These are the books that I read in February in the order that I read them. February was a slower reading month for me, I only read five books.
1.) Life Unaware by Cole Gibson- Five stars on Goodreads. This book is extremely relatable. The main topic of the book is bullying, something that has become more prominent in schools. The main character, Regan is at the center of the bullying when every email, text and instant message she ever sent gets printed and posted all over. Everything getting posted turns her “perfect” life upside down, Regan’s life is anything but perfect. Regan suffers from anxiety, but has to keep it a secret from everyone, so that her having anxiety doesn’t ruin her mother’s political career. Speaking of Regan’s mother, I couldn’t stand her for the majority of the book. I actually think that Regan’s mother contributes to her anxiety by putting so much pressure on her, especially when it comes to cheerleading and being on student council. Regan loses everything at school, her reputation and her friends due to her private messages getting posted.
After the incident, the only person that even talks to Regan is Nolan, her former best friend’s brother. Regan and Nolan become really close, especially when Regan realizes that she needs to change. Regan feels that the best way to change is to apologize, and Nolan helps her do that by recording her apology. In the apology video, which is to be broadcast to the whole school, Regan reveals that she suffers from anxiety. I felt that when Regan revealed that she suffers from anxiety, it was a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders. After the apology video is filmed, Nolan, his sister Payton, his friend Blake and Regan are discussing the video and Blake offers to help edit it. Blake ends up going way too far, when she edits the video. Things that shouldn’t have gone in the video, end up in the video, pushing one student to a suicide attempt by overdosing on drugs. In the end everything ends up okay.
2.)A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett- I don’t remember reading this when I was younger, however I remember watching the movies and loved them. I’m so happy that I read the book. I found Sara to be more mature than her actual age, and feel that this was extremely important. I feel that she may be more mature because she grew up in India, and was able to experience a culture that the other girls didn’t. I loved how Sara had such a vivid, wild imagination, and felt that this made her life in the attic more bearable. Her ability to simply make the best out of a less than ideal situation was remarkable. I loved how the book had a happy ending.
3.) Zodiac by Romina Russell- I absolutely loved this book. When I was reading it, I kept thinking to myself “I can’t wait to read the second book.” I thought that Rho was such a strong female lead character and that made me love the book even more. I also loved how the book is set in space and the constellations, it made Zodiac more interesting. There is a love triangle, but it added to the plot and made an interesting conflict for Rho. And I definitely ship Rho and Mathias. I was able to put myself into the world of this book and that is something that very few books have the ability to do.
4.) The Magicians by Lev Grossman- I didn’t love this book like I had hoped, however I did like it enough to read it until the end. I did find one thing that I did enjoy, and that was the element of magic. There is a passage on page 7 that reminded me of when the Pevensie siblings go through the wardrobe to Narnia. On page 40, I found a reference to Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass.” Professor March reminded me of Professor Snape from “Harry Potter.” I found too many references to other books that I had previously read to fully enjoy this book. I don’t think that I am going to finish the series.
5.) Wandering Star by Romina Russell- I can’t wait to read more from this series. There was a huge curveball in this book and I loved it. I really loved how Rho grew as a character and brought the Zodiac together. She truly grew into her role as a leader.
Now I’m not so sure if I’d still like to check out The Magicians.. haha