Paper Towns, by John Green

Synopsis: 

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life — dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge — he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues — and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

John Green never disappoints me, no matter what I read. From TFIOS to An Abundance of Katherines, they are all special in their unique ways. Only John Green can make us laugh, cry and think so deeply with the same page. And Paper Towns was a perfect example of it. 

There’s a problem in this book with verb tenses. Chapter nine in the second part was in present tense, suddenly, when everything had been in past tense and will continue from chapter ten in past tense. That shocked me, because I started reading the chapter and I knew something was different, but it took me some time to notice the verb tenses. And then, the third part is all in present, but that’s fine. The third part was my favorite. The road trip, epic. 

The characters are greatly developed, and real, which is the most important thing. Everyone has their virtues and, more importantly, their flaws, and that’s what I love about John Green’s books. Even Q wonders why he is friends with Ben when he ends up drunk at that party and all that, but Radar reminds him that we should like people for what they are, not because of what we want them to be, and that’s a huge lesson in life. They speak the truth, and that’s pretty valuable. 

Paper Towns tells a story about friendship, love and identity, and it’s full of deep characters that evolve throughout the novel (which is what I value the most) in a very common environment that makes it possible to identify ourselves with them. 

When Margo disappeared, I knew she was going to be disappointing. All those comments Ben made about how she just wanted them to keep her as the centre of their worlds, how she just wanted to be the centre of attention, was exactly as I expected the ending to be. Then we find out she didn’t put those clues out for them to find them, and that she didn’t want to be found. And then Q finally learns that Margo doesn’t exist, not as they want her to be. And that’s what the book is about. There’s a different Margo for every one of them, and that’s what happens in real life. We see things and people the way we’d like them to be, and most of the time, they turn up to be very different from what we imagined them to be like. And that disappoints us. But that’s how we are, that’s how life is, and that’s what John Green is trying to show us. 

The book was fresh, written in this John Green way of his that I’ve learned to know and love. I loved learning about paper towns and contemplating philosophical questions about one’s identity. If you love John Green or simply enjoy new but at the same time old stories, this is your book.

The Fiery Heart, by Richelle Mead (Bloodlines #4)

Synopsis: 

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure — and re-education — looms larger than ever.

This may be one of my favorite books in this whole series. It had a lot of romance, which is exactly what I needed at the moment, and the couple was Sydney and Adrian, which made everything better. It’s taken me a long time to finally find this book, because I can’t find it in my country and I needed to get to London or somewhere to finally buy it, but it was definitely worth waiting for it. 

My first thought when I saw that I’d be reading chapters from both Sydney’s and Adrian’s perspectives was begging that this wasn’t going to be another Allegiant. But it wasn’t. Hearing from Adrian’s point of view was interesting, because I’ve always wanted to know more about his way of seeing the world, but it was also a bit disappointing, because I thought very differently of him. Nonetheless, it was great seeing him so in love with Sydney, and also getting to know how he’d felt when he was with Rose. Something else I enjoyed from his point of view was getting to know how Lissa is doing and everything that’s going on at Court and in spirit research. 

And Sydney… she’s changed so much since we first met her in Blood Promise, and I’m so glad she did! She’s become such a different character… and even though I miss that smart, architecture-and-cars-loving girl who was deeply afraid of the evil creatures of the night, I also like the strong, fearless woman, someone who stands up for her believes and who’s learned about love, that she is now. When I first read about her, I could have never suspected she would end up being so in love with Adrian, who’s just her opposite in every single aspect. But they are so great together… And the escape plans, and the she-eats-and-he-doesn’t-drink deal, and the time together at Court… 

So, as you may have guessed already, my favorite thing about this book was their romance, but there are many other things to comment about. 

I deeply dislike Zoe. I never liked her, but the ending of The Fiery Heart, that made me desperate. There was a moment or two throughout the book when I thought I glimpsed some hope for her, but then she just betrayed everything that being sisters means. Little sisters are never horrible in books, but this was unbearable, and Sydney kept trying to fix things with her all the time. It’s also partly Sydney’s fault, because she’s been obsessed with Adrian all the time and there was no way of hiding that, but even though, there’s this unmentioned sisters’ code that’s expected to be respected between sisters everywhere, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include selling said sister to the evil Alchemists who will mess up with her mind. 

Jill, Eddie, Angeline, Neil, Trey… I personally think there are too many characters around at the moment, and the worst thing is trying to have them all in love with someone else in the group, setting up all these couples… it was a bit too much, in my opinion. But I really like Eddie and Jill... And Ms. Terwilliger and the witches, and Marcus and his followers… there’s like thousands of things going on at once. 

And about the ending… poor Sydney. I do not want to see her giving up. And she won’t. For Adrian. But she’s going to go through really tough things, and I’m worried. The Alchemists can be really cruel. But Adrian and the others are probably going to go on a mission to save her and end up with the Alchemists’ re-education and all that… Because Silver Shadows will be the last one, right? I don’t want it to end… just like I was really sad for Vampire Academy to end, but then Bloodlines appeared. I guess we’ll see. But either way, thank you Richelle for all these books. 

The Making of Harry Potter

So about a month ago, on May 2nd, I was in London for a long weekend with my family when they decided to give me a surprise and, guess where they took me? To the Harry Potter Warner Studios!! I was so excited when I saw the bus with "The Making of Harry Potter" written on the side, because I've been wanting to go there since forever! 

So the experience was as good or even better than I'd imagined, and I could see everything, from the real Great Hall to the clothes and wigs the actors used, and their wands. I saw the Gryffindor common room, and Albus Dumbledore's office (with the Sorting Hat and Godric Gryffindor's sword!!). There was the Burrow's inside, Hagrid's hut, the Ministry of Magic and even the Potions class! The Knight Bus was there, and so were the Nimbus 2000, 2001 and the Firebolt. The Horcruxes and other special objects, such as the golden snitch, the Remembrall, the time-turner and many more, rested in a glass box for all of us to see! And butterbeer, it was so much sweeter than I expected! Seeing the goblins, seeing Aragog, Buckbeak, Dobby and even the mandrakes and baby Voldemort was... wow, can't find words to describe it. And the miniature model of Hogwarts that was used for every take of the outside was right there! And the Diagon Alley... I think that was the best thing of all. Every single shop had all the inside arranged, and Gringotts, and Fred&George's shop... everything. The inside of Ollivaders was impressive, with over 7,000 hand-made wand boxes with names on it. JK Rowling had one, and also did Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, and many more of the people who helped make our childhoods literally magical. And the shop!! Wow. Everything, from clothes and cloaks and everything from every one of the houses, to chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's All-Flavoured Beans (which, of course, I had to buy!). It was awesome. 

Being able to visit the set may be the best thing that's happened to me in a long, long while (if not ever). So if you live in London or ever go visit it and you're a true Potterhead, that's the thing you must do. 

PS. I'll update this post soon with some pics of my visit, if you'd like to see them :)

Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #1)

Synopsis:

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.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

I expected so much out of this book!! It was great, I loved it, and I really recommend it if you're looking for something good in the young adult genre. I knew what the trilogy was about before starting Shatter Me, and I knew there was going to be a love triangle, so it was obvious that Adam and Warner were the ones she was going to choose. Don't get me wrong, I like Juliette, but I just think she's sort of stupid some times. She hasn't eaten in ages, and she's sitting in front of the most delicious food in the world and because of her stubborness, she decides to starve herself to death to prove a point to Warner. And then she faints, what a surprise.
I've heard that Warner is one of Juliette's love interests, and I can see how he is interested in her, but with all the awful things he's done in this book, how is Juliette ever going to change her mind about him? Something big has to happen for her to forgive him and then love him? I don't know, but I know I will be a fan of Warner, if the excuse of forgiveness is good. Because I really like his character now (compared to Adam, who's too good to be true. Unbelievable), and I would love him to evolve in a way that's believable, that's what worries me the most.
The idea of the story is great, perfectly original and unique, so I sort of thought that Juliette would be the only one with "special powers"? But no, the ending had to become the new X-men movie... That was weird. And there are so many other things that were so wrong in the book, like the way Juliette has never been able to touch anyone but then her lifetime's crush appears and wow!, she can touch him. Of course. And Warner, her potential second love interest, too? Who can believe that? Just like the way the first three chapters go on in that cell without her saying anything special about Adam, and then he suddenly becomes the guy she's been in love with forever?
But overall, the book was fresh, which I think is the most important thing these days. And that's why I loved it. Can't wait to read more about Juliette, Adam and, more importantly, Warner ('cause I love deep characters the most)!! Read it. For sure. And tell me what you think. 

Divergent movie!!

Sorry for not posting this earlier, but I've been really busy and haven't had time to write something this long until now... 

So I finally watched the Divergent movie!! I went to the cinema a couple of weeks ago, on April 30th. The movie was supposed to be out on April 11th here, which I could understand, since the world premiere wasn't that much earlier, but on April 30th? It had been more than a month since a huge part of the world had seen it. 

Nevermind, I finally did. And it was amazing! I was so excited, counting down the days and the hours until I finally got to that cinema room and sat down with my best friends, one that had read none of the books, one that read up to Insurgent and the other one, up to Allegiant. 

After reading the last book in the trilogy, my perspective of the story as a whole and my conception of the characters had changed, and I kind of wanted to know what people with different knowledge about the books thought of the movie. 

It was fantastic. I enjoyed it so much! I just kept thinking how well pictured everything was, and how much I loved the cast. I'll keep saying it forever, but Shailene is the perfect Tris Prior. The Tris in my head was abolutely normal, not too pretty, not too smart, not too anything... (except maybe too brave?) so it made it so easy to identify oneself with her, even if I'd never choose Dauntless... And Theo... omg he's perfect <3 

The only weird thing about the characters was seeing Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort in those different roles when they both play Shailene's love interest in The Spectacular Now and The Fault In Our Stars, respectively. It was weird, but I got used to it fast enough. 

I'm not going to spoil you about the ending of Allegiant  if you haven't read it yeat (why haven't you????), but just let me say that some scenes really got to my heart because of Allegiant. The scene when Tris slides down the steel cable with the Dauntless initiates... wow. And when her mom dies... wow. Allegiant feelings all over. I cried, and not because of what was happening. 

So the cast was great, and the movie itself was awesome. The settings, the clothing... and it was so loyal to the book! Except of that weird scene where Tris just stabbed Jeanine in the hand and injected the serum to her, in order to make Jeanine stop the simulation from finishing its work and killing all those children and innocent people from Abnegation... They kept showing Christina in the simulation, how she was about to kill those people... 

Some things were kept the same way, some things weren't, but it's a movie adaptation and it was as loyal as it could have been (not like City of Bones...). So I'm really happy it was done this way, and I'm probably going to watch it again soon and maybe add things to this post, because the second time it's when I start noticing all those details I'd missed the first time. 

Now everything we have left is wait for Insurgent next year and for Allegiant parts 1 and 2 on the next few years :)

Have you seen Divergent already? You liked it? What faction would you choose? 

#TMITuesday

The release day for City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare, the sixth and last book in the Mortal Instruments series, is finally coming soon for you English-speakers. On May 27th, the ending chapter of the series following Clary, Jace and the rest of the Shadowhunter world will be released, and it will be over... But let's not think about that. Let's think about how kind Cassie Clare is by letting us read or see a new piece of writing or drawings belonging to any of her works every Tuesday. 

Until now, we've been able to see Cassie reveal 3 COHF secrets, an exclusive first look at the new drawings of Alec, Isabelle, Simon and Maia, together with some quotes, and some exclusive excerpts from the book, including one from the prologue (the one that came out today) which features Emma and the rest of characters that we'll be able to see soon in Cassie's new series The Dark Artifices, also set in the Shadowhunter world. 

So if you haven't checked them out yet, go do it here!! The only thing you have to do is share it, whether it's by Twitter, Tumblr, e-mail or Facebook, and be back next week for more exclusive content! Remember to mark your calendars for City of Heavenly Fire, released on May 27th!! :)

Spring bookhaul

So here where I live we celebrate this holiday called Sant Jordi (literary Saint George) on April 23rd where we buy and sell books and roses. It's one of my favorite days of the year because I get to buy and receive any books, and I just love that. So here's a picture of the books I've got this year during this last couple of weeks in order to celebrate this holiday: 

• Heat Wave, by Richard Castle. I've been watching the TV show Castle lately a lot, and grown kind of obsessed with it, so when I saw this at the bookshop the other day, I just had to get it. For sure. I just hope it doesn't let me down, because I really really love the show. 
• Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi. I finally found it!! I've been looking for this book like crazy! I found out recently that the reason why I couldn't find it is because it hadn't been published here until March (unfair!), but that doesn't explain why I couldn't find it in English either. So a friend bought it for me, and I was so excited to read it that I started it on Friday night, and by the afternoon of the next day it was already over! I'm going to write its review soon, as soon as I'm done with my exams, because I really liked it! Can't wait to read the other two. 
• Just One Day, by Gayle Forman. I've been looking forward to reading this for a long time now, and I found Just One Year, the second book, the other day but I couldn't find the first one, so I asked my dad for it as my Saint George present, and here it is! 
• Brahe and Kepler, by M. Pilar Gil. I have no idea what this is, but it doesn't look bad for an Spanish book. I guess I'll have to try and see. That was my mom's present. She wanted to buy the first book in the Mara Dyer series (which is what I wanted the most) but couldn't find it anywhere so... I guess I'll have to look for it somewhere else. 
• Marvelous Disaster, by Jamie McGuire. I loved the first book, it was great, and I really wanted to know more about Travis, so reading from his point of view may be nice. But I just feel like every time an author wants to do this, they ruin it, so I hope this one's fine...
• Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell. While this one was in my list, I wanted Fangirl first but couldn't find it anywhere, so I bought this one, which looks awesome and the kind of story I need to read right now, and I'm pretty sure I'll love it. 
• El guardián invisible, Dolores Redondo. Literary "The invisible guardian", this book was a recommendation from one of my teachers, that teacher I love and who reads everything I read. I've always liked her recommendations, so why not this one? It's a mystery novel, which I haven't tried yet, but it looks quite good and I really want to start it. 
• Emma, by Jane Austen. Another classic to my shelves. I've been buying all these books in English lately, from A Tale of Two Cities to To Kill a Mockingbird, and the only one I've read so far is Wuthering Heights (awesome!), so I couldn't help but getting this one too, because I would really want to read it. The only problem is that these books in English aren't as easy for me as the ones that belong to the young adult genre. These are classics, and its English is quite older and way more difficult. But I have to try. 

So these are the new books I've got this week and that I'm really looking forward to reading. The next one I'm going to buy is probably The Fiery Heart, because I'm travelling to London soon and it will be the perfect opportunity to buy books in English, and I just can't believe I still haven't read that one! I'll keep you updated :)

Enclave, by Ann Aguirre (Razorland #1)

Synopsis:
New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters - or Freaks - who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight - guided by Fade's long-ago memories - in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.

I have this friend who's insisted on me reading this for a long, long time, and I finally did, a couple of months ago. I really liked it, but it was more or less what I had expected. The story itself wasn't bad, it was quite original, another dystopian novel to add to my list; but the way it was told wasn't that magical.
I love Fade, and I really like Deuce. She's so badass to be only fifteen, even though I imagined her even younger. Since I read the book in Spanish, the names had been changed. Fade was Van, and Deuce became Dos, so it's difficult for me to imagine them differently.
Some things were pretty predictable, while others where a breath of fresh air. I think the story is really good, and the characters can be more developed than they are right now, which is why I'm really looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy.
I don't know how to imagine the Freaks, but I imagine the enclave perfectly, kind of a smaller version of the caves in Stephenie Meyer's The Host, but way less organized. I think the love story was quite forced, going from Deuce's thoughts about Fade concerning hunting, the Freaks, admiration and respect to suddenly start blushing because she's been thinking of Fade's lips. And they hadn't even talked that much! So I would like to see more of them talking sincerely in the next books.
It was kind of a worse version of Legend (because that was so good!), but with fresh ideas that caught me and got me hooked, even if it wasn't from the beginning (the trip to Nassau was soooo boring in my opinion, I couldn't get past it). But if you're looking for something to read, Enclave is a great choice! :)

The Selection, by Kiera Cass (The Selection #1)

Synopsis:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I've had this on drafts for quite some time now, and wanted to publish it as soon as possible. I had read about The Selection on many different sites, and also heard from a friend, and the opinions were so different... Some people hated it, some people loved it... So I decided to give it a try. 

The synopsis makes it sound like a typical romance love-triangle novel, but it kind of surprised me. The idea isn't that unique, but Kiera Cass develops it well, transforming a kind of simple plot into something nice and fairytale themed, a princess story. There's the girl, her poor boyfriend, and then there's the prince. At first sight, the easiest thing would be to thing that the prince is rich and all that but he's not a good person and that's all. That would be easy. But he's not. Prince Maxon is amazing. He's rich, handsome, smart, funny, a complete gentleman, a good friend, trustworthy... Absolutely perfect. And it doesn't take much for America to find out. About half into the book I decided I prefered Maxon way over Aspen, but it has nothing to do with being shallow. Maxon grows really close to America, but he doesn't love her as much as Aspen does, or that's what it seems. Aspen's love was epic. And now America has this huge problem. She makes friends with the Prince, and he promises to send her home when she's ready and wants to leave, but she doesn't seem to want that, not now that she's finally made some friends, even if they're from places far away from her hometown. 

I enjoyed life in the palace, and I really like the Queen. I want to know more about her. I love Maxon, but I don't think I know yet who's America going to choose (that's why it's a trilogy). I think the storyline is too simple and the characters aren't that deeply developed, but I enjoyed reading it and will go for The Elite and The One. 

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green

Synopsis:

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

This book was amazing. I was attracted to it since the moment I first heard about it, and it didn't disappoint me. After reading The Fault In Our Stars, I felt like reading more of John Green, and I've started to really admire him. I want to read Looking for Alaska next. 
So about the Katherines... the title itself was very intriguing, and the synopsis. There's Colin Singleton, and he only dates girls named Katherine, which is incredibly weird. And then you meet Colin and you grow fond of him and all... 
There aren't that many characters in this book. I mean, there's many people in the background, such as the Katherines (Katherine XIX is more important than the rest of them), but there's only a few characters that have importance in the book. There's Colin, and his best friend Hassan, and they both decide to go on this road trip that's supposed to help Colin move on from his last heartbreak, when Katherine XIX dumped him. And then the two guys from Chicago end up in this town Gutshot in Tennessee, in the middle of nowwhere, where the archduke Franz Ferdinand is supposed to be buried. There they meet Lindsey and her mother Hollis, and Lindsey's friends Katrina, Chase and Fulton and her boyfriend Colin. After they're offered a job there, Colin and Hassan decide to stay for a while, and that's where the story takes place, in Gutshot, TN. 
Okay, I kind of felt like Colin and Lindsey were going to end up together since the moment they met. She's a girl, Colin's single, and she's not a Katherine, which is why the story is different from the rest of Colin's life. I really ended up liking Katherine XIX, so I would like to have known more about her, but that's not her story. 
I enjoyed anagrams because it had been a while since I read a book that included them, and I didn't hate the fact that Colin was obsessed with his theorem and maths were used a lot to explain it. Some people that have read it the only thing they do is complain, about anagrams and about maths, but that's a huge part of what makes the story unique. 
I loved the plot. The idea was original and nice, and no one had thought of writing that before John Green did. The characters are developped in a way that reminds me of TFIOS, and I love the way John Green writes. It's beautiful. 
The book is addictive, with all these random facts that Colin knows about everything and this way Green has of making us love the characters. I really, really enjoyed reading it, and I hope to see more of John Green soon :)