Review: Looking for Alaska

   

Author: John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | TBD

Synopsis: Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. 

Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After.

Nothing is ever the same.

Review:

The first John Green novel I read, and I instantly fell in love. A very powerful and compelling novel that would make you feel connected to everything that's happening in the book.

This was recommended to me just because I liked The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I expected them to be the same. At some point, yes it is quite the same. Both of them talks about teenage lives, not some book life but the actual one which I believe is really happening to other teens. But honestly, this one has more depth compared to Perks.

If you think that this book talks about Pudge, then you're certainly wrong. This talks more about how the new people he met at Culver Creek, introducing them and their personality and later on tells us their effects into Pudge's life. This is not one of those books whose story is about the life of the narrator, but about the people around him.

A very powerful novel that connects the reader to the book through its words and magnificent arrangement of events. John Green has this talent of making you feel like you're one of those characters, or you're with them inside the room.

You'd definitely miss the characters the moment you close the book and after I've read it twice, I realised that everything is heavier than it was the first time I've read it.

Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

    

Author: Stephen Chbosky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | TBD

Synopsis: Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

Review:

"But because things change. And friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody."

The book is a compilation of Charlie's letter to an anonymous friend whom he chooses to tell what happens to his life because he believed that that person would understand him. Throughout the book, you would know how he copes up with the changes in his environment and with his peers. He slowly learns how to wade through the realities of life with the help of his friends and family.

I honestly read this book because of other people's reaction to this and because it will have a movie adaptation next year where Sam will be played by Emma and Charlie by Logan. But after I've read this book, it seems like I don't care about the movie at all. Actually I'm quite afraid they'd disappoint me and ruin the whole meaning of this beautiful book.

Yes, it is definitely beautiful and very heart-warming/wrenching. It took me to another phase of emotional roller coaster whilst reading and I regret nothing. It made me understand certain things about life itself. A part of me got attached to Charlie's character. He reminds me so much about being in a group of people where you have no one but yourself.

A poignant book that has the power to connect to you through its simple words and composition. I love the fact that it's so easy to read yet it brings me to a roller coaster ride of emotions. Those who aren't into reading that much don't have to worry because it's not your typical deep novels with high-end words. It's simple and light and very understandable though some would really make you stop for a while and think what was it.

It's one of those books you'd love to share but can't figure out the right words to describe it. You just have to let others read it.