Week 32 / 2016 - Cursed Child Review

Welcome everyone. I sort of gave up on the book challenge on week 7. For some reason stardust
sapped whatever drive I had to finish the book challenge. It isnt that it was a bad story, but one that just seemed to put me off of reading books for a little while. But I just recently read the new Harry Potter book and figured I would do a review for it in my 2016 book challenge.

Today we will be looking at the newly released Harry Potter and The Cursed Child book. Some people might argue that it isn’t actually a book and while it is technically a play, it is still an amazing story. It is so close to being an actual book that if it didn’t tell you it was a play you might not even know that it is one.

One of the first things that I would like to talk about I’d the general perception of this story. It seems that the fan base or Harry Potter is pretty split on this story. I have seen some people say that they love the story, while others state their dislike for it. I can understand why they dislike it. For one thing it seems like nothing more than a simple cash grab for fans expecting a long story full of crazy plot twists like in the original 7 books. Unfortunately you don’t get a long story here (most people forget that it is still a play and would be shorter than a novel). What you do get though is an amazing story , and a great entry into the “modern” era of Harry Potter. I only hope that this will cause JK Rowling to start writing more books again.

The story focuses on the children of our 3 main protagonists from the first 7 books. You have our two protagonists Albus Potter, son of Harry and Ginny, and Scorpius, son of Draco and Astoria. They first meet on the Howards express and from there our amazing adventure begins. Though out the story people constantly have high expectations of Albus simply because he Is the son of Harry Potter, and this drives him to be your typical moody teenager who rebels against their parents. I found it interesting that they decided to make Scorpius and Albus best friends in the book when their fathers hate each other so much, but it was something I came to really like about the style of the story as I progressed further into the book.

If I had to explain the story quickly to someone, I would tell them imagine the first Harry Potter book, but better. I simply loved the idea of time travel, and the consequences that it might bring. I found that it brought something original to an already great series. The story will definitely not disappoint Harry Potter fans looking for some new material. Overall it is a pretty good read, and at less than 300 pages it should be pretty quick to get through (although the first part of the book is boring it gets better near the end).

Week 7 / 2016 - Stardust Review

I have to say that I regret reading Stardust.

*Now Tuesday*
Unfortunately I had to choose between doing work and writing my review, so here I am on Tuesday now writing my review.

One of the things that stardust has going for it is that it is a pretty typical fantasy genre story. It is not hard to follow once you take out all of the over explaining and break it down into sections. Its a pretty easy read (my ebook was only 142 pages), and the audio book is no more than a little over 5 hours long.

The beginning of the story starts with a little backstory. Here you meet Dunstan Thorn, our main characters father. He currently has feelings for a girl in the village, but when the market comes to town he meets a faerie girl with whom he later sleeps with one time. She births a child named Tristran and sends it to Dunstan which is where our story begins.

Tristran's story is not unlike his fathers. Tristran has feelings for a girl in the village named Victoria Forester. Unfortunately she does not feel the same way about Tristran (although he does not know that). One night they are walking together and they both see a star fall from the sky. Tristran says that if he retrieves the star that Victoria will give him whatever he desires, and she agrees. Then Tristran sets out to retrieve the star.

This is where you meet Yvaine, the fallen star. She is the other main character in the story. In the beginning she does not like Tristran, and plans to make their trip as hard as possible. But over time, she begins to develop feelings for him (they are traveling for a long time together to get back the the wall that separates Tristrans village from Faerie). Once Tristran returns to Wall with the star Yvaine, he finds out the truth from Victoria. He then realizes that he actually has feelings for Yvaine and wants to be with her. Even though Yvaine cannot pass the wall out of the land of Faerie, they live happily ever after.

One of the things that I like in a story is a good love arch. Luckily for me Stardust definitely delivered on the one. Although it doesn't start out seeming like Yvaine and Tristran should be together, over time you just begin to root for these two to get together in the end. They are both very kind and I really enjoyed that they did get together in the end.

Overall I would recommend this book to others looking for a quick fantasy read. For those that are fans of the book, you should probably give it a read again. I will say that for some reason it felt like I had already read this book at some point, but oh well cant hurt to read it again.
those that over explain or describe things. One such book that I put in this category is the Hobbit. Outside of that, that book was not too long and was a pretty quick read. (I didn't have time to start reading until Thursday).

Week 6 / 2016 - Divergent Series: Insurgent Review

This week I read Insurgent (the second book in the Divergent Series). I feel that I have burned myself

Much like other things in our lives all good things must come to an end. I felt that Insurgent was no where near as good as Divergent. I don't fault the Author on this one mainly because the story just doesn't seem as interesting as the first one. The story suffers from falling flat at certain points. It definitely has a lot of action, but the story seems to stumble in locations making it tough to get through parts of the book.

Outside of those parts of the book it is pretty good. Fans of the series probably enjoyed it more than I did. I feel like I was hoping that the book was going to be more than it was. I hate some of the decisions or thinking that the characters use in the book (Common sense does not seem to exist). Sometimes I don't understand why characters make the choices that they do, but then I remember if it fits the plot ;).

The book starts where the first book left off, and details the struggle against the Erudite Faction and Dauntless Traitors. The remaining loyal Dauntless elect new leaders (happens latter in the book) and Align with the Factionless to take on the Erudite and Dauntless traitors.

The love story arch between Tris and Tobias felt really bland in this book. I'm not sure what it was about them, but their arch just felt a bit repetitive. The same situations would crop up over and over again with both of them not trusting the other and then they would make up after something happened. Overall it wasn't as good as it was in Divergent.

Overall it wasn't a bad book, but it just seemed to lose the charm that Divergent had. It definitely got a lot more dark than the first book, and there was a definite shift towards the story being much more serious. I feel that this impacted my want to read more of the book. I don't have much more to say on the book other than if you enjoyed Divergent you will find much more of the same thing in Insurgent.
out on young-adult series books for the moment.

Week 5 / 2016 - Divergent Series: Divergent Review

The first month of the 2016 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge is finally over. I have to say that I am actually really pleased with myself about being able to make it this far. I have never considered myself a reader, that is not to say that I don't like books, but it can be hard to find a story that really pulls me in and peaks my interest.

On another note, I seem to have become addicted to the young-adult genre of books. This makes sense as I myself am a young adult, but it still fascinates me none the less. The genre seems to combine some of my favorite themes from fictional and non-fictional stories. Those being: a good love story, some good action, and like-able characters. Those seem like such simple things to care about, but they are some of the things I have and will continue to love about reading.
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I have to say that compared to the movie, the book is about 1000 times better than the movie. After I was a little over half-way through the book I decided to watch the movie again, and I just couldn't finish it. I don't want to say I've become a book snob, but it seems that with certain book to movie adaptations I just wont be able to watch them anymore.

The book seems very well written, and while there are a few similarities between the Hunger Games series and the Divergent series, I think that they are both great books (I should know as I read them back to back from each other). I really liked Tri's character and how she was portrayed in the book. Being sort of an outcast in the Dauntless faction but also fitting in perfectly at the same time. It kind of reminded me of what it was like when we got a new kid in school. She is secretly very strong but it is hidden behind this small and weak looking girl.

Of course we cant forget about Four / Tobias. His character is also really relatable as well. He secretly has a huge crush on Tris. Not only because she was from the same faction as he was, but because they are more alike than even they know. He initially comes off as this tough and silent type of guy who just wants to get his work done in peace, but we later see him bloom into a guy who is in love. I know that sounds cheezy but you would understand what I mean if you read the book as well.

One of my favorite things from the book is Tris and Tobias's love story, or arch, or whatever you want to call it. Im a sucker for a good love story and Divergent certainly has it. Both of them have this outcast kind of personality about them which is why I think they work so well together.

The story itself is pretty well written, and definitely keeps the reader interested throughout the whole thing. The beginning could seem a bit boring to some, but the story moves quickly to the time when Tris becomes Dauntless. I think that, for me at least, the story is interesting in the same way that I found the Hunger Games to be interesting in that it is non-stop action.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the young-adult genre (if you haven't already read it), and fans of the sci-fi genre. I would also recommend Insurgent (the next book in the series), but would not recommend Allegiant (the final book). If you want to know why, just google the book on Amazon and read the reviews.

Week 4 / 2016 - The Hunger Games Review

Ah "The Hunger Games". I have to say that I am glad that I decided to read this book because it was exactly what I was looking for, nothing but non-stop action. This book in all honesty was a hard read for me, but not because of the reason you are thinking. The reason it was a hard read for me was because I forgot to start reading it until Thursday. I had only Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to read it, and I knew that even if I read 100 pages a day (which I did sort of) I still wouldn't finish it. Luckily the end is really good, so I managed 180 pages on Saturday alone. Enough chit chat, lets get into the review.

One good thing I can say about the Hunger Games series is that the movie (at least for the first book) is pretty accurate to the book. There are a few things different, but honestly it follows pretty closely to the book. Which to me means, that the story in the first book is very good because they would have changed it if it was not.

I've never really considered myself a big fan of young-adult books, im looking at you "Twilight", but I can certainly enjoy a good story when I read one. Hunger Games is a breath of fresh air when compared to something like "Starship Troopers" which I struggled reading. One thing I like to point out is the fact that the story never stops when it comes to action. You are always being taken to a new place or something important is always happening in the story.

Our story begins with our main character Katniss Everdeen. She is your typical post-apocalyptic female heroin, these seem to be typical among this genre, and is actually a somewhat like-able character. She goes to school while also taking care of her family by going out beyond the fence of their District, District 12, and hunting for food. During the few chapters going through the opening sequence, up until the reaping, we meet her best friend Gale. He doesn't really come up any other times after except for when Katniss mentions him, only happens a few times later in the book. She is the female Tribute for District 12 after volunteering in place of her sister Prim.

We also meet Peeta Mellark who is our second main character in the story. He is the Male Tribute from District 12 who has a huge crush on Katniss. One thing that never seemed clear to me while reading is whether or not his love for her was real or not, and Katniss also seems to struggle with whether or not his affection towards her is real or not. Obviously I know how the story ends, watched the movies and read the wikis, but it still doesn't change the fact that the love aspect was written very well. It keeps the reader on their toes by trying to decide whether he actually does love her or not, and that is something I really enjoy in books is a bit of mystery. **SPOILER at the end of book 1 Peta realizes that Katniss was pretending to be affectionate towards him in the arena, and you can genuinely see that he is hurt which let me know that he really does lover her. SPOILER END**

Overall I really enjoyed the book, if you don't believe me I read over half the book in less than 5 hours. I read from page 180 to the end in about 6 hours on Saturday because I just couldn't put the book down. For any fantasy and young-adult book lovers out there this is a great read if you have not already read it yourselves. Im even tempted to continue reading the series.

Week 3 / 2016 - Vamped Review

Another week another book, this time we have Vamped.

Vamped is your typical teenage vampire story. I think I said it best when I described it as a combination between Twilight and the Underworld series. You have the powers and teenage drama aspect of Twilight, and the group and big female lead from Underworld. When it comes to books aimed at teens I honestly thought that Vamped was not that bad. It did occasionally use words that no teenager would ever use, but other than that it wasn't bad. It had a decent amount of action in it and it never got boring throughout the story.

Our main character is Gina who recently became a vampire after necking with our other main character Bobby at an after prom party (then getting in a car crash killing her). After being buried she then awakes as a vampire and our story begins. As the story goes it is simply about a struggle for power. I think twilight matches the story the best. In Vamped you have a council and a group looking to take over and kill the council (same setup as Twilight). Our story follows Gina as she just tries to survive throughout not only her capture by Mellisandes group, but the fight between Mellis group and the council.

For vampire lovers and lovers of Young-Adult books this will be another good book to add to your collection. This was kind of a short review, but there really isn't much that I didn't like about the book. It was definitely outside my usual reading comfort zone, but I enjoyed reading it.

Week 2 / 2016 - Starship Troopers Review

Another week, another book review to write. This time its none other then "Starship Troopers"

This book, as I found on the internet, is considered one of Heinlein's most controversial books. To me, I saw it as nothing more than another science fiction novel. Yes there were some portions of the book that were hard to read due to their definite dislike towards our current government, and the government of the time when the book was written, but overall it wasn't a bad read.

As someone who has read this book cover to cover, there are some parts I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you skip. The first part I would recommend skipping is none other than chapter 1. I recommend skipping it because 1, it is completely out of place in the book, and 2 it serves absolutely no purpose what so ever other than put off the reader from reading the book any further. It almost made me put the book down and not continue to read it, but due to the fact that I want to expand the genres of books which I enjoy reading I continued on past. (Might change this as this chapter and the end of chapter 13 are as close as it gets action wise).

This is why I recommend you start with chapter 2. Chapter 2 is where you begin to learn about Johnnie Rico, or the main character of our book. You start out with Johnnie in high school during his Senior year, and learn of his want to join the military (which in the future is completely voluntary much like it is today). The book then proceeds to boot camp which as much as it doesn't sound fun, is actually pretty interesting.

Until we hit another wall (Heinlein really seems to enjoy doing this to his reader). I say hit a wall because that is exactly what happens. You get to a certain point in the book and then the story will stop and Heinlein will just start writing about what Johnnie is thinking, or will do some flashback to something that happened in Johnny's Moral and Philosophy class that happens to deal with what he is going through currently. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it can be sort of a chore to read through due to some of the language used (this must be what people mean about his strong political view being a factor in this book). I think the main problem with the book happens to come from what the book is about, and that is the military. No its not what your thinking, my problem with the book comes from the military jargon that is used. I didn't understand how the ranks work, and they come up quite often in Starship Troopers. This for me is most likely why initially ,and later on in the book, I had a tough time getting through certain chapters.

My initial thought was that the book was going to take us through Johnny's basic training and then Heinlein would move on to him fighting in combat. Unfortunately that is not exactly what happened. While you do follow Johnny through his basic training and subsequent training you do not get to see a lot of combat, or Johnny in action. Chapter 1 and the later half of Chapter 13 are practically where most of the action takes place. The rest of the book consists of Johnny's rise through the ranks until at the end of the book he gets his own squad "Ricos Roughnecks" formally known as "Razak's Roughnecks".

One thing I would recommend getting is the audio book for Starship Troopers to help you get through the really boring parts so that you can read the better parts of the book. (This definitely helped me, even though I read along as well). Overall I would recommend this book to someone in the military or with some military background, but would maybe not recommend this for someone who is looking to get into Science-Fiction as it can be hard to read at times and very light in the action and excitement department.

Week 1 / 2016 - Rumble Fish Review

Welcome to the very first book review of my 2016 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.

"Rumble fish" is another classic fiction (albiet kind of short) tale from S.E. Hinton. It stars Steve and his best friend Rusty "Russell" James, and a slew of other interesting side characters. I think I described it best when I called it the "Red Headed Stepchild" of "The Outsiders" (Also written by S.E. Hinton). The book is not exactly like The Outsiders because the story is completely different, but the setting and overall atmosphere is exactly the same. The story I assume is set somewhere during the 60's - 70's due to the fact that Rust-James and his older brother the Motorcycle Boy are said to be wearing white T-shirts, leather jackets, and jeans. The author is S.E. Hinton so I pretty much assumed that the book would feel inspired by her other works.

 I am a picky reader and have been my entire life, so there are always a few things that writers do that really piss me off. First, I hate when writers feel the need to come up with a title that doesnt even come into play with the book until the end of the story. For instance, in "Rumble Fish" we dont even hear the term, or in my case understand the term, until the end of the story (last chapter). One of the other things that I dislike is some of the motivation of the main characters. Rusty-James just does things or simply does not seem to understand the simplest of concepts, now I do understand that he is supposed to be stupid, but sometimes he really baffled me.

I will say that I really enjoyed the fast pace of the book, it never ceased to have something interesting going on. There never seemed to be a dull moment. The main characters (Steve and Rusty-James) were always doing something whether it be them staying out late going to Skinimax, or getting wasted and going to parties they seemed to be very active.

The biggest shocker comes at the end of the story. SPOILER ALERT** The Motorcycle Boy (Rusty-James' older brother) decides to let all the animals go in the local pet store. When Rusty-James hears sirens coming he tries to run for it, but when he is running away he hears gunshots. He is captured by the police, but from what he described he kind of lost his mind so to speak.

When it comes to recommending this book to other people it is really hard not to. The book itself inst very long and the story is geared towards high school students, and come to think of it this was one of the books we could have read in high school, so I would recommend that anyone who is a fan of either S.E. Hinton or "The Outsiders" gives this a read.

Im Participating 2016 / January Reading Plans

Hi everyone, or anyone who does happen across my blog. I am making this post because I have decided to participate in the 2016 52 books in 52 weeks book reading challenge. I initially made my own website where I posted my initial January list of books, but figured this would make things a whole lot easier. This will be my first year ever doing the challenge, and I decided to do the challenge because I do not read enough and I believe that this book challenge will change that about me. I hope that you guys will enjoy this fun challenge along with me.

As stated I will also post my January reading plans. I already have 5 books lined up for the first month of the challenge, but beyond that is a mystery at this point.