Review: The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

Note: I originally posted this article on my main blog and then realized that I should share my review here as well! Feel free to check out my main blog here!!

I normally know exactly how I feel about a book once I've read it; either I like it or I don't. This book however has left me so conflicted. I could not stop reading it, but it was also so dark, bleak and at times disturbing that I didn't want to be.

The story is of a girl named Anna, who descibes herself as living in a soap bubble. She encounters and begins to get to know a boy at her school named Abel, known as the "Polish Peddler", since he sells drugs. Besides being a drug dealer, he is also the older brother of a little girl named Micha, to whom he is a parental figure and a story teller. The big fairy tale that he tells Micha (and Anna) throughout the book parallels the real life happenings in their lives.

The themes of the book are similar to the setting in which the story takes place: cold, dark, almost uncomfortable. Almost excessively so. The characters themselves, in my opinion, are quite ambiguous, in the sense that you can't even really tell yourself whether you like them or you don't.

The biggest thing that kept me from loving this book is Anna and Abel's relationship. From the beginning, we watched as curiousity blossomed into a very clearly unhealthy relationship between the two. This is what leaves me conflicted.

SPOILERS:///
As their relationships progresses, Anna finds herself at the point where she is ready to have sex for the first time with Abel, and initiates it, only for him to rape her. The scene is very heartbreaking and difficult to read. Afterwards, Anna, obviously shocked and in pain, cuts Abel out of her life. She rips up his letters, avoids any contact with him and tries to not be in any situation where he may be around. However, not much long after, she returns to him, and while there is a little hesitation at first, things carry on as if nothing had happened. As if Abel had not completely shattered any kind of trust in their already dysfunctional relationship. Which is what bothers me so much: The whole premise of victim blaming ("well, he warned me but I kept pushing him"), and how it seems that there is some kind of persuasion to forgive the rapist because of his abusive past is completely disgusting and not okay.

But then again, I think this was the point of this story. The two had a dysfunctional, unhealthy relationship from the start. Anna is NOT the strong character who will cut him out of her life and never go back. And while it was disgusting and frustrating and endlessly frustrating to read, it was realistic. And while that realism is what leaves me conflicted on my feelings towards this book, the book itself cannot be faulted for it.

Both Anna and Abel are very flawed characters whose co-dependence leads them down a dark and disturbing path. The last chapter in which Anna envisions a parallel universe in which her and Abel live happily ever after is more disturbing than it is charming. Because it further shows how flawed and disturbed her perception of their relationship was.
END OF SPOILERS://

The book itself is beautifully, almost hauntingly written. If you're looking for a romance that is uplifting and inspiring in any way, you will not find that here. The story is dark from beginning to end and while everything is neatly tied up in the end, it's not necessarily a happy ending, at least by my standards.

I would recommend this to people who are looking for something different from the typical YA novel, who enjoy a darker, more bleak story and who enjoy reading some eloquently written passages.

4/5

I'm Back!

Hello, hello!
It's that time of year again! The semester has ended and I'm back to reading full time!
I will be beginning to review the books I read this summer as of now! :)
As usual, let me know if there are any books in particular you're loving or would recommend for me!

Hope you're all enjoying the warmer weather and have your noses in a good book!
xo

Review: Reasons to be Happy by Katrina Kittle

This book came as a total surprise to me. Based on the title, I did not at all expect the emotional rollercoaster this book would send me on. It’s a very emotional book touching on a lot of touchy subjects, namely bulimia and self esteem issues. It was so wonderfully written that I can honestly put myself in the main characters place and feel what she is feeling.

The book is about a young girl named Hannah, who from the outside would seem to have the perfect life, however she is dealing with her sick mother, alcoholic father and self esteem issues, all of which spiral out of control. This book really hits home with the very dark subject matter but remains a hopeful, optimistic read. The ending is exactly what you’d want it to be, and its so satisfying.

8/10

Review: Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

Oh my goodness, I loved this book so much. I honestly did not want it to end. I wanted to know more and more about what happened with the characters. Especially Jena and Owen. This book was a very quick and light read but it was so so sweet. Nothing too heavy, but interesting nonetheless. I couldn’t put it down!

Basically, the book is spit into 4 parts, in the POV of 4 different characters during different months. The characters have their own unique stories, while only overlapping with each other minimally. Jena, a bubbly, self conscious girl who collects quotes, Skye, a spoiled actress, Dakota, a troubled guy dealing with the death of his girlfriend and Owen, a loser with a laptop. Their stories are all so interesting and engrossing. I love how Mackler was able to give all four of them their own unique voices. You could truly feel the change with each section of the novel.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. There are definitely a few giggle-worthy awkward parts and you are left with a few questions at the end, but it’s a really interesting and enjoyable read.

P.S How lovely is the cover???? So cute.

8.5/10

Review: What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton

Trigger warnings: rape, eating disorders

This might just be my favourite book out of the ones I’ve read so far this summer. I found myself getting to the last few chapters just wishing for it to be longer. It was so incredibly heartbreaking and such an honest portrayal of what it’s like to be a naïve teenager just wanting to feel loved, accepted and wanted.

It starts off with young Sid Murphy, going away on a ski trip and experiences a horrible tragedy. The rest of the novel is her coming to terms with the fact that she is forever changed and how she will move forward and deal with what has happened to her. I’ve read so many books where the protagonist suffers some kind of tragic event, but not many have hit me as hard as this one did. You don’t really see it coming, and once you discover what has happened, you yourself feel betrayed and hurt just as Sid does. Clayton really handles the topic so well and writes in a way that you can really feel the emotions of the character. Each character is so well special in their own way and I honestly fell in love with each of them.

SPOILERS://  I honestly commend Colleen Clayton for the tasteful yet honest and real way of handling the topic of Sid’s rape. It was so heartbreaking and authentic. The only complaint about the story is the questions I was left with in the end. Did Sid’s rapist end up getting caught? And did Sid get professional help for her eating disorder? Though she eventually realized that she had lost too much weight and her illness had gone too far, it takes more than that epiphany to get better. And finally, what happens in the end with Sid and Corey? Do they end up going to New York together? ://SPOILERS

Colleen Clayton wrote a very raw and honest portrayal of violation and recovery in a very unique way, taking a heavy, difficult topic and presenting it in a way that is not too overbearing and dark. I really really loved this book and recommend it to anyone.

9/10

Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Hi there! It's been a while! I've been working a lot, so I haven't had too much time to post reviews, but rest assured, I've read quite a few books and I'm working on getting reviews up for each one!

Anyway, on to the review.......

I really loved this book. I thought it was so sweet, and a refreshing change from your typical YA romance novel. I loved that you can see their relationship grow, and feeling them fall in love. Being able to see both points of views added so much to the character and relationship development and made it all feel so much more believable.

The story centers around Eleanor, a misfit girl with an abusive home life who meets and slowly creates a wonderful friendship/relationship with Park, your average boy dressed in black who loves comic books and music. The book is set in the 1980’s and it so much more realistically paced than most YA novels I’ve read to date. Seeing their relationship blossom from the awkward discomfort to that intense first love is something most people can relate to.

Rowell has such a spectacular way of writing, that even a scene where nothing but Eleanor and Park holding hands can just take your breath away.

I loved that their characters, especially Eleanor, were both so unique and engrossing. Though they are such different and atypical characters, you can still relate to what they’re feeling, creating a genuine attachment to them.

Although not very much happens in the book (it has a slow, comfortable pace), it is still so interesting to read and incredibly captivating. Rowell paints such an intriguing picture and you truly become attached to the characters. The ending was lovely in my opinion. Not your fairytale everything-works-out kind of ending, but a refreshing, hopeful way to tie together the whole novel (but also a little painful and tear jerking).

I would definitely recommend this book to people searching for a more realistically paced romance (I can’t be the only one annoyed with those novels where the couple seems to fall in love in a day?)

8/10

P.S I heard there’s talks of this book becoming a movie! I’d love to see that, and hope the cast can do these incredibly unique characters justice!

Review: The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

In my opinion, this is the kind of book you would pick up if you wanted an easy read with no expectations to be completely engrossed. Overall, I thought that the book itself was well written and the characters were unique and interesting, but not much really happens.  Far from action-packed, it just seemed that it was just a series of “things the main character does after tragedy hits”. The book has a slow pace and as I look back on it, there aren’t really any big “stand out” moments past the first few chapters. Regardless, there are some touching moments however this isn’t a very deep novel that will get you thinking when you close it. If you’re looking for a simple read to get you by (something to read on the beach or by the pool maybe?) this could be a good choice.

The book is about a 17 year old girl named Harper who’s life is completely shattered when her parents and younger brother are killed in a car accident. She finds herself trying to cope and figure out her life without them, dealing with having a best friend, love interests and college applications while trying to process her grief. She also finds herself inexplicably connected with David Kaufman, her “bad boy” neighbor who’s father was driving the car that killed Laurels family and David’s mother as well. Laurel and David, who were friends as young children and parted ways as they grew up, begin to realize that this tragedy is something they now have in common, and maybe they do need each other.

SPOILERS:// The main thing that frustrated me about this book is that Castle crafted such interesting, unique characters, but they felt so absent in comparison to the recounting of Laurels mundane day-to-day life. David was such a great character, but he was missing for the majority of the book. To me, their love story kind of fell flat because he was just never around. You never really got to see them get to know each other, get comfortable, fall in love… It was mostly just two separate grieving people who eventually realize that they might need each other and then suddenly they’re in love?

I also think there should have been some more internal dialogue incorporated. An important aspect of a book about grieving and what makes them so good is being able to follow their healing process. We see Laurel acting out in anger or sadness but we don’t get much of an internal view of her emotions. They’re there occasionally and it adds so much to the character but its not nearly enough to only see an occasional glimpse of her thought process. The girl just lost her entire family; there’s so much potential depth and emotion to be explored with this, but sadly this book fell flat in that department.

I was also disappointed with the ending. Yes, the readers got everything they wanted but I disliked that this entire neat little wrapped up ending was condensed to a short epilogue. As if we were left hanging with all these questions after an actual, meaningful event in the story and then the epilogue was just a “oh yeah, so all this happened and everything is perfect and great now”.

I feel as though some of the slow, mundane pages within the 400 or so could have been spared and a good, longer wrap up could have taken its place. //: SPOILERS

Overall, I think that the story is a sweet one, but it isn’t one that will keep you at the edge of your seat, or get you thinking about life and loss once you’ve put it down.

6/10