Monday, February 25, 2013

Between The Lines

Between The Lines

by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Synopsis:

What happens when happily ever after…isn't?
Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book-one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.
And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He's a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He's sure there's more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.
Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

My thoughts:

After reading the summary of this book I felt I just had to read it.  It was a book about a book!  The premise of this book reminded me of being little and thinking that toys come to live when you leave the room. To me this book was a more grown up version of that toy idea. It was a good book and I really liked it but Between The Lines is without a doubt at it's heart a fairy tale.  This story is about princes, love, dragons, friends and overcoming impossible odds to get your happily-ever-after.  Delilah is a loner, socially awkward, and prefers losing herself in a good book.  This takes on a whole new meaning when one of the characters - the charming Prince Oliver -  from her beloved children's book starts talking to her! Suddenly Delilah has someone who she can really talk to and Oliver might have a way out of his story. This book is told from three different perspectives.  We have Delilah,  we have Oliver and then we also have Oliver's fairy tale which I think makes this book rather unique.  I liked getting to know Delilah and Oliver separately.  Delilah is in the 'real world' and dealing with everyday teen issues.  Oliver, however, has only ever know his book world and I found it fascinating to see how all the characters are so very different and have their own personalities. They aren't just what the author wrote them to be; they have their own hopes and fears.  I loved this book but that is probably because I loved fairy tales growing up.  This book is a nice light read and I would recommend it to anyone who still has that little kid in them that wants that warm glow that you get when you hear about a happily-ever-after.






Tuesday, February 19, 2013

You Against Me

You Against Me

by Jenny Downham

Synopsis:

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another.



My thoughts:

I'm not really sure where to start with this book.  I thought it would be amazing; a book that made you think about family, love, loyalty, and how far you would go to protect them.  Downham's You Against Me does make you think about all those things but not to the depth that I would have expected.  I felt that while the author did explore the characters it was not a smooth development but rather it seemed sudden and abrupt. It also seemed to me that the relationship between Mikey and Ellie moved at a surprising pace,  I would think it would have taken longer and that there would have been a lot more anger to deal with.  What I did like is that this book isn't about the victim; in fact Karen doesn't get a lot of page time.  This book is about what happens to everyone else in the family after such a devastating act and that is a side that you rarely get to see. I did liked that this book check you questioning who was telling the truth and who was lying.  I liked that you don't find out the truth till the very end; it really helped to build the tension but honestly it doesn't matter what the truth is because the damage  has already been done to both sides. Overall You Against Me was okay but once finished I didn't think about it again and given the difficult subject material that is dealt with in this book  I felt that it should have stayed with me long after the last page.

Monday, February 11, 2013

This Dark Endeavour

This Dark Endeavor

by Kenneth Oppel

Synopsis:

Victor Frankenstein leads a charmed life. He and his twin brother Konrad and their beautiful cousin Elizabeth take lessons at home and spend their spare time fencing and horseback riding. Along with their friend, Henry, they have explored all the hidden passageways and secret rooms of the palatial Frankenstein chateau. Except one.
The Dark Library contains ancient tomes written in strange languages, and filled with forbidden knowledge. Their father makes them promise never to visit the library again, but when Konrad becomes deathly ill, Victor knows he must find the book that contains the recipe for the legendary Elixir of Life.
The elixir needs only three ingredients. But impossible odds, dangerous alchemy, and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn.
Victor knows he must not fail. But his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science, and love – and how much he is willing to sacrifice.

My Thoughts:

I have read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein but it's been a few years and the details are sort of fuzzy.  This book made me want go back and reread Shelley's novel.  For those that now the story of Frankenstein have you ever wonder what happened to make Victor Frankenstein a man that would dare to try to create life?  Oppel has written a masterpiece that could easy explain what happen to Victor to make him into the mad scientist that we know from Shelley's classic. In Shelley's Frankenstein Victor has two little brothers, Elizabeth (a cousin) and a friend named Henry;  Oppel has added one more character to the family Victor's twin Konrad.  Konrad and Victor are inseparable but very different in personality.  Konrad is charming, brilliant, practically perfect and Victor is  . . . well not; he tries to be good but he can never seem to measure up to Konrad.  When Konrad falls ill and medicine and science seem to be failing him, Victor takes it upon himself to look for a cure. Having found a library of dark arts (mainly alchemy) hidden in the castle Victor decides that the only way to save Konrad is with the Elixir of Life and with the help of Elizabeth and Henry starts to collect the necessary ingredients.  Making the elixir is a dangerous quest and Victor is pulled deeper into the dark arts.  I loved how Oppel wrote the characters especially Victor because you know how Victor is going to turn out and so his descent into darkness needs to be believable. You see Victor as just a desperate teen trying to save his brother but at the same time he is desperate for the attention ad praise (and maybe even Elizabeth's hand) that could be earned from saving Konrad.  It is so very easy to like Victor even as his ambition takes over and he becomes more aggressive and twisted in his quest; you still want him to succeed even though you know where that success will lead him.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures

By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Synopsis:

 Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she''s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town''s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Movie to be released February 14, 2013.


My thoughts:

I am one of those people that likes to read the book before the movie but that doesn't always work for me. Usually I find out a movie already came out and the book is buried somewhere in my to-do-read pile or I watch the movie and find out in the credits at the end that it was based on a novel  I had been considering this book for a while then I heard that it was being made into a movie and that decided it: I needed to read this book immediately. And am very happy I did because I liked it and I know the movie will be great but not as good as the book.  So the only thing I knew when picking up this book was it was about witches (after reading the book I learned they prefer casters) and I thought it was going to be about a girl.  Well I was sort of right; it is about witches (sorry casters) and there is a girl, Lena, but there is also a boy and the story is told from Ethan's point of view which I was not expecting one little bit and it kind of through me for a loop for a bit at the start.   Ethan lives in the southern town of Gatlin where nothing ever happens, everyone knows everyone, and where secrets aren't safe; he can't wait to get out and is just counting down the days till he can leave.  Everything changes though when Lena moves into town.  Lena is like no one Ethan or even the town for that matter has ever met and to top it off she is Old Man Ravenwood's niece and living in the oldest and most infamous plantation in Gatlin.  Lena tries to keep her distance from Ethan but he is persistent and slowly Lena starts to let him in and tell him the truth about her and her family. Lena is a caster and on her 16th birthday the light or the dark will choose her and she will have no say in the decision but something is happening to Lena and no one is telling her or Ethan anything.  So Ethan and Lena go looking for their own answers and discover a few secrets along the way.  As much as I liked this book there were a few problems.  I think my biggest problem was having Ethan as a narrator because at times it was hard to believe that the narrator was a guy. Also I did get rather frustrated with the plot and characters at how obviously secretive they were and it usually didn't seem like it was for any good reason. That being said I really did like this book.  It was a nice easy read and at times truly hilarious (Ethan's aunts are fantastic and I hope they are in every single book).  I look forward to reading the next book in the series.