Reading by Moonlight

I have fallen behind a little on keeping up with this blog but bear with me; I am working on getting caught up.

[readingbymoonlight]

Endless Love by Scott Spencer

Because I am trying to get caught up on a bunch of reviews that I never did, I actually read Endless Love quite a while ago, now. I requested it from the library because I wanted to see the new remake that came out with Alex Pettyfer in it (who I like) and I wanted to read the book first even though I figured that the movie (both of them, really) weren't going to be much like the book. I didn't really know what to expect but I requested it anyway and was very excited to read it when it arrived.

So, first, a quick summary from Amazon: "Seventeen-year-old David Axelrod is consumed with his love for Jade Butterfield. So when Jade’s father exiles him from their home, David does the only thing he thinks is rational: He burns down their house. Sentenced to a psychiatric institution, David’s obsession metastasizes, and upon his release, he sets out to win the Butterfields back by any means necessary."

This book deserves to be read on its own merits and without comparison to the movies supposedly based on it so do your best to forget them before you start. You'll find the book much more enjoyable for it. Because Endless Love is not a love story. It's a story of obsession, and how that obsession that is sometimes called "love" can destroy a life.

The book opens with David explaining how he ended up in the hospital—by accidentally setting fire to the Butterfields' house. While in the institution, David's obsession with Jade only grows until it consumes him and it is this that leads him through the rest of the novel as he grows more and more desperate to win back not only Jade but all of the Butterfields that David has grown so close to. David's parents are austere, distant and the Butterfields are exactly the family that David has always wanted to be a part of. Warm, loving, chaotic, open.

Endless Love was unlike anything else I've read and I really enjoyed it. You spend all of your time inside of David's head and, though at the start things seem simple, as we learn more about David and his life, and the life of the Butterfields, things seem perhaps less simple. I loved that we only see David's side of things; we are forced to think about what really happened and how it may differ from the story David decided to tell.

My biggest problem with the book was that, at times, it could feel a little long. But it held my interest throughout and I had very little problem making it through to the end. Getting through the possibly a little slower parts is worth it, because it really is about this overwhelming obsession and you have to know how it ends up. Will it destroy all of these people?

Final: B+

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

"In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?" (from Amazon)

I really wanted to read Fangirl because I had never heard of a book in which the main character reads or writes fan fiction. I enjoy fan fiction so I was interested to know how that could fit into a story. But as I was reading I fell in love with the character of Cath Avery and could relate to her greatly. I am also at the age to be starting school, and the very thought fills me with dreadful anxiety. And, like her, I cling tenaciously to the things that are comfortable for me, the books and fictional characters that I love. Sometimes, while reading, I almost wanted to cry because a sentence or sentiment would strike me so truly. Feelings like that are what I read for, to become so immersed in a story or a character while still seeing something of yourself there, making it all the more real in a way. Fangirl did that for me.

But it was also such a wonderful story. You root for Cath to become her own person, you want her to succeed on her own and in her relationships. The relationship between her and her father, which becomes a key part of the story, is very interesting and sweet and slightly dysfunctional in a good-natured way. Her relationship with Wren, also a large part of the story, is always realistic (disclaimer: I say this as a person who does not have any siblings) and I rooted for them as much as I rooted for Cath and her love interest.

Which brings me to the romantic plotline of the story. I loved that the romance was not at all the main plot of the story. Cath becoming her own person and being secure in that is just as important, and strengthens, her relationships with her friends and family.

Honestly, though, I don't want to say too much about the love story. It was charming and sweet and realistic. I grinned constantly. And I loved going into it without any background knowledge. The boy is not some Prince Charming and both have their problems to overcome but they sort of learn from each other. I think that Gayle Forman said it best when she said, "I loved that Rainbow made me fall in love with a balding Ag major with dyslexia."

That's what Rainbow Rowell did. She made me fall in love with these characters, she made me laugh and worry with them.

My final note: the chapters are split up with passages from the Simon Snow series (a sort of homage to the Harry Potter series) and different pieces of fan fiction written by Cath and (sometimes) her sister. I enjoyed these little stories-within-a-story and they really made me want to read this fictional book series.

Final: A

[readingbymoonlight]

Fringe: The Burning Man by Christa Faust

(Spoilers for Season 3)

There are many things wrong with this book and while I found it relatively enjoyable, it was due more to the fact that I just love Olivia than to the quality of its execution. I am unfortunately coming to realize that these books just aren’t very good. I read the first one (The Zodiac Paradox) last year; its review is just a few posts before this. And in each one there are always a few things that are wrong. Things that seem impossible to get wrong if you’ve ever actually watched the series.

In the first, it was Walter’s behavior. We know that, before the incident with Peter and eventually St. Claire’s, Walter was a different man. A man hungry for knowledge and with no respect for the boundaries of science. In the book, young Walter acts just as Walter does in the show. That’s not interpretation, that’s just incorrect.

In The Burning Man, it’s a much smaller thing. In the show, our Olivia is not a very good shot. This becomes important at the end of season two and the beginning of season three when the two Olivias are swapped. The Olivia Over There is a great shot, having even won awards for marksmanship. It’s one of their defining differences. But in this book, Olivia is a great shot. After shooting, but failing to kill, her stepfather as a girl she becomes obsessed with becoming a better marksman. While that motivation makes sense, it’s just not what happened. We know that our Olivia is not a very good shot. That’s just how it is.

I had other problems with this book. One event near the end, in particular, felt grossly out of character for Olivia (or just about anyone, really). But I won’t go into it for the sake of keeping this spoiler free in case you read the book.

The plot, as well, felt implausible and something about it just didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like something that could have happened to Olivia and had no lasting ripples to be seen in the show. The pacing felt wrong and jarring, too.

Despite all this, I’ll probably read the next one too, The Sins of the Father, and for the same reason. I love the characters and any little tiny shred of information about them that I might be able to glean from these stories I will do so. And I’d be upset on the off chance that the last one is good and I decided not to read it. So, I will.

My final word: this book isn’t very good. I finished it because I like Fringe (not so much because I liked the book) and the plot (though implausible) kept me curious enough to continue.

Final: D+ Suggested for: someone who might be looking for a way back into the Fringe world for a while and can go in with low expectations.

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Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David Barnett

[From the back of the book] Nineteenth-century London is the center of a vast British Empire, a teeming, steam-powered metropolis where airships ply the skies and Queen Victoria presides over three-quarters of the known world—including the east coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775.

But London might as well be a world away from Sandsend, the tiny village where Gideon Smith whiles away his days fishing on his father’s clockwork gearship, dreaming of the adventure promised him by the lurid tales of Captain Lucian Trigger, the hero of the Empire. When Gideon’s father is lost at sea in highly mysterious circumstances, Gideon is convinced that supernatural forces are at work.

This is an exciting book with a lot of action. There’s plenty of characters running around, in converging storylines. There’s mystery, romance and government conspiracy. Egyptian mummies, vampires and plenty of steam-powered clockwork machines. But for all of that, I sometimes had difficulty really getting into it. It took me a few months to finish it because I never really felt invested. I liked it while I was reading it but when I put it down, I wasn’t ravenous to open it once again. While I was curious about the ending, I didn’t feel the need to race hungrily for it until the last 75 pages or so. For a while I didn’t know why this was but I think I’ve figured it out. I didn’t feel connected enough to the characters to be invested in the story. I cared only in that basic way that we care for all humans, rather than the way you care and worry for a close friend.

But that wasn’t all together a bad thing. The characters are all charming enough and are a joy to read about. The story is exhilarating and unusual. I was expecting a run of the mill steampunk story (my experience of which is a little limited, I admit). But this turned out to be something different. There were dirigibles and automatons and creatures of brass, powered by clockwork and steam, yes. But ancient Egyptian mummies make a fearsome supernatural foe. Vampires join the story. And Jack the Ripper is mentioned, as well.

It really was a great, entertaining novel. It even brought up some interesting questions about what exactly it means to be a hero. It's only drawback, for me, was that the characters didn't seem as fully fleshed out as they could have been. But being that they were was a good bit of them — about six or seven main ones — and the book is only 350 pages long, there simply may not have been enough time. Honestly, it doesn't draw from the enjoyment of the story. If you're looking for a good adventure, you may consider giving this one a try.

Final: B- Suggested for: those looking for a good adventure or possibly those looking for a steampunk story and haven't read much of it before. This one isn't too heavy on the whole steampunk aspect.

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Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen

Jane Yolen's Sword of the Rightful King is a middle-grade book, focusing on the story of King Arthur, specifically that of the sword in the stone. Yolen comes to the story from a slightly different angle, making this ancient story a new one. But most of us know the basic story of the sword in the stone so I won't go into the plot too much, because I don't want to spoil the things that are unique to this telling.

My immediate thoughts of this book. It was a fun quick read, great for kids, I think and anyone, like me, that just really loves Arthurian stories. I love to read any spin that someone puts on these classic stories.

That being said, I felt this book was kind of average. There was nothing that put it head and shoulders above other books of a similar sort. I enjoyed it but did not love it.

My favorite aspect was Arthur and his relationships with those around him. His fondness for his foster brother, Sir Kay, who can tend towards the unlikable, was completely understandable and charming. Arthur showed a great understanding for what it means to be king in his knowledge of Kay's personality, his strengths and faults and where he would be most helpful. I liked seeing that more personable side of Arthur.

His relationship with Merlinnus (the alternate name used for Merlin in this story) was also a joy to read. Ever since watching BBC's Merlin, I've loved exploring the different relationships between Arthur and Merlin. In Sword of the Rightful King they reminded me of a boy with his slightly cantankerous grandfather. Merlinnus is stubborn and while Arthur sometimes gets frustrated with him, the affection he has for him is plain to see.

Arthur himself is a lovable character as the good king that does not believe in himself. His self-doubt is endearing and relatable rather than annoying. As a reader, we see him come into his own more as he proves that a king must be more than just the son of the king before him.

On the side note of relationships, Gawaine's relationship and thoughts regarding his mother, Morgause, and his brothers, Agravaine, Gareth and Gaheris, were interesting for me to read, as well.

There were a few small complaints I had but to really discuss them would involve spoiling some rather important things. If you'd like to read those I'll put them under a read more tag just below.

Final: C+ Suggested for: younger readers that are looking for Arthurian stories, may appeal to young readers of fantasy

Near the beginnning of the story, an adolescent aged boy named Gawen comes to the castle and becomes an assistant to Merlinnus. Gawen and Arthur become relatively good friends, Gawen is not afraid to tell the King what he thinks and Arthur appreciates that.

At the end of the story, it is revealed that Gawen is actually a woman named Guinevere (I don't have the book with me and I can't remember if that is the spelling used in this version). When Arthur discovers this, he says that he and Guinevere will be married and proposes.

Several other aspects come into this, having to do with the sword, but the main thing that struck me as strange is this. Thirty seconds previously, the 22-year-old King Arthur thought this was a boy of about 15. But when he finds out she's a beautiful young woman, he feels they must be married.

This seemed strange and unrealistic to me, because, although you can love a friend, it is of course, a different kind of love from that you would have for a wife. And I don't feel like someone would be able to reconcile those two things in their head so quickly.

There was a scene a little later on before the wedding ceremony where both admit to the other that they are a little nervous and this seemed more real and endearing to me.

But in the grand scheme of things, this is a small thing, really and certainly not to be the focus of the story. 

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You need to reevaluate A Certain Slant of Light right this instant.

Oh? I'm curious to know what you thought of it.

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When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket

When Did You See Her Last? is the second book of four in Lemony Snicket's new series, All The Wrong Questions. I did read the first, Who Could That Be At This Hour? but I didn't review it here, so this review will sort of cover the series so far.

ATWQ is about the childhood of Lemony Snicket and his apprenticeship in an organization that no one knows about. For people who like A Series of Unfortunate Events, I feel quite sure that they will like this new series as well. While, it doesn't focus on the Baudelaire children, it still has the same distinctive voice and darker tone of Lemony Snicket's writing. In this series, there is more of a noir detective feel but it works very well.

The character of Lemony Snicket is smart and an easy character to like and follow as are his friends. All the characters are just as colorful and interesting and funny and intriguing as one would expect from Snicket. And once again, like ASOUE, the children are the heroes and they seem to be surrounded by either evil or incompetent (or, sometimes, a combination of the two) adults.

The first book, Who Could That Be At This Hour?, sees Snicket's arrival in a town called Stain'd-by-the-Sea and his attempts to find a statue of an imaginary beast and return it to its rightful owners.

When Did You See Her Last? picks up not long after and deals with the disappearance of a local girl.

One of my favorite things about this series so far is the setting of the little town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Once the leading manufacturer of ink, Stain'd-by-the-Sea was home to Ink Inc. which made the darkest and boldest ink in the world by extracting it from octopi that live in underwater caves. But the town has since fallen on hard times, the sea is no longer a sea and there are very few octopi left. I loved the backstory and the desolation of the town lends itself very well to the tone of the story.

Overall, I'm loving the series so far, and I'm very excited for the last two books. If you like Lemony Snicket and A Series of Unfortunate Events, I feel quite confident you'll like this new series as well. I think those who have a penchant for detective stories and mysteries may enjoy it as well.

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Fringe: The Zodiac Paradox by Christa Faust

After finishing Fringe I felt the need to get my hands on everything even slightly related and so I found these books - a trilogy exploring the backstories of our three main characters. The first in the series, The Zodiac Paradox, focuses on Walter, his friendship with William Bell and Nina Sharp, their run-in with the Zodiac killer and the discovery and formation of Cortexiphan.

This book wasn't great. It was average, nothing special. I liked it, but the majority of my positive feelings for it simply came from seeing the characters I loved in another situation.

The story, the concept, was interesting enough. A young Walter and Bell are at Reiden Lake trying a blend of acid that they've created. But the special blend connects their consciousnesses and opens a portal, through which emerges the Zodiac killer. Throughout the book we get to see a bit through the killer's eyes which I did find interesting to read.

My biggest complaint with the book was Walter. We know from the show that, before the incident with Peter and going into St. Claire's, Walter Bishop was a very different man. Prepared to acquire knowledge at whatever cost and hungry for power. Christa Faust writes him as the Walter we know in the show, a much more cautious man, an outcast, brilliant but scatterbrained. However, I do still love this Walter and so the change, while against canon, didn't totally jar me.

I enjoyed reading the Zodiac Paradox but I wouldn't suggest it unless you're just looking for a way to hang out again with the characters you love for a little while.

I am still looking forward to the two sequels, The Burning Man and The Sins of the Father.

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Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Why We Broke Up is written in the form of a (very long) letter from Min Green to Ed Slaterton, telling him why they broke up and how various items of their relationship correlate that.

I suppose I liked Why We Broke Up, I liked the plot but couldn't really like the characters and it struck me as being pretentious. I think that's the right word. Maybe self-important.

Min, herself, was pretentious. She consistently talked about old movies as if anyone who didn't know them was, in some way, inferior. And she clearly felt that her group of friends was superior to other people simply because those other people were popular. But one of the things that really got to me was the language. Min had a strange way of talking. For example: "I was a fool, is what."

And it was confusing. There were so many parts in which I wasn't sure what was actually going on. Twice I thought that they'd had sex (and I'm still not completely sure what they did; the term eventually used is "everything but") before I figured out they must not have because Min later made a big deal about something Ed said that made her think he was telling her they were definitely going to have sex that weekend. I was often confused like this about what exactly was going on.

The best part of the book, in my opinion, was the pictures. For each item there is a painting (done by Maira Kalman) and they are gorgeous.

I'd heard a lot of good things about this book and so maybe my expectations were too high. And maybe I'm being too critical. I didn't hate it by any means but there were just too many little things that bugged me and so I was disappointed. And in the book, it wasn't exactly a bad book. But it wasn't for me and I probably wouldn't recommend it. I just wanted so much to like it and I couldn't.

Final: B-

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Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

In Warm Bodies, Isaac Marion takes on that omnipresent foe—zombies, the walking, shambling dead. But he manages to breath new life into them. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting from Warm Bodies before I started out—perhaps a Twilight-esque love story or your average run-of-the-mill supernatural YA book—but it completely surpassed my preconceptions.

First of all, I was surprised to find, when I went to check it out from my library, that this book is categorized as an adult book rather than YA. And I know that doesn't seem like it should make a whole lot of difference but, for whatever reason, it does. On the surface it has the hallmarks of a YA story—young adult main characters, a zombie and human falling in love, mostly absent parents—but it reads differently than a book geared more for teens. The language is more mature and simpler, without the hyperbole that seems to come with YA fiction and simply being an adolescent. It is clear and plain but detailed.

A quick summary: R is in an existential crisis—he's a zombie. He doesn't remember who he was before, not even his name, though he thinks it started with an R, and he "lives" in an abandoned airport with a number of other zombies. But, even though he can't talk, he feels out of place there and dreams of bigger and better things for his undead existence. Julie is the girlfriend of R's latest meal, a young man named Perry, and without really knowing why, R saves her and brings her safely back to his airport home. Julie is a streak of life, color and light in R's gray, monotonous, undead world and together they may just bring about a different future for all of humankind.

I really loved this book. I really wish it'd been longer. The pacing and everything was good but it went by so quickly at just around 300 pages. But I'd prefer a good, fact-paced story to one that's needlessly drug out.

And the characters. I loved the characters. For a zombie, R is very lovable and actually quite relatable in his questioning of who he is, who he wants to be and what his destiny might be. Julie is an awesome and badass female character without that being her only side. She's also a very sweet and loving girl. Sometimes naive, she's hopeful, poetic, smart and concerned about the future and humanity. It would be easy, in the face of the apocalypse, to become hopeless but Julie never does.

Even if you're not a zombie fan, I'd really suggest this book. I didn't get into zombies until much later than most of the world but I think I would have found my love for them much earlier if there were more books like this one. This book shows zombies as being capable of emotions and a capacity for humanity. Never fear though, there is also some plain ol' undead feasting on brains to be found here, as well.

Final: B+

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Every Day by David Levithan

Every Day is about A. A boy - if you can really call him that - that has no body of his own. Rather, he wakes up every morning in the body of someone else. They're always the same age as him and seem to always be, at least, in the same country.

When A wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Rhiannon, Justin's girlfriend, A begins to question his existence and his purpose.

I'm not sure how I really feel about Every Day. I suppose, overall, I liked it. I liked the idea and plot of it. Some of the questions it raises are interesting. Is there a purpose to A's existence? Could it truly be considered a life?

And I think David Levithan tried very hard to have a representation of as many people as possible. A inhabits a lot of people over the course of the novel. A lot of them, however, feel like stereotypes or cardboard cutouts from an after-school special. Perhaps this is because we only get to know them for a day. And we really don't even get to know them as we don't truly meet them.

But, whatever the reason, they are not the point of this book. That would be A and Rhiannon. What I really liked most about them was that they each made each other question what they thought was certain. They were equals in a strange way.

However, I didn't especially like either of the characters in a personal way. I couldn't really care about or root for them.

And the ending. Without spoiling it, the ending was disappointing for me.

The plot was interesting but when it comes down to it, I was disappointed. The characters had to carry the story and they just didn't do it for me. Perhaps I just don't like David Levithan's style. Whatever it was I just didn't really like this one. It wasn't bad, more forgettable.

Final: C

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2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut

This is technically a short story. (The title is pronounced "to be or naught - not - to be", referencing the line in Hamlet.) I read it on my Kindle so I'm not sure how many real pages but I'd guess maybe four or five. It's more of a scene or what I've heard referred to as flash fiction.

With that being said, it's quite interesting. The story takes place in the future where population has been stabilized at 40 million. Aging has been cured so people can live indefinitely. If a child is to be born, someone else must die to make room for it. I don't want to tell you what actually happens in the story because it really is intriguing and it's also so short. If you're curious, read it. As I said, it's very quick and I don't think you'll regret it. I was very emotional by the end in a way that I didn't know I could be with so few words.

It is free on Kindle (and probably most other eReaders) and it can be found free and legally online.

Final: A+

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Tweet Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick

While a bit cliche and rather predictable, Tweet Heart was a sweet, fluffy book to read. Written mostly in tweets, with a few emails and blog posts, it centers on four friends - Claire (@ClaireRBear), Lottie (@Lots0Love), Bennett (@KingofSlack) and Will (@WiseOneWP). Claire is a shy, slightly geeky but sweet girl, Her best friend, Lottie, is her perfect foil - outspoken, sporty, boy-crazy. Bennett is Claire's best guy friend and his relationship with Will reflects that of hers with Lottie. Bennett is the more manic one. He's an astounding nerd and doesn't really care what people think of him. Will is the quieter and slightly more sensible one.

I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would when my friend recommended it to me. It was sweet and romantic and funny and a little cliche, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a great, quick (the majority of it being written in tweets) little read when you're in the mood for something happy and fluffy. It is what it is and one shouldn't be expecting any more from it. It's not meant to be a deep-thinking book.

I'd like to buy it sometime so I can reread it whenever I want.

Final: B

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Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is inspired by the story of Cinderella. In Meyer's version, Cinder is a cyborg - part girl, part metal and silicon. She lives in New Beijing, a part of the Eastern Commonwealth, the prince of which is our other main character, Prince Kai.

What I know of Cinderella is from the Disney movie, I haven't read any classic versions of it, so I may or may not have missed out on some nuances from that angle. I can't say.

Now, that having been said, I enjoyed Cinder for the most part. The plot was interesting enough and quick moving. I liked the characters, especially Kai, who was adorably sweet and polite. But, on the whole, I found it to be kind of average. It was technically good but it didn't have that spark that'll incite a fire in its reader. At least, it didn't for me anyway.

That shouldn't stop you from reading it, however. It was well worth the time. I did get lost in the story and I'll probably even read the sequels to see what happens next. It's only downfall is that it's missing something that I can't even name.

My final thoughts? While I really loved reading this book, it struck me as being a bit rushed and forgettable. But if you're looking for an interesting distraction about cyborgs, a new world and a little bit of romance, you may want to give it a shot. And who knows? Maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did.

Final: B-

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Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

In Anna and the French Kiss, high school senior Anna Oliphant is forced to transfer to France for her senior year. While she isn't completely averse to Paris, she recognizes that it is more about her father appearing cultured than it is about her education.

So Anna is in Paris, without knowing a word of French besides "oui". But it is here that she meets Etienne St. Clair. Gorgeous, funny, sweet St. Clair. Who also happens to have a beautiful girlfriend. Despite that, he seems to be paying attention to her. Is St. Clair interested in Anna or is he just being polite and friendly?

I adore this book so much. It was romantic and sweet and sexy. I read 160 pages the night I got it from the library and didn't want to stop to go to sleep. And the next day I very simply could not put it down. I needed to know what would happen but I desperately didn't want it to end. Which is always the best feeling when reading, for me.

When writing a YA romance story it is very easy to become cliche or overly sappy so you have to have great, funny, interesting and singular characters and that's why this book is such a successful story. The characters were believable and flawed; they made mistakes. They were fun to read about and they have their own personalities and styles and ways of speaking and little habits. One detail that really sticks with me, for whatever reason, is that Meredith wears rings on each of her fingers and has teacups full of little plastic rings and such in her dorm room. And the story just so perfectly captures that feeling of wanting someone you can't have and wondering whether someone likes you back.

I'm not saying this book is perfect, of course, but in my opinion, it came about as close as a book can. It had its flaws like anything else but they don't detract from the enjoyment. If you're looking for a good romance I definitely recommend this one.

Final: A+

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A book haul of sorts...

I've acquired quite a number of books recently so I thought I'd do a post talking about them. Because I can...

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. Though it is a zombie love story and looks like a YA book and has teenaged to young adult characters, it's actually categorized as an adult novel. I'm a little less than a hundred pages in and I'm enjoying it so far. R is an interesting protagonist as a zombie that questions his existence and purpose when so few others of his kind do. And it's been really cool to get a look at the way the zombies live and how much of their humanity is sort of retained in their surroundings, for example, they've built a church and a school and they get "married" and "have kids". It's definitely a unique take on zombies.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. I've only gotten a few pages into this at the moment and, to be honest, I'm not expecting to really love it. But it's J.K. Rowling and I knew I'd feel just kind of fundamentally wrong if I didn't at least try to read it. This novel is one of a small town and all the people in it. I am reminded of Jane Austen (who, I believe, Jo has said is her favorite author) with the large cast and the story of how they all interact with each other and the ripple effect of gossip and life in a small town. So while I think it'll be an experience to read this one I don't think it'll necessarily be an enjoyable or fun ride.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I've actually already read this. I got it from the library. But I loved it so much I had to buy it. So now I'm just rereading it slowly while reading some of my new books.

Who Could That Be At This Hour? by Lemony Snicket. Lemony Snicket's new book and the first in the All The Wrong Questions series. I've really missed Lemony Snicket books (I actually reread the A Series of Unfortunate Events books in a fit of nostalgia) so I was really excited about this one. About 20 pages in, it has the same Snicket writing style I'm really excited to be reading it.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. My dad got me this book. He likes to get me things that I wouldn't usually read to try and get me into different genres. Which is cool and everything and I appreciate it but sometimes it's annoying that he's always trying to get me to read things that I probably won't like. On that note, however, I'm actually really liking this book. It's really funny but it's also an honest and rather accurate portrayal of adolescence. I'd say I'm roughly halfway through and, we'll see how the rest goes, but I would definitely recommend it.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. I'd been wanting to read this really bad for a few weeks when I finally bought it from AbeBooks. A little over 100 pages in and I think it could end up being one of my favorites. It has a very distinct style that mixes the mundane with the morbid and I love that.

The Thorn and The Blossom by Theodora Goss. This is probably one of the coolest and most gorgeous books I've ever seen. It is a love story between Evelyn and Brendan but what makes it interesting is that you can read the book two different ways. You can read Evelyn's or Brendan's side of the story first. Then, when you get to the end, you flip it over and read the other person's. It's difficult to explain but it's so lovely.

[readingbymoonlight]

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

A Certain Slant of Light is a supernatural romance story. Helen is a ghost who’s haunted a series of hosts. She cannot interact with her hosts or the human world but her only other option is a cold and icy hell. She is in the classroom of Mr. Brown, her high school teacher host when she feels someone looking at her. It is James, a human boy. What follows is a search for both of their pasts and a way for them to be together.

Overall, I liked this book though I do think it definitely had its flaws. The characters seemed a little flat. Perhaps because a large part of the story is them finding out who they are but they simply didn’t jump off the page for me. They seemed contrived, simply doing what the author needed them to do rather than what would be logical.

The pacing was awkward. At times, I couldn’t put it down and at others I felt as if I were just plodding through, counting pages to see when I would be done which is never a good sign.

The writing could be lyrical and poetic but that was only when it wanted to be. At other times, it was simple and plain language. I began to feel almost as if I were reading two separate books.

And now you’re probably asking what I found to be likable about this book. I liked the first few pages and the descriptions of Helen’s previous hosts. I thought her feelings regarding Mr. Brown and his wife were really interesting and, strangely, realistic (with her being a ghost and everything).

While this had its good and I had a good time reading it, I really just felt like it was a little average and a little uneven.

Final: C+