Category Archives: Book Review

Nov 01 2012
5 Comments
Book Review

Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

If I am a connoisseur of anything, it is having an unpredicted attraction to stories of the spine-chilling, mysterious variety. A curious relationship, yes, but one I’ve always known. So it was without hesitance, after spying Miss Peregrine’s distinctive cover, that I went forth and removed the novel from the seller’s shelf. Hoping to find a rather eerie tale – filled to the brim with quirky characters and illusive riddles – I ventured into the unknown, turning page by page, only to discover the most unexpected: a story of heart, adoration and curiosity, with just a tad of peculiarity mixed in.

It’s the archetypal hero’s tale. Jacob Portman, your average nonconformist rich kid, seeks a way out, finding his life to be as normal and boring as any. The only solace he finds is in his grandfather’s remarkable stories and collection of haunting antique photographs. Levitating girls. Creators of fire. Invisible men. The weird and unusual. Jacob has never thought much of it, choosing to believe the extraordinary as nothing more than pure hokum. But when tragedy steps in, Jacob discovers it’s more than just fantasy and fable. Desperate for answers, Jacob travels to his grandfather’s childhood home in search for the infamous Miss Peregrine. Will she be able to help him? Or are the secrets she’s keeping more than he could possibly imagine?

More After the Cut!

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Oct 15 2012
13 Comments
Book Review

Book Review: The Night Circus

Rêveurs

Kim the FanGirl’s Fortress of Solitude, October 2012
8:15 pm

She opens the book and begins to read. The cold, crisp pages are clean and unmarked by time. They tell her a story, one of adventure, of passion and consequence.

They call it the Circus of Dreams, for it is like nothing you have ever seen before or will see again. Here you will find the unimaginable, an extraordinary world filled with magic and mystique.
Step inside, see the wonders it holds, explore the lavish tents in vibrant hues of ivory and ink. Watch the acrobats soar through the air, liked winged birds in flight. Notice how the tattooed contortionist bends and distorts her body into unimaginable shapes. Discover the gardens of ice, with towers of frosted trees and cold crystal roses.
She is the Illusionist, the keeper of this ethereal city. The secrets of her past – her future – are tied with another’s. Her equal. He rival. These star-crossed lovers know not of the wager they have been bound to. Love will their undoing. Love will be their salvation.
Kim the FanGirl’s Fortress of Solitude, October 2012
7:00 am, The Next Day

When the last page has been turned and the book set down for the night, she thinks quietly to herself, looking back thoughtfully and analytically.

When some time has passed, though we don’t know how long, she goes to her computer and starts to write.

More After the Cut!

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Apr 06 2011
9 Comments
Book Review

Book Review: The Hunger Games

“You don’t forget the face of the person who was your last hope.”

Source: Photobucket

If you’re not living under the proverbial literary rock like I am, you’ve probably already read or heard about The Hunger Games, the first in a three-part series by Suzanne Collins. Well, the time finally came for me to sit down and read this thing cover to cover.

In this post-revolutionary world, the United States has been divided into a twelve district society called Panem, run by the all-seeing dictatorship city called The Capitol. In an attempt to keep their citizens in their place, The Capitol holds a yearly ritual called the Hunger Games, where two citizens (Ages 12 to 18 need only apply) of each district – chosen via lottery style – fight in a battle to the death.

Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen lives in the poor mining community called the Seam in District 12. Fighting to survive, Katniss illegally hunts and gathers food outside the district fence, in order to put food on the table for her mother and younger sister, Prim. The time comes to announce the contestants of the upcoming Hunger Games, when Prim’s name is called, Katniss volunteers to take her place – leaving behind her prospective love interest and best friend, Gale. To complicate things even further for our heroine, she inexplicably feels a connection to the other District 12 contestant, Peeta Mellark, but is unsure if her feelings are real or manufactured by the omnipresent cameras. In the arena, it’s Katniss’ knowledge of plants, hunting, and self-preservation that give her the upper-hand in the Hunger Games.

More of My Review After The Cut!

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Aug 30 2010
4 Comments
Book Review

Book Review: Water For Elephants

* “Hey! Don’t crowd, mister! Can’t you see an elephant or do I have to paint her red?”

** Side Note: Think of this as a Doc Jensen column. It might be long. It might take a side trip. But, it’s all worth it in the end.**

When you go into your favorite Borders or Barnes & Noble, where do you find most of your books? Do you go straight to Fiction? Or Non-fiction? How about right to the Self-help section?

Wherever you look, I bet you find yourself scouring the rows and rows of freshly pressed books for that specific piece of literature of which you simply can’t remember the author’s name. So, you stretch and crouch, walk back and forth, until you find it. Your so happy and exhausted from the long search at this point, you dart right to the cashier, club card in hand, cash already on the counter, completely passing the best place to find a new read.

What? What is that you said?

Yes. As soon as you have exhausted yourself looking for that one book and are ready to go pay for it, you pass right by the elite treasure trove for paperback and hardcover delights: The clearance table.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. The clearance table? Isn’t that where they have the reject books? The ones that have poorly written storylines and cheeky callous characters? Nope. It’s not. It used to be. But, it’s not anymore. Today, it’s a wonderful collection of reads that usually score high marks with reviewers. Reading has become . . . hip in the last couple years. So, the book sellers are getting with the times and marking down prices (Maybe only for a short time) of amazing books.

How you ask, does this relate to Water For Elephants? Well it’s more of a caution tale, really. Late last year, I came across a book. This book, at the clearance table. I can’t remember the exact price, or why I wanted to exactly read it. But, I remember it being in my price range and the story sounded interesting. Now this is where the tale comes in. I put the book down. I know! Why? Why would I do that? I wanted to read it. It was cheap. So, why did I put it down? I have no clue. And as the story always goes: I forgot about it, for a long time. Until, that one day, where the memory popped open and I found myself a new book to read.

The point of this long, long story: Don’t pass up the bargain table. It’s really the gateway to wonderful books that you’ll probably love, once you read them. And now, since I lost most of you, let’s review this book!

My review is after the cut!

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Aug 04 2010
2 Comments
Book Review

Book Review: Looking For Alaska

For my first book review, we’re starting with an semi-oldie but a goody.

Source: Photobucket

Looking For Alaska is the 2005 Printz Award winning debut of author John Green (Remember him?). And I must say, that out of all of his novels, this has to be my favorite.

The story is centered around Miles “Pudge” Halter who is fascinated by famous last words. He finds himself sick of his non-eventful life in Florida. So, he seeks out what poet Francois Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” He want’s to experience life by getting into a little trouble and having a lot of fun. To seek out his “great perhaps,” Miles leaves for boarding school in an attempt to ditch his former boring life and friends.

At Culver Creek, he meets several odd-ball characters like the Colonel, his roommate and consequently his best friend, who never seems to have money to supplement his cigarette habit. Takumi, a wannabe rapper. Lara, who becomes Miles’ girlfriend for all but one eventful day. And Alaska Young; a moody, beautiful girl whom Miles can’t help but love.

Alaska is his catapult into the “great perhaps.” In a year filled with pranks, moments of great insights, cigarettes, and too many bottles of cheap strawberry wine, Alaska Young changes Miles’ life in more ways than one.

John Green’s characters are realistic, smart-alecky, funny, and have just the right amount of sentiment to them. He brings you on an emotional roller-coaster, that has you laughing on one page, then crying on the other. He constructs a beautiful labyrinth of emotion and heart that will have you questioning life after you read it.

When I read this, I find myself caught up in the characters lives and stories so much, that it’s hard to put the book down and go to sleep. I think that as an author, that is something you always want to achieve. You don’t want your audience to put the book down. You want them staying up until one o’clock in the morning reading until they can’t read anymore and pass out from sleep deprivation. All of John Green’s books have that effect.

I’m not going to lie to you. You’re going to tear up. You’re going to laugh. You’re going have a great time reading this book. Looking For Alaska is a witty joy-ride that might leave you in a ditch crying in the end, but getting there is so much fun.

Book Rating: A+

Have you read Looking For Alaska? Or any of John Green‘s books, for that matter? Will you read them? Tell me in the comments!

For more Kim the FanGirl follow the blog on Twitter @kimthefangirl and on Facebook

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