Off The Shelf

   Over the course of 2013, I read a total of 25 books, or 8,108 pages. Of those 25, I gained several new favorites, including The Great Gatsby , and Between Shades of Gray - novels that I feel have made an important impact on my life.   Several books were also made into movies during 2013, including Gatsby, Catching Fire , The Host, and Safe Haven . The film industry has seem to found a new jackpot in YA novels! 2014 promises to be a year of more books-turned movies as well. I am looking forward to Divergent in March, The Fault in Our Stars in June, and Mockingjay Part 1 in November!   Not only was 2013 a year of great books, but a year of some of my best accomplishments. I  was published in my school's literary arts magazine and became Literary Editor of the magazine for the 2013-14 school year a few days later. My travels took me to  Cape Cod , Sugarbush, VT ,  Columbia University , and Strand Books.   I do not plan ...

As 2013 comes to a close, I have complied my lists to create The Best of 2013 . I will be posting lists of memoirs, historical fiction, and finally, the best of the best in fiction! Just as a reminder, unlike many other "Best of" lists around the Internet, the books included in my lists are not centered entirely on novels published in 2013, they are just books I read in 2013. Books listed here that were published in 2013 are entirely coincidental. Top Memoirs of 2013: 2. Night , Elie Wiesel 1. The Glass Castle , Jeannette Walls I read The Glass Castle as part my Honors English curriculum last spring, and it was a very eye-opening novel. Jeannette Walls writes about growing up with neglectful and unemployed parents, and her struggle for a bright future. Walls tells her story in a way that is raw and inspiring. Top Historical Fiction Novels of 2013: 3. In the Time of the Butterflies , Julia Alvarez 2. Between Shades of Gray , Ruta Sepetys ...

With 2013 quickly coming to a close, it is time for bloggers and readers alike to reflect on their reading over the course of the year. Back in January, I had joined two reading challenges hosted by very successful book blogs. Below you can find the books I read for each category, and links to the reviews I posted for each. I am currently scoping out what challenges will be available for 2014, and I will post here at the beginning of January with my findings! 2013 Women Challenge I read a lot of books written by women, but this year I had hoped to focus on the original, classic, women in literature: the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, etc. For this challenge I signed up for the "Super Girl" category (11-15 books written by women authors) and it was hosted by the blog  Peek-a-Book! The titles I read this year (15 read of 15 book goal - 100%): 1.  Divergent , Veronica Roth 2.  Insurgent, Veronica Roth 3.  Allegiant , Veronica Roth 4.  Between Shades of Gra...

Allegiant  Veronica Roth 526 pages   “There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater."  - page 509 It is very, very hard to write about this book without giving away spoilers from Divergent  and Insurgent, but I will try my best. Please stay away if you have not read the aforementioned titles...   The faction-based society of Chicago that Tris Prior and Tobias Eaton had once called home is now completely shattered. War, unjust power, and betrayal has interrupted their world indefinitely. When they are given the chance to escape the city and go beyond the fence, there is no way they can refuse. What they find there is not at all the quiet, safe, life together they had imagined. Tris and Tobias are sudd...

Having bought my ticket at the beginning of October, I was anxiously anticipating the release of Catching Fire until last Friday. A group of friends and I went to the local theater this year, instead of AMC - not only was it cheaper, but completely stress free (meaning no long lines, no sprinting to get good seats). All members from the cast of The Hunger Games returned for Catching Fire, but some great additions were also made: Sam Claflin (as Finnick Odair), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (as Plutarch Heavensbee), Jena Malone (as Johanna Mason). Francis Lawrence, the new director of the film, I felt did a great job in keeping things consistent with the first film. For example, the Capitol looks relatively the same as it did in The Hunger Games , along with the village and woods in District 12. Note: at this point in the post, I would like to discuss some of the differences between the movie and the book, so please, stop reading now if you have not read  Catching F...

{Standing in front of the Library of Columbia University}   On Monday, I attended Columbia University's Scholastic Fall Press Conference with other staff members of our school's yearbook, newspaper, and literary arts magazine. Although the day started off by sitting in two hours of traffic, the rest of the day was extremely worthwhile.   Attendees were able to tour the campus (which is absolutely beautiful, I might add) and go to several workshops instructed by notable professors and speakers.   Workshops I attended: Nuts and Bolts for Magazines - learn about all of the essential tools needed to create a cohesive and readable literary magazine Writing Song Lyrics/Poetry (Inspiration and Craft) - discover how to search for inspiration for your writing in everyday life "Journalism Students are Destined to be Poor" and Other Stupid Lies, Debunked - learn about what jobs are available for writers and commun...

Divergent Veronica Roth 487 pages “We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.”    In a futuristic, dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each valuing a different human characteristic: Dauntless (the brave), Candor (the honest), Erudite (the intelligent), Amity (the peaceful), and Abnegation (the selfless). Upon turning sixteen years old, each teenager must choose the faction to which they belong. For Beatrice Prior, this will mean choosing between her family and the chance to discover who she really is. Tris Prior (as she later renames herself) is a dynamic female character who possess all of the stereotypical characteristics of a weak individual - blonde, petite and pale-skinned - but as readers will come to learn, she is quite the opposite. Her strength not only increases from the physical initiation she must under go in the faction she chooses, but also from the emotional encounters that...

I think I should start out by saying, Hello. I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted anything here! When I last posted, I announced the new look I gave Off The Shelf, and I was feeling very mopey about the summer coming to a close. Now, almost two months later, I am feeling mopey about being a high school student, and I feel the need to announce what I have been up too. 1. Just because I haven't posted any new book reviews, doesn't mean I have not been reading. I've actually been reading quite a lot! While trying to understand the epic poetry in The Odyssey and the Old English text of Beowulf, I've been obsessed with Veronica Roth's Divergent series. (review to be coming shortly...I promise!) Now there is only  one more week until Allegiant! If you don't mind, I think I will skip reviewing The Odyssey and Beowulf , as I don't think I have it in me to dwell on those stories anymore than I have too... 2. I got a new camera! I ...

As you can see from opening the page, Off The Shelf has gotten a bit of a re-design! I have been trying to make some changes to the site for some time now, but the Blogger Template was being quite temperamental. I was unable to make small changes (font color, text size, etc.) in the template I had previously been using. In that case, I decided it might be time to try something totally different. Upon scrolling down, you will notice all of the regular features of this blog can still be found where they had been. The sidebar on the right is still filled with lists of my favorite authors, book suggestions and links to other great book blogs. I'm not sure I am totally in love with it yet, so the look might be a little different the next time you visit. (For those of you that view my blog via email, make sure to visit the actual webpage to see the changes!) What do you think? Let me know in the comments... In order to make my book reviews more helpful and direct, I have decided...

 {The sun sets at the closure of another month} Things in the literary world have been very, very busy lately - with everything from new publications to leaked pseudonyms and discoveries made about chocolate. The following are a collection of the most popular headlines buzzing around the Internet at the moment.   To start, have you been reading what you should this summer? With only a month left to go, you might want to check out The Huffington Post, as they have revealed the  7 Must-Reads of Summer .   There are only 10 more days until the highly-anticipated fourth and final installment of Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It series is released on August 13th! Have you pre-ordered The Shade of the Moon yet? You can do so  here , here  and here!   The biggest hype in the book world currently is most certainly the surprise that  J.K Rowling can write a crime novel...who knew? In April, Rowling wrote The Cuckoo's Calling u...

Life: An Exploded Diagram Mal Peet 385 pages At this point I need to take you on a short detour. I'm very much a cause-and-effect sort of a fellow. I'm fascinated by the way things fit together (and come to pieces). And if we were to take what eventually happened to Frankie and me and drew something like a flowchart of how it came about, one of its arrows would lead us into the darkness of a Caribbean night. Clem Ackroyd, the son of a war veteran and a careful bookkeeper, is a working-class boy hoping to one day scrape together the funds to go to art school. Frankie Mortimer is the daughter of a wealthy land owner, living in an inherited estate. Soon, in Norfolk, England, the two will embark on a relationship that must be kept a secret, and if found out, their world could be blown apart. Little do they know, that John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khruschev are about to do just that, as the event later known in history books as the Cuban Missile Crisis begins to unfold. Life: A...

{I can't possibly have a cookie without milk!}   When the forecast promises clouds and a possible thunderstorm, I usually know right away the day will be one dedicated to reading. (Especially when I'm finishing up a book as good as Life: An Exploded Diagram ) But this past Tuesday was a different kind of rainy day. Instead of reading, a friend and I indulged in another hobby: baking.   This recipe for S'mores Cookies was super easy, and absolutely delicious! They are the perfect substitute for when the inclement weather prevents the toasting of marshmallows on an open fire.   I think the baking time for this sweet treat is very dependent on your own oven. We ended up baking ours for quite a bit longer than what was called for because after the instructed time, they were not as golden as we would have liked.   S’mores Cookies Adapted from the blog  Erica's Sweet Tooth 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 tsp bakin...

{6. Hydrangeas}   I thought I would blog only once on this vacation, but I couldn't help but share five more things that help make Cape Cod so special for me.   In the backyard here, there are several hydrangea bushes. The blue ones are my favorite, but there is a house around the corner with vibrant purple flowers, and a white one with yellow hues.   After getting ice cream this evening, we visited The Brewster Store. This general store is always filled buckets and baskets of odds and ends - wind up cars, refrigerator magnets, soaps, maps, and greeting cards. It's the perfect place to buy a souvenir or a kitchen item your rental house seemed to neglect.    {7. The Brewster  General Store}   {8. Harbors}  {9. The Cape Cod Rail Trail } Besides the beach, the CCRT is probably the one place on the Cape where I have spent the most time. The rides are always incredibly scenic, whether you are passing the cranberry bo...

{1. Lighthouses} For as long as I can remember, my family has been coming to Cape Cod for our summer vacation. Over the many years of staying in homes anywhere from Harwich to Orleans, there are many things I have come to love. The following photographs are five of these things.   Usually the mornings here are foggy and a little chilly, but this week the temperatures are much warmer. This hotter weather has certainly not kept us indoors though! We kayaked yesterday to the Stage Harbor Lighthouse (shown above), and this morning rode our bikes to the  Hot Chocolate Sparrow for lunch by way of the Cape Cod Rail Trail.    {2. Fishermen's Cedar Shake Sided Shacks  }   {3. Local Farm Stands}   {4. Cranberry Bogs} Along those rides we passed numerous cranberry bogs, each very green and very picturesque. As we shifted into higher, and faster gears, we whirled past small ponds and thickly settled cottages, a rustic general...

The Future of Us Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler 356 pages Josh and Emma have been best friends and neighbors for as long as they can remember. When Josh's family receives an American Online CD-ROM in the mail, his parents have him bring it over to Emma's so she can install it on her new computer. Upon installing the program, Josh and Emma are automatically logged onto Facebook. But there is only one issue...The year is 1996, and Facebook hasn't even been invented yet. The two friends find themselves looking at their profiles fifteen years in the future - their spouses, careers, homes - it's all there. These unexpected discoveries will force Josh and Emma to re-evaluate what they are doing right, and wrong, in the present. The Future of Us was an incredibly creative story: the plot premise is certainly out-of-the-box and is relevant to today's teens. Emma, Josh and their friends were readable characters, and each of their quirky characteristics brought them to ...

Pivot Point Kasie West 343 pages As a Searcher, Addison Coleman has a unique power. When faced with a choice, she has the ability to look into the future and see both outcomes. The power is supposed to prevent disaster, but when Addie's parents tell her of their planned divorce, she will have to make her toughest decision yet. In alternating chapters, Addie will experience six weeks living with her mother, and six with her father. Both futures promise both love and loss, and for Addie it will come down to which fate she is willing to live through, and who she can't live without. A cross between Paranormal and reality, West has created the most unique novel I have read in a long time. With strong characters, and engaging plot, it was undoubtedly an understandable read. The very beginning was a little confusing, as the reader must adjust to the fictional idea of humans having mind powers must stronger than our own. But, by the end, I found myself re-reading the entire la...

Dear John Nicholas Sparks 335 pages Dear John, There's so much I want to say to you, but I'm not sure where to begin... John Tyree was a lost, rebellious teenager during his high school years, and upon graduation, he enlisted in the army. Soon after basic training, he was stationed overseas in Germany and thought he had finally found the place where he fit in. But in the summer, back home in Wilmington, North Carolina on leave, John meets Savannah. The two fall in love in two short weeks, but are forced to separate when John must return overseas. Over the course of several years, John and Savannah write dozens of letters back and forth, only seeing each other occasionally, and their love is put to the ultimate test. But no one can foresee that 9/11 is about to change the world, along with John and Savannah's relationship forever. Nicholas Sparks ( Safe Haven, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, The Last Song ) must have something against happy endings. After now r...

{Across the street} Yesterday, I visited  The Strand Bookstore on the corner of 12th Street and Broadway in New York City for the first time. I first heard about the store when I was reading Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan , but at the time I thought it was only just a unique, fictional, book setting - a made-up place. But then, upon my return to school from spring break, a friend of mine was carrying her belongings in one The Strand's popular canvas tote bags. She proceeded to tell me she went there with her cousin on the time off, and said I "just had to go." And so I did. {View from the stairs} As the sign outside proudly states, The Strand boasts 18 miles of books spread out on three floors. The first concentrating on fiction and new arrivals, the second on Children's and art books, and the third level houses their acclaimed Rare Book Collection.    {Books, books, books!} The "Staff Picks" table wa...

Happy Summer! With school winding down in the next few days, I have found myself looking forward to the season with much anticipation.  The following is a list of novels I hope to read in the coming months. Whether you are seated comfortably on the couch at home, at a picnic table or in a beach chair with sand between you toes, I hope the summer brings you fun, sunshine, and of course, good books! 1. This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald 2. Flowers in the Sky, Lynn Joseph 3. Every Day,  David Levithan 4. On the Road, Jack Kerouac 5. In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez * 6. Saturday, Ian McEwan * 7. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak 8. The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls 9. Threads and Flames, Esther M. Friesner 10. The Distance Between Us, Kasie West  *Assigned summer reading for Honors English 2013-2014

Just One Day Gayle Forman 368 pages "We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day.”   Allyson Healey has just graduated from high school, and is now embarking on a post-grad tour of Europe with her best friend. At an underground performance of Twelfth  Night in London, she meets Willem De Ruiter, a young and charming Dutch actor. Allyson immediately detects a spark between them, and after spending just one day together, she is surprised to wake up the next morning in Paris, without Willem. Over the next year, Allyson will start college with her mind still lost somewhere in Europe and soon she begins a journey to find Willem. With the help of Shakespeare, friendship, and self-confidence, Allyson discovers more about herself along the way than she ever thought possible. Gayle Forman, the bestselling author of  If I Stay  and  Where She Went  has created yet...

Night Elie Wiesel 115 pages {Thin Yet Thick reads might be short in page length - 200 pages or less - but are thick and deep in meaning.} In his memoir, winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize, Elie Wiesel describes his terrifying experiences in the concentration camps of World War II. Born in Sighet, Transylvania (present-day Hungary) Wiesel was taken along with his family in 1944 to Auschwitz, and then later on to Buchenwald with his father. As a teenager, Wiesel's faith was put to the ultimate test as he witnessed and suffered from the in-humane experiences which must never be allowed to happen again. Wiesel's writing style throughout the book is very consistent, and purposeful. Maybe it is part of the translation, but his sentences are simple and short, giving the voice of the story a sharp and impactful feeling. This writing style also leaves the reader feeling as if they have been told everything. Night is raw and real, unabashed and unabridged. It shows ...

The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald 180 pages I don't feel I have the credibility to really write a review of the novel, therefore I would like to use the opportunity of this 100th post to discuss what is said to be the greatest American novel of all time: The Great Gatsby . The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world.   - page 68 New York, 1922. The Jazz Age is in full swing, and with World War I at a close, the American people are restless, alive with post-war excitement and opportunity. Nick Carraway has just moved to Long Island looking to get started in the "bond business", and winds up buying a home next door to the grand and mysterious Jay Gatsby. After being invited to one of his neighbor's lavish parties, Nick soon learns of Gatsby's secrets, and the love he is desperately trying to find again. The following are some of my favorite p...