Korean Word for Butterfly Review

Korean Word for Butterfly

Written by: James Zerndt
# of pages: 328

Average Rating: 3.63/5
My Rating: 2/5

Read in February 2013

Summary according to goodreads

Set against the backdrop of the 2002 World Cup and rising anti-American sentiment due to a deadly accident involving two young Korean girls and a U.S. tank, The Korean Word For Butterfly is told from three alternating points-of-view:

Billie, the young wanna-be poet looking for adventure with her boyfriend who soon finds herself questioning her decision to travel so far from the comforts of American life;

Moon, the ex K-pop band manager who now works at the English school struggling to maintain his sobriety in hopes of getting his family back;

And Yun-ji , a secretary at the school whose new feelings of resentment toward Americans may lead her to do something she never would have imagined possible. 

The Korean Word For Butterfly is a story about the choices we make and why we make them. 

It is a story, ultimately, about the power of love and redemption.
My Thoughts

I received a copy of this novel to review, but that does not influence my opinion on the book. 

Although this book is only slightly over 300 pages, it took me a long time to get through and I had even put it down at one point. It is very rare for me to want to give up on a book but that desire was strong while reading this. I could not relate to the characters, and that bothered me more than the actual storyline.

One of the characters, Billie, I had hoped I would relate to because she is young and artistic but I found her almost hard to read. The parts written in the perspective of Billie could almost be read like diary entries - that's how I read her. I didn't like the tone or writing style used on this character at all, as I thought it didn't show much personality. 


I had high hopes going into this book since it was something different than I am used to, but I could't seem to connect with any of the characters, and the writing didn't flow the way I prefer to read. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but it was to slow, couldn't grasp my attention, and I couldn't get sucked into the story. 


It is nothing against the author, and the story had great potential, I just feel that is was executed poorly. I hope to reread this when I am later into my adult years to see if time will change my views on this novel.

The Naturals Review

The Naturals

Written by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

# of pages: 308

Average Rating: 3.96/5

My Rating: 5/5

Read in January 2014

Summary according to goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

My Thoughts

I'm not going to lie, this is a book that I bought solely on the cover. I had heard my friend talking about it briefly, but had forgotten the summary when I decided to buy it at the bookstore one day. I am so glad that I bought it and did a read-along of it with that same friend, because otherwise I might not have picked it up for a while and that would have been quite the loss on my part.

This book is one of those rare cases where you are automatically sucked into the story and can't seem to put it down. You get a good summary of Cassie's history without getting bored, but most of what you uncover about everyone is what you learn as the story progresses. The writing style of this book was fantastic as the story flowed effortlessly, and I couldn't stop turning the pages. This was the perfect book to read during a read-a-thon because it was easy to get through, and very fast paced.

There are two love interests in this book, but romance is an aspect that was not heavily pushed - which I really appreciated. In a lot of recent young adult books, romance is a big part and at times can get very annoying. It made sense that Cassie cared more about solving the cases than flirting, and that made this situation seem more realistic. With the two boys, I had a hard time deciding whose team I was on. I still don't know! They are both awesome and totally different, and I praise the author for that because it made the story better since I was able to feel Cassie's indecision along with her. 

I think that this book is totally underrated, and I think this is something anyone can enjoy. I am highly anticipating the sequel, and I have no doubts that it will be just as good as this first one.

Between the Lines Review

Between the Lines

Written by: Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
# of pages: 352

Average Rating: 3.50/5
My Rating: 3/5

Read in January 2014

Summary according to goodreads

Delilah, a loner hates school as much as she loves books— one book in particular. In fact if anyone knew how many times she has read and reread the sweet little fairy tale she found in the library, especially her cooler than cool classmates, she’d be sent to social Siberia forever.To Delilah, though, this fairy tale is more than just words on the page. Sure, there’s a handsome (well, okay, incredibly handsome) prince, and a castle, and an evil villain, but it feels as if there’s something deeper going on. And one day, Delilah finds out there is. Turns out, this Prince Charming is not just a one-dimensional character in a book. He’s real, and a certain fifteen-year-old loner has caught his eye. But they’re from two different worlds, and how can it ever possibly work?

My Thoughts

As a passionate reader, I can see where Delilah was coming from with her obsession for the book, but this definitely isn't a realistic contemporary. I don't mean that in the way of a character in a story coming to life, but that her un-licensed 15 year old friend would drive somewhere four hours away for her. 

However, I liked the concept of the story, and I think it is just a simple cute story. Having the two perspectives along with mixing in the actual fairy tale, made the story much more interesting. I also loved that the persectives and fairy tale were written in different coloured font. The pictures that were included before each chapter about the actual fairy tale were gorgeous! There were also little black and white clip art pictures throughout the story, which made reading it a lot more fun.

This book was really cute, but it took me a long time to read. I had put this book down and I couldn't find the interest to pick up again, but eventually I did and the ending was decent. I would categorize this novel more as upper middle grade than young adult, because the writing was very simple, and it wasn't the attention-grabbing. I found some flaws in the plot, questions I had that were never answered, and spelling errors.

Hidden Girl Review

Hidden Girl

Written by: Shyima Hall
# of pages: 230

My Rating: 5/5

Read in December 2013

Summary according to goodreads

An inspiring and compelling memoir from a young woman who lost her childhood to slavery—and built a new life grounded in determination and justice.

Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt’s capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima’s servitude—but her journey to true freedom was far from over.

A volunteer at her local police department since she was a teenager, Shyima is passionate about helping to rescue others who are in bondage. Now a US citizen, she regularly speaks out about human trafficking and intends to one day become an immigration officer. In Hidden Girl, Shyima candidly reveals how she overcame her harrowing circumstances and brings vital awareness to a timely and relevant topic.


My Thoughts

I received a copy of this book for review from Simon & Schuster Canada, but that does not influence my opinion.

There was a lot of backstory about her life before slavery, and of her family. This helped build an attachment to the character, and understand the circumstances of the situation. It was new for me to read a book like this, but it is a type of book that everyone should read. This book made me really reflect on my life, and the things I am lucky enough to have. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must have to live the life that she did, and I really admire her strength through her struggles. 

Although I have not read many, this is the best non-fiction I have ever read. It was written in such a beautiful and strong way, I could actually feel her pain and anger. She is such an inspiration, and I wish her the best of luck with her family and future. There isn't much else I can say about this book, except that I recommend this to any reader. 

Organic Beauty Review

Organic Beauty with Essential Oil

Written by: Rebecca Park Totilo
# of pages: 320

My Rating: 3/5

Read in January 2014

Summary 

This is a book that consists of different information and recipes about beauty and other things.

My Thoughts

I received a copy of this book to review as part of a blog tour, but that does not influence my opinion. 


This book included beautiful pictures scattered throughout the book, both full size and mini ones. It was also very colourful and eye catching, which made it easy and fun to read. It was  very informative, and, although I have taken an interest in these topics, I learned many things I had never heard before.

There is not much that I can say about this book based on what it is about, but I will admit that it did get kind of boring at times. I can attribute this to the fact that it is mostly for learning new things, and thankfully it was more interesting and easier to read than a textbook.

I think this would make a really great gift to anyone that is interested in beauty and bath products. There is a variety of recipes for different products, and different scents - there's something in this book for everyone to love!

Nowhere, AZ Review

Nowhere, AZ 

Written by: Chris Nunley
# of pages: 135

My Rating: 4/5

Read in December 2013

Summary according to goodreads

“Always going somewhere. Never getting anywhere.”

Negative energy haunts the nameless Narrator, who's been on the run for twelve years. 

A convicted killer on the loose, he has no one left to rely on and no place to call home, so he heads west. 

"Those who will remember will say it's all my fault." 

He has no control of what he's capable of and does his best to avoid any type of confrontation at all costs.

Words are said, things are done. Friends turn into enemies. 

"They call me a monster." 

Just as he's about to reach his destination, his past starts catching up quickly.

My Thoughts

I got sent a copy of this book to review, but that does not influence my opinion. 

When I first started reading it, I honestly didn't think I would like it. I am happy to say that I actually really enjoyed it and read it in one sitting! With the short chapters, it's one of those books you can't seem to put down. It started off very mysterious which I think is great because it really grabbed my attention.

I would describe this as almost like an adult, supernatural kind of read. It wasn't at all what I was expecting based off the back cover. The pictures added a lot to the descriptions and tone of the book, in my opinion. The chapters tend to go back and forth to his past and the present. This kept things interesting and helped you put different pieces of the history together. But this also meant that there were quite a few characters and names to remember, which confused me at first but is very easy to catch on to.

This is one of those books that tie up the loose ends, and answer all your questions, but at the same time has an opening ending that a reader can be okay with. I definitely recommend this for any young adult/ adult fiction reader! 

One of Those Hideous Books … Guest Reviewer

This book was reviewed by my lovely mom because I am aware that people in different age groups will have different perceptions of books. I personally loved this book (it wasn't my favourite, I gave it four stars) so I was curious to know what my mom thought. …Plus I didn't have another review to post. 

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

Written by Sonya Sones
# of pages: 272

Average Rating: 3.95/5
My Mom's Rating: 5/5

Read in December 2013

Summary according to goodreads

My name is Ruby
This book is about me. 
It tells the deeply hideous story of what happens when my mother dies and I'm dragged three thousand miles away from my gorgeous boyfriend, Ray, to live in L.A. with my father, who I've never even met because he's such a scumbag that he divorced my mom before I was born. 
The only way I've ever even seen him is in the movies, since he's this mega-famous actor who's been way too busy trying to win Oscars to even visit me once in fifteen years. 
Everyone loves my father.
Everyone but me.

Her Thoughts

This book made me actually laugh out loud. Even though it was written in verse, it was very descriptive - I could easily visualize the characters and their surroundings. I believe that this is a realistic depiction of a fifteen year old struggling with change.

Ruby started off being a hater of everything but in the end learned how to forgive and love. There was a significant amount of character development in this novel, and the definitely helped strengthen the story. I loved when she dreamt about her mother and how there were different influences from her mother, almost as though she was really there with her. I also thought it was really touching when she realized her dad truly cared about her, and they began developing a relationship. Very heartwarming!

Something I would change is the emails Ruby sent to her mother. I loved that she wrote to her, but I didn't like some of the comments that she made about her being dead. Non-spoiling, but these included; "How are things in the casket" and "how are things in decomposville?". I found these to be a bit offensive, instead of funny. I also don't think that this should be defined as only a "young adult" book, as anyone would enjoy it.

This was a very quick read, as it was entertaining as well as written in verse. One of Those Hideous Books… is my favourite to date, and I am becoming a huge fan of Sonya Sones. I am looking forward to reading all of her books.