The Fault In Our Stars book review (you may pick up on spoilers)

Yes I read it fast and I was definitely moved by the story. The transition from all the funny scenes to the saddest moments is smooth. I suppose you could call the love story of Hazel and Augusts unconventional but it is due to the circumstances they face. Hazel Grace is a 16 year old thyroid cancer patient with mets in her lungs and needs medical assistance for her breathing. She meets a funny and attractive boy named Augustus Waters who is a survivor cancer patient of osteosarcoma at the Support Group. He is the best friend of Isaac who later goes blind after his surgery. There aren't a lot of characters but they are the major characters that the story revolves around.

John Green has given us a story of young lovers in a war with cancer. The funny moments make me forget the fact that the characters are dying and when I do realize it I feel sad. It definitely isn't a difficult read and I can't wait to see the film. It is rare to find a film or a book about people who are dying and are making the best out of the time they have left. To be honest I was reluctant to read it just because of the fact that it's about teenagers who have cancer and to me cancer isn't my friend. But I was wrong not to try and as you can see I've fallen in love with this book. That is why I highly recommend it, you'll never know you actually might like it.

The most important theme I've picked up from this book is about relationships and how important these ties are. The best way for me to relay them is to show you some of the funny parts.

Hazel and her mom

Me: I refuse to attend Support Group.

Mom: One of the symptoms of depression is disinterest in activities.

Me: Please just let me watch America's Next Top Model. It's an activity.

Mom: Television is a passitivity.

Me: Ugh, Mom, please.

Mom: Hazel, you're a teenager. You're not a little kid anymore. You need to make friends, get out of the house, and live your life.

Me: If you want me to be a teenager, don't send me to Support Group. Buy me a fake ID so I can go to clubs, drink vodka, and take pot.

Mom: You don't take pot, for starters.

Me: See, that's the kind of thing I'd know if you got me a fake ID. (p.7)

Gus and Hazel

G: Hazel Grace, it has been a real pleasure to make your acquaintance.

H: Ditto, Mr. Waters.

G: May I see you again?

H: Sure.

G: Tomorrow?

H: Patience, grasshopper. You don't want to seem overeager.

G: Right, that's why I said tomorrow. I want to see you again tonight. But I'm willing to wait all night and much of tomorrow.

H: You don't even know me. How about I call you when I finish this? (holding the book)

G: But you don't even have my phone number.

H: I strongly suspect you wrote it in the book.

G: And you say we don't know each other. (pp.36-7)

The best and touching moments are of course at the end of the book. It is during Gus's prefuneral and his letter to Van Houten about Hazel's eulogy.

Isaac's eulogy for Gus

...But I will say this: When the scientists of the future show up at my house with robot eyes and they tell me to try them on, I will tell the scientists to screw off, because I do not want to see a world without him. (p.258)

Hazel's eology for Gus

...I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful. (p.260)

Gus's letter to Van Houten

...People will say it's sad that she leaves a lesser scar, that fewer remember her, that she was loved deeply but not widely. But it's not sad, Van Houten. It's triumphant. It's heroic. Isn't that the real heroism? Like the doctors say: First, do no harm... (p.312)

Pandemonium Book Review

Pandemonium is the second book in the Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver. We follow alternating scenes of Lena's present life back in the city and her life in the Wilds. The transition is well layed-out that it doesn't become irritating or confusing.

Knowing that Alex isn't around pose challenges for Lena to face on her own making her stronger as she decides to use his image as her source of motivation. We see her development from coming to Wilds weak from their escape to Lena pushing herself becoming tougher and more courageous.

Love is a theme that always creeps up on most stories, especially here. Even though Lena is trying to be psychically loyal to Alex, she can't help falling for Julian and Julian learns to love and accepts the 'disease'.

Pandemonium and Delirium are really different in terms of style, which is great in some ways but so far I haven't had a problem with this change and I haven't read a trilogy that follows such a style. It is definitely a thumbs up and I look forward to reading the next book.

Matched book review

It is definitely unlike the other dystopian books I have read recently. Although the plot of having a government rule over everything that happens in your life, who you're paired with, what you eat, where you live, etc... Everyone thinks that they are safe and sound. However, compared to Delirium, which is another dystopian book that also controls who is partnered to who, the main character, Cassia Reyes finds out at the beginning who her match is. The story we follow is not how she falls in love per se but falls for someone who is not her match and is someone who should not have one according to their society. She struggles to keep everyone safe but in the long run she merely wants the freedom to choose and for everyone else to have the same liberty, she and her Romeo, Ky Markham must find a way to either convince their society or to rebel from it and fight for what is right. I'm not entirely sure whether I really like this book enough for me to declare it or recommend it but for some reason I do want to finish this trilogy perhaps because I want to know what happens in The Outer Provinces since Oria is too perfect to have a real adventure, which is probably why I am confused about how I really feel about the book.

Entwined book review

Alas! I have finished reading the book. I do not say this in such a manner that you would think I have been exhausted by it, rather it is  because of how little time I've actually had to read this. What with all the continuous walking around town and whatnot, which at the end of the day makes me tired leaving me to fall asleep. Nevertheless, I have finally finished it and it is remarkable. Heather Dixon's book, Entwined, is somewhat like a re-telling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. Here, it starts with the death of a loved one who passes an heirloom or the like to the main character and her journey begins from their. It is filled with magic and excitement. Love of course is a major theme as well as Family, and Trust.

The princesses are left in the castle during mourning while the King is away in the war. He left them in bad terms that they ended up disobeying the rules about dancing while mourning. It was not allowed in their kingdom but since they haven't been dancing in public and no one from the kingdom sees them, technically it wasn't a problem at all. However, this secret place lures them every single time they come to dance that it ends up becoming a place they regret coming.

Being a dancer myself I love how the author the author describes the dances mentioned in the story and how it is delivered by the characters. The images of skirts twisting when they turn or spin seems so real I want to do it myself and feel what their feeling. The emotions she describes when they dance is exactly how I feel whenever I succeed doing a dance step. I love ballroom dancing the most among all the dances I do. Some might think that the choreography is too simple or boring but reading from this book tells you otherwise. You suddenly feel the dances themselves the same way the lovers of princesses Azalea, Bramble, and Clover make you feel when they say or do something romantic. Although Lord Teddie didn't sound romantic but his funny ways of showing how much he fancied Bramble was more than enough for me to understand that they're a good match. Not to mention the villain of the story, Keeper or the High King, who was described to have a "chocolate voice", handsome, and was great at dancing. Initially, I had my doubts at the beginning. maybe it's because he was to perfect to begin with and there was something about his dialogue that made him suspicious. Later on his descriptions became more and more close to that of the High King. I put the pieces of the puzzle together, chapters before Azalea did. But she was exhausted already from all the tortures and pressures he gives her, and she has to assist 11 girls in their household so I'll give her that.

It is a very lovely book and I love the cover too. The time, place, characters, I adore. Best fairy tale story and since I haven't read the original version of the 12 Dancing Princesses I can't really make a comparison to say whether or not this was a better version. It's a great read and I recommend it to anyone who loves stories of Magic, Love, and Fairy Tales coming to life because you'll not want to put this book down once you've started.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver Book Review

The most important thing I noticed when I finished the book was the transition of Lena's development from an ordinary citizen of a loveless city to one who is willing to sacrifice so much than to live without it.

It is quite noticeable because of how my mood was at the beginning. I was rather slow but I knew I had to speed up a bit, especially since I haven't been reading continuously.

I felt just as dull as she did. It was as if life had no color everytime I read it. Upon meeting Alex is where her adventure starts and where I begin to be more excited. I am definitely a romantic but I know when a story has reached its peack. This, however, doesn't.

The end of the story is where I was full of emotions just like Lena who is escaping from her home with Alex into the Wilds and are being chased by the police and regulators after being caught and monitored a few days before. By now, you can tell where my panic and the sudden rush of my blood comes from.

I believe that is the highlight of the story so far and some questions still rise from my head. Will Lena find her mother in the Wilds? Did the police kill Alex or will he be reunited with Lena like a fairy tale element in the story? Will what happened to Lena happen to Grace since they have a somewhat similar situation in the sense that they were left by the people they love and trust? There are more that come up but these sre the ones that bug me every now and then. But I need to move on the next book on my list.