Review: All the Light We Cannot See

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Published: May 2014

Pages: 530-Hardcover

Synopsis:

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

My Review: 

All the Light We Cannot See was a story that was both heartbreaking and beautiful. I had heard many good things about this story going into it and although it took me quite a while to get into, I'm glad I did. First off, the writing was one of the best parts of this book. The vivid imagery, metaphors, and similes were wonderful and completed the story. The characters were lovable and realistic. I loved the two different main characters: Marie-Laure and Werner. Marie-Laure was one of the most enjoyable main characters I have ever encountered. Her blindness often requires others help, but I love that she still seeks adventures on her own and finds passions that excite her. Werner was an interesting character to me. His desire to please others and his ability to question what is going on around him often conflicted. I do not think that Werner was a bad guy, I thnk he just became more of an accomplice to some pretty awful things. The way I look at it is that he knew what was going on was wrong but yet could not get himself to turn away from it. In the end, it is his desire to protect and help others that I will remember Werner for.

What is so heartbreaking about this book is it shows just how awful and horrifying war can be for all sides: civilians and soldiers. This book broke my heart in more ways than one and left me feeling content with the ending yet left me with a sense of sorrow for some of these fictional characters. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in World War II historical fiction, if you are looking for a beautifully written book or you want to try something new. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

 

Review: Eleanor&Park

Eleanor&Park by Rainbow Rowell

Published by:St.Martin's Press

Released on:February 26th,20 13

Pages:325 hardcover

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Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this 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. 



This book had a lot of great reviews and of course when some book is supposed to be amazing, I have to check it out. The description given on goodreads isn't very specific so I shall elaborate. The book begins with Park sitting on the bus and in walks a vibrant and different looking girl who is unlike any other girl at their school. Immediately Park feels disdain for Eleanor as she is obviously putting herself in the position to be bullied. There arent't any seats available as people are not allowing her to sit with them. Park becomes furious at Eleanor and tells her to sit down. She obliges and the point of view switches to her. She's thankful that he let her sit down but she's smart enough to realize he's not a friend and he doesn't even want her to sit there.
Days pass and they still sit together in silence. Park loves comics and pulls them out to read while on the bus and he notices that Eleanor reads along with him. He doesn't mind and eventually offers her one to take home. That scene was so cute by the way. Eleanor's family life is not picturesque as Park's. Her mom married this man who abhors Eleanor and even sent her away for a year. Parks parents are married and he has a little brother. Life is perfect compared to Eleanor's.
They eventually start talking on the bus about comics and music and start walking with each other to their lockers. You know exactly where their relationship is going and you can't help but get butterflies when they share moments.
The book was as perfect as it could be. I could've read about them for years. It was so amazing to see the direction their relationship progressed. I think some people had issues with this book because it seemed non realistic but I would disagree with that because every relationship is different. I won't spoil anything but the ending made me cry just a little. Overall this book is one of the best I've read in 2013! I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading,

Ashlinn

Review: Stolen

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Published by:Chicken House Ltd

Released on:May 4th, 2009

Pages:301 paperback

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It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.
This is my story.
A letter from nowhere.

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back?

The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

My thoughts:

 Wow. This book was wonderful. I feel like I say that about a lot of books but it's quite true. We meet Ty within the first few pages and you can't help but want to scream to Gemma, "no, you can't sit with him! He's going to take you from everything you know and expect you to love him!!Don't do it." But what would this story have been if that didn't happen?
 It's guaranteed you will despise Ty for a long time because Gemma does and he's a hooligan for taking her and expecting her to love him. Like mmm boy, you are crazy. Ty in the beginning came off arrogant, manipulative, and cunning. I hated him so much and even until the end I still hated him but not as much. Things started to change though, we saw a much more vulnerable and almost sweet side to him. Gemma eventually warms up to him and genuinely sees him as a better person. I think this story is an example of when you get to know someone, and I mean you really get to know them: weakness, strengths, secrets, triumphs, deepest wishes, and their scars, you can fall for them.That person is much more than their appearance at that point.
 The writing was phenomenal and makes you feel like you are right there on Gemma's journey. The ending was not exactly what I expected. It gives the reader a sense of closure but it's up to you to decide which direction Gemma took, and feel okay about the decision. This book was fantastic and I recommend it to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars.

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!

Ashlinn

Review: The Maze Runer

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Published by:Delacorte Press

Released on:October 6th, 2009

Pages:374 hardcover

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When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

My thoughts: 
  Wow, this book was just absolutely amazing. I had heard a lot of great things about the series and with The Maze Runner movie coming out February 14th, 2014 with one of my favorite actors playing Thomas, I knew I had to read it ASAP. 
  The book was slow and a little hard to understand in the beginning. Everything is confusing because the main character doesn't even have a clue about what has happened or about the way the Glade works. After a while, things become more clear and you start to really get into it because you want to know why Thomas is there and suddenly why this girl has appeared. 
  The setting in The Maze Runner was incredible (at least in my head lol). The characters were so different and interesting in their own way. My favorite characters are Newt and Chuck. Newt is one of the Keepers. The Keepers are the ones in charge basically because they all the decisions for all the Gladers. Newt was level-headed and so sweet. Chuck was awesome and seemed like a genuine friend. 
  The ending was a good way to wrap it up but still leave lots of questions unanswered. I've already read the first two chapters of The Scorch Trials(2nd book) and it left me with a huge cliff hanger I was like what the heck??!! Overall this book was really great and I rate it 5 out of 5 stars. 

Let me know your thoughts if you've read it or plan to!

Happy reading,

Ashlinn 

Book Haul #1

Hello everyone,
Today I had the pleasure of going to Barnes&Noble to buy myself some books! My 16th birthday was on the 18th of July and yesterday was my birthday party. I was blessed with some funds to spend and thus decided to buy some books.
Alright here is the haul:
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Super excited to read this! I've heard really good things about this book. Gives me a Criminal Minds, mystery vibe.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
I already started reading this and so far it's pretty good. It's proved interesting to me and I just hope it keeps getting better. You guys might laugh about this but I actually decided to start reading it because one of my man crushes will star in the movie. Dylan O'Brien if you all are wondering who it is.

Eleanor&Park by Rainbow Rowell
Who hasn't heard about this book? I did a happy dance when I saw it in Barnes&Noble. Looks super cute and I'm hoping it is as great as everyone says it is!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
This book has been out for quite a while and I totally missed the bandwagon for it but oh well it's never too late. I'm not a fan for anything that's creepy, or scary but who knows this book might not be like that. But one of my friends said it was creepy so we shall see. Kinda reminds me of the show American Horror Story for some reaason.

That's all for now and I'm super excited for all of these books!

Happy Reading,

Ashlinn

Review: Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green

Published by:Dutton Juvenile

Released on:October 16th, 2008

Pages:305 hardcover

Buy here 

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.

 

My Thoughts:

  I decided to get this book at the library after looking for a new book to read by an author that I knew wrote great books. Thus comes along John Green. This book was excellent and I'm not exactly sure what else I could say besides that. It's not the type that I would fangirl over and recommend to everyone but at the same time if someone mentioned it or something reminded me of this story I wouldn't hesitate to talk about it.

  I liked Quentin, or Q, a lot. He was a cool dude. I could see myself being friends with him in real life. Q was real and you could relate to him on many different levels, and I appreciated that John Green made him that way. I really loved the whole adventure awaits, live free, do your thing, attitude Margo carried. Margo is a crazy soul and there was no stopping her from day one that's for sure. I'd say the majority of the story is Q searching for Margo and trying to decipher the clues left for him. Which was fun, because as the reader you're solving it along with him and coming up with your own theories. As time went on, Q became more desperate and desperate to find her, which I admire. I think until you're in a situation where the person you like or love has left, seemingly run away from your life, you never really know the lengths you will take to get them back or get an answer. And I'm still trying to figure out if you always do get that answer you're searching for, whether it be closure from that person or from yourself. Or if some things are meant to be left a mystery and we must move on with our lives and hope one day we will forget it and them.

  Overall, I'm happy I decided to read it and share my thoughts with you all. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Favorite Quotes of Paper Towns:
“What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.”

“That's always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people want to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste.”

“When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.” 

“The town was paper, but the memories were not.” 

 “Radar threw his books into his locker and shut it. Then the din of conversation around us quieted just a bit as he turned his eyes toward the heavens and shouted, "IT IS NOT MY FAULT THAT MY PARENTS OWN THE WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION OF BLACK SANTAS.” Oh, how much I loved Radar. He was flawless. Let's be real.

That's all for now!

Comment please and Happy Reading,

Ashlinn

Catching Up!

Hello everyone who is reading this :). I'm sure many of you who follow totally forgot about my blog as it has been more than a year since my last post, but I just wanted to talk about the few amazing books I read during the year hiatus.
First off, I just finished my sophomore year, 10th grade, and as much as it was stressful it had many amazing moments and I'm thankful for all the people I got close to and everything I learned about myself and others. However I have 3 weeks until I start my junior year, so it's not the most convenient time to try to start blogging again so I probably won't be posting a lot but my hope is to review books that I had the great pleasure of reading. I've been trying to catch up on the latest and greatest books right now and reading my favorite book blogs which I have greatly missed.
Alright, onto the books I read:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I read this back in September of last year and yes it does indeed stack up to everyone's hype as anyone who has read it can confirm. I bought it during the summer and my friend who had read Divergent and Insurgent at the time told me I had to read it immediately. It was fabulous and is one of my favorite books, I honestly recommend it to anyone who I'm chatting with about books. I even got my little brother to read it(he loved it, keeps begging me to buy Insurgent) and he is not the type to love reading. My cousin Olivia, who basically is my double and fellow book nerd, finished it in a day and bugged me as well about getting Insurgent! And finally, the movie will be coming out in 2014!!Stoked.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Second book in the Divergent trilogy. I devoured this one and I liked it as much as Divergent. But I'm sure as all of you know second books don't always have the same spark as the first one did. The ending though, it was fabulous. Who's excited for Allegiant??Cause I sure am.

Review:The Fine Art of Truth or Dare

The Fine Art of Truth Or Dare

by Melissa Jensen

Published by: Speak

Released on: February 16th,2012

Pages:380 paperback

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Ella is nearly invisible at the Willing School, and that's just fine by her. She's got her friends - the fabulous Frankie and their sweet cohort Sadie. She's got her art - and her idol, the unappreciated 19th-century painter Edward Willing. Still, it's hard being a nobody and having a crush on the biggest somebody in the school: Alex Bainbridge. Especially when he is your French tutor, and lessons have started becoming, well, certainly more interesting than French ever has been before. But can the invisible girl actually end up with a happily ever after with the golden boy, when no one even knows they're dating? And is Ella going to dare to be that girl?

 

    The Fine Art of Truth or Dare sounds like a cute read and it was but it just wasn't as good as I expected. The first couple chapters we're introduced to Ella an art junkie who is in love with Edward Willing who happens to be dead. And her two best friends; Frankie and Sadie. I loved Frankie he was one of those characters you can't help but want to be friends with them in real life. Sadie I felt like we didn't get to know her as much as Frankie but I still liked her. Ella's like any other love struck teenage girl. She likes this guy Alex Bainbridge one of the most popular guys at Willing. I didn't really think much of Alex because I was sort of in and out of the book but in the end I neither liked him or disliked him. He was just kind of blah. He's pretty much like another stereotypical athletic-boy-who-is-dating-the-most-popular-girl-but-who-then-starts-to-fall-in-love-with-the-quiet-invisible-girl-and-makes-her-feel-special. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it's just so overused. Overall this book was ok it was pretty long for my taste but I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Happy Reading,

Ashlinn