Book Blahs and Blogger's Block

I've got a case of the book blahs! I haven't really read much lately. I haven't really wanted to read much lately. And I've got a case of blogger's block- I haven't really felt like blogging about anything that I have read.

I think what I need is a breathtaking, exciting, new, fun, fantastic book to get me out of this funk. I need to be excited about reading again, and so excited that I want to blog about it.

Got any book suggestions for me?

Sarah Dessen time!

Alright guys so I've got three different Sarah Dessen books to review. It would be repetitive to review them all separately so I'm just going to write one big post about them right here, right now.

What's a Sarah Dessen book? Well, I like to think of her as the Nicholas Sparks of young adult literature. Her books tend to be about love, relationships, family, friends, teen girls figuring out who they are, that kind of thing. Don't get them confused with surfacey romance novels. These books usual talk about deep feelings and important issues. Here's a little bit more about the three that I read:

Someone Like You - This books focuses on best friends Halley and Scarlett. Scarlett's boyfriend is killed in a motorcycle accident, then she realizes she's pregnant with his baby. Meanwhile, a popular boy is paying attention to shy Halley, which never happens. Can Halley handle a new boyfriend and still be there for Scarlett? I really enjoyed this book, Halley is a strong and likeable protagonist.

This Lullaby- I loved this one! Remy doesn't believe in love. How could she, after watching her mother go through husband after husband? But then Dexter comes along. He's different from all the other guys Remy's dated. Can she overcome her fear and learn to love before it is too late?

Dreamland- I didn't enjoy this one as much, but that wasn't because it's not good. It's really good- it just deals with deeper and heavier stuff. Caitlin is determined not to be like her sister, Cass. And when she meets Rogerson, he seems like the perfect way to step out of her sister's shadow. Soon Caitlin and Rogerson are in love- but what happens when that love becomes dangerous?

Bottom line- I enjoyed all of the books and would recommend each of them. However, my favorite Sarah Dessen book is still The Truth About Forever, and you can read my review of that by clicking here.

One last thing: Despite my love for Sarah Dessen books, there are a few things about them that bother me, and I feel compelled to mention them. First of all, almost all of her high school age characters smoke and drink, and often they do drugs and sleep around a lot too. Sometimes it works because it's part of the issues they are dealing with, or it fits in the story, but sometimes it's just not necessary. Maybe it's realistic, but still I don't feel like I could put any of her books in my classroom library. The second thing that bothers me isn't as easy to put my finger on... But all of her books feel sort of... dated. Or something. Granted some of them were written in the 90's (gosh, it feels weird to consider something written in the 90's old), but they just seem like maybe they take place more in a world that my parents grew up in, rather than the one I grew up in. Not that that is even a bad thing, but it just annoys me a little for some reason.

Despite my minor issues with her books, I would still suggest that if you haven't read a Sarah Dessen book before, you should give one a try. I hope to read more of her books soon, so keep checking back for more reviews!

March Update

Are you ready for this?

Books Read: 10 / 34 total

Books to go: 77

Best Book of March: I can't decide! It might be a three way tie between:

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima,

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter, and

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Worst Book of March: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

0 (0) out of 5 nonfiction

0 (1) out of 10 classics

2 (5) out of 15 New York Times Bestsellers

Genres: 6 out of 10

5 (23 total) Young Adult

1 (4) Fantasy

0 (1) Classic

1 (2) Thriller

2 (3) Romance

1 (1) Chick Lit

So there it is. 10 books in March. It has been my lowest month so far, but still over my minimum goal of 9 books a month, so I'm pretty happy with it.

However, I did set a goal at the beginning of the month to read more adult books than young adult books. And, as it turns out, I read 5 adult and 5 young adult. So you might be thinking I didn't meet my goal. But actually, as of last night at midnight, I was halfway through my 6th adult book, so technically, I read 5.5 adult books and 5.0 young adult. And, I'm saying that that counts. And, I do make the rules after all. So, all in all, success in March!

Now on to April. I have decided that since I met my March goal AND April is my birthday month, I'm going to read whatever the heck I want. So, most likely you should prepare for a lot of young adult and/or fantasy and/or dystopian and/or romance reviews coming your way!