Goodreads Review: October 2015
Rapunzel's Rating: 3.75/5
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| Shatter Me: First novel in the Shatter Me Trilogy by Tahereh Mafi |
I decided to give this book 3.75 stars. Even though this is low, I want you guys to hear me out. A readers feelings towards this book will rely on your preferences in a good story. Do you like plot? D you like characters? Do you like Romance? Do you like Love Triangles? (no). Personally, If I give a book a 4/5 star rating or higher, you could assume that book included:
-Character depth or reliability
-Interesting/captivating plot and decent execution
-Twists, unexpected events, and so on.
-Magic or any element that makes the book unique
So please listen to me when I say "Shatter Me" IS TOTALLY WORTH THE READ. I will admit, Tahereh kept me interested throughout the duration of the novel and, the plot was nothing short of genius. Mafi, effortlessly created this world were a girl can kill a man with the simple touch of her bare skin... doesn't that scream intriguing? And talk about girl power to the extreme! Of course I had to read this series eventually!
Now why did I give this book 3 stars? Although I loved the storyline and the book was fantastic... the characters were just okay. In order for a book to completely blow me away, I must absolutely fall in love with at least one character (what can I say? I'm a character kind of gal). In "Shatter me" the characters were good, but not 5 star worthy. Our main character, Juliette, is obviously hard to relate to.. She's been isolated for almost a year! Although this is true, I found it extremely fascinating to read from her point of view. As for Adam, I'm not going to lie in the slightest:
I DID enjoy his character. I loved that he was sweet, kind, and protective of Juliette. I saw everything expected of a typical love interest in Adam, and ultimately his personality wasn't too bad.
I definitely had mixed emotions about Warner, one of the leaders of the Reestablishment. Sometimes I loved him, and sometimes I hated him. I'm very intrigued by his intentions and I would love to find out about his early life/parents (which isn't discussed in detail.)
I really did like Kenji, a soldier for the Reestablishment. He had a great way of lightening up the book with a bit of humor.
Over all, I feel the characters could have been improved. I'm really hoping for some character development and world building in the next installment! If you are not big on characters, you will most likely rate this book higher than I did.
Something I really enjoyed was the unique writing style that Tahereh Mafi created for the voice of Juliet. Throughout the book you can find thoughts, ideas, and dialogue crossed out by Juliette herself. Although some may find this annoying, I really loved it! It was very cool to see into Juliette's thought process while reading.
If you have trouble getting into slow books, this series might not be for you. Most of the best scenes (in my opinion) are towards the middle and the end of the book. I believe getting through the slower parts of the book are absolutely worth it in the end. The book was honestly entertaining and I hope that in the following books, (which i'm super excited to read) there will be plenty of action in early chapters. Overall, I enjoyed this book and do plan on continuing the series. (I've already bought the whole series lol). I would defiantly recommend this book to all of you reading this, so don't let my 3 star (almost 4!) rating confuse you!
~Have you read Shatter Me? What was your favorite part? Let me know in the comments down below!
Want to check out the "Shatter Me" series by Tahereh Mafi? Find it here:
Goodreads
-Rapunzel xx
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-Character depth or reliability
-Interesting/captivating plot and decent execution
-Twists, unexpected events, and so on.
-Magic or any element that makes the book unique
 |
| Shatter Me Series: Shatter Me, Unravel Me, Ignite Me |
Now why did I give this book 3 stars? Although I loved the storyline and the book was fantastic... the characters were just okay. In order for a book to completely blow me away, I must absolutely fall in love with at least one character (what can I say? I'm a character kind of gal). In "Shatter me" the characters were good, but not 5 star worthy. Our main character, Juliette, is obviously hard to relate to.. She's been isolated for almost a year! Although this is true, I found it extremely fascinating to read from her point of view. As for Adam, I'm not going to lie in the slightest:
I DID enjoy his character. I loved that he was sweet, kind, and protective of Juliette. I saw everything expected of a typical love interest in Adam, and ultimately his personality wasn't too bad.
I definitely had mixed emotions about Warner, one of the leaders of the Reestablishment. Sometimes I loved him, and sometimes I hated him. I'm very intrigued by his intentions and I would love to find out about his early life/parents (which isn't discussed in detail.)
I really did like Kenji, a soldier for the Reestablishment. He had a great way of lightening up the book with a bit of humor.
 |
| Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi |
Over all, I feel the characters could have been improved. I'm really hoping for some character development and world building in the next installment! If you are not big on characters, you will most likely rate this book higher than I did.
Something I really enjoyed was the unique writing style that Tahereh Mafi created for the voice of Juliet. Throughout the book you can find thoughts, ideas, and dialogue crossed out by Juliette herself. Although some may find this annoying, I really loved it! It was very cool to see into Juliette's thought process while reading.
If you have trouble getting into slow books, this series might not be for you. Most of the best scenes (in my opinion) are towards the middle and the end of the book. I believe getting through the slower parts of the book are absolutely worth it in the end. The book was honestly entertaining and I hope that in the following books, (which i'm super excited to read) there will be plenty of action in early chapters. Overall, I enjoyed this book and do plan on continuing the series. (I've already bought the whole series lol). I would defiantly recommend this book to all of you reading this, so don't let my 3 star (almost 4!) rating confuse you!
~Have you read Shatter Me? What was your favorite part? Let me know in the comments down below!
Want to check out the "Shatter Me" series by Tahereh Mafi? Find it here:
Goodreads
-Rapunzel xx
In
all the bright places,
book review
2015 Reads: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven || Reading Rapunzel Review
Goodreads Review: September 2015
Rapunzel's Rating: 5/5 stars
I did not know what to expect of this book in the slightest, but I will tell you one thing: I will never, ever regret reading it. You know those books where the author is able to create such exquisite and lovely characters that you can't help but get attached to? That's exactly what Jennifer Niven effortlessly executed with her book "All the Bright Places".
The premise of this book entails a contemporary story of (as the cover clearly states lol) a boy called Finch and a girl named Violet.
Violet Markey, a senior in a high school, struggles with grief over her late sister who passed away in a car accident, months prior. She is counting down the days until high school is over and she can escape the overwhelming sadness of her sisters death. That is, until she meets an interesting boy named Theodore Finch. They find each other at the edge of the school bell tower both wiling to jump and end their lives. This book follows Finch and Violet after the events that occurred that day on the bell tower.
Can I first try to express to you how much I loved Finch? I don't think I will ever be able to describe how great of a character he was. Theodore Finch, expert wanderer and Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect enthusiast, was the epitome of intelligent, funny, unique... so many lovely things. Jennifer Niven really out did herself with creating him and making his emotions and thoughts so realistic. Something about him was just so fascinating. The way he could reel off statistics on a whim as if he was remembering what he ate for breakfast, the way he gave Violet that adorable nickname UltraViolet Remarkey-able, how he could quote books on Virginia Woolf, and his infamous fascination with death. Finch was an amazing character, hands down. I'm not going to lie, seeing inside of his head and being able to experience his thoughts was so cool, but at the same time extremely sad.
(this book WILL absolutely, 100%, make you cry like a baby)
Not only does this story captivate readers with such a beautiful romance, but leaves them with knowledge on topics like death, suicide, and self harm. This book is so important, I cannot stress this enough. All the Bright Places has such a strong message about mental health and suicide, which I feel is exceptionally important to get across to the teens and young adults of our generation. I highly suggest you pick it up and share it with your friends. You may cry, but you will certainly not regret it.
* * *
"What if life could be this way? Only the happy parts, none of the terrible, not even the mildly unpleasant. What if we could just cut out the bad and keep the good?"
“I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it. I learned that not everyone is disappointing, including me, and that a 1,257 bump in the ground can feel higher than a bell tower if you’re standing next to the right person."
"What a terrible feeling to love someone and not be able to help them"
“I am rooted, but I flow. All gold, flowing …”
* * *
~Have you read All The Bright Places? What was your favorite part? Leave a comment and let me know!
~Want to read All The Bright Places? Buy it here:
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
-Rapunzel xx
My Links: Come chat!
-Twitter: https://twitter.com/readingrapunzel
-Tumblr: www.reading-rapunzel.tumblr.com
Rapunzel's Rating: 5/5 stars
 |
| All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven |
The premise of this book entails a contemporary story of (as the cover clearly states lol) a boy called Finch and a girl named Violet.
Violet Markey, a senior in a high school, struggles with grief over her late sister who passed away in a car accident, months prior. She is counting down the days until high school is over and she can escape the overwhelming sadness of her sisters death. That is, until she meets an interesting boy named Theodore Finch. They find each other at the edge of the school bell tower both wiling to jump and end their lives. This book follows Finch and Violet after the events that occurred that day on the bell tower.
Can I first try to express to you how much I loved Finch? I don't think I will ever be able to describe how great of a character he was. Theodore Finch, expert wanderer and Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect enthusiast, was the epitome of intelligent, funny, unique... so many lovely things. Jennifer Niven really out did herself with creating him and making his emotions and thoughts so realistic. Something about him was just so fascinating. The way he could reel off statistics on a whim as if he was remembering what he ate for breakfast, the way he gave Violet that adorable nickname UltraViolet Remarkey-able, how he could quote books on Virginia Woolf, and his infamous fascination with death. Finch was an amazing character, hands down. I'm not going to lie, seeing inside of his head and being able to experience his thoughts was so cool, but at the same time extremely sad.
(this book WILL absolutely, 100%, make you cry like a baby)
Not only does this story captivate readers with such a beautiful romance, but leaves them with knowledge on topics like death, suicide, and self harm. This book is so important, I cannot stress this enough. All the Bright Places has such a strong message about mental health and suicide, which I feel is exceptionally important to get across to the teens and young adults of our generation. I highly suggest you pick it up and share it with your friends. You may cry, but you will certainly not regret it.
* * *
"What if life could be this way? Only the happy parts, none of the terrible, not even the mildly unpleasant. What if we could just cut out the bad and keep the good?"
“I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it. I learned that not everyone is disappointing, including me, and that a 1,257 bump in the ground can feel higher than a bell tower if you’re standing next to the right person."
"What a terrible feeling to love someone and not be able to help them"
“I am rooted, but I flow. All gold, flowing …”
* * *
~Have you read All The Bright Places? What was your favorite part? Leave a comment and let me know!
~Want to read All The Bright Places? Buy it here:
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
-Rapunzel xx
My Links: Come chat!
-Tumblr: www.reading-rapunzel.tumblr.com
