Review: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas // David Mitchell
2004 // Hodder
Paperback
5/5 stars!

A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation—the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

In English Class, we got the assingment to read a book. You were allowed to choose what book you wanted to read yourself, as long as it was literature.
It was a difficult choice for me, because there are so many books I want to read, but in the end I chose Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, because I knew deep inside that I'd not simply pick it up. You all should know that this is a very thick book, with 529 pages.
The thing that attracted me most about Cloud Atlas was that there were 6 stories, and all of them were intertwined and told in the book. First time you meet them, and the second time, further in the book, you are reunited with the stories, that were simply ended earlier, sometimes mid-sentence.
Also, I heard that it was made into a movie. The movie trailer looked amazing, and I always want to read the book prior to watching the movie, so that's exactly what I did. And I loved it!
In the beginning, I was scared by it, to be honest. The first part was written 1850s style, and to me that was incredibly hard. I am not a native, and English is not my mother tongue, so I have some minor problems with some parts of the English language, one of them being that it takes me long to understand some terms that I am not familiar with.
So the first thirty-something pages scared me off, yet I kept on reading, fascinating by the story. Then quickly I was thrown into the next part, letters this time, and 100 years later, so much easier for me to understand. and it just went on and on and I fell in love with the novel more and more!
Historic, Contemporary and Futuristic stories, all included in one thick and magnificently written novel. All genres mixed and matched. Never thought I'd like a mystery novel, combined with political drama, as much as I did. David Mitchell; you are one of the finest writers around!

A half-read book is a half-finished love affair

Lots of books,
Mar

Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan

title: Birth of a Killer

written by: Darren Shan

series: The saga of Larten Crepsley #1

genre: young adult, historical, fantasy
page count: 261

publication date: October 5th, 2010

my rating: 3/5 stars

Before Cirque Du Freak...
Before the war with the vampaneze...
Before he was a vampire.
Larten Crepsley was a boy.
As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his brother as an example to the other children.
In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.
This is his story. 

Before reading this book, I read the entire 'saga of Darren Shan'. This series is a prequel to that series. I liked the saga of Darren Shan, but it wasn't one of my favorite series of all time. Still, I read all 12 (!) books, and I enjoyed them. Then I found out about this prequel series, that spotlighted Larten Crepsley, a character that has always fascinated me, and I just had to read it. So I did. And I liked it :)

As the story begins, Larten is just a normal poor factory worker in the 18th century (not sure about the exact time). He doesn't know anything about vampires, or his own future, while I, as a reader, did. That's what I enjoy most about prequel series, I sort of know what's going to happen. I like to 'predict the future' in books.

What I also liked about this series was that I already knew a lot about the main character before I opened the book. This way it was easier for me to 'jump into' the story, as I did not have to get to know all new characters. I also really liked to see back some of the characters that always fascinated me in the saga of Darran Shan. Some background information is always welcome :)

The plot of this book wasn't very surprising. My brains weren't overprocessing information, neither were they doing nothing. It was historical fiction, which I usually enjoy, although I tend to prefer contemporary fiction or dystopia. As the story proceeded, it was easy to predict exactely what was going to happen, which of course also was because the book was a prequel. Altogether this book wasn't the best of Darren Shan's works, but it definitely wasn't the best of them!

Shan's writing style is very easy and uncomplicated. I can read it 100 pages/hour in English, which is very quick for me. And since I read this book in Dutch, I finished it in under 2 hours. (Dutch is easier to read for me). But I am not sure if I like books to be such quick reads. Fat books sometimes scare me, so I tend to read thinner books, but not this thin... Anyways, this is a novel that hovers in between middle grade and young adult, in my opinion. Just like the first 3 Harry Potter books. It didn't bother me though.

I would recommend this books to people who have already read the saga of Darren Shan, or to anyone who is doubting whether or not to start reading it. Also, I would recommend this book to children aged 8-12 who are looking for a quick read full of action. I give this book 3 stars!

Love,

Mar

Interrupted by Rachel Coker

book: Interrupted

written by: Rachel Coker

series: none

genres: young adult, historial fiction

pages: 320

publication date: February 14th, 2012

publisher: Zondervan Publishers

the book:

Can love really heal all things? If Sam Carroll hadn't shown up, she might have been able to get to her mother in time. Instead, Allie Everly finds herself at a funeral, mourning the loss of her beloved mother. She is dealt another blow when, a few hours later, she is sent from Tennessee to Maine to become the daughter of Miss Beatrice Lovell, a prim woman with a faith Allie cannot accept. Poetry and letters written to her mother become the only things keeping Allie's heart from hardening completely. But then Sam arrives for the summer, and with him comes many confusing emotions, both toward him and the people around her. As World War II looms, Allie will be forced to decide whether hanging on to the past is worth losing her chance to be loved

first thoughts:
Thanks a lot to Zondervan publishers and Netgalley for givin me the oppotunity to read this book. I had heard great things about it, and it lived up to my expectations :) And the cover is great, right?


my review:
Allie is just the average teen girl, or at least she is from the outside. When I got to know more about her complicated family situation, I immediately got a lot of respect for her. I would never be able to take care of my mother, live my own life, and all of that while I have my own portion of drama and problems.
Then there is the other important character, Sam. He is that boy next door that is also your friend. And even though you might hate him sometimes, he is the one that you love unconditionally.
I found the plot of this book rather interesting. It was set during the second world war, and that is something that I always find pretty depressing, but actually it wasn't. I haven't read a lot of books that were set during the second world war ánd were set in America. Most of the WW2 books I have read were about the war in Europe. The war didn't sound that bad in America in this book, which of course was mainly because the book wasn't about the war at all...
The story in this book was written great, and it was all very easy and enjoyable to read, so that's a great thing! The characters weren't annoying. Only the stubbornness of Allie was irritating in some parts of the book, but it was her main charactersistic, so I completely understood it :)
The pace of the book was great, and easy to keep up with. Also it was great that every chapter began with a Emily Dickinson quote. I like poetry, even though I don't understand it most of the times *sigh*


Final thoughts:
a lovely romantic story with amazing characters that most teenage girls will find themselves in.


rating:
3.5 stars


xo Mar

Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs

book: Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children
written by: Ransom Riggs
series: nope
genres: historical, fantasy, young adult
pages: 352
own / library /  borrowed
publication date: June 7th, 2011
publisher: Quirk books


first thoughts:
Ohmygosh finally! I had been waiting for months to read this book, and then a friend of mine walked around with this book in her bag. Seriously, I almost robbed her *no, just kidding, I'd never do that (A)* She let me borrow it if I finished it over the weekend, and so I did. Actually, I finished the first 80% on friday :D This book is looks so good and it didn't disappoint me at all. And the cover is so beautiful!

the book: 
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.


It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

my review:

Oh my gosh. That's what I repeated a zillion times after I had finished this book. Still repeating it now, as you might have noticed in my blog post :s

I could think of dozens of words to describe this book, but I think peculiar is the best. Because this book was nothing like anything I have ever read. It was filled with vintage pictures, that went pretty well with the story, and they made the story more realistic. And that's an amazing thing, to make a fantasy novel seem realistic!

The children in this book terrified me in the beginning. 80-year-olds trapped in children's bodies? That must be horrible for them. But then I started looking at their behaviour, and I figured that their appearance matched the way they behaved, and only the things they knew didn't match their bodies. Wouldn't their brains have outgrown their bodies? :)

The story in this book was sometimes hard to follow, becaurse there was so much happening. If this book was twice as thick, I think there still would be happening a lot. Even when you didn't read 1 or 2 lines, the story would make no sense at all. I had to re-read an entire chapter after I put the book down, just to remember everything important that had happened. The author really put lots of information in a relatively short story.

There was a lot of character development, which is great. I don't like a book when the characters don't develop at all. The developing of a character makes the character seem human, and not just a few drops of ink.

The story told in this book intrigued me a lot. I held my breath reading it and finished it as soon as I could. I wanted to know how it ended so badly! Luckily, I didn't make the mistake I made while reading the last Harry Potter book *MASSIVE SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ HP7* . I *accidentely* read the final 2 words: "Harry said." And well, that spoiled the entire book... 

There was a little romance in this book, but not much, just enough.

A very original book for both teens and adult that freaked me out, made me swoon and every other emotion in between. Definitely a must for all fantasy-lovers!

rating: 

4.5 stars

xo Mar

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

book: the Night Circus

written by: Erin Morgenstern

genre: romance, fantasy, historical, young adult

pages: 387

own / library / borrowed

release date: September 13th, 2011

series? no :c

publisher: Doubleday press

note: I can't believe that this book has been lying on my TBR pile for so long. Once I started reading it I couldn't  put it away. This is awesomesauce!

the book:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. (summary from GoodReads)

my review:

This book is perfect. First of all, look at the cover, it's awesome. The only colours used are black, white and red. Those three colours play a big role in this book. All rêveurs wear these colours, and only these colours. But enough about the cover, since I could ramble about the cover only for hours and hours. 

The characters intrigued me. Celia Bowen, who you could call the main character, even tough you don't read from her POV, is not like any other girl, and not only because she is a magician. She is a great character, sometimes you get to see a little of her feelings and emotions, always you see that she is sarcastic. Most of the characters in this book are different from normal humans, but still they act normal, they make friends and enemies, they fight like normal people do, and it all was so realistic that somewhere in the book I was wondering what was and what wasn't reality. 

The circus is a place I want to visit once in my life. It is a place that sounds super exiting, and it is described as if it is the best circus ever. The author says it has lots of tents, and I want to know what is inside all of them, but you will not find that out, which is too bad. A few times in this book one of the acts of the performers is told about, and it is told as if you're walking inside the tent yourself. With a little bit of imagination you could be walking through the tent, seeing the performance of your dreams. 

Then there is the 'game' that is going on. You don't know what they are doing, or when it will end. And when you find out you wish they never were playing this game, because it's horrible.
The main characters are the players of the game, Celia and Marco, and they are great characters, but the other characters were even better, in my opinion. There were various characters that were all very different but they had one thing in common, which was the circus. All of them were illusionists or rêveurs, which are the followers of the circus.

The end of this book made me happy. And that is strange, because I usually don't like endings like this. Sorry, you probably don't know what I'm talking about but I don't want to spoil it for you. Let's just say that you should read this book, because everyone should read it, no matter if you like or hate historical fantasy. I am not a real fan of the historical, but with this book I just did not care, I was not even fully aware of it, actually :$ 

Then you also have the romance in this book, and it is great! I want to have a romance like that :) Only slightly different, but I can't go on rambling about it because I will spoil the book... *sigh* 

So this is the end of my review, I am too scared that I will spoil it to you, and this book shouldn't be spoiled!!

This is an epic historical fantasy book everyone, no matter which age, will love. You will find out that it is unputdownable, and you will not know what is and what isn't reality. You will want to visit the circus, and who knows, it might just appear somewhere near :)

rating:

Would it be a big surprise if I said that I will give this book 5 stars??? :p

xo Mar
ps: onigod longest review ever... sorry but I just can't stop talking about it *sigh*

Alias Dragonfly by Jane Singer

book: Alias Dragonfly
written by: Jane Singer
genres: historical, fiction, romance
pages: 161
own / library / netgalley
release date: November 1st, 2011
publisher: Bell Bridge books


note: thanks to the author and Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. It's not what I usually read, but I liked it :)

the book:
Fifteen years old. Wanted: Dead or Alive.


"Don't love a spy," warns fifteen-year-old Pinkerton agent Maddie Bradford, a lonely, rebellious outsider with a mind on fire and a photographic memory. It is 1861, the Civil War has just started and this motherless teen must move with her soldier-father from New Hampshire to Washington, DC-a city at war, packed cheek by jowl with soldiers, Rebel spies, slave catchers and traitors of all stripes bent on waging a war of destruction against the Union, and President Lincoln himself.


Maddie's journal, written in secret, of course, begins with her arrival at her aunt's DC boardinghouse through the first year of the Civil War, a time, as Maddie puts it, full of "dips and dangers," when she becomes a fearless Union spy. And then there is the mysterious, maddening Jake Whitestone, a young man who awakens something equally dangerous in Maddie: Love in a time of terror.

(summary from goodreads)

review:

I liked this book. The writing style was ok, the characters were nice, but not great. The book was not like the usual books I read. Most of the time I don't read historical books, but this one sounded great so I gave it a shot. And I did not completely dislike it, so that's a great thing! Still, I did not love the story. Maybe that's because I don't know a lot about the civil war *and by not much I actually mean nothing* because I am not American and my history teacher did not teach me a lot about the civil war, or maybe historical fiction just isn't my thing... 

Still, this book taught me a lot, and that is awesome. I kinda like to learn something while reading a book. It's like learning without feeling like you're really doing so. That's one of the things that made this a great read, which I will not soon forget.
Aside of the subject, the story was fine. I would not call it boring, but I would not call it full of action either. But there happened a lot in the 161 pages this book contained, more than I had expected of such a thin book :) 

Being a spy in the civil war really sounds like a job I would like, but would not, and never, be fit for... I am not really fearless enough, so I have to show some respect to Maddie, who rocks. And also it's awesome that there is someone who writes pieces for the newspaper, and that she gets to meet him.

This book taught me about the civil war, but also about the importancy of family :D

rating:

I give this book 3 stars :3

xo Mar