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...
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99 Days - Katie Cotugno

99 Days by Katie Cotugno
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Image result for 99 daysBlurb (on back of book): Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.
Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”
Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.

 MY OPINION: ****

 I really wanted to love this book, I really did. I tried and I tried but something would happen that would make it fall flat.

 At times, I wanted to give it a five stars. At others, a three. I never thought about one or two so I decided to go in between with a flat four. I feel really bad because I was so excited for this book.

I don't generally do list reviews but this book needs one. Besides, I like to write them more than writing a ton of paragraphs :D

However, there were some things that I really could not stand (Warning: spoilers ahead — I will mark them as usual)

1) I hated how Molly could never make up her mind.
2) I hated Julia. She acted nice and then she didn't.
3) I hated Elizabeth. She was such a fake.
4) I hated the ending. How can. Molly not. End up. WITH ANYONE?
5) Some "days" or "chapters" were just plain boring.
6) Going on from the previous, some chapters were almost tiring.
7) There were long paragraphs. Blocky ones.
8) The writing style seemed to change at times.
9) Patrick. I couldn't stand the dude.
10) Some of the chapters were FOREVER and some were skimpy and one-sentence long.
11) TESS. I COULD NOT HANDLE HER. SHE WAS SO ANNOYING I CANNOT
12) Her mom.

Now, this may seem like a LOT but here's the good stuff!

1) Most of the time, the writing style was unique and gorgeous.
2) I loved the detail.
3) The imagery was astounding. I could picture everything so clearly.
4) Gabe. What's not to love?
5) Gabe. Yes, he has two. He's that amazing.
6) Molly's thoughts. Hilarious and real and funny and honest.
7) Imogen (how do you pronounce that name?)
8) THE COVER (Yes, I judged this book by the cover — HEY it came out well!)
9) The texts.
10) The GORGEOUS ROMANCE
11) Connie.
12) All the little things in the book that I notice but never take the time to say out loud for fear of sounding weird.
13) THE FUNNY SENTENCES FROM EVERYONE
14) Gabe's hilarious statements on life
15) Patrick's really sentimental statements.
16) Patrick's introverted self.
17) Her mom's a bestselling author!
18) The author. I really want to read How To Love. Is it better than this one?
19) The fun amazing inner dialogue.

I loved this book more than I didn't, as you can see. Some of the characters obviously didn't agree with me but I really really loved about 85%. Now that's a GREAT grade and I really wish it was my usual 90-100 but it just wasn't. It was those 12 little things up there that made my grading average go down.

Tess. She was killing me slowly from the inside. She was so nice. I can't handle overly nice people like Tess. And she was dating Patrick. And she was dating Patrick. And she was dating Patrick. (No that wasn't a mistake). It needed to be said multiple times. And her "plain" looks made me unable to imagine her.

Yes, Tess is the only character I'm going to talk about in full.

Molly's life is seriously messed up. She is so iffy and fickle and I can't believe how horrible of a person she is at some points. I mean, you're dating someone!

Both times!

I would recommend this book to Contemporary lovers! (I actually found this on the contemporary novel list on Goodreads — PLEASE SEND RECOMMENDATIONS)

Main Character: Molly
Sidekick(s): Gabe, Patrick, Imogen, etc
Villain(s): Julia, Elizabeth, the people, Molly (at some points), Patrick (at some points), mistakes
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book is very real to life.

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