Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Review:

As much as I've hated this question--and my inability to answer it--I have to say that PAPER TOWNS by John Green is, truthfully, my favorite book. Ever.

To start off, I need to say how absolutely hilarious and fantastic John Green's writing is; the writing itself (and I'm not even getting to how great the characters are yet) has the most personality of any book I've read. I swear, flip to any page in the whole book and you'll laugh out loud. And I mean, have everyone-in-the-room-turn-to-look-at-you-because-you're-laughing-out-loud laugh out loud. And this fact itself is so uniquely beautiful; many times when authors try to be funny, or characters try to be funny, the jokes fall flat. Humor is one thing you can definitely count on in this book.

If you're looking for romance, PAPER TOWNS has a little--just enough to satisfy us romantics, fill us girls' bellies with butterflies for poor Quentin-in-love, but not so much that it becomes the book's purpose; it's not a love story. It's about people--just people, plain and simple--and I think that makes it a more challenging read, gives it more drive, than a romance novel could have. It gets you're mind going; some of John Green's simplest statements took my breath away with their honesty and truth.

The book is similar to Kendare Blake's Sleepwalk Society in the nature of it's simplicity; it deals with the troubles of being a teenager and discovering yourself . . . the difficulty in being a truly decent person, and what it means to be a person at all, rather than someone else's paper doll.

And now, my favorite--the character development is stunning! Margo Roth Spiegelman, I think, is my new best friend. And so is Quentin. First of all, Margo has spunk and flare; whether or not it's an act doesn't really make all that much of a difference: that girl has personality, even if she herself denies it. Her trouble with knowing who she is, and her inability to separate that from what other people want her to be is easily relatable for virtually any teenager, and, after all, what is better than a relatable trait in a fantastically constructed character? Quentin is just as amazing--he's dorky and genius, funny and thoughtful. He is, truly, the best portrayal of a unique teenage boy in high school I've seen in YA for a while. His parents were hilarious; two therapists in one room with their son? Awesome! And, girls, don't let the fact that the book is told from Quentin's perspective discourage you; this book is, honestly, too fabulous to miss out on.

PAPER TOWNS, as a whole, was, all at once, hilarious and quirky, heartbreaking and thought-provoking, mischievous and creative. It was, honestly, an ingenious novel, woven beautifully and uniquely and told in the witty and honest voice of the American teenager. Truly amazing!

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Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

Ellie remembers how the boys kissed her. Touched her. How they begged for more. And when she gave it to them, she felt loved. For a while anyway. So when Josh, an eager virgin with a troubled home life, leads her from a party to the backseat of his van, Ellie follows. But their -one-time thing- is far from perfect: Ellie gets pregnant. Josh reacts with shame and heartbreak, while their confidantes, Caleb and Corinne, deal with their own complex swirl of emotions. No matter what Ellie chooses, all four teenagers will be forced to grow up a little faster as a result. Told alternately from each character-s point of view, this deeply insightful novel explores the aftershocks of the biggest decision of one fragile girl's life--and the realities of leaving innocence behind.

Review:

This book was . . . disappointing. I'll admit, I sort of picked it up at the library on a whim, simply because I needed something to read, but I still thought it would be good. Or moving. Or . . . something. But, honestly, it wasn't.

Most of the characters fell flat, and felt depressingly undernourished and uncared for. There were way too many plot jumps: I mean, let's face it, if you're reading a book about a teenage pregnancy, you actually want to find out what the teenager goes through during the pregnancy. What you don't want to see is a month-long plot jump every two chapters, virtually no details on her troubles and what she has to go through during the nine long months, and no excitement whatsoever.

The least you could expect would be a book about a teenage pregnancy to actually deal with a teenage pregnancy. I'll be honest--I did whiz through this book in one night, but that definitely doesn't mean that it was good. It just means that it was a pathetically easy and unmoving read for a book that supposedly deals with such a heavy and difficult issue.

The writing, for the most part, fell pretty flat, too. Alternating chapter point-of-views are great . . . for a suspenseful, well-paced book. Or for Michael Grant. But, really, that's just about all. If I want to read this book, I want to find out about how Ellie is dealing with it, and maybe John. But really? Everyone else, it's just slightly annoying. The POV changes too fast for you to even build a sort of connection with what each character is dealing with or talking about. Plus, with such little character development, the quick switches are confusing in the beginning; it's hard to remember who's eyes you're seeing from.

I feel absolutely no connection to the characters, other than slight pity for Ellie and John because of their situation, and brief admiration for Liz, Caleb's mom. And, really, that's all. Maybe I'm being harsh, but I seriously wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It wasn't bad, exactly . . . It just wasn't good. And if you're not a super fast reader, it's definitely not worth your time. If you're really bored, and you're really boring, and you like boring YA books . . . sure, go with this one. If you fall under that criteria, I'm sure you'll love it. On the plus side . . . the cover's kind of cute.

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Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Reviewed by Sarah a.k.a "Dyslexicreader" for Simply Nerdy Book Reviews--

Shiver is, as Grace describes Sam’s eyes many times throughout the novel, “Beautiful and sad”. This story is very poetic with lots of wonderful imagery. Maggie Steifvater created her characters to be so relatable you really start to feel for their love. Is it weird that I want to be a wolf after reading her take of werewolves? Anyways the plot was awesome, if a little predictable at some points. It like a lot of other YA books, but it definitely has its own spin. This story allows you watch two teenagers finally evolve their love after 6 years of them longing after one another. However, like always there is something standing between them (not really a surprise). I did love the POV change between Grace and Sam, it showed all sides of the story and it doesn’t leave you hungry for the thoughts of the other main character.

Grace was a brilliant main character; I loved her independence, seeing her have to take care of herself was refreshing. (I have a lot of friends who are practically raising themselves too). Grace is one fearless chick though, she doesn’t run with the wolves but she probably could. Imagine walking out into your freezing back yard with a hunk of raw meat to ATTRACT a hungry wolf to you so you can PET IT! You know what? Come to think of it… I think she may have hit her head when she was dragged off her swing by wolves when she was a child…. Her sense of humor and bravery where great, but sometimes I prefer sarcasm and some kick ass attitude.

For Sam I can honestly say, “Drool-worthy”. Sure he is not model-perfect or god-like, but seriously who cares when he can sing?! And read poetry, and protect you in he woods, and isn’t as unmannered as to jump in your pants the first chance he gets (yes ladies, he’s the ultimate gentle man)… shall I go on? But in all seriousness, he is a very deep and poetic character. I would jump at the chance to be his friend or just part of his pack. Sam’s yellow eyes are a very unique touch but I think I prefer electric green on my shifters. All in all, he’s a different type wolf would than what I’ve seen so far. Props to Maggie for that! Her wolves are so awesome I want to beg her to become one to. Ahh . . . the simple beauty of life as a wolf.

This book, in total was a very enjoyable read, the type of book you want to read on a wonderfully rainy day so you can just soak the story in. It has a tiny bit of a slow read feeling to it, but that complemented the poetic writing and the budding relationship between Grace and Sam. A hauntingly beautiful story that sends “shivers” up your spine. I give this novel an “A-”

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Sleepwalk Society by Kendare Blake

Violet Monroe has just fumbled her way through the first year of college. All she wants now is to go home and have one great summer with her best friends, Terran, the beautiful one, and Joey, the perpetually angry underachiever.

But when she goes home, she finds that everything has changed: Joey's charismatic cousin, Brandon, has come to town, and pays more attention to plain girl Violet than she's used to. Terran and Joey meanwhile, decide to give in to their mutual attraction, only to deal with a troubling aftermath. In the midst of everything, Violet must decide who she is, something which her parents insist is intrinsically linked to what kind of job she gets after graduating.

Review:

SSLEEPWALK SOCIETY really--truly and honestly--blew me away. Violet has one of the strongest voices of any character's I've read before, and that means a lot, especially coming from me. She isn't a kick-ass heroine, she isn't a CIA agent, she isn't in love with a vampire or werewolf--she's an 18 year old girl, and that is, in it's aches and pains, more real and more raw than any other book I've picked up in a while.

If you've read my reviews before, you know that something I value the most in novels is character development, and if the characters in these books aren't developed thoroughly, than I've never read a decent book before. Violet, as I've said, is stunning; she is constantly searching for a moment of clarity, a moment where, for just that one moment, everything will make sense, and she'll know who she is, and what she wants to do--who she wants to be. But, of course, it's rare that we have those moments at all, and even rarer if you can cling to that feeling of lucidity for more than a single second, before it slips through your fingers and is gone for good.

Violet is brimming with the heart-warming thoughts and daydreams of a teenager who doesn't quite know what to do with herself. She can't grasp the one thing that most of us need to grasp at her age: how can I decide, now, what I want to do for the rest of my life? Because, really, nobody wants to risk making the wrong choice; we all want to do something that we're good at, that we're better at than anything else--but can you ever really know?

She questions the meaning of the four-letter-word we'd all like to hear--what does it really mean to love someone? ". . . And it's beyond my energy to explain why I don't think that four-letter word that everyone's so obsessed over and that gets everyone into so much trouble and pretty much makes everyone behave like an ass can live in a place like this. Somewhere during dry cleaning, details, and missed meals, it flakes away and what you're left with is married people with a tolerable affinity for each other. . . This place of dull details and irksome obligations is a home only to other four-letter words, which are used much more frequently."It's these things, that we, as people, cling to--does he really mean it, when he tells me he loves me? And it's these thoughts of Violet that make this book so innocent and wonderful, even with all of the awful things that happen around and to this eighteen year old girl.

Some people may complain about the mature content, drug references, and drinking in the novel, but my response to that is simply: if you're looking for real life, this is it--this is the real life of teenagers today. Not all, but most; and even if you're not the one directly involved, it's still there, around us, every day. Real teens in real life do these things--and worse--and that is the terrible truth that we need to face. And it's probably not going to change.

Sleepwalk Society is a true, honest, coming-of-age novel that girls and boys of all ages can't miss out on. It isn't just about school, and finding who you are--it's finding out who we are, people as whole, and deals with so many little things that we don't ever think about, even fleetingly, but once you finally do, you can't help but turn it over in your head again and again, trying to find some hidden meaning--because things can't actually be what they are; there needs to be a reason, an answer to the why? that we tag onto the end of almost every single thing that comes out of our mouths.

This book is drowning in it's simplicity--the value of love, the value of life, and the value of actually living. And it's absolutely stunning because of it!

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I AM NUMBER FOUR Movie Information

In case you haven't seen it yet, here's the teaser trailer for I Am Number Four, currently in production and to be released February 18th, 2011:

In spite of the fact that this clip is, honestly, the personification of a "teaser" trailer--it's really lying to us, calling itself a trailer--I have to say that I can't wait to see it . . . and that I should probably finally get to reading this book by next February.

Go here for more information: http://www.collider.com/2010/10/11/i-am-number-four-set-visit-director-d-j-carusos-next-film-starring-alex-pettyfer-timothy-olyphant-teresa-palmer-dianna-agron/, or here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1464540/

And:

Director D.J. Caruso On Set Interview I Am Number Four

Alex Pettyfer On Set Interview I Am Number Four

Teresa Palmer On Set Interview I Am Number Four

Dianna Agron On Set Interview I Am Number Four

(all from www.collider.com)

IN OTHER NEWS . . . . My review of Sleepwalk Society by Kendare Blake will be up tomorrow morning!

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