Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin Book Review

Hello everybody! How is your day going so far?

I am here with a spoiler-free book review for a book I recently read, called Wolf by Wolf. My sister read it back in 2021 and has been bugging me to read it since then. After finally getting around to it, I realize what all of her hype was about!

Basics

Title: Wolf by Wolf

Author: Ryan Graudin

Genres: Alternate history, historical fiction, young adult, adventure

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5

Summary from Goodreads

Her story begins on a train.

The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo.

Yael, a former death camp prisoner, has witnessed too much suffering, and the five wolves tattooed on her arm are a constant reminder of the loved ones she lost. The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year’s only female racer, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin’s brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael’s every move.

But as Yael grows closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?

My Review

Initial thoughts

I was hesitant to read this book, just because of the fact that my sister rated it so highly. She continued to recommend it to me, yet I just didn’t get to it until now because of that, and the fact that it didn’t sound like anything I’d read before.

After reading the synopsis, I thought that it sounded interesting. But, a fast-paced alternate historical fiction book about a girl who can “skinshift” doesn’t sound like something I’d normally read. So, I sort of put it off, always telling myself that I’d read it later sometime.

Characters

I liked the characters quite a bit. I found them interesting, especially the main character, Yael. She had a very tragic past, and I was always anticipating reading more about her backstory. She was a very unique character! She was strong, yet her vulnerability showed several times, reminding the readers that she was still human.

There were many characters that I didn’t know what to make of, such as Felix and Luka. They had this past with the real Adele Wolfe that the reader knows nothing about, but that just kept me reading, trying to figure it out. The side characters were well-developed and included in the book at a perfect rate, none of them overpowering the story, but still being included enough to be a part of it.

At the start of this novel, I did have a bit of trouble remembering names and which characters they went to. In the first few chapters, quite a few names are introduced, and I found myself flipping back through pages to discover who was who again. It’s not a big deal, and probably just my fault for being bad with names, but it is just something to note.

Plot and story

The plot, as I mentioned, sounded interesting. I haven’t ever read any alternate history before, and I initially thought the story sounded different from anything I’d previously read (and it was.) I read a lot of historical fiction, but not alternate history. I think that it was quite interesting to think of the “what ifs”: what if Hitler had won World War II, or what if terrible experiments in concentration camps had led to the ability to skinshift?

I had had a bit of trouble getting started out with the book. I find that this happens to me quite a bit: I will read the first hundred or so pages of a book more slowly, and then zoom through the remainder of the book. It was definitely no different with this one. I’m sure that it took me the same amount of time to read the first quarter of the book as the remainder.

Writing

The writing in this wasn’t my favorite. I feel as if writing is really a personal preference, though, and just because I didn’t particularly enjoy the writing style, doesn’t mean that everyone won’t. There were quite a few metaphorical terms, and it is a bit poetic, which I don’t often enjoy. This, however, didn’t ruin the book for me. It was just a slight bother to me, and lots of other people, I’m sure, enjoy the writing quite a bit.

Final thoughts

I liked this book immensely! It was a real page-turner, and had me on the edge of my seat for the latter chunk of the book. It was packed with action, but I wasn’t constantly overwhelmed by it. And, though the story was laced with twists and turns, the ending really surprised me! I cannot wait to get to the next book.

I would totally recommend this book to anybody who wants to read a unique, and gripping story, unlike anything that you’ll probably ever read.

---

Thank you for reading today’s post! Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? If you haven’t read it, will you be checking it out soon? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

I hope that you all have a lovely week! I will be back next Monday with a new post. Bye until then!

Advertisement

The Once Upon a Time Book Tag

Hello everybody! Welcome to a brand new post, starting this brand new week! How is your Monday going?

Today, I am participating in the Once Upon a Time Book Tag. Thanks to Diamond for tagging me! This looks like lots of fun, so let us dive right in to the post!

Rules

• Thank the blogger who tagged you
• Use the featured graphic (optional)
• Answer the following 12 questions about books you have read
• Tag as many bloggers as you like!

Cinderella—a book that changed your life

For this one, I’ll go with the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, just because it was one of those book series that got me into reading. If I hadn’t read this, I don’t know if I would even be a reader, or at least, I would not read to the extent that I do now. The Hunger Games remains one of my favorite series to this day!

Sleeping Beauty—a book that took you forever to finish

The Lord of the Rings series is amazing, but each of the books did take me quite a while to read, just because of the older way it is written. I got through the three books in about a year, but that counts taking long breaks between each one. Classics always take me a little while to get through, but I do really enjoy reading them!

A Thousand and One Nights—a book you couldn’t stop reading

I consume basically any Kasie West book with speed, especially Love, Life, and the List. Love, Life, and the List is definitely one of my favorite Kasie West books, but, honestly, they are all super sweet, fun, and quick reads.

Little Red Riding Hood—a book you recently read in an unfamiliar genre

In this category, I’ll put The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. I wouldn’t normally read sci-fi, but this was actually quite good. I thought it was very interesting, though I’m not sure I’ll finish the series.

The Wild Swans—a book with your favorite sibling relationships

I had to go with Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for this one! I love the March sisters so much, and that’s most definitely one of my favorite things about the book.

Snow White—a book filled with beautiful prose

I actually don’t know what prose are. I tried Googling it, but I just can’t find a good answer. If anyone has this knowledge, please let me know in a comment.

Rapunzel – a book you procrastinated on reading after buying

The Midnight Dancers by Regina Doman. Technically, I didn’t buy this book, I was gifted it. But I did procrastinate on reading it after I got it, just because it didn’t follow the original cast of characters as in the previous three books in the series, and I wasn’t sure I’d like that. I did really enjoy it, though!

The Little Mermaid – a book that took you on a magical journey

I wanted to choose LOTR for this one, but I already chose it for a previous prompt soo…I’ll go with The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien! 😄

The Frog Prince – a book you’d like to turn into a frog because you hated it so much

This one wasn’t hard: We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han. The whole series wasn’t great, but this last book was just…😖 Don’t even bother reading it.

Peter Pan – a book that reminds you of your childhood

The Little House on the Prairie books definitely remind me of my childhood. I grew up reading these for school and fun, and I really enjoyed them! They are very nostalgic for me.

The Goose Girl – a book that you had low expectations for, but ended up loving

Surprisingly, Lovely War by Julie Berry was just one of these books! I thought that it sounded a bit strange, and I’d never really heard of it. I didn’t think that it would surmount to anything amazing. I was wrong. It is one of my favorite books, and I would definitely recommend picking it up if you haven’t read it!

Hansel and Gretel – a book that made you hungry

Definitely Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch! Gelato sounds delicious, and I want to try it someday.

I tag:

I will leave this an open nomination, so any readers who want to do this tag, feel free to do it on your blog! I would love to hear about your favorite books and your answers to the prompts!

The prompts:

Cinderella—a book that changed your life

Sleeping Beauty—a book that took you forever to finish

A Thousand and One Nights—a book you couldn’t stop reading

Little Red Riding Hood—a book you recently read in an unfamiliar genre

The Wild Swans—a book with your favorite sibling relationships

Snow White—a book filled with beautiful prose

Rapunzel – a book you procrastinated on reading after buying

The Little Mermaid – a book that took you on a magical journey

The Frog Prince – a book you’d like to turn into a frog because you hated it so much

Peter Pan – a book that reminds you of your childhood

The Goose Girl – a book that you had low expectations for, but ended up loving

Hansel and Gretel – a book that made you hungry

That’s it for today’s post! Have you read any of these books? How would you have answered the prompts? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

I will be back next Monday with a new post! I hope that you all have a lovely week!

What’s Your WIP? Writing Tag #2

Hello and happy Monday! How is the start to your week?

So, today’s post is going to be very very fun. I will be using the “What’s your WIP (work in progress) Writing Tag” to introduce y’all to the newest book I’ve started to write. The book is called A Songwriter’s Summer for now, as I decided to name it, so I don’t get caught talking about it as “My Contemporary Book” or something to that nature, like I did with “My Dystopian Book”.

Speaking of my dystopian book, I used this tag once before to give y’all a little peek into that book. Here it is if you are interested!

This book is the newest one I’ve been writing and is the main writing project I’ve been working on lately. It is a contemporary YA book. I will leave the rest of the explanation and summary for this book to the tag!

The Rules

• Thank the person who tagged you & link to their blog.
• Link back to the creator, Katja @ Little Blossoms for Jesus.
• List the rules. 
• Answer the questions. 
• Feel free to add snippets!
• Tag as many or as few people as you wish & let them know they’re tagged. 
• Add a clean copy of the questions at the end of your post for the “tagged.”

Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?

As I said earlier, A Songwriter’s Summer is the name I’ve given my book for the time being. It probably won’t stick, but I decided to at least come up with a name for now, so I had something to call it. I think that this name sort of explains the story to some extent (it follows the main character, who is a songwriter, and it takes place during the summer) but the title also sounds like some sort of songwriting camp or something, so I’ll probably change it sometime down the road. It works for now, though!

Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?

I don’t have a synopsis written, so I will just explain the story a bit.

This book follows seventeen-year-old Breena West, who loves writing songs, and secretly dreams of becoming a songwriter. The problem? Her parents don’t consider that a career and they are pushing her to go to college and pursue a more stable career that she can support herself with. When one of Breena’s favorite songwriters announces that she’s hosting a songwriting contest that has the potential to grant the winners recognition and fame, Breena sees this as her chance to show her parents that this passion for songwriting doesn’t have to be only a hobby.

Many things happen that summer. Her parents become concerned with Breena’s grades. Fynn Cooper, a fellow eleventh grader, begins helping Breena with her classes. Breena’s older, perfect-seeming sister comes home from college for the summer, and her brother shortly after. Through this period of months, Breena will discover many things, learn to understand the views of others, and to be more compassionate.

I understand that this is not a very good synopsis, but I had to write it real quick. I was just finishing this post up (because, of course, I waited until the last minute) so I am writing this just before posting.

Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?

I actually do! Here it is:

This is a very basic cover design that I created on Canva. I like how it turned out, and just the simplicity of it!

How did you get the idea for this story?

I honestly don’t remember! I have recently been wanting to write a contemporary book with the main character being a songwriter, as I have become more interested in song and poem writing. I remember having the sort of idea for this book in my mind for a while, and after a while, I wrote it all down and planned the story further.

How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?

I am only a few chapters in, but I have the whole book planned out. I believe it will be just about the length of an average novel, maybe a bit shorter, but I guess we’ll see!

Who’s your favourite character so far?

I love all of my characters! One of my favorite things about this book so far is that I can relate to each of the characters in some way, and see where they are coming from. Up to this point, I like Fynn a lot, as well as Breena’s best friend, Lea.

What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?

Probably when I was in the planning phase! After I got the idea for this novel, I bought a special notebook and began planning it all out, writing every little thing down, and coming up with ideas as to where the story would go. I love looking back at those pages now, and seeing how the first ideas have been formed into the whole story that it is now!

Any special person(s) who helped create it?

My older sister! She mostly just listens to me ranting about the characters or talking about the plot. I also let her read it as I write, and she gives me helpful advice and constructive criticism. Thank you!

What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?

Hmmm…🤔 I’m not sure. There is a scene that I’m excited to write that will be at the end of the book, but I can’t describe it without giving away most of the story. So far, I have enjoyed writing the first few interactions between Breena and Fynn, and I am looking forward to the introduction of a new character that I will be writing in soon!

Can you give us a snippet? 

Sorry, I can’t yet. I just don’t feel like there is anything I’ve written yet worthy of sharing as a snippet. Stay tuned, though, because I plan to share more about this book in the future!

Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?

It’s definitely got a different ending than what I planned at first! Besides that, though, not a lot of changes have taken place yet. I am, as I said, only a few chapters in, so I’m sure that there will be some changes that I decide on as I write and get to know my characters better.

Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?

Not that I can think of at the moment.

When and where have you done most of the writing so far?

I am writing the first draft of this book in a notebook, and I’ve written a lot of it outside, actually!

Where do you get inspiration for this story?

I take a lot of inspiration from my daily life and add it to the book like I do with the other books I’ve worked on. Conversations, traits in my characters, the observations of those around me, and certain situations are all incorporated.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I am a big planner! I mentioned earlier that I bought a notebook to brainstorm and plan the book, and that was in the summer. I believe I just started writing this book in January, so that was about six months of planning out this book! I worked out all of the characters and basically everything that happens because I hate going into the book without a clear knowledge of the story and how it progresses!

Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?

I like to have music, usually, as well as something to drink while I’m writing. Other than that, not really. I just get my notebook out and begin writing!

Are you thinking of publishing this story?

Probably not, but you never know!

What things have you learned while writing this story?

To have fun with it! Sometimes I have to force myself to write to get through a rough patch, but I have also found ways to work on this story without writing, such as developing characters further, finding songs for each character, or writing about it like I am with this post. I do love writing, but sometimes, doing something related to the story is just as important if I don’t feel like writing.

I’m not going to tag anyone to do this tag, because I don’t know who is working on writing a book at the moment. However, if you do have a current WIP, I’d love to see you use this tag! Here is a list of the questions for anyone who plans on doing the tag:

• Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?
• Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?
• Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?
• How did you get the idea for this story?
• How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?
• Who’s your favourite character so far?
• What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?
• Any special person(s) who helped create it?
• What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?
• Can you give us a snippet? 
• Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?
• Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?
• When and where have you done most of the writing so far?
• Where do you get inspiration for this story?
• Are you a plotter or a pantser?
• Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?
• Are you thinking of publishing this story?
• What things have you learned while writing this story?

That will be all for today! I hope that you all enjoyed getting a little more information on my WIP, A Songwriter’s Summer. How did you like this post? Do you have any more questions about my book? I’d love to hear from you in the comments! Also, if you guys have any more post ideas that I can write to share more about this book, I’d love to hear them! Maybe an aesthetic or playlist?

I hope that everyone has a lovely week, and I’ll see y’all next Monday!

DIY Book Tree: BetsyJane’s Blog Tour

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back (or welcome, if you’re new here!) to my blog! 😃

I’m so happy to be participating in BetsyJane’s blog tour today. I would really recommend checking out her blog, where she shares an assortment of different posts! I get very excited when I see a new post of hers in my WordPress reader, and they’re always fun to read!

Sooo…with Christmas quickly approaching, I thought that I would share a fun Christmas-themed post for today! I also thought that this post should incorporate something with books (that word is in my blog’s name, after all) so I decided that a Christmas tree made of books would be just the thing!

Just a bit ago, my sister and I made a book tree (you may have seen it if you’ve read November’s monthly wrap-up) and I really like how it looks!

I have seen pictures of book trees like this on Instagram and such, but I always thought that they looked really complicated. Turns out, they’re actually not. So, today I’ll be walking y’all through how to make one of your own.

The materials you’ll need are…lots of books! (I know, who would have guessed? 😄) Besides that, though, you may want a topper, such as a star. You can also use some ornaments or other decorations to decorate, however, these are optional and I didn’t end up decorating my tree.

You’re going to start by getting all of the books you will be using for your book tree. I used about seventy-five, but the number of books you’ll need will vary depending on the size of the books, and how big your tree will end up. My tree is a bit more than three feet tall, excluding the star.

Be sure to use books you know you won’t be reading in the near future. You don’t want to take the tree down, because the next book on your TBR is at the bottom!

Once you have taken down all the books, sort them into stacks according to size and thickness. Try your best to do this, but it’s okay if they are slightly varying in size, as no two books will be totally identical.

When you have sorted out all of your books, you will begin building the tree. Use the three biggest books you have to create a triangle as shown. In this example, I used three “Taste of Home” cookbooks that are all approximately the same size.

You can either make the tree with the book spines showing, or with the pages facing outwards. I made mine with the spines showing, as to showcase different books. I think that making it with the pages outward would make a more uniform and simple-looking tree, which would probably look better decorated than with spines showing, but if the spines are facing outward, it’ll look more colorful. It really just depends on the look you are going for.

Take your next three books, which are slightly smaller than the previous ones, and make a new triangle, as shown above, as if rotating the previous triangle by 180 degrees. For this tree, you will continue in this pattern of rotating the center triangle 180 degrees.

Keep on working in this manner, gradually reducing the size of your books.

If you must, you can use two books for one layer, as shown. Just be sure that these two books equal the thickness of the other two in this triangle of the layer.

When you are almost done, and the tree is about the height you desire, take a larger book, and set it on top of the triangle, as shown in the image above.

Layer a few more books atop this one, shifting them slightly as shown. Continue stacking a few more books, decreasing the size gradually.

Finish off with the smallest book. Top with a star, if you desire. I made an origami star, and it’s propped up against a candle on top of my tree.

And, you are finished! You now have a lovely book tree!

Thank you for reading my post today! Make sure you go look at Corrie’s blog tomorrow because she will be posting the second post in this blog tour! Also, don’t forget to check out BetsyJane’s blog, poppyseeds!

How did you like today’s post? Do you have a book obsession, too? Will you be trying this out? How did it go? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

I hope everyone has a lovely week! I may have a bonus post this week, but if not, I will see y’all on Monday! Bye until then!

P.S. Do you like my new snowflake separators and the new footer?

The Reader Problems Book Tag

Hello and welcome back! I’m glad you’re here! ❤

Today, I’ll be doing the “Reader’s Problem Book Tag” which I saw on Rab’s Bookish Planet a little while ago. I thought it would be fun, so let’s do it!

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

I am really a mood reader, so I usually just read what I feel like reading at the moment. So, I’ll just pick up a book in the genre I feel like reading!

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

I usually try to finish it. I don’t know why, but I don’t like to DNF books! Sometimes, if I’m not liking the book, I’ll take a short break, maybe read a different book, then come back to it.

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I don’t have Goodreads, but I do set a yearly reading goal for myself. Last year, I had no problem hitting that goal. (I planned to read 52 books, and I almost doubled that number.) I am a little behind right now, I think, because my goal is 60 books and I’ve only read about 41 books. I don’t know what I’d do…maybe just try to catch up.

4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

Aaah! This annoys me so much! There’s not really much I can do about it, though, except to rant about it, lol.

5. Everyone loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

I think that everybody has a different taste in books, and different opinions. I like to share my thoughts on books with different people, but I like to listen to their thoughts about why they love the books I don’t like, as well.

6. You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

This has never happened to me, but if it did, I’d probably stop reading, and just wait until I get home to finish it so I can cry.

7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!?!?!?

I like to re-read the other books in a series before a new book comes out! But, if I don’t feel like reading the whole book, I’ll probably try to find a summary of the book.

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

Nobody has ever really asked me to borrow a book, but I’d probably just tell them that I didn’t feel comfortable with them taking my book.

9. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

Maybe just take a reading break. Sometimes, that helps when I’m in a reading slump. Re-reading one of my favorite books usually helps, as well.

10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

I don’t buy a lot of books, mostly because I don’t have a lot of money. If I did, I’d definitely buy more, but I’m also fine with borrowing books from the library.

11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

If it’s a book I really want to read, I usually try to get to it fairly quickly! I’ll probably finish the book I’m currently reading, then start that book if I’m in the mood for it.

---

Thank you all for reading! Do you like reading? How would you have answered the questions? I’d love to chat in the comments!

I hope everybody has a good weekend! Bye for now!

~Rebekah

The 20 Questions Book Tag

Hi everybody! I hope you’re having a lovely week so far! 😊

As you most likely saw from the title of this post, I’m here with the 20 Questions Book Tag! I found this on Suhani’s blog, Random Reader’s Rambles, a while ago. She left an open nomination, and I thought it looked fun, so I’m finally here doing this tag! 😄

---

1: How many books is too many for a series?

I think that if an author writes more than four or five books in a series, the series can get kind of boring as they run out of ideas. I’m not saying that that’s how it is with every longer series, but I think that that’s how it goes with a lot of the books I’ve read that are longer than four books.

2: How do you feel about cliffhangers?

I love them…but I also don’t! 😆

3: Hardcover or paperback?

I like both, but generally, I enjoy reading hardcover books better, because they are more durable, and they look prettier!

4: Favorite book?

What! How does anybody expect a reader to answer that?? There are so many…I’ll have to choose one from each genre! 🤣 Contemporary: uhhh…(this is already too hard!) probably one of Kasie West’s books! My favorite is either P.S. I Like You or By Your Side! Dystopian: no other dystopian can compare to The Hunger Games. Fantasy: probably An Ember in the Ashes series, or the Lord of the Rings series, which I just finished, after working on the series for a year. Both of those series are amazing! Historical fiction: Lovely War by Julie Berry, or any Ruta Sepetys book I’ve read!

5: Least favorite book?

I don’t really have a least favorite book. Most of my reads are pretty good!

6: Love triangles, yes or no?

Only if they are well-written. A lot of the love triangles I read are so annoying!

7: The most recent book you couldn’t finish?

I haven’t DNF’d any books recently. I always try to finish them once I start.

8: A book you’re currently reading?

I’m reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien! My brother and I are both reading it at the same time!

9: Last book you recommended to someone?

Uhh…I don’t really remember. I guess The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys, which I finished very recently! I recommended it to my sister, and to all of you guys in my spoiler-free book review I posted!

10: Oldest book you’ve read by publication date?

I’m not sure, but some of the Jane Austen books are pretty old. I really like her books! I’ve read Pride and Prejudice and Emma.

11: Newest book you’ve read by publication date?

I’m not really sure. I don’t feel like going through the books I’ve read and researching their publication dates right now, lol. 😄

12: Favorite author?

As I mentioned, Kasie West’s books are amazing! I think that they are such cute, fluffy, quick, contemporary novels! They are also really clean, which I appreciate! Ruta Sepetys is also an author whose books I love! I’ve read Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea, and The Fountain of Silence. I am hoping to get her newest book, I Must Betray You, next time I go to the library!

13: Buying books or borrowing books?

I like to buy them better! When I borrow books, I always worry I’m going to ruin them somehow.

14: A book you dislike that everyone seems to love?

Maybe Sarah Dessen’s novels. They’re just not my faves. The Truth About Forever was okay, but I found the main character kind of annoying. The other books of hers I didn’t enjoy a lot either.

15: Bookmarks or dogears?

I usually use bookmarks, however (unlike my sister) I’m not totally against dogearing pages in books, and I occasionally do dogear pages in the book I’m reading if it’s my book!

16: A book you can always re-read?

The Hunger Games is a book that I can re-read over and over again (I actually just recently re-read it). I feel like I get something new out of it each time. What’s your favorite book in the series?

17: Can you read while listening to music?

I can, but I just don’t like it too much. I do have a lot of noisy siblings, and, I’m usually surrounded by noise when reading, so I’ve kind of adapted to reading with noise around.

18: One POV or multiple?

Like with the love triangle question, I like multiple points of view if they’re done well. A lot of the time, I forget who’s narrating with multiple points of view.

19: Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

Multiple days. (Unless it’s a Kasie West book! 😁)

20: Who do you tag?

I’ll tag BetsyJane, Diamond, Isabelle, and Victoria! If any of y’all have already done this tag, or if you don’t want to do it, sorry! I just think that this is a really fun tag!

---

Thanks for reading, everyone! How would you have answered these questions? What’s your favorite book? (If you can choose one, lol!) Who’s your favorite author? What are your thoughts on bookmarks and dogears? I’d love to chat in the comments!

I’ll see all of you on Monday! Have a good rest of your week and a fun weekend! ❤

~ Rebekah

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys: Book Review

Hello everybody! Welcome, or welcome back to my blog!

Today, I’m sharing a book review from the amazing Ruta Sepetys who has, once again, blown me away with her novel. The Fountains of Silence is an interesting and moving story set in a time I seldom hear about: Spain in the 1950s.

I enjoyed two other books by this author: Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray. I find this book very similar, in the writing and the progression of the story, especially to Salt to the Sea. I hope to read her latest release soon, I Must Betray You.

Without further ado, here’s the spoiler free book review.

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

Summary from Goodreads

A portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship.

Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother’s birth through the lens of his camera. Photography–and fate–introduce him to Ana, whose family’s interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War–as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel’s photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of difficult decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.

My thoughts on the book

Characters

I love the characters that Ruta Sepetys writes. They feel so real, with their own hopes and dream, fears and stories.

Ana and Daniel are the two main characters, and I loved them both. Ana’s courageousness and her devotion to her family, and Daniel’s caring attitude and dedication were some of my favorite traits of theirs. I also loved reading about the friendship and romance blooming between these two characters.

There is a long string of other characters, including Rafa, Ana’s brother, Julia, Ana’s protective older sister, Fuga, Rafa’s friend who won’t put up with injustice in Spain, Puri, Ana’s inquisitive cousin, and other characters, who shape this story into a powerful and heartbreaking tale about silence, love, family, and secrets, as the Goodreads summary states.

One thing that I didn’t like at the beginning was the number of characters the book follows. It’s told in the third person, but each chapter skips around to include the whole cast of characters in the narrative. At the beginning of the novel, I found it difficult to keep track of who was who, but after the first few chapters, I got to know who the characters were, and who the chapter was following.

Plot and setting

The plot and setting of this book were very interesting. The book slowly weaves together into an unforgettable story, which is driven by the amazing characters.

One thing I like about all the Ruta Sepetys books I’ve read so far is that she writes very well-researched books about little-known times in history. I knew almost nothing about 1950s Spain under Franco’s dictatorship before reading this book, which gave me a lot of insight into this historical time.

Throughout the story, the reader learns more. This book, similar to Sepetys’ other books, slowly tells the story in a secretive way, giving off tidbits of information throughout the book, until we have a full understanding of the story at the end. What I’m trying to say is that you don’t know all of the facts as the books go on. There will be some parts where you’re wondering: What is that character keeping from me? This aspect, I find very similar to Salt to the Sea.

Another thing about the plot is that it’s very character-driven, which I’m totally fine with. Sepetys researched this historical period so well, too, that as you’re reading her book, you get a feel for what that time was really like. While reading about Ana’s family’s struggles, Daniel’s time in Madrid, and Puri’s descriptions of the orphanage, the reader really understands what life was like for people living in 1957 Spain.

Writing

Ruta Sepety’s writing style is very…I don’t know how to describe it. It’s not choppy, but I feel like her writing has shorter sentences, that really draws the reader in. This writing may not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it.

Something that I found a little strange at first was the way the book was written. It was told in the third person and was present tense. This, I don’t find in many books and it took a little while to get used to, but it wasn’t too big of a problem.

Similar books, and who should read this book

This book is very similar to the other two Ruta Sepetys books I’ve read, which were Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray. If you haven’t read either of those, and you loved this book, I’d recommend them to you. Or, if you’ve read these two books, but haven’t gotten around to The Fountains of Silence, I’d recommend you read this beautiful historical fiction.

One thing I’ll say is that this book is not for everyone. She has a certain writing style that not everyone enjoys. She doesn’t have choppy writing, but it’s written similarly to that: shorter, to-the-point sentences, like I mentioned earlier. I personally enjoy that narrative, but as I said, it’s not for everyone.

If you read this book, and you’re wanting to read a similar book, I’d first recommend any other Ruta Sepetys books. Lovely War by Julie Berry is another book I find similar to this one. It’s narrated very uniquely, and it tells the lovely story of two different romance stories during World War One. I was unsure about this book at first, but it was amazing and I really enjoyed it.

If you normally like historical fiction or mystery type stories, I’d recommend this book to you. It has a mysterious element to it, though it’s not a mystery, it has a bit of that, with a few plot twists, and twists at the ending. Besides that, it is an amazingly researched historical fiction.

Final thoughts

I loved this book if it isn’t clear from reading my review. There are a few things I didn’t enjoy about the novel, such as the many narrators, because it was hard to keep track of all of them at first, or the first person, present tense writing. Both of those, though, I eventually got used to. They aren’t real problems. I don’t have any real complaints about this book, which I found amazing. Despite being about five hundred pages, this book flew by quickly, because of the short two to three page chapters. It was, no doubt, a five star read for me!

Thank you for reading! Have you read this book, or any other Ruta Sepetys books? What were your thoughts about them? Or, is it on your TBR? Do you have any other historical fiction recs for me? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Bye, everyone! I’ll see you on Monday, next week! Please comment with your thoughts on this book review, or on the book, because I love chatting with y’all!

~ Rebekah

Some Bookish Phone Wallpapers

Hi everybody! Today, I’m sharing some bookish phone wallpapers I made on Canva! I’m sure that a lot of you have at least heard of Canva, but if you haven’t, it’s a website where you can create different designs. It’s where I make all of my featured images for each post I do!

If you want, you can absolutely use one of these wallpapers!

Thanks for reading today’s post! Which was your favorite? Would you like to see another post with summery wallpapers? I’d love to chat in the comments!

I hope you all have an amazing day! ☺

~ Rebekah

Five YA Book Cliches (Part Two!)

Hello, happy Monday!!! I hope everyone’s week is off to a great start! ☺

So, around the time I first started my blog, I wrote a post called “Five YA Book Cliches” and I’ve been meaning to do a part two for a while, but never really got around to writing it until now. Thank you to Sophia, who gave me some great ideas for this part two!!!

.•° ✿ °•.

#1: Grinning crookedly

I can think of soooo many books with this, where someone (usually the male love interest) “grins crookedly”. Like, what does that even mean? How can someone grin crookedly??

#2: Dreams with meanings

It’s either the main character has a dream that literally solves the whole problem (a lot of the time, they don’t notice this until later), or where the dream has a lot of meaning. I don’t know about y’all, but my dreams are so random and weird and they don’t make any sense at all.

#3: Expressive eyes/faces

It’s always where the main character is like “I can see the look of hope in his eyes”, “She smiles, but I can see the fear in her eyes”, or “The child’s face is pulled together in a look of worry”. This one’s not that annoying, because people can usually see emotions displayed in people’s eyes, but this happens in these books *all the time*.

#4: Looking in the mirror

This usually happens when the main character gets all dressed up and looks in the mirror and says something like “I don’t recognize the girl staring back at me through the mirror”. It annoys me a lot because it’s in so many books, it seems! (A lot of fantasy and dystopian, I think.)

#5: “I hear something in their voice”

This is one that’s similar to the third. It’s when the narrator is like “I hear an emotion in their voice, but choose to ignore it” or “I can clearly hear the distress in her words”. Like the one about the eyes, this isn’t that bad, but it just happens so much!

°•. ✿ .•°

Okay, thanks for reading! How many of these are in your current read? Do you have any more to add to the list? Did you enjoy today’s post? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Thanks again to Sophia for giving me a lot of these ideas! Everyone should go check out her blog because she has a lot of really fun posts!

I hope everyone has a great day and week and I’ll see y’all in a week! 😊

~ Rebekah

A Bookworm’s Life: A Poem

Hello! So, a while ago, when I first started my blog, I posted a poem called “A Bookworm’s Life” and it talks about the different emotions a reader feels while reading a book! And, because not many people were following me back when I posted it, I thought that I’d post it again!!

────── ♡ ──────

They make you angry, they make you mad.

They make you happy, as well as sad.

They can make your heart whole, or break it in half.

Make you scream in rage, sob, and even laugh.

There are shocking betrayals and huge plot twists.

The moments that make you clench your fists.

But there are moments of joy, of true happiness.

Like when the main character and love interest finally kiss.

And then the pain that follows, when your favorite character dies.

After throwing the book, you just sit there and cry.

Then you turn the page, and you see it’s the last.

And you deeply regret having read it so fast.

Then you savor every word of this last scene.

And you slam the book shut, wanting to scream.

Because you can’t wait a whole year for the next part.

The sequel that’s guaranteed to break your heart.

────── ♡ ──────

I’m definitely not an expert at writing poems, but I thought that this was a fun poem!

I hope you liked today’s post! 💖 Do you relate to the poem? I definitely do, as I wrote it based on my own experiences! 🤣

Thanks for reading, and have an amazing day and the rest of your weekend! See everyone on Wednesday!!!

~ Rebekah