The Book Addict Reviews: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Love & Romance
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: First time: 4 stars/Second time: 2 stars
First time: Borrowed the book from a friend/Second time: Borrowed the book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
This story intrigued me--the idea of love as a disease that must be cured.  My initial reading of this book left me on pins and needles eagerly awaiting the next book's release.  But it is not a book I can re-read often because my second time through I found Lena to be a very annoying narrator.

Review:
Love is a disease--and like many diseases the scientists and doctors have sought for and apparently found a cure.  A procedure that all 18 years old in the established cities have to protect themselves from being infected by love.  But with the loss of the ability to love, they lose some of their memories from before the procedures, their ability to establish meaningful relationships, even their ability to care for their children and families.  

I read this book over a year ago--and I loved everything about it.  Since Pandemonium is coming out soon, I decided to re-read this one to prepare to read the next one.  I found my feelings changed quite a bit upon re-reading.  In particular, I found Lena to be a very annoying character.  She seems incapable to focus on the task or issue at hand.  And since she is the narrator--we have to read all of her scattered unrelated thoughts as we go through the story.  More than one time I wanted to slap her cheek and shake her a little like they do on television in order to get the character to focus.  Focus Lena Focus!!

But Alex kept me coming back for more.  There was something about him that always drew me in--from the first moment that Lena saw him at her evaluation.  I was almost as bad as Lena as I eagerly anticipated the next time that they would hang out so that I could read about him again.

I felt for Hannah.  I think she would have more eagerly accepting of Alex and the opportunities he presented because she already seemed posed to rebel against the life that was prescribed for her.  As I eagerly anticipate Pandemonium, I hope that Hannah is there and that there is something good in store for her.
 
Recommendations:
Despite my so-so feelings after re-reading this book, I cannot wait for the next book.  I am intrigued and excited to see what comes next for Lena, Hannah, and Alex:

The Book Addict Reviews: Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Genre: Poetry, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
Ellen Hopkins has done it again.  She has written a wonderful book full of engaging characters.  I could not put it down until the very end. 

Review:
I started Triangles with some reservations. I love Ellen Hopkins' young adult books, but I worried that her style and her voice would not transfer well into adult literature.  I should not have worried.  Ellen Hopkins' handled this story and these characters with the same eloquence that has marked her young adult books.

Triangles focuses on three women.  They are linked by family or friendship, but they each live very different lives.  The variety and scope of their experience will allow the majority of readers to find someone they can relate to.  Someone who feels authentic to them.  Someone who will draw them into the story.  For me, that person was Andrea.  So many aspects of her story resonated with me--so many of her feelings about what was going on around her struck me as similar to the way I would react in a similar situation (SPOILER ALERT: well except for her reaction to Jace which I felt was very very bad!).

But Ellen Hopkins' use of three voices allowed me to learn that my view and perspective is not the same as everyone around.  Maybe other people will not react to adultery or attraction the same way I would--but that does not instantly make them wrong and me right.  We have different perspectives, different experiences, and different concerns.

And once again, I found Ellen Hopkins' use of poetry and verse allowed her a freedom of expression that I do not see in many romance novels.  It feels a lot more like the way I think before I have to structure them into sentences and paragraphs.  It feels very organic and raw--which is where these characters seem to be as they work through all of the events that happen over the course of the book.

And this book is full of action, events, and movements.  There is always something going on in the lives of these women, which helps with the realistic feel of the story.  At least I know that is how I constantly feel!

The one thing that I was not crazy about was the ending--I wanted more resolution, more of an idea of where the women, their families, their friendships, their lives ended up.  It felt very unfinished to me--which makes me think there may be more of this story coming?  (I really really really hope so!)

Recommendations:
I have another Ellen Hopkin book waiting near the top of my TBR pile:


But I just found out that she has a couple more coming out this year.  One for adults called Collateral (due out in November 2012) and one for Young Adults:

The Book Addict Dares You To Read: Sarah Dessen

I love having the opportunity to challenge people to read books that I personally found compelling or interesting or just all out fun.  But I want to know what you think?  Have you read the book?  Did it stick with you?  If so, why?  If not, why? _________________________________________________

My blogging buddy, Jen, repeatedly recommended Sarah Dessen books to me--and I would put them on my TBR list and there they would stay.  Then I finally sat down and read one and I was in love.  Her characters are flawed, human, relate-able, cute, fun--anything that positive you can say about a character.  Her stories are engaging, believable, and all around fun to read.  In short, she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Here are links to the reviews for her books that I have written so far:
Just Listen
This Lullaby
The Truth About Forever
What Happened To Goodbye

And here is the review for my latest Sarah Dessen read:


Genre: Young Adult, Love & Romance, Siblings, Family
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed this book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
Sarah Dessen masterly tells a difficult story with an optimistic tone--so rather than feeling overwhelmed at the end.  I felt hopeful and happy with the world as the story ended, but I wanted more.  I wanted the ending to stretch out a little longer. 

Review:
Lock and Key may not be my favorite Sarah Dessen novel but I still loved it.  The story centers around two teens who have no where to go--or at least feel like they have no where to go. 

Ruby had been taking care of herself ever since her mother disappeared.  She is going to high school by day, working her mother's delivery job by night, and dealing with the electric company, the lack of running water, and the housekeeping in her spare time.  But what else can she do?  There is no one else in the world who cares about her, right?

Then we learn Nate's tale of abandonment on the part of his mother after she started a new family with her new husband.  It may not have been too bad except his father is abusive and using Nate as free labor in his errand running business.  There is no one in the world who cares about him, right?

There is a balance between empathizing with the teens and wishing they could see the options to get help around them because there are people who are willing to and want to help them.  Part of the time, I wanted to call out to Ruby and Nate--tell them to accept the help available to them.  But more than that, I was heart broken because there should not be a need for teens to be worried about not feeling loved, cared for, appreciated, and safe.  That should be a given for them. 

While the basic storyline tugged at my heart, I commend Sarah Dessen's ability to handled the complicated and emotional story with finesse.  The focus is not on the sad elements--the focus is on the hopeful elements.  Throughout the story, I was optimistic.  I always had the feeling that it was going to turn out well.  I was happy. 

Recommendations:
And my favorite part was that Sarah Dessen brought back glimpses of some of my favorite characters from her other books--Annabel on the radio or Kristy and Bert at the mall.  It almost makes me want to re-read my first Sarah Dessen to see if I recognize some of my favorite characters embedded in the story:

The Book Addict Reviews: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

In honor of Valentine's Day and in honor of love in general, I decided it was very appropriate to review:

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Romance
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
I read and loved Anna and the French Kiss so when I learned there was an opportunity for more time with Anna and St. Clair I was there!  But then I fell in love with Lola and Cricket--*gasp* maybe even more than Anna and St. Clair.  I sure hope Stephanie Perkins brings them all back for more!

Review:
After reading Anna and the French Kiss, I could not wait for more from Stephanie Perkins. Lola and the Boy Next Door delivered in so many ways!  I was almost instantaneously drawn in by Lola into her story--her struggle with her parents about her new boyfriend, her struggle to find herself among all of her costumes, and her struggle to face the boy who first broke her heart.

At first I found the cover striking--that purple hair is something I wish I had ever had the courage to do myself!  But the more I got into the story and the more I got to know Lola, the less I really felt the cover captured her well.  The girl in the picture has such a blank expression on her face--and that lack of emotion did not fit my impression of Lola at all. 

While Lola as a character was a little more adventurous and a little more elaborate than I was in high school, I felt a connection with her.  She was a balance of brave and vulnerable, quirky and stable, sensitive and strong.  She does not always know the "right" answer or do the "right" thing, but she tries.  She grows.  She makes mistakes and she learns.

Cricket was the one that left me guessing the longest.  I instinctively knew that he was the one that Stephanie Perkins intended Lola to be with, but how was it going to happen?  How was he going to overcome the bad event that divided him from Lola?  And expertly, Stephanie Perkins left me guessing until the end.  And left me craving more...

Recommendations:
There is another companion coming out in 2013: Isla and the Happily Ever After.  I cannot wait for it! 

But for today, I have to say Happy Valentine's Day to each and everyone of you. And I want to know--what books say Happy Valentine's Day to you?

To The Movies: Eat, Pray, Love

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
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Genre: Drama, Romance
Actors: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, and Richard Jenkins
Director: Ryan Murphy
Scriptwriter: Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt
Date DVD Released: November 23, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Movie Info: IMDB
Order Online: Amazon.com
Rating:2 Stars
Borrowed movie from library.s.

In A Nutshell:
I was really disappointed in this movie. I struggled with the book, but throughout the entire book I saw Elizabeth Gilbert as a strong woman on a quest to reclaim her own life who in the end found a man who loved her for being strong. Watching the movie however, I thought that Elizabeth Gilbert was a woman on a quest to find love and through love she would have a life. How is that better or different from the life she left behind in New York?

Review: (spoilers below)
I held out hope that the movie would address some of the issues I had with the book, namely the unfocused ramblings. In some ways it did, but instead of being an improvement I felt it was a travesty. Instead of keeping with the idea of Elizabeth Gilbert as a strong woman on a search to find herself and love herself--the movie made it look like her entire search was for the guy that would complete her.

I did read the book--I knew that she was going to find Felipe in the end. But over the course of the book I never felt like the search for him was her main purpose. It was a happy accident--and one I was glad happened because I was happy for her. By comparison, the movie focused so much on her loneliness in Italy in comparison to her friends who are in love. Then at the Guru's retreat the movie focuses on her loneliness in comparison to her friend who is getting married (even though it was an arranged marriage and her friend is unsure of whether she will be happy or not). So of course in Bali she has to find love, right?

And I thought it was ironic that her friend at the beginning of the movie commented that when she was in a relationship she took on the look of her partner (in the same way some people start to look like their dogs). You can see a still from that part of the movie here. Then at the end, don't you think she looks like her partner here or here?  Did anything really change?

Recommendations:
I must confess that I am one of the few people in the world who have not seen Coyote Ugly so I think that I am going to go watch that and forget about Eat Pray Love:

The Book Addict Reviews: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Social Issue, Music
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from library.

In A Nutshell:
So many of the books I have read recently have drawn on the importance of music to teens--how it is a way to express themselves, to cope with the events going on in their lives, a passion that brings them back from dark and depressing places.  In some ways, I worried that Just Listen would not have anything new to bring to my experience.  But Just Listen is not like any of the other books related to music that I have read.  My only regret is that I put it off so long.

Review:
Annabel's life looks perfect from the outside.  She models and has become an inspiration to younger girls.  She lives in a glass house where people passing by have the opportunity to see a picturesque view a modern family eating dinner or seating together in the living room.  With so much of her life open to the world, its easy to think that she does not have any secrets.  That her life is everything that can be seen from the outside.

But Annabel has secrets that she keeps in an effort to keep the peace in her house.  She cannot bear to tell her mother for fear that her mother will have another breakdown.  She cannot bear to tell her sisters because they are both dealing with their own serious problems.  She cannot tell her friends because many of them abandoned her after an episode at a party.

She is alone in her struggles until she meets Owen.  Owen is not the typical YA hero.  He is big and a little clumsy.  He has been arrested and had to undergo an anger management course.  At first Annabel is a little intimidated by Owen, then Annabel was awed by Owen's complete honesty, then Annabel was a little scared of Owen because he saw through her more than anyone.

As much as I loved the story and the characters, I was a little underwhelmed with the audiobook.  The narrator did try really hard to use different voices for different characters but some of the voices came out sounding slower and not at all the way I thought the characters would have sounded if I had been reading the book.  I do not recommend this narrator, but the story itself was wonderful.      

Recommendations:
Sarah Dessen is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, which you could probably tell from the reviews I have done already This Lullaby and What Happened to Goodbye.  I want to read all of her books and I think my next one will be:

To The Movies: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
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Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
Actors: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, and Aaron Yoo
Director: Peter Sollett
Scriptwriter: Lorene Scafaria
Date DVD Released: February 3, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Movie Info: IMDB
Order Online: Amazon.com
Rating: 2 Stars
Borrowed from library.

In A Nutshell:
I liked this movie.  I could watch it more than one time and be satisfied.  But there was nothing about the movie that overly impressed me and there were a few things that I missed from the book.  Otherwise, it was just a good movie that was easy to watch.

Review:
There were a couple of things that differed from the book that I found disappointing.  First, the character of Tris.  In the book, her story develops.  We get to see that she is not quite as shallow or self-centered as she initially comes off.  In the movie, she never develops that aspect and because of it I felt that she was just a b***h in the movie.  It made the parts with her uneasy to watch.  Second, the music became more of a prop than central to the story.  In the book, the actual songs that Nick and Norah played when they were together matter--it was part of what drew them to each other.  In the book, we saw the iPod, they talked about music throughout, but we did not get to delve into the individual songs.  We had to take their words for it that Nick's playlists and mixes were wonderful--which seemed like an unusual choice for a movie where the playlist is central to the title.  But more than that, I was a little disappointed--after reading the book I wanted to hear the music that Nick and Norah talked about, the music that brought them together. 

One of the key elements of the book that I loved was reading the story from both of their perspectives.  I did miss that aspect in the movie.  There are attempts to bring that to the movie but most of the time the movie seems to be from the perspective of a third person looking in.  So when Norah lets Tal kiss her or when it looks like she will leave with him, as a viewer I was left questioning why.  Even at the end, I am not 100 percent sure of what she is thinking when it comes to Tal.  And I do not remember having so many questions about the relationship between Norah and Tal when I read the book. 

Recommendations:
I could not think of a movie that I would recommend similar to this movie, so I am going to recommend a book that I absolutely adored that was similar to the novel:

To The Movies: Breaking Dawn Part 1

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
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Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Drama, Adventure
Actors: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner
Director: Bill Condon
Scriptwriter: Melissa Rosenberg
Date Released: November 18, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Movie Info: IMDB | Website
Rating: 2 Stars
Purchased ticket.

In A Nutshell:
There is action.  There is romance.  And there are answers to the biggest question I had--how exactly did Edward break the headboard on the honeymoon.  But overall, I felt the movie was lacking in something.  I was not drawn into the story nearly as much as in previous movies.

Review:
I cannot define what exactly was missing, but something was.  Maybe part of the trouble for me was that this part of the story was not the part of the book I liked the most--I personally preferred the book after Bella's transformation so I expect I will like Breaking Dawn Part 2 better.

The wedding scene was beautiful and as over the top as I expected after reading the books.  Alice missed her calling as a wedding planner.  The wedding toasts seemed so cheesy and obnoxious--I just kept thinking would people really say that.  And would Alice have just sit by and let it continue?  I just felt awkward while watching it.  

Breaking Dawn Part 1 is not an easy movie to watch--the changes in Bella's body as the baby grows are startling and a little mortifying--and I gagged a little when Bella started drinking the human blood and said that it tasted good.  The blood on her dried cracked lips--ick!  


I also think that people who have not read the books and have only been watching the movies will have lost a lot because the backstory on the immortal children is not really discussed in the movie.  What they are?  How they were created?  Why they were banned?  How Bella and Edward's daughter is different from them?  I think understanding that will be important to understanding Breaking Dawn Part 2 and the justification for the battle at the end. 


The scene that really struck me though was when Jacob imprinted on the baby.  The look, the pictures that flooded his mind through her eyes, that really stuck with me. 


And then the red eyes that open just before the credits start--I loved those eyes.  But I was also a little heartbroken because it was just getting to the part of the book I really enjoyed and now I know I have to wait to see it. 


Have you seen the movie?  What did you think?

Series in Review: Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

Series are a tricky thing. I have series that I love as a whole, but an individual book within the series did not impress me.  So I am not always sure that reviewing the individual books is fair to the author's vision. However, I do not want to postpone all of my reviews of the books within a series until the end. With those thoughts in mind I decided to start Series In Review. In these postings, I will be looking at more than one book in the series or if possible the entire series at one time.
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**This review may contain spoilers for some of the books in the series**


Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Love & Romance, Vampires, Werewolves
Books Released in Series: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn

Supplemental Books: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 3 stars
Borrowed books from the library.

In A Nutshell:
This series left me torn.  Stephenie Meyer has an exceptional ability to put emotions into words.  I have known love and loss of love, so Bella's emotions throughout the series resonated with me--and the way that Stephenie Meyer put them into words was better than anything I could have done myself.  But there were definite elements of the relationship between Bella and Edward that I struggle with.  I do not think it is a healthy model of relationships particularly for the YA audience that the books were written for. 

Review:
I had been very resistant to read The Twilight Saga, but after listening to my niece talk about it almost non-stop during one of my visits to see my sister's family I decided to take the leap.  I tried reading the novels, but I had to stop because the grammar issues really got under my skin (if you want a good explanation of what I mean look at Reasoning with Vampires).  The best solution for me so I could still finish the story was to switch to audiobooks.  These books were the ones that got me hooked on audiobooks--I love that I can put them on my iPod and take them with me everywhere.

Stephenie Meyer's ability to put Bella's emotions into words is riveting.  I really felt like I was in the head and the heart of a teenage girl.  This ability to escape from my every-day life to remember what first love feels like is one of the things I love about reading YA literature.  But one of the things that bothers me is that Bella is making decisions as a teen in love that will affect the rest of her life.  Maybe that is fairly realistic since I know I had friends who made choices in high school for love that affected the rest of their lives, but that is not always fun to read about because I just find myself saying over and over again that this decision is permanent.  It cannot be taken back.

The fact that Bella is making so many permanent decisions is a big part of why I do not like the relationship between Edward and Bella.  He is controlling.  He does a lot of things that seem to be stalker-ish to me.  He can only be with her if she gives up everything in her life, including her family, friends, and very humanity.  No one should feel they have to give up everything about themselves to be with another person.  And I do not like to see that being set up as the model relationship to aspire to.

In the end, I was glad I had read it and glad to be able to talk to my niece about it.  It was great to have that connection with her.  And when she got Scene It? Twilight Deluxe Edition for Christmas--I actually held my own and almost won one round. 

Recommendations:
If you have read these books and watched the movies, you should definitely get this game.  My family played for hours on end!

And I will be reviewing it separately later, but I really liked the novella.  I hope there are more to come because there were so many characters in Breaking Dawn that I want to learn more about: