-Nora Sakavic
"Neil Josten let his cigarette burn to the filter without taking a drag. He didn't want the nicotine; he wanted the acrid smoke that reminded him of his mother." Taken from the book.
I'm going to be honest and admit that I didn't have high hopes for this book. I heard whispers of it on tumblr, and paid no mind to them. However, the more I saw of Neil and Andrew on my dashboard, the more curious I became, so I looked the book up on my kindle.
The good news? The first one was free, and the second two of the series were under one dollar. The better news? The entire series can now be bought in their physical form as well, (also very reasonably priced).
The book wasn't what I expected, it was so much more. Reading The Foxhole Court was quite the rollercoaster ride. I cheered in excitement, shouted in frustration and even cried for the pain of those in the story. The emotional turmoil that I faced while reading was completely worth it, though. Hardly ever am I willing to lose sleep over anything, and yet I found myself staying awake until the earliest hours of the morning just to figure out what happens next.
Although Neil was the protagonist of this story, he wasn't always the hero which I thought to be humbling. He was a small kid with an attitude problem, who was better at starting fights than finishing them, and I suppose that is something that a lot of readers might be able to relate to, I know that I have.
Neil's story is worth figuring out, but what I enjoyed most was that the other characters weren't simply written off as supporting characters, they weren't placed in the world of TFC just to further Neil's plot (with the exception of Seth imo), they had equally as interesting backstories of their own. More importantly to me, however, was Sakavic's portrayal of her female characters, they weren't type-casted as "one of the boys", nor could they be considered to have been meek or mild, they were whole characters with depth to them. Sakavic's story was such a good one because her characters were human. Don't just take my word for it, read the book yourself, grab a blanket, make some tea, and keep warm & read.
Monday 25 April 2016
Saturday 9 April 2016
Eleanor & Park
-Rainbow Rowell.
"But there was no one like Park at her old school. There was no one like Park anywhere..." "Park tried to remember the first time he saw her.... Now, he felt the fight rising up in his throat whenever he thought of people making fun of her." - Taken from the book.
First, let me begin by saying that I really wanted to like this book. I had a friend recommend it to me a few years ago when it was still a fresh and exciting read and, I was more than happy to figure out why someone would think I'd enjoy it, and as soon as I had my funds in order, I cashed out.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this book, but the truth is, I didn't. Was it a nice a book? Yeah, sure it was okay. However, I wouldn't go as far as to call it a good book. Maybe I'll try to read it again in the summer when life is easier and the magic in the air is more tranquil, but right now according to Kobo eBooks I'm only 26% through the book, and I've been reading it since November. If I'm being completely honest, I think the author's stereotypical way of describing/expressing her non-white characters was what really did me in. The other let downs in her novel were simply that, let downs. I was expecting a lot from this book, especially with the way that everyone has fallen in love with it and personally, I feel like it didn't exactly deliver.
That being said, there was a lot about the book that I have enjoyed. I like that even though life has essentially buried Eleanor 6ft under a pile of crap she doesn't let that stop her from being who she is. I mean, sure she's uncertain of herself, and the bullying (both inside and outside of school) is bound to take its toll on her eventually, but at the moment she's powering through. I can more than respect that. I also enjoyed that Park admitted (even if just to himself) that his snap judgements of Elanor were wrong and rude. I can respect the little ways that he stands up to his dad. After all, everyone loves an underdog, right? I just didn't find the book particularly enjoyable, but if you're seriously looking into this as a future read, don't let me discourage you from giving this a try, form your own opinions and tell me what you think. Grab a blanket, make some tea, and keep warm and read.
"But there was no one like Park at her old school. There was no one like Park anywhere..." "Park tried to remember the first time he saw her.... Now, he felt the fight rising up in his throat whenever he thought of people making fun of her." - Taken from the book.
First, let me begin by saying that I really wanted to like this book. I had a friend recommend it to me a few years ago when it was still a fresh and exciting read and, I was more than happy to figure out why someone would think I'd enjoy it, and as soon as I had my funds in order, I cashed out.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this book, but the truth is, I didn't. Was it a nice a book? Yeah, sure it was okay. However, I wouldn't go as far as to call it a good book. Maybe I'll try to read it again in the summer when life is easier and the magic in the air is more tranquil, but right now according to Kobo eBooks I'm only 26% through the book, and I've been reading it since November. If I'm being completely honest, I think the author's stereotypical way of describing/expressing her non-white characters was what really did me in. The other let downs in her novel were simply that, let downs. I was expecting a lot from this book, especially with the way that everyone has fallen in love with it and personally, I feel like it didn't exactly deliver.
That being said, there was a lot about the book that I have enjoyed. I like that even though life has essentially buried Eleanor 6ft under a pile of crap she doesn't let that stop her from being who she is. I mean, sure she's uncertain of herself, and the bullying (both inside and outside of school) is bound to take its toll on her eventually, but at the moment she's powering through. I can more than respect that. I also enjoyed that Park admitted (even if just to himself) that his snap judgements of Elanor were wrong and rude. I can respect the little ways that he stands up to his dad. After all, everyone loves an underdog, right? I just didn't find the book particularly enjoyable, but if you're seriously looking into this as a future read, don't let me discourage you from giving this a try, form your own opinions and tell me what you think. Grab a blanket, make some tea, and keep warm and read.
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