"The Fault in Our Stars" is a book written by John Green, and under the recommendation of, well basically the whole world, I started reading it and I am currently half way finished with the book. To be honest, when I first started reading it, I thought it was good but not great. However as I kept reading and got further in the book it did get better and the uniqueness of the situation really caught my attention. Like every single good character on the face of the book world, the main character had a flaw. It was not necessarily a flaw that would catch every single reader's attention, it was more of a personality flaw, and a pretty small one at that, but it really irked me whenever it showed up which was rarely. She was pretty big on gender roles. Boys should do this and girls should do that, and let me tell you something, nothing annoys me more than that, but it probably did not bother the majority of the readers. On the positive side, Hazel Grace did have good characteristics too: she was smart and she was independent. She really cared about the people around her and did not want to hurt any of them even if it meant secluding herself from everyone. I don't think that she would have half of these characteristics if she didn't have cancer (it is not a plot twist, it sort of plays a major role in the plot of the story). So far, most of the characters are pretty two dimensional and none of them really grow in the time span the story was written in, but I am expecting it to get better. I am looking forward to the end of the story, but I have a feeling that something bad will probably happen taking in consideration it is a story about a girl with cancer, but I guess I will just have to wait and see.
This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it."Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive--dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60748.A_Child_Called_It_
An acquaintance of mine recommended A Child Called 'It' by Dave Pelzer telling me it was really worth my time, so I started reading it. I was under the impression that it was sad story of a man who was abused as a child by his mother, but I really was not prepared to read the horrors that were written in the pages, especially since I knew everything that was written was perfectly true. When I first read the book, it was how I imagined it to be. It started off with him being taken away from his family by the police and then him recalling good memories he had with them. However, as I read more into the book, it slowly got more and more violent, vile, and heart-aching. There were some moments in the book which I honestly wish I could unread and forget, but at the same time, I am more informed of what actually happens to some people, and that's really why people read this book. I for one did not have the stomachs to actually finish the entire book, but I think its safe to say that I may have read some of the worst parts in the book. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that does have the stomachs to read it because it is very informative. It's important for people to know that what happened to Dave Pelzer does actually happen in real life, and most likely still currently happens to other kids too.
Rating: 4.7/5
Summary (from goodreads):
In The Lost World, the first in a series of books to feature the bold Professor Challenger—a character many critics consider one of the most finely drawn in science fiction—Challenger and his party embark on an expedition to a remote Amazonian plateau where, as the good professor puts it, “the ordinary laws of Nature are suspended” and numerous prehistoric creatures and ape-men have survived. “Just as Sherlock Holmes set the standard—and in some sense established the formula—for the detective story . . . , so too has The Lost World set the standard and the formula for fantasy-adventure stories . . . ,” Michael Crichton writes in his Introduction. “The tone and techniques that Conan Doyle first refined in The Lost World have become standard narrative procedures in popular entertainment of the present day.”
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10155.The_Lost_World
The Lost World is a very entertaining book written by the one and only Arthur Conan Doyle who is famously known for his Sherlock Holmes novels. It is about three brave men, and one who wants to prove his bravery to the love of his life, who go on an expedition to prove a very violent professor's claim that there exists pre-historic life in South America.The novel is actually very slow-paced and includes some science, making it quite boring at times, but it wasn't necessarily a book you wouldn't want to finish. Even though I put the book down several times and wouldn't go back to it for a day or two, I always had the intention of finishing The Lost World because it did have a good plot. It was a book the kind of book where the characters were in constant danger, so it had the effect of making the reader think their favorite character might die, which is mainly why I kept going back to it.
One thing I really like about The Lost World, along with all of Arthur Conan Doyle's writing, is the amount of imagery and description. When reading the books he writes, it slips your mind that the people in his novels are only characters. They all have distinct personalities and characteristics and the way he describes them, it puts a clear and vivid image in your head of what they look like. Arthur Conan Doyle makes you love these characters in times of happiness and grieve them in times of sadness. Not only the people, but the places he describes, especially in The Lost World since he had to make it up from his imagination, it puts you in awe. I just think since I am speaking of his books, he deserves to be credited for his efforts.
The Lost World is written in the point of view of the man who wants to prove his bravery: Mr. Malone. I found this really irritating at some points, especially the beginning, partially because the woman he wants to marry, Gladys, is extremely annoying and naive, saying she wants to marry only a brave and perfect man, which is the reason she refuses to marry Mr.Malone. The other reason I found this irritating was because I found Mr.Malone very pathetic at times, saying he's only going on this expedition for her, even though he's gained quite a lot of knowledge and met amazing people due to this journey.
Despite the main character's foolish personality, there were other characters I absolutely adored...mainly the other three men that also went on this expedition. There were two professors that went on this journey, the violent one and another, and I have to say, their relationship was one I wouldn't want to see ever die out. They would constantly bicker about science trying to prove each other wrong, making it seem as if they couldn't stand the sight of each other, but they both actually really cared deeply about each other, not wanting one another to ever be in harm's way. The same goes for the other two that were came on this expedition: Mr. Malone and Lord John Roxton. When I was first introduced to Lord John Roxton, I did not think I would like him at all, but he proved himself to be worthy of my love by showing courage, humbleness, and sincerity.
My favorite part of The Lost World has to be the ending. I say this because I thought it would revolve around the love story between Mr.Malone and Gladys, but thankfully it wasn't. It was much better. You have to read it to find out.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is willing to cope with Mr.Malone's foolishness and the dry parts where science is involved.
Hello everyone! My name is Rola and this will be my first post on my new blog. I made this blog to help myself become a more avid reader and to be able to express my opinions and achievements to the world. This blog's purpose is to let you know about what books are worth reading. Every week I will post a post about the book I am currently reading and the following week I will post the full review. So every other week I will post a new book review. The books will vary from classic books, to popular books, to books I found in the corner of the bookstore. Expect everything! Sometime next week I will be posting my first review of my first book "The Lost World" by Arthur Conan Doyle. I sincerely hope you enjoy it and become interested in my blog. See you next week!
