Author: John Green
Published: 2012
Genre: Novel, Romance
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review
''The Fault in Our Stars'' made me heartbroken and sad, but it also made me smile, laugh, and love. It made me love the characters, it made me love the story. It is a beautiful young adult romance that is sad but optimistic, a tearjerker, and strangely, heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
Hazel Grace is a teenager suffering from cancer and because of that, she is always required to carry an oxygen tank with her. When attending a support group consisting of teenaged cancer victims, she comes across Augustus Waters. Augustus's cancer caused him to lose a leg. The two become very close, and with the passage of time, their bond turns into deep love, as they understand each other, support each other. But their lives are shadowed and followed by cancer itself.
I loved Hazel. Our protagonist. I really admired her. I really appreciated her strength, her humor, her easygoing nature, which she could maintain in spite of the fact that she had cancer. She was a strong protagonist, she indeed was. Augustus Waters is also a strong character, and I really liked the things that he did for Hazel, even sacrificing something so that Hazel could meet her favorite author.
The book is so well-written and irresistible that it's easy to fall in love with it. While the love story itself is beautiful and emotionally intense, the overall novel has a great depth. While it indeed is a tearjerker, it has humor even in it's darkest moments, it is witty and sad, heartbreaking yet optimistic and heartwarming. Strange, isn't it? While the book left me heartbroken, I was overwhelmed by the time I had finished it. It was romantic, it was sad, it was emotionally intense, yet witty, optimistic, and to sum it up, beautiful.
4.5 out of 5
Published: 2013
Author: Veronica Roth
Genres: Novel, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review
''Allegiant'' is the final book in the ''Divergent'' trilogy.
After the death of Jeanine Matthews and the victory of the factionless, Evelyn takes up the duty of leading the city and the people, and abolishes the faction system, much to the displeasure of many people. Evelyn also declares that nobody will be allowed to go outside the city, defying the instructions found in the Edith Prior video at the end of ''Insurgent''. However, members of a rebel group, led by Cara and Tori, known as ''Allegiant'', defy the tyrant Evelyn's authority. Instead, they plan to go outside the city and discover how the people outside the city's borders need their help. Tris, Tobias, Christina, Peter, Caleb, Cara, Uriah and Tori decide to go outside the city's border, and they manage to do so. Outside the city, they come across shocking revelations: the greatest secrets about their entire lives, about their city. They come to know that what they had seen, their lifestyles all along were nothing but lies and made-up things. Throughout their lives they had believed, they had known certain things, but after leaving their city, they come across such strange revelations that makes them realize the truth behind everything, the truth behind the city, the confinement, the factions, and above all, the truth about themselves.
''Allegiant'' contains revelations, extremely important revelations. We come to learn the backgrounds of everything in the series in this novel. We come to know about the background of the city, the background and history of the things in the trilogy.
''Allegiant'' is indeed a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. While I really liked it, I didn't exactly love it in the way I loved it's predecessors. There are important revelations in this one, and it was wonderful to know get an insight on the past of the city, the real reason the city was formed, and the truth behind the faction system. The romance between Tris and Tobias is great in this one as well, with nothing becoming sappy, but is really emotional. The character development is excellent like it's predecessors.
I have loved the ''Divergent'' series. I really admired the storytelling, the character development, the excellent emotional depth, the endless secrets and mysteries and the revelations! The ending of ''Allegiant'' was really good- I was in tears several times while reading the book. Overall, it is a good conclusion to the wonderful series. I really liked it.
3.5 out of 5
Author: Markus Zusak
Published: 2006
Genres: Novel, Historical fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
By the time I finished reading ''The Book Thief'', my face was drenched with tears. This book is... unique. It's so powerful. So astounding. It sparked in me my deepest emotions. This novel made me cry, it made me deeply attached to the characters. ''The Book Thief'' made me go through the same emotions that the characters were going through. It made me cry with the characters, it made me laugh with the characters, it made me feel relieved when the characters were relieved. ''The Book Thief'' was a heartbreaking novel; it was extremely powerful and emotionally intense, and it also had humor. It is a book reading which I felt happy, I felt sad, and I felt devastated.
The novel is narrated by Death. Yes, Death. The story is set in Nazi Germany, during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Liesel Meminger is a young girl who is taken to Molching where she has to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. While she was on her way to Munich, her infant brother had died on the train.At the home of her foster parents, Liesel misses her dead brother, and also her real mother, who, being a Communist, had to leave her with foster parents. Liesel has nightmares everyday. Her foster father, whom she refers to as ''Papa'', comforts her. Her Papa decides to teach her how to read and write. Helped by Hans, Liesel learns to read, and soon, she develops a fascination with books, with words. She falls in love with books, with words. On one occassion, when the Nazis are burning books by Jewish authors or with Jewish subjects, or books that deal with subjects that oppose the Nazi idealogies, Liesel steals a book that managed to escape unburnt. Our narrator, Death, refers to Liesel as ''The Book Thief''.
The Second World War takes away the smoothness and happiness from their lives. There is poverty, there are wants. And there is also another danger. The Hubermanns hide a Jew, Max Vandenburg, in their basement. If the Gestapos find out about this, then they will all be in grave peril. Meanwhile, Liesel and Max become great friends, amidst all the dangers and fears and poverty.
Throughout the novel, Death noticed Liesel, the book thief, three times. This is what the narrator announces at the very beginning of the novel. Death briefly discusses the situations under which he noticed the book thief.
''The Book Thief'' is driven by it's plot, it's characters, and it's words. The words are simply so powerful, I really, really, really loved the way the story is told. The storytelling is simply beautiful, simply powerful. There were characters I started to love. I got deeply attached to the characters. Liesel. Hans. Rosa. Max. Rudy Steiner, Liesel's best friend. Ilsa Hermann, the Mayor's wife. These characters were so powerful, so excellently-developed. Excellent character development is one of the reasons I absolutely fell in love with this novel.
Bond between people. The bond between Liesel and Hans. Liesel and Max. Liesel and Rudy. Liesel and Ilsa. All these bonds were so beautifully developed.
The storytelling. It's so emotionally intense. I ended up with tears in my eyes, with a lump in my throat, not once, but numerous times while reading this book. How powerful and intense this book is! It is really beautiful, it really is.
The horrors and devastation of wars are really well explored in this novel. The poverty and the misery that wars can bring. The fears, the horrors. The deaths, the tragedy. All these are deeply explored in this book.
''The Book Thief'' is an extraordinarily powerful novel that I will recommend to everybody. It is so deep, so beautiful. The characters are so wonderfully developed. The storytelling is beautiful. It is a beautiful and extremely powerful book that I simply loved.
5 out of 5
Author: Veronica Roth
Published: 2011
Genres: Novel, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
So I have finally read it. Finally. And I was simply so overwhelmed- needless to say, I LOVED ''Divergent'', I really, really, really loved it. While reading it I was like, ''Why did it take me such a long time to start reading this!?'' ''Divergent'' is a book that made me thrilled, that made me smile, that made me think, that brought tears to my eyes. It was an intense, emotional, thrilling, action-packed ride, it was! I would easily recommend it to anyone!
A dystopian novel, ''Divergent'' is set in a post-apocalyptic future where Chicago is divided into five different factions having different characteristics. Years ago, these factions were formed to protect humans from their adverse qualities that lead them to their destruction. The factions were formed to make sure that human stick to the good qualities only: the selfless people belong Abnegation, the truthful and honest people belong to Candor, Erudite consists of people who value knowledge above all, Amity consists of peace-loving people, while Dauntless consists of dauntless, brave people. Every person should choose a faction once he/she reaches the age of sixteen. After choosing, the people need to stick to the values and qualities of the faction they have chosen.
The protagonist and narrator, Beatrice Prior, was born to parents belonging to Abnegation. Her father is one of the people entrusted with the task of running the city: most of the people running the city belong to Abnegation for their selfless nature. Beatrice just cannot accept the Abnegation lifestyle. She cannot think of spending the rest of her life making compromises and sacrifices and sticking to selflessness. The time has come for Beatrice and her brother, Caleb to choose the faction in which they will spend the rest of their lives. They have to go through an apitutude test, where it will be tested which faction is suitable for them. Beatrice's reports are problematic: the person who conducted the test, Tori, explains to Beatrice that she possesses the characteristics of being in Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. Such a person who can belong in different factions are known as ''Divergent''. Tori explains that being a divergent is a dangerous, extremely dangerous thing. She does not explain why, and erases the result of Beatrice's test.
Beatrice is faced with a difficult dilemma: she does not want to spend the rest of her life being selfless and making sacrifices, but she feels hesitant to leave her parents. On the other hand, she is attracted to the brave lifestyle of the Dauntless faction. In the Choosing Ceremony, however, she ultimately chooses Dauntless, thereby abandoning her parents.
Beatrice, along with the other initiators, has to go through three training phases- three difficult, extremely difficult and torturous phases. To Beatrice, these seem cruel. These seem dangerous. These seem extremely cruel and torturous. But at the end of the third phase, only ten initiators will be allowed to be Dauntless, all the other initiators will become factionless and live terrible lives in the streets. Beatrice, who renames herself as Tris, has to go through all these phases, all these cruelties. Slowly, she comes to appreciate, she comes to love the Dauntless way of life. It is a hard life, it is a difficult way, but she comes to appreciate it, she wants to belong in it. But for that she has to survive the difficult phases...
And she falls in love with one of her trainers, Four...
And there is a danger, an unknown conspiracy lurking behind...
Words will not be enough to describe how much I loved ''Divergent''. It was fascinating. I couldn't put it down. It kept me reading, it kept me expecting, it kept me thrilled, it kept me predicting what might happen next. I loved the storytelling and the character development. I loved the setting, I really did. I loved Tris. I loved Four. And I appreciated all the other characters, their development. There were parts in which I cheered for Tris. I was overjoyed when Tris achieved something. There were emotional scenes in which I cried with Tris. There were scenes that made my heart pound, that made me anxious.
I would like to conclude saying that ''Divergent'' is a must-read for everybody. You want dystopia? Sci-Fi? An adventure-filled and action-packed novel? Romance? A novel filled with thrilling as well as heartbreaking and emotional moments? ''Divergent'' has it all. For me, it was a wonderful ride, a wonderful, thrilling, emotional, beautiful, heart pounding ride. I look forward to rereading this one soon!
5 out of 5
Author: Rick Riordan
Published: 2006
Genres: Novel, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review
The Sea of Monsters is the second book in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series.
I read the first book in this series, ''The Lightening Thief'', a few weeks ago, and I had really liked it. I also liked ''The Sea of Monsters'', perhaps not as much as the first book in the series, but enough to recommend it.
''The Sea of Monsters'' starts with Percy and his mother living happily, after the incidences of the first book. Percy has weird nightmares about his satyr friend, Grover, and one day, guesses that something wrong, something bad is happening at Camp Half Blood. His mother doesn't tell him anything clearly, but however, after reaching Camp Half Blood, he gets to learn that the camp's security charm has broken, as the tree of Thalia, that had protected the camp, has been mysteriously poisoned.
Percy learns through his friend that his satyr friend, Grover, has been imprisoned by the Cyclops Polyphemus. He also gets to know that Polyphemus has the Golden Fleece, the only thing that can cure Thalia's tree and bring back the camp's security. Along with Annabeth, and his newly-made friend Tyson (who is a good Cyclops and a son of Poseidon), Percy sets off in an adventure to rescue Grover and the Golden Fleece.
A lot (well, most of the) of the characters from the first book return in this book, and those that get important roles are: Annabeth, Chiron, Grover, Clarisse in supporting roles, and Luke in a negative role. Luke is the primary antagonist of this novel. A few new characters are also introduced, and remarkable among them is Tyson, a homeless boy whom Percy befriends in his school. Tyson turns out to be a Cyclops and a son of Poseidon; thus, the half-brother of Percy.
The book had interesting twists and turns and humor, and often startling revelations. There are several things that I liked about this book: the flow, Rick Riordan's storytelling, the characters, the twists, the humor. I also found the references to mythology extremely fascinating! Among the humorous parts, I found Polyphemus's wedding plans really amusing; they made me burst into laughter.
Overall, I liked this book. It was charming and entertaining; maybe not as much as it's predecessor, but still, it was good enough.
3.5 out of 5
Author: Rick Riordan
Released: 2005
Genres: Novel, Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
While reading this book, I kept asking myself why it took me so long to start reading this series! It was such an AMAZING book that I could not put down, that was so fast paced, with such a lot of twists, turns, and surprises! I really loved it!
Percy Jackson is a teenager who has always struggled in school and has been expelled from several schools. In the boarding school where he stays at the beginning of the novel, his best friend is Grover, and his Latin teacher is a kindly man, Mr Brunner, who expects a lot from him. Several strange and dangerous incidences bring Percy across a lot of unexpected revelations about himself: he is in fact the son of Poseidon, the god of the Sea in Greek Mythology. Grover is, in fact, a satyr who was assigned to the job of protecting him, and Mr Brunner is actually a centaur (whose real name is Chiron). Percy is taken to the Camp Half Blood, where demigods, the children of Greek gods and goddesses, reside. Percy slowly comes to love the camp, but then...
It is revealed to Percy that the lightening bolt of Zeus has been stolen, and Zeus believes that Poseidon has stolen it. A terrible conflict may arise if the lightening bolt is not found and returned to Zeus. It is thought that Hades has stolen the lightning bolt, and Percy is given the task to find the lightening bolt from the Underworld, and return it to Zeus, so that a destructive conflict can be avoided. The companions of Percy in this dangerous adventure is Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, and Grover.
''The Lightening Thief'' was an amazing book! With such a lot of humor, surprises, twists and turns, mystery and suspense, it is certainly a wonderful, engrossing book with a great pace! It has it all: suspense, mystery, humor, some emotional depth, twists! Some of the plot twists and revelations came so absolutely unexpected that it left me shocked.
The adventures are really suspenseful, and some are very twisted. I really liked the developing friendship between Percy and Annabeth.
Such a wonderful book! I think I will definitely love the whole Percy Jackson series!
4 out of 5
