July Wrap-Up // August TBR | 2014

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image source: here. edited by me.

So compared to last month, I read less books this month. Some of the books I read this month took me a week to finish. Which is really sad, because I want to read more books to slowly decrease my ever-growing TBR pile. But thankfully, I didn't buy any books this month! Which is awesome, although it means I can't write a book haul post. So here are the books I've read and reviewed this month, non-review posts in July, and lastly a list of books I'm planning to read in August.

On Holiday: 26 July - 9 August 2014 ♥

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image source: here. edited by me.

Hello hello! Today I have an announcement to make; as you can probably guess by the title, I will be going on a holiday trip with my family from July 26th to August 9th. So as usual, there won't be any update on book reviews - but hopefully I will schedule a monthly wrap-up of what I've read so far in July as well as books I'm planning to read next month. And just like any other holiday trip, I'm taking books with me - but now with the help of my Kindle Paperwhite, I can bring tons of books without difficulties. For those who are also going on holidays, or maybe going back to your hometown, I wish everyone a safe trip! And even if you're just staying at home, I hope you have tons of fun during the holidays :))

Book Review: Messenger (The Giver Quartet, #3) by Lois Lowry

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BOOK review

Started on: 20.July.2014
Finished on: 22.July.2014

Messenger (The Giver Quartet, #3) by Lois Lowry

Title : Messenger (The Giver Quartet, #3)
Author : Lois Lowry

Publisher : HMH Books for Young Readers
Pages : 192 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication : 2004

Price : $ 6.34 (www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5
*for those who haven't read the first/second book, this review may contain spoiler.
Review for The Giver (The Giver Quartet, #1) here.
Review for Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet, #2) here. 
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"But now he knew that there were communities everywhere, sprinkled across the vast landscape of the known world, in which people suffered. Not always from beatings and hunger, the way he had. But from ignorance. From not knowing. From being kept from knowledge."

Matt, who's now Matty, came along to live in a community called Village; a place that accepts people with disability and welcomes strangers from different places. From his previous community, Matty went with a blind man named Christopher - Kira's father, whose true name is Seer - to Village, where he's accepted and educated to become a better person. Village has been a rather peaceful and happy place with the guidance of Leader, who came to Village eight years ago with a sled. But it seems the peacefulness of the Village is beginning to change; the people are changing and people wanted the Village to be closed from outsiders. And so Matty needed to do something important before the Village is closed - which required him to go through the dangerous and thickening Forest.

Book Review: Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet, #2) by Lois Lowry

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BOOK review

Started on: 19.July.2014
Finished on: 20.July.2014

Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet, #2) by Lois Lowry

Title : Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet, #2)
Author : Lois Lowry

Publisher : HMH Books for Young Readers
Pages : 225 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication : 2012

Price : $ 9.75 (www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 3.5/5
*for those who haven't read the first book, this review may contain spoiler.
Review for The Giver (The Giver Quartet, #1) here. 
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"Fear was always a part of life for the people. Because of fear, they made shelter and found food and grew things. For the same reason, weapons were stored, waiting. There was fear of cold, of sickness and hunger. There was fear of beasts.
And fear propelled her now as she stood, leaning on her stick."

In a different community, a girl named Kira had just lost her mother due to sickness. Kira is a girl with a crippled leg, and she should've been thrown to the Field and left to die when she was a child because she would be no use to the community. And because of her mother's authority, she was able to survive. But now Kira is an orphan with no one to stand up for her, a woman named Vandara wanted to get rid of her and took her living space. The issue was then brought to the Council of Guardians; and thankfully, Kira was saved by a guardian named Jamison and got a place to live in the grand Council Edifice because of her rare skill at embroidery.

Book Review: The Giver (The Giver Quartet, #1) by Lois Lowry

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BOOK review

Started on: 16.July.2014
Finished on: 19.July.2014

The Giver (The Giver Quartet, #1) by Lois Lowry

Title : The Giver (The Giver Quartet, #1)

Author : Lois Lowry

Publisher : Laurel-Leaf
Pages : 179 Pages
Year of Publication : 2002

Price : $ 9.39 (www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5
Movie trailer at the end of this post.
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"With the chant, Jonas knew, the community was accepting him and his new role, giving him life, the way they had given it to the newchild Caleb. His heart swelled with gratitude and pride.
But at the same time he was filled with fear. He did not know what his selection meant. He did not know what he was to become.
Or what would become of him."

In the community in which Jonas live, everything is in perfect order and everyone had equally perfect lives. For children, each year they receive different attires to show their growth: comfort objects, jackets with buttons and pockets at the front to show independence, and bicycle. When people have grown into adults, they have to apply for a spouse and have to wait until the Elders found the perfect match and made them into a family unit. They also have to apply to be able to receive a child, and they can only receive a son and a daughter to complete a perfect family unit. The most important milestone in this community is when a person become a Twelve. It is when the Elders decided what a person is going to do for the rest of his/her life, receiving their Assignment. And Jonas, who's going to be a Twelve, felt apprehensive about it.

#BCIDREADATHON Wrap-Up !

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image source: here. edited by me.

The 3-day #BCIDREADATHON is finally over last night ! Phew. Even though my reading progress might not be much, this is a LOT of reading compared to how I usually read. On normal days, I usually only read at night (or midnight, most of the time); because I can't seem to find time to read during the day and have a lot of things to do in the evening. So I'm actually pretty satisfied with my achievement in this readathon. Without further delay, here's my report for #BCIDREADATHON ♥