Mosquitoland by David Arnold

I got this book from a friend of mine for my birthday.
That friend has a really good taste for books, so I always tell her when she asks me what I want for my birthday: "Pick a book yourself. You're good at that stuff."
And, damn she's goooooddddd!
She gives the most unknown (at least for me then), most un-Nadi-like books and I just really enjoy them. Like really enjoy them. No kidding.
Mosquitoland was one of those books and man, this chick is good at picking out cool books.

Summary

When Mim Malone finds out that her mom is sick back in Ohio, she sets off on a journey to check up on her, leaving her dad and the stupid stepmom in Mississipi without a word.
On this journey Mim meets a couple of different, unique people who make her trip a tad different from what she'd expected.

My Opinion

Rating: 8/10

Well that was a great laugh, haha!

I don't mean this in a mean way - on the contrary, I really enjoyed this book (which you could expect since it was that good ol' bookish friend of mine who gave it to me - thanks! <3).

Mim is a really fun character to read about - she describes everything in such a fresh, airy way that makes you scim through the pages without even knowing that you're going so fast. The other characters are also very unique, like Walt who has the Down syndrome and lives on his own in the woods. Like most characters who have a psychological illness, he manages to give us such a beautiful, heartmelting, and very simple view on the world - I like collecting shiny things and I don't give a crap about anything else, is basically his survival-motto. Which is so cuuuttteeeee <3

And then you got hottie Beck, who isn't just hunk, but also sensitive and smart and helpful and gawd - HOT.

It's not necessarily in the way they are that makes them unique but in the way they add up to the story, the way the story turns around them. Mim's journey becomes a lot more interesting and deeper because of these people.

She faces her fears with them, she learns how to be okay, with them.

Well, with most of them. ( I'm looking at YOU, Poncho Man)

As for the writing style - FABULOUS.

I really love it.

Mim really is talking to us like she is some passenger in the Greyhound Bus (in which she's travelling to Cleveland, Ohio) and is basically following herself during this journey.

At some moments you really feel like she's turning her face towards you, explaining her lifestory or something like that.

At other moments she's putting her story in a new perspective; she makes some events seem like following the white rabbit to the hole like Alice, when she's in reality just following Walt who probably has her lipstick which she. Must. Get. Back.

It feels like an omniscient storyteller is mocking with her life, which I absolutely love.

I mean, come on, it really is funny.

And those are actually the two peaks of this story! 

These two made it a really fun reading experience. The additional character development of Mim as a girl who is facing her fears and learning how to be truly okay, was definitely important for the story and interesting to see, but these two were the things that really had done it for me.

What can I say - I just love it when someone's mocking her own life. IT'S JUST SO FUNNY HAHAHAHHAAH.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this blog post!

Until the next one, then! :)

More Than This by Patrick Ness

After reading the Chaos Trilogy, I couldn't wait to read more by Patrick Ness.

So when I found this book, More Than This, I immediately had to buy it. But then, you know how it goes with bookworms, I also found other nice books to read or I had to read something for school and I never got around doing it until recently...

BUT O MY GOD WHY DID I WAIT?!?!

This book is something in some way similar to the Chaos Walking Trilogy - a kid who needs to survive on his own - but also something entirely different!

I'm really glad I got to read this one by Ness and got to see a different side of his writing!

Summary

Seth drowns.

But then he wakes up. He's naked, alone, thirsty and starving - alive.

He remembers actually dying, so how did he end up here then? Where is here?

It all seems so familiar but he just can't place it.

Is this his own personal hell? Or is there more than that?

My Opinion

Rating: 9.5/10

Wow wow wow!

Ness has really done it again - this book was amazing, fascinating, mindblowing!

I didn't expect anything different, though; having read the Chaos Walking Trilogy, I was pretty sure that his other books would be just as great or greater! 

But just wow - this was something really different, so deep and mysterious. It really forced me to think while reading, which reminds of books by Marcus Sedgwick - which I absolutely adore by the way - and that gave me a boost to keep on reading; there's more to this story than may seem at first (hey hey - title reference hihihi).

First of all, I'm ought to say this, since that fact has blown my mind even more - the story is incredible simple.

Really, though, if you would just look at the storyline without thinking about the (philosophical) meaning to it and the actual content, you might think that it's a wonder how this book can be this good.

The first part is basically more than hundred pages or so filled with a naked guy trying to survive in abandoned world, getting these flashbacks that don't make too much sense to him; then, in the second part, something happens and this is the only big thing that happens in another hundred pages or so; in the third part happens a bit more but those flashbacks are still a bit vague and then at the end of the fourth things get crazy and clearer but not really.

Like how could this book have amazed me then?!

I'll tell you what - I REALLY HAVE NO IDEA. Especially as I'm writing this down, I'm thinking again - how did he do it? How?

But that's the thing - the fact that I don't how he made such a vague, simple story something so good makes it an even better book! It shows us what kind of incredible talent Ness has for writing - he gives so much depth to such a simple story by using simple language, simple feeling, simple characters.

He uses flashbacks that follow an entirely different story, not at all relevant to this boy's situation, but manages to make it fit in the story. In some way it does affect how our main character changes and how the main character acts.

Furthermore, I find it amazing how obviously the title seems to come back in this book. We start out with a naked dude in an absolutely abandoned world with almost nothing but woods and broken houses and then as we further progress to the story there is something and that something leads to more something, to so much more than you would think at the beginning! THERE WAS INDEED MORE THAN THIS!

I can understand that this review may seem vague and chaotic, perhaps, but the thing is: you just have to read it. The best way to read this book is by not knowing to much about it - it really makes it a much more fascinating and cool reading experience, especially the ending and the overall message will be literally mindblowing - like: WHAAATTT???

I say it's a simple story, but it's not easy to follow: like I said before; th book forces you to think about its simplicity.

I might as well have written in this review: A SUPERAMAZING, FANTASTIC, MINDBLOWING, AWESOME BOOK BY THE O SO GREAT PATRICK NESS. READ IT ALREADY!!

Yeah, that would've worked too. :P

Well, that's it for this blog post!

Until the next one, then! :)

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

WOOHOO - I've read another novel by Marcus Sedgwick!
Thanks to my lovely friend, who got me this book for my birthday, I FINALLY got to read another book by my favorite author. Perhaps it's too soon to call an author your favorite after reading just one - now two - of his books, but well, Sedgwick is an exception to that rule!

Summary

Laureth Peak has a father who's a very good writer. For his job he tends to travel a lot to find inspiration, but this time he seems to have been away for quite a long time. Laureth grows worried and so sets out to find him, taking her little brother with her. They fly from London to New York, where he's supposed to be, and have to try to find him through little, cryptic hints and clues. Laureth has the use all her skills and courage to rescue her father, because there's one problem - Laureth is blind.

My Opinion

Rating: 8.5/10

Ahh - I'm so glad I got to read another one of his books!

Just like the first one I read, this book had something puzzling, something that forced you think more about the things that were said and done by the characters. A really fun element was that it wasn't only me, the reader, who needed to think harder and deeper, but Laureth, our protagonist, too. That made it so that I felt like I was one with the character - talking about spiritual stuff, huh, haha.

In The Ghosts Of Heaven, it was really me trying to figure out what the events in the book, the stories of these diverse characters meant: what did Sedgwick wanted to tell me? It made it really philosophical and deep, while in She Is Not Invisible it was more about cracking puzzles and solving the big mystery: where is Laureth's father?

I liked how similar these two books were - Sedgwick putting in some scientific matter to discuss - but at the same time so different - the one is more like a common, young adult story, while the other is a collection of stories that only have one thing in common and a philosophical message to tell.

I do have to say, though, that the story itself wasn't that mindblowing. The storyline was rather predictable, the characters plain and flat - there wasn't much more to it than what you got to read. 

But it wasn't a thing that turned me off, strangely. 

Maybe it's because it's Sedgwick, and I loved The Ghosts Of Heaven veeeerrryyyyy muuuccchhhh, but I think it was also because of the fact he discussed coincidences so thoroughly and well, scientifically :$. 

He literally put it there in the diary of Laureth's father, who happened to think the same things about coincidences as Sedgwick (this was shown in the Q&A that was added to my copy), and made it so that it also came back in the story. As in that Laureth gets to assumptions of him planning to commit suicide, or for her to try to find a place that's related to the number 354 - which I'm not going to explain any further; it's actually way more fun if you dive into the book without knowing too much about it.

The point is, that I just loved how he put his research on coincidences and the number 354 in his book and how he made a story around it. I also like him as a writer, since he combines science and writing - my two favorite things, next to food, books, of course, and sleeping and watching anime and... Yeah, I'll just stop there.

And that's actually all I've got to say about this book; it's simple, but fun to read since it's so scientific and mysterious. The storyline itself isn't that mindblowing, but his research on coincidences and the number 354 have really done it for me.

GO READ BOOKS BY MARCUS SEDGWICK - THEY'RE REALLY FUN TO READ!

Well, that's it for this blog post!

Until the next one, then! :)

Review The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

So, we were reading a book for English class called The Perks of Being A Wallflower and we've been analysing the story pretty thoroughly. Now that I've finished it, I thought I might share my thoughts on this book over on the blog.

Summary

Charlie is a wallflower. He starts his first year in high school and since his best friend just killed himself, he doesn't have any friends to hang out with. He's not a nerd, but neither popular. As shy, extremely intelligent guy, he lives his life as a wallflower, observing and understanding other people's lives but forgetting to live his own. That is how he lives, 'till his English teacher tells him to "participate" and when he attempts to do that a whole new world opens up for him.

My Opinion

Rate: 7/10

Weeellll... Hm.

I have some mixed feelings about this one. I find that it's written very well - I like how Charlie starts out with writing very informally and how he ends up writing very formally nearing the end of the book, using words as "excellent" or "corpulent". At some point he tells us that Bill told him to use more difficult words like "corpulent" in his essays about the books he reads and so he does in his letters, which he finds new and strange to do at first, but as the story progresses he does this almost automatically, as if its always been his writing style. His letters become more structural as he develops in the story and I like how Chobsky done this.

I also really enjoyed reading about the characters. I find that it is a really colourful pallet and its funny how Charlie points out the characteristic things, like Mary Elizabeth who likes to talk a lot about herself and who's a bit rougher, but also manages to see the deeper stuff or at least understands it when it's told to him, like how she actually is really insecure and wants to talk about herself simply because she wants to feel better about herself. He takes this in and understands and we see that reflected in his letters and acknowledged by his friends. And because Charlie understands his friends so well, the get more depth. They feel like real people, who could be passing by in the hallways of your own school or just on the streets. They may have the cliché problems like insecurity, changing from a blow queen (no kidding) into a normal girl who wants a good future, but given the extra information, the stories about them, they don't feel cliché at all.

But those problems did bother me in the end. It really gave the story a sad mood.

Although it was really nice to see Charlie develop, that sad mood remained there. Now I'm not saying that Charlie or his friends should be all happy-dappy and rainbows and unicorns as soon as they met - I probably would dislike the story because it wouldn't be realistic then - but I personally just don't like these stories with kids who need to "participate" more in life and all the problems they encounter while on the way doing so, like feeling incredibly alone when you made a mistake and you have to stay away 'till they situation has calmed down or being forced in a relationship that you don't want to be in because 1. you're in love with someone else and 2. that chick keeps on talking and talking about herself and just doesn't stop and doesn't allow you to talk.

And everybody seemed to have these type of (relationship-)problems and everybody has a twisted and sad past. It's all so sad. Everybody is sad!

So even the good things become sad and well, I don't really like sad books, even if it means that they're realistic and could've happened to the kid next door.

So, technically, I liked the story. The structure is really nice and reflects Charlie's development throughout the story really well, since it's written in letters. A good thing is that it doesn't become too random - it isn't chronologically written, since we have a lot of flashbacks and descriptions of entire weeks, the main evenst highlighted, but it doesn't make it difficult to read. But the mood of this book and the theme just turned me off - I'm just not a big fan of these types of books, how realistic they may be.

Well, that's it for this blog post!

Until the next one, then! :)

Review The Golden Cage by J D Oswald

Hey guys!
It's been a long while since I've written a review on the blog. Also, it's been a long while since I've finished a book. This book in particular took me quite a while to finish - two months or more - can you believe it?!
The first half was just sooo hard to get through!
I love these series but sometimes it tends to drag on...
Anyway let's continue the review!

Summary

Our two heroes finally meet each other in the third installment of the series, but things are a bit awkward and tensed, since Benfro still holds a grudge against the men who took the life of his mother and Errol is severely injured, but has to manage on his own, since the dragon is not willing to help. Meanwhile the boy is haunted by dreams of his beloved Martha, imprisoned in a Golden Cage, that try to tell him something.

Not too far Queen Beulah sends off inquisitor Melyn and his troops to bring about a war in Llanwennog, her enemies and tastes the power of the Obsidian Throne.

How will our two heroes fare? And what disasters are waiting for the whole of Gwlad?

My Opinion

Rating: 7.5/10

Well, I really enjoyed the first two books. Being introduced to a new world with its own laws and magic systems and inhabitants was really interesting and our two heroes and two villains made a very interesting reading experience indeed.

I still stick to those points that I've mentioned in my previous posts on the first two sequels - which were made what feels like ages ago hehe; I love the way the world and characters are set up in this book!

That brings me to a new point in this book that really is apparant in the second half mainly: the character development, or maybe more accurately, the relationship-development that causes the changes in viewpoints of our characters, slightly.

Though it didn't change our characters that much, not in a way that turned them into new or better versions of themselves anyway, the new relationships did affect a lot of their behaviour and fixed thoughts that were formed in the first two books.

I think it was seen almost perfectly in the relationship that Melyn and Frecknock, another dragon, formed. Though Melyn hates dragons and sees them as dumb and primitive creatures and he only uses Frecknock because she useful information, still you see that he gets used to her, doesn't find her that bad at all. He mentions this when says that he wonders when he got sick of the sight of the dragon or when he wants to brag about his skills but realizes it would be unnecessary. The feelings of the need to brag, because he knows less about magic than the dragon, apparantly, and the cooled off hatred against hatred slightly change him into a different person or at least shows you a different side of him. And I really liked seeing that.

Who knows, maybe Melyn will even start liking dragons because of Frecknock!

But the most interesting things only happen in the second half of the book! The first half is slow and very descriptive. It's not like Oswald ever stops writing things so thoroughly, but in the first half he is and describing everything to the point and he is not making our characters do much. Mainly sit around in a clearing and being awkward and everything. Literally. I've had this feeling in the first two books, too; I felt like everything was really happening at an extremely slow pace. And in the first two books it was okay, but in the third book I was hoping for way more action and a quicker pace.

It really was disappointing, since the book was 500 pages long and the first 250 really tended to drag on, which caused to take months to finish this book.

In the end is was worth the wait, because the last 250 pages were really a joy to read! Cool stuff happened like Benfro breathing fire and Melyn and his troops going through crazy strong magical barriers, which was awesome! I just wished the book had given us more of that and less of those very detailed descriptions...

Hopefully the fourth book will a bit more fast paced!

That's it for this blog post!

Until the next one, then! :)

Review Rack and Ruin by Chele Cooke

Wooooooowwwwww!
It's been so looonnngggg since I've posted something here, jeez!
But my busy life has finally calmed down a bit (and will hopefully stay that way) and now I can get back into blogging-bussiness - yaayy!
For today's blog post I wanted to review to third book of the Out of Orbit series, Rack and Ruin - enjoyyy :)

Summary

“You ready to break out of the cage, little bird?”

Georgianna Lennox has been released by her keeper Edtroka, who has sided with the Cahlven, a technologically advanced race exiled from her home planet hundreds of years earlier.

When Edtroka disappears, Georgianna and a group of rebel friends are forced to embark on a dangerous scouting mission behind enemy lines.

As the Cahlven’s true intentions become clear, Georgianna and the rebels hatch an audacious plan to turn the Adveni’s most powerful weapon against them — at a terrible cost.

My Opinion

Rating: 8.5/10

Sooo - the third installment of the Out of Orbit series...

ACTION-PACKED!

I think I liked this one better than the ones before, because now we finally - FINALLY - see our Georgianna in action.

Instead of playing it safe and being this scared little girl who needs to be saved by all the guys around her, Georgianna finally stands up for herself and tries to take on the might of the Adveni with her friends.

What I liked was that she didn't turn into this strong girl immediately - you saw that she struggled a lot, physically mainly. She didn't have that superhuman quality from the beginning and it didn't appear now out of nowhere, which made it realistic. 

I kind of had the feeling that she matured a lot in this book. I know, she is already 26 years old, but she has grown a lot mentally in this book. You see that the past events have really influenced her and gave her a strong will to do something too, instead of just watching.

What I disliked a bit about this book was the constant drama between all the guys of the cast and Georgianna, especially the drama between Keirran and Georgianna tend to get quite annoying and depressing. Throughout the whole series it almost seemed to be about the guys and Georgianna and them needing to protect her, them needing to save her, them telling her what to do etc. In the first two books it wasn't that annoying but in the third installment it just felt like blegh.

But I had a feeling that Georgianna felt the same about it - this drama was just blegh.

I think that drama between her and the guys was kind of freaking her out too, which made her do some quite not-Georgianna and reckless things. It made her more persistent, like how she, even though the relationship between her and Keirran was going downhill, she convinced him to help her to kick Cahlven-ass (hehe that sounds funny hehe). Instead of giving up and try someone else or not trying i the first place because she was scared of his reaction, she just did it and she nailed it!

Perhaps that drama was needed... Even though I didn't really like it...

I had a feeling that the whole plot of the story became less and less important to me - it was all about Georgianna and her kind of evolution. The plot felt more like a background or a way to help her evolve more. I had the same feeling with the characters - they all have quite different personalities, which affected her way of dealing with her while becoming stronger too. For example Dhiren, who always helped her out when she was attacked by one of the prisoners once again, who also very agressive and painfully honest, helps her a lot with her development. He teaches her how to fight, he tells her honestly how she appears to be for everyone (which can be pretty rude to Georgianna - I don't think a 26-year old would like to be called a child, or do they?), makes her a bit reckless, too. But in turn she, when they are trying to kick some Adveni-ass on their own. stops him from doing something too reckless. Here, I see how her relationship with Dhiren has helped her become a better version of herself. She still plays it safe, even when she is being reckless. It sounds a bit weird, maybe, but it's just that she takes on qualities of other people, which change her, help her develop, but meanwhile her old self stays there and becomes stronger too - it's not like she is another person all together, or that the characters have turned them into them.

I really liked seeing that.

So the thing I liked the most about this book was basically seeing Georgianna kick some ass. The whole plot and the characters felt like triggers for her development, helped her turn into the better version of herself.

I'm really curious for what the fourth and final installment will bring for us - how will the new Georgianna act in this war? What will happen? Who will die (because some pretty awesome have died in this book already :( R.I.P. ;()? 

Who will win the war?

What will happen to Os-Veruh?

That's it for this blog post!

Until the next one, then! :)

Review Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Perhaps, if you follow me on social media, you already know that I actually bought this book before I bought the other two in the Chaos Walking Trilogy.
It was quite an impulse-buy; it was priced off, so I thought: Why the hell not?
I didn't know then that I was going to love this series so much - I had even considered to bring this book back, instead of buying the other two! WHAT?!
I'm really glad I didn't.

Summary

Todd has finally beaten the Mayor and Viola has run off to the scout ship that has landed on New World, hoping to get there before the Answer does.

But then a new danger, a new army, enters the battlefield and so the war rages on.

Three armies with dangerous weapons fight each other off, while Todd and Viola are in the middle of it, trying to stay out of the nasty grasps of the leaders of this war and aiming for peace on all sides.

But will they manage, when there is a third voice who's out on revenge?

My Opinion

Rate: 9.5/10

AND IIIIIIII-I-IIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUU!

- My reaction after finishing this book and with that, this series.

Man, this was such a fun ride! A real emotional roller coaster - I've never felt so connected to characters or to books themselves before. Patrick Ness has done such a fantastic job on this series and I don't think that any sci-fi-/fantasy-writer can top that!

While reading, I really felt this war-like feeling; the desperation, the disgust for the dirty, dirty tricks all the parties dared to use, the pain and the madness - the complete madness.

And I think we can thank our amazing kind of-sort of-not really-but totally villains the Mayor and Mistress Coyle for that; their choices and visions that brought every single person in New World deeper and deeper into war; their pride that made them unable to see the most logical solutions, but also Todd and Viola, because of their strong feelings for each other - wanting to win this war for EACH OTHER and you consistently see this vision come back in everything they do.

And that's what has done the trick, eventually, I suppose - Ness consistently confronting us with the visions of the characters (what do they ACTUALLY want out of this war?), making us understand every character more and more, but also making the tension rise because of it and making things more complicated - are our heroes doing the right thing? Or are they being way to selfish?

Another beautiful thing to see, was how much everybody in the book has grown, and changed, of course. Some also literally like Todd, and some still changing (not going to tell you who, hehe).

If I'd compare the characters of the first book with the ones in the third, I must say I feel so much difference! They've actually grown up, learned how to deal with things differently, but not SO differently that they look like entirely different persons. 

I basically felt like Todd's mom, who was watching him from above and saw how he - and Viola - was dealing with everything that came at him.

I can tell you she's very proud. *wipes away a tear*

What was rather funny and fascinating than beautiful to see was how the different perspectives (Todd, Viola and the third voice (read the books if you want to know who exactly)) didn't only give us different viewpoints on the same situations, when they were in the same situation at the same time, but also seem parallel against each other. 

By this I mean that they are similar situations, but then at different places and at different times with different people.

For example in relationships: both Todd and Viola are forced to work together with the people who they hate the most: the Mayor and Mistress Coyle. Both the Mayor and Mistress Coyle are trying to use them to win this war, but both of course with different methods. Now both Todd and Viola are confronted with similar questions from them or about them, with the same feeling of having to work with them but not wanting to work with them, but both deal with them in completely different ways and as a reader you just see how different the outcomes are. It is a very simple thing, but I just felt that it was just a notable thing.

Actually I found the parallel between Todd and the third voice the strongest. I'm not going to tell you too much about - I'm trying to keep my reviews spoiler-free - but I can tell you that they're on complete opposite sides, and the third voice really hates Todd. Now the third voice is also working for his people and is close to the leader of them (like Todd to the leader of men, the Mayor) and you can just see, see sooooo clearly, without any of them noticing how much the same they both are and how similar the relationship between them and the leaders is - it's just so utterly fascinating!

And the fact that the leaders affect them both so differently, is just strange and kind of funny, I want to say but it sounds quite strange in this context, haha...

Furthermore; this book was really action-packed. Event after event after event after event - all so freaking terrifying and awesome and heartbreaking. People are dying all around you, New World is being destroyed - so much chaos.

I think Ness has portrayed this background perfectly!

Other than that I think that that what made the all the events so powerful are the way it's described. And then I'm not talking about the words that are chosen or the perspectives; I'm actually referring to more esthetical points of the descriptions: the way the sentences are built.

You see not only in this book, but in the two books befre, when Todd or Viola is going through a terribly fast and terrifying event they start to think in cut off-sentences.

They repeat words (We push forward- Forward forward forward-) and, like I said, they cut off their sentences (And there he is- Right in the middle of it- Fighting of Spackle- "Todd," I whisper-) and that makes the events really go fast and feel terrifying!

And that's actually all I've got to say! 

This book was a fantastic ending to the sorry, even though I'm really sad it's over. I'm pretty sure I'll be re-reading this series soon and I hope that I've convinced to try and read this series, too? Let me know in the comments or in social media if you do and I hope you will love it as much as I do!

Until the next blogpost, then! :)

Review Montpelier Tomorrow by Marylee MacDonald

This book was an interesting reading experience.
Besides having enjoyed the story itself, I've also got to learn more about ALS and not only the physical troubles to person suffering from it but also the family troubles and mainkly the financial troubles it causes.
After seeing the movie The Theory Of Everything in which we see Stephen Hawking also suffering from ALS, but having everything he needed to remain alive and well in a way, I didn't think it would be so hard to deal with. I mean yes, there are definitely tons and tons of emotional struggles, but the tools that are needed are here, so everyone can have them, right?
But this book showed me that that wasn't true and showed me the reality of living with such a person, while taking care of your family.

Summary

Colleen Gallagher would do anything to protect her children from harm. So when the husband of her daughter falls ill with ALS, Colleen jumps in like a superhero and comes to support her in whatever way possible. She takes on the roles of grandma, cook and caregiver in house, only to see that even her powers can't fix the problems here.

My opinion

Rate: 7/10

Like I said from the beginning - this was an interesting reading experience, which tackled all my visions on the reality of taking care of someone suffering from such a disease.

It isn't that simple and I learned that from this book.

Stephen Hawking was lucky to have the money needed for things as the respirator and all the other tools needed to keep him alive, but not everyone has that money. And besides that; it isn't always that great. MacDonald showed us, by giving us an example of another person ( Ms. Calabrese) who suffers from ALS, who is laying in the living room, surrounded by machines and people who keep her alive and a daughter who had to give up almost everything to take care of her mother, that it isn't what you expect it to be. It isn't like the person suffering from ALS can continue his life normally nor the others around him.

It really felt like we were slammed into the reality of dealing with such and in a fear so big with the protagonist, that it made me wonder if this was going to be alright in the end.

What I found very interesting was the choice of protagonist for this book. Instead of choosing someone who is directly affected by ALS or someone who is very close (married, close siblings, close friends) to the person, MacDonald chose someone more distant and less loved by the rest of the characters, because of the broken ties in the family.

Colleen gave us a different view on the situation; because of her strong, caring character and her more distant connection to the rest of the characters it felt like a more realistic experience. And not a depressing and blinded one, where everything is distorted to the need to help someone because you love them. She does love them, of course, but she also sees the things people like Sandy - her daughter and Tony's (the one suffering from ALS) wife.

The whole cast of characters was an interesting mix, with Sandy needing her mother's (Colleen) help, but at the same time not wanting her around, Tony who is being consistently unthankful and is devoured in self-pity, Sandy's brothers who actually want to stay as far from the troubles as they possibly can, Tony's parents who are able to help with all the money they have but do just a little.

Their actions and feelings are so true and honest that it really fitted the story.

Although I found it a very realistic story and I liked the cast of characters, they kind of turned me off too. They created this constant agitated, irritated mood that really bugged me. Everybody was being so mean and unthankful. From the first page on you're welcome with this mood! And I just felt like sorry and sad that everybody was acting this way.
I do find it fitting, since everybody is a little agitated because they have to tun their life upside down for Tony, whose behaviour isn't as thankful as you would expect.
The fact that it worsened and that Colleen took it all, made me so angry and sad and blegh!


But I do have to say - it also had a nice effect on the story.
Because of this constant agitated mood, the small happy moments were really special. You see the longing for happiness a lot in the book, with our protagonist having flashbacks to a lot of awful things, but also a few good things.
So when something good happens, when Colleen she's done something right for her daughter, the feelings she gets, the feelings I get, are so strong! It makes the small things like when Tony compliments Sandy on her new haircut, instead of bickering about how nobody understands him and how he's dying and blablabla.
I think that McDonald shows us through this that in times of pain and despair even the smallest acts of appreciation and kindness can do wonders.
Even though the agitated mood didn't disappear after his, it still was special.

And besides the nice effect - it was also quite understandable.
Because everybody wants to help but has no idea what to do.
Yes, it was all a bit depressing and it did turn me off, but it is honest and real, two words I feel like I've used too much already, haha.
I mean, the broken relationships between mother and children and the newest happening - a relative has ALS; that changes everybody's life and is not easy to deal with. 
What can we do? How do we fix this? How do we help and have a normal life?
These were the main questions in the air and remained in the air - they were reflected perfectly, by using the constant bickering and fighting and in the conversations between the characters. Also the feeling of being burdened with such a thing was something that was being reflected in the story. It made it a very fascinating and realistic - another word I've used too many times already - story. It made consistently wonder what they will do next. Will this character drop out? Who will stay and help, other than Colleen? Will Tony's parents help (because they barely do)?

In the end, the book left quite an impression on me.
MacDonald took our o-so-familiar- family drama and gave us a deep insight in it. And she gave us a quite important lesson with that: how hectic and dramatic your life might've been, life still goes on and it's up to you if you move on or not.
And I think we saw Colleen make this decision, after experiencing another close death, other than her husband's who died a long time ago, by instead of allowing herself to fall, she stood tall and moved onward.
I think the showed me the reality of life someway, that it is very painful and hellish sometimes, especially in a situation like this, but that when you keep up and allow yourself to stand tall, you will find light at the end of the road.

So overall I did enjoy this book. I learned quite some stuff about ALS and both the financial and personal troubles that can come with it. And even though the agitated mood was quite enjoying, I still liked the characters and the story itself. It was a very different and unique reading experience!

I also want to thank Marylee MacDonald for letting me read and review her book and @Booktips_tweet on Twitter for connecting us! 

That's it for this blog post!
Until the next blog post! :)

Review The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness

I fell for the first book and now I'm falling even harder for the second.
THIS SERIES IS INTENSE, I TELL YOU, INTENSE.
RECOMMENDED, RECOMMENDED, RECOMMENDED!
This book ripped my heart out, squeezed it tight, put it back to rip it out again - I've never felt THIS moved by a book before. Never.

Summary

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS OF THE FIRST BOOK!!!

After arriving at Haven, the first and biggest settlement of New World who has the cure to Noise, Todd and Viola, who is badly injured find that they were too late.

Mayor Prentiss has already taken over and they've walked straight into his arms.

They immediately get separated from each other and both try to live under the new circumstances and both are wondering where the other is.

And then one day a group called the Answer pops up and the bombs start to explode...

My opinion

Rate: 9.5/10

The Knife of Never Letting Go was furiously paced, but The Ask and The Answer was terrifyingly slow.

O. MY. GOD.

Those were the first words I spoke after finishing the second book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. I am sooooooo moved? blown away? dead?

I don't even know what this book does to me, but it's good. SO. GOOD.

Ness has literally blown me away in this second book. I knew it would be a great series after reading the first book, but I never thought that Ness could make a build-up, a slow pace so utterly terrifying and awesome. 

This slow pace perfectly fits the protagonists' adjustment to their new environment and their feeling of hopelessness and desperation of not knowing who to trust, what to do or how to get back to each other. It also shows us these strong feelings they have for each other, which I really enjoyed reading. Well, I don't think enjoyed is the right word here, more like moved, heartbreaking, making-you-want-to-faint-of-happiness-and-or-sadness.

This slow pace felt more like filling a waterballoon. 

We got these creepy, confusing, mindwrenching events that filled the balloon; questions, horrible accidents, accusations, new friendships, more hatred, new discoveries - ALL OF IT - thrown into it and the balloon just gets bigger and bigger. And at the end of the book - BOOM.

It explodes. And I'm guessing that we're going to see the consequences of the explosion in the third and final - NOOOOO - book.

And it was this in particular that really absorbed me into the book.

The character development in this book is SO. STRONG.

At some point in the story you just feel like you're reading from a whole other perspective. Both Todd and Viola grow up in this book, learn how to make difficult decisions and how to do anything for the other. 

*faints while yelling "OTP! OTP! OMG OTP!"*

They both become these leaderlike, confident persons and that's just so beautiful to see.

And the connection to the characters grows stronger and stronger...

This connection I have with the characters I have in this book is one I've never had before.

I can LITERALLY feel their frustration, their hurt, their anger, thir longing for each other (Todd and Viola). The twisted, too nice but so not nice mind of the Mayor - sorry, President - scares the poo out of me, but I LOVE IT because I can really feel the fear it instills in the characters. It really messes with my feelings, absorbs me even more into the story, to the point where I'm never letting go till I got the answer on my asking.

(WOO- CHAOS WALKING REFERENCE IN ONE SENTENCE #pro)

And there are really no bad things to say about this book! Only that it ended to soon and it still doesn't feel that Sci-Fi-y, although I feel like we're going to get some more Sci-Fi-y elements in the third and last - o boy - novel.

Which makes me realize... I'M ALMOST DONE WITH THIS SERIES.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ah well, I'll just read it again.

That's it for this blog post!

Until the next blog post, then! :)

Review Fight Or Flight by Chele Cooke

After reading the first book for the Out of Orbit blog tour, I was really pumped for the sequel. I had a feeling that something big was about to happen for Os-Veruh and its inhabitants. The Belsa would finally take action and Georgianna would turn in this badass leader, wielding swords like she was born to do it and Keirran would by her side and they would FINALLY join (Veniche way of saying marry). The Adveni would be burned to the ground and the Veniche would be victors.

Yeah, that wasn't really the case.

Instead it stayed true to its secretive theme with its hidden truths and betrayals and it was pretty freaking cool.

Summary

“This is nowhere near over. This is just the beginning.”

Georgianna Lennox is now a slave, serving an Adveni master and caught in the middle of a brewing war between oppressors and insurgents.

As the rebels increase their attacks against the Adveni, Georgianna is recruited as their eyes behind enemy lines.

But the lies she is forced to tell her owner are nothing compared to the secrets she must keep from her friends.

Secrets that could change the war in their favour, and lies that might destroy them all.

My opinion

Rate: 8/10

A BOOK FULL OF SECRETS AND BETRAYALS AND A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE - AWESOME!

I really enjoyed how instead of my expectations of becoming this action-packed book it stayed to true to the secretive theme of the first book. Our protagonist, Georgianna, is confronted with lies and has to lie herself and kind of goes through the same progress as in the first book. Only now it's bigger, more important and we see her grow a bit more in the book.

I really liked the new additions to our cast of characters! Or more like the fact that old characters got a bigger part in this book, like Edtroka and Alec. Their personalities and ideals really spice things up in the story, because they pretty much completely influence Georgianna's actions and thoughts. Alec with his hate towards Keirran and Edtroka with his scary mood swings - they all really affect her and give this tension to the story.

Not much happened in the first half of the story; it was more Georgianna trying to get used to her new environment and her role as slave, but it were these "new" characters that made it way more fun to go through. 
Sometimes it was difficult to get through - the longing for the great life-changing, and action-packed twist was growing more and more and nearly made me throw the book away in frustration, but on the other hand I did enjoy, like I've said twice now, how we still had this secretive theme going on. Georgianna once again had to figure out the hidden truths and figure out what she was going to do with this knowledge.
The second half of the story took on this faster pace. More and more secrets were unraveled and I got to say - it got more fun too. Edtroka was throwing fists at someone, Georgianna got involved in another, but bigger plan and hell broke loose!
It made the wait totally worth it.

Seeing the other side, the Adveni-side of Os-Veruh in this book, really completed my vision of the world Cooke has created. After finishing the first book I kind of was afraid that the small part of the Adveni-world we saw, would be the only thing we would see, but luckily that wasn't at all true. I really enjoyed the "tech-feel" it gave to me, while I was reading it. The Adveni are this high-developed race and thanks to Cooke's detailed descriptions it gave me a better view on how developed they actually were.

The descriptions, like in the first book, did tend to drag on a bit every now and then. Though I appreciate them and sometimes, like with the description of the Adveni world, did enjoy them and found them necessary, I still thought they were just a bit too long.
It was another thing that made it a bit harder for me to get through this book.

But overall this book was great! I like the concept, the characters and the world and I'm really pumped for the third book! 
Ahh - I'm really hoping for some big character-developments in this book! 
I'm looking at you, Georgianna!

That's it for this blogpost!
Until the next blogpost, then! :)

Review The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

AHH - THIS BOOK YOU GUYS!

One of the very few Sci-Fi-novels, but also one of the very best Sci-Fi-novels I've ever read.

I really couldn't put this book down and if really had to, I couldn't wait to start reading again. I loved this book and I completely recommend it!

Summary

Todd Hewitt lives in Prentisstown. A town full of men, and no women, who can hear each other thoughts in a never-ending stream, called the Noise.

Just a month away from his birthday, Todd and his dog Manchee stumble upon a spot filled with complete silence. And this knowledge gives them more trouble than they'd expected. Todd must leave his parents, Ben and Cillian, and save his own life.

He's on the run - but how can he escape when everyone can hear his Noise?

My opinion

Rate; 8.5/10

IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN!

Reading this book was such a great experience. I loved the characters, the plot-line was WOW, the writing style was fun and great, and although I find that the world-build and the sci-fi-elements weren't THAT great - I still felt like it was awesome.

The world was, in my opinion, a bit plain. There wasn't much to it - I didn't really have those "new-environment-with-super-duper-crazy-stuff-feels" and well, I'd liked to have those. I wanted to feel a bit more like I wasn't on a planet comparable to earth.

The same for the Sci-Fi-elements; yes, there were a few spaceships and a few aliens, but they weren't that prominent and just not enough.

But even though I didn't have those "Sci-Fi-feels" while reading this book, I was definitely engaged to the plot-line. IT WAS AWESOME.

This book was so fast, no furiously, paced and that gave such an exciting and tensed effect to me, which really made my heart stop beating a few times. Normally I wouldn't like fast-paced books, because it feels like nothing really happened in the book, but in this case it was really enjoyable and if it wasn't this fast, I'm not sure if I would've liked it all. The characters, and mainly Todd and Viola, have this I-need-to-survive-mentality shining through their thoughts and the book is survival-themed, which makes the fast pace wanted. It gives such an incredible feel to reading it.

But it also makes it end to soon :(.

The characters were really great in this book. 

They managed, just by their different personalities, to swing the mood of the story constantly. Our creep Aaron makes me shiver and terrified; Manchee makes me pee my pants with his "Poo, Todd!" "Poo, poo."'s; Todd makes me feel like I'm about to die any second and gives a bit more of seriousness to the story and Viola makes me fall silent.

These mood swings just make it so much more fun to read and I feel like Ness has made a perfect cast for this book.

The writing style was also one of the great things of this book. It was really engaging!

This is also because of the plot-line, but the writing style definitely had a part in it too.

Especially form of it was what really appealed me. It really stayed true to Todd's origins. He speaks with these yer's and direkshuns's and it makes it for me really fun to read. 

It makes it more Todd than Ness, and I find that a really fun and important element.

Also, the way it's actually written, typed I should say, is fun too. A tiny element, but definitely not an unimportant one. The Noise of the people is written in different fonts and most times go across two pages. Sometimes one page is filled with tons of Noise and I feel like that really makes me understand how overwhelming and distrubing this Noise could be. I'd probably kill myself if I could hear everybody's thoughts. And I would puke when I'd hear the dirty ones - UGH.

Overall this book was a great read. Although I didn't find it "Sci-Fi-y" enough, I still really really enjoyed it. I definitely recommend you to read it!

That's it for this blog post!

Until the next one, then! :)

Review Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Not long after reading The Complete Short Fiction by Oscar Wilde (click here to read the review on that book), she scurried through the house looking for the few bookcases her parents owned and searched for a few more classics to read. Instead of starting reading these beautiful copies of many great authors, whose existence had been hidden from her for most of her life, she got another book from her father, an ebook which did something to her she can't explain. 

Her heart opened up again and she's ready take more classics in.

Summary

A young man, who goes by the name of Siddhartha, desires to find perfect knowledge of himself and the world. He's a fast learner and so soon tired of the teachings in his village.

He desires to leave and to complete his knowledge elsewhere. For this he wants to join the Samana's who have just visited his village. After a long night of persistently standing in the middle of the room, until his father gave his permission to leave, he sets out with his friend Govinda to find this perfect knowledge.

But soon he realizes that even here, with the Samana's, he didn't learn what he couldn't master after a few times trying or which he didn't already know. 

So will he ever find this knowledge? Or is he reaching for the impossible?

My opinion

Rate: 9.5/10

WOW. WOW. WOW.

This book was amazing! I've never enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed reading this book.

It just really made me look at life differently and just did something to me I can't really explain.
Something like cutting my heart open and filling it with white clarity and joy!

The story itself was one that you don't see very often anymore and if you would it probably won't be as good. We basically follow the life of a very critical young man who goes through a few phases in which he learns a lot. And I, as a reader, felt like I was learning too. And I really loved that feeling. I think that's what made me feel even more connected to the book and the main character, Siddhartha.

And the writing style really helps with making me enjoy this book and the storyline. It is a translation of a German book, but it doesn't feel off. Like it is translated sooo literally that it doesn't make any sense at all or that it takes away the joy of reading it.
The sentences are quite long, which makes you want to read them a few times so that you can fully understand its meaning, but it just has something, SOMETHING, that gives the story a certain feeling. A certain clarity.
Because these sentences, the way everything is described, has something poetic, but something so direct, so to the point, that even a fool can understand it. 
I love it.

To get back to the story itself; Siddhartha's character development is ON POINT. Now this might be what the story is all about, but from all the books I read with character-development in it, it's rather the same all the time. A weak character grows stronger, a sceptical character grows softer etc. etc. etc. And I love these developments too, but something different can really open you up and "wow" you.
Now here you can also see a sceptical character turn into a softer one, but in a way in which you can feel the peace and clarity and understanding radiate of the pages.
I LOVEEEEE THAT!!!

And another thing that really got me, touched me, opened my eyes, opened my heart, were the messages int his story. Hesse told me something that I will forever keep in my heart and carry with me through life, and use to be the best version of myself.
He has put to words, something I needed to know to live my life better. He showed me an example which showed me how simple and lovely life can be if you just want it, just believe it.
Maybe I'm a bit vague about these messages, but I think you should read this book yourself to know what I'm talking about. Or what it'll do to you when you read it.

I've used a lot of "love" in this blog post, haven't I?
Ah, well, this book just brings me so much joy and love that I have no other to describe it with, other than joy and love.
*sighs peacefully*
*thinks about becoming a buddhist ('cause that's what the book kind of sort of totally is about, buddhism)*
*then realizes she doesn't need to become a buddhist*
*insert spiritual and wise thoughts in here*
*sighs peacefully again*

That's it for this blog post, guys!'
Until the next blog post, then! :)