Tag Archives: This Song Will Save Your Life

2015 Reading Challenge

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I originally found this challenge on Facebook and few months ago and decided that I wanted to participate in it. It is a year-long challenge that would force me to read books out of my comfort level. I thought it would be really cool and fun. Recently I found the original Goodreads group that set up the challenge and all the mini challenges to read throughout the year. I found out that there are a lot more challenges that what was posted on Facebook. With this new list, I have taken all the books that I have read this year and placed them in each category. I have doubled up on books because a lot of challenges allow you to do that. My goal for the rest of the year is to make updates on this challenge periodically.

  1. a book with more than 500 pages
  • The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
  1. a romance
  2. a book that became a movie
  • Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
  1. a book published this year
  • The Crown of Ptolemy by Rick Riordan
  1. a book with a number in the title
  1. a book written by someone under 30
  2. a book with nonhuman characters
  • Rat Queens Vol. 1 & 2
  1. a funny book
  • The Crown of Ptolemy by Rick Riordan
  1. a book by a female author
  • Adventures of Funeral Crashing #1 by Milda Harris
  • Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
  • Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne
  • How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor
  1. a mystery or thriller
  1. a book with a one-word title
  1. a book of short stories
  1. a book set in a different country
  1. a nonfiction book
  2. a popular author’s first book
  1. a book from your favorite author that you haven’t read yet
  2. a book a friend recommended
  3. a Pulitzer-prize winning book
  4. a book based on a true story
  5. a book at the bottom of your to-read list
  • Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
  1. a book your mom loves
  2. a book that scares you
  3. a book more than 100 years old
  1. a book based entirely on its cover
  1. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t
  2. a memoir
  3. a book you can finish in a day
  • Ms. Marvel Vol. 1
  • Ms. Marvel Vol. 2
  • Rat Queens Vol. 1
  • Rat Queens Vol. 2
  • Smile
  • Anya’s Ghost
  1. a book with antonyms in the title
  2. a book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit
  1. a book that came out the year you were born
  2. a book with bad reviews
  3. a trilogy (the first)
  1. a trilogy (the second)
  1. a trilogy (the third)
  1. a book from your childhood
  1. a book with a love triangle
  1. a book set in the future
  1. a book set in high school
  1. a book with a color in the title
  1. a book that made/makes you cry
  2. a book with magic
  1. a graphic novel
  1. a book by an author you’ve never read before
  • Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee
  1. a book you own but have never read
  2. a book that takes place in your hometown
  3. a book that was originally written in another language
  1. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday)
  2. a book written by an author with your same initials
  3. a play
  4. a banned book
  5. a book based on OR turned into a tv show
  6. 52. a book you started but never finished
So far that is what I have completed for the 2015 reading challenge. I am planning on giving you an update for this challenge either the end of August or the end of September. I am not doing the challenges in order like everyone else since I started so late. I do hope that you will enjoy seeing my progress. See you next time. Happy Reading!

Disney Book Tag

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Found this fun book tag a while back. I wanted to do it then, but I somehow did not have the time. I do hope that you do enjoy this. It is a fun little tag with ten categories relating to Disney character/ themes. Happy reading!

  1. The Little Mermaid – a character who is out of their element, a “fish out of water”

In some ways, I feel as though every character that we read will always be “a fish out of water.” How else are we suppose to have a plot or any growth for the character?

However, I have chosen The Amulet series by Kibuishi Kazo for this first category. To me, Emily and her family not only go out of their world, but they also out of their element with politics, magic, and epic battles to bring peace throughout all the worlds.

  1. Cinderella – a character who goes through a major transformation

This category I had a hard time narrowing down. However, I have chosen two books to fit. The first one is Elise from This Song Will Save Your Life by Lella Sales and Melanie from The Girls With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey.

For me, Elise has grown a lot from the shy girl who would not confront her fears or people to a person sitting in the DJ booth controlling the situation and having the ability to read and confront people and her problems. On the other hand, Melanie was a mutant prodigy who never experience life outside her cell. The moment she left her cell she quickly learn how to survive and protect those that she loves.

  1. Snow White – a book with an eclectic cast of characters

I feel like I am cheating. The book that I chose for this category is The Crown of Ptolemy by Rick Riordan. I enjoy seeing both Percy, Annabeth, Carter and Sadie, and it was fun to see the mix of both Greek and Egyptian Mythology.

  1. Sleeping Beauty – a book that put you to sleep

The book that I have chosen for this category not only put me to sleep, but it also disappointed me. The book for the Sleeping Beauty category goes to The Diary of Darcy J. Rhone by Emily Griffen. I ended up giving the book two out of five stars on Goodreads and I found the main character shallow with a lack of growth.

  1. The Lion King – a character who had something traumatic happen to them in childhood

The book that I have chosen for this category is After Math by Denise Swank. Our main character Scarlett Goodwin had a very traumatic past who is overcoming all obstacles to make her life better.

  1. Beauty and the Beast – A beast of a book (a big book) that you were intimidated by, but found the story to be beautiful

Again, this is another category that I had a hard time. I actually have two books that I believe will fit in this category. Both of these books are not in here for their size, but they did intimidate me. I tend to stay away from books that make you cry. I don’t like to cry whether in public or in private because of a book. A book should be both fun and pleasurable and I never had associated crying with pleasure. Both of these books are a joy to read and I am glad that I have read them. These two books are The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

  1. Aladdin – a character who gets their wish granted, for better or worse

For this category, I have chosen both Jade and Phoenix from the 80 AD series by Aiki Flinthart. Both characters get what they wished for when they are transported into a video game. Both do discover it is not all fun and games and surprisingly also get their other wishes granted as well when they saved the worlds.

  1. Mulan – a character who pretends to be someone or something they are not

For this category, I have chosen Ally from Fish In A Tree by Lynda Hunt. In the beginning, Ally pretends to be the class clown and troublemaker to hide her secret from her family and teachers.

  1. Toy Story – a book with characters you wish would come to life

Almost all of the characters from James A. Owen Imaginarium Geographica Series. Who would not want to meet a bunch of famous authors throughout history, along with their most famous characters?

  1. Disney Descendants – your favorite villain or morally ambiguous character

The person I picked for this category is not a villain but is a bit morally ambiguous. The person that I picked is Kat from The Heist Society by Ally Carter. I would love to get to know Kat more and understand her thinking and skill sets.

This Song Will Save Your Life Review

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15777621This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales is about a young girl who doesn’t belong at her school and knows it.  She horribly failed in her attempts to fit in, and then starts to discover the true meaning of friends of what she wants in life.

There are a few things I like about the book. I enjoyed the story as a whole from beginning to the end.  It was wonderful to see the growth and development of our main character, in trying to understand  her world and how to fit in. In addition, I also enjoyed the other characters and how they influenced the main character. Every action or conversation that our character had with someone help our character grow. There was no wasted action or conversation in this book. I also enjoyed the theme of self acceptance, not only finding where your belong, but finding people and a place that accept you for who you are, and not expecting you to be something more or different.

However, the book does have a couple of faults. The first is the depressing tone of the book. I get why the tone has to exist, the main character has been bullied and she is fighting with these negative thoughts. In the long run, she does not experience these thoughts all the time. I feel as though the whole book was written in this depressing tone. Sadly, I would not change it. It makes the book what it is, and I feel as though it is important. We need to have that depressing tone to tell a story, it is part of the character and the problem. I also had a problem with the slow beginning. It took a few chapters for the book to truly begin moving. It was not until our main character found this underground party, did her adventure truly begin. In addition, the other problem that I had with the book is the ending. Due to the nature of book, I will have to be vague, but trust me when I say that there are some things that did not add up. The course of events that happened at the end of the book seemed a little out of place, given the situation that was experienced previously in the book.

In the end, I gave this book four out of five stars on Goodreads. I would love to recommend this book to everyone. The story is fun, and the idea of finding out where you belong and how you fit in, is wonderful. However, I must admit that there is an attempted suicide, and if you are at risk for suicide or depression, please check with yourself. There are those negative aspects in the book. In addition, there is also bullying. If you are at high risk, please be careful. In all, have fun and enjoy.

I do hope that you enjoyed this review. I hope that you had a great weekend and enjoyed your adventures. Happy reading and see you next time.