The Selection - Kiera Cass (2012)

4 stars

This book was recommended to me on goodreads and I wasn't sure about it but then I saw it again in a tumblr post of different books people would enjoy if they enjoyed certain other books or certain plot devices and I decided to get it and I'm really happy I did.

The concept of this book is kind of just like reality TV on steroids, and just like reality television it sucked me in and I had to know what America did next. I don't like love triangles and I was unaware there would be one in this book, but despite the fact that there was a love triangle, and it's pretty much going to be the main storyline of future books, it didn't really come through too strongly or even much at all in the majority of this book which was wonderful. I like knowing that a book that's main storyline is a love triangle can kind of turn it into a less important side note and I hope that it will continue that way through the next books with all the other secrets and drama it set up in this book. The thing that irritated me most about this book was that Aspen is given no good traits or real reason for why America loves him, and by extension why I should too, whereas Maxon is constantly being a good person and saying loveable things. Doing that so all the readers will want her to pick Maxon is fine, but it just makes it really unrealistic and it's ridiculous that someone as awesome as America would even love Aspen in the first place. My favourite character in this book was America, I love a good female heroine but the best thing about America is that she doesn't do big grand ridiculous acts of courage all the time, she's just a really nice person, who doesn't care about castes and wants everyone to be safe and happy, no matter their birth or circumstance. I would recommend this to people who like love stories, and fans of The Hunger Games who liked the love triangle in it.

America Singer is a Five, in a country where castes are now ranked like numbers with royalty as Ones and criminals as Eights, she's in of the poorest castes that make their meager living as artists. When she recieves a letter in the mail that she can apply for the Selection, a competition where a girl from each of the 35 districts is drawn at random to go live at the palace to compete with each other for the Prince's heart, her mother insists she put her name in so they might get an elevated status and some more money to live on. America doesn't want to enter as she has a secret boyfriend, Aspen, who is a Six but who she loves and wants to marry, but he also insists that she enter because she's worth it. On the day of her entry she runs into Aspen's mum who tells her she thinks he's going to propose to a girl because he's been saving all his money, America is so happy that she looks wonderful for her entry photo. The next night when she goes to meet Aspen she cooks him a wonderful meal and his pride is so wounded because she thinks he needs the food that he breaks up with her, then her name is called from her district to go into the Selection. Once there she quickly strikes up a friendship with Prince Maxon and she tells him the whole story of her and Aspen, as well as informing him of how people in the lower castes live which he uses to change policy, and he tells her the details of the constant rebel attacks and seiges and she tries to help him with them. Just as she's starting to believe she could fall in love with Maxon, Aspen appears as a royal guard and tells her he made a mistake in breaking up with her. There is a particularly severe and scary seige on the castle and Maxon then lowers the pool of girls down to 6 so as to not have as many of them in danger, America is one of them and when he explains why he kept each girl, due to her status, relations or popularity with the crowds, he says he didn't have a strategic reason for keeping her. When Aspen comes to her room that night she tells him that he can't kiss her and that she's going to work out what she wants, Aspen then says (of course) that he's not giving up this time.

The Giver - Lois Lowry (1993)

5 stars

It took a long while for me to buy this book because the synopsis didn't really sound like much but seeing the trailer for the movie was enough for me to finally read it, and when I finally decided to get it I read it in two days.

This book was so much shorter than all the other dystopian novels I've read, it was only 180 pages, but it just showed me that sometimes all the other detail in the dystopian novels these days (*cough* love triangles *cough*) is just so uneccessary as I enjoyed it a lot more than some other more recent ones I've read. It's told from the perspective of Jonas which I really enjoy, but it does get a bit annoying when he can't see the outcome of his decision so I don't know if it worked out well or not, so I'm excited to see whether the movie will expand on what happened without him. The concept was this book was so simple but so thought provoking, who are we without memories and how do they shape us? It was really interesting reading about how important feelings were to them when they didn't really know what they were. My favourite character in this book is Jonas, it's rare that the main character in a novel is my favourite usually due to a combination of seeing all their flaws and enjoying the traits of other secondary characters more, but in this book I just agreed with him so much and just really liked him as a character and a narrator. I would recommend this book to anyone that has never read a dystopian novel and wants to see what they're like, or any fans of dystopian fiction and the concept of memories and how they shape us.

For anyone interested, here is the trailer for the movie coming out later this year:

Jonas lives in a society where there are fifty new children born every year and each december they go up an age group. When they turn 12 they are given their assignments for how they will contribute to society and Jonas gets the job known as the "Reciever of Memory" of which there is only ever one at a time and it is a position of the highest honour. When he meets the previous Reciever of Memory, who nicknames himself "The Giver" he learns that he must have all the memories that the giver has of human history. He slowly learns about love, war, colours and starvation among many other things through experiencing the memories that the giver transfers to him. They soon decide that their society needs to know and understand these things so they make a plan for Jonas to go missing and assumed to be dead while he travels as far away as possible so his memories will be released into the city. The plan would have worked however Jonas learns that the baby that his family has been looking after is to be "released" which Jonas learns means they will be killed because he can't sleep through the night. Jonas then takes Gabriel, the baby, in the middle of the night and leaves on his bicycle with only the food he could gather and a blanket for Gabe. He bikes far enough that the memories mostly leave him, but he eventually runs out of food and the temperature gets so cold he can't make it much further. He manages to transmit a memory of sunshine to himself and Gabe to warm them up and that gives him enough strength to get to the top of the hill he'd been climbing to find a sled on the top which he slides down on into a warm welcoming house, but the story is unclear as to whether that actually happened or he was merely recalling those memories as he and Gabe lay dying.

A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby (2005)

4 stars

I'm not going to lie, I bought this book because I knew the movie was coming out and Aaron Paul was going to be in it, and I actually really enjoyed it.

This book is told from the four different perspectives of the main characters, which would normally confuse me but they're all so different that somehow it works really well. The whole premise of this book, that four people meet each other when they're all going to commit suicide, seemed like it would be pretty depressing but I found myself laughing a surprising amount throughout this book. I really liked how realistic each of the perspective's were and how realistic the end of the story was, I thought there was going to be a big miracle and wonderful happy ending and I was so happy that that didn't happen. My favourite character in this book was probably Maureen, I liked how soft spoken she was and how she didn't realize how much she could do when she spoke until she actually did speak. I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind frequent mentions of suicide but likes a short novel.

Martin, Maureen, Jess and JJ all run into each other on the roof of Toppers' House, a popular suicide spot, on New Year's Eve. The presence of them all stops them from committing suicide and they spend the night looking for Jess' ex-boyfriend and then decide to form a sort of support group and decide to meet again on Valentine's day to see how they're all feeling. On Valentine's day JJ brings up that ninety days after a suicide attempt they aren't supposed to want to commit suicide anymore, so they have until the end of March til their ninety days are up. By the end of the ninety days they've all made some progress and feel a bit better and decide to see how they're feeling after six months.

Someday, Someday, Maybe - Lauren Graham (2013)

2.5 stars

I was really excited to read this because I really love Lauren Graham and after hearing multiple interviews with her about this book I knew I was going to read it, I have to admit I knid of expected more though.

I know this is the first book by an actress who hasn't written a book before, but for some reason I just thought this book would have more excitement. It took me weeks to finish this book because I found it predictable so I didn't have any motivation to finish it quickly and I found the main character so annoyingly ignorant at times that I couldn't handle reading more of her stupid choices too soon after I'd just read some. Don't get me wrong, I like flawed characters, just the combination of Franny's character and the predictability of the storyline made this book surprisingly hard to get through. I did like the premise though, a struggling actress who doesn't realise the potential she's got, and there were some really light and funny moments that I started to look forward to while reading it. My favourite character was Penelope Shlotsky, or Penny De Palma as she prefers, because I thought she defied the shallow celebrity stereotype and I genuinely enjoyed her relationship with Franny. I'm really interested to know if Lauren will write another book after this one and if she does I'll definitely read it to see what she does differently. I would recommend this book to people who want a light comedic novel and don't mind some romance thrown in.

Franny Banks moved to New York two and a half years ago to become an actress and she gave herself a deadline that ends in six months to have accomplished something in the business. During the six months she gets a call from two different agents, books a small one line part on a long running sitcom and a couple commercials, and starts dating a guy from her acting class who is in a big name movie oppposite a big name actor. At the end of the six months, the episode she filmed still hasn't aired, the guy she's dating offered to pay for her boob job, and she got fired by the agent that she picked. She then dumps the guy she's dating for her roommate Dan, calls back the other agent whom she actually liked and decides to stay in New York for another six months.

This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl - Esther Earl with Lori and Wayne Earl (2014)

5 stars

I preordered this book as soon as John Green mentioned it in a video and at first I was wary about reading it, but after reading it I don't think this book will ever leave me.

This book is a compilation of words by and about Esther Earl, a girl famous in some internet circles for inspiring so many before she died of thyroid cancer at the age of sixteen in 2010. I don't pretend to know Esther, I joined the nerdfighter community a few months after she had already left it and I personally hate it when people pretend that they knew a person after they've died, but I think that many people who read this book, myself included, can't help but feel a connection to her. Her original works of fiction are at the end of the book and I found myself not wanting that portion to stop, it didn't feel like I was reading a story written by a 15 year old, but someone who had spent a mountain of time working on their own book. Reading a book about someone who knows they are dying is incredibly hard, but I would recommend this book to anyone because I think everyone can be touched by her words and her story.

The introductions are by John Green, author and Esther's friend, and Lori and Wayne Earl, Esther's parents. The first section of the book is about thirty pages of photos and childhood stories about Esther and her family written by her parents, then there is a brief summary of her medical journey. The main part of the book is a mixture of exerpts from Esther's journal and blog, entries by her parents from the CaringBridge page and exerpts from Skype conversations between her and her internet friends. The next to last section is letters from all her friends and family members from last year about how Esther touched their lives, and her father's eulogy from her funeral. The last fifty pages are original works of fiction that Esther had started but never got to finish.

Hollow City - Ransom Riggs (2014)

3 stars

My Aunty lent me this book as soon as she finished it because I had lent her the first one after I'd read it and although I enjoyed this book, I got the distinct feeling that the next one will be a lot better.

This book is told in the same way as the previous novel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, from the perspective of Jacob and interspersed with many peculiar pictures from history that Ransom has collected himself or borrowed from other collectors. I enjoyed this book less than the first one I think because they were so focused on getting to one place the entire time that I thought it was a bit tedious at times, but I really enjoyed it whenever they ran into other peculiars and I'm excited to see how many more they will pick up in the next book. My favourite character was Bronwyn, I like how maternal and loving she is even though with her ability you think she'd be the opposite. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes fantasy with a bit of historical context.

The book starts with Jacob and the other peculiars rowing from their island to the mainland and then after realizing how many wights are after them hiding for a night. They then discover a loop that is full of peculiar animals that say that their Ymbryne, Miss Wren, is still alive and trying to help the other Ymbryne's in London. They also inform the children that Miss Peregrine only has two more days to get to another Ymbryne and change back before she'll never be able to again. They then leave the loop and head towards London and they eventually get there with the help of some Gypsies, but then they must find one of Miss Wren's pigeons to help them find her. They eventually catch a pigeon and get it to lead them into the loop in which Miss Wren is hiding and once there they find Miss Wren with a handful of other peculiar's she's saved. Once Miss Wren has convinced Miss Peregrine to turn back, it turns out to be her brother, a wight who also has the ability to turn into a bird just like his sister, and he informs them that he has them surrounded and has captured all the other peculiars that have sheltered them on the way and is going to steal their second souls which contain their abilities. As they are taking them on a train to wherever they are keeping all the peculiars and Ymbrynes Jacob and Emma manage to escape with the help of Addison, a peculiar dog they met in Miss Wren's loop, and Jacob learns that he can not only see the hollows but can control them and they head off to save the others.

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (2012)

2.5 stars

I ordered this book because I kept hearing things about it, and after I saw that it was one of the highest selling books of last year I decided to buy it. I have learned my lesson that although a book may be popular it may be because it's crazy.

The only word I can think of to describe this book is crazy. For the first part it seemed like a simple missing person's case but as soon as the second part started it turned into a novel about two psychopaths. It is told from two different perspectives, Nick's and Amy's, although in the first part of the novel Amy's perspective is told through diary entries. It is a well written book, I just really did not enjoy reading from two such crazy and sickening perspectives for so long - because it's a considerably long novel - and just going to bed with that in my head did not do well for my dreams. I didn't really have a favourite character in this novel considering all the main characters were pretty crazy, I wanted to like Desi or Nick because Neil Patrick Harris and Ben Affleck are playing them in the movie adaptation that is going to come out this year, but I really couldn't. I would recommend this book to any people who like crime/thriller novels with a good twist.

Nick returns home on the day of his fifth wedding anniversary to find his wife missing, the police soon start to expect him when evidence that he swears is all circumstantial or not actually his starts to pile against him. It is soon found out that he has been having an affair with one of his students for over a year and the public turns against him, it is then that he starts to suspect his wife may have been pulling the strings. We learn that Amy is in fact still alive and has some serious psychological issues, she has been planning her husband's demise for over a year before she disappeared and had planted all the evidence and worked out how to lure him to incriminating locations without her being there. Nick then works out that all the people who Amy had said had stalked her or wronged her in the past had fallen prey to Amy's crazy personality and system of cruel justice. Amy is then robbed of all the cash she had to live on and she goes to one of her ex boyfriends, Desi (who is also crazy), and although she only wanted money she ended up living in one of his houses without being able to leave. She decides to go back to Nick so she drugs Desi and kills him and then returns home and tells them that he was the one who kidnapped her and raped her, although Nick and one officer still know that it was Amy all along and she should be in prison they don't have any evidence to prove it. Amy decides to write a book so the entire public knows her version of things, so Nick does the same but before he can publish it Amy gets pregnant with Nick's baby and he drops all his plans so he can look after the child.

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell (2013)

4 stars

After loving both of Rainbow's other books and reading the pretense of this book I had to get it and it was such a wonderful read.

I don't know whether this book is better for me because I am a fangirl and I understand absolutely everything that Cath mentions when she's thinking about such matters, but I thought this book was wonderful. Once again Rainbow has a really cool concept, writing a book within a book, as well as fanfiction based on the fictional book, I can only imagine how much time it took to think of all that content. I always find her characters relatable in ways that many authors don't often delve into and this book is no exception, in fact I thought Cath, the main character in this book was so much like me (and I'm sure many other girls who spend a large amount of time online) that at some points it was really freaky. One of my favourite parts was where she described herself as "an eighteen-year old nerd who knew eff-all about boys or parties" and I felt as if she was describing me. All the anxiety, antisocial tendencies and love for nerdy guys makes me relate to this book and love it all the more, and I don't know whether she did that purposefully but I'm sure that it will make many other girls love it for the same reason. My favourite character in this book was Reagan, she was a great balance of sarcasm and love that it made me wish she was in it a bit more. I would recommend this book to any person who likes young adult love stories, or any fangirls.

Cath and Wren are twins who are moving to university, they've always been obsessed with a book series called Simon Snow and although Cath doesn't really want to go, Wren tells her she should and that they can't be roommates. Cath finds it hard with all the new scenarios but she soon finds friends in her roommate Reagan, Reagan's boyfriend Levi and a boy from her writing class and although Wren thinks she's stupid for still clinging to her love of Simon Snow and continuing her fanfiction on him Cath manages without her. One night when Levi comes to her room and Reagan is out with another guy, Cath helps him study for a test by reading him the book he has been assigned for the class as he has trouble focusing when reading. They end up kissing and then fall asleep together then the next morning when Reagan comes in he leaves and Reagan tells Cath that he's not her boyfriend, he's her best friend and ex-boyfriend from high school. Cath then decides to go to a party at his house that he invites her to that night and Reagan helps her get ready but when they get there they walk in on him kissing another girl and they walk straight out and Cath asks Reagan not to mention it again. She finally calls Levi when her dad is admitted to hospital and she needs a ride home, she then explains to him why she'd been ignoring him and he leaves when she asks him to. When she returns to school Levi convinces her to give him another chance and everything starts to go better for Cath until her sister is admitted to hospital because she needs to get her sotmach pumped. She reconciles with her Wren and her Dad sets Wren rules to follow so she won't end up like this again and when the final Simon Snow book comes out Cath and Wren go to the midnight release with Levi and Reagan and they cry together. The book ends with Cath reading the last book out loud to Levi.