Teaser Tuesday and The Raven Boys

First things first--my blog is still broken. I want everyone to know that while I can see your comments, it's impossible for me to reply to them on my blog. Sometimes (when my blog is in a good mood) it will let me reply to a comment, but mostly it doesn't. Please still comment though, cause I can still read them and I'll definitely come visit your blogs!

Okay. Glad that's out of the way. So, I'm doing something a little different this week. Last week, I posted a teaser from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. That book made such an impression on me that I  need to talk about it before posting this week's Teaser. Anyone not interested, feel free to skip further down the post.

I've read so many books that I loved this year. Shatter Me. Perks of Being a Wallflower. Warm Bodies. Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Angelfall. I could easily go on. And yet, no matter how much I loved a book (Which I really did--I thought every book I just named was amazing for one reason or another) none of them   infiltrated that spot between my mind and my heart where the characters  continued to fully exist for longer than it took to read the story. None of them left a hole in my life when they were gone.

In fact, very few books have ever had that effect on me--the one where I'm actually depressed for a day or two because I'm so bummed that the world they're from isn't real. That they aren't real. I don't know what the magical formula is for creating a character who steps off the page and into someone's life, but I know that--for me--Maggie Steifvater hit it in spades with The Raven Boys.

These characters grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I felt Gansey's drive to achieve something that nobody could attribute to his wealth. Adam's pain and his desperation to hold onto his pride. Noah's quiet despair. Ronin's passionate anger. Blue's eagerness to lose herself in something that went beyond.

 I felt them all...and I wanted to be friends with them. In fact, by the time I was half way done, I barely needed a plot to keep going. I just wanted to hang out with the characters. To me, that is the mark of a truly great book.

This wasn't really meant to be a review, but if you guys would like to know more about the actual plot, click HERE. This book just touched something in me so deep that I felt like I had to talk about it. I would recommend The Raven Boys to anyone. It's not a flashy, action-packed thrill ride. But it's something deep and depressing and uplifting and so, so real. I hope you guys love it even half as much as I did.

And, having said all of that, it's Teaser Tuesday, hosted by SHOULD BE READING.  To play along just grab whatever you're reading. Open to a random page. Share two teaser sentences. Make sure not to share any spoilers!! Give the Title and Author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR pile!

My Teaser for this week is from "What's Left of Me" by Kat Zhang

And then slowly, so slowly it was like something deliberate, there was a shift in Hally's face. That was the only way I could put it. Something minuscule, something no one would have caught if they weren't staring straight at her as Addie and I were staring now, something no one would have noticed--would've even thought to notice--if they weren't--Addie took a step toward the door. A shift. A change. Like how Robbie changed to Will. 

So far this is an awesome book with a really unique, cool concept!

So, if you slogged through this whole long post and are still reading, thanks!! haha... If anyone actually reads The Raven Boys, please come back and tell me what you thought of it!!  And, if you guys have any books that have touched you in a unique way, I'd love to hear about them, even if you just give me a title and demand I read them. :)