Top Ten Tuesday (18): Top Ten Books That Would Be On My YA Syllabus

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which bloggers post their "Top Ten" of whatever that week's theme is! This week's theme:

TOP TEN BOOKS THAT WOULD BE ON MY YA SYLLABUS 

This topic is made for me. I've actually thought about this for YEARS. Although I've never wanted to be a teacher, teaching a university English class on YA is basically a life goal. I just think it would be so much fun to get to talk about and analyze YA with a group of engaged students.

1) Incarnate (New Soul #1) by Jodi Meadows

(Review)

- Themes and imagery just ooze out of this novel and I would love to dive deeper into this story.

2) Like It Never Happened by Emily Adrian

(Review)

- As I said in my review, I really didn't expect how intense this novel would be. There is just so much to unpack here, and I feel like I could write a killer essay on it.

3) All the Rage by Courtney Summers

(Review)

- I'm of the opinion that everyone on this planet should read this book. I think it would be such a powerful read in a high school class setting, and such an important one. 

4) The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

- I adore magical realism, and no one does it like Nova Ren Suma. The Walls Around Us was stunning, and I would love to discuss the different ways it could be interpreted.

5) A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz

- I'll talk about this more in my review (which I hope I'll actually finish by tomorrow!) but this book had So Much Going For It. I would love to have an in-depth discussion about it.

6) Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

(Review)

- A really interesting novel that turns the idea of good vs. evil on it's head. Lots of lore and history to be analyzed!

7) Mind Games (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White

(Review)

- Stream of conscious writing style, themes of mental health and sibling relationships all packed into a powerful story. I would love to discuss this one in-depth! 

8) Shine by Lauren Myracle

- Another book I really believe everyone should read. It's discussions of homophobia and poverty are incredibly important, and Lauren Myracle's writing is powerful.

9) Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang

- I actually recommended this one to student for an essay about a year ago. My favourite book of 2014, Falling Into Place and it's non-linear timeline would be so interesting to discuss in the classroom.

10) Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

- I have to throw a mystery on this list! (Although The Walls Around Us has a good mystery element). The way this novel is structured (and the reveal, of course!) would be such an interesting topic to discuss. 

What books would be on your YA syllabus?

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)

Top Ten Tuesday (17): Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which bloggers post their "Top Ten" of whatever that week's theme is! This week's theme:

TOP TEN AUTO-BUY AUTHORS 

I actually have a lot of auto-buy authors. There's so many YA authors out there that just kill it every book and I need them alllll. Here are some of my many auto-buy authors: 

1) Courtney Summers

- lololol like this surprises anyone.

2) Nova Ren Suma

- Again, no surprise here. Nova's books are magic.

3) Tiffany Schmidt

- A newly added auto-buy author! Tiffany is a wonderful human and such an awesome writer and if you haven't checked out her books GET ON THAT.

 

4) Richelle Mead

- I've been reading Richelle Mead's books (both YA and adult) since I was 15. And I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

 

5) Rachel Vincent

-  Another author I've been reading for many years, and whose books I always love.

6) Jodi Meadows

- I know, I'm surprising everyone with my list right now. Jodi's books = the best books.

7) Kiersten White

- Kiersten White always writes unique and fascinating books and ugh, so much love.

 

8) Ally Carter

- Although I haven't finished the GG series, Ally Carter books are must-haves.

9) Rachel Hawkins

- SASS MASTER. Her books are awesome sauce.

10) John Green

- No explanation needed.

Who are your auto-buy authors?

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)

 
 

Goodbye July: Monthly Wrap-Up!

Hi, everyone!

I've decided to start doing a monthly wrap-up post (inspired by Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner's Monthly Rewind) here on the blog! I've loved reading wrap-up posts and thought it was about time I did one myself. This one is coming a bit late (August is always a crazy time for me!) but here it is!

Top Three Things I Did (Outside of Reading!)

1. Visited my bestie.

- My bestie lives about seven hours away from me, which means we get to see each other once a year. This time, it was my turn to go down to her place and I spent six awesome days getting to hang out with one of the best people I know. We went shopping, played dinosaur mini-golf, went to Wonderland, got lots of and lots of ice cream, went to Niagara Falls and basically had the best dang time. It was definitely the highlight of my summer.

2. Got my nose pierced!

- I've been thinking about getting my nose pierced for, like, ever. And the bestie got a little obsessed with piercings and I decided if I was going to do it, I might as well have the moral support and here we are! I don't have a good shot of it just yet (my hair needs a bit of a re-dye so after that) but here's the pic right after it happened. (You can't see hers since it's flipped up).

3. Went to Calypso!

- Calypso is the awesome waterpark about 45min outside the city and I was so happy I got to go this year! My friends and I got discount tickets and spent a hot (and then creepy storm cloudy) day going on awesome rides and laughing. Twas wonderful.

Books Read

I didn't read as much as I would've liked, but what I did read was really damn great.

1) Moonglass by Jessi Kirby (4 stars)

2) Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt (4 stars)

3) Yes Please by Amy Poehler (5 stars)

4) Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt (5 stars)

5) Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (5 stars)

6) Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi (4.5 stars) 

Blog Activity

Well, the blog was pretty inactive this month. In fairness, I was pretty dang busy and on vacation much of that time.

Review: The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi

Top Ten Tuesday (16): Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession 

Waiting On Wednesday (77): The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Soundtrack of My Summer

 
Something you guys might not know about me is that I'm a huge music lover. I'm really passionate about the bands I love and push them on as many people as I can. I read all the liner notes, collect CDs, and quote lyrics like it's going out of style. This month I've been listening to:

"Miles Away" - The Maine

Favourite Lyric: "A tongue full of only tomorrow's will never quench your thirst for today"

Why I Love It: This is such a fun, summer song and I adore it with all my heart.

"21 and Invincible" - Something Corporate

Favourite Lyric: "We're 21 and invincible, I can't wait to f**k this up."

Why I Love It: I'm only 21 for six more days (OMG WUT) and this song has been the soundtrack of my year. It's all about how much possibility is it front of you 

"Human" - Of Monsters and Men

Favourite Lyric: "I am lost and led only by stars"

Why I Love It: It's so enchanting and the lyrics crawl right into your soul.

"Brand New Day" - Kodaline

Favourite Lyric: "I'll be flicking stones at your window, I'll be waiting outside 'til your ready to go, won't you come down, come away with me?"

Why I Love It: Currently my favourite Kodaline song. It captures that feeling of wanderlust while also reminding me of all the possibilities summer has to offer.

"Keep In Mind, Transmorgrification Is a New Technology" - Mayday Parade

Favourite Lyric: "You'll say you lack the courage and guts of a hero even when they're on your side"

Why I Love It: NEW MAYDAY PARADE. Mayday Parade is my favourite band. Has been for the last eight years. This new song is a bit of a throwback to their original EP but also a new kind of style. And I really like it. October 9th can't come soon enough. 

Looking Ahead at August

- August is always nuts for me. I usually try to squeeze in every last bit of summer I can out of the month, and it always goes by too fast. It's also my birthday month (eee!) and the month 101 Week starts. I'm an exec member of my student association now which means I'm even more involved in 101 Week than usual. August is  So! Lots of stuff happening!

How was your July? I hope it was awesome!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)