Treesofreverie's Read-A-Thon - Days 1 and 2

April, 24^th

During the first day of the read-a-thon, I set down to read ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon. I wanted to read the whole book in one day but, unfortunately, real life got in the way. I managed to read 110 pages only. I finally finished it during the second day of the read-a-thon.

I am kind of in love with this book. It is funny, poignant, full of twists, and told by a very reliable first person narrator (if there is such a thing, but the narrator himself says he does not tell lies, because telling lies makes no sense). Even if he were a totally unreliable narrator, one couldn’t help but like him and trust what he is saying.

Christopher has autism and a life full of rules and patterns. He does not like when the patterns are broken, when someone touches him, nor the colors yellow and brown. His neighbor’s dog, Wellington, is killed one night, so he decides that he will solve his murder in the style of his favorite detective (someone in possession of a logic and clear mind), Sherlock Holmes. As he sets out to detect (as he often says), he discovers a lot about himself, his family, and the world around him.

It is a story full of ups and downs, mistakes, and changes. Christopher is a lovely character and narrator and the way he sees the world is unique, unique in its simplicity and its complexity. I lovely read for all those who are looking for a nice and thoughtful read.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Now I’m off to read ‘The Adventures of Tom Bombadil’ and ‘Shatter Me’

Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Goodreads

I read this book for the 2014 Book Genre Challenge.

I'm going to say it right away: I did not like this book. While I didn't hate it to pieces to warrant a 1 star rating, I thought it was boring, racist, and it made me really uncomfortable. I did not like the characters nor the story and, which is worse, I couldn't believe the characters nor the story. To me, the characters felt flat and the story unrealistic.

This review will be me commenting the thoughts that I had while reading the book. If you loved this book and you don't want to read a negative opinion about it, I suggest you stop this review now. I don't have many nice things to say about it. Also, this review may contain spoilers and it does contain quotes from the book. 

• A+ for Park in the beginning. New girl and all he can think is that she looks like a scarecrow. For one who is afraid the other kids will pick on him, he can be extremely mean;
• 'Especially not for someone like this'. A+ again, Park. That's the spirit!
• 'the Asian kid'. Not 'the guy' or whatever. 'The Asian kid'. And it goes on for the entire duration of the book. While I give Rowell my congratulations for trying to portray the racism and prejudice that Asian citizens of the US had to endure during that time (and sadly still have to endure now), there is no need to remind us at every page that his Asian by saying 'Asian kid' or 'Asian boy'. And the worse is that this is how Eleanor describes him on her head: the Asian boy;
• I didn't like how we know close to nothing about Park's mom. Park doesn't know much about his mom or her culture!
• Now, this is a peeve of mine, but I hate that every foreigner character in books speaks the same way. They can live in a country for ages, but they don't know the most basic grammar rules of the English language. I'm not talking about accents, there's nothing wrong with those. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes as well, but you don't need to make one mistake after the other only because you are not a native speaker! Your foreign characters don't need to be written like that, there will be other things to define them, like their culture! Which Rowell completely forgot;
• Oh, the bullshit!
• 'Asia is out-of-control huge'. Yup, nice way to describe it;
• 'Whatever perversion coused him to like her'. Yes, that totally makes me buy the whole 'they're completely in love' thing;
• I liked how Eleanor wanted to tell him 'that he was prettier than any girl' (yes, that was sarcasm). Why? Because he's Asian, of course!
• And, if you had forgotten Park was Asian, his almond flavored eyes would remind you of that, and the way they almost desappeared when he smiled, or his skin, or his ninja magic, or... I'll just stop here. Eleanor almost objectifies Park and the fact that he is Asian, it was something that really bothered me when I was reading;
• This next bit made me really, really, really angry for a number of reasons. It was the Dainty China people and how Park's mother reminded Eleanor of one. And also how Park's father 'sneaked her [Park's mom] out of Korea in his pocket'. Seriously, I screamed with the book during this bit. I couldn't believe that! I guess it could be an attempt from Rowell of showing the way Asian people are stereotypied ands seen as the 'other', the 'different', thus something that needed to be romanticized. But then I saw it wasn't. Eleanor stopped looking at Mindy as a person and started seeing her as something that could be smuggled out of a country. And then I read Rowell's reasons as to why Park is Korean and I saw this: 

                   'So … in Eleanor & Park, Park’s dad gets sent to Korea because his brother has died in combat                                    in Vietnam. He meets his soulmate there. And he brings her home.'

       

         No, ok. No. It wasn't home for her. No, she is not an object to be 'sneaked out of Korea'. She is  a            person. One who left her cultural identity, family, and language back to go home with the man she                 loved. But a woman with a solid cultural background that is hardly ever mentioned, if ever mentioned at         all, who only seems to be there to make Park half Koren so he can whine about it;

• Then Eleanor starts wondering where the slim girls keep their organs... 
• Park goes 'weird white girls are my only option' and 'it was nice to have the most popular girl in the neighborhood offering herself to him every now and then.' And people wonder why I don't like him;
• Oh, he also goes 'He'd thought that he was over caring what people thought about him. He'd thought that loving Eleanor proved that'. And people wonder why I don't think they were in love...
• Eleanor says Park looked as dangerous as Ming the Merciless;
• 'Nobody thinks Asian guys are hot' and 'Asian girls are different. White guys think they're exotic' and 'Everything that makes Asian girls seem exotic make Asian guys seem like girls' made me want to throw the book against the wall (I only didn't because I was reading the book on my Kobo). I could spend a long time talking about fetishzation of Asian women (and all other 'different' women) and how dangerous it is to put something like this lightly on a book, but I guess you can see that for yourself;
• The ending felt bland. I didn't like how the writings on her book were only solved in the end and how absolutely nothing was done about it, how her siblings would remain in the care of a abusive alcoholic guy, and how Park's father let him drive Eleanor alone at 2am.

I didn't like the book, but I also didn't hate it to pieces (because there were some interesting aspects - such as the huge difference between their families and its influence on their relationship -, even though they were underused and underdeveloped in my opinion). So my rating is:

2 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Goodreads

'Anna and the French Kiss'... This was my second attempt at reading this book. I couldn't focus on it, nor get interested in it, during the first attempt. Now, as I joined Booktown Bookclub, I thought I'd give it another go. Sadly, it didn't get any better for me. I still didn't like it and couldn't get into it. 

Things I liked:

• I loved the descriptions of the places! One thing the book did great in my opinion was to make me feel as if I were in Paris. It was great. I loved the places and how Anna saw them. It was lively and believable. The descriptions made me feel as if the story was actually happening and that I were watching it unfold;
• I also liked the description of the characters. I felt like Perkins wanted to give as much detail about the characters as possible, but also did not want to overdo it. And she didn't. I really enjoyed the way the characters were described and I liked she left some details to our imagination;
•  I liked the culture shock Anna experienced. Not only when she went to Paris, but when she went back home as well. 

Things I didn't like:

• Actually, the whole storyline. I'm not really a fan of romance books, but if the story and the characters are interesting, I have nothing against them. The thing is, I didn't find neither the story nor the characters interesting;
• I did not like Anna in the slightest, especially the whole 'she's not like the other girls' thing. She is annoying, always judging other people, she got angry with her friend for 'stealing' her 'boyfriend' and then she did the same thing. I did not like the character at all;
• Of course St. Clair had to be the hottest, most well loved boy in school. Why not?
• Ellie. I have nothing against Ellie. She was hardly ever present, only mentioned. She  turned her back on her friends, went away, and never got in touch again. This, of course, was only there so Anna could appear to be a nice girl and we would be hooting for her and St. Clair to be together;
• The whole cheating thing. I absolutely abhor cheating. It doesn't matter if they're the main characters and we wan them to be togehter. I'd like St. Clair to be braver and act on his feeling. He should have broken up way sooner than that. Also, he was cheating on his girlfriend (yes, cheating: he was flirting and sleeping with Anna, and he kissed Anna when he was still with Ellie), I'm not sure if I'd trust him;
• The whole high school drama. This was the point when I started rolling my eyes;
• The background characters that are only there to make Anna company or something and to say how great St. Clair was;
• The mushy part (but that is me, I don't like it).

Overall, I found the idea to be interesting, the descriptions are great, but the book, in my opinion, didn't meet my expectations.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Goodreads

This book is part of my reading for the 2014 Book Genre Challenge.

I chose to read this book for the Contemporary challenge first because I an a fan of Sherman Alexie's work and second because this seemed to be a very nice read!

• The overall story. I really enjoyed to know Junior and his life and difficulties and how he overcame some of his problems;
• How the cartoons complemented the story and, sometimes, even showed us what happened in the story instead of the narrator's voice;
• First person is always good for this kind of book, it helps us to see what the character is feeling in his own words and perspective. Junior's perspective is unique and funny and helps us understand better the world we live in;
• As much as I liked the way Junior told the story, I admit it took me some time to get used to it. However, when I did, I really enjoyed the whole story. 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

February Wrap Up

This month I read the total of 8 books! They are:

• Across the Universe by Beth Revis. I read this book for the 2014 Book Genre Challenge. I liked the story and the characters. I just had some issues with how some things in the book were dealt (or, in this case, not dealt) with . You can find my review here. 
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  I also read this book for the 2014 Book Genre Challenge. I didn't enjoy this book so much, I think some aspects of it were underused and I would like to have had the chance to understand the mystery as it unravelled, not have the answers thrown at me in the end. You can find my review for it here. 
• The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket. Seventh book in the 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' books written by Daniel Handler under the name Lemony Snicket (read the books and you'll find out why this is so amazing). 
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  I am very sad to say that I really didn't enjoy this book. I simply couldn't get into the story and everything felt so flat and boring to me. I have a review here. 
• Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika by Tony Kushner. In a word: amazing! Loved it, really. I totally recommed this play. Read it. And the first part as well!
• Insurgent by Veronica Roth. The second book in the Divergent trilogy was also read for the 2014 Book Genre Challenge. In my opinion, it was slightly less interesting than the first one. However, we finally start having some world build! You can read my review here. 
• Tiger's Curse by Collen Houck. First book of the Tiger Saga series. I had mixed feelings about this book: on one hand, I liked the adventure and the mythological aspects; on the other hand, I really disliked some aspects of the story and of the characters. You can read my review here.  
• The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Sicket. Yet another book in the 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' adventures. In this book, the Baudelaire siblings delve further into the mystery of the fire that killed their parents and into the unfortunate events that seem to rule their life at the moment. 

Those were the books I read this month. If you want to see the books I've read so far this year, you can always check out my 2014 reads!

What did you read in February?

Book Review: Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Goodreads

What I liked:

• I liked the adventure part of the book. The places were great as was the pacing of the narrative;
• I loved the mythology in the book. I thought it was very interesting how the book mixed reality and fantasy, and how the mythological aspect seemed to link both of these aspects;
• I liked how the book moved forward, not pausing to talk about the past too much. Everything we needed to know about the characters' past was explaining through dialogue and recollection. But it was very bried and it didn't take much space. The story was there to give us the perspective we needed to understand the story not to relive it. 

What I didn't like:

• No, Romeo and Juliet is not a love story. Romeo is not a good example of a romantic interest. No one will make me change my mind when it comes to him: I am absolutely sure that, even he hadn't died, he would have found another woman to be 'in love' with in the very next day. Romeo and Juliet were not in love, they were in lust. It is completely different. Stop using Shakespeare to make everything seem more fantastical or romantic when it is not;
• Some dialogues, especially in the beginning, were pretty terrible and rushed;
• The main character didn't freak out nearly enough in my opinion. She accepted everything too easily;
• The whole 'I'm not like the other girls and I am not as pretty as you say I am therefore we cannot be together because you will change your mind and hurt me' trope. I absolutely loathe it.  Don't. Just don't. Girls are much more than their looks. This makes it seem like it is the only thing that matters;
• Is it only me or there were too Rens in this story? One kind, intelligent, concerned about people, and the other egotistical, stupid, and pushy? It was like: one was there, then he turns tiger, then the other shows up, then he turns tiger.... and so on. 

I liked the story and I want to know what will happen to the brothers and how their curse will be broken. I'm just not sure if I want to read the other books to find out. 

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Goodreads

2014 Book Genre Challenge

Insurgent picks up from where Divergent ends. 
What I liked:
• The pacing of the book was good, it didn't slow down for a second;
• Some plot twists were really good, and I really did not see some things coming;
• I like Tris as a character: she is annoying, reckless, and sometimes, she is really stupid. She talks about cunning and wants to give moral lessons to others when she herself does not do what she says. She also wants to play the hero every time. I don't see it as her fault. It is part of her divergent personality. I listed a lot of bad things, but she has great characteristics: she thinks a lot about the others and about what she thinks is right, she is willing to die for others, she is loyal, capable of immense love and forgiveness. Those things only show she is a very well developed character. She has her flaws, which makes her a very strong -judging by character development and how she is constructed - character;
• I liked the cliffhanger a lot. I like how the author stopped at a important and crucial point of the story. It makes the reader crazy to read the other book;
• The general story was really good.

What I didn't like:
• Tris and Four's relationship. It felt forced and weird at times;
• I didn't like how Tris kept commenting on other women's appearances. This is something I did not like in Divergent and I didn't like here as well, mainly because it is completely unnecessary and it doesn't feel like something the character would do, in my opinion;
• People miraculously survive certain situations only to create an angst-y mood;
• The secondary characters. Most of the times I did not know who was who because they don't have any distinguishable characteristics;
• The world building was really week in the first book and now we get a glimpse of the truth. And I sure hope it is not what I'm thinking of. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Maze Runner by james Dashner

Goodreads

2014 Book Genre Challenge

Thomas wakes up on a lift with no memory of who he is and how he got there. When the lift opens, he finds himself in the Glade, a mysterious place with no way out and with a maze to explore. Not long after he gets there, a girl, the only girl to ever appear in the Glade, arrives with shocking news. Thomas and the others need to find a way out of there and fast. Before it is too late.
I was very excited to read this book: I had heard so many good things about it. I believe I got into it wanting too much, that's why I was disappointed. 
I really liked the world. I liked the mystery that surrounded the Glade and the Maze and everything else there. I was sucked into the story and wanted to know all the answers to my questions and learn more about the characters and the world the author created. However, most of the time everything just felt... flat. I was expecting a lot more from it, especially from the Maze. In my opinion, it was way underused. The name of the book is 'The Maze Runner', but I saw too little maze running. Yes, Thomas had his moments in the Maze, but they were very few. In the end, the Maze wasn't all that. The mystery in the beginning made me expect a lot more from it. 
The characters felt too much alike for me. Thomas was a normal character following the ever-present trope of a guy who gets somewhere and then suddenly everything changes. He has all the answers, he is able to solve all the mysteries and problems. Something the other boys were trying to do for a long time and failing. 
Let me explain this, I wouldn't have problems with that if I liked the way the situation was handled. But I didn't. Thomas did mostly everything the others had done before him, but, of course, he was successful whereas they failed. And, of course, he was different.
My problem is not only with the characters, but as well when it comes to how we go to know everything. We didn't have enough clues to understand the situation by ourselves. We didn't solve the mystery along with the characters or had any chance of understanding what was going on before it was explained. Everything was given to us rather abruptly.
I liked the story, the world, but I didn't like how the story was handled. Too many of the plots and devices in the book were underused. The Maze could have been better explored and we should have had the opportunity of trying to solve the problem along with the characters. That said, I am still looking forward to the other book. 

Rating: 3/5 stars

Book Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Goodreads

2014 Book Genre Challenge. This review contains SPOILERS. Amy is frozen for hundreds of years, together with her mother and father, to participate in a space mission. However, she is unplugged before the time is due. Now she has to survive on a spaceship, with people she has never seen and who are very different from the humanity she is used to. She meets Elder, who is training with Eldest to be the next leader of the ship. In the meantime, strange things start to happen. Let me tell you, Amy is very brave. Imagine being used to everything we have here and have it taken away from you. And I'm not talking about internet or things like that. I'm talking about free space and nature, every beautiful natural thing we have. Now imagine living inside a spaceship, knowing that, no matter how far you run, there is no way out. You are still stuck inside a metal box travelling through space. I think I would go mad if it happened to me. I would like to have had more answers about the project and why they were moving to this other planet. We have some information, but nothing really concrete. I would like to have more answers about it, about how was Earth when she left and so on. I liked how people, even if different, were kind of the same. Yes, most workers were like cattle, no individual thought or opinions, no emotions or wishes. But still thinking differences were the main cause of disorder, still not knowing how to deal with difference and accept difference. I liked how the book showed we can turn History to our own purposes. We can take something that happen and make people believe it happened differently. Like how Elder and Eldest believed Hitler was a good and fair leader to his people. I liked the POV change, how it always switched between Amy and Elder. It gave us a wider perspective and also gave us two different points of view: one that is more similar to ours (Amy), and one totally different, to show us the cultural differences between us and the people in the ship (Elder). There are two main things that I really didn't like: I was not surprised in the slightest when it comes to whom was unplugging the people and who had unplugged her. It was no surprise for me. It annoyed me how long it took them to realize and all the misleading clues the author tried to put into the book. No, it couldn't have been anyone else. However, the thing that annoyed me most, was the Luthe thing. C'mon! What was that for? Nothing, and I mean NOTHING was done about it. He was forgotten. She had a small crisis and then it passed. No. Just no. No, it wasn't the Season. He was not affected by the season. It annoyed me to no end that it was simply forgotten, as if nothing had happened, or that it had meant nothing. I wanted a better closure for this scene. And I wanted to see its purpose to the story. It led to no character development, and it played no big role in the story. Overall, it was a very interesting read, very compelling, it left me wondering what will happen next. Rating: 4/5 stars

Book Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Goodreads

I read this book for the 2014 Book Genre Challenge!

What to say about this book? I feel like if I had read this book before reading 'The Mortal Instruments' I would like it better than I do now (and if I read TMI later, I would prefer 'The Infernal Devices').

I liked the overall story, I thought the whole setting was fascinating, the whole steampunk vibe to it is great, I like the period (which was not very well explored in the book), and the whole mystery around what Tessa really is. It is a fascinating tale, set in a fascinating universe. I love the Shadowhunting world, the Nephilim, the vampires and warlocks, the whole thing.

However, this story did not manage to hold my attention for too long. I guess it was because it kept reminding me of The Mortal Instruments.

Tessa. I liked her at first, but then I didn't. Her blind devotion to her brother was annoying, she had only one thought in her mind: rescue her brother. It didn't matter things were far more serious and important than she thought they were, she wanted her brother. Other people were being selfish by 'getting in the way' of her finding her brother.

Will Herondale. Will Herondale is Jace Herondale. Jace Herondale is Will Herondale. Again, if I had read this book before TMI I could like Will. But I didn't. Not only he is exactly like Jace is, he is also a very selfish character who says the most hurtful things to people only because he himself doesn't want to be hurt. He is reckless, letting the people who love him worried, he jumps head first into danger, and sometimes (most of the times) treats people really badly. His only redeeming feature, in my opinion, is how he cares for Jem.

Jem. I liked Jem. He was cute, calm, and he cared about others. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but feel he was only there to give Will someone to care about (other than Tessa) and to be part of the forever present love triangle.

And, as usual, I really liked Magnus Bane. He is a great and sparkly character.

I don't know if I will read the other books. I got curious to know Tessa's background story and how it will come into play in the second book. Also, I want to know what will happen to Jem (even though I know what will happen by the end of the books and SPOILERS his role in The Mortal Instruments series SPOILERS).

Rating: 3/5

Book Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

Goodreads

I read this book for the 2014 Book Genre Challenge!

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I liked the narrative, the writing style, the characters, the setting, and the overall story.

What I didn't like:

The hint at love triangle. I think love triangles are completely unnecessary and are getting cliché nowadays. Almost every single YA book has a love triangle. I want to see how the Mabel situation will be solved in the next book.

What I liked:

I loved the way the book was written, I really liked the prose, the description, how we get to know things. I liked how things were explained to us, how the narrative made certain aspects of the book feel so real and how the suspense was kept throughout the book.

I liked the characters, they were well develop, all of them with their special stories and mysteries surrounding them, how some of them were explained, and how some were carefully not explained so we were left wanting and waiting for answers.

Overall, a great read!

Rating: 5/5

Book Review: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

Goodreads

This will be more of a collection of quotes I liked than a proper review. 
I love 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. All the books follow more or less the same pattern and they are very easy and quick to read. These characteristics do not make the books less enjoyable. It is so nice to re-read books from your childhood and notice all the little things I didn't notice the first time or was too young to understand. 
I've always had a particular liking for this one, I don't exactly know why. I believe it might be because of the small murder mystery it presents and its lovely twist. 
Here are some quotes that I really enjoyed:
• "Their adventure would be exciting and memorable like being chased by a werewolf through a field of thorny bushes at midnight with nobody around to help you."
• You can see at once why keeping things in perspective rarely works very well, because it is hard to concentrate on somebody being eaten by a bear when you are staring at your own ugly pimple."
• If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats."
• "Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do. But like most impolite things, it is excusable under certain circumstances. Stealing is not excusable if, for instance, you are in a museum and you decide that a certain painting would look better in your house, and you simply grab the painting and take it there. But if you were very, very hungry, and you had no way of obtaining money, it might be excusable to grab the painting, take it to your house, and eat it."

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Goodreads

First, a confession that I'm sure nobody will be surprise to hear: I only bought this book because J. K. Rowling wrote it. Will the fact that she wrote it have any effect on my review? No, absolutely not. I review the books, not the authors. 
The book follows the life of private detective Cormoran Strike. Strike is hired to find out what really happened to Lula Landry, a model who is believed to have committed suicide. Her brother doesn't believe his sister would have killed herself and he is willing to pay for Strike to discover the truth. Strike desperately needs the money, seeing his financial, professional, and private lives are currently very chaotic, so he accepts the job. 
I liked the book but it was nothing special. It was a common murder mystery, following the basic murder mystery plot. What I liked most was the insights to the characters' lives and personalities, why they got where they were and how they did so. There was good character development in the book, even though sometimes I felt the characters were behaving a little out of character. However, you can see how they grew, if only a little, as the book progressed. 
I admit I had my suspicions about the killer - and they were proved right. I don't think it is because the book gave much away (there was enough clues to pierce it all together if you really wanted to, but nothing blatantly obvious). I believe it was because I have read enough murder mysteries to see a pattern. I also have to admit that the book was well thought when it came to the killer and how everything took place. 
I believe the book could have used a little more action. The investigation was good, but it could have been better. 
This book is the perfect choice for those who are looking for a light reading or for something entertaining.

Rating: 3/5

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Goodreads

I picked up this book mainly for the cover. It had been on my to-read list for a while, but the cover was really something (I have this cover).

This book tells the story of Jacob, a boy who grew up with his grandfather telling exciting, and most definitely untrue, stories. They were stories about a home for children where the grandfather had spent some time after his family was killed during the war. Jacob loved this stories but, as he grew older, he thought his grandfather was making them up and stopped believing in them. One day, something tragic happens and Jacob has to review his opinions. Maybe those stories were true after all. So he and his father go searching for this old home and for the woman, Miss Peregrine, who used to run it. The things Jacob finds might not be the ones he was expecting to find.

At first, this book managed to scare me quite a lot. It was weird, creepy, and I was dying to know what was going to happen with the characters. However, as the story progressed, I thought the rhythm of the narrative was somehow different. And not in a good way. The end of the book brought back the initial narrative style, but it ended too fast for me. And it left too many things unexplained.

I loved the pictures, I think they were an awesome complement to the narrative. It is quite amazing how the author managed to build the entire story around this pictures, made them fit so well into the narrative. To me, my experience of reading this book would not be the same if there were no pictures.

Jacob, as a character, didn't interest me much. He was brave, trying to find the truth about his grandfather, helping his new-found friends, and giving up a lot (even if he could not see it) to make sure they were safe. I still think the secondary characters were my favorites.

I am looking forward to the second book!

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Goodreads

It was an amazing read and, even though I didn't love it, I really enjoyed reading it and getting to know more about the character. 
We get to know Kvothe, an epic figure, theme of legends and fables, who is hiding from the glory of his past, accompanied by his student. As a recorder arrives at the village he resides, looking for him and determined to write his story, and as his past seem to be catching up with him, Kvothe decides it is time for his story to be told in his own terms and by his own voice. 
This way, we follow him through his childhood and university years, facing the tragic death of his family and the need to find out more about the creatures who killed them and how this affects his life, going with him through some of his classes and his hardships, and sharing with him his love for music. Through his story and his eyes we see how his reputation started to be constructed and how the myths surrounded him started to come to life. 
A great High Fantasy book, The Name of the Wind will transport you to a world where magic is real and the most exciting things can happen. If you are looking for a good fantasy book, I recommend checking 

out this one!

Rating: 5/5

Top 13 books of 2013

1. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
2. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
3. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
4. Artemis Fowl  by Eoin Colfer
5. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
6. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green
10. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
11. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
12. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
13. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss