As I am nearing my 22nd birthday I thought it was again time to look at some of the books that defined my teen years. I have always been a big reader and this was something that could definitely be said about my teen years. At this time in my life, I was reading entire series of books in one go and getting through more than three books a week. Check out part one of this series here.
The Fallen Star (The Fallen Star #1) by Jessica Sorensen
I feel like this book was a staple read for most teenaged girls, but please correct me if I’m wrong. However, I remember finding out that all of my friends had read this book without any one of us recommending or talking about it.
Now I have found that I can’t really remember a lot of what happened in this series as I did read it when I was like 12. Which I know means I wasn’t a teen when I read it but it’s close enough. That was almost 10 years ago now which seems absolutely crazy. I remember it being really good at the time, however as I said that was 10 years ago and my standards have gone up a lot since. Maybe I will re-read this at some point and see how I would rate it now, could be interesting.
I vividly remember reading this book as I used to stay up late and read books on my phone, oh how much easier life is with a kindle. I dread to think of how that has damaged my eyes.
What I find strange about this book now is that I really liked the main guy Alex and he was probably my ‘book boyfriend’ at the time. Now my real boyfriend is called Alex and I honestly laughed a little thinking about that.
Goodreads synopsis: “For eighteen-year-old Gemma, life has never been normal. Up until recently, she has been incapable of feeling emotion. And when she’s around Alex, the gorgeous new guy at school, she can feel electricity that makes her skin buzz. Not to mention the monsters that haunt her nightmares have crossed over into real-life. But with Alex seeming to hate her and secrets popping up everywhere, Gemma’s life is turning into a chaotic mess. Things that shouldn’t be real, suddenly seem to exist. And as her world falls apart, figuring out the secrets of her past becomes a matter of life and death.”
Carry On (Simon Snow #1) by Rainbow Rowell
I have talked about this book a few times on Young Creative Press in the past and boy do I still love it. Yes, I am yet to read Wayward Son, but I am still a little annoyed that they did not release the matching cover to my copy of Carry On. I will definitely pick it up at some point … I just don’t know when.
This read was only four years ago for me, but when thinking about how many books I read since then it seems like longer. I was actually planning on doing some re-reads this year, with Carry On being on that list, but I have not gotten around to any of them yet.
I remember being in awe at this book throughout reading it. A lot of people were saying that it’s just Harry Potter fanfiction, however, it was much than that. I think reading Fangirl first was the right choice as I understood the story a lot more. I actually forgot that Carry On is the fanfiction written by Cath in Fangirl.
If you love all things magic then I definitely suggest that you pick up Carry On.
Goodreads synopsis: “Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen.
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.
Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.”
Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices was also a staple series in my teenhood, as was any Cassandra Clare book that was out at the time.
Again I can vividly remember reading this series. It was summertime and I ate a burger after finishing the book. Yes, I am aware that I remember the weirdest things. Its quite a talent.
I do not often read stories set before the 1900s as I find the language can sometimes be a bit confusing and therefore does not make the story flow for me. There was none of that in this book and it quickly became my favourite series by Cassandra Clare.
I’ll give you one guess as to why this is one of my all-time favourite books. Will Herondale. My all-time book boyfriend, although his title was almost taken from him by Julian Blackthorn. He is such a great character and I’m so glad we get to spend more time with both him and Tessa in Chain of Gold.
Goodreads synopsis: “ In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them…”
Fallen (Fallen #1) by Lauren Kate
This was possibly one of the first book series that I really got into (other than Harry Potter). I remember being absolutely obsessed with this book. Like so much that I’ve it about three times. I was still quite young when I read this, I definitely was not a teen yet, more like a tween (that’s a thing right?).
Sadly I do not have my physical copy of the book in Brighton so I had to get it on my kindle just to take that photo.
Yes, I have seen the movie, yes it was awful. But let’s not dwell on that.
The plotline of this was so interesting to me and it seems that even to this day I am still just as interested in the boarding school trope. I didn’t read the final instalment of this until years after the first few but wow was it a great storyline.
I know a lot of people really don’t like this series now, but I think it will always have a special place in my heart. Maybe I will also re-read this at some point to see if it actually is as good as I thought back then.
Goodreads synopsis: “There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.
Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.
Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce—and goes out of his way to make that very clear—she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret… even if it kills her.”
I loved The Fallen Star. I was a little older when I read it because I didn’t really get into reading that genre until I was 15/16 but I still enjoyed it none-the-less. I loved the Flynn Series by Sophie McKenzie when I was about 12. I reread it recently and it was still amazing!