Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite First Sentences

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey @ GingerReadsLainey on YouTube and hosted by Sam @ ThoughtsOnTomes. Every Wednesday there is a new topic, and you list your top 5 related to the particular topic. This week topic is favorite first sentences. For more information on top 5 Wednesday and the Goodreads group click HERE.

1. "I was raised to marry a monster".

This is the first line of Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. This is a dark retelling of beauty and the beast. It took me such a long time to rate this book. After I read it I thought it was an okay read. But this book remained on my mind for so long that I raised my rating to a 4 out of 5 stars.

2. "Today was the day a thousand dreams would die and a single dream would be born."

This is the first line of The Kiss of Deception by Marry E. Pearson. This was one of my favorite books from 2014. I should read the next books! why haven't I yet? There is so little time and so many books. The 3th book came out 2 weeks a go. So I really don´t have any excuse. It is about a princes how is forced to marry someone she doesn't know. So logically she runs away on her wedding day. She flees to this small town and become a waiters. Two strangers come in town one is the prince she was suppose to marry and one is a assassin sent to kill her. This is a must read!   

3. "I´ve been locked up for 264 days."

This is the first sentence of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. Again a series that I haven´t finished. I should get to it...... eventually. Wow we keep coming back to series that I should finish. Maybe a topic for another time.  I read this in my dystopian phase. Liked it, wasn't blow away by it. It´s about a girl that kills people when she touches them. I heard it gets even better so I should check the rest out. And look at this cover BEAUTIFUL.

4. "It has been sixty-four years since the president and the consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-tree since scientists perfected a cure."

That is the first line of Delirium by Lauren Oliver. This is again a book that I read in 2014 in my dystopian phase. This book is about a future where love is seen as a disease, and people are better without it. People get something (yes I know I am very specific :P, It´s been a long time since I read this book, sorry) put in there brain to prevent people from care about other people. It is not a world I would like to live in. And also a series that I haven´t finished. I don´t know if I want to. Are the next books better? Let me know. 

5. "Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."

This is the first sentence of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I don't think I need to explain this book because everyone and there mother has read this book. And if you haven't yet just pick it up, this book is great. I really needed to get used to John Greens writhing style. He uses words that I sometimes don't know. English is not my first language, so my vocabulary isn't that big. I learned a lot of new words while reading this book. The last half of this book had me sobbing like a baby. I definitely recommend this book.

My Life Next Door

My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Dial Books For Young Readers
Pages: 394
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published: June 14, 2012 
Rating: 3/5 stars

Description

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.

As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another. 

My thoughts

This book is a cute romance great for summer.

I heard a lot about this book. Everyone who talks about this book can't say anything negative about it. That's why I really wanted to read it.

I really like this book. It was a great contemporary romance. But I expected more from it. I think my expectations we too high. I wanted to be blown away by it but I wasn't. Don't get me wrong this book is still a great book. It's still a 3 out of 5 stars for me, but I wanted it to be a 5 out of 5 stars. There where some slow part in the middle and it wasn't as mind blowing as I expected , that is the reason why it is  3 out of 5 stars and not a 5 out of 5 stars. 

I really liked the Gerretts'. All the kids were great. Jase the good guy and Alice the bad girl with a soft side. George the cute smart little brother (who also says the most inappropriate things :P). Joel the cool older brother with the motorcycle and a letter jacket. Andy the 14 year old girl who is trying to get her first kiss from this one guy that she has a crush on for sutch a long time. Patsy The baby girl who's first word is boob.. or was it poop, I forgot. And last Harry and Duff the little brothers who are in my eyes the most normal in this family.

I fell in love with this family and I really liked this book!
I will look for another book of Huntley Fitzpatick because I'm interested to read more from this author. 

Tuck Everlasting

Tuck Everlasting
Author: Natalie Babbitt
Pages: 164
Genre: Classic
Published: 1975
Rating: 2/5 stars

Description

Doomed to - or blessed with - eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.

My thoughts

I always find it difficult to review classics. I find that I may not be the right person to judge such works. I feel like my opinion does not madder because these stories stand the test of time. who am I to judge them. But here I go.

I thought that this was a great choice for me because I loved the movie, I watched it multiple times. But the book is in a lot of ways different. I sadly enjoyed the movie more than the book. In the movie Winnie stayed a longer time with the Tucks. In the book just for one day. The bond she has with the Tuck's is much more believable if she was with them for a month instead of just one day. And you saw that relationship develop more in the movie.

I also liked the romance that was put in the movie. In the book Winnie is younger and it would have been strange if she got in a relationship with a boy 7 years older than her (she is 10 in the book and he 17).

But the basis of how the Tuck's became who they are is the seem. Those parts I really liked. Don't get me wrong this book is not bad. It was just ok. I hooped it was more liked the movie that I loved, but it was a different story.

July Wrap-up

Normally I read about a book a week, so 4 book per month. But this month I participated in the Booktube-A-Thon, and because of this I challenged myself to read more,
Since I can't read 7 books in one week I decided to try to complete all the challenges in one month instead of one week. I did this last year and that worked well for me. This year I completed all the challenges again.

Below you find the books I read, their rating and which challenges they completed.

Stats

Read books: 7

Genre: 1 Fantasy, 1 poetry collection, 3 contemporaries and 2 classics    

Pages: 1.885

2 stars = it was okay

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (read a book that is older than you)

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (read and watch a book that is made into a movie)

3 stars = I liked it 

Endure by Sara B. Larson (read a book with yellow on the cover)

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West (read a book of you favorite author)

Milk and Honey By Rupi Kaur (a book you only read after sunset)

4 stars = I really liked it

On the Island by Tracey Gravis-Graves (read a book you found through Booktube)

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (read 7 books :P)

Where the Stars Still Shine

Where the Stars Still Shine
Author: Trish Doller
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Pages: 352
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published: September 24, 2013 
Rating: 3/5 stars

Description

Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She's never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love--even with someone who seems an improbable choice--is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true. 

My thoughts

This book made me cry so many times!! What a terrible mother does she have. A mother should do what is best for her kid and not just think of herself. But I do feel that it wasn't completely her fold. I'm no expert on mental illness so I wont be too hard on her. I understand it is not easy. But your kid should still come first!

Where The Stars Still Shine is a good book. In the beginning I liked the main character, but in the middle she started to annoy me a bit. In the end I liked her again. 
The romance was in the beginning different than the romance you read in other books (at least different from books I read). It was not really love, it was more lust. But after a while it grow to something different that I liked more. Something that was more a healthy relationship which she wasn't used to. 

With the ending I wasn’t completely satisfied but I still liked the book, it was just OK. I liked all the other character, her dad and little brothers, her friend Kat, and the rest of the family.  Overall this was a good read. 

The Origin of Overweight

The Origin of Overweight
Author: Yvonne Foss
Publisher: Lilian John Books
Pages: 394
Genre: Non-fiction, Biology
Published: November 26, 2015 
Rating: 1/5 stars

Description

The Origin of Overweight investigates the link between vitamin D and body weight. This eye-opening exploration reveals that the effect of fossil fuel emissions on ultraviolet radiation is one aspect of climate change that has been overlooked - yet it could be the main cause of the rise in obesity. It shows why a deeper understanding of biology and climate change is necessary to deal with the problem of overweight and obesity, and why our obsession with the usual suspects of food, drink, diet, and exercise is having little effect.

My thoughts

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway

I’m a nutrition and dietetics student. That’s probably why I was interested in this book in the first place, but I was very disappointed in this book. 

There was so much wrong with this book that I wanted to put it down after reading maybe 1 chapter. I’m no expert on vitamin D but I do know something. But even without knowing about vitamin D you could see that most point she made on why vitamin D was the cause of overweight were weak. I agree with you, most people have a vitamin D deficiency. But that’s the only thing I agree with. Because of some polar bear, penguin or fish in the bottom of the sea get bigger doesn’t mean humans do that too. Or the point that since the industrial revolution weight gone up because of pollution and that we stay more indoors. There are a lot more variables you should keep in mind. We don’t just stay more indoors but we also exercise less, and eat different kind of food which can also account for the weight gain. And so there are more points I disagree with. But these two are just some examples.

I’m not saying that it is not possible that vitamin D has something to do with weight gain, but I think the assumptions that are made in this book are not well substantiated. Maybe if there was more evidence you could convince me. So sadly I didn't enjoy this read. maybe the next will be better.  

The Fill-In Boyfriend

The Fill-In Boyfriend
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 343
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published: May 5, 2015 
Rating: 5/5 stars

Description

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

My thoughts

Kasie West books are these light and fluffy reads but they have a deeper meaning in them! They have a main character whom I can relate to.

This book was amazing! Gia wasn’t perfect, she was a normal teenage girl with teenage troubles. The decisions she made where realistic for a teenage girl put in those situations in my opinion. I would probably have made the same decisions when I was her age. I only thought that her friends were terrible human beings. High school is tough, and I understand that Gia doesn’t want to lose her friends even when they are terrible friends. All you want to do in high school is fit in and you don’t want to be the odd one out. I feel like she changed in this book a lot. She learned what the important things are, and to be yourself, even if that means that you lose the friends you have. Because that means that they are not your real friends.

Hayden was great too. I’m a bit done with the bad guys in YA. That's why Hayden is so great. He is a sweet and funny guy. His sister Bec was also a great character I would like to read more about :P

I love to read more from Kasie west, because I loved everything I read by her thus far!