Weekend Reads #2

I had a pretty successful read last weekend and completed The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. Overall I found it an alright book, it just wasn't what I expected it to be, it was too character driven with a lack of action for me to really enjoy it: to view my full review click here. I also started and completed Before I Die by Jenny Downham and I loved it so much, it's such a beautiful read and it's definitely a book I'll read time and time again: to view my full review click here. However my hopes to continue with The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath went down the drain as I'm still on chapter 2 but I figure I'll get round to picking it back up.. eventually.

This weekend I've only tasked myself with one book and that is The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. The book follows the life of a teenage girl called Clary Fray who witnesses a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the murdered body disappears into thin air and it's hard for her to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing, not even a smear of blood, to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? That question ultimately leads to Clary's journey of learning who she really is and the history of her family after she discovers a connection between the sudden disappearance of her mother, the three mysterious teenagers, called Shadowhunters, and an attack she receives from an alleged demon.

In all honesty I thought I had been done with the fantasy world of vampires and werewolves but this book (which is the first in a 6 part series) has received so much hype and critical acclaim that I figured I may as well give it a shot, not to mention that the trailer for the film adaption looks pretty good.

Even though I'm only tackling this book this weekend chances are I won't finish it by Sunday as it's quite a hefty read and I'm currently only on chapter 2, but I guess we'll see how it goes. Be sure to let me know what book(s) you're tackling this weekend in the comment section!

Before I Die - Jenny Downham

Synopsis: "Sixteen-year-old Tessa is going to die and she has made a list of ten things she wants to do in the time she has left. But getting what you want isn't easy and getting what you want doesn't always give you what you need, and sometimes the most unexpected things become important."

Before I Die by Jenny Downham follows the story of sixteen-year-old Tessa who has been diagnosed with leukemia. Despite four grueling years of chemotherapy she discovers that her cancer is terminal, thus not giving her very long to live. She ultimately decides that she wants to spend the rest of the time she has left living life to the full and composes a list of 10 things she wants to do before she dies, most of which are illegal. However as Tessa grows closer to her final days she realises that what you want isn't always what you need and that the small and intimate pleasures of life are what truly mean the most to her.

To begin with I found it difficult to connect and sympathise with Tessa as I felt she was too busy being reckless to appreciate the help and support she has from everyone, particularly her father. He gave up everything for her including his job, his friends and all the things he generally enjoyed in life when Tessa was diagnosed yet here she was throwing it all back in his face because she couldn't see that he was suffering too; she failed to understand that although her father's days weren't limited like her's, he'd have to deal with outliving his daughter and not seeing her grow up like she should.

I loved the juxtaposition Downham created between Tessa's father and her best friend, Zoey, who despite Tessa's condition constantly reminds her that although she may have cancer it's no excuse for her to feel sorry for herself and mope about all the time. She argues that everyone is dying every day and that Tessa should just take it with a pinch of salt because eventually we all die and although that may sound morbid to many Tessa appreciates Zoey's honesty, especially because it means she doesn't act differently and tread on thin ice around her, unlike everybody else.

The way the relationship between Tessa and Adam is expressed by Downham is so beautiful. There are so many novels out there where romance becomes superficial and unrealistic, creating a false sense of hope and belief that love actually does exist, Downham however doesn't do that. She acknowledges that love has ups and downs and that it's never plain sailing. Yes, ok, the whole 'boy next door' thing may be a little cliché but there was no nauseating Romeo and Juliet love at first sight nonsense, there was just pure, unexpected love between two people; it was so engaging to read.

However it was the gradual progression of Tessa's cancer which lead to her appreciation of the smaller things in life that really gripped me in this book. She starts out thinking that sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll are the most important things to her but when she learns that she has a matter of weeks left she comes to realise that what she has really wanted to experience to the full has been right in front of her the entire time - her friends and family, and that was heartbreaking to read, more-so in her last few of days where she couldn't move or talk, only listen and sleep. Her dreams became so vivid, thought provoking and stunning to read. She dreams of the things she didn't get to experience and it all becomes so enticing and touching to read.

Before I Die is a beautiful novel that made me happy, sad, laugh and cry (or should I say hysterically sob). It's such a shame that people compare it to The Fault In Our Stars so often because this truly is a unique and enticing novel that is like no other.

I give Jenny Downham and Before I Die ★★★★★

The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey

Synopsis: "On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs. Runs from the beings that only look human, who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be her only hope. Now Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death."

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey follows the story of a teenage girl called Cassie as she tries to survive in a world that has been invaded by an alien species. The invasion however wasn't like the Hollywood film view the world expected and instead happened over the course of four waves. The first wave was an EMP which wiped out everything running on electricity, batteries and engines, killing half a million people. The second put that number to shame as a tsunami hit the world's coast, predominantly effecting America's West and East coast. The third was a deadly disease which took out 97% of the world's remaining population, and the fourth brought the Silencers who were set to take out the last few pockets of civilisation. But that's not it, there's a fifth wave coming but no one knows what it is.

It's a shame that so many people raved about how 'amazing' this book is before I picked it up as it gave me high expectations, unfortunately I found myself somewhat disappointed after the completion of this book and I dominantly put that down to me expecting far more from it because of the awesome reviews I had heard.

Although the world Yancey has created is innovative and thought provoking, I found that the plot didn't have much to it to keep me hooked and interested. I initially wasn't too bothered about the slow pace of the book as I was expecting it to all build up to an epic conclusion, but I was left incredibly disappointed by the lack of action the last few chapters provided; everything seemed to be too clean-cut for me.

However saying that I thoroughly enjoyed how Yancey provided a variation on character point of views throughout the book in order to further enlighten pre and post invasion. The story dominantly follows the point of view of Cassie, despite being primarily dual narrated by another character who's name I shall not mention because of spoilers. As a result of this the book is very character driven and provides a lot of character development.

The lack of action within this story is really disappointing, as previously mentioned. Yancey provides so much opportunity for action but there just isn't very much of it and whenever there is action I didn't find myself anxious or on the edge of my seat as I turned each page, it was all just very average to read and some of the events that unfolded seemed too simple and easily achieved when they shouldn't have been. I was also a little disappointed with the fifth wave as I had a lot of suspicion over what was happening at Camp Haven so when it was ultimately revealed I didn't find myself too surprised or gripped by it.

Ultimately The 5th Wave is a survival story and an examination of the state of the human race in world where it is all about kill or be killed and because of that I expected far more from this read. I just hope that the next book in the series, which is due out Summer 2014, delivers more.

I give Rick Yancey and The 5th Wave ★★★

Weekend Reads #1

I'm generally the type of person that will only ever take on one book at a time, simply because I easily become so engrossed in the world of the book I'm reading that there just isn't enough room for another book. That however isn't the case this weekend as I'll be battling three, well, rather attempting to battle three as I've just started watching Teen Wolf and I can't get enough of it.

My first task for this weekend is to finish The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. So far I'm really enjoying the story and the characters, however I'm yet to understand why so many people have raved about it because although it's a unique story that challenges some really interesting themes, there hasn't been much going on action wise. The lack of action however is made up by the guessing game I'm having with this book, each time I think I've figured the plot out it takes a different direction and I really enjoy that in a book. I'm currently on page 362 of 457 so I should have it finished by tomorrow night.

I'm also hoping to start Before I Die (previously known as Now Is Good) by Jenny Downham. I've been eager to start this book for ages as the plot sounds fantastic. The story follows a sixteen-year-old girl called Tessa who has cancer and is soon to die. Tessa however doesn't dwell on the coming of her death and instead makes a list of ten things she wants to do in the time she has left. But Tessa soon finds that getting what you want isn't easy, nor is it what you always need.

Chances are I'll have my heart ripped out and trampled on and will most likely sob like an uncontrollable baby, nevertheless I'm looking forward to this read. Clearly I haven't learnt my lesson from The Fault in Our Stars.

And finally, simply because I have to for my A2 English literature course, I'll be carrying on with The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. So far I'm only two chapters in and I'm already uninterested in the novel, most likely because it's a book I'm being forced to read and forcing me to read something never goes down well.

Be sure to let me know what books you're tackling this weekend in the comment section!

The Kill Order - James Dashner

Sun flares have unleashed devastation on the Earth. Mark and Trina were then when it happened, and against the odds they survived. But now a violent and highly contagious disease is spreading like wildfire. Worse still, it's mutating, and people are going crazy. Mark and Trina will do anything to save their friends - if only they can avoid madness and stay alive.

The Kill Order by James Dashner is the prequel to The Maze Runner trilogy and takes place 13 years before the day Thomas goes into the Glade. It follows the story of Mark and his friends as they try to survive in a world which is now flawed by despair, starvation and disease. For those of you that are yet to read the trilogy I strongly advise making your way through those books first as this book contains a lot of spoilers to events that take place in the latter three books.

To be perfectly honest I was rather skeptical about picking this prequel, although I am a massive fan of The Maze Runner trilogy it left me with a lot of unanswered questions and I was therefore dubious about whether or not this book would answer those questions and overall I'd say it did a pretty good job of doing so.

Although a lot of my questions were answered, such as where the Flare originated from and what happened to the Earth the day the sun flares struck, I was still left confused about how the flares came to hit the Earth as well as some outstanding questions about Thomas and the other Gladers. For those of you that know me you'll know that I'm a massive fan of Dashner when it comes to his use of epilogues as they're always so cleverly written and leave you wanting more. The epilogue to this book introduces Thomas in the moment WICKED come to collect him from his mother and although it was a sad few pages, I was left disappointed as I still didn't understand, or rather know, how WICKED came to selecting the brightest children and how they knew of their intelligence.

What I loved most about this book is the character development. From the synopsis I had the idea that Mark and Trina (who is Mark's love interest) would be the main characters and I wasn't sure if I wanted to delve into a soppy teenage romance, however I soon found that the main characters were actually Alec, a man who found Mark and Trina soon after the flares hit the Earth and took them under his wing, and Mark. This shone a new light on character relationships for me as I haven't read many novels which contain a strong father and son figure relationship. The character development between them both was fantastic and I loved how Dashner connected them in a way where they always knew what the other was thinking and strove to protect the same thing; their friends, despite none of them actually being blood related.

The general premise to this novel was also rather enjoyable. It dominantly follows the present tense but also uses flashbacks to the day the flares hit and the weeks that followed, during Mark's dreams. I thought the way Dashner blended the past and present together in that way was great to read and there was never a dull moment, I always found myself on the edge of my seat and my heart racing. The last few chapters were definitely the highlight of the book. I found myself shaking more and more as I turned each page as there was just so much suspense. The very last chapter was heartbreaking and found myself stunned by the realisation of who a certain female character is and sobbing over the last few moments between other characters.

Overall I really enjoyed this prequel, although maybe not as much as the trilogy itself, nevertheless it's a good read that answers a lot of questions. I just wish the book was a bit longer so I could have the answers to all of my questions! If you wish to read my review on The Maze Runner trilogy then click here to do so.

I give James Dashner and The Kill Order ★★★★