I'm SO HERE FOR THIS | A Court of Mist and Fury Review

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Published: May 3, 2016
Pages: 640
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Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

Review: All the Bright Places

Title: All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Published: January 6, 2015
Pages: 400
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The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

Review: Simon Vs. The Homo Sapien's Agenda

Title: Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Published: April 17, 2015
Pages: 303
Source: Kindle
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Rating:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Review: Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki

Title: Geisha, A Life

Author: Mineko Iwasaki

Pages: 297

Published: September 1, 2003

Buy It: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Also found in Scribd

Rating: 

Celebrated as the most successful geisha of her generation, Mineko Iwasaki was only five years old when she left her parents' home for the world of the geisha. For the next twenty-five years, she would live a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and rich rewards. She would learn the formal customs and language of the geisha, and study the ancient arts of Japanese dance and music. She would enchant kings and princes, captains of industry, and titans of the entertainment world, some of whom would become her dearest friends. Through great pride and determination, she would be hailed as one of the most prized geishas in Japan's history, and one of the last great practitioners of this now fading art form.

In Geisha, a Life, Mineko Iwasaki tells her story, from her warm early childhood, to her intense yet privileged upbringing in the Iwasaki okiya (household), to her years as a renowned geisha, and finally, to her decision at the age of twenty-nine to retire and marry, a move that would mirror the demise of geisha culture. Mineko brings to life the beauty and wonder of Gion Kobu, a place that "existed in a world apart, a special realm whose mission and identity depended on preserving the time-honored traditions of the past." She illustrates how it coexisted within post-World War II Japan at a time when the country was undergoing its radical transformation from a post-feudal society to a modern one.

"There is much mystery and misunderstanding about what it means to be a geisha. I hope this story will help explain what it is really like and also serve as a record of this unique component of Japan's cultural history," writes Mineko Iwasaki. Geisha, a Life is the first of its kind, as it delicately unfolds the fabric of a geisha's development. Told with great wisdom and sensitivity, it is a true story of beauty and heroism, and of a time and culture rarely revealed to the Western world.

I was first introduced to this book through a friend when we were talking about the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. He told me that he read this book, Geisha, a Life, as a more accurate representation of what the life of a geisha as well as the culture was. Intrigued, I took a look at this book. I have a yearly subscription to Scribd, so of course I looked to see if they had the book there instead of having to perhaps buy a copy (that college kid budget, you know). They did, and immediately I starting reading it and immediately I was sucked into the world that Mineko had grown up in. 

Reading this book gave me a lot of insight and truth to what the geiko (or geisha) world is. Mineko started off with how she became a subject of interest to the head of a geiko house and continued her story throughout her career. Now, not only did Mineko have a really good insight and a lot of character (she was a defiant one haha)--the book also showed how intelligent Mineko was and what her opinions on the society of the geiko world were. A big subject that Mineko talks about a lot is how the geiko profession is a way for women to become independent and be able to make their own income. If you're not aware, Japan was still very much in the husband-makes-the-income-and-women-are-housewives society when Mineko was growing up and it's still pretty common today as well. So on the outside it looks like geikos are in charge of their own income. While reading it, you come to an understanding that, actually, they're still incredibly dependent. 

Mineko had a lot of opinions on the types of reforms that she wanted to put into the culture and how it actually didn't promote independence and it was really interesting to read her ideals especially after living in that culture and being exposed to what it was. 

Overall, the writing is concise and captivating. Honestly, it was such a fun read from start to finish. Though, personally I love biographies and things like that. Reading stories of real people is a great point of interest for me. So I recommend this book to anyone else who has the same interest. Even if you're just interested in the culture, I would read it as it gives great insight. Though, of course, don't take ones word for the many. If you're serious about learning the culture, read different accounts because not everyone is gonna have the same opinion!