The Bell Jar

Hello there!

This week's review is of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under -- maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.

I can see why this book is a classic. This book takes you into the downward of depression and leaves nothing out. As a victim of anxiety I could totally relate to some pieces of this story. Plath touches on subjects that not many authors (especially at that time) will touch and she does a fantastic. You can definitely feel a piece of Sylvia Plath's soul in this book. It was so raw and emotional. There are not enough words to describe how great this book is. I gave it a 5 out of 5 stars.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

Believe Me

Hey everybody!

Next up is the book Believe Me by Nina Killham.

Thirteen-year-old Nic Delano has a lot of questions. Like why does he have a babysitter at his age-and where did she get such long legs? But mostly, what exactly is the meaning of life? His mother, Lucy, an astrophysicist and atheist, has always encouraged Nic to ask questions. But lately she doesn?t like the answers he?s getting. Nic has been hanging out with a group of devout Christians and is starting to embrace the Bible?and a very different view of the heavens. But when unexpected tragedy strikes, Nic and Lucy?s beliefs are truly to put to the test. And they need each other now more than ever. But will a mother and her son be able to find a common ground where faith meets understanding and love is, ultimately, what endures?

I definitely judged this book by its cover. Not going to lie. Also, the title caught my attention. So this was written in the point of view of a 14 year old boy but it's meant to be an adult novel. It had the simplicity of a teenager's writing and it was all over the place. Maybe that's why the book didn't go deeply into the topics it was supposed to. The characters never really developed, although at first they were interesting overall they were flat. It was very superficial. And the big tragedy? Happens at in the last 50 pages. Definitely not enough time to resolve the issue at hand. it just kind of ends...okay? I thought maybe there would be this big point that made the book worth reading. It's like the adult version of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. The concept was a good one and had a lot of potential but Killham didn't follow through. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

P.S. This was a book for my separate 2015 reading challenge, fulfilling the "A book based entirely on it's cover"

The Best of Me

Hey there!

Now for a little variety. The next book up is  The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. I have already finished "B" so this will be a review for fun.

In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths. Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew -- about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear -- was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?

This book is very similar to The Notebook but it falls very short of my Sparks standards. The past and present are so blurred I don't know where I am. It also felt that this book was just random narrators that might possibly cross paths at some point. This book didn't feel like a Nicholas Sparks book (I didn't even cry) and it seems like Sparks is running out of ideas and writing to writing. I did like the ending and it was a quick read. But to get to the end it was a rough road.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie

The Book Thief

Hello, hello, hello!

Next up is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.

So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

I finished every "B" I had on my list so I'm sad to say that I can't fit this in somewhere but I'm glad I still get to review it for you.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this book. This book has a unique narrator who really knows how to tell a story. The descriptions were juicy and the book flowed so well. There was so much emotional attachment to this book and this book makes you feel every emotion possible. I loved this book, I hated it, I cried, I was angry, I threw the book (well wanted to). And when it was all over I felt like a piece of me was missing. This is one of those books that should be on everyone's must read list. Giving you this review doesn't do the book justice. If you haven't already just go pick it up and read it. Really. 

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

P.S. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.
P.P.S. I'm truly jealous of those of you who get to read this for the first time.

This Post Brought to You by the Letter B

Hello, hello, hello!

So I finished the letter "B". The books I reviewed were:

The Boy in the Suitcase
The Book of Lost Things
The Bourne Identity

I also wanted to show you this cute video of the letter "B".

I hope you enjoyed the video and the reviews!

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

The Bourne Identity

Hello!

Next, on my list was The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.

He is running for his life. A man with an unknown past and an uncertain future. A man dragged from the sea -- and loved by the woman he had used as a shield, a woman who refuses to believe he is a killer. Until words from his past spill out. One of the words is Carlos, world's most dangerous assassin.

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Bourne Identity

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Aunt Jane’s Hero

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I have finished the "B"s.

Alright, I have to start off with that this was a really good book with a really good plot and concept behind it. I really liked that the reader was finding out who Bourne was as he was finding out. There were no other characters giving background information. It's hard to write in third person and not be objective but Ludlum did it. This book became somewhat of a clustermug (in the words of Big Jim from Under the Dome). Sometimes it would switch between scenes and Ludlum wouldn't explain who was there or where it was happening. The other confusing piece was names. They gave you a person's full name once and then they either used their last name or nickname. I had no idea who have the people were because they had five different names! It became a little overwhelming. I think I missed a lot of big plot twists because I didn't know who they were talking about. This book was fairly dense in general and to read it you need to be focused. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars because it was overall very, very good.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

P.S. I don't know if I'll continue with the series but I'll keep you posted on that.

The Book of Lost Things

Hello, hello, hello!

The next book on my list was The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly.

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populatedby heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.

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Book of Lost Things (The)

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A

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This book has the feel of a children's book as well as a fairy tale feel. This book is in the point of view of a child who has read every fairy tale there is. It takes place during World War II and it makes sense that David, the protagonist, would want to escape. He accidentally escapes into a fairy tale world. These fairy tales though defy stereotypes that we grow up with, which was so interesting. I really liked this book. This book defied stereotypes and there was such an interesting story behind it. When everything comes together in the end, it's incredible. I kind of predicted pieces of it but seriously it was so good. There was a confusing switch between reality and fairy tale. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy 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!