A Monster Calls

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming... This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.

Review:

A Monster Calls was emotional. It brought back some painful memories and anxiety back. It had a huge impact on me and it hit hard and clear. The protagonist Conor is struggling. His mother suffers from cancer, his family is broken, he's bullied at school so you could say he's had the worst. To make things even harder, he has a nightmare every night of a monster calling him (hence the name).

This book was short and punchy. The morals learnt from this were strong and captured everyday life choices in them. Self discovery, truth and bravery are all underlying themes in this book. The plot itself was simple but brilliantly executed. Ness did an excellent job of connecting the reader to the character both emotionally and willingly. 

Conor was an interesting character. He showed determination which is a common but admirable feature in a protagonist. He made mistakes that were ultimately his punishment but he had reason. His built up anger and frustration was with you the entire time. The yew tree was also an interesting character. Filled with age, wisdom and unyielding strength, it was unpredictable at its next move. It was sly but wise and had a good right to get mad at Conor for not respecting his wisdom. Ill tempered, yes, but a genius.

This book was full of emotion. Sometimes I didn't know whether to cry and stop because it was so painful or to cry and keep going and stick with the character. It was certainly a roller coaster and brought me to my knees with its potency.

Overall, A Monster Calls was an amazing novel. Full of plot twists and charm, this book had me wrapped around its finger. It will undoubtedly impact you emotionally as much as it did for me.

4 out of 5 stars

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.


Review: I went into this knowing about the severity of the language. I dismissed this as a mere block and honestly did not care whether it was crude or not for a year 5 student. I remember the first page blowing me away. The writing was so simple and narrated the story bluntly and cohesively. The protagonist Christopher was different. I had previously read books containing Aspergers and Autisim themes but this portrayal of Michael's life in 1st person really put things into perspective.

However the plot lacked energy. We find out that Mr Shears had an affair and murdered Mrs Shears' dog. That's basically the climax of it. Christopher, being a 15 year old boy with Asperger's could not do a whole lot to help it. And still to date I do not know what Siohban's purpose was (maybe a sub-character?)! The characters were severely underveloped and lacked the charisma we find in most characters.

The overall gist of the book intrigued me and it had so much potential but the plot and character development let the book down. Overall, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time was an interesting yet flawed read that gave insight into the life of an introspective individual. 

3 out of 5 stars

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meetings results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.


Review:

I remember watching the movie adaption in 2011 and being absolutely moved. It was officially my new favourite film and I was adamant to get the book. And so I sat down, pleasantly enjoying the plot and the writing which we'll talk deeper about later. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Then the plot took me away.

The emotions I felt as the 8 year old me who read this book cannot be described. I admit that I did not fully understand Nazi Germany as I do know and since then I have re read the book enough times to fully understand the concept but at the time the whole controversy was a bit bizarre in my head but I knew this; there was a boy who met another boy who were on opposite sides of an army and yet found peace within each other in a time of chaos. 

I found myself so invested in these characters and especially 'at the time' the incredibly playful, curious protagonist Bruno, who inspired me to lead an adventure. I would always choose his side on an argument, always think he was right and always think his ideas were genius. Looking back I kind of despise him. So pestering and insistent and immature (much like my sister...Oh I get it, I'm Gretel). 

Shmuel was by far my favourite character. His innocence and kindness despite the hard times he'd been through made him so endearing. He was so oblivious to the fact that there was a war behind him and Boyne's great writing captivated this moral message perfectly.

The pacing was definitely fast, which was suitable. Bruno was always up to something and his constant outings to feed Shmuel or to find the camp made the book so much more interesting, especially when he got caught, the intensity really flared.

 At such a young age reading such a dark book, I didn't understand the seriousness of the text that Boyne had created. However, looking back I realise that his work had been what revolutionised me as a person, learning about equality, rights and freedom, something that needs to be taught at a young age.

In conclusion, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas was an insightful, moral compassed read that will surely impact me for life. John Boyne poignantly wrote how human beings are equals and a simple thing like discrimination and judgement can turn the tables of society.

Divergent

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Review

FOREWARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

All right, you know Divergent. I know you know Divergent. Y'know why? BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE THE BIGGEST HYPED BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE!!!! Divergent was labelled as the new 'Hunger Games' and was blurbed by literally all of the authors in the world. So of course I went in with VERY high expectations.

Divergent. It was pretty good. Not the best Dystopian, but far from the worst. We are introduced with Tris, an Abnegation teen. I thought she was a relatable character and her Divergence was a unique aspect that made her character seem slightly mysterious which I liked. But the downfall were the factions. They did not make sense. I mean looking in the mirror is selfish because it's a sign of vanity? A hamburger is selfish because it is self-indulgent and extravagant? Well now I say that climbing a tree is selfish because it's leisure and leisure is self-indulgent. And while we're at it lets make pushing an elevator button selfish because noise causes disruption and is therefore selfish. And just the fact that people had more than one trait recognised in their personality made them a living threat to mankind? Wouldn't they be praised as people who were capable of seeing the good in more than one faction, not people who were feared as a threat to eternal peace? See what I mean? This lack of world building and answer of common questions was probably the only major flaw I found in this book.

Onto the good stuff. I loved the pacing of this book. It never felt slow or rushed or dragging or overly climactic. It was pieced together well so that I never felt like I didn't know what was going on or was swooped away before I could let some drama sink in. For example, when Edward was stabbed I felt anguish and sadness and Tris's guilt. Roth let these emotions sink in before we continued with the story.
Also when Tris' parents died, I felt Tris' feelings and her anger towards the Erudite and Jeanine. Roth knows how to evoke emotion, and at the exactly right time to.

I found that I didn't particularly love any characters in this book, partially because they were just meh. These were my feelings. Tobias: Eh, he seems cool, interesting backstory I guess. Tris: I like her, she's smart, strong-willed and confident. Christina: Mediocre sub-character, some cool scenes. An approxiamtion of everyone else: They're alright. It was more of the dialogue and development that had me liking them. It surprised me how much it impacted when something happened to a character. I never knew how much I cared for he/she and it surprised me how much it hurt.

Plot-wise, Divergent excelled. Never once did I feel bored or even slightly turned off. Roth made a great choice of choosing Dauntless as Tris's faction (Imagine if she chose Abnegation, how boring would the plot be?) as it was a great setting to kickstart the plot. Surprises leapt off the pages and kicked me in the face when I least expected and the story moved in a direction that spelled intensity and drama. Tris faced all of these threats with determination which I loved in her character.

Overall, Divergent was an interesting read. It was suspenseful, tense and provided an enjoyable holiday read. Roth created a unqiue, yet somewhat flawed universe that I found intriguing and complex. 

3.75 out of 5 stars