Πέμπτη 29 Δεκεμβρίου 2011

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderly Books
Publication date: 13 Sept 2011
Series of Standalone: Standalone
ISBN: 9781416983248
Format: e-Book
Pages: 640
Websites:
Ellen Hopkins - Official Site
Ellen Hopkins - Twitter
Ellen Hopkins - Goodreads


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Companion Book(s):
Impulse

Overview:
Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they’d rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.
Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her,perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body—no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run—on the field and off—Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes that to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he’ll be living a life his ancestors would never have understood.
Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect?
___________________________

Ellen Hopkins...I love you. That's all i can say. I love your writing; i love your stories; i love how each one of them affects me so deeply and always makes me think certain things over. I'm always moved by your stories and i always feel the hair on my skin stand when reading about the characters you create. 

Perfect was no different. I empathized with the characters, some more than others (more: Cara, less: Sean). My hopes were up along with theirs and my heart was also broken along with theirs. 

If you were to ask me who i identified with the most i would have to say with Cara. There was a part of her story I, myself, had to go through and so i felt her closer than any of the other characters in the book. 

Ellen Hopkins tends to write sad, both dramatic and traumatic, yet realistic stories. Perfect is not one of her saddest. On the contrary, there is a glimpse of hope for every character in the end and a promise for things to get better after each character has come to terms with their "imperfections", fears, dreams, contempts and regrets.

Σάββατο 24 Δεκεμβρίου 2011

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain


Publisher: Penguin Classics
Publication Date: 28 Feb 2006 (first publication in 1876)
Series of Standalone: Standalone
ISBN: 0143039563
Format: e-Book
Pages: 282
Websites:

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


“‎"TOM!"
No answer.
"TOM!"
No answer.
"What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!"
No answer.
The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room; then she put them up and looked out under them. She seldom or never looked THROUGH them for so small a thing as a boy; they were her state pair, the pride of her heart, and were built for "style," not service-- she could have seen through a pair of stove-lids just as well.” 
 ______________________ 


I’ve been meaning for a long time to read this book, I had heard so many praises about it that I just had to read it and see for myself what the fuss was about. Well, it captured my interest and hooked me from the very first page; it definitely deserves being called an all times classic.

I loved its timeless humor and how it often brought a broad smile to my face. I loved the carefree antebellum south rural life it depicted and I often found myself comparing life back in those days and life today.

What’s more, I immediately took a liking to Tom Sawyer and his adventurous spirit, I admired his impulsiveness and cleverness and his bravery. He made me want to get up and have an adventure of my own.

Finally, it got me thinking and everyone just seemed much more happy back then. The children were more innocent and looked forward to having fun and playing outside with their friends; Today’s children prefer to stay indoors and play video-games or watch TV, they seem to have lost their innocence, the very thing that makes them a children. It’s sad in a way and troublesome; it makes you wonder about the children of the future. 

Τρίτη 20 Δεκεμβρίου 2011

Torment by Lauren Kate



Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Publication Date: 28 Sept 2010
Series or Standalone: Series
ISBN9780385739146
Format: e-Book
Pages: 452
Websites:
Lauren Kate - Official Site
Lauren Kate - Blog
Lauren Kate - Twitter
Lauren Kate - Facebook
Lauren Kate - Goodreads


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars


Fallen Series Order:
Book 1: Fallen
Book 2: Torment
Book 3: Passion
Book 4: Rapture (12 June 2012)

Companion Book(s):
Fallen in Love (24 Jan 2012)


Overview:
Hell on earth.
That’s what it’s like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.
It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts—immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.
At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. He’s hiding something—something dangerous.
What if Daniel’s version of the past isn’t actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

 ______________________________


Unlike the first book which had enchanted me, Torment left me hanging disappointed. Was it because we still have no answers? Was it because the story was weak and full of black holes? Was it because you could see right through Lauren Kate's "mysteries" and twists? Was it because some things just didn't make sense? Was it because Luce had turned into a total bitch and spoiled brat? Not to mention stupid! It was probably a combination of all these and more.


Furthermore, i don't want to compare books, but o do prefer the more manly, tough and scary -not to mention sexy- Fallen Angles and Nephelim that Fitzpatrick portrays in her series hush hush to the gentle and sappy Fallen Angels of the Fallen series and the Nephelim who can do tricks like little warlocks and wizards. That did put me off a tad bit.


Moreover, something i just cannot wrap my mind around. How is it possible for angels and demons to get along and even form relationships? i just fail to understand this no matter how hard i try. Have you ever met a couple where one was a christian and the other a Satanist? it just doesn't work :/


Finally, i guess this isn't rally important but i just have to rant about it. Lauren Kate, why do fallen angles and demons in your series still have their wings? The whole point is that their wings were ripped out and that caused their fall which left them stranded on earth (or Hell). i know everyone has the freedom of imagining things the way they want and i don't really want to say it's wrong, but it just bothers me.