Top 10 Books Dealing with Tough Subjects

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Books, Tea & Me

This week, The Broke and Bookish decided to take a more sombre note for their weekly lists. We’ve all read more than our fair share of sad books, but here are my top 10 books that deal with subjects of death, disease, civil rights, etc. (in no particular order):

10) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. We all know his books to be tender, sad tales, but this was my first and only book I’ve read by him. Cancer is the scariest six-letter word out there, that can make even the strongest person wither. Add to that the connection between Hazel and Augustus, and you’ve got yourself a story that’s too difficult to bear.

9) The Help by Kathryn Stockett. What African Americans had to endure in the past, and what some of them are still enduring today, is painful. They weren’t even treated as humans, and had little to no rights. Racism takes centre stage in this novel, which made me cry. The movie was done well too.

8) Bridge to Terebethia by Katherine Paterson. My grade six teacher made us read this for class and I don’t remember ever being scarred by book that young. It was terrifying and for the longest time I thought everyone I loved was going to die.

7) Night by Elie Wiesel. Horrific. Jaw-dropping. True. Wiesel takes you back through his memories of the Holocaust as a young boy. No matter who you are, you cannot but be affected by this memoir.

6) Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. Almost all of Dessen’s novels revolve around some form of issue, but this one takes the cake. Sexual assualt, bullying and eating disorders all rolled up into one beautifully-spoken story.

5) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Another gripping Holocaust story. As you know, I love WWII stories, and although this is fiction, it’s one of the best stories based on that time. It will make you cry.

4) Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. You all know how much I treasure this book. And although the romance aspect had a strong play there, I also loved this book because of the controversial topic it covered. Death is never easy, particularly assisted suicide. BAWL.

3) Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Okay, I realize this is a children’s story that was probably read to you before bed. But take a moment and think about what this book is truly about: a young pig is taken from the only family he knows into an unknown place. He makes a couple of good friends (especially Charlotte the spider), finds a life for himself there, and then Charlotte dies. Dealing with death at a young age, even the death of a spider, is heartbreaking.

2) The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. Sparks is good for those Hollywood-style, romantic, make-you-cry-your-heart-out books. The Last Song was the first and only book I’ve read of his, but it struck a cord with me. Any death is hard to bear, but losing your father…I don’t even want to think about that.

1) Forever by Judy Blume. It’s not your typical love story, which is why I like it. It was my first introduction to sex in grade 11, and boy did I get a bucketload of information. Loss of virginity, teenage pregnancy, realistic relationships (because hey, not everyone has a happy ending with their girl/guy). Pretty groundbreaking for the time it was published.

Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Books, Tea & Me

It’s normal to fall deeply in love with a character…right? It sure looks like it, from what The Broke and the Bookish’s weekly meme is revealing! Well, regardless, over the years I’ve been smitten with many memorable male characters and I’m all too happy to share my obsessions with you! So, without further ado and in no particular order, here they are:
10) Augustus Waters from John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. He’s charismatic, funny and will fight to the end. I don’t care that he’s younger than me; he’s a total babe.

9) Kartik from Libba Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty series. For one, he’s Indian and I’m half-Indian. Secondly, he’s gorgeous, and has a bit of an attitude problem. He’s dark (and no, I don’t just mean his skin colour!), mysterious, a fantastic kisser and cares a ton for Gemma but has a hard time showing it.

8) Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. He was my first fiction crush (grade three) and I grew up wanting a boy just like him. I’ll always harbour a soft spot for him and will continuously be envious of his and Anne’s chemistry. The movie’s version of Gilbert (played by Jonathan Crombie) was definitely a great casting decision. Mmmm :)

7) Fred Weasley from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. As you’ll see further on, Rowling wrote many wonderful male characters—many of which I fell in love with at least once in my years of reading. But Fred was always my favourite of the twins, mainly because he usually offered the most quips and his personality just radiated through the pages. I love his sense of humour and the way he always cared for Ginny. And the actor who played him in the movies (James Phelps) was absolutely perfect—but I’m still crying over the way they portrayed his death in the seventh movie.

6) Simon Lewis from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series. Simply put, I loved him WAY more than Jace. I have a thing for guys in glasses and with dark hair, and he fit the bill. Not to mention his total geekiness and strange ways. And his secret love for Clary—unrequited love sucks and back in high school I could more than relate to him.

5) Will Traynor from Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You. As you know from my latest review, I absolutely love this book—and a lot of that has to do with Will. I can’t blame Louisa for falling for the guy. Even though his mobility was limited, his mind was sharp and his personality mesmerizing. He was knowledgable and worldly, he had a great sense of humour and he genuinely cared for Louisa more than he cared for himself. A man like that is hard to find, which is why it was so easy for me to love him.

4) Ron Weasley from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Love. Love. LOVE. I cannot begin to describe my love for Mr. Ronald Weasley—in both the books and the movies (especially the movies). I didn’t fall for him right away, however. It took me a few years to appreciate him, but it definitely hit me in the fourth book when he was trying so hard not to fall for Hermione and ultimately hated Krum. He was too cute. And Rupert Grint made me love Ron Weasley more than Harry Potter in the movies (which is a hard feat, let me tell you…)

3) Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Need I really explain? His dark, brooding, proud, attentive and sexy ways would make any woman swoon. And as you can tell from my in-depth analysis of the movie adaptions, I think that Colin Firth’s portrayal of the infamous man is the best. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen for a movie character so fast as I did for Firth’s Darcy.

2) Peeta Mellark from Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. His character made me laugh, cry, scream, sob, smile, bawl, fret… He made me realize all the emotions I was holding back. I often dreamt of him at night, thought of him during the day, pictured him holding me in his strong arms, and my life with him. Yes. I was that obsessed last year. Josh Hutcherson is a cute Peeta, but not exactly how I pictured him. The Peeta in my head will never be beat. Ever.

1) Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I’ve been saying it since I first laid my eyes on him in the first book: He’s my soul mate. I grew up with him. I cheered for him. I hated him. I feared for him. I laughed at him. I fell in love with him with each book. I didn’t care if he got moody in the fifth book. I didn’t care that he got overshadowed by Ron and Hermione’s love story in the later books. I can even forgive him for falling for Ginny. But I will never let my love die for him. He shall be mine always, and I’ll always be his. Whether he wants me or not.

The Fault In Our Stars: Book Review

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Books, Tea & Me

Book Review #8: The Fault In Our Stars

Author: John Green

Genre: Young adult fiction

Days to Read: 4

Synopsis (as taken from Chapters): Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

My thoughts: Despite The Fault In Our Stars being a YA novel, I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful — yet tragic — piece. From the first chapter, Hazel became a memorable character. She didn’t speak or think like the usual female heroines you see in most young adult novels, which was refreshing for me. She was determined in her seclusion, her situation and her future, and she didn’t care tuppence about what others thought of her — that is, until Augustus entered her life. He was her funny bone. He breathed fresh air into her atmosphere and renewed her outlook on life. They both gave each other just another reason to live. But, of course, once you began to fall in love with the characters, you knew something bad was lurking around the corner. I won’t say what, however, because I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t read it yet. The characters were enticing, and each relationship between the characters only strengthened the story. I must say, though, I was not a fan of Peter Van Houten. I found him annoying and every scene he was in only dragged the story down just a bit. I’m not entirely sure what John Green’s reason was to include him, except perhaps to show Hazel and Augustus (and us too) that not everyone could live up to their expectations; disappointment will sometimes occur in life and they must rise with each challenge they meet. Still, he could have made Van Houten a little more bearable for the readers. On the whole, though, The Fault In Our Stars was a fantastic introduction to John Green’s work, and I can’t wait to read more of his stories!

I wrote a review on this novel for my university’s print newspaper, The Reflector, and I thought I’d share with you my first paid review:

“No book in January was given the amount of media buzz that John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars received. After hearing positive remarks about his new book, I decided to read it with an open mind. The Fault In Our Stars was a very difficult book to get through. Not because it was boring — oh no, quite the contrary. I found it difficult because it was so heartbreaking. John Green created his characters with such depth, complexity and honesty that I felt like I knew Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters for many years. It isn’t easy to write about cancer, much less deal with it personally, but John Green gives a convincing account of how cancer marks you. He doesn’t rationalize, sentimentalize or romanticize the realities of cancer, but rather touches you with the story of two teens looking for a forever within their numbered days. Once you open the book, I promise you will not be able to think of much else.”

My Rating: 4.5/5

Challenge: Day 28

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Books, Tea & Me

The last book I read and finished was The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I know I haven’t done a review on it yet for this blog, but I did do one for my school newspaper, The Reflector, and I’m just waiting for a PDF version of it to come out so I can link it to my blog. It should come soon!

Anyways, I absolutely loved this novel. It was so fresh, honest, funny, uplifting, depressing, bittersweet and romantic — all at once. The character of Peter van Houten kind of annoyed me though. He was the one weak link to an otherwise fantastic canopy of characters and intriguing plot.

I’ve never read anything else by John Green, but after such a wonderful introduction to his writing, you can be sure that I’ll be reading his other work.

What was the last book you read?