" Also after the attack on Candor there's a bit about Four and Zeke moving bodies to the top floor (or something), but it isn't until LATER when Zeke sh...more
Also after the attack on Candor there's a bit about Four and Zeke moving bodies to the top floor (or something), but it isn't until LATER when Zeke shows up with Tori and reveals they were spies with the traitor Dauntless.(less)
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I downloaded the e-book version for my flight to/from London late last month, mainly because I knew it would be a quick, fun and essentially mindless read. I haven't been big into chick lit lately, finding it hard to identify with the overly girly ch...more
I downloaded the e-book version for my flight to/from London late last month, mainly because I knew it would be a quick, fun and essentially mindless read. I haven't been big into chick lit lately, finding it hard to identify with the overly girly characters (I'm pretty girly, but they often border on stereotype). And after Mini-Shopaholic I was a bit turned off by Sophie Kinsella novels. However, since it was set in London and I was going to London it seemed like an okay fit to set the mood.
I really did enjoy it. I didn't find Poppy to be quite as insufferable as Becky was in the last few Shopaholic novels. I could relate more to how much I depend on technology (i.e. a lot) than how much debt I am in (i.e. none). The footnotes were a bit annoying in the e-book version, since I had to click them, wait for a pop-up, close the pop-up and resume reading... definitely not a footnote friendly format. After a while I kind of started skipping them. I did enjoy Sam, apart from the bit where we didn't really get to know him at all until the very end. Once I knew a bit more about him I found him to be just as charming as early-Shopaholic Luke.
I know, I know, I essentially compared this novel to Shopaholic throughout, which I think is only natural given the underwhelming last novels in the series, and the similar heroine in this one. Luckily, "I've Got Your Number" measured up favourably and may just be my favourite Kinsella novel to date.(less)
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This book is a must have for anybody who has participated in Katimavik, or is thinking about it. Sadly, it is now out of print, which to me, makes my copy that much more important and valuable.
I first read this book before participating in Katimavik...more
This book is a must have for anybody who has participated in Katimavik, or is thinking about it. Sadly, it is now out of print, which to me, makes my copy that much more important and valuable.
I first read this book before participating in Katimavik (but after I'd been accepted) and I absolutely loved it. Of course, the program in the 80s was a bit different than it was when I participated in the 2000s, but the backbone and soul of the program was all there. This book cemented my desire to participate, and I would often read through it when the excitement of my impending departure was too much to bear.
Quite surprisingly, the book had A LOT of similarities to my actual experience, including the order of placements (I started in the same city, Kelowna, BC, before moving on to Ontario and Quebec). Re-reading the book while in the program, I was literally able to live the first section of the book in Kelowna, although the city had grown a bit since the author had lived there. It was like stepping into a favourite book. I could also see my group mates and project leaders in the characters and recognize the little things that someone who wasn't in the program just wouldn't "get." Soon my group mates all wanted to read it, and we laughed over the similarities and discussed the differences.
Now that I've been an alumni of the program for nearly 5 years, I use this book as a way to reflect on it all: my expectations, my experience and my life following this amazing opportunity that I had (which I am still gushing about half a decade later!). The program has changed a lot in the last few years, and I feel this book serves as a reminder of "the good old days," which is another reason I'm bummed that it is out of print. I believe if Canadian politicians could hear this story, my story and the story of the thousands of young people who grew into amazing adults because of Katimavik, the program could thrive once more and return to these incredible roots where anybody can take off and travel and learn about themselves and others without having to pay hefty fees and go through lengthy application processes.
Will Ferguson truly captures the spirit of what it means to be a young person looking for adventure and a place to belong in this vast country and I thank him so much for it.(less)
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This is just a really fun book. It's crazy, not entirely relatable, not particularly dramatic. It's just a fun, fluffy romp that will bring back ridiculous memories to any high school drama nerd. I first picked it up off a discount table when I was l...more
This is just a really fun book. It's crazy, not entirely relatable, not particularly dramatic. It's just a fun, fluffy romp that will bring back ridiculous memories to any high school drama nerd. I first picked it up off a discount table when I was living far away from home. I had only graduated from high school about 6 months before, and was missing my friends and the atmosphere of drama society, so it seemed like a good fit. And it was. Over the next few months I read it several times, and liked it each time. I now have a copy on my e-reader, and a physical copy of the sequel (which I didn't like as much, but was still good) on my bookshelf.
I loved the characters. I cannot think of a character that really annoyed me or that I would have been glad to see cut. And the musical theatre references throughout were great. I also got a few laughs out of some inside jokes with the reader concerning the difference between the early 80s, when the book was set, and now. But apart from those throw away lines, and the fact that there are no mentions of cell phones, the book could easily be set in present day. If you had a great group of friends like the one in How I Paid For College, you should find it quite easy to insert yourself into this novel.(less)
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As this is one of the quintessential YA hipster novels, I took the opportunity to read first read this book on a Greyhound between two large cities without much in between, while listening to a collection of "indie" music that would make Charlie envi...more
As this is one of the quintessential YA hipster novels, I took the opportunity to read first read this book on a Greyhound between two large cities without much in between, while listening to a collection of "indie" music that would make Charlie envious. I laughed at the irony of it all, and curled up to read, occasionally taking the time to gaze out my window and contemplate life. At 22, I lost myself into the world of this quirky 15 year old boy. A year later, I continue to absolutely adore this novel, and my copy now has highlighted quotes and notes scribbled in the margins.
I understand this book to be a product of MTV and it certainly reflects the pop culture of the time. And it is quotable. Boy, is it quotable. I knew the majority of the quotes, without actually knowing where they were from, well before I picked up a copy of my own. I don't know if the goal was to coin catchphrases and provide soundbites for graduation ceremonies, but that's certainly what was accomplished. I'd be lying if I said I haven't considered getting "In that moment, I swear we were infinite," tattooed somewhere on my body.
I found the characters to be interesting and relatable. I felt like I vividly knew each one of them and drew several parallels between them and my group of friends in high school. It's a time of heightened drama and emotion and Charlie personifies that quite well. When Charlie finds something to be tragic, I find something to be tragic, even if, when removed from the world and put back into my 23 year old brain, it seems trivial at times.
I find myself engaged in books where the protagonist is a little bit "off," because I feel most people aren't running at the typical level of "normalcy" found in psychological textbooks, and that it's easier to relate to. I can't relate to a character who is completely off the rails, or one which is the perfect balance of logic. To me, Charlie is normal, despite his flaws and post traumatic stress disorder. Sure, not everyone will go through a traumatic experience in life that warrants losing control for a little while, but I think that everyone will contemplate how their mind works and wonder how they measure up compared to the people around them, which makes Charlie a member of my peer group, in my opinion.(less)
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I don't remember why I picked up this book, but I must say I wasn't impressed initially. It took me a while to get into it. Soon, though, I became completely enthralled. Mainly what I think I liked about it was its simplicity and how understated so m...more
I don't remember why I picked up this book, but I must say I wasn't impressed initially. It took me a while to get into it. Soon, though, I became completely enthralled. Mainly what I think I liked about it was its simplicity and how understated so much of it seemed. I started to think about how the novel would have been written by another author.
(view spoiler)[On the surface this novel is about clones (although nobody ever uses the word) and is classified in the "science fiction" genre. I suppose it's a dystopian novel, although from the sound of the world outside of our 3 main characters, life is going pretty well for the majority of people on the planet. Diseases have been cured and life expectancy is higher, although morals must be down if people know where their organs come from, which by their reactions it seems that they do. But the most common theme of dystopia is a lack of freedom and that's what our 3 protagonists are living.
So back to my point about if this had been written by another author, namely an American author, what the difference would have been. In American sci-fi novels that deal with subjects such as cloning, the plot seems a lot more active. I think clones and I think "Attack of the..." It seems like the clones should be revolting or at least trying to do something to take their lives into their own hands. But, they don't. The plot is really quite passive and that's one of the interesting things about the novel. The people who look after of the children make love seem like the trait that makes the children practically human, but to me it's the feeling that they've just accepted their fate and will live with it that solidifies their humanity to me.
Something about the vulnerability of the characters made them very easy to relate to, and by the end I was absolutely distraught and disgusted at the way they died. This was somehow magnified when I saw the movie and had a visual of characters I'd felt attached to being left and dumped like garbage once they had "completed."
The story doesn't have a happy ending, nobody gains power or necessarily even better understands their own situation, which I think is another difference between having a Japanese author compared to an American one, where surely the clones would have found strength, beaten the opressor and lived happily ever after. (hide spoiler)](less)
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