Va Par
4.0
I was supposed to read THE INFINITE SEA by Rick Yancey but I ended up reading this instead. The reasons why are: 1. I'm still having a hangover from reading The 5th Wave. That book was just too good that I still can't get over it. So I have to read something else until I'm all calmed and collected. ; 2. I missed the Divergent series. It's been more than a year now since I finished Allegiant and I think that was even way before the first Divergent film was released. I couldn't give less of a flying fudge about the films though. The films ruined the books for me and there weren't any justice to it. So here's a short review about this book.
It's interesting to relive some moments through Four's perspective and to get more insight into his past. He was a rebel before Tris and not because of her. Going through his initiation was my favorite - to see him develop friendships and enemies. It's totally a prequel and gives more insight into the universe.
I actually did see the difference in voices between Tris and Tobias. What I loved about them was everything they had in common and the different ways they came about their common goals. But onto Tobias' (or Four's) perspective, it was a little disappointing not to really gleam any new information from him. However if you love Four then this will be a ahem cute little treat for Tobias fangirls out there, and filled with some memorable quotes.
All in all, it's a definite must-read for all of the fans of the trilogy. But be warned about the short length. For those who will buy the book, the size will not warrant the price. Talk about nickel and dimming. Maybe Ms. Roth is trying to make as much $$$ as possible now just in case she won't create another hit (no offense hahaha).
5.0
I've already seen the film by Stanley Kubrick a couple of times before reading this book. The film version is one of my all-time favorite films and it's just one of those films that resonated with my soul. I then Googled the book online and saw that it's less than 300 pages, so I ended up reading the entire novel in a single night. Here's what I think for this amazing book:
This is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read. Ingenious in the way it is written, executed, and created. Anthony Burgess created a fascinating, gruesome world, in which he sucks you right in leaving you feeling sick to your stomach but intrigued nonetheless. He created an entirely new language, confusing you and entertaining you all at the same time. I was at first very confused and put off with the slangs used, and it was hard understanding all the words and making sense of it, but soon enough you get the hang of it and you start to enjoy reading it. You would think that it would be impossible to write a book about a 15-year old rapist/murderer and somehow have him come out as a sympathetic character. Burgess has achieved that remarkable feat in this book. The genius of it is in the use of the first person and in the use of slang to give voice to Alex. The slang also serves to make the violence almost comical as instead of kicking someone in the mouth, Alex describes “giving a tolchok into the rot and knocking out a few zoobies”. So even though the book is full of violence and ~rape~, the language removes us from it in such a way that the book feels less violent than it is.
The story itself is a fairly simple and fast read. If you have seen the film then you already know what happens in the book. Alex and his friends commit violent crimes, Alex gets arrested, he gets cured of his violence and then gets cured of the cure. The movie follows the book almost EXACTLY!
Nearly forty years after it's first publication, Burgess' controversial novel still stands as a masterpiece. Burgess himself thought that this book is overrated. He said that there were other books that he would rather have been remembered for, but I don't agree. This is brilliant on every level. A Clockwork Orange is a deep exploration of good and evil, with the conclusion that it is better to choose to be bad than to be forced to be good. In other words, man's free will must be protected at all costs, and we mustn't curb our nature so that we become little more than a machine - we mustn't become like “a clockwork orange”.
A Clockwork Orange changed the way I look at literature for it provides a balanced look at life and the decisions we make. It makes a statement more so than just tells a story. It exposes human emotions, the darkest parts inside of us that we keep hidden from us all. Upon finishing this novel I was forced to reflect on it and ask myself, “aren't we all the same?” and it's a question I feel this novel addresses well.
This is one of my favorite quote from the book: “What does God want? Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some way better than a man who has the good imposed upon him? Deep and hard questions little 6655321.”
4.6
I know I'm already a year too late to read this book and get along with the hype. This is the first Marie Lu book that I've ever read, and I decided to go with this before I read the Legend trilogy. The premise seemed really interesting, it had great reviews, so I figured why not? Anyway, here's my honest critical analysis for this book.
The story is very interesting. A plague sweeps through a country leaving behind a group of survivors with super powers. Because they are different and powerful (think of the mutants from X-Men), the everyday people are scared of them. This causes a group of the mutants (or in this book, ‘malfettos') to band together and form a society called the Young Elites. They battle against the forces of evil and oppression for their rights, but aren't afraid to kill to get what they want.
If you like deep, rich characters that you get deeply attached to, then this is a book for you. Adelina herself is very badass and has a lot of inner struggles. Her sister, while seemingly a flat character in the beginning , actually had a nice twist and some good character development towards the end. Enzo was a good character, probably a little bit of a stereotypical prince who has been wronged and wants his revenge (sigh), but that's fine. But Raffaele, dear lord - what a deep, dark character. He seems so straightforward and gentle at first, but develops quite interestingly at the end. Here's the bottom line: there are lots of good character development, all around.
As for Ms. Lu's writing style, I think it was superb. I am not usually a fan of books that are written in the present tense, but this was written so well that I hardly noticed it. The whole mutants-being-turned-on-by-society-and-seeking-to-fit-back-in storyline is hardly a new one (X-Men is one big name that comes to my mind). So that's not terribly original. But aside from that, Marie really makes this her own through the character building and overarching storyline.
If you aren't a fan of young adult fiction, you probably won't like this book. But if storyline and characters (which in my mind are the most important aspects) are important to you, then yes, you should read this book. Believe me, it gets so much better because the epilogue promises more of Adelina Amouteru and the Young Elites. I will definitely be looking forward for The Rose Society (which was already released, by the way)! So yeah, GO READ IT NOW!
4.4
I don't understand why people hated this book and never found it compelling. Here's my review, nonetheless:
I fell almost instantly in love with this book. From the very first page, I was sucked into this world that was so full of horror and tragedy and yet also so fascinating and interesting. The Darkest Minds hooked me with its well-developed world, heart racing action, and characters that made their way easily into my heart.
I loved that this book was so gritty. Ms. Bracken holds nothing back and really tries to give the reader the perspective of what poor Ruby's life is really like. The writing is beautiful and I honestly loved every page.
For our protagonist, I very much enjoyed Ruby to the fullest extent! She is so brave and actually very heart-broken. The things that the kids had to deal with in the camps were appalling and she actually comes out pretty unscathed for the most part. The fact that she could hold it together makes her an awesome character.
But what literally left me speechless was the end of this book. There were ~almost~ tears in my eyes. I'm such a sap, I had all kinds of feels going on! This book has the first chapter of the next book and I honestly could not bring myself to read it without having the finished copy right in front of me. I knew that once I started, I would not want to stop.
I'm actually looking forward to reading its sequels because I heard they're much better than this one. I highly recommend it to EVERYBODY. It doesn't matter what genre you like. This book has something for everything.
4.1
I started to read Middlesex after finishing Eugenides' first novel, The Virgin Suicides, and had the high expectations of the same atmospheric well-written coming-of-age tale.
While Middlesex is a fiction novel, it actually feels more like I'm reading a historical memoir. It reminds me somehow of Forrest Gump. JE places its characters in between historical events, whether it be Turkey, Greece, New York City, Detroit, etc.
I gotta say that I truly enjoyed reading this book, although it's a hefty read (500+ pages). It took me 4 days to finish it, but still. Middlesex is a very ~intellectual~ book. It traces the story of how Calliope, or Cal, turned out to be a hermaphrodite - due to genetics and decisions made by Cal's ancestors before she was born. Outside the hermaphrodite angle, it was easy for me to get involved in Calliope's family history. I was shocked by the atrocities of the war committed during her grandparents' days in Greece. I sympathized with Calliope as she went through those awkward adolescent years, never truly fitting with anyone and getting confused with romantic feelings for her former girl best friend. The climax of the story took place when she finds out how different she truly is, finding about her ~real~ sex, and how Cal has decided to lead his/her life.
Although it was entertaining, it felt like it could have been edited/written better. There were a lot characters not necessary to the story. There were times when JE was describing a situation way too fondly, or putting on beautiful words on emotions and details as much as possible that it started to become a distraction. There were times when I had to skim through parts because of paragraphs that are almost a page long.
Despite the aforementioned portions, Middlesex is a very informative read that I found enlighting in so many ways. I'm glad that I've read this but it's probably something I'll never explore or read twice. But this is still a must-read, and I'd totally recommend it.
4.5
Let me tell you something before I review this book. Before I went on to read this, I've already seen the movie once, when I was a child, and I got the chance to re-watch it again around September this year. I instantly fell in love with the film adaptation, and a few days later, I found myself downloading an e-book version of it. I started reading The Virgin Suicides around September, as well, and I finally decided to finish it as of today (12:38 A.M. December 16, 2015).
One thing I love about the film is that it remained faithful to this book, which is a rare scenario in book-to-movie adaptations. You'd be pleased to know that Sofia Coppola (who's one of my favorite directors, btw) and her team did a terrific job on putting it on film.
Now onto the book. It's such a quick read. But to be honest, I couldn't find myself to love the book. It was dark and depressing and I felt very sorry for the Lisbon sisters' parents. I can't ever imagine 5 of their children, let alone 1 child, commit suicide all at the same time. It's very gut-wrenching! I tried reflecting on it, afterwards. As parents of the sisters, how do you move on and go after that event?
I love Eugenides' writing style. The book was well-written, the story line was cohesive and the narration from the boys made the characters come to life. The use of third-person plural was ingenious, although I would have expected more character development. The ending was not conclusive either. Since it is told in an outside perspective, the answers to many of the questions remained unanswered, only assumed.
But overall, I was impressed by this novel and the movie alike. I highly recommend this to everyone, but prepare yourself for a lot of feels.
4.7
I had an intense ‘reader's block' for almost a year and this is the first ~full~ novel I've ever finished ever since. I thought I'll never be able to finish another book because of that, but I'm glad I did. This is actually one of my goals by the end of the year - to get into reading again. Anyway, here's my review for this awesome book.
This book messed up my mind! I now understand the hype, the ranting and the raving, the hangover it causes once you finish it. There's a mixture of thoughts and emotions on me that I'm very unsure of. I have already read so many post-apocalyptic/alien novels and they're somewhat forgettable. But not this one. While reading, you just can't put it down. It's an absolute knock-out thriller that will make you not let go of the book.
Rick Yancey is a magnificent author, a great writer, and has a rare gift in storytelling. I love how he shifted the narrations between a few major characters because it works very well with this novel. To give you a little overview, Cassie and Ben are the primary narrators, with a chapter here and there from the POV of Cassie's little brother Sammy and also a stranger she meets named Evan. This really adds to the overall climax of the story, because as a reader, you hold a lot more pieces of the puzzle and you're just itching for them to find out things about a certain situation. There are also some twists in the story, that aren't much of a big reveal to the reader, but it really adds up to the tension.
What makes this book standout from other alien invasion tales is that the aliens never had an intention to damage nor destroy Earth. Since they need it so much, and instead of blowing stuff up, they find more sinister ways to exterminate humans. I don't want to give away too many plot details, but I have to say that the character development in this novel is absolutely splendid and the concept of the 5 “waves” is brilliant!
To sum it all up: The 5th Wave ended up being the type of book that I love and will be talking to people about for a couple of weeks or months. Excellent, compelling fast-paced story that kept me up all night just to finish it. It's a wonderful start to a series that I assume is only going to get better. I can't recommend this book enough. JUST DON'T MISS THIS ONE!
4.0
I think we could all agree that Lang Leav is one of the most amazing poets/authors of today's generation. The words she uses to deliver her poems are universal and it can move you. It was proven in her first two books, Love & Misadventure and Lullabies.
But there's one problem with this one. This book is a collection of her best poems on her first two books. It included a few new poems, but it didn't appeal to me that much. As I was getting through the deeper pages, it started to feel extremely repetitive. It's basically like buying the first two books all over again.
I wouldn't recommend this book if you already have her first two books, unless of course it's your first time getting into Lang Leav's poems. For those who already owned Love & Misadventure and Lullabies, it's up to you if you still want to read this. Otherwise, you're not really missing out on much.
4.8
I already read this book way back in March 2015, and I completely forgot to mark it as “Read” here on Goodreads. I remember seeing the first few minutes of the film way back in 2014. At first I found it boring. I turned it off immediately. Fast-forward to a few months later, one of my friends told me how amazing the film was, and suggested that I watch it in its entirety. At first I was confused, that maybe it wasn't Gone Girl that he's seen. But I got curious somehow. I started Googling about the film, and found out that it was based on a novel (oooohhh). The film received universal acclaim from audiences and critics alike. So I was like “curiouser and curiouser”. I decided to read the book first, then watched the film immediately after I finished it. And this is the part where I say “Man, I was too quick to judge”. I fell in love with the book and the film almost instantly! The film really captured the essence of the book, and the entire “aura” of the female protagonist/antagonist, Amy (all hail queen Rosamund Pike). Okay enough talk. Here's my review of this book:
Gone Girl is one of the most COMPLEX novels I've ever read. During the first few chapters, I was annoyed with Amy and the sing-song quality of her narration. I kept asking myself, “What's all the hype about this book?” But the more I read, the more I understood and it really hit me at about 30%, after which I could not put the book down. For the first half of Gone Girl, I felt sort of uncomfortable while reading until I realized why. It's the writing - it's so hateful and angry. It makes you feel like you're the dinner guest of a spatting couple and can't escape. But it's more than that; it's malicious and hateful and you want to turn away from it.
The characters are flawed and achingly REAL, as are their relationships. Just who are Amy and Nick Dunne? Amy, who has grown up in the shadow of the fictional Amazing Amy created by her parents, has been married to Nick for five years and appears to be the perfect wife. She's pretty, intelligent and supportive of her husband. But, is she really as loving and amazing as she seems? Hmmm....
Nick is a concerned husband who initially cooperates with the police in the search for his wife. But then, his own humanity and ineptitude is revealed with some shocking developments. Could he have killed his beautiful wife? One might even find the next questions more than relevant. But Gillian Flynn is the expert storyteller here, and there are many more questions we will have before the story ends.
Gillian Flynn has done a magnificent job of crafting a fine story filled with ~chameleon-like~ characters who live different definitions of truth and happiness. In the process, she jerks the reader back and forth between sympathizing with and despising some of her characters, and each jerk is a satisfying jolt. Gone Girl slyly comments on marriage, society, and the ways people manipulate or reconcile themselves to their situations. It is also an insightful study of how we see ourselves, and how we present ourselves–questioning if any of us are the individuals we think we are, or something that was formulated from pop culture (can't find the right words for this). Ms. Flynn has an imagination that is almost frightening, to be honest.
Here's something, though: The ending was disliked by a lot of people, simply because it's not the ending that you may have expected considering everything that happened before it. While not giving too much away, the story ends on a realistic, yet thoroughly haunting note. The more you let your mind process the ending, the more you'll like it.
All-in-all, Gone Girl is one of the best books, and one of the most magnificent book-to-movie adaptations I've read/watched this year. There's a little piece of dark sorcery that kept me glued to its pages and kept me thinking about it after I was done. It begins well, twists and turns repeatedly, and finishes just as strong. I couldn't recommend it enough!
Warning: When you are done with this book, you are not done with Gillian Flynn! You will be on your device and ready to read another of her books.
4.8
As the title suggests, this book is about the concept of love and romantic relationships. The beginnings and the end of a relationship. The hope for love, the regret over mistakes made, the pain of having been left. At times, it felt like this book was telling the story of the narrator's love life over time, of maybe two or three different relationships, especially as the book is split into three parts, Misadventure, The Circus of Sorrows and Love. Yet at other times, the poems seem to not be related to the one that came before, or the one after. A poem of the end of a relationship coming between two poems about happiness in a relationship. It feels very much like it's open to the interpretation of the reader whether there is a story here, or individual poems that fit into three themes.
Leav writes with simplicity that is wonderfully misleading. There are, of course, metaphors, but they feel almost obvious or every day, so there's no confusion on my part in what Leav is getting at. Most of the poems are quite short; two or three stanzas with three or four lines each. Simple, short. But they each pack a real punch! There is such raw emotion in each poem and it's hard not to feel it!. I may not personally relate to each poem she wrote, but they spoke to me in a spiritual level. It's impossible not to be moved by the honesty that Leav has poured into her words, and the grace with which she writes. They are so powerful, it's a very emotional read.
I don't know very much about the composition of poetry. I couldn't even tell what Leav's poetic style is. Saying that, there are obvious patterns to some of her poems; the length, the rhymes, the rhythm, and even I can tell that Leav has a wonderful talent to be able to say so much, so powerfully and beautifully while still sticking to the bounds of the poetic style, especially when they're so short.
Love & Misadventure is utterly a beautiful book of poetry, and I am so, so glad I stumbled across this gem. I can't wait to to emerse myself into her second book, Lullabies.
4.4
I've finished reading this like book a week ago and I have completely forgotten to update my progress here at Goodreads. But nevertheless, I found the time to give a review about this book so here it goes.
This book literally shows the reader a lot of things about “death”; how death is the ultimate and that when a person dies, no matter how much you love them, there's no coming back. Except for the case of Louise Creed, his wife Rachel, their children Ellie and toddler Gage, and their pet cat Church. They just moved to a new place in the town of Ludlow - it was just a great place and everything's delightful. But the problems were; 1. The road right in front of their house with very very fast trucks passing by from time to time. 2. The Pet “Sematary” (which is a misspelled word for cemetery” at the end of a small path into the woods at the end of Creeds' property. One night Church was hit and killed by one of those trucks while Louise's wife and kids are out of town, and Lou's neighbor, Jud, takes him beyond the Pet “Sematary” to an old Indian burial ground to bury the cat. The next day, the cat comes back to the house, seemingly alive, but violent, aggressive, clumsy, and “non-Church like”. Then, later, Lou Creed's little boy, Gage is hit and killed by a truck. Louis will go through the ultimate test: bury Gage and bring him back. As the story progresses, just to prevent any major spoilers, Louise later realized that being dead is better. (BECAUSE LITERALLY ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE).
4.6
This manga is getting more and more intense as it progresses. All the possible feelings you could feel...it's all in this volume. From “omg wtf” to “:(“ to “uggghh” to “sigh” to “woah fucking plot twist!”. Isayama is just hands down a god when it comes to manga. I wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone because you won't ever regret it :D
4.7
This volume is definitely action packed! I still can't believe that Ymir would save the 104th trainee squad at the top of the castle tower. Isayama is just plain genius for conjuring a really good plot in times of extreme misery. And then there's Mikasa. MIKASA IS BASICALLY THE MAIN HEROINE IN THIS VOLUME! She's capable of making fast decisions just to save Eren's weak and indecisive ass. Seriously where would Eren be without Mikasa saving him 99 percent of the time? hahahaha. And still....this volume ends with another cliffhanger (like always).
4.8
3 words: HOLY FKING ST! There's no way to describe how amazing this volume is. It was just too damn perfect! A lot of mysteries and questions arise in the story and still no answers. Isayama is such a genius when it comes to cliffhangers. This manga never disappoints....like lieteraly, NEVER! I hope we get to learn about the *spoiler alert Beast Titan in the future volumes.
“Castle Utgard will be the scene of a fierce battle!”
4.5
Allegiant, at least for me, was more mature and darker than the previous novels. The intensity and the level of emotion was vastly improved and explores more on the “dystopian” genre. There are some parts that will truly remain with you after finishing it. I really liked how the book is told in two different perspectives. And I was really intrigued with Tobias' point of views because it really shows how his character is highly flawed and very complex, but in a good way though.
Most people who reviewed this book criticised its ending. They said they felt betrayed and devastated for killing off the best characters in the series. Have you guys even heard of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin? Because if you do then it's fashionable nowadays how authors kill off the important characters (so stop whining). I can say that the ending doesn't have the most satisfying ending when it comes to dystopian novels but in my opinion, it didn't really destroy the entire series as a whole.
I'm really glad that I got attached to this trilogy. It's been a great ride of emotions. Veronica Roth really captured every young-adult readers' hearts out there. I'm looking forward to what she'll work on next.
For the last time: BE BRAVE
3.4
I just finished this last week and I finally had the sudden guts to review this because I need to get all of my thoughts on this book to everyone and it's been bothering me the entire week.
I have a love and hate relationship with this book (seems like everyone does). At first I thought it was just some cheap romance about a college girl and a rich entrepreneur but holy shit...THIS BOOK CAME TO ME BY SURPRISE! I had no idea it almost entirely dealt with BDSM (this term is nsfw so you better just google it if you're curious)!!!!. I was all “what the fuk” the entire time.
But despite all of that, I found the story between our two main characters, Ana and Christian, captivating and life changing. Their chemistry was just full of passion and luscious fu**ing. This book made me more comfortable with topics about genitalias, dominance/submission, and erotic copulation. And as much as I hate to admit it, the quite explicit scenes gave me intense sexual desires and blushing hahahah.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequels because I heard it gets way more intense and their chemistry continues to grow into a more serious relationship. I would recommend this books IF AND ONLY IF you're mature enough to understand the nature of sex and of course if you're open-minded.
4.8
This volume is just asdfghjkll the feels are just indescribable. As for the time being, it is the conclusion to the mystery of the female titan. I've always known that Annie Leonhart was the female titan because their resemblance was very uncanny and they have similar combat skills. But again, more mysteries are being made and im actually okay with it. THERE'S LITERALLY NO STOPPING IN THIS MANGA!!! Moving on to volume 9.... Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ
4.8
I am just so damn happy for this book, and the series as a whole. It never failed my expectations, not even a tiny bit! It was very fun and kept me attached to the plot. After 5 books, we finally get to know what the GREAT PROPHECY is all about. So much has happened in this book that some parts seems to become a blur to me.
For the characters, i was so happy for Percy's mom because she finally found someone who truly deserves her. Nico di Angelo's character was a great deal in this book and I'm glad he didn't actually turn out like the person I'd thought he'd be. And Luke was kind of the real hero here (i won't spoil so just read it). And guess what, PERCABETH is official!!!
I don't wanna say too much because my reviews are getting really tedious and what I have to say is almost similar to the previous books. I just really think that this was the best ending for such an unforgettable series. It won't dissapoint you with its ending. I RECOMMEND OH SO SO SO MUCH!!!
4.7
I should've been finished with this book, or even the series in general, if only I haven't been doing constant summer vacations around northern and southern Luzon these past few days. I finally had the time to finish this today and here's my quick review for The Battle of the Labyrinth.
This book is well-worth reading. It lived up to my expectations and it just keeps getting better and better. New characters and gods were introduced and it gives us new elements on the darker world of Greek mythology as it draws closer to the final book and the battle between the gods and the titans.
Riordan's writing never failed to amuse me. He's constantly witty and humorous throughout the entire book and he's always giving way to all the characters. He uses them all appropriately without getting too confusing and somewhat forgettable.
I'm actually running out of favourable adjectives on how amazing this book is. This is by far the best one in the series in my own opinion at least. I highly recommend this book (or even the series) if you want a never ending adventure.