M.L. Sparrow's Blog, page 8

They Both Die at the End

They Both Die at the End, by Adam Silvera Blurb:When Mateo receives the dreaded call from Death-Cast, informing him that today will be his last, he doesn't know where to begin. Quiet and shy, Mateo is devastated at the thought of leaving behind his hospitalised father, and his best friend and her baby girl. But he knows that he has to make the most of this day, it's his last chance to get out there and make an impression. Rufus is busy beating up his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend when he gets the call. Having lost his entire family, Rufus is no stranger to Death-Cast. Not that it makes it any easier. With bridges to mend, the police searching for him and the angry new boyfriend on his tail, it's time to run. Isolated and scared, the boys reach out to each other, and what follows is a day of living life to the full. Though neither of them had expected that this would involve falling in love...My ReviewAt first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book; I just didn't mesh with the writing style, however, once Mateo and Rufus met I was so absorbed by the characters that everything else just fell away and I ended up loving it! This is a hugely character driven book and I enjoyed the slower pace and the focus on feelings and development.I also enjoyed how there are multiple perspectives in this book, not just Rufus and Mateo, and I liked how all their stories interest, even if it's only passing each other in the street. I really thought this was a great touch and added something to the story, however, I couldn't help feeling that I wanted more information sometimes... Despite the fact that this book focuses on death and the fact that everyone is going to die and there is no way to stop it, it's also about living in the moment and seizing the opportunity to live, and love, whilst you can. It also (impossibly) manages to end on a vaguely hopeful note, talking about reincarnation, despite that last line which is intentional soft and vague, compared to Mateo's death, but also very obvious as to what happens. All in all, I loved the concept of this book (predicting death) and although the writing style sometimes tripped me up (quite often I had to go back and reread something), I really fell in love with the characters and, despite the title, I was really hoping for some kind of miracle, but still, I'm almost glad there wasn't one, because that would have detracted from the message of the book and made it less pungent and real.My favourite quotes from 'They Both Die at the End': '... goodbyes are "the most possible impossible" 'cause you never wanna say them, but you'd be stupid not to when given the shot.' 'No matter how we choose to live, we both die at the end.' 'the biggest crime of tonight was not being able to hug his best friend goodbye.' ' "I don't need an apology. If you're fine with your decision, that's on you." ' '... stories can make someone immortal as long as someone else is willing to listen to them.' 'This is a world of violence and fear and children dying without having lived and she wants no part of it.' ' "There has to be an afterlife, Roof, because it's the only thing that makes dying this young fair." '

The Kiss Quotient

The Kiss Quotient, by Helen Hoang Blurb: It's high time for Stella Lane to settle down and find a husband - or so her mother tells her. This is no easy task for a wealthy, successful woman like Stella, who also happens to have Asperger's. Analyzing data is easy; handling the awkwardness of one-on-one dates is hard. To overcome her lack of dating experience, Stella decides to hire a male escort to teach her how to be a good girlfriend.Faced with mounting bills, Michael decides to use his good looks and charm to make extra cash on the side. He has a very firm no repeat customer policy, but he's tempted to bend that rule when Stella approaches him with an unconventional proposal.The more time they spend together, the harder Michael falls for this disarming woman with a beautiful mind, and Stella discovers that love defies logic.My ReviewSince I read this in one sitting, I think it's pretty safe to say I loved this book! I'm really picky about contemporary romances, because I dislike melodramatic drama and big misunderstanding which could be solved if the characters just talked to each other, or the guy that's so 'protective' it's actually possessive, that's why I put of reading this book, however, after constantly seeing stuff about it on social media I decided to give it a shot. And it was great, it had none of those things I hate. There was honestly nothing about this book I didn't like. The characters were well rounded and heartfelt. Michael was dreamy and I loved the way he pulled Stella out of her shell in a gentle way. Stella was the best written character I've come across in a long time; I really felt connected to hear and I was cheering when she come to the realisation that her autism isn't a disability, it's just who she it.This book had such a mix of feelings in it, from both characters, good and bad; at times I was laughing out loud, other scenes were really touching. All I can say about this book is, if you love romance, go read it. I can't wait for the authors next book! **My only grip would be that the US cover is so much better than the UK one :-( **My favourite quotes from 'The Kiss Quotient':'She ached so badly to be held it felt like a sickness had invaded her muscles and bones. As usual her own arms provided little comfort.' ' "...If a girl meets you mom and doesn't run, you'll know you found a keeper."... "No, then I'll have two scary-ass women in my life instead of one." ' 'The ball of irritation in his chest loosened. He couldn't be annoyed with her when she didn't understand.' 'When you love something - like she and Janie did - you were good at it. If you weren't good right away, you got good at it.' 'Love, he found was a jail. It trapped, and it clipped wings. It dragged you down, forced you places you didn't want to go' 'Michael was mint chocolate chip for her. She could try other flavours, but he'd always be her favourite.'

In the Afterlight

In the Afterlight, (The Darkest Minds, Book 3), by Alexandra BrackenBlurb:Ruby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds. They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IAAN, the disease that has killed most of America's children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the "rehabilitation camps" housing thousands of other Psi kids. Meanwhile, reunited with Liam, the boy she would-and did-sacrifice everything for to keep alive, Ruby must face the painful repercussions of having tampered with his memories of her. She turns to Cole, his older brother, to provide the intense training she knows she will need to take down Gray and the government. But Cole has demons of his own, and one fatal mistake may be the spark that sets the world on fire.My ReviewIt took me ages to read this book, not because I didn't like it, thought it was very slow to begin with, but because I've been really busy. It seems to be a theme with this trilogy that I've found the books to be really slow to begin with but then they hit a certain point and just take off. That point in this book was about halfway through, from that point I sped through it and really enjoyed it. What I love in these books are the characters and the relationships they have. The romance between Liam and Ruby is less lovey-dovey in this book, which was partly a shame because I adore all that and it was so cute, but it also made their relationship feel real as they responded to the things happening around them. I also loved Cole and Ruby together, but I'm so glad it didn't go anywhere romantically, though Cole soon became my favourite character, which made his ending even worse. :-( Also, I just want to give a mention to Vida and Chubs! How cute and unexpected! As for the ending, I thought it was well resolved, however, I would have loved a few more chapter about how things played out afterwards, though I know there is a fourth book featuring Zu, which I'll have to read to see how things play out. My favourite quotes from 'In the Afterlight': 'You burnt this bridge without giving us a way to get back over.''... everyone I care about is in fucking pieces and none of you will even try to help each other because it hurts too much to face it head-on.''I had too many voices weighing in on my choices, and that's why I never felt fully secure in making them.' 'The issue isn't that I don't understand, it's that I don't agree.' '... the only person that's being hurt with this silence is you. Don't give them that power. Don't let them trap you into never saying anything. There are people worth remembering, speaking up for. You're important. You deserve to speak and have people shut the hell up and listen to you.' '... fear is worthless. It stops you when you need to keep moving most.' 'Better to risk helping someone than regret what you could have done.''I think he deserves better than the best I could offer him.' 'Just because they're right, it doesn't make you wrong,'

Never Fade

Never Fade (The Darkest Minds Trilogy, Book 2), by Alexandra Bracken Blurb: Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?My ReviewSo... I loved the first book, The Darkest Minds, and I did enjoy this book, except that it felt a lot slower. I honestly wasn't very invested in it until they reunited with Chubs, which is quite far into the book. However, once it reached that point, I loved it. I loved the characters, both old and new (especially Jude, which made the ending even harder). I'm going to make this review short because there's nothing much I can say about the writing or the characters, which I didn't say in my review of The Darkest Minds a short while ago. Basically, I just loved the character development and the ties between them and I felt that those relationships really pushed the book along. Also, I liked that this book, as opposed to the first one, had adults who were willing to help the kids and showed that they weren't totally alone. This book really just feels like it's positioning the story for the final book, which I'm hoping will be epic because there is so much that needs to be resolved! My favourite quotes from 'Never Fade':'Clancy might have been the Slip Kid, but so was every other kid who dodged the system. Who didn't go quietly. Who wasn't ashamed or afraid of what he or she was.' 'Sometimes you're the one speeding along in a panic, doing too much, not paying attention, wrecking things you don't mean to. And sometimes life just happens to you, and you can't dodge it. It crashes into you because it wants to see what you're made of.' 'But you're not even sorry; you just expect that I'll be okay with the fact you threw your life away for mine.''Is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?''They let themselves burn when so many of us were afraid to be warmed by the fire.'

Heartless

Heartless, by Marissa MeyerBlurb:Long before Alice fell down the rabbit hole... And before the roses were painted red... The Queen of Hearts was just a girl, in love for the first time.My ReviewI loved the Lunar Chronicles and I also loved the idea for this book, which is why I picked it up, however, I have to say I was a little disappointed. This book is a very slow burn and it took me a while to get through it simply because I wasn't interested until I reached around chapter 30. Usually slow burns don't bother me, I actually enjoy them, since they usually allow a more in depth look at the characters and growing relationships - which I didn't feel this book did - but I just felt that there was so much potential for amazing, exciting and magical things to happen in this book and it just didn't deliver until right at the end...Also, I have to say Cath got a bit annoying. I understand her position and why she was the way she was, but her lack of backbone still irritated me. In fact, I only started liking and respecting her once she started turning into the Queen of Hearts. I didn't like that she was always waiting for someone to save her, or that she couldn't speak up for what she wanted, or that she was always blaming everyone else for her mistakes and never really admitted that she had a role to play in it all. Jest, however, was a totally different story. I loved the magic and the fact that a joker, or fool, was the hero of this story. It made such a charming change. Still, although I liked Jest, I was actually more interested in Hatta and his story. All in all, I enjoyed parts of this story and the way the original Alice in Wonderland story was woven into it, however, it wasn't a must read for me. My favourite quotes from 'Heartless': 'Sometimes your heart is the only thing worth listening to.''But I have lived my life knowing that some day I would die in service to my queen, and everyone I've ever cared for would die, and it would mean nothing. Our sacrifices mean nothing, because it never ends and it will never end.' 'I am not empty. I am full to the brim with murder and revenge. I am overflowing and I do not think you wish for me to overflow onto you.''If you think you had a monopoly on loving him, then you should be the King's new fool, not his wife.'

The Painted Veil

The Painted Veil, by W. Somerset Maugham Blurb:Kitty Fane is the beautiful but shallow wife of Walter, a bacteriologist stationed in Hong Kong. Unsatisfied by her marriage, she starts an affair with charming, attractive and exciting Charles Townsend. But when Walter discovers her deception, he exacts a strange and terrible vengeance: Kitty must accompany him to his new posting in remote mainland China, where a cholera epidemic rages.My ReviewSo I originally read this years ago (for school I think) and enjoyed it. After that I watched the film, which I loved and it became one of my favourites. Over the years I must have confused the two in my mind, because I've just re-read the book and found that I was quite surprised by some of the differences and actually didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would... I found Kitty really unlikable and I know this book is supposed to focus on her development and her growth, but I really didn't feel like she changed that much. Even at the end I thought she was amazingly selfish... The part where she's talking about raising her daughter to be more than just someones wife is important when you look at the growth of women and how they were regarded at the time, but still, Kitty is a very immature, self-centred character and though she gets better I don't feel like it ever changed completely. I felt sorry for Walter and I also feel like I should argue the review quote on the back on my edition of this book. The quote says this book shows an 'understanding of women'... All I can assume is that this quote was also written by a man! I wouldn't say I'm an active feminist or anything like that, I don't generally read into things like that, but to say that this shows an understanding of women when the main character is horrid and vapid and unkind for the most part is a bit of an insult. Of course, there are women like that, just as Charlie doesn't portray all men, but it seems a bit of a ridiculous thing to say, to me anyway...All in all, though this book is beautifully written and although I enjoyed it the first time, upon re-reading years later and with more of a view of the world, I have to say this book wasn't what I was expecting and although I found it interesting and gripping, I also found that Kitty made me dislike it. The film will forever be one of my favourites thought. :-)

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park, (Jurassic Park Duo, Book 1), by Michael CrichtonBlurb:An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price. Until something goes wrong. . . My ReviewI think it's safe to say that most people have seen the originally Jurassic Park movie (and probably most of the ones after it), and even if they haven't they're probably familiar with the basic story line. I love the originally movie, which in my opinion is still the best out of all of them, and I've wanted to read the book for a long time... After reading the Introduction, I thought I wasn't going to like it, however, once I got a little further in, I was hooked! There is so much more to the book than the film and the characters are actually quite different, Hammond in particular, who never learns his lesson as he appears to at the end the first film. Also, Malcolm was a much more likeable character in the book and he actually turned out to be one of my favourite characters, along with Grant, mainly because I shared his views entirely, whereas in the film, I thought he was a creep - seriously, that part where he's flirting with Ellie and playing with her hair really creepy me out... I don't want to go into too much detail about how it differs, since I don't want to give away any spoilers, but fans of the movies should definitely read this book - it's familiar enough to feel like and old friend, but there are enough differences that you're surprised and hooked. Personally, I wish I had read the book years ago, before I watched the film, although I wasn't even born when the first film was made!As well as the characters, the dinosaurs were also protrayed a little differently in the book. Not only were the dinosaur attacks more numerous and vicious in the book, but the books also showed a softer side to the dinosaurs in a way that the film tried to do, but I feel failed with in the first film (though the most recent films continue the theme and are successful). I loved the scenes with the baby velociraptors, and I think one of the saddest deaths was when the two adult kill the baby. It showed another side to these creatures, especially later in the nest, and made you realise they're not just killing machines.Although simply written, so that it would technically be okay for younger readers I feel, there's also a lot of scientific detail about genes, dinosaurs and explanations on Chaos theory, which were really interesting but I sometimes had to re-read to make sure I'd understood correctly!Now, I'm just going to do a quick sum up of a few things that were annoying. 1) Lex! Seriously! I'm a nanny, I know how kids are, but I just can't believe how irritating she was in a life or death situation. You'd think she'd be too scared to be so annoying. 2) Sometimes the characters were unbelievably oblivious. Like wondering why they had a load of goats. Clearly the carnivores need to eat something! And the bit with the T-Rex where Grant says 'I don't think it can open the car.' Maybe it can't open the door but it's big enough to crush the thing! 3) Going into the raptor nest still seemed pointless to me, despite the explanation give; they didn't achieve anything. 4) The ending was annoying and abrupt, until I realised their is a second book. Still, there are a few things I would have liked to have known for certain before it ended, like if Malcolm was dead. It was implied, but wasn't said for certain... All in all, I'm glad scientists have not been so stupid in real life (yet!), though it would be cool, Ian Malcolm is most definitely correct in his opinions!My favourite quotes from 'Jurassic Park': 'For a mammal like man, there was something indescribably alien about the way reptiles hunted their prey. No wonder man hated reptiles. The stillness, the coldness, the pace was all wrong. To be among alligators or other large reptiles was to be reminded of a different kind of life, a different kind of world, now vanished from the earth.' 'The idea of living creatures being numbered like software, being subject to updates and revisions, troubled Grant. He could not exactly say why - it was too new a thought - but he was instinctively uneasy about it. They were, after all, living creatures...' 'Because the history of evolution is that if escapes all barriers. Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.' 'But screaming didn't make any difference to all the problems that Arnold now faced. The computer didn't care if it was screamed at. The power network didn't care if it was screamed at. Technical systems were completely indifferent to all this explosive human emotion.' '... you cannot make an animal and expect it not to act alive.' '... they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something.' 'There is always some proof that scientists were there, making their discoveries. Discovery is always the rape of the natural world. ... They have to leave their mark. They can't just watch. They can't just appreciate. They can't just fit into the natural order. They have to make something unnatural happen.' 'We haven't got the power to destroy the planet - or to save it. But we might have the power to save ourselves.'

Glitterland

Glitterland (Spires Series, Book 1), by Alexis Hall Blurb:The universe is a glitterball I hold in the palm of my hand. Once the golden boy of the English literary scene, now a clinically depressed writer of pulp crime fiction, Ash Winters has given up on love, hope, happiness, and—most of all—himself. He lives his life between the cycles of his illness, haunted by the ghosts of other people’s expectations. Then a chance encounter at a stag party throws him into the arms of Essex boy Darian Taylor, an aspiring model who lives in a world of hair gel, fake tans, and fashion shows. By his own admission, Darian isn’t the crispest lettuce in the fridge, but he cooks a mean cottage pie and makes Ash laugh, reminding him of what it’s like to step beyond the boundaries of anxiety. But Ash has been living in his own shadow for so long that he can’t see past the glitter to the light. Can a man who doesn’t trust himself ever trust in happiness? And how can a man who doesn’t believe in happiness ever fight for his own?My ReviewI'm not sure how many times I've read this book, but I love it every time. There are just so many emotions in this book and the writing is beautiful. Personally, I've found Alexis Hall's books a little hit and miss; I love Glitterland, Pansies and For Real, but I'm not keen on the others so far, but this was the first one I ever read - I was attracted by the gorgeous, glittery cover! - and I'm so glad for that because it led me to some amazing books.Honestly, I think the thing I love about this book is that it's no ordinary romance. Both these characters are flawed, though it's much more obvious in Ash, and I thought the author did a great job of portraying Ash's mental illness and his ups and downs. As for Darian, I didn't expect to love him as much as I did; at first the Essex accent was annoying and I hated having to figure out what he was supposed to be saying, but as his character developed he fast became my favourite character. That guy has a heart of gold! And 'Babes' grew on me.I just really enjoyed that this was such a flawed romance, it was more realistic that way and it's not even certain if there's a HEA, they're just happy for now and the future is unknown. I'd love to see this couple a few years down the line... All in all, a great m/m romance to jump into! My favourite quotes from 'Glitterland': 'The truth was, sometimes I found it hard to even like him anymore. He'd seen me at my worst, but that only made me feel resentful and ashamed, as if the memories of a thousand mortifications were lurking behind his eyes like a swarm of silver fish.' 'Conversations are like fires; they tend to splutter out if you deprive them of air.' '... for somebody who made such a fuss about being treated like a gentleman of the night, you're remarkably eager to use sex to get what you want.' 'At first, gratitude felt like love. Now it felt like swallowing razor blades.''... maybe false expectations are better than no expectations.' ' "... being alive is like a... whatjamcallit... like blinking, y'know, just summin you do wifout 'having to fink about it." I shook my head. "For most people, perhaps. For me it's a daily commitments I sometimes don't feel like making." ' 'There was a long silence as everyone tried to work out if the clinically insane were allowed to be sarcastic.' 'I'm an atheist. They're both just characters in a book I haven't read.'

The Darkest Minds

The Darkest Minds, (The Darkest Minds, Book 1), by Alexandra Bracken Blurb: When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.My ReviewThis book has been on my TBR list for so long and I'm fuming at myself for not reading it sooner. I'm also fuming at everyone whose read it for not making me read it, too...I loved this book! There were a few small issues, but the facts are that I read it in almost a day and would have read it in one sitting if not for that pesky thing called work! I loved the world building, the story line and most of all the characters. Liam... OMG, he was so different from your typical YA hero and I loved him so much. Not only was his relationship with Ruby sweet and emotional, but also his friendship with Chubs, rocky though it was, and his brotherly affection for Zu tugged at my heart strings. I really need to read the second book now to find out what happens next and it actually pains me that I can't get a copy of it until I return to the UK in a weeks time. :-( Also, I feel that this book is especially poignant and emotional considering everything that's going on in America at the moment...As you can probably guess, Liam was my favourite, but honestly, I loved them all, even Chubs won me over, though I did think that was a mean nickname... And that ending... Eek, I just really need to know what happens to all of them next.Now, a quick run down of the things that bugged me...1) To tell the truth, Ruby irritated me for a while, because she was just so down on herself, but once her character started to develop more I was right behind her, cheering her on and I can't wait to see her turn into a kick-arse heroine in the next book. *Fingers crossed*2) Why did she keep the damn panic button!? No matter how this is explained in the story, I just didn't buy it. It felt like a means to an end for the author instead of an actual progression of the story. Show of hands, how many of you would have chucked it away? I know I would have.3) Being a best seller, I was surprised to find several typos and mistakes, which isn't really a problem, it just surprised me... 4) Sometimes the writing felt a little disjointed and character would suddenly be somewhere without us actually being shown they were moving. It wasn't often, but still enough to stand out.5) Where are the decent human beings over the age of 20? Seriously, all the adults were arseholes. Surely there are a few good ones? And Ruby's mum... even if you didn't know she was your child, why would you be so cruel to a lost kid?6) Why didn't Jack clue his friends in when writing the letter? All in all, is this book perfect? No. Has the story line been done before? Yes. Did I love it? Huge, huge, YES! My favourite quotes from 'The Darkest Minds':'Dreaming led to disappointment, and disappointment to a kind of depressed funk that wasn't easy to shake. Better to stay in the gray than get eaten by the dark.' 'The most important thing you ever did was learn how to survive. Do not let anyone make you feel like you shouldn't have - ' 'They'd taken in a monster, thinking it was a mouse.' 'My mom said once that education was a privilege not afforded to everyone, but she was wrong - it wasn't a privilege. It was our right. We had the right to a future.' 'He's so busy looking inside people to find the good that he misses the knife they're holding in their hand.' 'When a girl cries, few things are more worthless than a boy.' ' "I don't want to lose you."... "Then why are you the one that keeps letting go?" ' 'The darkest minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces.' 'You called me a monster and a freak. But you're the one that raised me.'

Pygmalion

Pygmalion, by Bernard Shaw Blurb: Pygmalion both delighted and scandalized its first audiences in 1914. A brilliantly witty reworking of the classical tale of the sculptor Pygmalion, who falls in love with his perfect female statue, it is also a barbed attack on the British class system and a statement of Shaw's feminist views. In Shaw's hands, the phoneticist Henry Higgins is the Pygmalion figure who believes he can transform Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower girl, into a duchess at ease in polite society. The one thing he overlooks is that his 'creation' has a mind of her own. Adapted into the Oscar-winning musical film My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison in 1964, Pygmalion.My ReviewI love My Fair Lady, so of course I wanted to read the book, once I actually realised it was a book! I feel so stupid for not knowing! But anyway, I read it and it was both disappointed that there wasn't more that wasn't in the film (like most stories, thought this is a play) and happy that it was the same, almost word for word because it had all my favourite lines! I'm still amazed, though, that such a short play can make such a long film... Anyway, for anyone whose watched My Fair Lady, I don't really need to expand. For those who haven't... go watch it! The story is about transformation and the relationships between people (not romantically), especially between pupils and teachers, or "children" and parents. I'm glad that there isn't anything romantic between Eliza and Higgins, which I feel is implied at the end of the film; the book makes it a lot clearer that a romance between them wouldn't be possible, which I like, simply because they would not mesh. Honestly, there is so much you can get from this book, but since this isn't an English essay I'm not going to go into depth, but you can also just read it as the enjoyable, classic play that it is. Personally, I'd say that if you've seen the film, there's little reason to read the book. That's almost sacrilegious, I know, but the book is almost word for word, so... My favourite quotes from 'Pygmalion':'... it is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman despise him.' 'I suppose the woman wants to live her own life; and the man wants to live his; and each tries to drag the other on to the wrong track. One wants to go north and the other south; and the result is that both have to go east, though they both hate the east wind.' ' "Oh, nonsense! She speaks English perfectly.""Too perfectly. Can you show me any English woman who speaks English as it should be spoken?" ' 'I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else.' 'Let us put on our best Sunday manners for this creature that we picked out of the mud.''... the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she's treated.' 'The question is now whether I treat you rudely, but whether you ever heard me treat anyone else better.' 'Nevertheless, people in all directions have assumed, for no other reason than that she became the heroine of a romance, that she must have married the hero of it.'