book blogs – Page 7 – Jordi Burton

Famous Last Words (2014)

By: Katie Alender

The Hollywood Killer is at large. No one has any leads, but when Willa moves to L.A. after her mom remarries, she starts to see ghosts around her house. Then there’s the romance. Who should she pick: preppy Reed, her step-father’s assistant, or Wyatt, the guy that’s scary-obsessed with the Hollywood Killer.

Honestly, this book took so many twists and turns, I had no idea who the killer was. It was fascinating to watch it all unravel, especially after watching the Scream TV series (which was a letdown towards the end. Come on, guys, diverging from the source material wouldn’t kill you!). If you’re into slashers, pick up this book.

The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life (2012)

By: Tara Altebrando

The last week of school before graduation finds the senior class participating in the unofficial senior week Scavenger Hunt. For twenty-four hours, teams must search for every item on the given list, which takes them all over their small town, without letting adults or school officials know what’s happening. Our protagonist, Mary, is dealing with her crush, the school bully, and her best guy friend liking her, all while trying to crush the competition (pun not intended).

So, I really enjoyed this book. More than I thought I would. But I have a few questions. If you’re racing against the clock, do you really have time to go swimming at someone’s house? If your friend and your crush like each other, do you really need to get upset about it and stop talking to them? Should we root for the best guy friend to get her heart in the end, or should we never want her to see him again?

I think it’s a sign of a good book that I’m considering that last one. That’s more what real life is like—messy, and convoluted, and confusing. And though I didn’t agree with the ending, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you're looking for some graduation nostalgia, definitely read it. It actually inspired a new novel I’m working on!

Quicksilver (2013)

By: R. J. Anderson

The sequel to Ultraviolet follows Tori, the girl that Allison supposedly murdered. This time around, however, Tori finds out that she’s being hunted. The alien object that disintegrated her before, and brought her into space, could come back for her at any time. It’s a race against the clock to figure out a way to seal herself off from the people trying to destroy her.

I’m not a huge fan of book sequels changing P.O.V.s from the protagonist. However, I gave this book a chance. I have to say, it was just as good as its predecessor. The world was artfully created. It’s a highly accessible sci-fi. Definitely read it.

2018 Reading List

The last time I’d been looking for a book to read, and I was browsing the shelves of my local library, I found myself looking for a book I’d read but couldn’t remember the title of. It was frustrating, perusing the shelves to find that book. Made even more so by the fact that I nearly checked out a book I’d hated, simply because I couldn’t remember the titles.

So, last year, I decided to keep track of all the books I’d read, and then whether I’d enjoyed them. I started a list in a journal I had sitting around, and even went so far as to start writing reviews.

Most, if not all, of these are YA novels, because I tried this new thing where I went in alphabetical order at my library and just picked up books I thought looked interesting. This was following a dry-spell of reading that stemmed from my irritation of YA books all having the same plots and tropes.

I found some awesome books, and some authors that I will follow forever. Click on the titles for author info and a short synopsis/review.