The Giver

The Giver by Louis Lowry

This one is one of my favorites. It's a Dystopian novel that I read in eighth grade and just reread to my little brother. It's a fantastic book and I definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it.

Maybe I'm just a weirdo who always likes dystopian novels but then claims to not like sci-fi. Obviously I like it at least a little bit, since I liked this and I liked the Hunger Games and I liked Divergent and Insurgent.

But anyway, I love the ending of this book especially, and since I just finished reading it tonight, I am feeling really impatient to start on the second book, Gathering Blue and then start on the last book of the trilogy, The Messenger. I love the way Lowry writes these books and combines the seemingly different plotlines into such a fantastic third book.

So excited to reread these, and I definitely recommend them to anyone and everyone.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye

I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris

Oh, Joshua Harris. I think this is one of those books that every Christian teenager is supposed to read, but I can't say I enjoyed it.

Okay, I will admit that I had a bad attitude going in, and I was prepared to not like it. But still... it seemed a bit extreme and a bit preachy. Like, "I'm doing everything right and I'm perfect and if you disagree you're wrong."

But he did have some good points, and it's true that today's idea of dating is flawed. So, I guess if you are a Christian teenager you should probably still read at least part of this. It's probably a good book to read. Or if you're struggling with dating you should read it.

But if you are an MK and have grown up in Christian circles and only ever dated one guy and not really even dated him and go to a Christian school with exactly four boys in your class and all younger than you and extremely geeky and not boyfriend material and you probably wouldn't date anyway and are going off to Bible college in a couple of months anyway- then you probably can pass on this book.

Getting Naked Later

Getting Naked Later by Kate Hurley

This is another one of those books for my Bible class.
Despite the often very shocking title (you should have seen my face when my dad came in to show it to me the first time) it's pretty good and not inappropriate. It's a single woman writing about her life and her experience and her thoughts on relationships and singleness.

I liked the book, and liked that it's very different from most of the books we've read about dating and marriage and singleness.

Kate Hurley was really open, and just said how she felt without trying to sound like the "perfect Christian" or the "dating expert". I enjoyed her honestly, and I think she's got a really interesting life.

Oh, and did I mention I met her? She spoke several times at the camp where I worked two summers ago, the camp where I grew up and where my parents met and got married and lived. So it was definitely bonus points reading a book by someone I'd met and knew as a real person with real struggles, not just the guy with the mysterious hat. *cough Joshua Harris cough*

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I don't know if I can even write a blog entry about this book. I'm going to start crying. Every time anyone mentions trophies or video games or eulogies or cancer I think of this book and have to fight back tears.

I really liked the characters and felt drawn to them. Like, even though I can't quite identify with them and my life isn't really anything like theirs, I still could sympathize with them. And I really liked Augustus. The way he talks... and his writing... and the book... so sweet.
But I also loved Isaac and the trophy scene almost made me cry.

And the eulogies at the end- that did make me cry.

Basically, really good book. Written with a very modern feel, easy to follow, easy to identify with, good characters, inevitable ending.

And I cannot wait for the movie to come out.

Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

The sequel to Divergent and just as well-written and captivating. I think I read this one even faster than the first, and I am waiting for the last book to come out so I can devour it as well.

I think the plot was even stronger in this one, and I got to see a lot more of the faction life and the second main character, Four. (Yes, I refuse to call him Tobias. I think Four is way cooler.)

Unfortunately, as well as being a super quick hit and great, enjoyable read, I have a feeling this serious won't last long. I think it may be another Hunger Games everyone loves it and then after a while switches to saying the didn't like the books or the movie. Hopefully Veronica Roth can get more books and not just be a one hit wonder, though, because I really enjoyed her writing.

And I cannot wait for the third book and the first movie. Seriously, I get shivers every time I think about it.

Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

This is one of those popular the moment it got published books, or at least that's what it seemed like to me. And, next year it will be made into a movie. So I had several reasons to read it, and I am so glad I did.

I loved this book, and devoured it over one weekend, which is something I haven't done with any book in a long time.

The characters were interesting, the story was captivating, the writing was very easy to follow. Plus, since this was the first book of a trilogy, I was wanting to get on to the second book as soon as I started the first.

PS: If you've read it this will make perfect sense to you. If you haven't, this might be somewhat of a spoiler.
I took a bunch of quizzes to see which faction I would belong to, and I am totally Divergent, with a mix of Amity, Abnegation, and Erudite. I think I would have chosen Erudite.

The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I read this book for my English class, and as far as English class-must read this for school-books go, it wasn't terrible. I mean, I loved the symbolism and the description, but as for the book itself.

It wasn't bad, and if you somehow get through high school without reading it, then I definitely think you should read it on your own.

However, it wasn't my favorite, and it's not one that I ever think I'll be rereading just for the fun of it.

Five Love Languages

 The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

I read this for my Bible class, which this year happens to be Dating, Marriage, and Family. I am getting sick of the class, but this book was pretty good.

I mean, I like hearing the Love Languages and trying to identify my friends and family members and myself. However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this. I mean, definitely find out about the five Love Languages and figure out which one you are.

And who knows, maybe this book is a lot more appealing to people who are already married.

PS: My love languages are quality time (spend lots of time reading my blog!) and words of affirmation (leave a comment or two!)

Mere Christianity

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

I don't know if I can really put this here, since I didn't start it senior year. I started reading this over the summer, and loved it, but then summer got super busy and I didn't get a chance to finish reading it.

So it dragged on to the school year, but it was incredible.

I think any and every Christian should read this book at some point in his or her life, and I think every non-Christian should as well.

Lewis is one of my heroes, always has been and always will be. Up until now I'd only read the seven Narnia books and Till We Have Faces,  but over the summer I decided to pick up one of his more theological books, and I'm so glad I did.

Lewis has a way of presenting things in a way that just makes perfect sense. I understood what he was saying and where he was coming from, and even the few things that I didn't entirely agree with I still could understand why he believed them and I respect him so much more.

Reading this book allowed me to understand my own opinions and beliefs more, and think about why I have the faith that I do.

Basically, I loved this, and I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to be challenged to think.

The Book Blog of My Writer's Blog

Here is what I know you have all been waiting for. Books.

I am a writer; I know about that longing to be somewhere else. Anywhere else, besides the real world.

I have to admit that I am not as crazy of a reader as I would like to be, but I guess I still read a lot. It depends who you compare me to, I suppose.

So anyway, here is the blog where I tell you about all the fantastic books I'm reading. Probably I will wait until I finish a book to put up a post, where I'll give a quick review on the book and what I thought about it.

Also, I will be starting back from the beginning of the school year. So there will be a whole bunch of books posted at the beginning, that I actually read a month or two ago. But I think they deserve a spot in this blog anyway.

So, here are the books I have read since the beginning of my senior year in high school.

Oh, and be sure to check out my Writing Blog: caijo.blogspot.com