The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m

The Season of You and Me - Robin Constantine

The Season of You and Me by Robin Constantine
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

See the source imageBlurb (on back of book): Cassidy Emmerich is determined to make this summer—the last before her boyfriend heads off to college—unforgettable. What she doesn’t count on is her boyfriend breaking up with her. Now, instead of being poolside with him, Cass is over a hundred miles away, spending the summer with her estranged father and his family at their bed-and-breakfast at the Jersey Shore and working as the newest counselor at Camp Manatee. 
Bryan Lakewood is sick of nevers. You’ll never walk. You’ll never surf. You’ll never slow dance with your date at prom. One miscalculated step and Bryan’s life changed forever—now he’s paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. This is the first summer he’s back at his former position at Camp Manatee and ready to reclaim some of his independence, in spite of those who question if he’s up for the job. 
Cass is expecting two months dealing with heartbreak.
Bryan is expecting a summer of tough adjustments.
Neither of them is expecting to fall in love.

MY OPINION: *****

Another great romance novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This was about a girl named Cassidy who is going to live with her dad for the summer to try to move on from her ex, Gavin. She meets a guy named Bryan who has to live the rest of his life in a wheelchair because he is paralyzed from the waist down after an accident. Of course, there's some summer love ;)

This book switched perspectives every other chapter between Cass and Bryan and I really liked that. I personally enjoyed reading from Bryan's side more but Cassidy always had something interesting that she thought about. The thing about multi-POV books for me is that I get wrapped up in one character's head and then when I have to read from a different one, I feel a sense of sadness or something until I realize that I'm wrapped up in this character now too. Somehow, this makes me happy to read books that switch perspectives.

I didn't really "click" with Cassidy like you do with some protagonists. She was living a really different life from me: her parents were divorced and her dad was remarried. She had half-siblings and her dad and mom lived very far apart from each other. She was also kind of rude to people and her style was questionable at times.

However, I did like Bryan, not because we had anything in common, but because he was learning how to deal with life in a different way and not to take anything for granted. [His accident was so sad and I was almost crying with the unfairness of it. I mean, he slipped from a tree and hurt his back and it's all because of a DARE. Remind me never to try parkour. (hide spoiler)]

GAVIN WAS SUCH A JERK. Okay, I have to admit, when he texted her, I was like "what kind of a person says 'miss your face'" and then he called her and he was so sweet and I was like "okay, maybe he isn't too bad" and then we got to the ending and I was like "jerk, get out of her life FOREVER". So there is my mental timeline of the Emotions of the Gavin Incident.

Wade was sweet and I really liked him but can a guy really be so clueless? I mean, it was kinda obvious from page one that Tori liked him but you know... okay, then.

Hunter was the sweetest little thing, along with Colby, and it's made me realize how much I just want to meet a little kid who isn't so annoying as real-life kids are.

I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a "problematic romance" that still ends well.

Main Character: Cassidy, Bryan
Sidekick(s): Wade, Tori, Emma, Nick, etc
Villain(s): Being paralyzed, Gavin, love, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this was very real to life.

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