Read and Dream: My Book Life

The Giver Review

Title: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher: Ember
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction

Blurb: (from goodreads) Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Me: I'm astounded at how ahead of her time Lois Lowry is. This book was written 20 years ago, yet it has assets in it that authors today would envy.

The Ups: The Giver is not a bad book. It has a fascinating setting that is very well woven and interpreted, and I can very well imagine the world that Jonas lives in. Lois Lowry did a fantastic job at really creating this world, really making the culture, the horrific normality of the entire thing stand out. I think that it is so interesting because it is written so bluntly that these people do not experience memories, or color, or music, or love. And to think about that is scary and unreal, yet The Giver portrays it in an eerie form of reality.
The Giver was a very interesting character as well, and his quietness even after knowing the truth showed just how impossible the prospect of change looked in this community.
I was constantly amazed at how modern the book seemed, and how it kind of pioneered a real genre of dystopia.

The Downs: However, I think that this book was nothing special. It didn't cause chilling emotions, or any sympathy and love for Jonas himself. I was not emotionally connected to Jonas, and throughout the story, didn't really feel his confusion and his pain and his wonder.
It didn't make me think about how our idea of paradise and perfection might be monstrously contorted or anything eye-opening like that. It was just a decent book.
I especially didn't like the ending. I found myself getting really bored at the ending, and I didn't like how it seemed to abruptly cut off. It wasn't a smooth end to the story.
Maybe if I took the time someday to really analyze it, and to really think about it, and possibly reread it I may find a new connection to the book I didn't before. But this first time through it, I didn't get much out of it.

Overall: Not bad, but not stellar either.

Rating: 3 kisses!

Out of the Easy Review

Title: Out of the Easy
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publisher: Philomel Books
Genre: Historical Fiction

Blurb: (from goodreads) It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer.

She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.

Me: Ruta Sepetys has just received my utmost respect for being able to weave such beautiful historical fiction stories.

The Ups: I personally am a fan of historical fiction. It's fascinating to learn about the past, and I think that there is no better way to experience it then to completely be immersed in the world through a book.

However, I often notice that historical fiction novels are revolved around just the facts and that the story doesn't feel quite so authentic, because the character development and plot doesn't feel real. But Out of the Easy was a timeless story that every person even now, can relate to.

It was a very character-driven novel, which are the kinds of novels I love. Josie Moraine was determined, self-driven, but also tied to a destiny and a life she wanted to escape. And I loved her. But moreso I loved the other supporting characters. I fell in love with Patrick, even though obviously that would have been possible, I hated her mother but felt sorry for her and pitied her life at the same time, I had such compassion for Cokie, and most of all I loved Willie. The characters were just all so flawed, so tied to their sad lives and making the best of it.

The setting was very well crafted as well. I personally have a love for New Orleans, and its originality, but the book really brings to me the idea of the struggle the people of the city had to face 60 years ago.
I also really enjoyed how nicely paced the book was. For the first time in a long while, I stayed up really late reading this book because it was so captivating.

The Downs: There were certain parts of the story I wasn't very comfortable with, and I think that that is the only thing that keeps me from giving the book 5 kisses.

Overall: A wonderful historical fiction novel with a stellar plot and great characters.

Rating: 4 kisses!

Monday Madness

First school monday madness! I haven't been reading as much lately so I didn't see much of a point in doing this, but I have so many books I would like to read so here goes.

What I'm currently reading:

First of all, I'm amazed at Lois Lowry's story and how developed yet ahead of it's time it was. Second, I haven't even watched the movie but just from the trailer, I don't know how they could've screwed up the movie that much.

This has been on my currently-reading list for a bit now, but I'm honestly only 43 pages into it. I'm kind of afraid of getting into it, and have no idea why,

What I just finished reading:

I'm working on a review for this one, but here's a teaser!

“I leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Out of the Easy

What I look forward to reading:

I am literally feeling so overwhelmed by the amount of books I want to read.

Steelheart Review

Title: Steelheart
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi

Blurb: (from goodreads) Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

Me: Real life superheroes gone wrong? Who wouldn't love?

The Ups: It's been a while since I've been so captivated into an idea of some kind of fantasy story, and immersed in a slightly dystopian and science fiction-y world. The action is very well developed, and I could really picture everything that happened in the book, especially the first part. I pictured the bank, Steelheart, the position of David's father; I could really see everything that was happening.
We all know those action stories where they just seem to shooting at everyone, killing random people for no apparent reason, and I think we've all experienced that point where you lose interest and can't keep up with all the action because it's gotten so chaotic. I didn't experience that with this book. I'm personally not much of an action fan, just because emotions and feelings and inner thoughts appeal to me more than simple, blunt descriptions of gunfire. But Steelheart kept me in with the action and kept me at the edge of my seat.
I really liked the plot twist at the end. There were a few things I saw coming, I won't deny it. But the major plot twist completely caught me by surprise and shocked me. I hadn't suspected it the littlest bit.
I loved David. His awkward metaphors were just a personal favorite aspect of the book. It really kept me laughing the entire time. I think there was a certain beauty to his character, because he was so incredibly flawed. There were parts of the book where you would look at David attempting to do something and want to cringe, and so when he did succeed, or when he felt something, it felt all the more real and not just the protagonist getting something he wanted.

The Downs: I think that there are just so many of science fiction novels, or fantasy novels, with a bad guy and the good guy, and the good guy winning and the same plot twists and the similar plot. I felt that with this book too. Some parts were just very predictable, and just didn't feel like a fresh story sometimes.

Rating: 4 kisses!

Top Ten Books That Were Hard For Me to Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where we give our top ten favorites to certain topics.

Top Ten (or Nine ) Books That Were Hard For Me To Read

1. A Tale Dark and Grimm

Okay, I am a sissy. And even in this book I was a bit grossed out and horrified. The plot wasn't all that great either, which led me to just feeling disgusted the entire book.

2. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Confession: I couldn't sleep with this book in my room. The pictures of the guys without irises or pupils just creeped me out waayyy too much.

3. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

I actually enjoy most classics, because they have a timeless, relatable, and classic feel to their story. But Tom Sawyer was so hard for me to get through. I was bored to death half the time, and I'm pretty sure I almost fell asleep.

4. Shiver

There is nothing particularly annoying about this book besides the fact that i just chugged through it. It took me forever to read, and I kept wanting to put it down for another book.

5. The Hobbit

I cheated here. After 7 months since I have started the book, and reread the beginning 3 times, I still have yet to get into it, or finish it. What do you think? Should I try again?

6. The Boyfriend List

I don't even know what the point of this book was. It was a girl whining about a harsh break up and blabbing about other boys.

7. An Abundance of Katherines

Don't get me wrong, I love John Green. He is incredibly witty, satirical, cynical in the best way. But a book needs more than just wit or satire. And I feel like this book was just a collection of witty comments with a bad plot.

8. The Madman's Daughter/Her Dark Curiosity

Word of the day: Vivisection. AKA dissecting an animal when it is still alive. Both of these books are absolutely wonderful. I love the plot, love the suspense, but when the depictions of vivisected animals come up...Blech.

9. For Real

Talk about a cheesy cheeseball covered in cheese dust. This book has no real point, makes me want to groan, and throw it across the room.

How about you?

Winger Review

Title: Winger
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

Blurb: (from goodreads) Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.

Me: I have never laughed so much in a book. ever.

The Ups: It was so funny. Like not even funny, funny. I laughed until I cried at least 2 times in this book, which is pretty amazing, if you think about it. I usually don't even laugh out loud too hard, just give a little chuckle. But the humor in here is priceless. Just the situations that Ryan Dean gets into...gosh. I mean the book starts off with:

"I said a silent prayer. Actually, silent is probably the only kind of prayer a guy should attempt when his head's in a toilet."

Is there anything better than this? I think not. My personal favorite moment was when he was at the airport and his bandage fell off his balls so he had to go into a special security area and get completely examined...YES. (you probably think I'm crazy, but that's why you have to read the book.)

Also, Ryan Dean was just absolutely lovable. Not cute, per se, but relatable and kind of pathetic in a way that made you connect to him and his friends. Annie, Joey, Casey, JP, Seanie, all of them felt like people I could name in real life, people that walk around the hallways of school all the time. And that's another thing that made this book real special. It's that every one in it felt like my friend, someone I knew really well, someone I loved.

I think that's what made the ending even more crazy for me. It put me into shock, into one of those frozen moments where you refuse to acknowledge reality. It was horrifying and shocking and gosh, it was beautiful. I really liked how the "climax" happened really near the end too, I think it was a different format that was really interesting to read.

The Downs: Despite all the humor and such, since the book's climax was a bit towards the end, I found myself getting really bored in the chapters right before it. I wanted to skim over pages and I kind of grew tired of Ryan Dean's voice after a while, until the ending.

Rating: 4 kisses!