13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson

13 Little Blue Envelopes

Maureen Johnson

2005

This was another one of those books that I picked up at the library 'just because'. I thought it had a cool cover* and the little summary on the back sounded like something I would like. And I did like this book. Quite a lot.

13 Little Blue Envelopes is about 17-year-old Ginny who receives (you can probably guess this bit) 13 little blue envelopes the summer before her last year of high school. The envelopes are from her 'Runaway Aunt' Peg, who has passed away. She is informed that she will be leaving for several weeks to travel to foreign lands. She has 4 rules to follow: 1) Bring only what fits in your backpack, 2) you cannot bring a journal or foreign language aid, 3) you cannot bring any extra money (she is provided with the necessary cash), and 4) no electronics. She is instructed to buy a plane ticket to London, and thus begins the story.

When I read this book the first time, I didn't know there was going to be a sequel. But now there is. I really liked the way the story was narrated, and I really liked Ginny. There is a little bit of a lack of believability to the entire premise of the novel, as a 17 year old is travelling to foreign lands alone, but it's fiction so it doesn't have to be believable. The book is charming and funny, and a very good, if relatively quick, read. There is one particular part of the book that has become my favourite, but I don't want to ruin any of the story. It just has to do with a longing to visit a certain European city.

The author is quite something. Maureen Johnson, who is not the character from RENT, has one of the funniest and most active twitter accounts. If you have twitter and are interested in her works, her life, her adorable cat and his quest to destroy all the stuffed orange kittens he is provided with, I suggest you follow her. Her name is @maureenjohnson. Currently she is working on 'something secret' with another author so she isn't tweeting as much, but usually she does. As well, she loves to send dirty jokes/messages to her friend and fellow author John Green during his live shows. The contents of these messages has never been revealed to the public though. Which just adds to the mystery.

I give this book 4.3 out of 5 stars. I liked it quite a lot. 

*I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but if the title and/or cover aren't interesting, I'm probably not going to be interested.

Looking for Alaska - John Green

Looking For Alaska

John Green

2005

At some point you will probably think that I'm just a huge John Green fangirl (true) but the writing in this novel is just amazing. I borrowed this book from my public library at some point in time before I even knew about the vlogbrothers. This book is emotional and wonderful and has a very awkward yet somehow amazing blow job scene (it isn't graphic, it's humorous). I think I read this book twice in the time that I had it from the library and bought my own copy shortly after returning it. It's one of my favourite books even though it makes me cry sometimes. 

Looking For Alaska is about Miles, or Pudge as his new friends nickname him, and his new experiences at boarding school. He is obsessed with famous people's last words to the point where he reads biographies just to learn them. When he is asked about why he wants to move away from home he gives the last words of François Rabelais's last words - "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." He moves to boarding school and meets Alaska and falls in love. And that's where the plot summary ends because I don't want to spoil this magnificent novel for anyone.

It's the kind of novel where once I reach a certain point in the novel I can't just put it down and I have to finish it. If you've read it, you may know which part I'm thinking about (and if you don't, you can email me to find out).

And I can say it is magnificent because it's won the Michael L. Printz award (as you can tell by the beautiful shiny sticker). You can also tell it's a good book by the fact that it has been banned in some schools. Almost all good books get banned at some point (see: Harry Potter, Catcher in the Rye, etc). John Green has also defended the book on many occasions in real life and on youtube and probably in writing. It's also the book that led to the metaphor that is famous on tumblr "If people were rain, I was a drizzle and she was a hurricane." Also, parts of the books are kind of based on true-to-life events. 

I give this book 4.8 out of 5. I should probably come up a better system for rating books. But this book deserves every little bit of that 4.8. Heck, it probably deserves more. This is one of those books that everyone who wants a good, emotionally traumatizing read (but the good kind of emotionally traumatizing). 

Have you read this book? What do you think? 

If you have read it, what was your reading experience like? Were you as emotional as I was?

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Mark Haddon

2003

This is one of my favourite books. My mom suggested I read it a few years ago (I have no idea how long ago this was) and I think I read it in about two days. I've since read the book about a million more times*. This heart-wrenching and compelling novel is about a 15-year-old autistic boy named Christopher who feels compelled to find out who killed his neighbour's dog since he is the one who is thought to have done it. The fact he is autistic slows down his investigation a little bit, but he finds out so much information and he manages to solve the crime while learning a lot about himself and his family. Christopher is highly intelligent but sometimes this gets him into a little bit of trouble, especially when it's combined with his inability to process emotions like the rest of us.

The story is told from his point of view, so it's a rather limited narration. But the story is still wonderful. You really get to know the mind of an autistic narrator who has some very specific things he likes and doesn't like. Such as his pet rat, or his dislike of certain coloured foods, or how he likes to see a certain number of yellow cars in a row but too many red cars is bad. It's small details that make you fall in love with Christopher. You get to feel like you really know him and when something good happens, you're excited and when sometime bad happens you just feel bad for him.

One of my favourite parts of this novel isn't anything to do with the plot or the characters. It's something I didn't notice right away, but I caught on eventually. The chapters are all numbered with prime numbers. Christopher can recite every prime number up to 7,057. This is just one of the small details in the book that really makes it come alive.

This book is available for purchase from Amazon here: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I highly suggest you read this novel. 4.7 stars out of 5. 

Have you read the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time? Did you like it? Do you know of any other books that are kind of similar?

*This is only a slight exaggeration. I've probably read this book about 15-20 times. It is just as wonderful each of those times. 

50 Book Challenge

I've heard of the 50 Book Challenge plenty of times. Kristina Horner from the fiveawesomegirls collab channel on youtube did this a few years ago and more recently I've found another youtuber who did the challenge.
All the challenge involves is reading 50 books in one year. For my year I am going to start with January 1st, 2012 and go until December 31st, 2012. I will probably review all the books I have read, and if I reread a book I will count it twice.

Check out the page where I've listed all the books I've read. If you're doing the 50 Book Challenge (or any other kind of reading goal setting thing for a period of time) let me know in the comments!

Sloppy Firsts - Megan McCafferty

Sloppy Firsts

Megan McCafferty

2001

I was introduced to this series by a vlogger named Hayley G Hoover some time ago. I was looking for a new book to read, and my library happened to have the entire series for my e-reader, so I checked this one out. The series is about Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie, and it is phenomenal. 

The series is written in diary entries and letters. This book starts with Jessica Darling in her junior year of high school. Her best friend has just moved away and she feels like she has nobody. This turns into one of the best love stories I have ever read.

I really liked the diary entry and letter writing narration because it lets you get to know everything Jessica is thinking. It's kind of similar to the way The Princess Diaries stories are told. You get to know Jessica really well, but you also get to know Jessica's ideas and thoughts about other people. The characters are well-developed and you feel like you're really know them and they could be your friends.

This isn't exactly a young adult novel as there is quite a lot of swearing and promiscuity, but I really enjoyed reading it. Some of the scenes (maybe not in the first book so much as in the others) are highly inappropriate, but the overall story is so good. 

This is one series that I would love to see as a movie. I feel like the story would translate really well, although some parts would be kind of graphic. 

This book is available for purchase from Amazon here: Sloppy Firsts

Overall I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5. The series as a whole has a higher rating though, probably around a 4.7. 

Have you read this book? Did you like it?

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

2008

This book was the 'big thing' to read during my first year of university (two years ago). Someone on my floor had a copy, and then it just got passed from person to person. This is for two reasons: 1 - we are university students and didn't all want to buy the book and 2 - it's a fantastic book.

The writing isn't the greatest, but the plot and characters are outstanding. The book takes place in the future in a kind of dystopian world. There is a place called Panem which is divided into districts and a capital. The Hunger Games are an annual thing where a male and female tribute from each district are forced to compete and ultimately kill one another.

Some parts of the book were horrifying. There isn't a lot of detail about the deaths, but some parts of the story are just told with enough detail to make you kind of squirm. 

I really liked this book. It took me a chapter to get into it and figure out the futuristic world and to learn all the characters, but once I got past that I couldn't put the book down*. The characters just kind of get to you after a while and you start to need to know more. I've read this book quite a few times and it is just as good each time. I've always found something new in the book to enjoy and sometimes you just notice more of the little connections and themes.

There are two books after this one in the series, but I think this one is my favourite.

I'm excited to see the movie when it comes out in a few weeks. I'm a little nervous about seeing some parts because depending on how the producers made them appear on screen they could be terrifying, but we'll see.

This book is available for purchase from Amazon here: The Hunger Games

I give this book 4.6 stars out of 5. There was a good plot and well-developed characters and the book was well-written.

Have you read this book? This series? Are you going to go see the movie?

*This is a very common thing for me. The whole, not being able to put a book down when it gets good.

Let It Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

Let It Snow

John Green. Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

2008

I had been wanting this book for a while, but for some reason never purchased it. And then I needed another book in order to get free shipping, and this was on sale, so I figured 'why not!'. And that was a good idea. Let It Snow is three kind of separate short stories (each author has written one) that end up coming together. The fact they are interconnected is important to remember. The book also says that it's 'three holiday romances' which it is, but you don't just have to read the book at Christmas or in the winter. It's a good book at any time of the year (as most books are).

The first story, The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson, is about a girl named Jubilee and her parents who are obsessed with the little Christmas villages. A lot of things happen, and she ends up meeting this very nice person. Then the story kind of ended. I was upset because I felt like there was no closure. There was a lot of buildup to a moment that didn't happen. But remember - the stories are interconnected. Once I figured this out, I was a lot less disappointed.

The second story is A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green. Hilarious story. Important thing to note in this story is that 'The Duke' is a girl. I kept forgetting this fact and getting very confused. This is the story of friends who are on an expedition to find the hot cheerleaders in a diner type place. Shenanigans happen and it all ends up okay.

The final story is The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle. This was probably my favourite story out of all of them, and not just because I share a first name with the author. I had never read any of her other books and I didn't know what to expect with her writing style, but this story was so good. I also may have liked it because everything from the first two stories gets wrapped up at the end. Everything you are waiting to hear about or find out about is at the end. And there was an adorable sounding pig. What more could you ask for in a story! 

The book is available for purchase from Amazon here: Let It Snow

Overall, I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5. It was funny and made me laugh and although I was a little wary about one of the characters, he grew on me.

Have you read this book? Did you like it? Have you read any of the other books by these authors?

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why

Jay Asher

2007

I would like to say that I picked this book up because of its title, or because I recognized the author's name, or even because I had heard a good review of the book, but the truth is that I picked it up at Costco because the cover was shiny. That's a lame reason. I know. Originally I wasn't even going to purchase the book because I read the back and wasn't convinced it was something I would like, but I stood in the book aisle and started reading. And then I knew I had to finish it. It is also a New York Times and International Bestseller. And all those people couldn't be wrong.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a story that is kind of about Clay Jensen, but it is also the story of Hannah Baker. But Hannah Baker is dead. Her story is told through a series of tapes that are secretly being passed around town. What Clay learns from these tapes changes his life forever. Okay. Some of that may have been taken from the back of the book. Just the last sentence. 

I really liked this book. It kind of sucked me into this fantasy world (and by that I just mean a world that didn't revolve around my dorm room) and I didn't want to leave. I wanted to learn everything that was on the tapes as much as Clay did. I fell in love with the characters, which is something that often happens with me. I wanted to know everything. 

One of the most interesting parts of this book is the way it is written. The chapters are numbered by which cassette Clay is on, and which side. And throughout the book you see the play and pause symbols. The story is written in plain font, and what is said on the tapes is in italics. This makes it easy to distinguish what is really happening versus what Clay is listening to. 

The book is available for purchase from Amazon here: Thirteen Reasons Why

I give this book 4 stars out of 5. While I loved the characters and the way the story was written, it had some parts that seemed strange. Like, people not noticing things that I think they should have noticed, but didn't for the sake of the story. If you read it, you might understand what I'm talking about.

Have you read this book? Have you read any other books by Jay Asher?

Just Don't Fall - Josh Sundquist

Just Don't Fall

Josh Sundquist

2010

I'm going to start this off by saying that I don't usually read biographies*, but I heard about this one from youtube. I don't remember how I got to his channel, but I started watching these videos last year and decided that I really wanted to read the book.

I couldn't put it down. Fun Story: I was at the campus bar type place that night being the friend who is there in case the meeting-the-boy thing-doesn't-go-as-planned (my friend had been set up with a boy) but I was incredibly bored. All of my other friends had left, so it was just me and this girl and this boy. So what did I do? I pulled out the book and started reading. I should maybe mention that there are lots of tables and stuff there. I wasn't just standing there reading it.

But the book was amazing. Parts were incredibly sad, some parts were really funny, but overall the book was fantastic. Just Don't Fall is the story of Josh Sundquist and his battle with childhood cancer, amputation, romantic yearning and olympic greatness. That's taken from the cover. But it's true. I don't want to say anything else because I don't want to ruin the ending because it is a biography, it takes place over several years. One of my favourite parts about this is that he writes how the different ages would talk. When he is talking about being nine, he writes as though he is nine. Simple sentences, simple language. As he grows older in the voice grows older as well. 

I also just really liked reading his story. I had watched the youtube video linked above which has short, hand drawn sections of his book, and they are narrated by him. There is also a 'second season' which is animated, but still narrated by him.

The book was well written, and you are naturally drawn in. You want to keep reading; you want to find out what happens next. There was one part where I almost missed dinner because I had to get to the end of the chapter.

Josh Sundquist is also a motivational speaker and active youtuber. This means that once you're finished the book, you can just go watch his youtube channel for more updates, facts and fun stories about his life and family.

This book is available for purchase from Amazon here: Just Don't Fall

Overall, I give this book 4.2 stars out of 5. 

It may have made me cry. It made me laugh for sure. It was inspiring and enthralling.

Have you read this book? What did you think? Have you ever watched Josh Sundquist on youtube? 

* By 'don't usually read' I mean that I have severel and have read them, and they're all of people I know from stuff, but I don't just go into the store or library and pick up a biography and start to read it. So the biography is generally somebody I have heard of/watched on tv/read about and thought was cool.

I've Got Your Number - Sophie Kinsella

I've Got Your Number

Sophie Kinsella

2012

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favourite authors, and somehow this book got released with me unaware. But that didn't stop me from buying it and reading it within 24 hours. 

I've Got Your Number is a little bit predictable, but a good read nonetheless. It's about Poppy, a physiotherapist who loses a very precious family heirloom and then her cell phone. But somehow, there is one in a garbage bin that she just happens to see. The story then follows her and the adventures she has with this cell phone and the people she meets. And let me tell you, she gets herself into some pickles.

This book was a typical Sophie Kinsella novel. Somewhat strong female lead gets herself in some situation and then has crazy adventures trying to sort herself, and everyone else, out. The main character was funny and she was easy to fall in love with. There were times where I wanted to yell at her and tell her what she was doing was wrong, but I mean, she's a fictional character so that's a little bit impossible.

I had two absolute favourite parts of this book, and neither of these were plot driven (although there were lots of favourite and memorable moments throughout the book that were plot driven). 

Favourite Part #1: The footnotes. Sophie Kinsella uses different things throughout her novels such as emails and such, but the footnotes were fantastic. They gave a lot more insight into Poppy's thoughts without taking away from the story. If you're not into footnotes, you could probably skip them. 

Favourite Part #2: Having to look up a word. Very rarely do I have to actually stop what I'm reading and go to a dictionary. Just for all of you blog readers, I'll share the word. Pusillanimous: showing lack of courage or determination, timid. I think it's a very good word.

The book is available for purchase from Amazon here: I've Got Your Number: A Novel

I give this book 3.9 stars out of 5. It would get higher, but it was slightly predictable, but a very good mindless chick-lit read. Not my favourite by this author, but not much can top the Shopaholic series or Can You Keep A Secret.

Have you read this book? What did you think? 

March Reads

I've decided I want to start each month by listing the books I hope to read.

  

That's what I hope to read this month! I'm already about 100 pages into I've Got Your Number and so far it's pretty good. I started to read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close last month and haven't finished it yet, but I'd like to finish it before I see the movie. And I've already read Charmed Thirds, but it's such a good book and I'm working my way through the series again.
I'll post reviews once I've finished the books! 

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green [Spoilers?]

The Fault in Our Stars

John Green

2012

The Fault in Our Stars was released on January 10th, 2012. That day is also my half-birthday. I thought this was mildly humorous because I've never really met anyone who celebrates half birthdays before, and then all of a sudden they're celebrating them in a book I'm reading.

The Fault in Our Stars is a book that is a little bit about cancer but mostly not about cancer. Yes, the main character has cancer. But that isn't what defines her. She is a well-developed character with relatable thoughts and emotions. [possible spoiler: her argument about breakfast foods]

Why did I love this book? Well, for starters - it was well written. There was a wonderful combination of moments that made me laugh and moments that made me stop and think. The characters, though very well-spoken, were believable. 

The book is fairly easy to read. And by that I mean that you can sit down and read it in not a very long amount of time, but the actual content will keep you thinking for hours; it's thought-provoking. There is symbolism if you're looking for symbolism, there is comparative qualities to other great works. In fact, John Green has set up a password-protected Tumblr just to discuss this. The link is right here but only go there if you have finished the book. The password is the last word in the acknowledgements and it is case-sensitive. You've been warned about spoilers.

When I read the book, I finished it, then had to close the book and go because I was meeting a friend for dinner (and I was already going to be a couple minutes late). I hadn't had time to fully process the book. I reread it, and once I closed the book, I couldn't stop thinking about the characters and what happened. I read it the second time, and got more out of the book since I knew the story. I thought about some of the symbolism and it made the story even better. If you've read the book once, I highly suggest reading it again.

The book is available for purchase at Amazon here: The Fault in Our Stars

I give this book 4.8 stars out of 5. I might change this later.
As a bonus: Everytime I read the review at the top I think it says '"Electric...Filled with taco bursts of humour and tragedy." - Jodi Picoult' There are no tacos in this book. There are enchiladas, but not tacos.

What did you think of the book? Have you read it?

I Like To Read

I like to read. And I like to tell people about the books I've read, but sometimes people aren't interested.
So, I figured I could post book reviews here!
That's all.