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Life Of Pi - Yann Martel

Length: 319 pages

Date started: 04/01/13

Date finished: 01/02/13

Age range: 12+

Rating: ☮☮☮☮☮

This book.

Okay so I have this thing about books being turned into films: I have to read the book before I watch the film. So when I saw Life of Pi advertised on the TV I immediately went out and bought the book, and honestly I'm so glad I did.

This novel is such an eye opener. It's the sort of book that you can lose yourself in. It took me around a month to read due to birthdays and school; I read a little most days and I really enjoyed it.

The story isn't what I expected from the film trailer. The novel starts off talking about the protagonist (Pi)'s childhood. There's quite a chunk of story that I didn't expect to get, but it's very interesting and well thought out.  The only part of this section that I didn't enjoy was when Pi goes on about his religions, as it's not in my interest and he goes on for quite some time. Religion is obviously very important to the character.

Around a third of the way in, the disaster strikes. It's very sudden; I wasn't expecting to turn the page and see the words "The ship sank." I think the writer deliberately omitted description at this point, as I think Pi would have wanted to block it from his memory. The book is written in first person; Pi is telling you the story. Why would he dwell on describing the disaster that lost his family? It's what happens next that's the best bit.

As I followed Pi on his battle for survival amongst a slowly diminishing number of animal companions, I was gripped. Some of the description in this part of the novel is breathtaking. One of my favorite parts is Chapter 78 (open the book and find it, because that's all I'm going to tell you.) And let's not forget the presence of Richard Parker, the bengal tiger. Richard Parker made this novel; I've not felt so strongly for an animal character like this since Hedwig. His impact on Pi, and their mutual dependency, is riveting.

Towards the end of the novel, Pi's luck takes a turn, and I was confused as to how he would get back to civilisation afterwards. However, a clever plot twist cleared this up for me, again, something I wasn't expecting.

Pi's journey ends as suddenly as it began. When I was reading it, I was frustrated that it was coming to an end in such a simplistic way, but now looking back a few hours later, I think the end of the journey was realistic if nothing else. I don't know what I was expecting.

The very end of the novel confused me to the ends of the earth, but in a good way. Without spoiling it for you, Pi tells his story in an alternative way, and we never receive confirmation as to which story is true. I was left wondering, was the story I just read made up? An adaptation of the truth? Did he mask what really happened with a fantasy? I suppose I'll never know. I know which I choose to believe.

Honestly, such a good read. I recommend it to everyoneeeeeee!

(Ps. Yes I know I said I'd be reading Double Cross (the last of the Noughts and Crosses series) next, but in all honestly, it bored me. I had had enough of those characters and wanted to move on. I suppose one day I will come back to it).

Next read: The Hobbit

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Checkmate - Malorie Blackman

Length: 528 pages

Date started: 01/11/12

Date finished: 24/12/12

Age range: 16+

Rating: ☮☮☮☮

Checkmate took me much longer to read than the previous two books in the Noughts and Crosses series. This third installment follows Callie Rose, daughter to a Cross mother, Persephone (Sephy), and a deceased, Nought father, Callum, through her childhood into her mid-teens. This book really digs its claws into the issues of race wars and political injustice; terrorism plays a big part in Callie Rose's story.

I found this novel a little more difficult to follow, thus why it took so long to read. Amongst sudden coursework assignments for my A Levels and moving house (again), I was struggling to find time just to sit and read. The story begins in the present day, then flips back to Callie Rose aged 3, or 4, or 5, then back to the present for a couple of chapters before going back again. One thing I did find was that the age related flashbacks were in order; all the relevant moments from Callie Rose's 5th year were presented at once, then 6th, then 7th. There was never any jumping between ages, and I suppose that made it a little easier.

The book is split into sections, for example, Jude versus Jasmine, Sephy versus Callie Rose, etc. This indicates that there are various personal wars going on between the characters, whether it be due to unfinished business, racism, or an unhealthy relationship. In the beginning, Callie Rose, ages 16, and Sephy, are locked in the cellar by Sephy's mother, Jasmine. This seemed like a bizarre beginning to me, as after just putting down Knife Edge, a lot of time seemed to have jumped. However, the reasoning soon became apparent, and the old saying "start as close to the end as possible" came to mind. I found myself wondering about the scene at the beginning of the book throughout the whole novel, and eventually each question was cleared up in my mind.

The plot itself focuses on Callie Rose, and therefore is less political and more teenager-ee (if that is even a word). While the ever present themes of racism, violence and terrorism are there, they are shrouded in a similar way to Noughts and Crosses. Callie Rose faces a mixture of problems, from who Amyas' attention is on, to whether her dad ever loved her at all, to the hard-hitting right from wrong question towards the end. Without giving too much away, powerful L.M soldier Uncle Jude (Callum's brother) resurfaces in a much more prominent role in this novel; his plans for Callie Rose are much greater than she ever anticipated. Will she be able to see through his propaganda techniques, his distorted thinking and his ruthless actions.

Another shocking ending concluded this novel; what is to be of the family now? With one book left to go, I hope all the loose ends are tied in my next read: Double Cross.

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Knife Edge - Malorie Blackman

Length: 416 pages

Date started: 30/10/12

Date finished: 26/11/12

Age range: 14+

Rating: ☮☮☮

Knife Edge is the second installment to the four part Noughts and Crosses series by Malorie Blackman. This story picks up a little after Nought And Crosses (book 1) left off, with the birth of Persephone's (Sephy's) daughter, Callie Rose. During this novel, Persephone and an infant Callie Rose move into the house of Meggie McGregor, mother to Callum McGregor, the deceased father of Callie Rose. It follows Persephone's struggle of being a single mother to a mixed-raced daughter, in a world of black dominance and extreme racism.

I was eager to follow the story through to this book, as Noughts and Crosses had such an impact on me through my studies of Civil Right in the USA. However, Knife Edge has a much different feel to it than Noughts and Crosses; while the first book had me gripped on every page to follow the story of two forbidden lovers, the end left me deflated. I was waiting for Sephy and Callum's happy ending, but politics got in the way; something I was unfamiliar with in novels. By following Knife Edge through, I finally understood while Blackman chose to end Noughts and Crosses as she did; the controversy, racism and violence in the world of Sephy and Callum is heaving with so many problems, that a happen ending was unrealistic.

Knife Edge very much focuses on Sephy's struggles; trying to juggle motherhood with independence, a career, and a social life. Such a task is difficult enough without a threatening 'brother-in-law' figure emerging onto the scene, and a letter which leads Sephy to question everything she knew about Callum. If I were to put myself in her shoes, I too would find myself falling apart at the words. Sephy's struggles come to a tense ending when Meggie rushes home to find Sephy having trouble with her daughter. The only indication to the problem is one of the final sentences in the book, and no more detail was given. This, of course, left me hungry to find out what was going to happen next, therefore compelling me to pick up Checkmate (Book 3).

Overall, I think that the issues in Knife Edge are much more explicit than in Noughts and Crosses; the first novel has its themes cushioned by forbidden love and domestic problems, while all that is gone in Knife Edge, leaving the cold, hard problems that Sephy has to face. With no love left, and a past full of regrets, what can she do to go on?

[samlikesbooks-blog]

Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman

Length: 433 pages

Date started: 24/09/12

Date finished: 29/10/12

Age range: 14+

Rating: ☮☮☮☮

My English teacher rocked up to lesson one day, and used this book as an example for something. I was immediately interested after he mentioned the supreme blacks and inferior whites that the story surrounded, mostly because I’m studying Civil Rights in the USA for History and understand the black/white divisions that Blackman would address in the novel.

My teacher lent me a copy and I started reading straight away. I even put down The Casual Vacancy for it (note to self: pick that back up another day), which shows how eager I was. 

I’m going to try not to reveal the plot too much here, but basically the protagonists Sephy and Callum come from different backgrounds, and are different races, so their friendship is frowned upon. Sephy, 14, a cross (dark-skinned/dagger) has privilege and security. She has an education and a promising future ahead of her. Meanwhile, Callum, 16, a nought (light-skinned/blanker) has only recently been given access to secondary education. The two have been friends since a young age as Callum’s mum used to work for Sephy’s mum; this friendship is put to the ultimate test.

The story is set at such a pace that it really keeps you hooked. What started off as a novel about two forbidden lovers turned into a controversial, thought provoking story about terrorism and right from wrong. Looking at the cover, you really wouldn’t expect the twist, but it gets you thinking.

The novel switches perspectives every chapter, so you get some from Callum, them some from Sephy. The chapter lengths vary considerably; some are half a page while others can be six or seven pages. Because of this, the total number is 117 chapters, but don’t let that put you off. The twists and turns in the story are accentuated by the choppy perspective changes. Blackman has used this form very effectively  but only in hindsight did I realise this. Noughts and Crosses is the kind of book that you have to sit back and reflect on after turning the final page.

The time of this novel changes very suddenly about two thirds of the way through, and it took me a while to grasp that a period of time had passed. For a good 5 or 6 chapters I was still envisioning the younger Sephy and Callum; if you pick this book up be wary of that.

It took me a while to read, but that’s because I had to keep dipping into The Perks of Being A Wallflower in order to write my English coursework (review to come soon) and I hate crossing stories because I get confused. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in alternate-world type novels, forbidden love stories, or someone whose ears pricked at the sound of controversy and fast pace. Heed warning though, it is definitely not for younger readers. The issues addressed in this novel and the events that take place are not suitable for the younger adolescent, for example, *spoilers* violence, terrorism, crime and death. 

Following the completion of this book I returned it to my teacher and ordered the boxed set so I can begin reading the sequels. They arrived today so now I have my own copy of Noughts and Crosses, I can’t wait to get started on the rest of the set! :D