Eleanor and Park - Rainbow Rowell

Title: Eleanor and Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Published: 2013
Pages: 325
First Line: XTC was no good for drowning out the morons at the back of the bus.

Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive.

I try to keep up with the popular books of the moment - particularly those that are being read by my students. As such, when one of the senior girls from school asked me to read Eleanor and Park, a book that was already on my radar, I immediately went searching for it. I was delighted to find that both of my public libraries held a copy, but, sadly, both copies were unavailable. And so they remained. Not being a fan of the way my libraries organise their holding system, I often just try to luck it out and get it on or near the return date, but this book eluded me for over two months. Not to worry, however, for surely this just meant it was being well loved and it would be worth the wait.

Thankfully it really was. A quick stationary dart into town for work bought me right next to the library so I was able to duck in and pick it up. Then I made my mistake, I stupidly read a chapter while waiting in line at the circulation desk. Oh no. I was hooked pretty much off the bat. However was I to go back to work and actually work with this book sitting on my desk? Somehow I managed it with only a few distracting moments, but as soon as I got home it was time for the lounge and blankets and tea until that last page was read. I haven't read a book in one sitting like that for a long time, so that should be high praise in and of itself. But! Onto the book itself!

I wasn't too aware of the plot line of Eleanor and Park before I picked it up. I knew it was about first love, I knew there was talk of an upcoming movie, and I knew it was big with the Nerdfighter crowd (who have never steered me wrong before), but as for the actual details, I had none.

The me that's me right now is yours. Always.

Eleanor Douglas and Park Sheridan the protagonists of this novel, are both social misfits to varying degrees - Eleanor because she simply can't fit it, and Park in spite of it. Meeting on the bus on Eleanor's first day, the pair, despite the eternal and unwavering politics of a school bus, move from a place of isolation to true friendship and, ultimately, into the sweet clutches of first love.

More than the sweet simplicity of schoolyard romance, however, Eleanor and Park's relationship finds itself strained, and threatened, by Eleanor's home life - which is, by all accounts, far from ideal. With Eleanor struggling to stay afloat in a situation no sixteen year old should have to deal with, Park stands as a terrifying yet stable beacon of hope.

I've heard the book marketed as a read for any adult who wishes to remember the joys of first loves, and Rowell certainly delivers on this promise. She manages to deliver all the innocent joy of discovery and the bitter strains of heartache without falling into the saccharine or clichéd. She employees an uneven distribution of perspective, switching between Eleanor and Park even within chapters, but instead of being distracting or disjointed it only serves to further the sense of anticipation and joy between them. I feel as though using format to reflect emotion is often a difficult feat to pull off naturally, but Rowell champions it here.

I really felt myself getting swept away in the emotions of this book. Often when I read a romance between teen characters I can enjoy the plot, or appreciate the characters, but I often find the romantic development simplistic to the point of disbelief. The romance between Eleanor and Park develops just as quickly, to be sure, but I felt a truth to their emotions, and an authenticity to Rowell's words that completely won me over.

I would definitely recommend this to any YA lover! Particularly any John Green fans. 5/5

Read if you enjoyed:

• Looking for Alaska - John Green
• Paper Towns - John Green
• Life in Outer Space - Melissa Keil

Other Reviews Have you written a review for this book? I would love to include it, comment below and I'll add your link!

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent; Insurgent; Allegiant
Author: Veronica Roth
Published: 2012 / 2012 / 2013
Pages: 487 / 525 / 526

Since I read these books in such quick succession, one after the other, I'm going to cheat a little and review the trilogy as a whole inside of individual books. This was another series that I read on the insistence of students (it is so lovely to have kids so excited about books that they want to discuss the with you so try to read those books as soon as I can).

These books are rather popular at present, so no doubt you've heard of them or seen them (or the new movie) about, but just in case you haven't, here's the run down. The series takes place in a not-to-distant future Chicago. In this world, communities are few and rather closed in. When children reach the age of sixteen they undergo a testing procedure which determines their dominant traits and attributes and indicates which of five 'factions' they would be best suited.

Unlike a lot of other dystopian fiction that employs this trope, however, the choice is ultimately theirs, children can choose which faction, and which trait they which to guide their life - Abnegation (self-sacrifice), Erudite (knowledge), Candor (truth),  Amity (friendship), or Dauntless (daring). Children can choose to align their life with their families, or with what their testing indicates.

For those like Tris, however, testing reveals a shocking secret - she is Divergent. Equally skilled or suited to more than one faction. This way, history has shown, leads to great upheaval and chaos, not only within the individual them self, but for society as a whole. And so people like Tris are feared. And hunted out.

In choosing Dauntless, Tris takes a bold step away from her family and into a new life, but all is not entirely what it seems - and not just at the Dauntless compound, everywhere.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series - not as much as, say, The Hunger Games, but I would definitely recommend it to any fans as a similar read. The last book, however, I found disjointed and off putting as Roth employed an alternating chapter perspective change between Tris and, another main character, Four. This had not occurred in the first two books and I would often get a ways into the chapter before I realised it had shifted.

As an example of YA dystopian fiction it checks all the boxes - a young lead character with a skill above her peers, a love interest with a complication, separation from the parents, and a corrupt government. Through in some crumbling buildings and a cool zip line manned by some under-20s and you're all set to go. Not a bad read, by any stretch, just not anything out of the ordinary. 3/5

Read if you enjoyed:

• Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
• City of Ember - Jeanne Duprau
• The Giver - Lois Lowry
• Legend - Marie Lu (recommended by Lisa)
• Delirium - Lauren Oliver

Other Reviews Have you written a review for this book? I would love to include it, comment below and I'll add your link!

Teaser Tuesday (18/1)

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

 

“I’d been hoping to go back to school when my baby was six months old, but things weren’t going to plan. For one thing, try finding a crèche or a childminder who’ll take a moose.”

Vamoose! (p. 24/25), Meg Rosoff

Percy Jackson continues

Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse
Rick Riordan
Published: 2007; Pages: 294

Could an Olympian parent turn against his half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and me. I wondered if maybe I should have sent Poseidon that seashell-pattern tie for Father’s Day after all. (92-3)

 

Since the end of Harry Potter’s reign, it seems as though every new children’s series has been scrambling to fill its void. Now I’m not crazy enough to suggest that Percy Jackson has succeeded in this goal (I have far too many Harry Potter obsessed friends all too willing to whack me over the head with their wands), but I would like to suggest PJ as a contender. Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse is the third book in the series and by now things are very much underway – if you haven’t already read the first two books, I highly recommend your tracking them down.

After two years of summers at Camp Half-Blood (and the life threatening quests that come along with it), Percy once again finds himself facing his once friend Luke and the plans to take over Mount Olympus. However Luke has aligned himself with formidable allies that pose more than a passing danger to Percy and his friends.

The time is getting nearer when Percy or Thalia will fulfil the prophecy laid out by the Oracle. One of them will make a choice – a dangerous choice – that may signal the end of the gods’ reign. Will one of them slip? Will they fall prey to the Titan’s curse and, in doing so, endanger everyone they hold dear? This is what lies ahead.

Percy Jackson continues to be an engaging read. There’s enough mythology to keep myth buffs happy, but is unique enough to be entertaining to the uninitiated. Percy is a likeable and relatable hero, one who does what he thinks is right, even though it often results in trouble for himself. The series is progressing in a pleasing manner, and I am looking forward to see what is coming next. 4/5

Teaser Tuesday (4/1)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and, weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body.”

Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse (p. 53), Rick Riordan

Nebula Awards 2007

Nebula Awards Showcase 2007 Mike Resnick (ed.)
383 pages; published 2007

The Nebula Award is an award established and bestowed by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It targets excellent new examples of Science Fiction and Fantasy in the novel, novella, novelette, short story and script formats.

This year was a showcase of the winners and nominees of the 2007 awards. It held excerpts from the winning novel, as well as full texts of the novellas and short stories. There are also a collection of essays on sci-fi/fantasy as a publishing field and genre, written by several known SF writers.

They were all, obviously, wonderful examples of sci-fi/fantasy, but I was particularly pleased to find it a nice blend of fiction – some very serious, some fantastical, and some downright ridiculous.

A nice collection for fans of the genre. 4/5

How I Live Now

Meg Rosoff

186 pages, published 2004

Dad was one of those Never Mention Her Name Again type of fathers which if you ask me was extremely unpsychologially correct of him. [...]

I sometimes wished someone would just fill me in on the simple boring things like did she have big feet or wear make-up and what was her favourite song and did she like dogs or have a nice voice and what books did she read etc. I made up my mind to ask Aunt Penn some of these questions when she came back from Oslo but I guess what you really want to know are the things you can't ask like Did she have eyes like yours and When you pushed my hair back was that what it feels like to have your mother do it and Did her hands look serious and quiet like yours and Did she ever have a chance to look at me with a complicated expression like the one on your face, and by the way Was she scared to die. (p20)

How I Live Now
was certainly a unexpected novel, with a very unique voice. I didn't really know what it was about when I started reading it (assigned reading, again) and I was very suprised by what I found.

Daisy (much to "plain" to be 'Elizabeth') is fifteen and suffering from both an eating disorder (somewhat glossed over) and a new stepmother. "Shipped off" to London to live with her Aunt Penn and her four odd cousins she is actually quite pleased to be away from the noise of the city and her evil stepmother, even if it does mean giving him her cell phone reception. Daisy settles in quite easily with her cousins and, when her Aunt is called to give a peace talk, the kids take to enjoying their parent-free life.

Their fun parent-free weekend, however, turns indefinate when her Aunt is unable to return home, blockades obstructing her way home. It seems that the war (completely undefined) has finally broken out. Still, as the war has yet to truly touh their lives, the kids find enjoyment in the preparation and hustle of the town war efforts.

But when their house is taken as a base of operations and the children are separated this all changes. They are torn apart and want nothing more to be together and help protect each other, but can Daisy and her youngest cousin, Piper, make their way back to the others and survive the war at the same time?

Staying alive was what we did to pass the time. (149)

I really enjoyed How I Live Now. It was unusual to read a war-time book where the war is almost entirely skimmed over - all the side effects, but none of the causes. Rosoff's characters were fascinating, almost fantastical, and added an almost indescribable element to the book - it's definately not fantasy, but it's not a straight realist novel either. I did have some issues with the book though - namely that the romantic interest (a fully-fledged sexual affair, at that) was between Daisy and her fourteen year old cousin Edmond. Aside from a small acknowledgement that this was an odd or unusual relationship it was completely accepted - even by the others as they learn of it. 3/5

Georgia Nicolson Series

Angus, Thongs, Full-Frontal Snogging

On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God

Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas

Dancing in My Nuddy Pants
Louise Rennison

Being the dedicated, hard-working student that I am, I'm reading as many teen books as I can get my hands on ... what, you didn't buy the part about being dedicated and hard-working? Yeah, okay, i probably wouldn't have, either. To be honest I was drawn in by the titles of this series a few months ago, so when I saw them in Penrith Library today I picked up the first two. I read the whole thing this afternoon - and had to read the bits I kept laughing over to Bethany. It was extraordinarily crude but definitely funny. Almost like an updated Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. If you like to read the whining of a teenager who is somewhat insane, then give this one a go. 3/5

The Contest - Matthew Reilly

The Contest
Matthew Reilly

405 pages, published 1996

My cousin Joshua had lent me Matthew Reilly's Seven Ancient Wonders and its sequel Six Sacred Stones just after Christmas and I had really enjoyed them, which was somewhat odd, as ‘action-y’ novels aren’t usually my preference, so I thought I’d give some of his earlier novels a go.

When I learnt that his first novel took place in the New York Public Library I pretty much jumped at the chance to read it. It was not, however, at all what I had expected, being a science fiction novel about an interstellar competition where the last one standing (and still breathing) was the winner. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much as SAW or SSS. It was a good book, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it first. 3/5

The Greatest Show Off Earth - Robert Rankin

The Greatest Show Off Earth
Robert Rankin
316 pages, published 1994


This was a recommendation from my uncle (who insisted on my reading Robert Rankin) which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. A kind of ridiculous humour, Terry Pratchett-meets-Douglas Adams, it tells the story of two friends: one of whom is kidnapped to be produce at an alien meat market, and another who reads of his adventure in a future-telling book he stumbles across and is shot at for.

Overall it was pretty funny, but in a ‘that’s just so pathetic I can’t not laugh’ kind of way. What I loved best was that the narrator seemed to be completely aware of the fact that he was in a book and would kind often try to mislead the reader just to be annoying (and would comment on it) and would end each section part-way through a sentence, with the next section completely subverting the pathway in a funny (and usually crude) way. A good laugh. 3/5