Saga: Volumes 1-4 | Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

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I'm very sorry for the mess behind these beautiful novels, (it's brochures for a bunch of different uni's).

~~~this series is unreal~~~

Also this is all spoiler free. 

Saga is an amazing graphic novel series. As of right now I have no idea how many volumes they are making but I hope it's gonna be loads because this series is a must read. It is NSFW and for mature readers as it has sexy times but it's-so-good-you-should-really-like-read-it-!!! It's basically about these two parents (who are new to the whole parenting thing) who are trying to raise their child in the midst of a galactic war. Um....hello???!!! This is amazing go read it now! Saga is truly wonderfully crafted, action packed graphic novels. There is more to the synopsis but the last thing I want to do is spoil people, so I recommend if you're remotely interested to give it a go and I swear you will adore this. I highly recommend this and I have given all the Volumes out so far (which is four) 5/5 stars. 

This is my first ever graphic novel and I absolutely loved it! The experience of reading Saga was very fast because I read all these books on different days but in one sitting. Graphic novels are quick and fast paced, most of the time and you literally whizz through them. Especially this series, I flew through these and now I desperately want to own Saga Volume 5. 

Saga is written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by the lovely Fiona Staples. I can only imagine the time and effort that was put into every single instalment that is out right now. This series seriously does deserve all the hype it's getting because I kid you not it is so unique and very gripping. 

As I said before there is, so far only 4 volumes out and I read all four in the time span of around three days and each volume took me about 20-25 minutes depending on my schedule on that particular day. These graphic novels are also around 140+ pages. 

Saga Consists of: 

Volume 1:

Volume 2:

Volume 3:

Volume 4:

These are my first proper (if you will) graphic novel everything was quite displaced in the beginning as I'm not used to it but like literally after a page of two I was hooked. No joke the art is so unique in this series, I'm sure I'm going to be saying this for all the rest of the volumes but I don't know how to explain how wonderful it is without shoving the book in your face. In the fist volume, obviously we get world building and an array of colourful characters as well as the main characters. I remember being so excited. I probably looked high. 

I CANNOT COMPREHEND THE ART, IT'S SO UNIQUE (in my opinion anyways), I LOVE IT! Fiona Staples your graphics are tremendous. 

The writing of this series is nothing special however it is quite humours. As this is a graphic novel I hope none of you are expecting loads and loads of writing. Graphic novels to people who have never read them are like comics. The characters in this series are so loveable, kickass and colourful! I actually don't think I hate or dislike any character, they are all brilliant in their own ways. 

In a nutshell: READ IT! WORTH THE HYPE.

Yes Please | Amy Poehler

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Amy Poehler? 

Yes Please. 

Don't mind if I will. 

(*・∀・*) THIS BOOK! (*・∀・*)

You know what I love more than Parks and Rec? 

Amy Poehler talking about Parks and Rec. That show is the best and it's about to end. I promise not to cry through this review...and the rest of the last season. 

Yes Please is the first book Amy Poehler has written and it's pretty much about her life. How she started out, her family, her friends, her work and it's filled with pictures and other miscellaneous funny stuff. There is quite a bit about advice of different things but most of all it's super fun and funny hilarious uproarious.     Yes, U P R O A R I O U S. What a great word.

To start of let me mention that this is a humour, memoir. If you don't know who Amy Poehler is...where have you been? and I highly, highly recommend you start watching Parks and Recreation if you need a substitute for The Office or if you just need a new TV show to watch because it's a hilarious show! 

Amy is also good friends with Tina Fey (please, you have to know who Tina Fey is!) and they have both hosted the Golden Globes quite a few times I believe (2013, 2014, 2015 psshhhhhh). I really love them. Considering recent events when they hosted the 2015 Golden Globes and joked about North Korea and rape, I have not excused them for that because that was nothing to be joking about but I'm here to review this book not them. Also nobody's perfect, they probably learnt from that anyways. 

I'm pretty sure this book is aimed for adults but who even cares! I mean like, yes, there is advice on careers/yourself/relationships/friendships/children blah blah blah but it's all good and funny. Preparing me for my future; now I know what not to do. It was very heartwarming for Amy to talk about her life and her family; how she started from the bottom (shoutout to Drake) and now she's doing better than ever. There is an aspect of this book that bored me but that's only because I'm not yet an adult that has to do adult things, there is also a lot of her writing about her acting career which I also sort of got bored of reading...but only because I didn't know half the people she was writing about. There is also a whole chapter dedicated to the Parks and Rec squad so I'm not complaining, YES PLEASE! 

You could say that this is my first ever memoir that I have read. Memoirs/autobiographies/non-fiction/classics are not my scene. I genuinely don't like reading them and that is why I have yet to finish: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling, Not That Kind Of Girl by Lena Dunham (both of which are on my 'Currently Reading' shelf on your right) and I have yet to read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. Don't get me wrong, I try really hard to be able to read everything and that is why I force myself to at least try but I don't know how long I'll be keeping this up. However this book was different, I'm not exactly sure if it's because it was more interactive and there were visuals but I enjoyed it thoroughly. When I say interactive I don't mean 'Wreck This Journal' interactive, I mean that it was much more relatable and you get to understand and experience Amy's world. 

*i feel like this is a good time to mention that i'm drinking chamomile/honey tea and it tastes like flower and i keep sniffing it* 

Another thing I would like to address is that this book isn't about comedy or how to be funny. I wish that I read more memoirs just so I could compare, for example Tina Fey's Bossypants but I'm a virgin to memoirs and this is my first. In this book she really delves into her career more than anything; how she got her job at SNL and quite a lot of simple improve she was doing in NYC. This book isn't about comedy and it's not a comedy book, it's simply Yes Please. This could be classified as a 'self help' book but then again not really. Like I see what you're saying and what you're getting at but nah. The advice in this book (personally) is top notch and really good (and very funny).  It's a very good, solid book. I thoroughly savoured this. Why I gave it a three stars? I don't know, I just wasn't feeling the 4 or 5. 

I'm glad this was my debut memoir because they can be really enjoyable if written and produced well. This had everything that the other two memoirs I'm trying to tackle didn't have. That is exactly why I actually finished it and revelled it. Can I also just say this photo shoot she did for the front cover is fantastic and basically sums up Amy Poehler. I love her. 

This book is also one of the goodreads 'best books of 2014' that readers voted on for the humour category. 

p.s

Check out my most popular reviews:
Love and Misadventure by Lang Leav
I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
To All The Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Alex + Ada by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn 

follow me on goodreads to find out what I'm reading next! 

My Name is Mina | David Almond

✴ ✴ ✴ . 5

This was just so sweet. I had to make a whole new shelf on my goodreads just for this book, I called it: so-sweet-and-cute. 

Where to begin.... this is probably -out of the three books I've read this year so far- the best, if I can even say that right now. This made me feel nostalgic and mushy&cute. 

My Name is Mina is about a lovely girl named Mina (...) who (according to the blurb is a 'rebel' but to me she is just an opinionated person) doesn't fit in, some people call her 'weird' and 'crazy'. But all Mina wants is to be free, happy and to be herself. She decided to write everything she faces and feels into a notebook and begins to write. This is Mina's life in her own words. Her dreams, scribbles, poems and stories.

My Name is Mina I believe is a middle-grade novel by the wonderful David Almond. The only other book I've read by Mr Almond is Skellig and I read that way back when I was a mere eleven year old in year 7 trying to find myself in this big, big world. My Name is Mina is a prequel to Skellig. This book is so beautifully crafted and so quirky, it just makes me happy when I think about it. 

This book is aimed for middle-graders but dammmmmnn there is a HUGE deeper meaning to this book, although that depends on how you perceive this book. One of my good friends -Tess- (you may have heard of here in my reviews as I mention her a lot) she said that this book and I quote 'changed her life' which is definitely something . 

I'm not sure how others should approach this. Whether you should read Skellig first and then this because I don't even remember Skellig that well. I do remember it being amazing though! But if you do plan on reading this, I don't think you have to read Skellig first at all. 

The one thing I personally came away after reading this is that if I do even choose to have children, I would want them to know I love them unconditionally. I would also probably want them to read this. (I still have a gruesome feeling I'm going to give birth to alien children...keeping my fingers crossed)

I understand why people would say this book made them think of life in a different way and that's why they loved this book. I don't have any criticisms to say about it. Truly a lovely book. I did really enjoy this book, but it's simply that, I enjoyed it and it didn't really change my life or something drastic as that. I don't know if it's because I rarely read middle-grade and I'm no longer of the age group that it's now harder to read book like this. My Name is Mina has been on my tbr pile for a year or even two and only now have I decided to pick it up. Don't get me started on Percy Jackson. 

People talk about wanting to be like a particular fictional character and I've never, ever felt that way before. Maybe because I read tons of dystopians where I would not want to even insinuate myself into their worlds. But with this book I felt that. I'm hoping that some time down the line of my life I will settle down and have children but I don't know that, I don't really know anything. Regarding that, if I do end up having children I would aspire to be like Mina's mother. Just amazing. Shoutout to people with children *clears throat* LOVE YOU'RE KID(S) UNCONDITIONALLY, SUPPORT THEM, LET THEM LIVE THEIR LIVES AND WHAT THEY WANT NO MATTER WHAT....unless they murder someone cause then....??!?!?!. 

This book doesn't even feel like a book. It really does feel like a journal of enchanting ideas and thoughts. When I finished this book it didn't even feel finished. There is also an emotional aspect in this book and I did tear up quite a lot throughout the journey of this book. I didn't cry though, gold sticker for Fiona! 

David Almond is such a fabulous writer! His writing is just to flexible and it's not hard to automatically love him after reading his books. I should write to him! I should tell him his books are amazing! I'm sure he already knows but it's always good to remind people. I don't know how he writes these mind-blowing books. He addresses the issue that not all kids fit into a society/system and that doesn't mean they should be disowned or forced to fit in. Just let them be. Let they choose to fly gracefully like birds as Mina would say. Quite a lot of writes do address this issue but not all of them address this to middle-graders where it all starts. 

This book is filled with beautiful words, poem, songs, scribbles and just fun. I really felt for Mina. A fantastic protagonist with a creative and delightful mind. Highly recommend this to anyone really who would like a cute, quirky, quick read. 

Until my next review, haveagreatday! 

Forbidden | Tabitha Suzuma

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Well this is slightly very controversial. 

In a nutshell it's about incest. 

To put it simply, yes, this may disgust everyone as it does me but you're not supposed to sit there and accept the incest, this book does not romanticise it, rather this is a tragic story.  

I'm all for unconditional love, I feel as though everyone should be treated equally and that's why I'm a feminist but there is a line and incest and pedophilia cross that line, that's just too much. Even though this book doesn't deal with pedophilia and more on the focus of incest.

This may make people very, very uncomfortable, so simply, don't read the book. This review may make people slightly uncomfortable, so simple, don't read the review.

I'm not going to explain this book so here is the synopsis on goodreads.  and I will paste some of it here:

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

I have no idea how to approach this. I am aware that you guys are probably 100% grossed out and yeah, so was I but I gave the book a go after reading a few reviews. 

This is such a sad story, I have no words. I'm pretty sure I'll probably post this review a few days, or weeks after I've read it because I need to sift through my thoughts and pull them together. To give you an indication of how uncomfortable I was reading this is halfway through I almost threw up. 

I did not give this book a one star rating because, It's Not A Bad Book. It is very emotional and it's about a dysfunctional family. I've come to believe the majority of incest stories we hear are when people feel very neglected from people/friends/society/their own family to extreme amounts and they resort to their siblings as comfort. Not that I've read many books on incest (this is my first) but I've watched some Game Of Thrones and need I say more. I know that is not a substantial reason for my opinion but it's definitely a realistic reason to why incest occurs. 

I didn't technically read the whole book (eek) because maybe when there was around 75 pages left I found myself skipping and skimming because it just became too much for me. I was just picturing it all and ohmygod, just too much. If I did read the whole thing I'm 110% sure I would be in tears. Another thing is I wish I read more books that included issues like this so I could compare but I haven't, yet. I do still need to read the Game Of Thrones books, How I Live Now, Lolita and a few others that have these themes/issues. 

I applaud Tabitha Suzuma, she is a very brave author for approaching such a taboo and controversial topic and putting it out there, because things like this do indeed happen in our world and to be honest we can't judge. We may find it disgusting and wrong but were really not ones to judge. 

Tabitha Suzuma throughout this book is trying to question us about what 'love' really is. She wants you think out of the normal. This book really made me think and that's a reason why I've concluded and believe that no matter what the situation I don't think we should judge anyone (even though I KNOW THIS IS FICTIONAL) or people who are doing this....because we don't know what they have gone through. Tabitha Suzuma is not trying to say that 'incest is alright' like NO. I've read some reviews where people are saying that she is some perverted sicko and I want to slap them. 

She is trying to question you about how and why it's wrong. Hypothetically thinking that these two people don't have children and are both consenting, why then legally prevent these two from loving each other just because they were birthed from the same woman. Like I cannot answer that, can you? Please don't go into religion and morals. Because other than that, can you answer why it's wrong? I'll leave that one with you. 

This book feels like a passive roller coaster if that is even possible. I say this because most times you're depressed with these characters and then you're suddenly happy. I was listening to Hozier and bloody hell it made the book so much more emotional. Seriously this is a tragic story. I've come out after reading this book perceiving things slightly differently. 

I would 100% try to compare this to Lolita but I have yet to read that as it also dabbles in this issue maybe even more with the pedophilia. Incest and pedophilia are recognised as two of the most disgusting acts possible however in Lolita I believe Nabakov makes you feel sorry for the man in the book and you find yourself excusing his actions.....yes I will leave that with you as well. Think on that. 

The main characters -Maya and Lochan- to an extent are quite colourful characters but the book is depressing. They both go through ordeals in this book and it becomes very sentimental. They are trying to care for their three younger siblings as they are the two oldest whilst their mother is a-wall. Tabitha Suzuma achieves getting the reader to feel the ache and hard-work these main characters go through and it makes everything 10049359438 worse. 

As well as the issue of incest this book does explore some issues of sexism and it really opens your eyes and once you see the deeper meaning this book is going to haunt and stick with you. Just, wow. 

The characters in this book truly hit rock bottom and honestly I have no idea why the incest didn't happen earlier because they really did have NO ONE but each other. It was really disheartening and painful to read about such terrible parents. I don't know how to properly explain myself. I'm not saying I support incest, I seriously hope that's not what you get out of my review. 

People seize to see the deeper meaning in this book. 

I feel like this is my most 'depressing' review on here so here is a little story about me whilst I was reading this sitting next to one of my friend:

Friend: What's your book about?

*me turn around and looks at her*

Me: Incest.

*turns back to read the book*

Friend: *dies*

she didn't die but that ordeal did happen and I didn't mean to say it so bluntly but at the end of it we were both laughing. 

Isla and the Happily Ever After | Stephanie Perkins

✴ ✴ ✴ . 5

meow

Happy new year lovelies! Better late than never.

How are you all? I'm eating strawberries! Not that anyone cared buuuuut I hope you all had a great start to the new year with all your resolutions and whatnot, one of mine is to eat more fruit because I don't when I really should. It's a struggle to eat an apple when I can Nandos all day everyday.

Sadly the first book I read this year wasn't all that great. This actually makes me really mad because if you know me you would know THAT I ADORE STEPHANIE PERKINS AND HER BOOKS but this was a one off and with this book it was like I most related with the main character -Isla*- but I was extremely detached from the storyline.

Isla and the Happily Ever After is a Young-Adult, Contemporary. 

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart

I again, try not very hard to explain the order of these books in my other reviews of this companion series. Anna and the French Kiss and my favourite from the three, Lola and The Boy Next Door.

Many and I mean many people have disliked this book compared to the others Ms Perkins has written and I totally see why. I read a few reviews on Isla* before I picked it up just to see what everyone was saying and most of the reviews I came across was filled with more negativity than positivity. I gave this a 3-3.5 out of 5 stars, it's an 'alright' book but for Stephanie Perkins I was just hoping for better to be honest.

I feel as though the first half and the third half of this book was easier for me to read and captured the essence of her other books whereas the middle half was very iffy. This book also had an element of bore. It got so bad that whenever I picked the book up I would only get through a page or a few lines at most and just put it down and do something that felt more productive.....I have never and I mean n-e-v-e-r felt like this with any other book before. It actually scared me.  

The thing is with Ms Perkins, is that she has a 'way' with the way she writes and how she creates 'love' to be so tangible and realistic (really realistic). She is a phenomenal writer even though this -in my opinion- may not be one of her best works nevertheless I will continue to read whatever she comes out with because I do love her writing and I know she can excel and deliver. There is a downside as if I'm correct she only has works in the genre of young-adult, contemporary, romance and chicklit and I don't know if she is versatile enough to change it up as I know she is currently working on a horror novel. 

With this particular book by Stephanie Perkins I mentioned that I felt detached and bored. This is because I didn't connect with the setting as I did with Anna or Lola and I've never felt like any of Ms Perkins's books were cliché at all but it felt very prominent with this book. I also mentioned that I related so much with this character - Isla - that I have done with any other book that I have ever read! Isla is literally me in a nutshell. I'm an INFP and I have social anxiety, I am Isla, Isla is me. It's never announced that Isla has social anxiety in the book but that she is very shy in which Stephanie Perkins actually tweeted that originally Isla was supposed to have social anxiety but with a lot of things going on in the book her publicist or someone said to leave it out and make her extremely shy. 

I also noticed at the end of reading this that her books are equally quite whitewashed and her book as really do need more diversity in my opinion, it could be better. I feel as though it's not just Stephanie Perkins but all authors, aspiring writers or anyone writing narratives should have a diverse set of characters and even settings. 

There are many young-adult books that swerve or try to bypass the theme or scenes of sex for some unknown reason I cannot seem to understand. Sex is normal, to put it bluntly we need to normalise it and it has to stop being taboo. Why you would aim to write for young-adults where the themes of sex, puberty, romance, relationships and love are major factors of their lives and seize to write a sex scene is beyond me! There are also authors that refuse to swear.....like really? That's a whole other thing I will not go into as I do not have the effort to address stupid decisions. 

My point is that Ms Perkins didn't do what others have done. She did explore all that because THIS IS A YOUNG ADULT BOOK AND THESE CHARACTERS ARE YOUNG ADULTS. If you're going to sit there and tell me that the majority of teenagers don't go out, curse, have fun, hang with friends, have sex, get drunk etc I will actually scream from the obliviousness. Another reason I applaud Stephanie Perkins is because she screws gender society roles and empowers women in her books. You would expect a petite, shy girl like Isla to be a virgin or prude but *shocker* she isn't. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD and stereotypes like these need to be shut down! 

I HOPE I'M NOT PUTTING ANYONE TOTALLY OFF FROM READING HER BOOKS BECAUSE DON'T GET ME WRONG HER BOOKS A FABULOUS AND SHE IS A GREAT WRITER AND YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY LOOK AT HER OTHER BOOKS, this one not so much for me. Or you could go look at some other reviews if you're very interested and see what other people have to say.

Also before I forget the cameos that Anna, Etienne, Lola and Cricket make in this book are so heartwarming that I think if you've read the others you should probably read this for them. Also Josh and Isla make me very happy as well. Just so cute ohmygod.

*this has nothing whatsoever to do with the book but can I just mention how Isla is such a pretty name because ITS SUCH A PRETTY NAME. Isla like Island not Izla.

this also has nothing to do with this review but as it's now 2015 (if you don't already know) I'm setting myself a goal on goodreads to read 70 books this year and you can follow me on that here.