If I stay by Gayle Foreman - Book Review.

"Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make" 

Pages: 201 
Genre: Young Adult contemporary fiction. 

I honestly don't know how to write a review on this book without adding spoilers. I'm going to be honest - I didn't think this was my kind of book. I was wrong. One snowy morning Mia and her family are involved in an accident. Mia's life changes in a split second.. The choices she faces are very hard. I found this book heartbreaking but it's also so beautiful in a way I can't really explain. I love how music comes into the story. It's written remarkably well. I actually felt quite connected to Mia's character. I couldn't put this book down as it is quite fast paced and being a fast reader, it didn't take long to read at all. I'd say this is quite realistic considering it's fiction. I can't wait to read the second book 'Where She Went'. I also can't wait to watch 'If I Stay'. 
This is such a hard book to write about without giving away any spoilers. I could honestly say a lot about this book but I've seen it on a few 'To Be Read' lists and I honestly don't wait to spoil it for anyone. 

What have you been reading lately? :) 

Sarah xXx

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon - Book Review.

****MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*****

"My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster." 

Genre: Young adult contemporary fiction 
Pages: 310

I've seen this book floating around everywhere lately and I knew I just had to read it. I added this book to my TBR July list and purchased this book fro amazon. I'm not a huge contemporary fan but I'd heard good things about this book! The book follows the story of a young girl 'Madeline Whittier' who is allergic to literally everything. Madeline hasn't left the house for seventeen years because it could potentially kill her. Her mum is a doctor who takes care of Madeline and she also has a nurse called 'Carla' to help look after her. As Carla is with Madeline every day, they become quite good friends. Madeline doesn't have any other friends because she can't go outside. She is home schooled via the internet and the occasional tutor is allowed to visit but must be disinfected first! 
One day new neighbours move into the house next door. She eventually becomes friends with 'Olly' the boy next door, they IM each other and exchange emails, with the help of Carla they eventually meet... Maddy's life s changed forever. When Madeline's mum finds out she sacks Carla for putting Madeline at risk and things must go back to the way they were before but Madeline can't go back to that, not now she's met Olly. Madelines life has changed forever....

I absolutely LOVED this book. I started this book and put it down for a few days before picking it up again but when I did pick it up, it didn't take me long to read at all. I like the writing style and the IM/email conversations. It is YA genre, it's easy to read and I found myself reading and turning the pages very quick. I was totally hooked on this book from the start. I even liked the illustrations. I rated it 4.5 stars.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova - Book Review.

I watched the movie 'Still Alice' before I read the book. I actually didn't know it was even a book until after I watched the movie. 

Book Blurb

"Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life--and her relationship with her family and the world--forever."

Genre: Contemporary adult fiction 

292 pages. 

This is a truly heartbreaking story from Lisa Genova that gives a good insight to the alzheimers disease. 

 Alice is fifty years old when she starts forgetting things, she puts it down to being busy and having a busy lifestyle, she teaches lectures and has a lot to remember and think about. She has three grown up children and a husband. Alice soon realises there is much more to her forgetful memory and starts feeling disorientated, too! One day she's running the route she has always ran in the city she lives in and she completely forgets where she is and how to get home! Alice panics for a moment but her memory soon comes back. She seeks medical advice and under go a lot of tests. It turns out she has early Alzheimer’s and is put on medication to slow the Alzheimers down. There is no cure for the disease and it does get worse over time. Alice and her family learns that the type of  Alzheimers she's suffering with is hereditary. She remembers a lot of things about her childhood and I really like that Alice shares those memories. Alice's memory gets worse as time goes on, it's quite slow progressing alzheimers. I'm not going to lie, it is quite upsetting and yes, it's a hard subject to read about because it's so real and true but this is a page turner of a book! I actually learned a lot from this book, it's a real eye opener.

The book itself is very well written, it's very easy to follow! I found it quite hard to put down because I'd watched the movie, I knew what to expect. I did find the book slightly better than the movie. I found myself really connected to the characters, especially Alice! This is a story that is so real, even though it is fictional, it is something that could happen and DOES happen. 

I do wish I'd have read the book first but still, I enjoyed both the book and movie. I rated the book four stars out of five.

The movie is very true to the book. Alice is played by Julianne Moore and I honestly think she suited the role perfectly, I don't think anyone else could have played Alice. The acting is brilliant and I surprisingly like the fact that Kristen Stewart plays Alice's youngest daughter, 'Lydia'. I felt for Alice and her family. It is a sad movie to watch, especially feeling so connected to the characters. Overall I really enjoyed both the book and movie. I do think the book was a little better than the movie. 

I'd recommend reading the book first. 

Sarah xXx