Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher | Book Review

Posted January 18, 2018 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 10 Comments

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher
Published by Chicken House on May 4, 2009
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
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It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.

This is my story.

A letter from nowhere.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back?

The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist--almost.

I’ve always had a weird fascination with kidnapping stories. I enjoy reading the stories of the survivors because I find them to be hopeful and inspiring. I sometimes get bogged down in my own life and forget to be thankful for what I do have. These stories remind me that I’m safe and I’m loved. And if these victims can survive and bring good from their experience (I’m thinking of people like Elizabeth Smart), then I can survive my own life too. Stolen really made me think, and I think that that’s what I loved most about it.

Stolen is a very unique take on the typical kidnapping/crime novel. The entire book is written as a letter from Gemma to her captor after her rescue, and I loved that about it. She actually talks to him, telling him her entire story as if he wasn’t there. We get to read her thoughts and her interpretations and her feelings about everything that happened while they were together in the Australian Outback. We know exactly how everything impacted her, and we get to see the evolution of her going from fight mode to complacency mode to sympathetic mode. We get to watch her as she goes from hating him with everything she had to almost loving him. I’ll admit, it even happened to me. I had to get real with myself and say, “Jana… he kidnapped her. He isolated her. He took away her freedom. Why are you hoping a romance blooms? That’s nuts!” And it is nuts! What Ty did to her was wrong, awful, traumatizing, despicable. I was frustrated with myself for falling into the same kind of trance Gemma did. It was all very real and emotional and so beautifully written. This book was real enough and sneaky enough to make me develop a little Stockholm Syndrome with her. If I didn’t believe that words had power before, I do now.

I don’t want to say much more, as this is a book you truly need to read and take in on your own in order to really understand it. I think it’s important to note, however, that Ty did nothing of a sexual nature to Gemma. There’s no rape, no sexual abuse, not even any touching. I know this happens more often than not in real life stories like Stolen, and that many captives are not a fraction as lucky as Gemma is. This would have been way too upsetting for me to read, though, so I am grateful that this was not a part of Gemma’s story.

All in all, this is a powerful, beautiful, emotionally confusing and enthralling read. I can see why it is recognized as a Printz honor book. It’s unique and really makes you think. I’d recommend it to pretty much anyone.

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2018

Posted January 15, 2018 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 57 Comments

Welcome to the brand new home of Top Ten Tuesday!

We said a very bittersweet goodbye on The Broke and the Bookish last week. Make sure you stop by, because we all had some sappy things to say and left links for where you can find us.

I’m really excited, but also kind of terrified, to take on hosting such a beloved meme all by myself. I loved writing at The Broke and the Bookish, and am a little sad today because I’ll really miss working with those ladies! Life has taken us all in different directions, though, so the time finally came that we had to split up. I wish them all the happiest lives ever and hope we stay in touch. :)

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This week’s topic is centered around our bookish resolutions/goals for 2018. I really love making goals, and I always get to excited when I stick to them. Let’s hope I can with these!

1. Read more classics.
I read two classics in 2017 by Arthur Conan Doyle (A Study In Scarlet and The Sign of the Four) and felt so unbelievably accomplished. lol. I want to feel that way even more! I’m hoping to read Pride and Prejudice and maybe Gone With the Wind? I’m not sure yet. Do you have any recommendations?

2. Read more books this year than I did last year.
I fell into a book slump and ended up reading way less than usual. I’d like to read more than 45 books this year, which should not be too hard. How many books are you hoping to read this year?

3. Write my book review for a book before starting the next one.
I used to do this, so I don’t even know what happened. lol. Maybe I lost my mojo? I’ve got a big list of reviews I still need to write, and I am so overwhelmed. I also don’t remember all the little details of why I loved or didn’t love some of these books. Making myself write a review before I can move on to another book will really improve my blogging, I think. Do you do this?

4. Embrace the concept of DNF.
I need to get even better at DNFing (did not finish) a book. I think this is why I fell into my slump last year. I didn’t DNF because I wanted to reach my goal or because I wanted to say I’d read something. Looking back over the books I read last year, I didn’t like many of them.

5. Read the books I’ve bought.
I buy and am gifted a lot of books, but I always push them to the side to read the books I’m sent for review. But I don’t OWE anyone anything. I need to feel like it’s ok to read the non-review books that I’ve bought because obviously those ones meant enough to me to pay for.

6. Weed my bookshelves again.
I’ve done this a few times over the last two years, and it’s liberating. I don’t have all the space in the world, and I’m feeling my tastes changing. I need to be ok with donating books I no longer think I’m going to read. I’m weighed down by so many books I’m not sure I’m interested in! Reading the books I’ve bought will help me with this.

7. Ignore the hype.
If I want to read a book, I should read it even if it’s not hyped up or if I know people who hated it. If I don’t want to read a book or want to DNF a book, I should not talk myself out of those decisions because everyone loves that book! Down with peer pressure!

8. Figure out my taste in books again.
As I mentioned above, I’m feeling my interests and my likes/dislikes changing as far as books go. Maybe it’s because I turned 30 last year and am really settling into adulthood, but I feel like I’m moving away from certain kinds of books. I’m no longer wanting to read books about people half my age. I find myself looking for more mature characters with careers and serious relationships, more world building, more details, more intensity, etc. I’m less interested in the books I used to really want to read, which is not to say that I don’t like those kinds of books anymore… I’m just getting pickier about them. I need to embrace this shift and figure out what kind of books I love now.

9. Read more during the day.
I pretty much only have time to read late at night now. This isn’t good for me, plus it’s harder to retain what you read when you’re so bleary-eyed while reading. I’m staying up so late and then I’m tired the next day. I also can’t read my scary books. lol. I need to carve out some me time at some point in the day where I can relax and enjoy some reading time.

10. Browse the backlist.
It’s not all about new or recent releases. I want to read the books nobody is talking about anymore and be different from everyone else. Ever noticed how you see the same handful of books being reviewed on each blog? I want to be different and breathe new life into the books that were released 5-10 years ago.

What are you hoping to accomplish in your bookish life this year?

Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham | Mini Book Review

Posted January 15, 2018 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 5 Comments

Mr. Kiss and Tell by Jennifer Graham, Rob Thomas
Series: Veronica Mars #2
Also in this series: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line
Published by Vintage Books on January 20, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 336
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

In my raving review of The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line I explained how much I love Veronica Mars. And I’m going to pretty much ditto everything I said there in this review (so maybe go read that review as well?). Mr. Kiss and Tell is another great Veronica Mars mystery novel, although I did not love the mystery as much as I did the first one (although it’s very close to Veronica’s heart because of her own past). But that’s ok because Veronica and Logan!!! He wasn’t really around in the first book, save for some Skype calls (he’s in the military), but he’s here now and he brought all of wit and banter with him! This is what we marshmallows have been waiting for.

I don’t have much else to say because I don’t want to take away from anyone’s reading experience. I TOTALLY recommend this book and the first to fans of Veronica Mars.

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham | Book Review

Posted January 12, 2018 by Jana in About Me, Book Review / 10 Comments

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Jennifer Graham, Rob Thomas
Series: Veronica Mars #1
Also in this series: Mr. Kiss and Tell
Published by Vintage Books on March 25, 2014
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 324
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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Ten years after graduating from high school in Neptune, California, Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, crime, and corruption. She's traded in her law degree for her old private investigating license, struggling to keep Mars Investigations afloat on the scant cash earned by catching cheating spouses until she can score her first big case.

Now it's spring break, and college students descend on Neptune, transforming the beaches and boardwalks into a frenzied, week-long rave. When a girl disappears from a party, Veronica is called in to investigate. But this is not a simple missing person's case. The house the girl vanished from belongs to a man with serious criminal ties, and soon Veronica is plunged into a dangerous underworld of drugs and organized crime. And when a major break in the investigation has a shocking connection to Veronica's past, the case hits closer to home than she ever imagined.

I absolutely love Veronica Mars. I discovered the TV show a few years ago when my friend, Jess, sent me the complete DVD set as a gift after finding out I’d never seen it. And a huge fan was born! Even though I knew the TV series would end, I was still soooo sad when it did. Then I discovered that the writers of the show also wrote two books and I was elated. I was not disappointed. As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. This book is definitely a gift to Veronica Mars fans. I’m sure you’d enjoy reading it if you’ve never seen the show, but I can’t imagine why you’d want to. This book takes place years after the series and the movie, so it really goes without saying that you’ll be happier and love it more if you watch all of those first.

2. The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line reads like an episode of the show, and I LOVED that about it. Veronica’s inner monologues are still golden. Her snark is perfection. I was all smiles.

3. Veronica is back in Neptune, and so are all of our favorite characters (Mac) and not-so favorite characters (Sheriff Lamb).

4. The mystery is actually really amazing. I was invested not just because I love the characters and the world, but because I was legitimately curious about how the mystery of the missing girl would be solved. It was exciting and filled with twists and turns.

5. The writing was awesome. There’s a lot of books out there that serve as sequels of or extensions to TV shows or movies, and I can’t imagine that any of them were as well done or pleasant to read. Nothing was missing for me. I wasn’t wishing I was watching it instead of reading it. I just loved it, and that seems crazy to me!

Overall, if you loved the show you will love this book and then re-watch the TV series as soon as you’ve finished it. I loved being back in Neptune with the gang, tagging along on one of their cases again.

The Broke and the Bookish: The End of An Era

Posted January 11, 2018 by Jana in Personal / 9 Comments

So, many of you know that I’ve been writing at The Broke and the Bookish since it was born 8 years ago. Writing there actually inspired me to open up this blog about 7 years ago because I wanted to post more than I was able to over there. Book blogging has seriously changed my life. I’ve made so many new friends, I’ve found my love of reading again, I’ve found so many books I love, I’ve discovered new genres I never would have read before, I’ve gained a new sense of confidence, I’ve found a creative outlet where I can express myself, and I even went to grad school! I’ve been offered opportunities and had experiences that I never would have pictured for myself. I’ve worked with so many wonderful authors and publishers, gone to bookish events, blurbed a book, been mentioned in acknowledgments sections, and even been a content adviser for one of my favorite authors (we talked on the phone, guys!!)! Joining the bookish community all those years ago was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Today at The Broke and the Bookish we officially announced that we are closing the blog. It was a very bittersweet decision for all of us, but we’ve all gone in so many different directions that the time had come. We embarked on this adventure as college students with absolutely no blogging know-how, and we had no idea what the blog would turn into and how it would change all of us. We developed some very special friendships there, and I’m sad to turn the page on that chapter of our lives. I love my broke and bookish ladies: Jamie, Kimberly, Daisy, Lori, Bridget, Julia, and Lauren, and I wish them all the best. I know that we will all be friends for a very long time.

Don’t worry! Top Ten Tuesday is moving to my blog, and I will be hosting it here at That Artsy Reader Girl moving forward. Check the Top Ten Tuesday tab on the top menu bar for more information. I’m really excited to carry on this blogging tradition.

Make sure to head over to the blog and read our goodbye post! We all got a little sentimental and left links for where to find us.