First Books of the Year!

I'm going to try not to make this boring, so bear with me. I've read three books so far this year. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, Anna and the French Kiss, and Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. I loved all of them so much! I couldn't put any of them down. Although I technically started The Name of the Star in 2011, I read most of it on the first so I'm including it in the list.

I love Maureen Johnson. If you're not following her on twitter, you should be. I've read 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Last Little Blue Envelope, and I'm working on Suite Scarlett. I love her books, and The Name of the Star was no different. The main character's inner monologue was hilarious, and the way she created a different type of ghost was really interesting. I also loved learning more about Jack the Ripper (even though I ended up having a really creepy dream about him). Plus, I have a soft spot for any story based in London. Or anywhere in Europe really. It's been my dream to go for pretty much my whole life, and since I can't go now, I read stories based there. Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel!

Now, time for Anna and Lola. THEY WERE SO PERFECT AND MAGNIFICENT AND BEAUTIFUL AND GAH. There aren't enough words to describe how much I loved these books. Stephanie Perkins, you are amazing! I seriously couldn't put these books down. I enjoyed Anna a little bit more than Lola, probably because Anna has an English boy. Okay, it's definitely because Anna has an English boy. Oh, Étienne. He's just so cute and funny and historical and ENGLISH. I love him. However, Lola has an adorable, sweet, nerdy guy, and that's one of my favorite things too! I just love how she had some hilarious quotes that had me laughing the whole time (Jo-Ja!) and yet she put so much emotion into her characters. They had me crying. I just finished reading these and I'm tempted to read them again. I've already made my sister read them. We were going to clean our room today, but she started reading Anna and those plans went out the window. She can't stop reading either. So if you haven't read Stephanie's books, DO IT.

I just started Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare, so hopefully there will be a post about it soon. School starts Monday though, so I might be a little slow. However, knowing how quick I usually get through her books, I'll most likely be done by the end of the week. I'll rant about her usual frustrating cliffhangers then.