REVIEW: Life and Death (Twilight Re-imagined) by Stephanie Myer

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined is an additional, non-canon reimagining of Twilight. The book was written and published by Stephenie Meyer in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Twilight franchise. The story is set in an independent, parallel universe in which the most significant difference is that the genders, names and roles of the main characters have been reversed, with only a few exceptions.
The story follows essentially the same plotline as Twilight, but with necessary adjustments and slight changes to the story, dialogue, backgrounds, and personalities of the characters to accommodate the switched gender roles. Life and Death also features an alternate ending from the original plotline. 

I was really excited to read Life and Death since I was a hardcore Twihard. However, I was a little put off at the idea of another Twilight novel as I feel that the series should be left alone.

Towards the beginning I got caught up in who was who. Every time a character was discussed I was trying to figure out who they were in the original novel plus I was trying to notice every little detail that was changed. About a third of the way through the book I realized that doing so was making it extremely hard to enjoy the story so after that I tried to just enjoy the novel as an individual and not as a Twilight rewrite.

After that I actually enjoyed most of the novel. There are parts that I found to be awkward. It's probably just me stuck in society's gender roles but there were scenes that I found weird/unrealistic with the new genders.

I loved that Stephanie changed the ending! I won't spoil it for those that have not yet read it however, I will state that I enjoyed seeing how Twilight would have ended if it had been a standalone.

Overall I would recommend Life and Death to anyone that loved the original Twilight as it provides a new, fresh take on our beloved novel.

Tell me in the comments or on my book Instagram (@ncreads) what you thought of Life and Death if you've read it! I'd love to discuss and hear your opinions.

My rating will be based on Life and Death by itself as if it has nothing to do with Twilight.
Rating:  3.5/5

Link to purchase:
Amazon

REVIEW: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
Publication date: March 24, 2015

Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.

They always say that high school is the best time of your life.
Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.
Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

So when I saw this book I instantly fell in love with the cover and bought it mainly for that reason (I know, I know, "don't judge a book by its cover" but I love this cover!) I then went home and looked up reviews and the majority of them were not very good. However, I read it anyway, as I like to make my own opinion, and I am SO glad I did.

I love how Wallach showed multiple ways that people would respond to the end of the world, from acting like nothing is wrong to freaking out- it's all in this book. I also enjoyed the switching of P.O.V.'s Each character brought something new to the story. The bonds between friends (old and new) were tested throughtout the entire story. It really makes you wonder how you'd react if the end of the world was near.

[MAJOR SPOILER IN THIS COMING PARAGRAPH, PLEASE SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT A HUGE SPOILER]
I think my heart stalled when Peter died. I never saw that one coming! I was frustrated to the max, but, as a reader I understand what it adds to the story so, someday, I will forgive Wallach for that one.

Now, I don't want to give anything else away so I'll just say this:
This ending made me so mad and yet it was so perfect at the exact same time and I may have shed a tear or two.

I rate this novel 4/5 stars.

Link(s) to purchase:
Amazon: We All Looked Up