Rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars In the futuristic setting of 2044, American society is in disarray. Poverty and crime are rampant, and the only people who seem to be happy are the corporate businessmen at the top of the economic food chain. People take refuge in the OASIS, an international immersive 4D virtual reality that allows them to spend their days in a fantasy world. When the creator of the OASIS, James Halliday, dies, he reveals an intense treasure hunt within the OASIS itself to find specific videogame Easter eggs. The catch? The winner inherits Halliday’s entire estate. Teenager Wade Watts is an avid user of the OASIS, and after hearing about Halliday’s competition, he dedicates the next several years of his life to finding the egg. Adventure, and danger, await. Ready Player One is a hugely popular book, which is slightly surprising to me because it feels as if it would most strongly appeal to a specific audience: teen boys with a videogame obsession and a love for gamer girls and 80’s pop culture. This book is full of references to music, videogames, film, and media popular throughout recent decades, particularly in the 1980’s, and a lot of its nuances rely on the reader’s knowledge of videogames. Since I know virtually (pun intended) nothing about videogames or the 80’s, a lot of the references in Ready Player One went straight over my head. I also feel like some of the characters could have been developed a bit more, but all in all I really enjoyed reading this story. Ernest Cline explains enough of the videogame references for readers like me to understand what’s going on, and the plotline is very compelling with that whole treasure-hunt-race-to-the-finish vibe. It’s a creative idea and a good sample of some classic nerdy science fiction.
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Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars The year is 1895, and Gemma Doyle has been living in India with her family, though she dreams of going to London. However, on her sixteenth birthday, Gemma's mother is brutally murdered under mysterious circumstances. Gemma finally gets her wish of living in London, but it’s not the way she always dreamed it would be; gloom and grief hang over her, and she’s haunted by ghosts…literally? Gemma is sent to Spence Academy, an all-girls finishing school with strict rules and strange secrets. Between the teachers, students, and mysterious happenings, Gemma may get much more than she bargained for. A new world is at her fingertips, but exploration, power, and understanding come with a price that might be more than she can afford, and Gemma learns that sometimes beauty can be deceptive. A Great and Terrible Beauty is a historical fiction with a heavy focus on supernatural elements. I’m personally not a big fan of the supernatural genre, but I think I actually would have enjoyed this book more if it didn’t have the mystical and otherworldly aspects. The strongest points of A Great and Terrible Beauty are the relationships that the students have with each other and the teachers and the dynamic of the stringent boarding school. Some of the metaphysical mythology is a bit difficult to understand or even predictable in certain parts. A Great and Terrible Beauty is also a bit hasty with the romance, and I think it would be better suited for later in the trilogy (did I mention it’s a trilogy?) That being said, it’s an interesting read, and I can definitely see how readers could either love or hate it. Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars Though Darrow may have graduated from the Institute, he isn't finished with the dangerous world of politics and rebellion that is the Society. In fact, the real game is just beginning. In the wake of coups and insurrections, families are torn apart, alliances are formed, and betrayal lurks in every handshake. The solar system is on the brink of war, and Darrow seizes his chance to take charge. It's time for a revolution. The second book in the Red Rising trilogy abandons exhilarating Hunger-Games-style action for a deadly web of political drama. Although Golden Son doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat the way Red Rising does, it adds some wonderful world-building to the story and provides a chance for character development. Despite some stylistic and character choices I wasn't overly thrilled with, I still really enjoyed Golden Son, and I'm glad I decided to finish the trilogy. Pierce Brown seems to have an excellent handle on the way each individual book fits into a trilogy, and Golden Son manages to expand on the story while remaining separate from Red Rising and bringing something new to the table. This was an excellent novel, and I can't wait to read Morning Star and see how it all wraps up. Rating: 3.1 out of 5 stars The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a staple of YA fiction and is often referred to as an insightful look at relationships and identity. This bildungsroman is hailed as a masterpiece, so I feel pretty bad that I didn't really like it. I had trouble relating to any of the characters and most of the elements of the plot. Part of that opinion is formed by a misunderstanding on my own part which I'll go into more in my spoiler section, but I didn't really connect to the story on a personal level. That being said, I do understand why people love The Perks of Being a Wallflower so much, and I'm definitely willing to admit that there is much more to the story than I had originally thought. The protagonist of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie Kelmeckis, chronicles the story of his freshman year of high school through a collection of letters. These missives recount a tale of friendship, unrequited love, risky behavior, and ultimately self-discovery. Charlie is taken through a whirlwind of friendships, loss, and love; the story peaks in a fit of darkness but ends in light and hope for the future. Though The Perks of Being a Wallflower does not have a great deal of meaning for me personally, I can appreciate the decades-long impact it has had on the lives of readers and its continued contribution to YA literature. |
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Here are reviews of books I have recently read! I'll try to do a general overview of the book and then a more detailed section with my personal thoughts Archives
December 2017
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Turn The Next Page - a YA book blog | Book Reviews |