Our Chemical Hearts - Krystal Sutherland

 

Wow. This book was just amazing. I am sat here now after just finishing it with tears still in my eyes. This book touched my heart and made me laugh at the same - all in just three hours. This book was beautiful and the plot was really interesting and captivating which is exactly what I love about books. It starts with Henry and Grace meeting, Grace is a complete enigma as she joins Westland high at the start of senior year, and Henry tries his best to try and figure her out. It takes us as the reader on a journey of them figuring each other out, learning about their pasts and learning about themselves (typical teenager cliche I know) and 'falling in love'. This is not however your typical love story and it will absolutely wrench your heart out at the end as more and more mysteries are uncovered and we learn more about Grace.

Admittedly, at the start I really liked Grace and I thought that the story between Grace and Henry was going to be a beautiful one but I was ever so wrong. Grace is not at all what I expected her to be, and in complete honesty, she began to annoy me more and more as the novel went on. She was incredibly toxic and played around with Henry so much, but there was something so addictive about her character and the way it was written that I couldn't get enough of her the same way Henry's character couldn't. Every page just had my heart yearning for them to be together and every time it got so close I was so ecstatic. It doesn't stay happy for long, especially as more and more secrets are revealed from Grace and her past.

I honestly was really impressed with the writing, as well as all the references to music, films and even memes that actually made it feel somewhat relatable. A lot of the writing and description was so well done and I found it so easy to imagine myself watching this all play out. I'm excited to watch the film too and see how close they got it to the book! This is honestly an amazing read and is so worth it if you like stories that don't necessarily end the way you want it to - especially love stories. It will keep you reading and most likely crying by the end. It has such beautiful lines and quotes throughout that are definitely going to stay with me.

I really recommend, especially if you're a fan of Young Adult novels, even more so if you like a heart-wrenching story. It really had me on a rollercoaster of emotions and Krystal Sutherland is an amazing writer and I am really considering reading her other novel too. I rate this book 4.5/5 stars and I really urge you to read it :)

One Day by David Nicholls

 (Warning! There are spoilers ahead)

This book was a romantic rollercoaster, with an ending I did not expect at all. It was so beautifully written throughout and kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen with the main characters. We, at the start of the book, are introduced to Dexter and Emma who have met and slept together on their graduation night 15th July1988. Now, every 15th July from this date we look back on Dexter and Emma and where they are in life for 20 years. In all honesty, the book was amazing all the way up to the end.

The start of the book is brilliant, we are introduced to Dexter and Emma, a complete mismatch of a pairing who have somehow met on their graduation night and awkwardly got together. Dexter in reality doesn't really like Emma to start with, and sees her as an awkward girl who is not at all his type but as they talk more through the night he begins to like her - and a friendship lasting years is formed. The two go through immense up and downs throughout the novel causing them to be casted away from each other and leaving you as the reader yearning for them to be together. We see them in distance when Dexter travels and Emma begins to live in London working for a theatre company, Emma and Dexter meeting partners and staying with them only to end up breaking up and every year the distance between them and their friendship growing larger. Dexter faces a drug addiction whilst working in show business and Emma stops wanting to be friends. All the while you just want them to finally get together.

When they get older and all their friends are getting married, they begin to meet their partners they believe they're going to marry and Dexter even proposes to his girlfriend Sylvie who is pregnant. Emma rejects her long term boyfriend (Ian's) proposal and ends up single again. Dexter and Sylvie get married, and have a daughter but it turns out that Sylvie has been having an affair with Dexter's long time friend Callum - as their marriage breaks up, Emma and Dexter reconcile in Paris where things begin to heat up.

Throughout the whole of the book, all I wanted was for Dexter and Emma to end up together, it was the only thing that felt right. You could tell there was a passion and yearning between them and that they were destined to be together. Nicholls throws them around and pairs them with other partners, increasing your anger because all you want is them to be together! It's only at the end of the book that he finally allows them to become a couple, and we see how well they go together. When they end up together, you just want them to have the longest and healthiest relationship ever, and for a while it seems like they will, until Nicholls completely spoils it.

It has never ever angered me more at how a character has died in a book, Although sometimes characters deaths are not deserved, I can often deal with it, but in this book it angered me to no end. The build up to their relationship is beautiful and throughout the novel you can feel the tension between the two. You just know that they belong together, and when they finally do it's like a physical relief all until Emma's death. Dexter and Emma get married, and both families approve of them as a whole. Emma wants to start having children, and so they go to look for a house until Emma's completely untimely death. I honestly can't even put into words how upset I was. I literally threw the book on the floor, Nicholls ends Emma's life with the simple sentence of 'And in that moment Emma Morely was dead.' How on earth can a characters death just end in a line, there was no beauty or emotion to it - it was so heartless! I ended up not reading the rest of the book, because of her death being so abrupt and not sitting right with me, and then with Dexter moving on so fast.

It was like actual torture for the book to end this way, and I must admit I have never really been so angry at the way a book has been written and ended. It was so beautifully written throughout, with the contrasting perspectives of both Emma and Dexter, that for Emma to die in the way she did it made the whole book seem pointless and had no meaning, because in reality what was the book building up to?

I would still recommend it as it is an amazingly written book, but be prepared to be extremely angry at how it turns out because it will not be in the way you want. Overall I think the book deserves a 6.5/10, as most of the points are knocked off because of the terrible terrible ending that completely ruined the book.

We Were Liars - E Lockhart

 Welcome back! I recently read a multitude of books, so I have so many reviews ready fresh in my mind. This one is clearly about We Were Liars. This book was beyond words. It had me captivated from the first few lines. The writing of this book was so good. 

This book is about Cadence, a member of the Sinclair family. A family of riches and jealousy. She has an accident one summer when she is over at the Sinclair Island where they spend every summer. She has no recollection of her accident nor most of the past summer, and she spends the summer trying to re-piece every moment and what had happened to make the family behave the way it was alongside the liars (Her 3 cousins and her Lover Gat). When she finally recollects her memories, everything comes together.

I think one of the main reasons it captivated me so much was because of the fact in every chapter you as the reader learn something new, and you start to put the pieces together about Cady's accident, you think that you know what has happened. In reality, you are very far from the truth. The plot twist is brilliant and heartbreaking, and made me cry to the point I had to lock myself in the bathroom! Lockhart manages to totally tug at your heart strings with Gat and Cadence's love story, but also with the twist. The twist is nothing you could expect, and perfectly tied the book together.

This book was so well written. It is from the point of view of Cady, and so we get to see the island from her perspective and also know what she knows. However, having it be from her perspective was very clever, as the other characters such as the Aunties, Grandparents and the cousins were the ones who knew what had happened, and had the key for Cady to remember everything. However these characters kept it from her the whole novel, which means we as the reader want to know what the Liars and the family members knew, but had to watch as Cady slowly figured it out. This was so cleverly done, and meant that we were alongside Cady trying to figure out everything - we were just as clueless as her.

I really loved this book, and it is definitely in my top 10. It perfectly put everything into place, but managed to withhold the mystery the whole way through. The whole novel I just wanted to know what had happened, and because of this I finished it in just one sitting. If you want a good mystery tied in with romance, and a plot twist that will shock you to no end, please  read this. It will satisfy you so much. It made me cry it was that good. I would recommend this to anyone who loves reading, so please read it.

This book deserves a solid 9/10. It was perfect.

An Abundance of Catherines - John Green

 Another John Green book, except this time, a not so bright and pleased review. Honestly, reading this book, it totally surprised me that I didn't like it at all. This book really bored me. I'm not sure if it was just the fact that Colin dating 19 different girls called Catherine weirded me out or just plain bothered me, or if it was just that there was no real plot to the book. Maybe it was just me being picky, but nonetheless I do these reviews to let people know my opinion.

From the first chapter, I knew I wouldn't like it, as it was just so boring reading about Colin wanting to be a Genius so bad, it was just weirdly predictable and had no real substance to it. Nothing really grasped me in this novel, and as I mentioned before the fact he would only date girls called Catherine weirded me out. The whole time I was just thinking "Why on earth would you do that!?" It just seemed so obsessive.

I, however, made myself finish the book, because I wanted to see if I would get interested at all, or if the plot got better. Neither ended up happening. After breaking up with the 19th Catherine, Colin's best friend Hassan suggests they go on a road trip, and they end up in Gutshot, meeting a girl called Lindsey, and end up working for her mum. All Colin does is whine about Catherine and moan about and completely focus on a theorem to predict relationships rather than focus on the reason he's on this road trip - to escape. It takes Colin half the novel to realise he doesn't need to be a genius, and from the moment they get to Gutshot, you can tell Colin is going to end up with Lindsey.

Nothing in this book was grasping, and I had to force myself to finish. It was bearable and I could read it, but it was nowhere near the normal amount of enjoyment I would normally get from reading, and especially for a John Green book. 

I think that making myself read it was a good decision, partially because I always want to know how a book ends, but also because you should mostly always give a book a chance. If you like John Green novels, I wouldn't particularly recommend this one as it may ruin your love for his other books, but you never know, you might like it more than I did.

I would overall rate this book a 4/10. I really didn't like it, and the fact I had to force myself to read it really annoyed me too. It actually put me off reading for a couple days, but I'm back on my streak now. I'm not sure if I would say it's worth reading, but it's always worth reading everything you can. Read on your own accord!

See you guys in my next review - We were liars - E Lockhart :)

Turtles All The Way Down - John Green

So, I finished Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. It was such a good read, I couldn't put it down and managed to read it in just 4 hours! It was really captivating having the mystery of Davis' father alongside Aza finding herself and coming to terms with her mental illness (OCD). It was a great coming of age novel that showed an insight into a teenager dealing with a mental illness in their day to day life and the restrictions it causes.

The way the novel was written meant that I couldn't put the book down, and I wanted to know what had happened to Davis' dad, how Aza was going to push herself and if she was going to end up with Davis, and what was going to happen to her best friend. All in all, I think Green really captured me with this book because of the plot, and the fact it started with a few mysteries that I wanted to find the answer to. The way that the mystery of Davis' dad intertwined with Aza's storyline, and brought them together was so beautiful and interesting.

 The whole novel I was rooting for Davis and Aza to end up together, and I think that Green really managed to tug on my heart strings by letting them be together but having Aza struggle because of her OCD, and I wanted Davis' to be able to understand and help her, but at the same time I think they both managed to help each other in so many ways whether they ended up together or not.

If you want a good read that you will not be able to put down, and will have you smiling but also make your heart ache, then this is the book. Watching Aza almost grow up in such a short amount of time, and from her perspective too, gives the proper insight into what it is like to be her, and allows you to perceive the characters the same way she does, which means you as the reader get so invested.

I rate this book a solid 8/10, and would recommend to anyone who wants a short but heartfelt book that will make you feel so many things. The plot twists and major events really captivate you and you will not regret reading it!

Welcome & Review of The Bunker Diary - Kevin Brooks

Hi there! Welcome to my blog Amelia's Reading Corner. I created this blog not only because a close friend recommended it to me but also because I thought it would be a great way for me to review the many books I read, as so many people I try to talk to about books just don't seem to understand. I am an English literature student at sixth form, and have loved reading books for as long as I can remember and so this finally gives me a way to hone in on my essay skills as well as have a place to talk about the books I read. As I read books often it is likely I will be posting often all about the books I read and other recommendations I may have. 

I recently bought a hoard of books from Amazon, although I'm trying to swap books with friends and buy more from smaller bookstores and charity shops, and I have managed to read quite a few of them. One of the ones I recently finished was, as the title tells you, The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks. It is possibly one of my favourite books, purely because every time I read it I never fail to get wrapped up in the story. I read this book first when I was around 14, when I borrowed it from my school library, and I remember reading up on it and wanting my own copy as I was just so so fascinated by it. The book is essentially about Linus, who is kidnapped by this odd man who pretends to be blind to lure him in. This odd man then takes him to this underground bunker where Linus then figures out that there are 5 more people to come due to the other 5 rooms. His plan from the start is how to escape, and as more civilians are kidnapped and brought down, they all join in the fight, the question is, how successful are they?

From the start you are completely captivated as Brooks leaves out so much valuable information about each character, which makes you wonder what they're hiding and why the 'man upstairs' chose them. Your mind will whir with questions all the way through, like why did he choose them? What does he want with them? Are they ever going to get out? and the best part is some of these questions never get answered, which leaves you by the end of the book with your brain in overdrive trying to figure it out. I found it very interesting that Brooks chose not to disclose certain information from the reader, especially by using the characters personalities to do this. It leaves you wanting to know so much about them, but also creates such a distance and impersonal relationship with them. As the novel goes on, this impersonal relationship causes your reaction to somethings to be entirely different compared to if you as the reader knew more about the characters. The only character you really sympathise with is Linus as the novel is from his point of view in the diary, and we learn more about him than anyone else. We learn things about his personal life that he clearly has not told anyone else, and so we as the reader feel closer to him and are affected more when things happen to him.

I love this novel because it makes you question the cruelty and selfishness of other people even when in situations of pressure. I think the novel reveals how selfish some people can truly be, i think it also pushes the question to you as the reader that when you're in a situation of your life or someone else's, who's are you going to choose? And through quite a few characters in the novel you will find that they would choose themselves, and they do. I would definitely recommend this book to all Young Adult and teen readers. It's a mix of horror and crime, but puts the perfect balance of the two. It's such an easy read too, and I managed to read it in 4 hours. It is so captivating that you won't want to put it down, but is easy enough to read and follow, which is what makes it so good.

I would for sure rate this book 8/10, as I feel it is so captivating and fun to read, and will keep you on the edge of your seat, but the only thing that stops it from being a 10/10 is the fact that it's so quick to read, and doesn't necessarily give you the satisfaction you want at the end of the book. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and comment any recommendations you have, also look out for my next review, which will be Turtles all the way down by John Green!