My Book Journey

Like any other prospective fictional author, I love reading. I love delving deep into worlds different from my own and going on incredible adventures inside my head. I especially love the fantasy and dystopian genres because they allow me to experience a world that is so different from the one I live in.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved the idea of magic and royalty, always dressing up as a fairy or Disney Princess for Halloween, and playing fairy princesses and mermaids with my friends on the playground or in the pool. Even though I’m a teenager now, the concepts of magic and royalty still fascinate me, but on a more mature level, so I tend to gravitate towards books that involve some sort of magical/mysterious way of life, one that would be unimaginable to the average human on Earth.

When I was in elementary school, my mom would read to me every morning and every night. This is probably what got me into my love of literature.

One of the first series that I remember reading is Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows. These books are perfect for young elementary schoolers (5-9 years old). They show what the world is like through kids’ eyes, and bring a sense of adventure and happiness. Everyone says that you should make the most of your life, especially when you’re young. The things you remember aren’t the grades you get in school or the first 100 digits of pi, but the memories you make with your friends, and the Ivy and Bean series portrays this perfectly.

What would my book journey be without Harry Potter? J.K. Rowling is such a massive inspiration to me, and she’s one of the reasons I want to be an author. When I was in 2nd grade, my mom and I listened to The Sorceror’s Stone on a CD, but I didn’t really get into the series until 4th grade. At that point, I’d forgotten how much I loved the first book, but once my mom convinced me to read The Chamber of Secrets, I couldn’t put it down! I ended up finishing the series less than a year later. I was actually on vacation, and my dad was telling me to stop reading, but I was so hooked, and I was on the last page… so I finished it. I think I loved it so much because I could relate to the characters — also Hogwarts is a school for magic, how cool is that? The characters are so realistic, and each has their own distinguishing characteristics, but they aren’t stereotypical. And the fact that Rowling created strong and independent female characters!!! Ah! I could go on a major rant about how brilliant the Harry Potter series and J.K. Rowling are, but I’ll save that for another post. Stay on track, Gemma, stay on track!!!

Let me just say that the books written for 5th-7th graders are superb, they’re just so good. In 5th grade, we had a book tracker in our class, and we would put a sticker on the chart whenever we finished a book. So, me being the competitive child that I was, read 33 books between September and June at 10 years old (not to brag or anything ;P). Some of these superb books include: When the Butterflies Came and The Time of the Fireflies by Kimberley Griffiths Little, the Tuesdays at the Castle series by Jessica Day George, The Power of Poppy Pendle series by Natasha Lowe, The Girl Who Could Fly series by Victoria Forester, The Magic Half and Magic in the Mix also by Annie Barrows, the Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler, and The Wide-Awake Princess series by E.D. Baker. Have you read any of these? If you have, then you know how great they are. Geez, I’m getting book nostalgia! Now I want to reread all of them!

This brings me to my favorite books I read now, and to my favorite series of all time! Like I said earlier, I love fantasy and dystopian novels. If you haven’t heard of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, you’ve been living under a rock; and if you haven’t read them, you need to do that. Katniss is such a strong female character, and she always does what she believes. This is one of my favorites! Also, Katniss and Peeta are the cutest book couple ever. 

Another series that I love (especially the first book) is Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic. Sisters Iris and Malina, and their mother, Jasmina, are witches, each with their own unique “gleam,” or magic of beauty. One day, a woman that Jasmina is overjoyed to see shows up to their bakery, but the next day, Jasmina is found on the floor of the bakery, bloodied and with broken ribs. Iris and Malina travel to Jasmina’s coven to see if they can help her, but instead of finding help, they uncover secrets about their past and the coven’s true intentions.

The Project Nemesis trilogy by Brendan Reichs is one of my favorite dystopian series. Each book is full of surprises (even my mom couldn’t predict what happened). It all starts on Min’s 8th birthday when a man in a suit murders her in cold blood, but she wakes up alive the next day. This continues every other year until her 16th birthday. But when she wakes up this time, her small town is an island, and the only people who haven’t disappeared are her sophomore class. They have to figure out a way to govern themselves, but when blood is shed in an argument, something strange happens — and the students keep finding things that say something about Project Nemesis, whatever that is. This series has so many exciting plot twists that always keep you on your toes!

Oh, how can I even explain how much I love the Snow Like Ashes trilogy by Sara Raasch? This is my favorite book. Ever. Meira is one of the few Winterians who have escaped from the wrath of Angra, the king of Spring. Along with the Winter army general, Sir, and the prince, Mather, Meira does everything she can to defeat Angra, who infests the Spring kingdom with dark and infectious magic, even if it goes against Sir’s orders. They must free the rest of the Winterians from Angra’s grasp and defeat his magic, but that proves harder than it sounds — and it seems hard. Ugh, I just have so many thoughts about this series, and I can not get them out right! I love this book so so much! If you like the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard and The Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu, you would probably love this book too!

Well, it seems you’re all caught up on my journey! Of course, this journey will never end, so I’ll keep you updated! Have you read any of the books that I mentioned? How did you like them? If you have any book suggestions, questions for me, or want more in-depth reviews/descriptions about a specific book, feel free to leave them in the comments, email me, or dm me!

*All books mentioned are linked