Transitive Verve

I decided to keep close track of the books I read this year for the Goodreads Reading Challenge, which is not something I've done before (and this blog only just began in March!), so this is my first top ten list! These are my favorite books that were released this year. I know there are a GREAT many books that were left off my list (like books from Sabaa Tahir, Rainbow Rowell, Patrick Ness, etc.), and that's because I haven't gotten around to reading them yet! I know, sacrilege! If only there were more hours in the day and more of me to get things done. But these are my top ten that I've read  from this year. Without further ado, here they are, in no particular order: Illuminae  by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Okay, I know I said "in no particular order," but I'd be lying if I didn't say that this was probably my FAVORITE book from this year. It was clever and unique in terms of its format, but it also just had a fantastic, gripping story. ...

This book was provided to me for free through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts at a glance: **** (I really liked it) Quinn and Seth are two high school seniors facing the end of high school and the end of the 80s at the same time. Their backgrounds are distinctly different, but it doesn't stop them from being drawn together: Quinn is influenced by her wealthy Republican parents, and clashes with Democrat-leaning Seth, who spends his free time working at the lumberyard to support himself and his mother, who is suffering from MS. To read the synopsis on Netgalley or Goodreads, one would think that the main attraction of the novel is their "passionate romance." It is  important, and it is  passionate, but I found their individual character arcs far more interesting. Usually when a story is framed to be about a relationship, it's about the trials and tribulations of that relationship. I felt like the story was more about the trials and tribula...