All You Need Is Books

Wow. This book is just simply stunning. It was a mix of touching, heart breaking, hilarious and just raw emotion. I cannot express how much I loved this piece of writing. In fact, I think this comes close with how much I love Zusak's 'The Book Thief', which, I assure you, I love very, very much.

Marchetta has the ability to make the shortest of passages, of lines that are so powerful that they make you stop whilst reading, take a deep breath, and will yourself to fight back the tears. Some of this prose was just simply beautiful and her depictions of love, and loss, and friendship were so thoughtful and thought-provoking. Let's just say I cried a lot during this book. A. Lot.

The story is quite confusing at first, with it going back and forth from Taylor at Jellicoe in the modern day, and five friends from about 20 years before. It does very much feel like you've walked into a story half way through and you're not quite sure how you got there. However, I just think it makes it all that much more sweet as you get further along in the novel and you find the stories and events intertwine with each other and it's just like a mystery that you get to solve along with the protagonist (or maybe just before, like I did a few times).

I would honestly recommend this book to anyone, no matter what age group they are because although this book is a YA book, it deals with such hard hitting issues in such a mature way that I think anyone can appreciate it's literary merit. Oh, and Jonah Griggs is amazing and fit, I just had to put that out there. Seriously, why hasn't everyone read this?

This would have received 5 stars, but the end of the book seemed to just come a little abruptly. It was like, I was at the last 15 pages of the book, feeling like there is so much to be resolved and there is NO WAY they can be portrayed to me in a way where I am satisfied - and I did sort of get that. I just wish there had been another 20 or so pages just so I had a bit more closure.

BUT ANYWAY...

'My Life Next Door' is a lovely book. It's a very easy book to get into and it has this heart warming romance in it that had me smiling way too much while reading it. Jase is an absolute sweetheart (even if he did once own a tarantula- ugh.) and I found Sam to be pretty relatable. I have to say though, the people that were the highlight of this book were George (that adorable little boy, who over-thinks things to an insane degree)and Tim, the severely flawed, but hilarious and utterly endearing friend of Sam and Jase. Tim, seriously though, he was great, and now I find out that Fitzpatrick is making a sequel about him (and I am massively excited about this *cue the fangirl-ish screaming now*).

I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a contemporary romance that explores relationships through their highs and lows, whether it be romantic, familial or friendships. This book is a refreshing read that will have you laughing, crying and whooping in joy, and I would not hesitate to pick it up again if I was ever feeling down.

JUST READ IT. OK?

I love this series. I mean, what is there not to love? There were pirates, assassins, magic and mythological creature, oh and did I mention pirates. and assassins. In a book. Together. That is up there in my own personal book heaven, and after Clarke totally wowed me with the first book in this series, 'The Assassin's Curse', I had unbelievably high expectations in this book.

I was not disappointed. While it was not as good as 'The Assassin's Curse' this was still a great book. The colloquial language used in the book flowed really well throughout the whole novel (I'm usually hopeless and unbelievably slow while reading books like that, but I barely noticed it)and it was really refreshing to have a female protagonist who is strong and doesn't need a man to protect her and dictate her every step (cough-Bella Swan-cough). Ananna can hold her own in a fight and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty in situations. She's just great.

Then there is Naji. Naji, Naji, Naji. Sometimes I found myself pretty frustrated with him, but there were other times I just wanted to hug him. While I didn't like him as much as Ananna, he was still a very interesting character. There is also the female pirate Marjani, who is another example of a kickass woman in this series, which I love. I found her to be the most interesting character actually, with her whole back story and how she became a pirate.

I would recommend this series to anyone, to be honest. It has just the right amount of humour, action and tension to keep you hooked, and anyone who likes fantasy with pirates, assassins and far off, exotic lands will be sure to love this series.

I liked this book - it was witty and fun. Obviously, this book series is not aimed at my age group, but I still found it to be an enjoyable read, and I know that if I had read it at the age this book is targeted at I would have loved it. Now, what is 'How To Train Your Dragon' about? Well, the title's pretty self explanatory and it's pretty hard to hate a book where there are dragons as pets.

The story follows the young Hiccup, who lives on the island of Berk, with his father's Viking tribe the 'Hairy Hooligans'. The premise of the story is that in order to be accepted into the tribe officially, all young boys must prove themselves to be worthy by capturing a dragon and training them (the requested method is yelling)to be showcased in the annual Thor's Day Thursday with their rival tribe the 'Meatheads'. However, anyone who fails this will be exiled from their tribe and likely to e eaten by cannibals in the wilderness. Now, you'd think that being the chief's son, Hiccup should have no trouble with this whole training business. Wrong. Though brave, Hiccup has always been considered 'useless' by others due to his small size and lack of yelling skills. Couple this with his completely stubborn and unreliable dragon, things aren't looking the most promising for him.

Although this book, as it is a children's book, doesn't really challenge you and can be quite predictable, it is still an enjoyable read and I'd definitely recommend it to any younger people I know that appreciate a bit of fantasy mixed in with their literature.

I must warn you though, the story is completely different from the film. So if you were expecting a novel retelling of the 'Dreamworks' film you will be disappointed, as though there are similar aspects, the film was loosely based on the novel.

Well, what can I say about The 5th Wave? This novel is an incredibly fast-paced piece of work that constantly keeps you on your toes. Although, admittedly, at the beginning of the book it seemed remarkably similar to the TV series 'Falling Skies' with the whole power going out and not being able to trust people are actually people things, but still, the idea was still very interesting. Instead of starting the novel at the start of the alien invasion, you are immediately thrown in the midst of the invasion, with the majority of the population dead, seeing the world through the eyes of a teenage girl who, for all she knows, could be the last person left on Earth. She is haunted by the promise she made to her baby brother to come back for him after soldiers, who she knows are not to be trusted, take him away. Through flashbacks and swapping point of views from Cassie, the protagonist's, journey, to Camp Haven, where her childhood crush and her brother are being trained to become soldiers so as to fight the enemy, you are introduced to a fascinating and well written story, that constantly keeps you guessing.

This was one of the things I liked best about this book; the fact that it kept me guessing. I was never completely sure who to trust throughout the whole time, and by the end, I think I was just running by the backward philosophy of "everyone is guilty until proven innocent". It is very rare that I can't pick out the bad characters from the rest (I can pick up evil vibes from a mile off)but Yancey did keep me second guessing myself, and I think that deserves the 4 stars all on its own.

One thing I didn't really buy though (and hence the reason it didn't get 5 stars) was Cassie's love interest, Evan, and the subsequent romantic development between the both of them. I'll be honest, throughout most of the novel, I hated Evan with a passion. I did not trust him as far as I could throw him (and I'm weak beyond belief, trust me)and I didn't even begin liking him even a little bit until the end. I don't think I really found his feelings believable. He claims to love her yet he clearly doesn't really properly know her. Also, I'm sorry if I find it a bit cringe worthy if he talks about his dead ex-girlfriend and then minutes later kisses her - if that doesn't scream rebound, I do not know what does. Okay, rant over. Even though Evan was a bit irritating, this did not take away the fact that this is an amazing story, where I loved Cassie, and Ben, and Sam, and even Ringer if I'm honest. I can't wait until the sequel is out in September, and it'll definitely be in my to read list.