Let’s Talk About ‘Malibu Rising’

     It’s almost time to start your summer reading! My favorite ‘summer vibes’ book is Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book follows the Riva family; the story alternates from the four Riva children and their mother, her perspective taking place in the past. The novel details the lives of the Riva family and how their fame has affected them, as well as the party that started the 1983 Malibu fire.                         

I think the best part about the book are the ‘mini-plots’. While most of the book is told from the perspective of members of the Riva family, some chapters are told from the point of view of random characters who happened to be at that party that fateful night in 1983. That night did not just affect the main characters and their friends and family; it affected many people there in unexpected ways. This technique reveals how people not necessarily related to a situation can still be effected from said situation, whether goodly or badly.                                                                                                                                    

A few chapters are also from the perspective of antagonists. These chapters proved to be quite intriguing; seeing another side of the story in a well written way was very satisfying and fun to read, even if it was just fiction. It made me feel something, but I’m not sure how to put it into words.                                

The pacing of this book was very smooth and pleasing, and the writing was so amazing. The descriptions really paint a picture in your head, and the ‘vibes’ of this book are simply immaculate. I enjoyed learning about the characters and loved them all. The characters were very thought out, and they all had realistic flaws that somehow just made them more likable and relatable.                                                

While there are a few flaws of this book (which I will leave unmentioned due to spoilers), I really loved this novel and hope you add it to your summer TBR! Definitely a 5 star read. 
    

My Favorite Books

 Most of my favorite books are novels that I feel really made a impact on me; I do enjoy books that maybe weren’t the most impressive or impactful but I love a book that will have me thinking about it for a long time after I’ve finished it.

   My #1 favorite book is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It is extremely difficult to convey my emotions 

about this book. because I feel them so very intensely. This book may or may not of changed my life—If 

there is one book that ever had an immense impact on me, it’d be this one. The Secret History by Tartt 

would probably be my second favorite. That book is definitely my “I would do anything to read this for 

the first time again” book. 

    Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid is also high on my list; the storytelling is beautiful and brilliant. 

One of my favorite things about this book is all the perspectives we get to explore in this one night. It’s 

very interesting to see how many people were actually affected by the night the book takes place in. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Reid is also absolutely fantastic. 

Some of my favorite thrillers are A Good Girls Guide to Murder and As Good as Dead (I do also 

like “Good Girl, Bad Blood”, the second book in the trilogy, just not as much as the first and third). 

These two had me staying up all night; I just had to figure out who the murderer was in these. Definitely 

had me on the edge of my seat, and I love when a book is able to do that. 

    The day I discovered The Hunger Games series was a great day. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is 

probably the best book in the dystopian genre, and you agree, don’t you?

    Anyway, those are only a small fraction of my favorite novels, but I hoped you found some books to

 put on your TBR! What are some of you’re favorite books?

Sad Girl Hour Books

     Are you sad? Are you looking to make it much worse? Here are my recommendations for you, friend! 

CW: ED, Car Accidents 

    First off is If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin. This is the second book to If He Had Benn With 

Me (you don’t need to read the first one, but the context is helpful). This Novel is about the aftermath of 

a tragic car accident, told by three perspectives. It mainly talks about grief and heartbreak, but healing as 

well which is nice compared to the devastation you feel while reading this.

    Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a middle-grade story about friendship. ‘What’s sad about 

that’ you may wonder? You’ll see. This one is especially sad due to the nostalgia factor, honestly. The 

film adaption is also amazing, with an incredible cast (Josh Hutcherson is enough to intrigue you, right?).

    This one may or may not have made me cry. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is one of the best 

historical fiction novels I’ve ever seen. It has the most interesting narrator ever (Death themself is literally 

narrating), and all the characters are super lovable (which makes the book even more heartbreaking)… 

This book takes place during WWII Germany in 1939-1942, and follows the tale of a young girl who 

loves books but isn’t suppose to read any. There’s a lot more to the story, but I think it’s best to go in blind. 

    One of the most depressing books I have ever read is Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, a book 

about a girl with a severe eating disorder who is also suffering loss of a friend. This book has some very 

amazing writing, but it’s actually so despairing I’m not sure if I’d read it again.

    What are some of your favorite sad girl hour books?

‘The Reappearance of Rachel Price’ was a Flop

 Holly Jackson is one of the most popular YA thriller authors, with millions of her books sold around the world.  I personally adore the A Good Girls Guide to Murder  trilogy, her debut novels. Her most recently released book, The Reappearance of Rachel  Price , however, sits at a 2/5 star rating on my shelf. This is why! 
    The Reappearance of Rachel Price  is about a girl named Annabel Price (Bel) who has grown up without a mother, because hers  simply disappeared when she was younger. In the middle of shooting a documentary about the disappearance of Rachel Price, Rachel shows up with a suspicious story about her disappearance and return. 
    I think the initial premise of the book could have been very intriguing if the execution was better. This was a very slow thriller; it felt like the first 70% of the book was just filler. It’s almost 500 pages long, and it was really dragged out in my opinion. Could have cut 100 pages or something. The action only really stated 70% in and it wasn’t entertaining. 
    The writing was just okay. Not sure why Jackson had this 18 old main character narrate some of the worst lines I’ve ever seen in a thriller. She was acting the way I acted in 4th grade when I discovered what swearing was. It just felt super immature. A few examples are when another character, Ash, gave Bel a thumbs up and she thought “He could shove those fingers up his—“. Like, he’s just being nice… Or when she said “Come to justice, is that what he says to his wife in bed?” .  There’s also the insane amount of unneeded F bombs in this; chill, we get it, you’re all grown up and you’re allowed to swear, hahaha! I also found the writing super repetitive; I feel like on every page there was an “A-B-B-Be-Bel” (Rachel isn’t used to calling Bel ‘Bel’ so she is always stuttering over her name. This was the most annoying part).
    In a thriller or murder mystery, it’ important to have one lovable character so the reader cares whether or not a character is hurt, you know? But in this, there wasn’t one character I was actually rooting for other than a side character who didn’t actually show up much. Bel could die and I’d just be blank faced. She was so annoying and such a bitch to everyone for no apparent reason. Bel was kind of dumb too; in the beginning she is super against Rachel and her story, she picks it apart and is very suspicious of little mistakes that don’t seem to matter much. Later in the book, I start piecing things together, everything starts looking a bit suspicious to me too. Then Bel just decides she doesn’t think Rachel actually didn’t do anything, out of no where. 
     The plot twist was really predictable and didn’t really wow me the way I’d want ‘the reveal’ in a mystery  book to do.  The crazy amount of filler I endured was not worth this crappy twist. 
     I really hated the ending; it was unrealistic and not very fulfilling. The romance was awful. It’s insane how terrible this romance was compared to romance in Jackson’s other books. I don’t want to give many explicit spoilers, so if you’d like to read my thoughts on the romance and the ending of this book, click here. 
    All in all, I wouldn’t recommend this book. It was really disappointing. I’m hoping Holly Jackson isn’t a one hit wonder with her AGGGTM trilogy (I have read her other book, Five Survive and thought very poorly of it).