Three Rules by Marie Drake Review

This is for the Three Rules blog tour for May 18th :)

Rating: 4 stars or 80%
      Marie Drake tackled such a complicated and sensitive topic in the best way possible. Through this book, she conveyed the emotions of Hope Wellman perfectly, as well as her state of mind. Drake's style of writing was very eloquent at times, and sometimes it even sounded poetic. There are mysteries, doubts, fears, and even romance in Three Rules, all of which were composed with the utmost sense of elegance. 
      Hope was a very realistic character, so I could connect with her very well even though I had basically nothing in common. She went through very realistic character development, and it was extremely interesting to see her change over the course of the book. In the beginning, she was nervous and erratic, completely normal for having been subjected to sexual abuse by her very own uncle (Lucas) since a young age. Now that Lucas is dead (or is he? The grave is empty, and Hope feels like she's still being followed), she doesn't know how to deal with all the pent-up emotions and conflicts that have been plaguing her. Drake does a wonderful job to portray her behavior without telling the reader completely what is happening. Her writing is very continuous and smooth, going from one subject matter to another without any awkward filler sentences or unneeded conversations. Everything is there for a meaning, which I finally realized later on after a huge plot twist.
      Apart from that, I also loved the relationship between Joey and Hope. There was so much chemistry, and midst all the chaos that was in her head and all the mysteries surrounding Lucas's death, it was something I could rely on to convey a sense of calm in the book. Joey was an adorable character, always caring for Hope even though he didn't know what was going on inside her. He dealt with her inner turmoil in a very accepting way, and a big part of Hope's development as a character was due to him.
      Marie Drake created realistic characters with problems that encouraged the plot, even if they weren't the main focus of the novel. The book started off as a simple book about a girl with realistic issues and problems, and turned into a complicated story about betrayal, mystery, and strong emotions. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to read.

This review can also be found on my Goodreads~ 

Ten Summer Reads That I'm Looking Forward To (Bout of Books Challenge)

Most of these aren't released in the summer, but rather just books that I haven't read yet and want to read in the summer :)

1) 1984 by George Orwell. My local library doesn't have it, and I'm still saving up a few extra dollars to buy it. I've heard millions of good things about this book, and I seriously can't wait to devour it in the summer =)

2) The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead. It was already released a long time ago, but for some reason I've never gotten around to reading it. For those of you who don't know, this is the 4th book in the Bloodlines series.

3) Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira. I've seen some good reviews, I've seen some bad reviews. Mainly, I'm just interested in the plot. It's not in my local library either, so I have to go out and buy it.

4) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I'm seriously excited about this book; my first Neil Gaiman read (The Graveyard Book! If you want to see an extensive review on it, comment below and I'll write one ^^) was absolutely wonderful.

5) The Program by Suzanne Young. I've been lusting over this book and its simplistic yet haunting cover and plot for so long that I might rush and buy it if I see it in a store. I am completely in love with the plot line, and can't wait to see how Suzanne Young will write it out to be.

6) The Collector by Victoria Scott. She's also the author of Fire & Flood, a book that I've heard so many good things about. Apparently everyone is obsessed with Dante Walker and his snarkiness, so I can't wait to give this book a spin :)

7) The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. Watched the movie; it was great. I really want to see the differences between the movie and the book.

8) Cress by Marrisa Meyer. GAH, I am so behind on this series! I already bought this book around 2 weeks ago, but the shipping screwed up and its lost somewhere far away. I can't bear the wait :(

9) The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. It's Patrick Ness... need I say more? I think not.

If you want to participate in this challenge (it ends in a few hours!) here's the linky link

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Review

Yes, I've officially completed one of my goals for Bout of Books 10: finishing The Brief Wondrous Life :)

Actual rating: 3.8 stars or 76 %
Oh... Oscar! This book was both extremely sweet and relaxing to read and also extremely frustrating at the same time. I loved Diaz's modern style of writing, and especially all his nerd references to LOTR and other famous nerdy things (which finally caused me to realize how much I was of a non-nerd compared to someone like Oscar). The constant imperfection of Oscar [he's fat, and not willing to change. He's the sweaty Dominican-American teenager who knows more about Marvel then Stan Lee knows himself. He longs for a girl(any girl that would glance at him for even a few seconds, or not even look at him at all), and will fall hopelessly in love many many many times just because.] also drew me in because Diaz portrays him as a fat ghetto nerd on one side of the spectrum, but then goes so exceedingly in depth about his character so that we realize the complete and utter intensity of which is Oscar Wao.

I have Dutch, nigger, and English in me,
and either I'm nobody, or I'm a nation.
-Derek Walcott

This is one of the quotes in the beginning of this novel, a portion in which I didn't read until I had finished the book. The concept that you are either nobody or a nation resonated deeply with me because Oscar was both. We saw his character development from the very beginning, when he was nobody. And then after all the stories, all the digging into his family history and the background of his relatives was found, he became a nation. Then, after deciding to change his life, he became a separate type of nation. He would live life, yet would he?
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao drew me in not only because of the simplistic cover page, but also the title. The idea that life could be brief, yet at the same time still wondrous and amazing, wasn't exactly an idea I completely agreed with. I agree with that now, proven by the life of Oscar Wao.
I loved Diaz's style of writing and how he constantly connected with the reader. He would talk about himself in first person not only in the elaborate footnotes (which I loved to read, even though for the most part I didn't understand) but also in the text itself. He... rescued Oscar. He made it possible for me to connect with him on an emotional level through all the different POVs that he ran through while writing.
This book, although wondrous, was not absolutely perfect. No book is, after all, and I'm here to not only point out its brilliance, but also its flaws. Reading got a bit tedious at times with all the history and the connecting until everything was just a jumble of lines that were interconnecting inside my brain. It felt like a chore, at times, just to hurry up and finish this novel because it took me so long.
Not only that, the constant barrage of Spanish words annoyed me because I had no idea what they meant, and I was forced to just skip them and move on. At points, the constant sex references and cursing got a bit crude, though for the most part it was never a problem for me. The ending was a unsatisfying for me, even though I had learned to expect it.
I expected Oscar to die in some magnificent way, for his values and beliefs and all he cared about. In a way, he did. But not the way I was expecting.
Even after saying all that, I still believe that overall, this book is a complete treasure.
This review can also be found on my Goodreads.

Bout of Books 10 Goals + Updates!

It's Bout of Books time :) This is my first year ever of participating in this read-a-thon (mind, any read-a-thon for that matter), so I'm extremely excited. This has perfect timing as well, because if you follow me on my Goodreads account (I know, shameless self promo :P I went there), then you know that I'm actually currently reading six books right now. It's exhausting, and I've barely had any progress in the past days. Plus, school is getting easier because it's state exams have already passed, but my finals aren't in a month. I'm new to this whole thing, so if you have any tips or want to share anything with me, then feel free to follow me on twitter (@koi_akairo)!

My Goals for Bout of Books 10:
•Complete all six of the following books:

   • Make new friends and talk to people
   • Participate in two or more challenges

Books Shown Above:
•The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
•A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
•Three Rules by Marie Drake
•A Time to Kill by John Grisham
•A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
•Catch-22 by Jospeh Heller

Monday, 5/12
Books Read Today: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and Three Rules by Marie Drake
  Completed: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
  In-Progress: Three Rules
Challenge: Nope, not today. 
Total Books Finished: 1
Total Pages Read: 127 pages of Three Rules and 74 pages of Oscar = 201 pages :)

Tuesday, 5/13
Books Read Today: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  Completed: None (but close!)
  In-Progress: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Challenge: Completed one-http://booksofgosmeinth.blogspot.com/2014/05/ten-summer-reads-that-im-looking.html 
Total Books Finished: 1
Total Pages Read: 138 pages of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Wednesday, 5/14
Books Read Today: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  Completed: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  In-Progress:  Three Rules
Challenge: None
Total Books Finished: 2
Total Pages Read: 147 pages of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Thursday, 5/15
Books Read Today: None
  Completed: None
  In-Progress:  Three Rules
Challenge: Like none
Total Books Finished: 2
Total Pages Read: None

Friday, 5/16
Books Read Today: None
  Completed: None
  In-Progress:  Three Rules
Challenge: Nope nothing
Total Books Finished: 2
Total Pages Read: None

Saturday, 5/17
Books Read Today: Three Rules by Marie Drake
  Completed: Three Rules
  In-Progress: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Challenge: Nope nothing
Total Books Finished: 3
Total Pages Read: 52

Sunday, 5/18
Books Read Today: 
  Completed: 
  In-Progress: 
Challenge: 
Total Books Finished: 
Total Pages Read:

-Christine Annalise Liang