Divergent

Well, hello there!

Alright, so this post is going to be about Divergent by Veronica Roth. I'm sure you can guess what the next two posts will be about, since it's no secret to anyone that this is a trilogy, unless you live under a rock and in that case I don't know why you're reading my blog because there's so much else to see! Although for those of you who do live under a rock, I'm honored you're reading my blog and I hope I can give you some helpful insight on literature. But anyway, back on track:

Yay! It fits!

Hobbit (The)

E

Divergent

G

E

Handmaid’s Tale (The)

O

G

S

Alright, so this book was good. It welcomes you to yet another dystopian society made of factions. This book carries a lot of similarities to The Hunger Games trilogy including being a trilogy. This book was like a mix of Brave New World, Hunger Games, and The Uglies. The characters in this book were incredible and I felt an instant attachment to them. I felt every stab of pain the main character, Tris, felt. My shoulder actually hurt and I was in physical pain for a week while reading this and Insurgent. It was a very exciting read and it was very fast-paced. Roth blurs the lines of good and evil until your head is spinning and can't tell who's side you're actually on. Like I said, it's very, very similar to The Hunger Games although it's not quite up to par with the hit trilogy, but very close. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because Roth really does an excellent job with almost everything in this book and I was constantly at the edge of my seat.

Happy reading!

Mackenzie

P.S. I want to know who drives the train!

Goodreads Goals

Hey there!

So this isn't a book review but it's presenting you with a fun little internet tool. The website Goodreads (see link below) is a great way to keep track of books you've read, want to read, currently reading, etc. And there is an awesome little goal setter. At the beginning of the year (although it's never too late) you can set the number of books you want to read for the year. It tells you when you're behind, ahead, or right on track. Unfortunately when you complete your goal you don't get a small puppy or parade or what have you. But it is fun to complete a challenge for yourself! This is the third year in a row I've had my goal set at 60. I have yet to reach it. In 2012, I read 54 book. In 2013, I read 44 books. This year so far, I have read 21 books and I'm 2 books ahead of schedule. Maybe I'll actually complete it this year. Well, here's to hoping. And I hope all of you decide to get a Goodreads account and start your own challenge. I would love for you to tell me how many books you've pledged.

Click here to create your own account and create a goal!

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

The Handmaid's Tale

Hey there!

Next up is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This was from one of my book clubs on Goodreads. Every once and a while I have a book and happen to not be reading anything when my book club starts a book.

And hooray! It fits! Oh how I can't wait to finish HEDGEHOGS so I can post pictures of mine!

Hobbit (The)

E

D

G

E

Handmaid’s Tale (The)

O

G

S

I really liked this book. I'm a fan of the whole dystopian society books. I'd prefer they don't come true but our world parallels so closely with some of these books. This is another book that I can see happening. Women are stripped of their rights and have specific jobs, similar to The Giver. You were given the world through the eyes of a girl who is low on the social totem pole, so it's okay that you don't know everything about everyone. But the girl tries to pry her fingers into everyone's business to give the reader (hopefully you) most of the picture. I'm usually against flashbacks and I wasn't for them in this book either. They tend to muddle things up and I don't know where or when I'm seeing or why.The names of the handmaids were genius I thought. At times it does tend to push a lot of faith in your face but not in a bad way. It almost shows you that too much faith can be bad. And of course, the ending...of course it couldn't end any other way. Now, this book came out in 1985, the year after Big Brother was supposed to have take over society in yet another dystopian society...coincidence...I think not! I think Atwood was waiting to see if 1984 came true and if not she pounced on the dystopian train and made her own possible scenario for our future. I gave this a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads but after writing my review I'm leaning more towards the 3 out of 5 stars. 

Happy reading!

Mackenzie

P.S. If you don't have a Goodreads account, I suggest you get one. It is a great way to keep track of the books you are reading. And you can set goals for yourself. I'll talk about that in my next post!

Click here to create your own account!

11/22/63

Hey everyone!

Now it's time to get into one of my favorite authors of all time...Stephen King! I recently read 11/22/63 and man is that a heavy book or what.

So this book starts with a number and doesn't fit into my challenge but you'll get a review anyway.

The title of this book pretty much gives you a lot of background information on this book. For those of you who haven't gotten the hint, it's about JFK's assassination. Not a secret. But how could Stephen King possibly use this information. Well actually, quite cleverly. What would happen if JFK lived? Well read this book and you'll see one possible scenario, although a little far-fetched in the world we live in. And the ending was so heartfelt. I did shed a few tears. I think one negative of this book is the length, there is a lot in that book that maybe could have been cut out. And it was repetitive, he's just doing the same thing over and over but a lot of it only needs to be said once. I really liked the concept of the story but it took so long to execute it and I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars for that reason.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

The Boy in the Suitcase

Welcome back!

Glad to see you're still reading! My next book is The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis. What a title!

Two more for BUCKS!

Boy in the Suitcase (The)

Under the Dome

Confessions of a Mask

K

S

The title drew me in. I automatically wanted to know everything and I knew there was some kind of boy in a suitcase. It was claimed a thriller! It was not very thrilling.Well, the end was kind of thrilling. But I wouldn't label it as thrilling. The story was good but there were a lot of characters that weren't 100% developed and it was kind of hard to keep them all straight. "And who is this random guy??" I gave this book a 2 out of 5 stars. It just wasn't as good as I wanted it to be.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

On a side note: Today is my 21st birthday!

Movie vs. Book

Hey everyone!

It's question Wednesday! Monday's post was about The Fault in Our Stars which conveniently enough comes out in theaters on Friday! (I didn't even do that intentionally, it's just the order I read the books.) So here is the question of the day:

What is your opinion of books to movies? Do you prefer to read the book first or see the movie first? What is something film makers can do to improve making books to movies?

Keep reading!

The Fault in Our Stars

Well, hello there!

Yes, I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This was the main reason that I stopped just reading to fill in letters of my book quest. I wanted to see what the hype was about and I couldn't find out since I used all of my F's. I'm sure you all know what the cover looks like since it's been talked about since it has come out, but here it is anyway and four days before the movie comes out:

And onto my review:

Yes, I sobbed. Yes, I laughed. Yes, I loved this book. But did I? It's about a girl who has terminal cancer. As I was reading this I wondered if Green had had someone close to him or had personally gone through this to make him come up with this perfectly acceptable point of view on life. But no he hasn't. So I don't know how I feel about him writing this story. Is it his story to tell? But I guess no one had a right to tell any story in that case. But because it's a subject so close to me, I tend to get defensive. It is fantastically written with all it's very corny lines and I guess it's just a moral dilemma that keeps me from giving it five stars. The other thing that bothered me was it was kind of predictable. Although any book is hard not to predict. So, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because of the feels. Oh my feels! I don't know how to handle them. If you don't want to conform and be like everyone else and read this book, that's your decision, and this is my review so take it as you wish.

Happy reading!

Mackenzie