Milk and Honey

This post should really be titled "Why We Need to Stop Talking about Milk and Honey."

Working at a bookstore, I sell dozens of copies of this book every day. 

I hear people say:

"This is my favorite book of all time."

"My friend told me about how great this book is."

"I can't wait to start reading this!"

"It's so insightful and inspiring to women everywhere."

What I want to know is how they could say ANY of that about THIS book.

Milk and Honey is broken into 4 sections: Hurting, Loving, Breaking, and Healing. 

The book starts with a young girl getting raped by her father. She witnesses the abuse of her mother at his hands and she wonders how this could be okay. How could someone you love hurt you so bad? It then turns to her first relationship with someone and how the euphoria is so beyond her control. She's happy. But that relationship doesn't end well and she basically hates herself but keeps repeating that she is so much better than him anyway. But the hurt is too strong for her. It ends with her taking control of her life and embracing who she is as a women, but it's still hard to tell what exactly happened....

This is told entirely in poems. However, the placement of the poems hardly make sense throughout the book. She also has some pages that literally have a "poem" of 4 words. The book also has illustrations to pair with the poems, but again some of them make you stop and say "What in the hell does that have to do with anything?"

So, before you run out and drop $16 on this book, maybe actually find out what it's about. I still haven't quite grasped the full concept and I honestly don't think I ever will.

Spotlight: Melody's Key

Special Spotlight for Melody's Key by Dallas Coryell!

Dallas sent me an ebook to review but also gave me an exclusive excerpt to share with all of you!!

Check it out!!

"It's just an expression, I assume you have those in America?" This time Tegan completely intended the playful sarcasm that dripped from the comment. She even ventured a slight grin to put him on the defensive a little, but Mason was quick with his reply.

"Yes, we have them. For example, don't judge a book by it's cover."

Mason had smiled disarmingly when he said it, but the underlying message to her was clear. Considering what happened at the pub, perhaps she had been a tad hasty in her judgment of his character. Tegan bundled the tools she had been cleaning and attempted to pick them up all at once in order to move them into the shed, but before she could take two steps they began slipping from her hands. Just as she expected to see the entire bunch go crashing to the ground, Mason's hands appeared and encircles hers, stabilizing the load. His hands were strong, but soft, and their sudden steadying warmth took her completely off guard.

She had been careful to avoid looking directly at him during their entire exchange so far, but her discipline wavered for one instant and she allowed herself to meet his gaze. She immediately regretted it. His eyes were two fiery emeralds that seemed to have already been waiting millennia for her to find them. The depth they held was something she had not expected; there was profound suffering there, but also something wild and passionate and unbridled... like the feeling she got while walking through the estate gardens after a summer storm.

Somehow his eyes burned through the walls of her meticulously constructed defenses as if they were flash paper. She felt as though he was somehow seeing her... the real her, instead of the protective facade she normally projected to people she didn't know. In that instant of unexpected vulnerability Tegan was surprised to find she was capable of anything. She felt the boundaries and inhibitions that normally constrained her fading like a winter sunset.

A moment after Tegan felt the hurricane begin to stir within her, she smothered it for fear of being consumed. Where in the world is this coming from? She had only been looking at him for a moment, but it felt as though they had been staring at each other for hours. She abruptly pulled her hands free, which sent the tools clattering loudly into the dirt. In truth, she had forgotten they were suspended between their interlocked hands. Grateful for the distraction, she kneeled down and began gathering her fallen load, which he immediately assisted her with. Between them, they got all the tools to the shed in one trip. As the electricity of the moment faded, Tegan began feeling silly for even thinking such ridiculous things. I know nothing about him. She made a mental note not to look into his eyes again. There was a reason so many girls went crazy over him, and he probably knew exactly what he was doing with those eyes... and that crooked smile.

Melody's Key came out last summer and is available on Amazon now!!

Keep your eyes open for my review. :)

The Realm of Possibility

I love teen fiction.

I love novels written in poetry form.

I love David Levithan.

But, I hated this book.

This was a fairly quick read for me, but nothing about it stuck with me. The main issue I had with The Realm of Possibility is that I couldn't keep track of the characters throughout the book. Each section started with a page listing all the characters that were going to be in that specific section, usually about 3 or 4 characters. See the poems in that section went in order of those characters listed at the verrrrrry beginning. I was constantly having to flip back and forth throughout the book just so I could recall which character I was reading.

However, there was one character that stood out to me.

I cannot recall her name, but she was the girl who invited the "metalhead" to church with her. I was intrigued by the fact that she so openly stood up for someone so different from herself. It was by far the most touching poem. She knew exactly who she was. She was comfortable with herself and her love in the Lord. But that boy was not comfortable with himself. Yet, he still attended her church and experienced her entire life through the hymns she sang. He even played her a little gospel of his own. Their relationship is just something that fit together so well. 

Anyway, shout out to my sister for loaning me this book without telling me how confusing it would be!

Looking for other Books by David Levithan?
Every Day (Every Day #1)
Another Day (Every Day #2)
Someday (Every Day #3)
Will Grayson, Will Grayson (Will Grayson #1)
Hold Me Closer (Will Grayson #2) 

Answers in the Pages

Gizelle's Bucket List: My Life with a Very Large Dog

I write this with tears all over my keyboard and my precious pup tucked under my arm.

This makes me want to love on my dog a little more than usual tonight.

You never know when something bad could happen and after reading this I'm hoping it never does.

 When Lauren was 19 years old, she picked up her best friend Gizelle. She knew her puppy was going to be big, but she didn't realize she would be a 160 pound big puppy.

Their story starts here and grows.

From Nashville, to New York City, to Maine. 

Lauren and Gizelle grow together.

The unconditional love they have for each other is so strong throughout the whole book.

But one phone call is all it takes to throw your world upside down.

When Lauren got that call, she vowed to spend every last minute of Gizelle's life marking off items on her very own bucket list.

Gizelle taught Lauren how to grow, laugh, love, and forgive.

I mean it when I say I'm giving extra cuddles and loads of love to my pup today and every day.

If you love dogs the way dogs love you, pick up this book.

I snagged an advanced copy of Gizelle's Bucket List,

but you can grab a copy on March 7th!

 

Looking for other books by Lauren Fern Watt?

Adventure Dogs

Besties

Remember in middle school when your best friend would make you a binder cover? A cute little picture with narrations of your inside jokes? Something that people would look at and laugh, but had no idea what any of it meant?

That's what this book is. 

Besties by Leah Reena Goren tells the simple story of friendship. Two friends that take on the world, get matching tattoos, and even have cats who make a heart when laying together. 

Friendship like this is so pure. It's a great feeling knowing that someone will always be there for you. Whether your crying over a broken heart or needing midnight cheese fries. Someone that will be your constant concert companion, but also totally understands wanting to just stay home and binge watch your favorite show.

Because when it comes down to it, everyone needs a friend. 

Someone attached at the hip.

A Buddy.

Kindred spirits.

Galentine.

BFFL.

A Bestie.

Big thank you to Blogging For Books for sharing this with me!

Th1rteen R3asons Why

I've avoided this book for so long. 

In the 10 years since it was released, I neglected to read it or even glance in the direction of this book.

Recently, I went home to see my family and my sister handed me a copy and said "Read this. Now."

I am so glad she pushed me to finally read Thirteen Reasons Why. 

Jay Asher's debut novel is told through cassette tapes. Specifically, cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, a girl who committed suicide a few weeks earlier. Clay never thought he would hear her voice again. But he definitely didn't want to hear it as she worked her way through the 13 Reasons Why she killed herself. He didn't want to believe he could have had a part in her death. 

What did he do to Hannah?

How could she do this to them?

How do all the stories fit together?

How? How? How?

Hannah tells us. She tells everyone in the tapes exactly what they did to land a spot on her tapes. She wants them to feel the way she felt. She wants them to understand why she's gone. She wants to understand herself and the only way to do that is to explain from the very beginning....

Starting with Justin Foley.

The You I've Never Known

I hate that Ellen Hopkins broke from her one word titles. 

The You I've Never Know does not fit this novel as much as the original title: Chameleon.

I hate that she broke from writing strictly in verse to instead include both verse and prose.

 I also hate that Maya's Journal at the end. I found it completely pointless.

BUT FORGET THAT NEGATIVITY!

As you all know, anything Ellen Hopkins is my favorite.

This book was not near as dark as some of her others but still had a dangerous twist. 

We read from the POV of Ariel and Maya. 

Ariel is struggling to understand who she is. Her entire life consisted running from town to town with her father. She never got to make friends, a social life, or indulge in regular teenage activities. But for some reason, her dad actually begins settling down, which allows Ariel a chance to satisfy her curiosity. 

Maya loves her best friend Tati, loves her so much that she was willing to hustle some alcohol from a couple of Fort Hood soldiers. But when she becomes pregnant at 16, she has a few decisions to make. Keep or kill? Move with mom or marry Jason? Keeping her baby was the best decision she had ever made, but marrying Jason was one of the worst. He took her baby. He took her whole world. He went AWOL just to get away and was willing to hurt those he "loved". 

But knowing Ellen Hopkins, what could be the twist?

How do Ariel and Maya cross paths?

I can't ruin it for you guys, just pick up the book.

Looking for more books by Ellen Hopkins?

 

Middle-Grade:

Closer to Nowhere

What About Will

Teen:
Crank Trilogy
 Flirtin' with the Monster
Rumble
Burned
Smoke
Tricks
Traffick
People Kill People

Adult Fiction:
Love Lies Beneath
A Sin Such as This
Collateral
Triangles

 Anthologies:
One Death, Nine Stories
Behind the Song
Life Inside My Mind