Like a lot of people, I didn’t know much about what being intersex meant. I had a general idea, but this book taught me so much (I love when I can learn about something real when reading). This book is so important for that very reason – not only is it a well-written, entertaining, heartbreaking, uplifting story about a fictional character, it’s also a book about a real condition and realistic reactions to it. None of the Above is exactly what a book about diversity should be. Yet another book I wish I could make everyone read.

Something that has come up in conversations recently (I posted about books that feature characters with mental illnesses which sparked conversation in the comments but also with friends) is a certain lack of empathy that some people have, which is disheartening in a lot of ways, but that’s not the point. I’m bringing this up because I am not intersex. Nor do I know anyone that is (as far as I know). But I connected so well with Kristin because of her struggle with identity throughout the book. Her identity (as a woman, as herself) is challenged several times throughout the novel. (Quick note to say how heartbreaking it was to read the sections in which Kristin is bullied, which felt so, so realistic; I hated it, but I’m glad that nothing felt exaggerated nor sugar-coated). Kristin no longer knows who she is (her doctor tells her that she is a woman, but is she when everyone tells her she isn’t? When she has male chromosomes?). Is she Kristin because of her chromosomes? What makes you you?

The bottom line: None of the Above is important, and you really don’t want to miss it, not only because it will teach you more about something you may or may not be familiar with, but because everyone can relate to Kristin’s struggle to figure out how she is. We all deserve to be reminded that we can get through anything.

Review: It’s the End of the World As We Know It by Saci Lloyd (ARC)

Saci Lloyd’s It’s the End of the World As We Know It is a wild ride through a wormhole and into a parallel world full of internet speak, zombies, uncontrollable algae, and unique and weird characters. You’re in for some craziness.

Author:  Saci Lloyd
Genre: Young adult, humor, science fiction
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
Publication Date: January 1, 2015
288 pages, paperback

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

NOTE: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Hodder Children’s Books for letting me read this.

Let me start by giving you a short list of the things included in this book:

– A power-hungry Lolcat – the ruler of Deva (the parallel Earth) is a freaking cat that speaks like those Lolcats, u kno, lik dis. Hard 2 undrstand sumtims.
– Little infobots that surf on energy waves
– A sex-crazed poisonous fungus
– Zombies
– An angry, badass girl who might be a little bit robot

Alright, if that doesn’t sound awesome to you, I don’t know what else I could possibly say to convince you, but I’ll try. This book is trippy, you guys. I barely knew what I was reading most of the time, but that was pretty much the best part. It was surreal, weird, absolutely cuckoo, and so much fun. It’s got weird, unique characters that had me giggling like an idiot. They each speak a certain, specific-to-them way, which was cool yet irritating (internet speak as dialogue for a few of the characters. The whole time!). I think people who enjoy weird, strange, and wonderful books will have a lot of fun with It’s the End of the World As We Know It. On the other hand, I definitely don’t think this book is for everyone. It’s super bizarre and really odd, so you’ve got to into this one with an open mind or you’ll probably be weirded out by the book. Personally, I love silly, peculiar books, so this was super enjoyable!

However, I do want to say that occasionally It’s the End of the World As We Know It felt like it was trying a little too hard to be quirky, to be like Douglas Adams. It bothers me a little when publishers compare books to something like Hitchhiker’s Guide because it sets the bar SO HIGH. Most of the time I was loving how crazy everything was, but it felt a little over the top sometimes, which, I suppose, is par for the course.

I also want to share the riddle this book starts off with:

Q: How many mad scientists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Two. One to hold the bulb, the other one to turn the universe.

Love.

The bottom line: It’s the End of the World As We Know It was a fun, weird, and crazy ride on a rift through time and space. It was full of quirky characters and interesting sci-fi themes, though sometimes it felt like it was trying too hard to be weird. I still had so much fun reading it, as it was wildly imaginative and surreal.

Rating: 7 – pretty good

Waiting on Wednesday: Dead to Me by Mary McCoy

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we share a book that we are eagerly anticipating!

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Author: Mary McCoy

Release date: March 3, 2015

Synopsis from Goodreads:

LA Confidential for the YA audience. This alluring noir YA mystery with a Golden Age Hollywood backdrop will keep you guessing until the last page.

“Don’t believe anything they say.”

Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her–and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away.

When Annie does turn up, the blond, broken stranger lying in a coma has no answers for her. But Alice isn’t a kid anymore, and this time she won’t let anything stand between her and the truth, no matter how ugly. The search for those who beat Annie and left her for dead leads Alice into a treacherous world of tough-talking private eyes, psychopathic movie stars, and troubled starlets–and onto the trail of a young runaway who is the sole witness to an unspeakable crime. What this girl knows could shut down a criminal syndicate and put Annie’s attacker behind bars–if Alice can find her first. And she isn’t the only one looking

Evoking classic film noir, debut novelist Mary McCoy brings the dangerous glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age to life, where the most decadent parties can be the deadliest, and no drive into the sunset can erase the crimes of past.

Why I’m excited: Alright, so remember how last week I talked about how I don’t really like historical fiction? Yeah, well now I’m choosing a WoW that is a historical fiction. I may or may not be a little wishy-washy when it comes to the things I like. But a YA noir set in the Golden Age of Hollywood? How could you NOT want to read that?

Yeah, I don’t understand myself either.

What are you waiting on?

ARC Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic was my first V.E. (Victoria) Schwab book, but you can bet that I’ll be reading all of her others as soon as humanly possible.

Author:  V.E. Schwab
Genre: Young adult, fantasy, science fiction
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: February 24, 2015
400 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

NOTE: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Tor Books for letting me read and review this! (I’m pretty sure I was only supposed to get the 30% preview, but THANK GOODNESS I GOT IT ALLLL)

I’ve been sitting on this review for a couple of days now attempting to figure out how to express my love for A Darker Shade of Magic. I haven’t read a fantasy/sci-fi/magic book that I loved this much in a long time. It’s got all things I ever wanted in a book without ever really knowing I wanted those things. “Cross-dressing thieves”? Got it. Wannabe pirates? Yep, there’s that too. More than one London? Of course! And all kinds of magic including unique and wonderful types? YES.

A Darker Shade of Magic is full of unparalleled world-building and fantastical characters, places, and ideas. I honestly can’t think of another book to compare it to, and that is awesome. It’s really dark and complex but with an unexpected bit of humor from its characters that kept it being too much. Like with Lila – I dare you to read this book and not think she’s incredible. She’s a thief and a wannabe pirate, and she’s such a badass. She’s tough but emotional, and she won’t give up until she sees the world. Lila also thinks things like, “Why anyone would ever pretend to be weak was beyond her (ARC Loc. 729)” – and if that doesn’t make you like her, I don’t know what will.

Then there’s Kell. Oh, Kell. He’s a…magician, able to control all of the elements and also able to cross between the worlds, which he does as an ambassador to Red London. He’s exactly the kind of hero I want in a fantasy, you guys. I love a hero who’s not perfect, who’s complex and layered. I love a hero who might be more dark than light, maybe even a little rebellious. That’s Kell. He’s ridiculously charming and incredibly loyal. Kell is “built like an afternoon shadow, tall and slim (ARC Loc. 530), and he’s also got a pretty amazing coat. Yeah, I’M DONE FOR.

Let me talk about the Londons (yep, plural) because it is so intriguing. We’ve got Kell’s Red London, which is so magical that it glows red. Then there’s Holland’s (not necessarily the bad to Kell’s good he comes across as) White London, ruled by twins who are chill-inducing in their scariness. We’ve got Lila’s Grey London, which is basically our world but it does have its own magic – look out for a pretty cool pub in all the Londons. Last, but not least, is Black London, and though we don’t see it, it’s my favorite because it gives us black magic, a character who’s not really a character. It may be (sort of) invisible, but it manipulates the characters and plot. It’s scary, interesting, and so so cool. One other character I loved was a prince described by Victoria Schwab as “A royal who is equal parts Prince Harry and Jack Harkness” and that is the perfect description. He’s magnificent, of course.

The amount of times I had no idea what was going on or I was surprised by a twist or a new development was astounding. ADSOM kept me on my toes and on the edge of my seat. I wasn’t really prepared to love this book as much as I did, but now it’s got a piece of my soul and it isn’t letting go.

The bottom line: A Darker Shade of Magic is a gripping, thrilling, wonderful adventure. The world-building, writing, characters, Londons, and magic are all incredibly done. I can already tell this will be one of my favorite reads of 2015.

Rating: 9 – practically perfect

Book Review: Girl Online by Zoe Sugg aka Zoella

Author:  Zoe Sugg aka Zoella

Genre: Young adult, contemporary

Publisher: Atria / Keywords Press

Publication Date: November 25, 2014

352 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

Penny is a blogger, writing online anonymously as GirlOnline. She blogs about her friends, drama, boys, her family, and her horrible anxiety. After a horribly embarrassing fall, her family is lucky enough to go to New York for the holidays, where she meets Noah, who has some secrets of his own.

Alright, so everyone is kind of freaking out because Girl Online MIGHT have been ghostwritten. I honestly don’t really care either way, but I’m going to mention it here for a sec. First, who reads a book written by a celebrity who has little to no writing experience and expects it to be AMAZING? Hopefully, no one. Second, do you guys know how many books by celebrities are at least partly ghostwritten? A lot of them are. So, basically, calm your tits are read the book if it sounds like something you’d like and don’t if it doesn’t. Geez.

As for the book, it’s probably what you’d expect from the synopsis. It’s fluffy and cheesy and predictable. It’s full of clichés in characters and plot. The events in the story are somewhat implausible and unlikely.

BUT it is actually pretty enjoyable. The story, while predictable and unlikely, is adorable and fun to read. Penny is a klutz, clumsy to the extreme, awkward, and a little weird. When she meets Noah (cliché gorgeous love interest), she is able to accept herself and begin to overcome her anxiety. There’s a fight with her best friend and a horrible bully/girl best friend. It has everything you want in a fluffy contemporary, and I don’t know about you, but I like that sometimes. Fair warning though: the “twist” was so predictable as to make it a little annoying.

Now for the deep part to the book: the anxiety and panic attacks. Zoe actually suffers from anxiety, so the parts of the book in which Penny is dealing with it or having a panic attack felt real. I, too, have anxiety – not quite to the level of Zoe or Penny but I have panic attacks as well – and I could relate to this pretty well. The way the panic attacks are described was just right, just how a panic attack feels. So even if a ghost writer wrote this, you can tell Zoe had a say. You can tell that she described it.

The bottom line: Okay, I did not go into Girl Online expecting to like it as much as I did. I thought it might be poorly written or cheesy, but I thought the synopsis sounded interesting. I’m glad I checked it out. I enjoyed it. It is definitely predictable and clichéd in parts, which was annoying [but you should keep in mind it was written for teens and young girls], but it was cute and fun and dealt with things like anxiety, family issues, cyber bullying, homosexuality, all things teens need books to be about.

Rating: 6.5 – between Good, but not great and Pretty good

Book Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare was my second read of Bout of Books 12, and I quite enjoyed it.

Author:  Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Genre: Middle grade/young adult, fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: September 9, 2014

299 pages, hardcover

Check out the synopsis on Goodreads.

Call’s father has always told him to stay away from magic, that magic is what killed his mother, and so unlike the other kids at the Iron Trial, he wants to fail. Unfortunately, one of the teachers at the Magisterium, Master Rufus, sees something in him, and suddenly Callum Hunt is somewhere he’s been warned will kill him.

If you want to see how I would describe The Iron Trial in pictures, check out my challenge post from Bout of Books.

I think my favorite part of this book was Call. He’s not your average protagonist. He’s kind of a jerk (seems like I like jerk main characters. Remember my review of Firecracker?). He’s abrasive, insubordinate, says the wrong things, and pushes people away when they try to befriend him. It takes a little while to understand him and why he does this, but once you do, you can’t help but care for him.

A lot of people have compared (or criticized) this book to Harry Potter – there’s a young boy who goes to magic school, befriends another boy and girl, and has to fight an evil wizard. Okay, yes, those are indeed very similar to HP, BUT The Iron Trial is also unique. The magic is probably the main way it’s different – mages use the elements to create and change and destroy. The focus is on nature and the elements, which is really cool. There are creatures called elementals who’ve been consumed by their element, and chaos-ridden animals and people who have a piece of the void inside them. I’m not going into the whole Clare debate blah blah blah. I liked the magic, characters, and ideas, and that’s what matters.

I felt that Call’s friends – Tamara and Aaron – as well as the other characters were well-developed and full. On the other hand, I think there were a few too many minor characters and I would constantly be confused which character was doing what.

One last thing: No one, and I mean NO ONE, will see that twist coming at the end. It was wholly unexpected, a crazy twist that was both awesome and strange. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.

The bottom line: The Iron Trial is a fun, unique take on magic school and child wizards. I had a few issues (too many minor characters; middle that was a little drawn out), but I enjoyed it overall. I loved the main character and the world that Holly Black and Cassandra Clare have created.

Rating: 8 – freaking fantastic

Have you read The Iron Trial? What did you think?

Book Review: Firecracker by David Iserson

My friend Annette aka Booknerderie sent me Firecracker for Christmas because, and I quote, “It’s hilarious and dry and sarcastic and the mc is an asshole and you would love it.” She was right.
Let me go ahead and warn people who don’t like bad words that there are several in this review. It’s a necessity for this one.

Author:  David Iserson

Genre: Yontemporary, humor

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: June 12, 2014

331 pages, paperback

Check out the synopsis on Goodreads.

“Astrid Krieger is such a bitch.” I love it. This book is hilarious, you guys. Ridiculously amusing. As is Astrid. She’s such an asshole and I completely love her. She’s unapologetic in her dickishness. She doesn’t care what you think about her and she does what she wants. She’s completely in love with herself. Now, if you know me at all, you can probably guess that 99.9999% of the time, I hate people like this. But in this case, it didn’t even bother me because she was just so damn funny. I was worried the book was going to feel really long because she’s such a jerk the whole time, but it didn’t. in fact, it was too short, in my opinion.

I know I’m only talking about Astrid but, really, she’s the only thing that matters – she’d probably say the same thing as well. But let me mention a few other things: this book, not just Astrid, was ridiculously amusing. There were more laugh out loud moments than I could count. I mean, David Iserson has written for SNL and New Girl. Of course he’s funny, and he does dialogue so well. The ending was perfect and wasn’t perfect. What I mean is that it wasn’t cookie cutter. It fit Astrid and her character.

To further prove it, here’s a quote:

My legs decided that they were no longer interested in holding my body up, which is total bullshit because they have one job. – Page 55

Couldn’t stop laughing after reading that. Especially because I couldn’t stop picturing this.

The bottom line: I don’t know if I could be more obvious in my love of Firecracker. Read it. Now.

Rating: 9 – practically perfect

Book Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Author:  Claudia Gray

Genre: Young adult, sci-fi, romance

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: November 4, 2014

368 pages, hardcover

Check out the synopsis on Goodreads.

I finished this one more than two weeks ago, but I’ve been struggling to write the review, for several reasons. I think my expectations were a little too high (both because that cover is freaking gorgeous and the synopsis sounded awesome) and the book didn’t quite live up to those expectations. I absolutely love the concept behind the book, but I’m not sure about the execution of the ideas.

Let’s start at the beginning: Marguerite’s father is dead, murdered by a man he trusted, Paul – one of his assistants. Theo, his other assistant, and Meg follow Paul into the dimension in which he’s escaped, by using two Firebirds, which gives them the ability to jump between dimensions. This is how it starts – we are thrown into the story without giving us much time to adjust or connect with any of the characters. It feels like we are trying to catch up with the characters, relationships, and story. My emotional investment, therefore, suffered.

There were two main things I didn’t like:

1. The romance – more than anything else, A Thousand Pieces of You is a romance. Marguerite was crushing on Paul before he murdered her father. Once she meets him in the other dimensions, she believes him almost immediately when he says he wasn’t the one who did it though there was a lot of evidence. But then there’s Theo, her parent’s other assistant. Love triangle. Joy. Actually, more of a love square, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what the heck that means. Thank goodness it wasn’t really instalove since the characters have known each other for a long time and had time to get to know one another. Sort of. Again, just read it. When Marguerite’s mission is halted for three weeks in Russia, it’s like she felt no sense of urgency to continue, but had plenty of time for love. And to make questionable decisions on behalf of her other self – more later.
2. Marguerite – Jesus. I really can’t put into words how annoying she was to me. She was so wishy washy – one minute liking Paul, the next liking Theo. Either way, it was a lot of this.

Something I really liked: In a lot of sci-fi, when you jump into a parallel universe, there are usually two of you. In A Thousand Pieces of You, you jump from your body into the “you” in that dimension. I thought this was a unique and really interesting way to do things, though it does create the problem of Marguerite’s horrible decision on behalf of her other self in the Russia-inspired dimension.

I also thought the world building was pretty great. The parallel universes were interesting and I liked that they could be almost exactly the same except for one small change. I thought Russia was well done – at least in showing how the aristocracy lived. I would love to see some other dimensions that were wildly different from our own, though I expect (or hope, at least) that this will happen in subsequent books. Yes, even though I had issues with this first one, I am interested enough to want to read more. Another thing I’d like to see more of in the next book is how the Firebird actually works. In A Thousand Pieces of You, little to no explanation is given. As Marguerite has never taken much interest in the technical side, she would start to delve into the mechanics and then brush it off by saying it’s a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo she didn’t understand. It was kind of like a cop out. I wanted to know how they were dimension-jumping!

There was some pretty writing though! You know I have to share a quote or two. 🙂

Now I know grief is a whetstone. It sharpens all your love, all your happiest memories, into blades that tear you apart from within. – Page 143

The bottom line: As much as I wanted to love this one, it had its problems for me. The focus on the wishy-washy nature of Marguerite’s love for Paul (…or was it Theo? Paul?) was irritating – though I will say the love in the end was pretty swoon-y. I liked the other dimensions but wished we’d learned more about the mechanics of how the Firebird worked. Will still read the next book.

Rating: 6 – good, but not great