Book Review: Looking For Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking For Alaska
Series:N/A
Author: John Green
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books  
Publication Date: 3rd June 2006 
Pages: 263 (changes per edition)
Special Features: N/A
ISBN: 9780007209255

Synopsis:

In the dark beside me, she smelled of sweat and sunshine and vanilla and on that thin-mooned night I could see little more than her silhouette, but even in the dark, I could see her eyes -- fierce emeralds. And not just beautiful, but hot too."  BEFORE. Miles Halter's whole life has been one big non-event until he starts at anything-but-boring Culver Creek Boarding School and meets Alaska Young. Gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, screwed up and utterly fascinating she pulls Miles into her world, launches him into a new life, and steals his heart. But when tragedy strikes, and Miles comes face-to-face with death he discovers the value of living and loving unconditionally.  AFTER: Nothing will ever be the same. 

John Green is quite a well known author in the Young Adult book industry and his books are quite popular. I was excited when I came across this book and instantly bought it, and it wasn't long until I became engorged in it. But currently I'm in the hardest part of my academic life and was stuck reading in between classes, even in classes.

For me Looking For Alaska was a book about self discovery, growing up and friendship.... all which speak directly to teens. It also deals with a large variety of concerning problems for teenagers one main one being grief of a lost friend and another peer pressure. All which make the book relatable for the reader's and had great affect over me.

I was quite surprised by the characters, I never thought I would come across so many different personalities in one book. There is a number of over the top and impressionable characters in the book one being Alaska, another being Chip, or otherwise known as Colonel these are balanced out by much quieter main character Miles/Pudge. Throughout the book we see a big change in all characters especially Miles, who arrived at Culver Creek School as quite a loner, and wasn't expecting any difference by coming here, but instead became a whole new person.

But there are downsides of the book for me. Towards the end of the book I became quite in-interested and I think part of this was due to my confusion of the book (which could just be due my lack of reading time and constant unwilling breaks). Another downside of this book is two slightly graphic scenes which should maybe not be placed in a YA book, I get the necessary need though, as it tackled an important issue of sexual relations. After searching the book I didn't come across any warnings warning off younger children/teens, which I would of highly recommended they do.

All in all the book was pretty good, and carried an assortment of important messages.
It's worth reading, even if I didn't like it as much as I had hoped, there's plenty of people who would completely disagree with me, and argue it is one of the best YA books. So check it out.

I give this book....

Book Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

THIS IS AN ARC REVIEW!!! THIS REVIEW WILL BE ONCE AGAIN POSTED ON THE DAY OF THE RELEASE...19TH APRIL 2011!!!

Title: The Goddess Test
Series: Goddess Test #1
Author: Aimee Carter
Publisher: Harlequin Teens
Publication Date: 19th April 2011
Pages: 293
Special Features:
ISBN: 9780373210268

‘Every girl who has taken the test has died.
Now it's Kate's turn.
It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.
If she fails…’
Thoughts
Aimee Carter’s The Goddess Test is the current hype in the YA book world, which is what put me off reading the book. I requested this book on NetGallery and was fortunately accepted.

The only word I can and ever will be able to refer to this book as is…. WOW!!

Aimee Carter gives a unique and romantic spin onto Greek Mythology, a subject loved by many including me.
I was hooked to the book instantly and read it whenever possible, even in the middle of class if I could get away with it. I’m already having withdrawal symptoms.

What I loved about the book was that it didn’t just stick to the theme of Greek Mythology, but hit a number of  important issues, the main being mother and daughter relationships. For a number of years protagonist Kate Winter’s has been the main caregiver for her mum, since she was diagnosed with a sever form of cancer. The story begins as Kate drives her mother to her hometown Eden, Michigan in the hope that her mother will die in a place she loves, and straight away the heart wrenching emotion begins and I found myself almost instantly in tears for the two. From this point I knew it was going to be a pretty amazing book.

As the book goes on we are open to many more mysteries which conclude with some of the most un-expected outcomes, and I slightly began to despise the book for tricking me numerous amounts of times, playing with my mind almost. But it was this which made the book so amazing and loveable.

We as the reader are also introduced to an assortment of loveable characters:
Kate Winter’s, is a realistic protagonist, who is willing to fight for what she believes in, but also protects the one’s she loves. I saw parts of myself within Kate, and im sure this was the same for many other readers, she is most definitely a character I will never forget.
Another pretty awesome character is male protagonist Henry, who is portrayed as Greek God, Hades, God of the Underworld, and well to be honest it was the young and attractiveness of Henry that made it take me ages to realise the book was focused on the Gods. Henry is a character I could feel myself falling head over heals for, he’s sweet, sensitive and caring, almost the complete opposite to what you would expected Hades to be.
I would also mention other character’s but I know I would give the plot line away.

The book for me was too short, I could only wish it was longer and I hated myself as I slowly came to the end knowing I would have to wait almost a year for the second book in the series to come out.

This book has brought me back into my fasination for Greek Mythology and was instant searching through sites almost as soon as I ended the book.

All I can say to all you readers out there, this book is great, amazing and fascinating. Don’t let the Greek God theme put you off reading it, its still a romance to me.

I obviously give this book...

24 Hour Read-A-Thon

For More Information Click Here

This year I will be taking part in the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon on the 9th APRIL 2011.
People in the UK are recommened to start at 1pm, but I will be starting earlier due to not wanting to be going to sleep at 1pm the next day, which i will have to do after spending 24hours reading.

I would like to ask for your help....

• What books would you recommened for me to read which would keep me completely intrested in.
• What books would you recommened which are light reads, or simple books.
• What would you recommened me to do to keep intrested in my book.

On the 9th April i will be keeping you all updated by my blog, Twitter and maybe Goodreads. Also if I am able I may even make a video.

Book Review: Lost Voices by Sarah Porter

Title: Lost Voices
Series: Lost Voices, book 1
Author: Sarah Porter
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's
Publication Date: 4th July 2011
Pages: 291
Special Features:
ISBN:9780547482507

'Lost Voices is a story which could almost be compared to Peter Pan in some context. Luce the protagonist of the story who after her father death whilst out at sea, has been forced to live with her abusive Uncle for the past year. As thing began to get too bad Luce transformed into a mermaid and was welcomed into a tribe of other mermaids which is ruled by Catarina the best and most marvalous singer. But after Luce discovers that her fellow mermaids take joy out of sinking boats and drowning humans she discovers it to be her life ambition to change that.'

I had never read a mermaid book before, so was quite excited for Lost Voices. The synopsis instantly drew me in, and I can guarantee it really lived up to what I expected.

Lost Voice's is Sarah Porter's debut novel and the only word I can use to describe this is... WOW!!! Sarah Porter created such an amazing imaginative novel. She manages to turn a once innocent creature such as mermaids into quite dark and dangerous creatures of the sea.

The book created such an effect over me that I actually felt myself going into this other world, almost turning into a mermaid, something I have never experienced before.
Sarah Porter also has an amazing skill at creating depressive and heart-wrenching scenes, thanks mainly to her large selection of different vocab.
She also has an amazing ability to describe scenes, in her own unique way, where I can imagine every little bit, from the rock a few feet away to a simple bird flying overhead.
But I couldn't seem to fully get into the book until the end, it was a great book with an awesome and unique storyline, but there's something about the book that made me not want to read it.
What I loved most about this book had to be that despite it's quite dark moments it still managed to have some factor's of a teenage book directed towards the female audience, by the use of the tension between the female mermaids.

The characters were utterly fantastic.
Though honestly the main character Luce was a slight let down, to me it seemed as though she has two sides: one a lovable caring side and other an emotionless (sorry for my language) bitch, luckily the side i hate is one which is rarely present. Throughout the book Luce does change into a much stronger character, but the change unfortunately isn't over an amount of time, but suddenly happens.
One character I did love the personality of was Anais. Anais is the typical spoilt brat, but she was perfect for her part in the novel, a bit extreme at times but perfect still.

Recommendations
The book was amazing and I believe would be enjoyed by most, but as most of the characters are females this could potentially put off some of the male readers.
I give this book...

In My Mailbox 9 (22 books)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme which is hosted by Krisit at The Story Siren

BOUGHT:

Prom Nights From Hell by Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephenie Meyer and Lauren Myracle

Souless by Gail Carriger

Looking For Alaska by John Green

The Stuff Of Nightmares by Malorie Blackman

LIBRARY:

Bloodline by Kate Cary

E-BOOKS:

 Bite Me by Parker Blue

68 Knots by Michael Robert Evans

Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro- Esteban

Outside In by Maria v.Snyder

In The Arms of  Stone Angels by Jordan Dane (released 1st April 2011)

My Favourite Band Doesn't Exist by Robert T. Jechonek (released 11th July 2011)

Heir to the Everlasting by Janice Daugharty

Hereafter by Tara Hudson (released 7th July 2011)

Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer by Maureen McGowan (released 1st April 2011)

My Misadventures As A Teenage Rockstar by Joyce Raskin (released13th June 2011)

The Mangolia League by Katie Crouch (released 3rd May 2011)

The Vespentine by Saundra Mitchell

Bumped by Megan McCafferty (released26th April 2011)

Die For Me by Amy Plum (released 27th May 2011)

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter (released 4th July 2011)

The Girl's Guide To Homelessness by Brianna Karp (released  26th April 2011)

Angel Burn by L.A Weatherly (released 24th May 2011... released in UK already)

Book Review: Crash Into Me by Albert Borris

Title: Crash Into Me
Series: N/A
Author: Albert Borris
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: 6 th July 2010
Pages: 272
Special Features:
ISBN:978-1416998273

'Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae have one thing in common: they all want to die. When they meet online after each attempts suicide and fails, the four teens make a deadly pact: they will escape together on a summer road trip to visit the sites of celebrity suicides...and at their final destination, they will all end their lives. As they drive cross-country, bonding over their dark impulses, sharing their deepest secrets and desires, living it up, hooking up, and becoming true friends, each must decide whether life is worth living--or if there's no turning back.'



The Book At First Glance
I have never had a real first glance at Crash Into Me, seeing as far as I know it has been published in England. A friend lent me this book, believing I would enjoy it, as I have been looking for books with the theme of suicide for a while now.
The cover would definately draw me in though, along with the title. From the guy and girl on the cover I get the almost instant impression of a love story. But the title 'Crash Into Me' gives me the instant thought of car crash or something along the lines.

My Thoughts
Crash Into Me was an ok book, I believe there is nothing particulary special about it, except another unique storyline. It doesn't in anyway stand  out to me, and only now a few weeks later have I thought of the book again after being reminded by a friend to  post a review.

What annoyed me the most about this book is the no chapters. Chapters for me is a guideline of where to stop, even though there was obvious stop points, it annoyed me to hell and back.
Another thing that I didn't like about ths book is how lightly the theme of suicide was put across. Suicide for me is an issue that effects me, knowing people who have before wanted to commit suicide or tried to self-harm there is nothing worse than reading a book you don't agree with. I believe only a few authors will be able to fully get away with putting the story right, most of those authors will also be people who have seen someone live like this. Throughout the whole of the book there was something about it that annoyed me, did they have proper reasons for these attempts... in my opnion no, and I believe the story could of been made better by having better storylines for each character.
On the otherhand the author I will give the author credit for potentially preventing some people from commiting suicide. He puts throughout the story signs to the reader saying there is much more to live for than what you may believe, I believe this could of helped at least one person from a hard time.

A thing I enjoyed about this book was the facts, the book is fully of information about famous people of the past who have commited suicide, some like Marilyn Monroe I didn't actually know about.
Also another enjoyed and if I may say so myself the lists the author adds in... for example: 10ways to kill yourself or 10 best songs to commit suicide to, which I would say some of the ways to kill yourself were quite humourous.

The Characters:
I can't really go into full depth on the characters because I have slightly forgotton.
The main character Owen almost perfectly portrays someone in his posion, and is a very believable character.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to mainly males... to me it seems more like a book aimed to the male audience.

This being Albert Borris's first debet novel, I will say it was pretty good, but in my eyes it only is worth...

3/5

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