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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Everything That Makes You - Moriah McStay

Everything That Makes You by Moriah McStay
Image result for everything that makes youGenre: YA Contemporary

Blurb (on back of book): One girl. Two stories. Meet Fiona Doyle. The thick ridges of scar tissue on her face are from an accident twelve years ago. Fiona has notebooks full of songs she’s written about her frustrations, her dreams, and about her massive crush on beautiful uber-jock Trent McKinnon. If she can’t even find the courage to look Trent straight in his beautiful blue eyes, she sure isn’t brave enough to play or sing any of her songs in public. But something’s changing in Fiona. She can’t be defined by her scars anymore. 
And what if there hadn’t been an accident? Meet Fi Doyle. Fi is the top-rated female high school lacrosse player in the state, heading straight to Northwestern on a full ride. She’s got more important things to deal with than her best friend Trent McKinnon, who’s been different ever since the kiss. When her luck goes south, even lacrosse can’t define her anymore. When you’ve always been the best at something, one dumb move can screw everything up. Can Fi fight back?
Hasn’t everyone wondered what if? In this daring debut novel, Moriah McStay gives us the rare opportunity to see what might have happened if things were different. Maybe luck determines our paths. But maybe it’s who we are that determines our luck.

MY OPINION: ****

It's been so long since I've read a good book that this was so refreshing!

This book was separated by alternate universes. It makes you wonder: what if? In this case, what if Fiona Doyle had never had the accident that scarred her face?

I've never read a book like this before so maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much more. I found the concept interesting. I would love to know what if something in my life hadn't happened?

Fiona has gone through an accident around age five or six where a popcorn cart fell over and the oil burned her face and scarred it. She's been living with this for her whole life and it's almost as if it defines her. Although she tries to ignore it, her mind keeps going back to it every time she meets somebody new, etc. She also has a crush on this boy, Trent McKinnon, who is a popular lacrosse player. The book covers around four years of her life and we see her go to college at Northwestern and meet this boy, Jackson, who's sweet but has a lot of baggage in his past.

Fi (alternate universe Fiona) has not experienced an accident and is the best women's lacrosse player in the state. She is set for Northwestern and she's dealing with her best friend, Trent McKinnon, and his desire to be more than friends after they mistakenly kiss. She doesn't see him like that and instead meets a wonderful, marvelous, sweet, amazing, gorgeous boy named Marcus at a coffee shop. I LOVED MARCUS. HE WAS A GOD IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE. His twin brother, Jackson, is a jerk when they first meet. Eventually, they become something like friends but never anything more.

Marcus ends up dying, much to my shock and ultimate reading-depression. I loved him so much. He ate some chicken at age fourteen that caused him to have a weakened immune system and a weakened heart. He doesn't tell Fi about his "disease" and the fact that he's dying until he's admitted into the hospital on her prom night. It saddened me so much to see that scene and I was actually about to cry.

I loved the way that these two stories interconnected. Fiona gets a surgery that takes the skin from an organ donor to replace the scars on her face. We find out in the end that her organ donor was Marcus. This was predictable and yet also amazingly sad and beautifully written. Jackson, Trent, and Marcus are a part of both Fiona's and Fi's lives and I loved how that was written. I'm glad that Fiona and Fi didn't end up with the same guy because I wasn't up for the whole cliche soulmate thing no matter what to be honest.

I loved Ryan, her brother, because even though he wasn't always there, he was such a good brother and I loved the way that he always looked out for his sister.

I loved this book and I would recommend it to readers looking for a very interesting and impeccably written story about what ifs and first loves.

Main Character: Fiona/Fi
Sidekick(s): Trent, Jackson, Marcus, Lucy, Ryan, etc
Villain(s): What-ifs, etc
Contemporary Elements: This book was set in modern times and was realistic to a point.

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