The Descendants - Kaui Hart Hemmings

The Descendants

Kaui Hart Hemmings

2007

I first heard about this from this video by Kayley. I mean, I'd heard the title of the movie, but I didn't know anything about it. Her review made the book sound interesting, and so I put it on hold at the library. 

The Descendants is about the King family. They are descendants of Hawaiian royalty. Matthew King is married to Joanie and they have two daughters, 10-year old Scottie and 17-year old Alex, who is a recovering drug addict and wild-child. Joanie is in a boating accident and is now in a coma. Without giving too much more away, Joanie has a living will and does not want to be on life support, so the King Family has to start telling family and friends. This is made difficult by the fact that Joanie was seeing someone else, and Matt and his daughters must come together to find the man and tell him the news.

While there is a very good storyline in the novel, there's not much action in the plot. There is a lot of talking to various relatives and reminiscing about the good times, but it isn't a super-action-packed-lotsa-stuff-happening kind of novel. Despite this, or maybe even because of this, the book is intriguing. The characters have great growth, especially Alex. At first she's an unruly wild child with a boyfriend that Matt doesn't exactly like. Throughout the novel we learn more about her, more about this boy, and we see the relationship between Matt and Alex grow. Scottie also grows a little bit as a character. She's so young and has to deal with peer pressure at school and trying to fit in, but Alex, her boyfriend, and Matt all come together to help her.

I really enjoyed this novel. Once I got into it a little ways into the book I couldn't put it down. It moved slowly at times, but I was constantly learning new facts about the characters and Joanie's life, so it didn't feel like nothing was happening. I'm going to have to see the movie at some point, though I've heard mixed reviews about it.

The book is available for purchase from Amazon here: The Descendants: A Novel, or from your local bookseller or library.

I give this book 3.8 out of 5 stars. I did enjoy the book, but a little bit more action might have been nice.

Don't forget that you follow this blog to be informed of more book reviews!

Have you read this book or watched the movie? What did you think about it? 

Room - Emma Donoghue

Room

Emma Donoghue

2010

My darling mother read this book a few summers ago (in 2010) and then proceeded to tell me almost everything that happened in the book. I was still interested in reading it, however she leant it to someone and so I never had a chance. I then kind of forgot about this book until May of 2011 when Emma Donoghue did a talk at my school. My mom and I went to it and this made me want to read this book again. I still never had a chance, so when I saw it on a very good sale at Costco, I had to buy it. I started reading it, but then moved to school and then kind of just put it off for a while. Anyways, the moral of the story is that I probably shouldn't have waited this long to read this book because it's fantastic.

Room is the story of 5-year old Jack and Ma. Ma was kidnapped by Old Nick when she was nineteen and forced to live in an eleven-by-eleven room (which is really a garden shed). He had kidnapped Ma for the purpose of having sex with her, which is what led to Jack. Ma is the only person Jack has really ever known, and he has only ever known this little living space. Despite the small living quarters, Ma teaches Jack everything he needs to know. When he turns 5, Ma decides that they need to escape. She devises a very clever plan that heavily relies on Jack's ability to remember instructions. I am not going to give away any more of the story.

This book was extremely well written. The book is told from Jack's perspective, and Donoghue writes this very well. Jack speaks and acts like a five year old, and has the same understanding of the world as a five year old (well, as much of the world as he knows). When he is referring to the bed, he simply calls it Bed. There's Wardrobe and Duvet and Shelf. Everything has its own little name. When I heard Donoghue speak, she said she spent a lot of time listening to how her children spoke and modelled Jack's speech after that. She also talked about the part involving the carpet and how it was tested out on her children to see if it was even possible.

The character development in this book is incredible. Jack goes from knowing nothing about Outside to being forced to go there to try and help he and his mother escape. The plot is also gripping. I stayed up until 4 in the morning two nights in a row to finish this book. I kept telling myself I'd read just one more chapter. The only problem with that was the fact the book doesn't really have chapters. It is divided into four sections, but each section is continuous with small breaks during major scene or time changes.
One thing that I liked/didn't like about this book is how it ended. It ended perfectly in the right place which was excellent, but I really really want to know what happens after. However, ending it any later would ruin the effect of the last scene. So I think I'm just going to have to use my imagination. 

I would very highly recommend reading this book. 

It is available for purchase from Amazon here: Room, or you can get it from your local library or any other bookseller.

I give this book 4.9 stars out of 5. It was a very very excellent book, and would be great for book club discussions or anything.

Have you read Room? What did you think of it? 

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick - Joe Schreiber

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

Joe Schreiber

2011

I mostly picked this book at the library because of the title. It had potential to be hilarious, and it lived up to that (eventually). I also recognized the author's name, although when I looked up what else he had written I didn't know any of the titles.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick (from here on in, referred to as Au Revoir), has one of the most interesting narrative styles that I have read lately. Each chapter was based on a different college essay admissions question. I never had to write an admissions essay (because I'm from Canada), but it was very interesting to see all the different questions. I also really liked how each question directly led to what was happening in that chapter. And it never seemed like the chapters were forced into fitting with the question*. The chapters were all varying lengths which was nice.
Au Revoir is about a young man named Perry who is in his senior year of high school and is in a band. He really wants to play this one really big gig, but it happens to fall on the night of his prom. This wouldn't be an issue if there wasn't a (rather strange) foreign exchange student, Gobi, staying with him. Perry's mother forces him to take her to the prom, against both their wishes. What Perry thinks is going to be a boring, quiet night at his prom takes a turn for the interesting when he finds out that Gobi has other, more interesting, plans for the evening.
I had a hard time getting into this book at first. I didn't really like Perry. I thought he was whiny and annoying and I wasn't too fond of Gobi either. But once the action started the book was near impossible to put down. It really is a fast moving page-turner. I really liked the plot, though it is occasionally extremely unrealistic. There are several times when you're reading that you just have to put the book down and say to yourself "What on Earth did I just read?" because of the events, but it's the kind of book where you have to find out what's next. The end is rather open-ended which is good for your imagination, or for a sequel sometime in the future.
The characters are interesting. You find out bits of information about Gobi in very small amounts, except for right near the end. Perry really grows as a character, and his family becomes less two-dimensional as the novel progresses.

This book can be purchased from Amazon here: Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick or from your local bookseller/library.

I give this book 3.8 stars out of 5.  I really liked the plot and characters, but it wasn't my favourite book (but it was still fantastic). I really liked the way the chapters were laid out.

Have you read Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick? Did you like it? Have you read anything else by this author? What books would you recommend?

*though I'm pretty sure the questions were all fictional 

Bumped - Megan McCafferty

Bumped 

Megan McCafferty

2009

I only recently learned about this novel, but I loved the Jessica Darling books by this author, so I figured I'd give it a shot. And though I didn't like it as much as that series, it was still very good.

Bumped takes place in a future where there is a virus that makes everyone over the age of 18 unable to have children. So, as you can imagine, adults who want to have children pay teenagers thousands of dollars to have babies for them. The book focuses on Melody and Harmony who are twin sisters separated at birth. Melody lives in Otherside is a RePro (reproductive professional) and has landed herself an amazing deal with a couple. She is also in love with her friend Zen who is deemed "too short" to be a RePro. Harmony lives in Goodside; a very religious community. She has grown up preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes that "pregging" for profit is a sin, and has decided to try and convince her sister otherwise.

In a case of mistaken identity, Harmony ends up in a rather precarious situation regarding Melody's sperm donor, the incredibly aesthetically pleasing Jondoe.

It took me a while to get into the storyline. At the beginning I confused the two main characters, but once the novel got a little bit more into the plot, it was easier to tell them apart. I really liked how the novel changed perspectives from Melody to Harmony. It helped to let us get into the heads of the characters and read what they are thinking about everything that is going on. I really liked the dystopia party of the novel. I've been reading a whole bunch of other dystopian books lately and they all seem to follow the same general type of dystopia. This was different, not to mention original. I also really liked the slang used in the novel. 

The ending of Bumped really leaves it open for the sequel, Thumped. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I'm eagerly awaiting when I can sit down and find out what happens with Melody, Harmony, Jondoe and Zen.

The book is available for purchase from Amazon here: Bumped, as well as from your local bookstore or you can borrow it from a library! 

I give this book 3.7 stars out of 5. I did really enjoy the story and am excited to read the sequel. The characters were interesting and well written.

Have you read Bumped? What did you think about it? Have you read the sequel?