Chantal Reads Things

***When I reach 25 followers I will read and review L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad*** I read things, and then I write about them. Sometimes I'll also post other book-related things, but this blog is mostly for reviews. This September I'll be going into my third year of university where I plan to minor in English. Reading has always been a huge part of my life, and I hope to expand both my library and my knowledge through this pet-project. Currently Writing a Review for: Submit something down there! vv Currently Reading: Truth Be Told by Tom Williams To read: Exremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer The Wicked Series by Gregory Maguire Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Personal Blog FictionPress

[chantalreadsthings]

So I'm reading The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith...

...and it's only okay so far. But halfway through this thought occurred to me that I thought I should share, especially since I haven't posted here in a while. --SOME SPOILERS AHEAD. Proceed with caution-- So the basic premise of this book is that Hadley is travelling from Connecticut to London for her father's second wedding. She misses her flight and ends up having to get the next one, causing her to meet Oliver: a charming guy with whom she immediately bonds with (and develops a bit of a crush on). And so the book's title is probably in reference to her love story with this boy. But what I think would be brilliant (and what I hope happens) is if the title turns out to be in reference to her father's love story instead, and how it was like fate for him to meet the woman he's marrying. So the story was never really Hadley's at all. I think that ending would maybe redeem this book in my eyes a bit. We'll see what happens.

[chantalreadsthings]

Hey, many thanks for the review, I really appreciate you taking the time to read the novel, and I'm thrilled you enjoyed it :)

It was my pleasure! Good luck in the future :)

[chantalreadsthings]

Truth Be Told

Truth Be Told by Tom Williams is the first novel I've reviewed by request. It tells the story of nineteen-year-old Jack Beckett who, following a messy breakup, decides the best course of action is to attend a speed dating event under the pseudonym Gordon Bennett. This leads to an often hilarious, often frustrating journey as Jack's and Gordon's lives become more and more entangled. The novel plays on - and takes to an extreme - the idea that we all put on masks during our every day lives.

Just enough goes wrong in Jack's second life to keep it believable while still urging you to read on and continually yell at the pages "just tell her the truth!"

(I know it's not generally in my nature to use gifs on this blog, but this one was too appropriate to pass up.)

Most of the characters introduced are likable without being boring. One, Isabella Fazzari, seems to at first fit the bill of 'manic-pixie-dream-girl'. It seemed to me that Jack saw her as more of an object, or tool for getting over his ex. It seemed on a number of occasions early in the novel that he only liked the idea of liking her as a means of moving on, even going as far as to refer to her as "the prize of the night" a couple of times. Additionally, he sometimes had trouble pinpointing exactly what it is about her that he likes when asked. This is of course remedied as their relationship moves forward and the reader finds out more about Isabella's life.

Jack was the only character I found hard to like. He was increasingly selfish as the novel went on, which made it very hard for me to root for him at points. In fact, to me, he remained quite selfish until the very end of the novel, even avoiding telling Isabella everything himself and instead leaving the unpleasant task up to her best friend, not out of any belief that it would be easier for Isabella, but out of a fear of the inevitable confrontation. He also had a habit of blaming his predicament on anyone but himself, most frequently, his ex-girlfriend.

Overall, Truth Be Told was an excellent debut novel. The text was sprinkled with often subtly witty lines, and the story was only slightly hindered by an occasionally awkward style. The speed-dating scene and the colourful characters introduced during it - not to mention the awkward small talk - was more than entertaining.

You can find out more about Tom Williams at his tumblr, and find more information on Truth Be Told as well as information on how to purchase it here.

[chantalreadsthings]

do you ever finish a book and then close it sort of reverently and just hold it close to you for a moment

and then for a while you see the world a bit differently because you’re still half in and half out of that book

[chantalreadsthings]

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs tells the story of a teenaged boy who, following his grandfather's death, travels to Wales in a quest to uncover the mysteries of his grandfather's past, and separate fact from fiction. Riggs' world is one of in-betweens: life and death; past and present; and Jacob, caught between two worlds, neither of which he feels he can truly belong to. 

Immediately and continuously captivating, with it's romantic references to Poland and fascinating tales of strange children and war-time Europe, the novel takes the reader on an extraordinary adventure filled with magic and great and terrible creatures. 

Riggs keeps the reader on the edge of their seat throughout the entire novel, without once giving away too much information at a time. I was kept asking questions right until the last page, where Riggs leaves just enough room to wrap everything up while still leaving a solid conclusion up to the imagination of the reader. The story is appropriately stretched out, leaving the reader begging for more at the end of each chapter. 

My all-time favourite thing about the novel is that it is peppered with old black and white photographs. I was surprised to discover that these are all genuine, vintage photographs, many of which did not undergo any manipulation. Creepy doesn't even begin to describe them. I'll admit right off the bat that this book kept me, with my overactive imagination, up quite a few nights, half expecting some terrible monster or peculiar child to creep out of the dark. What I especially liked though, was that Riggs doesn't use the photographs as a crutch; each image is described in beautiful detail before it is revealed.

Overall, this is an excellent debut novel and I would recommend it to anyone who didn't mind a bit of a chill creeping over them as they read.

[watch the book trailer]

[chantalreadsthings]

hi...

I did it again. I said I was gonna keep up this blog and then I didn't and I'm SORRY.

Okay.

Start fresh? Pretend the past... what, year? didn't happen?

---

I just finished reading Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (Potentially better known under his penname, Lemony Snicket).

I originally picked up this book because I loved A Series of Unfortunate Events growing up. Seriously. Ate them up. 

Halfway through this novel, I realized that it wasn't quite as compelling as I thought it would be. Not bad, just less compelling than I expected. Handler writes as Min, a teenage girl writing her ex-boyfriend a letter telling him exactly where everything went wrong at each turn of their relationship. It's very different from Handler's childrens' series, which isn't necessarily a bad thing or good thing.

Handler's characters, as well as the story, are somehow simultaneously cliche and brand new. The high school's star athlete falls for a girl who's "different", "arty". But Handler breaks through this cliche-like exterior with minor details: Min compares every aspect of her story to scenes from old black and white movies, her obsession; Ed, with his usual high barriers guarding him from everyone around him, breaks down and almost becomes sensitive around Min at multiple points in the novel.

Min gives Ed a box, filled with everything that she ever associated him with. Each item, beautifully illustrated by Maira Kalman, gives new insight to the story behind Min and Ed's breakup. It's a fresh take on an old story - we know the effect before we know the cause.

I'd give it about 4/5 stars.

[parttimeperfectionist]

I just finished reading The Fault in Our Stars for the first of what I’m sure will be many, many times, and I’m a blubbering mess.

It’s true, what I heard countless people say before reading the novel myself: You’ll be laughing one second, then turn the page and dissolve into tears.

I had no doubts that this book would be worth the long wait, but until I actually held it in my hands, I had no idea just how worth it it was. I felt pretty much every feeling you can possibly feel in less than 24 hours all at once, and I loved every second of it.

So thank you, John Green. I know that you’ll probably never read this, which is fine. I just wanted to thank you for being such a consistently incredible writer. You’ve never disappointed me before and this book was no exception.

I’ve learned more from John and his books than I have in my almost 20 years of living, and I am so grateful for that. 

[chantalreadsthings]

Review Four: "Skinny" by Ibi Kaslik

I’ve read this book several times since first buying it a year or two ago in a small (but amazing) book store in Port Hope called Furby House Books. It’s an incredible book, and I love it so much, but this is the first time I’ve tried to put into words exactly why I love it so much. So here it goes:

Skinny tells the story of a medical student named Giselle as she recovers from anorexia and attempts to uncover the answers to the mysteries left behind by her late father. Narration alternates every few chapters between Giselle and her fourteen-year-old athletic sister named Holly. There were two things that I found really interesting about Kaslik’s writing style:

1.       She begins each new section of Giselle’s narrations with a quote that sounds like it could be taken straight out of a medical text book. Each of these quotes relates to the subsequent paragraphs – to Giselle’s life – in some way. I thought this was an excellent way to introduce new ideas within chapters and it kept things fresh and interesting while reading.

2.       The disembodied voice that represents Giselle’s “anorexic side”. Aside from knowing that anorexia was an eating disorder that caused the person in question an innate need to be thin, I didn’t know much about it prior to reading this book. It had never occurred to me that there could be two sides to an anorexic person’s personality: the “anorexic side” that expressed the person’s need to be thin and controlled their habits, and the more “rational side” that knew how unhealthy these habits are. Giselle’s menacing inner self was nothing short of terrifying at best – a result I’m sure Kaslik strived for and achieved nicely.

“...her skin barely covered the grotesque machinery of her squirming insides...her deep wet eyes blinked back at me, alive.” (Kaslik, 12-13)

Overall I found Kaslik’s writing style original and developed. It made for a very interesting read as a whole.

As the story progresses, we learn more and more about each girls’ life and history. We are welcomed into the deepest, most secret places of their minds and it allows us to better understand why each girl is the way she is. I found each backstory – though they were very different from each other – captivating. Each girl’s voice is so distinct that they come alive very easily within the first few chapters.

On the whole, Kaslik’s Skinny gave me a better understanding of eating disorders by inviting me to experience one through a first-person narrative. By the end of the novel, I found myself incredibly attached to both Giselle and her sister, almost crying at one point. I highly recommend this book, as it will stay with you long after you’re finished.

[chantalreadsthings]

Review Three: "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I first read this book in the original French as part of the curriculum for my grade 12 French class. I instantly fell in love with Saint-Exupéry’s story and characters and bought the English translation.

On the surface, Saint-Exupéry’s novel appears to be a fluffy read meant for young children, but as older readers dig deeper, they realize that it’s much more than that. Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince views the world through a child’s eyes, seeing everything simply with the logic that only a child possesses. Colourful characters and worlds are brought alive through Saint-Exupéry’s simple (often sarcastic) prose.

This, like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is one of those books that really make you think about things, often changing your perspective on life. Saint-Exupéry scoffs at an adult’s way of living and viewing the world, favouring the child-like wonder of the young Prince, who shows the old Pilot everything he forgot with growing up.

I feel that this novel makes you re-evaluate every aspect of your life, from your values to your morals to you priorities. Each planet that the Little Prince visits presents the reader with a common adult problem with a simple, albeit oftentimes child-like, solution.

I definitely recommend that everyone read this book at least once in their life, whether they’re old or young when they do. It’s a fantastic read for all ages, and is just as entertaining with each read.

[chantalreadsthings]

Review Two: "Devilish" by Maureen Johnson

Okay, before I start this review, I want to make something clear: I am in no way against Young Adult fiction. In fact, some of my favourite novels fall into that category. But I can’t exactly say that this one is the crème de la crème. It’s not that it was incredibly bad, it just wasn’t incredibly good, either.

First off, I’m all for the demon-possessing-someone’s-soul sort of novel. I used to be – and still am, to an extent – a huge fantasy fan, but a cupcake-eating demon known as either the Poodle or Lanalee who gives people designer clothes and whose insignia is a poodle cartoon? Really? She’s also posing as a tenth-grader who offers wine to her (also underage) guests.

I thought the novel was fairly predictable; I knew where the story was going to go from anywhere between a few pages to a few chapters in advance. This isn’t to say that EVERYTHING was obvious. There were a few things that really took me by surprise and definitely kept things interesting. The ending was clever and included a huge shock. The plot didn’t really pick up until around the eighth chapter, and I found myself annoyed with a number of the characters – even the ones I was supposed to like.

Although I found that the majority of characters were very generalized/stereotyped, I figured that it was just going along with the main character’s personality (ie. Judgmental punk who thinks she’s better than everyone else because she’s part of a subculture less popular than the mainstream.) This realization, however, did not stop me from disliking the way people and groups such as the St. Sebastian boys and the ‘A3’ were generalized. Throw in a painfully idiotic sister, and I was close to throwing my head back in exasperation.  

That being said, it definitely wasn’t the worst fantasy novel I’ve ever read. Although parts of it reminded me painfully of Twilight, I really enjoyed the ending, and although it was far from the norm, it was a very interesting take on possession and demons. 

“I suddenly understood how some things only improve with time, how nothing is lost in the passing.”

[chantalreadsthings-deactivated2]

You liken a woman's love to Hell, To barren land there water may not dwell. You liken it also to wild fire - the more it burns, the more it has desire.

Chaucer | The Wife of Bath

[chantalreadsthings-deactivated2]

Books are seldom useful unless they are also beautiful.

John Green

[chantalreadsthings]

(via chantalreadsthings)

[chantalreadsthings]

Hello!

If you're here, you probably saw this post and have transferred over to this blog from chantalreadsthings. If that's the case, nice to see you again! If you don't know what I'm talking about and have just stumbled on this blog of your own accord, welcome! (Those people can just skip over this next part.)

So! If you've come over here from chantalreadsthings, you can unfollow that blog now because it will pretty much be inactive from now on. I'll be slowly transferring all of the posts from there to here, just because I don't want you to suddenly have 20 posts from the same person in your feed. 

That's all for now! I know you're all waiting for another review from me, but unfortunately I won't have much time to write one until midterms are over. Hang in tight, it's on it's way!

-Chantal

[chantalreadsthings]

Review One: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", by Stephen Chbosky

Despite this book being around for ages, this was my first time reading it. At first, I was slightly wary: The idea of a novel written entirely in letters to an anonymous recipient was a bit daunting. However, I found that it was extremely easy to follow – without being condescending to its readers – and, at times, I found myself forgetting that I was reading letters.

Charlie, the main character, is very likeable. He’s the kind of character whose innocence forces you to constantly remind yourself how old he is. The novel tells the story of Charlie’s high school experience through a series of letters written by Charlie, to an individual known only as ‘friend’. At times, it’s almost comical how naive Charlie is as he learns to deal with puberty, girls, and sex. Other times, I found myself empathising as Charlie and other characters contend with mental health, depression, loneliness, abuse, drugs, death, suicide, and other major issues.

The recipient of Charlie’s letters really intrigued me, perhaps more than any other character, because we know nothing about them. Not their name, their relation to Charlie, their replies to Charlie’s letters, not even if they’re a boy or a girl. More than once, I found myself wondering what they thought of Charlie, if they found some of his letters as funny or as sad or as shocking as I did, what they might have said in response to make Charlie feel better ... if they were even reading all of his letters?

What I liked most about this novel, I think, was the way it makes you look at the world. I’m always a sucker for things that force you to look at things differently, and this book does an excellent job of it. It makes you think, and that’s a great quality in anything, in my opinion.

For me, the funniest parts were due to sheer out-datedness: Charlie smoking in his teacher’s office, Patrick going out to get stoned with his guidance councellor, etc.

All in all, this was an incredible read, and I wouldn’t hesitate to read through it again. There have been rumours of a movie based on Chbosky’s novel, and I really hope they’re true, because that would be awesome. I most DEFINITELY recommend it, if you haven’t read it before. And OH MAN the ending! But I’ll leave that up to you to find out.

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”