March Reading Wrap-Up

Hello everybody, and welcome back to another edition of The CW Torch. Today, I will be talking about the books I read in the month of March, and I read a total of six books! I was so surprised by my reading month, especially since February wasn't my best month, so I definitely made up for it! With that being said, let’s get into the books! The Magicians by Lev Grossman Dates Read: February 7th-March 2nd, 2018 Format: Audiobook Final Rating: 4/5 Stars

Synopsis: The Magicians follows a brilliant but miserable, high school senior, named Quentin Coldwater. Who happens to still be secretly preoccupied with a series of Fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Quentin somehow is unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern magic. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery, Fillory is real. But, the land Quentin fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could've ever imagined. What I Liked: -The land of Fillory: I immediately felt transported in this very lush, dark, and intriguing magical land. It had a very interesting background story of how it was created, and I absolutely loved this idea of a magical land being a part of a Fantasy novel, come to life. -The Magic System: I absolutely loved this magical school trope, and loved the idea of a “normal” person having to randomly be selected to take this rigorous examination in order to get into the school. It was a little bit different than most magical school involved books, I have read in the past. It almost felt as if the Harry Potter kids were to be in College. -The mix of Fantasy and Reality: I thought this novel was the perfect blend of Fantasy and reality, it really felt as if magic could exist in our world. What I Didn’t like: -Most of the characters were all a bit whiny and dramatic, especially our main character Quentin Coldwater. They made a lot of terrible decisions, and never learned from them. Quentin was especially annoying in his relationship with Alice, I thought he was a bit too territorial over her, and always blamed her for doing terrible things. When he did even worse things to her. The only character who I really enjoyed, was Elliot. I absolutely adored Elliot and wanted to be his best friend, I also wanted to hug him throughout the novel, because I actually felt sorry for him. Not so much Quentin. I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel, because I am more of a character driven person, as you all already know. But, I still enjoyed the book overall, and will probably end up finishing the series. Colliding Skies by Debbie Zaken Dates Read: February 25th-March 4th, 2018 Format: Kindle Final Rating: 3.5/5 Stars *I won’t delve too much into my review of Colliding Skies, since I already have a full review of it up on my blog.

Synopsis: This Sci-Fi novel follow our MC, Skye Reilly, who loves to star-gaze and to study the galaxies. One day, a foreign alien race invades Earth, called the Celians. After wiping away the humans memories of crash landing on Earth, they promise many things. An end to disease, global warming, and famine. During the events of this invasion, Skye meets and falls in love with a Celian named Ethan, the son of one of the magistrate members. When the magistrate threatens to put an end to their interspecies relationship, following her heart could cost Skye her life and the lives of everyone she loves. *This is the perfect read for fans of The CW show Star-Crossed. Vicious by V.E. Schwab Dates Read: February 25th-March 4th, 2018 Format: Paperback Final Rating: 5/5 Stars *I won’t dive too much into my review of Vicious either, since I have a full review on my blog already.

Synopsis: Victor and Eli started out as college roommates— brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foes), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find. *Really reminded me a lot of the beginnings of Superman, when Lex and Clark were once best friends, turned arch nemesis. The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye Dates Read: March 5th-March 15th, 2018 Format: Hardback Final Rating: 4/5 Stars *Since this is the second novel of a duology, I won’t dive too much into the synopsis or my review for The Crown’s Fate. Mostly, because I don't want to spoil anything, for people who haven't finished the duology. If you are interested in my thoughts on this book, definitely check out my November Reading Wrap-Up.

Synopsis: The Crown’s Fate is the sequel to The Crown’s Game, and follows the events that take place, shortly after the end of the first novel. The Crown’s Game follows our main characters, Vika and Nikolai, who compete in an enchanters duel, to become the Tsar’s appointed enchanter, the loser is sentenced to death. At the beginning of the games, neither of them are supposed to know who the other one is, and are supposed to blind the audience of the Games that magic actually exists. Vika can summon snow and turn ash into gold, Nikolai can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. Raised on in Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter— even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has? For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with— beautiful, whip-smart, imaginative— and he can’t stop thinking about her. And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love or be killed himself. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Dates Read: March 16th-March 25th, 2018 Format: Barnes and Noble Exclusive Hardback Edition Final Rating: 4/5 Stars *Once again, I won’t dive into my thoughts on The Hate U Give, as I already have a full in-depth review, in my “The Hate U Give Diaries.”

Synopsis: Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protestors are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upheld her community. It could also endanger her life. This was one of the first books I have read in a while, where I really connected with the main character. Not just in the fact that she is Black, but in her inner struggle of where she really fits in. I have always had this struggle, being a mixed girl of color. Always feeling more disconnected with one side over the other, but Starr feels she really doesn't fit in with either side. I am extremely excited for the movie, and thought they did a wonderful job with casting. Amandla Stenberg is killing the game with Young Adult movie adaptations. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Dates Read: March 27th-March 30th, 2018 Format: Paperback Final Rating: 5/5 Stars

Synopsis: The Outsiders takes place in a span of two weeks, in the life of fourteen year old Ponyboy Curtis. It tells the coming of age story, of his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and Socs. A Soc has; money, madras, tuff cars, and can get away with anything. A greaser, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he’s always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a fan of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers — until one terrible night when his best friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy’s skin, causing his world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser. What I Liked: This is one of my favorite books of all-time, ever since I read it in Middle School, so I pretty much liked everything about it. This was also the first time I reread it, since reading it in Middle School. I have watched the movie countless of times, and thought the movie was a wonderful adaptation of the book. -The Characters: There was not one character who I didn't like in this book, and there were a lot of them. They were all so relatable, even though you might not live in similar situations as them. You could still relate to them, especially in how Ponyboy views life, that basically everybody feels things the same way. Despite being on the wrong side of the tracks, you can still feel pain just as the Socs could. Even though we get the perspective of the greasers in this story, we are still introduced to a few Socs. Who show Ponyboy, that they are still the same people, just living on opposite sides of the spectrum. I actually really loved both, Cherry and Randy, because despite being connected to the victim of Johnny’s stabbing. They both knew what really happened that night, and what needed to be said. As for the Greasers; Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-Bit Matthews were my favorites. While Dally was an interesting character to get to know, it was hard to love him, because he was always trying to get in trouble, and getting himself killed. -S.E. Hinton’s writing was something special, while it was a short book, it definitely packed a punch. She touched on a lot of important themes; such as social and economic class differences, pain, and even abuse. While she was trying to get a clear point across, you still had an emotional tie to the characters. She made you really feel for both sides of the spectrum, even though in a lot of cases, many people would view this incident very differently. Thank you all for reading this Monthly Wrap-Up, I hope you all enjoyed it and possibly pick up these books soon… if you haven't already done so. I had a really good month, so it’s going to be difficult to chose a favorite, and I really didn’t hate any of the books I read this month. But, I would have to say, that it’s a three-way tie between; Vicious, The Hate U Give, and The Outsiders. My least favorite book, based on ratings would be Colliding Skies, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t like it. I thoroughly enjoyed all six of the books I read this month, and hope the month of April goes just as well. As I will be participating in another ReadAThon, that I am very excited about, and will talk about in an upcoming post! TTFN and Happy Reading, Chynna Williams @TheCWTorch Social Media Platforms: Twitter- @chynnaw16 Instagram- @bigleaguephoto