Books are so magical. I've been reading since I was about four or five, and even though my feet have been firmly planted at home for most of my life, I feel as if I've gone so many places and experienced so many different things. 

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escaped the Death Eaters with Harry, Hermione and Ron// had tea with Mr. Tumnus// attended a God-lovers meeting with Christy and Todd// been a storm siren with Nym// flown to Neverland with Peter// learned the powers of deduction (and a whole lot of sass) with Sherlock// finally made it there and back again with Bilbo// watched a sunset with Ponyboy// explored creepy Northanger Abbey with Catherine// 

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Books are special that way. Times like these, when you're stuck at home and just want to get away from everything going wrong in the world, just for a minute, stories are a magical escape.

That's why I'm so excited to share about this upcoming release from author Kara Swanson! It's a Peter Pan (!!!!) retelling titled Dust, and releases this summer. My book-loving heart is so excited. 

Hello everyone! Today I have the pleasure of doing a cover reveal for Jill Williamson's next book, Thirst. Check out the summary:

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I had no idea The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, apparently a classic, even existed until I got lucky one day in our small local library. Scanning, once again, through the mostly speculative, vampire and raunchy-looking titles, I pulled apart two novels and found a smaller, unfamiliar one tucked in between them, out of sight. I never usually just pick up a book like that, one I know nothing about and decide to try it, but the plot sounded good and I figured if it was published in the '60s, it couldn't be that bad, right?

 Amazon.com gives the book this description: No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.

I'm not sure how good my logic (where I was pretty sure the book would be clean) was, but I did end up borrowing and reading the novel, and found that it had a depth and interest that surprised me. I loved it, to be honest. It's not squeaky-clean in terms of content, but being about street-smart gang members, I guess you can't expect much less and I thought it was definitely cleaner than expected. I mean, I'd imagine it's kind of hard to portray that kind of life accurately without some content, and I appreciated the moments when "he cussed" or something like that came under my eye, instead of the actual cuss word itself.



There was just a depth I wasn't expecting tucked into those 180 pages of fairly-short novel. There is desperation  in the greaser's lives, but Ponyboy, our main character, knows that things are still not hopeless and wants to aim for a life above robberies and gang fights. I also loved the bond between Ponyboy and his brothers, Darrel and Sodapop. Their family is far from perfect, but they're just your average brothers, despite being greasers, and they love and care for each other. The type of family they form with the rest of the gang was also a favorite aspect of mine. If one of them gets in trouble, the rest have his back.




And the movie.




I don't think I'd watch this one a whole lot- one of those once-in-a-while things because of content and also subject matter (never realized how violent the book was until I was seeing it in front of me...). I mean, it's about greasers (or hoods) and I guess you're going to have that stuff in it (not excusing it at all, just saying), so if you decide to watch it definitely expect it and look at the parental guidance beforehand (Here's the link to a good site- IMDB parental guide). I'm not sure why it was rated PG, it definitely should have been PG-13. But aside from all that, it was a good companion to the book.

It definitely skimped on some vital parts, and my mom, who didn't read the book, was kind of confused during certain scenes and especially during the beginning and end (apparently the extended director's cut was the one to see). The original version definitely bombed the end. But overall, as a reader and lover of the book, the movie brought to life the characters and locations I'd only imagined previously, and I liked seeing the book basically come to life in front of my eyes (minus the beginning and end, of course). Reading the book before watching the movie is definitely the way to go, in my opinion, because as good as the movie was, in this case, the book was still better.



But the story... I'm not sure why these kind of stories affect me so much. Maybe it's the outcast-brotherhood-never belonging thing, I seem to somehow like those stories above all others. I just really liked The Outsider's message of a better way of life, of love and sacrifice and staying gold. 

It was also interesting to see so many now-famous actors like Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe and Matt Dillon in one of their beginning roles. They did their job excellently!



Of the movie I kind of have mixed feelings and while I liked it I can't actually recommend it to you without warning you to check the parental guide- it's definitely got some cautionary content. However, the book I can and will definitely recommend. Ponyboy's tale is definitely worth being a classic (and I will probably always get NeedtoBreath in my head singing "we are the outsiders" whenever I think of the book's title. Anybody else with me? ;) ).

So, tell me your thoughts! Have you seen the movie or read the book? How do you determine your watching choices if there's content but the message is good? 

Pictures via Pinterest and Google Images

I know, teen fiction can be pretty popular- and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, necessarily, I'm just not too fond of the genre.  Here are 4 reasons why I don't like teen fiction.

#1. They seem to be mainly romances.

Or maybe I should say, most seem to be based on romance or have it in them. I know most teens are into romance, and it's a pretty popular subject, but I just get tired of reading about it in the YA genre. Sometimes I just feel like reading an adventure story, that is all about the adventure- I'm not reading it for the romance. And not everyone likes romance books anyway- my brothers, for instance. They have few books to read because they aren't really into many of the children's books at the library, yet they'd never read a romance. Therefore, the number of books they have to read are limited. Now, I'm not saying all romance should be taken out of YA fiction, just the focus shouldn't always be on it. And I also realize that there are a few gems out there that omit romance in their stories or don't have it as the story's main plot, and I'm grateful to their authors for this. 

#2. The characters are immature. 

As a teen myself, I realize I'm not the most mature person out there, and I won't have fully matured until I'm older. Yet I get tired of reading about characters in teen fiction that act more like ten-year-olds than the young adults that they are. This also makes their romantic relationships seem pointless and immature.  In time periods past, and in other cultures of today, they would be considered full-fledged adults, and expected to act like it. This is the reason I like reading medieval or fantasy YA. Yes, there is romance. But the characters are already 16, 17, or 18 year-old adults. And, for the most part, they act like it. 

#3. A lot of times, the stories are in first person. 

I've noticed this more with the contemporary YA. This is not necessarily  bad, I'm just not a fan of first-person, and can get into a book and it's characters more if it's in another point of view. 

#4. There main characters aren't male

When I'm reading a book, I don't really think about this as much. However, trying to find decent novels that would interest male readers (namely, my brothers) has made me realize how few YA books have males as the main characters. And let's face it- what guy wants to read about crushes and makeup? I'm not really into those types of books so much myself. And I know for a fact that when my brothers are looking for a good book, they're not really going to be interested in trying the book unless the protagonist is a guy. Again, I realize there are some novels out there that have guys as main characters, I just think there's not enough of it. 



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 I'm not totally opposed to the  young adult genre. If you go into my bedroom you'll see some Melanie Dickerson and Dina Sleiman on my shelves. Yet these are the reasons I groan when I hear the words 'teen fiction' and the things I think should be changed about it. So, what do you think? What do you like or dislike about teen fiction? 

Courageous, by Dina L. Sleiman

Book 3 in the Valiant Hearts series

Genre: Teen Fiction

Rating: Four out of five hearts ♥♥♥♥

About:
Inspired by the vision of the Young Lady Sapphira, Rosalind of Ipsworth joins a group of men, women, and children as a defender of the cross, seeking to free captives from prisons near Tripoli. She gladly gives herself to the cause, as she's haunted by a tragic mistake and no longer deserves such joys as marriage and family might bring.

Sir Randel Penigree was reared to serve in the church, but dreams of protecting the innocent as a knight. Joining a crusade to escape humiliation at home, he finds himself drawn to Rosalind as they partner to train and protect a group of young adolescents. When they face political machinations, danger, and an unknown enemy bent on their destruction, they are forced to reconsider their priorities and the very nature of the God they serve.
Description from Amazon.com

My Review:

  While this latest (and last) installment in the "Valiant Hearts" series didn't capture my heart (no pun intended) the way the first one did, it still provided a great read and was a good last-novel for the series.
   I liked how I could relate to the character's problems and feelings (especially Rosalind, although I don't have exactly the same problems she does in the story) . Rosalind's struggle with feeling that she is not going to be forgiven until she's lived a good life is what I struggle with at times. Randel wasn't as easy for me to relate to, but I did like reading his story and watching him progress. I also enjoyed Sapphira, whose lovely personality and strong faith in God made her one of my favorite characters.  I also loved how there were so many kid characters in this story. 
   The writing was good, and although it wasn't as gripping as I might've liked, I still very highly enjoyed it! Plus, the story plot was good. I'll admit, there were some red herrings I did fall for... And while every good story needs a happy ending, as this one has, like real life, not everything turns out perfectly. 
    Another thing... while this is the third book in a series, it can be read alone, without reading the first two novels in advance. I kind of liked that, but also wished to see more of the previous characters whom I had grown to love from the other books. 
   All in all, an enjoyable read, and while perhaps not as intriguing or action-packed as the first book, I enjoyed reading it and also getting reacquainted with Rosalind and Randel. 

 Note: I got this book free from Bethany House in exchange for doing a review. All opinions are my own.