Ashleigh's Bookshelf

Caraval by Stephanie Garber Scarlett has one dream: to attend the magical Caraval - a magical interactive performance. But now that her father has arranged for her marriage to a mysterious count, she has another wish: to get her and her sister safely away from their abusive father. One day, tickets to Caraval mysteriously arrive in the mail and she finally sees a way for all her dreams to come true. However, when Caraval turns out to be far more dangerous than she expected, Scarlett embarks on a journey of self-discovery that makes her reevaluate her dreams. This book was selected for my book club and, having heard mixed reviews, I was skeptical about wanting to read it. However, I was surprised to find myself engaged and eager to read more. From the beginning, I doubted Scarlett's fiancee was going to be the knight in shining armor who saved her and her sister from her abusive father. However, I enjoyed watching Scarlett grow to the point where she realized...

The Tribulations of August Barton by Jennifer LeBlanc Augie Barton's first day of college isn't going so great. His step-father is divorcing his mother, his roommate thinks he's a nerd, and he inadvertently ends up showing up at a dorm party with his grandmother, a former prostitute who has run away from her nursing home. As he navigates his first semester at college, Augie must learn how to cope with his ever-mounting anxiety in order to have a shot at his dream girl. The fact that this book was divided into parts instead of chapters was a little off-putting and it took me a while to really get into the story. However, by the end of September, I was intrigued by Augie and wanted to know what happened to him. And I absolutely loved Grandma Gertie. By the end of the book, I felt there were a few stories I wanted to know more about. Without giving too much away, it felt like Grandma Gertie and Mom had a secret they were keeping from Augie that is never...

Around Midnight by Zarina Macha Seventeen-year-old Megan's life is on the right track. A gifted jazz saxophonist, she is confident she will be accepted into the prestigious London School of Jazz. She has made some great friends at her new school, and she even finds a nice boyfriend. Except her friends hate him. And she worries he will leave her if they don't sleep together. While it was difficult to read about this young lady trying to get out of an unhealthy relationship, I feel the story is worth telling. However, the story feels impersonal, written in the third person (with occasional lapses into the second). In my opinion, this book would have made a deeper impact if it were written in Megan's own voice. The poor formatting for the kindle made this book very difficult to read because there were no indentations to indicate new paragraphs. This was especially irksome when encountering dialogue. It often took a moment to determine who was speaking. Overall, I would...