Summer-Reading Mini Reviews

Assigned Summer Reading Mini-Reviews

I read both of these books over the summer, so I don’t remember them as well as I would remember a recent read.  Therefore, I’ve decided to combine them both into two min-reviews and one post.  Enjoy! 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.

When I first picked up this book, I was a little hesitant to read it.  It seemed really long and a tiny bit dry.  I was also a bit turned off when the introduction stated that the book was about “nothing in particular.”  I thought I’d be wasting my time, but I was pleasantly surprised.  My parents actually grew up in Brooklyn and we are there very often, so it was interesting to read about places I’ve been to.  I also became really attached to each of the characters.  Even though Katie eventually became fed up with Johnny Nolan, I loved him.  He was just such a classic character and when Neely grew up to be just like him, I loved it.  Francie and Katie were also special to me.  I felt bad for Francie with everything she’d been through and the way she had to live.  I was always sympathetic for Katie, being the one in charge of the Nolan family and having to deal with all of the stress.  I even loved Aunt Sissy, even though she made many mistakes, she still ended up being one of my favorite characters.  Oh and Laurie was adorable (: .

I also loved the element of time in the story.  I got to “watch” Johnny and Katie fall in love, Francie and Neely grow up, and everything along the way.  The story followed three generations, which was pretty cool.  

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is an amazing coming of age novel, that could be described as dry at a few parts, but was definitely worth reading.  I absolutely loved it.

Final Grade: 

Farenheit 451

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic novel of a post-literate future, ‘Fahrenheit 451’ stands alongside Orwell’s ‘1984’ and Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which over fifty years from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

As you now know, I experienced a bit of luck with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  This book, however, wasn’t so great.  I’m not one to bash an author’s work, I just really didn’t like it.

Farenheit 451 was confusing at times, with things not being fully explained.  I felt like I was supposed to guess what was going on.  I had trouble connecting to Mildred, but at least Guy was relatable.  I understood his feeling with being torn between two options.  I liked Clarisse McClellan for adding a little bit of interest to the story.  Otherwise, I thought the book was really slow and hard to understand.  I felt like it really could’ve been condensed a lot.  Needless to say, it is a classic, so some people do happen to enjoy it.

Final Grade:

Review/Let's Talk: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Genre: Classic-Romace

Source: Distributed from School
Series: No

Challenge: Free Reads

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "star-cross'd lovers" whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. 
It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet and Macbeth, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.

     Always the classic, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a timeless piece of literature.  Everyone wants a love story so real.  Unfortunately, this review will be a bit spoilery because I feel like Romeo and Juliet is pretty well known.  So if you don't know the story, don't keep reading this review!
     When I was assigned to read Romeo and Juliet for english I was excited.  I had always known the story but, had never read the original work, only abridged versions.  That being said, I thought I knew everything about the story.  Before reading the original work, I always thought that insta-love worked only for Romeo and Juliet but, now I'm not convinced.  I thought it was so romantic when I thought they were around 18 and the same age.  Turns out that my English teacher pointed out to me that they are not the same age.  Romeo happens to be older and Juliet is only fourteen.  That's right, fourteen.  Kind of unbelievable, right?!  It turns out that all those movie adaptations were completely inaccurate with casting Juliet.  Also, at first Juliet doesn't want to marry Paris and hasn't even thought about marrying but, the second she meets Romeo, everything changes and all of a sudden she's a hopeless romantic who is willing to die for him.  It's all a little too much and her decision change occurs in less than twelve hours.  Romeo is also grieving over his past relationship at the start of the novel.  He refuses to do anything besides shut himself in his room but, when he meets Juliet, the world is perfect again.  Once again, another hasty decision change.  Turns out that both Romeo and Juliet have fatal flaws: being fickle, hasty, and reckless.  Their flaws ultimately bring them to their demise.

     As for characters, no matter what happens plot-wise, who couldn't love Romeo?  The way he speaks and professes his love for Juliet is so romantic.  Even Juliet speaks in such flowery and light iambic pentameter.  Who couldn't love the balcony scene?  It's so cliche, but I can't help but love it.
     All in all, I'm not really all that sure about how I feel about Romeo and Juliet.  I love the romance and the words but, it's extremely unrealistic.  I don't know what to think.

This is actually incredibly accurate.

Confessions:

1. No matter how far fetched the story and the romance is, I will always love the movie.  Hello, it's Leonardo DiCaprio!


2. I liked the story a lot more when I assumed that they were both around 18 and it was longer than 3 days.


3. Regardless of it's flaws, I'm always down for a classic R&J retelling and can't say no to a classic love story.

Final Grade:

Not sure, but I'm still leaning towards a positive grade.  I can't say that I don't like it because I always enjoy the story.

In essence, this post almost turned into a Let's Talk, so why not?  Write a post and link to it or leave a comment with your take on Romeo and Juliet.  I need help figuring out what rating to give it!

   

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes by Kazu Kibuishi

Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade-Graphic Novel
Source: Finished Copy from Publisher
Series: No, Standalone

Challenge: Free Reads

Seven clever stories answer one simple question: what’s in the box?
Funny, fantastic, spooky, and suspenseful, each of these unique and beautifully illustrated 
short graphic works revolves around a central theme: a mysterious box and the marvels—or mayhem—inside. Artists include middle school favorites Kazu Kibuishi, Raina Telgemeier (Smile), and Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy), as well as Jason Caffoe, Stuart Livingston, Johane Matte, Rad Sechrist (all contributors to the groundbreaking comics anthology series Flight), and upcoming artist Emily Carroll.

    I recieved this book in the mail as a surprise.  I had never heard of it before and had never recieved anything from this publisher before, so I was excited to recieve it.  After flipping through the book, I noticed that it was a graphic novel which made me even more excited!  I had never read a graphic novel before so, for my first graphic novel, I enjoyed it!
    All the illustrations were fun and creative and I enjoyed looking at them.  Pictures are always a fun way to tell a story.  I was able to finish the entire book in less than 40 minutes, which was great because I haven't had much time to read lately.  It was a nice light read.  One thing that I didn't really enjoy about the book was that it was an anthology, so each story was really short.  Once I started getting to know the characters, the story would end.  I felt like the stories should've been a bit longer and allowed for more character development.  I also thought that some of the loose ends in the stories weren't tied up in the end.
     Overall, I enjoyed this book.  The graphics were fun to look at and the stories were all unique.  I didn't appreciate the shortness of some of the tales but, I still enjoyed all of them.  This is great to pick up on a rainy day.  You should be able to finish it in less than an hour :)


Final Grade:

Pie by Sarah Weeks

Hey Remarkable Readers,
Today is the first review from my younger sister, Lindsey!  She is in the middle grade age group and will be guest reviewing every once in a while!  You voted for her in the side poll, so here she is!  For her first review, she wanted to do something fun, so she wrote a poem about the book and a little paragraph telling what she thought of it!  Hope you enjoy!  If you want you can leave a comment with a suggestion for what she should read next!

Happy Reading,  Jessie. 

Pie by Sarah Weeks 


Genre: Middle Grade
Source: Purchased from Book Fair
Series: No, Standalone

Buy It: The Dolphin Bookshop (Shop Indie!),  The Book Depository

Other Books by This Author: So. B. It, Oggie Cooder, Oggie Cooder: Party Animal, As Simple as It Seems

From the award-winning author of SO B. IT, a story about family, friendship, and...pie!When Alice's Aunt Polly passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world-famous pie-crust recipe. Or does she? In her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her extraordinarily surly cat Lardo . . . and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice.Suddenly Alice is thrust into the center of a piestorm, with everyone in town trying to be the next pie-contest winner ... including Alice's mother and some of Alice's friends. The whole community is going pie-crazy . . . and it's up to Alice to discover the ingredients that really matter. Like family. And friendship. And enjoying what you do.

Pie
Polly was the best in town, 
People coming from all around,
to eat at her pies, 
but when she had died,
she left her niece alice to cry.


They used to hang out all the time,
Making and eating their pies, 
but that had all ended,
it couldn't be mended,
Now Alice had said goodbye.


Polly left the recipe to a cat, (or did she?)
and this cat was really fat.
This cat Lardo came,
Was left to Alice to tame,
And now someone stole him at night.


Alice and Charlie tried their best shot,
To catch the culprit with all the've got
They had one plan, 
but it was a scam,
so now they must fine who to blame.


Mysteries are left to find out,
like who was the crazy lout,
who has stolen the cat, this crazy crook,
to figure this out, you must read the book!


     PIE was a pretty short book that I enjoyed, even though I read it for school. The characters, Alice and Charlie seemed like real life people. I felt like I was right along side them, solving the mystery of who has stolen Lardo and who made the cling on the window. The book is set in a solemn little town called Ipswitch, so it was pretty realistic that almost everyone knew Alice and Charlie. When I first bought the book and starting reading it, I felt like the plot was very stupid. How could you blame me? Who wants to read a book about a world- famous pie recipe left to a cat? But as I got closer to the middle to the book, it really got interesting. So if you start reading the book, and don't like the plot, I dare you to keep reading! I assure you that this book will get better towards the middle. This is a great book to read during the summer, or when you have some extra time to make a pie, because you'll really want to sink your teeth into this book ;) and maybe, even try one of the recipes that are given before each chapter, so you can make your favorite pie just like Polly would.


Final Grade: 

Mini-Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Genre: Middle Grade- Historical Fiction?

Source: Checked out from Library

Series: No, Standalone

Buy It: The Dolphin Bookshop (Shop Indie!),  The Book Depository

Challenge: Free Reads 

From Brian Selznick, the creator of the Caldecott Medal winner THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, comes another breathtaking tour de force. 

Playing with the form he created in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. 

Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing. 

Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories -- Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures -- weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful--with over 460 pages of original artwork--Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.

     Wonderstruck blew me away.  The story was beautiful, as were the delicately detailed illustrations.  I decided to do a mini-review only because of all the pictures.  
     The magic wasn't in the writing, it was in the story.  The writing was nothing special while the characters drew me in, held on, and never let go.  I'm still touched by all of the relationships between the characters and how the story played out.  I absolutely adored the ending and I hope that Brian Selznick writes a companion, or sequel, or something!  The pictures were absolutely gorgeous and they played out just like a movie.  They were perfected down to every last detail.  
     At first, I was hesitant about the idea of the two POVs to be 20 years apart.  Thankfully, I was very grateful for this interesting technique at the end.  The closing of the book made perfect sense and I loved it.
     I finished Wonderstruck in a few hours.  The pictures were beautiful and they made it a really quick read.  Wonderstruck leans more towards middle grade, so it's a very light read.  I really loved this book and it's a treasure on any shelf!  In fact, I wish I had my own copy so I could stare at all the pictures!  Wonderstruck was awesome!


Final Grade:

Tomorrow is Today by Julie Cross (Mini-Review)

Genre: Young Adult-Time Travel (Sci Fi)
Source: Free Ebook from Barnes and Noble
Series: Yes, #0.5 in the Tempest trilogy

Buy It: Barnes & Noble
Challenge: Free Reads, Debut Author Challenge 2012
First Line: "I don't get what we're supposed to be doing," Holly said as she spread her worksheets all over the gym floor.

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, throws lots of parties, is interested in a girl he can’t have, and oh yeah, he can travel back through time.But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

     Tomorrow is Today is the bonus prequel to Tempest by Julie Cross, which I reviewed earlier this year.  Since this prequel only lasts about 30 pages, I can only give a "Mini-Review."  I felt the same way about the characters in this prequel because they were the same.  It was nice to see another side of Holly, though.  I really liked seeing how Adam, Holly, and Jackson first became friends.  It was nice seeing how they got to know each other.  I also thought the party and the roof scene were a fun twist on the more serious events that happened in Tempest.  I liked being able to see Adam, Holly, and Jackson in a more friendly environment.  It was a nice break from all of the more dangerous and serious scenes in Tempest.  I also really liked the use of time travel in this short story when Jackson found the little girl.  I thought it was a creative use of Jackson's powers.  Since Tomorrow is Today was only a short bonus story, there wasn't much room for things to love or hate.  That being said, my final grade is:

PS- If you have a nook or a device that you can use the nook app on, download the ebook now!  It's free! :)