The Wishing Library: ya

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.
They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her, these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved - five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

First line: Josh is Margot's boyfriend, but I guess you could say my whole family is a little in love with him.

This is a stay-up-all-night, lose-all-sleep-even-if-you-have-work-the-next-morning kind of book. The writing is charming, funny and a joy to read. A heart-warming story about sisters, love, and navigating the social waters that is high school. I loved the Asian nuances (MC Lara Jean is half-Korean), and I think it added a very unique tone to the book.

Lara Jean is the middle of 3 sisters. When Margot, the eldest, breaks up with her boyfriend Josh before flying to Scotland for college, Lara Jean finds herself in a bit of a turmoil. First: what will she do without her sister, the one who's been filling in the mother's role since their mother passed years ago? Second: How could Margot dump Josh - the most perfect boy in the world?

Lara Jean has always been in love with Josh. In fact, she has written a love letter to him, safely sealed in her hatbox. Then one day her hatbox disappears and one of her ex-loves approaches her about a love letter he received. That means one thing - Josh received his letter too.

This book is equal parts hilarious and heart-warming. The rapport between the 3 Song sisters will make anyone with a sister smile. The boys are likable and behave like real teenage boys (aka. quite clueless). Lara Jean's love letters are a joy to read; she's got to be the best letter writer around! Heck, reading this book will make you want to write letters of your own.

I loved this book. It brightened my days and brought back sweet memories of my own teenage years. May I add a fair bit of warning - you are going to want to get the sequel immediately after this ends. Pick this up if you're looking for a light read that makes you smile, cry and go "aww."

What would you change?

Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend, James, since they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it... at least, not as the girl she once was. Em and Marina are in a race against time that only one of them can win.

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

Heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat, page-turning time-travel goodness.

This book was on my mind at work, while I was driving, eating, before I went to sleep... this book haunted me. It will leave you turning page after page.

For a time travel story it was very well-plotted. The first chapters hint at who Marina, Em, Finn, James, and the Doctor really are. I won't spoil it for you, though you should be able to guess 30 pages in. It is very, very difficult to summarize this book without any spoilers. In short, Marina and Em are on a race against time to change a very bleak, dystopian future where countries are at war and citizens are kept under tight governmental control. At the center of it all is a love story unlike any you've seen before.

One of my favorite aspects of this story were the characters. I found Marina, Em, Finn and James very real, and I loved all of them. There was a coming-of-age story woven into the plot, and a love triangle, but it never felt reused or stale.

If you adore the themes of childhood love, socially awkward geniuses, bravery and persistence, you'll love All Our Yesterdays. Sweet, sweet childhood love! I spent most of the book swooning over Marina's love for James, because hey, I'd be in love with him too.

The writing was gorgeous. Some sentences left me googly eyed. Terrill has a knack of using clear, concise writing while not sacrificing on the lyrical.

Connor finally manages the lock and pulls the door open, and everything slows until the silence between each heartbeat in my ears is expansive and deafening. If I reacted to our sudden freedom like an animal who had forgotten the world outside its bars, Finn flies out of his cell like a bird from a cage.

Alas, the SUSPENSE. I was chewing on my lip from page one. Torture, imprisonment, car chases, gunfights, moral dilemmas... it will leave you gripping the pages.

The only reason I didn't give it a full 5-stars was because there were certain parts of the love story that didn't make sense to me. But I'm willing to turn a blind eye for the sake of the amazing story and writing style.

If you love time-travel science fiction and a bittersweet love story, definitely try this book out and let me know what you think.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

The Wishing Library

Friday, January 29, 2016

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Friday, July 24, 2015

Review: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill