Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

My thoughts:
Many of you might be skeptical about this book because it's about cancer but I encourage everyone of you to read it anyway. Even though it's a book about something as tragic as a 16 year old with a terminal disease it is such a beautiful and funny story. I think I laughed out loud at least three times before page 25 but of course I shed some tears as well by the end of the book. I also have to admit I briefly regretted starting the book one or two times but sometimes these books are the ones you end up remembering the longest.

I have seen some reviews of this where the way the young adults, Hazel and Augustus, talk to each other in this book are described as unnatural and too grown up. I don't agree, I think it's perfect for this story and what makes me like it even better. John Green writes beautifully and I can't wait to read more of his books. He tells the story with humour and oddness which makes it bearable for me as I read it and is also how the characters "survive". Our main characters Hazel and Augustus are indeed a bit odd and different from other teenagers. I had to take a few breaks from the book, especially when reading on work when the tears dwelled up. These breaks made me reflect more about the content and some of the thoughts of Hazel and Augustus. So I think it's a good thing to stop and think along the way because this is an easy-read (language- wise) so it's easy to just get carried away.

 I don't want to say too much about this but I hope you read it yourself.

Source:
Checked out at the school library


My rating:


Silje*

Book Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

I'm going to start off in here with a review of a book I read in the beginning of 2012 and it's so far my best read this year. The book I'm talking about is The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.


From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two.

My opinion:
 The Sky is Everywhere has many of the ingredients of a classic YA-novel, a love-triangle, a teenage girl struggling to find herself and an "evil" rival at school. So what made this book stand out for me? First off all it is beautifully written. It also contains a number of weird characters imposible not to like. For instance her giant of an uncle, who's quite the ladies-man and most of the time sits in a tree (!), the amazing Joe Fontaine, and the main character Lennie is also very realistic and complex.

The book mixes humour with sadness and soreness in a very successfull way. It combines more serious subjects as the grief of a sister and the abandonment of a mother with a beautiful an really cute story. It tells this story at times in a hilarious way (I saw the movie The Descendants just a week ago and this kind of storytelling is just my cup of tea.). Lenny is a bit melodramatic and the romance intense but in this particular book it really works for me. It's like all the emotions of the book are so strong that they come out of the book covers (it seems writing about this book makes me melodramatic;-). Though the book has some cliches, the weirdness and humour prevents it from getting to sentimental. In the beginning of it I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about the writing but then I decided to just lean back and take it all in, and I didn't regret it for a second. Another thing I really liked about the book are all the little notes and poems Lennie writes on papercups, napkins, bathroom-walls, receipts and even on the soles of her shoes.

Goodreads says in the end of the synopsis that this book is perfect for fans of among others Francesca Lia Block. I have not read anything she's writtten but I have heard a lot about her. I know Mari was a bit sceptical about one of her books in this review, but I still think you should try this one though:-)

This book is so beautiful, and is both sad and funny. It has some really weird (in a good way) characters and is just bubbling with the emotions of a grief-stricken teenage girl in love. In case you didn't get it by now, I warn you; it's a very emotional read:-) 

Unfortunately I don't have the english copy available at the moment because there are so many quotes I would like to share with you. I'll be sure to share one with you later on Memorable Monday.

My rating of this book:

/ 

Source:

Review copy from the norwegian publisher Gyldendal in exchange for an honest review

Silje*

My favorite reads 2010

First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of my wonderful readers and book blogging friends! As we say our goodbyes to the wonderful reading year of 2010 I've compiled a list of my favorite reads in the year that have passed. I managed to read a total of 73 books, I had a goal of reaching 100 books but work, studies and being a mom sort of sat a natural stop on my reaching that goal(perhaps I should wait to set such a high goal until I'm retired? LOL) Any way here's my favorite reads from 2010:

1. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I've not reviewed this book but I should.. It's amazing!
3. Butterflies in May by Karen Hart
4. The Lying Game by Sara Shepard
5. The Fiddler's Gun by A.S. Peterson
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
8. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
9. In For a Penny by Rose Lerner
10. Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Honorable mentions:

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier(out in English May 2011)

Storm Warning by Toni Anderson

Glass Houses(Morganville Vampires #1) by Rachel Caine

Rising Shadows by Jacquelyn Wheeler

Saltwater Vampires by Kirsty Eagar

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan(review to come January 7th)

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong