Review: I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

Summary: Protect the diamonds
Survive the clubs
Dig deep through the spades
Feel the hearts

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

That's when Ed becomes the messenger.

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

Marissa's Review: It dawned on me the other day when I was looking through my favorites that I never actually wrote a full reaction to this book. The funny thing is that I actually read this almost exactly a year ago, which was around the time Hurricane Sandy happened. I never got the chance to type a review since we lost power for almost a week in a half, so I figured its very fitting to bring it back a year later. Plus, this is one of my favorite books and I always recommend this book. I've said this before and I'll say it over and over, I really truly believe that Markus Zusak is a genius. I mean, if The Book Thief alone doesn't convince you, then you definitely will be after reading this one. Even though this book was written before The Book Thief, I actually read this way after reading The Book Thief. Now, The Book Thief is one of those books I hold on a pedestal. It is literally one of my all-time favorites. So when I actually got around to reading this one, I was nervous. I was pretty much still reeling and I figured that it probably wouldn't be as good. Wrong. It's important to point out that you couldn't get two more different books than this one and The Book Thief. So its almost ridiculous to even try to compare the two together. I really liked this one though. 

My first initial reaction was that the ending was very abrupt. But then I re-read the last few pages, it really sunk in. I feel like there are many different angles people can take with this book (especially the ending) but the whole idea of this book is such a genius thing Markus Zusak came up with. Ed is basically just your regular guy who lives an extremely routine life and is trying to find some sort of meaning to it. He feels like he has always been a disappointment. When he stops the bank robbery, people finally notice him and declare him a hero. But Ed doesn't feel like one. So when he goes home and finds a card in his mailbox with three addresses on them, he is very confused. He visits each house and finds out that inside each house or place are people with all different stories. He starts to help out these people and as he does more and more cards are sent to him with different symbols like clubs, spades, and hearts. Each have a hidden meaning behind them. Not only is Ed helping people, but he is also learning things about the people he never even knew, people who he used to just pass by and even his friends who he sees and hangs out with everyday. 

But most importantly, he learns things about himself and as his feelings towards the world and his own life start to shift, he learns the true meaning behind the word hero. I think we can all take something from this book. I think this book should be one of those required reading books. This book really moved me though. All of the stories Ed learns from visiting the places on the cards were unique and very meaningful. There are so many things I love about this book and its really more of the little things in this book that I love the most. I really do think that everyone should read this and I definitely want to re-read it sometime. 

Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Summary: Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

Marissa's Review: I adored this book. I literally zipped through it and spent the whole day yesterday reading it. This is a very meaningful story about first love and how two of the most unexpected people were able to find it with each other despite their differences. I loved this story because not only are Eleanor and Park unique but also their character and relationship development are done so nicely. The little things like sitting next to each other on the bus soon turned in to the best part of their days. This isn't just a story about love between two people. It's also a story about learning to love and find yourself, which both Eleanor and Park experience throughout the book. We learn from their relationship that first love definitely isn't easy and it has its ups and downs, but it isn't entirely impossible either.

Review: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

Summary: Sarah Byrnes and Eric have been friends for years. When they were children, his fat and her terrible scars made them both outcasts. Later, although swimming slimmed Eric, she stayed his closest friend.

Now Sarah Byrnes -- the smartest, toughest person Eric has ever known -- sits silent in a hospital. Eric must uncover the terrible secret she's hiding, before its dark currents pull them both under.

Marissa'a Review: First and foremost, what an incredible story! Okay so I didn't exactly know what to expect from this book when I borrowed it from the library since the blurb is pretty brief, but I am so glad I ended up picking this one up. Our main character, Eric Calhoune, has known Sarah Byrnes since they were in grade school. If theres anyone who knows Sarah Byrnes best, its Eric. Refused to be called by just her first name, Sarah Byrnes and Eric have been friends for years since her scars and his weight marked them both as outcasts in school. They were pretty much partners in crime until high school, when Eric joins the swim team. Although it seems as if they have drifted apart, Eric still considers Sarah Byrnes one of his closest friends. So one day during their senior year, he finds out that Sarah Byrnes is in the psych unit in the hospital and is not talking or responding to anyone, even to him. Eric can not believe that his strongest and closest friend who stood up to bullies and refused to let people get in her way, now is completely silent. So he decides that if anyone is going to be able to help her and figure out what she is hiding, its going to be him. While Eric tries to figure out what is wrong, he attends a class taught by his swim coach, Ms. Lemry, called Contemporary American Thought, which is a class where they discuss controversial topics in the world today such as abortion, religion, and suicide. 

This is a book that has a lot of depth to it, which is part of the reasons why I loved it so much. It has a lot more depth than I thought there was going to be and this book is full of constant plot twists that you will never see coming! Unpredictable is an understatement in this book. This book is literally like a hidden gem, which is why I was surprised when I saw that none of the people on my Goodreads friends list have read this or added this to their TBR. Of course this has changed since I made Char and Kim add it. Heh. ;)

Overall I give this one a 4.5/5.

Review: Crash by Nicole Williams

Summary: Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He's got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now. Jude is everything she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. Staying away, she's about to find out, is the only thing she's incapable of. For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love is about to become the thing that tears them apart.

Marissa's Review: Aw! This was such a cute read. It was also one roller coaster of a book and I'm glad to say I pretty much enjoyed the ride for the most part. I was so surprised with this book though, because although some parts were predictable, (and to be fair, what contemporary chick-lit book isn't?) this book also had its fair share of plot twists. I think one of the things I also liked the most about this book was that towards the end, it actually had some really great substance to it. I really felt I understood the message that was trying to be brought out through the events that happened between Jude and Lucy. Honestly, I can't say that for most contemporary romance books. Of course, some parts of this book were a bit weird but I felt a sense of satisfaction at the end because they are just so cute together! Overall, if you're looking for a light, fun, and cute romance book that includes your typical bad boy going for the good girl, you should check this one out. 

Review: Unwind by Neal Shuesterman

Summary: Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

Hey guys, Marissa here with another review. This is the first contemporary book I've read in an english class in school so we basically studied the whole novel. I have a lot to say about this one, so lets get started!

Review: If you listen closely, you could probably hear my screams as I finished the last part of this book. I can't even put it to words yet. Just saying this book was good is an understatement. It was nothing like I expected it to be and that made me love it even more. Since I'm so overwhelmed with how much I liked this book, I'm setting up this review in to different aspects of the book.

Plot/Setting: Like most dystopian books, the world is pretty much modeled like ours. (Which actually makes it ten times creepier, but only in a way a really good dystopian book can make you feel). That being said, we do bear many similarities with this world, with the exception of unwinding, of course. I found the whole setting to be great and the way it was built was perfect. Although I find the whole concept of unwinding extremely creepy and scary, I still think it made a great plot. It takes a controversial topic of our world today and takes it in a completely different direction. Its very eye-opening and I commend Neal Shuesterman on coming up with the idea. 

Characters: This is one of those books where I pretty much loved all the characters at one point or another. Once again, a dystopian book makes me feel anxiety for the characters. I got chills towards the end. I could go on all day about all the characters, but now I'm just gonna focus on our three main ones. 

Connor: I loved how much his character developed. I knew he would be a great character to follow throughout the whole novel because you can tell that he is going to be very dynamic and three-dimensional. And those are the kind of characters I tend to love the most.

Risa: Also, loved her. She actually became a lot more complex as the story progressed. I admire her because of her strength through everything and after everything she has been through in her past and the obvious situation she is running from now. 

Lev: Oh, Lev. That lousy tithe. At first, I didn't really like Lev because he seemed superficial and he was like an annoying little brother. But as the story progressed, I found myself most interested in him. He is probably the most dynamic character in this book. Theres also symbolism used with him, which also added to me liking him even more. Lev is definitely the character you really want to pay attention to. 

There were also many secondary characters that I liked. 

Writing Style: The writing style in this book is set up in to seven sections but within those, it is broken up again to the perspective of each of our three main characters, Connor, Risa, and Lev. I thought it really made the story better because you were able to focus on one person's perspective for a certain part and get a chance to read from all three main characters views, which is something that rarely happens in dystopian books. Also, the book flowed very nicely. There was never really a dull moment, even if it was an action-less scene. You just always wanted to know anything that you could possibly figure out in the section.
It might also be good to point out how much I loved the fact that Neal Shuesterman put little captions before each main section starts. High five goes to you Neal Shuesterman. I mean, how great of an idea is that? It was just one of those little things that made me love this book more. 

All in all, this is a great read and anyone who loves dystopian books should definitely check this one out.