To Read or Not To Read

I realized that this blog would be incomplete without its very last independent reading reflection, from my second semester of my senior year of high school. I didn't want to write it because I was afraid it was too late, and that I hadn't exactly done enough reading to make this post valuable. But as I have started publishing more and more book reviews to this blog (some of which I hope you've checked out and enjoyed!), I started to reflect on why I was doing that in the first place. Then, I had cause to look at my old reading reflections, and rediscovered the purpose of those: as a way for me to reflect and write about my passion for the books I was reading. So, here I shall publish what should have been written and published long ago: the last 2nd semester independent reading reflection. This semester, I only read six books, which is definitely the least amount of books I read during any documented point in high school. I read: Lord of Shadows: Cassandra Clare Que

I have been reading Cassandra Clare's work since I was a freshman, and have avidly followed the release dates of her Dark Artifices series. I felt like even just these past four years I could track all the amazing improvements she's made in her storytelling, world-building, and characterization. Being a writer myself, I know that there is so much that goes behind make choices for the novel or choosing the best paths for the characters. These decisions that can be extremely hard for the author, especially if you're an author as Cassandra Clare, and even more so when those decisions are made for the third book in a trilogy whose ending has been much anticipated.  Overall, I give Cassandra Clare's The Dark Artifices  series 5/5 stars. I loved the pacing of the stories and how intimate the storytelling is, even if I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending of The Queen of Air and Darkness , which is what I'll be talking about below. I enjoyed all of the plo

This is going to be my last 1st Semester Independent Reading Reflection! I've come a long way since freshman year, and high school is almost over. It's crazy being able to look back at all my reflections and see how much I've read. This semester, however, I only read 7 books. I'm not disappointed in that number at all, rather proud I was able to squeeze in that much reading, especially as college applications and scholarships are two more things I'm trying to focus more on. This semester, I read: Strange the Dreamer: Laini Taylor Muse of Nightmares: Laini Taylor What the Night Sings: Vesper Stamper My Plain Jane: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows King Lear: William Shakespeare The Sun Also Rises: Ernest Hemingway Lady Midnight: Cassandra Clare I wrote a review for Laini Taylor's Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares which can be found here . I'm hoping to publish more book reviews in the future, which will be published to this blo