Ash Reads Stuff

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley Publication Date: June 6th, 2017 Pages: 273 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 5 stars Goodreads Synopsis: Love lives between the lines. Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came. Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future. Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart. As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because lif...

Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi Publication Date: February 6th, 2018 Pages: 336 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3.5 stars Goodreads Synopsis: Scott Ferdowsi has a track record of quitting. Writing the Great American Novel? Three chapters. His summer internship? One week. His best friends know exactly what they want to do with the rest of their lives, but Scott can hardly commit to a breakfast cereal, let alone a passion. With college applications looming, Scott’s parents pressure him to get serious and settle on a career path like engineering or medicine. Desperate for help, he sneaks off to Washington, DC, to seek guidance from a famous professor who specializes in grit, the psychology of success. He never expects an adventure to unfold out of what was supposed to be a one-day visit. But that’s what Scott gets when he meets Fiora Buchanan, a ballsy college student whose life ambition is to write crossword puzzles. When the bicycle she lends him gets Sc...

Well, here we are again. Another year, another list of books. I'd love to start this post off by bragging about all the books I've read this year...but I can't. By current count I'm at 101 books. My Goodreads Reading Challenge is set for 120. It was set for 175. But first it was set at 200. This year was rough, y'all. Still! Out of those 101 books I had some pretty great ones. You might know the drill here. I'll post each book with a mini review and a link to my review of it, if you're into that sort of thing. This book is pure magic. Hatfields and McCoys family rivalry, a love story, wit, sarcasm, and magic.  Far From the Tree  is perfection, in my opinion. If you have siblings, even if you aren't a "young adult", you can relate. It's beautiful.  I just realized I never wrote a review for this lovely story so, fail on my part. I know I recommended Graffiti Moon  a while back and this one is just as good. It's about f...