Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Bring on the Waterworks

Happy Tuesday! It's been a while since I've participated in Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is:

Top Ten books that will make you cry

10. 

The Color Purple by Alice Walker - Need I elaborate?

9. 

The Host by Stephenie Meyer - Some parts in this book had me crying like a baby.

8. 

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt - I love this book. It's one of the first ones I read as a kid and it gets me every time. And the movie? Don't get me started.

7. 

Anything by Jodi Picoult. I have literally cried over every book by her that I've ever read. And sometimes been enraged or overjoyed. I can't think of a time when a book by her hasn't left me emotionally unstable for a day or two... sigh..

6. 

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - another one that I read early on. Actually, this is the first book I can ever remember making me cry. Group reading in 6th grade and I was the one weeping discreetly in the corner. Ugh, I was a sap, even then.

5. 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - it definitely wasn't my favorite book of all time but I dont think I need to explain. Some people said it didn't make them cry at all. To those people: you have no soul (kidding not kidding).

4.

Harry Potter Books 4-7 by J.K. Rowling. I cried at the end of every one of these books. You know why.

3. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Again, need I elaborate?

2. 

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - I had to read the last chapter several times just to be sure it was real. I cried and cried and cried. I've never felt so broken by a book that made me smile as much as it made me cry. 

1. 

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - Seriously, guys, I don't think I've ever cried as hard over a book as I did this one. Like, if you want your heart broken beyond repair, read this book. It's amazing.

So, some people don't like books that destroy them. I, however, do. I generally grant an extra half to a whole star for books that get me that emotional. To me, it says something about the writing, the story, and the way the author made me connect with it as a whole.

Do you like to read books that make you cry? Which ones made you cry the most?

Leave a link to your posts so I can come visit!

A.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

ISBN: 9780316122382
Source: Christmas Gift! :)
Series: No, Stand-alone
Release Date: January 2, 2012
Goodreads  |  Amazon

     SYNOPSIS:

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

     REVIEW:

Let me start by saying that I'm obsessed with the cover of this book! Its so unique and not overly flashy. Not to mention the adorable picture of what I believe to be Hadley and Oliver at the airport! I picked up this book in between binge-reading another series because I didn't have the next series book yet. I wanted something light and fluffy, a cute romance to occupy my time and it did not disappoint. I've seen some negative reviews of this book talking about it's lack of depth, but I thought that it did have more depth than what I was expecting, really. And anyway, look at the title - did you really expect something life-changing and earth-shattering? Come on, people.

Anyway, Smith's writing is really great and the third-person, present tense POV was really unique! It was engaging and gave it a more exciting feel, like the reader is right there with Hadley, experiencing all of her emotions along with her. I liked Hadley - she seemed smart and cute and just a bit (well... maybe a lot) damaged. I had some issues with Oliver. I thought he was funny and witty but I didn't quite catch the chemistry between him and Hadley as much as I'd have liked to. It was there... it just didn't quite make me swoon.

As I mentioned before, this book actually had much more emotional depth than I was expecting. Hadley is still reeling from the breaking apart of her family and now having to watch her father remarry before she is ready for him to. Smith touches on tough issues like cheating, divorce, remarriage, etc. and I found myself really connecting and feeling more emotional (and even getting a bit misty) toward those parts of the book rather than the development of a relationship between Hadley and Oliver. Somehow I connected more with the adult in the book than with the teenager... (does that mean I'm too old for YA!? Nooo)

While a bit predictable and with a romance that lacked that something, I really did enjoy this quick and easy read. I was very pleased with the way it all turned out. Maybe a bit too far into the "tidy-bow" department (as I like to refer to endings with too clean of a happy ending), but I expected no more and no less from this book, so I was happy with it.

     RATING: ★★★★

Cute - Fun - Quirky. These are the words I would use to describe most of this book. The chemistry lacked a little but it was made up for in funny one-liners and more emotional depth than you'd expect from a young adult romance novel, so bravo to Smith!

I enjoyed this one a lot. Have any of you read it? What did you think about the romance? The family issues for both Hadley and Oliver? I can't wait to hear what you think!

A.

Review: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

ISBN: 9781439550649
Source: Purchased
Series: Vampire Academy #3
Release Date: November 13, 2008
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See my reviews for previous books in this series

     SYNOPSIS:

It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She's having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all... might be seeing ghosts.As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose's forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line - and choose between the two people she loves most.

     REVIEW:

Things I think Richelle Mead is amazing at:

Writing action scenes

Writing love scenes

Awesome character development

Ripping my heart out and stomping on it, then making me come back for more

Things I don't think Richelle Mead is amazing at:

Writing "unobtrusive" narrative (making it not feel like I'm reading a book)

Showing instead of telling

So basically, Richelle Mead: Queen of Info Dumps, Heart Breaks and Ass-Kickings.

With that being said, I want you all to know that Shadow Kiss was my favorite book of the entire series, hands down. The writing seems to get better with each book - either that or I'm just used to it by now and know what to expect. Like I said before, character development is a plus. Rose has become less annoying and reckless and more like the badass heroine I always knew she could be. The pacing was pretty great overall and moved along a lot better than the last two, with the plot progression also being a plus in Mead's favor.

The romance, something that I was very excited to see develop after the end of book 2, was there and I enjoyed it when it was there, but I don't think Mead elaborated enough on it. There weren't enough opportunities to experience the chemistry. It was the same in books one and two, but it didn't bother me then because I'm not a fan of insta-love, so I liked that it took two books to build up to something awesome. About halfway through Shadow Kiss though, I was really dying for something more in the romance department. Mead did deliver, though a bit late, and I was very pleased with it.

Also, something that bothered me is that Mead will present a problem, for example *somewhat-spoiler* (highlight empty space to read) Rose seeing Mason's ghost, realizing that being outside the wards makes it unbearable, etc., then all of a sudden just being able to push it away.. *end somewhat-spoiler* which will propel the story to new heights.  An obstacle for Rose or another character to overcome... How will Rose deal with this? What awesome solution is she going to find to this problem? Then Mead presents us with a resolution that seems way too convenient, that doesn't fit the story. Again, I won't spoil, but sometimes things were just too easily pushed to the side.

It was hard for me to really, really enjoy this book because (as I mentioned in my review of the last book) I accidentally came across some reviews with major spoilers. As quickly as I clicked to another screen, I wasn't fast enough for me to not find out how this book was going to end. It did make the lead-up to the ending harder to deal with since I knew what was coming. But I think if it hadn't been spoiled for me, I probably would've been a wreck while reading it. As it stands, I was still getting pretty misty. No spoilers, I swear, but this book was intense!

Really though, Shadow Kiss was the book that really kicked off the series for me! I was kind of on the fence with the last two, but after reading this one, I knew that Mead was taking it to the next level: to awesomeness. We see definite character and relationship development, bits of world building, lots of action! I was even a little spooked at times when I was at home reading this alone, because of all the Strigoi and ghost talk. Maybe I'm just a big baby, but you can't deny the thought of Strigoi and ghostly apparitions is freaky.

     RATING: ★★★★ 1/2

Overall this was a great book, the best in the series overall in my opinion, and really set up for the next half of the series! There's really only one word I can use to describe this book: Dimitriiiiii!!!

So have you read the third book in this series? What did you think of it? Was it as good for you as it was for me (sorry, I just had to)? Let me know what you think!

A.

Review: Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

ISBN: 9780385753548
Source: Netgalley
Format: E-Book
Series: No, Stand-Alone
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Find it on Goodreads
*Disclaimer* I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

     GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

A luminous retelling of the Snow Queen, this is the story of unlikely heroine Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard who doesn't believe in anything that can't be proven by science. She and her sister Alice are still grieving for their dead mother when their father takes a job in a strange museum in a city where it always snows. On her very first day in the museum Ophelia discovers a boy locked away in a long forgotten room. He is a prisoner of Her Majesty the Snow Queen. And he has been waiting for Ophelia's help.
As Ophelia embarks on an incredible journey to rescue the boy everything that she believes will be tested. Along the way she learns more and more about the boy's own remarkable journey to reach her and save the world.

     REVIEW:

Well... let me tell you a little something about Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard: she's a bit of a nerd. She's that smart girl in your class that gets made fun of and picked last for sports, but knows everything there is to know about everything. She's not the kind of girl that you'd think could save the world... but the Marvelous Boy seems to think she is. And I just loved her! She was adorable, a little nerdy, but brave and very smart. What a great main character for this book!

Have you all read The Chronicles of Narnia (now I haven't read the entire series but if you haven't at least read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, get off your butt right now and go do it)? This story reminded me very much of Narnia. There weren't too many actual similarities (other than the antagonist, the Snow Queen) but the fairytale quality of the storytelling was very reminiscent of Narnia. What exactly does that mean, you ask? It means I loved it!

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy was so enchanting, so fun and so inspiring. I found myself smiling and laughing at Ophelia's stream of consciousness as well as in tears over her trials and tribulations. Ophelia teaches many lessons, among them being to never, ever give up, and even as an adult I found myself learning from Ophelia and all of the lessons she learned on her adventure.

It's hard to think of this book as middle grade because of how simple and juvenile the storytelling was. I sometimes had a hard time keeping myself interested because it was a little young for my tastes, but that didn't take very much away from the story as a whole. I still found myself rooting for Ophelia's victory and for the demise of the Snow Queen! The Snow Queen - can we just say creepy? Foxlee did a great job in creating a creepy antagonist without overdoing it or making her obviously evil. We see a lot about the Snow Queen through Ophelia, and lets just say Ophelia's brain is nothing if not thorough.

I loved Ophelia's straightforward, no nonsense way of thinking and the way she slowly opened herself up to the world of... other... She was a lot like an adult in the sense of not believing and it showed that sometimes there is more to life than tangible facts. Sometimes you have to believe in things you can't prove to make a difference.

At times I did find myself dragging through it a little, especially during the Marvelous Boy's little stories and explanations, but overall Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy is a spectacular story about healing, love and friendship, and most importantly, never, ever giving up.

     RATING: ★★★★

I enjoyed Ophelia so much and I actually look forward to keeping it in my repertoire to share with my future children (and other children in my life) one day. It may have been a little too young for me but the fun, action-packed story kept me waiting to see if Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy would destroy the evil Snow Queen and rooting for them every step of the way.

Have any of you read this yet before it's release tomorrow in stores? Its a great children's read and I can't wait to hear what you all think of it!

Get a second opinion

Reet Champion [3 of 5 stars]

Tome Tender [4.5 of 5 stars]

A.

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

ISBN: 9781595141750
Source: Christmas Gift!
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Release Date: April 10, 2008
Goodreads  |  Amazon
*Please note: this is a spoiler free review, however there may be spoilers for the previous book in this review*
See my posts for previous book in the series for a spoiler free review

     SYNOPSIS:
Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

     REVIEW:

Even though the writing has improved since the previous book, I still have a have a hard time getting past the "info dumps". There's definitely still too much tell and not enough show. Actually, I think this aspect of the writing has gotten worse since the last book. For example, during the narrative portions of the book, you will see (several times, might I add), "As I've noted before..." Why are you noting things!? You are a fictional character. You are not an author/narrator talking to the reader. It wouldnt matter so much if that was how the book was set up - as if the narrator was talking to the reader. But its not. And it annoyed me. Rant over. Ugh.

As a whole, the writing did get much better... or maybe I just got used to it because the plot became so much stronger and the characters so much more awesome. We are introduced to some new characters... some of which I didn't really like that much.. but I connected with the existing characters much better this time around. Rose is much less annoying, and I respect her for the way she is... she cares what people think, but she cares about herself and Lissa more. She does what she wants, when she wants to, but she also takes care of her responsibilities.

About halfway through Frostbite, I decided to look at reviews for the next few books, and I was pretty pissed when I came across some spoilery reviews that gave no warning! So in reality, I knew how this book was going to end, which really, really sucked. With that in mind though, even though I didn't feel the impact of the events, it was still very well done and probably would have made me cry had I not known what was coming.

Overall, this second book started off a bit slow, and the writing still isn't wonderful, but it was a whole lot better than the first one. About halfway through, things really started to pick up and I couldn't put the book down. Frankly, Mead does romance and action scenes really well. Her dialogue is actually pretty great too. My problem is with the narrative, Rose's stream of consciousness, which is what ruins things for me. By the time I was done with this one, I was itching to go out and get the next few because I truly do believe the books will get better - there is just so much potential here! Actually, as I'm writing this, I am in the middle of book 6 (the final installment) and I can tell you that the next few are even better than the first two. Anyways, I enjoyed this one well enough, and can't wait to talk about the rest of the books in the next few weeks!

     RATING: ★★★ 1/2

After feeling rather "meh" about Vampire Academy until the very end, Frostbite did a much better job in keeping me interested. The writing was slightly better and with Rose's little bit of development since the previous book, it was easy to like her and care about her more. The romance was.... perfect, for lack of a better developed thought, there. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.

Did any of you who read Vampire Academy decide to keep going and read book 2? What did you think? Love it? Hate it? Still kind of meh? Let me know what you think!

Get a second opinion

Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell [2 of 5]
Effortlessly Reading [3.5 of 5 stars]
Blog of Erised [5 of 5 stars]

P.S. Did you hear!? The release date for the Vampire Academy movie got pushed forward and will be released on February 7, 2014. Just so happens to be my anniversary (7 wonderful years, might I add..) and I'm forcing my awesome fiance to take me to the movies to see it that day (I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled he is about that one, haha). I still think the movie is going to suck but as I get more into the series, the more excited I am about it, regardless. Your opinions on the movie? Talk to me!

A.