Wonder - R.J. Palacio

"My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse."

Wonder follows the story of 10-year-old August 'Auggie' Pullman in a world where he feels totally ordinary, but only on the inside. Born with a terrible face deformity that sends children screaming in the playground, Auggie tries his best to settle into his new life at school. After being home-schooled by his parents in every effort to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world, Auggie's journey is far from easy. With some children taking a liking to him instantly and others shunning him, all Auggie wants is to be accepted by his classmates and live life as a care free little boy.

Curiosity is what first drew my attention to this book. Too often I've picked up books that have grabbed my attention and then quickly put them back down after reading the blurb because I've become either disinterested or fearful that I won't enjoy it, an assumption of which is based off a paragraph or two on the back. Wonder, however, has little to nothing in terms of obvious attraction to readers with only a short sentence on the back and a simple image on the front. Strangely, I loved that as it made delving into the book intriguing. I had no idea what it was about, the genre or even the recommended reading age. It's a tactic that more publishers need to incorporate as oppose to plastering "fans of The Hunger Games will love this" on every book.

Despite my lack of knowledge on the book however, I did expect it to have quite a serious tone and for it to seriously pull on my heartstrings. And, whilst there were some heartbreaking moments through dialogue like "we're kind of like Beauty and the Beast", I found it was actually an inspiring, cheerful, funny and heart warming read.

Too often in the past I've been irked by first-person narratives as I'm very much a fan of knowing what's happening outside of a protagonist's thoughts and actions, so I loved the division Palacio created in this book. Through switching the character perspective at different times throughout I could gain an understanding of their own thoughts towards Auggie, not his assumptions, and what's going on in their own lives. This isn't a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat with cliffhangers that force you onto the next chapter. This is a remarkable story about life that is shown through relatable characters who are all completely different and dealing with everyday problems.

Auggie is very much a character I adore where, from the get go, you're made aware of his facial deformity. From the traumas he's had to deal with as a result, I expected to only really feel a sense of pity for him, yet I ended up feeling quite the opposite. With a happy and only occasionally doubtful outlook on life, I found Auggie unbelievably hilarious and thoughtful, with the kind of personality I looked for in a friend when I was his age. It was also nice to see Auggie himself having a giggle over and poking fun at his "deformities", which is what I love about his character. He's just a little boy who wants to be able to have fun and not worry about what other people think, and I hope it inspires other people to do the same. His ability to overcome things and the relationships he develops with his family and friends are so admirable and warming to read that they had me thinking back to my primary school days, so this book was also pretty nostalgic for me.

On the other hand I also found myself despising some characters and there's nothing better than picking up a book that gives me different responses and attachments to each character; it's refreshing and exciting. An example would be Julian's mother and Julian himself, who turns out to be quite the bully, showing the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. However, I felt as if there was a reason for why Julian is the way he is, and although it bothered me that it wasn't explained in this story, I look forward to eventually getting my hands on The Julian Chapter to find out.

There were so many elements of this book that were quite educational too, in the sense of how we should treat and perceive others. Although a really old lesson and quite a cliché response, Wonder is a book I needed when I was a child because it's so easy for children to forget or not understand how what they say and do can hurt others, so it's fantastic to see that such a book exists now and that it's easy for anyone to understand and read regardless of their age.

Overall, this book is one that'll charge at you with a plethora of different emotions and responses through the journey of one little boy who is just after acceptance and happiness. It's a book you'll be begging your friends and family to read, whilst also encouraging yourself to read it again and again.

I give R.J. Palacio and Wonder

Weekend Reads #7

For anyone who viewed my blog this time last year will know that over the course of the summer I reread the Harry Potter series and reviewed each book individually. Well, almost each book. For some reason, once I finished The Deathly Hallows I didn't stick up a review and, whilst I could easily review it without having to reread it for the 100th time, I'm going to anyway. It's been a slow reading month due to my preparations for uni so finding a little comfort in Harry Potter is just what I need. So the book I'm going to tackle this weekend is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by the one and only J.K. Rowling.

As it's such a massive book it'd be more than ambitious to try and finish it over the weekend and find time to start another book. I could easily finish it over the weekend if it was the first time reading it but I always go a little slower with rereads because it's not quite as exciting as the very first time. But then again it's Harry Potter so who knows?

I will however, despite losing my notes on it, try and get my review of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline done at some point this weekend. It's not that it's not a brilliant book and can't do the review without the notes, I just like to take notes down as I go along so I know I've included everything I need to say. If you're a reviewer you'll understand haha; so be sure to look out for that. Until then, why not visit my Harry Potter tag and check out my reviews of the previous 6 books in the series here!

The Seckry Sequence: The Trinity Awakening - Joseph Evans

"It's Seckry Sevenstars second year at Eastergate Institute, and things are already shaping up to be just as eventful as the first; a revolting looking Nasty has appeared in the Food Grabber machine, a new lesson called fringe science has been added to his timetable, Mrs Cutson is acting more sadistic than ever, the twenty eighth Friction Mega Meltdown is fast approaching and two exchange students from Norsegate have arrived, causing trouble and provoking Seckry and his friends.

With homework mounting and Friction training at its most intense, Seckry has very little time for distractions, but soon Seckry is forced to rethink everything he knew about Eiya’s existence, whilst also trying to uncover the truth behind his father's mysterious disappearance. And, in his quest for answers, Seckry unearths long forgotten secrets buried within the school grounds."

The Trinity Awakening picks up shortly after the conclusion of City of the Falling Sky on the date of Seckry's sixteenth birthday. That, however, isn't before Evans opens the novel with an explosive prologue which really sets the tone for the book. He wastes no time in boring the reader with a predictable build-up and instead grips and engrosses you from the get go, intertwining twists even the smartest of nickpickers wouldn't see coming. The start of the book also brings a good reintroduction of key characters and visitation of past events, meaning, unlike many series that have a substantial wait between releases, you don't need to read up on a detailed synopsis to refresh your mind of the world.

Overall, I found this book so much more haunting and thrilling than the latter, stretching the YA genre by making it into something more than just love triangles, heroines and oppressive capitalism. It's clear that Evans has worked hard on linking every book in the series, looking towards the next book whilst writing the current one. This allows questions from Falling Sky to be answered in this book, whilst also introducing new mysteries and narrative arcs that, surprisingly, given the size of the world that Evans has created, stick in your mind - there never seems to be any loose ends.

The exploration of characters and the developing relationship between Seckry and Eiya is an element of this book I truly admired; I even found myself gushing at times. I particularly enjoyed the growing relationship between Vance and Seckry as over the course of the series Vance has become an essential father figure in Seckry's life and it'll be interesting to see where it goes as the series continues.

Despite having complimented Evans before on his use of imagination and descriptive techniques, they're something I have to mention again as there's nothing more exciting than reading a world that's so well constructed and exciting to devour. Each chapter is so beautifully cinematic that even the tiniest of details play out in my head with little effort. There's a lot of different things unfolding in the first half of the book, which, admittedly, can be a little confusing to keep track of at times. However, nothing that is mentioned or occurs is for the sake of filling pages, which is what I love about Evans' writing. There's a constant incorporation of cleverly linked events throughout that you don't take much notice of at the time because they appear minor to the story, yet later become a vital and intriguing part, again creating unpredictability.

Although very few could question its necessity to the story, simply because, as of yet, it hasn't helped in the unravelling of any mysteries, I for one love Evans' creation of the Friction game and Mega Meltdown. The game in general brings a bit of fun and a good distraction from the serious more darker themes of the story. It's safe to say I was quite the role-playing nerd when I was younger so I find it quite nostalgic to read, not to mention that I want nothing more than to play it. At the same time however it was nice to see that there wasn't much focus on it as it was established so largely in the first book that had there been any more of it in this book it would have lost its sense of excitement.

What stood out most however is the climax of the book. It definitely has one of those I don't know what to do with myself endings, giving me quite the 'book hangover', which I loved - there's nothing better than reading a book that leaves such a lasting impression.

It's safe to say that I loved reading this book. It's exhilarating, unpredictable, fun and even pulls a little on your heartstrings. I even found myself craving the third book so I could read it straight after finishing this one. Speaking of, whilst no release date has been announced as of yet, you can check out the teaser trailer for The Seckry Sequence: Fate of the Fractured here - however I strongly advise avoiding it until you've read the first two books!

I give Joseph Evans and The Seckry Sequence: The Trinity Awakening

Gone - Michael Grant

"A small town in Southern California: In the blink of an eye everyone over the age of 15 disappears. Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there's no help on the way. Chaos rules the streets.

Now a new world order is rising and, even scarier, some survivors have power - mutant power that no one has ever seen before..."

Gone by Michael Grant follows the story of everyone under the age of 15, predominantly the protagonist, Sam Temple, as they face a world they could never have imagined. In the blink of an eye everyone over the age of 15 disappears, leaving Sam and the girl he's in love with, Astrid, along with every other remaining child, to fend for themselves in a new world full of mutations, betrayal and a lurking darkness.

In all honesty, the first time I read this book in the summer of 2012 I didn't particularly like it. I found it difficult to get into, tedious to read when I could and it didn't make me any more of a fan of the sci-fi genre. Gone simply felt like something I had read before, as well as seen in films, despite it being a brilliant concept. Having said that, this year I figured I'd give the series another shot now that all the books have been released and, whilst my judgement the second time round remained slightly clouded by my first experience with this novel, my opinion did change for the better.

On the whole, I found the pacing of this novel generally enjoyable and exciting to read, although it did occasionally fall flat and didn't quite meet my expectations. Having said that however, it has a rather impressive premise, á la Lord of the Flies meets X-Men, that stretches the YA genre through Grant's shocking and cruel use of imagery that isn't quite Saw-gruesome, but does make you cringe and wince over his use of descriptive techniques and his clear desire to present the harshness of this new, dark world in a way that many authors have avoided in fear of not drawing their younger target audience in. It does however feel like Grant could have done more with the story as I felt that the middle of the book was more of a filler as opposed to part of the novel.

I found the characters in this novel a bit of a mixed bag, some of them I liked, even loved, others I found boring and frustrating; unfortunately Sam Temple was one of those characters. Although I'm appreciative of the fact that his character is only 14-years-old, I found his entire 'I'm not trying to be the hero nor do I want to be the hero' charade irksome and pointless when it's clear that he's well aware that he is Perido Beach's only hope - there's also the small matter of him continually ending up in scenarios which result in him being branded the hero. It was also confusing to see him accept the fact that Astrid 'The Genius' perceived him as a hero and the person who should take charge of the situation, yet continue to moan and complain when either trait came into play for him or another character perceived and treated him in the same way. Astrid on the other hand was a character I loved. It's great when you find female characters, particularly within the sci-fi genre, that aren't oppressed tertiary or secondary characters and, instead, stand for being everything other than the pretty damsel in distress. Her character is beyond intelligent, maternal and carries the traits of a natural born leader and I love that in any and every character.

It's clear that whilst Grant put a lot of effort into creating this world and interlinking the narrative and creating arks for the later novels, it does become a little cliché at times, which I think is common within the YA genre. Whilst I appreciate Grant's desire to illuminate typical teenage problems and how that just because the world has changed doesn't mean their problems have suddenly diminished, I felt that I was, at times, reading something like Pretty Little Liars or The Vampire Diaries with over-dramatic, unnecessary, predictable twists.

However, what's particularly interesting about this novel is despite it primarily focusing on Sam, it occasionally changes perspective to other characters who appear to take prominence later on in the book and, I assume, later in the series. I liked how the story often backtracks a little when coming to focus on another character as it sheds light for the reader on the current situation, giving an understanding of more than just one perspective as well as allowing the narrative to move in different directions by enlightening you in each character's thought process. At the same time however, the switch on character focus can confuse the story a little as one minute you could be making your way through a fast-paced chapter which focuses on one character, then the pace suddenly ceases in the next chapter, landing you with a character in a completely different situation that you haven't met before or are unfamiliar with, so it definitely takes some getting used to.

I think it would be safe to say that the climax is so much more satisfying to read than the rest of the book. It's exhilarating, allowing your imagination to run wild, as a multitude of events take place simultaneously. The themes of death and horror prevail in the climax, lasting a few chapters instead of just a couple of pages, and presenting an ending that actually makes me want to read the sequel, Hunger, as opposed to wanting to put it off as I expected it to.

Overall, this is a story about children trying to adapt to and survive in a new, frightening world that offers great opportunity for action-packed scenes and excitement, yet, unfortunately, sometimes falls short due to irksome characters, a sudden change in character focus or the dominance of typical teenage drama. This series definitely has a lot of potential but Gone doesn't quite push it.

I give Michael Grant and Gone

Guess Who's Back, Back Again..

I think it's safe to say, given my sheer lack of dedication so far this year, that I'm probably one of, if not the most, unreliable blogger as of late. I have a tendency to set myself unrealistic goals in terms of when I can come back to the world of blogging and, whilst returning straight after my exams was initially realistic, I decided against it when my grandfather sadly passed away just a couple of weeks ago.

Whilst a horrible experience to go through, I think grieving is important, giving ourselves time to adjust and to accept the reality of the situation. It's taking me longer than expected because I was so close to my grandfather, but I think it's finally time to return and get back to what I enjoy; reading and reviewing.

Since my last post I've unfortunately only gotten through two books, The Seckry Sequence: The Trinity Awakening by Joseph Evans, as well as finally getting round to rereading Gone by Michael Grant as I want to continue with the series, despite pretty much hating Gone the first time around. I'm in the middle of writing up reviews for both so hopefully one will be with you Monday and the other in the middle of the week.

I'm also hoping, given that I have two whole months until I start university (which might I add I'm stupidly excited for), that I make general posts more often, with the belief that for some strange reason one or two of you might actually care about what's going on in my life.

Anyway I think I'll cut this post short. I always find that when I actually come to writing that I forget 95% of what I was going to say. Ah well, not to worry eh? Be sure to check back Wednesday evening (UK) for my review of Gone!