So B. It

This was quite the thought provoking novel I read around Christmas, a time when you think about everything you're thankful for. It made me take a whole new look at mental disorders and how they affect the lives of the people with them and those of the people around them. This was one of those books that very nearly made me want to cry. Except, once again I stopped myself from shedding tears.

This book was suggested to me by a (different) friend of mine. I put it off until I was one day browsing in our school library for interesting books. I then remembered the suggestion and checked it out. That decision I do not regret at all.

Here's the cover-

Heidi's mom has a mental disorder. She can't seem to speak properly and is really afraid of buses because they seem to make her remember something. Problem is that she can't remember what. 

Heidi and her mom live in a small house in a city, never having to take care of any bills. The shopping is done by their next door neighbor who also assists Heidi in everyday tasks she can't do by herself. The three of them are living a happy life that seems to repeat every day. 

Their neighbor has been trying to teach Heidi's mom how to talk. Every day they sit down in a room and she points at random objects and asks Heidi's mom to repeat them. Heidi keeps a list of words that her mom can say on the refrigerator door. Apart from all the normal words, there are two things that puzzle her. Her mother says "So Be It" in response to being asked what her name is. But the funny thing is that she only uses the three words together and not as separate words every time she says it. So Heidi starts calling herself "Heidi It" with "It" being her last name. Their neighbor often remarks that "It" shouldn't be a person's last name and that "So Be It." shouldn't be a name all together. It means to end something.

After receiving a letter from a person in Colorado who seems to have connections to her mother, Heidi sets off on a cross country journey to find out who her mother really is and why they are living the life they have. When Heidi reaches her destination, she is thrown a boatload of secrets her mother would never be able to explain, even if she had the words to. Including an unhappy father and an eternal childhood spent with a best friend. Heidi finds out who her mother really is and what kind of people they are destined to be.

My thoughts (It contains spoilers)- 

A very thought provoking book. The end was never foretold and just happened so suddenly. When Heidi was coming back to her house, she called her neighbor to see if everything was alright and her neighbor told her the horrible news. Her mother had gotten sick and she had tried everything and then she just died. Heidi was crying on the other end of the line partly because she missed her mother and partly because she wanted to tell her mother that it wasn't her fault. She wanted to sit down and explain it all to her. Make her mother feel better forever.

I thought it was interesting about how "Soof" was what Heidi's mom could only say if she was told to say her name. Her real name was Sophia. But she often called herself "So Be It" since she was a child. Her father had no clue where she'd heard it and why she was so attached.

Heidi also found some lead on who her father was. Except it was highly unlikely. Her mom had a best friend named Elliot when they were younger. They liked each other so much that they wouldn't even want to stay more than a few feet away from each other. He too had a mental disorder. That was probably a reason they were so close. Because they understood what the other was going through. Even if they couldn't express it. Maybe they could feel it.

But one day, her father woke up and found out that Sophia was pregnant. Weird. Because Elliot couldn't have done it. He said that they seemed so much like children that it didn't feel right to be possible. Her mother vouched to take her away to a safe place when the baby was born. He says that after Sophia left, Elliot was never the same. He always wanted her to come back. 

And the reason Sophia was so afraid of buses. Because her mother slipped and fell while getting off one and died the night they came to Sophia's new house.

((A next few reviews coming up on books I've read in the past. I may get some fine details wrong, but don't mind me.))

Candor

This book has truly changed the way I perceive my parents and the rules of society. This was a really beautiful story.It was making me cry. And I would not have fared well crying in a car filled with people. Right?

I found this when my brother was at his piano concert. It happened to be at the library, so while the other kids played, I went looking for books. I had also been looking at this for a while. It seemed very appealing. Because it is true in real life. "You are what you hear." People are judged almost immediately on their choices. And every parent wants their family to have a good name so they make their kids capable of making the right choices. But could some go so overboard as to turn their kids into mindless robots, only seeking the path to success and pushing aside everyday mundane things?

Here's the cover-

Candor is a model town. Founded by Oscar's father, Mr. Banks, it is the best place on Earth for kids with behavioral issues. And some just want to live there for the bragging rights. Why? Because of the Messages. No one fights the Messages because they seep into your brain eventually. Hidden inside music CDs, they transform even the most rebellious children into perfect Ivy League students. And parents are given special Booster Messages custom made for each family to support their children.

Oscar has been resisting the Messages ever since he found out what they were. He acts like the model child of Candor for his father and the rest of the town, but no one has ever found out about his secret plans. He takes the richest and most hopeless cases out of town before they change. Because the world needs a few bad kids to keep everything interesting.

His life has been going according to plan until he meets Antonia "Nia" Silva. She's a rebel girl, dressed in all black, an artist and a graffiti vandal. Not that it's all a bad thing. After seeing the reactions of other kids to her, Oscar decides to get to know her better. Soon he finds himself falling in love and becoming the real him just for her. Oscar just can't bear to see the Messages change her once and for all. So he creates his own Booster Music for her. Special messages like "The Messages can't change me." or "I am worthy.", "I am unique." and things like that.

But somehow, a leak springs and Oscar's father becomes aware of his plans. Now it's up to Oscar to save the girl of his dreams from the robot factory known to the United States as Candor, Florida.

My thoughts-

Just about one of the most meaningful books I've read. Interestingly enough, I think the story is quite believable and the book isn't nearly as harmful as I thought it would be originally... Doesn't every parent want their child to live a good life? Well, I think some would go so extreme as to turn their kid into a robot if their kid weren't already well behaved. But despite getting good grades and all that jazz, there should still be some room for creativity. And mundane pleasure. Like for example, there was a message for body space that said, "Respectful space in every place.". Now that kind of thing prevented the children from even holding hands while they were on a date. Weird. Now who wouldn't want to hold their boyfriend or girlfriend's hand while they were going to a movie or the ice cream parlor.

A big lesson in this story- "Everything is only good in moderation." Even the most talented students need a break to relax and act like a normal person. In short, you can't make the perfect kid. Every kid will still have imperfections. It's just the parent's choice whether they want to ignore or fix the imperfections.

There is no sequel to this one, but I have two more books to read before I go on vacation. I'll try to get them reviewed within the next three weeks.

Karma Club

I don't read realistic fiction often but I think this book made me rethink all the prejudice I had in my mind about the whole genre. Really, I don't like realistic fiction because it reminds me of my life and I read so I can escape my life, not be brought back to it. But this book made me laugh and feel happy and sad for the characters.

I'd been looking at this book for a long time, eyeing it on the shelf. Like Finnikin, I'd take it off the shelf and examine it before putting it back. I just wasn't sure whether it was safe or not. Now I found out that I was kinda right on not trusting it. It's slightly more mature than you think. But not in a bad way. In a very funny way.

Here's the cover-

Maddy, Jade and Angie were all disrespected by boys. Maddy's boyfriend dumped her for the most popular girl in school. Jade's old boyfriend made love with another girl before her. Angie's just had bad experiences with them in general. When Maddy's mom takes her on a surprise visit to a spiritual center, Maddy learns about the force of Karma that controls the balance of energy in the universe. She and her friends decide to create a Karma Club where they give payback to the boys that hurt them.

As everything seems to be going well, Maddy lets down her guard a little. She gets put with a new tutoring student who signed up anonymously only to find out that it is Spencer, one of the boys that they were targeting for revenge. After spending time with him, she begins to realize that Spencer isn't the stuck up snob he seems to be from a distance. But how will Maddy be able to save Spencer and convince her friends that he isn't evil without giving away their secret relationship? And with all the Karma setting they've been doing, will Karma eventually bite them like it bit their targets?

My thoughts- 

It was a very relateable story which I say is hard to find. Even in the realistic fiction genre. I know I am too young to have a boyfriend, but I too have been cheated as a friend and have wanted revenge. The Karma Club wasn't.necessarily.the best choisce of action but it was driven on by pure motives anyone can relate to. Honestly, I learned one lesson from this book. Never try to control forces that are completely out of your control.A very detailed plot with many twists and turns. I recommend it to anyone around high school age.But definitely for lovers of comedy and romance.

Dragonswood (Wilde Island Chronicles Book #1)

I have had nothing else to do for these past weeks, so I've been reading a lot. Just to fill the void. It makes me feel better. This one I actually finished in about maybe six hours total. Not continuous though. I read for maybe three hours the previous night because I was slightly unsettled by a movie, an hour the next morning after waking up and then two hours that afternoon after my friend left and the World Cup match ended on the fourth of July. And I guess my eyes aren't all that bad either. That's awesome!

The cover-

There has always been something weird about Tessa. She sees things in flames. She can't call the visions but whenever something bad happens, they just seem to catch her. No one but her Grandpa know about it. The last time she saw her fire visions was at her brother Adam's funeral when they cremated his body. She saw a girl dancing around in the flames. 

A few days later, the midwife begins to claim that it was Tessa who killed her brother. She says that Tessa is a witch. Tessa denies it as best as she can. During a trial, the jury is completely on the midwife's side. How can this be? What happened to justice. Her enemies even testify that they saw her and two other friends in dragonswood dancing naked with Satan. That couldn't be further from the truth. When Tessa is nearly killed, she gives out her two best friends Poppy and Meg's names. Because of this, the three of them are forced to run. And Meg's husband is put in prison for supposedly aiding a witch. 

A few days into their hideout, Tessa goes back to the prison to save Tom. There she comes in contact with the horror that has become her friend. Once a happy and smiling man, he is reduced to a fear-ridden and abused boy.

More troubles await them when Tom isn't faring all too well and the four of them are forced to take the help of a huntsman named Garth. But as Tessa begins to learn more about him, she learns some startling truths about the man who is taking care of them and some facts about her true heritage.

My thoughts-

Don't let the size of this book discourage you. It's got nearly four hundred pages but each is packed with a beautiful story. Garth's true identity was also a shocker. I had always believed him to be a huntsman. I guess he really is Prince Bion. And the way they fall in love. Ahhh. I'm dying right now.

And for some odd reason I love the name of Tessa's father. Onadon. It's just so fun to say. Onadon. Onadon. Onadon. I will use that name someday soon in a story.

I can't believe there's a sequel too. I hardly have time to read now, but I will make more time to do so. It's my favorite thing to do.

There's a sequel too. It's called Dragon's Keep. I wonder if this solves the political issues. I hope if Bion and Tessa get married. There are too many things to think about right now!

The Book Thief

I used to be quite unhappy with most WWII fiction books. Either they didn't tell the story properly, they were too graphic or favored only one side of the story. This book helped me shape most of my views on one of the darkest times in our world's history. In my opinion, it's completely different from all the other WWII books I've read.

I had wanted to read it for a while because it was increasingly becoming popular and I've heard that it is going to be made into a movie. I can't wait to see Liesel and Rudy on the big screen. I was browsing on the library website once and saw it under the bestseller children's list. That's when I remembered to request it.

Here's the cover that I read from.

The story starts with little ten year old Liesel and her brother riding a train to go to their foster family's house in a town called Molching. Their mother just recently died and they are being sent to a new home. Unfortunately, Liesel's brother dies from a severe cold and it is her alone who will reach Rosa and Hans Hubermann's house.
Rosa Hubermann is a strict lady who always wants everything done perfectly. She rarely shows any emotion except anger and frustration. She often calls her husband Hans (and then Liesel later on) Saukerl or Saumensch. Meaning "garbage" and "idiot". But she really does care. Deep down there is a frightened woman hoping every day that she won't wake up to be dead or see her loved ones dead.
Hans Hubermann is an easygoing accordion player who pays little to no attention to his wife's constant insults. It's a miracle that they get along at all. Even though he has a very mellow and accepting personality, he holds a dark past and a whole boatload of secrets he doesn't even trust Rosa with.
Liesel starts school and starts a deepening friendship with a boy named Rudy Steiner from her neighborhood. They go on many escapades together, trying to steal food from others in these hard times.
But if there's one thing Liesel can't get enough of in this new life, it's the books. They started as the book she saw buried in dirt at the train station. It was called the Grave Digger's Handbook. It was about what its name implies. Then it grew to midnight lessons on German with Hans Hubermann. He taught her how to read. And then to write. Soon she had finished the Grave Digger's Handbook and was moving on to other books.
Then came the man who changed her life forever. Max. An escaped Jew. He was the son of Hans' friend who died in the first World War. Max hid in their basement and escaped capture for how many months. He and Liesel had a steady friendship. Soon she began to love him as a brother. Until he too had to leave. He walked away with his bag slung across his shoulder.
Rudy gets selected to enter the Nazi Army, but his father refuses. The war rages on. Until what Liesel had dreaded most happens. Until it is all over.

My thoughts-

One of the most well-written books I have ever read. Let me start with the narration. The interesting thing about this book is that Liesel isn't the narrator. It is Death who is narrating the story. Death often explains how she is often left so busy during the war to carry souls. But whenever she had to come to Molching, she would always spy on Liesel and note down some more of her life story.
As she says, "Only a few men are able to cheat me once. But there are even fewer who can cheat me twice." And that's almost exactly what Liesel did. She cheated Death so many times just to be with the ones she cared about.
And the end is just about the saddest I have ever heard of. Even Rudy was gone during the air raid. I like how Death says that she just pulled Rosa's soul out from her mouth mid-snore and left her mouth there open and gaping. All who were left were Liesel and Mr. Steiner. They together are trying to resurface Molching from the rubble. I didn't cry (I'm pretty heartless while I'm reading. I feel no emotion while doing it.) but I could feel myself getting sad by reading it.
Everything is perfectly paced. Liesel spends about four years with the Hubermanns before the story ends. Those four years actually feel like four years because Zusak writes about almost every day of that time.

In short, one of the most touching historical fiction books I have ever read.