Sixteenth Summer-Blog

  I remember reading this book right when it came out a few years ago, but while reading through the other blogs I was wondering if I would have had a different take on this novel reading it at an older age.  As I was re-reading this novel, I discovered many new things that didn’t catch my attention the first time; maybe because I am older now.  I love how this book reads very quickly for a chapter book; the words are not difficult to comprehend which makes this a perfect read for any young adult.  With summer right around the corner, it made me so excited and also allowed me to reminisce on my prior summers.  What makes this novel so great is the intense imagery and summer feeling.  As I am reading this novel, I can feel the sand on the beach, I can smell the ocean water and hear the waves, it is that intense!  Not to mention the cover of this book is very simple yet shows the perfect summer scene.  I really like the main character in this novel, Anna.  She is your typical teenage girl.  Throughout the novel you see her transform as a person and change from this little teenage girl to someone who has grown up and matured.  The only issue that I see with this novel, and although not a bad thing, is that the plot was perfect and nothing ever went wrong, kind of like a fairy tale.  Additionally, there were parts that were very predictable.  When I read this a few years ago I never saw this as a problem and I really liked how perfect the plot was, but now that I am older and I realize that not everything goes smoothly I find stories like this to be a tad cliché.  Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and I am glad that I was able to read it for a second time and acquire a more mature perspective from this novel.

Dalton, Michelle. Sixteenth Summer. New York: Simon Pulse, 2011. Print.

Chirstina. "Book Review: Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton." Weblog post. Confessions of a Book Addict, 2 May 2011. Web.

Into The Dim - Blog

I found this novel on a blog site called YA Book Blog. I was really intrigued to read this book after I had read the blog post.  The post gave a mixed review which I thought was interesting because while there was negative feedback, I think the blogger enjoyed the book.  Personally, I found the book to be very well written and interesting.  While this novel is a tad lengthy, I was able to quickly read it and the book moved very fast.  I found that this book has many relatable topics for some young adults.  The main character’s mother passes away very fast into the story; for children who have lost a parent it is easy to relate to this.  What I found most interesting about this novel that I have not read about in other young adult novels was that Hope, the main character, suffers from many psychological problems such as claustrophobia.  Even though Hope struggles through psychological problems, she is very smart and is a very strong female character.  I can really appreciate her as a character and how she attacks problems that come her way.  As a young girl, she has dealt with a lot with the death of a parent, then having to live with her step-father, and moving again to live with her aunt.  She is brave and I view her bravery as inspiring.  I think her strong personality has a lot to do with her upbringing and the challenges that she has faced, if she wouldn't have experienced the events that happened in her life then I think Hope would have a different perspective on her life.. Although, I am not really one to enjoy science fiction novels I found this novel captivating.  Historical parts were mentioned but I did not view it as overpowering, instead I felt that it helped bring the novel together and without these details I think that the novel would have suffered.  Overall I was very impressed with this novel and while the blog post that I read differed with my opinion I am glad that I decided to read this book and I plan to read other novels by Janet B. Taylor. 

Taylor, Janet. Into the Dim. 2016. Print.

"Book Review: Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor." Review. Web log post.Confessions of a Book Adict. 7 Mar. 2016. Web.