Top ten Tuesday is a blog feature hosted by Broke and Bookish. This week the topic is:
Top ten best beginnings and endings of books.
1) “Dear Friend, I am writing to you because she said you listen and
understand and didn’t try to sleep with that person at that party even
though you could have. Please don’t try to figure out who she is because
then you might figure out who I am, and I really don’t want you to do
that.”
– The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
It's just so perfect. It sets of the tone of the novel in a simple yet completely ideal way. I felt like I already knew the character, before I knew anything about them I felt them as a human, and that's just perfect to me.
2)“Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her true love.”
–The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
I admit, it took me a minute to adjust to the name choice, but the promise of magic here is so real it cast me into a spell straight away.
3) “It’s so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself.”
–It’s Kind of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
This book pulled me in and sucked me under straight away. You're rooting for the MC from the very first line, and that is always ideal.
4) “There is one mirror in my house. It is behind a sliding panel in the
hallway upstairs. Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the
second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair.”
- Divergent by Veronica Roth
I love a good dystopian, and this opening screamed dystopian. Loved it.
5) "When I wake up, the other side of the bed
is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only
the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams
and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping."
- The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
Once you finish the series, you understand the complete significance of this opening. The first thought Katniss has is of Prim. The second is that she is missing because of the reaping. It's a summary of the whole book series woven into the first page.
For the endings, I will tell you the books, but I won't quote them. I don't want to run the risk of spoiling them for some of you.
1) Eleanor and Park - Rainbow Rowell.
2) The Fault In our Stars - John Green.
3) The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater
4) Rules of Attraction - Simone Elkeles (I'm talking about the epilogue here)
5) You against Me - Jenny Downham
Agree? Disagree? Have some suggestions of your own? Let me know!
This weeks top ten theme hosted by Broke and Bookish is: Top ten words/topics that will make you NOT want to pick up a book.
(Side note: I'm writing this in a rush between yoga and a seriously needed girly catch up so best not to be on grammar watch. I'll correct it later.)
1) Wolves. Popular little critters, aren't they? They're just not my thing. Falling in love with a boy/girl who spends half their time as an over grown dog? No thank you. Not for me. In fact, pretty much any book which involves it's MC or their love interest turning into an animal half the time and being called 'Hot' is just not my slice of toast.
2) OTT Fantasy. If I read a blurb, and two lines in I'm confused, it's not for me. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy, I just hate not being able to pronounce 98% of the names, locations etc... Make it new and interesting, sure, but leave it as simple as possible.
3) 'Fluffy'. I'm just not a summer read, swoon over the nice boy and the appropriate girl and their sweet relationship kind of girl. If the biggest obstacle in a book is the girl or boy being 'too good for me' then it's toooooo good for me. Like, too sickly sweet.
4) 'Faith books'. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the genre, I'm just not religious.
5) Broken promises. If you say the only way for the world to survive is for Jane Doe to kill her beloved John Doe then I don't want to see 'he comes back to life'. I signed on for heartache for the ultimate good.
6)Robots, cyborgs, human hybrid thingies. I saw the cover for Cinder and thought I would love it, five seconds with the blurb and I knew I was wrong. Half human, half robot is not for me.
7) Aliens. With this one I mean aliens that control the mind, take over the world. Just not for me.
8) Murder mysteries/thrillers. In general, I like. But not for Young Adult.
9) Girl hate. If you describe your main character by the girls that just hate, hate, hate her for no reason at all consider me lost to you.
10) Royalty. Kings, Queens, Princess... blah blah blah. They royal thing has never tickled my pickle. I'm just not into the corset wearing, gentle princess who side lines as a badass warrior.
Set over the course of
one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two
star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never
lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park,
you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you
under.
Take
my stars. Take all of them. This book is incredible. Rainbow Rowell is
what I like to call a master of emotion. She weaves a story of first
love, innocent love and heartache so beautifully that I read the entire
book in one sitting. And by the end I was all:
I
couldn't decide which character I loved more. The book is told through
the joint narration of Eleanor, a vibrant red head with quirky fashion
who makes the best of a very bad situation, and Park, a lovable, shy
half-Korean boy who isn't really sure what that means other than other
people tend to judge him on it. Eleanor isn't nice and Park isn't a
valiant knight, they're just two kids who find something worth having in
a place neither really want to be.
“I just can't believe that life would give us to each other," he said, "and then take it back." "I can," she said. "Life's a bastard.”
This book hits you right in your nostalgic places. By the time Park slips a comic book onto the seat beside him I was all:
Because that's what this book does.
It's
truthful and hurtful and by the time I finished I found myself staring
aimlessly out of my window, wondering if I should write a postcard...
Eleanor
is just trying to get through school, and her childhood, without
drawing too much attention to herself. She is strong, much stronger than
she knows, but she isn't perfect. She is nobody's hero. She wants to
help, but she can't. She wishes things were different, but she accepts
that they're not. She's only sixteen, and she knows the world is full of
false hope.
“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art
wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel
something.”
Park is just trying to finish out high school
without drawing too much attention from the kids at the back of the bus.
Afraid he is a disappointment to his dad, and annoyed his music
sometimes can't drown out the world he isn't prepared for Eleanor. He
doesn't want to share his seat, he doesn't want to be associated with
'Big Red', but then things change. Time passes, time spent watching
Eleanor, and suddenly he can't remember what he first thought of her.
All Park knows is that he doesn't want her, he needs her - something
anyone who has ever felt the sting of first love can relate to.
"I just meant that... I want to be the last person who ever kisses you,
too.... That sounds bad, like a death threat or something. What I'm
trying to say is, you're it. This is it for me.”
Eleanor
and Park is a bittersweet, heartbreaking novel from an author who has
instantly become a favourite. It's refreshing, sweet, laugh-out-loud,
cry into your pillow kind of good.
"He was quiet. He wanted everything she'd just said to be the last thing
he heard. He wanted to fall asleep with 'I want you' in his ears.”
My only criticism is that the
ending kind of tumble's out really fast. But, then again, sometimes
things in life do tumble by fast. Maybe that's the point.
“He wound the scarf around his fingers until her hand was hanging in the space between them.
Then he slid the silk and his fingers into her open palm.
And Eleanor disintegrated.”
If you
read anything ever again in your life let it be this book. Love it or
loathe it I guarantee you will relate to it. You will feel something.
So I just read Eleanor and park in one sitting, and I want to tell you guys about it. I really do. But right now it's still so raw and... intimate to me that I'll have to settle to promise to tell you all about it soon.
For now, you can have this:
If you haven't read it yet, then do so. Immediately. If you have then comment here and we can figure our feelings out together. All I know is that I haven't read a book since The fault in our stars that made me laugh aloud and cry silently the way this book did. I can't review it now as I wouldn't do it justice.
Sunday sizzler is a new feature I'm testing out on my blog. Basically, a Sunday sizzler is a book or book series that I will review that is red hot in current popular trends.
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Vampires, Urban Fantasy
Source: E-book
Goodreads Summary:
When fifteen-year-old
Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she
hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by
three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre
weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the
police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there
is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died.
Or was he a boy?
This is Clary's first meeting with the
Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's
also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little
like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary
is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother
disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would
demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And
how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to
know...
"He smelled of salt and blood, and only when his mouth came close to her
ear did she understand what he was saying, and it was the simplest
litany of all: her name, just her name.”
I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've been putting off reading this series, but it's the truth. By the time news of this series reached me it was already kicking up a fuss, and, to be honest, I was hearing all the bad rumours. The, don't go there kind of rumours. There were even whispers of plagiarism (Note: read whispers as chants and yells.). However, whilst thrift shopping in Wales on holiday I came across the first three books for a pound each. I don't care what anyone says, your curiosity would of been swayed for that price!
And I'm so glad I stopped by that quite little charity shop that morning, because everything negative I had heard was rubbish. Well, not everything, but the majority.
“Even in half demon hunter clothes, Clary thought, he looked like the
kind of boy who'd come over your house to pick you up for a date and be
polite to your parents and nice to your pets. Jace on the other hand, looked like the kind of boy who'd come over your house and burn it down just for kicks.”
The main female character, Clarissa (Clary) Fray is a bland, easily imprintable female lead. She's best friends with Simon, a character with more personality and appeal, but with whom she has no idea the true value of until he explains it to her. I wasn't a fan of her name, and I didn't care much for her personality, but I wasn't really offended by her either. Aside from her ridiculous hatred of any/all other females (spoiler: which seemed to include her mother because she barely bats and eye-lash at her kidnap and possible torture), she was actually kind of meh. Although, to be fair, she didn't really need to be more. Would it have been better if the female lead was the best character in the novel: sure! Would I have enjoyed the book any more: possibly. Do I wish Clary would have never existed: No. Like I said, she isn't really a major bother, she just isn't really major at all to me. Faceless, bland and easy enough for me to insert myself into her place.
.
Now, let's talk about the characters I did like.
“In future, Clarissa," he said, "it might be wise to mention that you
already have a man in your bed, to avoid such tedious situations." You invited him into bed?" Simon demanded, looking shaken. Ridiculous, isn't it?" said Jace. "We would never have all fit.”
Ah, I just love the male lead Jace. I have an innate soft spot for snarky MC in my novels, and I refuse to be embarrassed about that. Jace is snarky and then some. And I love him. I love, love, love him. Just so you know.
" “One of the Silent Brothers is here to see you. Hodge sent me to wake
you up. Actually he offered to wake you himself, but since it's 5 a.m., I
figured you'd be less cranky if you had something nice to look at." "Meaning you?" "What else?” "
That's not to say he didn't have his faults. His lack of knowledge of 'our world' was annoying. Especially since he has lived on the fringes of it for so long, but it was easy to over look. His ego was another thing. Not so much his snarky attitude, because we all know how much I love that, just his I'm better than anyone and everything attitude. The boy seemingly has no fear, which was hard to believe, everyone fears something, and yet all he fears is love. Yet in walks Clary, the girl with nothing about her, and he overcomes his one great fear faster than it takes to say What? Yeah right!
I did love the world building of this novel. It was very Buffy like: everything just seemed to fit perfectly together. I loved Magnus, although I wish we had more glimpses into his and Alec's relationship. I also loved the glimpses of the institute, but would have loved more description of the interior. I wanted to know more.
Hodge was another interesting character I felt was used too little, and when he was used it was flippantly.
"Unfortunately," said Hodge, "we're all out of bitter revenge at the moment, so it's either tea or nothing.”
I also couldn't get over the fact nobody, especially Clary, mentions the fact that Valentine has a ludicrous name. That one would never slip by me.
Over all I really enjoyed the book, and couldn't be happier that I invested my time into it before the release of the movie. If I could convince you all to do the same then I would be happy. Fall in love with this world in words, first. The book deserves that.
"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time."
The
Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate.
And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one
of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to
her and changes everything.
As the two fall fiercely for each
other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love,
Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from
her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of
Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision.
Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
A
transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to
be true to one person you love without betraying another.
There's no way I could talk about this book without first mentioning the issue it deals with best - sex.
I hadn't heard much about this book before I read it, but I had heard about the truthful, YA appropriate way in which Fitzpatrick deals with sex in the novel. It's awkward, it's planned, it's sweet, it's perfectly presented within a YA book.
"The Garrets were forbidden from the start. But that's not why they were important."
Another issue dealt with extremely well in the novel is that of family. I was actually surprised to find this novel is more about family than romance. I must admit, I had expected this book to be a rush of hormones, teenage angst and heavy-petting, and I couldn't of been happier to be wrong.
Samantha Reed's mother is a high class woman. She expects her home, her children and even her hair to exceed expectations at all times. Samantha, on the other hand, just want's to know more about the family next door. The loud, laughter filled Garret house with their many children and relaxed atmosphere is a completely alien kind of concept for Samantha. She may have secretly watched them for years, but she's no closer to knowing them. Not until Jace Garret decides to introduce himself.
"Let's see. Swimming. At night. With a boy. Who's virtually a stranger. And a Garret. It's dizzying how many of my mother's rules this is breaking."
I loved that Samantha wasn't a typical angst filled character that's determined she is unworthy of the 'hot' boy and too meek to speak to her family about things that matter to her. She was a refreshing character in that she was so normal. Sometimes, though I think I should dare not say it, I find myself not rooting for female MC as they are too whiny, bitchy, angsty, annoyingly cynical etc... Sometimes all that keeps me reading is the cheep thrill of a smile when the hot boy smirks. I know, I know, it's a bad quality of mine, I should just stop reading... However, I didn't get that feeling from this book. I wanted to know how things would work out, even if I did guess the ending fairly quickly.
Another highlight of the novel is Jace, the love interest. He's calm, he's honest, he's refreshingly open with Samantha and doesn't want to hurt her or save her, he just likes the girl next door and isn't afraid to tell her so. He's adorable.
"“Jase?”
“Mmm-hmm?” He lifts up on one elbow, his face barely visible in the twilight.
“You have to kiss me,” I find myself saying.
"Yeah." He leans closer. "I do.""
There were some pits in the novel though.
1) George.
Wait. WAIT. WAAAIIITTT. Don't lynch me yet! I loved George. I loved his personality and his quirkiness, I just didn't believe him. He was four! FOUR! Maybe if he had been aged older, or someone had slipped in the conversation he was a Mensa kid or something... IDK. Great character just needed an age adjustment.
2) The twins
I never liked Nan. Not her name, not her annoying analytical personality or her boyfriend, the enigmatic Daniel. I did, however love Tim. Tim should have his own novel. Tim was actually my favourite character. Tim was the best. Unfortunately some things regarding his and Samantha's past were left a bit sketchy. I wanted to know why they fell out. I needed more. More Tim. I loved Tim.
TIM <3
Overall I enjoyed the book. It was a quick, light read with refreshing content and interesting characters. I would have liked more in depth exploration of some side characters and less political rally, but that's just me.
So what did you think of this book? Love it? Loathe it? How about my review? Agree? Let me know in the comments and link me to your reviews of My Life Next Door!
When trying to decide what to make a Thursday feature I came up with the - temporary - idea of teaser Thursdays. Each Thursday I will share a teaser of something I have written that week, and hope you guys will do the same and comment me the links!
(Also: if anyone knows of any blogs that run daily features, specifically YA blogs I would love to be linked to them!)
Okay, here goes. This week I've mainly been working on The Imperium. Here is your Thursday teaser.
"The
distorted sunlight coming through the painted window to my left
causes prisms of colour in sporadic patches across the wooden
flooring. It's a splintered sight, but it always makes me smile. We
don't see much colour in our Division.
“You
up there, Reed?” Birte calls from the doorway.
“Yes,
I'm here,” I reply. “Am I late?”
“What?
No, no. It's just after sunrise,” he explains, his voice
sounding... off."
If you wold like a teaser of something you are writing, or of your favourite book to be included in next weeks teaser Thursday then comment here and let me know!
Hey, guys. Today I thought I would try something new. I've recently become aware of a feature over on brokeandbookish that occurs every Tuesday known as Top Ten Tuesday. The concept behind it is simple: every Tuesday a blogger over on B&B will answer a specific top ten list and then other bloggers, such as myself, will do the same and link back to their blog.
Simples, right?
The title behind this weeks Top Ten is: Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition.
First off, I would like to point out that in my every day friendship group I am the only one of my friends who proudly lists reading as a hobby. Usually my friends will not take notice of a book I have begged, and begged them to read until they see a movie trailer. And by then it's too late. (If you've ever heard the phrase 'But I don't need to read the book, I've seen the film' before then know that I feel your pain.)
Anyway, my point was that even though the authors on my list may be popular in the 'everybody in the freaking world has heard of them' sense, I'm going off the basis of authors I would love my bookphopic friends to recognise.
1) Tabitha Suzuma -If only my friends would read a book by Tabitha Suzuma, I would be so happy! After completing a Suzuma novel you sort of find yourself questioning everything: your life, your morales, your emotions, your capability of love - and just how far you would go for love. I'm not really sure what love is, but I do know that it stems from the brain, and not the heart, and Suzuma does a great job of unpeeling the complex nature of the brain.
2) John Green - You can't read a John Green novel without wanting to tell the world about it. He's genius at conveying the most intimate of emotions, the most complexing of thoughts in raw, honest and original ways.
3) Khaled Hosseini - If you've ever read The Kite Runner, then you will know exactly why Hosseini is on the list. Some novels offer you escapism, The Kite Runner offers you a slice of uncomfortable, anguish filled truth. It's beautiful in its brutality.
4) Jay Asher - I don't believe I've ever read a book that has made me as angry as Thirteen Reasons Why. Not at the plot or characters specifically, but at the reality in which they force you to face. The issues dealt with in TRW are provoking, and for that Jay Asher makes my list.
5)Stephen Chbosky - Whilst this author most definitely does not fly under the popular radar, he is barely even a blip on my friends. In fact, when I dragged four of my closest friends to the cinema to watch the movie adaptation of Perks of Being a Wallflower, only one knew it originated as a book, and none had any desire to read said book. I'd love to change that, which is why he is on the list.
6) Simone Elkeles - This author makes the list simply because, as a YA romance fan, her kissing scenes make me swoon. You know that line that snatches your breath, and you just have to read it again, and again, and again before moving forward? Elkeles is genius at that!
7) Suzanne Collins - Okay, OKAY, I know what you're thinking... EVERYONE has read the Hunger Games. EVERYONE has heard of this author, and you're right. Even my clueless friends have. BUT, for an author with as much success as Collins has, why do we know so little about her? By now I think I could tell you the decoration in Stephenie Meyer's bedroom the night she dreamed up Twilight, but I couldn't even tell you what nationality Collins was. I need to know more. Granted, her anonymity might be through choice, and I respect that, but it doesn't make me stop wishing she had the spotlight. So I'm giving it to her. Right here on my list. You're welcome.
8) Augusten Burroughs - I wish my friends knew of this man. I wish they knew of his great work. I live in hope that one day they will. Welcome to the list.
9) Maggie Stiefvater - As a Pagan it isn't often I come across a book that makes me fall in love with magic, especially the way it is portrayed in popular culture today. However, with The Raven Boys this author achieved that. And then some.
10) Christopher Rice - Last, but by no means least, we have the magnificence that brought us A Density of Souls. As the child of Anne Rice you expect great things, and he does not disappoint.
There you have it, my very first Top Ten Tuesday. Tune in next week, folks!
