Book Review #775 - Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts

When I was little I believed in Jesus and Santa, spontaneous combustion, and the Loch Ness monster. Now I believe in science, statistics, and antibiotics.

So says seventeen-year-old Zac Meier during a long, grueling leukemia treatment in Perth, Australia. A loud blast of Lady Gaga alerts him to the presence of Mia, the angry, not-at-all-stoic cancer patient in the room next door. Once released, the two near-strangers can’t forget each other, even as they desperately try to resume normal lives. The story of their mysterious connection drives this unflinchingly tough, tender novel told in two voices.

My Rating: 3/5

This book was written by a local author and is actually also set in my home city which I had mixed feelings about.

On the one hand, I loved the fact that I knew all the places that were mentioned but on the other hand as I knew the settings really well I could tell when the story moved outside of Perth to regional Western Australia not much research was obviously done.

Plot wise on the surface this book seems like an Aussie version of The Fault in Our Stars but whilst the characters in TFIOS seem much older than their teenage years, Zac and Mia felt very much like the adolescents they are.

I really enjoyed this book and I finished it in one day and the only real negative thing I can think of is that I didn't like the open ended way the book finished.

Book Review #750 - Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life...until now.

Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.

My Rating: 2/5

I read I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan back in 2015 and remember rather enjoying it so I found this book really disappointing.

The main issue I had with this book was how unrealistic it was and I just was never able to see past this.

I also remember feeling like this book dragged on and was a hundred pages or so too long. I read maybe 75% of it and then put it down for months before finishing it.

Willow the protagonist was around 12 years old but felt much younger. 

Having read other reviews on this book I think I might have to give this book another go and I obviously missed something but it will have to be in a few years time.

Book Review #730 - Model Misfit (Geek Girl #2) by Holly Smale

“My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek.”

Harriet knows that modelling won’t transform you. She knows that being as uniquely odd as a polar bear isn’t necessarily a bad thing (even in a rainforest). And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this.

What Harriet doesn’t know is where she’s going to fit in once the new baby arrives.

With summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get as far away from home as possible. But nothing can prepare Harriet for the craziness of Tokyo, her competitive model flatmates and her errant grandmother’s ‘chaperoning’. Or seeing gorgeous Nick everywhere she goes.

Because, this time, Harriet knows what a broken heart feels like.

Can geek girl find her place on the other side of the world or is Harriet lost for good?

 

 

My Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

The first book Geek Girl was so much fun and easy to read so of course I decided to pick up the sequel.

 

The modelling side of things really expanded a lot in this book as Harriet travels to Japan for a series of photo shoots.

 

Harriet's step-grandmother Bunty gets introduced in this book. She is a really eccentric character who is tasked with accompanying Harriet to Japan as Annabel is pregnant. 

 

However once they arrive in Japan, Bunty disappears leaving Harriet on her own in a shared apartment with a bunch of other models.

 

There are a limited amount of characters in these books and so the introduction of a number of other models was really refreshing.

 

Bunty's abandonment of Harriet enabled Harriet to mature and become more independent. She grew up a lot in this book.

 

I really enjoyed the photo shoots and how fun and unique they were all presented, but also because of all the situations Harriet somehow gets herself in.

 

The setting of Japan was interesting. I loved the random geeky facts Harriet drops throughout and just simply seeing Japan through Harriet's eyes was an adventure.

Book Review #727 - Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S.

She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while on the rebound from Alex.

Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn't done with them yet.

 

 

My Rating: 3/5

 

 

I went into this book not knowing anything at all about it which was just as well as had I known it was a long, drawn out romance, I never would have picked it up.

 

The book is told entirely from letters to and from the characters Alex and Rosie. This took me a while to get used to it as it made me feel distanced from them.

 

Also because of this method, I felt like I was being told what was happening throughout rather than shown.

 

I loved that we got to see Alex and Rosie grow up over the course of decades and see all the mistakes they make throughout the years but I felt like the book dragged on way too long.

 

I would have been much happier had the book wrapped up when they were in their 30's rather than whatever age they were when it did finally end.

 

I cannot express just how frustrated I was at how unnecessarily long this book felt. It felt like it took me an eternity to read, even though it was likely only a few days.

Book Review #724 - Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

For as long as Josephine Alibrandi can remember, it’s just been her, her mom, and her grandmother. Now it’s her final year at a wealthy Catholic high school. The nuns couldn’t be any stricter—but that doesn’t seem to stop all kinds of men from coming into her life.

Caught between the old-world values of her Italian grandmother, the nononsense wisdom of her mom, and the boys who continue to mystify her, Josephine is on the ride of her life. This will be the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family’s past—and the year she sets herself free.

Told with unmatched depth and humor, this novel—which swept the pool of Australian literary awards and became a major motion picture—is one to laugh through and cry with, to cherish and remember.

 

 

My Rating: 9/10

 

 

I was supposed to have read this in high school but I was sick that week and so the teacher told me to just watch the movie. My brother however got to read this at school and the reluctant reader that he is, gave me his copy afterwards.

 

First of all, I am something like 5th generation Australian so whilst I couldn't personally understand the cultural elements in this story, I did go to a catholic school with so many students of Italian heritage just like the protagonist Josie. 

 

 

I absolutely loved this book. I think it is my favourite Australian contemporary novel and the best Melina Marchetta book I have read so far. 

 

I loved the whole family dynamics - the relationships between mother and daughter of multiple generations and then the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter. It was like Gilmore Girls with a more cultural focus. 

 

This on its own would have made a fascinating story but then the whole cultural difficulties get thrown in and it becomes amazing. 

 

Josie's mother got pregnant as an unmarried teenager and her deeply catholic Italian immigrant mother has never really respected her since.

 

On top of all this, Josie's father comes to Sydney where Josie lives. The grandmother not knowing he's the guy who corrupted her daughter all those years ago is all friendly with him, meanwhile he has no idea he even has a daughter.

 

Then there is the whole exploration of the relationship between father and daughter which is really the essence of the novel.

Book Review #722 - Geek Girl (Geek Girl #1) by Holly Smale

Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.

She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

 

 

My Rating: 7/10

 

 

I had seen these books around bookshops for a while but the covers made it feel too juvenile for me to buy but when I came across the first two books in the bargain section in Big W I couldn't pass them up.

 

When I first started reading this book I was pulled in by Harriet's witty and quirky style of describing the things around her. I loved that she was portrayed as a typical 15 year old girl and not some unrealistically mature one that is common in YA novels.

 

 

The plot of a geek girl being made over into a model seems rather farfetched but when reading the book, it was told in such a way with such a variety of very genuine characters that the plot seemed rather realistic. This was aided by the fact that from what I have heard, the plot stems from real experiences of the author.

 

 

All the side characters had so much personality and depth to them and they were all so fantastically written. Especially Harriet's flamboyant agent and the fashion designer whose name I kept misreading throughout as Yoko Ono.  

 

 

I loved that so many characters in this book broke stereotypes in YA novels such as Harriet's parents. Her father was an immature, lovable moron whilst her step-mother was an overbearing yet responsible and genuine mother to Harriet.

 

 

Harriet also has a stalker which isn't as dark as it seems especially as this book takes the humerous side to this.

 

 

Overall, this was a very surprisingly decent read however I think the cover design lets it down a little.

Book Review #717 - Right Where You Left Me by Calla Devlin

In search of the perfect story to put a human face on a tragedy for his newspaper, my dad will fly into the eye of the storm. And now he’s heading to Ukraine, straight into the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. I don’t want him to leave. I don’t want to spend the week alone in a silent house with my mother, whose classically Russian reserve has built a wall between us that neither of us knows how to tear down. But I don’t tell him this. I don’t say stay.

I think I’m holding it together okay—until the FBI comes knocking on our door. Now it’s all I can do to fight off the horrifying images in my head. The quake has left so many orphans and widows, but Mom and I refuse to be counted among them. Whatever it takes to get Dad back, I’ll do it. Even if it means breaking a promise…or the law.

My Rating: 5/10

I had to read this book for a book club and it probably otherwise wouldn't have been a book that I would have chosen to read on my own. 

This book was rather short (just under 300 pages) but it felt much longer because I felt like it tried to accomplish too much.

Charlotte's father who is a journalist goes missing whilst covering an earthquake in Ukraine. We see Charlotte's grief and anguish as she deals with this. 

Charlotte is also about to graduate high school and commence college. She is indecisive about which branch of photography she wishes to pursue. 

Then there is also the family dynamic. Charlotte's mother is Russian and there was a lot of Russian folklore thrown in there which I actually liked. 

On top of all that there was a romance which felt completely out of place with the tone and other elements in this book. 

Book Review #716 - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

My Rating: 8.5/10

I was a little slow at being convinced to read this book because I didn't feel like I would be able to relate to the themes explored and also because the hype intimidated me. After reading however, I cannot believe how wrong I was as the book ended up being my second favourite read of 2017. 

I absolutely loved this book cover to cover and it really opened my eyes to a lot of cultural issues in the US that as an Australian, I knew absolutely nothing about such as Emmett Till. 

Starr was such a likable protagonist. I loved her whole family dynamic. Her relationship with her parents (especially her father), her brothers, and even her uncle was really realistic and not something we see enough of in YA novels.

What I didn't expect from this book was the amount I learnt about the Black Lives Matter movement which was something that I loved. The fact that these events are still happening in the modern world is shocking. 

Every single character in this book was so incredibly fleshed out and even the minor ones served a larger purpose. 

This book was very community focused especially in the 'ghetto' where Starr and her family live. The fact that her family have the means to move somewhere safer but CHOOSE to stay there shows just how much they see the members of their community as extended family. 

I'm never really good at reviewing the books that I really loved so to summarize the above, this book was really good and I definitely recommend it. 

Book Review #712 - Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories (Wonder #1.5, #1.6 and #1.7) by R.J. Palacio

Auggie & Me gives readers a special look at Auggie's world through three new points of view. Previously only available in ebook, now they'll be published all together--complete with an introduction from the author on how she came to write them--in a gorgeous hardcover package!

These stories are an extra peek at Auggie before he started at Beecher Prep and during his first year there. Readers get to see him through the eyes of Julian, the bully; Christopher, Auggie's oldest friend; and Charlotte, Auggie's new friend at school. Together, these three stories are a treasure for readers who don't want to leave Auggie behind when they finish Wonder.

 

 

My Rating: 8/10

 

 

I absolutely loved Wonder and so I was only so happy to read more about these wonderful character (pun intended).

 

This book contains 3 short stories following side characters from Wonder. All of these stories contained the same unique quality as the novel.

 

The first story followed Julian, the bully who picked on Auggie throughout Wonder. It wasn't that hard to see why Julian is the way he is when you get introduced to his parents.

 

Although it was hard at first to feel anything towards Julian aside from contempt because of the way he treated Auggie, by the end I loved how much he had matured. This was aided by his delightful grandmother.

 

The second story followed Auggie's childhood friend Christopher. I didn't think this book was as strong as the other two, but I did enjoy the flashbacks to Christopher and August's childhood friendship.

 

Christopher had a minimal role in Wonder, but it is obvious that he played a huge role in Auggie's life. I felt that the way Christopher was embarrassed by Auggie at times although not ideal, was realistic for a child of that age and you could tell he was a genuine friend to Auggie.

 

The third and final story followed Charlotte who was one of my favourite characters from Wonder. This story didn't circle around Auggie like the previous two did.

 

Whilst I enjoyed learning more about Charlotte, I did miss Auggie's presence though.

Book Review #708 - A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck

The unrequited love of the girl next door is the centerpiece of this fiercely funny, yet heart-breaking debut novel.

Fifteen-year-old Matt Wainwright is in turmoil. He can’t tell his lifelong best friend, Tabby, how he really feels about her; his promising basketball skills are being overshadowed by his attitude on the court, and the only place he feels normal is in English class, where he can express his inner thoughts in quirky poems and essays. Matt is desperately hoping that Tabby will reciprocate his feelings; but then Tabby starts dating Liam Branson, senior basketball star and all-around great guy. Losing Tabby to Branson is bad enough; but, as Matt soon discovers, he’s close to losing everything that matters most to him. 

My Rating: 9.5/10

This is a hard book for me to review. I always seem to find it harder to review the books that I really loved, which is how I felt about this book. In fact, this was most definitely my favourite read of 2017.

Matt was a fantastic narrator and protagonist. He was sensitive with an overwhelmingly good heart. 

For the most part, this book is just chronicling Matt's everyday life from his role as Black Bears high school basketball player, the best big brother to Murray and secretly pining over childhood best friend and neighbour Tabby.

I loved the family dynamics Matt has in this book and how not only his parents and brother have accepted Tabby as part of the family but his grandparents have as well. 

Tabby and Matt's relationship starts to change when Tabby starts dating an older, popular athlete at their school - the hardest part of this for Matt is that the guy Liam Branson is actually a really nice and genuine guy. 

The twist in the story comes around 160 pages in and there was absolutely no foreshadowing of it whatsoever and I had avoided spoilers so I found this twist really shocking. 

Without spoiling anything, the events that take place after this twist is the real heart of the novel. The way Matt's family (especially his grandfather) help him out of the loneliness and isolation he finds himself in.  

Book Review #706 - Saving Jazz by Kate McCaffrey

Jasmine Lovely has it all – the looks, the grades, the friends. But when a house party spins out of control, Jazz discovers what can happen when your mistakes go viral ...

We know our kids are at risk of becoming victims of cyberbullying. But do we know how at risk they are of becoming perpetrators? This controversial new novel tackles cyberbullying from a whole new perspective.

My Rating: 5/10

This review is likely to contain spoilers so you have been warned!

This book tackles a very serious topic that is prevalent in society today. The book approached this topic in a very intense and realistic way. 

I loved the small town setting of Greenhead, especially as it was set in my home state of Western Australia and I had actually been to the town which made the book feel even more realistic for me.

The narrator Jasmine at first comes across as someone likable and relatable as she supports her friend who is being cyberbullied. It is not until midway through the book that Jasmine's real role in the whole thing is revealed that I started seeing her differently. 

It was interesting to have the narrator be in that role and not the victim like any other book probably would have done especially the way it was suddenly sprung on the reader. 

After the big reveal, I felt like Jasmine was trying too hard at trying to play at being a victim when this was very far from the case. 

Overall, I loved that this book was brave enough to tackle this type of story especially in the way it did, but I didn't connect to it as much as I expected to mostly because of the way Jasmine tried to be the victim rather than owning up to what she did. 

Book Review #678 - Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

"Dead girl walking”, the boys say in the halls.

"Tell us your secret”, the girls whisper, one toilet to another.

I am that girl.

I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.

I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.

My Rating: 3.5/5

This is my second Laurie Halse Anderson book with the first being Speak. 

Both books are similar in that they deal with mental illness. With Speak it was selective mutism whereas Wintergirls dealt with anorexia and bulimia. 

I found the protagonist Lia very frustrating at times. I felt like she was full of excuses of why she is the way she is, when really she just needed to be honest with herself.

 

Anorexia is a subject I know nothing about and after reading this book I still don't feel like I know that much about it. 

I didn't like how this book always seemed to go off into different tangents. The hallucinations, although probably realistic due to Lia starving herself and her 'brain shrinking' but I thought they were a little over the top. 

Lia's sister Emma was my favourite character. She was the only character in the ENTIRE book who was seemingly not damaged in some way. 

I feel like I didn't really have the emotional understanding to completely love this book. I felt sorry for Lia but mostly I felt frustrated that she would do that to herself.

Book Review #670 - Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. 

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

My Rating: 5/5

Given how much I enjoyed All the Bright Places, I picked up this book before even reading the synopsis.

The book has duel narration shared between two outcasts.

Jack who can't recognise faces (even his family) and keeps this fact secret from everyone. 

I found his condition really interesting and it was obvious how much research was done on it to convey it so strongly. 

The other narrator was Libby. While Jack has become good at hiding his problems, Libby cannot as she carries it around with her as Libby turned to food when her mother died and subsequently put on so much weight she was bedridden.

Whilst I loved Jack and Libby's individual stories and struggles I didn't care much for them as a couple. I thought they were both perhaps too strong for a split narrated book. 

There were a lot of pop culture references throughout which is not something that I usually like but I found that I liked the Supernatural references throughout.

Jack's condition was interesting but I never really understood why he didn't tell anyone about it. I know he didn't exactly have the best relationship with his father but his mother seemed approachable.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, just not as much as All the Bright Places. 

Book Review #655- The Hounded by Simon Butters

On his fifteenth birthday, Monty is at rock bottom. Ignored by his parents, bullied at school, and with a brain that’s prone to going walkabout, he’s all by himself.

Until he meets the black dog for the first time.

It’s just like any other dog, except that only Monty can see it. And it talks. And Monty’s not sure whether it’s a friend – or a foe.

The black dog gets him talking to pretty, popular Eliza Robertson for the first time. It takes him to places he’s never been.

Eventually it will take Monty, and the people around him, to the very edge.

My Rating: 4.5/5

I received this book for review from Wakefield Press.

There are so many YA novels out there right now dealing with mental illness, with The Hounded being one of them.

The Hounded, however in my opinion did enough to set itself apart from the others. 

Montgomery Ulysses Ferguson aka Monty was such an unique and charismatic character and I loved his voice throughout. 

Monty was rather emotionally immature and this was obvious in the way he communicated with the much more mature Eliza.

The plot twist at the end was sudden and abrupt with no real set up for it like you would usually see. 

There were a number of metaphors used throughout and this seems to be something the author uses really well to convey certain aspects of his story. The obvious ones were the black dog and the family home. 

I would recommend this book to fans of Wonder and this book has a somewhat similar tone.   

Book Review #649 - Me Before You (Me Before You #1) by Jojo Moyes

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

This was a book that I knew what the ending was going to be from the outset - not only was the name of the sequel (which happened to be printed on the cover of my edition) a massive tip off, but it just followed the trend of similar type books. 

The main difference with this book from the others was that I was actually really accepting of the ending of this one which really surprised me. 

The book starts with Will's accident and then carries on with him struggling with the transition from being a really active guy to being stuck in a wheelchair. 

The accident hurts Will as much mentally as it did physically and when he shows no signs of improvement in either, his positive thinking mother hires Lou as a carer. 

I loved that this novel delved into Will's family so it gave a broader view of how his accident affected everyone in his life. 

Lou was such a bright, yet lost character. She tries to hide behind her eccentric wardrobe. Her family were loving yet very dysfunctional. 

The relationship between Lou and Will was rather slow paced, and I never really grasped the 'romantic' spark between them. I really did enjoy their friendship though. 

I have yet to see the film adaptation of this book which I am really interested in seeing as none of the actors are really what I pictured for the characters. 

Book Review #236 (Part 2) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins,

 

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

 

 

His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.

My Rating: 5/5

I first read and reviewed this book in 2012. My original review can be found here. I decided to review it again because I felt I had a deeper understanding of the book my second time around. 

In my original review I mentioned that I thought I would enjoy this book each time I would reread it. I would have to say that statement was half true. On one hand I definitely felt like I understood the book a lot more but on the other hand I didn't connect with Holden as much as I did the first time around. 

Holden is a very, very difficult character to characterize without spoiling the entire book. The book is Holden, and Holden is, well, Holden.

It was obvious to me reading this that Holden is terrified of growing up. He sees adults as 'phonies' and feels he has to protect children from growing up and losing their innocence by entering adulthood. 

It was also obvious to me that Holden was in the midst of a deep depression and based on the time period this book is set, this goes unnoticed for the entirety of the novel. 

I still found the book rather slow paced and directionless for long periods and an actual plot would have helped this but overall I really do love this book as it is more a character driven novel. 

Book Review #642 - Cooper Bartholomew is Dead by Rebecca James

Cooper Bartholomew's body is found at the foot of a cliff. 

Suicide.

That's the official finding, that's what everyone believes. 

Cooper's girlfriend, Libby, has her doubts. They'd been 

happy, in love. Why would he take his own life?

As Libby searches for answers, and probes more deeply

into what really happened the day Cooper died, she and

her friends unravel a web of deception and betrayal. 

Are those friends – and enemies – what they seem? 

Who is hiding a dangerous secret? And will the truth set them all free? 

My Rating: 3/5

When I first started reading this book I thought it was going to be a YA/NA version of The Girl on the Train but whereas TGOTT left me guessing until the very end, I worked things out pretty early in this book. 

The book switches back and forth between before and after Cooper's death - this method worked extremely well in this book as Cooper became a real character and not just someone all the other characters are mourning. 

The book had a very Australian feel to it which made it much more relateable to me - and it wasn't just the setting, it was more the language and personalities of the characters. 

Overall, I felt like this book started off really well and got my interest but it fell away in the middle and never fully recovered. 

Book Review #641 - Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti

Lani and Erin are bonded for life. One thing that connects them is their fascination of fate. Lani wonders how much of our lives has already been decided and how much we can actually influence. Since the Unknown can unexpectedly change our lives forever, how much can we really control?

From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can't deny the intense connection they share. It feels like she's known him forever. She's not sure if he feels it, too. But it doesn't matter. Because Jason is Erin's boyfriend. Lani is determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather than risk hurting her best friend.

How long can Lani keep running from the boy who might be her destiny?

My Rating: 3/5

I decided to read this book as I found myself in a reading slump and knew that a light, contemporary book would likely help me to get out of it. I was right, as I finished this book in a day. 

The book as a whole was rather immature but not in a negative way at all. Just the whole mess the characters found themselves in and how if they had developed the right communication skills all of it could have been prevented. 

Overall, this book wasn't very memorable, but I am glad I read it as not only did it get me out of a reading slump, but it also added some variety to the books I read as I had been on a fantasy binge. 

Book Review #640 - TTYL (Internet Girls #1) by Lauren Myracle

My Rating: 2.5/5

This book is told entirely through instant messaging and so when I first started reading it I wondered if I would be able to get through 220 pages of it. 

However, after a few pages, I warmed to the style and never looked back. This book rather surprised me as it is not the type of book I would typically read. It had a Pretty Little Liars vibe to it, just with 80% less drama. 

The three girls in this book are all completely different and interesting in their own way. 

Their immaturity didn't bother me as much as I thought it would and the issues raised in this book were nothing that hasn't been seen before. 

Because the book is told entirely through instant messaging the characters aren't portrayed in any great detail. In this case, I thought the personality quizzes the girls would sent to one another were a neat way of adding some depth to them. 

Overall, I found this book immature yet compelling and the unique IM style won me over eventually. I am still undecided whether I will read the sequel or not. 

Book Review #630 - No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club: A Diary of a Sixtieth Year by

My Rating: 2/5




Source: Book Club




Goodreads

Marie Sharp is heading toward sixty and is just fine with it. She’s already had plenty of excitement in her life: sex and drugs in the freewheeling sixties, career and children, marriage and divorce. Now she’s ready to settle into a quiet, blissfully boring routine. No Italian classes or gym memberships or bicycle trips across Europe, thank you very much! Marie just wants to put her feet up and “start doing old things.”

She’s even sworn off men! But as it turns out, life still has some surprises in store, the biggest of which is a new grandson on the way. What’s more, Archie, her old childhood crush, suddenly reenters her life, and her closest friend falls seriously ill. Armed with a biting sense of humor, Marie wrestles with a life that refuses to follow her plans—and may still offer more possibilities than she realizes.

I read this book for the book club that I attend.

First of all, almost all the members of my book club are around the protagonist's age which from the title is obviously 60. I, on the other hand am young enough to be her grandchild. So obviously I am not the target audience for this book.

Books written in diary format have not gone down too well with me in the past (just read my review of Bridget Jones's Diary) and so I went into this book not expecting to like it.

Marie (the narrator) was so self-absorbed and the book just consists of her rambling for almost 250 pages.

The lack of plot and direction made this book seem slow and if I  wasn't 'required' to read this I would probably still be reading it now.

The first part of the book contains Marie looking forward to turning 60 because it means she won't have to try new things anymore. It's more like she can use her age as an excuse, when really she is just incredibly self-absorbed and lazy.

The second half of the book is about Marie going on and on and on (I think you get the point) about her first grandchild whilst also having to deal with the impending death of a lifelong friend.

Overall, this book was a boring, pointless, rambling mess and is the blueprint of what I don't want to be when I am 60 years old.