Review: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Title: Along for the Ride
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher:Speak
Genre: romance, young adult
Pages: 383
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5

I had planned to read one of Sarah Dessen's books during the summer, but I didn't know it was going to be this one. While I was browsing the bookstore, I decided it was either Along for the Ride or Keeping the Moon. I decided to go with the former.(I'm still planning on picking up Keeping the Moon).

I had only read one book by Sarah Dessen before this one which is The Truth About Forever, but I knew that I was going to love this book. Sarah Dessen's writing style is so captivating. I honestly enjoyed every minute reading this book.

Like Sarah Dessen, Summer is also my favorite season of the year. And that is another reason that I liked this book.

Auden life has mostly been centered on school work and studying. She hasn't experienced a fun childhood. She didn't learn how to ride a bike. Her teenage life wasn't any more interesting. So when her brother sends her a picture frame from Greece with his picture in it and the words "The Best of Times" written on it, she decided to go spend her summer at her dad's house in Colby.

I totally related to Auden. In some ways, we were alike. Her life is complicated because of her parents' divorce and her mother wanting her to be a perfectionist at everything. I admired that she is not the girl who gives up easily. She's a hard worker. But she also realizes that there are more important things in life than homework and notebooks.

At first, I didn't get why Auden didn't like Heidi. She wasn't that annoying. What annoyed me was Auden's father. He was so selfish at the beginning, ignoring Heidi and his daughter in order to work on his book, leaving Heidi with all the hard work. I basically hated him. And I got so angry when I found out that he only wanted Auden to come just to help Heidi babysit. What kind of a father is he?! I also disliked Auden's mother for most of the novel. However, I changed my opinion of her at the end.

It wasn't until Eli came until things started to get better. At the beginning, he and Auden happen to bump into each every once in a while. Oh Eli *makes dreamy face* he's just so amazing. I loved every aspect of him.

Adam was also one of my favorite characters. I liked his dorky personality. Plus, his secret crush on Maggie was kinda cute. I didn't like Maggie and her friends Esther and Leah at first, but when they helped Auden at the Eli's ex-girlfriend's party, I realized how nice and funny they were. My favorite part of the book was the food fight at Adam and Wallace's house. It was so hilarious!!

I loved this book so much! I can't wait to read another book by Sarah Dessen. 

Things Don't Always Go According to Plan...

Summer has been great so far. Hanging out with friends, going to the beach, reading all the books I had planned to read for the summer...
Well, not all them...
You see, I had a small book list which included the books I wanted to read for the summer.(it's mentioned in my previous post) I did manage to read some of those books. I read Family Ties by Danielle Steel, the first 2 books of the Gone series, and I'm currently reading Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen! 
I didn't like Family Ties that much. To tell you the truth, I hated Danielle Steel's style of writing. I thought it was just so boring. The plot and characters were good though. However, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna read another one of her books. That's why, on the same day I finished reading Family Ties, I canceled my order of 44 Charles Street. Thank goodness it didn't arrive on time!
As for  Sempre, the company I order books from told me that the book was out of print.
I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to be able to finish the whole Gone series this summer, but I can honestly say that I'm really enjoying it. The first book was average for me. But the second book, Hunger, blew me away! 
I'm currently also rereading the Vampire Academy series. I'm on Shadow Kiss now. But I've put it aside for a little while until I finish I couple of the books that I'm reading. Oh, and I'm so excited for the movie!!!! 
As for what I decided to study in college... Well, I decided not to go to law school. After sometime of thinking and debating, I realized that law isn't the thing for me. Instead, I decided to study English Literature!
That way, I can improve my style of writing, grammar and spelling level, and increase my vocabulary content. 
I'll be posting a review of Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen soon. 
Hope that everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer!

Summer Reading List

Reading is my favorite hobby, however I won't be able to read many books this summer. My job and my official exams will take most of my time. Also, I've decided to diverge a little bit from YA books and read different genres. When I was at the bookstore a month ago, I saw that they had a whole section for Danielle Steel books and they old me that she was a very famous writer, so I decided to read one of her books. 

I bought Family Ties and ordered 44 Charles Street. I also ordered Leo Tolstoy's book Anna Karenina. At first, I borrowed the book Anna Karenina from the school library, but because of my exams and very tight schedule I couldn't reach half of it. And eventually I had to return it. Anyway it's due to arrive in a month, and 44 Charles street should arrive today. 

I'm so excited for this summer!!! I'm also really excited that I got my first job!!!! But I feel like this summer will pass very quickly. I still have to take the official exams ( they are mandatory in my country if you want to go to college), and when they are done we will have Ramadan directly after them. And after 2 weeks of Ramadan, I will have college. Oh, have I told you that I'm going to law school? I want to become a lawyer!

Even though this summer vacation is short, I will try to enjoy my time as much as I can. 

I won't be reading much, but these are the following books that I'm definitely going to read this summer:

1-The Gone series by Michael Grant

2- Family Ties by Danielle Steel

3-44 Charles Street  by Danielle Steel

4-Sempre by J.M. Darhower

5- A book by Sarah Dessen(I haven't decided which one yet)

Plus, I'm going to reread the Vampire Academy series!! 

The First Time

Synopsis: A romantic comedy centered on two high schoolers: Dave, who until now, has pined for a girl he can't have and Aubrey whose dating a guy who doesn't quiet understand her.

The First Time is so far the best movie I have ever watched this year.  I simply LOVED this movie!!! I have already watched it twice.  
I loved Dave and Aubrey. They meet at somone's party and develop instant attraction toward each other.

Dave is a shy guy who is in love with his friend Jane. But when he meets Aubrey, and sees how different she is from all the other girls, he starts to develop feelings toward her. Aubrey is probably the opposite of Dave. She speaks what's on her mind and she's sarcastic and witty and doesn't like to dance because she thinks it's cheesy. She's amazing!!This movie was so, so romantic and I fell totally fell in love with it!! I was so sick of these romantic comedy films that are being made nowadays, but when I saw the trailer to this movie I knew that it was going to be different from them. Jon Kasdan is a genius! He has done a great job on this film. I applaud him.The cast consists of Dylan O' Brien as Dave Hodgeman, Brit Robertson as Aubrey Miller, Victoria Justice as Jane Harmon and James Frecheville as Ronny. 

The soundtrack consists of a lot of awesome songs, including one of my favorite songs" Girls Like You" by The Naked and Famous, Wait for Me by Motopony, and Sweet Louise by The Belle Brigade. I Higly recommend that you watch this movie. 

 

                                       

The Golden Lily Review

Title: The Golden Lily
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: Paranormal romance,urban fantasy, young adult
Pages: 418
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5

Summary:(from goodreads)
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

My Review:
As soon as I finished Bloodlines, I had to read The Golden Lily. I was planning on reading it with The Indigo Spell during spring break, but I couldn't wait that long. I needed to find out what will happen next.

Let me start  by saying that Sydney is a wonderful character. I can totally connect to her.  She's responsible, organized, and knows how to handle everything so well. I don't know why I disliked her when she was introduced in Blood Promise 'cause now she's one of my favorite characters.

Same goes for Adrian. He's totally, absolutely, completely amazing!!! I lOVE HIM, I LOVE HIM, I LOVE HIM!!!!  He and Sydney grow more close,  and they share a passionate kiss in the end. WHY DID SYDNEY HAVE TO RUIN IT?!! She claims that shouldn't be with him because of the alchemist law. I hate those alchemists now more than ever!!

As for Eddie and Jill. Well, it got more complicated. Eddie decided to give Angeline a chance. And Jill dumped Micah so that she could be with Eddie, but it was too late. I wonder if she'll get back together with Micah. He's a nice guy, and I'm sure he'll understand if she told him the truth about her real identity.

My favorite character from this book was Angeline. She made me laugh so hard especially when she punched 3 people from a band and threw a speaker at them.  

I love her almost as much as I love Rose!!!

This books deserves 5 glamorous stars!! I can't wait to know what will happen next!!!!!!!

Shine A Light - McFly feat. Taio Cruz

I LOVE this song!!! It's one of my favorite songs by McFly!! Here's the official music video.

Cover Reveal For The Fiery Heart

                                                             
The cover had been finally revealed!!! And it is gorgeous!! I don't know why some people are complaining about it. I love it! It shows Sydney and Adrian and it looks to me like Sydney is nervous, while Adrian looks fierce and loyal and ready to protect her. I wish November would come sooner!