Booked with Abby

 I have such mixed feelings about summer being over. On one hand, I'm so glad it won't be so hot anymore. I hate the heat! On the other hand, there's school... August was a pretty good month for me. I went on vacation to Rhode Island a few weeks ago, but now I'm back in school. For the most part, August was a good reading month. Unfortunately though, for the past week, I have been in a huge reading slump. I'm finding I don't have as much time to read during the day and when I get home from school, I'm too exhausted to pick up a book. Currently, I'm reading My Contrary Mary  so I'm hoping that'll take me out of this reading slump! Book reviews: The Cleaners  by Ken Liu My rating: 3 stars Series: Faraway Genre: fantasy Synopsis:  Is it better to remember or forget? Gui is a professional cleaner who scrubs away the unwanted memories of the past. Unlike other cleaners, Gui can't feel the memories from the objects. However, Clara can. She doesn...

 Oh my gosh, I'm becoming one of those people with a TBR that's over 100 books... But buying books is fun so here's another book haul! We Can Be Heros  by Kyrie McCauley The best book I read this month was definitely We Can Be Heros . It was heartbreaking and tragic. I was so lucky to receive an ARC of this book. We Can Be Heros comes out on September 7. Synopsis: Beck and Vivian could never stand each other, but they tried for their mutal best friend, Cassie. When it seems like everyone in Bell has forgotten about Cassie's murder, Beck and Vivian finally find something in common: vengeance. When Cassie comes back as a ghost, Beck and Vivian agree to help her pass onto the afterlife. They secretly paint memorials for Cassie around town protesting again gun violence in Bell. All of Us Villains  by Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Herman I'm currently reading All of Us Villains . I'm almost done with this amazing novel perfect for fans of The Hunger Games. This b...

Shortly after Mary Lennox moves to Misselthwaite, she finds a walled-in garden. With the help of Dickon, a boy who has the strange ability to charm animals, Mary is able to restore the garden to its former glory. The garden helps Mary get better and its secret powers help her sick cousin, Colin. So I didn't know anything going into the book. I had no idea what the plot would be like or anything. Big mistake. I'm not sure why but, I thought that this was going to be a fantasy book. I was wrong.  The Secret Garden was really good at first. Then it got a little boring, but the ending was pretty good. My attention level for this book was up and down. Frances's writing could get really dry at some points.  Mary and Colin were such brats! It was so annoying how rude they were and even other characters commented on this.  I am really excited to watch the new movie though! That was probably my main reason for picking up this book. Page Count: 291 pages Published: 1910 Genre: clas...

 In honor of the third book in the System Divine  trilogy coming out, I'd thought I'd make a little playlist for fans of the first two books!  Sky Without Stars  is a  Les Miserables  retelling perfect for sci-fi fans! I loved how futuristic this book was! This series seems to keep getting better with each book so I can't wait to read Suns Wil Rise ! Atmosphere- Bebe Rexha all the good girls go to hell- Billie Eilish I Hope- Gabby Barrett Boyfriend- Arianna Grande Carousel- Melanie Martinez Shameless- Camila Cabello Shining Star- Bebe Rexha About Sky Without Stars Chatine is a street rate who steals to survive. She was raised by corrupt crooks. Marcellus is an officer, raised by the general of Laterre. His father was a traitor who was part of the rebellion of 488. Alouette is one of the last people of Laterre who can read the Forgotten Word (aka English). She lives in an underground refuge but an unexpected murder will bring her to the surface for the first...

Lady Jane Grey didn't plan to get married. But she does anyway. Edward knows he's dying so he arranges to marry Jane off to Gifford (but he likes to be called G) so he can have an heir. Jane and G aren't thrilled at first. And Janes is even less thrilled when she finds out that G is an Eðian. G turns into a horse every morning at sunrise. It isn't long before Edward, Jane, and G find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that will change England forever. This is by far the best historical fiction series there is. Though it's not historically accurate, this is definitely my favorite version of the Tudors. My Lady Jane  is a silly retelling of Lady Jane Grey's brief reign. It was surprising that the authors were able to turn such a tragic moment in history into one of the best comedies I've ever read. Considering the time period, I loved how stubborn and feisty the female characters were. The characters were so well developed. Each had their own distinct vo...

Cress has spent her whole life locked in a spaceship, orbiting Earth. After being rescued by Captin Carswell Thorne, their ship crashes in Africa. Meanwhile, Cinder and her crew are preparing to face their next challenge: stopping the royal wedding. I feel like each book in this series just keeps getting better and better. Each couple becomes my new favorite. Marissa Myers crafted this dystopian world beautifully. Each one has me hooked. I can't wait to read  Winter . I got to see a little bit of Winter in  Cress  and she seemed so sweet.  I love Cress. She was such a cute character. She and Thorne had an adorable relationship which I want to see more of in the next book. There was so much going on in Cress . All of the main characters were in different places and Marissa Myers did this really well. Everything was easy to keep track of and the way all these different storylines come together was beautiful. The Lunar Chronicles  is a perfect series for anyone jus...

My favorite retelling is definitely Sky Without Stars  which was a stunning book based off of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. As I was reading the book, I noticed so many similarities between the two and this got me wondering, how alike are these two books? Well here is some stuff I noticed while reading Sky Without Stars. Right off the bat, I noticed that the Renards reminded me of the Thenardiers. Heck, Madame Renard was even called "the master of the house"(bottom of page 22). I would also like to point out that Chatine went under the alias, Theo Renard. That name and the name Thenardier consist of mostly the same letters.  Marcellus was undoubtedly based off of Marius. Not only do their names sound alike but both boys are extremely wealthy in a time when most are poor and living on the streets. Both also have a military background, Marculles being the grandson of the general, preparing to follow in his footsteps while Marius fought with the Students of the ABC. Alouette...