Review on 'The Book Thief'

In 1939 Nazi Germany, nine year old Liesel Meminger is forced to live with a foster family. She is at first reluctant, but grows to love her foster parents. However, after finding a book left in the snow, a thirst for knowledge causes Liesel to want more, resulting in her nickname of “The Book Thief.” As the second world war approaches, and a Jewish fist fighter comes into her life, Liesel must decide between loyalty to the Führer , or loyalty to the Jew who now resides in her basement. One thing that Liesel does not bet on is that one day a certain book will save her life.

I don’t even know where to start with this book there’s so much I want to talk about that I could write a whole essay on all the different themes but I will try to keep it as brief as possible. The first thing that I want to point out is that this book is narrated by death. As the stereotypical idea of death is a long, black hooded figure with a scythe, it is interesting that in this book we are actually able to sympathize with death. He has a pretty crappy job having to be the one to take souls away from bodies after a person dies but hey someone has to do it right? But overall Death hates that he has to do this and particularly feels sad about taking away the souls of children. We see that he has his own thoughts and feelings, and can be particularly drawn to the lives of individuals, such as Liesel. Moving on from Death, there are other important themes, a few of them being friendship, bravery, forgiveness, determination and helping those in need, even if it means going against the rules. Like I said I could go into each of these themes in detail but ain’t no one got time to read that. However I must talk about the narrative devices used. I've already mentioned the fact that the novel is narrated by Death. I found it interesting that the reason Death knows Liesel's story is not by creepily stalking her, but by reading the book that she had wrote about her life. I thought this was a great way to personify Death, as reading is a very human thing to do, and the fact that Death made time in his busy schedule to read her story makes Death seem a little less scary. I must also mention the tiny details, such as the text of Mein Kampf bleeding through the painted pages in Max’ stories. I apologize for the long review but I was just amazed by this book and it is one of the best stories I have read this year. I highly recommend it as it is one of those books that has the ability to change your life and your way of perceiving the world. I am now highly looking forward to the movie adaptation and hope that it does the book justice.

Review on 'The Infernal Devices #1 Clockwork Angel'

In the year 1878, 16 year old Tessa Gray moves to London to live with her brother after the death of her aunt. However, things are not as they seem, as instead of her brother, Tessa is greeted by two strange women known only as The Dark Sisters. Tessa soon finds out the truth about these two women, and realizes that her brother has gone missing. With the help of the London Shadowhunters, including best friends Will and Jem, Tessa must uncover the truth about the disappearance of her brother, and what she really is.

As most Young Adult novels that I have read recently have been either contemporary or dystopian, I felt that this novel being set in the past was an interesting and welcoming change. I decided to read this book after enjoying The Mortal Instruments series and loving the Shadowhunter world, and thought this addition was interesting and exciting. I loved the characters, particularly Will and Jem. Although at first I thought that I would prefer Will, as he is seems similar to Jace in The Mortal Instruments, I ended up loving Jem too as he is just the most sweet and adorable thing and I ended up wishing that he wasn’t fictional! There are some heart wrenching moments, particularly the reason why Jem is sick. There is a love triangle in this book between Tessa, Will and Jem, but for this book at least, it did not seem to be the main focus point, and the action outweighed the romance. If you are a fan of The Mortal Instruments, or even if you are just interested in a Young Adult book set in the past then you should give this one a go.

Review on 'Warm Bodies'

“R” is a zombie who lives in an abandoned airport. He does not remember anything about his life before he died, not even his name, although he is sure that it began with the letter R. The only thing that R does in his Undead state is wonder aimlessly round the airport, and visit the city when he craves human brains. That is until he meets Julie, a human girl who he decides to save rather than eat. With Julie's help, R slowly starts to regain human emotions and his craving for brains lessens. R decides that he is not content with his life as a zombie, and wants to fully regain his humanity. But it's not only R who is changing, the zombies that R shared the airport with also seem to be going through changes. R and Julie start a battle against the zombie virus. Will they succeed or will the Boneys destroy the zombies before they can fully regain their humanity?

As I had seen the trailer for the movie adaptation of this book, and I hate seeing the movie before reading the book I thought I should probably read it. The book is told from R's point of view, which I thought was interesting, as the zombies are usually seen as the “bad guys” so it was original to see a story with a zombie protagonist. As I usually like supernatural novels, I had expectations for this book and it did not disappoint. R is a very likable character, and the reader is able to sympathize with his want to become a living person again, as although R needs to eat humans to survive, after meeting Julie he starts to dislike what he is. Although the book has emotional parts and talks between Julie and R, the book is also action packed, with fight scenes and chases between the zombies and the Boneys. It is quite gory in parts, which is to be expected from a zombie novel. They do eat brains after all! I thought that it was a unique idea to have the zombies see flashbacks of the humans life once they had eaten their brain. The flashbacks from Perrys life was confusing at times, but was overall a good idea to give R background information on Julies life.  If you enjoy zombie stories and don't mind seeing them in a positive light, then I recommend this book.

Review on 'War Horse'

Joey is a beautiful red horse who is taken from his mother at a young age and sold to a farmer. Although the farmer is unkind to Joey, the farmers son takes kindly to Joey and trains him how to be a work horse. However, when the army arrives in town looking for horses, Joey is sold. As Albert, Joeys owner, is too young to join the army, the two are separated and Joeys life changes forever. Faced with the terrors of war, Joey has to get through this alive so that he can be reunited with Albert.

I thought this book was beautifully written and found the narrative style interesting, as it is wrote from the point of view of Joey. Although many of the characters in the book think that horses are dumb and can't understand them, we know this is not true, as Joey explains his thoughts and feelings, letting the reader sympathize with him. We are rooting for Joey throughout the book, and although he meets many kind people, such as a little french girl called  Emilie, we are always wanting him to find Albert again. Although there are no major plot twists, there is plenty of action and there is never a dull moment. The copy that I have is also beautifully illustrated, which helps in telling the story and giving a visual image to the reader. Although this is a childrens book, I would recommend it to people of all ages.

Review on 'Beautiful Creatures'

Ethan Wate lives in a small, boring village where nothing ever happens. That is until Lena Duchannes moves into town. When Lena inexplainably smashes a window in class, she is immediately shunned by her peers, all except for Ethan. Although Lena lives with Macon Ravenwood, a man who no one has seen leave his house in years, Ethan has a connection with Lena. But why has Ethan been dreaming about this girl for months, and why is she so worried about her upcoming birthday? Ethan soon finds out that Lena is more than just a normal teenage girl

As I love supernatural young adult novels, I thought that I would try this one. The plot is interesting, and it keeps you wanting to find out why Lena and Ethan have such a strong connection. I thought it was well written, and the back story of their ancestors helped explain the characters, and how they are connected through their family. However after the initial reveal of what Lena is, I felt that the subplots were not enough to keep you from wondering what was going to happen to Lena on her birthday, and it felt as if the novel was dragged along until this point. I loved the climax of the novel, as there are a few plot twists, but also some disappointments, as the book seems to be leading up to a big reveal, but then it does not happen, and it seems as if we have to read the sequels to find out Lena's fate. It is a good read overall, but not the best YA novel I have read recently.

Review on 'The Fault in Our Stars'

"It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”

Hazel Grace wants nothing more than the ability to be a normal teenager. However, being diagnosed with cancer at the age of thirteen changed her life forever. Although the cancer is kept at bay with a drug called Phalanxifor, her life is constantly at risk. As Hazel needs to be constantly hooked up to an oxygen tank, this makes it difficult for her to do normal day to day activities. Hazel is depressed about her situation, that is until she meets Augustus Waters, a gorgeous boy who she meets at cancer support group. As Augustus was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at a young age, causing him to loose his right leg, Hazel finally has someone in her life who understands her. However, Hazel discovers that not all is as it seems, and her relationship with this perfect boy may be in jeopardy.

As I’d heard many positive reviews about this book,and consider myself a nerd fighter,  I decided to give it a go. John Green does not disappoint, as I instantly loved this novel and connected with the characters of Hazel and Augustus. The novel had me both laughing and sobbing, and I felt great empathy for these characters. Green brings Hazel and Augustus to life, showing a variety of emotions from humour to pain. Although the book is centered around teenagers, they seem advanced for their age, knowing that life is never perfect. I think that adults as well as teenagers would enjoy this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone. As long as you are ok with having your heart ripped out towards the conclusion, you should definitely read this book. In other words, it will be a privilege to have your heart broken by it.