Book Review: Abandon by Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot's Abandon:

I was disappointed with this book. To fully understand the depth of this statement, you must know that I've read about 80% of everything Meg Cabot has published. So, I would say that I'm a fan of her work. But this one didn't do it for me. The narrator/MC was boring, bounced around in her head too much, and spent half of the book trying to convince the reader that she wasn't crazy or saying that she didn't care that anyone thought she was crazy. I thought the narrative was poorly constructed. It was supposed to be suspenseful (I wonder what happened to Hannah? Why did she get kicked out of her old school? What really happened to her in the Underworld?) but it just fell flat.

Also, she was just unintelligent. She didn't connect that D-Wing=rejects of school. She didn't ever TALK to anyone. She doesn't know who Homer is and she doesn't care. She comes off as an unlikable selfish spoiled rich girl who is self-absorbed. Only when she spoke to the Cemetery guy (I can't even remember his name) did the story begin to make any sense.

And John. He could have been such a developed tortured character. He came off as flat and one-dimensional though.

One aspect of the book that I like though, was the quotation from Dante's Inferno at the beginning of every chapter. I didn't necessarily think that many quotations should have been included (a few separating the book into sections would have sufficed) but it was appreciated.

My only hope is that the second and third books will somehow redeem this good, if poorly executed, idea.

Rating: 2/5.

DFTBA and happy reading!
Nadia

Writing and Connections

So occasionally I write things and even less often I post them on the internet. But, I feel like posting something this close to my heart will be good for me. It's hard and that's why I'm doing it. The working title is Connections  and I wrote it in a few minutes. It's unedited, raw, and straight from my heart or wherever that place is that magically makes words appear on a page. Now enough stalling, here it is:

There is an impossible sadness when you realize that all you want to do is spend time with someone. That you know you want to share your life with this person. To have them there to hold your hand. To exchange a glance that contains an entire conversation. To fight with about everything and nothing, just to challenge one another. To kiss on the forehead. To work through the bad times with and laugh during the good ones.

There is strength in relationships. We become better people when we let others in. Yes, we get hurt. We get used. Not every person wants to be your friend. By that’s ok because for every person you meet that is horrible to you, there is another one who will be nice to you. Who knows, that niceness might change your life. But you will never know if you don’t try. If you don’t take a chance and just say one word, “hi”. That little first step can look like a giant leap, but it can truly open a door to something that you’ve only dreamed about.

Without our relationships, we are nothing. We will have no one to remember us. No one to feel a tug in their heart whenever they hear your name on the street. And all it takes is “hi”. You could find a person that you want to share your life with, even in a platonic way. And there is nothing sadder that realizing all of this and wanting al of this and realizing that it might be beyond your reach. Maybe not forever- but for now. When it matters most. 

The Hunger Games

I just finished rereading The Hunger Games in time for the movie. I've said it before, but I have no idea how they're going to capture the majority of the violence. Also, one of the best parts of the book is knowing that Peeta loves Katniss and almost chuckling at how ignorant she is and how she sees the strings attached to every movement. Jennifer Lawrence better be a damn good actress to pull that off.

Also, if they mess up one moment of Rue's relationship with Katniss or her death, I will be very angry.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I finally finished another book, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. But, because of my preconceived notions, it took me a few chapters to 'get into' the book. I heard this book was a horror novel, which almost detered me from reading it. But, it was a unique fantasy narrative blended with vintage photographs that added a chilling element to the story.

But before I discuss any further, some plot details. Jacob was a normal teenager whose grandfather, who is Jewish, told him stories from World War II. These stories eventually turned into fairy tales. The, Jacob's grandfather is murdered by a monster that is right out of the stories from Jacob's childhood. Everyone thinks that he is crazy and he gets sent to a psychiatrist. He then goes on a trip with his father to the island where his grandfather grew up during the war. Jacob meets children like his grandfather who are "peculiar" and the story twists, turns, and develops from there.

I would have enjoyed the pure narrative of this novel. But, the vintage photographs added a unique dimension. These photographs peppered throughout the novel are not random, but are what Jacob is looking at during the story. For some reason, I thought they were fake photos created for the novel. But, in the author's note in the end, Riggs states that they are all real vintage photographs. To me, this added a special touch. It makes the reader wonder who these 'peculiar' people pictured really are, what they were like, and what the true story was behind each photo.

The historical element was an added bonus as well. A decent portion of the novel is set on September 3, 194o (don't ask how this happens- just read the novel). There were many parallels between the hunting of the Jews and the hunting of the peculiar children.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will anticipate the sequel that seems promised by the conclusion of the novel. My rating is 4.5/5 stars. No matter how slow certain parts were, it always propelled right back into the story. Also, I thought there were several underdeveloped minor plot points. But, I guess I'll just have to wait for the sequel to see if they ever get addressed!

Best Wishes and DFTBA!

Nadia

P.S.- Random note, but John Green and Ransom Riggs went to college together and remain friends. Here is a video by John discussing this. (Also, here is a rather hilarious video of a road trip they took together in college). At this time, they've been on or near the top of the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Chapter Books for eight weeks in a row.

Crossed

Another YA review! This one is for Crossed by Ally Condie. (http://www.amazon.com/Crossed-Ally-Condie/dp/0525423656). This is the sequel to Matched. Basically, it is the dystopian love-triangle that you see in YA all the time. The "unique" twist is that every one is "matched" with their soul mate. But, Cassia, the main character, gets matched with two boys. She has to choose between her best friend and the guy that she has fallen in love with. Basically, that's the plot of Matched.

In Crossed, she has chosen (I won't tell you which one) and he was sent away. She got herself in trouble to try to escape the Society in order to join back up with him. This book is about her journey, and the choice they have to make together to join the Rising (the rebellion).

To be honest, there wasn't much remarkable about this novel. There were several moments of excellent suspense and the novel ended with a complete cliffhanger. My favorite thing about this series though, is the constant stress on the importance of history and art, including literature, poetry, songs, and visual art. But, there is not much that differentiates this novel from the myriad of other love triangles dystopian novels on the market right now. I do recommend the series if that is what you like because they are pretty well written and have excellent- if rather obvious- symbolism.

Tumblr

So, I gave into the the internet peer pressure and made a Tumblr. I'm going to post my blogs on there as well from now on. But, I will still be posting on here first. There will also be lots of Harry Potter, Nerdfighter, Doctor Who, and other general internet things, as well as posts from my literature blog (hpobsessed21.blogspot.com). If Tumblr is your thing, come join me on there at NadiaBlogs21.tumblr.com!

DFTBA and Best Wishes!

Tour de Nerdfighting, Across the Universe, and Nick and Norah

This post will come to you in parts, three of them to be exact.

Part One, Tour de Nerdfighting.

Last night I had the awesome opportunity to meet John and Hank Green for a second at the Tour de Nerdfighting, the book tour for TFiOS. Hank sang songs, John read from TFiOS and talked about heroism and living a good full life. John got shocked and Hank forgot one of his songs. I gave them hats that I made for them (TFiOS for John and DFTBA for Hank). I sat with nerdy friends and felt a special feeling that can only be found in such a place with no judgement. I got to meet Schubes17, a YouTuber that I'm a fan of. Only Nerdfighers could create an event that was so pure and happy and nerdy and deep and sad and funny all at the same time. I'm sure this won't make coherent sense to anyone that wasn't there, but it is one of those experiences that I may never be able to articulate fully.

Also, the TFiOS van happened to be going the same way we were, so we creepily followed it. In circles. At that point, we realized that they probably realized some crazy creepy nerds were actually following them. So we noticed which hotel they were staying at and left them alone. But it was exhilarating, being in a car with four other girls, most of who don't know more about each other than a name and a love for nerdy things. It was a shared experience that was very appropriate, considering that we were following John Green.

Ok, Part Two: Across the Universe by Beth Revis. (http://www.amazon.com/Across-Universe-Beth-Revis/dp/1595143971).

I have a hard time summarizing this book. But I do like Melissa Marr's blurb on the back of the book, "An astounding ride! Beth Revis erases genre boundaries with a murder mystery, a budding romance, and a dystopian world gracefully integrated into a sci-fi novel that blows away all expectation." That pretty much summarizes my reaction to the book.

The main female character, Amy, is cryogenically frozen and put on a ship sent to colonize a world 300 years away. The main male character, Elder, is the leader-in-training for the civilization on the ship. I can't discuss a lot of this book without spoiling it, but let me just say that the first 75 pages or so are kinda hard to get through. But keep going. Once Amy wakes up, this novel is a roller coaster that you won't want to get off. It was a bit of every genre and masterfully blended. Oh, and if you read this, contact me. I want to talk to someone about it, but I don't know anyone who's read it.

Rating: 4.5/5 (Points off for lack of subtlety on a "twist" and the beginning section)

Finally, Part Three. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan (http://www.amazon.com/Nick-Norahs-Infinite-Playlist-Rachel/dp/0375835318).

I had high hopes for this book. When I watched the movie, I loved it. But, the book really didn't do it for me. I felt like it was too whiny and angst-ridden while somehow also being full of lust. But this book is about feeling the highs of life without ever using a substance. It's also about the pitfalls of opening up yourself to someone and using your imagination to make the relationship more perfect in your head. This book had some really touching moments and hilariously sarcastic exchanges. But, they almost felt out of place to me. After reading Across the Universe, which was so beautifully blended, this novel almost seemed choppy and ironically, unrealistic. Honestly, I prefer the movie to the book, which is a near-unheard of happening for me.

Rating: 3/5.

Non-YLC: 6

YLC:0

P.S.: I AM NOW AN ENGLISH MAJOR WITH A CONCENTRATION ON LITERATURE AND I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER AND ONLY ALL CAPS CAN EXPRESS MY JOY.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Warning: This post contains some marked spoilers and language not appropriate for children.

This blog is turning more and more into book reviews. But do not fear! Classes are really starting this week, so I can only hope that I will have more interesting things to talk about.

Review time! This post it is Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. (http://www.amazon.com/Rogers-Epic-Detour-Morgan-Matson/dp/1416990658) I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I started this the day after I finished TFiOS (that post will come later, once I’ve reread the book) so I was not hoping for anything close to the brilliance that is encompassed in John Green’s latest novel. But, A&RED did not disappoint me.

The plot is simple enough. Two complete strangers (Amy & Roger) are forced to drive across the country from California to Connecticut together. But, they decide to deviate from the itinerary and have their own adventure. The story itself though is more complicated. I found Amy and Roger to be very believable characters with believable struggles. Amy’s father died three months before the beginning of the book, and that is addressed throughout the book.

I knew that this book would be enjoyable from the beginning when Amy thinks “But not so nice if it was the house you were moving out from. I could practically hear Mr. Collins, who had taught my fifth-grade English class and was still the most intimidating teacher I’d ever had, yelling at me. ‘Amy Curry,’ I could still hear him intoning, ‘never end a sentence with a preposition!’ Irked that after six years he was still mentally correcting me, I told the Mr. Collins in my head to off fuck”. This story features a narrator that is intelligent, witty, and is still a typical teenager. Matson got damn-near close to creating a character that would fit in with John Green’s. (If you can’t tell, John Green is near-God to me at this moment. If you don’t feel the same, go read The Fault in Our Stars and get back to me.)

I particularly enjoyed the local culture featured within each of the states they visited. I’m surprised that they don’t have Sonic in California, but the experience of Chick-fil-a is pretty accurate. Matson infused local culture and it was obvious that her research into this book was extensive.

Finally, there’s the romance. One of the things I didn’t like about this book was the cover. It features a male and female holding hands with a road stretched out in front of them with the dividing line running down the center of the cover, right in line with their hands. This misrepresented the book to me. SPOILER I thought it would be all romance from the beginning. But, they didn’t get together until almost the end of the book. Which, I actually liked a lot better than romance wasn’t the focus, like I thought it would be. It ended up being a story more about this trip and how it changed them as people. This is also shown by the method Matson takes in developing and demonstrating the relationship. When they finally get together, there’s no adjective heavy description. It is simply glossed and the reader is left with only their imagination. The same is true with the big question of Will they stay together? at the end of the book. All she gives us is a receipt for a restaurant dated a month later that obviously belonged to them. END SPOILER This could have been a romance heavy book, and was certainly was marketed as such. But, I like the themes that Matson chose instead.

Overall, I would rate this book 4.5/5 stars. I would have developed a few quirks more and not thrown so many shallow details into the novel. There were some that seemed not to have a purpose. But, it still made me laugh out loud and hold my breath and smile. Honestly, there is very little more I ask for in a novel.

Non-YLC: 4

YLC: 0

Crying

So, let me preface this by saying that I'm not a crier. There are some girls that cry over happy and sad endings, who even cry for no good reason except to cry. I don't really cry a lot. And when I do, it is either a single tear or huge body racking sobs and my eyes get puffy and red and it's generally unattractive.

There are three things that would have made a normal person who didn't internalize all of their feelings cry over the past few days. The first thing is I watched the quintessential chick-flick, The Notebook. Usually, the end of this movie makes me cry every time. But, I didn't even shed a tear.

Then, I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I will just say that this is a cancer book. That alone should have made me cry. But, on top of it being a cancer book, it is a John Green novel which should guarantee too many emotions and too much thinking. I finally shed a tear when I read the final words, then forced myself to stop.

Finally, today my roommate got in a car accident. She's fine, but she very easily could not have been. If anything, this should have broken me down. I almost did, several times in fact. But, I knew that she was going through enough shock and trauma and didn't need to try to comfort someone else on top of all of that. That's just the kind of person she is- she could be distraught and hurt and she will put someone else over herself.

So, the point of this is I still haven't cried. None of those full body racking sobs. I'm almost scared a small thing will set me off in front of a large group of people and that will be it. Hopefully when it comes, I can just get it over with in private. Like I said, I'm not a crier.

2012 Tracker:

Non-YLC: 3

YLC: 0

P.S: I'm attempting to read 30 Non-YLC books (meaning YA or adult novels for pure pleasure) in 2012. Let's see how it goes!

Back to School, Clockwork Prince, and TFiOS

Well, as soon as I finish this post, I will embark on my journey back to school. I'm not really sure if I'm ready to go back though. Usually by this time, I can't wait to get out of my house and back to school. Maybe it's because I've been on my own a lot of the break, but I'm been enjoying that peaceful feeling. At school, I'm always surrounded by people which is not really a problem because I love them. But I'm not ready to go back into that chaos yet. This isn't even factoring in classes,

which I know for sure that I'm not ready for.

School, like so many other things in life, is on someone else's schedule though, not my own. There are many things that we're not ready for, but have to deal with anyways. As far as topics in that category go, going back to school before I feel like it is pretty mild. Most unpleasant (and a lot of pleasant) things that happen in our lives when we are not ready for them. But, we buck up and go on with life because that is what we do. We deal with it and just move forward.

On a different note, I finished Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare last night. (http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Prince-Infernal-Devices-Cassandra/dp/1416975888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326220890&sr=1-1) To anyone familiar with her work, it is well known that she was internet-famous for Harry Potter fan fiction before she was ever published with her own original work. Now, Clockwork Prince was her fifth novel, and her sixth is coming out in May of this year. But, Cassie has never lost her feel of fanfic. But, that is a large part of what appeals to me about her novels- that they read like a fan fiction. To most people, that would be a con. But I can't even count how many times I had to force myself away from a computer and the fan fiction on it.

The actual plot of Clockwork Prince was surprisingly compelling. The first book in this series, Clockwork Angel was not all I had expected from Clare. Honestly, I love her first series- The Mortal Instruments. But I was not impressed with the first of the Infernal Devices series. I'm glad I gave Prince a chance though, because it was much better than Angel.

Finally, it is TFiOS Day!! This is the day when John Green's The Fault in Our Stars (http://www.amazon.com/Fault-Our-Stars-John-Green/dp/0525478817) is officially released!! I've had my copy for about a week and a half and it was wrapped in ribbon and unopened. At last, I can open it and enjoy this novel that so many have been praising. But, not until I have finished unpacking. With that in mind, I hasten back to the school so I can finally read this novel. Sometimes, all that's needed is the proper motivation.

2012 Tracker:

Non-YLC: 2

YLC: 0

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Another YA book review! This one is over Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Ok, summary time. Lena is a seventeen year-old living in a dystopian society where love is a disease. When you turn eighteen, you undergo a procedure that "cures" you. But, just a few months before her eighteenth birthday, Lena gets infected by a boy named Alex.

All around the Internet, this book received glowing reviews. But, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Usually, when I read a YA dystopian romance, you have to pry my hands away from the pages to get me to stop. But, it took me almost a week and dozens of times where I sat down to read to get through this one.

According to Lauren Oliver's website, this is the first book in a trilogy. But honestly, I don't know if I will read the next one. Even though this book was incredibly slow paced, I felt like it spent too much time focusing on Lena's whining and not enough time fleshing out the world that caused her to be like this. I do realize that Lena has to have growth as a character, but I just got tired of her being so scared. Yes, there is a big bad government that you are starting to realize will kill you just for feeling. SO DO SOMETHING. It is both a blessing and a curse to think of fictional characters as real people. When they are amazing, it allows you to admire them. But, if they are short of spectacular, then you wonder why the author didn't write about someone else. Also, I think that Lena's realizations of how bad her society is are so much slower than the readers. We almost had to wait for our main character to catch up, which was really unattractive. [Speaking of unattractive, I wanted to slap Lena every single time that she put herself down based on appearance. It is okay to say you are plain once, but never ugly and never repeat it over and over again.]

That being said, I loved the character of Alex. He was a great combination of a tortured individual combined with a rebel, with a dash of sensitivity for people, especially the ones he loves. MAJOR SPOILER ALERT HERE. DO NOT READ HERE IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE END OF THE BOOK SPOILED. I probably won't read the next book because Alex was the character that I loved and kept reading for. Now, he's gone. I almost wish that Lena had given her life to save him, but that would have never happened. She's the main character. But you've got to admit, that would have been a great twist. END OF SPOILER.

One of the elements that really interested me from the beginning was the "Holy Trinity" of "God, Science, and Order". I felt like Oliver was poking into a huge story behind the founding of this society, but she ignored it for a whiny and passive main character. I was truly interested to see how the government managed to form this society where God and Science are part of the Trinity and people welcome a procedure that doesn't allow them to feel.

The last lines of the book really got to me, mostly because they are repeated over and over throughout the course of the novel, then squashed together at the end. They summarize everything good and powerful in the novel. No matter my thoughts, this technique was effective, to say the least. (I possibly shed a few tears.)

These last lines are:

"You have to understand. I am no one special. I am just a single girl. I am five feet two inches tall and I am in-between in every way.

But I have a secret. You can build walls all the way to the sky and I will find a way to fly above them. You can try to pin me down with a hundred thousand arms, but I will find a way to resist. And there are many of us out there, more than you think. People who refuse to stop believing. People who refuse to come to earth. People who love in a world without walls, people who love into hate, into refusal, against hope, and without fear.

I love you. Remember. They cannot take it".

Honestly, Lauren Oliver could have cut out much of the middle section of the book (most of which I skimmed and don't really have memory of) and still could have conveyed this powerful message perfectly.

I really enjoyed this novel, even if there were quite a few things that I would have done differently. I don't think it was everything that everyone hyped it up to be, but it was definitely better than many of the other things that count a published novels nowadays. I would give it a 3.5/5 stars.

Until next time,

DFTBA and best wishes!

Nadia

2012 Tracker:

YLC Books: 0

Non-YLC: 1