Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi | *Spoiler Free Review*

Title: Shatter Me

Series: Shatter Me Trilogy

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publishing Date: 16 October 2012

Description:   

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

So many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Buy From: Amazon The Book Depository 

Review:

 Shatter Me is incredibly fast paced, and you could easily read this within a couple of days, if not a day. Mafi's writing style is beautiful, easy to get in to and quick to read. There are so many poetic quotes that you can pull from this book that are not only beautiful but relevant to the world we live  in today.

The book is driven more by characters than plot but there are some plot developments that move the book along. Also, the book seems to focus more on the romance (which was a little insta-love-y if you ask me) rather than the struggles of the dystopian world. 

Juliette could get a little annoying, but I did love the narrative style she had and I found her powers and personality intriguing. 

I really liked Adam from the start. He is just a likable character with seemingly good intentions. He didn't annoy me in the slightest, and I found myself #TeamAdam. 

Warner was an interesting character. I hated him at first, as you are supposed to but I did begin to find him intriguing as the book went on. I want to know more about him, which is one of the reasons I want to pick up the next books so quickly. 

Kenji, the last character I talk about today, is hilarious. I has heard that he was a brilliant side character from various reviews, and they were not lying. From the second he made his book debut I was sold. I think he adds necessary humor and lightness to the novel and he helps move everything along plot wise.

While I did love Shatter Me, I can see the next two books and accompanying novella's being even better. I've managed to avoid spoilers for them all but I think now we have a world to be invested in and characters that we know a little, the other books could be amazing! 

Let me know if you want a spoiler/discussion type post for this book, and if you've read it what did you think?

Blood Brothers by Willy Russell *Review + Semi Analysis*

Blood Brothers is a musical play written by Willy Russell in 1981. It was first preformed in 1982 on stage, and is set somewhere between the 1950s and 1970s. 

It's been a West End hit for years and years,and I'm not ashamed to say I've seen it 4 times, and would go to see it time and time again. The written play translate immaculately to the stage, and throughout the play (on stage or reading) you experience just about every emotion in extremes.

The plot follows a young mother with many children, but more specifically it follows two of her youngest children and the dreaded fate that becomes the two boys. Mickey and Edward come from 'different sides of the track' but once shared a womb. One is surrounded by poverty while the other never wants for a thing. The play, which is constantly overseen by the Narrator, follows the boys from birth and explores their differeing stories. 

I've come to see the Narrator as the conscience of the two mothers. Things said by this particular character can be applied to both mothers, and it seems he constantly reminds the mothers of their wrong doings.  There are moments in the play, particularly the first speech from the Narrator, the reminds me of Romeo and Juliet. The first speech from the Narrator, who is a vital character in the play, is very reminiscent of the prologue from Romeo and Juliet. It basically tells us the story of the ill-fated brothers before the play truly begins.

You can't help but feel for Mrs Johnston, the true mother. Sure, she makes mistakes and wrong decisions but she doesn't have much choice. Throughout the play you can feel her agony and that further fuels my dislike for the Jennifer. 

Mickey is my favourite character. He is the most complex of the bunch, and because of his promient position in the play and almost all scenes you really feel what he is feeling. You experience his extreme happiness and extreme depression.  

Many themes can be seen running through the play, but I think fate or maybe even superstition is the first and most common we see. From practically the first page, the idea of superstition is brought to our attention and it crops up time and time again, and ultimately the superstitions are proven right.  The idea of certain superstitions is first used to scare Mrs Johnston into allowing Jennifer to keep the baby, but it ends up terrifying the latter even more than Mrs J.



If you have seen the play, you will know that the actors play the characters of the Johnston family as Liverpudlians so as I read the book I couldn't help but read the text in a Scouse accent. The dialect in which Russell wrote the Johnston and other poorer family speech helps you determine which accent the character holds.  

If you haven't seen Blood Brothers yet on stage, then I suggest you run as fast as your little legs will carry you and find out if there is a showing around you. I've only touched upon a few things here, and I could go on and on but I think I've rambled enough for now.

Slide by Jill Hathaway

 Slide follows Vee Bell and friends through a heartbreaking time. A friend of her sister has supposedly committed suicide but because of a unique gift that Vee possess she actually knows that Sophie was murdered. The novel follows the "who done it" thing that you would expect but it does keep you guessing and really does keep you gripped.

I loved this book, and it's sequel (reviewed here). The idea was intriguing, the writing was clear, concise and compelling.The characters were relateable, except the narcolepsy/sliding thing and the plot was well developed. 

I loved how Hathaway kept me guessing through out the novel, and I love that there wasn't any time wasted on repetition or unnecessary verbatim. I couldn't put this book down, and read it in only 2 days. It would have been one had I not had to go to work. 

The mystery elements of this novel was something I loved. It kept me guessing until the end and actually gave me a satisfying conclusion. If you don't like reading duos or series, then this book is great. It worked well on it's own but  I found myself wanted to read more to get more of the fast paced writing and to see the author explore the gifts of the main character more.

I would 100% recommend this book. It's a quick read, keeps you guessing, has great elements of both things from the real world and aspects of the paranormal. It has romance, friendship, family. It's also creepy and thrilling and is worth the 5 stars I've given it! 

Imposter by Jill Hathaway

Imposter  is the second novel by Jill Hathaway that takes place in the Slide world. It followers Slider Vee Bell, her best friend Rollins and other friends and family about 6 months after the events of Slide. 

I finished this book in 2 days. It usually takes me at least a week to finish a book. I hope that gives your some idea of how gripping this was and how quick it was to read. The quickness of the read doesn't mean the writing is lacking or the story isn't really there.

The story is great. It isn't as thrilling as the first novel, Slide but it does keep you guessing. It offers new characters as well as introducing and developing characters from before.

I would say it is more plot driven than character driven but I did find myself getting attached and really detesting some characters.

This one loses a star simply because it wasn't as gripping or as creepy as the first novel. It was very interesting, and I found myself routing for the romance in this novel more than I did in the first novel. It just lacked the creepy, thrilling vibe Slide had but it was amazing all the same. 

After the star rating there will be some *SPOILERS* so if you haven't read the book run of and do so and come back. Maybe we can discuss in the comments!

 Jill Hathaway really wrote the book well. I was constantly guessing about who was sliding into Vee and who was the murderer  but I never once guessed the right person, much like I did with Slide. Lydia was an interesting character, and one the I think everyone would be suspicious of. She turned up out of the blew for no reason right before Vee (who always suspected she inherited her "gift") is taken over by somebody else. She has also been using a fake name in California. Everything about her was a little bit off but it just seems like she wanted to repair her relationship with her family. 

Diane was a strange character. I thought from the moment she picked Vee up that she as a slider but there were moments of doubt. I really enjoyed that Hathaway never really confirms anything until the last few chapters. She throws things in the book that make you second guess any conclusions you come to and she always makes you suspect someone else. 

I never suspected Samantha. I thought it might have been Regina but never Sam. I know she was angry and scary of Scott but I never saw her as a murderer. the scene with Rollins and the gun freaked me out that I literally couldn't put my kindle down. The tension had me reading faster, and I was so worried Rollins wasn't going to make it. I'm glad he did and it was great to see a romance in a YA novel that isn't insta-love like it was in Slide and it was nice that it wasn't disgustingly smoochy and lovey-dovey. 

Overall, this book is fantastic. If you haven't read this I would try out Slide and then Imposter. They are fast, fantastic reads and have a little bit of everything for everyone. 

The Hunger Games Trilogy Review | A Little Bit of Literature

I found it quite hard to write this review, simply because I didn't quite have the words for this trilogy. It's the first of it's kind (YA Dystopian)  that I've read, and I'm unsure if I want to venture into this genre more. That is most definitely not to say  that I didn't adore this series, because I did. I think I'm going to find it hard to find a similar book that lives up to this, and that makes me want to read quite like this series did.

The Hunger Games

The first book, The Hunger Games, is really my favorite of all three. It took me about three days to read and I can't wait to pick it up again. It gives us a world and characters that you can connect to and it's very well written. It's written in the first person, and in the present tense which made it all the more easy for me to read. I find it hard to connect with books that are written in a differing format than this book.

This novel can stand alone if you really wanted to, which is good and bad. If you are not a fan of series then it's great news for you. The Hunger Games is for you, but if you don't mind series then the finality of this book can put you off reading the next two. It did for me. It took me about 6 months to pick up Catching Fire. 

Catching Fire 

Catching Fire is probably my least favourite of the series. In my opinion it's what I would call a filler book. It doesn't really introduce anything majorly new like the Hunger Games and Mockingjay, but I still read it and enjoyed it. It took me a little longer to read this but I still got though it in about two weeks. 

Mockingjay

Mockingjay is my second favourite of the series, but I really hated the ending. I really didn't feel like I got closure on the series if that makes sense. I raced through the book, and that surprises me now that I look back on it. It's the most violent and most adult of the three novels and that kind of things doesn't really appeal to me.

Katniss

I won't mention much about characters because I don't want anything to be spoiled but Collins did an amazing job of developing that characters through the yes of Katniss, the female protagonist. Katniss Everdeen may not seem the kind of person you would think of as a role model but the character that is developed in the book - I don't like her in the movie - is one that I quite admire. Many of her characteristics and actions are ones that I can seen (in a small way) in my self. She is devoted to her family, does what it takes to survive and tried her best. She might make mistakes, but who doesn't? 

The Ending

The ending, as I mentioned above, was a disappointment for me, It felt somewhat rushed and I was just left wanting more. I could understand this if there was another book, but it didn't wrap up the whole trilogy well enough for me. I like finality, and I just didn't get a feeling that it was really final. If that makes any sense at all. I felt like there was so much more of the story to tell, and I want more. 

Final Thoughts

The series as a whole is fast paced and an 'easy' read. It does deal with some heavy subject, so it's not a light read but I didn't struggle to get through it and I found myself itching to turn the pages. 

If you don't like violence, especially violence against children, then this might not be for you but I'm firmly against those ideas and I found that this novel really makes you think. The world that we are presented with is something so familiar (even thought we obviously don;t live in this world) that it makes it easy to connect with emotionally. That makes it an all the more interesting read because you can get even more emotionally invested in the story and characters.

 

Sorry

I'm sorry this whole review is a bit all over the shot, I just wanted to get all my thought out there. There are so many more that I could share but this is already too long. I just leave you with the strong recommendation that you at least read the first novel. The second and third novels are worth a read, and really well written but The Hunger Games will remain my favorite.

Amazon Kindle Review | A Little Bit of Literature

I am a book addict! I've never made a secret of that, and if I'm not working or at university (or blogging) I have my head buried in a book! I love the feel of a book and I get a strange satisfaction when I turn that final page. That feeling was one of the reasons I was reluctant to get a kindle when my mum offered to get me one for Christmas a couple of years back. 

I decided to take her up on that offer after looking at the discounted price of most of the books, and thinking about the compact-ness of the device. Books can be heavy, and the Kindle weighs less than a small paperback book, 247 grams to be exact. It also fits in the small bags I like, and it's got so many books at the touch of a button. The display is a pretty decent size (6 inches) and it's great to read from because it's like looking at paper. There is no back light and it's no reflective so you can read in the sun. It does get harder to read as the light fades, but a simple book light can fix that problem. You can also get fancy cases that have a built in lamp, but they are quite expensive. The book lamps can be found for about a £1 in poundland and places like that!

The kindle I have myself is a from a previous generation of Kindle and it cost my mum £159 when she got it! The version that I have is very similar to the Kindle Keyboard which is now £149. It is 3g and Wi-Fi enabled which means you can get books on the go in just about any place. The 3g is pretty reliable and there is no contract or further charges after you purchase the kindle. I think that's great because I would have hated to have to have paid for internet access on the go.

You can edit the setting to your liking which I am a huge fan of. I wear glasses, and hate wearing them in them in bed so it's great that the text can be a normal size when I wear my glasses and huge when I'm not. There are a range of font sizes and text spacing setting so there should be something for everyone.

There are some functions that I don't utilize, and I haven't heard from other people that they use them. The text to speech function sounds like a robot, and I just cannot follow along with it. The music function is pretty good but I have a phone and ipod with a better storage and they don't specifically have to be in the MP3 format like they have to be for the kindle. You can also flip the screen so you can read to the side. To me this is totally pointless but someone might like it. 

  

The kindle holds approximately 3500 books, and with the wireless off (and if you read about half an hour per day) the battery can last for about 2months which is amazing! I love that the battery lasts a long time because I am the worst person at charging things up! 

It does have a browser that is considered experimental and it something that can be improved upon. It's very temperamental but for quick browsing of Facebook or something like that it works and it's great for looking on amazon or checking emails in a squeeze. 

The keyboard is quiet when you type which is something I love. I know it's quite insignificant but loud clicky buttons annoy me to no end. The text is super clear and crisp, and even though it's black and white you can still see book covers if you want too. It's not something that makes a difference to me though. 

They great great great thing about the kindle is that you do not need a computer. Everything can be done from the device itself and you don't need to download anything specific for it to work. It does have system updates but they are done through the device, so again you don't need a PC. It's really easy to set up, all you need to do it link it to your Amazon account (you can create one for free if you don't have one). 

You can buy books in on click of a button if you have a payment method linked to your account, and the books download in less than a minute.  There are about a million free books, and while some of them are shockingly rubbish some of them are actually pretty great! The paid books are normally cheaper than physical copies even though Kindle books are subject to VAT unlike physical books.  Obviously not every book is available, but I think I've only had trouble getting one book on here and that's because it was a super old book that wasn't even published anymore. You can also  get free samples of a book (which is usually about a chapter of the book) so before you purchase anything you can see if you would want to read a book. This has saved me so much money because I usually impulse buy books and this feature stops me doing that. 

If you read for school or something like that or like to make annotations and highlight books, this has a feature to do that. You can save favorite quotes by highlighting them and you can make notes with the annotation features if you like to that sort of thing. 

I have to say that while it does take some getting used to, it's so quick to read on here. I think it might be something to do with not being able to see how much you have left to go. It's also lightweight and it's easy to read when your in bed because it doesn't get awkward to hold or anything like that. 

There is a built in dictionary that works really quickly. All you have to do is use the arrow keys to the word you want to look up and the definition pops up almost right away. It's great if you are reading something more advance, or reading in English as a second language. It saves having to dig out that huge dictionary, and looking it up! 

It can be password protected which is pretty cool. If you are reading something on the naughty side and don't want anyone finding out it might be good and it's great if you are scared of losing it and someone using the one click payment feature to spend all your money on books. It's also great if you have little sisters that love to ruin and play about your stuff, like me. the password makes sure they keep their nosey faces out of my stuff and keeps the grubby little mits off it too. 

I'm really sorry this is such a long post but I wanted the review to be really comprehensive. There are things that could be improved with the kindle but overall it's a fantastic device and I wouldn't be without mine. It is most definitely an investment thing because it's not cheap but it's great! It works in all lights and it does what it says it will do. There service from the kindle team is also amazing but I'll save that for another time. 

You can see the range of kindles here, or purchase the version I have here.

The Host Review | A Little Bit of Literature

The Host by Stephenie Meyer. link

I love this book, and really hope it gets continued like rumors have suggested. I don't think it will though, but one can hope. But, as of this point in time, The Host by Stephenie Meyer is a stand alone novel.  

 I admire Meyer for keeping this as just once novel because the size and complexity of the story within the novel could have easily been split up into a trilogy like many books are now days.  

So, I will admit that I first picked this up because I was (still kinda am) a Twilight fan. From someone reading those books from a literary stand point they aren't that great. They could be better written, carry better morals and be edited better but from a normal stand point (or a 12 year old girls) it's a nice, fluffy read.   

When I first got this, I read the first chapter, and gave up. I didn't like the way it was written and I just didn't feel like I could get into it.  After the book sitting on my shelf for a long time, I thought I would power through and see if the whole thing was impossible for me to read.   

I am more than happy that I did power through because the books gets 100x better than the first chapter. The style of writing changes after chapter one, and becomes easier to read (at least for me). We start to hear from Wonderer in first person, and you become really invested in her character and the journey she takes. It's very easy to become invested in the characters in the novel, both the good and the bad. 

Because of the first person narrative, the emotions felt by Wanda and Melanie are easier to feel yourself. With Wanda and Melanie being just once character you get to experience the world from a human in danger and an soul just trying to get by.   

 You can read what it's like to find a lost family and to meet them for the first time. You can read about the journey of discovering humans, and their wicked complicated emotions. I would highly suggest reading this book if you are looking for something unique and easy to read (after chapter one of course). 

There are two things which I know puts off people from reading the novel. First, it's just Twilight with aliens. Two, there are aliens. Well, while this might be by the same author of Twilight, it's not filled with glittery vampires or not-really-werewolf-werewolves. Not everything is based around someone falling in love in three days, and it's not just a love story (although that does play a part in the story) it features great themes of family, loyalty and action.  Also, try to ignore that aliens are taking over the world. You are not going to encounter any little green men asking to be taken yo your leader, or anything like that. The "aliens" in this novel are quite unique, and like nothing else I've ever read about.