In My Mailbox: March Wrap-Up

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For Review:

Return the Heart
Return the Heart by T.K. Richardson

Shield the Heart
Shield the Heart by T.K. Richardson

Crave (The Clann #1)
Crave by Melissa Darnell, courtesy of Mira Ink
Review to come on 7th April!

The Girl Who Was on Fire
The Girl Who Was on Fire, courtesy of Smart Pop Books

Promise Me Eternity
Promise Me Eternity by

Giveaway Wins:


Inside Out The Stars of the Hunger Games by Mel Williams
Won at Read2Review

Brief Review: Book 1 of The Night Angel Trilogy: The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

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#1 

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art. And he is the city's most accomplished artist, his talents required from alleyway to courtly boudoir.

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned the hard way to judge people quickly- and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.

But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassin; world of dangerous politics and strange magics- and cultivate a flair for death.


MY #2

Azoth is always afraid.  Living as an orphan in the Warrens of the Cenaria City, he and his only two best friend, Jarl and Doll Girl, are members of the Black Dragon guild. they are forced to make their living by stealing money and scraps to pay Rat, the Guild Fist as the guild dues. Failing to do so will cause them beatings by Rat. Azoth's first encounter with Durzo would be that one night when he was trying to scrap some coins underneath a local muddy tavern, when he suddenly realizes that Durzo's slaughtering the assassins in that place. Before leaving, Durzo blocks Azoth's escape route and tells him to pretend as if he werent there.

Eversince, he dreams of becoming Durzo's apprentice until one day when Jarl surprises Azoth by giving him a secret stash of coins that he has been saving for years. Jarl then asks Azoth to use that money for his apprenticeship with Durzo. Unfortunately, Durzo does not want any money, he instead makes Azoth an offer; if he's able to kill Rat within one week without any help and brings proof, Durzo will make Azoth his apprentice.

Azoth is in doubt and dilemma, up until he sees the consequences of his hesitation on both Jarl and Doll Girl. Azoth finally manages to gather the courage and motivations he needed to complete the test after Rat mutilates Doll Girl. With Rat's death, Azoth finally becomes Durzo's apprentice under one last condition; Azoth must leave his old life behind, including his relationships with Jarl and Doll Girl, etc. Durzo then fakes Azoth's death and gives him a new identity; Kylar Stern, the young nobleman of a minor family.

Kylar then begins his training with Durzo, which carries on for several years. He learns about fighting with different weapons and styles and how to make poisons, how to conduct the perfect kill, camouflaging, etc. But what frustrates both Kylar and Durzo is the fact that no mater how hard they tried, Kylar could not use his magical Talent, making him only a very skillful assassin, but not truly a wetboy.

Durzo eventually sends Kylar to Count Rimbold Drake, who gives him a new name and life. Staying at Count Rimbold's place, Kylar befriends the strong mountainous Lord Logan Gyre. 

Turns out that leaving behind the past is not as easy as it seemed. He has always cared about Doll Girl which is why he often watches Doll Girl from afar. He loves her...

A proper wetboy should not love. Those who wetboy cares about, can and will be used against them by the enemies. 'Love is a noose'- Durzo Blint




I first saw this book in the Adelaide Airport's bookstore. It was love at first sight and the moment I start reading the first few pages, I found myself unable to stop."Assassins have targets, wetboys have deaders.". 


These coming-of-age stories have always been my favorite kind and frankly speaking, this series beats others, PERIOD. You will find yourself as eager as a grasshopper, waiting for the time when Kylar finally becomes a wetboy. 

I love the characters, how so many of them grows and changes. Each and every one of them were beautifully crafted by Brent. The emotions portrayed     in the stories are.....well.... I literally cried for each of them that has to learn things the hard way.

There are swords, magical artifacts, tragedy, triumph, moody antihero with traumatic past and his hard-bitten mentor, training montages, sadistic swells of sentimental glurge and oh, "the curve yielded to curve with the sweetness that inspired art.", hehe! I mean, even the female characters were written with sensitivity, sarcasms, and a fair doses of badassery. 

What more can you expect from these kind of novels? Because I'm telling you, this book is way way beyond AWESOME! 
P/S : I bought all 3 books in Australia. Studied there for a year, and when I came back to Malaysia, these 3 books were nowhere to be found. But hey, I bought all 3 books back, the #1 from Auckland, #2 from Singapore, and #3 from Malaysia, all of these 3 books of mine are in different sizes. LOL. But you know why I'm willing to do so? Cos it's worth it, and I can't imagine my library without them. DFTBA!


 5.0 stars
Excellent/Fantastic!





Brent Weeks was born and raised in Montana.  After getting his paper keys from Hillsdale College, Brent had brief stints walking the earth like Caine from Kung Fu, tending bar, and corrupting the youth. (Not at the same time.) He started writing on bar napkins, then on lesson plans, then full time. Eventually, someone paid him for it. Brent lives in Oregon with his wife, Kristi. He doesn’t own cats or wear a ponytail.

Book Review : Shield the Heart by T.K. Richardson

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Shield the Heart
by
Paperback, 322 pages
Published January 31st 2012 by Yorkshire Publishing
Available on Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Synopsis
What if the battle was in your heart?

Lilly’s gift of reading the heart seemed like a curse, but when she discovered her gift was linked to an old, Russian prophecy it changed everything. What she never questioned, though, was her own heart.

When the prophecy pulls Lilly back to Russia and demands to be fulfilled she is torn between love and loyalty.

Review
I'm glad to say that I enjoyed this book more than its prequel - Return the Heart. The flow of this book is certainly much better than the first book, in which some phrases seem unnatural and lack of a certain flourish.

This book mainly focuses on the teens in Russia, thwarting yet another evil scheme. But once again, the author did not give us the pleasure/torture (any way you may see it) to find out the perpetrator's identity. Lily, being a heart reader, has it figured out in a matter of seconds.

One thing I would like to point out about Lily is that while I admire her courage, I dislike her recklessness. An example would be her sneaking away, then board a train to Moscow with a gun in hand, wanting to seek revenge for the dead CIA agents who were killed while protecting her, when in truth, she doesn't even know how to use a gun. :/

Lily's identity appears to undergo a change at the second half of the novel. Her heritage was kept a secret from her, but it was later revealed to her, much to her surprise and delight. There is a twist in the romance department when Lily discovers that she loves someone else other than Seth.

In a nutshell, Shield the Heart is an enjoyable continuation of Lily's adventure, though there are clearly rooms for improvement. I would recommend this book to middle grade readers and younger teens who loves reading books featuring characters with super powers.

Rating: 3.685

Note of Thanks
Many thanks to T. K. for providing a copy of Shield the Heart for this review!


About The Author
T.K. Richardson
T. K. Richardson is the author of several books for young adults and much of her writing is subtly influenced by her love of Russian history and literature.

Raised on the West Coast, she improves the lives of children near and far by advocating for abused and neglected children in her community, as well as sponsoring a Christian based orphanage in India.

She is the founder of Partners In Print, a book donation program for children in the foster care system, and runs The Writer's Resource Directory. Writing books and helping children are her passion. She lives in California where she is at work on her next novel.


Streamline Launch Party

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Launch Party & Giveaway | Streamline by Jennifer Lane
Welcome to the Streamline Launch Party! Together with us today is Jen Lane, the author of Streamline! Jen is going to answer a few of our questions, and give away some cool prizes!



Seems like Leo Scott has it all: looks, brains, and athletic talent. He’s captain of his high school swim team with a bright future in college and beyond. But Leo has secrets. His mother’s crippling car accident has devastated his family and left Leo to deal with his father’s abuse, battered and alone.Leo’s girlfriend Audrey Rose is poised for her own share of success. As one of Florida’s top high school swimmers, Audrey dreams of college swimming stardom. But there’s an obstacle to her glorious rise to the top. Her number-one supporter--her father--is in prison for murder.

Part murder mystery, part tale of young love in a military family, this gripping story takes readers on a journey from Pensacola to Annapolis. Leo and Audrey must band together to rise above the adversity they encounter and find their true selves in the process. When everything’s on the line . . . streamline.




Interview with Jen Lane

A: Hello, Jen! I'm honoured to have you at The Bookaholics today! We're really excited about your new book for young adults, Streamline! Can you tell us something minor about Streamline that's not in the synopsis? We're really curious!
J: Howdy, Aik! Thank you for hosting me. Readers have described Streamline as deep and intense, but what most don't know is the shallow inspiration for the story: visions of my favorite actor Wentworth Miller in a swimsuit and military uniform. ;-)

A: Do you plan your stories or do they come to you naturally?
J: I definitely plan the plot. What I don't plan for is all the family drama and character exploration that make my novels longer than intended. As a psychologist, I can't help but dive into drama and characterization.

A: In Streamline, both Leo and Audrey are swimmers. Why did you choose to write about this particular sport?
J: I began swimming competitively at age eight, and I still swim about two miles with friends a couple of times a week. Swimming has given me so much, including perseverance, friendship, mentors, and a great university experience.

A: Of all of the characters in Streamline, which one is most like you?
J: Audrey's friend Elaine is like me. She's a tall, strong backstroker. Her best friend is a gay boy and she has zero luck in the romance department.

A: In the story, Leo and Audrey must band together to rise above the adversity they encounter and find their true selves in the process. What is the hardest thing in real life which you've manged to overcome together with your partner / best friend / soul mate?
J: Great question Aik. I haven't faced anything near as difficult as what Leo and Audrey have to endure, but there have been times I've relied on my best friend Gwynn to overcome tough swim practices, unrequited love, and career struggles.

A: What would you consider to be your greatest achievement?
J: Earning a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. It was so much work but I love my job as a therapist and I'm hoping my work will contribute to creating authentic, lovable characters.

A: Thanks for joining us today, Jen! I hope Streamline will be a great success!
J: Thank YOU, Aik! I really appreciate you being part of the Launch Party.

Reader's Guide: A = Aik, J = Jen

Enter The Contest

Book Review: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

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Colin Singleton graduated high school and got dumped for the NINETEENTH time by the NINETEENTH Katherine. In John Green's second young adult novel, An Abundance of Katherines, he introduces readers to the annagram-obsessed former child prodigy, Colin Singleton. The fact that he has dated and  has been dumped by nineteen Katherines, "not Katies or Kitties or Cathys or Rynns or Trinas or Kayes or Kates or, God forbid, Catherines" is mind blowing. In order to help him forget about Katherines, he and his best friend, the Judge Judy- loving Muslim Hassan embarks on a road trip to prove a mathematical theorem he hopes will let him predict the future of any kind of relationships which ends up being a trip of self discovery for both boys. 
Their road trip has an unexpected final destination at a small town called Gutshot, Tenessesee. Here, the boys meet Lindsey Lee Wells, and her mother Hollis. Colin then begins to work on his 'theorem'. He believes that every child prodigy must have their "Eureka moment" and his was the theorem. Throughout the novel, Colin undergoes quite a personality change, and eventually learned that he is actually a "dumper". And most importantly, "if Colin had learned one thing from Gutshot, it's that you can't stop the future from coming"

  
You will enjoy this novel for thousands of reason. The book was written with lots of witty languages and humors. It's phenomenal. The dialogues are quick, realistic and EXTREMELY hilarious. It is also filled with funny footnotes with anagrams that are completely random. Take note that the story is written in third person point of view, instead of first. 

From my point of view, Colin is actually a very unlike-able character as he is self-centered and egotistical only because he's a child prodigy. Which is why I think John Green created Hassan. I have a strong feeling that he created Hassan to counter Colin, as Hassan is as thoughtful and faithful about his religiosity. His existence in the book is perfect. Readers will find it funny how they are always giving each other hard times. Their back and forth banter is exactly how any two guy best friends would behave, which made me laugh so hard I cried. 
Colin is in search of meaning of his life and the Eureka moment he reckon he'll find once he finishes the 'Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability' which I can't help but to disagree with. Do we really have to achieve greatness just for the sake of having the sense of accomplishment now that "our lives' finally worth living"?

This book features a formula which, according to Colin, can predict who's going to dump who and when will it happen. John said he's rather bad at math, but frankly speaking, I think it's a brilliant formula as it actually works for a good percentage of the time (trust me, I've tried!).
Thank you John for making another great book, that thousands of readers can undoubtedly relate to. I now calls everyone 'sitzpinkler'. 
Rating




"Eventually, he found the bed too comfortable for his state of mind, so he lay down on his back, his legs sprawled across the carpet. He anagrammed “yrs forever” until he found one he liked: sorry fever. And then he lay there in his fever of sorry and repeated the now memorized note in his head and wanted to cry, but instead he only felt this aching behind his solar plexus. Crying adds something: crying is you, plus tears. But the feeling Colin had was some horrible opposite of crying. It was you, minus something. He kept thinking about one word – forever – and felt the burning ache just beneath his rib cage. It hurt like the worst ass-kicking he’d ever gotten. And he’d gotten plenty."




New Writers, New Style

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First of all, I would like to apologize for being MIA for so long. SPM results were released on 22 March, and I have been busy scouting prospects (as in scholarships) since then. Thank God Lemuel and Naadir have kept things interesting during my absence.

So, without wasting more of your precious time, I would like to introduce our two new writers / contributors... *drum rolls* ... Lemuel Ong and Muhammad Naadir!

Lemuel
Lemuel (pronounced same as Samuel, only with an 'L') is a college student who enjoys reading Magical/ Mysterious/ Adventure books and usually reads while lying on his plain ol' couch. Er, I mean comfy new couch! Mitch Albom and Rick Riordan are his all-time favourite authors. Being a guy with big dreams, Lemuel plans to become a writer for lifestyle magazine(s).

*****


Naadir
Naadir is a hardcore John Green fan - he can tell you everything about Green's books. You can read his review for Looking for Alaska to understand his deep bond with John Green's brain child. And like every other reader with a taste for action and suspense, he also enjoys books with a twist, especially those involving smart, kick-ass heroes.

*****

And since I've never done a decent introduction of myself, I figured it would be best to do a brief summation of me and my love of reading here.


That's me and my BFF.

Aik

I'm a dreamer, a thinker, a music lover, and above all, a voracious reader of story books. I love Maria V. Snyder's Study series, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games series and Rowling's Harry Potter series, and even thought about naming my future child(ren) after characters in books which I love. But rest assured that I won't be naming my kids Peeta and Katniss, for I have witnessed the vulgarity of the human brain. Don't understand what I'm talking about? Never mind, I'd rather not to taint your pure thoughts. :p

Last but not least, please help us welcome our new writers by giving them dozens of blog love! I can't tell you how much I LOVE comments.

P/S: Check back tomorrow for a super-interesting interview with the author of Streamline, Jennifer Lane!

Book Review : The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

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                       The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
Product Details
  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (January 10, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0525478817
  • ISBN-13:  978-0525478812

Hey John, you sure do know how to write freaking sad stories don't you? 
Btw, I actually 'google'-ed that An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten for God's sake!
Oh well...
F.Y.I people, this book is John Green's fourth 'solo' novel, and his first time writing from the point of view of a girl.   


"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings."- Caesar (I, ii, 140-141)  

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
It sounds wrong for me to say that I love a book about kids with cancer, because I hate that these poor kids even have cancer in the first place. But as always, John Green managed to spin that magic somehow.

The Star-Crossed Lovers:

Meet Hazel Grace Lancaster - 16 years old Stage IV  thyroid cancer survivor with "lungs that suck at being lungs". She's probably the best nerd any of you could meet. She is a very very intelligent young woman. Funny? Yes, and sarcastic too. Adorable? Yes. Adventurous? Yes. A Nerdfighter? Totally!
"I'm Hazel. Sixteen. Thyroid originally but with an impressive and long-settled satellite colony in my lungs. And I'm doing okay."

Hello Augustus Waters! - 17 years old charming, self-effacing, funny, insecure, worried, and heartbroken former basketball player who has lost a leg to osteosarcoma,   He knows what he wants out of life, and isn’t afraid to stare death in the face as he keeps an unlit cigarette in his mouth most of the time.
"My name is Augustus Waters, I'm seventeen. I had a little touch of osteosarcoma a year and a half ago, but I'm just here today at Isaac's request."


“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are book which you can't tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.”    - Hazel  


I honestly cannot criticise this novel in any shape or form. It has become one of my favourite books of all time, and I know I am never going to part with it. There are so many things I want to say about this book but I’m so afraid I might not get them all right. There's just so so much emotion throughout this whole book that it was just so hard not to feel them. I remember reading it in the train once, and I was telling myself not to cry (you guys know what it's like to get a lot of strange looks when you try to choke back tears, right?).  John Green, you broke my heart, AGAIN!


'Young Adult'? Like seriously? Considering the gravity and scope of all the human experiences in it? You have got to be kidding me! I mean there's love, loss, illness, tragedy and DEATH! Come on!

"I fell in love with the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."
I tried hard to not get too attached to them, because they'll die eventually, but I guess I failed. I love both of them so much, I mean it's hard not to. Sigh...


I'm not gonna tell you guys anything about the ending. You have got to read the book to actually know what happened. Don't go around reading other reviews about it. My life ended just when the book did.

 HEY! GO BUY THE BOOK! You won't regret it, I promise!


This is indeed an uplifting book that celebrates the importance of life, being in love, friendship and living your life to the fullest.

Thank you, John Green, for writing hours of consuming, inspiring, beautiful words. 

Oh hey Gus, this one's for you,...(spoilers alert!)


1.
 "My name is Hazel. Augustus Waters was the great star-crossed love of my life. Ours was an epic love story, and I won't be able to get more than a sentence into it without disappearing into a puddle of tears. Gus knew. Gus knows. I will not tell you our love story, because-like all real love stories- it will die with us, as it should. I'd hoped that he'd be eulogizing me, because there's no one I'd rather have..." I started crying. "Okay, how not to cry. How am I- okay. Okay." 

I took a few breaths and went back to the page. "I can't talk about our love story, so I will talk about math. I am not a mathematician, but I know this: There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There's .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.”- Hazel Lancaster



2.
'Augustus Waters was a self-aggrandizing bastard. But we forgive him. We forgive him not because he had a heart as figuratively good as his literal one sucked, or because he knew more about how to hold a cigarette than any nonsmoker in history, or because he got eighteen years when he should've gotten more.' 


'Seventeen,' Gus corrected. 


'I'm assuming you've got some time, you interupting bastard. 
'I'm telling you,' Isaac continued, 'Augustus Waters talked so much that he'd interupt you at his own funeral. And he was pretentious: Sweet Jesus Christ, that kid never took a piss without pondering the abundant metaphorical resonances of human waste production. And he was vain: I do not believe I have ever met a more physically attractive person who was more acutely aware of his own physical attractiveness. 
'But I will say this: When the scientists of the future show up at my house with robot eyes and they tell me to try them on, I will tell the scientists to screw off, because I do not want to see a world without him.'- Isaac




Rating: 




Please let this be the official soundtrack of this book! Because, it's AWESOME!

DFTBA!




John Green is a New York Times bestselling author who has received numerous awards, including both the Printz Medal and a Printz Honor. John is also the cocreator (with his brother, Hank) of the popular video blog  Brotherhood 2.0 , which has been watched more than 30 million times by Nerdfighter fans all over the globe. John Green lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Book Review : Looking For Alaska by John Green

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                                      Looking For Alaska by John Green

Product Details
  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Speak (December 28, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0142402516
  • ISBN-13:  978-0142402511


This book is divided into two sections, Before, and After.

Before“Francois Rabelais. He was a poet. And his last words were ‘’I go to seek a Great Perhaps.’’ That’s why I’m going. So I don’t have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps.” Sixteen-year-old Miles (Pudge) Halter’s life has been devastatingly dull. He has no friends, no girls and no adventures, except for an obsession over the last words of dead famous people. And so he leaves Florida for a boarding school in Alabama, in hope to find the Great Perhaps. There, he befriends an interesting group of students consisting of his genius-scholarship-student roommate, Colonel; the witty-rap-obsessed Japanese, Takumi; the gorgeous Romanian, Lara; and the beautiful, interesting, complicated Alaska Young who inhabits his soul. The plot goes with the group’s occasionally getting busted for smoking cigarettes and drinking ‘Strawberry Hills’ liquor on campus, sneaking out after curfew and playing pranks. The plot ended when they played Truth or Dare, Pudge and Alaska are kind of experiencing a little foreplay (despite how faithful Alaska is to her boyfriend) and Alaska starts freaking out and with the help of Pudge and the Colonel, she manages to drive off campus. Pudge and the Colonel then got to bed, thinking nothing was wrong.  

After
..............

Somewhere between looking for the sequel of the Night Angel Trilogy and P.S I Love You books, I found John Green’s Looking For Alaska. “I never liked writing concluding paragraphs to papers - where you repeat what you've already said with phrases like 'In summation', and 'To conclude'. – Looking For Alaska. To write a summary and review on this book with only 800 words would be unfair, it’s not enough. So, here goes nothing. This is by far one the best books I’ve ever read. Sadness, guilt, anger, mischief, trust, love, John Green penned these in a way I’ve never encountered in any other books. I read this book in one siting; it’s haunting and compelling in the simplest of ways. This is a story of one boy’s journey to seek a Great Perhaps, a story about friendship unlike any told before, a story full of quiet incidents with larger than life lessons. This is not a love story; this is a story about love. After reading and re-reading it again and again, I’ve decided that the Great Perhaps is not a destination, but a journey instead. And I think Pudge found it within himself. 

“We need never be hopeless because we can never be irreparably broken.- Pudge. I've messed up everything I could possibly have messed up. For the longest time I was wallowed in self-pity it made me stop doing things for everyone else and it made me realized that this is my life, and one day nobody else is going to care so I need to do things for me. I think I learned this because it showed me how short life really is and that I can take control of things and make my life what I want it to be. This book deals with teens in a realistic and important way. The sprinkling of famous last words and philosophies completes the plot with precise dosage, rather than distract. And the characters, flawed as it is are still very human, well-developed and their actions come across as genuine.

This book connects itself so much to me that at one point, I could basically picture myself as Miles ‘Pudge’ Halter. I have so much in common with him, that I’m able to read the book from my point of view. When he says things like “I hated sports. I hated sports, and I hated people who played them, and I hated people who watched them, and I hated people who didn't hate people who watched or played them.” and “I hated talking, and I hated listening to everyone else stumble on their words and try to phrase things in the vaguest possible way so they wouldn’t sound dumb.” I laughed so loud that my mom thought I was on drugs.

There were lumps inside my throat as I read the last page of the book. Because I’d like to believe Alaska isn’t dead. I’d like to picture her smoking or drinking in the barn, sorting out her priorities. I’d like to picture her driving home, and stopping at her boyfriend’s house to tell him it’s over. I know she isn’t fully committed to her boyfriend. If she loved her boyfriend, she wouldn’t have felt the need to say it to Pudge. I’d like to see her at home, reading a book alone in her room and most of all, I want to see her happily in love with Pudge. I want to picture her being alive.


”Thomas Edison's last words were 'It's very beautiful over there'. I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful.” – Pudge. 

Rating:

“We didn't have sex. We never got naked. I never touched her bare breast, and her hands never got lower than my hips. It didn't matter. As she slept, I whispered, "I love you, Alaska Young.”  




John Green first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. The film rights to Looking for Alaska were purchased by Paramount in 2005. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller. He also coauthored a book with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson

In 2007, John and his brother Hank were the hosts of a popular internet blog, "Brotherhood 2.0," where they discussed their lives, books and current events every day for a year except for weekends and holidays. They still keep a video blog, now called "The Vlog Brothers," which can be found on the Nerdfighters website.