4 Stars

It was depressing and uplifting at the same time.

Maybe, it’s just me, but the beginning of the book has a very YA feel to it. I just felt like pointing that out.

Aside from that, I thought this book captured depression really well. I’m aware Sylvia Path experienced severe depression in her life, which gives ‘The Bell Jar’ more credibility in the subject.

I think a majority of people expect depression to derive from some traumatic event or accident, but for many it’s subtle before it descends upon the person with full force. Sylvia Path didn’t fully make it clear on what made Esther so gloomy. For me, I think Esther simply begins to question aspects of her life, and essentially, her entire existence, and founds herself unsatisfied with her present and all the types of futures which she imagines for herself.

A lot people may say, ‘oh she’s so selfish. Doesn’t she know others have it worse than her?’ Sylvia Path addresses this train of thought in the book. Although Esther knew other people had it worse than her, it never soothed her depression. I think Esther simply finds her life to be hollow, meaningless, repetitive, planned out (getting married and having children). There was no sense of a solid purpose to her life. I think this strong realisation must have slowly propelled her to depression and insanity.

That’s how I interpret the novel anyway. I understand that people find Esther to be quite self-centred. After all, she is a middle class, straight-A student from a good home. However, I don’t see how that leaves her out from experiencing depression. I believe depression is universal. It doesn’t have to be triggered by the loss of someone or some terrible accident or event. It can be triggered by hopelessness, uncertainty and range of other emotions.

This was even apparent in Hamlet by Shakespeare, which I read recently. Although some might argue that Hamlet’s desire for suicide may stem solely from his father’s death, it is evident throughout the play that it’s the little purpose which Hamlet feels in his life that drives his depression and insanity just as much.

I also like how this book doesn’t over dramatize Esther’s descent into depression and insanity like so many movies and books do with their characters. All in all, I found it very enjoyable and interesting.

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2 Stars

Thankfully, I borrowed this book but I can still say:

This isn’t what I didn’t pay for.

“Fierce competition” the book vowed to me. 

But I was handed a big plate of endless descriptions of a 'magical' circus, which frankly sounds like any other circus. I would have been more impressed with the supposedly ‘fierce’ competition the book promised me - that is to say if there was one. 

The competition is actually about one chapter long but the competition lasted for over a decade, where the two competitors Celia and Marco literally do nothing, until the end of the book where everything is then just resolved. I’m not even sure if I read ‘The Night Circus’ properly, because I’m incapable of explaining this with perfect clarity. 

The author’s imagery is very vivid, but it doesn’t make up for the lack of plot. Every chapter was set several months or years apart to the previous chapter, and it would take the author one or two pages to set the atmosphere. I felt as if the author knew this book would be adapted to the big screens, therefore she wrote the book in a very cinematic style, which did not improve or help the story. The characters are horrifically underdeveloped and their actions make no sense. 

Review: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

3 Stars

“I knew how to die. It was living that scared me.”

I'm guessing in due time everyone will be comparing this to Fault In Our Stars, since anything that is remotely similar to a popular book must be differentiated. 

Well, there's no use comparing Side Effect May Vary to Fault in Our Stars, and not because they have no similarities, it's merely the fact all novels containing the subject of cancer always have vast resemblance. So, what I’m evidently saying is - I will not judge this book based on its originality but on its content. 

It’s hard to break this book into my own blurb because there is not much to summon up. It’s essentially about a girl named Alice who is revealed to have leukemia. She creates a bucket list of things she needs to complete before her death. Forming a close relationship with Harvey is one of them. They were buddies during their younger years, before fate took them to different directions 

“Then we’d drifted. High school did that to you, turned you into pieces of driftwood. And the parts of you that you’d tried to keep in one piece became the property of the wind and water, sending those dear pieces you were not.”

After a while, their relationship begins to blossom again. Once Alice is certain her expiry date will come soon, her doctor exposes she’s on remission. 

Review: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

5 Stars

Spoilers ahead if you have not read the first book. 

I avoided reading Days of blood and starlight for more than a month, although I read the first and second chapter of DOB&S - I felt as if I already knew how the book was going to play out. The first book was outright amazing, except the ending left me confused about Karou’s (heroine) character. The little twist at the end was least to say: baffling. 

Apparently, if you have read the first book, Karou was actually resurrected and is really another person named Madrigal who is a Chimera. I wasn’t entirely confused…I was misled. Was Karou the character who I’ve learned so much about throughout the first book, or was she Madrigal – a character who I was unfamiliar with, until she was hurled at me in the last couple of chapters? It was irritating. 

The plot twist included Akiva (her forbidden love interest) who had misfortunately done something terrible and betrayed Karou. I felt at that time as if it was just a reason to bring about a complication in their romance, so it would not be tedious. 

I was far from right about my predications about the second book. I had thought Karou would show a great distaste to Akiva for thirty pages, and then be all over him. I had thought there will be angst between Akiva and Karou for an excruciating 500 pages, similar to several YA books. I was very surprisingly incorrect. The book was solely focused on character building, world building and most significantly the plot. Truthfully, there was only fifty pages of Karou and Akiva together, and there was barely much romance…more like tension (good tension). 

Review: The Forest of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan

1.5 Stars

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is nothing but mah. 

Props to the writer who faintly has beautiful way with words, but also has a way with boring me to tears. Yet, I can't tell if I'm bored stiff because of the way it’s written that causes my eyes to go heavy with sleep, or if perhaps it’s the plot. It could be the characters in addition. Or, possibly it’s all three combined together to make tremendously dreary story.

Here’s a little blurb about what the book is about.

The forest of hands and teeth is about a village under the leadership of the strict and enigmatic sisters. This village happens to be surrounded by zombies who continually attempt to break through the fences in order to devour the people. Mary’s great-great-great-great-great grandmother saw the ocean and her story has been passed down five generations. This becomes Mary’s bothersome and egoistic dream to see the ocean. 

Wait, sorry did I say that was a blurb or the WHOLE plot? It’s puzzling because I truly can’t tell the difference between the plot and the blurb. 

You can almost just predict what's going to occur in the story from merely the blurb. 

Fence + Zombies = that adds up to them finally managing to break through the fence, suddenly... doesn't it?

Mary + her ocean dream = her going through a boring journey to see the ocean.

I want to introduce to you the most selfish character in the book.

Review: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

3 Stars

I have this bad habit when I’m reading particular books. As I’m reading, I precipitously nod off (I’m still reading, but unconsciously) My mind however has wondered off and I'm thinking about other things. Such as: “What should I eat tomorrow? Or “What the hell did I even do today?” Now, I don’t essentially notice I’m doing this, surprisingly. It’s only after a while when I return back to reading yet again, and the book is going on about something I don’t even remember occurring, I then comprehend that I must have nodded off. And the furthermost bothersome part about this habit is: I have to go back and read the section I missed, again. 

This happened more often than I'm able to count in the lovely bones. Don’t get me wrong, the lovely bones has a nice structured idea (not very original) but nonetheless a good Idea. 

However, the author accomplished to make my tedious life more entertaining than a book. Is that what the book lacked, entertaining the readers? The characterization was spot on for some characters, (not all) but then again that does not mean the characters were attention-grabbing. The book was intriguing at first. I’m not being a creep or anything, but the only stimulating part in the entire novel was the opening of chapter one, and that's when she gets murdered. The rest was in slow motion, and then in the last 100 pages it was instantly fast-tracked five years into the future.