The BookCat

2.5 Stars

In a world where firemen are paid to burn books and the houses they're in, Guy Montag meets a girl who questions his happiness as a fireman. Guy begins to think differently, to have a sudden desire to read the books instead of burning them.
But in Montag's universe, even owning a book is dangerous. But Guy now thinks that maybe books aren't so bad, and wants to know why everyone is so afraid of them.

This book had so much potential. I was actually excited to read it because it sounded so fantastic. As I read the description, I thought; "A shorter, older version of The Book Thief set in an alternate world? Yes yes yes!"

For me to like a book, it has to give me a good first impression. After fifteen pages, this book did not.
Unfortunately, what had such a good beginning rambled on into a confusing, boring mess that, in some parts, made me sick to my stomach, and other parts, made me go;



I'm looking at you, Mildred.


It had a couple good parts. I liked the third part the most. If I were only going on that section of the novel, I'd give this three stars.
The writing was okay at first but after Clarisse was gone, it immediately turned into incoherent descriptions and weird as fuck characters.
I actually did like Clarisse and Faber. All of the other characters were flat and uninteresting.

Another thing I had a major problem with was the world building. When it wasn't irritatingly confusing, it was highly unrealistic. Books will never stop selling completely just because a few flashy gadgets or magazines brainwashed people into not liking them anymore. There are way too many people out there who love and will never let go of books. They've been around far too long to just get washed out by technology and 'clever government tricks'.

I realize that this is one of the factors the book was trying to point out. But it still wasn't a believable world (all the people in it besides the main characters were all dumb as sheep, apparently. It reminded me of a world that The Doctor needed to save because all the humans were imbeciles being brainwashed by the government, or in this case, the firemen) and that bit alone drove me nuts.
I really wish I liked this more but I just didn't.

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Hazel Grace has had lung cancer for three years, pulling an oxygen tank around and everything. Her mother enrolls her in a cancer support group because she thinks she's depressed. At first, Hazel hates the support group, until she meets Augustus Waters. And he changes her life forever.

This is not a book about cancer. It is not a depressing book with brain-dead characters. This book is light, funny, whole, and truthful. John Green is a fucking genius. The whole book is filled to the brim with amazing quotes (by him) and powerful sayings. It asks the very question; Why? Why do you have to leave a mark on the world? Why do you need your sight to play a video game? Why do all cancer books have to be slow and depressing? Good grief, why do scrambled eggs have to be a breakfast food?!.
It's the very essence of why in a funny, yet powerful way. The power and emotion put onto these pages is raw and real, and I absolutely adored it. The ending, of course, was sad. What do you expect from the cancer book? I certainly had not expected what I found in this story.

Sometimes, when I finish a book, while I sit there thinking about it, geering myself up for a review, I occasionally think of a 'credits' song for the book. A song that pops into my head, or I listen to after I finish a book. When I was 17 pages away from finishing the book, Goodbye by Avril Lavigne came into my head, which goes;

Goodbye...gooodbyeee, goodbye, my love. I can't hide, caan't hide, what has to come. I have to go, I have to go, I have to go, and leave you all alone...but always know, always know, that I love you so. I love you so.

But then I thought, Gus would hate a cheesy song like that. So then All I Need by AWOLNATION came into my head. Which is lighter, and not necessarily a death song. It goes;

All I need, all all I need, all I need, all I need....It's early in the morning. I'm laughing at the sun. My mirror disappoints me. Am I the only one? It's all I need, All I need, all I need,
Is You.
Smiling. All all I need, all all I need, all I need, is
Life.
Love.
With you.
Am I a disappointment? I blame it on the pain. All I need, all I need, all all I need,
Is You.
Smiling.
All I need
Is Life.
Love.
With you.

This book truly blew me away, I am officially a huge fan of Mr. Green. And now I have an autograph by him, in purple.
Read the damn book, for Pete's sake.

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Review Rewritten Due to Excessive Use of Exclamation Points and Caps Lock. And General Horrible Bad Reviewness.
Seriously, I wrote this over a year ago and it SUCKED.

It still does.

1.5 Stars



The Concept: A lot of people don't like the book because of the concept of kids killing each other in a big arena. When I first heard of the book, I actually thought this was a pretty cool dystopian idea. (Not in real life, but in a dystopic world) A few months after I had read the book, I heard of this new thing; Battle Royale. It's a Japanese book that was published WAY before The Hunger Games and basically has the exact same concept. So, obviously, many people are blaming Suzanne Collins for copying BR. I for one, haven't seen the movie or read the book, but maybe once I've read it, I can make a better assumption.

The Characters: Truthfully, I felt the characters were pretty bland. I didn't like Katniss (mainly because she hated the cat Prim had. I get it; you didn't want an extra mouth to feed...but did you have to go and try to drown it?! Your NAME is 'Kat'. Dude.)

The Fighting: Tons. But the actual Hunger Games don't start until halfway through the book! Bloody, gory, some falling off hands here, spears plunged into stomachs, boys reduced to a 'bloody hunk of meat', all that glorious chiz. I really don't mind bloody stuff, but it was the...other stuff that I hated with the book.

The Romance: When someone recommended or mentioned this book to me, they usually used the word 'romance' or 'dystopic-romance'. So, you know, I was expecting some romance.
I got nothing.
Usually, I hate when romance interrupts a book and it irritates the crap out of me when there is unnecessary romance in a book. In this case, I was glad there wasn't much, but throughout the novel, I was so utterly confused.
The constant question was always in my mind; "Were they in love, or are they just acting for the audience? Gah! Make up your mind!"
The whole 'romance' crap felt extremely forced and awkward.

The Writing and How it Made you Want to Read More: The writing itself wasn't actually that good. It was very simple and any seventh grader could write it. Maybe that's why it's so popular.
It was extremely addicting. I couldn't put it down even though sometimes I wanted to. Like in the middle of the night, when I really needed to go to bed, I couldn't stop reading and then....my favorite character died.



Um, how exactly am I supposed to go to sleep now?

The Ending: Creepiest. Ending. Ever. The mutt/werewolves/mutants things were SO FREAKING SCARY. And the creepiest thing was that each one had a collar around its neck with either a 1,2,3,4,5, etc. as the 12 districts. And they resembled the tributes, as in a russet werewolf was a red-headed girl, a black wolf with green eyes was a black-haired boy with green eyes, etc. They're genetically mutated werewolves that were made to look like the contestants and they may or not have the contenders DNA in them....

*gag*


Not to mention that they tortured this one boy until he was reduced to a 'bloody chunk of meat in a pool of blood' Yeah, that was actually the author's wording! I was literally sick to my stomach after I finished the book.


The thing is, I was really enjoying the book...for about halfway through. When they got to the 'wasps' and Katniss started hallucinating, that's when the novel started going downhill for me. That downhill became very, very steep, until my opinion of it was flying down like a sled on slick, icy snow. By the very end, it hit the bottom with a disgusted, angry splat.

So if you like any of the following: Lots of blood, fake/'I don't know if I like him or like like him or not' romance, intense violence, and genetically mutated werewolves, this book is for you!


















I watched the movie and guess what? I really liked it. I couldn't believe it at first either.
I loved the Capital, the characters, the arena, everything! Even the Muttations were okay in the end.

And you know what? MY MOM LIKED IT TOO. And my dad, but that's besides the point. My mother was dreading this movie. When we got it, she said; "Aw, do we have to watch that? You said you hated the book!"
Me: "Yeah, but I wanted to see if the movie is better."
She didn't get that. But she watched it anyway and she really enjoyed it.

Damn.

I even thought the romance was cute.

OH MY GOD, WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH KAT.

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There are no strangers in the village of Near, until one night, Lexi sees a mysterious figure on the Moor, disappearing in a single gust of wind.
The next morning, word of the stranger has spread and everyone is curious. But when a child is stolen from his bed, the locals are quick to blame the stranger. Lexi is sure that he is innocent, and with the help of Cole (the name she made up for him when he said he didn't have one), they discover that one of the oldest bedtime stories parents tell their children before bed is a lie...and the witch in the story is out for revenge.

Alright, you guys all know by now that I suck at making my own synopsizes, but I still try.

I am mentally kicking myself for not buying this all those months ago when I wanted to. Funny story with this book; while shopping with my mother, I had found an indie bookstore and was thinking 'oh hey, cool, a new bookstore!'...then I saw the sign that said Going Out of Business Sale. 50% Off.

Phooey.

So I went in and found two mangas, each only $5 with the 50% off. Then The Near Witch caught my eye. I picked it up, thinking about how I had wanted this book for a while. I looked at the price and half off, it would have been $8.50 without tax. I brought it up to the counter and the total came out to over nineteen dollars, and I decided not to buy The Near Witch.



Yeah, I'm an idiot.

Anyway, this book was SO GOOD.
The writing was superb, it flowed beautifully and sucked me in immediately. I could picture the people and scenes perfectly.
Lexi was AWESOME. I'm finding a lot of wickedly awesome heroines lately.
Cole? *squeal* I loved him from the very first page he was introduced. Instead of being this tall, dark, handsome brooding dude, he was kind of small, shy, quiet, and just utterly adorable. I'm sorry, I just can't help myself, he's like an adorable lost puppy that you just wanna cuddle.



Didn't I use a puppy meme in the last review? Huh. Well, who doesn't love a puppy meme?


IT'S A KITTY! BONUS!

Okay, I'm getting off topic here.


The one thing I was a bit disappointed with was the ending. I was expected an epic battle between Lexi and the Near Witch, but all I got was, well, nothing. No fight scene, just a gust of wind and poof. Done.

This book is definitely not for everyone. A lot of people would probably find this book boring and slow paced. I for one, thought it was immensely addicting and beautiful, but I can see how some people would think it boring. Fans of lots of action will not like this book. Don't get me wrong, I love action, in books especially, but, maybe it's just me, I appreciate a slower book now and then. If you're like that too, then read this. Hell, if you like fast paced books too, read this. Read this. Read this. READ THIS. READ THIS. READ. THIS. NOW.

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The enchanting tale of a rich yet tragic life and death of a man named Jay Gatsby.




Told from the perspective of Nick Carroway, a young man who lives in the house between Gatsby's mansion and Tom Buchanan's home across the Sound.
The 1920's....a time of women becoming independent, of ravish parties and of young people losing themselves in the magic of the night. Outstanding parties, a war of love, the eyes above the ash pile, drinks and cars, oh my!

Gatsby is mysterious, trailed by constant rumors ("I believe he was an Oxford man.", "He once killed a man.", "How can you know that's true?") and a murky love life. His parties are meant to please while he observes, quiet and unassuming in the background.
But do people really care for the man, or do they just like his ever-pleasant hospitality and abundance of drinks?
Behind his daring 'get-togethers', Gatsby is simply a sad man whose mind is glued to the past.

Daisy...the woman he loves is married to none other than Tom Buchanan, a brute of a man (not to mention racist and sexist) whose suspicions of Gatsby run deep.
Nick Carroway befriends dear Gatsby and is the calm observer of this affair. After five years of not seeing one another, Nick gets Gatsby to speak to Daisy again.

This is a story of a dream that can never be, and that of a man who has gone down in history as...."The Great Gatsby"

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Matt Thorson is a descendant of the Norse god, Thor, and is destined for greatness. At only 13 years old, he's chosen as Blackwell's Champion, the one to defeat the serpent and keep Ragnarok, the end of the world, from happening.
But to do that, he seeks the help of Fen and Laurie, descendants of the Trickster god Loki, Thor's worst enemy. Fen is arrogant and easily antagonized into a fight. But Laurie, his cousin, keeps his anger at bay and in turn, Fen is adamant that he must always protect her.
The three adolescent ancestors must team up and join their special abilities to find what they need to defeat Ragnarok.

This is such a cute story. It's middle-grade so it should be treated as such.
Is it realistic? Hel no. Is it a quick, sweet story about kid versions of the most beloved Norse gods? Hel yes!
I would highly recommend it for people who loved the Percy Jackson books. It's basically the Norse mythology equivalent of that series.

Nowadays, I normally loathe middle-grade novels, simply on the whole 'kids saving the world' and unrealistic factors. But this was a decent surprise that I truly enjoyed.

Anyone looking for a fast-paced, adorable middle-grade series, definitely pick this up. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series.

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Henry Miller