Fracture (Megan Miranda)

****

         When Delaney was trapped under a layer of ice in the not-quite-frozen lake, her heart stopped beating.  By the time her best friend Decker pulled her out, everyone thought for sure that she would be dead.  Delaney went into a short coma, but she didn't die.  Even more miraculously, she isn't showing any signs of the brain damage that her oxygen-deprived system definitely should be suffering from.  Delaney is almost normal - except for the fact that she's now physically pulled towards the dying.  This makes Delaney feel isolated and terrified until she meets Troy, a boy who has the same problem.  But as she tries to figure out what her newfound ability means, Delaney begins to wonder whether Troy is the person she depended on him to be.

         Sadly, it's been so long I can't really remember all of the things I liked about this book.  However, I did enjoy the semi-predictable but still good plot twists.  Also, there was a best-friend-romance thing going on, although it wasn't the best description of one that I've ever seen.  Overall, the storyline was intriguing and made me think (in a good way!).  

Rating: 4/5
Completed: April 28, 2012

p.s. - finals are almost over.  once summer starts, there will be a lot more books to talk about . . . 

Winnie-the-Pooh (A. A. Milne)

*****

         This classic children's book tells the story of Winnie-the-Pooh (a Bear of Very Little Brain), Christopher Robin, and all of their friends.  Each chapter is an installment of one of their many adventures.  Woozles, Wizzles, and other strange creatures abound.  

         Winnie-the-Pooh is a great book.  Though it's considered a children's story, it is worth the time for teens and adults as well.  Very funny; a quick, uplifting read.

Rating: 5/5

Completed: April 27, 2012

The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)

*****

         When asked to describe herself, Hazel Grace Lancaster would say she is a "professional sick person".  The past few years of Hazel's life have been dominated by a diagnosis of stage IV thyroid cancer.  Now a drug has stopped the tumor in her lungs from growing (at least temporarily), buying Hazel an undetermined amount of extra time.  Still, it's not a question of if Hazel will die from this cancer - it's a question of when.
         Unsurprisingly, seventeen year-old Hazel finds this more than a little depressing.  Her mother forces her to attend a Cancer Support Group in hopes that it will add an element of normalcy to Hazel's life.  Instead of finding it helpful, Hazel sees Support Group as another depressing aspect of her mostly hopeless life.  That is, until she meets the handsome and hilarious Augustus Waters.  A cancer patient in remission, Augustus understands Hazel like no one else can.  Together, the two search for meaning in a world where death looms closer than it has a right to.  

         The Fault in Our Stars was an amazing read.  The characters were fantastic: unique, spunky, strong, and real.  Hazel, Augustus, and their friend Isaac managed to turn things that should be heartbreaking into something humorous.  Their dry wit in the face of serious situations gave me a few laughs and helped to balance out the depressing nature of a "cancer book".  However, John Green didn't avoid the tough topics - Hazel faced some harsh realities and dealt with them in a believable way.  By the end of the story, you love the three friends for their strong personalities and their honesty.  This is the kind of book that opens you up to think about life, love, and death from a new perspective.  More important than that, though, The Fault in Our Stars successfully captures a piece of the human experience in a way that's both powerful and touching.  

Rating: 5/5

Completed: April 22, 2012

Gandhi (Kazuki Ebine)

***

         Gandhi: A Manga Biography tells the life story of Mohandas Gandhi through pictures.

         This biography was done well - a good quick-read for anyone who wants to know the story behind Gandhi's work without reading a long book.  Though it was nothing fantastic, I found Gandhi to be a very informative graphic novel.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: April 5, 2012


PS - sorry it's been taking me so long to get through these reviews!  I've been pretty busy with school lately . . . I'll try to keep up with the blog, but sadly, sometimes AP Euro has to come before novels.

Wherever You Go (Heather Davis)

****

         Holly Mullen tries to keep things together, even when her life is a mess.  She's in charge of her little sister and her grandfather, who has rapidly worsening Alzheimer's disease, while her mom works long hours to keep the family afloat.  She has almost no free time as she tries to meet her mother's expectations of her.  Meanwhile, Holly is still grieving the loss of her boyfriend, Rob - while his best friend starts to flirt with her.  
         Jason feels bad for Holly Mullen.  Or at least, that's his excuse for checking in with her months after the death of his best friend, her boyfriend.  He can't kid himself for long, though: Jason really likes Holly, but it's pretty obvious that she isn't over Rob yet.  Until she is, he's going to keep trying to win her heart.
         Holly and Jason miss Rob, but they have no way of knowing that he isn't quite gone.  Rob has been stuck in limbo all these months, and he wants out.  After months of searching for an escape, Rob thinks he's found one in Holly's grandfather.

         I really enjoyed the shifting perspectives in Wherever You Go.  It was great to understand each character from three different viewpoints.  I think that Holly, Jason, and Rob were all more likable than they would have been had I not been able to see how they were perceived by others.  Though sad and emotional at times, Wherever You Go was a good read with a satisfyingly happy ending.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: March 28, 2012

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)

*****

         Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce enjoys the simple pleasures of life.  Her favorite pastimes include reading old chemistry books, examining a skeleton called Yorick, and concocting poisons.  Flavia's life at Buckshaw, her home in the English countryside, is quiet.  She manages to make life exciting by recreating famous chemical discoveries and coming up with a few of her own.  When Flavia finds a dead man in the cucumber patch early one morning, her quiet life is interrupted and a thrilling murder mystery emerges.  And honestly, what could be more exciting than that?  

         This is one of the few books I have read that had me hooked before I finished reading the first two pages.  Alan Bradley's descriptive writing brings Flavia de Luce's world to life, and it's the kind of world I wish I was a part of.  Flavia is an extremely clever and totally hilarious character unlike any you have ever seen.  Instead of thinking through her plans, Flavia dives into action as she tries to solve the murder mystery and prove her father innocent.  Though this mystery doesn't send chills up your spine, it does keep you on the edge of your seat as you try to put all of the pieces together.  If you haven't read it yet, definitely make a point of doing so.  

Rating: 5/5

Completed: March 26, 2012

How I Live Now (Meg Rosoff)

***

         Daisy's father and loathsome stepmother have sent her to live with her Aunt Penn and cousins (Osbert, Isaac, Edmond, and Piper) in the English countryside.  She quickly adapts to life with her strange relatives, who feel more like family than Daisy's own father does.  In an unfortunate turn of events, war breaks out when Aunt Penn is abroad.  The cousins are on their own as violence and fear are spreading like the plague.  Together, they try to survive as the war gets worse and an unorthodox romance blossoms.  But when Daisy and Piper are separated from the boys, it seems like their chances of survival are slim to none.  

         

         Nearly two weeks after reading this book, my thoughts on it have changed slightly.  I was driven to give it three stars based on the punctuation (or lack thereof), which was hard to work with.  At first I read the text as written, but I quickly realized that was a bad approach.  The reader has to insert their own punctuation and read in a slow, poetic way.  On the whole, though, I found How I Live Now to be strangely addictive, and I ended up getting very little work done while I had the book within arm's reach.  For those who don't have patience for odd and unique styles of writing, it's probably not a good choice.  Having put a little distance between myself and How I Live Now, it might be closer to a four-star rating.   

Rating: 3/5

Completed: March 14, 2012