And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
And the Mountains Echoed
by Khaled Hosseini
I wish I had better things to say about this book. Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, writes this newest novel And the Mountains Echoed. This is a story of how love and our choices we make can affect people for generations. It starts out with the story of Abdullah and Pari, 2 motherless siblings who are inseparable. Abdullah acts as a a mother and father for Pari more than anyone else and so they create this extremely special and close bond. What happens to them will change their lives and other's for generations to come.
Having read Hosseini's other two books, I had very high expectations for this book. If you haven't read them, I would very highly recommend you to. They are emotional, moving, and phenomenally written books. When I started out reading his newest book it started out okay even pretty good. I could see how this might be another tear jerker. Unfortunately I soon found myself waiting and wondering when this book would start to make more sense. Each chapter follows a different character, but also changes the timeline. At every new chapter I found myself trying to figure out who this new character was in relation to the characters I had already met and also what is going on in this new timeline. I wish it had followed more of a straight forward timeline and had given more of a chance for characters to develop. I never felt like I got into the emotions of the book.
Overall I would not recommend this for the average reader. I would say that if you have read Hosseini's previous books, it might be interesting to give it a chance to compare. Let me know if you have read this new book or his older ones. Tell me if you agree that it was a little bit of a let down.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Gone Girl
By: Gillian Flynn
This book was absolutely unpredictable, crazy, and a whirlwind of emotions. It was phenomenal.
Gone Girl is the twisting turning suspense and thrill filled story of a marriage gone terribly horribly wrong. Nick and Amy Dunne are a young married couple about to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary when things start to go awry. On the morning of their anniversary Amy disappears and Nick comes home to the house in disarray. The police get involved, and the public and media get involved and things start looking really bad for Nick. Scandalous and inappropriate behavior on Nick's part don't help anything, but could he really be the killer that everyone thinks he is?
The way this book is written really draws the reder in and developes the story in a mysterious way. It is written from the first person point of view of the two main characters Nick and Amy. Each chapter switches back and forth between the two and this is really what I love. You get to see the perspective of both sides of the story. This really keeps you on your toes both mentally and emotionally. I found myself going back and forth trying to decide who was the "good guy" in this book, who should I be rooting for? This really drew me in and I loved every minute of it. I am for sure going to read her other two books Dark Places and Sharp Objects because I simply loved the writing in this book.
I would 100% recommend this book to read, it would make for great summer reading at the beach or wherever you just chill out. It was a thrill and pure addiction.
Let me know if you have read Gillian's other books and what you thought of them!
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Divergent by Veronica Roth
Divergent
By: Veronica Roth
This is a recently very popular book series that is being made into movies as most people know. I still have yet to see the movie, but after finally getting around to reading the first book, I really want to.
This book takes place in a Utopian society where everyone is split into 5 different factions. Each faction represents a different human quality. Truth, knowledge, selflessness, peace, and bravery. People are born into a faction and raised in that fashion until they turn 16. They are then administered a test to help them decide which faction they wish to belong to. Beatrice Prior, our heroine, doesn't quite fit into any one particular faction. This is called divergence, this quality is feared by the people in control and so she is forced to keep it hidden. She must choose a faction to "belong" to and hide her true individuality.
I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment of the series. I am going to go on a tangent and just say I really like to see all of these young adult series that feature a strong female protagonist (Ex. Divergent, and Hunger Games). It is extremely refreshing to know that there is more out there for younger girls to relate to than the weak and submissive women found in other series such as Twilight or 50 shades of Grey. I feel very strongly about the importance of a strong girl to look up to. When I grew up I was always looking for an exciting adventure featuring a girl and now they are popping up everywhere. Anyway, Beatrice is certainly a tough cookie. She has to make many difficult decisions in order to find out who she truly is. I love the themes that emphasize individuality amongst a Utopian society. Yes, I know it has been done before, but I really think this series so far has brought a new and fresh feeling to it. It is a creative story and world keeping me turning the pages. I finished it in 2 days if that says anything haha.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone to read if you haven't already. I look forward to reading to next two in the series.
Let me know what your feelings on YA books are. Do you agree that a strong female is important to have for girls these days?
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Little Bee
By Chris Cleave
This is the story of life and how everything can change in an instant. The unlikely meeting of two women will change everything in their lives forever. Sarah, a British journalist, and Little Bee, a Nigerian village girl have a horrific first encounter that will follow them and tie their lives in an impossible knot. This story is so magical and beautiful, the eloquent writing transports you to another world. The characters are so real and relatable. The way Cleve works makes you feel everything these two are going through so clearly. He portrays the realness in choices. Everyday we are faced with important decisions, and these decisions will shape both who we are and what our future will be.
This heart warming story is a quick read, but there is no word wasted. It has been a while since I have read a realistic fiction book that has carried me away. This book kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next to these women. The real magic in this book is truly in how the story unfolds. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST read.
Please share your feelings on this book, or if you have ever had to make a big decision that changed your life.
