December 2017 Wrap Up

Hello everyone. It's actually New Years Eve here in Australia as I write this and I can't seem to comprehend that. I think this year has gone the fastest of all of them for me. I'm excited for 2018 but disappointed for the end of what has been a fantastic year.

So, what did I read?
- The Start of You and Me by Emery Lord (I think? I'm sorry, I forgot to write down a list)
- Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
- It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

And I started Always and Forever, Lara Jean yesterday which I am LOVING. I'll probably have it done by the end of the day so maybe we'll have to edit this post a little later. Who knows. I didn't love The Start of You and Me which was disappointing and it seriously put me in a bit of a slump. I thought it was bland. I reread Anna and Lola because they're a couple of my favourites and I needed to get out of my slump. Good news, I still love them just as much as I did the first time. I adored It's Kind of  a Funny Story and I can't wait to write my review.

Blogging wise, it wasn't great even though I wanted to get back into it. I've had the weirdest month in terms of blogging. I've written so many posts that haven't gone up simply because I couldn't get them how I wanted them and it was incredibly frustrating. I think it's just a bit of a slump that I'll have to try and persevere through.

Anyway, I had a brilliant Christmas. I have so much chocolate, I swear I won't have to buy anymore until next Christmas. I got some books that I've been dying to read so I can't wait to get into those. It was a really lovely day and I hope everyone else had a day as lovely as I did. I treated myself to some more plants (someone remind me to do a plant post soon).

Oh! And I've been watching Stranger Things (finally) and oh my god, why did no one make me do this sooner. I have one more episode to go which I'll probably watch tonight. It's incredible, I'm obsessed. If you haven't already watched it, I would definitely recommend. I want to write a post dedicated to it if anyone would be interested in reading that. I can't wait to finish it tonight but I also feel very sad saying that and knowing I have to now wait until season 3.

Anyway, I think that's mostly everything I wanted to say about December. I'll see you guys in 2018 and I hope you've had not only a fantastic month but a fantastic year. I hope you all take the time to reflect on the year that has been and the year that is to come. Have a great New Years!

Romanticising in YA

This is something I've been wanting to talk about for the longest time but I've been struggling to find the words. So, basically what I'm going to be talking about today is romanticising things that shouldn't be romanticised, particularly in YA books.

I'm going to start by talking about John Green. We all know John Green, we were all a huge fan once upon a time. However, I've been thinking about him a lot with the publication of his newest book, Turtles All The Way Down which I haven't read, I'm definitely curious though but I don't think I'll go as far as to buy a copy. Because I have a lot of feelings about his books now. And, this isn't to be taken as me talking shit about John Green, I think he's an incredibly talented writer and he and his brother do fantastic crash course videos that have helped me in science on numerous occasions so I actually do owe my science related success to him. However, his books are the things I have issues with. A little over a year ago, I read The Fault in Our Stars for the second time and wrote a rave review of it. Well, that's all well and good but I think the bookish community has really helped me to see what is wrong with his books and made me think a bit more critically of everything. I think The Fault in Our Stars romanticises illnesses but I don't exactly think that is the intent there, I do think John Green purely intended for it to be a gorgeous love story between two sick kids but I think particularly the way it was advertised, just romanticises the whole thing.

But, TFIOS is not the book I have the biggest issue with, it's Looking for Alaska. Once upon a time I adored Looking for Alaska. I have a lovely 10th anniversary edition that I loved to pieces but anyone whose read it knows that Alaska is not exactly a stable person and the narrator just keeps on romanticising it, looking back it's actually gross. The obsession with Alaska is just very not healthy and not a great thing to be depicting to young people. John Green loves the manic pixie dream girl trope and he isn't the only one but it's damaging and not healthy. I remember reading Looking for Alaska when I was about 13 and something a bit scary happened, I wanted to be like Alaska so people would romanticise me and that boys would think about me because I'd be this unique individual who 'isn't like other girls' as though that's such a horrible thing to be. But, my issue with the manic pixie dream girl trope is a talk for another day.

I don't think unhealthy relationships, substance abuse, mental illnesses, the list goes on, should be romanticised. Do I think they should be written about? Absolutely, it's important to bring exposure to all of these kinds of things but it is so important to avoid romanticising it. YA readers can be young and impressionable and to be honest, I remember being that person a few years ago. Write about depression, write about drinking problem, write about illnesses, write about sad people, but don't make it out to seem like something beautiful and desirable.

So, basically, the point I'm wanting to get across is to stay aware. Keep talking but don't make it out to be something it's not. Educate. Education on these topics are so important but there is a right and wrong way to go about it. And, I think it's important, when you see a book or a film or whatever, romanticising something that should not be romanticised, speak up about it to keep yourself and others aware.

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

5 Stars

“The beautiful thing about books was that anyone could open them.”

This is a reread because once again, I couldn't manage to get really into it the first time I read it so I've read it again and I've actually fallen in love with it.

Okay so, the world building was fantastic. The atmosphere was perfect. Everything was great there. I've noticed from reading one of the authors other books that she has a fantastic writing style. It was really easy for me to get into the second time and I would've finished it within a couple of sittings if I'd had the time.

I adore the characters. August was so gorgeous and complex. I loved that. Kate is equally complex and I really love her as a character, I think she compliments the atmosphere perfectly. So, I was very pleased with that. They just really stood out to me. Leo and Isla were brilliantly written as well.

Also, as an irrelevant kind of side note, after about a week of staring at the cover, I've only just realised it's a violin. I have no idea why it took me this long to notice but it's made me fall even more in love with the cover and you know I made sure I didn't buy the Australian cover because it's not great.

Anyway, I could read about August forever. I really adore him. I love his love for music. It made me want to pick up my trumpet and play for the sake of it but it was also 11pm and I think my parents would possibly kill me if I did that. I love books that talk about music because it's something I can relate to. So I loved that and I loved how vividly it was described.

It was a fantastic book and I'm very excited to read Our Dark Duet which I'll actually probably get out of the library very soon so I'm looking forward to that. It was vividly written and something that definitely stands out from other fantasy novels. I liked it a lot and I'm glad I reread it.

Can You Outgrow Your Favourite Books?

This is something that's been in the back of my mind for a long time and I've only just thought to make a discussion post out of it. I'm 17, I've been reading YA heavily since I was about 13. When I was 13, the popular books were John Green and The Hunger Games and Divergent and whatnot. So, of course I read them and loved them. However, I reread most of these last year which was interesting and I discovered, I like them nowhere near as much which I struggled to admit due to all the nostalgia and feelings I associate with those books, it's almost like certain experiences I associate with what I was reading at the time.

John Green novels were filled with angst and special snowflakes and everything that made me feel special while reading. I had just turned 13 when I got into John Green books, I was in the early days of high school and I'd already had boy troubles, friendship troubles, you name it. I felt like I could relate to these books because I think everyone starts going through these kinds of things for the first time and you kind of feel like you're the only one. Which, is kind of the general theme of John Green novels. I'm not sure if this is making sense but I;m struggling to find the words to explain why I felt like I connected to John Green novels. But, when I reread them, it just wasn't the same experience for me and I almost felt like the story lines were forced to make these characters seem like the special snowflakes they are. A common trope is manic pixie dream girl which was another trope that I really loved when reading these for the first time. But, I still can't exactly let go of them because I associate so many experiences with them, basically the entire 13th year of my life, I just associate with John Green novels but I definitely feel like I've grown out of them. I'm not really in a stage of my life where these things are something I resonate with and to be completely honest, there are a lot of things in his novels I now disagree with.

What about The Hunger Games and Divergent? Well, I'm simply no longer really into dystopia as a genre where I used to adore it. I recently reread Divergent and I didn't like it at all. I didn't like the relationship between Tris and Tobias at all whereas I used to think it was absolutely gorgeous. And, it's kind of disappointing because I know how much I used to love it, so why don't I anymore? I will admit, I will always have such a soft spot for The Hunger Games since it really got me into reading and I think the movies are still great. But, I can't help but feeling like it just doesn't really fit for me anymore. I feel like I've grown past it. It's definitely a little sad.

However, there's also things like Harry Potter that I haven't grown out of and don't see myself growing out of anytime soon. I don't really know that this means that Harry Potter is the superior because it has stood the test of time for me. I think it probably comes down to a lot of factors, maybe the fact that it feels like everyone has grown up with Harry and we've watched him grow and maybe it's kind of like a community thing. Anyway, I think I might be getting off topic here. But, my point is, Harry Potter is one favourite that has stood the test of time for me.

So, I'd love to know what you think. I think it's absolutely possible and common to outgrow your favourite book. I'd love for you to tell me your thoughts and how many of your favourites have stood the test of time or which ones you've grown out of.