Review Smash

             I have had a few reviews overdue. So I thought I'd just do mini reviews. Sounds good?

            I will warn though that I've kind of been in a book slump. I didn't like these books as much I as thought I would, or as much as I probably would've. And it's mostly because they're not Divergent. :( I know that is an unfair thing to hold against a book.

Splintered by A. G. Howard

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          Ever since Alyssa's great great grandmother (you know, the real Alice of Alice in Wonderland) went mad every one of her female ancestors has inherited the insanity. Visiting her mother in an asylum and now also hearing the bugs and plants talk, Alyssa wonders if she can run from this fate much longer. But then she finds out her family line has been cursed and she can save her mother and herself by journeying to Netherland. It sounds crazy enough to put her in asylum. But with all the other things she's heard and seen, and this being her last hope, she'll take the chance. Oh, and there's a love triangle.



           The story was very interesting. Though most of the time it seemed a little overwhelmed by the love triangle. I, honestly, had many disagreements with the characters. We were at odds through most of the book. But they felt so real, I was literally arguing with them. They're very well written, and I've heard that a lot of people love them.
           The world of Netherland (aka Wonderland)? Amazing! I loved the whole concept behind each place and all the different creatures (the Mustella, he was the best character! I wish he had a name). The world of book had me intrigued the whole way through (the concept behind the graveyard and the spider sisters- I loved it; though the feast with the duck was just revolting). Despite being on the morbid side, I really loved the world of the story.
            There is a lot of description, beautifully done. I got to learn all about Netherland to my heart's content. But there's also long descriptions of Alyssa's clothing (I'm going to assume "platforms" are very tall and clunky shoes, for obvious reasons), and long descriptions of each of the kisses she has (can we say goopy?). 
          It was a really good book. If I find the second one, I'll definitely pick it up. I want to know more about Netherland. Even though I initially disliked the characters, every time I think back on the book, I end up liking them more. . .


The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

            Hazel Grace has cancer and probably will for the rest of her life (and who knows how long that will last). The last thing she expects to experience is love. But when she meets Augustus Waters who has dodged the threat of cancer before and knows how to use words like existentially and fraught properly, her life doesn't seem to suck so much. But does she really want love? Does she really want more people's hearts to break when she doesn't live?

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           This book made me laugh. Out loud. I haven't laughed with a book in a while. I loved that. But my favorite part was that these kids used big words. In their everyday dialogue. Words that I needed a dictionary for. Yes! (They did tend to use this one bad word. I don't really understand why because they had this vast vocabulary available to them, why succumb to. . . whatever. I will never understand that.)
            The characters were amazing and hilarious. Together and as individuals. And being people who were/had been/were closer to death than others, they tended to talk about important things. Things that mattered. Some of the things you would never have realized mattered that much unless you saw it through their eyes. It was an interesting perspective.
            There was this one scene that I skipped. The sex scene. And I know it's a romance so it's "supposed" to be included. But I was hoping it wouldn't be. Why does the world think this scene is okay? That ithas to be a part of the genre? Especially since the people who are in this scene are so young. I know people who are that young still do these things in real life, but should we encourage that? I think not. (this I guess isn't necessarily a problem with the book so much as with the genre.)
             I found the plot a tad predictable. I hate saying that.
             I could tell by the way the book was written that the ending was going to be anti-climatic and leave a lot of loose ends. But it was sooo drawn out. I was just ready for the book to end.
           Hazel has such a unique viewpoint on things. And I loved how Augustus would try to give his friend, Isaac an outlet for his frustration. Okay, these outlets were a bit destructive, and though Augustus made jokes you know he cared because he made jokes. Those were the sweetest and funniest scenes in the book.

           You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you. - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
           
Eli the Good by Silas House

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            1976 summer in the country. Eli is ten year's old and the world is a wonder. But in his small hometown of Refuge, his family is shifting around him. Eli's sister questions what she believes and always seems at odds with their mother. Vietnam revisits his father and everyone tiptoes around him. Why has his aunt come to stay with them? And his mother struggles to hold them all together. Eli feels invisible as he has always been the observer on the sidelines. He tries to find the balance of when it's time to be the audience and when it's time be a part.

           I loved this book. The cover is beautiful. I know, it's just a tree. But I love trees and I like the small role trees played in the book.
           It has that wonderful nostalgic old time, small town feel. When all the kids in the neighborhood would ride bikes together and families would hang out on the back porch. I enjoyed that more than I expected.
           For a book this story had a lot of music to it. Just the way it's written, plus the fact that it named a lot of popular artists and songs of the time period. Eli's family was always singing along with the radio. Or the record player, got to love the record player.
           I loved the characters too. I related to Eli well, though I can't stand that part of him that revels in other people's drama. I love his family too. The way they connected with each other. Even when they fought and disagreed, they would come back together.
          The story was heavy on description though. There wasn't much dialogue. Usually when people said something, the conversation was paraphrased or just told to me instead of being in quotation marks and live on the page. That made me sad.
           There was no romance (yay!). His sister had a boyfriend, but even that wasn't much of a romance most of the time.
           It's not exactly a coming of age story. Eli did grow, but he learned more about his family than himself. He learned what his parents, his aunt, and his sister believed in and thought was important. He saw them grow and hold together. I loved how he was always so curious about his father.
           This one was my favorite out of all three of these.
          
           Years later I would realize that this was one of the world's great problems, that people often allow themselves not to think. They choose to not think, and that's how the whole world gets into trouble. My only excuse that day was that I was a child.  -Eli the Good by Silas House