Review: Loving Danny by Hilary Freeman

It’s a typical day for Naomi.  She is on a bus on her way home from a work placement when she meets Danny, a mysterious, handsome, young man who’s in a band and invites Naomi to one of his gigs.  The two hit it off from there.  To Naomi, Danny seems like the perfect guy until she starts to realise he’s a very troubled guy and there is a more destructive aspect of his personality that begins to reveal itself as she gets to know him more.

Erm, well, where to start.  Is it wrong to say that, in case, you can judge a book by its cover? Everything about it screamed cheesy, boring and a bit average which it sort of was.  Naomi, the protagonist, was so frustrating.  She was rude, unlikeable and so illogical!  To be honest, Danny was pretty much the same.  What I disliked about it most was that the whole thing could have been over in about 50 pages.  There was hardly any plotline development.  I can confidently say that the last two thirds of the book basically consisted of Naomi deciding that perhaps Danny wasn’t that good for her and then going back to him.  She was constantly changing her mind and questioning their relationship and from about half way I was just begging it to end.  I hate to use superlatives but I will say that it was one of my least favourite reads.  Sorry Hilary Freeman!

Rating = 1 star

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Plot

Anna is a seventeen year-old who has been forced to go to an American boarding school in Paris by her parents.  Anna has to leave her mother and brother and her novelist father for a year for the world’s romantic city where she not only meets some fun, new friends but, of course, a handsome, charming and understanding French-American boy, with a British accent, called Étienne St. Clair.  Anna and Étienne strike up a friendship closer than any other she has ever had but Étienne has a girlfriend, Anna has a love interest left behind in America and she realises she has to become accustomed to her new life in Paris before she can sort out her love life.

Good points

Although it took a couple of chapters to decide whether or not I liked Anna, I eventually decided that, once I had got the measure of her she was actually a very funny and likeable protagonist.  She had a lot of wit and despite being completely in love with Étienne she tried not to take herself and their relationship too seriously when she was with him.

I also really enjoyed how the story was set in Paris; just to mix things up a bit.  Perkins describes Paris so beautifully that I just wanted to also travel to Paris and be there with the characters!

Bad points

Towards the end my tolerance with Anna did start to tail off a little bit.  Despite knowing from the very beginning that her friend Meredith is also in love with Étienne, she still pursues her relationship with him and when it all blows up in her face it was a bit of a ‘I told you so’ moment.   The whole way through she’s worried about the fact that Étienne has a girlfriend and not about the fact she’s breaking the friends’ code of conduct.

Summary

Nevertheless, I didn’t think this was enough to ruin the story.  The setting was beautiful and, all in all, I really liked the characters. Therefore...

Rating = 5 stars

Additional points

I really loved the writing so I am quite excited that the next book in the series is coming out in the UK very soon – Lola and the Boy Next Door!



If you've read this book, please post your comments below!

Childhood books – The Snowman

Everyone has those few books which they had when they were a kid which mean something to them and which they will never get rid of.  So, I thought I’d start a small feature showing you a few of my own childhood favourites.

To start, I’m going to talk about this little treasure:

There’s no doubt about it, The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is a classic.  Not only is it an adorable novel but it has also been transformed into a super famous one-off Christmas show with a gorgeous soundtrack.

The Snowman is short but this certainly doesn’t undermine the wonderfulness of the story.  It probably isn’t many of you, but for those of you who don’t know the story I’ll give a brief synopsis...

It’s Christmas time and a small boy wakes up one morning, looks out the window and gleefully discovers that there has been a heavy snowfall the previous night.  As soon as he can he dashes outside to build a snowman that, over night, comes to life and takes him on an all-night magical adventure that he’ll never forget.

The reason that I loved this book was not just because of the lovely storyline but also because of the book itself.  The book has no words but the story is still told so beautifully through lots and lots of pretty, little sketches.  And these are translated so well onto the screen that every year that I watch it I end up with happy tears!

So if you haven’t seen this book before then buy it, borrow it (whatever you like), look at the gorgeous illustrations and see if you can extract the wonderful story from it.

Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 So, I decided to return to John Green after a bit of a break and here is where I ended up: reading the much anticipated The Fault in Our Stars.  Now, I was quite apprehensive about reading this as I wasn’t sure how I felt about cancer stories. Funny how it turned out to be not only my favourite John Green book but also one of my favourite books off all time.

So, let the review commence...

Plot

Hazel is 16 years-old and she has cancer.  She has gotten used to it, after being diagnosed a few years before, and her condition is steady but she still can’t escape the fact that things could get a lot much worse at any time.  One day at her support group she meets Augustus, an ex-cancer patient with a charming personality who is utterly unbothered about Hazel’s condition.  The two (obviously) fall in love but soon it becomes apparent that Hazel’s condition isn’t the only problem.

Good points

It was perfect.  It really was.

I was so happy because there has been so much hype about John Green and all the other books I have read of his (Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska and Will Grayson, Will Grayson) have been slightly disappointing.  But this totally turned it around.

I completely fell in love with Hazel and Augustus.  They were written so well.  Hazel’s honesty about her condition was so refreshing.  She wasn’t portrayed as either really self-pitying or ignorant about the severity of her illness.  Her personality was also so likeable; I find that it’s really rare to find a female protagonist who is so easy to read.  She was so down to earth and really witty.  Similarly, Augustus had just the perfect amount of wit and charm mixed in with real romance and logic.

As a couple they were wonderful.  There was none of the usual, ‘but what if he thinks this about me?’ or ‘what if I’m not good enough for her?’ or ‘what I’ve said the wrong thing?’ that you find in the usual teen romance novels.  They were completely honest with each other and weren’t afraid to take the micky at just the right moments.

That is what I enjoyed the most about the book.  It wasn’t just another cancer story, as I feared it might be, but the focus was all on Hazel and Augustus’ relationship.

Bad points

Ummm...

I’m struggling here...

Okay, so I did cry for about five minutes straight at a certain point in the book but I hardly see that as a bad thing.  It was only a reflection of how stunning the writing was.

Summary

I was completely blown away by the beautiful writing and was completely taken by the characters.  It was such a lovely story with a lovely message. To be honest, it was just really lovely all round!

Without a doubt...

Rating = 5 stars

Additional Points

All I can say is... OMG I can’t wait to see the film!

Review: Dead Ends by Erin Lange

Plot

Dane is 16 years-old, he’s in high school and he’s got a reputation for being a bit of a hard-nut.  Dane certainly has a temper on him and he’s on the edge of being kicked out of school.

But then his new neighbour arrives on the scene.  His name is Billy D, he has Down’s syndrome and he has a far more responsible outlook on life than Dane, who gives someone a beating as soon he feels the ‘itch’ in his palms.

Billy D and Dane soon develop a close bond which begins with Dane’s agreeing to support Billy during the first few weeks of him settling into his new school (Dane’s school as well).  This soon turns into a close friendship; so close that they both go to extraordinary lengths in order to help the other in their endeavours.

Good points

Dane and Billy’s relationship is beautiful.  The transformation that Dane undergoes is wonderfully written; from when he first meets Billy D and calls him a ‘retard’ to when he threatens anyone who so much as looks at Billy in a derogatory manner by the end of the book. 

What Lange establishes so well is the humour between the two of them.  There are many occasions in which Dane teaches Billy various things that he doesn’t understand such as various sayings and colloquialisms.  But then, equally, Billy asks Dane many philosophical questions that Dane just can’t answer and that even start making him question his own behaviour.  Without a doubt, Billy is the very reason for why Dane becomes a changed guy by the end of the novel.

Plus, there’s even a little bit of romance between Dane and a great character called Seely which helps to embellish the story.

Bad points

My only complaint is that their relationship is a little irregular at times.  At some points the two of them seem to be getting on swimmingly but then all of a sudden they are at each other’s necks and they seem to have to start all over again in order to regain each other’s trust.

Summary

This is a really wonderful story about how an unexpected friendship can change people for the better.  My only complaint is that I would have liked a little more consistency in Billy and Dane’s friendship.

Rating = 4 stars.

Review: The Myths of Mars and Venus by Deborah Cameron

The Myths of Mars and Venus is a non-fiction book in which the Oxford professor Deborah Cameron examines the differences between male and female language and, most of all, she assesses already-existing theories which have resulted in the stereotypical assumptions about gender which we have today.

I really enjoyed this book because it gave such a wide range of contexts in which misconceptions about male and female language might be made; from the levels of individual authority within groups of guys and groups of gals to the effect that the recent influx of female MPs has had on the decorum of the House of Commons.  And within this Cameron analysed the opinions of existing theorists, such as the well-know Robin Lakoff, as well giving her own slant on various ongoing debates.  What I enjoyed the most was that she didn’t hold back in saying that some theories are unrealistic and even, in some cases, they lack sufficient evidence to make their assumptions justified.

My only complaint is that I felt that the book simply assessed the opinions of others.  In relation to other theorists (like the aforementioned Lakoff) Cameron’s views were not that controversial and lacked substance.

Overall, The Myths of Mars and Venus was a really interesting read (especially if you’re a linguistic fanatic like me) and its only let-down was that it lacked substantial personal opinion.  Therefore...

Rating = 4 stars.