Throwback Thursday!

So while I was in class today I got a great idea for my blog! Having throwback thursday! But instead of posting an old picture like we do on instagram, I thought it would be interesting to discuss a book that I read a long time ago aka "a throwback" of some sort! I'll try to do this every Thursday, hopefully you guys enjoy it!

So for my first Throwback Thursday I'll be discussing The Cay by Theodore Taylor.

Way back when I was in fifth grade my favorite part of the day was when my teacher would read to the class. If we ever went a day where my teacher didn't have time to read, it would be a horrible day. She always chose the best books to read but The Cay was the absolute best.

The story takes place when World War II breaks out. One of the main characters is a boy named Phillip who is living on a ship with his mother to avoid the war. However, in the very beginning of the novel the ship is attacked and Phillip and his mother must flee. Unfortunately, Phillip and his mother are split up and Phillip suffers from a blow to the head and is knocked unconscious. He wakes to find that 1) he is blind because of his head injury and 2) he is stranded in a boat in the middle of the ocean with an old man named Timothy. Timothy is not white but West Indian and Phillip was raised to believe that black people were "different" because of what his mother would tell him. However, throughout the novel Phillip overcomes his racism and realizes there's nothing different about Timothy or any other person with dark skin. Phillip and Timothy reach an island and live there for about two months. Timothy teaches Phillip how to be independent because there's the possibility of the two being split up. I'll stop there with the plot because I don't want to give too much away.

What really interested me about this story when my teacher first read it to me was the survival aspect. I had never read a book about survival before this and I was instantly interested in it. The adventure, the dialogue, the relationship between Timothy and Phillip; all these things made me love the story. I absolutely loved Timothy and I still do. The cliffhanger at the end especially amazed me. Before this book, all stories I read ended on a happy note with everything resolved. This one did not and I couldn't believe it when my teacher shut the book and told us that that was the end. I could not accept that ending but luckily there is a second book. The second book is just as wonderful as the first and we get to know Timothy more in it.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, children or adults. In a way it kind of reminds me of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (that's a throwback for another day). You can find The Cay on Goodreads here!

Well, I hoped you enjoyed my first Throwback Thursday! It was fun to think about this book after so many years!

October Releases!

Since it's the first day of October, I thought it would be great to talk about some of the upcoming book releases this month that I am most excited for! Clicking on the title will bring you to each book's Goodreads page! Let me know what books your excited for this month! :)

In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
Release date: October 28th
This is the final book in The Darkest Minds Trilogy! I read the first two books way back in December/January and they are amazing! Seriously, this series leaves you speechless at times. The genre is mostly science fiction/dystopia with some hints of the paranormal. I definitely recommend reading it. It's a survivor story which I love and the characters really grow as the story progresses. Alexandra Bracken's writing is beautiful and you should definitely check this series out if you haven't yet! I am sad that it's coming to an end though! :(

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios
Release date: October 7th
This book finally comes out next Tuesday!! I first found this book on Goodreads in May and I was instantly interested in the story. It sounds so different from everything else out there, which always makes me happy! From what I can gather from the blurb on Goodreads, it's about a girl named Nalia who has been enslaved and forced to stay in a bottle and grant wishes. Nalia wants to gain control of her freedom and escape the bottle and her master. But the only way to do that is to convince her master that she is in love with him. Yeah, yeah it might sound like a sappy romance with fantasy mixed in but I have a good feeling about this one. It was also based of Arabian Nights so if that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will!

Chaos by Sarah Fine
Release date: October 7th
This is is the final book (I think) in The Guards of the Shadowland series. Not a lot of people know about this series, which is hard to believe. I really want people to read it! The whole series deals with the afterworld and where a person is sent after they die. The story is told in the perspective of Lela who's best friend killed herself in the first book Sanctum. Lela has some sort of connection with the afterworld and can see and experience the afterworld through her dreams. In one dream, Lela realizes Nadia is in trouble and because of this Lela decides to save her. I won't give anything else away but it really is a great series. And then there's Malachi.....you'll fall in love with him!

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
Release date: October 7th
Did you read the Hush, Hush series? Well, if you didn't go check it out! But just to warn you, it's not everyone's cup of tea! Anyway, this is Becca Fitzpatrick's new book, the same author who wrote Hush, Hush! I'm not sure if this is going to be a series or a stand alone. I want to say it's going to be a series because from the blurb it seems like there could more to this story. Anyway, I don't really know the real premise of the book. Yes, I read the blurb and all that but I feel like a lot was left unsaid which really interests me. I think it's supposed to be a mix of a mystery with survivor aspects as well. I can't wait for this one! Oh and there's a giveaway on Goodreads for a copy of this book! You can find the giveaway here, it ends on October 6th!

Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch
Release date: October 14th
I'm pretty sure everyone on Goodreads is pumped for this book. It sounds a bit like the Throne of Glass series but unique in it's own way. Definitely, sounds like a book with a strong female character so I can't wait for that! I really hope it lives up to all our expectations! I have a feeling it will!

Well, I think that's it! These are the book releases I'm looking forward to the most this month! I hope at least one of them sparked your interest! Let me know what you can't wait to read this month!