The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Book: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Why I Read It: Because everyone else was. I frequently give into reading peer pressure because 1) I love to read and 2) that many people usually aren't wrong.

First Line: "Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."

First Impression: I liked his Author's Note. Heartfelt and a great attitude toward writing and fiction in general. Good start.

Last Impression: So, it was a book about kids with cancer falling in love. The ending was what I expected, the tone was what I expected, but it was a new place and I was glad he brought me there.

Ratings

Overall – 4 Heart Skipped a Beat This book is not the story of cancer, but the story of the people. In the book, Gus observes that there aren't paintings of the sick dying, people who died "of" something, but there are scores of artworks depicting heroic deaths (conquerors, explorers), people dying "from" something. Usually the only time death stories are told is when it's heroic and the only time a cancer story is told is when it's of a survivor. There is not much out there in terms of cancer "havers". This tells that story.

Characters – 5 The most well-written character is a secondary one, Isaac. The moments with him are the most honest and don't feel like an attempt to show teens with cancer, but rather like a glimpse into real moments. The main character, Hazel Grace, was inconsistent for me. A socially awkward 16 year old girl doesn't use "circle jerk" as part of her internal vernacular. But, Green did capture the otherwordlyness of a silent but connected phone line and his development of Hazel as a maturing, though dying, woman improved as the novel progressed.

Story – 3 In a book about kids with cancer falling in love, it's pretty clear how the plot will play out. It was clear pretty early on (spoiler) in which order they would die (sorry, but since there is yet to be a cure for cancer, it is the expected ending) and how they would interact with one another. The plot was predictable for the main characters; the interaction with secondary characters brought the depth and realism that just wasn't quite there between the lovestruck teens.

Narration – 4 Honest. The dialogue was natural and believable from everyone but Augustus. But with a name like Augustus, he's allowed to be a bit odd. It's written in straightforward language that reflects the tone and feel of the novel but still dotted with beautiful, meaningful lines that are popping up on T-shirts.

Read Again? No. Once was enough.

Tell Others to Read? For the adults: If they haven't already, probably not. I won't discourage it, by any means, but won't be rushing out to tell others about it. For the young/preteens: Yes. It's a unique view of falling in love. And they should see how lucky they are and how hard life can be and view all of the facets of life they possibly can. And this one should definitely be included.

Excerpt: "I nodded. I liked Augustus Waters. I really, really, really liked him. I liked the way his story ended with someone else. I liked his voice. I liked that he took existentially fraught free throws. I liked that he was a tenured professor in the Department of Slightly Crooked Smiles with a dual appointment in the Department of Having a Voice That Made My Skin Feel More Like Skin. And I liked that he had two names. I've always liked people with two names, because you get to make up your mind what you call them: Gus or Augustus? Me, I was always just Hazel, univalent Hazel.

     "Do you have siblings?" I asked.

     "Huh?" he answered, seeming a little distracted.

     "You said that thing about watching kids play."

     "Oh, yeah, no. I have nephews, from my half sisters. But they're older. They're like --DAD, HOW OLD ARE JULIE AND MARTHA?"

     "Twenty-eight!"

     "They're like twenty-eight. They live in Chicago. They are both married to very fancy lawyer dudes. Or banker dudes. I can't remember. You have siblings?"

     I shook my head no. "So what's your story?" he asked, sitting down next to me at a safe distance.

     "I already told you my story. I was diagnosed when - "

     "No, not your cancer story. Your story. Interests, hobbies, passions, weird fetishes, etcetera."

 

 

 

Excerpt content property of Dutton Books

Mocked By The Mockingjay

The Hunger Games books took the world by storm and will forever be immortalized. The first book, The Hunger Games, is original and engaging--a world of unfairness, strict governmental control and children death games. Katniss sacrifices herself for her little sister and unwittingly takes up the rebel cause, garnering recognition as she fights for her life. The story is addicting and the characters are dynamic; it's impossible to not be captivated.

 

In Catching Fire, we watch as Katniss' ambivalence breaks Peeta's heart as they fight to survive, again, as punishment for their rebellious actions. Previous winners are introduced and we're given more strong characters to root for. Readers were captivated by the Games and we're given another one here. The 75th Hunger Games is built even better than the 74th and their survival in the field is well written.

 

But upon closing the pages of the final book in the trilogy, Mockingjay, the story feels incomplete, heavy-handed and disheartening. At its core, the series is about fighting to survive; Katniss and Peeta fighting for their lives in the Hunger Games, the Districts fighting for freedom from the Capitol, a rebellion fighting for change and an end to tyranny. The first two books build up to the ultimate fight, the rebellious Districts against the tyranny of the Capitol. But this is not what happens.

 

The recently discovered District 13 and rebellion take in Katniss and the surviving rebels. The rebellion seizes control of the Capitol and the Districts and one of the first decisions they make in power is to uphold the abomination they so hated; the Hunger Games will continue, but with Capitol children rather than District ones.

 

As part of the rebellion, Katniss isn't allowed to fight but instead must star in propaganda films. She is manipulated as the poster girl for the rebellion and decisions that should have been made out of goodness and the moral right, such as rescuing Peeta, are only made to ensure her cooperation with the cause. Ultimately, Katniss discovers that Coin, the rebellion leader, plotted to have Prim killed (using Gale's war tactics) and framed the Capitol for her death. Learning this, Katniss realizes that there is no winning; not only has the rebellion been hypocritical immediately upon gaining power, it is no different than the leaders they just overthrew.

 

Mockingjay brings adult politics and deception to this children's book that had, up until this point, centered around the concept of freedom. If Collins was going to use this level of political scheming, she should have woven it throughout the trilogy and not thrown it in at the end. The lack of consistency is jarring and it undermines all that came before it.

 

The book ends in hopelessness; there is no triumphing over an evil regime or hope for a better future. This impacts every event in the book. The marriage and subsequent death of Finnick is especially painful because not only is one of the few happy events in the work tainted, Finnick didn't even die for a good cause. He died fighting for a leader just like Snow. Gale's warrior-like commitment to the rebellion makes him the equivalent of a Capitol guard, Peeta's loss of limb, torture and brainwashing were for naught, and the Districts empowered someone who seeks to reign as Snow had.

 

At the end of the series, we have learned that all leaders and governments have an agenda that goes against the will of the people. Revenge is a powerful motivator, power exists to be abused, and hope is a dangerous thing.

 

The sense of expectation and the subsequent emptiness left by the books is summed up rather eloquently by the opening line:

 

"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold."

Christine by Stephen King

Book: Christine

Author: Stephen King

Why I Read It: I was on a scary book binge.

First Line: "This is the story of a lover's triange, I suppose you'd say--Arnie Cunningham, Leigh Cabot, and, of course, Christine."
 

First Impression: Well, I like old cars. This might be okay.

Last Impression: Oh my. So long winded and boring.

 

Ratings

Overall – 3 Resting Heart Rate The first 276 pages bored me to tears. It was clear what was happening to the car, to Arnie, to their friendship, to all of Christine's victims. Everything was evident, though his prose implied he felt it was suspenseful.

Characters – 2 The human characters were flat and boring. Christine, however, was a strong character, and that's what really matters as she is our main character. Still, she was very outnumbered in the novel, and the rest of the cast isn't engaging.

Story – 3 The majority of the story felt overly long and had no suspense, but the end of the book had me on the edge of my seat. The wrap-up was poetic and realistic.

Narration – 3 King is truly a great writer, but sadly not as talented as an editor. If he had cut the book by about 300 pages, I would have been there 100%.

Read Again? Most definitely not. I didn't enjoy it the first time, and there are much better Stephen King books out there.

Tell Others to Read? The one thing about Stephen King is you don't tell others to read him, you ask what they've already read. This book is a classic, for many good reasons, and I'm sure it sits on may shelves, well-worn and well-loved.

Excerpt: She was a bad joke, and what Arnie saw in her that day I'll never know. The left side of her wind shield was a snarled spiderweb of cracks. The right rear deck was bashed in, and an ugly nest of rust had grown in the paint-scraped valley. The back bumper was askew, the trunk lid was ajar, and upholstery was bleeding out through several long tears in the seat cover, both front and back. It looked as i fsomeone had worked on the upholstery with a knife. One tire was flat. The others were bald enough to show the canvas cording. Worst of all, there was a dark puddle of oil under the engine block.

     Arnie had fallen in love with a 1958 Plymouth Fury, one of the long ones with the big fins. 

 

 

 

 

 

Room by Emma Donoghue

Book: Room

Author: Emma Donoghue
 

Why I Read It: I loved one of her other books, Slammerkin, and I was enamored with the idea of writing about the experience of abuse and captivity from the view of a child.

First Line: "Today I'm five."

First Impression: Wow. This is so realistic. And depressing.

Last Impression: Wow. This is so realistic. And depressing. And DAMN can she write!

 

Ratings 

Overall – 5 Heart Racing I was surprised by how true to life the situation felt; how they play Scream, how he has to hide every night in case Old Nick visits, how detailed the minutia of each day is because it is all they have.

Characters – 3 Ma and Jack, our main characters, create their own little world in room. Jack narrates, so Ma is only viewed in the mothering role. Her other female experiences are on the periphery, making the abusive situation easier to tolerate, but also leaving her flat and underdeveloped. Old Nick is a disembodied voice but functions in the role of the abuser. Jack is the driving force of the book and much of his personality is shown through his insights.

Story – 5 The story carries itself much further through the action than I anticipated.

Narration – 4 The narration suffers from inconsistency part way through the book, and Jack's voice feels less organic and a bit forced. But the idea of narrating the abusive situation through his naive view is brilliant.

Read Again? Absolutely. It was inspiring to ingest such a well-written, refreshing and engaging story. I was on the edge of my seat.

Tell Others to Read? Yes. But I will warn them. It is a lot and hard to handle. You have to be prepared to read about a woman who has been raped and abused on a very regular basis. You have to be prepared to accept this as her existence and read on anyway. You have to be prepared to watch suffering and hope and despair interact in a very believable way.

Excerpt: "Monday is a laundry day, we get into Bath with socks, underwears, my gray pants that Ketchup squirted on, the sheets and dish towels, and we squish all the dirt out. Ma hots Thermostat way up for the drying, she pulls Clothes Horse out from beside Door and stands him open and I tell him to be strong. I would love to ride him like when I was a baby but I'm so huge now I might break his back. It would be cool to sometimes go smaller again and sometimes bigger like Alice. When we've twisted the water out of everything and hanged them up, Ma and me have to rip off our T-shirts and take turns pushing ourselves into Refrigerator to cool down.

     Lunch is bean salad, my second worst favorite. After nap we do Scream every day but not Saturdays or Sundays. We clear our throats and climb up on Table to be nearer Skylight, holding hands not to fall. We say 'On your mark, get set, go,' then we open wide our teeth and shout and holler howl yowl shriek screech scream the loudest possible. Today I'm the loudest ever because my lungs are stretching from being five.

     Then we shush with fingers on lips. I ask Ma once what we're listening for and she said just in case, you never know."

 

 

Excerpt content property of Little, Brown and Company

The Almost Perfect Creation

Welcome to the world of Shianshenka, inhabited by the delicate Zhongzi. Microbiologist and genetic engineer Jules Mitterand created the "perfect" creature – a small, feathered, intelligent being with a unique life cycle.

 

The creature was engineered to live only when falling through the air. Each Zhongzi had "little paddles that drove its dynamo, sensory organs on long stalks, skinny feathered limbs for steering and braking, and a funnel for absorbing dust." When dropped onto the planet, each Zhongzi would come to life as the air delivered nutrients. They would float over the world living out their individual life purpose, given to them by Mitterand, before reaching the "golden hour." In the golden hour, each Zhongzi would create a son and pass on the knowledge he had gained before falling to the planet's floor and thus, his death. In this way, each line of Zhongzi would live on.

 

The creatures, however, engineered to be perfect, evolved into flawed beings. It started simply enough; one Zhongzi, Ne’ne, wanted to learn the fate of his son and desired the chance to have another life to do so. Inadvertently, he discovered a geyser, which propelled him into the air, and into his wished-for second life. The Zhongzi discovered how to extend their lives into multiple runs, developed communication, explored their land, and created a culture.

 

They domesticated animals, settled colonies and in the end, created religions and ideals that resulted in conflicting morals and idealistic splits. From the title, the reader is aware that these creatures will fail, but it is sad to watch them do so. Instead of embracing their purpose to record, reflect, and grow in their individual talents, the Zhongzi evolved into creatures that not only understood, but also created, war and genocide.

 

The characters were difficult to keep track of through the naming structure. While the family line was easily identified, a particular Zhongzi's place in the lineage was not always clear. In the beginning, it wasn't a matter of great importance, but when the clans split to settle different colonies, and the names were linked to locations, it became a bit of an issue. This confusion made the book feel a little longer than it needed to be as the reader tries to keep track of which Zhongzi was colonizing which part of the island.

 

These issues were small, however, and did not hinder the reading experience in any strong way. The book was refreshing; the world was unique, the characters inventive, and the language beautiful. Through the Zhongzi, the Sivertsen builds discussions on the nature of evil, the importance of lineage and identity, the double-edged sword that is progress, and the slippery slope of fighting fire with fire.

 

Sivertsen built a beautiful world and created multimedia accompaniments to take the reader far beyond the experience of the printed page. Upon closing the pages of Shianshenka, the time spent with the Zhongzi does not have to end. If you haven’t read this book yet, you should, because it is unlike anything else you’ve read before.  

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The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Book: The Eyre Affair
Author: Jasper Fforde

Why I Read It: Because I LOVE Jasper Fforde. I found the Thursday Next series abandoned at the thrift store and I scooped them all up. This is book one.
First Line: "My father had a face that could stop a clock."

First Impression: How delightfully playful!
Last Impression: I had a pretty good idea how this book would end, but I very much enjoyed getting there.

Ratings
Overall - 5 Heart Racing Delightfully engaging and addictively playful.
Characters - 5 Each character is fun and believable with quirks that bring them to life.
Story - 5 The story is unsurpassed in playful creativity; how many of us would have loved to transcend reality and find ourselves within the pages of our favorite books? Not only do these characters have the opportunity to do so, they get to see the jet-flying, tourist-planning secret side of classic Bronte and Austen novels.
Narration - 5 I haven't fallen in love with narration like this since I first read Douglas Adams (the ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't). It's quick and witting and a delight to read.

Read Again? Absolutely! This is joining my "Favorites" shelf. I will probably read this at least two more times.

Tell Others To Read? Yes and Yes. Fforde crafts alternate realities with such care and depth you truly are transported away. The Thursday Next adventure is no different.

Excerpt: "I was what we called an 'operative grade I' for SO-27, the Literary Detective Division of the Special Operations Network based in London. It's way less flash than it sounds. Since 1980 the big criminal gangs had moved in on the lucrative literary market and we had much to do and few funds to do it with. I worked under Area Chief Boswell, a small, puffy man who looked like a bag of flour with arms and legs. He lived and breathed the job; words were his life and his love - he never seems happier than when he was on the trail of a counterfeit Coleridge or a fake Fielding. It was under Boswell that we arrested the gang who were stealing and selling Samuel Johnson first editions; on another occasion we uncovered an attempt to authenticate a flagrantly unrealistic version of Shakespeare's lost work Cardenio. Fun while it lasted, but only small islands of excitement among the ocean of day-to-day mundanities that is SO-27: We spent most of our time dealing with illegal traders, copyright infringements and fraud.
     I had been with Boswell and SO-27 for eight years, living in a Maida Vale apartment with Pickwick, a regenerated pet dodo left over from the days when reverse extinction was all the rage and you could buy home cloning kits over the counter. I was keen - no, I was desperate - to get away from the LiteraTecs but transfers were unheard of and promotion a nonstarter.


Content property of Penguin Books.

The After Effects of World War Z

If you like George Romero’s movies, the mythology of the zombie and are addicted to watching The Walking Dead, then you cannot miss this book. And even if you aren’t really a big horror or zombie fan, you should still pick this up.

 

World War Z is a journalistic-style retelling of the plague years and the ensuing zombie war. For zombie fanatics, like myself, this book presents a unique version of the zombie apocalypse. The world Brooks created is realistic; it retains vestiges of the world we know, with enough realism in the new details to seamlessly tie the two together. This is how the world could be after a zombie apocalypse. Each character tells their own story within the framework of the disaster and there are enough gaps in the overall tale to make it realistic. Not all parts of the story are intact, because not everyone survived and those viewpoints simply cannot be represented.

 

The book is constructed from individual characters and their personal accounts of World War Z. The stories of the characters take the reader from the International Space Station to the depths of the ocean (the undead don’t drown apparently); from the first interaction when patient zero is discovered in China, to a veteran reflecting on his battle memories. Through the varying viewpoints, the history of World War Z is fleshed out. It was a pleasure to read such a refreshing take on zombies. A work must be quite good to stand out from the ever-increasing body of zombie media and this stands out.

Even if you don’t love zombies or horror, I would still recommend this book. The narration is strong and unique, the characters are dynamic and engaging, and the pacing draws you in, creating an addictive pull towards the pages. And after reading it, you’ll have your own 10 cents to put in during the next inevitable zombie discussion.

The book is broken down into sections - Warning, Blame, Great Panic, Turning the Tide, Homefront USA, Around the World and Above, Total War, and Goodbyes. The last section, entitled Goodbyes, is a wrap-up of some of the characters, sometimes only two lines. It leans toward the sentimental, but is not as powerful as it could have been. It is difficult to keep track of the each individual character introduced in the previous seven sections.

But this is my only hesitation in what is otherwise resounding praise. I had to go back and find the character's original story and reread it, then follow it up with the "goodbye." And if the only negative thing I have is that you must reread this book, well, that's not so bad.