Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


How do I explain how much I loved this book? It was laugh-out-loud funny, poignant, sad, and ultimately uplifting. I have a feeling that the authors wouldn't really like the "uplifting" part of that sentence, but I had to say it.

Will Grayson #1 had me laughing right off the bat. The whole "you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose" thing was hysterical. And I liked how that was a recurring theme through the book.

I wanted to bring Will Grayson #2 home with me and keep him safe and warm and happy. Luckily for all of use Tiny Cooper and WG1 sort of took care of that.

Oh, Tiny Cooper. I want a Tiny Cooper in my life. He struck me as the kind of kid who figured that, given his life circumstances, he could be miserable, or he could embrace who and what he was and run with it. Thankfully, he chose the latter. I really want to see his musical. :)

This book is definitely for the older YA audience. The characters are 16-17, and that's the age I would recommend for the reader, as this book deals with some mature issues, and the language is rather raw at times.



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Review: Force of Habit

Force of Habit by Alice Loweecey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Giulia Falcone is a former nun trying to make her way in the world. She works for P.I. Frank Driscoll, first as his administrative assistant, then as an investigator-in-training. When the case they're working on takes a personal turn, their relationship and Giulia's life are put in jeopardy.

I very much enjoyed the premise of the former nun as a private investigator. Watching Giulia struggle with the real world after being so sheltered in the nunnery was very interesting. Giulia isn't a shrinking violet, though. She stands up for herself and what she believes in, and doesn't take any crap. I wanted to punch Frank on her behalf for a few chapters, but I eventually got over it.

Honestly, it took a little while for me to get into this book, but once I did I didn't want to put it down, including staying up way too late to read just one more chapter.

I had the honor of meeting the author at a book signing and talk. I wish her luck with her other books.



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Review: Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was really hoping to like this book. I've been into the whole dystopian, government-knows-best thing for a while. However, I think my problem with this book was that the dystopia was so severe, the government so all-powerful, that it didn't leave room for anything to happen other than what happened. That is to say, the characters had no choice but to do what they did. I felt that I knew how it would end about half way through. I was mostly right, and I'm not pleased by that.

I enjoyed the maturing of Lena, as she was forced to realize that the world as described and dictated by the government wasn't necessarily the truth. But, again, that was inevitable given the way the story was told.

It was an interesting look at censorship and government control, and maybe would be satisfactory for a teen reader, who is obviously the target audience. It was a bit "been there, done that" for anyone who has read other dystopian novels.

This is the first book in a series, but I won't be reading further.



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Review: When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this book at the urging of my 10-year-old son, who read it then gave it to me, saying, "I think you'll really like this, Mom." Smart kid.

I did really like it. The narrator is 12-year-old Miranda, whom, we find out, is writing this to a mysterious person who leaves her notes accurately predicting the future. Her voice is perfect, just right for her age. Nothing really horrible happens to her, she develops an age-appropriate crush, and she loves her mom like any kid would. She does have to deal with some hard things, both actual (witnessing an accident) and theoretical (trying to suss out the twists and turns of time travel) but she handles all the way you'd expect a savvy girl of her age to do.

This was a delightful book, and I highly recommend it. And I'm thankful to my son for making me read it.



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Review: Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I LOVED this book. And having Wil Wheaton read it was just the cherry on top.

This is the story of Wade, an 18-year-old computer nerd, whose entire life is spent in the OASIS, an online virtual reality world where much of the world spends there time, as the real world is a miserable place of fuel shortages, global warming, and unemployment. When the creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves his entire fortune to the person who can find the Easter Egg hidden in the OASIS. Wade, along with hundreds (thousands?) of others join the quest to find the Egg.

The creator of the OASIS grew up in the 1980s, so much of what the Egg Hunters (Gunters) study to figure out the location of the egg is 80s "stuff:" music, movies, literature, computer games. As a child of the 80s myself, it was great fun to hear references to all that stuff I'm familiar with.

This book combines a dystopian world with MMORPGs, 80s notalgia, adventure, suspense, and kick-ass fun. There's also a little bit of nerdy romance.



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Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Beautiful book. I loved Juliette's voice, and how it changed as the book progressed, from fragile, scared girl to a confident woman. This is one series I'm looking forward to continuing.



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