Book Review: Because I Love You by Tori Rigby

ISBN: 0997010436
Published: May 17th, 2016
Publisher: Blaze Publishing, LLC
Received: Netgalley
Read from September 20th to 28th, 2016
Synopsis from Goodreads:

Eight weeks after sixteen-year-old Andie Hamilton gives her virginity to her best friend, “the stick” says she’s pregnant.
Her friends treat her like she’s carrying the plague, her classmates torture and ridicule her, and the boy she thought loved her doesn’t even care. Afraid to experience the next seven months alone, she turns to her ex-boyfriend, Neil Donaghue, a dark-haired, blue-eyed player. With him, she finds comfort and the support she desperately needs to make the hardest decision of her life: whether or not to keep the baby.
Then a tragic accident leads Andie to discover Neil’s keeping a secret that could dramatically alter their lives, and she's forced to make a choice. But after hearing her son’s heartbeat for the first time, she doesn’t know how she’ll ever be able to let go.

Review:

Because I Love You left me feeling conflicted. If we're only talking about the level of enjoyment I got from the book, it was great. I was incredibly into the plot and invested in the character's stories. I felt for them and wanted them to be happy (except for those who I very much didn't want to be happy). I would recommend the book from that standpoint.

That being said, I did sometimes find things a little too dramatic or a little too good to be true. It's hard to provide specific examples of what I mean without spoiling the book, but there were several sections where I did struggle to believe that certain things were actually happening. It didn't take much away from my enjoyment, however, because I was very into the story. This book is the first I've cried over in quite a while.

The one other big issue I had with the book deals with the topic of race. The character Jill is Native American. Twice in the book, Neil (who's race isn't stated, which I know means he'll be read as white by most) refers to her as "Pocahontas". During one of these instances, we get Jill's angry reaction, but with the way it's presented, readers have to interpret whether she's joking with him or serious. The reason you can't really tell is because Neil treats it as a joke and continues to laugh about it even after Jill's reaction. Jill doesn't say anything after Neil continues to laugh. Andie, the narrator, doesn't have much of a reaction to the comment (either time). The second time it happens, Jill's father is in the room, but he makes no comment when Neil calls his daughter "Pocahontas", and we don't get a reaction from Jill that time either. When her father speaks again, he's talking about a different subject and has ignored the comment all together.

Considering recent politics in the United States (i.e. Trump and his people repeatedly referring to Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas"), I feel like most people should have at least some awareness of why Neil's "jokes" here aren't tasteful. If you don't, here are links that should help give you an idea. Nothing put me off more in the book than those two moments, and I so strongly wish they hadn't been there. It isn't often that there are Native American characters in YA literature, and then to have one of the few that exists jokingly called "Pocahontas" in the book, which is like a direct jab at the fact that so few Americans know important Native American figures, was just disappointing.

I would have enjoyed the book a lot more without those two moments because of how much they angered me, and that's quite a shame since the book was largely enjoyable, if a little unbelievable at times.

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Blogger Insider Tag

Today I'm doing the Book Blogger Insider tag, a tag that's focused on discussing our blogging habits. It was created by Jamie at A Little Slice of Jamie, and I found it through Louise at geniereads.

Where do you typically write your blog posts?

At my desk. That's the most convenient place to type. I can't even imagine writing my blog posts in a place other than my room because it's far too distracting. I need peace and quiet when I'm writing anything, so that's a prerequisite for any place I'm going to write my blog posts.

How long does it take you to write a book review?

I haven't timed it out, and I'm bad at keeping track of how long individual tasks take me when I'm working on different things. I'd estimate that it takes half an hour to an hour for a rough draft depending on how I felt and how detailed of a review it becomes. Then I'll set it aside and come back to edit it later before I post it. (How long I let it sit depends a lot on how busy I am and other factors.) Editing it typically takes less time than writing the first draft.

When did you start your blog?

September of 2009, so just over seven years ago.

What is the worst thing about having a book blog in your opinion?

For me, it would be keeping up with the technical aspects. I wish I was better at graphic design so that I could design a really great layout for myself instead of buying one. I feel like being better at the technical aspects of blogging would make things much easier.

What is the best thing about having a book blog in your opinion?

I have an outlet to talk about books. Not only on my own blog but through commenting on the blogs of others. Plus, I love writing, so I love having a place that I can write in any capacity.

What blog posts have you had the most fun writing so far?

I'm not sure. There are a number of them that I found very fun, but some of what have turned out to be my favorite posts were the most stressful to write, not necessarily the most fun.

When do you typically write?

It depends. There's no set time when I'm more likely to be writing. It could be any time when I'm at home. Now that I'm student teaching, it's not going to be during school hours, but other than that, there's always a possibility I'm writing something, whether it's for the blog or something else.

Do you review every book you read?

Almost all with some exceptions. Most books I don't review are classics. Actually, they're not just classics (I've reviewed some classics) but the incredibly old classics. Those books are still fair game for literary analysis, but a review just doesn't seem to mean much for some of the oldest works of literature. (That being said, there are probably newer classics I decided not to review because it just didn't seem necessary.) Other than that, I review every book I read with very few exceptions.

How do you write your book review? With a cup of coffee or tea? With Netflix? Cuddle with your fur baby?

I do actually blog sometimes while Netflix is on, but it's not that often. I get too distracted and can't focus on both of them. I may drink some soda while I'm blogging, and if it's early in the morning, it may be coffee. Most of the time though, I'm blogging in silence and probably have water beside me. Exciting, I know. (Oh, and I wish I had a pet at school with me that I could cuddle.)

When do you write your reviews? Right after finishing the book? Two weeks after finishing the book?

It used to be right after I finished an incredibly long time ago. Now it's typically a few days after finishing. On rare occasions where I'm super busy, it may become a week or even two after finishing, but that's not often. I like giving myself a bit of time to reflect on the book but not enough time that I'll forget important details.

How often do you post?

This is something else that depends. Recently, with student teaching, it hasn't been often. I've never had a set schedule even when I manage to update on a regular basis. For whatever reason, I like the randomness of not having a set schedule that's always the same. In truth though, I do schedule out posts. It's just not in a set pattern that's easily predictable; it's different each month and depends a lot on how busy I am.

That's all of the questions. If you'd like to do this tag, consider yourself tagged. I'd love to know your answers to these questions in the comments too if you'd like.

Reader Confessions Book Tag

Today I'm going to be doing the reader confessions book tag, which I discovered when Jesse over at Books at Dawn did it. The tag is all about confessing to things you may not want to as a reader, which is always interesting.

Have you ever damaged a book?

I know that I've accidentally ripped pages while turning them before. It happens sometimes, but the rips aren't typically that big. I still feel horribly guilty for it.

Other than that, my books may look a bit worn if I carry them around in my bag for long enough or read them often enough, but I can't recall ever purposefully damaging a book. I tend to feel pretty bad about damaging absolutely anything. I don't even rip into envelopes.

I did leave a book in the rain once, and that led to a panicked dash to go get it.

Have you ever damaged a borrowed book?

Absolutely not. At least not that I can remember. I'm very nervous about borrowing books because I'm incredibly paranoid that I'll do something that will damage them. It's adds all of this anxiety to the act of reading that shouldn't be there. In the last five years, I can think of less than a handful of times where I've borrowed a book.

How long does it take you to read a book?

It depends on the book. Typically, I try to read at least three chapters a day. It's a rare day when I don't manage at least that, but at times, I'll manage to read more (that's gotten rarer these days). My reading pace has slowed down for several different reasons, the least of which isn't student teaching. I'd say that I average about a book per week. My Goodreads challenge for this year is 50 books, and I'm currently one book ahead of schedule.

Books that you haven't finished?

What's tough about this question is that I tend to forget the names of books I don't bother to finish, which makes it difficult to look them up to remember them. The most recent was Love and Decay, Volume 1 by Rachel Higginson. However, that book was actually six short stories, and I read five of them before I decided I couldn't be bothered with the sixth.

Hyped popular books that you don't like?

Oddly enough, I can think of hyped books that I have no interest in even reading, but I'm having a difficult time remembering ones I read but didn't like. Even when I read hyped books, it tends to happen once the hype has died down, so I feel like I don't feel quite so alone in not liking it.

One that comes to mind is the Matched trilogy by Allie Condie. I've read the first two and just found them okay. I have some massive problems with how the story is handled. (Basically, I think there was a lot of amazing potential there that got wasted, and it frustrated me while reading those books.) However, I don't think that series is hyped anymore.

Is there a book you wouldn't tell anyone you were reading?

Back in high school, I sometimes brought books I was reading to school. I would never bring non-fiction books. For whatever reason, I was self-conscious about reading non-fiction.

That's not a problem for me anymore.

There used to be other sorts of books I was self-conscious of reading, but I feel like it was on a very case-by-case basis. It's hard for me to pick out types of books that I didn't want to be seen reading. These days, I don't think that's a problem for me. I read a lot of different things, and I'll admit to reading all of it.

How many books do you own?

I genuinely don't know. My Goodreads shelf wouldn't give me that number since my "read" shelf will include books I don't own, and I know that some books I still own from my childhood haven't been marked on Goodreads. I don't even want to throw out an estimate because I feel like it would be way off. It's probably a lot more than I realize.

Are you a fast reader or a slow reader?

When it comes to a pace to finish a book, I think I'm somewhere in between. Compared to the book blogging community, I'm probably slow. Compared to many others, I'm probably fast.

Do you like to buddy read?

I like to discuss books either as I read them or after, but I don't really like buddy reading. I don't like that sense of having to sync my reading with someone else. I'd much rather go at my own pace. However, being able to talk to someone who happens to be reading the same book you are is also amazing, so I see buddy reading's pros.

Do you read better in your head or out loud?

In my head. Definitely. It goes so much faster than reading out loud, and reading out loud hurts my throat after a while. You can't sustain it for as long. That being said, I'm having to read out loud a lot to students this semester, so I'm improving those reading skills (and hurting my throat in the process).

If you were only allowed to own one book, what one and why?

Deathly Hallows. Maybe it seems odd for me to choose the last book in a series, but I've said over and over again that I'm a sucker for endings. I like seeing how everything's resolved and tied up. It gives me satisfaction, so if I was going to re-read just one part of Harry Potter over and over again, it would be Deathly Hallows.

Naruto Shippuden Review: Episodes 351-355

I haven't written (as opposed to filming) a Naruto review since July when I reviewed episodes 236-340. What's actually more shocking to me than that is that I've only watched fifteen episodes in the past two (almost three) months. It's just one of the things that's fallen to the wayside as I student teach, but here I am with another review.

When it comes to the particular storyline that Shippuden seems to have been running with for a while now, I'm unsure if I like it or just feel neutral towards it. I know that sounds strange, but I think it how I feel has a lot to do with which episode I happened to watch last. I like some of them and others have just been okay.

I think it's cool that we're learning more about Kinoe/Yamato's past in the show, and I like learning some aspects of Kakashi's past along with it. At the same time, the specific stories of some of the episodes haven't thrilled me that much. (Like the smoke people who were okay I guess, but I couldn't get into those couple of episodes.)

One thing I really want is a deep exploration into being one of Orochimaru's test subjects because I think that could be incredibly interesting, and I don't think any of the episodes have yet to go as deep into it as I would like. However, I'm also not holding out hope that they will.

What I am hoping to see is what happens that makes Kinoe/Yamato leave the Foundation. Although I am aware of some spoilers about it, I'm interested in seeing it all play out and to "really" know what happens there. That, I think, it what's been driving my interest over the course of the last ten episodes or so. (I have no idea how long it's been since this storyline started.) We'll see what happens next.

Life Post: Units and Student Teaching

It's been nearly two weeks since my last life post. Whoops. I can't blame myself though considering how things have been. The last time I wrote one I was in the middle of my last week of fall break.

After coming back after fall break, I began teaching my unit. My student teaching program (and I imagine many other student teaching programs) is set up in a way that's meant to gradually give you more responsibility in the classroom, so I had been teaching more and more throughout the semester. Then that culminates in you teaching an entire unit that you've planned yourself. Though I had begun teaching several lessons a week before, teaching everything has definitely been an adjustment. Just yesterday I was running about a bit frantically before school started trying to get everything done before first period (after arriving earlier than normal to school too).

Now we're in the second week of that, and I won't lie and say I'm not tired. It's a bit difficult to focus on anything else. I even took a break from writing for a few days last week because I needed that. It's also exciting though, and I think that just the past week has taught me a lot.

The other side of this is that it means student teaching is almost over, which is so hard to believe. After student teaching, I've graduated, and that's a terrifying thought. Actually, the really strange thing is the gap when my student teaching will have ended but I still have to meet with my night class and complete my final project to graduate. Though I'll have that final project to work on, that's going to be a strange amount of free time for a few weeks. I can't imagine what that will feel like after all of this.