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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Tell Me Three Things - Julie Buxbaum

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
Image result for tell me three thingsGenre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.
In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

 MY OPINION: *****

This book was a sort of gift to me that I was meaning to read for a long, long time. I actually was going to read it last year but I never really got around to it.

For me, it was a hard choice between this book and This is How it Ends, which is near the very top of my to-read list at the moment. But to me, this book seemed shorter and less serious somehow so I opted for an easier read, seeing as it's vacation and it's the end of the year and such and I just want to beat that Goodreads goal of mine (only three more books!!)

So I ended up choosing this one and I found myself lost in an almost enchanting story about a girl whose mother passed away from cancer and her father has remarried and they have all moved to LA where she now goes to an expensive school.

This book was unique in a way because it was so many different parts that were combined that together that are generally not seen in many novels. First, some random guy starts emailing her, calling himself "Somebody Nobody" or "SN" for short and welcomes her to the school. He tells her that he's going to be like her "spirit guide" and it's all fluffy cute stuff. Then there's the fact that her mother passed away a few years earlier, I believe, and the pain from that. And then there's the dad remarrying to a very rich lady named Rachel and moving to Los Angeles to live in what they call a "mansion". Then there's a new stepfamily: Rachel and her son, Theo, who's gay and extravagant and unique. Then there's new friends and old ones and a certain special someone...

All of this combined made up Tell Me Three Things and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

SN was rather "hilarious" in my eyes... his use of words and non-capitalized sentences were enjoyable and I found myself searching for more passages of their IM's or emails, as it was in the beginning. (I literally could not spell "beginning" just now). He was funny and poignant and real. I found this general idea very similar to Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda with their messages, only neither of them knew each other, and SN knew who Jessie, our main character, was.

The whole "ordeal" with moving and being a new kid was very real to life, and I have first-hand knowledge of this... not necessarily the moving across the country but being the new kid and struggling to make friends and such. I so far have not had to deal with bullies as bad as Gem but I hope that if that should happen, that I'll remember how friends are always there to stand up for you. Jessie did make two really good friends, Adrianna or "Dri" and Agnes, though at first, I thought Agnes wasn't going to click with her as well, though everything turned out fine.

Dri's immense and almost insane crush on Liam was kind of heartwarming because that's something a LOT of people have gone through. We all have/had/will have that one person who we so desperately want but cannot have, no matter how hard we try to win them over. And if that person is in love, if we can call Liam's thing with Jessie "love" though it was more like "liked", with your best friend... well, you'd better hope your friend is as forgiving as Dri.

I didn't really understand Liam... did he actually like Jessie or was that just... I don't know, something else? It was kind of confusing, especially since we never got any closure.

 THE WHOLE THING WITH CALEB INFURIATED ME. If the protagonist makes it obvious that they think it's someone, it's not them. Obviously. And JESSIE WAS SO STUPID AND IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY. She basically made a fool of herself. It was so funny when she confronted SN and he's like "WHAT??" 

 Scarlett's character was someone that I've always wanted to have in real life. She's always there to listen to you when you need to spill your guts and feelings and all in all, she's a great friend. Scar was so sweet and her texts were so REAL and HONEST!

I'm going to end this here, but let me just say, I'm VERY excited for What To Say Next, which I am currently WAITING for desperately.

I would recommend this book to Young Adult lovers who are looking for a deep and romantic novel.

Main Character: Jess
Sidekick(s): Ethan, Liam, Dri, Agnes, Scarlett, etc
Villain(s): Death, moving, new things, CALEB, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.

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