Saturday, October 15, 2016

"The Thousandth Floor" by Katharine McGee

Rating: 3/5 stars

"Do you ever feel like people think they know you, but they can't, because they don't know the most important thing about you?"


This book is Great Gatsby in the future, with teenagers. I really enjoyed the technology aspect, wondering what could be possible in Manhattan, 2118. Some things, though, never change. No matter the wealth, jewels, genetic engineering, luxury, or latest gadgets, people will still go to great lengths to find and keep love. Mankind's inclination to destroy others in that process is still the same.

There were numerous times I wanted to yank a character through the page and give them a good lecture. A "what-in-heaven's-name-do-you-think-you're-doing" verbal lashing. Even though the characters frustrated me, I also ached for them. Numerous times, they could have been spared so much pain and grief if they had been honest and genuine with one another. But instead, they masqueraded as having beautiful, perfect lives when each of them was broken in their own way. Life lesson: be honest with yourself and others.

"Her life was falling apart, piece by gilded piece."

Some of the characters were hard to relate to, because you could clearly see that their deception and attitudes had caused the mess they got themselves into. I'm not usually a fan of teen drama and angst novels (my inner mom just wants to scold them the whole time). However, the story was engaging and the writing style propelled me forward. I had to find out what happened to the characters, but I'll have to read the next book when it comes out for that because it ended on quite a cliff hanger.

Overall, I enjoyed this book more than I expected, and although it's not my book "type," I will probably read the next installment in the series when it comes out. 






Sunday, October 9, 2016

"Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott

Rating: 4/5 stars

This book was wonderful. It was like sitting down with Anne or taking one of her creative writing classes and just having her talk to you about life and writing. I sympathized and related to her on so many levels, which is refreshing for writers who often feel isolated and unique in their struggles and sorrows.

But no, we all share in the same basic struggles. Anne shows the humanness of life and of telling about life through words on the page in a humorous and matter-of-fact way, laughing at herself and inviting the reader to take life less seriously.

I underlined extensively in this book the things that really resonated with me, and also the parts that literally had me laughing out loud. Here are some of my favorite laugh out loud parts:

"My writer friends . . . do not go around beaming with quiet feelings of contentment. Most of them go around with haunted, abused, surprised looks on their faces, like lab dogs whom very personal deodorant sprays have been tested."

"I suspect that he was a child who thought differently than his peer, who may have had serious conversations with grownups, who as a young person . . . accepted being alone quite a lot. I think that sort of person often becomes either a writer or a career criminal."

I appreciated Anne's glaring honesty. Writing is hard, and even good writers have to struggle with it and wrestle it until it works. But it's worth it. Over and over, Anne affirms that writing is worth it and if you desire to do it, you can do it, and that writers and artists are a privileged people:

"This is what separates artists from ordinary people: the belief, deep in our hearts, that if we build our castles well enough, somehow the ocean won't wash them away. I think this is a wonderful person to be."

I also found the writing tips helpful, such as striving to write at least 300 words a day, and finding a writer group. But ultimately, your greatest weapon as a writer is determination:

 "Hope is a revolutionary patience . . . [and] so is being a writer. Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up."


Wednesday, October 5, 2016

"It Ends with Us" by Colleen Hoover

Rating: 4/5 stars

"All humans make mistakes. What determines a person's character aren't the mistakes we make. It's how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses."
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WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

This earned four out of five stars because the parts that I really did not like were redeemed by super stellar sections that really resonated with me.

I decided I had to acquire this book because it has so many amazing reviews. I was impressed, and I had to know what the hype was about. I knew it was about abuse, but that was all I knew about it going into it and this was my first Colleen Hoover read (and probably my last due to the following paragraph).

I did not know that there would be at least half a dozen or so graphic sex scenes. This is my main complaint with this novel, as I don't think they were necessary to the plot. If anything, I felt like the detailed sex scenes diminished the true intimacy and value of Lily and Ryle's relationship because it seemed like their attraction to one another was purely physical from the beginning and through most of the plot. This made it difficult for me to empathize with Lily at first.

In fact, I argued with Lily for the first half of the book. I have replies scrawled in the margins next to Lily's thoughts, like "This is SO unhealthy!", "WHY?! Just tell him NO," "Yikes," and "Huge red flag." She gives Ryle way too much information about herself after they had just met. I honestly felt like she was not being wise and needed to have a better head on her shoulders when it came to guys (also a healthy amount of "stranger danger" which she seemed to have none of). Ryle obviously had some issues from the beginning, but she failed to see them. Also, besides being "beautiful" and rich and smart, I didn't find him that amazing. (My opinion, but I feel like he lacked truly attractive character qualities that matter when you're looking for a relationship.)

But, I did grow to really sympathize with Lily and see it from her perspective as the story continued. Although I was suspicious of Ryle, I was just as surprised as she was when the first "incident" happened. As the incidences continued, I was unsure what the best course of action for her would be. Should she leave? Or should she fight for the relationship? Would she go back to her first love, and should she go back to him? Hoover did an excellent job of showing the struggle and emotions that come with being in a victim of abuse, as I realized that the majority of situations are not black and white. I struggled with Lily as she processed through it, wanting to make it work but also fearing for her (and her daughter's) safety.

Hoover somehow had me second guessing the outcome of the novel up to the very end, and I admire her skill in being able to do that. Would Lily end up with Atlas? Should she fight for her marriage because of their daughter? I was kept on my toes up til the end.

And the end! Wow. I think it was done very well. Lily weighed her options and did nothing hastily. I felt like the end was perfect considering everything that had happened, and I LOVE that the title phrase "it ends with us" is not actually referring to the relationship with Ryle and Lily (as I had assumed for the majority of the novel). I won't say who it's referring to as to avoid spoilers. You'll have to read it for yourself. But I was quite satisfied with Lily's decision in the end. She grew and matured through the story, and I respected who she became.

If you don't mind wading through erotic love scenes, I'd recommend the book. If I had known about them, I probably wouldn't have read it as they were enough to make this married woman uncomfortable (I nearly stopped reading the book halfway). But I really appreciated how Hoover shed light on the issue of domestic abuse and painted it realistically. I hadn't really explored anything on this subject before, and I have a different perspective on women in abusive relationships after reading her book.

In closing, I'll leave you with a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Maybe love doesn't come full circle. It just ebbs and flows, in and out, just like the people in our lives."

"I feel like everyone fakes who they really are, when deep down we're all equal amounts of screwed up. Some of us are just better at hiding it than others."

"Naked truths aren't always pretty."

"Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. I takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet."

And, my favorite: "It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us."


Sunday, October 2, 2016

"Furthermore" by Tahereh Mafi

Rating: 4/5 stars

"Unfold your heart. Sharpen your ears. And never say no to the world when it asks you to dance."


First of all, if any book could be purchased for cover art adoration alone, it would be this one. Just look at the colors and intricate illustrations!

Moving on...

This book is Alice and Wonderland meets Willy Wonka meets Stardust meets The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I felt similar vibes of all of those books in this one because of the whimsical and preposterous situations and encounters. Are flowers a tasty snack? Is color a form of currency? Does the sun rain? Of course, to all of those, if you live in Alice's hometown of Ferenwood.

The story is a pleasure to the imagination and the senses because of Mafi's fantastic descriptions:

"The morning arrives the way Alice imagined a whisper would: in tendrils of gray and threads of gold, quietly, quietly. The sky was illuminated with great care and deliberation, and she leaned back to watch it bloom."

Simply magical! But the magical doesn't come just from the descriptions, but also from the dialogue. Mafi's character dialogue is quick and witty, and seems very British. As I read the character's conversations, I gave them British accents in my head. It only seemed proper, and it made it all the more adorable.

Other things that make this book adorable:

-The narrator consistently addresses the reader and has cute little side comments throughout the story.
-The chapter dividers have fun illustrations and words, such as "I haven't any idea how many chapters are in this book."
-The play on words the author enjoys is amusing: "His [prison] sentence was very long...it was made of many words."

Lastly, the book has important themes, such as embrace who you are and don't try to be who you're not, friendship is important and can come in unlikely packages, family comes first, and love heals:

"The simple truth was that Alice would always be different—but to be different was to be extraordinary, and to be extraordinary was an adventure."

"Love, it turned out, could both hurt and heal."

I recommend this book if you want to take a fantastical, imaginative journey and smile along the way.