Category Archives: 2014

2014, Book Review, contemporary, mystery, standalone, status & class, YA

[Review] We Were Liars – E. Lockhart

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Book Title:                  We Were Liars (Standalone)
Author:                         E. Lockhart
Number of pages:  227

Synopsis:

we were liars - e. lockhart (book cover)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.

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

(re: Goodreads @ We Were Liars by E. Lockhart)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:

– If you are dying to read this book, forgo every review and just read.
– Putting on that detective hat may ruin the reading experience. The “big twist” isn’t earth shattering if readers can uncover the clues.
– The narrative follows an unreliable narrator and often reads with a staggered-yet-lyrical bounce. The descriptive prose is vivid but often overbearing and too dramatic—teenagers don’t think/speak the way this novel imagines them.
– The plot centers on a mystery and how the protagonist cannot recall a pivotal moment that changed her family. Everything else is filler content; basically tom-foolery, eating lots of food, and romantic dilemmas.
– Themes (money and power, corruption, racism and discrimination, misogyny, etc.) are lacklustre in development and add limited commentary to inspire change.

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Initial Thoughts

First-world problems.
To eat that scone or not.
A fair-skinned girl; a boy quite the opposite.
Three musketeers, three French hens, a BLT sandwich. Three.
A skeptical hat. An ill-conceived plan. A lot of hype.
No one likes the truth.
Truth can save you.
Truth is boring.

Read it (or don’t).
And if anyone asks you how it ends, please consider the TRUTH.

In another world, this may have at least made it past the first round of proofing. (Maybe not, maybe not, maybe not.)

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.

Continue reading [Review] We Were Liars – E. Lockhart →

2014, meme, top ten tuesday

[Top Ten Tuesday] – #40 – Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014

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Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.

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This Week’s Theme:
Top Ten New-To-Me
Authors I Read In 2014

Initial Thoughts:

Either I’m difficult to please or I have read a bunch of baloney this year–or perhaps a mix of both? (Because finding ten books that fit this theme was pretty difficult, I’m not gonna lie.)

Continue reading [Top Ten Tuesday] – #40 – Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014 →

2014, aliens, Book Review, dystopian, romance, series, YA

[Review] The Infinite Sea – Rick Yancey

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Book Title:                    The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave, #2)
Author:                            Rick Yancey
Number of pages:     320

Synopsis:

the infinite sea- rick yanceyHow do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

(re: Goodreads @ The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:

– Honestly, this is like a giant novella—95% of the main storyline remains unchanged.
– Ringer’s perspective is the main plot driver and the layers to her character are explored and fleshed out better than other protagonists.
– Romance involving instalove/love triangles is introduced for dramatic flare. Really, that’s the only reason I can ascertain.
– The prose continues to be a strong asset to this story if fluffy, thought-provoking, metaphorical writing is what you enjoy. The action is fun and worthwhile to read into even though the bulk happens closer to the end.

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Initial Thoughts

You ate the cake. It was of the ice cream variety. You devoured it quickly and it was delicious. But now you feel pain. A pain which cannot be easily remedied unless its origin is known and where the means of a cure can be applied. Food poisoning? Lactose intolerance? Perhaps your best guess will be enough (or maybe not). So you sit still and wait for the answer to come to you because it should come. Eventually.

Incoming: a whole lot of rambling because I don’t know what to make of this sequel that was superficially delicious in writing but after I om nom nom’d it all…there is this feeling that something is off about this read.

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.

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