The Bookish Fairy

Young adult, magical realism, and every book in between infused with fairy dust...

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

The Sun is Also a Star Published by Delacorte Press on November 1, 2016
Genres: contemporary, YA Contemporary, YA Romance
Pages: 384
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Goodreads
five-stars

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

 

Catfairy’s Booktape

Natasha is my ultimate music twin due to our mutual love of 90’s grunge and Daniel is a poet so of course, Bob Dylan is the perfect mix to add into this playlist!  Here is a little bit of Eddie Vedder, Dylan, Chris Cornell, and some good old teen spirit!

Catfairy’s Starry Bookish Babbles

When I finished listening to Nicola Yoon’s book I rewinded the ending like seventeen times because my heart couldn’t handle that the book was over! The book had all the elements of being a fluffy book while showing the intensity of first love. She writes the feelings of first love the way a sixteen-year-old actually experiences first love. Yoon brings you back to the days when falling in love is an all-encompassing feeling and it’s all you think about, ruminate about, sing about, write about, and obsessively dream about as if your own life depends on it! 

Catnopsis

“I see us in old age. I can’t see our faces; I don’t even know where or even when we are. But I have a strange and happy feeling that I can’t quite describe. It’s like knowing all the words to a song but still finding them beautiful and surprising.”

-Daniel

Daniel and Natasha are in a record store in New York and from the moment Daniel lays eyes on Natasha he has a feeling he is going to spend the rest of his life with her…

But he has approximately twelve hours to convince her to fall in love with him…

Natasha is a girl about facts and science and currently, she has a hard time facing reality. Her family is about to get deported and she has twelve hours to try to get her family to stay in New York and then she bumps into Daniel in the record store and her whole world changes. 

Daniel has always been the perfect son but faces pressure from his family to be someone that he is not when all he wants is to be a poet. He is a boy who lives in his own head and is a true romantic at heart. When he meets Natasha he sees his own future right before his eyes…

Pop Culture Purr-References

via GIPHY

I know I have mentioned this pop culture reference just recently but obvi Before Sunrise has been on my mind lately! I really need to watch it tonight and just get it over with! 

But honestly, The Sun is Also a Star perfectly represents the insta-love that Before Sunrise does! 

Nicola Yoon’s Writing

The chapters in this book are written in the point of view of the characters and this is my favorite kind of book because I love books that are character driven more than plot driven. Even though the chapters are mainly dedicated to the main characters Natasha and Daniel, there are surprise chapters from the strangers they meet along the way such as the security guard from the immigration office and even the etymological history of the Jamaican term irie! 

Nicola Yoon represents diverse characters in her story with Natasha being Jamaican and Daniel being Korean American. Not only does Yoon represent the characters diverse backgrounds in this story, but she also touches on immigration which is a hot topic in our Trump era. The author writes about the struggles about facing deportation and really humanizes the struggle of immigration.   

Glittery Introspections

The format that I used to read The Sun is Also a Star was a mix of reading and listening but I was listening to this book 70% of the time. If I wasn’t listening to this book for most of the time I would have probably tabbed almost the whole book because the language was even more lyrical than Yoon’s last book Everything, Everything.

Nicola Yoon is becoming the queen of insta-love but she is one of the few authors that REALLY knows how to write insta-love! This book captures the exhilarating experience of running around New York while falling in love! What can be better than that?!

More importantly, this is a book about fate and about how everything is connected in some way or another and that was one of the most beautiful things about this book! This book teaches us how strangers can sometimes have a significant impact on our lives when we aren’t even aware of it. 

 

five-stars

Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes

Analee, in Real Life by Janelle MilanesAnalee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes
Published by Simon Pulse on September 18, 2018
Genres: contemporary, YA Contemporary, YA Romance
Pages: 416
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Goodreads
four-half-stars

Ever since her mom died three years ago, Analee Echevarria has had trouble saying out loud the weird thoughts that sit in her head. With a best friend who hates her and a dad who’s marrying a yogi she can’t stand, Analee spends most of her time avoiding reality and role-playing as Kiri, the night elf hunter at the center of her favorite online game.

Through Kiri, Analee is able to express everything real-life Analee cannot: her bravery, her strength, her inner warrior. The one thing both Kiri and Analee can’t do, though, is work up the nerve to confess her romantic feelings for Kiri’s partner-in-crime, Xolkar—aka a teen boy named Harris whom Analee has never actually met in person.

So when high school heartthrob Seb Matias asks Analee to pose as his girlfriend in an attempt to make his ex jealous, Analee agrees. Sure, Seb seems kind of obnoxious, but Analee could use some practice connecting with people in real life. In fact, it’d maybe even help her with Harris.

But the more Seb tries to coax Analee out of her comfort zone, the more she starts to wonder if her anxious, invisible self is even ready for the real world. Can Analee figure it all out without losing herself in the process?

Catfairy’s Booktape

Here is a mix of the songs that I grew up with being raised in a Cuban family and the songs that I am into right now that have those fluffy contemporary YA feels…

Catfairy’s “Real” Bookish Babbles

Analee, in Real Life, sneaked up on me unexpectedly and I am so happy it did! The year 2018 was the year where so many amazing diverse books were being published and Analee, in Real Life came at a perfect time since it was published during Latinx month in September! 

Janelle Milanes’s book was the best-underrated book that I have read in 2018 because it is written by an own voices Cuban American author and the MC Analee is Cuban American! This book took me back to a time when I was a shy emo teenager writing unrequited love to one of the popular jocks in school. I can identify with Analee so hard because as a Cuban American I love that this story is not really about a girl who is Cuban, it’s just about a girl who is just trying to exist in the media-saturated world we live in. 

Catnopsis

Analee Echeverria is a girl who juggles between two identities. She is an awkward and shy girl at school that prefers to be invisible and she is the kickass online avatar elf hunter named Kiri of her favorite online game. Analee lost her mother three years ago and she struggles with finding her own voice. She wants to be more like the online character of Kiri who always takes action but she keeps holding herself back until she finally decides to stop hiding behind her computer and face the real world.

The character is going through many changes in her life and she prefers to escape reality more than deal with it head-on. Her dad is going to marry a yogi lifestyle YouTuber named Harlow and her best friend won’t speak to her anymore. She finds comfort in her friend Harris who is her online gamer buddy who she has never met and to make things more complicated she has love feelings for him. Analee’s world begins to change when she gets an offer to pretend to be the girlfriend of the most popular jock in school. She finds herself in the process and realizes that she may be more like Kiri the elf hunter than she thinks…

The Meow Casting Call

Meet Analee (Played by Isabella Gomez)

“I’m a crappy excuse for a Cuban anyway. My Spanish is awful. I don’t know proper vocab, only slang words that would get me laughed out of actual Spanish-speaking countries.”

-Analee

via GIPHY

One Day at a Time was one of my favorite shows of 2018 and I have said before that this show is like the Cuban version of Full House! The show gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings and my favorite character was, of course, Elena Alvarez! Elena is a loveable and geeky Cuban American character who reminded me so much of Analee!

Pop Culture Purr-references

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Of course, I have to reference One Day at a Time once again! Analee, in Real Life, reminds me so much of this show because there were many times where Analee’s family made me crack up! There is a hilarious scene in the book where the future stepmom of Analee, named Harlow tries to cook a healthy version of ropa vieja for Analee’s Cuban grandparents and the look of horror on their face is classic! The dynamics of the family in One Day at a Time has the similar heartfelt humor to Analee, in Real Life and it gives me all the nostalgic feelings of growing up in a Cuban family myself. 

Catfairy’s Glittery Introspections

I love how this book didn’t end the way I expected it to. Analee, in Real Life, is kind of similar in the vein of the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series but with a twist. This is a story about a girl who finds herself and gets the people she loves back in her life. Analee finally finds the strength that is inside of her and realizes that life is best lived outside of her online gaming world. Milanes’ book gets 4.5 stars for me because I felt that the relationship between Harris and Analee was unnecessary and I just wasn’t invested enough in that part of the story. Although, I totally ship the relationship that evolved between Analee and Sebastian even though I have very conflicted feelings about the Sebastian character! There were some choices that Sebastian made in the story that really aggravated me but then again he is a high school jock! I can’t expect perfection from Sebastian! 

Janelle Milanes wrote the kind of book that was extremely special because it is a book about a Cuban character who simply existed as a Cuban character. This book had all the dynamics about how it is like to grow up in a Cuban family but the book wasn’t really about that. I love that this book just simply has Cuban characters and that it doesn’t just center the writing on their own culture. Books that are diverse are not solely relegated to just hone in on the character’s cultural background, it can just be about the character’s journey whether it be fighting warlocks or crushing on popular boys. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

four-half-stars

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Save the Date by Morgan MatsonSave the Date by Morgan Matson
Published by Simon Schuster on June 5, 2018
Genres: contemporary
Pages: 432
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Goodreads

five-stars




Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.

The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.

There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.

Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.

Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

Catfairy’s Booktape

Morgan Matson is my playlist soulmate and if I had to hire the perf DJ to my wedding Morgan Matson would be my girl! Here is the collection of songs in Morgan Matson’s book and the songs I selected from the massive list!

Catfairy’s Thoughts

If I read this book the year while I was planning my wedding I would have probably eloped! This book brought me back to the wedding anxiety craziness that is known as the last few days before the wedding! Save the Date was my most anticipated summer book of the year and I gobbled up this book like Charlie’s favorite strawberry glazed donut! 

While I was reading this book, it felt like one of those crazy Chevy Chase movies only this time it involved a wedding! Everything that you can possibly think of went insanely wrong in this wedding and there were some parts that made me so livid, I almost questioned whether these things could actually happen at a wedding! If I had to endure half of what the bride had to go through in this wedding I would have rescheduled the whole wedding for the next year! 

Catnopsis

“I looked at everything that was there—everything our mother had done, for good and bad, this whole world she’d brought into existence with some paper and ink.”

-Charlie Grant

Charlie Grant is planning to spend the perfect weekend planning and attending her sister Linnie Grant’s wedding with her big crazy family. There are many new developments happening in Charlie Grant’s life with her family moving out of the house they grew up in, her mother retiring from her famous comic strip that is based on her real family, and Charlie going away to college. Instead of focusing her energies on all the new developments, she puts her energy into helping her sister have a smooth wedding weekend. Until the wedding planner dips out due to fraudulent activity and the wedding weekend plans are anything but smooth! 

Since the wedding player escaped, the wedding service “Where There’s a Will” steps in to provide their services. Bill works for his uncle’s company “Where There’s a Will” and Charlie teams up with Bill to help set up the rest of the wedding. They have no idea the fun that is in store for both of them from mixing up suits and wedding decorations, Journey Tribute bands, supermarket cake, unanticipated adorable pets, and the hilarity of everything going wrong almost all the way to the end of the book!

Through the wedding madness, Charlie realizes that her family isn’t the way they seem in her mom’s comic strip. Charlie is forced to take off her rose-colored glasses and learn about what true change is all about…

 

Meet Charlie (played by Maude Apatow)

 

via GIPHY

Charlie is the queen of denial and living in her own idealized version of her family life. She is holding on to her romanticized versions of her past and keeps pushing away her future. Little does she know that reality is coming for her whether she is ready for it or not…

(On another random note, Maude Apatow could totally be Morgan Matson’s daughter right?!)

 

Meet Bill (played by Luke Benward)

“I know Charlie, I didn’t just get here.”

-Bill

Bill was described as having a Matt Damon kind of snub nose and I think Luke Benward is perfect for this role!

Bill is the perfect person that you can rely on when you’re under a ridiculously messy situation such as mixing up Australian themed children’s party decorations and ruined wedding cakes! He is adorable in every sense of the word and he is there for Charlie for every step of the way. Bill is that guy who is uber cute, reliable, sensible, and you don’t realize how amazing he is until he spontaneously dances with you in the middle of a supermarket! Who can resist a Bill?! And that name…gives me the My Girl feels for reals…

 

Waffles and Maple Syrup

One of the best parts of this book is that there is a dog named Waffles and an actual CAT named Maple Syrup in an actual Morgan Matson book (Who is a registered dog lover btw?! Love this!)?!!!! The dog’s name Waffles is based on her mother’s comic strip. I have a love for beagles because I used to have a beagle named Scooby and my heart will forever be with him. My parents still have a cat named Ringo Starr and Scooby and Ringo Starr were best buds back in the day. After all, you can’t have a Waffles without a Maple Syrup!

My own Maple Syrup and Waffles!

 

Catfairy’s Pop Culture References

Matson described this book as a Father of the Bride meets The Family Stone! She was right on point with her references because the book has the comedic aspect of The Father of the Bride along with the warm and fuzzy feelings of having a big family for The Family Stone.

 

via GIPHY

Matson’s Writing

Matson’s character development in this book was absolutely impeccable! The fact that the time span of this book was set over a wedding weekend and the author had to alter Charlie’s perspective on the concept of change is incredible. As an author, it must have been difficult to write about a character who had to accept the reality of change over a three day weekend and I commend Matson for achieving this in her writing in such a flawless manner. All of Morgan Matson’s books are always set over the summer season but I love that Matson’s writing balances the light and fun with the extremely heartfelt. One of the reasons why I continue to read Morgan Matson is because she always creates new and unique aspects in her books such as the comic book strip which is classic! This was a different kind of book for Morgan Matson because this time instead of focusing on the romance there was more of a focus on the family which was such a refreshing read! Who doesn’t love the antics of a big family along with the complicated natures of it too?! 

Catfairy’s Final Thoughts…

“How was it that you only fully realized what you had when it was gone? And I knew there would be new friends, new experiences, maybe even amazing adventures ahead of me. But I felt like I needed, for just a moment, to appreciate what I was–what we all were–leaving behind.”

-Charlie Grant

Charlie is probably one of the characters that I can really identify with. I can identify with how Charlie creates things in her mind that has never really happened and continues to live in her own alternate reality. This book taught me so much about the importance of family and how the love of a family continues to go on despite the changes that inevitably come throughout life. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to read about a fun loving family going through many unexpected changes. One of the things I love most about this book is that it taught me that change is always imminent in life and if we chose to live in the past instead of accepting change we miss so many amazing things. 

 

 

 

five-stars

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins ReidThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published by Atria Books on June 13, 2017
Genres: contemporary, fiction, historical fiction, romance
Pages: 388
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Goodreads

five-stars




Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Catfairy’s Booktape

Here is my glamorous Spotify playlist with some classic hits by the starlets of the time and some modern songs mixed in there as well!

Catfairy’s Starlet Thoughts

If I had to sum up my feelings after reading Evelyn Hugo, I would say that it completely destroyed me! I never thought I would have so much sympathy for a fictional character and after I finished reading about Evelyn Hugo’s life I just wanted to reach out and hug her. Although I know if I tried to hug her she would probably reach out and slap me for even showing an ounce of sympathy towards her!

via GIPHY

Catnopsis

Before Evelyn Hugo, she was born Evelyn Elena Herrera in 1938 and she is the daughter of Cuban immigrants. From a young age, Evelyn learned to fend for herself. She learned to fight and manipulate others through her bombshell looks to achieve ultimate stardom.

“And I didn’t say I was confessing any sins. To say that what I have to tell is a sin is misleading and hurtful. I don’t feel regret for the things I’ve done—at least not the things you might expect—despite how hard they may have been or how repugnant they may seem in the cold light of day.”

 -Evelyn Hugo

Evelyn Herrera became Mrs. Diaz and she began to climb her way up the ladder. She married a man involved in the movie industry named Ernie Diaz. Evelyn lived a mediocre existence as a waitress but had greater aspirations than anyone thought possible…

Once the Hollywood lights shined down on Evelyn she dropped her last name, divorced Ernie, and quickly became the iconic Evelyn Hugo. More than anything, Evelyn Hugo wanted to be the brightest star in Hollywood and she was going to claw her way to the top no matter what. She made no apologies for herself and always did what she had to do even if it meant hurting the people she loved.

Not only is her life chronicled through her rise to fame as a classic Hollywood actress, the gossip magazines also obsessively chronicled her love life. (Obvi the title speaks for itself.) Evelyn did, in fact, marry approximately seven times although some of these marriages take an unlikely turn. There is also a bi-sexual romance in the story that has a significant effect on Evelyn Hugo. Evelyn Hugo is a woman that really lived her life with reckless and wild abandon.

Now in 2017, Evelyn Hugo is a woman that has lived her life and she is ready to reveal a tell-all to a woman that is in the low totem pole when it comes to the journalism world. Monique is a bi-racial woman who is in the process of a divorce and is struggling with getting good stories. Evelyn Hugo gives her the opportunity of a lifetime and she pushes Monique to see her inner strength and talent she didn’t know she had. Although Evelyn has hired Monique to write her tell-all story there may be more to the story for Monique than she ever thought imaginable…

 

Meet Evelyn Hugo (Played by Eva Mendez)

via GIPHY

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has to be a movie right now because Eva Mendez is perfect for this role! She is a talented Cuban-American actress who has done her fair share of major motion pictures! I couldn’t have picked a better actress for this role!

 

Meet Celia St. James (Played by Emma Stone)

via GIPHY

Celia St. James is described as America’s Sweetheart who is described as a gifted actress. She is sweet, accessible, unassuming, and Emma Stone could play into this role perfectly!

 

Meet Harry (Played by Kevin Connolly)

I was so touched by the friendship between Evelyn and Harry! Kevin just has that old Hollywood Andy Rooney kind of appeal. I think that Kevin Connolly would capture the sentimentality between Harry and Evelyn’s relationship perfectly.

 

Meet Monique (Played by Princess Meghan)

 

via GIPHY

Yes, guys, I went there! I mean I am all about Princess Megan these days and she fits the bill perfectly for Monique even thought summoning her out of Buckingham Palace to do movies probably wouldn’t happen! Oh well…a girl can dream…

 

Pop Culture Reference

I grew up watching Elizabeth Taylor and since this book is partly inspired by Elizabeth Taylor (And mostly Rita Hayworth) I couldn’t help but mention her. I was completely mesmerized by Elizabeth Taylor’s acting and her striking violet eye color! I remember watching Elizabeth Taylor movies every morning as a little girl and being captivated by her otherworldly beauty!

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Which Dawson’s Creek character would read this book?

Andie McPhee would totally read this book! Even though, she is a type A student who is all about the books Andie has a fun side to her and seems like the type to completely fangirl all over this book!

via GIPHY

Catfairy’s Final Thoughts…

I loved this book so much and it indulged all my guilty pleasures! Anything that has to do with celebrities, fame, glamour, love, and absolute drama is like crack for me! I couldn’t help but indulge in other guilty pleasure while reading this book like many glasses of wine and bags of chips! (My butt didn’t thank me for this.) It was just such a fun book to read but at the same time so gut wrenching and emotional! Frankly, this book just messed me up and gave me a huge book hangover when it was all over!

Being a Cuban-American, I love that the book has a MC with a Cuban background although I would have liked to have read more about her background. There were some hints of her heritage peppered throughout the book but she hid her background due to the fact that Hollywood was kind of racist at the time.

This is the kind of book that I will never forget about. I have to say this book left a profound effect on me. Mrs. Reid’s book made me realize the fragility of life and that we must live our lives now. This book taught me to hold the people that I love close and to never take them for granted because even though we all want to be successful in life it shouldn’t be in the expense of others.

Evelyn Hugo taught me that we must take chances in our lives and that we don’t get many chances to make a mark in this world.

Evelyn Hugo is more than Evelyn Hugo the starlet and the one that America worships in cinematic history. She is Evelyn Herrera. This is about a woman that literally grabbed life by the balls and made incredibly hard decisions. She hardly apologized for the choices that she made in her life and she has ne regrette…(No regrets)…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

five-stars