Review: Me Before You

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I though that I was going to be reading a romance, what I got was an emotional rollercoaster. This book was very intense because of the emotional scenes that it had along with the topics discussed in the book. The characters of Louisa and Will were great. They were real people with personalities and flaws. You really felt the level of anxiety that Louisa felt, I felt it while I was reading the book that I had to put it down sometimes. I though the way the author handled the topic was done well. It is a controversial topic so I liked that it was addressed from both sides, without it feeling like it was being forced down on us. I like their families. The character of Louisa's boyfriend Patrick was annoying, you can tell that he was only used as a plot device to further Louisa and Will's relationship. Speaking of them, I loved how their relationship developed throughout the book. They helped each other Will taught Louisa how to broad her horizons. While its Will that encourages her, I feel that it would have been better if Louisa did it the other times, instead of relying on Will. We're told she's intelligent, so it makes Louisa seem that she wouldn't have even though of those things herself unless Will suggested it. Some things I feel could have been developed more was the dialogue and the pacing. Also, there was a scene suggesting that Louisa was sexually assaulted when she was in her early 20s. It mentioned only once with Will. I think that could been explored a little more. It seemed that it impacted her because she still doesn't go back there since it happened to her. The ending was why I expected. There was no other way it would have been different. I rated this book 4 stars. I highly recommend it.

View all my reviews

GMW fanfic, Right in Front of Her

After they entered the NYU dorm. Maya froze. She had wanted to leave. She knew it was too late, but Riley had to push her into confronting them. There he was sitting down with two girls next to him on the bed and a guy on his side. He looked surprised when he saw them. " Maya?, Riley?". Josh exclaimed shocked. He knew that his brother would kill him if he knew they were here.
"Whoa, Josh, you know these girls?, How you doing?, said his friend Zeke.  Josh was about to say that they weren't their age but in middle school. It's hard to tell anymore now a days.
May decided to let him know, since Riley was frozen. She looked at Zeke and said, "We're in middle school," she said in a sharp tone. That did it. Zeke then turned to Josh when he realized this. " Oh, um they can't be here, Josh". Now, Zeke felt awkward, it was one thing to hit on girls his age but to hit on girls in middle school is another thing.
 " Yes, we were just leaving actually," said Maya . "Wait", said one of the girls to the side of the bed. She was a little bit taller than Maya, had long black hair and brown eyes. " I'm curious about this, What's your name?", the girl said to Maya. May was surprised she thought she was talking to Riley. For some reason she looked honest.
"Maya", she said. The girl then motioned to the other girl next to her. " Ok, so Maya I'm guessing that you have a crush on Josh, am i correct in assuming this?, by the way I'm Sarah and this is Grace.", said Sarah. "It's not a crush," Maya said quickly. It wasn't. Just then the door knocked and it was the sorority girls who took Riley in, while Josh went to go get her back. She though that would be the end but soon enough Lucas came in. " Thank god, i was looking everywhere for you," said Lucas. Sarah, Grace, and Zeke focused on the scene in front of them. " Huckleberry, I told Riley to text you in case we were going to be late, that didn't mean you had to come here", said Maya a little annoyed. Lucas was surprised. Of course he was going to come, it's dangerous at night especially for girls. " I got worried, it's not safe at this time", he said. " Don't worry we can handle ourselves, well I can, Riley not so much," Maya chuckled at that. "Good", he smiled at her then. That's when they were aware that they were being watched. " Oh, we're sorry, we didn't mean to stare at you guys,"said Grace. " It's just that we noticed how comfortable you guys are with each other, Maya, you were smiling when he said he was worried about you", said Sarah. What were they saying? She was not smiling at him.
" He implied it to both of us right?", said Maya as she looked to Lucas. He was on the spot. In a way yes he did mean both but mostly Maya. She puts up walls around her so people don't see her fragile.
" Um," he was about to answer when Josh came back in with Riley.
" Maya, I though you were going to leave", said Josh " Maya told you guys about her crush", said Riley.
" It's not a crush", she said again. She was getting tired of repeating herself. She sat down on the bed next to Sarah and Grace. Lucas was beside her. " I just thought that if I did something like this, Josh would take me seriously and we could reach some sort of understanding", she said softly. Josh then stood up and went near her, " We have an understanding, you're going  home and I'm staying here", he said. Lucas wanted to punch him then. How dare he treat her like that?. It's one thing to not feel the same way but to just dismiss it as if it's nothing, he had a problem with that.
" Hey, you could at least be a little kinder to her, she's basically telling you her feelings and you're dismissing them," said Lucas with his arms crossed. Sarah, Grace and Zeke all crowded Maya. " He's right, dude" said Zeke. " "Guys, she's three years younger than me," said Josh crossing his arms.
" She's what 14 and you're 17 right?", said Grace
" Yup", said Josh." Ok, well right now for you, Maya that may seem like a lot but in 4 years you'll be 18 and Josh may look at you differently then. Lucas was not the type of person who said when someone was wrong. But, this girl gave bad advice. Wait 4 year like Maya is just going to wait around until Josh notices her.
He couldn't be silent anymore. " Well, I don't want that for Maya, I want Maya to be happy. I'm sorry but do you really think she's just going to wait just hoping that you like her in 4 years. If you do, then you don't know her. Maya is the most incredible person I have ever met. She's smart even when she tries to hide in class. She is loyal to her friends and family and is always there for them. She's a great artist, and I want her to get better because I know she has so much talent that she needs to share with people. Also, I have never known anyone that is selfless and compassionate as she is despite her home life. But, I also know that there are times where she gets insecure whether it's about her height or her dad leaving her and her mom. Her dad left her when she was 5 and every day she hoped that she would wake up and he would be there, but he never was. She stopped hoping because she learned that if you hope for things, you end up disappointed, So please, don't give her false hope. She's been through enough already".
 By the time Lucas was done, Sarah, Grace, and Zeke all looked at Maya. Maya was surprised by Lucas's speech about her, she had expected it to come from Riley, never expected it would come from the cowboy. He was right the more she thought about it, she would probably date around in four years than stick hoping for one guy, She liked Josh, He was always there for his family. He wanted to see his brother proud of him and Auggie liked him too. He was also, she realized that most of what she liked about him had to do with his family. She couldn't think of one thing about him as a person besides his eyes and smile. It's how Riley described Lucas when she started to like him. She thought it was different when it came to her but they're actually the same thing. She looked at Josh then " I'm sorry for coming here and you're right I am a little girl with a stupid crush on you, but you're also to blame too. See, at least I knew I liked you, but you're the one who also flirted with me when it was the holidays,the family game night, and Riley's first date. I'm sorry for thinking that you maybe liked me a little bit even though you knew I was younger than you. Don't worry though, I won't ever bother you again so you can go stay here with your friends, I'm going home, it's bad enough i'm humiliated in front of strangers". Maya then walked towards Lucas, " So you're walking me home, Huckleberry or what?", she said as Lucas tipped his hat. " sure thing, ma'am". Maya pretended to be annoyed. Lucas and Maya walked out of the room talking, their voices being heard as they went further down.
"Wait, what about Riley?," Lucas said, Maya looked back towards the room where Riley was.
" She'll be fine, Josh can walk her home anyway", said Maya. Reassured that Riley was going to be ok, Maya went on talking to him. " Thanks for saying those things about me, it meant a lot to me" she said softly.
" Anytime", he said smiling.
"So, are you sure you're ok, you know with the whole Josh thing", Lucas said with his eyebrows raised.
" Yea, I mean, it was a crush and my second one at most. It did hurt, but it's not like we dated or anything like that. Crushes are complicated. One minute you like one guy, the next another guy."she said.
" So how was the other guy?", asked Lucas
" What?", she said
" You said this was your second crush so you had a first one then, who was the guy?", he said
This was not where she thought it was going, he can't know about her first crush. No one knows not even Riley, especially Riley. She'll tell him someday but no today.
" That's a story for another time, Sundance," she said smirking.
" Good, then I'm looking forward to it", said Lucas.
He wanted to know who it was. Part of him was curious about it while another part was anxious because he secretly hoped it was him. Knowing Maya Hart, It could be either one but that's what he liked about her the most.

Halsey - Colors

Troye Sivan - YOUTH

Review: Inland

Inland by Kat Rosenfield
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I though that the premise of the book was interesting. Definitely had my attention about it being about a different take on the mermaid myth. But, there wasn't really a plot when I read it. Callie's mother dies, she witnessed it, forced to forget it, then is sent away to another place with her father. The mermaid myths are here and there. Also, the mental illness that her mother and she had as well wasn't developed much as it could have been. I still don't remember what she was diagnosed with in the end. Which reminds me, the ending, I was confused it, it didn't explain anything. I really think the book itself could have shorter, and subplots could have been taken out. The idea was great, the writing, beautiful but the execution not so much. I picked this book up 3 times. Also, I think the ending should have been in the beginning instead because It's Callie's memory of that day that when her mom died. That would have made more sense because then we would have gotten an idea of what it was like, instead of it being mentioned here and there.

Currently Reading : Me Before You by Jojo Meyes

I just got back from the library and I got Me Before You by Jojo Meyes, I am ready excited to start this book. Also, it is my first adult book that i will be reading this year. I want to expand the genres that I read this year. I am excited for the movie, the trailer looks amazing. It has been praised and praised by many people. But, I am going into it with low expectations because you never want to go into a book with very high expectations because you may end up disappointed.  

Chapter 5

I think if I close my eyes, the day would on faster. But, the universe had other plans. , its lunch time in the cafeteria. You can always tell who the cliques are right away. Looking at Mike's table, he's in the middle surrounded by two guys, and I think a sophomore girl is about to approach him. They are the jocks of the school. Then, there are the geeks, cheerleaders, skaters, theater kids, and finally the popular girls. Looking at Maggie's table, she was obviously one. She was laughing with her friends as a freshmen tripped on a banana peel. 
I was walking towards a table, when I felt someone grab my wrist. You can probably guess who it was. 
" , Sam, come sit with me", Mike said gesturing towards his table. I noticed that his friends laughed when I looked at them. I don't want to hang around lunkhead jocks. 
" No thank, I'm good here," I said trying to get his grip off me. Man, this guy is strong. The guy does not give up though. He looked around the cafeteria.
" I get it, not your scene come on I know a better place," he said pulling my hand and leading me out. I don't know where he's taking me.  We're walking in the hallway when he takes a shortcut through one of the doors. Then we walked the stairs until we got to a door. 
Mike put a finger to his lips, " No one knows about this place ok", he said as he opened the door.
It was a garden although its mostly like a jungle.
" Wow, this is amazing", I said looking around the garden. Mike smiled and said, " I figured its a better place than the cafeteria, this way we can talk and no one can bother us".  
There were roses and lilies of different colors everywhere. I saw Mike grab a rose while we walked and he put it in his back pocket. There was a bench nearby so we sat down there. 
" So, what do you want to talk about?",  I said.  Mike laughed and said " well I was thinking the English assignment first, loved your answer by the way".
I was surprised. I didn't think anyone liked it. I just answered honestly. 
" So, who was the guy?". he said questionably. 
" Excuse me?", I said confused. Why is it important to him who it was. It's not like it matters. We had a relationship and then we didn't.
" You were obviously thinking of him when you answered the question, i was just curious," he said smiling.
Might as well tell him but he doesn't need to know everything. I'll keep it short and brief.
" He was my ex", I said softly. 
" How long did you guys date?", Mike asked
 Why does everyone ask this question when it comes to break ups?  It doesn't matter how long a couple dates, what matters is the time and the memories they had together.
" A year", I said firmly.
" Wow, it must have been tough, who did it then?" he said 
" It was mutual", I said. I learned a long time ago to always say mutual. That way no one gets hurts and feelings are spared.
" Enough about my relationship, how about yours?", I said crossing my arms at him. Now it's his turn.
Mike paused and cleared his throat. " We dated junior year and it was great the first few months. We were happy, always together. I remember this one time we stayed up all night talking and neither of us went to school that day. But then, as the months went on we would argue about everything, me not spending enough time with her because of basketball season. She would get mad if i didn't call her back or wait for her after school. She would get jealous of any girl who would look at me or talk to me. I swear to you, one time a freshmen had wanted an autograph of mine and she had pushed them out of the way. I think we just stuck with each other because it got comfortable. But, i knew it had to end".
" That's intense", I said. When it came to our relationship, we would have disagreements, but it would never be full blown out arguments.
" Yea, it was but now I'm better" he said
" who knows, you could meet someone new this year", I said.
He smiles, " Maybe, i already did".  i noticed that he kept going to his back pocket. He took out a white rose from it and held it out out me. 
" Thank you, it's-", I started to say but was cut off.
" I'm worthy of you", he said smiling.
" What?", I said confused.
He started laughing. " It's what white roses mean. Also, new beginnings which i think suits our situation".
Of course. 
" Right, I knew that, I said. 
" Of Course, you did, he said.
The bell rang which meant lunch was over. I was going to go on ahead first but Mike had other ideas. He held my hand and dragged me down the stairs, " Come on, we don't want to be late for Media Studies", he said as we ran down the stairs.