Bracken Library Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault In Our Stars

by John Green

5 Faerie Points

Sometimes you have to use one of the most cliched words in existence to describe a book you have just finished. This is one of those books and the cliched word is definite: BEAUTIFUL. This book captures every human emotion that a young individual dying of cancer would feel. Green captures so much depth and emotion here, but at the same time he doesn't apologize for the fact that this is a fictitious story. He states as such from the very first page. He doesn't want us to try to find the truth, but appreciate the imaginary tale he has created. If you listen to the author you will be taken on a magical journey that will pull on your heart strings. 

The story does revolve around sick kids, so I can understand that many people would not be drawn to it based solely on that premise. If you decline to read it based on this single aspect though you will be missing a book that envelopes so much more about human emotion. You will miss a story about finding love, being true friends, and learning how that sometimes getting what you wish for isn't what you really needed. I can't imagine anyone stepping away from this book not taking something very meaningful from it. Be it from Gus, Hazel, or even the despicable Peter. One character in this book has a lesson for each of us to be taught. Pick it up and learn that lesson for you. Due to the nature of this book I don't want to go on and on about it and I feel that leaving it short and simple is following with Green a bit here. Each reader will take something different from it and isn't that the beauty of a book. The reader gets to decide what they take from their reading. I must say that this is simply a book that must be read! 

Bracken Library Book Review: Surrender by Sonya Hartnett

Surrender

by Sonya Hartnett

4 Faerie Points

There are some books that you read that you don't necessarily like, but that you think really speaks volumes. This is one of those books. This book focuses on Anwell, also known as Gabriel throughout, and his childhood and then his adult life. The book journeys through the friendship he forms with another boy named Finnigan. Through twists and turns in this book you get to the startling revelation at the end of the book. 

Sometimes a book tries to be more high-brow than it should have been. This is one of those books. It was a pleasant book to read, but it also left something to be desired because you are never fully aware of what is really going on within it. This starts to make sense as the mystery in it starts to finally unravel though. It doesn't make it a 5 star book though. There is a basic understanding of life that is missing from this book within the vast majority of its pages. It isn't until that ending that you finally see some humanity in the story, which would have greatly helped this book. 

The biggest reason that this book speaks volumes is that it shows the power of life being the family that you are born into. People have some control over their lives, but a lot of it does come down to whomever your parents are and what their lives are like. While it never directly states this you get this feeling. The reader starts understanding if poor Anwell had just been born into any other family that his life may have been greatly different. 

There are moments in this book that are interesting, which is why that it still gets 4 points. It isn't an easy to read book by any means, but it leaves a taste in your mouth that sometimes you need to have as a reader. This is an award winning book for a reason and everyone should read it at least once, but past that I am not sure it is one of those books you can go back and reread at a later date. The once that you got through it is more than enough. You will however understand the baseline of humanity after reading this book and I think that is something worthwhile here. 

Kindle Book Review: Along Came A Spider by James Patterson

Along Came A Spider

by James Patterson

3 Faerie Points

I decided to read the first book in the Alex Cross series because of having had such a great experience with the beginning of the Women's Murder Club series that he also writes. For the majority of this particular book I was underwhelmed by what was happening in it. Then suddenly in the last 50 or so pages I felt like it I was reading something worthwhile. I believe it is simply because I didn't attach as easily to the characters in this particular book like I did with the characters in Women's Murder Club. 

This book introduces Alex Cross and is about a kidnapping. The book is fast-paced and the chapters are short like the other book I read, which is something that makes his book very readable. This helps to keep a reader invested in the time it takes to read the over 400+ pages. Some people call him a hack because his writing isn't necessarily up there with literary classics, but some books we have to recognize are not meant to be like that. Some books are supposed to be read during the summer when you are tanning. That is how Patterson's books feel like they should be read, which honestly is great from time to time. We all need a little bit of guilty pleasure in our lives. 

This book is lacking though in the pleasure aspect of the reading experience of a guilty pleasure. It isn't a horrible book by any means, but certain aspects feel like they are forced. Also there are no real hints to the mystery aspect of this particular book, which I felt was a bit of a let down since in Women's Murder Club I was able to predict what was going on and it added greatly to my enjoyment of the book. Here the characters didn't resonate with me as strongly, specifically Jezzie because it never felt like you truly understood that character and her motivation for any of her actions contained within. This could simply be that they couldn't give her more because the chapters are so quick, but I wish there had been more for her than what she was given. 

Will I read the next book in the series called "Kiss The Girls"? I probably will be this will largely be because I watched the movie years ago and think it would be fun to read the book it was based on and also rewatch the movie at the same time. It won't be because I have fallen in love with the Alex Cross series. 

Bracken Library Book: Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

Geography Club

by Brent Hartinger

5 faerie points

Growing up in a small community as a gay male there were often times I had wished that there was literature that would have helped me to see that I wasn't alone. Now as I get a bit older I see that they are actually publishing such novels that showcase that there are gay people in high school. This makes my heart very happy since there is a growing epidemic of LGBT suicides in our country due to bullying. These books can help these children to feel that they are not along in their journey. It can give them great power within themselves, even when they are unable to tell anyone else. 

This book is about a group of kids at a high school that form a "geography club" which is actually an undercover gay-straight alliance. They think because it is a geography club that no one will want to join up. I mean come on if you remember high school geography was sooooooo not cool. Well that is what they are banking on. The book is believable in the fact that characters run the gamut of popularity and incidences within. Hartinger appears to have been trying to give an accurate portrayal of the high school experience and in my opinion he does a rather good job. He has characters that act out of character with a bit of popularity (what kid with even a hint of unpopularity didn't act weird when someone popular suddenly talked to them or they were put in a situation where they were not treated like crap by them?) Hartinger pays proper respect to those boundaries of the high school experience where you are who you sit with. 

If you are uncomfortable reading most LGBT fiction because most of it contains graphic sex then this would be the book for you. There is a few mentions of kissing, but for the most part this is just a nice book about friends, the high school experience, and love. It shows what is possible when someone in the LGBT community thinks outside of the stereotypical book of what this community will purchase. There is a power in providing something to a wider audience because it shows that there are multiple types in this one community, but so much of the literature for LGBT has to have some guy standing in his boxer briefs on the cover. You will have a couple of scenes of boxer briefs, but it is only in the appropriate places in this book which is contained with the pages and in the locker room where it should be expected. I recommend taking the time to read this book and sharing it with others that want to understand that not everyone in the LGBT Community fits into a box or a stereotype.

On My Shelf Book Review: Fear Street Seniors- In Too Deep (Book 2)

Fear Street Seniors: In Too Deep (Book 2)

by R. L. Stine

2 Faerie Points

Another of the senior books bites the dust. In this book we see the cliche of a summer camp introduced. A senior is working at it. The first two books are basically the summer before senior year, which makes sense because you technically become a senior at that time. It appears though that the real story doesn't start until the next book called "The Thirst" when the seniors it appears actually start to die and the mystery of who is doing it gets introduced (I read the blurb for the next book that was in this one, so shoot me). 

This book is very predictable with the horror aspect of it. You won't be left going "Oh I didn't see that coming." At least not if you are familiar with any other horror story in existence. There will be a part of you that yawns through this particular book in the series as it feels like mainly filler because they wanted it to be a year long series. The only nice thing is for most of the book you are laughing at the main character because you know that the troubled kid in the book is not the kid he thinks it is. It became apparent while reading this book that I have developed as a reader and understand good writing, which this is not. To fit into stereotypes of your genre isn't a pretty thing, which makes this a less joyful read than the first book in the series that actually spent time to introduce us to all the characters in a reasonable fashion (a simple party without focusing on them). This book had little redeeming qualities about it though. 

This book would have received 1 faerie points if it hadn't been for the nostalgia of reading a Stine book.  As previously stated I devoured these books as a child, but I recognize now that sometimes our taste matures. I have definitely found stronger and a lot better fiction than this. I am going to read the rest of the series because it has been on my bucket list for far too long and it is time to knock it off, but I hope that they are not all as painful as this particular book or I may have to kill someone myself. 

On My Shelf Book Review: Let's Party by R.L. Stine (Fear Street Seniors Book 1)

Fear Street Seniors: Let's Party (Book 1)

by R.L. Stine

3 Faerie Points

As a teenager I used to devour the "Fear Street" books. I would go to the Muncie Mall bookstore and always turn the corner to the young adult section looking for one of these books that I hadn't previously acquired. I would devour them in no time at all and wish that I could read the next one. There are some good memories attached to these books thus I decided to purchase them again as an adult. 

I never had the opportunity when I was reading the series previously to read the Senior series, so I wanted to start my trip back down Fear Street with it. One of the important things that it has been important for me to recognize is that I am not the same reader that I was when I used to read these horror books. I can spot bad writing or a bit lousy writing better than I could back then. Stine is not bad writing, but he uses a formula at the end of every chapter that gets frustrating to read. He always had to finish the chapter with some horrible thing happening only to reveal that it wasn't what you thought in the beginning of the next chapter. This takes away from the writing, but it also is what makes the Fear Street books unique. They try to keep in invested and guessing what is real and isn't. 

Some of the joy of the books obviously has waned with the passing of time, which is only natural. I was shocked that I still enjoyed them as much as I did. They still hold my interest enough to get through roughly 200+ pages, but now I do so with a few eye rolls. Eye rolling is not always a bad thing in fiction writing, especially with a horror element. 

This first book in the series mainly sets the stage for the upcoming books. We are introduced to numerous members of the Shadyside High Senior class. This feels appropriate and not at all confusing since there are 11 other books featuring these characters. Stine did the intelligent thing by having the characters go to a party. This feels natural for high school students and allows us to gain a lot of names at once without being too concerned about who each of them are just yet. 

Stine made a solid first book in this particular series for young adults. Do I recommend this for the more adult reader? Probably not. There is better stuff out there to read, but for those that just want a short horror book this will keep you entertained. You won't gain any deep meaning about life, but you will be wondering if anyone will die. That is the ultimate question though in this series: Will the senior class make it to graduation? Welp, I guess I have to continue reading to find out for sure. 

Muncie Public Library e-book review: 1st to Die by James Patterson

1st to Die

by James Patterson

5 Faerie Points

This was a book that I have been wanting to read for a very long time. There was a tv series that only lasted 13 episodes based on this book series. The few episodes I saw of that show made me interested in the books, but I never got around to reading them (the story of my reading life). I saw that my local library had an ebook copy of the books, so I decided to put it on hold. Little did I know how quickly the hold for the ebook would come in. It came in on friday and I started reading it on Saturday.

I have never truly had the experience of reading a page-turner where I couldn't put a book down, but I can no longer say that. This book was one that gripped me from the first page. I loved the fact that each chapter is so short because it helps to keep your attention on the story and knowing that each chapter serves a particular point in the plot. I had to only put the book down when I finally went to bed at 2 am. Then I picked it up almost immediately on Sunday. 

James Patterson created interesting characters in Lindsay, Claire, Cindy, and Jill. These women are the members of the Women's Murder Club. Most of the time in a series the introduction book or first novel is so busy trying to introduce the concept that there is a lot left to be desired. This doesn't happen here because the story focuses mainly on the mystery instead of the introduction of the club. Patterson was intelligent enough to let Lindsay take the book fully and let the formation of the group be secondary. This helps make this book be a strong introduction to the series and one that stands apart from the other introductory novels in other series (think Janet Evanovich's One for the Money). 

The other shocking thing about this book is that Patterson being male seems to understand somewhat the basic idea of a female relationship. He doesn't try to oversell these women becoming friends. He simply guides them together and lets them do the rest. It appears almost effortlessly. 

The one issue with Patterson, in the beginning of the book, is that he keeps mentioning the location of the book being in San Francisco. Every other line felt that he was beating back into our heads that this was there. He would do this by restating where it was and also putting in little gems like San Francisco State University thus again stating the exact locale. In subsequent novels in the series I hope Patterson has learned to trust that his readers can get it the first time around. 

Overall this is a solid first book in the Women's Murder Club series and makes this reader want to continue on with the series. I am looking forward to reading "2nd Chance", which is the second book. I will however have to put it on reserve at the library as well. We will see how fast I get this next edition. As soon as I receive it I will read it and review it stat.