Looking Forward and Looking Back 2015

Well, 2015 did not exactly go as planned.

My Goodreads goal was left out of reach. I took a couple unexplained of blogging breaks. There were weeks without comments, tweets, or any other sign that I was actually alive. Twitter intimidated me. Comments went unanswered. Some posts were written just for the sake of having a post. I did not have all of the time that I wanted. 

But Crazy for YA is still here, and that is more than I could ever ask for. 

There are good and bad aspects of every year. All in all, 2015 was a pretty good reading year. If you look at my favorite books of 2015, you will see quite a few amazing ones there. Mathematically, I posted at least once a week (or some equivalent of that). I made a dozen great blogging friends. We hosted our first readathon and successfully completed our first yearly blogging challenge. 

Let's discuss how the year went.

Crazy for YA Awards | Our Favorite Books of 2015

Nothing is scarier than a new year. 365 more days (or in this case 366 days) to fill. New resolutions, new people, and new things to stress about. 

But, today we are focusing on the happy and the exciting, a flashback on our favorite books of 2015. (And yes, you heard correctly, I said our. Max has so kindly agreed to join in this celebration!)

So, welcome to the first ever Crazy for YA Awards!

Review | The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Secret History
By Donna Tartt
Published in September, 1992
559 Pages
Adult, Thriller, Fiction

Five college students commit murder. They mercilessly kill one of their supposedly best friends. Someone that they used to trust, laugh with, share secrets with, and treat as their own family. But all of that changed over the semester. 
These seemingly ordinary students privately study the Classics with their eccentric teacher. They talk about the philosophies and ideals of Greek and Roman culture, and constantly regret that they cannot live there. Richard, a dream-struck boy from California, falls into their group without the knowledge of the true intentions behind their studies. He must navigate through the new world of college temptations, Greek translations, secrets hidden from him, and the puzzle of who he can trust. But as they learn more about classic culture, they go to extreme measures to replicate the customs of the time. And people get hurt. Murdered actually. 

Blogger Positivity Campaign | Wrap Up

This is a wonderful campaign created and run by the amazing Jillian at Jillian's Books. The goal of this campaign is to spread the positivity in our community since we have all seemed to be in a collective slump. Feel free to join in however you can to spread the love in the book blogging community!

I absolutely adored this campaign and I truly believed that it accomplished its goal. I will continue to feel the warm fuzzy feeling in my heart from all of the love this campaign has brought to my blog for a long time.

I hope that you can say the same thing too, and if not, I hope this recap can change your mind!

Blogger Positivity Campaign | Bloggers that I Would Like to Thank

This is a wonderful campaign created and run by the amazing Jillian at Jillian's Books. The goal of this campaign is to spread the positivity in our community since we have all seemed to be in a collective slump. Feel free to join in however you can to spread the love in the book blogging community!

Today I get to talk about some of the bloggers who have inspired me, welcomed me to the community, and who I am very proud to call my friends. 

Review | Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae

By Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The Illuminae Files #1
Young Adult, Sci-Fi
Published on October 20, 2015
559 Pages

Kady's universe is a lot different from ours. Actually, it is pretty much the same but they know a lot more about it due to the advancements in wormhole jumping, battle spaceships, and artificial intelligence. 

But Kady does not really care about that right now. All she cares about are the space ships dropping bombs on her planet and the fact that she has to plan an escape with the boy that broke her heart that morning.

As it turns out, just escaping is not enough.  

Kady also has to survive biological attacks in the form of mutating viruses, psychotic artificial intelligence, and a lethal spaceship bent on revenge that is quickly catching up to them. When the livelihood of the entire fleet is endangered, questions of morality, practicality, and probability complicate the already chaotic attempt to retreat.

They have the whole universe to run in, but nowhere to run to.

Blogger Positivity Campaign | A letter to Maggie Stiefvater (and other equally amazing authors too)

Today's challenge to bring some blogging positivity is a simple thank-you note. I may have broken the rules a little bit (I hope you can forgive me) and added in a little bit extra to my letter. 

I am writing to one of my favorite authors, Maggie Stiefvater. 

Review | The Truth of Never by O. E. Boroni

The Truth of Never

By O. E. Boroni
Never Trilogy #3
Adult, Romance
Released on October 20, 2015
360 pages






This book was provided to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.

Can love really conquer all?
Thirteen years ago, Lenora Baker and Nathan Roque ran into each other in their boarding school courtyard. Despite the bitter losses and experiences that they were both nursing in their hearts, they somehow managed to find in each other a passion that healed as powerfully as it burned. But demons aren’t chased away that easily. 
Now, thirteen years later, everything is rekindled with a ferocity that neither of them can ignore. They’ve found their way back to each other but in this conclusion to the trilogy, their hope for the love-filled future that neither of them ever believed that they could have is on the line. 
Life happens; disaster rocks the already shaky ground that they’re standing on, and dreams begin to seem like nightmares.
Will they find the answers to the questions that have plagued them for so long, or will they once again succumb to their fears?

Blogger Positivity Campaign | Introduction

We all have trouble being positive sometimes. Even us, the mighty book bloggers, are not immune to bad days.

The wonderful and thoughtful Jillian over at Jillian's Books has notices (along with many other people in our community, whether you want to admit to it or not) has noticed a lack of positivity in our community. Many amazing bloggers have gone on break or just stopped blogging entirely. The people that are left are losing steam, either due to lack of motivation, ideas, or just time. The drama has been plaguing us non-stop.

The goal of this campaign is to bring the confidence, happiness, and motivation back into our community. This is the shot of espresso that our community needs until it can learn to stay up on its own.

So, I am going to try to lift your spirits and remind all of you that blogging is worth the struggle, the long hours, the creativity, and the effort. But first, it might have you to know a little bit more about me.

Why I Didn't Love The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

The Cuckoo's Calling

By Robert Galbraith (also known as J.K. Rowling)
Cormoran Strike #1
455 pages
Published on April 30, 2013
Review by Tessa

Cormoran Strike. Former soldier. Son of a rockstar. Amputee. Private Detective. Ex-fiance. Homeless man. 
It is safe to say that Strike's past is as complicated as the case that has just been handed to him. 

Supermodel Lula Landry jumped out of her apartment balcony months ago. The press went nuts in the aftermath. Why would such a beautiful, successful, and young girl suddenly decide to call it quits? The police did not know that, but they thought that they enough evidence to call her death a suicide and close the case. 

When Landry's brother seeks Strike out to prove that his sister was pushed out of her balcony, the opportunity seems too good to be true. Strike's office is on the edge of bankruptcy and his personal life is in ruins. Proving the murder of Landry could be the big break that he has been looking for to turn everything around. But it might also be impossible. The closed case was tossed aside by the police, the media, and ultimately, the public. Everyone has ruled her death as a suicide. But Strike is willing to prove them wrong. 

His investigation brings him into the darkness of the famous and wealthy. He observes the lives of supermodels, fashion designers, and rock singers. Underneath the facade of money and fame, Strike finds something even more terrifying and dangerous.

Top Ten Tuesday | Book Adaptations that I Want to Watch

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's topic is a little bit touchy to us, the enthusiastic obsessive book fans. It can be the best thing in the world to see your favorite book on the big screen. There is almost nothing better than watching your beloved characters and their wonderful, awe-inspiring story laid out on a mega-screen. But, book to movie adaptations are a double-edged sword. While there are ones that are true to the novel and just like you imagined them, there are other ones that seem to get everything wrong. *cough* Percy Jackson *cough*

But, we are going to be optimistic today and talk about the book to movie adaptations that we are excited to see. 

The Woes and Rewards of Being a Slow Reader

Recently, the wonderful Cait @ Paper Fury talks about the woes of being a fast reader in her post on the dire agonies of being a fast reader. I want to even the playing field and show that the slow readers are in the same boat of sorrow (and maybe give a few perks about reading slowly too).

Top Ten Creepy Books for Halloween

Max here! Right in time for Halloween, here are a couple of books to make your Halloween a little bit more fun (and by fun I mean scary). I'm not a big fan of horror books, so these books are more suspenseful or a little bit creepy than full on scary, but I still think they're capable of giving you the goosebumps.

Review | Accidental Butterfly by Marisa Cleveland

Accidental Butterfly

By Marisa Cleveland
Published July 5, 2015
180 Pages
Young Adult, Romance
Review by Tessa



This book was provided to me from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book. 

Alive, Kate Dunlap breezed through high school with meaningless friendships and relative ease. But after an accidental overdose ends Kate’s human existence, she’s granted the opportunity of a lifetime.
Return to Earth. Save Jake Barton. Prove her worth.

Success guarantees Kate an all access backstage pass to heaven. But as she falls in love for the first time, the reformed superficial social butterfly must risk her chance at redemption to guarantee Jake’s life on Earth.

Launch Celebration | The Truth of Never by O.E. Boroni

I am very excited to celebrate the launch of the third, and final, book in the Never Trilogy by O. E. Boroni!

I have been a champion for this series since the beginning of time (or The Beginning of Never, ha ha). I have reviewed the first two books in the series, and you should definitely check those out before proceeding. 

Click the images to see my reviews. 

(Spoiler Alert: They were both amazing!)

Since Boroni has a habit of leaving her readers dangling off of the most dangerous and enticing cliffhangers, I am excited that the final book can finally be in my greedy little hands!

The Truth of Never
The Never Trilogy #3
By O. E. Boroni
Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Pages: 360

Can love really conquer all?

Thirteen years ago, Lenora Baker and Nathan Roque ran into each other in their boarding school courtyard. Despite the bitter losses and experiences that they were both nursing in their hearts, they somehow managed to find in each other a passion that healed as powerfully as it burned. But demons aren’t chased away that easily. 

Now, thirteen years later, everything is rekindled with a ferocity that neither of them can ignore. They’ve found their way back to each other but in this conclusion to the trilogy, their hope for the love-filled future that neither of them ever believed that they could have is on the line. 

Life happens; disaster rocks the already shaky ground that they’re standing on, and dreams begin to seem like nightmares. Will they find the answers to the questions that have plagued them for so long, or will they once again succumb to their fears?

Classic Conversations | Tips for Reading Classics

Thank you everyone for the great response to the first installment of my latest feature, Classic Conversations. I loved talking about what exactly makes a book a classic with all of you and I really hope we can continue all of these amazing conversations (hence the title) throughout the series. 

Since a lot of people (including me) are intimidated, and perhaps even a little bit scared, of reading classics. And there are a ton of good reasons for this put-off, like not being able to understand the time period, writing, or what the heck is even going on in the plot. I totally understand where you are coming from. I have definitely sat in literature classes where I was completely lost on what we were talking about and just prayed that the test would be multiple choice so that I would have some chance of passing. It was a terrible experience and not one that I would be willing to repeat outside of school. 

Fortunately for you I have some tips on how to understand, and hopefully learn to enjoy, classics. 

Bookish Serendipity Co. Launch

I am extremely happy about today's blog post. I have the honor of telling you about an amazing blogger and her journey of spreading her love of books to everyone she meets. 

That wonderful blogger is Jessica from Bookish Serendipity. 

Jessica was one of my first true blogging friends. I met her online even before she was Jessica (way back when she was still under the pseudonym, Samantha). This was back when she was still a small blogger, and I am glad to say that she has exceeded that title and has moved into a league of her own!

Since Jessica's love for books just simply cannot be contained in a blog, she also has Twitter, Pinterest, and now, AN ETSY SHOP, to properly share her passion.

September 2015 Wrap-Up

My Life

During the past couple of weeks, I have not really had a life to talk about. I have just been submerged with work, work, and more work. Even my weekends, which I promised myself would be dedicated to blogging, are filling up with leftover work that I was too tired (lazy) to do during the week. It is safe to say that my time management skills have not gotten any better, but I have gotten pretty good at staying up way past my bedtime to finish everything. 

In the rare times when I do not have work, I have been trying to work equally on blog commenting/reading, post writing, and updating social media. I think that I have been doing a pretty decent job (at least in comparison to this time of last year). I promise that I am working my best to still be present in the blogging community despite my massive workload.

Review | Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One

Author: Ernest Cline
Release Date: August 16, 2011
Pages: 374
Review by: Tessa

The world is a mess. Between global warming, economic devastation, world-wide poverty, energy famine, literal famine, pollution, and all of the world's other problems, no one wants to live in the real world anymore. Luckily, they do not have to.
Thanks to the genius, James Halliday, everyone has access to a free, virtual world. OASIS, like its name suggests, is mankind's refuge from itself. The intricately designed world is the most elaborate videogame ever created. People are fully emerged in whatever world they choose, everything from the classics like Pacman and Dungeons and Dragons to futuristic simulations. All you have to do is plug yourself in. 
Needless to say, Halliday made a fortune by creating his own world. And now that fortune is up for grabs since the old genius has experienced his final game-over. 
Staying true to his unorthodox roots, Halliday does not have a normal will. His multi-billion fortune, ownership of his company, and the rights to all of OASIS are not given to one person. Instead, the entire world has the chance to fight for it. Halliday has hidden clues in his vast virtual universe guarded by countless obscure 80's pop culture references and puzzles that would fool Einstein himself, and the first person to follow the trail and find the treasure gets to keep it. And one geeky, impoverished kid named Wade is willing to do anything to get it. 

Classic Conversations | What exactly is a classic?

After a lot of thought and mental arguments with myself, I have decided to start yet another new feature on Crazy for YA (hopefully I will actually be able to keep up with this one). 

I am proud to introduce... Classic Conversations. (Yes, the alliteration was necessary.)

For the past couple of years, my blog has focused on young adult books, like the title suggests. But, I would like to branch out a little and explore some of the other amazingness that the literary world has to offer. And, of course, my first segment of this adventure is a little foray into the world of classics.

*Cue the collective groans*

I understand that many people do not have the best experiences with classics. There are truly some terrifying stories about English teachers and their various torture methods, most of which include these victimized books.

I am not an English teacher and my intent is far from boring you to death. I want to try to show you that classics are actually worth reading. I want to ignite some awesome conversations about books and life. And most of all, I want to show you that these seemingly dull novels are really teeming with life if you take the time to appreciate them.

I know that those are some pretty high ambitions. Some might even call it impossible. But I am willing to give it a shot and I hope you are too.

So, to start this first of hopefully many conversations about the classics, I want to delve into some background knowledge about classics. Specifically, what even is a classic? Is it a dusty old tome that some dead person wrote a billion years ago? Or can it be something more modern?