Taking GCSE's and A levels

I know from some of the posts I have seen floating around and from some rants on Twitter that the time is coming up for many bloggers when they do their final GCSE and A level exams. It's this time of year that I reminise about my time when I did these qualifications. It's so weird to think that this time last year I was doing my A levels, stressing in copious amounts and of course, the frightening thought that I had no idea where I would be in 4 months time in September. It's even weird to think that three years ago I was doing my GCSE's, revising like it was the most important thing in the world, like the whole world would blow up if I didn't.

I thought it would help those stressing and perhaps panicking at the moment to hear from someone whose gone through all that. I know I needed someone just to reassure me it would be fine last year.

GCSE's are tough, I agree and it annoys me a lot when I see middle aged men in the Government saying GCSE's are easy and need to be toughened up. Probably if I did my GCSE's all over again now, I would find them easy but we have to remember I'm currently at university, of course I would.
The best thing I can say about GCSE's is that although they seem and ARE important now, by the time you get to college and focus on A levels, they won't be. I got 3 A*'s and 9 A's in my GCSE's which I am immensely happy about, but, honestly, no-one asks me about my GCSE's now. GCSE's are considered easy in the sense that really there is no analysis or depth as it's all about showing and identifying things be it a certain type of language in a novel, or a certain aspect of a plant cell. As long as you do that, you'll be fine.

It's when you get to A level, it's more difficult. The step from GCSE to A level is massive and I found myself struggling a lot in the first few months on college especially as I had some less than brilliant teachers. There is another slight jump from first year of A level to second year but it all slows back down when going onto university I think.
It's at A level that the difference between this level and GCSE's is clear. A level is about analysing and interpreting things rather than stating it. Whether that's analysing the effect of a character to a novel or bringing your own Marxist interpretation to the events of the War of the Roses, as long as you continue to do that, it's answering the question.

A levels are important also and even though I put myself under so much pressure last year to the point of nearly having a breakdown, it was worth it in the end. I wasn't entirely happy with my A levels in fairness but I did what I could under the conditions and under the dreadful college I was attending. It got me into university, the university I really wanted to go to, and that's the main thing.
A levels are hard. They really are and I certainly don't miss them at all now. But I think as long as you learn the different techniques for each subject, A levels should fly by.

#NewToMeMay Reading Challenge

Although May has already crept into its fourth day (how is it May already?!), this is the challenge I am joining in with. A good blogging friend of mine, Clover at Fluttering Butterflies, decided to create this challenge.

#NewToMeMay is about reading books by authors you've not read previously. As May for me consists of mostly assignments, revision and exams, I thought this might be fun to motivate me to read a little bit this month even though the number of books being read WILL be small. I'm thinking probably like 2 or 3, if I'm lucky.


So here is a list of books I have on my to-read list - let me know what you recommend me to read!

Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan (currently reading!)
Tease - Amanda Maciel
Don't Even Think About It - Sarah Mlynowski
The Moment Before - Suzy Vitello
Longbourn - Jo Baker
And We Stay - Jenny Hubbard
These Broken Stars - Annie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
How A Song Can Save Your Life - Leila Sales
It's Kind of a Funny Story - Ned Vizzini
A Face Like Glass - Frances Hardinge
I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith
Howl's Moving Castle - Dianne Wynne Jones

Acid - Emma Pass

*I wrote this review a long time after reading the book entirely from memory (not the best idea) so this review may be vague and not brilliant.

Source: Netgalley
Pages: 431
Publisher: Corgi Children's

Synopsis: The year is 2113. In Jenna Strong's world, the government has fallen and the elite police force, ACID, rule the country. They have a huge hold of the country, nothing goes unnoticed or unpunished. It is ACID that put Jenna in prison for life for killing her parents, something she struggles to remember. However, a rebellous group break her out of prison and she has to use all she has learnt to uncover the truth behind her parents her deaths.


Review: Emma Pass' debut ACID has been something that was talked about on the blogosphere for a while at the moment particularly for British bloggers. So I guess I'm a little late to the party. I'm not sure why I suddenly decided to read this. I guess I needed a good dose of dystopian and when I saw this book in my local library, it seemed like a good time to read it.

A lot of dystopians now come in the form of trilogies (*cough* Divergent, The Hunger Games *cough*) but most of all, they nearly always 100% come from America. So when I see a British author writing dystopian...well, it's just so nice to see. So I was expecting quite a lot from ACID especially since a lot of bloggers I know have recommended this book to me.

And wow, this book performed. I loved Jenna to pieces, particularly her feistiness and attitude that brought to much to her character. She is clever and determined, which although there are a lot of dystopian heroines like her, she is one that stands out above the rest, I'm not entirely sure why. I guess it's her fearlessness, her strength and just her determination. She's a strong character both physically and emotionally.

The world is one that it entirely unique and brilliantly created with the whole idea of Big Brother looming over the writing and the events that happen within the book. I liked how the reader is allowed to get more absorbed in the world through letters and reports dispersed between chapters - it made me get into the book and try and predict what would happen.
The book is certainly action-packed and reminded me a lot of an English version of Divergent and a little bit like The Declaration series by Gemma Malley. I liked the big action bits that would then be interspersed with quieter, emotional moments that almost hint at something else big about to happen. There is a serious political element to the plot which I saw some relations to the current situation, making the world and plot more real.

This was a brilliant, absorbing book to read that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I love that it was set in the UK and it is just so refreshing to see a UK author being something different to the world of dystopia. I'm looking forward to reading The Fearless, Pass' next book. ACID is action packed with a strong, female lead that raises questions about society in such an engaging, superb way. Emma Pass is definitely one to look out for in the future.

I give it a 5 out of 5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher to allowing me to review this book!

What I've Been Up To

The last couple of weeks it may have been noticed that I've been around the blog and on Twitter a lot more, mostly because I am currently in my 3 week Easter break from university. I go back next Monday for the last part of the semester. It's so weird and scary how quickly this first year has gone and how close I am to doing assignments for my degree where it actually counts, how close I am to moving into a proper house with 5 of my friends and how different its all going to be soon. On Monday, I'm back at university for four weeks, take my exam, but then I'm staying on an extra two weeks for the Summer Ball and to organise moving out etc, as well as enjoying the time available now with my current flatmates. It's all so weird to think about.

I'm been quite busy so far in the Easter holidays with a mixture of seeing people I haven't seen in a long time (some before moving to university), going on holiday with my parents as well as visiting one of my flatmates in the beautiful city of Cardiff (and 'aww-ing' at every lamb we passed along the way). I got the train direct from London Paddington to get there, and on the way back had a really weird moment where a guy in front of me offered me, and some fellow passengers, white wine from a bottle he'd stashed in his bag. I declined, although it was tempting, mostly on the principal of a stranger offering me wine alongside the principal I follow as a Londoner that I find it weird talking to people on public transport, but also wanting a clear head to negotiate the Tube on a Sunday evening.

I've also signed up to write for three different publications. I'm part of online student magazines, KettleMag and CultNoise (check them out, they have some really interesting articles) as well as continuing to write features for The Student Eye - the student section of Bournemouth's local newspaper, the Bournemouth Echo. I'm also writing a feature about blogging and vlogging for my university's student magazine, which is published next week! I'm really excited to see it on paper, and I have no idea how the layout will be, what pictures and illustrations will be there, it's all quite exciting!

Book-wise, I've been reading SO MUCH MORE in the Easter holidays because of all this amazing free time in the evenings where I'm not exhausted when I go to bed! The reviews for the books I have read should be going up in the next couple of weeks.
I also got a ticket to go on the Saturday of the inaugural YALC at the LFCC WHICH I AM BEYOND EXCITED FOR. I'm so excited for Rainbow Rowell, Holly Smale, Patrick Ness among others and to meet some of you (already had an 'ohmygodwewillmeeteachotherthisisinsane' session with Lucy at Queen of Contemporary on Twitter)! I'm also going to the blogger and author after party, which you can see more about here if you're interested. This is one of the many reasons I love living in London and being a blogger.

I also realised the other day that I haven't bought (somehow) any books in ages and then found a Waterstones gift card in my purse and an Amazon voucher, so if any of you have any recommendations for me to buy, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. 

Cress - Marissa Meyer (#3)

**This is the third book in a series so there will be spoilers for the first two books in the series. Have a look at my reviews for Cinder and Scarlet - totally recommend this series!**

Source: Own
Pages: 550
Publisher: Penguin
Series: #3 in The Lunar Chronicles

Synopsis: Cinder, Captain Thorne, Scarlet and Wolf are now fugitives on the run with most of Earth and Lunar hunting them down. Meanwhile, they are plotting to overthrow Levana and replace the Queen of Lunar.
Their best hope is with Cress, a girl that has been imprisoned alone on a satellite to hack and spy Earth for Levana. After attempting to rescue Cress, the group is separated. Cress has her freedom but is also stuck in the middle of the Sahara desert with Thorne. Meanwhile, Cinder must prevent the marriage between Levana and Emperor Kai when he could be killed. Cinder, Scarlet and Cress need to unite to try and save Earth from Levana's power.

Review: As soon as I heard about the release of CRESS, I was eagerly anticipating it, willing it to come sooner, pre-ordering the book and then, waiting for the right time to read it and know I would enjoy it. Cinder and Scarlet are two of the best books I have read and I knew that this book would not let me down in the hugely brilliant Lunar Chronicles.

The thing with Marissa Meyer's books is that they are all quite long, mostly about 500 pages. While this probably fazes some people, I like it - I feel I get a real depth to the story, development of the characters and SO MUCH HAPPENS that it just makes me get sucked more into the novel. I thought this would take me longer to read than most 200-odd paged books. However, it took me about about 5 days to read (which is like a record for me), I rushed through it wanting desperately to know what happened to the crew of the Rampion, to find if the wedding goes ahead, what would happen with Cress, the different romances - it makes it an incredibly engaging and brilliant read. There are so many twists in the narrative with many of the questions and secrets I wanted answers for being answered from the last two books, but soon being replaced with even more questions to be discovered in the last book.

Continuing on the theme of fairy tales, CRESS is based around Rapunzel. I didn't see as many similarities to the well-known fairytale as in Cinder and Scarlet, although that was never a big fairytale for me, but I ended up seeing similarities to Tangled. It was brilliant to see more of the characters of Thorne, Cinder, Iko, Kai, Dr Erland, Scarlet and Wolf from the previous books and it felt very familiar in the setting and plot to me. One of my only complaints would be the character of Cress. I found her a little pathetic at times, it's clear she is not as brave and strong a character as Cinder and Scarlet, with her strength being her intelligence. She was a nice addition to the story but I just disliked her shyness at times latterly.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time full of romance, action, thrillers, humour, friendships and brilliant writing. CRESS I think is my favourite of the series so far with Cinder a close second. I finished this book while on a train and was sitting there for about half an hour trying to contain my feelings just like 'WHAT JUST HAPPENED THEN?!', the ending was just...amazing. I cannot wait for Winter next year and I'm sad to see the series end with Winter too. This is going to be a long but rewarding wait.

If you've read this entire review and haven't read Cinder, Scarlet or Cress - I would recommend these to be read soon, they are utterly brilliant and I'm so glad I discovered this series.

I give this 5 out of 5

Related Reviews:
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

WINTER IS PUBLISHED IN EARLY 2015

Discussion: Science Fiction/Dystopian Genre

Upon starting university, there was the inevitable question when getting to know people you don't know of the favourites, particularly favourite film. While some of my newly acquired flatmates mentioned The Notebook, The Dark Knight - some of the modern popular classics - I ended my answer with Back to the Future.

I'm a bit of a major fangirl when it comes to science fiction. I'm not entirely sure why. But I've always liked anything sci-fi or dystopian, be it books or films. It probably all stemmed from being forced to watch Doctor Who and Star Wars when I was younger by my dad, both of which I love now. As someone who loves books, cats and whose wardrobe consists of a mixture of jeans and floaty skirts and dresses trying to possess some kind of vintage style, it may be a little weird that I'm such a sci-fi geek.

I know many who dislike the science fiction genre, I've never been sure why. A friend of mine defined it as: 'Why would you look into the future and make disaster out of that when you can look into the present and sort out the more immediate problems of today?'
Which is a question that I totally understand. I like a lot of contemporaries for their immediacy and the fact I can sit there and shout 'yes I've experienced this too!'
But for me, a lot of literature is about challenging boundaries and adapting the meaning and values of literature, so by delving into the future and the things that could face us, doesn't the science fiction genre do just that?

I guess I like the whole question of 'WHAT IF?' that defines this genre.What if we had a time machine formed by a car? What if there was a world where society was separated into factions? What if there was a weather problem and we had a second Ice Age? What if aliens invaded and died because of our atmosphere? I certainly feel that some of the movies I've watched and books I've read would prepare me in some way for some of these scenarios.
The thing is there is something unpredictable about this genre which means you can't really work out what is going to happen eventually (debatable in some dystopian but whatever). Think about some of your favourite genres. In historical fiction, there is going to be some social or cultural element involved that is unique to that time. In contemporary romances, there is going to be a misunderstanding, the couple break apart but then come together again. But when it comes to science fiction, the world that is built and essential to the narrative also, means that the ending and the twists and turns along the way are entirely unpredictable because the world is so special to that book or movie. And that uniqueness and unexpectedness is what I love.

Let me know what you think about science fiction and dystopians. Do you like them and why? Do you not like them? What are some of the science fiction films/books you've seen/read? 

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

Source: Netgalley
Pages: 240
Publisher: Random House

Synopsis: A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
Review: No-one can talk about this book without many exclamation marks, capital letters and surprise. Just as a warning before I continue...

OH MY! There are a lot of emotions and thoughts that tangle amongst each other in my head when I think about my reaction to this book as I've seen similar to many other bloggers and their reactions to this book.

I started reading this after suddenly seeing lots of reviews for it and it mentioned a lot on Twitter. I've not been reading much in the last few weeks because of deadlines and assignments and Breaking Bad taking over my life, but after seeing the hype being slowly generated for this book, I thought I should read it soon. I had already been interested in it and requested it on Netgalley.

I was unsure about what to think to start with. The main character is one I disliked instantly, but somehow I felt more and more sorry for her as the story continued. The writing is very poetic, prose-y and that's not always something I enjoy when I'm reading, so it was quite hard for me to get into it and at one point I thought about starting Lauren Oliver's new book and then-
Suddenly and without any warning I was hooked. This is a relatively short book that in general should have taken me a good week to finish. Three days later, I had finished this book and was sitting in bed staring at my bookcase wondering what the hell had just happened in the final pages. There are so many twists and turns, some I saw, some I really, really didn't see, and it's all done so cleverly and fits together.

This review is a short one because I think it's better to go into this book without absolutely no clue. I agree, it's not something I like doing when reading books, I actually hate doing that, but when it comes to WE WERE LIARS, it needs to happen. This book is brilliant, it shows up everything I love about reading and books and writing and the best part is that there is nothing that I know of that is quite like this book out there right now. The hype at the moment? I totally get why, I recommend everyone and anyone to read this book. I'm definitely going to look out for more of E. Lockhart's stuff.

I give it a 5 out of 5

WE WERE LIARS will be published on 13th May 2014 in the UK

Thank you to Random House for allowing me to read and review this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Warning

Just a little warning that there won't be much content from me in the next few weeks. I have three massive university assignments due in at different times in the next two weeks, so it's all a bit stressful right now.
Mostly because one of my assignments, a business report into the marketing of Hotel Chocolat, has been over complicated with no help from my lecturer. So while I'm trying to work my head around that, there's not much time for anything else currently.

I am close to the end of E. Lockhart's We Were Liars which is AMAZING and I can totally understand the hype about it at the moment. I'm planning on going old school and reading War of the Worlds next. I'm off in two weeks for Easter holidays with NO work (thank god) so hopefully lots and lots of reading and blogging will happen then!

That's all, I'll be around on Twitter and Instagram (@rebeccabooks) if you want a chat. I will be complaining a lot though.

Also, if you know anything about marketing or business reports, I will love you forever to let me know!

Why I Left Waterstones

That's right. I admit with a lot of sadness that I am no longer a bookseller at Waterstones. Some may know this, others may not. However, I feel that I should explain my decision in some way and also to let the emotions and decisions behind this move out in a way I have always used to do so.

I loved my time at Waterstones, I really do and I do miss spending my weekends surrounded by books and people that share my love with those books. I didn't particularly want to leave but I think, for myself, for the shop I worked within and for the customers I shared my experiences and passion for books with, it was the right thing to do.
I also love university, and that's the thing. University got in the way of my bookselling and bookselling got in the way of my time at university. There are a number of other reasons but essentially that is the main reason. With all the deadlines that have been piling up ever since, I'm glad I decided to leave otherwise I would have had to let down my colleagues.

I miss my job a lot, I miss having that to look forward every week and having something purposeful to do on a Saturday instead of lazying around all day. I miss feeling so independent while working and having some 'me-time'. I miss my colleagues and the easy way I had with them. I miss talking about books all day and sharing my favourite books with those around me. I miss saying I'm a bookseller.

However, I am still in touch with my old manager from home so hopefully I can get a job in the summer or Christmas or something. It's weird walking past my old store when I go home, looking in and seeing my old colleagues particularly the ones I got on the best with and knowing the ins and outs of that shop. It's so weird, saddening and annoying in some aspects but I believe it was the right decision and I don't regret it mostly.

Sorry this was a bit of a soppy post, but I think I needed to let it out a little bit to move on. Have a good week guys!

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

Source: Own
Pages: 183
Publisher: Knopf

Synopsis: The night begins when Nick asks Norah to be his five minute girlfriend to avoid his ex, who has just walked in to see his band play with her new guy. After one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure across New York City with the confusion, excitement and anticipation of a first date.

Review: I'm not sure where to start this review for this book. I guess I have too many emotions and thoughts in my head for this book that I can't quite gather them together and put into a logical review process.

Initially, I thought I wasn't going to make it through. The first few chapters aren't the best part of this book but they are truly needed. I found Cohn's writing style quite hard to read, the same thoughts as when I read Levithan and Cohn's Dash and Lily's Book of Dares.
However, I did get into it eventually and loved it. This is a book that brings the beauty of being young, of being in a city and puts that all together into a story and puts in the shadow of most teenager's love for music. The experiences and thoughts of the two leads are very accurate to someone who is 17 now, these are characters that I believed and made me reminisce slightly of when I was 16/17 (although that was only a couple of years ago but still).

Nick and Norah are great characters, with a host of other brilliant characters in the background. I liked Norah's powerful lead as well as laughing at her sarcasm and humour that is incredibly similar to my own. She's had some bad experiences with boys in the past and through this, she become cynical and afraid almost I guess. I also loved Nick, he is a genuine, honest character and I liked to see his reactions of the events they go through.

I get why some people don't like this book. But the reason for that is all down to this book's originality. The voices of Nick and Norah are very individual and at times I got annoyed at Norah's parts as she has an interesting, cynical, sarcastic voice that can be quite hard to read at some points. This book is very different to what I was expecting. I was expecting a love story, sure, but I was expecting it over a long period, not just a night. But I liked that, it made it immediate and quick and although perhaps in some ways unrealistic, I couldn't care less.

This book is modern, current and a true voice for teenagers. It's not a serious book by far, but I loved that. It's quirky, original and something I will remember for a long time afterwards. NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST is a book that is about young people and for young people and has some of the most individual characters I have read about in a while. This isn't the best book I've ever read but I still really enjoyed it and hopefully watch the movie (on Netflix) very, very soon.

I give it a 4 out of 5


Related Reviews:
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan
Love Is The Higher Law - David Levithan