Review: Looking for Alaska - John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

Review

I have become some what obsessed with John Green's work, especially since I think I read his best work first (The Fault in our Stars). Looking for Alaska alike his other novels which I have read, explores reality, the real situations in life that cause grief and troubles and excitement. For example, the narrative is told by a teenage boy called Miles, who is nicknamed Pudge for most of the novel, who experiences what it is like to be uprooted into a new school, meeting new people, living with a flat mate and discovering the secrets of these people's lives, falling for someone, and most importantly dealing with the loss of a close one.

Each character that Mile's meets is very distinctive, which I think enhances this feeling of the real world, think about it... the people you know, you remember them through their individual quirks and habits which seemed unusual until you got used to them. For example, his roommate that they call the Colonel smuggles alcohol (vodka) into college by mixing it with milk, he's short and stocky yet affectionate for his mother, who lives in a trailer which he grew up in. Further, Alaska has a strong character, her room is piled high with books, she smokes to die, she's mysterious and cunning, she likes prank people and she's deeply haunted by her past. These characters add something extra to the story, bringing it to life with vibrance. 

Together along with other friends, this group of friends goes through the good and bad together. Green has a fantastic ability to write poetically and beautifully haunting about almost anything, and this really shows through this story which is more about meaning than action. Yet it doesn't lack in action, it is lively with teenage mischiefs. You'll laugh and cry and cringe, and feel a little confused with this book, questioning what has really taken place. 

I'd recommend this to any readers over 14 (due to some scenes in the book, I don't reckon this is for younger children) as it is a fantastic read like all of his work is. If you haven't read a John Green yet, they should defiantly be on your to be read list.  

5/5 of course! what did you expect?

Here is some artwork based on the book I found on the internet... 

“The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.” 

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

From first-time novelist Jordan Sonnenblick, a brave and beautiful story that will make readers laugh and break their hearts at the same time.

Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece. 

Salted with humor and peppered with devastating realities, DRUMS, GIRLS, AND DANGEROUS PIE is a heartwarming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.

Review

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie is probably the first book I have read with such a young narrative voice. It is narrated by thirteen year old Steven, who has a normal teenage life until something bigger than he can understand turns it on its side. So I think at first I found this book difficult to get into, taking me back about 5/6 years in age, however I think because the book is based on something that older viewers will understand with further depth, this allowed me to enjoy the book just as much. 

As a teenage boy Steven views life as more problematic than it is, and that the world is against him... as we all do during those years. Teenagers being a little turned in on themselves, tend to be half blind to what is going on around them. So when Steven's younger brother is discovered to have leukaemia and his family falls into decline, the implications on Steven's life and routine seems to weigh heavily on him. This is where I felt his character was a selfish, not understanding the effort and pain of others, moaning when he doesn't get his own way.

Throughout the book however, we watch how a young thirteen year old boy develops, becomes more confident in himself, grows to appreciate his family and most importantly his brother, how dedication can get him far (through his love for drumming and insistent practice) and how he has to make the big decisions sometimes and take a risk. It is beautiful following the transformation. This is why I believe this is a great book for children, as they learn how sometimes you need to look beyond your picture and into puzzle of everyone's picture. Yet, although it is fairly easy to read... I would still recommend young adults, older readers, to give this book a whirl, as sometimes we forget too, to appreciate what we have daily and to look beyond ourselves. 

Filled with so much emotion, I'm sure you'll laugh, cry, cringe and grit your teeth at this story as much as I did. I whizzed through it, being larger font and easy language, so its great for a light read for those needing a break from 500 page novels! 

I borrowed this book from a friend who has read it a dozen times, and by the looks of it backwards too, I've not seen a book so read without being in a old book store. So he clearly adores the book.

4/5 Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, is a beautiful book about the journey into adulthood. 

Saturday Snapshot: July 6th

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mummy

Wow I haven't done Saturday Snapshot in about a year, and a crazy year it has been. I've now finished college and am off to University in September. I'm going to Bath Spa (in England) to study a Creative Writing degree. 

So here is how my year has been, to begin with some of my work from during my last year a-level photography projects

My visit to Bath Spa University in October - On the train 

Like the above.. part of my coursework project - using a film camera

These are a select few from my exam photography project based on the theme illumination, most of my work can be found on flickr here.
I also made Blurb books of both my coursework project and exam project photographs.. which can be found here and here. 

Further.. these are my final art pieces form the year (phone quality photographs)

My project was based on Alice in Wonderland

A2 size 

A1 size - main piece

A2 size

I'm thinking about making some designs like these

 

 

For the site Society 6 where you can buy prints in the form of canvas prints, phone cases, ipad cases, totes, t-shirts and so on.. so if you like my work... watch this space: http://society6.com/mazznixondesigns











And as for my summer so far.. it's consisted of days like these

Baking cakes with my boyfriend at 11pm

And building a fort like a pair of children

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.. I know I am! Happy Saturday, have a lovely weekend!

Review: Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves

Interworld by Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves

When Newbery Medal winner Neil Gaiman and Emmy Award winner Michael Reaves teamed up, they created the bestselling YA novel InterWorld.

InterWorld tells the story of Joey Harker, a very average kid who discovers that his world is only one of a trillion alternate earths. Some of these earths are ruled by magic. Some are ruled by science. All are at war.

Joey teams up with alternate versions of himself from an array of these worlds. Together, the army of Joeys must battle evil magicians Lord Dogknife and Lady Indigo to keep the balance of power between all the earths stable.

Teens—and tweens and adults—who obsessively read the His Dark Materials and Harry Potter series will be riveted by InterWorldand its sequel, The Silver Dream

Review 

When I first began reading Interworld I felt the voice and the world created inside of the novel might be for younger readers. I felt slightly odd reading a book that felt like it was for children or much younger teenagers. Maybe this was because I had been reading Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre Classics for English at the time, or maybe just the whole idea within the book felt too fantasy to be something believable in a adult's mind. Or possibly it was because the idea of different worlds was something I had thought and dreamt about as a child and it reminded me of those days.

I'm not sure which, but none the less I kept reading, I only ever really give up on a book when it really bores me, not when it is too tough to decipher or if it feels to young for me. So I read on, and I have to say although the outline of the story and the elements do on the surface seem like for a young audience, the way the book is actually written is very educational. I think because of this, it opens the book out to a much wider audience. Children and younger readers could enjoy Interworld because it is very magical and thrilling and they would simply not notice the deeper meaning in the words that older readers can, allowing the older readers into a meaningful story that involves young characters. So once I had gotten past the 'fantasy-like' concept of the book feeling too young for me, I saw how the writers meant much more.

For example, Interworld explores family learning to accept and let go of loved ones, bravery in a young child, friendship and loyalty, duty and pride, going beyond ones limit, having faith in others, not being accepted or being judge for something you didn't quite understand, feeling like an outsider, coming to terms with being alike others and that you belong somewhere else than your home.

There is so much within this story that makes it much more than a story of exploring the different worlds, there is action, greif, trust, loyalty, tension, fright, bravery... I could go on. The journey of the main character Joey is outstanding and I think a lot of young readers can be influenced by such a character.

4/5 A must read for younger readers and those older ones who enjoy fantasy and thrill.

I really enjoyed Interworld and I have its sequel The Silver Dream, which I hope to read and bring you the review of soon!

Reviewed for Harper Collins UK Publishers

See you soon! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer holidays!

Allegiant!

Is it just me who is on the edge waiting for the third book of the Divergent series (Allegiant) to be released or? 

ALSO THE DIVERGENT MOVIE IS OUT NEXT YEAR!

 Doesn't the casting look great, Four especially meets my mental image of the character... let us hope the movie can live up to the book!

Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Hi Bloggers, I'm back from exam season! Wow two years of college went fast, off to University in just 3 months (scary stuff)...  I can finally read again and I have a few reviews from books I have read which I never got around to reviewing so here goes...

Paper towns by John Green

So if you happen to follow my reviews, or saw my review of The Fault in Our Stars, you will know that I fell in love with John Green's writing and I knew that I had to read more or his work (READ ALL THE JOHN GREEN BOOKS!) so I chose Paper Towns as my second read of his work, probably because of the title and cover which tune in with my desire to travel.

If you have read Paper Towns, you will know that it is not exactly about travelling, but it still has a big adventure with thrill and new experiences, fear and chemistry. Yet this is still not the adventure about this book that I think John Green intended to say with this novel, it is much deeper than that, like I have learnt all of his works are. They are insights into life from a perspective most forget to look from, or just over look and miss it.

The characters in Paper Towns are very real, normal high school students, written from a young boys perspective you see how life can be tough for a teenage boy who isn't that popular, gets bullied, and has a crush on a girl who is. But his life isn't terrible, because you don't need popularity to be happy, he has a group of friends, including his two best guy friends who both have personalities which made me laugh - a lot. His life is changed suddenly by Margo, a popular girl.. who although seems like she has everything... inside she feels she doesn't. Again, popularity isn't happiness.

It seems that Paper Towns underlining edges towards a persons desire to escape home, escape the people who have hurt them, escape the business, the blandness of a small town... onto something bigger, better... or to find safe so that peace of mind can be found.

And it shows how some people just aren't happy or don't belong in places and they cannot be tied down, that you have to let people go even if you could follow them cause they walk alone better.I felt i could really relate to Margo in this book, with her desires to be somewhere else, and the explanations about leaving really hit home.

It's a rather emotional book, but what John Green books aren't? I cried in places but also laughed, and tension was always between the pages.. Paper Towns is definitely one of those books I couldn't predict.. it surprised me all the way through. I think the journeys that the individual characters take have a lot of meaning to be learnt in them. A truly inspiring book, that deals with serious issues.


Of course a 5/5.. I'm not sure I can go any lower for a John Green! (though I still prefer The Fault in Our Stars)

Here are a few quotes to get your teeth into!

“What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.” 

“It is so hard to leave—until you leave. And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world.” 

“The town was paper, but the memories were not.”

“Maybe its like you said before, all of us being cracked open. Like each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And then things happen - these people leave us, or don’t love us, or don’t get us, or we don’t get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack in places. And I mean, yeah once the vessel cracks open, the end becomes inevitable. Once it starts to rain inside the Osprey, it will never be remodeled. But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and when we finally fall apart. And its only that time that we see one another, because we see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs. When did we see each other face to face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade, but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.” 

Another trailer! - The Ghosting of Gods by Cricket Baker