Oh, Pretty Girl..

Title: Pretty Girl Thirteen

Author: Liz Coley
Pages: 344

Publisher: Harper Collins

Source: Borrowed from Library

Rating: 3.5/5

Good Reads // Amazon

Summary (from Good Reads): 

Angie Chapman is only 13 when she gets lost in the woods in the middle of the night.

The next thing she knows she’s returned home, scars around her wrists and ankles, physically exhausted. Her parents collapse into tears when they see her, but Angie doesn’t understand – until they tell her she has been missing, presumed dead, for three years.

Angie doesn’t remember anything from her missing years. But there are people who do – people who could tell Angie every terrifying detail, if only they weren’t locked inside her mind.

With help, Angie begins to unravel the darkest secrets of her own past.

But does she really want to know the truth?

This book definitely gave me mixed emotions. I really couldn't decide whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars because there are things that made me want to give it 4 stars, but then there were other things that made me question that rating. 

First off, this book had me from the beginning. The book tells the story of a teenage girl that's been held captive for the 3 years but has no recollection of it whatsoever. This book had such an interesting concept to it which I enjoyed. It was really interesting to learn about new concepts, and it actually introduced me to something that I never knew. The book is definitely a chilling and touchy subject. It's not really very graphic, which I think was quite good, as although there are flashbacks, I feel that sometimes too much graphic content in a book can ruin it. This definitely hit the nail on the head with having just the right amount of information so that you felt sympathetic towards Angie, but it wasn't too the point where you felt like the information was a bit overwhelming. I think that Coley did a good job of dealing with such a touchy subject with this book.

Now here are some of the things that got me a bit. I really felt like the author tried to incorporate too much in this book. How much misfortune can you throw at one person! This really got on my nerves as I felt that the author was just forcing things in to the story to make it more interesting, which yes, I suppose it did but at the same time, I just felt like some things were unnecessary. I also thought that there would be much more of a media presence round the case of missing Angie and her return, but strangely there was not, which was surprising too me. Obviously I realise it's not the main focus of the book at all, but it's just surprising that there was little mention of it until perhaps the middle to end of the book.

Other than those few bits, I did enjoy reading Pretty Girl Thirteen, and it still does make it's way into my mind a few times. I think it's one of those books that's got a gritty, intense story line that can really effect you after you finish reading it. That's definitely the effect that it had on me. 

I would definitely recommend this book, but more so to people that don't mind intense, gritty and chilling books. 

2/12

via Elegance and Enchantment

I can't believe we have already had the first month of 2015! It feels like we hardly had January at all! January saw the name change of this blog. For a while now, I've been thinking about changing it but I couldn't think what too. It's not that I didn't like the name, I just wanted something a bit different. You can always trust you bookshelves to inspire you, so apapertown was changed to alittlesomethingbookish which I really love!

January has been a pretty good reading month for me. I've read 6 books which is 1 more than I aimed to read! I'm fairly happy with this and have made a dent in my Good Reads goal of 52! I'm actually ahead of it at the moment, which I'm pretty happy with but let's see how long that lasts for as in March I have quite a few assignments due plus an exam!

In terms of my life, January has been pretty laid back. I finished my first semester of University, I've had 2 weeks off as well to mark the end of the semester which is probably why I've been able to read so much! I'm also hopefully going to be booking a trip soon for May with my boyfriend - one of those short city breaks, but we haven't decided where yet! Oh, I also started an instagram for my blog, you can find me by searching alittlesomethingbookish.

I'm pretty impressed with myself and how many books I've read this month. I read 6 books, all of which I have enjoyed. One of my reading goals was to read The Winner's Curse and Rebel Belle and I read one of these books so I'm happy with that as I usually find it hard to stick to monthly TBR lists!

So what's coming up next month?
Well in terms of books, I'm hoping to be posting more reviews this month. In the second half of 2014, I really slacked on reading and reviews, but this year I really want to get this blog up and running again. I'm already getting reviews from the Summer done and posted, but you should be seeing some more reviews coming your way so watch this blog!

This month, I'm aiming to read 5 books as I'm starting back at University for Semester 2 and the month will be full of preparation for essays to be handed in in March, as well as other assignments and an exam! I'll also be carrying on with the Flights of Fantasy challenge. I'm hoping to read at least one fantasy book a month, as a lot of the books on my shelves are contemporary and at the moment, I'm trying to stop spending money on books as I've got so many to read (pre-orders don't count though)!

Let's go on a Road Trip

Title: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Author: Morgan Matson
Pages: 343

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Source: Bought

Rating: 4.5/5

Good Reads // Amazon

Summary (from Good Reads): 

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour is the second book I have read by Morgan Matson, having first experienced her writing with Since You've Been Gone which I loved. Despite this, I let it sit on my shelves a few weeks after buying it, scared that I wouldn't love it as much as Since You've Been Gone. I didn't need to worry much, because I really enjoyed this book! Amy and Roger's Epic Detour was a fun read which I thought was great. I felt it was kind of predictable, but this didn't bother me in the slightest. I thought it was quite interesting and I can already say that the list of stops is already on my list of places to visit!

Matson has a knack for creating realistic characters that you can relate to in some way. Although our main character wasn't necessarily mourning, I thought that it was nice to see the connection that Amy had with her father. I also really enjoyed seeing how Amy dealt with different things throughout the book. The book definitely saw Amy come into her own throughout the duration of the book, and I quite enjoyed having her as a main character.

The one thing that I loved about this book is that it was a bit of a rebellion towards her mother and staying on track, but it also included friendship, which is something I love in books and something that I've noticed Morgan Matson does really well. This book was just a whole load of great and I loved it. For me, it ticked loads of boxes which made it a good read for me.

Oh, and just too add - one thing that I liked about this book was the visuals within it. I would definitely recommend this to anyone as a summer read as it's just perfect for that time of year!

Small Announcement!

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to make a quick announcement that the name of this blog has changed to alittlesomethingbookish!

It's not so much that I didn't like apapertown but it's just that when on twitter/tumblr/instagram, the name had been taken, so therefore I thought I'd change it. If you'd like to follow me on any other platforms, you can catch me at...

Twitter: @alittlesbookish (had to miss out the something, darn limited characters!)
Tumblr: alittlesomethingbookish.tumblr.com
Instagram: alittlesomethingbookish
Email: apapertown@hotmail.com

Please note that I haven't changed my email as I feel that it would be a lot more hassle to change all the accounts connected to it, plus it's fairly easy to remember!

Also, if you were following me on bloglovin, as I changed my blog name, I lost all my followers on there so I'd really appreciate it if you'd be able to follow me again. Just click here to follow again! :)

Here's to more bookish times!

Just A Little Something Different

Title: A Little Something Different

Author: Sandy Hall
Pages: 242

Publisher: Walker

Source: Bought

Rating: 4/5

Good Reads // Amazon

Summary (from Good Reads): 
The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. 

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

One thing I loved about this book is how different it was to anything else I'd ever read. Yes, it was all romantic and about love and two people getting together, but the one thing that was different about it, is that it was told from several people's perspectives, but never the couples. For example, a teacher, a barista and a delivery guy as well as the couples friends. We even saw the view points of a bench and a squirrel! It is definitely a unique book in that respect, which is something I definitely enjoyed. I think it was particularly refreshing actually, having a story told but never by the main characters in the story. I thought it was an interesting idea that Sandy Hall did really well. 

Other than the unique aspect of the different view points, the book was fairly good but I think it was very predictable, not that this is a problem - it means you don't have to concentrate on it too much at all, making it light read that you can breeze through! It had an adorable but dorky romance which the book was centred around, which was made good by having the different perspectives of it. It is short, but sweet. I got through it fairly quickly so would definitely say that it is a nice, quick read, if that's something that you're looking for. 

Oh, and can we just talk about the cover? I know I don't usually talk about book covers in reviews, but I just love this one. I think it's so pretty and I just love the colours and how well they go together. I also like how different parts of the book are featured on the cover!

Oh, how I'd love to be in Italy

Title: Wish You Were Italian

Author: Kristen Rae
Pages: 320

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Source: Bought

Rating: 4.5/5

Good Reads // Amazon

Summary (from Good Reads): 
The summer before senior year of high school. It’s supposed to be one of the biggest summers of her life, but Pippa is headed to an art program she has no interest in. The one saving grace is it’s in Italy. And when the opportunity strikes, she decides to ditch the program and travel Italy accomplishing her own list of goals. Things like swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, eating a whole pizza in one sitting…and falling in love with an Italian boy! As she explores the famous cities of Rome and Pompeii, Pippa finds herself falling for two boys: a local guy she knows is nothing but trouble and a cute American archaeology student who keeps disappearing and reappearing at the strangest moments. Will Pippa find her true love before her parents find out the truth about her summer program?

Having been to Italy before and absolutely loving it, I was really looking forward to reading this book and I wasn't disappointed. It was quite a sweet read, particularly for the Summer. I read it way back in August so this review is long overdue but I still remember the story and its details.

The book had an interesting but romantic storyline. First off, there was rebellion, which I thought was a good to start off on and progress from. I enjoyed the travelling in this book - the places featured are all ones that I would love to visit some day. This book did feature a love triangle which I felt took up a lot of the story, however I felt that this didn't mean the book strayed too much away from the setting, as the parts of Italy our main character, Pippa, travelled too was still spoken about in detail. 

I think this book was interesting because Pippa was being forced to attend a program she didn't want to attend. I feel like this book was easy to relate to in that aspect as I'm sure many people feel forced into doing things by their parents, especially in regards to education, and this book shows that you don't always have to do what you feel like you'r being forced to do. You could totally just travel round Italy instead!

This book is, as said earlier, is a perfect summer read. It gives me the urge to go and grab some ice cream, despite the fact that it is January and freezing cold at the moment!

January 2015

via Elegance and Enchantment

Once again, January has come around. I can't believe how quickly the last year has gone, I hope it slows a bit this year! In my previous post, I outlined some of my blogging and reading goals for the year. One of my reading goals is to stop specifying which books are on my TBR list for the month, and instead give myself target number of how many books I'd like to read each month! There are a few books I know I'd like to read this month, but as a mood reader, I can't guarantee I'll actually read them this month! 

This month, I plan to read 4-5 books. I have two essays in for the 19th and 20th, so I know that in the lead up to that, I probably won't read very much therefore I don't want to set a high goal that I know I won't be able to reach! Two books that I am hoping to read this month are Rebel Belle and The Winner's Curse but I won't hold myself to them too much for this month! What's on your TBR for the month?

Ps. I've joined the Flights of Fantasy reading challenge!