The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the People's Temple.

via Simon and Schuster

The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

Jeff Guinn

3/5 Stars.

DISCLAIMER: I was sent a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuester. All opinions in this review are my own. 

You may not have heard of Jim Jones, but you've probably heard the phrase "don't drink the kool-aid" The Road to Jonestown is a true, detailed account of the people's temple, everything from Jim Jones killing animals as a young child to his final sermon as 918 people were poisoned. There are so many questions around the entire case, from how this cult came about to why everyone committed mass suicide; and those questions are all answered in this book.

This book is so detailed and interesting if you're a fan of True Crime. It talks about Jones's childhood, his early days as a Methodist pastor, his compound in California, and his fateful trip to Guyana where the deaths occurred. This book opened my eyes so much. I thought this was a cult of crazed people, but the book shows how Jim Jones was a monster. He drugged and raped young women in his church, took parents away from their children, and forced parents to poison their children and watch them die. The entire situation is unbelievable; I had to stop while I was reading often to remind myself this actually happened. That being said, because the book is so detailed, it is very slow to read, and some of the middle parts are hard to get through. 

I highly recommend this book to true crime fans and everyone who is interested in this type of history.

The Road to Jonestown is available now everywhere books are sold. Thanks for reading another one of my reviews, and I'll see you all on Friday with my review of The Shack by W.M Paul Young.

Top Five August 2017 Releases.

Wow! Another month has gone by and I have done nothing productive with my life. I guess that's summer for ya! If you're going back to school this year, best of luck to you! Personally, I'm excited to have more books to read for school. Anyways, here are five books coming out this month that will make the impending doom of school a little less hard.

1.  The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne.

via Goodreads.

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery: or at least, that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn't a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do, if eccentric, Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redomptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, achored only by his heartfelt friendship with the more glamorous and dangerous Julian Woodbead. He will spend his lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from. 

Why this book is on my radar: 

• written by John Boyne, the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. (super tearjerking read. Kind of tears you apart inside)
• The Heart's Invisible Furies comes out August 22nd.

• Set in Post WWI Ireland.

2.  Depression and Other Magic Tricks by Sabrina Benaim.

via Amazon.

Sabrina Benaim is one of the most-viewed performance poets of all time, whose poem "Explaining My Depression to My Mother" has over 5 million views. This book explores themes of mental health, love, and family and is a documentation of struggle and triumph, and a celebration of daily life and living.

Why it's on my radar: 

• I suffer with depression, so seeing it represented in books by other mentally ill people is really exciting.
• The cover is goregous??? Like seriously look how pretty this book  is. 
• Depression and Other Magic Tricks comes out tommorow! August 8th.

3.  Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo.

via Goodreads.

She will become one of the world's greatest heroes, but first, she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law- risking exile- to save a mere mortal. Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world. 

Why its on my radar: 

• Wonder woman is freaking awesome.
• Strong female characters. 
• Wonder Woman: War Bringer, will be out August 29th. 

4. Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney C. Stevens.

via Goodreads.

Self discovery dosen't always need to have a "coming out" Billie McCaffrey is the tomboy daughter of the town's preacher, but when she starts to question her sexuality, she dosen't want anyone slapping a label on it before she herself can understand it. 

Why it's on my radar:

• LGBT teen fiction is literally my favorite thing ever.
• I can identify with the character as a queer woman who grew up in a very religious household.
• Dress Codes for Small Towns comes out August 22nd.

5.  A Torch Against the Night by Sabbah Tahir.

via Amazon.

I won't give you guys a synopsis since not everyone has read the first book, but A Torch Against the Night is the well awaited sequel to An Ember in the Ashes, which captivated everyone when it was released about a year ago.  This book will be out August 30th. 

And there you have it friends! I hope you enjoy these books this August, and come back next week for my review of The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the People's Temple by Jeff Guinn. 

July 2017 Wrap UP + BTAT 2017 Wrap UP

Hey, there internet! It's the last Monday of July, which means it's time for another wrap-up! So without further ado, here we go!

via Goodreads. 

Death Note

Tsugumi Ohba

3 Stars

I have been trying to get my hands on all the books in this series for awhile now. I read 1-4 last month and this month I am patiently waiting for 6 to be available at my library. I don't like this book as much as I liked books 1-4. The story arc changes and It's just not as exciting for me.


So, during this month as you all are aware, the booktubeathon took place! I ended up only finishing two books, but I'll try harder next time! Summer is a really rough time for me to read, I'm not really sure why.

via Amazon

The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank

3 Stars

I read this book for the person on the cover challenge, and I liked it. It was really interesting to see how Anne is in such this big and dangerous time in history, but she's also still a young girl who is going through teenage troubles as well as war troubles. 

via Amazon. 

Make up: Your life guide to beauty, style, and success- online and off. 

Michelle Phan

I read this book as a book I could finish in a day (which I sadly didn't) and I really didn't like it that much. Maybe because it's an outdated book, but Michelle's views are really out of date (such as slut shaming and enforced gender roles)

Well, there you guys go! All the books I read in July. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned next Monday for when we talk about new August releases that you need to be excited about!

BOOKTUBE A THON 2017

Hey There Internet! It's my favorite time of year again, the booktube-a-thon! I can't believe this will be my 3rd year participating! Even though I don't do youtube anymore; I still love the reading challenges and instagram contests! (Psst: follow my book instagram @kelseythebooknerd).

So without further ado, here is my TBR list for this years booktube a thon!!!

1. Read a book with a person on the cover. 

via Amazon

I actually finished this book earlier today because I was reading it on my vacation, but I chose The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank for this challenge.

2. Read a book that has been really hyped up. 

via Goodreads

For this challenge I chose The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh. This book has been super hyped ever since it came out, so I decided to finally pick it up!

3. Read a book you can finish in one day. 

via Amazon.

I chose Make Up: Your life guide to beauty, style, and success-online and off by Michelle Phan because it has a lot of pictures so I should be able to finish the book quickly. I used to be such a big fan of Michelle and I bought the book as soon as it came out. Unfortunatley, I never picked it up! Until now that is.

4. Read a book about a character that is different from you. 

via Amazon. 

The main character in Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown in a girl named Molly, who is adopted by a poor family. I was raised by my birth parents, so this character is perfect for this challenge. 

5. Read a book completley outside. 

via Barnes and Noble. 

This book is short and Robert Frost writes a lot of poems about nature so I figured this would be great to read outside. 

t f

6. A book you bought soley because of the cover. 

via Goodreads. 

I have never in my life bought a book just because of the cover, so I went into a bookstore today and bought the first book I saw with a pretty cover, which was Exit West  by Mohsin Hamid. You can't see it very well in this picture, but the cover has a bunch of sparkles on it! I have no idea what this book is about, but I'll be reading it later this week.

7. And as always...read seven books. 

via Goodreads.

For my seventh book, I picked out the sequel to The Wrath and The Dawn. I wanted to finish up the series while the first book was still fresh in my mind!


Thanks so much for reading! Follow my instagram (@kelseythebooknerd) for updates on how I'm doing during the Booktube-a-thon, and don't forget to check out my writing blog; The Perks of Being a Poet! (theperksofbeingapoet.wordpress.com)

I'll see you all next Monday with my booktube a thon wrap up!

June 2017 Wrap UP

Hey, There Internet! Sorry, I haven't been uploading lately, I've been trying to get my life together but I think I finally have it! So I didn't read a whole lot of books in June because I'm halfway through a manga series, and I always review those after I finished the whole thing because I usually finish one book a day. But here are the books I read in June!

via Wikipedia

The Catcher in the Rye

J. D. Salinger

So I know this book is a piece of classic literature, but I really couldn't get behind it. I even read anyalsis after analysis to see if there was a hidden meaning I missed, but to me I just see a boy whining about the world and complaining until he ends up locked up. I gave it two stars. 

via Wikipedia

Death Note

I'm on volume 4 of Death Note right now, I read 1-3 in June. I love the series so far! It's exciting and has me on the edge of my seat but also is funny and intellectual. Fantastic. 

So that's all I read this month! I promise I will try to read more next month. But until then, I'll see you in my next post! 

5 May Releases to be Excited About.

Hey There Internet! My name is Kelsey, and here are five books coming out in May, 2017 that you should be excited about.

1. Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by David Sedaris.

via Amazon

David Sedaris is a well renowned humorist, and these are the diaries he's been keeping for 25 years. I'm a huge fan of David Sedaris so I am super excited to read the inner workings of his mind.

Theft by Finding is available May 30th from Little Brown and Company.

2. Release by Patrick Ness.

via Goodreads

Goodreads Description: "Adam Thorn is having what will turn out to be the most unsettling, difficult day of his life, with relationships fracturing, a harrowing incident at work, and a showdown between this gay teen and his preacher father that changes everything."

Release will by available May 4th from Walker Books

3. Noteworthy by Riley Redgate.

via Goodreads

Goodreads Description: "It's the start of Jordan Sun's junior year at the Kensignton-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, she's an alto, which no one is falling over to express themselves in appreciation. The the school gets a mass email: A spot has opened up in the Sharpshooters, Kensington's elite acappela octet. Worshipped, revered, all male. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan auditions in her most convincing drag, and it turns out that Jordan Sun, Tenor 1, is exactly what the Sharps are looking for." 

I've read one of Redgate's previous books, The Seven Ways we Lie, and liked it, so I'm excited to read her newest book. 

Noteworthy will be available May 2nd by Amulet Books.

4. Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King.

via Amazon

Do I even have to tell you what this book is about? It's a Stephen King! It's going to be creepy and it's going to be amazing. Enough said.

Gwendy's Button Box will be available May 30th by Cemetery Dance Publications.

5. Son of Ares by Pierce Brown. 

via Goodreads

Goodreads Description: "In the future, when mankind has spread across the stars, the hierarchy of man is dictated by the color of one's caste. The golds rule all, but what will happen when one falls for a lowly Red?" 

Son of Ares will be available May 10th by Dynamite Entertainment.

The Cellar

via Goodreads

The Cellar
Natasha Preston
5 Stars!

DISCLAIMER: THIS BOOK CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS AND IMAGERY OF KIDNAPPING AND SEXUAL/PHYSICAL ABUSE THAT MAY UPSET SOME. IF THAT'S YOU, READ CAREFULLY.

Summer has a perfect life. Lots of friends, a loving boyfriend, and prospects for her future. Then she goes to a party and gets kidnapped on the way there. She is taken to a cellar where she is renamed 'Lily' and forced to live with three other captive girls as a man's 'family'.

This book is really interesting because not only does it tell summer's perspective but it tells the story from the kidnapper's point of view as well. Not a lot of books do that, and it's interesting to see the way her perceives the crimes he is committing. That being said, the book is a little cheesy at times; when summer is on her way to the party where she is later taken, she insists to her boyfriend that she will be fine walking alone in the dark. Irony right?

My biggest problem with The Cellar is really just how stressed out it made me. This book got a rise out of me to the point where I would have to put it down for a minute to fix my breathing. I couldn't even get started on the sequel, because reading the first page just led me to a whole new wave of anxious thoughts. I suppose that proves it's a good story if it can bring such an emotional reaction, but at the same time there is a lot of physical and sexual abuse in this book, so i wouldn't recommend it for people who are sensitive to that kind of content.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and gave it five stars. The characters are what make this book truly magical, they are all so complex and all have interesting back stories. The book is not that insightful, besides I suppose just to appreciate life because any day you could be scooped into a van by a total creep! Great.

Thanks for reading another one of my reviews, I will be back soon with a review of The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn.