Remember Me?

reading next: Possibly rereading QoB #2

Remember Me?
written by Sophie Kinsella



Kudos to Sophie Kinsella for taking a soap-operatic topic like memory loss and turning it into a fully non-cliched book! Not only that, she takes the usually flat genre of chick-lit and brings in a massive dose of suspense, leaving the reader positively on their toes trying to find out what happens next. While many chick-lit books may have interesting plots and plot twists, none of them really brings in an element of mystery, from what I've read so far, at least. It was slightly difficult, although necessary to the plot, to read about the snobbery of life as a high-upper, but again, that was the entire point of the book, to make the reader feel as uncomfortable as Lexi must have been. The ending was great--I'm sure everyone expected, particularly by the misleading summary on the book cover, Lexi to regain her memory. Kinsella brings her memory back, but only a flash, and the subject of the tiny flash is what makes it so poignant. The novel would have been destroyed had Kinsella brought her entire memory back, it would nullify the point of the whole book--Lexi finding herself. The most notable aspect of the book to me was the abundance of amazing references that, for once, I actually understood. I think this contained the most amazing HP reference ever, as well as good ones to The West Wing, Coldplay, and 'Bad Day' (it really truly WAS the song everyone was singing back then!)

Rating: 4.5/5

Revelations

Revelations
written by Melissa de la Cruz


I guess I should have known not to get my hopes up. Revelations continues just like the last two Blue Bloods novels--lousy characters, lousy writing, abso-freaking-lutely amazing plot. *sigh* Go figure. If only Melissa de la Cruz had combined all the ideas she had into one book, so these silly, unnecessary subplots could vanish, it would be so lovely (I mean, Brazil, really?). I did love the fact that Schuyler finally reciprocated Ollie's love (in a truly romantically awesome Star Wars way, no less!) but other than that, the characters just disappointed. Mimi and Jack Force? Still as annoying as ever. Bliss, one of the only characters I could stand other than Ollie? Evil, apparently. These books would be so amazing if the plot was just resolved already, rather than dragging it out. Otherwise, all these weird twists she keeps putting in...at first, they were really neat, but now? A lot of them just seem like lame rip-offs from other authors. (Shifting into animals? Changing appearances? Come on. Rowling got there way before you did.) I'm going to keep reading them, because I'm a sucker for a good plot, but I really really need to keep my hopes down (particularly when it comes to Schuyler/Ollie, who I now hear have some serious opposition amongst the readers 0.O)

Rating: 3.5/5

Suite Scarlett

just finished: Suite Scarlett
reading next: oh...something or other by Beverly Cleary :P


Suite Scarlett
written by Maureen Johnson

I definitely went into this book with low expectations. I had read Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes and found nothing particularly spectacular about it. I never really understood why Maureen Johnson was a legend in YA literary circles (well...other than the whole YA for Obama thing :P) So I was very glad to be surprised by this amazing book. The characters were all extraordinarily well-developed, and unlike most YA books nowadays, instead of the focus being on the romance (Scarlett/Eric), it seemed to me like the most central relationship in the book was Scarlett-Spencer. I loved the familial interactions, each sibling's distinct personality. I might have wanted to see some more of Marlene, but I'll live. I went into the book with a lot of wrong ideas. I had thought immediately that Mrs. Amberson was going to die. Grandmotherly influencial older woman--well, they always die in books, don't they? Them and dogs? I had gone in thinking, hmm, is this going to end up with a Scarlett/Eric pairing or SPENCER/Eric pairing? I liked that I was proven wrong on both counts. Everything about this book was great. There were points where some of the narration dragged a little, but that was mainly confined to the first few chapters, and it all evened out a lot through the rest of the book, down to the smallest details like the epic chapter titles. I had thought that Eric and Scarlett's relationship had no hope, since they got together that extremely early in the book. I didn't particularly like Eric's character. He was necessary to temporarily divide Scarlett and Spencer, but he never appealed to me as...well, as a person. He may be the only 2D character in the entire book. The resolution between Donna and Amy (and oh my God, if anyone watches The West Wing, you will understand why I am horrified by this statement I am about to make) was heartwarmingly bittersweet. I am deeply curious about the origins of Mrs. Amberson--who on earth could have had enough character to inspire her? She's pretty much legendary! All in all, spectacular book, plotwise, characterwise, writing-wise. Everything's just spot-on!

Rating: 5/5

serafina67 *urgently requires life*

serafina67 *urgently requires life*
written by Susie Day

I was...well, disappointed may put it mildly, by this book. I figured, hey, a book about blogging, how perfect for me! How wrong I was. This girl, taking on the identity of serafina67, blogs about her life. Her blog entries are filled with nothing but vain remarks, rudeness, and really bad spelling. She is a horrendous gossiper, and is mean to pretty much anyone she encounters. I guess it's true what they say--don't judge a book by its cover. It's true. I chose this book because it had a pretty eyecatching cover. Big mistake. I feel like a lot of potential was wasted. This could have been a pretty interesting book and an interesting blog, if the blog writer hadn't been an absolute spazz (of the bad kind). Upon finishing the book, I honestly felt as if I had just read a book entitled "Why You Should Not Give Your Personal Information Out Online" by Susie Day. The only thing that kept me reading the book was daisy13. The reveal at the end was pretty epic, and I guess I'd thought of every possibility (ranging from psychostalker to Crazy Pete) for "her" true identity.

Rating: 2/5

"You type like a crackhead"
^Sums up the entirety of the book.

Do you tend to judge books by their covers? I know this isn't the first time I've done, and I know it won't be the last. What types of covers do you prefer, if any? Have you ever been misled by a cover?

Paper Towns

just finished: Paper Towns
reading next: serafina67 *urgently requires life*


I had the blue cover, by the way

Paper Towns
written by John Green

A big part of me really wants to give this book a one star rating. I did not think it ended in the best of ways, and I will still forever think that An Abundance of Katherines was the better book. However, I'm begrudgingly going to have to give this a five star rating, because WOW. The writing, as always, was splendid. Maybe all teens don't talk like that. Maybe some of the witticism were a bit too witty. But, boy did it all make for an enjoyable read. The characters all come to life and we all wish we knew a Margo Roth Spiegelman. Maybe some of us already do. The quirkiness of them all was something we could all relate to (me, particularly to the constant usage of 'Omnictionary' :D) The plot was the only place the book lacked 'oomph'. While I thoroughly loved the idea of it all being, well, one big treasure hunt, there were areas where it seemed to falter. Some of the road trip was gut-busting hilarious, while other parts were just...dull. I did read through this book in one sitting and was thoroughly engrossed by it, but as much as I love driving, didn't anyone else think there was a bit too much time spent in cars? And then the ending. They find her. She's not dead (cue huge sigh of relief). But she's not going back with them. So...what's the difference between that and her being dead? They're still not coming back home with a Margo Ruth Spiegelman. She's been found and she doesn't want to be, and the whole treasure hunt, the whole story kind of seems to lack a point.

Rating: 5/5...just barely.

And I leave you for now with a quote.
"The last time I was this scared, I actually had to face a Dark Lord in order to make the world safe for wizards."
[yeah, so that may or may not have had an influence on my rating ;)]