[DNF Review] I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Publishing Date: Oct. 8, 2013
327 Pages
Format: hardcover, library

Synopsis 

I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. 

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world. 

My Review

Unfortunately, I didn't finish this book; but before anyone gets upset, I just want to say that it's not Malala herself that I didn't like (I think she's incredibly courageous), it was the book. I found myself getting bored with the history and politics of the book. The first chapter was very interesting and started out with the day that she was shot. But then it went into the history of how Pakistan was created, the political atmosphere, etc. I wasn't that interested in it. I wanted to learn more about Malala, not her country's history, because, while I think that's very important, I can look that up on the internet. I set the book down one day when I needed to do something, and didn't pick it back up. Then I got the notice that it was due at the library and I returned it. I feel really bad - I wanted to love this book so much because I think she's fascinating. The book just wasn't doing it for me. 

[DNF Review] Oh! You Pretty Things by Shanna Mahin

Oh! You Pretty Things by Shanna Mahin
Publisher: Dutton
Publishing Date: April 14, 2015
368 Pages
Format: hardcover, ARC
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Synopsis 

Jess Dunne is third-generation Hollywood, but her star on the boulevard has yet to materialize. Sure, she’s got a Santa Monica address and a working actress roommate, but with her nowhere barista job in a town that acknowledges zeroes only as a dress size, she’s a dead girl walking.

Enter Jess’s mother—a failed actress who puts the strange in estrangement. She dives headlong into her daughter’s downward spiral, forcing Jess to muster all her spite and self-preservation to snag a career upgrade.

As a personal assistant for a famous (and secretly agoraphobic) film composer, Jess’s workdays are now filled with shopping for luxury goods and cooking in his perfectly designed kitchen. Jess kills at cooking, a talent that only serves her intensifying urge to dig in to Los Angeles’s celebrity buffet.

When her food garners the attention of an actress on the rise, well, she’s all too willing to throw it in with the composer and upgrade again, a decision that will have far-reaching ramifications that could explode all her relationships.

All the while, her mother looms ever closer, forcing Jess to confront the traumatic secrets she’s been running from all her life. 

Oh! You Pretty Things is a dizzying ride at the carnival of fame, a fast-paced and sharply funny work that dares to imagine what happens when we go over the top in a town of gilded excess. 

My Review 

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

I hate saying this, but I just didn't like this book. There wasn't necessarily anything wrong with it, it just wasn't for me. I got about halfway through the book and finally put it down. I remember reading it and thinking, "Who cares?" I didn't find the characters to be overly complex, nor did I find them sympathetic at all. I think the storyline was interesting, which is why I chose to read and review it. But, unfortunately, I learned pretty quickly that I wasn't enjoying it. I really hate DNF'ing books, but sometimes I just can't push through it. I hope others who read this will enjoy it! I'm actually giving it to a friend of mine because she thinks she'll like it, so I hope she does! 

[DNF Review] Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publishing Date: January 28, 2014
Format: audiobook, library
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Synopsis 

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom—all because of a reckless bargain her father struck. And since birth, she has been training to kill him.

Betrayed by her family yet bound to obey, Nyx rails against her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, she abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, disarm him, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her. As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. But even if she can bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him?

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

My Review

I was really excited to listen to this book when I got it from the library. I fell in love with the cover and Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales. However, this one didn't live up to my hopes. Maybe it was because I was listening to it rather than reading it, but I just didn't enjoy it that much. I don't want to say I found it boring... but I kind of did. It didn't hold my interest and I kept waiting for something to actually happen between Nyx and Ignifex. I think I got through CD 7 out of 9 before I gave up on it. Hope others enjoyed it more than I did! 

Recently DNF'd Books

I really don't like to DNF books, but I was looking at my shelves the last couple of days, and there were a few books that I've tried reading multiple times and just couldn't get involved. I decided to sell those books at my local used book store and get other books that I'm more interested in. Below are the few books that I recently did not finish.

The Last Winter of Dani Lancing 
Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. When I first received a review copy, I was very excited and thought it had a lot of promise. However, after I started reading it, I realized it just wasn't a book for me. The story jumped around so much that I had trouble remembering what time it was taking place. I was constantly flipping back to the first page of the chapter to try to remember when it was, whether Dani was alive at this time or already dead. I think some people will really love this book, and I hope they do! It just wasn't a book that I enjoyed, and therefore, I didn't finish it.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver 
I don't know what it was about this book. It sounds so intriguing, but I just couldn't get into it. I would pick it up, read a little, and then find something else to do. It just wasn't worth my time trying to get into the book when it clearly wasn't working for me.

Dangerous by Caleb Bislow
Again, this just wasn't for me. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I didn't enjoy it as I was reading, so I decided not to force myself to finish.

Gracianna by Trini Amador
I had really high hopes for this book, but I tried reading it and just couldn't keep going. It didn't have anything to do with the writing or the concept of the story, which I thought sounded really good. But I was just getting bored and never wanted to pick it up to read it again.

Mini Reviews

I generally don't post reviews on books that I didn't finish or ones that I didn't like. But then I thought about it, and negative reviews are often just as helpful as good ones. I feel like I started this blog to share my love of books with other readers, and also to give my opinion on book related topics. That doesn't mean that everything I post has to be positive. I appreciate reading a negative review if its something that I'm thinking of buying or reading; it gives me a two-sided view of how people feel about the book. Now, not everyone thinks the same, so books that I loved may not have been favorites of others, and vice versa.

That being said, here are a few mini reviews on books that I either didn't finish or wasn't too fond of.

Did Not Finish

Lost and Found by KF Breene

This book wasn't for me, so I didn't finish reading it. I didn't like the writing and the characters bothered me. I got about 15% into it (according to the Kindle) and I just couldn't keep reading. Maybe others will like it, and I hope some people do! But like I said, it just wasn't a book for me.

The Last Winter of Dani Lancing by PD Viner

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. When I first received a review copy, I was very excited and thought it had a lot of promise. However, after I started reading it, I realized it just wasn't a book for me. The story jumped around so much that I had trouble remembering what time it was taking place. I was constantly flipping back to the first page of the chapter to try to remember when it was, whether Dani was alive at this time or already dead. 

I think some people will really love this book, and I hope they do! It just wasn't a book that I enjoyed, and therefore, I didn't finish it. Maybe I'll try again in the future, but I can't say for sure

Wasn't for Me

My Best Friend by Ancelli

I was disappointed with this book. When I read the synopsis, it seemed like it would be a fun, quick read. And while it wasn't awful, it wasn't great either. I thought the writing was poor and there were a lot of grammatical and spelling mistakes. I felt like the story jumped around too much - it was a very short story, and that's sometimes nice, but it didn't work for this one. I felt like we could have learned more about Kay and Jason, their pasts, their lives before they became a couple, etc. It could have used more detail in some places. But in other places, the details were too much for my liking, such as the sex scenes, and it seemed fake. 

Like I said, it wasn't awful and I thought the story line had potential. I think with more editing it could have been a much better story.

**Have any of you ever read these books? What were your thoughts?**