Winter Wonderland Book Tag

Hey everyone!
Today I am doing the Winter Wonderland book tag and thought this would be great to do since it is currently snowing outside!

1. What book is so happy and sweet that it warms your heart?
The book I'm picking is definitely not a happy book, but I have a lot of happy memories while reading this book and it was the first book I read  and just loved (long story why it isn't Harry Potter... which I love!). And that is, of course, The Hunger Games.
2. What is your favorite book with a white cover?
Champion by Marie Lu. I still have to do a review for it!
3. You're sitting in a nice comfy chair, wearing a onesie, with a lovely warm hot chocolate but what MONSTER read are you reading?
Last year I was doing that exact thing without the onesie, and I was reading PJO: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan.
4. It started snowing so you decided to have a snowball fight! What fictional character would you love to have the snowball fight with?
Leo Valdez! Plus he'd be easier to beat.
5. Sadly, your fire is beginning to go out. So what book would you tear the last few chapters out to throw into the fire?
Honestly, Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Not because I don't like the ending, it's just that it was really sad!
6. What book is so close to your heart that you would gift to someone this Christmas who hasn't read before but wants to get into reading?
I'm going to go with a bit of a different answer and say The Book Thief by Markus Zusak since you were probably expecting Harry Potter, THG, or PJO or something. I think this is a book that everyone could get something out of and enjoy!

Thanks for reading, Kait

April Wrap Up and May TBR

Hey everyone!
As May begins, it means a new wrap up and TBR post! This is a little more productive, for lack of a better word. I hope you all had a great April and are looking forward to May.

APRIL WRAP UP
I reread three books: Percy Jackson and the Olympians 1-3: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan's Curse. I read four new books this month as well.
The first book I read was Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi- the second book in the Shatter Me trilogy. You can read more of what I have to say here, but overall I enjoyed it!
The next book I read was a stand-alone: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I also have have a review here, so I'm not going to go in detail. To be honest, I was expecting more of this book, but I still loved it!
After that, I finally got around to reading Rise by Anna Carey which is the third and final installment of the Eve trilogy. Coming from a point of view where this trilogy isn't my favorite, I did enjoy Rise. I think Eve is still my favorite, but I liked it more than Once. And the ending- I had to look it up on Goodreads to make sure I wasn't inferring the wrong thing!
The last book I read was Cinder by Marissa Meyer- the first book in the Lunar Chronicles. I loved the concept of this book, with all the fantasy and sci-fi mixed! I definitely recommend it!

MAY TBR
I planning on finishing the Beautiful Creatures series. I'm currently reading the second one, but I've been having no time to read lately! I loved Beautiful Creatures- I read it in two days. I'm really excited to see where this series goes!
Next, I'll be reading Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, the second book in the Lunar Chronicles. I'm also excited to see where this series will be turning to and about our "Red Riding Hood" this time!
I'm not planning on thinking about what book I'm going to read next. When the time comes, I'll probably pick one. But I think I'm going to try to get to The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. I hear amazing things about this book and I can't wait to read it! If I still have a lot of reading time, I'll probably start the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan! Thanks for reading! -Kait

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Hey everyone!
So today I have a short book review on a great book! I heard a lot of great things about The Book Thief, which is what we're discussing today, and I thought I should get it. This will be a spoiler-free review, except let me say one thing: the ending made me cry. Anyways, here's the synopsis from Goodreads:
"It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time."
 
First of all, I heard amazing things about this book, and don't get me wrong- I did love this book, yet I was expecting something to amaze me. Unfortunately, I didn't get exactly what I was looking for, but I still loved this book. One thing that I liked what the unique narrator. This book is narrated by Death. How cool? Secondly, I loved the characters. Every one we ran into I liked, even if their personality's themselves weren't wonderful. My favorites have to be Liesel, Rudy, Hans, and Max. They were just likable and well-developed. The writing was really nice, too. It was simple, but there were so many metaphors and similes, and very creative ones, for that matter. But the ending. It wasn't like it was bad or anything, it was just so sad. So heads up! I really enjoyed this book, and I would still give it a 5/5 stars. I thought everything was great, but I heard that this a book, that NY Times says on the cover, is "Life changing". Anyways, thanks for reading! -Kait