dearrivarie: December 2018

The Christmas season can easily get swallowed up by all the commercial lights and wrapping paper but I thought that we could end off our Petitmas journey with some happy thoughts. 2018 had its ups and downs for sure, but it's still crazy to think that those four numbers will soon be behind us. So, let's wrap this year up with ten things (for the 10 days of Petitmas) that made 2018 memorable.

1. Good books

This is primarily a book blog did you think I wasn't going to start off with something bookish? Books and this blog, in particular, is something I'm thankful of because I had serious doubts this year about calling it quits with the whole blog and book review thing but Petitmas and reminded me that I still love making posts even if I'm not the most internet social person out there.

2. Personality test
I fell in love with all sorts of personality categorization this year from MBTI to the Enneagram Institute to something as simple as astrology and one's Hogwarts House. For some reason it's just so fascinating and fun to read about the official and unofficial ways people can be relatable.

3. Ice cream
I'm not even going to disclose how much ice cream I ate this year but coffee oreo you're my new No. 1 favorite.

4. Oolong tea
Another new found love of mine...well not technically new but firmly solidified as a favorite. If you have not tried oolong milk tea or oolong tea with foam cap do yourselves a favor and try it.

5. Instagram
This is another thing that I've loved for a while but I feel like in 2018 my social media life was dominated by Instagram. The explore page on the app - complete rabbit hole.

6. Late night talks
I've never been one to stay up really late doing homework but the past two semesters which make up 2018 have been incredibly full of late night talks. The crazy amount of topics my roommates and I go on are something that I definitely treasured greatly.

7. Hugs
I'm not a super touchy person but hugs are great between family. It's definitely one of the things I miss most while I'm at school because I'm not really comfortable hugging a lot of my college friends.

8. Journaling
2018 was the year I really forced myself to journal more. It was both a creative and mental outlet for me and definitely something that I will continue to pursue in 2019.

9. Drawing
It will take a while but I'll get around to not requiring my feeble attempts at art to masterpieces because I'm not a trained artist. But I do love drawing and painting so it's somewhere for me to start.

10. Fuzzy blankets
Kind of a random one to end on but guys, I have discovered some super fuzzy blankets this year and they have changed my sleeping game.

As 2018 closes, what are some things that you are grateful for? Ten is a lot to come up at once but it's definitely not enough to encompass the whole entire year.

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9:06 PM No Comments

I missed another day (aka yesterday's post) but I wasn't going to fail my ten day goal that easily so here we are with Petitmas 09. I should probably have planned this post out a lot better instead of just typing things that come to mind, but I guess that makes it a more authentic discussion?

Image result for to all the boys i loved before book

2018 was such a great year in the realm of diversity. There were so many great releases and discussions popping up all over the place that opened the conversation for readers to delve into. Personally, 2018 was the year where I saw Asian representation truly begin to flourish in YA. I'm sure that sentence brings to mind a couple of obvious reasons: The Netflix adaptation of To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Crazy Rich Asians (not YA but still), amazing Asian debut authors like Emily X.R. Pan, Gloria Chao, and R.F. Kuang - the list can go on.

Image result for the astonishing color of after

For an Asian American myself, this was the year where I felt like I was connecting with characters in YA books on more than just experience from reading their stories, but on a cultural level as well. I've never been one to really point out the lack of Asian representation in any forms of media ever so the feeling of familiarity that came with all the amazing representation stated above caught me by surprise.

It wasn't until I actually experienced watching an Asian female protagonist in a widely popular movie adaptation or seeing more Asian faces on movie posters and book covers that I understood what representation felt like. I spoke a bit about this in my 2019 Anticipated Releases where I highlighted all the new Asian inspired fantasy stories that were coming out and how that idea just absolutely blew my mind.

Actually experiencing representation, no matter how small sparked excitement in me that just expanded throughout the year. My personal biggest takeaway from this Asian explosion is an understanding that representation is truly important. Genuine representation is something that connects everyone beyond words and brings a community together of shared experiences. It wasn't just me seeing and reading about Asian characters, it was the thought that others out there can experience a culture that was so dear and familiar to me.

I would love to hear your thoughts in regards to Asian representation in literature and this is definitely a discussion topic that I'd want to update on as the years go on. How did the various expansions of representation this year connect with you and what do you hope to see more of in YA literature in 2019?

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Wildcard by Marie Lu
| ISBN: 978-0399547997 | Pages: 352 |
Publication Date: September 18, 2018 | Source: Library Ebook
| Rating: 4 out of 5 stars |
★★★★

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.
Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.
Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

It's been about a week and a half and I'm still not quite sure if I have recovered from the end of the Warcross journey. There is a mix of adrenaline rush with a hint of disappointment because of what could have happened, but let's discuss to figure things out.

I jumped straight into Wildcard after finishing Warcross because I honestly couldn't keep away (and my library hold was expiring). After finishing the first book, there were just so many conflicting emotions and fears about how Marie Lu would take the story that the anticipation was almost unbearable. Luckily, stepping into Wildcard was like seamlessly falling back into the digitalized world I had become so attached to.

"Or maybe there isn't such a thing as an end goal at all. You accomplish something, and then you shift, ready to accomplish the next. You keep solving one problem after another until you change the world.”

Admittedly, I did go into Wildcard with my expectations quite high, and honestly, for the most part, I wasn't entirely disappointed. My biggest complaint about the first novel was the predictability aspect which I felt wasn't as prevalent in this story. However, with the new sense of unexpected, there were other elements that became less developed. One of them being Emika's character. I have probably fangirled so much about how much I just became drawn to Emika in Warcross, but I found myself skimming over her parts. She lacked the same fire that powered her through at the beginning and seemed to just be going along with whatever happened to be thrown at her.

“Tearing something down isn't the end; doing something great, or better, something right, is.”

That's not to say she wasn't motivated - she certainly had end goals for what she was going, but her character lacked further development and tangibility that would have made her a more compelling MC. And on the note of Emika, we have to talk about everybody else. Just seeing the friendships that were established in Warcross strengthen and how Emika really did find herself a family, that was a serious heart happy tears moment.

“That's the difference between the real and the virtual. Reality is where you can lose the ones you love. Reality is the place where you can feel the cracks in your heart.”

The character who did get the chance to really become fleshed out was Zero. Marie Lu did a fantastic job making him more than the black hooded figure of code who's out to get Hideo. He had depth in a way that scarily realistic which paralleled Hideo's own idealistic expectations for the NeuroLink. There's just so much that can be discussed regarding human nature's search for control and how scary the influence of technology can hold over all our lives.

“And that’s when I realize that, at the end, we’d all wish for the same thing. Just a little more time.”

My final verdict is still a bit blurry. Was I fully satisfied? Honestly, not really. But, I did enjoy this ending a lot. There were moments where I honestly felt like I couldn't breathe because my feels were overflowing or something critical was happening and I was going insane. I will say one last thing regarding the ending, it was nice and hopeful, but I want more Hideo x Emika please and thank you.

If you've read the book, I do go on a spoiler rant on Goodreads (click here) if you would like to check out more of my thoughts.

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8:00 AM No Comments

If the man in the big red suit ever comes across my name, I would sure hope that it'd be on the nice list, but we're talking about books here so we're going to have to figure that out. I came across this lovely tag on PaperFury and thought it'd be fun to figure out where I fall so let's get going~

RECEIVED AN ARC AND NOT REVIEWED IT
⬇️
naughty
I have such a terrible habit of requesting so many ARCs from NetGalley or other reviewing websites and being so excited, but completely burning out when I actually receive said books. Luckily in 2018, I've been trying to focus on reading more books that are less "spur of the moment" decisions so I think I only have one that comes to mind that I haven't reviewed...

HAVE LESS THAN A 60% FEEDBACK RATING ON NETGALLEY
⬇️
nice
I actually have a 94% rating...so...there you go :)

RATED ON GOODREADS AND PROMISED A FULL REVIEW...BUT NEVER DID IT
⬇️
naughty
That was pretty much all of 2017...and previous years. I used to promise full reviews all the time but would never jot down notes and time would pass. 2018 is looking ok so far...I think I've only gotten one or two that I have yet to write a full review.

FOLDED THE PAGE OF A BOOK
⬇️
naughty
My middle school days...

ACCIDENTALLY SPILLED FOOD ON A BOOK
⬇️
nice
I've actually never done this. I'm personally not a huge fan of snacking while eating so food and books aren't a combination that normally occurs around me.

DNF'D A BOOK THIS YEAR
⬇️
naughty
I'm sorry...I just couldn't...

BOUGHT A BOOK PURELY BECAUSE IT WAS PRETTY
WITH NO INTENTION TO READ IT
⬇️
nice
I'm too poor to do that let's be real here.

READ INSTEAD OF DOING SOMETHING IMPORTANT
⬇️
naughty
Finals what?

SKIM/READ A BOOK
⬇️
nice
I'm not even ashamed of it anymore...sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

FAILED YOUR GOODREADS GOAL
⬇️
nice
Not yet...I'm on track right now which is the most behind I have ever been and it's scaring me...

BROKE YOUR BOOK BUYING BAN
⬇️
naughty
Never put myself on one...refer back to broke college student comment from before.

FINISHED A BOOK BUT DIDN'T ADD IT TO GOODREADS
⬇️
naughty
Oops...

LEFT A REVIEW TOO LONG AND FORGOT THE BOOK
⬇️
naughty
Literal story of my life...

naughty: 8 | nice: 5

Well, I guess that sums it all up...sorry Santa.

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Warcross by Marie Lu

| ISBN: 978-0399547966 | Pages: 368 |

Publication Date: September 12, 2017 | Source: Library E-book

| Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars |

★★★☆

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.
Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

"It's too damn cold to be outside functioning." - a sick and stressed college student (aka me)

I've been eyeballing the Warcross duology ever since it came out because I've heard nothing but fantastic things about Marie Lu's writing. The only thing that really kept me away was the genre - I'm not a big science-fiction fan and tend to avoid books in that realm if I can. However, my interest got to me and I fell down this wonderful rabbit hole.

“Every locked door has a key. Every problem has a solution.”

The world of Warcross is a preview into what our world could potentially look like - a world that is completely online. Human employment is now mostly replaced by robots and the newest form of fame is to be a professional gamer in Warcross. Marie Lu did a fantastic job designing this futuristic world with all the cool gadgets and internet glam. It was the perfect amount of technology new-ness and a tangible world that made the story feel more grounded.

“But beauty can make people forgive a thousand cruelties.”

I don't know it is about Emika Chen but I really liked her character. I can go into a whole spiel about how awesome it is that Marie Lu has such a diverse range of characters and that we have a kickass Chinese-American hacker as our lead. But, on a very fundamental level - I just really loved Emika. Reading from her perspective for some odd reason just felt familiar and inviting which I contribute as being an important factor in explaining why I enjoyed this story so much.

“When you refuse to ask for help, it tells others that they also shouldn't ask for help from you. That you look down on them for needing your help. That you like feeling superior to them.”

Going back to the list of characters, we have LGBTQ+ representation as well as a disabled character who doesn't let his circumstance dictate his dreams. The cast for this novel encompasses so many different aspects of our society today and transports it just to a futuristic world where everyone can connect to the web just by donning a pair of glasses or contact lenses. Also, Hideo Tanaka is A+ (I'm just saying).

“Everything's science fiction until someone makes it science fact.”

My one gripe with this book is the predictability. The story does start off in a way that's very typical YA - main character getting something she only would have dreamed of and meeting her idol who also happens to develop feelings for her - but as I got more and more invested in the characters and plot, I started seeing where Marie Lu was taking the story. It almost feels like she could have done so much better for all the depth that she went into for the initial development. However, because I am so attached to each individual character, I don't really have much of a choice but to continue reading.

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8:41 PM No Comments

I have received my first strike of Petitmas by missing Saturday's post...in my defense (and it's a pretty weak one) I was in the library working on a project all day. Anyway, also on Saturday, my apartment was talking about some of their favorite childhood movies and tv shows and the first thing that came to my mind was Studio Ghibli.

To my surprise, most of the apartment-mates hadn't heard of the company nor watched anything from it which became the inspiration for today's post. It was actually so incredibly difficult to narrow down my favorites since I love them all, but these are the first five that came to mind.

CASTLE IN THE SKY

If I could watch a movie for the rest of my life...this one has a pretty high shot. There was just something about this movie that I fell in love with at a young age. It tells the story of man's greed and how destructive it can be while contrasting that with the innocent heart of children. I was also fascinated by the idea of a legitimate castle in the sky where giant robots tended the overflowing gardens.

PRINCESS MONONOKE

This one is not for the faint of heart because it is quite graphic. However, I was a weird kid and I absolutely loved this movie. With all of Studio Ghibli's films, it delivers a very important message - this one in particular dealing with the war between man and nature. Again, the message of human greed is addressed, but to be completely honest, I loved this film for two primary reasons: giant wolves, cute deer-like creature (aka Yakul).

SPIRITED AWAY

I believe this was the first Ghibli film I ever watched as a kid so it gets the credit for starting me on the Ghibli rabbit trail. The funny thing is that this movie terrified my sister when she first watched it, but I was just in awe of everything. It definitely borders on weird and grotesque at times, but once again addresses the idea of greed and how it's essentially a universal currency. Also...it doesn't hurt that Haku transforms into a beautiful dragon.

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE

If Calcifer the fire demon could actually exist and be my best friend I would be elated beyond words. This wasn't an immediate favorite for me at first because I didn't love all the aspects of the story. However, I think the more I watched the film and the older I got, I started to appreciate the story more. If I could summarize this particular movie in a word, it'd probably be redemption. The characters all get their own piece of happy ever after at the end.

NAUSICAA AND THE VALLEY OF THE WIND

Image result for nausicaa of the valley of the wind

This was one that took me a while to get around to, but I heard about it from one of my best friends in high school. Again with Ghibli's films, this one focuses on the battle between man and nature in a post-apocalyptic world where the air was slowly being poisoned and massive armored bugs were considered the enemy. Our main character embodies the pure heart that our world often lacks and her champion to embrace nature rather than fear it is something we can definitely apply to our society today.

Since December is usually the time for finals and stress, why not take a break and watch one (or all five) of these if they seem up your alley? For me personally, Ghibli holds a special place in my heart right next to Disney for being fundamental in shaping my childhood. :)

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3:42 PM No Comments

Image may contain: â€Žtext that says 'â€ŽThe Sea is a fickle witch. She just as likely to bestow kiss is a as to steal the breath from your lips. Beautiful and cruel, and every glimmering wrinkle in between Filling our bellies and our coffers when she is generous. Cooly watching as we don black and add tears to her waters when she wicked. asea witch Û’â€Ž'â€Ž

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

| ISBN: 978-0062438775 | Pages: 368 |

Publication Date: July 31, 2018 | Source: Library E-Book

| Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars |

★★★☆

Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.
Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.
A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.
But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

I love fairytale retellings - they are by far one of my favorite sub-genre to read. However, I love villain stories just a tad more so when there's a book that combines the two together, I get really excited. Admittedly, I went into this completely forgetting that it's an origin story of Ursula so the overall process of the story became more unexpected and exciting.

Evie is outcasted from the rest of the kingdom but secure as the best friend of the prince. She's full of longing for companionship and the freedom to be herself in a world that ostracizes her. As far as her being the main character, Evie had a lot of potential. Did she necessarily grow into that potential...that's debatable. She certainly achieved what she wanted at the end, but for the most part Evie was pretty stagnant.

“Though magic can shape life and death, love is the one thing it cannot control.”

On the topic of characters, we have a set up where four individuals magically get paired up and all is well. We have Evie and her new friend Annemette who find the prince of their dreams with Nik and Iker. This is where most of my problems are founded. The princes were very two-dimensional: Nik is the sweetheart prince and Iker is the heartthrob. The two play their roles very well and their attraction to their respective partners seem almost instantaneous. With that said, Annemette does appear out of nowhere and Evie is lonely for female companionship so all the relationships happen very quickly without much basic foundation.

“Perhaps fantasties are only meant to come true for a moment.”

Since the relationships are such a vital part of the story, this set up hurt the overall strength of the story. I found myself skimming over parts the detailed the "adorable" dates and "magical" romantic moments; instead choosing to focus on the setting and world. Now, this is where the author truly shined in her writing. This kingdom is set in the Norwegian landscape and the historical references and description really brought the world to life. It rooted the story in a way that the characters weren't able to and helped to flesh things out.

“It's a perfect night for burning witches.”

With all this said, I still enjoyed the story. It helped me as the reader get a better background perspective of Ursula as a character. The epilogue is by far the strongest part of the story and hit me in the heart the hardest. Like I said before, Evie reaches her potential at the end, but in a way that makes me feel for her struggles and make her more personable as the future "villain" of the Little Mermaid. I do believe that there is a sequel to this and seeing who Evie is now, I cannot wait to see her continue to grow into her character.

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