If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Published in 2009, If I Stay has received positive reviews and a surge of popularity thanks to the film adaptation released in August, 2014.

If I Stay tells the story of seventeen year old Mia Hall, a girl with a bright future, a supportive family, and a loving boyfriend. Mia and her family take a drive on a snowy day and a catastrophic car crash follows. Plunged into a coma, Mia has an out-of-body experience as she contemplates whether to wake up or to die.

The meat of the story is the memories that Mia reflects upon as she lies in her hospital bed. I don't usually enjoy a book with too many details, however, in this case, they made the story more powerful. 

And the story is indeed powerful. Mia is still young and the decision she must make may be the most critical one she will ever face. The story line is interesting because you imagine what you would do in Mia's situation. The seriousness of the matter makes the book heart-wrenching and sad. 

This book is a tough read, but it is worth the effort because it is powerful and moving. Five out of five stars.

Whip It/Derby Girl by Shauna Cross

Originally published in 2007 as Derby Girl, Whip It was made into a film in 2009 directed by Drew Barrymore.

Bliss Cavendar is an indie-music-loving sixteen year old, stuck in the tiny town of Bodeen, Texas. Her mother is obsessed with beauty pageants and Bliss' only outlet to the "cool world" is traveling to Austin, Texas with her best friend Pash. In Austin, she discovers roller derby, which flips her world upside down for the better.

This book is not as well-written as Shakespeare but it is laugh-out-loud funny. It has a certain charm and Bliss' observations about the world are infused with the unmistakable sarcasm of a moody teen. 

The plot holds one's interest and the book is full of great descriptions of roller derby, a sport about which I previously knew little.  


This book is simply easy to read and enjoyable and does not require your full attention. I rate the book four out of five stars, because while it is fun and fairly well-written, it is not phenomenal. 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Published in 2012, Gone Girl is Gillian Flynn's third novel. It's gotten a surge in popularity due to the recent release of the film adaptation. 

Nick Dunne and Amy Elliott meet in New York City. They marry and move to Missouri so that Nick can be closer to his dying mother. This is where Amy disappears.
I won't share any more of the plot -- I'd spoil it otherwise. 

This book is told in a really interesting way. Each chapter alternates the points of view of Nick and Amy, both told in first person. I enjoyed this because, over time, you can really see how both Nick and Amy morph into different people.

Flynn's writing is addictive. She ends each chapter with a brilliantly captivating sentence which begs you to turn the page and read on. 

My only negative criticism is about the novel's length. It was too long because there were a lot of unnecessary details which bloated the book to 432 pages.  

The book's plot is like a tightly woven rope, its unraveling catalyzed by Amy's disappearance. While I enjoyed the book greatly, I wish it were shorter. Four out of five stars. 

Looking For Alaska by John Green

This is John Green's (The Fault In Our Stars) first novel. It won the Michael L. Printz Award and there are plans to adapt it into a film.

It is difficult to summarize this book's plot mainly because mid-book, there is an event that changes the course of the novel. I'll just fill you in on the first half.

Floridian Miles Halter is looking for a fresh start to his junior year in high school and opts for his Dad's old boarding school in Alabama. There he makes new friends including the mysterious Alaska. She sucks Miles into her complicated life while making him fall in love with her. That is really as far as I can go in summarizing the novel without giving away the plot.

I read this book three years ago and decided to reread it after the recent explosion of popularity of The Fault In Our Stars. I didn't really appreciate the beauty of Looking For Alaska the first time around. This book has so much depth, richness, and sadness. In addition, its message is so relatable to the teen experience; teens are often lost in their own mazes of life from which it can seem like there is no way out. 

Green's writing is neither beautiful nor imaginative, but it is raw and still entertaining. That is what gives the book its distinct edge.

Looking For Alaska can be read on multiple levels. You are required to interpret the ending for yourself and the author does not give much closure. If there were no additional thinking required, this book would be a meaningless tale about teenagers. I rate this book five out of five stars because it is a labyrinth (read the book, you'll get the diction) in and of itself. 

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

I picked up this book at Barnes and Noble last week, straight off the shelf. With no prior research on the book or its author, I took an uncharacteristic chance in choosing this book for this week's review -- and it turned out to be great. 

Starting in Cinque Terre, Italy, the story follows Pasquale Tursi as he manages a small inn that he inherited. Every character that emerges subsequently is, in some way, connected to Pasquale. The story hops across continents and spans decades while beautifully detailing the romance, hardships, and happiness that occur in each character's life. 

I really enjoyed this book. The writing in this story is like kettle corn; savory, but ever so sweet. The plot is like 60% cacao chocolate; bittersweet, but enjoyable. Reading the book is a slow-melting indulgent treat. 

I'd recommend this book to anyone because it is a masterpiece of great story-telling. The way the characters' stories intertwine is magical and I award it five out of five stars.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Ahead of its time when it was published in 1932, Brave New World explored a number of advanced ideas like eugenics and cloning. 

This novel's world is very unlike those of the other dystopian novel that I have read. The citizens treat Henry Ford as the God (in place of Christ) because he invented assembly line-style manufacturing. The government applies Ford's invention to manufacture human clones who are assigned to five different castes. Additionally, when  people are overwhelmed, they turn to a drug called soma that makes them forget their troubles. Despite these attempts made by the government in order to control the way people grow and feel, one individual is unhappy and discontented. He acts on those feelings to disrupt the authorities' controls.

This book is frightening, but not like a horror novel. The government thinks that it is better to control the development of the human species as opposed to having diversity among people. The ideas of the book foreshadowed Adolf Hitler's attempt to eliminate the Jews and many other groups to further his desire for a master Aryan race, although no killing of this caliber is described in the book. The caste system in the book parallels that of India where the lower castes perform the menial jobs and the upper castes have more opportunities and wealth. The ideas of this book, when executed in the real world, can have enormous and harmful consequences for society. 

Huxley writes with passionate style. Even when he describes scientific concepts and structures, he uses an imaginative voice which is refreshing and unexpected. 

There is little closure at the end of this book and many plot elements are left unresolved. The story hops around frequently, making it hard to keep up, so I'm giving BNW three out of five stars. 

I think this book marks the end of my dystopian-classical literature phase -- for now. 

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Published in 1962, A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian novella that is  Anthony Burgess' most popular work, despite his preference to be known for his other books.

Alex is a teenager who acts like a character in a violent video game; he rapes and kills, ransacks and steals -- all for fun. One night, the police catch Alex and lock him up for murder. The standard sentence for this crime is 14 years; however, Alex has heard about a way to shorten it -- a new correctional program. In treatment, he is forced to watch violent films and receive injections, both of which hyper-sensitize him against violence. After he is "cured", Alex is released back into society. However, he has now grown up and realizes that his old ways were childish and he plans to abandon them.

I can only describe this book in one word: unpleasant. The descriptions of murder, rape, and torture are very brutal. Still, Burgess is an incredible author whose writing style displays virtuosity and originality. 

This book is a difficult read. It's not the plot, it's the gibberish. Many words in the book are made up, comprising an original language shared by the protagonist teenagers. It's a read that requires a lot, if not all, of your attention. 

A Clockwork Orange is like the strange love child of Nineteen Eighty-Four and The Catcher in the Rye (both previously reviewed here). The government disapproves of Alex's desires to participate in unlawful activities and they set out to cure him. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the government disapproves of Winston's contrary beliefs and sets out to reeducate him. Holden Caulfield (of Catcher) and Alex both grow from their youthful selves to more mature almost adults.

I rate this book four out of five stars because I really like the message about there being a time to grow up. I dropped one star because the invented language can be hard to comprehend.