【Book Review】Peter Pan

Peter Pan

Overall Rating: ★★★★

Characters: ★★.5

Plot: ★★★★

Writing：★★★

       To be honest, I didn’t expect that I will have the intention of writing this review before finishing Peter Pan. Before reading this book, I have only watched the Disney cartoon movie, which only leaves a vague image in my memory since the last time I watched it was during my kindergarten years. I didn’t like this book at first, maybe the main reason is because it has such great difference in contrast with what is left in my memory. However, I decide to give this book four stars after all. I will explain my decision at the later part of my review. Since I don’t think it’s necessary for me to describe the plot of Peter Pan in detail, I will just briefly summarize the plot. Three siblings Wendy, Michael, and John are guided to fly away from their house by a mystery boy called Peter Pan, who previously only appears in Wendy’s dream. They have an adventure on a strange island called Neverland.

    Let’s begin with the characters. I only give it 2.5 stars, which has never happened before. Even some of those characters have redeemed themselves in the later story, I still really dislike them. At the beginning of the book, tinkle bell lets other boys shot arrows on Wendy due to her jealous toward Wendy. Don’t forget the fact that Wendy doesn’t die because of the kiss on her chest. If she doesn’t have any protection at all, she will definitely be deeply wounded. This scene shocked me because tinker bell’s character is so different from what I imaged her to be. Even she would rather face death in order to save Peter’s life in the later story, it doesn’t change my negative opinion of her. Also, Peter Pan is such a cocky character throughout the story; he doesn’t change at all. It gives me the feeling that he has been dictating the boys on the island, and he doesn’t feel that his behavior has anything wrong. The story also doesn’t explain why Peter sliced off captain Hook’s hand at the first place. If Peter Pan just does this because it’s cool, then no wonder why Hook wants to kill him. The only character that I like is probably Wendy, but my like of her still can’t make up my distaste toward other characters.

    The last chapter is the reason why I give the entire book four stars, and also the reason why I give the plot four stars. Peter Pan can never grow old. Now if I really consider this phenomenon, I  it is terrifying and cruel as well. When the boys from the island gradually become normal people in the society, and when Wendy grows up, gets married, and has a daughter, Peter Pan is still the same little boy just like the first time he appears in Wendy’s room. HE FORGETS. He forgets about Tinker Bell, who has loved him so much and even be willing to sacrifice her life for him. When Wendy mentions her name to Peter, he is indifferent to Tinker’s death. Even though I dislike Tinker, I truly feel sorry for her, for her to love an impossible person to return her love. Peter Pan forgets about his companions on the island; he can even forget captain Hook. He can laugh, cry, or get angry, but he can never feel remorse, guilty, or yearning. Those deeper feelings belong to grown-ups, and Peter will forever be a young boy. He lives in the moment and forgets about the past. The ending part is especially cruel and thought-provoking. I like it so much that I decide to revise my overall score.

    I don’t have too much to talk about the language. The author’s language is not really my cup of tea. I give it three stars because my feeling doesn’t lean toward either side. Overall, I really like the very ending of the book, so I change my rating and even spend time on writing this review. Peter Pan may only seem to be an interesting adventure story for children, but I believe many adults can feel the deeper emotions inside the book. By the way, I love the edition that I bought. The illustrations are absolutely stunning.

【Book Review】Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2)

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2)

Overall Rating: ★★★★

Characters: ★★★★

Plot: ★★★★

Writing：★★★★

       The reason why I haven’t updated for nearly a month is because I didn’t finish even one book. I have no idea what’s wrong with me, but now I finally finish reading something, and I will update another book review for my viewers. Though, I suppose there are not many of them. This is actually the first time I have ever written a review for the second book in a series. I have read the first book Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children several months ago and really enjoyed it. I think that is a great beginning of a trilogy. I didn’t expect myself to read this book for nearly two months. It’s really surprising that after dragging on reading it for two months, I can still be engrossed in this book.

    My overall rating is four stars. It is definitely as great as the first book. Ransom Riggs does a wonderful job in maintaining the feeling of the language, creating a “peculiar” sense. Since this is already the second book in this series, I won’t spend much time on introducing the plot. The story mainly talks about the journey the group of peculiar children have to face after they were forced to leave their little island and venture into the grand city of London. The plot of this book is apparently more twisted than the previous book which introduces all the major events on the small island where the peculiar children are stuck in. In this book, Jacob and his friends need to travel to other places and are forced to encounter much more difficulties and arduous challenges that may even threaten their lives. Since the story happens in the 1940s, the WWII is happening, and there are several devastating scenes being portrayed in this book. I read the last 100 pages all in one sitting, and there are a lot of things that happened at the end. I didn’t expect a major plot twist, which is a very clever move of Ransom Riggs’. It is indeed shocking and unexpected, so I definitely have great fun reading the last fifty pages.

    As for the characters, I think they all possess unique characteristics. My favorite one is Enoch, which may surprise many people. Enoch is clearly not the most pleasant person in the story. In fact, I believe many people may find him disturbing because of his sarcasm. I personally find him interesting and funny. Even sometimes he is kind of sarcastic, I still enjoy reading his parts and feel that he is very realistic. If Enoch is not part of the story, I may give the character part only 3 or 3.5 stars. I am not a huge fan of Emma, though. Don’t beat me. I don’t have much to say about the writing. Ransom Riggs does a great job in portraying his peculiar world. His language may not be as fabulous as Jane Austen’s, it is still well-crafted and fits well into his world. With his vivid depiction, I can read more fluently and be engrossed in the plot.

    The Hollow City is a powerful and well-developed book in this series, and I am definitely looking forward to the third book since this one ends with sort of a cliffhanger. However, I won’t pick up the third one anytime soon, because I have struggled in this world for nearly two months now, and I desperately need a break. If I pick up the third one right away, I may not enjoy it as much as I am supposed to be.

【Book Review】Joy Luck Club

Joy Luck Club

Overall Rating: ★★★.5

Characters: ★★★

Plot: ★★★★

Writing：★★★

       Sorry again for not updating for such a long time. My summer holiday plan doesn’t go as fluent as I think it would be. Since I am going to be a senior at the end of this summer, there are a lot of things that require me to spend my time on. I have to complete my personal statement and prepare for my SAT test in October, but now I will leave all of those behind and write this overdue book review.

    I have been heard about Amy Tan and her work for a very long time. Since she is one of the most well-known Chinese-American authors, I always feel the necessity of reading her work so that I can get a better understanding of what are the situations Chinese immigrants are encountering in the United States. I had read one of her short stories “Fish Cheek” in one of my literature classes, and I felt that it is indeed a great work, but it is surely not the best short story I have ever read. Before opening the Joy Luck Club, I have no idea what this book will present. All I know is a very vague idea about the basic plot of this book, so now I am going to summarize a little bit about the plot.

    Joy Luck Club tells the story of four different Chinese women who had emigrated from China to the United States in around 1940s or 50s. The book is divided into four sections and each section contains four chapters. The story is told from eight points of view: the view of the four women and their American-born daughters. Therefore, it is clear that the mothers and the daughters will have quite opposite value due to the sharp contrast of their growing environment. Amy Tan is really fond of portraying the conflict between Chinese and American value, and I am going to discuss this in the later paragraph.

    The first thing that I would like to comment about this book is its characters. I do have to admit the fact that after finishing this book, I cannot remember the name of the characters, but most importantly, I cannot link the mothers and the daughters. Maybe I am the only one who have this kind of problem, but I do feel it is difficult to put different characters together and understand their relationship without drawing a relationship map. By the way, that is probably the reason I am hesitated to pick the Son of Ice and Fire series. Besides the difficulty of distinguishing between characters, I feel that each pair of mother and daughter presents very different characteristics. Their ideas and behavior may have some similar origins, but they do varies and presents a diversiform group of characters. The mothers may all come from China, but they are actually originated from different parts of China, and their life stories have dramatic differences. I think that is something Amy Tan has done well.

    I don’t have much to say about the plot, but I do have to say some parts of the story really shocked me. Even from the perspective of me, who is born in the United States but is raised in China, some stories are extremely dark, twisted, and weird. I guess some of the incidents mentioned in this book do happen in China many years ago, but they mainly happened in the more countryside area where information was not very adequate for the peasants to understand the correctness of their behavior. I was even scared in some parts of the story while reading this book.

    As for the language, I am not very satisfied with this book. I don’t know why exactly. The writing style of Amy Tan is just very different from other American authors that I have read. The dictions and syntax are just not what I had expected. Also, there are many Chinese words or phrases being used in this book, and they are spelled in English to sound like Chinese. Since I definitely understand Chinese, I tried to read those words and see if they match the English definition that Amy Tan gives. This is a very weird experience because some of the words do not sound their modern Chinese way of spelling, and that is quite confusing.

    Overall, I give this book a 3.5-star rating. It is a required reading assignment for this summer, and I feel this book is adequate, but not as impressing as the other book I have read in school. However, I am also very happy now that I finally get my hands on Amy Tan’s works, because I have always been looking forward to reading more of her stories, and now my goal is reached. I recommend anyone who is interested in Chinese culture to read this book. 

【Book Review】Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

Overall Rating: ★★★★

Characters: ★★★

Plot: ★★★★.5

Writing：★★★★

       Many book-to-movie adaptations will come out this year, and this book will be one of them. I have heard millions of buzz about this book on both Goodreads and the Booktube community. Surely, my interest has been aroused, but the ultimate inspiration for me to pick up this book is the movie trailer, just like what happens to the book Me Before You. By the way, the trailer is fantastic. If the actual movie can reach as high quality as that of the trailer, then I will be extremely excited for this movie adaptation. To me, there is no better director that Tim Burton whose style fits perfectly with the peculiar and quirky feelings of this novel. To be honest, I don’t have a high expectation for this book before reading it. However, I do discover some kind of pleasure throughout my reading experience.

    First of all, let me try to summarize the plot of this book. Jacob has grown up with his grandfather’s weird stories filled with fantastical experience and old pictures of some peculiar children. As he grows up, he no longer believes his grandfather’s tales, until one night his grandfather is killed by a monster. After suffering from continuous ceaseless nightmares, Jacob is resolved to set out a journey to an island where his grandfather has directed him to go to. On that island, Jacob discovered something very peculiar and even dark. Those unusual children in the antique pictures of Jacob’s grandfather may still be alive.

    Actually, I have seen the Chinese version of this book, though I just saw the front cover. The Chinese title is called “怪屋女孩”, and if you translate it back to English, it will be “a girl in a weird house”. You will soon realize the fact that this title is quite misleading as long as you have actually read the book. Because of this Chinese title, I had fault expectations about what I am going to encounter in this book. I expect to see some kind of ghost story or some haunted house in an isolated island. Apparently, none of those imageries are true.

    I give the characters three stars because I cannot like the protagonist Jacob at the first place. At the beginning, he appears to be quite hysterical and even a little mad. I understand his circumstances and all the hard things he has been through, but I still cannot like him as a character, though I feel much better about him as the story progresses. He is brave and smart, and these qualities of him are revealed at the climax of this book. I also like other peculiar children; they are very funny and interesting.

    Although the first half of the book drags a little bit, the second half is definitely amazing. The plot twist is shocking, and I didn’t see it coming at all. The second half is action packed and exciting. Some of the scenes are quite nervous, and I gradually realize why this book is such a famous thing in the past few years. I thoroughly enjoy the plot, and I am looking forward to reading the next book.

    Frankly, I have spent almost half a month on reading this book. During this time period, I was stressed out with the SAT test, and I was sort of in a reading slump. However, after marathoning through this book, I feel my love for reading appears again. I won’t read the second book right after I finish the first book, so I decide to pick up some stand-alone before going back to the world of Jacob and his peculiar friends. I definitely recommend this book. It didn’t blow my mind, but it does have numerous unexpected plot twists that amaze me a lot.

【Book Review】The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train

Overall Rating: ★★★★

Characters: ★★

Plot: ★★★★

Writing：★★★★

       I am so sorry for not updating any book review stuff for approximately a month. The reason is the disturbing SAT, which will take place on June 4th. I am pretty sure after the test, I will be able to read much faster, considering the fact that I only read ONE book in nearly three weeks. SHAME ON ME. So without further ado, I am going to start talking about the only book that I read recently——The Girl on the train.

    I have to say that when books are turned into movies, the trailers of those movies are normally good inspirations for me to pick up the book. I did the same thing with Me Before You, and The Girl on the Train is also another example. I was intrigued by the trailer, so I bought the book. I struggled a little bit during the middle part; I hate some of the characters but not so much at the end. This book is quite different from what I thought it would be, but I still give it a four-star rating. I definitely understand why some people dislike this book, and I share the same opinion with them to a certain degree. However, I believe the unpredictable twist in the plot makes up for that. I spent a long time reading the first half and then flew through the second half in about two days; the plot does pick up at the end, which I am glad to see.

    The Girl on the Train is told from three perspectives. All three perspectives may seem to be independent, but they all intertwined somehow at the end. The story is mainly told from the perspective of Rachel, a woman who is an alcoholic and is suffering from a heartbreaking consequence of a divorce. She takes the train to London every single day, and on that train, she passes the same houses every day. She sees a couple living in a house, and she imagines how their lives will be like. She even puts imaginative names on the couple. One day, she discovers something peculiar that makes her do something that she has never done before. I am not good at summarizing the plot of a book, so that’s the best I can do. Now, it is the spoiler part.

    The main part that I dislike about this book is the characters. Normally, when I am reading some books, I always tend to find somebody that I like or someone that I can side with. But in this book, I hate practically every character. None of them is one hundred percent innocent. I probably dislike Rachel the most, because I always feel like she gives up too fast. Every time I thought she is going to make some change to her pathetic life, she turns to drinking again. That really pisses me off. Through the first part of the book, I just kept repeating the sentence to Rachel “Get a grip, for god sake.”

    Aside from the characters, I really appreciate how the writer crafted the plot. I admit I am not a good guesser when it comes to thrillers or crime novels. I can only tell who does the crime until the very end, and this book is no exception. I have no idea who kills Megan until the last fifty pages or so. This book is absolutely not terrifying. It only has a certain amount of suspense that is not scary at all. I am glad that I didn’t guess the plot, or that will be so much boring to read.

    I don’t think I will watch the movie because I don’t feel like going through the same emotional process with Rachel being an alcoholic. I give this book four stars but more likely to be a 3.5-star rating. I had some enjoyment while reading it, but I don’t feel the enjoyment is fantastic enough to completely outweigh its flaws. I understand why it was such a huge thing last year, but maybe it is just not my piece of cake.

【Book Review】The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

Overall Rating: ★★★★★

Characters: ★★★★★

Plot: ★★★★★

Writing：★★★★★

 First of all, I seriously doubt that this book needs a detailed introduction because everyone have clearly read it during their high school years or at some point in their lives. Since The Great Gatsby is such a well-known book, I believe it is unnecessary for me to describe the synopsis of this book. It was set in New York, during the Jazz Age; it depicts how the upper-classes is filled with extravagance and consumerism. Also, I won’t discuss the themes or any of the literary element in this book review, because everyone must have been tired of hearing their English teachers keep repeating these things. On this book review, all I want to discuss is how this book affects my life and how I fall in love it.

    Generally, I don’t have a passive opinion against required reading materials assigned by the school teacher. To be honest, I have actually loved many of the classic works that were assigned readings including To Kill a Mockingbird and A Separate Peace. Before I read the actual book, I watched the trailer of the movie The Great Gatsby, which is starred by Leonardo DiCaprio.

    The first thing that I want to mention about this book is its writing style. F Scott Fitzgerald was an extremely talented writer, especially when it comes to the choices of dictions and the descriptive languages. With his writing style, the scene in the book seems to be so much more vivid. Even though there were sometimes when I found difficulties figuring out his implied meanings in the text, I still highly appreciate how much he great he can write.

    The other thing that impresses me is the book’s characters and plot. The only character that I can attach to is Nick Caraway. Even though Nick, at some points in the novel, has apparently revealed some of his flaws in relation to his character, he is definitely more likable than any other characters in the book. Nick takes the place as a spectator; unlike Daisy or Gatsby, he never gets truly involved in the progression of the plot. However, it is because of the fact that he is not technically the center of the story, he can be a qualified and reliable narrator who remains his calmness throughout the novel, making a stark contrast to Holden, the narrator of the Catcher in the Rye. I don’t like Tom and Daisy because of their selfish and consumerism. I don’t like Gatsby because he is unbelievably stupid with all the issues of Daisy. Overall, Nick is the only character that I love in this book, but that doesn’t mean I cannot love the story and give it a five stars rating.

    The plot is quite shocking. I don’t know how I manage to do that, but I successfully avoided all the spoilers until I finish the book. That is an accomplishment considering almost everyone in my class have either watched the movie or read the book. I didn’t expect Gatsby to die in such a ridiculous way, though. Despite all of his wealth and handsomeness, he is such a douche bag. Let me tell you. There were millions of chances that he can choose and thus avoid the gun shooting, but he just didn’t have the luck.

    Overall, I have a high expectation before reading the book, and fortunately, this book doesn’t let me down like many other well-acclaimed books do. I am wondering whether I should go and pick up more works by F Scott Fitzgerald, but I heard that his other works have very different writing styles compare to The Great Gatsby. No matter what happens, this book deserves all of the attention, merit, and praise it receives. I am very glad that I have the chance to read it during my junior year in high school.

【Book Review】Me Before You

Me Before You

Overall Rating: ★★★★★

Characters: ★★★★★

Plot: ★★★★★

Writing：★★★★★

 Louisa Clark is a woman who just lost her job as a waitress in a coffee shop in her small town. Due to the poor financial situation her family is now struggling with, Louisa, the only source of income in her family, is desperate for a job to support her parents and her sister who re-attends college with her little son. Later on, Louisa is lucky to find a job that offers a satisfying amount of pay. And that is how she meets the quadriplegic former business men: Will Traynor. At first, Will’s sarcastic attitude seems to create discord between the two people. However, Louisa later finds herself falling for the emotions and minds of Will. She then realizes the terrible secret plan that Will has always kept in mind, and she is resolved to change his mind.

    I am one hundred percent sure that this book is going to make into the TOP 10 books that I read this year. It is such a fantastic heart-gripping story. This is the kind of book that will reshape how you view the world, and influence your life ever since. The story is never boring to read, and there is always little points of excitement or humor. It is truly amazing that I didn’t get tired of reading this book considering the fact that I nearly spent two weeks finishing it. Instead of feeling relieved to finally finish the book, I was even depressed to leave the world and will not be able to read more about those characters. (I later found out that there is a sequel, though.)

    I have heard a lot of good things about this book on booktube community, and also, the ratings on Goodreads are pretty amazing. At least most of the people who I trust with their taste of books are loving Me Before You. However, the thing that truly motivates me to pick up this book is the upcoming movie adaptation of Me Before You as well as its fabulous trailer. I am not going to lie with the fact that I literally watched the trailer first and then read the book. Please watch the trailer, but if you are really sensitive and cautious about spoilers and you haven’t read the book yet, I suggest you to read the book first then watch the trailer. I highly doubt some parts of the trailer is a little spoilery.

    Now it comes to the actual content of the book. I find the protagonist Louisa extremely relatable. She is independent, brave, and potentially talented. She doesn’t realize how great achievements she can be able to accomplish at first; instead, she just wants to live her little life in her small hometown. Louisa is not the typical contemporary heroine who is always whining and hesitant to do anything. Louisa knows what she is doing, and she possess this strong determination to achieve her plan. She is willing to make self-transformations and devote her time and energy to the work she focuses on. She is probably one of my favorite female characters in the contemporary genre. In many contemporary romances, I find the female protagonist to be intolerable due to their annoying personalities. I am so glad to find a clever and self-motivated character like Louisa. As for Will, he initially appears to be a cynic person who is tired of living what he believes to be a dreadful life. I didn’t find him as agreeable as Louisa at the beginning, though his comments on Louisa always make me laugh. Through the progression of the story, I see how he suffers from his disability, and how he needs to face his terrible life after the accident that causes him to be a quadriplegic. How his relationship with Louisa changes throughout the book is definitely one of my favorite element of the story. It is wonderful that this relationship is not an instant love; it not only makes me feel the realness and truthfulness of the plot, but also adds the power to the storytelling aspect.

    The writing is very easy to comprehend. The reason for me to read this book for two weeks is not that it is long or difficult to read, it lies under the fact that I can only spend approximately half an hour per day to read during the past several weeks. I was busy with all my school work and the test preparation, and I am obviously stressed out. I manage to squeeze my time schedule so that I can write this book review. I realize I am a little stray from the point. Overall, the writing is not difficult, if you can spend an hour or two each day to read this book, you will definitely fly through it.

    By the way, I have heard about the sequel of Me Before You, which is called After You. I notice that it doesn’t get a high rating (about 3.7 stars) on Goodreads, so I am hesitant to pick up the next book even I thoroughly enjoy the first one.

    -Spoiler Discussion!-

    Me Before You is definitely not a simple romance; it touches several very serious topics, especially the issue of assistant death. I have to admit that I have never truly paid attention to the whole idea of assistant death until I read this book. I was shocked to see Will choose to die even with the presence of Louisa. Even I do not fully agree with this decision, I have to respect what he chooses to become. If that is what Will wants to be, and if he has gone through careful consideration, then maybe we shouldn’t prohibit him from doing this just for the sake of our own comfort. I have been thought about this idea for the past weeks or so. What if I get involved in a terrible accident and lose nearly everything that I own, including my friends, my dreams, and my life. What will I do? Will I make the same decision just like what Will does in the book? I have no idea what the answer will be.

    The debate surrounding the issue of assistant death is always a hot topic in the global news. Some believe it is people’s own right to decide whether they want to give up living or not; Others condemn assistant death to be a morally wrong approach. I don’t have a clear opinion in my mind. After reading the book, I accidently stumbled across a documentary filmed by BBC (I am not sure about the real company). It is hosted by Terry Pratchett, the great author who created the epic fantasy series the Discworld. This documentary was filmed four or five years ago, and it deals with assistant death. Terry Pratchett explores some of the reasons people give when it comes to why they choose to take the assistant death. The documentary also brings the viewers to Switzerland where we actually witness the process of the assistant death together with Terry Pratchett. It is a depressing documentary, and I know that Terry Pratchett died two years ago. Me Before You really makes me think more deeply which is extremely rare in the area of chick-lit or contemporary romances. It is a life-altering book, and in my opinion, it deserves every merit it gains from the readers.

    Me Before You blows my mind and changes my life ever since.

2016 March Wrap-up

2016 March Wrap-up

       This month is definitely an extremely busy month. I have started my second semester in Grade 11, and the New SAT test is on the way. I spent a great proportion of my life practicing for that exam. However, I still managed to start and finish nine books, which is quite impressive. I don’t believe I will read as much books in the following two or three months. Let’s just wish for the best.

       I will briefly mention the rating of the book and how I feel about them.

       1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

              Intro: Streetwise George and his big, childlike friend Lennie are drifters, searching for work in the fields and valleys of California. They have nothing except the clothes on their back, and a hope that one day they’ll find a place of their own and live the American dream. But dreams come at a price. Gentle giant Lennie doesn’t know his own strength, and when they find work at a ranch he gets into trouble with the boss’s daughter-in-law. Trouble so bad that even his protector George may not be able to save him…

              Rating: ★★★★

              Comments：I am not a big fun of the writing style, but the plot twist is amazing. I have a detailed book review here in my blog.

              http://ivysbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-reviewof-mice-and-men.html

        2. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

              Intro：A beautiful and distinguished family.

A private island.

A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.

A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.

A revolution. An accident. A secret.

Lies upon lies.

True love.

The truth.

             We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

              Rating：★★

              Comments：I hate this book so much that I want to throw this book out of my window. With rage, I wrote one of my longest book reviews on my blog.

              http://ivysbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-reviewwe-were-liars.html

       3. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Intro: "...the hand at the back of my neck was strong. I'm drowning, I thought..."
The Socs' idea of having a good time of beating up Greasers like Ponyboy. Ponyboy knows what to expect and knows he can count on his brothers and friends - until the night someone takes things too far.

Rating: ★★★★★

Comments: Stunning book! I absolutely love it way more than I love The Cater in the Rye.
http://ivysbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-reviewthe-outsiders.html

4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - The World of Hobbits by Paddy Kempshall

Intro: Enter the amazing World of Hobbits. Packed with photos from the new film, this book will tell you all you need to know about these amazing creatures – their appearance, appetites, homes, friends, deadly foes and much more.

From Bilbo Baggins and Bag End to the Shire and the world beyond Hobbiton, The World of the Hobbits takes young readers behind the scenes, to reveal the characters and locations of the film.  With fascinating details on set-building, the challenges of using scale doubles for the tiny Hobbits, and the visual effects behind the world they inhabit.

Rating:★★★★

Comments: I love Bilbo Baggins, and that’s why I give it four stars. However, I don’t recommend buying it because it is not worth it, unless you are a hard core hobbit fan and you want to collect every single book that mentions hobbits.

       5. Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times by Emma Trevayne

Intro:Ten-year-old Jack Foster has stepped through a doorway and into quite a different London.
       Londinium is a smoky, dark, and dangerous place, home to mischievous metal fairies and fearsome clockwork dragons that breathe scalding steam. The people wear goggles to protect their eyes, brass grill insets in their nostrils to filter air, or mechanical limbs to replace missing ones.
      Over it all rules the Lady, and the Lady has demanded a new son—a perfect flesh-and-blood child. She has chosen Jack.
Jack’s wonder at the magic and steam-powered marvels in Londinium lasts until he learns he is the pawn in a very dangerous game. The consequences are deadly, and his only hope of escape, of returning home, lies with a legendary clockwork bird.
The Gearwing grants wishes—or it did, before it was broken—before it was killed. But some things don’t stay dead forever.

Rating：★★★★

Comments: I think the story is fine. I like the steampunk elements and the gorgeous cover.

       6. Raining Down Rules by B.K. Rivers

Intro: Jemma Bowers hasn’t kissed anyone in over a thousand days. She knows—she’s counted.

For twenty-year-old Jemma, rules are not meant to be broken…even if she’s the one who created them. Friendships have boundaries, relationships mean trouble, and don’t even get her started on sex. Haunted by the death of her mother and her father’s abandonment, Jemma finds herself hungry for something meaningful and permanent, but is afraid of what may happen if she pursues it.

Jordan Capshaw can’t fight his addiction. Not even if it will cost him his career…

When Jemma finds Jordan drunk and barefoot in the street, she convinces him to get in her car. Aside from the fact he’s the lead singer of her favorite band and pretty much the rock star of her dreams, she quickly realizes his addiction is a monster neither of them can control.

Who knew choosing between a rock star and a fireman could be so difficult?

Emotions run high as Jemma soon finds herself caught between the troubled rock star and her growing affections for Vic Harper, a swoon-worthy firefighter from her past. But when her grandmother passes away, leaving her with no other family, Jemma’s world falls apart.

To save herself from further heartbreak, she risks it all by breaking her own rules, and putting her heart on the line.

After all, the heart just might be the biggest rule breaker of them all.

Rating: ★★★★

Comments: I received the electronic version of this book in exchange of an honest opinion. I won’t discuss what I feel about this book right here since I have already written one full-length book review.

http://ivysbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-reviewraining-down-rules.html

       7. The Fountain by Suzy Vadori

Intro: Careful what you wish for. It just might come true.
In the forbidden West Woods, Ava stumbles on the secret fountain that has granted wishes to St. Augustus students for generations. Unknowingly, she watches the coin she tosses disappear and with it the world around her as she knows it.
In a quest to undo the damage she’s done, she and alumni kid Ethan break every campus rule unravelling a tangled web of history. Ava discovers that what’s right isn’t always clear and finds herself torn between a love she’s always known and one she has yet to explore.

Rating:★★★★

Comments：I also received an electronic version of this book to write an honest review.

http://ivysbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-reviewthe-fountain.html

       8. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

              Intro: The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

Rating:★★★★★

Comments：I like this book，and I think it deserves all of its compliments.

http://ivysbookblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-reviewa-monster-calls.html

       9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Intro: For use in schools and libraries only. A young man newly rich tries to recapture the past and win back his former love, despite the fact that she has married.

Rating:★★★★★

Comments：I know a lot of people who dislike this book, but I also know many people love this book. I, fortunately, am in the positive side. The writing is spectacular, and sooner or later, I will finish writing my book review.

【Book Review】A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls

Overall Rating: ★★★★.5

Characters: ★★★★★

Plot: ★★★★★

Writing：★★★★★

 Before reading this book, I have heard so many great things from many people who I trust when it comes to the taste in books. I picked this book up with high expectation, and fortunately, it doesn’t let me down. You may feel very strange with the fact that even though I gave each sub-category five stars, I still gave the overall rating 4.5 stars. I will explain that in the following passage.

    Conor O'Malley always have this nightmare in which a monster comes visit him almost every night at 12:07. Initially, Conor believes his encounter with the yew-tree monster is merely a dream; however, he later finds out that this is not actually the case. The dream is so vivid and real that it starts to influence Conor’s life. Meanwhile, the illness of Conor’s mother is something else that he struggles to deal with….

    A monster calls is a very short book with only 215 pages. I can fly through this in about half a day. Since I am extremely busy with school work recently, I didn’t make that happen. Labeled as middle-grade books, A monster calls is very different from the ordinary children’s books. It possesses this mysterious and even a little horror atmosphere throughout the plot. I was so amazed by some of the illustrations. I know Jim Kay, who is the illustrator of this book; he also does the artwork for the Harry Potter-a recently released edition with breathtaking illustrations. His illustrations are so gorgeous that they just improve my entire reading experience of this book to another level.

Now I want to explain why I didn’t give this book a five out of five stars rating. I don’t know why, but this book somehow lacks something which prevents me from giving it five solid stars instead of 4.5 stars. I like the characters. Conor, as a protagonist, has his own flaws in terms of his way of dealing with his troubles. Sometimes, he reveals his immature side and does something that he instantly regret after doing it. Actually, my favorite character of this book is the yew tree monster. I love all of his tales though I find myself having difficulties in relating the tale to the plot. Apparently, the author doesn’t write these three tales for nothing. Maybe they are some kind of metaphors which I really feel stupid for not being able to understand their implied meanings. However, I still enjoy all of these tales, especially the first two. They are so different from the stereotypical tales in the ways that they reach a deeper topic and have such an interesting little plot twist. As for the writing of Patrick Ness, I think it is beautiful and accessible for young readers.

    Generally, I really recommend this book to not only its original target audiences who are teenagers and children, but also to adults who seek for a heart-wrenching tale with beautiful writings.