ARC Review: Marly's Ghost by David Levithan

Title: Marly's Ghost
Author: David Levithan
Publication: January 8th 2015 by Electric Monkey
Genre: MG Fantasy
Source: Provided by the kind publisher...
Goodreads

A remix of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with a Valentine’s twist

When Ben’s girlfriend, Marly, dies, he feels his life is over and the prospect of Valentine’s day without her fills him with bitterness. But then Marly arrives – or at least, her ghost does – along with three other spirits. Now Ben must take a journey through Valentines past, present and future – and what he learns will change him forever.

2/5 Oscars: It was OK

    When his girlfriend Marly dies, Ben takes a painful journey through Valentine's Days past, present, and future to realize just how much his life has changed, with or without Marly.
     I thought this book would be a painful contemporary romance. It was anything but that. This leans much more toward the MG Fantasy genre not the YA. And unfortunately, I am not much of a fan of MG. I just can't concentrate on it for too long and I become bored quite fast.
     So, this is the deal. I was bored by most of this book. It couldn't keep me interested. Although the concept is quite unique, but I felt like Ben was a bit shallow and his thoughts were too two-dimensional. Actually, if he was written with an MG audience in mind, then it's perfect. But otherwise, this was not a book that I loved. I thought that something written by David Levithan would be perfectly emotional and exactly my cup of tea but it wasn't. I am definitely keeping my eyes opened for more from him though.

Review: Everyday by David Levithan

Name of book: Everyday
Author: David Levithan
Publication: August 28th 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers 
Genre: YA Contemporary (I think...)
Source: Won @TheAussieZombie
Goodreads

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

-- My Rating --

4.5 / 5 Oscars: Really liked it

-- My Thoughts --

     I admit that I didn't read this book on purpose. I knew it would be great, so I put so many expectations into it, because of everything I heard of David Levithan and his amazing writing style. I feared that I would be let down. Well, let me just say that you can count me as one of David Levithan's die-hard fans!

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It's so much easier when we're talking about things that are real. We don't have to remind ourselves what the point is, because we're right there in it...

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     A, wakes up in a different body everyday. He has to keep his interactions to a minimum and never get too close to anyone, because he will leave the next day. So, he can't do any life-changing decisions. But when, one day, he gets into Justin's body, and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon, he knows that he has fallen in love. Head over heels in love, and he wants to spend EVERYDAY with her. But is that possible?

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I am close enough to see that her eyes are blue. I am close enough now to see that nobody ever gets close enough to see how blue her eyes are...

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     I can't begin to describe the loveliness and uniqueness of this book. The idea is so different from anything I have ever read, and David Levithan's writing style is... Well, I wish I was him, so I could be the one who wrote so many amazing books. His writing style is captivating and inspirational, I underlined so many amazing quotes from the book. Every page was something new.

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We all contain mysteries, especially when seen from the inside...

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     His characters are superb. A falls in love with Rhiannon over one meeting, in one day, you might think this is rushed, or insta-love, but it's not. A is different, he doesn't know what love is, or what it means to BE in love. He was amazing, and I will always refer to him as HE, since he is one of the most amazing boys I have ever read about, even if he woke up as a girl, somedays. Rhiannon is a like-able character and she is very believable. I would have done the same things if I was her, she wasn't easily convinced and she was lovely.

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I am not blinded by the past or motivated by the future. I focus on the present, because that is where I am destined to live...

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     I didn't expect the ending, at all. But I was pleasantly surprised. And I cried my eyes out in the end. You should have seen what David Levithan did to me, I was a mess. But I loved it. I CANNOT wait to read more of his books. I am IN love. Go, buy this, now!