The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

The rules are simple-

1. Grab any book.

2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader.
3. Find any sentence or few.
4. Post it.

I picked the closest book to me-

Angelfall by Susan Ee

"I’m up in a flash and kicking his head before he recovers. I kick him so hard his head whiplashes back and forth.

“Nice.” The angel stands watching in the moonlight behind his bloody cart.

Around him are the moaning bodies of our intruders. Some of the bodies are so still I can’t tell if they’re alive. He nods appreciatively as though he sees something he likes. I let myself have an internal tongue lashing when I realize I’m pleased by his approval.

A guy staggers up and runs for the door. He holds his head as though afraid it will fall off. As if that was their cue, three more get up and stumble out the door without looking back. The rest lie panting on the ground.

I hear a weak laugh and realize it’s the angel.“You looked ridiculous with those wings,” he says. His lip is bleeding and so is a cut above his eye. But he looks relaxed as his smile lights up his face."

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming book releases that readers are eagerly anticipating.

This week's book is....

Oblivion (Nevermore #3) by Kelly Creagh

Synopsis: This electrifying conclusion to the Nevermore trilogy takes one last trip to the dream world of Edgar Allan Poe to reveal the intertwined fates of Isobel and Varen.

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? —Edgar Allan Poe

The fine line between life and death blurred long ago for Isobel Lanley. After a deadly confrontation with Varen in the dreamworld, she’s terrified to return to that desolate and dangerous place. But when her nightmares resume, bleeding into reality, she is left with no choice. Varen’s darkness is catching up to her. To everything. Threatening to devour it all.

Isobel fears for her world. For her sanity and Varen’s—especially after a fresh and devastating loss. To make matters worse, the ghostly demon Lilith wants Varen for her own, and she will do anything to keep him in her grasp—anything.

Can Isobel ever find her happy ending? Worlds collide and fates are sealed in this breathtaking finale to the Nevermore trilogy.
Expected Publication: July 28th 2015

I've been waiting for Oblivion to release since the beginning of 2013. I loved the second book in the series, the ending kept me wanting for more, Kelly Creagh is an amazing author. The cover is just gorgeous <3 . I can't wait to lay my hands on this book!

Review- Jellicoe Road

Book- Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Also known as- On The Jellicoe Road
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publication Date: August 28th 2006
Genres/Themes: Contemporary, mystery, friendship, romance.


“My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die.

I counted.

It happened on the Jellicoe Road. The prettiest road I'd ever seen, where trees made breezy canopies like a tunnel to Shangri-La. We were going to the ocean, hundreds of miles away, because I wanted to see the ocean and my father said that it was about time the four of us made that journey. I remember asking, 'What’s the difference between a trip and a journey?' and my father said, 'Narnie, my love, when we get there, you’ll understand,' and that was the last thing he ever said.”



5++++ stars because this brilliant novel deserves them!

Do you want to get lost in the world of summer, trees, sunrise, sunset, friendship, love, memories, nostalgia which is constructed by lyrical writing, raw emotions and masterfully forged mystery?

Then you should definitely read Jellicoe Road without further ado.

I lived in this book. I fell for its characters. I fell in love with their friendship and story. I laughed with them. I cried with them and I died a little every time with them. I loved this book and it’s going to be forever etched it my heart.

Five stars and more are for books like this. I don’t give special place to every book in my shelf right away. I don’t give any book five stars like candy. Books like Jellicoe Road show me a very different world, emotionally connect me to the characters, make me wonder about life, happiness, grief and in the end, teaches me something beautiful and devastating.

This book first starts with a prologue of worlds colliding at Jellicoe Road which slowly grows into a powerful friendship. The story shifts between past, present and dreams. Initially, the plot may be confusing and you may not be sure where it takes you but as you continue, you’ll see the story masterfully unravelling in front of your eyes. The constant shifting of present and the story from the past kept me intrigued and I couldn’t stop turning pages fast enough. The past has a beautiful story about 5 best friends; Webb, Narnie, Jude, Fitz and the tragedy that befalls them.

“And then their voices stopped and their souls stood still and they ceased being who they had been. Because who they were had always been determined by him.”

In the present, we have Taylor Markham, 17, Jellicoe School student and reluctant leader of the territory wars that take place between Jellicoe School, Cadets from a school in Sydney and teens from the town. Taylor was abandoned at the age of 11 by her mother on Jellicoe road and rescued by Hannah, one of the House guardians of Jellicoe School. Past and present are inextricable and to understand her present better, Taylor is curious to know about her past and her search leads her to the tragic story of 5 best friends from the 80’s.

“These people have history and I crave history. I crave someone knowing me so well that they can tell what I'm thinking.”

Every character in this book is created with so much emotions and depth to the point that they feel real. They have strengths, they have flaws, they have grief, they have happiness but all in all, they are bound by love. The plot is intricately designed, the writing is lyrical and the story is powerfully told. Even after re-reading this book several times, I've never got exhausted by this story.

To put it simply, Jellicoe Road is a uniquely written masterpiece. It’s my all-time favourite book along with The Book Thief. Everyone should read it with lots and lots of tissues and chocolates in handy.

“And life goes on, which seems kind of strange and cruel when you're watching someone die.”

Book meme- First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a bookish meme hosted by Bibliophile By the Sea where readers share the first paragraph of a book they are currently reading.

I'm currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Intro of To Kill a Mockingbird-

"When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury. His left arm was somewhat shorter than his right; when he stood or walked, the back of his hand was at right angles to his body, his thumb parallel to his thigh. He couldn’t have cared less, so long as he could pass and punt."

                                                         

Review- Eleanor & Park

Book- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Publication Date: February 26th 2013
Genres/Themes: Contemporary, romance, historical, fiction

I wanted to write a review on Eleanor and Park for a very long time. Not only because I disliked this book but because I have so much to say about it. Firstly, I don’t buy into contemporary romance novels, especially when it’s YA. It’s simply because most romance novels are so fake and commercialised. People write romance novels just to get money while feeding the readers’ minds with fantasies and false notion about relationships. Often these books contain creepy stalk-ish behaviour, damsel-in-distress female character, unhealthy obsession over one another, abusive or unrealistic relationships, so much of unnecessary drama, cheesy dialogues and what not that infuriates me. Writing romance novels has become a very easy way to fill pockets with more $$$$ because 1.) It’s easy to write a cheesy romance novel 2.) Women love anything that has a hot guy and swoon-worthy story. Contemporary romance novels in general are poorly written; they don’t live up to the quality of books with interesting plot and good characters.

The only YA romance that I like is Anna and the French Kiss. Yes, I do understand that at times it is really cheesy but the author has realistic approach towards the plot and the characters and romance was not the only part of the plot, there was lot more going on to keep me invested in the story.

Now, going on to Eleanor and Park. I picked up this book out of sheer curiosity. I changed my rating from 2 stars to 1 star later when I realised that I had nothing positive to say about this book.

Let’s start with the male-love interest. Park is a judgemental jerk. When he first meets Eleanor he judges her for the clothes she wears. Park’s mother is Korean and he is ashamed of his mother’s accent, he is also jealous of his younger brother’s “American looks”. He dislikes the way Eleanor dresses and keeps on questioning her style even when it was so obvious that Eleanor was not as rich as him and simply couldn’t afford to buy new clothes.

What surprises me is that being half-Korean living in a white neighbourhood and going to a white school in the 80’s, Park and his brother hardly face racism. Park’s mother being Korean too never faces racism and is very popular among the neighbourhood girls because she’s a makeup artist. I find it hard to believe that Park’s mother easily forgets Korean culture, her family, her country everything for a rich white man and never cares to talk about her childhood or her siblings with her children.

This book is full of one-dimensional characters I never cared about. Eleanor is just another stupid damsel-in-distress female character who was crawling slowly throughout the book. The author tries too hard to make readers sympathise with Eleanor’s character by giving her an abusive step father, 5 siblings and a poor household which seemed too forced in my opinion. Both Eleanor and Park are some of the most boring characters I’ve read about.

The romance between the characters was so rushed and cheesy that I was rolling my eyes the entire time while reading this book. Park hates Eleanor at the first sight and cusses at her then within a span of few pages, he’s all warm and fuzzy towards her saying things like “omgggg her handz r so soft!1!11!!”. Adding to that, these characters smell like desserts and most of the time they want to eat each other because they smell so yummy.

“…But I think it’s got as much to do with your hair being red and your hands being soft … and the fact that you smell like homemade birthday cake”

“Maybe Park had paralyzed her with his ninja magic, his Vulcan handhold, and now he was going to eat her. That would be awesome.”



“Don't bite his face, Eleanor told herself.”

Seriously, is Park strawberry cheesecake that you have the urge to bite every time you see him?

The writing was so cheesy that it made me puke.

“...and his eyes were so green they could turn carbon dioxide into oxygen.”



By the end of this book there are so many loose ends left to resolve, it seems like the author just chose the easy way out to complete the book and send it off to the publisher.

Eleanor and Park is nothing but another cheesy, unrealistic romance novel in the plethora of cheesy, generic romance novels that you should pick up only if you want to waste your time or want to know what a poorly written book is like.

Review- Splintered

Book- Splintered by A.G. Howard
My Rating- Did not finish
Genres/Themes- Adventure, fantasy, alternate universe, magic, fairytale- retelling.


DNF halfway through...


What I felt about the cover-



What I felt when I started reading this book-



What I felt about the main character-



What I felt about the male love interests-



What I felt about the love triangle-



What I felt about the plot-



What I felt about the writing-



My feelings for the book-



My final verdict-
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Review- North of Beautiful

Book- North of Beautiful by Justina Chen
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

"True beauty lays within."

I've never read a book before that I could relate to so much. North of Beautiful is a beautifully writtten book. It explores the meaning of true beauty and love. There are so many things in this book that touched my heart. I've never before found a character like me in any book. This book is totally re-readable. The only problem I had with this book is that it had an unnessecary love triangle (WHYYYYYY????!!!).
Nevertheless, it's a great book that every book lover should read.


View all my reviews