Six Years (Harlan Coben)

I always know that I won't be disappointed when I read a Harlan Coben novel.  This one was no exception.

Jake meets Natalie and they fall in love.  All of a sudden, she's marrying another man and informs Jake that he shouldn't try to contact her again and that he needs to move on.  Six years later, when he sees Natalie's husbands obituary, he tries to reach out and offer his condolences.  That's when things start to get a little weird.

Within the first few chapters, you get to know the characters and then all of a sudden you notice that things aren't lining up properly.  As a reader, I felt as much confusion as what Jake felt as he was trying to put together all of the pieces.  Why did Natalie leave him six years ago for another man?  What has happened in her life since then?  Why didn't she want to have anything to do with him anymore?

Without giving anything away (because apparently my new nickname is "Spoiler-Alert-Sarah"), I will say that I loved how many details there were in the book and how they all intertwined and finally make sense near the end of the book.  There were times when I felt confused and scared for the characters.

If you're into the mystery books, you'll be into this one.  I love how Harlan Coben writes books that are full of suspense and mystery, yet don't have all of the gore and terrifying details that some mystery books have.

You should make this book the last one you read during your summer vacation!




I'm a little concerned that I won't have time to finish my 2015 Reading List... But I'm not AS far behind as I look!  I have a couple blogs waiting to be posted!
As some of you know, I will be starting my Master's of Education this fall, so I won't be spending as much time reading novels since I will be spending more time reading textbooks!  I'll try to make these last couple of weeks count - and I'll also be able to finish up some novels during Christmas!

My 2015 Reading List Update

• A popular author's first book
• A book that was originally written in a different language
• A book written by an author with your same initials
• A memoir - Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (Jillian Lauren)
• A funny book
• A book with a colour in the title
• A book you own but have never read - Six Years (Harlan Coben)
• A book with a one-word title
• A book written by someone under 30
• A book you can finish in a day
• A book with non-human characters
• A book set during Christmas

We Were Liars (E. Lockart)

"We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart was a very interesting read. 

The writing style was different than other books I would typically read and to be honest, it took me a while to get used to the writing.  Sentences are short.  Or broken up.  Into many parts.  Or divided onto different lines.  I'm not sure of the purpose for writing in this style other than to make us stop and think for a bit or to have us try to put ourselves more in the mind of  the main character and what her thought processes may be like.

In an effort to not give you any spoilers, I don't want to share too much about the book, except the fact that I didn't really understand everything that was going on until the end.  The story finished nicely when all of the pieces fit together and the reader finally understands what has happened.  All of the weird things that happen throughout the book kind of make sense once you figure out the big ending of the story.

I would recommend this book - and despite the length of time it took me to read it, I would say that it's a quick read! 


On another note, I don't think that this book truly fits in anywhere on my 2015 Reading Challenge.  But the next one I read will!

My 2015 Reading List Update

• A popular author's first book
• A book that was originally written in a different language
• A book written by an author with your same initials
• A memoir - Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (Jillian Lauren)
• A funny book
• A book with a colour in the title
• A book you own but have never read
• A book with a one-word title
• A book written by someone under 30
• A book you can finish in a day
• A book with non-human characters
• A book set during Christmas

Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (Jillian Lauren)

I've finished my first book of 2015 - which also fits into my 2015 Reading List!

I started reading "Some Girls: My Life in a Harem" because it was recommended by my mom. It's the story of a girl who moves from a difficult situation in the United States into a quite different situation in Singapore.  She is promised a large sum of money if she moves across the world to attend parties for Prince Jefri.  The ladies fight over his time and attention during their stays in Brunei.  She's treated fairly well, has caught the prince's eye, and receives quite the perks with this 'employment.'

Although the title and overall idea of the book may discourage some people from picking it up, I enjoyed Jillian's story.  Despite this book sounding like a "deep" content book, it was easy to read and wasn't a depressing tale of a girl's life-gone-bad. It was an interesting read and provided quite a different view than the reality that we see in North America.

I would recommend this book for those who like non-fiction books and for those who enjoy stories about people who live different and interesting lives.  It was definitely a book I would recommend to others! 


My 2015 Reading List Update

• A popular author's first book
• A book that was originally written in a different language
• A book written by an author with your same initials
• A memoir - Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (Jillian Lauren)
• A funny book
• A book with a colour in the title
• A book you own but have never read
• A book with a one-word title
• A book written by someone under 30
• A book you can finish in a day
• A book with non-human characters
• A book set during Christmas

My 2015 Reading List

Let's be honest - I failed a little bit in 2014.  I'm a wee embarassed at the lack of reading I have done in the last year... I'm not going to call it a new year's resolution (because those hardly ever work), but I will call it "making sure that I'm taking enough time to relax in 2015." 

A friend of mine posted the PopSugar reading challenge recently, which prompted me to choose some of my favourites from their list and create my own 2015 Reading List.  I'm obviously hoping to read more than 12 books this year (I mean, I did receive some books for Christmas that I definitely want to read but that wouldn't fit into these categories!), however I think this list will give me a good reason to diversify my reading in the new year! 

I've chosen 12 prompts for 2015... And will hopefully complete at least one per month throughout the year!  I haven't yet chosen which books I want to read for each prompt - we could call it procrastinating, but I think it gives me some time to really think about what my options are for these categories.

• A popular author's first book
• A book that was originally written in a different language
• A book written by an author with your same initials
• A memoir
• A funny book
• A book with a colour in the title
• A book you own but have never read
• A book with a one-word title
• A book written by someone under 30
• A book you can finish in a day
• A book with non-human characters
• A book set during Christmas

Feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions for my 12 categories!  

Insurgent and Allegiant (Veronica Roth)

This post is way overdue! I finished the third "Divergent" series book in November and have been slacking on getting something posted about the series.  Possibly my lack of motivation to write about these books is because I'm still digesting the ending and that I don't want to spoil anything for those who are reading the series (or watching the movies) - since I know I've already revealed the biggest spoiler alert to two friends while discussing my surprise at the ending to these books. 

Personally, I enjoyed "Divergent" more than I enjoyed "Insurgent" or "Allegiant," but all followed the same theme and used the same characters, so it was still an enjoyable series! 

The last two books in the series were just as jam-packed with adventure as the first one and still included all of the drama between characters. 

I honestly just don't want to ruin these ones for you!  (I even have a friend who has read 80% of the third book and refuses to read the ending because she just doesn't want to live with the ending.)

If you enjoyed the first book, you will enjoy these two as well! 

Divergent (Veronica Roth)

I've recently noticed that I forgot to post about "Divergent" by Veronica Roth!

Beatrice lives in a world where everyone is divided into one of five "factions," which decide how you live your life.  For example, some people live their lives as selfless individuals, whereas others are seen as honest or brave.  Each child is born into a faction, however when children turn 16, they must decide for themselves which faction they would like to be a part of for the rest of their lives.  This could mean staying with your family and the faction that raised you, or moving to a new faction and hoping that you will fit into a world that you have never previously experienced.

This book follows Beatrice through the decisions she must make when she turns 16, the turmoil and drama that follows her after she makes her decision, and the relationships and friendships that occur in her faction. 

I loved this book.  In typical Young Adult style, I thought the book was the perfect mix of exciting, adventure, suspense, romance, friendship... I could go on. 

It was a fairly easy read and it was one that you won't want to put down.  There is so much going on and you just want to know what happens next.  There are twists and turns throughout the story and you are continuously finding out new things about the characters and the factions.

I rushed through the last 100 pages of this book so that I could go see the movie (which I thought was well done!) and now I'm excited to read the next two books in the trilogy, Allegiant and Insurgent, which are on my summer reading list! 

If you were into books like The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner, then you will likely enjoy these Veronica Roth books as well!

The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)

"The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion is about Don, a man with Asperger's, who starts "The Wife Project."  The main purpose of "The Wife Project" is to find himself a suitable life partner who meets specific (and I mean very specific) criteria.  Along comes Rosie, a woman who is on the search for the biological father.  Don, being a geneticist, is able to help Rosie with some DNA tests to help determine who her father is.  While helping Rosie, he puts a hold on "The Wife Project," which allows him to step out of his comfort zone and begin to see see the beauty in just letting things happen.

The hectic May and June schedule (OK, let's be honest - the whole September to June teacher schedule) has made it much more difficult to keep up with the extremely long list of books that are waiting to be read, but I must say that I did really enjoy this book. 

I've noticed a trend - that I have been reading lots of books about individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  I must say that this one didn't disappoint.  Like others I have read, this book was written from the point of view of Don, so it portrayed an excellent idea of what may go on inside Don's head and how confusing certain social interactions are for him. 

The other thing I liked about this book was the humour.  You feel so awkward for Don at times, but you can't help but laugh at some of the events that happen in the book.  There are so many different relationships in the book as well characters with such quirky personalities, that there is bound to be someone in this book that you look forward to reading about.

I would highly recommend this novel for a good summer read!