Book Review: INTO THE WILD

Author: Jon Krakauer
Number of Pages: 207
Publisher: Anchor
Release Date: January 13, 1996

"In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild."
                                                      - Goodreads.com

If you want a book that will really make you think, than you should pick this one up! This book is so well written, and everything is explained very well. The story itself is amazing, but the writing itself makes it that much better. I usually don't read non-fiction sort of books like this, but this one held my attention the entire way through. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

Chris McCandless' story is just so heart-wrenching. It's been a few days since I've finished this book, yet I still do not know whether to be happy for Chris or sad. Part of me wants to be happy, because he went out and accomplished what he wanted to do, and for many months he seemed extremely happy. On the other hand, his pursuit for happiness and satisfaction with life ultimately resulted in his own death. I have mixed feelings, but I think that's to be expected as this story is hardly cut-and-dry.

I read this with small groups in my English class, but it could easily be read alone without any issues. However, it was nice to be able to discuss the major points of this book with others, because there really is a lot to think about.

Overall, this was an amazing book. I have nothing bad to say about it!

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Absolutely.

Yours,
NutFreeNerd

Book Review: THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES

Author: Wendy Wunder
Number of Pages: 360
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: December 8, 2011

Cam Cooper has spent countless hours in hospitals over the past seven or so years, fighting with all her might to get better. So when the doctors tell her there's nothing more they can do, she feels lost. That's when her mother decides to bring Cam and her younger sister, Perry, on a road trip to Promise, Maine. It is in this small New England town that miracles are said to occur. As the story progresses, Cam learns more about her family, romance, what it means to be happy, and above all, herself.

I really enjoyed this book! Usually I do not like really sad books, but this one was actually very good. Like John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, it was sad at the end, but the book itself more than made up for it. The writing was excellent as well. It was very descriptive and the characters- especially the main one, Cam- had a lot of depth to them. I loved how it talked about Disney World, because I have an obsession with that place, and I could picture almost everything that was mentioned. Overall, this book was great!

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys. No complaints here!

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes. Even if you do not normally enjoy sad books, please read this! It is well worth your time.

Hugs,
NutFreeNerd

Book Review: THE SCORPIO RACES

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Number of Pages: 409
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Release Date: October 18, 2011

Every November on the island of Thisby the Scorpio Races are held. Tourists rush in from the mainland to witness the thrilling, fast-paced race that leaves more people wounded than unharmed. When Kate (Puck) Connolly discovers that her older brother Gabe is leaving for the mainland, she decides to join the races in order to prolong her brother's departure. Little does she know that things are about to get complicated, what with her new and strange relationship with the mysterious Sean Kendrick and Gabe running off. Will Puck be able to keep her brother from leaving Thisby? Or, better yet, will she survive the Scorpio Races?

Having read Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver Trilogy and loved it, I was eager to dive into this novel. However, after reading it I found that I was a little disappointed. I enjoyed it, but it just didn't stand out to me in the way that Shiver did. By far my favorite parts were the sections with Puck and Sean. Their relationship seemed fairly realistic to me, which I greatly appreciated. The ending was pretty good as well- everything was wrapped up nicely and over all I was satisfied with how it came to a close. I love this author's writing style because she is so descriptive and insightful when telling her stories.

I have so many good things to say about this book, yet something holds me back from giving it a perfect rating. It just didn't have that WOW factor to it, you know? When reading Shiver I didn't want to put it down, but with this book there were some parts that seemed to drag on a bit. Maybe I just had too high expectations going into it, but it wasn't as good as her other books.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys.

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes. Even though it was not as good as Shiver, I would still recommend it. It's got a little of everything- romance, adventure, fantasy- so it appeals to a wide audience.

Yours,
NutFreeNerd

Book Review: LORD OF THE FLIES (2nd)

Author: William Golding
Number of Pages: 182
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: 1954

"William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first it seems as though it is all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious and life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic and death. As ordinary standards of behaviour collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket and homework and adventure stories—and another world is revealed beneath, primitive and terrible. Lord of the Flies remains as provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought and literature. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies has established itself as a true classic."
                                                                                                - Goodreads.com
This is my second time reading this classic. Last year I read it individually for a book project, and I ended up rating it 3 out of 5 smileys. This year I read it as mandatory reading with my English class. I found that through reading it again I understood it so much better than the first time around. I went back recently and read my review from the first time I read this book and I was happy to discover that the questions I had mentioned in my post I now can answer.

This novel has really grown on me. It's a book that you can read over and over again and each time you do so, you find a few more details that you missed all those times before. It's a little slow in some parts, though, and sometimes I wanted to scream at the characters and say: "YOU IDIOTS! WHY DID YOU DO THAT???" Lord of the Flies is rich in symbolism and lessons that I think everyone should learn. If you want a good read that makes you think, pick up this book!

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys. Now that I understand it better, I have enjoyed the book more.

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes.

Yours,
NutFreeNerd

Book Review: FIRE

Author: Kristin Cashore
Number of Pages: 461
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: October 5, 2009

Fire is a monster- a beautiful, irresistible monster. Her father, cruel and manipulative Cansrel (also a monster), still haunts her nightmares even though he has been dead for a number of years. Fire's childhood friend Archer is in love with her, and so is King Nash. But Nash's brother, Brigan, she's not so sure about. When Fire is sent to King City to use her mind-reading powers to help with the war, she realizes that first impressions are nothing to go by. In this romantic companion to Graceling, secrets will be revealed and drama will unfold, all while a war is raging backstage.

This book was pleasantly different from Graceling- not that I didn't like Graceling, because it was great- and it was nice that this book is similar yet different to its companion. I want to emphasize that you do not have to have read Graceling to read Fire, and vice versa. There is only one character that is the same between the two books, and they take place sort of in the same "world", if you will, but other than that they are really quite different from each other.

I enjoyed the creativity and the originality of this book. It is hard-core fantasy, but it isn't totally unbelievable- you know what I mean? Obviously it's fake, but it's not written in a way that broadcasts that. It's hard to explain. This book just isn't like any other book I've read, subject-wise. I also really liked Kristin Cashore's writing style. Everything is described in a way that makes an image automatically pop into your head. Each character is different, and you learn so much about each in every one of them as you progress through the book.

Having said all of those good things, there are some down sides to this novel. First, I felt like some characters were killed off for unnecessary reasons. I won't say who, because that would spoil the book, but there are a good handful that I thought could have lived. I didn't see why it was essential to the plot that they die. Also, this book just didn't wow me. It was great, don't get me wrong, but nothing about it made me want to go back and read it again.

Overall, this was a good read.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys. In my opinion, this was not as good as Graceling.

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Even though I did not give this book a perfect score, I would still absolutely recommend it to a friend.

Hugs,
NutFreeNerd

Book Review: SCAT

Author: Carl Hiaasen
Number of Pages: 384
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 27, 2009

"Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.
But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a "family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent, Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance.
And he does! But not in the way they think. There's a lot more going on in Black Vine Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to reckon with an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked-off Florida panther before they really begin to see the big picture."
                                                                                                                - Goodreads.com

I have to say that this book really surprised me. It's an easier reading level than I normally read, and so I thought that the plot would be predictable and simple. Was I wrong! This book had many twists and turns that I totally didn't predict, and the this novel was written very well. The characters were very developed and the the main character, Nick Waters, changed a lot by the end of the book. My favorite character was "Smoke", one of Nick's classmates with a reputation for starting fires and being an idiotic jerk. It was really interesting to see deeper and deeper into this character as the plot progressed. Needless to say, first impressions aren't always correct.

However, compared to Carl Hiaasen's popular novel Hoot, this one was definitely not my favorite of the two.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys. This book was great, but it didn't make me go WOW! like Hoot did.

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes. This book is not a young adult book and is probably more along the lines of an elementary to middle school interest. I don't mind reading easy books like this, but some people might. I would take that into consideration when recommending this book to someone.

Hugs,
NutFreeNerd

It's Hanko de Mayo!!!!

Happy Birthday Hank Green! DFTBA!!!!!

Best Wishes!
NutFreeNerd