Charlotte's Library

North of Beautiful written by Justina Chen Headley I'd heard so much about this book, all incredible, so I finally made an effort to pick it up for myself.  Even just reading the summary, I knew this book was going to be a life-changing one.  And throughout reading the beautifully combined words, it struck chord after chord in relation to my own life.  This is a must-read for every teen, I have no hesitations saying that.  From body image issues to more subtle but just as dangerous forms of abuse, this book jumps headfirst into real issues faced by real people, and true to its title, addresses them beautifully.  The ending is sweet, although I would really have loved to see more of the fallout for her family, but the slightly open ending does leave room for stimulating the reader's own thoughts beyond the words on the page. Rating: 5/5

written by Libba Bray A Great and Terrible Beauty I had read the first two novels in Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy in the past, although I had done so with many years between the two reads, when the books had first been released.  This is an intricately woven series and as such, unless the reader possesses a stellar memory (which I do not), should probably be read closer together, with many rereads, for best results.  This time around, I read all three novels in a row in the course of about a week, and was not disappointed with the results.  I am not a reader who enjoys pieces set in the Victorian Era.  It seems too far removed from today, and I find it difficult to care.  But Libba Bray manages to craft a world that is both removed from ours today, but still filled with the same basic humanity.  These are characters carefully crafted to be known and loved.  I don't know how Libba Bray plotted the entire detailed story out, but she must have taken t...

A Winner has been chosen for my first Hand printed Bookish T Shirt!! Congratulations to Lioness !  If you are still interested in getting this Tshirt it is up on my Etsy shop ! http://www.etsy.com/shop/JoyfulExpressionsArt Tweet me @YA_BookWorm07 and I will get you free shipping! :)  Some of these ideas will definitely be used!  Don't forget I CAN do custom orders :) If you would like a T-shirt made just sent me a message on Twitter or at joyful-expressions(at)live(dot)com Keep in mind I would prefer to do orders that will get at least 5 purchases. So talk to your friends!  Ideas given for future T-Shirts are:  "The book is always better"   "Friends don't let friends not read."  "Life is too short, must.read.faster!"   If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write.   "Life happened because I turned the pages." "A good book has no ending"  "'Classic.' A book which people ...

YAY I officially made my first Bookish Silkscreen T-Shirt :)  Are you as excited as I am?!  This is not one of the designs you may have seen before. This was actually very spontaneous and done in about 2 days! Other designs WILL be coming. However they are more detailed and I need more materials before I can confidently start them >.< To share my excitement I am holding a giveaway! Be the first - Other than myself - To own a Hand Printed Need to Read T-shirt! It will be made to order, so the Winner can tell me their size and if the T-shirt Style should be for a man or woman :) ( keep in mind this also means a bit of extra time for production ) This giveaway is all about getting my  T-shirt ideas out in the world, and hopefully getting my little Etsy shop hoppin! So feel free to share share share ;) If you are interested in Silkscreen T-shirts from me, but not THIS particular design. I have another option for you ! I am holding a Fundraising Raffle HERE   For Do...

The Realm of Possibility written by David Levithan I was really excited to read The Realm of Possibility .  I'm a fan of Levithan's many other works, and thought this would be on par with his other writing.  Character development is a personal favorite feature of novels, and with 20 different characters featured, I thought we'd get to see plenty of that.  Unfortunately, 20 characters ended up leading to 20 disjointed, messy, incoherent stories, to the point where I was confused about the very purpose of the book.  It read more like an outline  for a book than a finished copy.  It was a good start, and could have been executed better, perhaps in using short stories rather than poems, but there wasn't much cohesion between the 20 stories being told.  The writing itself was classic Levithan, full of Big Life Truths, and it did not disappoint.  I can't say the same for the book as a unit, though. I got this book from...:The Carnegie Library of Pittsbu...

Do you enjoy reading about book events and love seeing pictures taken at them?  Do you live in the Pacific NW, or even just love some authors that do?  Maybe you enjoy reading reviews/interviews/guest posts/giveaways and other goodies featuring authors from the Pacific NW?  And last of all, do you live in the Portland, Oregon or surrounding area and are looking for a YA book club? The gals at Novels, News and Notes from Your Northwest Neighbors are looking for readers!  You do not have to live in the area to read the blog featuring the fabulous authors that we have in this corner of the world, they do not discriminate!  And right now they are giving away 3 fabulous prize packs featuring two awesome Pacific NW authors.  Go here to find out what you can win.  Some (this is NOT a full list yet!) of the fabulous authors that you will find featured on Novels, News and Notes are: Holly Cupala, Joelle Anthony, Stasia Kehoe, Lisa Schroeder, Col...

The Book of Luke written by Jenny O'Connell This is the kind of thing that gives YA a bad name.  There's novels out there with realistic portrayals of intelligent, mature, rational teenagers...and there's this.   Can we just have some more books out there that tell you how to be a decent person, rather than being negativistic 'this is exactly the opposite of what you should do' books?  Most, if not all, of the problems in this book could have been solved with a nice dose of communication.  Which, granted, many teenagers struggle with...so maybe we could write a book about that instead of perpetuating senseless drama that could be easily resolved otherwise.  I don't have much more to say.  I was disappointed in this book and glad to have it off my shelf. Rating; 1/5

Ok guys. As you have probably noticed my posts and reviews have been few and far between. I'm sorry. I have... so much going on right now o.O Though at times it seems like I have alot of spare time.. I feel like I need some of that spare time.. just for myself for a bit.  I recently got more hours at work.. Which is great, but it's still not totally cutting it. I'm working on my art in some of my spare time hoping that I can fill up my etsy shop and fill in the Gaps - if you want to see the projects i'm currently trying to start up check it out HERE With all of this combined I am just feeling a little overwhelmed. And I have a bad habit of letting the stress pile up until I make myself sick.. so I'm trying to be responsible this time. I will of course still be reading. It's my escape and helps me relax. And I am going to try and get caught up on some reviews and hopefully get some things scheduled so I am not typing everything up the same night that I want to po...

Soul Enchilada written by David Macinnis Gill As much as I love a strong female protagonist, this story was just too convoluted for me to swallow.  Typically, when a book is able to cross genres, it produces a powerful product, but I'm not really sure how to feel about this girl-power supernatural...legal thriller?  I couldn't get past the fact that most of the plot centered around a car .  And yes, the car had deeper symbolic implications, but it was a car .  The story did move at an interesting pace, and the characters were spunky, I'll give them that.  I can honestly say I've never read anything like this story before.  While I wasn't personally too fond of the story, I do think it's pretty incredible how one story can hold different amounts and kinds of meaning to each reader.  This just wasn't it for me. I got this book from...:LibraryThing SantaThing

How to Say Goodbye in Robot written by Natalie Standiford I didn't expect much from this book, but I think I can now safely call it one of the best, most emotionally evocative books I've gotten the chance to read.  Many young adult novels discuss the dangers of physically abusive romantic relationships, bypassing the ideas of emotionally abusive relationships as well as abusive platonic relationships, both of which, at least from my vantage point, are huge problems in many teens' lives, and many don't even have the vocabulary for it.  It's also one of the few YA books I've read featuring truly introverted protagonists.  We have our fill of socially awkward penguins, but most of them do gain their energy through social interaction with others, and that's a little more blurred in this book.  I'm grateful for Natalie Standiford's courage in writing an important story, and I hope it was able to bring some level of clarity to other readers as it was able ...

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs.  This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) but is now hosted at Mailbox Monday and through various blog hosts. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.  For Review From Publisher Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin Thumbed by Megan McCafferty Destined by Aprilynne Pike This was my reaction to Harper Teen sending me a package: HUGE thanks to them :) Masque is an extra copy for me , So of course I will be sharing it soon ;) For Review From Author Darwin, Singer by Nadria Tucker The cover throws me a bit, but the story sounds really interesting! Finished Copies Gifted from Julie at Julie Murphy Writes   Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce *Signed* Taken at Dusk by C.C. Hunter  ARCS gifted from Julie at Julie Murp...

Ok guys : IT'S ON ! You have seen me mention my art. Many of you probably have seen my tweets sharing my ideas for bookish T-shirt designs and more! Well now I'm going to try and get the project going.. but I need a little help !  So I am holding a Fund- Raiser filled with AWESOME goodies you can get for Donating!  You can donate as much or as little as you would like!  Basically. for Donating $1 you have the chance to win over $100 worth of books. A set of magnets from my Etsy Shop. Original Everneath ( by Brodi Ashton ) inspired art, Or A set of Buttons and prints from Comicon!   Are you an international Friend of mine? 5 Authors donated Ebooks to use as international prizes! A $1 Donation could get you $28 worth of AWESOME Ebooks!! Sound like something you would be interested in? Head over HERE To see more of my Art and ideas. Plus see with your own two eyes all the awesome things you could win for helping me out! :)