Friday, July 13, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Top Ten Tuesdays
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This week's theme, from The Broke and the Bookish, is a freebie! This is also the first time I believe that I've participated in this meme, so it's a good week to start I think :-)
Top Ten Authors (I think this was used before but it's a start for me)
- Ellen Hopkins- Everything she writes is real and so addicting, pun intended,
- Sarah Dessen- She knows the words of the teenage soul. She got me to love reading and trust in books.
- Richelle Mead- Vampires, sexy guys, sexy people, sexy stories, but with some class throw in there.
- Susane Colasanti- Like Sarah Dessen, but she has a flair that gives a sense of adventure and makes me feel special for being able to learn about her characters.
- MaryJanice Davidson- Erotica but not quite; I love her storylines and the humor in her novels.
- Lili St. Crow- Fierce characters, wonderful writing, and it feels like it's past YA, for mature teens.
- Chevy Stevens- I read her first book, Still Missing, and knew I was lucky to have the ARC in my hands. I just bought her next book and cannot wait to read it.
- P.C. Cast- So imaginative and I feel like I'm actually friends with the author and the characters, like we're one big group of friends!
- Jodi Picoult- She seems like more than a writer to me; she's a philosopher of life and feels like my psychologist at times. She can also tell a story so well and every word seems in the right place.
- Khaled Hosseini- Wow. What can I say? Talented. Cultured. The Man? There is so much depth to his stories and he really is an inspiration.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Review
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From Goodreads: A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years, from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding, that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives, the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness, are inextricable from the history playing out around them.
From Goodreads: A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years, from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding, that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives, the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness, are inextricable from the history playing out around them.
Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love, a stunning accomplishment.
Rating: 5/5
Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Ending: 4./5
After reading A Kite Runner (review TBA) by Hosseini, I was adamant to get my hands on this book as soon as I could. Then, like an angel had heard my prayer, I saw the book among the hundreds my one high school teacher had in her room. Yes!! I walked into Art Class with it, having only gotten through the first chapter or so, when my Art teacher saw it and warned me not to read it. She explained a gruesome part of the book that made her cry and feel so terrible that she couldn't continue on; it sounded terrible too, but I soldiered on and prepared myself for what was coming. When it came, it wasn't as terrible as I thought, for a had some warning.
Another novel set in the troubled Afghanistan, this one covers more history, the same and past what Hosseini's first novel did. It gives outsiders a view into the many cultures of Afghanistan and it's surrounding areas. It was as much a history lesson as it was an intense story. A story about love, freedom, culture, life, and heartbreak. I felt like I was literally transported into someone else's life--not many books have succeeded in doing that for me--and I learned as much as they did in their own story.
The women, good and questionable, are so human it makes me cry and feel like we, meaning those lucky enough to live in a world with fairness and equality, are aliens who do not deserve the amazing treatment we have. They are an inspiration. This novel is definitely one I will buy, cherish, and keep on my shelf for my own family to read.
After reading A Kite Runner (review TBA) by Hosseini, I was adamant to get my hands on this book as soon as I could. Then, like an angel had heard my prayer, I saw the book among the hundreds my one high school teacher had in her room. Yes!! I walked into Art Class with it, having only gotten through the first chapter or so, when my Art teacher saw it and warned me not to read it. She explained a gruesome part of the book that made her cry and feel so terrible that she couldn't continue on; it sounded terrible too, but I soldiered on and prepared myself for what was coming. When it came, it wasn't as terrible as I thought, for a had some warning.
Another novel set in the troubled Afghanistan, this one covers more history, the same and past what Hosseini's first novel did. It gives outsiders a view into the many cultures of Afghanistan and it's surrounding areas. It was as much a history lesson as it was an intense story. A story about love, freedom, culture, life, and heartbreak. I felt like I was literally transported into someone else's life--not many books have succeeded in doing that for me--and I learned as much as they did in their own story.
The women, good and questionable, are so human it makes me cry and feel like we, meaning those lucky enough to live in a world with fairness and equality, are aliens who do not deserve the amazing treatment we have. They are an inspiration. This novel is definitely one I will buy, cherish, and keep on my shelf for my own family to read.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu Review
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From Goodreads: Everyone has a secret. But Lucy’s is bigger and dirtier than most. It’s one she’s been hiding for years—that her mom’s out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. She’s managed to keep her home life hidden from her best friend and her crush, knowing they’d be disgusted by the truth. So, when her mom dies suddenly in their home, Lucy hesitates to call 911 because revealing their way of life would make her future unbearable—and she begins her two-day plan to set her life right.With details that are as fascinating as they are disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy’s desperate attempt at normalcy. Her fear and isolation are palpable as readers are pulled down a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen’s life will have readers completely hooked.
Rating: 3.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Ending: 3/5
There was a lot of buzz about this book and I understood why but I hesitated reading it because it seemed so disgusting and like I'd feel dirty reading it. And I did, but I kept going. I felt like something huge was going to happen before and while I was reading this book. I assumed it would be focused in the present, with Lucy dealing with her mother's disease and not much of a plot outside of it.
I've yet to decide if I liked that I was wrong. Because it was such a new topic in YA fiction and fiction in general, I was hoping for a clear focus. I was happy with the rest of the story, although I felt it could have been more developed, for I didn't understand all Lucy's actions. Overall, I think it was a good story, well-written, but just need more development. 50 more pages would have even helped tremendously.
I've yet to decide if I liked that I was wrong. Because it was such a new topic in YA fiction and fiction in general, I was hoping for a clear focus. I was happy with the rest of the story, although I felt it could have been more developed, for I didn't understand all Lucy's actions. Overall, I think it was a good story, well-written, but just need more development. 50 more pages would have even helped tremendously.
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