Rain's Reviews: Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Perk Of Being a Wallflower

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.~ Goodreads

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Reviews

Can I just say? I want to be a wallflower? I man despite the drugs and the PTSD and all that it seems like at the very least an interesting life to have.

I'm sure after that introduction you decide to completely disregard everything I am about to say. Good. I'm glad. Because what I'm about to say will probably undermine the deeper meaning of the book and set back the teenage moment a decade (haha) and so please for the love of God stop reading.

Now that I am by myself I am going to be honest. This book didn’t speak to me on a very seep level. There were a few moment were I knew exactly what he was talking about.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this. That’s why I’m trying not to think. I just want it all to stop spinning.”

― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The idea of depression and suicide have always been intriguing to me as I’m sure many people are intrigued with things they could never fully understand. So getting inside this guys brain was cool. I also loved the way that Chbosky wrote the teenager’s life. Its gritty, its confusing, its lonely even when you’re in a crowd, its a half life. and I appreciate how he painted it. There was cussing, there was sex, there was gay romance, there was just about everything I try to stay aways from in a book but it wasn’t shoved at you. It was honestly portrayed in a way that shows you can’t avoid it in this world. Its not a book I’d recommend to anyone. If you want to read it, read it on your own accord and make your own decisions. I don’t want to make them for you in this case. Its raw, its real, its honest. And I appreciate that.

This is not so much a review because I still don’t know how I feel about the characters, the writing, anything, in this subject I am useless and I can’t really tell you why I am going to post this. But I am. So tell me, if anyone is reading this, what you thought of the book. Please.

~Rain

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Links

Liberty Bay Books: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Goodreads

Rain's Reviews: Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

Why We Took the Car

A beautifully written, darkly funny coming-of-age story from an award-winning, bestselling German author making his American debut.

Mike Klingenberg doesn't get why people think he's boring. Sure, he doesn't have many friends. (Okay, zero friends.) And everyone laughs at him when he reads his essays out loud in class. And he's never invited to parties - including the gorgeous Tatiana's party of the year.

Andre Tschichatschow, aka Tschick (not even the teachers can pronounce his name), is new in school, and a whole different kind of unpopular. He always looks like he's just been in a fight, his clothes are tragic, and he never talks to anyone.

But one day Tschick shows up at Mike's house out of the blue. Turns out he wasn't invited to Tatiana's party either, and he's ready to do something about it. Forget the popular kids: Together, Mike and Tschick are heading out on a road trip. No parents, no map, no destination. Will they get hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere? Probably. Will they meet crazy people and get into serious trouble? Definitely. But will they ever be called boring again?

Not a chance.
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Review

I’m not convinced of my feeling for this book. Right after i finished it I would have said something along the lines of: Dull and dragging, the main character was trivial in his crush and Tschick was underdeveloped.

But now after giving it some time to stew I’d tell you it was fun and exciting. It lulled a little and was at times hard to pick back up but interesting nonetheless. The timeline and geography got a little confusing but you eventually catch up.

Mike Klingenberg was thoughtful and slow to speak (his character resembled Pudge from Looking For Alaska by John Green). He was given the chance to be a little less boring and forget about his crush-which got a little annoying-and he took it. Driving across Germany and looking for Timbuktu. Andrej Tshichatschow, Tschick for short. He is a particularly interesting conundrum that I would like to learn more about, yet I understand that that wasn’t the point of the story. He is itching for adventure and a friend. He finds booth in Mike, quite unexpectedly. He is cooler than he looks.

All the people they meet and all the trouble they get into, its - in a word, awesome- I want that trip. And you will to. It’s a great read and Mikes thought provoking inner monologue keeps it cool.

There is explicit language in some parts.

~Rain

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"And I was insanely happy. Because you can't old your breath forever, but you can hold it for a pretty long time."

Goodreads

Southern Book Carnival Day One

'Just Listen' Music Spectacular!

HEY Y'ALL! So today is the kickoff of the Southern Book Carnival! How many of you are excited? I know I am! So each day of the carnival I am going to do a different feature, one day I will feature a series, the next a book, the next an author and the next a character. I am so excited to spread around this southern book love and I hope you enjoy the event as much as I do.

Today I kicking off with a music spectacular!!

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

I absolutely loved Just Listen’s story and characters and writing but above all, I loved the emphasis on music. So here is my playlist for Just listen.

So I have 10 songs on this playlist, but its missing something. Can you think of a song that should be added? Think clean please. Comment the name of the song and the artist, I’ll listen and pick the top two and you will get an extra entry into the pot for the awesome prize pack!

A little help if you haven’t had the chance to read this rocking book:

Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything" — at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.

This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.

Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends. ~Goodreads

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Rain's Reviews: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

When it comes to relationships, Remy doesn't mess around. After all, she's learned all there is to know from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. But there's something about Dexter that seems to defy all of Remy's rules. He certainly doesn't seem like Mr. Right. For some reason, however, Remy just can't seem to shake him. Could it be that Remy's starting to understand what those love songs are all about?

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Rain's Reviews: The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After. What I’m talking about here is the ka-pow, shake-you-to-your-core-and-turn-your-bones-to-plastic kind of crappy.

Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel’s life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss—a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

Jennifer Castle’s debut novel is a heart-wrenching, surprisingly witty testament to how drastically life can change in the span of a single moment.~Goodreads

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If you know me, you would know that I have a love/hate relationship with all of her books. My biggest complaint and one of the things I like about her books is that they all move very slowly. I like that it provokes so much thought and really feels like literature and a book worth keeping instead of a real quick romance that you’ll forget about in a few weeks. And when I picked up The Beginning of After I had heard that Jennifer Castle was similar to Sarah Dessen. So needless to say I was really excited.

Laurel just lost her mother, father, and brother due to a terrible accident in a car that their neighbor was driving. Laurel has to deal with living in a house that holds countless reminders of her family, a friend that she feels is drifting away, and interacting with the guilty man’s son. I don’t know about you but I think I would hole myself up in my room for all eternity and not come out till judgement day. But that's not what she does. Laurel being the strong, brave and normal-seeking girl she is, jumps back into her life days after this horrible tragedy. Laurel loves animals, and beneath the sad and thoughtful exterior you see a girl that just wants to be “cool” and have her crush notice her. I think this little tidbit lessened the book for me. I mean your family has died you have all these things going on and you still want to be noticed by the snobs and get a guys attention? It made her feel a little shallow to me.

Daniel the guilty man’s son, and Joe her crush both pull at Laurel and gives this book a bona fide love triangle. Daniel deals with his grief by running. His mother died in that same car crash and the impact put his father into a coma. Joe the awkward guy that draws superheroes notices Laurel for the first time after she starts school again.  And don’t get me started with her best friend Meg. The whole situation seems doomed. Can a teenage girl-life long friend or not-  deal with kind of change in Laurel’s life? Can Meg and Laurel get through their own problems to see the other one is hurting and needs a hand? This situation demonstrates a persons selfishness and how, even though they don’t see it, they can be so absorbed in their own troubles not to notice someone elses. 

The Beginning of After is a study in grief and how life moves on. It showcases the most unlikely of romances without that being the sole purpose of the book. And I definitely recommend it to Sarah Dessen fans.

~Rain

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“That's the whole thing about grieving... It's part of the deal: You get to be alive and to love, but in exchange you also have to put in some serious hurt time.” 

Goodreads
Amazon
Jennifer Castle's Website

Cover Reveal: Greed by Fisher Amelie

Oi! Guess what I have and you don't? The cover of Fisher Amelie's newest book! But since I'm a nice person will can show it to you hehe. You wanna see it?

Greed, Fisher's second installment of for the Seven Deadly Sins series is just around the corner. I know you guys are pumped to see the new cover, and I can't wait to show it! So without any further ado, I present to you the swoon worthy cover:

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

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Amy & Roger's Epic Detour was a pretty easy read. I enjoyed the writing style and I didn't even mind the flash backs which are usually really annoying to me. It was sweet and thoughtful and nice young adult chick-lit :). I do wish that there was a little more romance in it then there was but it wasn't a turn off. The book works through Amy's guilt, loneliness, grief. It was all really relatable and I could easily put myself in Amy's shoes. All the characters were well developed and consistent which is always nice;). I would most definitely recommend this book to you if you are looking for a quick, sweet and slightly funny read:)

Along for the Ride

Along for the Ride- by Sarah Dessen

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend

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This book was very well written. From the blooming romance (that stayed completely PG), to the really funny moments and all the fights and sleepless nights in between. All the characters were really consistent and the story line and plot were flawless.  
Now after saying all of that I have to admit Sarah Dessen isn't my absolute favorite author. The story seemed slow moving and I found myself skipping to the next paragraph to see if anything interesting was going to happen. But I blame most of that on my impatience,so. If you like stories about self discovery and getting through family drama with a little spritz of romance then I would say this book is a must read for you;).
Favorite moments:
"Okay, let's just slow down." She held up her hands, palms facing me. "First things first. What do you mean, you don't have a date?" 
"Just that," I said, sitting down at the desk. "Jason bailed on me."
"Again?"
I nodded.
"When?"
"About twenty minutes ago."
"Oh, my God." She put her hand over her mouth: her expression was so horrified, like someone had died. "That's the worst thing ever."
"No," I said, swallowing. "It's actually not."
"No?"
I shook my head. "The worst thing is that right afterward, I marched right into the bike shop and asked Eli to go with me, and he said no."
She threw up her other hand, clapping it over the one already covering her mouth. "Holy crap," she said, her voice muffled. "Where does the bike come in?"
"I don't know," I said, waving my hand. "That part's kind of a blur.” 

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“She's a baby," Maggie told me. "Babies wear pastels."
"Says who?" I asked. ... "Society. The same society, I might add, that dictates that little girls should always be sugar and spice and everything nice, which encourages them to not be assertive. And that, in turn, then leads to low self-esteem, which can lead to eating disorders and increased tolerance and acceptance of domestic, sexual, and substance abuse.”