Book Review #792 - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.

Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

My Rating: 3.5/5

I've had this book on my TBR since March 2017 but never had the urge to pick it up until I saw it heavily referenced in the Gilmore Girls revival. 

I never really expected this book about a woman's experiences on a walking trail (that I actually had no previous knowledge about) to be as interesting as it was nor how vividly she would be able to illustrate what each day was like for her doing it.

I think what makes this book so intriguing and popular to read is because Cheryl is so relatable. She is not some outdoor enthusiast who sees a walking trail as a common adventure to do but she is just an average woman who needed an escape following the death of her mother.

In the Gilmore Girls episode, people were divided into the book or movie camps. As I have not yet watched the movie I am firmly in the book's camp and considering how much I enjoyed the book I can't really see this changing.

Book Review #698 - Three Men in a Boat (Three Men #1) by Jerome K. Jerome

Martyrs to hypochondria and general seediness, J. and his friends George and Harris decide that a jaunt up the Thames would suit them to a ‘T’. But when they set off, they can hardly predict the troubles that lie ahead with tow-ropes, unreliable weather forecasts and tins of pineapple chunks—not to mention the devastation left in the wake of J.’s small fox-terrier Montmorency.

My Rating: 3.5/5

This was a hard book for me to review because I had so many mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I absolutely loved the humour! This book had me literally laughing out loud with tears in my eyes at times and it amazed me that a book that is almost coming up to being 130 years old could still have that effect.

On the other hand however, between the witty antidotes the narrative was quite boring with so much information about scenery and history of each little town they passed.

This book also contained a dog which I loved especially as he had a strong presence and personality. 

Book Review #597 - The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

My Rating: 3.5/5


Source: Bought



Buy: The Book Depository


Goodreads



Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Imagine if she hadn't forgotten the book. Or if there hadn't been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn't fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she'd run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else - the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?

Hadley isn't sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it's the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver...

Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

This was a super quick and easy book to read and I read it in one sitting. 

The book was mostly light-hearted but it did have its heavier, serious moments especially regarding family. 

The relationship between Hadley and Oliver develops throughout the book so the title of the book is somewhat misleading - although the true reason for the title is revealed on the last page of the book. 

The book is full of English culture and as a bit of an Anglophile I loved it. I found that the slang used was similar to that used here in Australia. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book but I didn't feel like it will be very memorable as it didn't do enough to set itself above those in a similar genre. 

Book Review #522 - An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Katherine V thought boys were gross

Katherine X just wanted to be friends

Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail

K-19 broke his heart 

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

My Rating: 3.5/5

This was the last John Green book that I had yet to read. 

Like with all John Green books, An Abundance of Katherines contained a lot of unique, eccentric characters. 

I found the protagonist Colin rather annoying at first but was surprised by how fast I seemed to warm up to him. 

The use of footnotes didn't bother me by the end of the book as much as I thought they would especially when it took me a while to get used to them. 

When I first read the summary of this book I thought that it was extremely unrealistic that someone could get dumped 19 times by girls with the same name. When Colin was first introduced however I soon understood how that was possible. 

Colin's friend Hassan was my favourite character in the book. He definitely wasn't a stereotypical Muslim and I found him to be the funniest part of the book. 

With the success of the The Fault in Our Stars movie and with the Paper Towns movie on the way, I can definitely see An Abundance of Katherines being on the big screen in the future as John Green's writing just has a very cinematic feel to it. 

Book Review #453 - Ten (The Last Thirteen #4) by James Phelan

An unexpected saviour ensures Sam lives to continue his search for the last 13. His next all-too-real nightmare leads him to Paris and the Council of Dreamers. With Solaris seemingly one step ahead of Sam's every move, unlikely alliances form. Treasure beyond belief beckons, while tragedy strikes at the very heart of the Academy. Will Sam and his friends survive and stay ahead of the game, or is the world doomed?

My Rating: 3/5

It had been a while since I read the last book in this series (Eleven) so I found the summary at the beginning of the book incredibly helpful.

This series is the ultimate battle between good and evil. The line between the two becomes blurred in this book as Sam is left unsure who he can and cannot trust. 

I feel like the more I read this series the more action packed it becomes. 

Each book a new dreamer is introduced and in this book it was Zara. The male/female ratio amongst the dreamers is starting to get ridiculous. 

I love how this series is always set in a different location every book as it incorporates different cultures. This book was set in Paris. 

Sam is definitely becoming the dominant character which I liked as I always disliked the continual changes in perspectives. I liked that the other characters were somewhat pushed into the background in this book.  

Book Review #428 - Eleven (The Last Thirteen #3) by James Phelan

This is it. My nightmares have finally come true.

Sam's deepest fears become real as his enemies grow more numerous and ever-more powerful. 

Struggling to stay one step ahead, Sam must locate 11 more Dreamers and solve the next piece of the puzzle.

Can Sam and his allies unlock the secrets of an ancient journal to reveal their final destiny? Sam is far from home, with the fate of the entire world in his hands. 

He must find the last 13. The race is on.

My Rating: 3.5/5

I received this book for review from Scholastic Australia. It is the sequel to Thirteen and Twelve. 

I feel like this series would be better off if each book was told from a different character's perspective rather than jumping back and forth with each book. 

The reason for this is because apart from Sam I don't feel like they have very distinct personalities and when I first jumped back into this series I was confused at first as I couldn't remember any key details of the secondary characters. 

I would like to Solaris develop more. All we know about him is that he is evil. I would like to know more about his past and what made him evil. 

I really like the extremely short but action packed chapters as it really entices you to keep reading. No bookmark needed with this book. 

The plot developed more in this book than it did in the first two combined. There seemed to be more structure to the plot and an objective in the gears. 

I didn't like the way Eva and Gabriella's relationship is building. They are too petty towards each other and I can see that they will probably end up fighting over Sam at some stage. 

Like I said in my reviews of the first two books, I really like the travel and history aspects. This time they traveled to Germany. The history touched upon the World War II planes and Leonardo da Vinci's mirror writing style.  

Book Review 360 - 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston

Hiking into the remote Utah canyonlands, Aron Ralston felt perfectly at home in the beauty of the natural world. Then, at 2:41 P.M., eight miles from his truck, in a deep and narrow slot canyon, an eight-hundred-pound boulder tumbled loose, pinning Aron's right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. Through six days of hell, with scant water, food, or warm clothing, and the terrible knowledge that no one knew where he was, Aron eliminated his escape option one by one. Then a moment of stark clarity helped him to solve the riddle of the boulder - and commit one of the most extreme and desperate acts imaginable.

My Rating: 3.5/5

 

 

I was given this book for Christmas a few years ago and finally decided to read it. The closest thing can compare it to is Stuart Diver's autobiography I read about a decade ago.

 

 

I'm pretty sure everyone is familiar with Aron's remarkable story. I had seen the movie prior to reading this. After reading the book, I am a little disappointed in how many key moments the film cut out, for example the amount of near death experiences Aron had had leading up to this moment and how long it took him to get help after freeing himself.

 

 

I found the mountaineering talk a bit boring at times, especially when he went back and described past treks. However this showed how he lived life on the edge and demonstrated how experienced he was.

 

 

I wouldn't recommend this book for those who have a weak stomach. He goes into extreme detail in how he cut off his arm - which I actually found quite interesting.

 

 

Overall I found this book pretty inspiring, it's a reminder of how precious life is and not to take it for granted.

Book Review #340 - On the Road by Jack Kerouac

On the Road chronicles Jack Kerouac's years traveling the North American continent with his friend Neal Cassady, "a sideburned hero of the snowy West." As "Sal Paradise" and "Dean Moriarty," the two roam the country in a quest for self-knowledge and experience. Kerouac's love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz combine to make On the Road an inspirational work of lasting importance.

 

 

 

My Rating: 2.5/5

 

 

 

This was a book that I had high expectations for. It seems to be rated very highly on all fronts and so I expected to like it more that what I did.

 

 

The biggest problem I had with this book was the writing style. It was very choppy and didn't have much continuity to it.

 

 

The story is not set in any particular order and characters pop in and out of the story which was confusing.

 

 

I never understood Sal's fascination with Dean. The way that he talked about him like he was his hero.

 

 

I never planned to watch the movie, but considering how confusing I found some parts of this book, watching the movie might help clear that up.

Book Review #317 - The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams

Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy have been best friends their whole lives. And they've always agreed on one goal: to get out of tiny Paris, Texas, and see the world. The school's foreign exchange program seems like the perfect escape: Piper will go to the original Paris; Mei will go to China; Cassidy will go to Australia; and Izzy, unable to afford the program, will stay at home. To add spice to their semester away, and to stay connected to their best friends, the girls start The International Kissing Club, a Facebook page where they can anonymously update one another and brag about all the amazing guys they're meeting. After all, these girls are traveling abroad: amazing guys abound at every turn! But sometimes fun, flirty vacation flings turn into more serious romances, and sometimes you don't return from abroad the same person you were. Will the girls' relationships-and their friendships-be able to survive?

 

 

My Rating: 4/5

 

 

I received this book for review from Bloomsbury Australia.

 

 

I didn't really expect much as the premise didn't really appeal to me. I am really glad that I read it though as I really enjoyed it.

 

 

This book was written by a few authors, and for the most part the writing really does reflect this. Piper's personality was too dominant compared to the others in the first half of the book.

 

 

I really liked the idea of the book being set in numerous international locations. However, I thought that a lot more could have been made about that.

 

 

My favourite character was probably Cassidy, simply because she went to Australia I was able to relate to her experience more than the others.

Book Review #279 - Take Me There by Carolee Dean

Dylan has a bad-boy past and a criminal record. He knows that rich, beautiful Jess is way too good for him—but she has always been the one person who sees through his tough exterior and straight to his heart, and he has been hopelessly in love with her from the first time they met. He would change his life for a chance with her.

But trouble follows Dylan wherever he goes, and a deadly mistake soon forces him to hit the road and leave his dreams behind. He’s on the run and in search of answers—answers to questions he wishes he’d never asked.

My Rating: 4/5

I bought this book solely based on the cover and after reading a few reviews I didn't have high expectations.

The only problem I had with this book was that I found it really choppy. At the beginning, it kept switching between the present and flashbacks and I found that disorientating.

Once the story focused solely on the present time I was fully able to be captivated by the story.

I never really liked to the romance aspect. It is not as strongly portrayed as what the cover would suggest. Also, I didn't really care for Jess that much as I didn't feel like she developed enough.  

The protagonist Dylan is a good guy that has had bad things happen to him. Once his whole family life is exposed, it is not hard to see why he is so messed up.

The ending was a little unexpected although I did foresee numerous plot twists.

Book Review #220 - Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

 

 

My Rating: 4.5/5

 

 

This book was alot different that what I had been expecting. I thought it was going to be lighter than what it was, and so the darker undertones were a pleasant surprise.

 

 

I really liked the layout of this book with the receipts and pictures included amongst the story. This made their roadtrip feel more real.

 

 

The pacing of this book was perfect. It starts off slow, but gradually builds throughout.

 

 

The characters all had interesting personalities and I really enjoyed reading about all of them.

 

 

 

The best part of this book is that it really inspired me to do my own roadtrip.

 

 

The only problem I had with this book was the ending, I just felt like it ended a little abruptly.

Book Review #210 - Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton

Jessie's just arrived in New York, hoping to forget about her awful ex.

New Yorker Finn is in love with his best friend's girlfriend.

They might be perfect together, but in a city of eight million people, will they ever find each other?

 

 

 

My Rating: 4/5

 

 

After the first chapter I didn't think I was going to like this book. The two teenage girls Jessie and Emma were every stereotype of teenage girls and I found them incredibly annoying. I found that once they landed in New York, I was able to overlook that fact.

 

 

The other main character Finn was likeable and the only genuine character in the whole book. His storyline, although predictable was entertaining.

 

 

The fact that this book is set in New York was the main reason why I decided to read this book as I have always wanted to visit there. This is the reason why I was able to connect with the characters even though I didn't particularly like them.

 

 

Although this book is filled with pop culture references and is heavily stereotyped, I found this book really enjoyable and a fun and light read.

Book Review #72 - 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope #1) by Maureen Johnson

Would you follow the direction? 

Would you travel around the world? 

Would you open the envelopes one by one? 

Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket. 

In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat. 

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: find a starving artist. 

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/bloke-about-town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous - though utterly romantic - results. But will she ever see him again? 

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes. 

My Rating: 4.5/5

I was excited to read this book because I found the premise of it very intriguing and interesting. 

Whilst aspects of it are unrealistic, like her parents letting her go especially when her mother was never a fan of the aunties lifestyle it is fiction. 

The only negative aspect of this book was the characters. You don't learn much about Ginny at all.