Hello, lovelies! I’m back with another blog post. I love that I have so much more time to read now. I have read so many great books the fall semester of my Freshman year, so I want to share a few with you. I’m not going to go into many details, so don’t worry. No spoilers.
//Ember In The Ashes + A Torch Against The Night
Goodreads Summary
“Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.”
My Thoughts
The reason I picked up this book was that I heard the author speak at a book festival. Two of my friends were obsessed with this book and dragged me to hear her speak. I have to say, I like this woman. She reminds me of a mixture of me and my friend Stellah. It’s sort of scary actually. I bought the book at the festival and even got it signed.
I’ll be honest. I stopped reading dystopian books a while ago. They just started going downhill and I was outgrowing young adult fiction. After reading this book, I changed my mind. I actually like it more than Hunger Games (which is a book I love, but the movies ruined for me. ) This is partially because of the newness of it, so I don’t think it’s fair to compare them because they are two different genres. The reason why I loved it so much is because the plot is so complex. The last thing you expect to happen will end up happening. I was sucked into the story.
The petty part of me also liked that the main character was brown. I actually wouldn’t have thought about it if it weren’t for a friend who mentioned it to me. It’s a nice change. It was just something that was mentioned in passing. Most characters fantasy and dystopian novels are white, which isn’t bad, but it was cool to see a South Asian inspired character that wasn’t oppressed by her religion or her parents or the law in some modern-day set fiction (which is how we are usually portrayed). Of course, this character is a slave, so….
I cannot recommend this book enough. I bought the second book within days because I couldn’t wait for it to come from the library.
//The Sun Is Also A Star
Goodreads Summary
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
My Thoughts
I’ll be honest. I wouldn’t have picked up this book if I hadn’t gotten a hold of the advanced reader’s copy. I read this book months before it came out and fell in love with it. I am in no ways a contemporary romance person, but this book is on my list. It goes into so many issues I can relate to like being a first generation American, immigration reform, interracial relationships…. the list goes on. It’s so well-written and the character development is spot on. I can relate to them so well. Even the minor characters who are only present for a few pages. The writing format is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, so I’m definitely looking out for books by this author.
//Memoirs Of A Geisha
Goodreads Summary
In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl’s virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction – at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful – and completely unforgettable.
My Thoughts
After watching the trailer for this movie, I knew I had to read the book. I got it for like $0.25 at Goodwill and let it sit on my shelf for months until I finally got around to reading it. Just watch the trailer for a synopsis. I learned so much from this book about Japan and the lives of the Geisha. All the training they’d go through and the torture they’d endure.
The story follows Chiyo, whose name is changed to Sayuri later on in the book, who was sold after her mother died. She was basically a slave after that. It goes from her training to surviving during World War II to the Depression. It’s an amazing story. Slow paced at times, but I recommend it.
Seriously, though. Watch the trailer, now.
//Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide To Joy
Goodreads Summary
The practice of hatha yoga, as we commonly know it, is but one of eight branches of the body of knowledge that is yoga. In fact, yoga is a sophisticated system of self-empowerment that is capable of harnessing and activating inner energies in such a way that your body and mind function at their optimal capacity. It is a means to create inner situations exactly the way you want them, turning you into the architect of your own joy.
A yogi lives life in this expansive state, and in this transformative book Sadhguru tells the story of his own awakening, from a boy with an unusual affinity for the natural world to a young daredevil who crossed the Indian continent on his motorcycle. He relates the moment of his enlightenment on a mountaintop in southern India, where time stood still and he emerged radically changed. Today, as the founder of Isha, an organization devoted to humanitarian causes, he lights the path for millions. The term guru, he notes, means “dispeller of darkness, someone who opens the door for you. . . . As a guru, I have no doctrine to teach, no philosophy to impart, no belief to propagate. And that is because the only solution for all the ills that plague humanity is self-transformation. Self-transformation means that nothing of the old remains. It is a dimensional shift in the way you perceive and experience life.” The wisdom distilled in this accessible, profound, and engaging book offers readers time-tested tools that are fresh, alive, and radiantly new. Inner Engineering presents a revolutionary way of thinking about our agency and our humanity and the opportunity to achieve nothing less than a life of joy
My Thoughts
This is a book I can’t really describe. Either you’ll get bored or your life will change. It depends on how open-minded you are. Just read it and find out. My dad was the one to give it to me.
//A Sh*t Ton Of Sammy Keyes Books
Goodreads Summary
What Sammy should have done was put the binoculars down and call 911. What she does instead is tighten up the focus on her right eye to get a better look. There’s something very familiar about this thief.
But when Sammy eventually spills her story to Officer Borsch, he doesn’t believe her. He treats her like some snot-nosed little kid. Well, Sammy’s not going to stand for that. She’s a snot-nosed seventh grader now, and she knows what she saw. And somehow she’s going to prove it.
The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it’s the drama in Sammy’s personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.
My Thoughts
Let me explain. I bought all eighteen Sammy Keyes books from eBay for like ten bucks at the beginning of the semester and would read them in between new books. This is a series that no one has heard of and I was skeptical about reading it despite a friend’s recommendation. I ended up loving it and people I recommend wary about it too. But then they read them and fall in love.
I started reading the books in middle school and continued reading them as they came out in high school. Don’t judge a book by its cover. They’re really good. I would argue that this is my favorite book series (which I can’t because I love too many) because I’ve reread all the books multiple times over the years and love them more and more every time and I know I will continue to reread them. Just read one and you’ll be hooked. The first few are definitely for a younger audience, but they get much more mature after the first four books. Since they’re mysteries, you can read them out of order and will be fine.
Those are some great books I read this semester. There are way more, but those are some that stuck out to me.
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What books did you read this semester? Have you read the books I recommended? What did you think of them?