Athena's Reading List 2015

[Athena]

Geronimo Stilton - Onder Moeders Vleugels (Piccole Donne)

 

 

Genre: Literature

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 224

Date read: 04-09-2015

ISBN: 9789085921042

Synopsis (me): A retelling of Louise May Alcott - Little Women.

 

My thoughts:

 

This book is a retelling of Little Women. I own a copy of that (in English), but I haven't read it yet (I heard from someone it was somewhat religious and I'm not keen on that). I've read and liked other Stilton retellings and I saved it for this read-a-thon (well, I read it on Thursday which was almost the read-a-thon).

 

This was an enjoyable story, but it was a bit chaotic in places. I liked the characters and how the four sisters usually got along well. I liked the illustrations. It was a nice story, but not one of my favourite retellings.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Geronimo Stilton - Geheime Missie: Olympische Spelen (Lo Strano Caso Dei Giochi Olimpici)

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Information

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 224

Date read: 05-09-2015

ISBN: 9789085920564

Synopsis (me): Geronimo has to make a TV report of the Olympics. The book also contains a lot of information about the Olympics.

 

My thoughts:

 

I found this book at the library in the children's information book section. I hadn't browsed that section before but I had a bit of time and managed to find this bok (as well as one other book). I like a lot of Stilton books. This one contains a lot of information as well as a story, and is longer than a lot of other ones in this main series (the Geronimo Stilton series). Half of the book is a story, the other half contains information. There are a few pages of information during the story too.

 

This book was nice to read. The story was nice though not brilliant. I really enjoyed learning about the Olympics. So I'd rate the story 8 / 10 and the information 10 / 10, hence my 9 / 10 rating. This was an enjoyable book to read. I'm not that much into sports, but if I'd have to watch some I'd pick watching the Olympics. Reading this book made me want to do that.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Joe Carrot - Joe Carrot 5: Het Rupsenraadsel (Il Mistero Dei Bruchi Giganti)

 

(my edition doesn't have the 'BAKERMAT' bit in the left bottom corner)

 

Genre: Detective

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 128

Date read: 05-09-2015

ISBN: 9789085921530

Synopsis (me): Two Tigercaterpillars have gone missing, as well as their caretaker.

 

My thoughts:

 

I've read books 2-4 in this series and I liked those, I liked book 4 in particular. When I saw this book at the library, I borrowed it and saved it for the read-a-thon.

 

This story was nice but not as surprising as books 3 and 4. I found it enjoyable but I could guess the mystery easily. It was nice though to see a few references to book 4. I hope to read book 1 some time.

 

Rating: (****) (7/10)

[Athena]

Thea Stilton - Thea Stilton 15: Viva Flamenco (Missione "Flamenco")

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Detective

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 224

Date read: 05-09-2015

ISBN: 9789085922308

Synopsis (GoodReads, for the English translation): The Thea Sisters are visiting friends at a lively festival in Spain. But the theft of a precious fan turns their trip into an investigation! They end up hot on the trail of a secret treasure ... but they're not the only ones searching for it. Can the mouselets solve the mystery in time? It's a mission full of flamenco dance!

 

My thoughts:

 

I've read and liked several books in this series (books 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 9, 17 in the Dutch order). I saw this one, and book 16, at the library, so I borrowed them and saved them for the read-a-thon.

 

This was an enjoyable story. A few things were predictable, but otherwise it was enjoyable to read the book. It was nice to learn more about Sevilla and some other places in Spain.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Thea Stilton - Thea Stilton 16: Help, We Missen een Welp! (Cinque Amiche Per Un Leone)

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Detective

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 224

Date read: 05-09-2015

ISBN: 9789085922476

Synopsis (me): The Thea Sisters go on a photo safari.

 

My thoughts:

 

I borrowed this one, and book 15 in this series, from the library. After reading book 15, I went on to read book 16.

 

I'm not entirely sure I can explain why I enjoyed this book a little bit more than the previous one (book 15). The mystery in this book wasn't hard to solve, it was a bit predictable. I liked the characters and learning more about animals (that interests me more than the dances of the previous book). I liked the focus on animals and nature in this book.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Luc Descamps - De Donkere Getallen 3: De Grot van Merlijn

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 114

Date read: 06-09-2015

ISBN: 9789462340138

Synopsis (me): Harry gets stuck in Merlin's cave. The tide is coming in, and to save himself he uses the dark numbers to travel to another time.

 

My thoughts:

 

I've read books 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in this series and I enjoyed them (7 in particular), so when I saw book 3 in the library I borrowed it and saved it for the read-a-thon.

 

It was enjoyable to read this story. It introduces two important things regarding the time travelling with the 'dark numbers' (donkere getallen). The story was suspenseful and I liked the characters. The story is maybe not the longest in the series but I thought it was a nice read. I hope to find book 1 at the library some time, then I'll have read all books in the series.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Jeff Kinney - Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 217

Date read: 06-09-2015

ISBN: 9780141324913

Synopsis (GoodReads): Remember how I sad that if some jerk caught me carrying a book with "diary" on the cover, they were gonna get the wrong idea? Well, that's exactly what happened today.

 

Now that Rodrick knows I have another journal, I'd better remember to keep this one locked up. Rodrick actually got hold of my last journal... But don't even get me started on THAT story. Even without my Rodrick problems, my summer was pretty lousy.

 

Whatever you do, don't ask me how I spent my summer holiday because I definitely don't want to talk about it.

 

My thoughts:

 

I've read books 3, 5, 1, 9 and 7 in this series. When I found book 2 and 4 book at the library, I borrowed them and saved them for the read-a-thon. I was confused at first and didn't pick up book 4 because I thought I had read it, but I went back for it later.

 

This book was funny in places, I laughed. The focus of the book is a little bit on Rodrick and the relationship Greg has with him (Rodrick is his big brother). The illustrations were nice.

 

I have book 4 left to read (borrowed from the library) and I hope to find the books I haven't read yet at the library some time.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Jeff Kinney - Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4: Dog Days

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 217

Date read: 06-09-2015

ISBN: 9780141331973

Synopsis (GoodReads): It’s summer vacation, the weather’s great, and all the kids are having fun outside. So where’s Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing video games with the shades drawn.

 

Greg, a self-confessed "indoor person", is living out his ultimate summer fantasy: no responsibilities and no rules. But Greg’s mom has a different vision for an ideal summer... one packed with outdoor activities and "family togetherness".

 

Whose vision will win out? Or will a new addition to the Heffley family change everything?

 

My thoughts:

 

I almost didn't borrow this book from the library, because I thought at first that I had already read it. I realised my mistake before I left the library, so I went back and borrowed this book (I had to carry the bag with the other books back up the stairs). I saved it for the read-a-thon.

 

This was an enjoyable and fun read. I didn't like all of the parts about the dog (because I like dogs a lot), but otherwise I liked the book. The illustrations are nice. Someitmes I felt bad for Greg. I hope to find the books (of this series) I haven't read yet, at the library some time.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Andy Griffiths (ill. Terry Denton) - Treehouse 2: 26-Story Treehouse

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 345

Date read: 06-09-2015

ISBN: 9781250026910

Synopsis (GoodReads): If you're like most readers, you're probably wondering just how Andy and Terry met. Well, it's a long story, but a pretty exciting one, and it's mostly true! Come on up, choose a hammock, and they'll tell you all about it (just don't go in the maze they're still ironing out a few bugs...).

 

For everyone who loved The 13-Storey Treehouse and is willing and ready to climb even higher with more crazy adventures from the bestselling Australian children's author.

 

My thoughts:

 

I saw this book at the library and thought it looked nice, and I thought it would make for a nice read-a-thon read. The book, and books 1 and 3 in the series, have been named Book of the Year for Older hcildren by the Australian Book Industry Awards (.. and then something else, but the library tag is over that, so I can't read it ).

 

This was a funny book. It was also whymsical, like children's books can be. The treehouse now has 13 extra stories (on top of the 13 already there in the previous book), and the book is filled with 13 chapters (stories). The book has fourth wall breaking stuff in it. The two main characters in the book are also the authors of the book (one is the author, the other the illustrator). In the book they talk to the readers. It's a bit hard to explain, but it was really nice to read. The illustrations were really nice too.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Francine Oomen (ill. Annet Schaap) - Hoe Overleef Ik.. (Zonder) Vriendschap & Liefde?

 

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Young-Adult

Format: Paperback (Library Loan)

Pages: 139

Date read: 06-09-2015

ISBN: 9789045113739

Synopsis (me): The book contains comic strips, tests / quizzes, emails, lots of tips on friendship and love for teenagers, and more.

 

My thoughts:

 

I foudn this book in the children's and young-adult information section at the library (it was the first time I explored that section). I quite liked most of the Hoe Overleef Ik... story-books. This book features a few of the HOI characters, which is mainly why I borrowed it.

 

I liked the tips in this book. The book contains useful information about friendship and love (the target market is teenage girls). Of course, I knew quite a few things already, siec I'm not 12 anymore, but at the moment almost 30.

 

It was nice to read about the three characters that featured in this book. I also liked the comic strips. The tests / quizzes were nice too (they are in the sense of 'are you an introvert or extrovert' and things like that). The book also contains letters from girls that Rosa answers.

 

I quite liked the design and the lay out of the book, that made it more fun to read. Overall I enjoyed reading this book. I think for teenage girls it is definitely useful. I enjoyed learning a bit more about the characters.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Lucy Hawking and Stephen Hawking (ill. Elly Hees) - George 3: De Knal in het Heelal (George and the Big Bang)

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction, Information

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 287

Date read: 06-09-2015 <-> 08-09-2015

ISBN: 9789049924676

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series).

 

My thoughts:

 

I read book 1 in this series, in English, and I liked it a lot. I found book 3 in Dutch at the library. Unfortunately I thought it was book 2, and the book 2 that was there I thought that was book 1, so I didn't borrow book 2. I wish I had, though. Hopefully I can find it another time.

 

Aside from the story, the book contains information about physics, astronomy and the universe. It also contains illustrations (the illustrations in the Dutch book were made by a different person than the illustrations in the English book) and colour photos from NASA.

 

I didn't like this book as much as book 1. The information seems a bit more dumped in and a bit long. In book 1 it flowed better. I read book 3 in Dutch (translation) whereas I read book 1 in English, so it could be partially due to that. Sometimes a sentence of the story will be cut off at the end of the page, then there's 5 pages of information, and then the sentence (and the story) continues. It's a bit awkward having to keep flicking back and forth. Bits of the information are confusing me too, but since I didn't read book 2 it could be that those things were explained in that book. I shall have to borrow it from the library some time when they have it, to find out. I missed some of the events in book 2, too. It was interesting learning more about the universe.

 

The story is nice though, and suspenseful. I liked the characters. I enjoyed the last third of the book more, maybe I was more in the mood for it then. I'll see if I can find book 2 some time at the library, it'd be nice to read it. A few things might make more sense then.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Lemony Snicket - A Series of Unforunate Events 2: The Reptile Room

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 195

Date read: 08-09-2015

ISBN: 9781405249546

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series).

 

My thoughts:

 

I borrowed book 3 in this series from the library. I own books 2, 4 and 8. I've seen the film and thought it was nice (though not brilliant). I know some people who quite like this series. So in order to read my library loan I first read book 2.

 

I really liked the writing style of this book. There is fourth wall breaking stuff in it. Sometimes words are explained, for children (but in a kind of nice way). The story itself was nice. The film I saw was the first three books condensed, I think, so I knew what was going to happen. The book was more enjoyable than I thought it would be, because of its nice and funny writing style.

 

I will continue on with book 3. I had rated this book 8 / 10 after I just finished it, but I'm currently halfway in book 3 and I find there's quite a few similar elements so I'm downgrading book 2 to a 7 / 10 (and my rating for book 3 will probably be the same).

 

Rating: (****) (7/10)

[Athena]

Lemony Snicket - Ellendige Avonturen 3: Het Rampzalige Raam (A Series of Unfortunate Events 3: The Wide Window

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Loan)

Pages: 197

Date read: 08-09-2015 <-> 09-09-2015

ISBN: 9789021615646

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series).

 

My thoughts:

 

I borrowed this book from the library after liking the film and hearing about the series from other people. I own books 2, 4 and 8 (at the moment) and after reading book 2 I went on to read book 3. I thought the film was the first three books condensed, but this turned out to be not true as the film goes on beyond book 3.

 

I enjoyed reading this book a bit less than the previous one (book 2). There were quite a few similar elements in both books and sometimes this annoyed me a bit. I liked the writing style a lot. I think I won't continue straight on with book 4, because it's getting a bit samey. I plan to continue the series at a later point though.

 

Rating: (****) (7/10)

[Athena]

Last weekend I went into the charity shop and found some nice books . I got them all for €0,50 each (50 cents). On the Baantjers they had a deal of 2 for 1 € (if you try to find these second-hand online (most are not in print anymore I think) they normally cost 5-10 €). The rest of the books are part of the series Lijsters, which I used to read when I was a child and young teenager. These are editions from the years just before I started to read them. They were books that you ordered through school. Each year the children were offered that their parents could buy these book series for their children. If enough children wanted the books the school would order them. There were (and are) various series, for different age ranges.

 

Terre des Hommes

 

A.C. Baantjer - De Andere Kant Van De Cock

John Bakkenhoven - Het Amsterdam Van Appie Baantjer

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 8: De Cock en de Ontgoochelde Dode

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 15: De Cock En De Broeders Van De Zachte Dood

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 16: De Cock En Het Dodelijk Akkoord

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 18: De Cock En De Moord In Extase

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 18: Persoonlijk: De Cock En De Moord In Extase

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 20: De Cock En De Ganzen Van De Dood

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 22: De Cock En De Dood Van Een Clown

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 24: De Cock En Moord Op Termijn

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 29: De Cock En Moord In Brons

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 34: De Cock En Moord In Beeld

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 44: De Cock En Het Roodzijden Nachthemd

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 47: De Cock En Een Dodelijk Rendez-Vous

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 51: De Cock En De Dood In Antiek

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 54: De Cock En De Dwaze Maagden

A.C. Baantjer - Baantjer 61: De Cock En De Gebrandmerkte Doden

Tonny Vos-Dahmen von Buchholz - Het Monster Van De Vuursteenmijn

Beene Dubbelboer - Joël En De Veenheks

An Rutgers van der Loeff - Vriend Of Vijand

Henk Barnard - Het Hoofdpijnmysterie

Miep Diekmann - Verliefd? Hoezo?

Alet Schouten - Het Teken van Wichart

Anke De Vries - Het Geheim Van Mories Besjoer

Tomas Ross - Help, Ze Ontvoeren De Koningin!

Jan de Zanger - De Mensen Kijken Altijd Zo

Marion Bloem - Matabia, Of Een Lange Donkere Nacht

Aidan Chambers - Het Geheim Van De Grot

Valentine Kalwij - Lefgozers

 

 

I know it's quite a few books from Terre des Hommes, but it didn't cost me much .

 

I received most of my online orders. Here's what I ordered, below a photo of what I've received so far.

 

Online orders

 

Brandon Sanderson - Alcatraz 1: Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians

Brandon Sanderson - Alcatraz 2: Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones

Brandon Sanderson - Alcatraz 3: Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia

Brandon Sanderson - Alcatraz 4: Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens

Brandon Sanderson - Reckoners 1: Steelheart

Brandon Sanderson - Legion and the Emperor's Soul

Brandon Sanderson - The Rithmatist 1: The Rithmatist

David B. Coe - Winds of the Forelands 2: Seeds of Betrayal

David B. Coe - Winds of the Forelands 4: Shapers of Darkness

David B. Coe - Winds of the Forelands 5: Weavers of War

David B. Coe - Blood of the Southlands 1: The Sorcerers' Plague

David B. Coe - Blood of the Southlands 2: The Horseman's Gambit

David B. Coe - Blood of the Southlands 3: The Dark-Eyes' War

Maria V. Snyder - Study 4: Shadow Study

Karen Miller - The Tarnished Crown 1: The Falcon Throne

Joanne M. Harris - The Gospel of Loki

Terry Pratchett - Discworld 40: Raising Steam

Robin Hobb - The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy 1: Fool's Assassin

Diana Gabaldon - Outlander 8: Written in My Own Heart's Blood

Ken Follett - Century Trilogy 3: Edge of Eternity

Rick Riordan - Heroes of Olympus 4: The House of Hades

Rick Riordan - Heroes of Olympus 5: The Blood of Olympus

Holly Smale - Geek Girl 4: All That Glitters

Jojo Moyes - The One Plus One

Jojo Moyes - Paris for One

Erica James - Summer at the Lake

Erica James - The Dandelion Years

 

 

I ordered the books as a reward for some work I did for my sister. I promise I'll try to be good, after all this .

Edited September 11, 2015 by Athena

[Signor Finzione]

Ooh lovely books!

[Anna Begins]

I noticed your reviews were/ are getting shorter- is that on purpose?

 

Loved the Lemony Snicket reviews!  And wow- that's a lot of Sanderson- but that's a good thing

 

Edit: Doesn't this complete Follett's Century trilogy for you?  I have it too, I'm so proud of it

Edited September 11, 2015 by Anna Begins

[Little Pixie]

Great book haul !   I didn`t realise there were so many Baantjer books in the series. 

[Athena]

Ooh lovely books!

Thanks !

 

I noticed your reviews were/ are getting shorter- is that on purpose?

 

Loved the Lemony Snicket reviews!  And wow- that's a lot of Sanderson- but that's a good thing

 

Edit: Doesn't this complete Follett's Century trilogy for you?  I have it too, I'm so proud of it

No, it's because I haven't been feeling well so I can't be on the computer for long and I can't think about it much .

 

Thanks! Yes !

 

Yes, it does . That's why I bought it.

 

Great book haul !   I didn`t realise there were so many Baantjer books in the series. 

Thanks ! Apparently there are 76 books out (6 of those written by another author, who is actually the actor who played De Cock in the TV series). Here is a list of a lot of Baantjer's work. He died in 2010 .

[Athena]

Lauren Oliver - Delirium 2: Pandemonium

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction

Age-range: Young-adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 329

Date read: 09-09-2015 <-> 11-09-2015

ISBN: 9781444722963

Synopsis: (no synopsis because it's book two in a trilogy)

 

My thoughts:

 

I read Delirium 1: Delirium about a week ago and I liked it a lot. I had wanted to continue the trilogy sooner, but it was the read-a-thon weekend and I wanted to finish my library loans first.

 

There are 'then' and 'now' chapters, with the 'then' chapters taking place just after the events in Delirium (the first book). I found both types of chapters quite interesting, and it was interesting to read the story in this way.

 

The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. The story is pretty suspenseful, particularly the last third of the book. I liked the characters. The only thing I liked a bit less in this book was that I saw two of the plot twists coming. This book was published in 2012. I saw one twist in another book, but I'm unsure which was published first. The other twist I just found obvious and I saw coming. The world of this series in interesting.

 

Overall I really liked this book, but not as much as I liked book 1. I will continue straight on with book 3, Requiem.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Lauren Oliver - Delirium 3: Requiem

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction

Age-range: Young-adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 342

Date read: 12-09-2015 <-> 13-09-2015

ISBN: 9781444723007

Synopsis: (no synopsis because it's book three in a trilogy)

 

My thoughts:

 

After reading book 2 in this series, which ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, I went on to read book 3. What annoyed me a little bit when I bought the three books online and I received them, was that the cover of book 3 feels different than those of the first two books. But, at least it's better than that the publisher changes the size of the book during the series, or a completely different cover. I much prefer these covers over the other style I've seen (my Delirum Stories book is in that style of cover).

 

This book contains two types of chapters, both from the point of view of a different character. The book is a bit more a survival story than the first book. The story was suspenseful, particularly the second half. While I heard from some peolpe that they liked this book less than the others, I can't say that was the case for me. Overall I like the first book the best, but I liket his one just as much as the second book (though I have different issues with each book). The plot twists were less predictable in this book (in book 2 there were two twists I saw coming). I wish the book had gone on beyond the ending, I feel it ended slightly too soon.

 

I enjoyed reading this trilogy and will read the Delirium Stories: Hana, Annabel and Raven next.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Lauren Oliver - Delirium: Delirium Stories: Hana, Annabel & Raven

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction

Age-range: Young-adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 152 + 10 (extras) (excluding excerpt of Requiem)

Date read: 13-09-2015

ISBN: 9780062267788

Synopsis: The book contains three short stories that take place in the world of Delirium, from Hana's, Annabel's and Raven's point of view.

 

My thoughts:

 

After finishing the Delirium trilogy (and really enjoying it), I went on to read the three short stories.

 

The book contains three short stories, of Hana, Annabel and Raven. I would recommend to read at least the first two books in the trilogy, otherwise you will be confused and spoiled for the events in those books. I personally read book 3 first as well, but you could also read these stories first (seeing as the book includes an excerpt for the third book, maybe that's what you're meant to do). Aside from the stories and the excerpt, the book also includes a few pages about banned entertainments in the Delirium world and some quotes from them (about love). It also includes a quiz about what kind of fighter you are. These were two nice little extras.

 

Hana

This story takes place during book 1. It was interesting to read about some of the events in book 1 from Hana's point of view. I had hoped for a little bit more beyond the ending, though. It's not necessary to read this story to enjoy the Delirium trilogy, but it's a nice extra for those who've read the books. Overall I liked this story the least out of the three. There was a bit less new information in it (of course, if I had read the story before reading book 3, then my opinion would have been different I think).

Rating: (****) (8/10)

 

Annabel

This story features 'then' and 'now' chapters (just like Pandemonium). I really wish these stories were longer! It was interesting to read about Annabel meeting Conrad (the 'then' chapters) and about something spoilery that the 'now' chapters are about, that I won't spoil (because it would spoil the books of the trilogy). I quite enjoyed reading this story.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Raven

This story takes place during some of the later events of book 2. There are also flashbacks to earlier times. This story was quite enjoyable, it was nice to learn more about Raven. And the ending![/i]

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Overall I liked the first story, about Hana, the least (it was still good though). It was really nice to read these stories and gain some extra insight into the Delirium world. It's a nice addition to the trilogy.

 

Overall Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Little Pixie]

Thanks ! Apparently there are 76 books out (6 of those written by another author, who is actually the actor who played De Cock in the TV series). Here is a list of a lot of Baantjer's work. He died in 2010 .

 

`Data not found` - it`s okay, I`ll google it. 

[Anna Begins]

Wow- Such different covers from the ebook ones... they make Lena look more like Katniss.  I agree with your review of Pandemonium and I agree about the plot twists.  They were too obvious.  But Lena is a good character and I look forward to finishing up with Requiem!

[Athena]

`Data not found` - it`s okay, I`ll google it. 

 

I don't understand how that could have happened! Here's another try:

 

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeuvre_van_Baantjer

 

Wow- Such different covers from the ebook ones... they make Lena look more like Katniss.  I agree with your review of Pandemonium and I agree about the plot twists.  They were too obvious.  But Lena is a good character and I look forward to finishing up with Requiem!

They are very different! I hope you enjoy Requiem .

[Athena]

Lauren Oliver - Before I Fall

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Young-adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 344

Date read: -09-2015 <-> -09-2015

ISBN: 9780340980903

Synopsis: They say ‘live every day as if it’s your last’—but you never actually think it's going to be. At least I didn't.

 

The thing is, you don’t get to know when it happens. You don’t remember to tell your family that you love them or—in my case—remember to say goodbye to them at all.

 

But what if, like me, you could live your last day over and over again? Could you make it perfect? If your whole life flashed before your eyes, would you have no regrets? Or are there some things you’d want to change...?

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought this book at the book fair. It sounded good and I'd heard good things about the book and other books by the author. After reading the Delirium books (which I bought later than this book), I thought I'd read this book.

 

The book starts off with a few pages, and then goes on to the days. So it starts with 'Day One', 'One' and then 'Day Two', 'Two', and so on.

 

I wasn't too keen on the American references and I couldn't quite identify with the main character at first. Obviously there are some differences because the American school system features a middle school and a high school whereas ours 'only' has a secondary school after primary school. The main character's teenage years are also very different from how mine were. I've never smoked, got drunk, gone out to wild parties, cut class, cheated on tests or bullied anyone (I was the person being bullied). I wasn't very popular at all on secondary school (unlike Sam, the main character in this book) and popularity in general wasn't as a big deal as it is in this book (at least, when I was at secondary school. I don't know about nowadays though I would think it's similar to back when I was in school). I don't know if the book exaggerates it, or whether this is just how things are in the US. I've seen similar depictions in American films and TV shows, so maybe it's just the way it is.

 

I had then a little bit of trouble to get into this book, but that got better later on. I started to feel for the main character. The story has some good and interesting twists, though this 'relive the last day' mechanic has been used before in for example the film Groundhog Day (great film!), and I've also seen it before in several TV shows' episodes. The basic premise is, then, something I've heard before. I quite liked the plot twists though there were a couple of things I guessed or that seemed obvious to me. But there were some good twists in the book I didn't see coming.

 

The characters are interesting and while I had some trouble at first, later on in the story I began to feel bad for the main character (Sam) and I enjoyed the story more. The writing style is nice though on occasion I skimmed a few lines but I'm not sure why.

 

This is a moving story. While I didn't like it as much as the Delirium books and while it's not my new favourite book ever, it was certainly worth reading. It makes me think about life and all its beautiful things and it's well described how the main character feels. There are also some beautiful pieces of writing in the book. Overall I quite enjoyed reading the book. It reads relatively quickly and I wanted to keep on reading to find out what would happen.

 

Overall Rating: (****) (8/10)