Stargazing - Jen Wang

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Everything about this story is adorable.

After reading, and loving, The Prince and the Dressmaker I knew this was going to be one of my most anticipated releases this year. AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Jen Wang just has a way. A way of making me love her characters. When they cry, I cry. When they're happy, I'm still crying. Nah, I'm happy too. For real though, I love Jen Wang's work and I will most likely read anything she creates in the future.

Ugh this story puts me in my feels. It's so cute. I immediately loved the characters from the very beginning. I wanted only good things for them and I wanted Christine and Moon to become best friends. I like how it wasn't always smooth sailing between them. There were some bumps in the road, but true friends make it past them. There was jealously and anger issues and guilt but these two girls knew how to get past it. There were sometimes throughout the story though where all I wanted to do was give Christine and Moon a hug. Like, please let me take away all of your problems.

I also liked the harsh realities presented within the story. For example, Moon and her home not having much money and being called homeless at one point or when Moon has seizures and discovers she has a brain tumor. These are all pretty serious points to bring up in a middle grade graphic novel but it is done so well. I think it's important to be exposed to reality while also still existing in the "childhood bubble," and it's just done so well in this story.

Anyways I love this and I still want to give Christine and Moon a hug.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson

Rated: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a very average story for me. I didn't really know what to expect going in, as this book was chosen for me at random for a challenge I'm participating in. However, I've read one other thing by this author during high school and really enjoyed it. So I was hoping to have a similar experience with this one, but this fell short of what I wanted it to be.

For me it felt like there really wasn't a plot. The story just kept floating consistently, there weren't any hills. The main part of the story I guess was the fire, but still not as much happened with that as I would've liked. I was expecting more explanation or confrontation. Overall, the "plot" and story were just average.

However, there were somethings that did make this enjoyable still. Such as the creepy and weird vibes I felt while reading. That something just wasn't right, but in a way that made the story intriguing to me and kept me wanting to know. Like I said though, I was left wanting by the plot. Another thing I liked was how it made me feel; Cousin Charles really made me relate to Mary Katherine. I felt as weird and crazy as I knew she was about him. That he was bringing a foul taste to their house and I just wanted so badly to jump in the story and kick him out. Although his purpose in the end, ended up being pointless in my opinion. Just me wanting more.

Despite feeling disappointed in the end, I did like the feeling of intrigue throughout the whole story. I didn't know what was going to happen or what turn the story would take because of the weird uniqueness the whole story had. I never knew what Mary Katherine or Constance or even Uncle Julian would do next, and I liked that.

Bobbing For Apples Challenge (Fall 2019)

This is The Procrastinators Book Club Fall Challenge on Goodreads!

If you’d like to join the challenge, click the link below!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/20245958-bobbing-for-apples-fall-challenge

(Runs from September 1st to October 31st)

This game has two tracks: Bobbing for Apples & Apple Picking

BOBBING FOR APPLES

Bobbing For Apples is a game often played on Halloween, where a bunch of apples are dunked into a water-filled tub and players try to grab one with their teeth. In OUR version, it's a lot like Blind Date With a Book.

Red Delicious: Crunchy and mildly sweet, these could just be a hit or really mushy

Gala: Crisp and very sweet, just like your favorite romance

Fiji: Crunchy and super sweet, but only when they're ripe

Granny Smith: Crunch and tart—definitely an acquired taste, but if you're in the mood for something a little sour, check this apple out

APPLE PICKING

Apple Picking is where you choose! Read any book you like based on the below tasks (or re-use multiple tasks!) and it'll count towards the challenge. But beware...sometimes the prettiest apple has worms!

1. Ambrosia: Read a book about witches

2. Braeburn: Read a book written by an author of color

3. Autumn Glory: Read a book set in fall

4. Breeze: Read a book set in school

5. Cameo: Read a nonfiction book

6. Cosmic Crisp: Read a book with astrology

7. Envy: Read a book on any bestseller's list

8. Golden Delicious: Re-read an old favorite

9. Jazz: Read any book on your TBR

10. Juici: Read a book with your favorite trope

11. Lady Alice: Read a horror book or a true crime book

12. Pacific Rose: Read a book set in the Pacific Northwest

13. Smitten: Read a book with an orange cover

There is no limit to how many books you can go bobbing for or how many you read.

Fall can be busy, so even if you read one book for this challenge you're a winner!

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

↳ = haven’t started yet

♡ = currently reading

♥ = finished

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

Apple Bobbing

♥ Gala 13: We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson

❌Granny Smith 22: The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah

Apple Picking

♥ Cosmic Crisp: Read a book with astrology (Stargazing - Jen Wang)

♥ Cameo: Read a nonfiction book (Aphrodite Made Me Do It - Trista Mateer)

♥ Jazz: Read any book on your TBR (Finding Beauty - Patrick Lindsay)

♥ Lady Alice: Read a horror book (Coraline - Neil Gaiman)

♥ Autumn Glory: Read a book set in fall (Pumpkinheads - Rainbow Rowell)

♥ Ambrosia: Read a book about witches (These Witches Don’t Burn - Isabel Sterling)