Sarah’s 2021 Agenda – Blog Revamp, Recent Reads, 2021 Releases I’m Excited For, and More!

Welcome to my official blog reboot! I meant to publish this post last week, but the revamp took longer than I thought it would. But here we are! With 2020 now officially over (hallelujah), I’ve been rethinking how I want to organize and run this blog. I want to be able to post more, interact more with the book community, and most importantly, read more. However, the way I have been doing things is not working for me (a few posts a year is not ideal), so I am taking a different route in 2021. You can learn all about my plans for the year, and some other cool things too. Let’s get started!

Well, 2020 was a crazy year for everyone, and while I hoped to read and write a lot, that didn’t happen the way I wanted it to. I didn’t even read ten books this year, which hasn’t happened since 2013 or 2014, I believe. This statistic made me realize I was doing something wrong with how I was reading and reviewing books. I felt like I had to write a full-length review for every book I read, and as someone obsessed with quotes, I wrote down every single quote that appealed to me from a book. This would take weeks at a time and discourage me very easily from reading and blogging. I can’t do that for 2021 if I want to have an active and successful book blog year.

So, instead of reviewing every single book I read, I’ll be doing monthly wrap-ups instead. These wrap-ups will be book focused—it will contain a list of the books I have read, a brief blurb describing the content, and another short blurb on my opinion of the book. I will only thoroughly review newly released books or ARCs I have received, and even then, I will not bookmark every single quote I like that I come across. Doing that will take me years to finish a review. Instead, I will only bookmark quotes I find that work nicely for a review, which should be about 10-15 to choose from rather than a few hundred. That’s right—I wrote down 392 quotes for my Chain of Gold Review because I would bookmark anything that piqued the slightest interest in me. This is just not realistic, and I have to change my method of reviewing. Therefore, when I write a full-length book review post, I will have only bookmarked about 10-15 quotes. It would make a big difference.

1. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Date Started: April 16, 2020
Date Finished: December 30, 2020
Synopsis: Bri has dreamed of being a rapper her whole life. She works hard at making those dreams come true, but it isn’t easy. After her school’s security guards violently racially profile her, Bri records a song she wrote about the situation. Bri’s song unexpectedly goes viral, and she becomes a sensation overnight, despite people misinterpreting her character. However, her family struggles to pay their bills, and the closer they get to eviction, the more Bri feels that she has to make it as a rapper, even if it means living up to the person her community and the media has made her out to be.
Thoughts: I had a weird year, which was why it took me months to finish this book, but it most definitely was not because of boredom. I loved On the Come Up—from the characters, to the storyline, to the dynamics, to the writing. I was blown away by Bri’s rapping skills, and I had no idea that Angie Thomas was so talented! The book was a bit slow for the first couple of chapters, but once it picked up, I was hooked until the very last page. Now, I will wallow in a corner, wondering about that cliffhanger ending! Especially since Angie said she would never reveal who it was. It’s maddening, but I loved the book either way.
Rating: ★★★★☆

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Date Started: January 18, 2020
Date Finished: December 31, 2020
Synopsis: Little Women is about the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—as the story begins during the Civil War and spans about fifteen years after that. During this time, we venture with March sisters as they encounter friendship, romance, difficult circumstances, adventure, and even death as they grow into passionate young adults pursuing their dreams. 
Thoughts: Again, I had a bizarre year, but it did not take me months to finish this book because I didn’t like it. Rereading this book has reminded me of all the reasons why I fell in love with it in the first place. Jo and Beth were my favorites back in the day, which still rang true during this read. I completely forgot how Amy and Laurie fell in love and being able to reread their story was adorable. I get that Louisa May Alcott only put them together because she was upset with Jo/Laurie shippers, but my god, she made it so convincing that it wouldn’t have made sense if Amy and Laurie ended up with anyone else. But most importantly, I fell in love with the March sisters all over again. They make the novel what it is—this beautiful yet complex bond between four sisters as they mature into adulthood. Not everything is always perfect between the March sisters, but they are still there for each other at the end of the day. Little Women is a powerful novel with strong female characters and friendships, something I tend to look for in books. There were chapters that I felt were unnecessary, especially when the narrator became too involved with the audience and seemingly forgot to continue the narrative. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Rating: ★★★★

3. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Date Started: November 30, 2020
Date Finished: December 31, 2020 (okay technically it was January 2, but let’s pretend I finished it in 2020 since I had read 70% of it before the new year)
Synopsis: The First Son of the US, Alex Claremont-Diaz, secretly dislikes the Crown Prince of England, Prince Henry. However, when an accident at Henry’s older brother’s wedding threatens US–UK relations, Alex and Henry must pretend to be best friends for damage control. Of course, this fake friendship soon blossoms into a secret romance that might jeopardize Alex’s mom’s presidential re-election campaign and the British monarchy.
Thoughts: I had this sitting in my Kindle since it was released in 2019, but I only read it just now. And man, I wish I had read it sooner. I love politics, but I did not expect to find myself invested in a fictional world involving a political LGBTQ+ power couple. Well, a PR-friendship-turned-forbidden-romance before they become that power couple. The book was an adorable rom-com, and the secondary plots revolving around politics helped bring the narrative together. It was a bit slow initially, but soon, I wasn’t able to put it down. Overall, I adored this book, and I am super excited for Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop.
Rating: ★★★★☆

4. Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi

Date Started: December 3, 2020
Date Finished: December 31, 2020 
Synopsis: The final installment of the Shatter Me series where Ella/Juliette struggles to retain her autonomy as Emmaline, The Reestablishment, and Ella/Juliette herself try to control her. All while the final showdown against The Reestablishment occurs.  
Thoughts: Here’s the thing. I loved the first three books of this series. Heck, I even loved the fourth and fifth books too. Discovering Juliette’s backstory while solidifying that her romance with Aaron is an epic soulmate love? It was intriguing and captivating. I remember reading Restore Me just wanting to know more, and I read Defy Me swooning over Warnette (while I was drawn into the present narrative). But then Imagine Me was released, and it was not like anything I had expected. In some ways, I liked that. However, I mainly felt that Mafi was trying to shove three books into one finale. Throughout Imagine Me, she would start a new storyline that could extend the series by another two or three books. But because this was the last installment, everything was just magically resolved instead of being given a chance to play out. I did enjoy this book, but I was somewhat disappointed. However, I still gave this book a decent rating because the characters and relationships were still wonderfully written. They were just thrust into twenty different storylines that all had to be resolved by the end.
Rating: ★★★

Other than this change in my book review style, I plan to have more blogging posts about books in general. I have several ideas written down, and I’ll give you guys a preview of what to expect from this department. I hope to post one blog post per month (aside from wrap-ups and book reviews). My ideas include:

• Editorials on why a particular relationship is the best of a book/series (this idea applies to characters as well)
• Anticipated Book Releases For Each Month
• My Plan to Clean Out My Bookshelf
• Current Works-in-Progress
• . . . and more!

1. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Currently Reading)
2. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli (Currently Reading)
3. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
4. The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
5. Influence by Sara Shepard & Lilia Buckingham
6. The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu
7. Love Is a Revolution by Renée Watson
8. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
9. A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
10. Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

1. Influence by Sara Shepard & Lilia Buckingham (January 5)
2. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas (January 12)
3. A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth (February 23)
4. Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare (March 2)
5. The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner (April 13) (Yes, I added this to my list after publishing this post because JEWISH SAPPHICS AND MAGIC)
6. She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen (April 20)
7. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (June 1)

I’d love to hear from you guys! What are your most anticipated releases for 2021? If you’re a blogger, what are your plans for the year? Do you have any suggestions for me? What is the first book you are reading this year? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section; I love to read them!