Review of Before I fall by Lauren Oliver

Yo there!


Publication Date: March 2, 2010

Page Count: 480

Synopsis:

What if you had only one last day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life and someone elses?
Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High - from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death - and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Favourite Quote:

“I guess that's what saying good-bye is always like--like jumping off an edge. The worst part is making the choice to do it. Once you're in the air, there's nothing you can do but let go.”
― Sam, Before I Fall

One Word To Describe The Book:

Heartwarming

 My Thoughts:

This book was definitely an eye opener and even heart breaking. The book was written in a way which grabbed my heart, at the end of reading it I clearly felt enlightened and it made me appreciate my life more than I ever had before. The message of the book was powerful and it left me wondering for days and leaves you questioning your own life.

It taught me a range of things, including:

1. Everything you say and do really has an effect on others.

2. Never forget to tell your family that you love them.

3. Live everyday like it's your last.

4. The smallest act can make a massive difference/ you can make a change.

5. Make the most of what you have you never know when you'll lose all of it.

6. Count your blessings.

7. Lastly Y.O.L.O. - You Only Live Once.

The main character definitely shines, in the book you get to see all the different sides of her, on each day her different emotions are highlighted and she expresses them through her actions. By repeating the same day over and over again it really emphasizes all the small details which you would never realise on the first day and magnifies events which don't seem very important at first. Not only does it give you an understanding of the main characters life, you really get into some of the other characters stories, about how bullies are insecure and how some actions are unforgettable and curse like.

Lauren Oliver's writing had me hooked from the beginning, the concept truly fascinated me.

I would recommend this book to EVERYONE. Many teenagers could relate to the story and it also would be great for adults to read as it gives you an insight into what life can be like for some teens and what they go through.

THE BOOK TRAILER:

Rating
★★★★★

In My Mailbox

This is my first 'In My Mailbox' post!

Yo there!

 

In my Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The story siren where you post the books you may have gotten this week!

This week I definitely got some very exciting books!

1. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.

2. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand.

3. Abandon by Meg Cabot.

4. Heist Society by Ally Carter.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

What books have you got this week?

Review of Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Yo there!

 

Publication Date: February 1, 2011 by HarperCollins
Page Count: 448

Synopsis:

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable.

Lena Haloway has always thought the cure was good, but one encounter can change everything. She does the unthinkable and falls in love.

Favourite Quote:

“Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you-sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever.”

― Lena, Delirium

One Word To Describe The Book:

Stunning

My Thoughts:

AMAZING! I'm going to find this hard to write, I can't remember the last time a book had itself tugging on every string of my heart.

The line 'what if love was a disease' really caught my eye and it seemed really promising straight from the start.

The concept and writing of this book blew me away. First of all, the way the author really centred around Lena's (the main character) emotions and really emphasised them, it was like the emotions themselves were telling a story of their own, the author's style of writing is perfect at creating an atmosphere and bringing the world alive in your imagination. The storyline definitely had me hooked from the beginning, having a strong feeling like love and creating it into a disease really grips you and wants you needing to find out more about it, you also get a really thorough explantion about the disease and its symptoms which then begins to really shape the problem and the disease itself.

The book Delirium is a LOVE STORY and a really good one I would say, it has a way of interconnecting with your heart and makes you really feel the emotions the characters feel. There is also the aspects of picking at society and how it controls you, even though it's a dystopian setting it really does have truth within it about how society today sometimes causes you to think and feel a certain way which is really clearly presented in the book.

The main character is developed during the progress of the book, at the beginning of the book you don't get to see the many layers to her character but by the end you really understand her story and her character begins to shine, she becomes fearless and she stayed strong despite what was thrown at her. I enjoyed reading about her character especially because of the emotional ride she was on and how the author takes you step by step through it. I myself felt I could relate to different parts of her, Lena's struggles, fears and going through the process of making the right decisions.

In this book you really get an insight into Lena's life, the other characters like Hana her best friend really stood out aswell and how she's a real contrast in comparison to Lena.

Alex definetly caught my attention (he stole my heart), I fell in love with him, there is not enough adjectives in the world to describe my feelings for him, he is everything I want, perfect, beautiful, strong, stunning, loving and so many other words.

I think Lauren Oliver is particularly good with developing her characters and giving them all a story which I love about Delirium.

The beauty of Delirium is so hard to explain, the emotions like love, fear, tragedy were soo raw, I was on a rollercoaster of emotions. I was seriously blinded by it's amazingness. The ending was unexpecting and left me broken and mourning for days. I don't know how to express how much I recommend this book to everyone, the detail is beautiful and needs to be read, one of my favourite books! Go and read it if you haven't!

The second book in the series is Pandenomium.

Rating
★★★★★

Review of Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Yo there!

Published January 4th 2011 by HarperTeen

Page Count: 435           

Synopsis

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Favourite Quote

“I’ve learned that a storm isn’t always just bad weather, and a fire can be the start of something. I’ve found out that there are a lot more shades of gray in this world than I ever knew about. I’ve learned that sometimes, when you´re afraid but you keep on moving forward, that’s the biggest kind of courage there is. And finally, I’ve learned that life isn’t really about failure and success. It’s about being present, in the moment when big things happen, when everything changes, including myself.”

One Word To Describe The Book

Surprising

My Opinion

This book was definietly unexpecting and I can firmly admit that by the end of this book I was skipping around the house with a goofy grin on my face.

At the beginning as I started reading the book I thought the plot would play out in the same way most YA books do and it seemed really predictable. But when I came around to the half way point I was literally blown away, I really can't explain it, I just fell in love! The relationship which emerged was so unpredictale and refreshing, it felt so beautiful and right. I don't want to give much away in this review because I want everyone to feel as ecsatic as I was when I read it.

I absolutely liked the main character Clara, she was a very strong character and had a lot of will power, I feel the sacrifaces she makes in the book were well worth it and considerable. Something else I really admired about her is that she makes rational decisions and wasn't like many YA female characters who never know when to call it quits or who would do anything for the attention of a boy or even solely put themselves in danger just for BOYS without a valid reason. There was also the fact she let her mother into her life and let her know about the decisions she made. However I would say at some point at the beginning of the book  I started becoming annoyed with her obsession with Christian but that didn't last long.

The characters in this book were well developed, you really got a feel of all the characters lives and emotions towards the end of the book. I would definietly say Tucker and Christians characters bloomed, at the beginning both these characters were not all too interesting but as the book progressed you could absolutely fall in love with either.

I really enjoyed the angel concept/mythology about their purpose which they had to fulfill, it gave the story meaning and created a more hooking storyline.

I clearly believe this book will beyond doubt surprise you but it's up to you whether you consider it to be a good or bad twist. The start of the book was rather slow but it picked up pace half way through the book which had me hooked until the end.

RATING

★★★★ 1/2

4½/5 STARS

Buy Paperback copy of Unearthly
Buy the Kindle edition of Unearthly

First Post!

This is my first post and I'm rather excited! I created this blog just so I could share my love of books with everyone else!
I want to be able to read books and share them on here.

A little bit about me:
My name is Tia and I'm not as interesting as many people out there are. I share a common love for books like many people. I started reading books a few years ago and fell in love with how you could fall into this whole other world and REALLY experience different characters feelings and emotions.

One of the first authors who really brought me to start enjoying books was definetly Meg Cabot, from reading her books I went on a journey to discover amazing books and authors and I went onto reading exciting novels, real life stories and genres which I would have never bothered to look at.

One book series which I truly fell in love with was The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins which I loved for various reasons, it showed me what true loyalty meant, the effects of war, and how far someone would go to keep their friends and family safe. I could go on but I would probably bore you.
One other series which I've started reading and am already hooked to is the Delirium books by Lauren Oliver, I love the whole concept and it broke my heart so many times.

I really don't have much more to say except that I hope I've successfully written my first post and I will try my best not to put you to sleep next time!