Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Series: N/A
Author: John Green
Genre: YA Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Humor
My Rate: 4.7/5  a book I'd read over and over again
Published: January 10, 2012

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  (Goodreads.com)

CHARACTERS || Very wonderfully crafted characters. They certainly don't talk their age, Augustus and Hazel are VERY VERY exotic teenagers. They being the way they are is what exactly made me like this book. And I can't help but feeling if I should be wishing for more Augustus Waters in this world. These three-dimensional characters are flawed beautifully and I would have them no other way. I am so in love with everyone in this book! And digging deeper you'll find that books generally have antagonists, but in this case, it's the disease itself (it's not even Van Houten!)

WRITING ||  Very beautiful. Nicholas Sparks is a cow next to this masterpiece. Dialogues are witty, punny and creative. The questioning-their-existence soliloquies are realistic with possibly every figure of speech in the world. I am certainly looking forward to reading more of Green's works (despite everybody saying his characters are low quality versions of himself). In all honesty, I enjoyed every walking moment in this book. Not a single boring moment here, and trust me, it doesn't take alot to bore me. Wit wit wit, that's what TFIOS is full of.

OVERALL || Greatly paced, indulging and provoking. So realistic and illustrative, just enough descriptions. I got so much reality of life from this book and so many amazing things to quote. I have found myself severely perplexed at times because I am unable to decide whether to cry or laugh. Humor is perfectly woven in every situation. Great great read! Recommending it to my reading friends and everyone who's interested.

Book Review: Bitter Frost by Kailin Gow

Title: Bitter Frost
Series: Frost Series
Author: Kailin Gow
Genre: YA Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Faerie,
My Rate: 3.5/5  good enough
Published: June 21, 2011

All her life, Breena had always dreamed about fairies as though she lived among them...beautiful fairies living among mortals and living in Feyland.

In her dreams, he was always there the breathtakingly handsome but dangerous Winter Prince, Kian, who is her intended. When Breena turns sixteen, she begins seeing fairies and other creatures mortals don't see. Her best friend Logan suddenly acts very protective.

Then she sees Kian, who seems intent on finding her and carrying her off to Feyland. That's fine and all, but for the fact that humans rarely survive a trip to Feyland, a kiss from a fairy generally means death to the human unless that human has fairy blood in them or is very strong, and although Kian seemed to be her intended, he seems to hate her and wants her dead.  (Goodreads.com)

CHARACTERS || I would've loved it better if the characters did not resemble Edward, Jacob and Bella. But sadly, they kind of did. But nevertheless, the pull between the readers and the characters is present and you just can't help but wonder what will happen to Kian, Logan and Breena. The names also seem appropriate. But if you ask me, Breena isn't a very realistic character. But hey, that's why they call it fiction, don't they?

WRITING ||  Good writing. But the ending is quite a cliff-hanger and if I could write it, I would have it some other way. Because cliff-hangers are used to end CHAPTERS, not NOVELS (as this one claims to be).

OVERALL || Let me tell you that I wasn't attracted to this book in any way until I started reading it. I'm currently interested in court politics and kingdoms and whatnot, so I had read this and got what I was looking for. It lacked depth but still, this book presents a new definition of magic and it's interesting. Sometimes predictable, and not that complex that even a 10 year old can digest. If new with fae books then it's good enough but if you're kind of a veteran, then I'm afraid this will leave you kind of disappointed.