I will be posting reviews for current, captivating or controversial novels. Posts will also include ongoings within the store, new releases/release dates, and quotes. Being a teenage girl, it is unsuprsing that my favorite genre is young adult. However, I will not limit my posts to this genre, as there are a variety of fascinating novels at Sparta Books! I am very excited for the future of this blog, and I truly hope it will help in your book selection!
Happy Fall!
Come into Sparta Books and find a good book to cuddle up with!
The Beautiful Sparta Books!
The Lies They Tell by Gillian French
My Rating: 5/5
Synopsis:
Everyone in Tenney’s Harbor, Maine, has heard of the Garrison Tragedy.
A mysterious fire. A family of five reduced to one. For people like Pearl Haskins—whose dad was the caretaker of the Garrison property when the house went up in flames—the whispers about that night are more than upsetting. They hurt.
With her disgraced father now trying to find steady work in between booze benders, Pearl’s future doesn’t reach beyond the country club, where she serves food to the rich townspeople who return every summer.
This year, a group of privileged boys has made a point of sitting in Pearl’s section. Though she’s repulsed by everything they stand for, she’s drawn to the quiet leader of the pack, Tristan—the last surviving Garrison—and the sadness coming off him in waves. Befriending the summer boys might irk her to her core, but inside their fold of elite parties and reckless whims could be answers to what happened the night of the fire.
And that’s just what she finds. Hidden beneath the glittering façade of wealth and luxury, Pearl discovers a dark and twisted web of lies and betrayals that, once untangled, will change her life—and the entire town of Tenney’s Harbor—forever.
Hardball by Chris Matthews
Hardball: How Politics is Played Told by One Who Knows the Game
My Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
Chris Matthews has spent a quarter century on the playing field of American politics–from right-hand man of the Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill to host of NBC’s highest-rated cable talk show, Hardball. In this revised and updated edition of his political classic, he offers fascinating new stories of raw ambition, brutal rivalry, and exquisite education and reveals the inside rules that govern the game of power.
We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
My Rating: 5/5
Synopsis:
Two brothers. One true love. Summer will never be the same.
Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher. And after being with Jeremiah for the last two years, she’s almost positive he is her soul mate.
Almost.
Conrad has not gotten over the mistake he made when he let Belly go, even as Jeremiah has always known Belly is the girl for him. So when Belly and Jeremiah decide to make things forever, Conrad realizes that it’s now or never—tell Belly he loves her, or lose her for good. Belly will have to confront her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad and face a truth she has possibly always known: She will have to break one of their hearts.
BACK COVER:
It’s a known fact that in life, you can’t have everything. In my heart I knew I loved them both, as much as it is possible to love two people at the same time. Conrad and I were linked, we would always be linked. That wasn’t something I could do away with. I knew that now—that love wasn’t something you could erase, no matter how hard you tried.
Providence by Caroline Kepnes
Rating:4/5
Synopsis:
Best friends in small-town New Hampshire, Jon and Chloe share a bond so intense that it borders on the mystical. But before Jon can declare his love for his soul-mate, he is kidnapped, his plans for a normal life permanently dashed.
Four years later, Chloe has finally given up hope of ever seeing Jon again. Then, a few months before graduation, Jon reappears. But he is different now: bigger, stronger, and with no memory of the time he was gone. Jon wants to pick up where he and Chloe left off…until the horrifying instant he realizes that he possesses strange powers that pose a grave threat to everyone he cares for. Afraid of hurting Chloe, Jon runs away, embarking on a journey for answers.
Meanwhile, in Providence, Rhode Island, healthy college students and townies with no connection to one another are suddenly, inexplicably dropping dead. A troubled detective prone to unexplainable hunches, Charles “Eggs” DeBenedictus suspects there’s a serial killer at work. But when he starts asking questions, Eggs is plunged into a whodunit worthy of his most outlandish obsessions.
With an intense and mesmerizing voice, Caroline Kepnes makes keen and powerful observations about human connection and how love and identity can dangerously blur together.
The Academy by Katie Sise
My Rating: 3.8/5
Synopsis:
Make Clothes, Not War
Frankie Brooke knows what she wants in life: to become the world’s next great fashion editor. All she needs to do is get into the elite American Fashion Academy in New York City. If she gets in, her life plans will be right on schedule. Anna Wintour, watch out.
But after Frankie messes up one too many times—hey, it’s hard not to prioritize her acclaimed fashion blog above all else—her parents come up with entirely different plans for her future: military school. How is Frankie, the least athletic person in the world, who knows absolutely nothing about the military, going to survive a whole semester at the famed—and feared—Academy?
With classmates who seem to be totally uninterested in her, a course load that’s even more difficult than her old schools, and the weird athletic War Games competition she has to join, Frankie finds that her life is way tougher than it used to be. And no one, including her roommate Joni, seems to understand Frankie at all.
As she learns how to cope with the impossible military drills and intimidating specialized classes and is maybe even falling for superhot and supersmart cadet Jack Wattson, can Frankie prove to everyone that being a fashionista doesn’t mean she cant succeed?
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
My Rating: 3/5
Synopsis:
The greatest risk is not taking one.
Live life in bubble… or risk everything for love?
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have no left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door, I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean, and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I, Maddy, am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
Update:
Hey everyone! Unfortunately this blog has not been too active lately—school has been crazy busy with AP exams and finals, but as the year comes to a close, the blog will only be heating up! Prepare for a summer full of interesting books, events, and reviews! Stay tuned!
Where’s Waldo?
Keep your eyes peeled! Once again, Waldo will be hiding in 25 local businesses for the month of July. For only $5, you can register for this man-hunt! Stop in the store to register and pick up your “passport”, on or anytime after July 1st!
Become a part of this exciting local tradition!
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