Book Review -- A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee

I just finished reading the book A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee from The Agency.

Here's a quick summary of the book: 

Mary is saved from death and then taken to a girls school by her saviours. After a few years of attending the school, she discovers that the school is actually a cover for an all-female detective unit called The Agency. At the age of seventeen, Mary is put in the position of a lady companion, in hopes of finding out what happened to the missing cargo ships of a rich merchant. Packed with mystery, suspense, action, and a bit of romance, this mystery presents a young but daring spy who tries to uncover the secrets of a rich merchant, but discovers some of her own past along the way.

I loved how well we got to know the main character (Mary) in the book. We hadn't gotten such a clear idea of what exactly had happened in her past, but we knew that it had shaped a large part of who she was. Mary was easy to connect with, and a likeable character. I definitely liked the concept of having a strong female protagonist in the book. 

I really liked this book, but something that I found a bit irritating was that there were so many subplots. Sometimes I got a bit carried away with these subordinate plots instead of focusing on the main plot, but overall, it wasn't overly distracting. 

I give this book a rating of 4 stars, because it was well written with a sturdy plot, and well-thought out characters. 

If you want to read a book that includes a strong female protagonist, as well as a book with a mystery to solve, I recommend this book to you!

Readabits Book Tag

 

Hey everyone!! Today I'm doing the Readabits Book Tag!

If you'd like to participate, feel free to leave a link to your blog in a comment below so I can visit your block and read your answers.

I actually did this book tag last year, but I just realized that I hadn't posted it. My answers aren't exactly the same anymore, so I did a comparison between my original answers and my older answers.

Let's get started!!

Readabits Book Tag

1. When do you find yourself reading? Morning, afternoon, evening, whenever you get the chance or all the time?

Last year: I read whenever I get the chance. It seems that I read most often at home or in the car. 😄

Now: I read if I have time, but I often don't. I often read before I go to bed, but that often means that I end up going to bed much later than I had originally planned. I'll read when I'm on the bus or in the car, or at home, if I am ever at home with enough time to actually read.

2. What is your best setting to read in?

Last year: A comfy, cozy, warm place. Lots of blankets and enough light to read without trouble. Reading on my bed meets this criteria.

Now: I have to say, a comfy, cozy, warm place sounds great! However, it isn't often the reality! Hopefully I'll get to snuggle up with a blanket though, and read a few great books this winter.

3. What do you do first – Read or Watch?

Last year: Read first of course!! I always prefer to read a book before seeing the movie. It has only happened twice that I have seen the movie before reading the book. I didn't know that The Martian was originally a book!!

Now: Still the same.

4. What form do you prefer? Audiobook, E-book or physical book?

Last year: Physical books. I just love the feel of reading a normal book. It's just perfect. I don't know how to explain it, but hopefully you know what I mean. I find that E-books can get hard on the eyes after awhile and Audiobooks don't really seem to be my thing.

Now: Still the same

5. Do you have a unique habit when you read?

Last year: Not that I know of...

Now: Still the same. I think...


Thanks for visiting! This tag is really fun to do, and a bonus is that it is pretty quick! If you'd like to do it, go ahead! Comment your website link so that we can check it out. :)

Thanks for visiting and have an awesome day!

~ Pegasus

Book Review -- Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Hi everyone! I know it's been a really long time since either of us have posted something. Life has been pretty busy and stressful lately!

However, now that winter break is here, I've had more time to read! Yay! Over the past couple of days, I was reading a book titled Crank by Ellen Hopkins. To be quite frank, I didn't exactly find this book an enjoyable read. In fact, I particularly disliked it.

I found this book rather disappointing, and couldn't bring myself to finish it, so I will only be reviewing the first 3/4 of the book.

Here is a quick summary of the book:

This is a book about a girl who is struggling with an addiction to crank. She is attempting to feed her addiction, but she is also having to deal with the consequences of her poor choices.

For me, the characters in this book were very difficult to connect with. Specifically, the main character. To be honest, I was repulsed by her character, perhaps because of the numerous poor decisions that she made throughout the book. Nothing about her character is very likeable. She made poor choices, didn't care about herself or the people around her, was a drug addict, and wasn't trying to get herself into a better situation. To add to this, she was also letting the people around her control a large part of what she did with herself.

Although there were many things I disliked about this book, I enjoyed the way the book was written. The book was written through many free verse poems, which I found very interesting. I was amazed at how well a story could be told through a few verses. Ellen Hopkins is very good at being able to tell so much in just a few words.

It was extremely disturbing to see how a drug can completely destroy the life of a person. The main character started off as a character who seemed to have everything going for her: good grades, friends and good health. As the book progresses, we see how the main character begins to completely destroy her life because of her addiction.

Perhaps I didn't enjoy the book very much because of the topic and how it was presented rather as a good thing than a bad thing. This didn't settle very well with me. Because of how graphic the novel was, I found that it was too hard to read, and I didn't want to finish it.

Overall, I liked the style of writing, but I didn't really enjoy the story that was being told. I would give this book 2.5 stars out of 5.  Although this isn't a fantastic rating, I did like the writing style and would be willing to read some of Ellen Hopkins' work on other topics.


Thanks for stopping by!