Tag: Mystery (Page 14 of 19)

BOOK REVIEW – Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

BOOK REVIEW – Charm and Strange by Stephanie KuehnCharm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

No one really knows who Andrew Winston Winters is. Least of all himself. He is part Win, a lonely teenager exiled to a remote boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts the whole world out, no matter the cost, because his darkest fear is of himself ...of the wolfish predator within. But he's also part Drew, the angry boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who, one fateful summer, was part of something so terrible it came close to destroying him. A deftly woven, elegant, unnerving psychological thriller about a boy at war with himself. Charm and Strange is a masterful exploration of one of the greatest taboos.

Note that I’m not usually the biggest fan of books that hold the truth too long but damn, I enjoyed this one way too much to complain.


How to cook an incredible and dark mindfuck?

TAKE an unreliable narrator who I *cough* loved? Am I bad? I mean, to say that the guy is pretty fucked-up is an understatement – even at 10, if I dare to say it. But still, *take a huge breath* I absolutely enjoyed following him and trying to understand his actions – I’m not even talking about his thoughts, otherwise I’d be going round and round in circles, and you don’t want to see that, am I right?

AM I RIGHT?

That’s what I thought.

“From what I can tell, morality is a word. Nothing more. There’s the things people do when others are watching and the things we do when they aren’t.”

What can I say? I find myself in awe of writers who are able to make me CARE deeply about tortured and slightly evil souls, and I can’t deny that here I rooted for Drew since page one, despite his obvious flaws and his batshit crazy behavior at times.

PUT HIM on the layer of several storylines, let’s say, two, settled at 2 different times :
– when Drew was 10 and lived with his family.
– and nowadays, when he attends a boarding school at 16. What? I’m not going to comment on this.

Both storylines bring more and more questions to fulfill this psychological mystery which is Win’s life, and won’t let you indifferent.

ADD A FEW PINCHES of vague sentences like “I know what you’re going through lately”, “I’m such a dangerous person”, “I saw what you did!” and also a lot of “what are you talking about?”, “Is it bad if I like you still?”, “Screw real life I just want to know what happens” ← those are mine.

MIX it all well with a powerful and addictive writing, which blends poetic and sharp sentences in a master way, and haunted me from the beginning to the end.

SEASON with paranormal mental hospital coming of age elements. What? There : I don’t know! Happy now?

FRY the mixture with several awful characters, a creepy and disturbing plot and some crazy feelings – and underneath, the violence lurking. Always, always this violence we can’t outrun.

Congratulations! You’ve been mindfucked pretty well.

You’re welcome.

Warning : Don’t get fooled by my review, this book deals with pretty heavy subjects. And it does it masterfully. Hence the 5 stars rating.

“I am of the sea.
I am of instability.
I am of harsh, choppy waves roiling with all the up-ness, down-ness, top-ness, bottom-ness, contained within my being.
I am of charm and strange.”

BOOK REVIEW – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

BOOK REVIEW – The Girl on the Train by Paula HawkinsThe Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives.

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

۰•●  One sudden disappearance.

۰•● Two train journeys a day while Rachel seeks happiness out of her life. Morning, evening, morning, evening. All these fucking useless days. I suffered for her, because she’s so lonely and hopeless – yet her story could appear to be banal. Alcoholic, divorced, ashamed. So much shame on her shoulders, so much shame but not the force to change, not the force to fight. Because why fighting? Why fighting when we’ve nothing to gain? Why? I couldn’t help but ache for her, in a way that I’m not accustomed to feel. Who could we call, who, to help her?

Are there people out there who are able to help someone without wanting a paycheck in exchange? A money paycheck, a virtuous paycheck, a reconnaissance paycheck, a foil to make you look good paycheck? All different but all the same old shit.

“I have never understood how people can blithely disregard the damage they do by following their hearts. Who was it said that following your heart is a good thing? It is pure egotism, a selfishness to conquer all.”

۰•● Three unreliable narrators who make us wandering blind throughout the whole story. The creepy factor is always here between the lines, while we start getting hints of truth, the tension slowly growing until we can’t help but suspect each and every one of the characters we meet. Okay, maybe not the police officer though. Or yeah? I don’t know anymore, and trust me, you won’t either. Despite the fact that I guessed a great part of the end toward the 70% mark, the story never became boring – that’s quite the opposite, actually.

“They’re a match, they’re a set. They’re happy, I can tell. They’re what I used to be, They’re Tom and me, five years ago. They’re what I lost, they’re everything I want to be.”

۰•● Three women whose lives are shattering.

۰•● Four men’s smiles I didn’t trust at all.

۰•● Five reasons to read it.
① To savor this compelling writing, which makes this book literally unputdownable.
② To travel through this fast-paced and haunting story.
③ To meet these fleshed-out, multi-layered characters.
④ To start an excruciating journey into the worst side of human lives – or is it the most banal, in fact? The truth we’re hiding in the light of the day? This despair we don’t want to aknowledge?
⑤ You just want to know what happens, don’t you?

۰•● Six feelings I endured. Angst. Despair. Anger. Heartbreak. Shame. Fascination.

“The holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots to grow around concrete ; you mould yourself through the gaps.”

۰•● Seven for a secret never be told.●•۰

۰•● A million quotes. I had to choose, though.

BOOK REVIEW: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

BOOK REVIEW: Jellicoe Road by Melina MarchettaJellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In this lyrical, absorbing, award-winning novel, nothing is as it seems, and every clue leads to more questions.

At age eleven, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At fourteen, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now seventeen, Taylor's the reluctant leader of her school's underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can't avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future.

Review:

Jellicoe Road was not for me.  I’m not one for stories where every single thing is shrouded in mystery.  Where nothing makes sense and I am left stumbling through the dark.  Where at 40% I can only understand a few things and then thankfully by 50% I can stop looking at my notes for who is who.  That in itself kept shocking me.  I don’t think I’ve ever had to make notes for characters or could not for the life of me remember the heroines name.  I kept trying to find something, anything that would suck me in.  That would make me feel!  That would snare me and make me become enraptured.  But besides liking one character, I couldn’t find anything to connect with.  Everyone else loves this book and I’m clearly not in that camp.  So here I am, knowing sadly that yes, this book was definitely not for me.

This is a story about a girl, Taylor Markham.  She lives at a boarding school and not only has she been placed in charge of her fellow classmates, but she also overseas a territory war against neighboring schools/students.  She has been abandoned by her mother and the rest of her past is well, the best way to describe it is hazy.  But then again, so are the people around her.  Hannah is the closest person to her, and I couldn’t understand their friendship or interactions at all.  I know that we aren’t supposed to understand everything.  That this book is filled with mystery and I probably should have found beauty in that.  But sadly, I just couldn’t.  All I know is that I couldn’t connect to the storyline or Taylor.  She was so angry, self-centered and immature for her age and it kept rubbing me the wrong way.

Honestly, I kept contemplating a DNF.  But I loathe doing that because I’ll always wonder what if.  What if the future pages of the book could suck me into the story?  So I trudged along and FINALLY at 60% the storyline got interesting.  I’m not sure if it was because of Jonah or if I finally got a strong grasp on what everything was about?  Either way, I’m thankful that I got to that mindset.  Now Jonah, for me, was an amazing character.  He is a military student who in any other book would become one of my book boyfriends.  He was that sexy, amazing and tons of other descriptions that I don’t want to say because his highs and lows are better left to find out for yourself.  But unfortunately, Jonah and his interactions with Taylor could not make me become invested.  I’ve never been more disappointed that I couldn’t love a book that others do.  So, well,  it’s safe to say that this style of book was definitely not meant for me.

BOOK REVIEW – Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

BOOK REVIEW – Jellicoe Road by Melina MarchettaJellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

At age eleven, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At fourteen, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now seventeen, Taylor's the reluctant leader of her school's underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can't avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future


Territorial War buddy read/reread with Chelsea, Jennifer, Jen, Laura & Harriet

What happens when you reread this incredible book? What? You fucking cry, what do you think?

Well, you have seen me gushing frantically obsessing over this book for a while now, so you know you have to brace yourself because this book? It possibly became my favorite. Ever. That kind of means something when we read a million book a year, right?

“I fall in love with these kids over and over again and my heart aches for their tragedies and marvels at their friendship”.

This book. This fucking BOOK.

Why is it so special to me? You mean, except from the fact it’s written by Marchetta and contains Jonah Griggs in it? Apart from that?

Well, what you need to know is that few authors manage to change my perception of myself as a reader.

Yet if there’s something I learnt this year, that’s Melina Marchetta’s books are written in a way that makes me want to create a stamp which would say –

That says it all. The reason I rarely cry when I read is the fact I hate feeling manipulated. I loathe it when I can see through the author’s intentions and I’m pretty sure that’s why I never succeeded in finishing The fault in our stars. Melina Marchetta’s books show me something I was eager to learn, because even if I knew it deep down inside, I was seeking out the moment I’d unravel all my doubts : No, I’m not a cold-hearted reader.

I was just longing for stories which really speak to me, because, never, ever again I want to find myself thinking ‘oh, I think I’m supposed to cry right now’. The beauty of her books lies in the surprise they never fail to create in me : I could express it with a single word : suddenly.

And that emergence of unexpected feelings? I live for that shit.

But this book. This fucking BOOK.

Jellicoe road takes us into the life of characters so strongly convinced of the uselessness of their life that we want to fight for them. We want to tear the appearances out, and above all that, we’re grateful to Melina Marchetta because her characters are so relatable and real that we can find pieces of ourselves in them. Pieces of our friends. Pieces of our family. Pieces of my heart that broke for Jonah Griggs over and over again.

“Please don’t be crazy, Taylor,” Griggs whispers, leaning his head against mine. “Please don’t be crazy.” He kisses me, holding my face between his hands, whispering over and over again, “Please”.

Therefore don’t worry if you’re confused throughout the 100 first pages, I swear to you, there must surely come a stage when you’ll find yourself utterly captivated by Taylor’s journey. Moreover, after reading it a second time, I can assure you that this experience was even more emotional and that Marchetta wrapped her plot brilliantly – I noticed some things I couldn’t see the first time and WOW. Just WOW. This structure? Incredible. Everything has a sense. Everything has a purpose. Nothing’s useless. Nothing.

But this book. This fucking BOOK.

This is a tale about where we belong. Is it a place? Is it a person? Is it love?

Can we stop belonging somewhere?

Can we earn the right to belong or is it something we have in our heart no matter what we do?

Can we allow somebody else to be our everything? Because what happens, I’m asking I’m yelling, what happens if our everything disappears?

*whisper* Do we disappear as well?

Now, I don’t want to scare you how that’s too late? and I can assure you that Jellicoe Road isn’t the kind of book that makes your eyes ache all long without never releasing the tension. No. That’s just life, you know? So prepare yourself for a ride – you’re going to laugh, to be pissed, to be desperate at times, to lose hope and then fight to find it again –

You’re going to live and feel and smile.

“Go on, admit it. When he hits the ground and the blood went flying and you knew in your heart his nose was broken, didn’t you just want to jump for joy and stomp on his ugly face?”

But this book. This fucking BOOK.

I don’t want to talk about the plot. Damn, I just can’t and I’ll say only one thing : even if I guessed some parts of the mystery pretty fast, following Taylor and Jonah was an experience I’d have been sad to miss and that captivating and splendorous story will linger in my heart and in my thoughts for a very long time.


You know what you have to do.

“I reach the bottom and smash into him with my fists as hard as I can. He falls and I can’t believe he goes down that easy, caught off balance.
“You care about nothing, you piece of shit!”
I’m on the verge of tears, like I always seem to be these days, and I hear the catch in my voice and I hate myself for it. He throws me off him and I can tell there is a fury in him.
“Never,” he tells me in a tone full of ice, “under-estimate who or what I care for.”

PS : I have a million quotes to write, a million stories about Jonah, Webbs, Tate, Narny, Jude, Fitz, Taylor, Jessa to tell. But I won’t. I won’t because this is a book which must be savored blind. I won’t even if Jonah Griggs is certainly one of the characters I will never forget. Just meet them, and if that’s already the case, go reread it. That’s even better the second time around, trust me.

BOOK REVIEW: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

BOOK REVIEW: Jellicoe Road by Melina MarchettaJellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In this lyrical, absorbing, award-winning novel, nothing is as it seems, and every clue leads to more questions.

At age eleven, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At fourteen, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now seventeen, Taylor's the reluctant leader of her school's underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can't avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future.

So……this is how I feel right now:

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Me. Just me….alone with a majority of people of who LOVED, ADORED, OBSESSED over this particular novel. And oh, dear God please don’t hate me (especially you, my dear, sweet Anna) but…..I couldn’t love this book. I tried. I tried so, so, SOOOOOO hard, but, in the end, I never once did I feel myself drawn back to this story. When I put the book down, it was just that-I put it down. It didn’t exist beyond when it was in my hands. And I know that’s not how it’s supposed to feel.

“What do you want from me?” he asks.
What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him.
More.

Gawd, you guys I wanted to love this so hard. As I was tossing and turning on this horrible last Sunday night (the depression of not loving this book was a visceral feeling), I came to a crushing realization: I’d rather be fighting my Sunday night demons (I can NEVER sleep on Sunday nights, but that’s neither here nor there…) attempting to sleep even when I knew I couldn’t than reading more of this book. And that kept me from sleeping, as well. I repeatedly asked myself, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ ‘Why am I the only person who didn’t like this?’. And, admittedly, I still hate that I couldn’t find much to identify with.

Being part of him isn’t just anything. It’s kind of everything.

I think Marchetta’s ideas are so profound, but I just hate how she delivers them. She’s lost me in both books I’ve attempted to read and I think I just need to realize that this author is not for me. It doesn’t mean she’s not an excellent writer-she is. But, and this is going to sound so harsh, if the only tears I cried were from boredom? There’s a problem. Just because a book is beautiful and has poetic writing doesn’t mean it can’t be boring and….for me….it was boring until like 60%. Even in the end when it was supposed to all tie together, I finally just didn’t care. I don’t think I would have anyway, honestly. I’m such a bad reader-I really only cared about Jonah and Taylor, and I feel like they hardly had any real, tangible time together.

“What’s with what you’re wearing?” Griggs asks while we stand outside waiting for the others.
“It’s pretty hideous, isn’t it?” I say.
“Don’t force me to look at it,” he says. “It’s see-through.”
That kills the conversation for a couple of seconds.

And, I swear this is the last negative section, that’s my biggest problem. Why does there have to be so many people on each page? It’s confusing, it made it drag, and I didn’t get NEAR enough Jonah…at all. And the territory wars-I’m sorry, but how could this be a main plot point??? It was fun at first, and then I was like…please, please, PLEASE stop-they didn’t make sense. Or, I just was too far gone to care…again.

Though very little worked for me, there were some shining moments. Jonah. Oh my goodness did I love him. He and Taylor together. All of their moments separate from the school were amazing and fun to follow, but it just took so damn long to get there. I loved the way he looked at her and how he was always so protective of her. How he would do anything to make sure she stayed safe. And, most importantly, how they changed each other’s lives forever.

“You care about nothing, you piece of shit!”
I’m on the verge of tears, like I always seem to be these days, and I hear the catch in my voice and I hate myself for it. He throws me off him and I can tell there is a fury in him.
Never,” he tells me in a tone full of ice, “underestimate who or what I care for.”

Okay, so, I’ve said my piece and it’s clear I’m in the minority-it’s clear that everyone thinks all the things I hated are what make an excellent story, so don’t take my word for it. Just know, this book is beautiful in it’s own right….it’s just not the book for me.

Anyway…now everyone can fight over my carcass…sorry.


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************************************

Because Anna told me to.

Her exact words?

Butbutbut…Jonah!


 photo Will-Grace-will-and-grace-30502516-500-226_zpsfk0haet0.gif

Good enough for me lmao

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