Tag: angie thomas

Top 10 Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

A Morrow

Top 10 Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week’s topic asks us to list our “Auto-buy Authors.”

I chose way more than 10 at first! But managed, in the end, to narrow my list down to these 10 below. Honorable Mentions at the end, cause I had to mention them!!

Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher writes my favorite series, The Dresden Files. I struggled to put him on this list though because he also writes another series that I have not read. So is he really auto-buy? …Yes, I had to count him, because I pre-order his books as soon as that button becomes availble. I will read The Dresden Files until the series ends or until I die, whichever comes first haha. Writes Adult Fantasy, Urban Fantasy.

Diana Gabaldon

I’ve been buying and reading the Outlander series, and its companion series, since I was arguably too young to read it. I love this series, I love Gabaldon’s writing style and plot choices, and I love falling back into this world and letting it mesmerize me again and again. Can’t wait to read the next one in 2020! Writes Adult Historical Fantasy.

Jay Kristoff

I only started reading Jay Kristoff’s body of work this year and I can’t believe what I was missing out on! Anything that says it was written by Jay Kristoff now, or Jay Kristoff & Amie Kauffman for that matter, I know I want read. I read his Illuminae Files series last month and LOVED it so much, and am currently reading his Nevernight series also! WOW. Definitely a writer I love following. Writes YA & Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

Megan Whalen Turner

I questioned whether to put Turner on my list, not because I don’t auto-buy everything she writes, because I do, but because she only puts out a book every few years, all in the same series. So it’s more accurately a series that I auto-buy…but I don’t care, I’ll take any chance to brag about The Queen’s Thief series. The way she writes fantasy is original, psychological, and so clever. I loved the newest installment in this series and look forward to the next. Writes MG/YA Fantasy.

Angie Thomas

Thomas has only written two books but they have both been two of my favorites. THUG (The Hate You Give) and On the Come Up, which I reviewed in June, were both absolutely fantastic. They made me feel so many things and I loved and rooted for all of those characters. Thomas’ voice is so important in our current climate today and I for one will read anything she writes at all. Writes YA Contemporary.

Christina Lauren

I only jumped onto the wildly-popular Christina Lauren train this year, but I already love my seat! I’ve read four of their books now and I absolutely loved them all, even though they were all so different from each other. I love how they are able to build a love story into any situation, and I especially love the care and consideration they give to their characters’ thoughts and emotions before action. These books are great summer reads, and I would recommend them to anyone who needs a good one this summer! Check out The Unhoneymooners, which I reviewed this May! Writes Adult Contemporary/Romance.

B.A. Paris

I love these psychological thrillers! I don’t know if I’d nominate these books for an award, but I can say with confidence that every time I pick up a B.A. Paris novel I end up devouring it in as few sittings as my life will let me. I loved The Breakdown, I loved Behind Closed Doors (that ending, right??), and I just started reading Bring Me Back for a book exchange, I’m so excited!! B.A. Paris is always a guaranteed fun night of reading, and I will always appreciate that. Writes Adult Mystery/Thrillers.

Gillian Flynn

My other mystery auto-buy author. My favorite Gillian Flynn novel is Sharp Objects, I loved that book so much. It was dark, brutal, unapologetic, and ugly in all the right ways, which are the things I love about Flynn novels. Even her novellas get me where it hurts! The Grownup is one of my most reread novellas and I still can’t decide what I think really happened in that story. I love Flynn’s way of making the reader have to decide what is good or possible or survivable or what actually happened as a whole, and I love the dark corners that she explores in her writing. Writes Adult Mystery/Thrillers.

Jenny Lawson

I love Jenny Lawson! She might be my oldest auto-buy author, and she’s only written two books, each of them gems. I’ve been following Lawson since she was only a blogger and her blog is still one of my most entertaining, relatable reads every week. Her books are even better. Furiously Happy and Let’s Pretend This Never Happened are both hilarious adventures through stories of love, mental illness, giant metal chickens, and living life loudly when surrounded by obstacles. Wholeheartedly recommend. Writes Memoirs.

Brené Brown

These books are my jam. Any time I need help resetting my insecurities or guidance into a better headspace, Brown has my back. She has written so many books that have spoken to me: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next! If you’re not familiar with Brown, you can also catch her TED talk for a little piece of what to expect from her books. Writes Non-Fiction/Self-Help.

Honorable Mentions: So many more!!

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Robin Benway, Jay Kristoff & Amie Kauffman, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ruth Ware, Rupi Kaur, Patricia Briggs, Riley Sager.

Who are your auto-buy authors?? Tell me in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

A Morrow

Top 10 Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week’s topic asks us to list our “Top 10 Unique Character Names.”

Well, I chose more than 10, cause I LOVE NAMES!! I usually have a list of names I love from media, but I had to write this list while I was out of town, so these are just off the top of my head! Haha and yes, there are fourteen of them. Some of these are old favorites and some are new discoveries, but I love finding new and unique names within literature. Hope you have as much fun reading as I did making this list!

Arya & Sansa

A Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin

Scout

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Hermione

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Mercy, Adam, & Bran

Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs

Niklas

Gemina, The Illuminae Files by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff

Sekani

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

Kaz, Jesper, & Inej

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

Elias

An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir

Theo (Theodora)

The Haunting of Hill House (Book & TV Series) by Shirley Jackson

Jamie, Marsali, Phaedre & Jem

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Rhysand (Rhys)

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas

Briar

The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce

What are some of your favorite literary names?? Tell me in the comments!

Reviews

On the Come Up

A Morrow

“When I was little I used to stand in front of mirrors with hairbrushes and imagine crowds chanting my name. But I don’t think I could have ever imagined this feeling.”

On the Come Up follows sixteen-year-old Bri, who wants to be one of the Greatest Rappers of All Time, as she navigates a lot of tough issues in her own life and fights to follow her dreams.

Her late father, who was an underground rap sensation, left big shoes to fill and Bri isn’t sure that they fit her. Her mother, who tries so hard, just lost her job and can’t get food stamps without dropping out of school. Bri dreams of not only being able to make it big, but also to provide for her family.

After she’s persecuted at school by a security guard, Bri turns her fury into a song and gets the chance to put her truth into the world. What she finds is that not everyone in the world likes what you have to say, or that she’s the one saying it, and that they make decisions about who she is because of it. Between trying to battle the stereotypes being placed on her, the pressure to embrace a new image that doesn’t fit, and navigating her way through both good and horrible advice, Bri manages to still create something astounding: herself. (And some badass music.)

–

I already loved Angie Thomas from her debut novel THUG (The Hate You Give) and I only love her writing more now than I did before. On the Come Up is a new book, a different book, from its predecessor but a hit all the same. I loved so many things about On the Come Up that it’s hard to name them all.

Bri was such a relatable character and I loved her voice! She’s not the easiest to love, and I think that’s why I liked her so much. She’s human and authentic, especially for a teen. She’s moody, angry, and impulsive sometimes, but also loving, protective, and strong. She expresses herself without any apology and I both enjoyed reading her character and aspire to be more like that some days.

Another aspect of this book that I loved was how Thomas portrayed Bri’s family life. Her brother is an interesting and strong character for her to lean on, and Bri’s mother was an entirely empathetic character to me. I wanted her, and her family, to succeed so badly! Bri learns a lot about her mom throughout the book which I enjoyed watching unfold, especially with how human and real her discoveries were. She’s always known that her mom is a recovered addict and yet she starts to see that its a struggle her mother has to fight daily. She sees her mother give up her school when its the only way to qualify for food stamps and realizes just how many sacrifices she has made to take care of them. At the end they both see each other in a new and different light, and I loved watching that transformation through Bri’s eyes.

Like THUG, her debut novel, Thomas is able to speak to a lot of important truths in this book. I felt Bri’s pain and anger every time her family had to scrape for bills or her school security guards targeted black and latinx students or her aunt got arrested. But then again— Bri would probably hate that I just said all that. She suffers no pity or sympathy. She takes all of her fear and fury and love and channels into her music, which was a phenomenal piece of this beautiful story. I love how she turned to her music every time she needed to be heard. Bri’s rhymes are poetry and truth, and unapologetically herself.

Thomas’ examination of the double standards and various pitfalls for women, especially a young black woman, in the rap industry (and the world) also felt vital to this story. After Bri releases her song, she quickly finds out that people who don’t know her are making assumptions about her being dangerous and irreverent because of her age, lyrics, and skin color. She’s targeted by the Crowns (a local gang) and by the media who vilify her and her song. She goes on to release a video for the song, demonstrating that her lyrics about guns and rage against authority are in response to a personal persecution in a trend of persecution among people like her. She tries to make her message clear, but it only brings her more hate from outside. Thomas does a wonderful job of examining the hypocrisy of a white journalist arguing against rap being “unsafe for kids” because of lyrics about guns and violence, without trying to understand or support the communities in which there are actual children who need that safety. It felt important that Thomas wrote about Bri’s struggles to say certain things in her lyrics that are never questioned when men are rapping, but questioned for her all the time. It felt important that Thomas, and Bri, used this platform to not just talk about important issues but to express how these struggles made them feel and celebrate the people who fight them every day.

On the Come Up was insightful, full of heart, and unafraid. It’s a wonderful story about a girl so many of us can relate to fighting hard to follow her dreams even when the odds are against her. It’s a story about how freedom of speech is not always free, depending on who you are. It’s a story about music and how it can connect us to new and deeper parts of ourselves. It’s a story about family and love and community. And most of all it is an ode, a love letter, to hip hop. I enjoyed every word.

“Gift. One word, one syllable. I don’t know if it rhymes with anything because it’s a word I never thought could be used when it comes to me.“

WWW

It’s “What are you reading?” Wednesday!

A Morrow

I’ve seen a lot of bookish memes and list ideas here on the book-blogging circuit, and I wish I could do all of them! One of my favorites has been a trend of bloggers posting their current reads on Wednesdays!

This week I’ll be taking inspiration from Taking On a World of Words, and trying out their “WWW Wednesday!”

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m reading now:

Right now I’m reading two books that were recommended to me by friends who love them!

I’ve only just started Half Bad, but I’m already really enjoying it. The main characters nameless almost wordless first hand experiences are gritty and compelling. The lack of information so far, only circumstances and clues, makes me want to know exactly how he got into this mess and what this world and his captors are like. I can’t wait to read more!

And I Darken has been so good, and I am almost finished with it. I have loved reading a royal court story of intrigue that is set in the Ottoman Empire! I’ve never read anything quite like that, and I feel like it gives it such a unique twist, and all sorts of fresh pockets to explore. The MC is harsh and difficult but also determined and strong, and the complex relationship with her brother is fascinating to me. I look forward to letting you guys know what I think when I finish!

I know these two came out a few years ago, what did you think of them?

What I’ve recently finished:

A lot! Or at least it feels like a lot! May has been a great reading month so far.

I most recently finished On the Come Up by Angie Thomas and I was in love. Look for the review of this book appearing on my blog soon. I loved the MC Bri and watching her fight for her dreams, as well as struggle to know what to do with them when she found herself on that very road. I loved her songs, I loved her passion, I loved that she was difficult and unapologetic. Angie Thomas definitely has done it again with this wonder.

Truly Devious was so much fun to read! I buddy-read this one with fellow blogger and friend Elizabeth from This is Lit (check our their podcast! It’s great), and we had an excellent time. She’s already tweeted about her love for this book, but look forward to a review on my blog shortly! What a fun mystery, a great and competent MC, and an all-around good time. Can’t wait to read the sequel soon!

I waited so long for Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs! I’ve been reading her series (both set in the Mercy Thompson world) for almost ten years now. Briggs is one of those authors that I don’t even read the synopsis before buying, and I wasn’t disappointed. Her books have gotten a little shorter but no less entertaining over the years, and I’ll always love going back to visit Mercy and Adam and all of their pack. Will continue reading this series until I die, probably.

What I plan to read next:

I am SO EXCITED to read Kingsbane!

Claire Legrand dropped this sequel to Furyborn only a few days ago and my pre-order arrived this morning. I’ll be starting on this probably sometime tonight or tomorrow and I can’t wait to find out what’s in store next for Rielle, Eliana, and their colorful crew. Especially after that reveal near the end of Furyborn! Very much looking forward to enjoying and reviewing this book.

What are you reading this week? What are you excited about? Tell me in the comments and have a great reading week!