Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Review: The Universe versus Alex Woods
Ever felt underestimated?
Alex Woods was hit by a meteorite -- scarred for life and prone to epilepsy attacks -- but his wit and outstanding intelligence remained unscathed. Try telling people that. Poor Alex had no friends until he met Mr. Peterson. The only man to glance at him without pity and treat him like an average teen. So how could Alex, at seventeen, be found with Mr. Peterson's car, a bag full of pot and an urn full of ashes. What exactly did Mr. Peterson teach him?
To refer to this book as Gavin Extence's debut novel feels preposterous. His writing is beyond amateur level which explains why he's been getting so much praise. Not only did he tackle bullying, mother/teen relationships, overcoming shyness around girls; he also discussed euthanasia and faith in the unknown. He did it without being preachy. He did it with class. Teaching us new words, and how to dissect Kurt Vonnegut's novels along the way.
Instead of giving us a perfect Alex Woods, Extence also allowed us to see his bad side. Teenagers don't always appreciate what their mothers do for them. A lot can be learned from adults at that age if we learn to communicate, and this book is a fair example.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Feature and Follow Friday: Big Reveal
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| Parajunkee / Alison Can Read |
FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY
Once you answer be sure to leave me your link so I can follow you back
I store them in my bookcase. It's a lot more colorful in person. People have advise me to remove the book covers to make it ''nicer'' but in my opinion the covers really do protect from dust. What do you think?
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Review: Burn for Burn
Don't believe in an eye for an eye. Well, neither does Lilia, Kat or Mary. These girls believe in something darker. They believe if you wrong them, they deserve the eye and every organ accountable for.
Burn for Burn started up slow. The story cut from one perspective to the other, and the secrets remained secrets for too long. However, once they are revealed, it's hard not to get hooked.
Lilia is the over analytic popular girl, Kat the sexual vixen, and Mary the girl who was bullied for her weight and now suffers from anorexia. Together, they start off with so-so revenge methods that quickly spiral out of control when they realize how good it feels to take karma into their own hands. Topics like suicide, drugs, dead beat dads, family issues, and friendship, appear in the story. But for me it was the infatuation between Alex and Lilia that kept me turning the pages.
Part two is expected August 2013.
Top Ten Tuesday: Arsenic and Dull Words
Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
TOP WORDS YOU AVOID
As children we were all told to avoid one written word: Poison. Do not ingest it, do not touch it. And do not test feed it to the plants to make them carnivorous. The word poison will eventually fade from our parents lectures to be replaced with drugs and herpes. But the stigma of reading poison anywhere will remain forever. Here are other words that turn me off when written on a back cover.
Journey usually implies lots of narration in which the main characters will over analyse the small issues in their lives and over over analyse the big ones.
Teen Girls yurk. What if you aren't one? What if you are a boy or a mother that enjoys this type of YA literature -- must you be kept aside? This type of judgmental back cover is usually a sign for dull-witted narration.
I don't always avoid dual narratives. Although, I admit that aside from The Wolves of Mercy Falls I have yet to enjoy both narratives in a book.
Too many buts can be confusing.
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