The Name of the Star Maureen Johnson A Jack the Ripper story set in modern London, how could you not be intrigued? I wish I didn’t read this in the middle of the night where every single sound was amplified and my scared self didn’t have to freak out so much. Maureen Johnson wrote a hauntingly beautiful story about a transfer student from Louisiana, Rory Deveaux, and her start at a boarding school in London.  I was so so thrilled at the end of the book, because I knew it was going to be a part of a series. I wanted to know what happened next, because there will be a cliffhanger at the end, there, I said it! You will want to read the next book, even if its ten times creepier than the first one.  And I also loved that Doctor Who reference. Like, really. This book! Amazing. The only thing that I probably didn’t like as much was the whole Rory-Jerome thing. I felt like that there wasn’t enough to go with it. I can picture Rory with Stephen, but not with Jerome.  This was the quote that I really, really liked: “Fear can’t hurt you. When it washes over you, give it no power. It’s a snake with no venom.”

The Name of the Star

Maureen Johnson

A Jack the Ripper story set in modern London, how could you not be intrigued? I wish I didn’t read this in the middle of the night where every single sound was amplified and my scared self didn’t have to freak out so much. Maureen Johnson wrote a hauntingly beautiful story about a transfer student from Louisiana, Rory Deveaux, and her start at a boarding school in London. 

I was so so thrilled at the end of the book, because I knew it was going to be a part of a series. I wanted to know what happened next, because there will be a cliffhanger at the end, there, I said it! You will want to read the next book, even if its ten times creepier than the first one. 

And I also loved that Doctor Who reference. Like, really. This book! Amazing.

The only thing that I probably didn’t like as much was the whole Rory-Jerome thing. I felt like that there wasn’t enough to go with it. I can picture Rory with Stephen, but not with Jerome. 

This was the quote that I really, really liked:

“Fear can’t hurt you. When it washes over you, give it no power. It’s a snake with no venom.”

Source: sospelldennisse

Let It Snow Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle I am a big fan of John Green ever since I read Looking for Alaska. I watch his videos on YouTube religiously (or, if I fail to, watch them all in one go) with his brother Hank whom I also adore. I am a proud Nerdfighter. I support their cause of decreasing world suck. John Green and his family (especially Henry! Oh, what a cutie pie) are awesome. I wouldn’t expect anything less.  Through John Green I found out about Maureen Johnson. At the time I had just gotten my Kindle and was looking for a quick summer-type read, when John retweeted one of Maureen’s tweets, and after a quick search in Amazon, downloaded 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Last Little Blue Envelope. I’m actually halfway through finishing The Name of the Star. Needless to say, I loved them.  I have not heard of Lauren Myracle at the time when I bought this book but I was insanely jealous of her last name. (Hehe)  To anyone who wants to read Let It Snow, I suggest you read it prior to Christmas, or at exactly Christmas. It is a nice book to cozy up to, with a fuzzy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. Sounds cliche, I know, but that’s how this book feels to me: fuzzy, warm, comforting.  I don’t really want to go into details with this one, for fear that I might spoil it, but I truly loved it. I am a big fan of stories that are somehow interconnected with all the different characters from different stories without it seeming too forced. A perfect example of this would also be one of my favorite movies to watch during the holidays, which is Love Actually. I liked, how, even if three stories were written by three different authors, they were all able to mesh well together to create one beautiful novel. It’s a YA book, a genre that I just can’t quit, so my sentimental self can’t help but think back on all of my past Christmases, the good and the bad. I wondered to myself if I had a memorable Christmas that was so good I can write a whole book around it. I don’t think I have one yet, so we’ll see where that goes.  Here are some passages/quotes from each of the stories that I really liked. There might be a mild spoiler in one of them, but I’m sure you’ll need to read all three stories beforehand. :) God… I’d been bored for a year. I hadn’t talked about myself in ages. Stuart was talking about me. He was paying attention. It felt foreign, a little embarrassingly intimate, but kind of great. My eyes filled up. —The Jubilee Express  I always had this idea that you should never give up on a happy middle in hopes of a happy ending, because there is no such thing as a happy ending. Do you know what I mean? There is so much to lose.  —A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle Silly girl, it’s not what the universe gives us that matters. It’s what we give the universe. —The Patron Saint of Pigs Let It Snow is a wonderful book. I wish there was a part two lurking around in Johnson, Green, and Myracle’s heads.

Let It Snow

Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle

I am a big fan of John Green ever since I read Looking for Alaska. I watch his videos on YouTube religiously (or, if I fail to, watch them all in one go) with his brother Hank whom I also adore. I am a proud Nerdfighter. I support their cause of decreasing world suck. John Green and his family (especially Henry! Oh, what a cutie pie) are awesome. I wouldn’t expect anything less. 

Through John Green I found out about Maureen Johnson. At the time I had just gotten my Kindle and was looking for a quick summer-type read, when John retweeted one of Maureen’s tweets, and after a quick search in Amazon, downloaded 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Last Little Blue Envelope. I’m actually halfway through finishing The Name of the Star. Needless to say, I loved them. 

I have not heard of Lauren Myracle at the time when I bought this book but I was insanely jealous of her last name. (Hehe) 

To anyone who wants to read Let It Snow, I suggest you read it prior to Christmas, or at exactly Christmas. It is a nice book to cozy up to, with a fuzzy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. Sounds cliche, I know, but that’s how this book feels to me: fuzzy, warm, comforting. 

I don’t really want to go into details with this one, for fear that I might spoil it, but I truly loved it. I am a big fan of stories that are somehow interconnected with all the different characters from different stories without it seeming too forced. A perfect example of this would also be one of my favorite movies to watch during the holidays, which is Love Actually.

I liked, how, even if three stories were written by three different authors, they were all able to mesh well together to create one beautiful novel. It’s a YA book, a genre that I just can’t quit, so my sentimental self can’t help but think back on all of my past Christmases, the good and the bad. I wondered to myself if I had a memorable Christmas that was so good I can write a whole book around it. I don’t think I have one yet, so we’ll see where that goes. 

Here are some passages/quotes from each of the stories that I really liked. There might be a mild spoiler in one of them, but I’m sure you’ll need to read all three stories beforehand. :)

God… I’d been bored for a year. I hadn’t talked about myself in ages. Stuart was talking about me. He was paying attention. It felt foreign, a little embarrassingly intimate, but kind of great. My eyes filled up.

—The Jubilee Express 

I always had this idea that you should never give up on a happy middle in hopes of a happy ending, because there is no such thing as a happy ending. Do you know what I mean? There is so much to lose. 

—A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle

Silly girl, it’s not what the universe gives us that matters. It’s what we give the universe.

—The Patron Saint of Pigs

Let It Snow is a wonderful book. I wish there was a part two lurking around in Johnson, Green, and Myracle’s heads.