Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

I struggled a bit with this book at the beginning, but now I can easily say it is my FAVORITE!! This book has the most sarcasm, the most character revealing moments, and the best turning points in the entire series!! And we get it through two different perspective, which makes it that much more interesting and new.

At first I had issues with the whole pregnancy part of the book. The biggest reason being that my younger sister was one of the many people to recommend the series to me, and the idea of her reading this section was a little scary. Not because it was wrong, but Bella is still young despite being married…it was a little too much information at times. I think of all the books this was the goriest part of all for me, not even the fight scenes could come close.

Once this part was over…WOW!! I absolutely LOVE Bella as a vampire, the way she thinks, reacts and most of all how amazingly perfect she is at it. If there is such thing! I have re-read that part multiple times and I still do not get sick or tired of it. And then during the fight…she is no longer weak and a liability. She has the coolest talent ever, so like her to protect those she loves!!

The BEST part of the ENTIRE series is when Jacob imprints on Renesmee!! Finally Jacob gets a break, and Nessie is adorable. This was by far the best way to bring everyone together…a clear happy ending. I never, ever would have seen this coming. Stephenie Meyer is a GENIUS, there is no other way to describe her.

(Fall 2008...)

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

As I mentioned in my previous post, I think that the rivalry between Edward and Jacob is very entertaining. In this book we see SO much more of it...I laughed so hard. Especially in the part where Bella punches Jacob!! What I like the most is the fact that they each bring out a different side of Bella. When she is with Edward she is more responsible and seems older. When she is with Jacob she is more reckless and acts more like a teenager.

During this book I finally felt Bella’s humanity. Throughout the two previous books we are constantly reminded by everyone, Bella included, how fragile and human she is. But in Eclipse we finally see deeper in to her feeling and her subconscious, specifically in the strange magnet scene. This gave me a greater sense of who she is, and finally made me feel compassion for her situation and also feel her pain when she makes her final choice.

I found the ending to be extremely sad. I like the fact that Edward and Bella are getting married, but where does that leave Jacob? Over and over again Jacob gets rejected, and keeps coming back…does he finally have enough? All I could think about when I finished this book was that the last one better be something pretty darn amazing and give poor Jacob a break.

(Fall 2008...)

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

I think this might have been my least favorite of the entire series. That does not mean I did not like it, just that I had a few issues with it. The biggest being the fact that Jacob gives himself entirely to Bella and would probably crawl through fire for her, and yet all she does is obsess over Edward. I understand that it is supposed to be in her nature to be constant, and also that she is in love with him; but if she believe that he did not love her, why would she torture herself in such a way.

Not everything about it is negative. I think that the werewolves are a cool twist to the story line, and add a lot more mystery to everything. Also, I am happy that Edward comes back in to the picture. I was unsure of how the series would continue without him or the other vampires. And I also think that the rivalry between Jacob and Edwards adds a lot of entertainment to the story.

(Fall 2008...)

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

It took a few people telling me I should read it before I actually did, and now I have to admit that I have read it multiple times. I really disliked the movie because it did a terrible job of representing the actual relationship between Bella and Edward. There is a lot that is left out, and I fear it will have a terrible effect on the future movies.

Despite the clear obsession Bella has with Edward, I really enjoy the development of their relationship. Especially the way we get to know each of them and their families. Most of all I LOVE the sarcasm!! Stephenie Meyer does a great job of taking an intense moment and finding an extraordinary comic relief, like Bella’s constant clumsiness. Even more entertaining are the one liners...especially the ones when Bella makes the whole vampire thing sound like something completely normal, like having blue eyes!

Another thing about this book that I enjoyed was how different it was from other vampire stories. I did not find the story to be dark and dreary, the way most vampire stories are and the way the movie portrays it. On the contrary, I find it to be the happy, funny book I turn to after a really depressing one. The whole “vegetarian vampire” description is hilarious. I also like the way that Stephanie Meyer refuted a lot of the ‘vampire myths,’ which made the story so much more extraordinary and unique.

(Fall 2008...)

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

I really do believe that Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite writers. I like the simplicity of her writing that how easily she manages to convey emotions. I am also very fond of how she tells the story from everyone’s point of view, giving you a full perspective of what is happening. Salem Falls was incredibly intriguing and slightly sad. I say this because the main character just seems to have the worst luck in the world. There is a happy ending, but it does not completely erase the hell he was put through.

The main issue is rape, which I found to be interesting since that only other book of hers that I read was also about this topic. The difference with this book is that it was true, the character was wrongfully accused…TWICE!! This is where I find it to be very intriguing, because the book shows the way the system and those who implement it are very prejudicial when it comes to rape. The bias is to such an extent that they will send an innocent man to jail. This may not happen often in real life, but it does raise some interesting questions in my mind!

Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup

Previously known as Q & A

I had seen the movie multiple times before I got a hold of the book. I was hesitant at first to read it because I believe that the books are always better than the movie, however the movie was INCREDIBLE and I was afraid that reading the book might ruin the movie. The truth is that they are COMPLETELY different. They follow the same pattern of telling the story based on knowing the question to one of the answers. But the stories themselves are totally different.

The book is AMAZING! The things that he goes through, the reason he gets on the show, the girl he falls in love with…I could go on and on. Just thinking about it makes me smile. While I was reading it, it was hard because what happens to him is beyond words. He has a very hard life. The end, however, makes up for everything. All the pain, suffering, sadness and horror you feel…it all goes away in the end!

(Spring 2009)

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

One of my best friends recommended this book to me. She told me that the author was local to the area and she remembers interacting with him and other characters from the book. When I first started reading it I was under the impression that EVERYTHING was true. Once I finished it a friend of the author’s told me that not all of it was true, some of it was embellished. After that I felt a little better, until I realized that I was scared to know what was really true, because there were so many crazy things that happened in the story.

I like the fact that all of the characters are real, and also knowing the places they hung out at and spent their time. It is very self-reflective and at times more and more disturbing. Again, this is the reason why I was afraid to know what was really true.

(Fall 2008)

Outstanding Quote #1

That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.

~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This book was like nothing I have ever read before. Almost the entire story is told through letters, and even then we do not see all of the letters. At first I was skeptical of how it would work out, especially as it becomes more romantic. But my worrying turned out to be all in vain, the storyline was amazing and I cannot see how it could have worked any other way!!

Not only does it have amazing insight in to the German Occupation in the Channel Island, but it has a wonderfully romantic ending. I personally had never known that the Germans played such a large role in this area and I found the book to be very knowledgeable. Despite the fact that the story itself is fictitious, it does not mean that all of the events that are told are. This is my favorite aspect of this book. It is telling the truth about a historical event through fiction, making the events themselves so much more realistic. I can easily see all of the characters existing in some shape or form and living through the German Occupation as they did.