365 Days of Books: September & October 2013

With the new year fast coming up, I thought I'd recap 2013, the most bookish year in the history of me. It's happened: I skipped one of these twelve days of recaps lol. So today is for both September and October!

September

Northern Bites (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #2) by Nikki Jefford (4/5)
Visited by Janine Caldwell (4/5)
The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond (5/5)
What Endures by Katie Lee (3/5)
Acid by Emma Pass (4.5/5)
The Girl Next Door by Selene Castrovilla (4/5)
15 Minutes (Rewind Series #1) by Jill Cooper (3.5/5)
When the World was Flat (and we were in love) by Ingrid Jonach (5/5)
Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead (5/5)
Fault Line by Christa Desir (3.5/5)
Tainted (Broken #2) by A.E. Rought (4/5)
Total: 11 books

Book of the Month

Title: The Girl Next Door
Author: Selene Castrovilla
Release Date: May 24th 2013
Publisher: ASD Publishing
Age Group: Young Adult
Goodreads

Seventeen year old Samantha has been best friends with seventeen year old Jesse since she moved into the New York high-rise apartment next door to his thirteen years ago. Jesse is their school's poster child for popularity: good-looking, a star athlete, even Romeo in the school play. On opening night he collapses on stage. That's when doctors discover the unthinkable: a tumor on his spine. His type of cancer is virtually incurable – 97% of those diagnosed die within ten months.

Jesse shuts down, refusing to see most of his friends. He submits to treatments of chemo and radiation, but he doesn't possess hope. Sam is the one person he’ll talk to. He convinces his mom to let her sleep in another bed in his room, saying he's afraid to die alone.

That’s when Jess and Sam make a startling, bittersweet discovery: they’ve been in love all along.

Oh, this painful, painful book. The Girl Next Door made me bawl like a baby, giving me a glimpse of just what a mess I will be when I finally read John Green's The Fault in Our Stars - which will be soon, because I plan to read it before seeing the movie. God help me.

October

Ricochet (Addicted #1.5) by Krista & Becca Ritchie (4.5/5)

Skulk by Rosie Best (2/5)

Play With Me (Grover Beach Team #1) by Piper Shelly (5/5)

After Hello by Lisa Mangum (5/5)

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa (4/5)

The Angel Stone (Fairwick Chronicles #3) by Juliet Dark (4/5)

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (5/5)

Without You (Stripped #1.5) by Brooklyn Skye (3/5)

The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa (4.5/5)

Strip Me Bare by Marissa Carmel (5/5)

Total: 10 books

Book of the Month

Title: Eleanor & Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Release Date: February 1st 2013

Publisher: Orion Books

Age Group: Young Adult

Goodreads

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly red hair, she couldn't stick out more if she tried.

Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black T-shirts, headphones, head in a book - he thinks he's made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor... never to Eleanor.

Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.

When I cracked this book open, I seriously thought it would be a light, fun read, nothing like what it truly is. Eleanor & Park isn't your usual teen romance, so leave your expectations at the door before you read this one.

I know a lot of you have read Eleanor & Park, but what about The Girl Next Door? If you haven't, and you loved The Fault in Our Stars, then I really suggest you do. Anyway, share with me in the comments your thoughts about any of the books I read in these two months!