Miss Lowe's Book Nook

I sped through Girl Against the Universe  by Paula Stokes in the last few days. I read her book Liars, Inc.  a few years ago and enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for this one. Girl Against the Universe  wasn't quite what I expected, but it was thoroughly enjoyable, thought-provoking, and had just the right amount of plucking at my heartstrings. Maguire Kelly is bad luck. When she was eleven, her dad, uncle, and brother all died in a car accident, which she survived without a scratch. When she was twelve, a roller coaster she was riding derailed and everyone except her was severely injured. More and more bad things keep happening to those around her, so surely Maguire is the source of the bad luck? So she ostracizes herself, keeping track of the bad things that happen, and developing intense good luck rituals and five-second checks. Then, before her junior year, another major accident leads to Maguire and her family moving across San Diego, where she can get a new start. T...

Have you ever devoured a 400+ page book in less than six hours? Have you ever done that after not finishing a book for months? Have you ever finished said book and thought, "wow, maybe I should post on my blog about this" after not posting on said blog for over seven months? Because that's what happened to me. Yesterday, I dove into As You Wish  by Chelsea Sedoti. It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it was just so refreshing to be lost in a book again. I picked up As You Wish  because I thought it was a Princess Bride  reference, but instead I came away with an interesting coming-of-age story that had nothing to do with princesses, pirates, or dueling to the Pain. The tiny town of Madison, Nevada is boring as all get out. Nobody stops there except to get gas on their way to Rachel, a popular UFO sighting spot. But Madison's residents like that no one stops in their town - in fact, they do their best to make sure that they don't. Because Madiso...