Book Review of 'Looking for Alaska' by John Green

'Looking for Alaska' is a book about an unpopular boy who goes to boarding school in Florida 'to seek a Great Perhaps' and start life fresh again. He memorizes last words of people and reads their biographies. Then he meets a girl, named Alaska, who could turn his life around and who asks him one question...

I really enjoyed this book and found it a great read, and yes, I did shed a few tears. John Green is definitely one of my favorite authors as he puts so much emotion into his writing and it really shines through when you read the book.

In this book you can really see what the characters would and when tragedy strikes, you feel as if you were there too. You are included as part of the story and it can really connect with you.

Another really good thing with this book is that it gets straight to the point and it doesn't take too long to explain whats happening. I liked the way that the chapters are counting down to the 'main event' of the book so to speak, and then it counts the other way back up until the end of the book.

The best bit of the book for me was the ending. I do not mean this when people say that as if they are happy that the book is over. I just really liked how that book ended and it made the whole book worth the read because I like the endings that round the book off well and make you feel like it is meant to finish there.

So if you like books with tragedies, last words and, great perhaps, then this is the book for you.

READ AGAIN?: 99.99% (only because i don't like re-reading books)
ENJOYABILITY: 10/10
OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  (5 HEARTS)
AGE RANGE: 13+

Book Review of 'An Abundance of Katherines' by John Green

'An Abundance of Katherines' is a book about a boy, named Colin, who has had nineteen girlfriends all called Katherine. He is a child- prodigy but wants to become a genius, or at least famous. For this he has to create something completely new, or a new idea. But first he must get over his nineteenth Katherine dumping him.

One thing that I really liked about this book was the way at the bottom of some of the pages there was a glossary that linked to parts of the text telling you more information about them. My favourite being when he learnt 99 digits of Pi using a sentence where each letter corresponds to a number.

Although I thought that the ending was slightly predictable, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. If I'm honest, I didn't actually understand the appendix, at all, or I really couldn't be bothered to understand it, but if you like complicated things and graphs, then I advise reading the appendix!

But all that aside, the actually story is an amazing read and I really enjoyed reading this and it filled the time I spent driving around France on holiday. So as it seems, I have turned out to be a great fan of John Green!

READ AGAIN?: 93%

ENJOYABILITY: 9/10

OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

AGE RANGE: 13+

Book Review of 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' by Sherman Alexie

'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' is a book about a young Indian boy from a small reservation who tries to overcome racism and to fit in with an all white school.

This book shows what it can actually be like for a poor Indian living in world full of racism and truth shines through in all parts of the book.

I really enjoyed this book and at parts may have brought a tear to my eye. No, it's not a sad book, but the determination that the character showed and the courage was amazing through everything that he was going through. He puts a real effort to fit in even if things work differently, you live and learn.

A nice touch to the book is the drawings in there. The boy likes to draw and so some of his drawings are put into the book and I really liked finding them although you have to go back and read them, they were a nice touch.

One of the main things that I found from this book, was how it reminded me how lucky I am with my life and that there are many people worse off than me who deserve better, and have done nothing wrong to get what they have.

Overall though this book was a really good read and I enjoyed it thoroughly with a heart-warming ending.

READ AGAIN?: 84%

ENJOYABILITY: 9/10

OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

AGE RANGE: 12+

Book Review of 'Eleanor & Park' by Rainbow Rowell

'Eleanor & Park' is a book about a girl who is new in town and couldn't stand out more if she tried. All she wants is to hide away though, but to one boy, Park, she is everything he could want. Over time they go from never talking to never wanting to be apart.                                                                                                                             I thought that this book was really exciting with lots of twists in the plot and you never new what would happen next and where their relationship would go. Both Eleanor and Park came from completely different families who thought differently on the relationship. This made the story more enticing as I wanted to know whether everything would work out in the end.                                                                                                                             The best part of the book was the ending, although I can't say much about it without spoiling the plot, I liked how it ended because it shows how much they care for each other.

This probably isn't one of my favorite books that I have read because I prefer books where more happens, not just the romance, but that is not to say that I didn't enjoy this book, I did!

I did like the way that the book is written though, because there are two characters, the author has done sections within the chapters so that you find out what happens in each persons life and what it is like from their perspectives, so there will be a section from Eleanor's perspective, and then maybe they go home and you find out what Park does at home. This was an interesting way of writing the book and I really enjoyed it.

READ AGAIN?: 87%

ENJOYABILITY: 9/10

OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

AGE RANGE: 13+

Book Review of 'The Fault In Our Stars' by John Green

'The Fault In Our Stars' is a book set in America about a girl teenage called Hazel who has cancer and is possibly on the verge of death, when she meets a gorgeous boy called Augustus Waters at Support Group. He twists the plot and could change the way Hazel views her life.

This book is full of twists and turns in the story and emotionally involves you in the story as well as showing you how people with cancer can feel on a day to day basis and how they cope.

I found that I was absorbed in the story and literally read the whole book in one go because the plot takes you on a journey with the characters. The book is not all seriousness though, thankfully.

Hazel talks about 'cancer perks', being the special treatment that she can get and that is what takes Augustus and Hazel on their journey together.

I really enjoyed this book and I must admit that I was crying by the end but I won't spoil the story for anyone who wishes to read the book.

In this book, there is a book inside the book, that Hazel and Augustus both read, this is a book that they both feel they can relate to and shows them, and me, the truth about life, but as I said before, I can't tell you what happens!!

This has probably been my favourite book that I have reviewed so far, but I can't quite decide why... You can decide for yourself.

READ AGAIN?: 99.99%
ENJOYABILITY: 10/10
OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  (5 HEARTS)
AGE RANGE: 13+

Book Review of 'Paper Towns' by John Green

'Paper Towns' is a book set in America, about a teenage boy who has a crush on his next-door neighbor and he has known her since they were really young. They start to separate more as they get older, until one night when everything could change...

I found this book intriguing and it definitely draws you into the story. I really enjoy books that are like diaries but not written like a diary, and that is what this book is like... If that made sense to anyone out there, good.

This book is about finding out more about people and not just judging them on how you remember them. It shows that people can change over time and they may not be the same as you remember them to be. I found that this was a useful lesson to learn from a really good book and I enjoyed this book especially because you can engage with the characters and feel what they feel. Everything is described with precision and you don't miss out on anything in the story.

I really enjoyed this book and, it was -a bit- about romance, but the main story was more adventurous and mysterious and you get to try and figure out the mystery along with the characters. At first I did find the concept of 'paper towns' slightly confusing - without giving anything away...- but I grasped the idea nearer to the end when it is described in more depth. 

READ AGAIN?: 94%
ENJOYABILITY: 9.5/10
OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  (4 HEARTS)
AGE RANGE: 12+

Book review of 'On The Day I Died' by Candace Fleming

'On The Day I Died' is a book with a series of short stories about how young teenagers died. It is set in a real graveyard near Chicago called White Cemetery.                                                                            There are nine children who all tell their tantalising tales about their deaths.                                                                                 I loved reading this book and did manage to read it in about 3 hours, with short breaks. I literally didn't want to put it down. You can really get into the story and become involved in the characters and so you can begin to view their lives as they would've. You can get a really clear picture of the characters in your mind and, I would say that the plot is not too complicated, but I would have to say 'plots' due to the fact that they are short stories, but, they are not complicated and you can clearly see when the story has finished, especially as the character will die at the end...

The book, although the title claims otherwise, is not scary and would not frighten the younger readers, I don't think.

READ AGAIN?: 82%

ENJOYABILITY: 9.5/10

OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

AGE RANGE: 10-15

A Bit About Me...

I've already posted my first book review and hope to do a lot more. I'm 13 and don't normally read many books but recently I was given a lot more and it just so happened that I was 'apparently' reading them too fast - 1 book in half a day... and so it has been decided that I should write some book reviews. It isn't actually as bad as I thought it would be and so I'm going to keep going as often as I can... hopefully.

A bit about me now maybe?

I have 2 cats- both boys... Charlie and Bacchus. I love to swim, I swim a lot, normally about 7 times a week. I also absolutely love food, couldn't live without it... although I don't know who could, but my favourite food would have to be Japanese- especially sushi! I love the Internet. I probably (definitely) spend too much time on the Internet, and I guess that this isn't helping much but this can count as.. ummm.... work? My favourite subject at school is Maths. No, I'm not a nerd. MATHS IS FUN!! I love Youtube and watch that in any spare moment, or I listen to music, even when I'm doing homework or reading, I listen to music, although to be honest I probably just end up blocking it out... If I ever have time to sit down then I would probably choose to watch a RomCom! Who doesn't love a good RomCom??? As you would expect from a 'teen', I love sleep! My favourite drink would have to be Dr Pepper, or if I'm in the right mood, I love milk, that's a bit weird that it is one of my favourite drinks but there you go! That is some of my main loves in life, although I could go on... and I doubt anyone would read any more of me talking about random things so I'll stop.

I hope you enjoyed finding out 'A Bit About Me' 

Book review of 'The Sky Is Everywhere' by Jandy Nelson

'The Sky Is Everywhere' is a book, set in America, about a teenage girl whose older sister has just died, it is about jealousy and guilt and also love and romance. There are some twists in the plot but I won't divulge the ending for fear of spoiling the book- you will just have to read it and find out for yourself!!

It is about romance that blossoms out of grief but they are trying to stop the romance as guilt comes with it (because making-out with your dead sisters boyfriend would never come without some of that...) 

Inside, the book has left some 'extra bits' where the girl is writing, on absolutely anything (walls, coffee cups, newspapers etc.), about memories she had with her sister and I found them a really nice addition to the book and they gave the story more depth and they just pop up all over the book.

This book definitely tugs at your heart strings and is emotional as well but that is what a good book is all about! The book has drama -and almost extreme drama- but that is what makes the book so compelling.

I definitely enjoyed this book and was drawn into the story to experience it with the characters themselves. There was some swearing in the language but nothing shocking, as such.

READ AGAIN?: 96%

ENJOYABILITY: 9.5/10

OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (5 HEARTS)

AGE RANGE: 12+