Blog Tour & Giveaway: Review & Favorite Quotes of This Tiny Perfect World by Lauren Gibaldi

Title: This Tiny Perfect World
Author:  Lauren Gibaldi
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 27, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

Penny loves her small-town Florida life, and she has her future mapped out. She’s going to community college after graduation to stay close to home and her best friend, Faye. She’ll take over the family diner that her dad has been managing since her mother died. And one day, she’ll marry her high school sweetheart, Logan.

But when she unexpectedly lands a scholarship to a prestigious summer theater camp, she is thrust into a world of competition and self-doubt. And suddenly, her future gets a little hazy. As she meets new friends, including Chase, a talented young actor with big-city dreams, she begins to realize that maybe the life everyone (including her) expects her to lead is not the one she was meant to have.

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Once again, Lauren Gibaldi has written another book with so much emotional power behind her characters. In This Tiny Perfect World, we are streamed through the world and emotions of the main character, Penny. It’s currently Penny’s summer break, and while her friends are pursuing jobs, she is participating in a summer program for actors. Penny is from a small town, where no one really leaves. But in this story, Penny begins to see that her passion for acting may not be just a hobby and the small-town-world she has perfected with great friends, a loving dad, and a caring boyfriend, might not be enough for Penny to stay after she graduates high school. 

One of my favorite things about Gibaldi’s writing is that she makes her characters so real and honest. In This Tiny Perfect World, Penny’s inner dialogue is so gritty and vulnerable. I enjoyed watching Penny challenge herself to push forward; she dares herself to take on acting roles that are so different to her normal lifestyle. But it’s through  theater camp and her play-acting friends, Penny discovers there are dreams and goals beyond her small town walls. Penny thought she already had her life planned out after high school, but she acknowledges that not everything is black and white. Situations change. People change. And people, like herself, are on a continuous journey of figuring who they are and what they want in life. 

Overall, This Tiny Perfect World is different that Gibaldi’s other two books., because it is not as swoony and romantic-based. Instead, the focus in this book is on Penny’s individual character development. I like that Penny’s life begins on such a narrow and focused path, but by the end of the book, Penny realizes her world is wide open to more possibilities. This story is very straight-forward, thought-provoking, and will have you engaged in internal dialogue of a teenager who has a loving soul and a fierce spirit to mature and discover the world around her. 

WIN 1 copy of THIS TINY PERFECT WORLD by Lauren Gibaldi
(OPEN INTERNATIONALLY-as long as the Book Depository ships to you)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

US ONLY…Comment below and win a swag package from the author (picture below). I will randomly pick one (1) winner on March 12, 2018 at noon.

Lauren Gibaldi is a public librarian who’s been, among other things, a magazine editor, high school English teacher, bookseller, and circus aerialist (seriously). She has a BA in Literature and Master’s in Library and Information Studies. She lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband and daughter. Her books include THE NIGHT WE SAID YES, AUTOFOCUS, and the forthcoming THIS TINY PERFECT WORLD.

 

February 27th

Pink Polka Dot Books– Welcome Post

February 28th

Broadway World– Guest Post
Jill’s Book Blog– Review
Belle’s Book Blog– Review

March 1st

Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile– Review & Favorite Quotes
We Live and Breathe Books– Review & Meet the Characters
Bookwyrming Thoughts– Review

March 2nd

Two Different Worlds– Interview
BookCrushin– Review & Creative Post

March 3rd

Here’s to Happy Endings– Story Behind the Cover
A Thousand Words A Million Books– Review

March 4th

Blushing Bibliophile– Review & Favorite Quotes
Literary Meanderings– Guest Post

March 5th

Little Library Muse– Interview
Becca’s Lost in Lit– Review & Book Style
The Candid Cover– Review

 
Note: Thank you to the The Fantastic Flying Book Club for having me on this blog tour. And a huge thank you to HarperTeen for providing me an e-galley to read and review the book for free in exchange for an honest review. All statements and opinions are my own.

Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I’ve Read In The Past Year Or So

HOSTED by The Broke and the Bookish

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This week’s topic is…

Top Ten Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I’ve Read In The Past Year Or So

(Click on the book cover to be linked to its Goodreads page or my review)

What are some underrated/hidden gem books you have read in the past year or so?

Treat Yo Shelf & Giveaway: June Monthly Recap

Treat Yo Shelf:

June Monthly Recap

Welcome to my monthly recap post, in which I fangirl over the books I read this month, bookish items I acquired, book events I attended, bookish news, and/or subscription boxes I received in the month of June.

What did I read?

It was another slow reading month for me. Sorry, guys.

What books did I buy? 

I was on a “Book Buying Ban” this month, but I did purchase one book, Autofocus, because I wanted the awesome swag that came with the pre-order. 

What books did I receive from Publishers/Authors to review?

• Autofocus by Lauren Gibaldi from HarperCollins/HarperTeen (Hardcover & e-ARC)
• We Own the Night by Ashley Poston from Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books (e-ARC)

What books did I receive from friends/fellow bloggers?

• The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker (ARC)
• The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh (signed Hardcopy)

June’s Uppercase Box

GiftLit Box

 

June’s BOOM!BOX from Espionage Cosmetics

Bookish Swag I bought or received from Authors/Publishers/Bookstores/Bloggers

I bought NovellyYours’ Unbirthday candle and it smells freakin’ amazing!!! NovellyYours is an Etsy account created by Brittany at The Book Addicts Guide, and her book inspired soy candles are fantastic.

June Favorites

• Being part of my niece’s wedding and reading a Neil Gaiman poem during the ceremony.
• Bringing back my favorite Summer drink: Starbuck’s Green Tea Frappuccino
• Participating in the Irish Banana’s blog tour for Autofocus. I had so much fun taking pictures themed around my review for the book. Plus, I adored the book. 

Have you heard? Bookish News

• My book buying ban wasn’t too successful, since I bought one book. But hey, it’s the little steps, right? HAHAHA!
• Sarah J. Maas and Emery Lord are coming to Joseph Beth Booksellers on September 15, 2016 in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. Check out the event details HERE!
• Decatur Book Festival author line-up is now live! Check out their site HERE
• YallFest author line-up is live! Check out the list HERE!
• I have three bookish giveaways posted on my Twitter account. See information and rules below:

BOOKISH GIVEAWAYS

Retweet and Follow to win (US only). Click on the picture to link to each Twitter post giveaway:

SUMMER GIVEAWAY #1 (ends July 8, 2016 at midnight):

SUMMER GIVEAWAY #2 (ends July 8, 2016 at midnight):

GIVEAWAY #3 (ends July 8, 2016 at midnight):

This contest is supposed to end July 1, but I will be extending the contest for my blog followers. Enter to win PRESS BACK tattoos inspired by Kristen Simmons’ Metaltown.

How did you treat your shelves in June? What books did you buy? What books did you read and would highly recommend?

Thank you for stopping by. Happy Reading!

 

Blog Tour & Giveaway: AUTOFOCUS by Lauren Gibaldi

Title: Autofocus

By: Lauren Gibaldi
Published by: Harper Teen
Publication date: June 14, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction

ABOUT AUTOFOCUS:

Family.

It’s always been a loaded word for Maude. And when she is given a senior photography assignment—to create a portfolio that shows the meaning of family—she doesn’t quite know where to begin. But she knows one thing: without the story of her birth mother, who died when Maude was born, her project will be incomplete.

So Maude decides to visit her best friend, Treena, at college in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maude’s birth mother once lived. But when Maude arrives, she quickly discovers that Treena has changed. With a new boyfriend and a packed social calendar, Treena doesn’t seem to have time for Maude—or helping Maude in her search.

Enter Bennett, a cute guy who lives in Treena’s dorm. He understands Maude’s need to find her mother. And as Bennett helps Maude in her search, she starts to find that her mother’s past doesn’t have to define her own future.

Lauren Gibaldi has crafted a beautiful and timely coming-of-age story that poses the question: Is who we are determined at birth, or can we change as we grow?

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

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Autofocus by Lauren Gibaldi is by far my favorite Young Adult Contemporary book I have read this year. Right from page one, the story smoothly unfolds when the main character, Maude, is given a high school assignment: to use photography as a means to define “family.” But for Maude, “family” is hard to define, because she was adopted and her birth mother died from complications during childbirth. Defining “family” is a true crisis of nature versus nurture in Maude’s eyes, especially when her birth mother left no information about herself or her own family for Maude to discover.

Gibaldi does a remarkable job depicting a seventeen-year-old that is lingering between the blurred lines of adolescence and adulthood. Maude is one of the most courageous female protagonists I have read in a long time. I often found myself comparing her to Louisa May Alcott’s Jo March in Little Women—a heroine surrounded by family and friends, yet who often shadows herself in a world of creativity as she pleads for life to remain unchanging. Like Jo March, Maude is creative, stubborn, and overall frustrating, especially when she is enamored with concrete and fixed depictions of people. Throughout Autofocus, Maude is often comparing people to who they are now and who they once were, and this leaves her with a mindset that change is hard to accept.

I mostly liked Maude because she is very determined and fearless. She does not wallow in self-pity; instead, she travels to her birth mother’s hometown, which happens to be the college town that her best friend Treena is attending. While staying at Florida State University for a week, I love that Maude dares herself to make connections with people that once knew her birth mother. And more importantly, I enjoyed that Maude not only discovers the true meaning of family, but she also discovers herself.

Unsurprisingly, I was not a big fan of Maude’s best friend, Treena. I know Treena is in college and she’s going through her own identity crisis, but for crying out loud, her best friend is only staying with her for one week. But without Treena’s slip-ups, Maude would have never met and received help from Treena’s college friend, Bennett. Bennett is by far my favorite character in the book. He’s dorky, honest, caring, funny, and has an eclectic knowledge of pop culture/references. Honestly, you cannot go wrong with having a friend that loves and references Star Wars, Spider-man, and Toy Story, RIGHT?! Bennett is the perfect friend to help balance out Maude’s uneasy and erratic actions during her one-week journey to find information about her birth mother.

Overall, I really enjoyed Autofocus, and I can definitely see this coming-of-age story being a re-read for me whenever I’m in need of a reading-slump cure. Maude is a dynamic character, and I love that most of her internal dialogue is framed in self-encouraged philosophies. I really appreciated that Maude uses her photography assignment not only as a means to define “family,” but to essentially define herself. In the end, she portrays maturity and understanding that identity is not always a still-frame, but a collection of snapshots that shape who you are.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Win a finished copy of AUTOFOCUS (US Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Public librarian and author of THE NIGHT WE SAID YES, MATT’S STORY (a Night We Said Yes novella), and AUTOFOCUS (out 6/14/16), all with HarperTeen/ HarperCollins. Fan of dinosaurs and cheesy jokes. And you.

LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr

 

Week 1:

6/6: Adventures of a Book Junkie – Q&A

6/7: Rants & Raves of a Bibliophile – Review in Photography

6/8: Princessica of Books – Cover Recreation

6/9: Latte Nights Reviews – Review

6/10: A Book & A Latte – How I Write

 

Week 2:

6/13: Go Read a Book – Review

6/14: Novel Ink – Family Is … Collage

6/15: Live to Read – Review

6/16: The Irish Banana Review – Top 10

6/17: Here’s to Happy Endings – Review

 

Note: All photographs were taken by me and edited with an Apple app called Color Card. All quotes featured in the photos are from an e-arc/galley of Autofocus provided by HarperTeen/HarperCollins. A gigantic thank you to Irish Banana Tours for inviting me on this blog tour. 

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