Tales from an Avid Reader: January 2015

RATING: 5/5 stars!

Author: Neal Shusterman

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Bought

Release date: October 14, 2014

Find it on Goodreads here!

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS. HIGHLIGHT AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Teens control the fate of America in the fourth and final book in the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman.

Proactive Citizenry, the company that created Cam from the parts of unwound teens, has a plan: to mass produce rewound teens like Cam for military purposes. And below the surface of that horror lies another shocking level of intrigue: Proactive Citizenry has been suppressing technology that could make unwinding completely unnecessary. As Conner, Risa, and Lev uncover these startling secrets, enraged teens begin to march on Washington to demand justice and a better future.

But more trouble is brewing. Starkey’s group of storked teens is growing more powerful and militant with each new recruit. And if they have their way, they’ll burn the harvest camps to the ground and put every adult in them before a firing squad—which could destroy any chance America has for a peaceful future.

REVIEW:

Because this is a last book in a series, I will keep my review brief.

This book is my absolute favorite book of 2014, and possibly one of my favorite books of all time.

It made me laugh, it made me smile, and it made me cry. It was beautifully written, and handled the subject matter beautifully. It was absolutely fantastic! One of the best series endings I have ever read.

All I can say is, if you have not read this series, I highly suggest you do so immediately.

CONTENT: Kissing, one sex scene, but it is only implied. Hardy any swearing, but there is a lot of dark subject matter dealing with unwinding, and some of it is very disturbing.

The End of Year Book Survey was created by The Perpetual Page Turner.

I did this last year and it was so much fun, that I've decided to do it again! Without further ado...

Number of Books I read: 101

Number of rereads: 14

Genre I read the most from: Fantasy

1. Best Book You Read In 2014?

Without a doubt, UNDIVIDED by Neal Shusterman absolutely blew my mind.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

The Young Elites by Marie Lu. I thought I would love it way more than I did. (My review)

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I thought I would live it, but I hated this book.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?

Cinder by Marissa Meyer, and the rest of the Lunar Chronicles. Most of my friends read it after I pushed them to, and I feel very accomplished.

5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?

The Grisha trilogy. Oh so many feels. But I loved it so much.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?

Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner, who wrote These Broken Stars. They're really two authors, but I loved how they wrote together.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I never usually read contemporary style books, but this one I read and loved.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

The Savage Blue by Zoraida Cordova. I could not put this book down.

9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. I have to reread it for The Winner's Crime.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. This cover is seriously GORGEOUS.

11. Most memorable character of 2014?

Jonas Agallon from the Falling Kingdoms series. I LOVE him so much.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. This book was heartbreakingly beautiful.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?

Undivided by Neal Shusterman. EXTREMELY thought provoking, and very pro-life.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?

The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova. LOVED this book.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?

Baghra feels.

JONAS IS MY FAVE!!!

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest: If I Stay by Gayle Forman (201 pages)

Longest: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (725 pages)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga. This book was SO creepy.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Not book related...but Stiles and Lydia from Teen Wolf. I love them so much.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Addie and Laila from Pivot Point and Split Second. They are the coolest characters.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Undivided by Neal Shusterman. OH SO GOOD!

21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. My friends peer-pressured me into reading this, and I really didn't like it. At all.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?

Gansey from The Raven Boys. He is so swoon-worthy.

23. Best 2014 debut you read?

Alienated by Melissa Landers. SO GOOD! (My review)

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes. The world-building is absolutely SUPERB.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. Such a cute book.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?

Undivided by Neal Shusterman. I bawled my eyes out in one part.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes. This series totally deserves more hype.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. SO MANY EMOTIONS.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. I have never read anything like this series.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I really did not like this book, and it made me so frustrated.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

I love participating in Top Ten Tuesday, but I have so little time to be able to do it recently, and it depresses me.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?

When I finally read 100 books!

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My review of Echoes of Us by Kat Zhang

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I was pretty proud of my review of Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

BETTER WORLD BOOKS. It is seriously the greatest store ever!

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I completed my challenge to read 100 books, and I kind of completed my goal of posting at least once a week (not really), so I want to work on this next year.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?

The Sorcerer Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. I was hoping to get to it this year, but college applications made sure that didn't happen.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?

Oblivion by Kelly Creagh. I have waited so long for this book, AND I NEED IT SO BAD!

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir...because the cover is gorgeous.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?

Fairest by Marissa Meyer. Queen Levana prequel? HELL YES!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?

Read 90 books and post at least once a week.

6. A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

I actually have not read any books published in 2015. But I have so many that I'm looking forward to!

Happy new year, everyone! Wishing you all many blessings and good books in 2015!

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Friday, January 2, 2015

Undivided (Unwind #4) by Neal Shusterman: Review

Thursday, January 1, 2015

2014 End of Year Book Survey