Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
Leonard is planning to kill himself, but first must kill a classmate. This book follows Leonard through that day, while giving a little bit of background about what leads him to think he needs to kill the classmate and himself. Leonard is giving gifts to three people before he offs himself, and he tells the reader about his relationship to these three people, so that we understand why they are worthy of the gifts.
This was an ok book. It has footnotes, which, sometimes, are more interesting than the story itself. It's about a kid who doesn't think he's worthy enough for life.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
T List #10
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry
First half of the book was great. Second half, not so much.
The book starts with a girl coming to, hearing that she's about to be killed because she is useless. Luckily, she hears this and is able to formulate a plan. She knocks out the guy who is trying to kill her and flees. She has no memory. She doesn't know who she is, where she is, nothing. She does know she needs to escape.
She stops by a police station for help, but one of the bad guys has tracked her location, and tells the rent a cop that she has escaped from a mental hospital. She flees again, and meets Ty at McDonalds. She's been tracked there too, but Ty, tries to help her. She stays the night at Ty's place, and she is tracked again. They flee. They find out who she is because her story, one that is made up, mind you, is all over the news. She finds out she's from Portland, and has an aunt who is looking for her, so she and Ty steal a car to get there.
This is where it all goes downhill. The aunt is not really her aunt, and once the "aunt" gets the girl back to her house, all her lost memories come flooding back. Mystery solved. The end.
The chapters were relatively short. I wanted to like this book, I did, but the second half didn't live up to the first half, so I couldn't. This wasn't even as good as the book from last year's list by the same author, which was the sole reason I read this. Bummer.
First half of the book was great. Second half, not so much.
The book starts with a girl coming to, hearing that she's about to be killed because she is useless. Luckily, she hears this and is able to formulate a plan. She knocks out the guy who is trying to kill her and flees. She has no memory. She doesn't know who she is, where she is, nothing. She does know she needs to escape.
She stops by a police station for help, but one of the bad guys has tracked her location, and tells the rent a cop that she has escaped from a mental hospital. She flees again, and meets Ty at McDonalds. She's been tracked there too, but Ty, tries to help her. She stays the night at Ty's place, and she is tracked again. They flee. They find out who she is because her story, one that is made up, mind you, is all over the news. She finds out she's from Portland, and has an aunt who is looking for her, so she and Ty steal a car to get there.
This is where it all goes downhill. The aunt is not really her aunt, and once the "aunt" gets the girl back to her house, all her lost memories come flooding back. Mystery solved. The end.
The chapters were relatively short. I wanted to like this book, I did, but the second half didn't live up to the first half, so I couldn't. This wasn't even as good as the book from last year's list by the same author, which was the sole reason I read this. Bummer.
Friday, January 10, 2014
T List #9
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I liked this so much better than Eleanor and Park, but the end disappointed me. It just...ends.
Cath is a twin. Her mother left when she was eight. Her dad is a manic depressant. She and her twin, Wren, go to the same university, but Wren wants her independence. This is a problem for Cath, at first.
Cath is obsessed with the "Simon Snow" book series, which sounds like a cross between Harry Potter and Twilight. She is so obsessed that she writes fanfiction. Like, it consumes her life.
She meets a boy, Levi, who is the former boyfriend of her roommate, and they hit it off. Even though she is a freshman, she takes a junior level English course, where she meets a boy who takes credit for her work. Her twin gets alcohol poisoning. All of this, while interesting, is only, really, on the fringes of the story. Most of this book is about Cath's fanfiction, and this deadline she thinks she has.
Again, the end was frustrating. No denoument. Could've ended better.
I liked this so much better than Eleanor and Park, but the end disappointed me. It just...ends.
Cath is a twin. Her mother left when she was eight. Her dad is a manic depressant. She and her twin, Wren, go to the same university, but Wren wants her independence. This is a problem for Cath, at first.
Cath is obsessed with the "Simon Snow" book series, which sounds like a cross between Harry Potter and Twilight. She is so obsessed that she writes fanfiction. Like, it consumes her life.
She meets a boy, Levi, who is the former boyfriend of her roommate, and they hit it off. Even though she is a freshman, she takes a junior level English course, where she meets a boy who takes credit for her work. Her twin gets alcohol poisoning. All of this, while interesting, is only, really, on the fringes of the story. Most of this book is about Cath's fanfiction, and this deadline she thinks she has.
Again, the end was frustrating. No denoument. Could've ended better.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
T List #8
When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
This book was beautiful. Loved it. Didn't want it to end.
The book starts the day before Danny graduates from high school. He's lost his mother to cancer just two months prior, and his father six years before that. The girl of his dreams, also the daughter of his mother's best friend, broke up with him, without explanation, last summer. Things aren't going so hot for Danny right now.
Danny needs answers, so he goes to Tokyo, where Danny's mother went once a month for treatment. While there, he spends time with Kana, who was a friend of his mother's (even though she is his age). Kana helps Danny put things into perspective. He also finds out why the girl of his dreams left him, and finds a way to forgive her.
Seriously, when I turned the page at the end, I was not prepared for it to be the end. I wanted to know what happened next.
This book was beautiful. Loved it. Didn't want it to end.
The book starts the day before Danny graduates from high school. He's lost his mother to cancer just two months prior, and his father six years before that. The girl of his dreams, also the daughter of his mother's best friend, broke up with him, without explanation, last summer. Things aren't going so hot for Danny right now.
Danny needs answers, so he goes to Tokyo, where Danny's mother went once a month for treatment. While there, he spends time with Kana, who was a friend of his mother's (even though she is his age). Kana helps Danny put things into perspective. He also finds out why the girl of his dreams left him, and finds a way to forgive her.
Seriously, when I turned the page at the end, I was not prepared for it to be the end. I wanted to know what happened next.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Not what I anticipated
Identity: Eyes Wide Open Book 1 by Ted Dekker
This is one of the books that popped up on one of my free kindle sites. It said it was the first in the series when I read the description, but did not indicate that it was the first part of a serial novel. Not a problem, but this was short.
The reason I downloaded this was because I was intrigued by the description. It mentions a girl in a grave, so I thought someone was trying to kill her by burying her alive. I was wrong. What really happened is that she, Christy, and her friend, Austin, broke into the store room of a hospital the night before. This was not the first time they had done that, and Christy lost her locket. Christy goes back to find her locket, and falls through a trapdoor into the basement. She thinks she finds a way out, but she really just finds a crawl space that closes after she gets inside. She leaves a message for Austin that gets cut off, but he works out that Christy went to the store room. He manages to trace her path, and picks up her locket and cell phone she dropped.
Separately, they both exit the basement and end up in the psyche ward. They both end up admitted under different names than their own, and when the book ends, they've found each other, tried to escape, and failed.
Seems interesting so far, so it looks like I am going to have to get the next three parts so I can see what happens.
This is one of the books that popped up on one of my free kindle sites. It said it was the first in the series when I read the description, but did not indicate that it was the first part of a serial novel. Not a problem, but this was short.
The reason I downloaded this was because I was intrigued by the description. It mentions a girl in a grave, so I thought someone was trying to kill her by burying her alive. I was wrong. What really happened is that she, Christy, and her friend, Austin, broke into the store room of a hospital the night before. This was not the first time they had done that, and Christy lost her locket. Christy goes back to find her locket, and falls through a trapdoor into the basement. She thinks she finds a way out, but she really just finds a crawl space that closes after she gets inside. She leaves a message for Austin that gets cut off, but he works out that Christy went to the store room. He manages to trace her path, and picks up her locket and cell phone she dropped.
Separately, they both exit the basement and end up in the psyche ward. They both end up admitted under different names than their own, and when the book ends, they've found each other, tried to escape, and failed.
Seems interesting so far, so it looks like I am going to have to get the next three parts so I can see what happens.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
T List #7
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
There's something wrong with children. When they reach the age of 10, they either drop dead or develop strange powers. As a result, those with powers are picked up and taken to camps. In these camps, they are sorted into colors based upon these powers. Blue and green are desirable because they are fairly complacent. Red, yellow and orange, not so much. Most of the children sorted into those colors have been killed. Ruby, our protagonist, is an orange, but has been masquerading as a green.
Somehow, members of The League find out that Ruby is an orange and help her get out of the camp, but it is so she can help them with their nefarious purposes. She escapes from them at an abandoned gas station, and takes up with some other fugitive kids from another camp: Chubs, Liam, and Zu. They are trying to find the Slip Kid, another escaped kid who helps escapees get back to their families. They finally find the Slip Kid, but he isn't what he appears to be either.
Apparently, this is the first book in a new trilogy or series, and since it is on the TAYSHAS list, I most likely won't read the next one.
This book was ok. There were parts where I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and others where I felt like I had to force myself to move on.
There's something wrong with children. When they reach the age of 10, they either drop dead or develop strange powers. As a result, those with powers are picked up and taken to camps. In these camps, they are sorted into colors based upon these powers. Blue and green are desirable because they are fairly complacent. Red, yellow and orange, not so much. Most of the children sorted into those colors have been killed. Ruby, our protagonist, is an orange, but has been masquerading as a green.
Somehow, members of The League find out that Ruby is an orange and help her get out of the camp, but it is so she can help them with their nefarious purposes. She escapes from them at an abandoned gas station, and takes up with some other fugitive kids from another camp: Chubs, Liam, and Zu. They are trying to find the Slip Kid, another escaped kid who helps escapees get back to their families. They finally find the Slip Kid, but he isn't what he appears to be either.
Apparently, this is the first book in a new trilogy or series, and since it is on the TAYSHAS list, I most likely won't read the next one.
This book was ok. There were parts where I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and others where I felt like I had to force myself to move on.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
T List #6
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
This book was ok. It is described as a book about two star crossed lovers, and I guess this is true. They don't die at the end, so it's not like another pair of star crossed lovers we all are familiar with.
Eleanor and Park meet on the school bus. Eleanor is the new girl, and no one wants her to sit in their seat, but in the end, Park lets her into his. Park thinks she is weird, to put it mildly. For weeks, they don't talk, but Park notices that she reads his comic books while he is reading them. They become friends, but soon become much more.
Eleanor's home life sucks. The reason she is a new student is because she is finally home. She has been staying with friends for a year because her asshole stepfather kicked her out. She has four younger siblings, and all five of them have to share a room. The one bathroom in the house doesn't have a door, so there is no privacy for anyone, and her stepfather is abusive to her mother. Everyone has to walk on eggshells.
Eleanor and Park start to become closer. She lies to be able to spend time with Park at his house. Eleanor is tormented at school. Horrible notes are left on Eleanor's school books. Once she figures out who is doing it, she knows she must leave. Park helps her, then all communication is cut off.
My main problem with this book is that Park and Eleanor barely know each other, but, Park especially, act like they are each other's one true love forever. Maybe they are, but they are only sixteen.
This book was ok. It is described as a book about two star crossed lovers, and I guess this is true. They don't die at the end, so it's not like another pair of star crossed lovers we all are familiar with.
Eleanor and Park meet on the school bus. Eleanor is the new girl, and no one wants her to sit in their seat, but in the end, Park lets her into his. Park thinks she is weird, to put it mildly. For weeks, they don't talk, but Park notices that she reads his comic books while he is reading them. They become friends, but soon become much more.
Eleanor's home life sucks. The reason she is a new student is because she is finally home. She has been staying with friends for a year because her asshole stepfather kicked her out. She has four younger siblings, and all five of them have to share a room. The one bathroom in the house doesn't have a door, so there is no privacy for anyone, and her stepfather is abusive to her mother. Everyone has to walk on eggshells.
Eleanor and Park start to become closer. She lies to be able to spend time with Park at his house. Eleanor is tormented at school. Horrible notes are left on Eleanor's school books. Once she figures out who is doing it, she knows she must leave. Park helps her, then all communication is cut off.
My main problem with this book is that Park and Eleanor barely know each other, but, Park especially, act like they are each other's one true love forever. Maybe they are, but they are only sixteen.
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