Eleanor & Park ~ Rainbow Rowell

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you'll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under.

Book Review:

Rainbow Rowell has been one of my favorite authors since I discovered Fangirl and Carry On last year, so I was obviously excited to read this novel. 

I knew this book was going to be sweet and lovely, but I didn't expect its darker elements; although, I should have. I could tell in the beginning that Eleanor was going to have a lot of self-esteem issues and I had my own ideas of why. But her issues, went way beyond her insecurity, though. She had trust issues too and I feel that they may have been over-shadowed by her insecurity, even though they were more important, in my opinion.

Eleanor's familial dynamics were also interesting. Today, many families are comprised of step parents and step siblings, and many books and movies make it seem as though it starts out like Cinderella but ends with good relationships. Eleanor's was never going to have a happy ending like that. Her step father was abusive in many ways to her, her mother, and her siblings. Eleanor's father was not there to rescue her, he was only there to use her to babysit his "new" kids. On the other hand, Park's familial dynamics were much more solid and stable. He came from a biracial family,  so he did have to deal with the cultural differences, but he didn't seem to struggle with that very much, even when his "friends" tried to make it a bigger deal than it really was. Park may not have had a great relationship with his father, but his father was always there for his son, even if it wasn't with the nicest comments. 

As Eleanor was being bullied in school by Park's "friends," I assumed that she was strong enough to get through that, and she was. It bothered Park more than it bothered her, which was sweet, but also a complicated factor. What I wasn't expecting, was who was actually writing the nasty and dirty remarks all over her notebook. I believed it was who she believed it was. 

And then, just as I was believing that things were going to get better for Eleanor, at least in her won self-confidence, everything went downhill. We found out who was really leaving those remarks, and it was disgusting. Park had to rescue her from a situation that I never expected. 

The end of the book was a cliffhanger but a cliffhanger that left me content with the end of the book. Would I like a sequel to answer some questions? Yes. Do I absolutely need one? No. I liked that Rowell ended with a statement that could be interpreted to go many ways. I believe that it applies to the happier, mushier, lovey-dovey ending, but you could interpret it to go in a less sweet way. 

Pages: 329                                                                                                                              Rate: 5/5

We Were Liars ~ E. Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
 
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Book Review:

This may be an unpopular opinion but I was kind of disappointed with this book. I started out thinking that I was really going to enjoy it. I mean, it is full of angst and frustration and mental illness, so I just assumed that it was going to be right up my ally. And it was, until it wasn't anymore. I think that if it had ended sooner or much differently, I might have liked it more, but the ending just left me with too many questions. I wouldn't say that it was a thriller-like ending but it certainly wasn't contemporary either. Maybe the point of the ending was to leave you feeling confused, conflicted, and frustrated, and if so... good job Lockhart, but it's not something that I want to read again. 

I really enjoyed it in the beginning. I thoroughly felt for the main character. I felt her confusion and frustration in the pit of my gut and I was seriously irritated with the other characters, just as she was. But I couldn't identify the true climax. It was very slow in getting to any form of a resolution and there were many times where I was ready to put it down. I certainly didn't expect that because it is such a small novel, but nevertheless, there I was. When it finally did explain the situation, it made sense, it really did. I understood why her family was confused about her not spending any time with them, they thought she was alone, but in her mind, she wasn't.

It was a valid depiction of PTSD but the entire back story of the tragedy that led to the main character's delusions, I felt that it was a bit chaotic and kind of just thrown together, not really thought through. Now, I could see the connections and hidden explanations throughout the novel, but at the same time, it felt like it should have been something different. 

Pages: 227                                                                                                                          Rate: 2/5

 

Whatever Wednesday: How I Am Surviving College

I stole this image from google, but I will be taking some cool shots of campus when I have time. BEFORE SNOW. Look out for that post. 

To say the least, college has not been treating my anxiety well; but, I had assumed that my anxiety would be a bit out of control in the beginning anyway. The first weekend here was hell! I had multiple anxiety attacks those first few days, one that dropped me to the ground, thankfully I was in my dorm when that happened! But my doctor and I have changed my medications, and so far they have helped so much. I still get anxious, as most people do, but it doesn't incapacitate me anymore. So hopefully this cocktail of medications is what I needed. I have looked into therapy, but I am still resistant. I have been this way my entire life though, especially since I was diagnosed with GAD. I know what my problem is, and I know that therapy may help, but I don't like asking for help. That is a problem that I have been working on, but we will see how it goes.

Other than the anxiety, my classes are awesome. I only have one that I absolutely hate and one that I am indifferent towards. I've discovered that philosophy is just not a subject for me. It is all very opinion based and I am a person that needs definitive answers! It is really aggravating. We started our by reading parts of The Republic by Plato surrounding Socrates' ideas and then finished that unit with reading parts of Dante's The Monarchy which surrounds Aristotle's and Dante's ideology. I am hoping that the readings are really what didn't interest me and not the full subject itself. We will be moving onto Hobbes and Locke, and I believe that I may understand and enjoy those works more. Hopefully. Women in Music is the class that I am indifferent towards. It is very interesting but I don't feel as though I am getting anything very valuable out of it just yet.

I absolutely love my class on Homeland Security. The book is very easy to read and kind of redundant but very helpful to refer to when writing my briefs. I'm learning a very different set of writing that I am struggling slightly with but it is getting better. My professor for that class is incredible. And the other classes that I have, I really don't mind all that much.

I am trying to get involved but I am doing it at my pace because I tried to do it all at once... needless to say, it didn't work out very well. But I have joined Autism Speaks U, which is a chapter of the international organization, Autism Speaks, for University students on my campus. We do a lot of fundraising for the organization and just learning about other ASDs or Autism Spectrum Disorders themselves.  I have followed the mother organization for a few years and what they stand for and do is incredible. I wanted to join Debate Club, but I think that it would be too much for me this semester. There are a lot of practices and competitions, and I just don't have time for that right now.

I have went to my first football game... we won... and I will be going to my first college soccer game this Friday. My best friend is coming all of the way from her University and spending the weekend with me because it is Homecoming Weekend. We are going to tear up the town, kind of!!

I am finally getting into a bit of a routine and feeling a bit more comfortable. I know that I am going to have my ups and downs, but right now I am up and I don't want to go back down for awhile.

If any of you are interested in a more indepth post on any of this, let me know what you would like to know 

October 2016 TBR

I am going to try and keep up with what I read last month, but I do have Midterms this month, so we will have to see how that goes. Here are the two books that I would like to get through this month:

Eleanor & Park

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives ~ Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka with Liz Welch

The true story of an all-American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever.

It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place.

Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only ten letters, and fifty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one.

That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.

In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends --and better people--through their long-distance exchange. Their story will inspire you to look beyond your own life and wonder about the world at large and your place in it.

Book Review: 

Coming from the point of view, of a person with many penpals, this book really spoke to me, from the very beginning. I certainly wasn't disappointed.

The cultural and economic differences are beautifully represented from the discussion of schools, jobs, customs, all of the way to what the letters are written on. Caitlin, comes from a white family in the United States, with insane amounts of money in the eyes of Martin. Martin comes from a large family in economic despair from third world Zimbabwe. The laws in their countries are different. Their money exchange rates are different. Their school systems are very different. But these two kids, have so much in common. They both love their families and even value their education. 

The book starts our fairly slow as you get to know the two people through their letters and the author's commentary on what they were feeling throughout the waiting periods between letters. Once the book reaches the point where Caitlin is incessantly worried about the friend that she hasn't heard from who is living in a country that is all over the US news due to its economic despair, things pick up a little. I got to the point where I just wanted Martin to be okay, even though I knew he would, as he wrote this book years later, and I wanted Caitlin to be able to save him from his situation. 

I really loved how supportive Caitlin's family was of her communication with Martin and I especially loved how much they wanted to help Martin and his family when the time came. The amount of stress that family had to go through in order to help these people that they cared about so much, but whom they have never met, was incredible. It restored a small portion of my faith in humanity. 

I especially loved hearing about how successful Caitlin and Martin have become and the roles that they continue to play in each other's lives. I think that is the most important part of the book. My penpals mean so much to me and I believe that I do to them as well. Meeting them would be one of the biggest moments in my life, but even if I hadn't met them, if they were ever in need of my help, I would jump borders, commit crimes, spend all of my money,and do whatever I could to help them.  

Pages: 400                                                                                                                           Rate: 5/5