Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

I'm going to attempt to explain... or at least describe what I love about this novel. I fear, however, that after you take a look at the cover (above) you'll automatically be turned off to it as a whole. This would be greatly disappointing to me, and quite frankly, quite a shame.

I was first introduced to this novel in my Modern American Literature class and after seeing the list of assigned titles, I didn't have high hopes of liking any of them. I was shockingly and presently surprised when I opened the cover of Winesburg, Ohio. The words are poetic and the images are haunting. The novel itself is set up to tell the story of one man, George Willard, and the town (and it's people) around him. Each chapter stand more as a short story, and you'll find that, while some characters or settings reaper, they're more individual than they are whole. Not every chapter has to do directly with George Willard, but you do start to notice how each character is connected and how their stories play off of one another and affect the town as a whole. There's just enough cohesiveness mingled amid the unique quality of having individual stories that I found it refreshing, insightful, and gripping.

With many "classic" books, I find that the language is so poetic or over the top, that I have trouble following or keeping my interest piqued. The short story aspect of each chapter seemed to remedy this for me. I kept hoping that each time I'd find out a little more about that one character from three chapters back or that this person and that person would happen to meet up and this or that little mystery would be resolved... but, and I add that it was to my great surprise and pleasure, a lot of these things are left up in the air.

This novel encompasses the secrets that each town, each house, family, person, heart... has. Always has had and always will have. It's a fictional place, but, that being said, it could take place anywhere. Anderson taps into the heart of what's in all of our backyards. He unleashes the dark shadows in each of our bedrooms and talks about what it is to be a person. What it is to live and let live. What it is to be cooped up in a small town and long to get out; and how disappointing getting out can be when you realize how well off you might have been before.

If you have the time and the concentration, and you're able to take a step back and appreciate fine, classic literature when you see it, I highly recommend that you read this title. It's possible that I happened to read this at a really "inspirational" time in my life (meaning that it's by coincidence that I happened to enjoy it as much as I did) but it's also possible that it's just that good.

Either way, as with any book, you'll just have to read it and decide for yourself.

Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

  

I've waited a long time to review this series. It's become very near and dear to me and I'm afraid that I just won't be able to do it justice... So, that being said, I highly recommend you stop reading this and go pick up Divergent.

I'm going to try not to post any spoilers, because this is a story you definitely don't want to have spoiled for you and I'd hate to be the one to ruin the experience of reading it!

The story takes place within a dystopian Chicago, and begins with Beatrice (Tris) Prior as she takes part of The Choosing Ceremony, a special "graduation" of sorts where each sixteen year old must pick which of the five factions they would like to join: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Erudite (the intelligent), or Dauntless (the brave). This choice will determine the rest of their lives. Each of them has been raised within a certain faction, but that does not necessarily have to be the faction they choose to stay in. However, they only have one opportunity to choose, and in this world, it's faction before blood.

After Tris makes her decision, she goes through "initiation" and will have to come to terms with many things, both internal and external -- things that I'm not going to mention specifically, but I guarantee will keep your interest piqued. Let's not forget to add that there's a steamy romance bound by an unforgettable friendship between Tris and Four, her initiate instructor (He's not super old or anything . Don't get weirded out.). I'll let you read the books to find out more about that though ;)

As I sit here, I debate whether or not I want to tell you anything else about the series, and, as much as I would like to rave about a few things, I think I'm going to keep my mouth shut. I'll say it again: I would HATE to ruin this series for you and adamantly urge you to invest your time into the series. It's filled with excitement, joy, love, heartache, undeniable determination, devotion, self-reflection, contemplation of the morals we value as a culture, a careful consideration of what it means to be human, and the powerful suggestion that being different is not meant to separate us but meant to pull us together; it's what makes us who we are.

It's a wild ride, but it's not for everyone. For lovers of The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, you're in for a treat. I, by no means, am saying that this series is comparable to the others in nature, but it certainly is in development and writing. If you enjoyed the others, you'll enjoy these.

And as an added bonus -- it's going to be made into a movie! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be as good as the book. So far, I am really happy with the cast and think that the prospects are high. If you plan on seeing the movie, please read the book first. It's always best that way :)

Here is one of my favorite pictures from the upcoming movie (to be released March 21st of 2014).

When We Wake by Karen Healey

This book was extremely disappointing. After having said that, I realize that you might now be wondering why I'm deciding to even waste time writing about it. Well... I suppose there could be several reasons for doing so. One could be my desire for you to know what you're getting yourself into should you choose to pick this title up. Another could be to give you the bare bones and my honest opinion in hopes that you'll be able to make a better decision. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean that everyone else will agree with me. For example, it appears that many, many people on Goodreads thought that this was a great read. We're all entitled to our opinions. I just happen to enjoy sharing mine :)

So! Let's see...

To start, this book had some great potential and sounds really exciting from the synopsis. I'm not going to lie; I really thought that I was in for a good read and that I'd found a new series I would really enjoy. Well, I got a few chapters in and I found out rather quickly that any hopes for really falling in love with this book had blown out the window (or whatever that expression is...). We're introduced to our narrator, Teegan, who is a high school girl living in the year 2027 who gets shot, frozen, and awoken some 100 years in the future. All through the book, the main character goes on and on, and on some more about how much she loves The Beatles. Ok. So we get it. I like them too, but I am very, very shocked that in the year 2127, they're still her all-time favorite group.

Then there's an aspect (which I won't totally give away) about the way the story is being told. It's in first person, but it's in first person for a reason. This reason makes a LOT of the plot points sort of pointless and really... ugh. OK, don't read any further if you think you want to read this book. She's leaving a podcast the entire time she's telling this story, and the podcast is intended to help "warn" people... um? Then why do you wast so much time talking about The Beatles and your crush? Pointless. There was so much potential.

I'm going to stop picking on this poor book now. It's not terrible. It's really not. You just feel let down when you're finished because it had a lot of potential and didn't really deliver.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I read this book in a day. Which is something for me. I'm usually a pretty slow reader, but this (as with almost every book by John Green) was a breeze to get through. While this is a book about cancer, it's not your "typical" cancer book.

The narrative follows Hazel and Gus, two teenagers who have had their fair share of cancer trouble, as they get to know one another and learn to live with their diagnosis. Through pain and heartache, love and laughter, this story depicts some of the truest emotions that a person can feel and does so in a graceful manner.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and am very excited for the movie! I'm going to choose to leave this review short so that I don't spoil anything about the story. If you've read anything by John Green before, and you found that you enjoyed it, this one won't disappoint. If you've never read anything by him: then I highly suggest that you do so. ASAP. (My personal favorite is Looking for Alaska -- so that's what I'd suggest you read first; but all are great.)

Oh. Here is a picture of the movie poster:

Period 8 by Chris Crutcher

This novel is presented as being about a young man, Paulie Baum, and his classmates from Period 8, a lunch group who have decided among themselves and their teacher that what is said in Period 8 stays in Period 8. Within the given summary, it is also mentioned that there is one student within Period 8 who is a class bully and can't be trusted. Paulie Baum also always tells the truth...

Well... let me tell you the truth:
This book is decent, but I wouldn't say that it's exactly what it's marketed as.

Where I was expecting to read about high school drama and coming of age issues, I found I was reading a mystery/thriller about sex, drugs, and crime. The plot itself turned out to be gripping. Paulie does end up telling a truth: that he cheated on his girlfriend, Hannah, and this sort of spirals out and pushes the rest of the story along. Most of the main characters come from Period 8, so I do understand the focus that was given to this class, but there wasn't nearly as much focus on the discussion in this class as I had originally thought. Definitely don't put much weight into the cover because it makes zero sense. ZILCH. There's no point in time where Paulie does push-ups or a girl floats around in the water like she's dead... I still don't get why the designers thought this was a good cover for the novel within.

To focus on the writing style just a bit, I'll note that it's told in third person, present. This narrative style is really obnoxious and very difficult to read/get used to. It's somewhat necessary for the point of views needed in order to understand the plot, but I have a hard time believing that there was no other way it could have been told. Eventually, I got over this and was able to just get into the action.

Last thing I want to talk about is the content. I read somewhere (maybe in the back blurb) that the author, Chris Crutcher, worked with teens as a counselor of some sort, and so I was kind of able to see where the "over the top" content was coming from, but part of me still felt like it was, well, a little over the top. I haven't read other books by this author, so I can't speak to what he's like as an author overall. But if you're interested in reading what I thought specifically about a few things, read ahead. Be aware, there are a few spoilers.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The main plot revolves around Mary Wells, the girl who Paulie cheated with. First of all -- there's no ignoring the fact that sex is in this book. It's mentioned candidly and often. You don't "see" a whole lot, thankfully, but it's there. Mary goes missing and so Paulie, along with some of his friends from P8, go about trying to figure out where she's gone and whether or not there's foul play involved. It eventually comes out that Mary has been using oxys and that she's been involved in a sex ring (it's hinted/implied/assumed(?) that she was forced in to doing both the drugs and the sex). AS IF THIS ISN'T ENOUGH, the sex ring and all of the other horrid crimes and wrong-doings that take place are being spurred on by one of the students from P8.

The thing isn't that there are shady things happening in this high school. These things do happen in real life; I'm in no way saying that they don't. What I am saying is that I wasn't expecting it at all from the description and that I felt like in the end, I couldn't see this really having happened. Something about either the way it was put together, the way it was written, or the combination of plot points made me feel like it was in fact fictional... and though I know that I'm reading a fictional piece, I don't exactly like to feel reminded of that through the writing. In short, it felt like a Lifetime-movie-on-page.

I'm not saying that I regret reading it -- just that I probably wouldn't suggest it right away and that I think there are a lot of great books out there that far surpass this one.