Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Book: Paper Towns
By: John Green
Published: September 22, 2009
Published By: Speak

My Thoughts: After reading Looking for Alaska and The Fault in out Stars by John Green, I was wholly on the John Green Bandwagon, and though Paper Towns was a beautifully written book just like all other John Green books, I just didn’t much like the story itself.

We follow Quentin also known as Q who is supposedly in love with his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman (she’s one of those people whose entire name needs to be said). He doesn’t know her much besides the fact that she’s his neighbor and she’s popular and she goes on amazing adventures, but that all changes when she sneaks into his window one night and the two go on an adventure together before she disappears completely from his life.

She leaves clues though, and Q believes that she’s left them for him to find her, so he and his friends, believing she may have committed suicide but hoping she hasn’t, follow the clues like breadcrumbs in order to find her. Along the way, Q learns a lot about the way people view each other, vs who people really are inside. He learns that though you may think people are more than they are; that at the end they’re still people.

It’s a good book full of deep philosophical thought and things that make you remember it well after the book, just like with all John Green books. Unfortunately though, I just didn’t much like Margo Roth Spiegelman. I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, and I just never was able to connect with Q’s journey in that way. Despite the fact that it was a good book, it just wasn’t for me. I give it 3 Stars.

Audiobook Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Book: Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy #1)

By: Pierce Brown

Published: January 28, 2014

Published by: Random House

My Thoughts: Red Rising is compared to the Hunger Games, and to Enders Game, and though I could see similarities when I looked for them, it is in a class all its own.

Red Rising follows Darrow, a “Red.” They’re the miners of Mars, and their job is to collect elements from below the surface of mars to make the surface inhabitable for humans and the “weaker” colors like the Golds, the Blues, and the other colors. Each of the colors has a job, and the Reds are told that they are humanity’s last hope, that they are the pioneers. Only everything he has been told is a complete lie.

He learns that The Golds have been using them as slaves. One day though, Darrow’s life changes and he disguises himself as a Gold and joins their command school, to compete in the battle to be the best of the Golds. What ensues is a battle unlike any I have ever read before.

I don’t often read books from male POV’s, but this book makes me rethink that. Sure there were no references to hard packed abs, but there were also thankfully no references to swelling breasts despite there being a hint of romance. This was all action and internal thought, and awesomeness. I also usually don’t like books with their own slang terms, but this one didn’t overdo it, and they added a bit of something to the book instead of taking away from it. I can’t even do this book justice.

The Narration of this book was awesome. The Narrator had just the right tones to adequately portray all the varying characters and completely brought the book to life for me.

I give this book 5 huge stars. I would recommend it to fans of dystopian novels and science fiction. If you liked the Hunger Games or Enders Game, or even Poison Princess by Kresley Cole, then you would also probably like this one too. Its full of action, and backstabbing and secrets and lies and tells you that despite all the dividing lines between classes, everyone has good and bad inside them. 

 

Review: Amazon Burning by Victoria Griffith

Book: Amazon Burning
By: Victoria Griffith
Published: October 1, 2014
Published By: Astor & Blue Editions

See the synopsis here.

[I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review]

My Thoughts: Amazon Burning was a fast paced book filled with Amazonian adventures, new adult lust, and intriguing characters. It was certainly a wild ride.

Our main character is Emma, a 22 year old, wannabe journalist with somewhat uncontrollable sexual tension and a need to keep that tension under control. She's running from a sexual harassment/rape case against her college professor in New York where she's been perceived as the one to blame, and thus, she must become the definition of innocence. Her mind though, doesn't quite want to cooperate, especially when she runs into Jimmy, a photographer, while out researching with her father in the Amazon. Jimmy speaks to something within Emma, and she must work to ignore her desires around him.

Beyond her inner tension, and the hope to clear her name in the court case, Emma is working to help her Father uncover a murder, and catch those in charge of a big poaching operation in the Amazon. Soon, she's swept up in the mystery, and fighting not only for answers, but for her own life.

Amazon Burning was an interesting book that delved into the effects of poaching, and those who choose to fight against it, as well as the criminals that control the trade. Though I feel the story could have been fleshed out a bit more, and some areas felt too short, or unnecessary all together, it was interesting to read about the amazon and the indigenous peoples therein and to follow Emma on her adventures. In addition, I never quite bought in to the romance between Emma and Jimmy. It never actually made sense, and the fact that she was lusting after him from practically the moment she saw him made me feel like this was more romance than mystery/thriller.

I would suggest this book for those of you over the age of 18 (there is some *sexy time*) who like indie new adult romance thrillers set in exotic locales. It was certainly a fast paced easy read. I give it 2.5 stars!

Thanks for stopping By!!!

Wanna Buy? Amazon! Barnes and Noble! Publisher!

Victoria Griffith is the author of the award winning non-fiction picture book The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont (Abrams, 2011), which won numerous awards, including the prestigious Parents’ Choice. The book was recently translated into Portuguese for the Brazilian market and was also released in audio book version.

Before becoming a full-time author, Victoria spent twenty years as an international journalist, fifteen of those years as foreign correspondent for the UK’s Financial Times. During that time, she had fun writing on a wide range of topics, including Brazil’s Yanomami Indians, architecture, space exploration, the human genome, and the growth of the Internet. She even managed to fit in some children’s book reviews. Her most terrifying assignment was preparing lunch for Julia Child, who praised the Brazilian fish stew but refused to touch the blackberry dessert. Victoria lives in Boston with her husband and three daughters.

http://www.victoriagriffith.com/