manelreads

[manelreads]

Hi friends! For anyone interested in books, I’ve started up a reading page on Instagram! Come join me and lets talk all things books :)

[manelreads on Instagram]

[manelreads]

Hi friends! For anyone interested in books, I’ve started up a reading page on Instagram! Come join me and lets talk all things books :)

[manelreads on Instagram]

#books #instagram #Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #mphfpc #we were liars #The Monstrumologist #ready player one #the martian #the perks of being a wallflower #tpobaw #noggin #the rest of us just live here #Eleanor and Park #bookstagram #book reviews #personal

[manelreads]

Wow... I did not think I'd like this book as much as I did. The best thing about this book are the characters. They're raw, broken, complex and eerily real. Nelson was able to capture the human spirit in many forms, be it at it's happiest or its dangerously lowest. The story was told through flashbacks and flash forwards that worked beautifully and Nelson was able to intricately craft a stunning story that weaved in and out of itself about family, loss, adultery and sexuality that will leave you breathless after every page. Awesome, awesome stuff. Hate to say it, but I feel like this is what 'We Were Liars' should've been.

[Goodreads] [Personal Blog]

#i'll give you the sun #jandy nelson #igyts #book #book review #i'll give you the sun review #manelreads

[manelreads]

Far out! Can this book get any more depressing. I spent hours contemplating whether or not this was memorable because it was a good book or because it was just very, very sad. I think it was honestly a combination of both. I haven't read a book this sad in a very long time and, luckily, the story was great and interesting enough to keep me hooked until the last pages. I would've liked to see less flashbacks because they really slowed the pace down. But then again, all the main events happen so early on that they really are required for you to connect with our characters. I would've liked to see less, but I understood that they were unavoidable. Damn, this book really has a lasting effect on you....

[Goodreads] [Personal Blog]

#i'm back yoooo #if i stay #books #gayle forman #book review #reviews

[manelreads]

My Patrick Ness collection is coming along nicely

#can't wait to read release #book #release #library #Patrick Ness #personal #chaos walking #a monster calls

[manelreads]

Latest Book Haul!

A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins Jackaby - William Ritter Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - Jesse Andrews The Final Descent (The Monstrumologist Book 4) - Rick Yancey Yes Please - Amy Poehler  

#books #book haul #a darker shade of magic #v.e. schwab #the girl on the train #paula hawkins #jackaby #william ritter #me and earl and the dying girl #jesse andrews #the final descent #rick yancey #yes please #amy poehler #manelreads

[manelreads]

Winger - Andrew Smith

Because of his intelligence, Ryan Dean is moved up a few grades and is placed in a boarding school . He is the only 14 year old among the juniors and he sticks out like a sore thumb. Winger follows the story of Ryan and his attempts to fit in, find love and ultimately try to make it through high school in one piece.

First and foremost, there’s a good chance that you’re not going to like the main character. There was just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. I think it had something to do with his age. His naivety on all things concerning teenagers and high school in general was really frustrating. He is constantly making crass remarks and I was turned off by him for almost the entire book. However, you slowly start noticing him learning more about himself and the other’s around him, but that doesn’t happen until the last 100 pages or so, and only after he realises his stupid mistakes. As I slowly started to be a little more forgiving towards him, I was impressed with how he was forced to change himself for the better. His methods to do so weren’t the best and I still think he made plenty of stupid decisions, but I admired his tenacity to make things right. He was a little impulsive at times, but I appreciated that they were all for the right reasons.

Joey and Chas were by far my favourite characters. They were so deep and complex and I found they were the most realistic when it came to understanding real teenagers. Their attitude towards Ryan and his situation allowed Ryan to recompose himself and start acting like a grown up. Their influence on him, be it good or bad, allowed Ryan to grow, which also helped them to be more accepting of him and themselves.

The romantic plot plays a huge role in the book, but unfortunately, probably because of Ryan’s age again, I wasn’t as invested in it as I would’ve liked. It was a good motivational tool to allow Ryan to grow, but no matter how it would’ve ended up, I wasn’t too affected by it.

Despite all these minor flaws, I really, really enjoyed Winger. The rawness of it all made for a riveting read. The supporting characters all made up for it as they were all diverse and it was interesting to see how someone like Ryan would interact with them. The supporting characters moulded him and allowed him to really rediscover the kind of person he’d like to be. The ending though, I’d like to add, was VERY heavy. It took me a couple of days to really get over it, as it took the story on such a wild tangent and completely change the entire mood of the book. Never has a book shocked me as much as Winger did which made the entire story so unforgettable.

#winger #andrew smith #book #book review #winger review #manelreads

[manelreads]

SCORCH TRIALS TRAILER SCORCH TRIALS TRAILER SCORCH TRIALS TRAILER SCORCH TRIALS TRAILER SCORCH TRIALS TRAILER SCORCH TRIALS TRAILER SCORCH TRIALS TRAILER 

#HYPE #Jojen Stiles and now Baelish #my favourite shows are colliding #and Effie Stonem #hhhgggnnnngngn #the scorch trials #the maze runner #tst #tmr #books #movies #film #scorch trials #dylan o'brien

[manelreads]

Book Haul - Graphic Novel Edition

Seconds - Bryan Lee O’Malley Saga Vol:1 - Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples Y: The Last Man Vol:1 - Brian K. Vaughan Locke & Key Vol:1 - Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez Deadly Class Vol:1 - Rick Remender The Woods Vol:1 - James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas

#books #book haul #graphic novels #seconds #bryan lee o'malley #saga #brian k vaughan #fiona staples #y: the last man #locke and key #joe hill #deadly class #rick remender #the woods

[manelreads]

Latest Book.... Haul?

These were random purchases, bought at separate times over a period of a few months... so technically not a haul.

The First Phone Call from Heaven - Mitch Albom Let It Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle Lord of the Flies - William Golding Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending to be a Grown-Up - Grace Helbig gracehelbig The War of the Worlds/ The Time Machine - H.G Wells Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

#books #book haul #manelreads #the first phone call from heaven #mitch albom #let it snow #john green #lord of the flies #william golding #grace's guide #grace helbig #war of the worlds #oliver twist #charles dickens

[manelreads]

I’m not dead.

Just in a slump...

#personal #books

[manelreads]

Wonder - R.J Palacio

Born with a genetic facial disorder, August, aka Auggie, never really fit in. Having been homeschooled for most of his early years, he’d lived a quiet and sheltered life. He had no real friends, he was close to his family and his social skills and self-esteem were not his best qualities. This all changes when Auggie makes the life-changing decision to start public school. ‘Wonder’ explores the personal triumphs and hardships a young boy faces as he tries to make it through the most difficult period in a young child’s life…. and it does it wonderfully.

Auggie’s strength is incredible. The amount of times I wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be alright was innumerable, but Auggie handles everything with a grace and maturity well past his years. Palacio has managed to craft a character that’s complex and gave him a voice that not only helped portray his struggles, but even showed instances of joy, doubt, inspiration, hope and, surprisingly, even sympathy. Auggie understands. He gets it. He knows he looks different. Not once did he try to act like everything was normal because he knows he is not. He often puts himself in other people’s shoes and understands that if he was them, even he would stare at himself.

Wonder is told through different perspectives, and even though this technique has been done to death, it works fantastically here. Not only do we get a glimpse into the life of Auggie, but we also learn about his peers and everyone around him and how Auggie has affected each one of their lives. We begin to understand people’s perspectives and how everyone is so quick to judge. You don’t really know the full story of something until you understand the other person’s reasoning. This is where Wonder really shines.

Readers will automatically connect with one character or two, depending on how they would personally react to Auggie. Would you feel sorry for him? Get deterred? Scared, even? Would you act like it doesn’t bother you? What was so great about this story was that it never completely specified the exact way Auggie’s face looked. By doing that, the audience is automatically part of the story - you become one of the characters judging Auggie, making your own personal mental image of Auggie in your head. How do you see Auggie? How bad is his face? Is it worse that how someone else pictures his face? How would you react if you saw him on the street? This was the ultimate journey that Wonder took me on and it took my breath away.

#wonder #r.j palacio #books #book review #manelreads #book #rj palacio #wonder review

[manelreads]

[manelreads]

Question Time

Do you consider/count graphic novels as part of your 2015 reading goal?

#books #question #manelreads #graphic novels #book questions #ask #help #2015 reading #reading goal #book question

[manelreads]

If you haven't added me on Goodreads yet, then what are you waiting for?!

Join me :)

#let's be friends #goodreads #manelreads #personal #books #add me #friends

[manelreads]

Noggin - John Corey Whaley

So here’s what’s up with this book, you ready? 16 year-old Travis has cancer, but miraculously, medicine has found a way for him to bypass it. The deal is that he’ll have his head surgically removed, ultimately abandoning his cancer stricken body once and for all, then have it cryogenically frozen where it will lie dormant until technology has advanced further and he’ll be able to survive by having his head reattached to a donor body. Here’s the kicker: He only lay dormant for 5 years. Now that he’s back, everything has changed.

Whaley has managed to craft a ridiculously outlandish story into one that is so heartfelt, touching and so very human that I found myself needing to take a few breaths so I can really absorb the wonderful moments in this book. The characters and their relationships with each other is what really cements this book as one of my absolute favourites.

When a reader connects with the main character, you’re invested in them until the end. Whaley has managed to do this with Travis. From the beginning, I found Travis very likeable and accessible. I immediately felt empathy for him, and - strangely - understood everything that he was going through. The concept itself was hard to sell, but with a character like Travis I felt like Whaley gave us a guide that would ease us into this strange world and ask all the questions that you yourself might have. He was just as curious as the reader and was always trying to work things out. What do you do when everyone around you has aged and you have not? When everyone around you has had to live with your death, thinking they’d never see you again, only to have you come back? It truly is a struggle but I think I would’ve handled things exactly like Travis did. They may never have been the best choices (there were moments when Travis was a little stubborn and whiney) but he always made them. He worked for answers and he worked to fix his relationships and that was very admirable because when it came down to it, he’s still just a kid.

The supporting characters were very realistic. I really loved that because, as I’ve repeated many times, the concept is outlandish, but the characters were always grounded and dealt with issues with level heads. They made me believe a world that was truly unbelievable. The way Travis left things with his friends before he ‘died’ weren’t ideal and it was fantastic to see their initial reactions when he returned and also their fight to slowly fit the pieces back together. There were fantastically awkward moments which had the ever-lingering feeling of unease because no one really knew how to act around him. What secrets had been left unsaid? Were they still friends? How are they going to act around each other when Travis was the same, but they had aged 5 years? What about his girlfriend? Or does he even call her that now? So many questions! But luckily, Noggin answers all of these! The way Whaley highlights human relationships and how people learn to adapt in changing situations is beautiful.

I also really loved the ending. I felt that it was extremely satisfying and I couldn’t think of another way to end this book than what was already written. I mentioned in my Goodreads updates that this is one of a tiny handful of books that has almost made me cry and that’s still very true. I came into this book thinking it’ll be a really comedic story, which it is, but it also really hits hard in the drama front. The scenes when Travis celebrates the holidays in the hospital and when Travis visits the graveyard are scenes so beautiful I will remember them forever. You got me John Corey Whaley, you got me good.

#noggin #John Corey Whaley #books #book review #manelreads #noggin review #book #jcw #goodreads

[manelreads]

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

First things first: If you have any plans at all to start this book, PLEASE STOP READING THIS REVIEW NOW! I think the best way to fully appreciate this book is if you know nothing about it. Got it? Good. You’ve been warned.

With that being said, I WISH that I had not read articles and reviews about this book. I WISH that I could go back and come into it blind because maybe then I would have had a better appreciation to the story Lockhart was trying to tell. The book isn’t bad. Honestly, it’s not bad. But I had a really hard time trying to focus when I was constantly expecting things to happen. I read so much about this book and heard all the hype surrounding it, that I came into it expecting. Just ‘expecting’. Anything. Everything. Just waiting for things to happen. And I think it was this expectation that made the book feel very, very underwhelming.

One of the main drawbacks that I had with this book was the writing style. Yes, it wasn’t like anything I’d ever read before, but that was not necessarily a good thing. The word that comes to mind when describing the writing in this book is ‘pretentious.’ It was so over-written and so overly dramatic that I found myself cringing at every whimsical sentence and metaphor. Lockhart’s writing style felt very distant. I felt a real disconnect with her style because the structure is so unnecessarily descriptive that it lost a lot of the substance. There were moments when sentences became so abstract that I just shrugged and read on without even understanding what the hell I just read. However, some moments, when done right were absolutely beautiful. But when you try to create beauty in every single paragraph it’ll eventually fade and lose it’s effect. Maybe it was just me, maybe I don't have a knack for understanding the underlying meanings, but the story gets lost in the sentences which was a little disappointing.

I mentioned earlier that I regret reading about the book beforehand because even towards the climactic ending, I found everything very predictable. I was told that the book was great “because of the ending” so in my mind, as I read, I was constantly piecing pieces together and running through every form of twist ending in my head. I knew I shouldn’t have done it and I hate myself for it, but I did it. I felt like the full effect of the book got lost on me. The “twist” wasn’t as exhilarating as I’d hope. On paper it was wild, but in my mind I had already addressed that scenario and I knew it was going to happen 30 pages before it was revealed. 

I think that, plus the combination of the writing style, made my experience with ‘We Were Liars’ one that felt very forced. Everything flew right over my head. I was disconnected and unfocused and didn’t really care for the characters. It’s such a shame because behind all of that is a chilling book surrounded my mystery, filled with secrets and riddled with intrigue - I just didn’t see it. 

#we were liars #e. lockhart #books #book review #manelreads #we were liars review #wwl #book