Rating: 9 · 552 pages
Read for The tl;dr Challenge
This book came highly recommended and positively reviewed by so many different readers, both offline and online. In the back of my mind, I knew there was a possibility that this would be one of those books that become popularized in the reading world for no real concrete reason. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with The Book Thief.
Narrated by Death himself, you'd think this novel would be mostly depressing. Quite the opposite; it is life-affirming. As we walk with Liesel through her formative years we watch as she becomes wise beyond her time, thanks to her surroundings, choices, and circumstances. Living as a foster child in Germany during World War II, Liesel's life is enriched by her friends, neighbors, family, and is damaged irretrievably by enemies she didn't deserve. Although this is a fictional account, I feel that in many ways, Liesel's experiences are symbolical and utterly essential to learning about the inexplainable truths and disappointments that so many have had to face. As she makes her way through the terrors of war, Liesel conveys a heart of courage and thoughtfulness that many would have trouble displaying in peacetime.
Throughout the novel, Liesel steals books. Sometimes from desperation, sometimes from anger, and sometimes just because they are there for the taking. But Liesel isn't a typical thief, not by any means. Books mean even more to Liesel than they do to most of us who consider ourselves bookworms. Her books are real, sacred connections to her past, present, and future.
It's not often you find a novel that is written so simply yet so lyrically. The way the author used words, it was just amazing. Here are a few quotes:
It kills me sometimes, how people die.
Even the wrinkles around her eyes were joining hands.
Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day. That was the business of hiding a Jew.
She could see the light on Max's eggshell face and even taste the human flavor of his words.
I can now officially join the multitude of people who hold this book and its deeply creative author in high esteem.
Rating: 6 · 501 pages
I wouldn't go so far as to say that buying this book was, in itself, a "pretty little mistake", but I will admit that this is yet another lesson I've learned in not judging a book by its cover. I purchased Pretty Little Mistakes because it looked cool. I did read the premise, and thought an adult version of the choose your own adventure would make for a fun read. And it did, kind of. Maybe I'm just too much of a traditionalist to be able to truly enjoy a book that is written this way. You have to keep going back to the first page to start over on a new adventure. I did this about 10 times, but each adventure only lasted about 12-20 pages each, and then you were dead and had to go back to the beginning all over again.
Eventually, I gave up and just read the book straight through. The various story lines ranged from interesting or fulfilling to scary or depressing. Obviously, the author wrote this book for women to read, because the main character (you) is a female. She meets all types of people, travels to different areas of the world (most of them outside the U.S., I noticed), and ends up in situations good, bad or terrible. If you read the book straight through, you'll find that near the end, you die on every other page. It's an interesting reading experience.
This book made me thankful for my own very uneventful life and for the ultimately mundane choices I've made.
Rating: 9 · 334 pages
I was the lucky recipient of an Advance Reader's Copy of Bulls Island by Dorothea Benton Frank. When I got the note that this was the one they were going to send me, I was really thrilled, because I have enjoyed previous novels by this author. Bulls Island was yet another great book, written as most of her others are in the setting of the South Carolina Lowcountry. I've never visited that area of the U.S., but I long to go now that I have "traveled" there through her novels. There's something extra-special about that area, I can tell from just reading about it.
Bulls Island was one of those books that start off fast, then slow (way) down, and then pick up to a nice speed for the last set of chapters. I particularly enjoyed the story of Betts & J.D., the main characters. In a way, I wished that Betts had had the opportunity to tell her big secret before fate told it for her; I would have liked to see her family's reactions (and J.D.'s) in a more normal setting. But maybe it was better the way they did come to find out. The shock of the recent events probably helped to dull the anger that would have inevitably cropped up after finding out what Betts had been hiding for so long.
There were 2 characters I loved to hate: Louisa and Valerie. And maybe this is bad, but I had very little sympathy for Valerie. What a total witch! At the end, at least Louisa redeemed herself somewhat by insisting on some morality and decency regarding the situation between her son and Betts.
Overall, though the story was a bit unbelievable in certain parts, I found myself turning the pages happily, excited to find out what was going to happen next. I wish we would have been able to find out more about how Betts and J.D.'s relationship ended up - an epilogue including their wedding would have been nice. I really wanted to see those two make it happily ever after. But we're led to believe that's what would happen anyway, so I guess that will have to do!
