Book Blog #247: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Title: Everything, Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
# of Pages: 306 (hardback)
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
Review: Maybe instead of saying she's allergic to the work, Yoon could have used this book as an opportunity to raise awareness of SCID.

I was beginning to think the disease wasn't even real; I thought the disease was a fictional story-telling device to tell a modern Rapunzel-esque story. However, this disease really does exist, even though it is only mentioned in the book by name a couple of times at most.

The plot is predictable; it's your average YA romance novel. However, this work of Yoon's is much better than The Sun Is Also A Star. For one, there is no first person POV switching; it is all in first person from Maddy's POV. However, some chapters are told through emails, IMs, hand drawn infographics, etc. The various ways Yoon chose to portray Maddy's POV can be considered playful to some and childish to others, but either way I thought it was a fun and creative way to tell a story. This playful varying chapter pattern is present across both of the books I've read of hers so far which clearly defines her writing style. You can love it or you can hate it, but it defines Yoon's writing style pretty clearly which I can respect.

The romance in Everything, Everything still progresses much too fast, although not as irritatingly fast as it was in The Sun Is Also A Star. It's unrealistic Olly would act so impulsively as he does in this book, but this quality is not atypical of a character in a fantasized romance.

I would recommend this book to the same audience that would enjoy The Sun Is Also A Star and other books that would be categorized under unrealistic romance.

Book Blog #246: Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret

Title: Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio
Author: Peg Kehret
# of Pages: 180 (hardback)
Genre: Childrens, Nonfiction, Autobiography
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: Ten years ago, in a riveting story of courage and hope, Peg Kehret wrote of the months she spent in a hospital when she was 12.
Review: This book EXCEEDED my expectations.

I couldn't find this book at any bookstore, but luckily it was still available at my local library. I would never have read this book if it wasn't recommended to me; the cover doesn't look very interesting, title doesn't sound uplifting nor exciting, and nonfiction isn't always my favorite genre.

However, this story flows off the page. It's not your typical, dreary, clinical nonfiction book. It reminds me of 1 Liter of Tears, except I'm not entirely sure why (1 Liter of Tears is very different; it's diary format up, and it ends a bit differently than Small Steps). Small Steps is surprisingly lighthearted while also being educational about what it's like to have polio.

The epilogue is less about her having polio and more about where the author is today. It might not be relevant to everyone; the author is using the book to try to reconnect with the people who helped her during her polio journey as well as connect with her readers who were impacted by the publication of her story. However, it's great to hear that Kehret is not just using this book to tell her story but also to foster relationships and communities.

Although one of the main genres for this book is "children's", I'm not sure this was actually the target audience because this story is enjoyable for people of all ages. It's only 180 short pages, and the quality of the story is definitely worth the time it takes to read.

Book Blog #245: First Term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

Title: First Term at Malory Towers
Author: Enid Blyton
# of Pages: 236 (ebook)
Genre: Childrens, Fiction
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: Darrell Rivers begins her happy life at Malory Towers two terms later than the other girls, but she soon makes firm friends with Sally, the steady one, and the adoring Mary Lou.
Review: I have no idea how this book ended up on my to-read shelf. Someone recommended it to me 6 years ago, but I can't remember who nor did I realize it was a children's book.

I can't imagine letting children read this book. It's about a bratty, clique-y group of girls in boarding school. Sure, there is some character growth, but the way many of these girls behaving is simply ridiculous. Some are violent, some like to exclude others, and all of them like to gang up on those who they don't like.

I would not recommend this book, especially not to impressionable young children.

Book Blog #244: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Title: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
# of Pages: 306 (ebook)
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is - and what he's looking for. But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated. Because, for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal . . . It's a holy freaking huge awesome deal.
Review: Yes, I watched the movie before I read the book.

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda has been on my to-read shelf for so long; not only did I have my eye on it when it came out, but someone recommended it to me a year or two after it was published. However, with the (original) title as it is, I wasn't sure what it would be about, and so it kept getting pushed farther and farther down on my list of unread books.

However, when the movie came out, some how I figured out Love, Simon is actually the movie adaptation for this book (I guess the movie makers thought the title is too ambiguous as well). This movie happened to be the most appealing from the limited movie selection they have on the plane.

There's seems to be a trend amongst many contemporary-romance young adult movie adaptations (all of them seem to have a TFIOS vibe, probably because it was such a hit). Although this story differs from the mainstream romance story in that it does not focus on a heterosexual relationship, the movie still had same vibe.

But we are not here to talk about the movie (although I will be doing quite a bit of compare-contrasting between the movie and the book in my review).

After feeling guilty for watching before reading the book, I got my hands on an ebook version from my local library. I knew there were going to be differences (it's necessary), but I was shocked by how much was changed in the adaptation from book to movie.

Leah-from-the-movie is definitely NOT how I would imagine Leah-from-the-book. Leah, one of Simon's best friends, is definitely not one of the popular kids. She doesn't like going to parties. She dresses up like a character from a manga. She's an underdog who is one of the more emotionally problematic characters in this book. If she wasn't in the book at all, she wouldn't have been missed. In short, she wasn't necessary to the book at all.

On the other hand, Leah is Hannah Baker a much more prominent character in the movie. They made her more of a key character to increase the drama. This was not necessarily the right choice as well. One thing I hate about a lot of these YA books is the high school drama; it gets old. The last thing Simon needs is more drama with Leah.

I was very impressed with the book, Leah aside. While I did enjoy the movie, I enjoyed the book so much more. The story is told in first person from Simon's POV. Some chapters are purely email threads between Simon and Blue, and these chapters had me smiling like crazy as I read. This story is fun and cute, and it made me happy.

I would highly recommend this book!

Book Blog #243: Three Worlds Collide by Eliezer Yudkowsky

Title: Three Worlds Collide
Author: Eliezer Yudkowsky
# of Pages: ~100 (ebook)
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: Three Worlds Collide is a story written to illustrate some points on naturalistic metaethics and diverse other issues of rational conduct. It grew, as such things do, into a small novella. On publication, it proved widely popular and widely criticized. Be warned that the story, as it wrote itself, ended up containing some profanity and PG-13 content.
Review: I read (and listened to the audiobook version of) this because I loved Yudkowsky's HPMOR.

Unlike HPMOR, this book cannot be categorized as "fanfiction" because it is not based off of an existing story (although it has a bit of a Star Trek/Star Wars vibe simply because it takes place in space). Unlike HPMOR, this is obviously something that is very unpolished and not even close to being ready for publication (by traditional means). Although the concepts are interesting, and I can appreciate how Yudkowsky went about presenting such a moral dilemma, the story is all over the place.

Enjoying HPMOR does not necessarily mean you will enjoy this work from Yudkowsky. However, it is a short read, so if you are curious, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Book Blog #242: The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

Title: The Sun Is Also a Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
# of Pages: 248 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: A story of a girl, a boy, and the universe Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story. Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us. The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
Review: I bought this book because I knew it was recently adapted in to a movie, and I wanted to read it before I watched it. However, from the trailers for the movie, I knew this YA romance novel would probably not be my cup of team; nowadays they're cringe-y and predictable.

I was not wrong.

The whole premise of the story is pretty ridiculous. It’s so unrealistic, it’s not even enjoyable. Love at first sight is already difficult to believe, but the execution of it was even more unrealistic. Natasha is a smart girl. She would know better than to play along with a stranger’s game to try to make her fall in love with him. I can see why they made this into a movie; they have a limited amount of screen time, so what perfect story to tell other than a love story that happens in under 24 hours?

It’s gross that Daniel describes himself to be “shallow” and “horny” when he meets Natasha. I’m not sure if the author was simply trying to humanize Daniel (no one is perfect), but it doesn’t cast Daniel in a very good light especially since the reader is still being introduced to his character. The way he acts around Natasha is way too familiar.

There is first person POV switching, and not even just between a set number of characters ("the universe" serves as the catchall POV when it's not Natasha nor Daniel). Every once in a while, the author decides to dedicate a chapter to explain the history of a character or a word or explain scientific concepts like half-life. Is this necessary? Perhaps for some readers, but for those who already know the information, it is unnecessary and overall a waste of time. Instead of focusing on telling Natasha’s and Daniel’s story, Yoon decided to tell the story of everyone around them too (including security guards, conductors, etc.). I’m not sure that was the best choice in this case.

(Misc. side complaint for an inaccuracy: one of the side characters was touring colleges and wanted to stop by to tour UCSF. Is the author fully aware that UCSF does not have programs for undergraduate degrees? It seems odd that a graduating high school senior would be touring grad schools).

Each chapter is very short (reminds me a bit of Maximum Ride). I find that books with short chapters are great for those who are just getting into reading (so maybe those in middle school or high school who are trying to read more). The short chapter style reminds me a lot of the Maximum Ride series, which would have 100+ chapters because each one was so short.

I would recommend this book to less avid readers (not to be confused with younger readers, this IS a romance book after all) who still have not been worn down from cliché YA romance plot lines. Otherwise, it is really not worth the read.

Book Blog #241: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini
# of Pages: 420 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.
Review: This was so much better than I thought it was going to be.

I was apprehensive to read this book because it takes place amongst all of the politics of the Middle East. As someone who is unfamiliar with much of the culture there as well as not being well-versed in the political situation in Afghanistan, I worried that this would be a difficult read for me.

However, since the book begins from the perspective of young Mariam, the book eases the reader into the setting and the cultural norms. The story switches between the third person POV of Mariam and Laila as their lives become intertwined, which is usually disruptive to the flow of the story but was not as detrimental to the story as it usually.

A Thousand Splendid Suns reminded a lot of Pachinko (a story spanning different generations, although ATSS did not span nearly as many as Pachinko) and All the Light We Cannot See (two tragic lives coming together amidst war and devastation). Although perhaps not as moving to me as these other books due to its less effective storytelling tactics, ATSS had me emotionally engaged every step of the way. I would highly recommend this book!

Book Blog #240: Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler

Title: Light from Other Stars
Author: Erika Swyler
# of Pages: 320 (ebook)
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Nedda Papas is obsessed with becoming an astronaut. In 1986 in Easter, a small Florida Space Coast town, her dreams seem almost within reach—if she can just grow up fast enough. Theo, the scientist father she idolizes, is consumed by his own obsessions. Laid off from his job at NASA and still reeling from the loss of Nedda’s newborn brother several years before, Theo turns to the dangerous dream of extending his living daughter's childhood just a little longer. The result is an invention that alters the fabric of time.
Review: I received an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Although I am writing this review after the book has been published, I read the pre-release version.

What at first sounded like a touching historical fiction story turned out to be a strange science fiction novel.

The book confusingly switches between past and future in an attempt to tell both parts of Nedda’s (the protagonist’s) life story at the same time. Although this might be a better story telling choice than if both parts were told in series, the way it was told was definitely not the best choice.

This book is advertised to be about “fathers and daughters, women and the forces that hold them back,” but I found it was more about the complexity of relationship in a family and that there was more growth between Nedda and her mother than Nedda and her father.

If you are interested from the synopsis, go ahead and give it a read. However, if it sounds like a disorganized read, I would recommend against it.