Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Published in 2007 by Penguin
4 Stars

Goodreads Summary
In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want--husband, country home, successful career--but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.


Review:  I could really identify with Gilbert in this book. I have read criticism for her being selfish when it came to her divorce but I can understand why she was shocked when her ex-husband didn't let things go smoothly. She had been so emotionally checked out from their relationship that she assumed he was as well. I have had similar relationships in the past, so I can completely understand her desire to end things agreeably and then after fighting for years being willing to do anything to just make it stop.


Her Italy portion of the trip sounded like a lot of fun. I can understand her need to go somewhere and recover form the emotional turmoil her divorce had created, and I can't think of a place better than Italy. It's my favorite country to visit, and it's true that Italy has a culture that truly appreciates pleasure.


My favorite part of her three countries was India. I would love to live in an ashram to fully commit myself to my spiritual practice. I found her spiritual journey to be fascinating and similar to what I'm going through currently. I really loved Richard from Texas, he seems like such an unlikely source of profound wisdom. I wish we had experience more of him.


I have also read criticisim about Gilbert falling in love in Indonesia, saying that she hadn't learned anything and that she was still a woman who defined herself by the man she was with. I disagree however. I think she needed to first learn to love herself and to be comfortable with herself before she could be in a relationship and not worry about the implications of her relationship. I think she needed to learn to listen to her heart and love herself enough to not think she deserved to be unhappy because of her guilt. That is something I struggle with, feeling guilty and therefore thinking I don't deserve happiness.


Overall I think this book was a very interesting memoir about a major transitional period in Gilbert's life. I listened to the audio book which is also read by Gilbert. This was a treat because she was reading the book as she spoke it in her head, so we could here her emphasis and conversations as if she were talking directly to us. Also, she did a lot of accents and imitated the voices of the people she actually knew, which helped us as the readers/listeners understand the emotions behind the conversations.

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Published in 1999 by VIZ Media LLC

5 Stars

Goodreads Summary
Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language.


Review: Lord of the Flies meets The Most Dangerous Game in Battle Royale, a complex book of betrayal and brutality.   Battle Royale is a terrifying tale of friends turned enemies, paranoia, and violence with the idea that people would abandon their morals and lifetimes of friendships to do whatever it takes to survive.


Every character is featured as the protagonist of their own narrative, which gives background and understanding to why they make the choices they do.  You get to experience their families, hobbies, and crushes.  These characters aren't strangers, they have grown up together and this familiarity really emphasises the horror of their situation.  Some use the program to enact revenge, some try to rally together only to turn on each other, and others participate in the bloodbath just for the thrill.  The reader experiences the fear of the hunted, the panic of the desperate, and the guilt or triumph of the victors.  You cheer on the people that you know are doomed from the start and feel guilty for enjoying the death of a ruthless character because in the end they are all just fighting for survival.  There is no clear cut villain, and even the heroes must still do terrible things in order to survive.  In my opinion this is the strongest aspect of the book, because an emotional connection is made to each character, only to have them murdered before your eyes. 


Another aspect of this book that makes it so monumental is the idea that this could happen today.  There is no unusual technology or terrain.  Battle Royale has a modern setting with everyday characters who have everyday abilities.  This type of government is not so far-fetched that it cannot be imagined existing today.  That these children could be forced into something so terrible and their parents could do nothing to prevent nor protest it is truly horrifying. 


Note, Battle Royale was originally written in Japanese and occasionally the translation can be difficult to understand.  Also this is a very violent book and may not be appropriate for younger or more sensitive readers.  There is also a Japanese movie of Battle Royale that is a very good interpretation of the book and one that I would highly recommend.


Overall Battle Royale is a high impact story about how desperation can change a person and bring out their true colors.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Published in 2006 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

5 Stars

Goodreads Summary

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist- books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found.

With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Review:  The Book Thief is a beautiful and unique novel about one of the most horrible times in human history.  It is a brilliantly constructed look at how the Nazi party controlled all of the citizens of Germany through fear and intimidation and the lives of citizens who dared fight back.  This book does more than describe the atrocity of the concentration camps and the crimes against the Jewish people; it shows the compassion and courage of the people willing to save them.   

The characters are presented in a way that allows the reader to understand their actions and motives and connect with them on a deep emotional level.  The characters are tangible, their emotions wonderfully described, making them believable and relatable to the reader.  The use of death as an omnipresent narrator weary of the crimes humans continually commit against each other is a wonderful balance between exasperation at humanity's need to repeat the mistakes of their fathers and admiration of compassion that can be shown toward people who are truly in need.  Death tells the story sprinkled with humor and a sense of wonder that humanity can still surprise him with its rare bouts of selfless goodness.

This book is not light and easy fare.  It is heavy material about the need for people to stand up for what they know is right, even if it means facing foes much more power and control.  You as the reader will grow to love the characters for which they are, the mistakes they make, and the dreams they have.   The Book Thief does an excellent job of presenting the German people as individuals with their own opinions on morality who were fighting personal battles against tyranny and oppression.  These are people just like the reader, not the single minded evil entity in which many other World War II stories seem to lump the entire German community.

Overall The Book Thief is an emotional account of how World War II affected everyone in the world through the one entity that connects us all, death.

Hello and Welcome!

Hello everyone!  This is an introduction to my book review blog.  I plan on reviewing the books I read on here as well as on my youtube channel

http://www.youtube.com/amandapearl2books

In my reviews I will give the title, author, publisher and publication year, age recommendation, and my stars rating.  I'll give a basic description of the plot (not giving away any major points), then review what I thought of the cover, characters, setting, plot, and my overall impressions.


My favorite genres tend to be fantasy, paranormal, science fiction, dystopian, and apocalyptic.  This blog will have a focus on young adult fiction, but I am not planning on limiting myself to only that genre.  Expect various adult fiction and the occasional memoir or non-fiction as well.


My rating system is as follows:


5 Stars: This book was amazing.  I had no issues and  would recommend it to everyone as one of the best books of the year.
4 Stars: I really liked this book, but it wasn't quite amazing.  I have minor issues with the story or writing, but  I would recommend it.
3 Stars: I liked this book, but had some issues with it.  I would recommend this book, but it might not be for everyone.
2 Stars: It was OK.  There were some good parts to the book, but overall it was disappointing.  I would only recommend it to select groups of people.
1 Star: I didn't like this book.  I had major issues with the plot, characters, and setting.  I would not recommend this book to anyone.


I will end every review with look at what book I am currently reading.  OK that's it!  Thank you for visiting my blog, and I'm really excited to get started!


Currently Reading: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan