Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Name: Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Date published: 2010
Rating: 5/5

Quentin has always loved Margo Roth Spiegelman, for Margo (and her adventures) are the stuff of legend at their high school. So when she one day climbs through his window and summons him on an all-night road trip of revenge he cannot help but follow.

But the next day Margo doesn’t come to school and a week later she is still missing. Q soon learns that there are clues in her disappearance . . . and they are for him. But as he gets deeper into the mystery – culminating in another awesome road trip across America – he becomes less sure of who and what he is looking for.

- From Goodreads.

Paper Towns was a book full of insightful metaphors, beautiful descriptions, fantastic symbolism and all that other kind of stuff that John Green is just so good at. 
I thought that the book had a really interesting perspective on the way that we look at people and whether  what we see when we look at people is actually them or just one idea of them - maybe even just one idea of many. For that reason, I found it quite thought-provoking; I was continuously thinking about the ideas the book presented throughout the story.
I think it can also make you think because of the twists in the plot and the different directions it kept taking, in the search for Margo and with the different theories of what happened to her that everyone had. 
I liked the inclusion of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, because I read it this past year at university, and I really liked the way Q couldn't quite understand it at first, and then came to understand it through coming to understand Margo. I think I might have to go and read the poem again now that I've read this book, because I think I've definitely been given a different perspective on it!

P.S. I went to see the movie this week, and it was amazing! The acting was brilliant and I really loved the music that was used in the film. I'd definitely recommend going to see it (and reading the book, of course)!

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Review: The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Name: The Sin Eater's Daughter
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Publisher: Scholastic Children's Books
Date published: 2015
Rating: 4/5
Spoiler warning: Pretty major, to be honest. I couldn't seem to write about this book without spoiling it, to be honest.

I am the perfect weapon.

I kill with a single touch.

Twylla is blessed. The Gods have chosen her to marry a prince, and rule the kingdom. But the favour of the Gods has it's price. A deadly poison infuses her skin. Those who anger the queen must die under Twylla's fatal touch.

Only Lief, an outspoken new guard, can see past Twylla's chilling role to the girls she truly is.

Yet in a court as dangerous and the queen's, some truths should not be told...
- From Goodreads.

I thought that The Sin Eater's Daughter included really brilliant world-building with the beliefs, geography, legends and all of the other details of the fantasy world it was set in being so well thought out. This was especially true with the way that we came to believe in it all too, which made it really devastating when Twylla's world came crashing down (side note: cool name, Twylla).
The great world-building was paired with excellent writing, although I noticed that the phrase "It wasn't until...that I realised I had been holding my breath" , or at least some variations on that, cropped up more than once, and while I think that it works as a phrase, emphasising tension and all that jazz, I think caution should be taken in repeating it, because it loses it's impact when it's used more often.
Another point which meant that I gave this book a rating of four rather than five, was that I wasn't sure about some of the choices Twylla made or some of the actions she took as I couldn't relate to them myself, and while I definitely enjoyed reading the story, I found I was distanced from it somewhat because of that. I also found I didn't fall in love with Lief as much as Twylla did, I did like him, but I couldn't relate to Twylla's feelings towards him, and I think I liked him more when he was first introduced than I did by the end (and not just because of what we found out about him) and I felt more sorry for Merek than I ever did for Lief.
Something else I wasn't sure about was the ending. I liked how Twylla had independence and happiness and how she had promised to return to Merek if the sleeping prince ever appeared, I thought that was the right promise to make, but I think I wanted her to stay with Merek in the castle in the first place (I'm not sure why but I think I might be Team Merek, if that's a thing). I also thought it was quite clear who it was that knocked on her door at the very end and I'm not sure how I feel about that either.
However, all in all, I very much enjoyed the book and now I'm going to go and learn about Victorian flower language, reread the book once I have done so, and then try and discover if there is going to be a follow up to this book, because if there is going to be one, then I will most definitely be reading it.

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Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Name: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Date published: 2015
Rating: 5/5

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.
Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.
Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia - cue extreme adolescent awkwardness - but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.
And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

- From Goodreads.

I don't even know if I can form a coherent sentence about this book (in a good way), but I suppose it's worth a try. 
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was straight-to-the-point hilarious. I found it funny from the first sentence, which you might not expect considering the subject matter, and which consequently gave the book quite a unique twist (I don't know about you but I've never read a laugh-out-loud funny book about cancer before). I think part of what made it so funny was the real, relatable characters, especially with Greg's self-deprecating narration which felt so true to life. It's completely and utterly honest in a brilliant way.
Something else that really made me love this book was that, even with the comedy element, it still managed to make you feel emotional about the characters and concerned for them. And even though you're kind of told what's going to happen at the end, you still hope it doesn't happen, you don't want it to happen, and yet the book almost helps you to accept that it will happen. Basically, it's depressing in a funny kind of way (and by that I mean both funny as in haha and funny as in odd).
Sometimes (and here's the part of the review where I just get emotional and ramble) it was so funny but then it was just so sad and I wanted to take Rachel and Greg and put them in a place where nothing could hurt them. Because cancer is so stupid.
Basically, it's a really depressing book and you should never read it, ever, because it's really awful and I hate it so much and I can't wait to tell everyone about it because it's now one of my favourite books and I love it so much and everyone should read it and you need to read it because it's so brilliant. It's ridiculous, really. By the end, I was sort of laughing and crying at the same time and it was just terrible, really terrible.
Conclusion: read this book. 

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Review: From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender

Name: From Bad to Cursed
Author: Katie Alender
Publisher: Hyperion
Date published: 2011
Rating: 3/5
Spoiler warning: Minor

Although I did think that it was a good book, I did have a couple of issues with From Bad to Cursed. I thought that perhaps Alexis' change from trying to destroy Aralt to worshipping him could have been slightly more subtle and gradual. I found it quite noticeable and pronounced. If it had been done more discreetly, with the realisation of what was happening only eventually creeping up on the reader, that could have made it a little more intriguing.
And then there were other parts that were slightly hard to follow and sometimes I found it hard to remember whether Alexis was completely loyal to Aralt or not. I know this sounds contradictory to my last point but what I mean is that because Alexis' transformation from enemy to worshipper of Aralt was so sudden, because it was not slow enough, it was a bit difficult to understand, I was confused rather than intrigued. There were also moments when I almost could not keep up with what the other girls involved were up to.
Despite these issues, I did actually very much enjoy this book. I thought it was an interesting story with action, suspense, and even some humour mixed into it.

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Review: Fearless by Tim Lott

Name: Fearless
Author: Tim Lott
Publisher: Walker Books
Date published: 2007
Rating: 5/5
Spoiler warning: Minor

With Fearless, I really liked how the story was mostly told from the perspective of Little Fearless and the other children. They were quite innocent and naive, not exactly knowing or understanding what was going on outside the institute, or inside it, for that matter. But they were still intelligent, and definitely brave, in their own ways, and I think this all added to the inspirational nature of the story.
The book also had a very emotional nature, and I found the Controller's part especially sad. I did guess who he was (in relation to Little Fearless) quite close to the beginning of the book, but that did not make it any less heartbreaking when the truth was revealed.
Fearless had a very strong and important message about control and freedom, and I thought that the fact that it almost seemed to be written as if it was a young children's story while it had such a sinister truth to it gave the story's message a lot of impact.

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Review: Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Name: Someone Else's Life
Author: Katie Dale
Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK
Date published: 2012
Number of pages: 478
Rating: 3/5

Someone Else's Life was incredibly dramatic, with many, many plot twists. Although I understood why it was so dramatic, as it dealt with a couple of very serious topics, I'm not sure if I liked how some parts were done and how there were a couple of questions that were still unanswered by the end. Seeing as the main point of the story was for Rosie to go on this journey to find out the truth about her life and the lives of the people around her, I felt it strange that I still had questions when it was over. Surely all my questions should have been answered?
At some points I did enjoy reading the book, it wasn't all bad, far from it, but there were some points when I really did not enjoy it. I especially didn't enjoy it between the middle and end of the book, when some of the characters' actions frustrated me and annoyed me slightly, so I couldn't relate to them because I didn't understand them.
Overall, I'd say that this was a good book, but it could have been better with some more realistic actions and reactions from the characters and with an ending that didn't feel as unsettling as it did.

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Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Name: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Author's website: rainbowrowell.com
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Date published: 2014
Number of pages: 459
Rating: 5/5
Spoiler warning: Moderate

The ending of this book crept up on me (that seems to be happening to me more and more often, maybe I just need to pay more attention) and I didn't realise it was almost over until I turned a page and realised the next page was the last one. Obviously I knew it was going to end eventually, just not right at that point. I think I just became really attached and didn't want it to end. I really related to Cath and loved reading her journey. I recently started university so I really understood her nerves about it. The story felt very real with mistakes and confusion and mess and things not being straight-forward but getting sorted out eventually with a lot of effort and really good happy moments and happy tears that made the hard work definitely worth it...and I'm rambling...
I really liked the fan fiction element. I have to admit I read (and sometimes attempt to write...but just forget I mentioned that because my attempts are pretty bad...) fan fiction myself and I liked how this book showed that it isn't some weird freaky thing and that it can be really important and significant and brilliant.
I found it interesting that Cath never reconciled with her mother, and I that was good because doing that wasn't the right thing to do for Cath and it would have felt forced. I think it showed that the end of the book isn't the end of the story because maybe one day Cath would go on to talk to her mum, Maybe. The fact that the book leaves a few things in the air leaves you to imagine what Cath and her family and friends did next, in a good way, not in a oh-my-God-you-can't-just-leave-it-there-I-hate-you way, of course. As Wren said, "It's never over." (excuse me while I go and repeat that to myself while crying about Harry Potter).

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