BookTube-A-Thon 2018 Wrap Up: 1 Girl, 3 Books, and 180 Nose Blows?

       Welcome back! After hyping up #BTAT2018 for a full year, my reading experience was a bit lackluster, if I’m being entirely honest. I didn’t get to read and participate in this year’s BookTube-A-Thon as much as I had planned, but I still had a blast when I could. Along with reading 3 books and completing 2 (and a half?) challenges, I also participated in the first five days of the Instagram challenges. Since I did end up finishing my fair share of challenges, I compiled all of my entries into one blog post for those of you who haven’t seen them on my social media (if you don’t already, go follow me on Instagram and Twitter. I’m @the_bookinsider on both!).

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Reading Challenges

       First, let’s consider the reading challenges. At the beginning of the week, I had picked out seven books to satisfy all the challenges that Ariel put forth for this year’s BookTube-A-Thon (click here to read my BTAT TBR post). I had big plans to spend my Floridian vacation by the pool with my Twitter open in one hand, and a book in the other. Unfortunately, one big thing got in my way of this dream: school. This summer I decided to take some online classes, and I ended up having to prioritize my school work over BTAT. LAME. So while I could hear my phone’s Twitter notifications going off in the distance, I was stuck in front of my computer writing various essays. *sad face*
       In the wake of all my schoolwork, I did manage to read three books this week, which is more than I could ever ask for in a typical week. 
CHALLENGES COMPLETED:

1. Let a coin toss decide your first read. 🗹
2. Read a book about something you want to do. ☐
3. Read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation. 🗹 (Kind of…?)
4. Read a book with green on the cover. 🗹
5. Read a book while wearing the same hat the whole time. ☐
6. Read a book with a beautiful spine. ☐
7. Read seven books. ☐

       The coin toss said that I had to start off the week with My Lady Jane. After that, I moved on to binge The Darkest Minds so I could watch the movie (I haven’t yet lol, but I definitely will this week though, don’t you worry), and finished with Ignite Me. You know what that means, right? MINI REVIEWS ARE IN ORDER!

My Lady Jane, by: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

       Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…
       Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…
       Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.
       The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of 

the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

My Rating: ★★★★★

       Traditionally, I’m not one to like historical fiction, but this book is SO MUCH MORE than its genre. This story takes history and flips it on its head; it adds magic, tons of comedic elements, and cute romance that is to die for.
Thoughts:

• I want to be Jane when I grow up—she reads books AND kicks butt...what more could you possibly want from the main character??
• The people TURN INTO ANIMALS. If that wasn’t your childhood dream, did you actually live…?
• As our narrators, the authors include the perfect balance of historical and background information on the story without being overbearing. (They were also hilarious, so there’s that.)
• BANTER, and so much of it! Edward, Jane, and Gifford all had such strong opinions and their fair share of hard-nosed personalities, which made for great scenes. 
• I also loved that even though this story is set in Medieval England, there was still a little bit of discussion on feminist ideas, with such strong women present in the story. Though I have a feeling these ideas aren’t historically accurate, they were a great addition to the plot of the novel.
• The little pop culture references throughout the book are just subtle enough that you won’t catch them if you aren’t familiar with them, but if you are, they jump off the page. I loved them.

The Darkest Minds, by: Alexandra Bracken

       ​When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.
       Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for 

Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

       In preparation for watching the movie adaptation of this book that was just released last week, I was very excited to pick this book up. Going into it, I didn’t know much about it, except that it was one of the dystopias that came out during that four year period where every popular YA book was set in a dystopian society (a time that I lovingly call “The Hunger Games Era”). The only background information I had about this novel was that (1) I’d heard people rave about it, and (2) there were kids with superpowers.
Thoughts:

• The story starts off with kids in a futuristic version of concentration camps?? I mean, I know that the government in this book was terrible, but I feel like this is kind of harsh…
• Ruby is a CHAMP for enduring her childhood.
• So we can trust 0 people in this book besides Liam, Chubs, and Zu. But isn’t that every dystopian?
• Seriously though, why is everyone out to get us?
• Lots of GREAT ACTION SEQUENCES. Each scene really sucked me further into the story.
• Liam is an adorable human being. Enough said.
• This book is the perfect cross between The Maze Runner Universe and the Percy Jackson Universe, which are both worlds I love if that tells you anything.
• I can’t wait to see how this story plays out on screen.
• Someone get me the rest of the series!!

Ignite Me, by: Tahereh Mafi

       With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.

My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

       I read the first two books in the Shatter Me trilogy last year, and after hearing that Tahereh was coming out with a new trilogy in the same world, I wanted to finish out the series. Granted, I didn’t remember the little details about Shatter Me and Unravel Me, but I felt like I remembered enough to forge ahead. Maybe I was wrong, but this last installment left me disappointed after enjoying the other books. (MINOR SPOILER WARNING IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IGNITE ME YET).
Thoughts:

• I was very confused when I got halfway through this book, and all that had happened was over dramatic yelling.
• We get it, we all loved Juliette. You are all teenagers for crying out loud. Get over yourselves.
• How can we go two whole books hating someone, and then realize they were just “misunderstood”? I’m pretty sure they’re still an awful human.
• Let’s dump the one boy that actually cared for you. That’s a great idea.
• The ending was very anticlimactic. The whole series led up to a climax that lasted about a half a second.
• Kenji is the only quality character in this novel.
• I’m pretty sure character development is essential in books, but characters don’t go from timid to taking over the world in a month.
• WHY ARE WE ALL STILL YELLING?????

Instagram Challenges

       When I wasn’t reading this past week, I spent some time completing the first five days of Instagram challenges. (But, Ashton, what about the last two days?) Great question. The final two days of my BTAT experience were filled with a 13-hour car ride, and one of the worst colds I’ve ever had (it was so severe, that on Thursday, my dad got me a box of 180 tissues. On Sunday, they were gone. I also had a pretty nasty fever, and was just not up for taking pictures.). The good news is that I’m (almost) all the way healed, and am coming back to the blogging/bookstagram world with full force! *cue applause noises*
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​Day 1: Take a photo of the book that first got you into reading. #btatfirst
Day 2: Take a book stack photo. #btatstack
Day 3: Cosplay a book cover character. #btatcover
Day 4: Take a photo with one of your book collections. #btatcollection
Day 5: Take a photo where a book cover and background match. #btatmatch

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       Overall, though I didn’t get to read all the books I had planned, I still had fun interacting with all my fellow book lovers out there this past week! Let me know if you participated in the BookTube-A-Thon, or if there are any other read-a-thons I should be on the lookout for in the comments.

Your sniffly blogger,
Ashton

Because this absolutely insane - the craziest thing I'd ever done. Worse than giving a one-star review, scarier than asking for an interview with an author I'd give my firstborn to eat lunch with, more stupid than kissing Daemon.

— Jennifer L. Armentrout, Obsidian