Book Travelling Thursdays

I actually came across this weekly book meme about two months ago but every week I was unable to to think of a book that met the requirement for that particular week’s theme. However this month’s themes are all great so I’ve decided to finally make my first post!

For those who don’t know, Book Travelling Thursdays is a weekly theme created by thegirlwhoreadtoomuch. Every week you have to choose a book that fits that week’s theme and post a picture of it’s original cover, the cover from your country, your least favourite cover and your most favourite cover along with the reason why you chose that particular book. For more information you can checkout its goodreads page here.

This week’s theme is ‘Because Family Matters choose a book that features your favorite bookish family!’. 

Book Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

 “We are liars. We are beautiful and privileged. We are cracked and broken”

Lockhart’s critically acclaimed young adult novel narrates the story of the Sinclair’s, a wealthy family who vacation on their private island every summer. The family consists of the protagonist- Cadence, her mother, two aunts, cousins and her rich maternal grandparents who own the island. The liars in question include Cadence, her cousins Johnny and Mirren and Gat Patil, the nephew of her Aunt Carrie’s longtime boyfriend. The book opens with an 18-year-old cadence trying to remember the memories and events leading up to her accident that occurred two summers ago on the island. All she knows is that she was found on the shore, dressed in her underwear, the sea washing over her. The catastrophic accident has left her with crippling headaches and a brain that feels “broken in countless medically diagnosed ways”. Her family won’t discloses the details of her accident and hence it is only up to her to figure out what exactly had happened.

The author’s writing is full of suspense and mystery. The unreliable narration and Cadence’s disjointed memories makes it very hard to predict the ending of the novel. The author also did a great job in describing this troubled aristocratic family. The Sinclairs are all beautiful, athletic and rich with blonde hair, receiving the best of education. Cadence’s mother and aunts had a privileged life but even then were never able to attain successful careers and hence still depend on the trust funds set up by their father to continue to live that lifestyle. Cadence’s Grandfather’s attempt at trying to make his daughters compete with each other for his inheritance does not help the situation, only making the relationship between the sisters bitter.

This cunning and cleverly written novel is full of surprises, which makes the reader go back to the first page and wonder what they had missed. Even though the author’s characters may not be very likeable, her writing is certainly impressive.

Top 5 Wednesday- Title Fonts on Covers

Welcome back to another Top 5 Wednesday!

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey. If you want to join in too, you can checkout the official group page here for more information.

This week’s topic is Title Fonts on Covers.

So here is my list of books

A Work in Progress by Connor Franta

There is just something about the simplicity of the font that makes it so aesthetic.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Another simple font but with a bit more playful and vibrant side.

The Statistical Probability of Falling in Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

I find this font absolutely cute and adorable!

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Yet another simple but elegant font.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

I love how they’ve incorporated thorns in the font as it gives it a more edgy and deadly look.

Top 5 Wednesday- Books with Mental Health/Illness

Hi Everyone!

So it’s been more than 2 weeks since I last posted anything. I really wanted to complete my Doctor Who Season 5 reviews before my exams began, however I just wasn’t getting the time write them. Now I’m halfway through my exams and they will finish on the 30th of September. I didn’t want to not post anything for a whole month so I’ve decided to try out the Top 5 Wednesday meme. This way my blog won’t be completely empty till the starting of October.

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey, if you want to join in too, you can checkout the official group page here for more information.

This week’s topic is books with mental health/illness.

So here is my list of books. Most of these books have not specifically mentioned if a character is suffering from a mental illness, however they seem to show some major signs and symptoms of them.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower By Stephen Chbosky

Charlie, the protagonist, shows signs of Depression and PTSD.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I’m not going to say anything for this as I might spoil it for those who haven’t read it.

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

The protagonist suffers from depression.

The Catcher in the Rye

Signs and symptoms of PTSD among other things.

Gone Girl

Most probably antisocial personality disorder which is closely associated with psychopathy.

Book Review: Every Day by David Levithan

“Every day I am someone else. I am myself-I know I am myself-but I am also someone else. It has always been like this.”

Over the years author David Levithan has published various books in the young adult genre but Every Day is the first book of his I have read. The book is a thought-provoking and engaging exploration of identity and self. The plot although simple, is written in a very deep and meaningful way, which may take a little time getting used to.

For as long as he can remember ‘A’, a 16-year-old wakes up in a different person’s body each morning. He cannot choose a particular person’s body; he simply wakes up in the body of a host whose age is approximately close to his age and experiences a day in their life. He could inhabit the body of a boy, a girl, someone of different ethnicity or even someone with a different sexual orientation. He has no definite name or family. ‘A’ feels a sense of responsibility towards the life of the people he inhabits and tries to make sure he is careful to avoid changes in their lives that cannot be undone.  ‘A’ lives in the present, unable to plan ahead or make friendships or be part of a family.

One day, ‘A’ wakes up in the body of Justin – a rude and careless sixteen-year-old boy. It seems like just another day until he encounters Rhiannon, Justin’s girlfriend and finds himself falling in love with her – and farther away from what he has ever known before.

Every Day is a book about possibilities. It questions us philosophically in numerous ways but does not attempt to answer these questions instead leaving them in an open-ended way. I really enjoyed the fact that ‘A’ woke up in the bodies of so many different kinds of people from all types of backgrounds. Whether it be a suicidal girl, a Drug addict, a mean girl, an overweight boy, a geek or even a gay teen, the author did a terrific job in describing all of them. It gave a great perspective into each and every one of their lives and made me think about how we judge people so easily based on their attributes.

Every Day is an an excellent and interesting read and I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

(This review was originally written for a school assignment)

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Note-

Sorry for the delay! I was supposed to post this over the weekend but the laptop’s hard drive crashed and everything got deleted including this and a lot of other reviews I‘ve already written. Thankfully most of the stuff got recovered and hopefully I’ll be more regular in the future!

An Introduction.

Hi!
My name is Ojaswani and I am 17 years old (as of 2nd June ’15). For as long as I can remember I’ve always loved reading books. When I was younger I would pick up any book that I found mildly interesting and read it. Yes, I am one of those few people whose parents would have to tell them to stop reading novels and instead do some studying.
My love for films is immeasurable. I love everything about them, from everything taking place behind the scenes to the way they are finally presented. Anybody who knows me personally will probably tell you how I feel compelled to research pretty much everything about every movie I watch. The same goes for T.V shows. I’m not going to lie, I watch A LOT of shows on T.V, ranging over various genres. There was a time when I would have picked movies over T.V shows any day but I am at a point in my life right where I don’t get the time or have the time to go out and watch something 2 hours long at one go.
This blog is mainly going to consist of book and TV show reviews and occasionally film reviews as and when I get the time to see a new one and write about one. The books I read primarily belong to the Young Adult genre. I don’t have very restricted tastes when it comes to T.V shows and movies though. All other miscellaneous posts that I write will come under ‘G2R: Extra’.
I would like to end this blog post by saying that I am in no way a professional critic. My blog is a place for me to express and share my opinions and also hopefully get to know about yours.

-Ojaswani