The Pact by Jodi Picoult

For eighteen years, the Hartes and the Golds have been neighbours for eighteen years, sharing absolutely anything and everything. They've grown so close to each other that they've been part of each other's lives. Parents and children alike have become best friends, and in high school, their two children - Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more, and they've already become soul mates the moment they were born.

When midnight calls from the hospital comes in, neither of them were ready to face the appalling truth that Emily is pronounced dead at seventeen with a gunshot in her head and a single unspent bullet is in the gun that Chris has claimed that he had taken from his father's cabinet. Chris explains that this bullet was meant to be for himself, but a local detective doubts this and finds it unlikely to be the suicide pact that Chris has described to be.

The questions faced by the characters in this heart-rending novel are the ones we can all relate to - how well do we really know our children or our friends? The chapters unfold, which alternates between the idyllic past and the equally unthinkable present, this novel indeed paints an indelible portrait of 2 families in anguish, as well as a suspenseful courtroom drama when Chris finds himself being charged with first degree murder.

I really enjoyed reading this novel as Jodi Picoult has yet again created this novel with riveting psychological drama, she has an uncanny ability to bring us into the worlds of teenagers and create such an outstanding novel which also explores the minds of teenagers and the stereotypical problems that they face. This is indeed a good read as it is deeply moving as the sudden, violent death in the novel was extremely gripping, and Chris's trail was very compelling and filled with suspense.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

At the age of fourteen, Susie Salmon is murdered by a man in the neighbourhood. With his odd habits and frequent customs, he seemed like a normal, unsuspecting and lonely man in the eyes of everyone in town.

In heaven, Susie watches her once inseparable family drift apart, becoming more and more detached since her death. She watches them attempt to cope with their terrible loss and move on in any way possible. As time goes on, Susie finds herself becoming a mere bystander. She watched as her parents break apart, as her friends grow up, as her siblings fall in love and as the entire town tries to piece her murder together to no avail. Only through letting go of her life on Earth can she find peace, but Susie isn't so inclined to do so. At least, not until she's ready to move on from her past.

***

I found this book incredibly moving. The plot itself is touching because it highlights the struggles of dealing with a loss of a loved one. It's interesting to see how each character tries to cope with Susie's death and how Susie herself feels about it. Unlike most stories, the bad guy in this novel gets away, but I liked how the author somehow made the ending relatively happy, despite the murderer escaping. The whole novel is bittersweet with its dark atmosphere to begin with, then becoming increasingly light.

Right from the very beginning, the reader is told that Susie was murdered. I personally didn't like reading about her murder because I knew what was going to happen, and Susie's innocence just made it worse. Being told exactly what had happened during Susie's death, I found the police's tedious and long-winding investigation boring to read. It was hard not to get annoyed with them because of their bluntness, as the events are obvious to me. I think the story would've been more intriguing if the entire plot had not been revealed to the reader from the very start. Throughout the novel, it's hard not to sympathize with Susie, but the writer also makes it difficult at times to hate the murderer. Whenever you really start to hate him, the author talks about the murderer's sad past and forces you to empathize with him. Also, sometimes, the writer tends to talk in too much detail about irrelevant things, and not enough when detail is actually needed.

Though overall, The Lovely Bones is a compelling novel about family, romance, and a bit of mystery. It's worth a read if you're looking for a moving, sweet book. :)

Fall of Giants - Ken Follett

An epic novel - one of the greatest I've read I dare say. Fall of Giants is an eloquently crafted novel that fuses Fiction with Non-Fiction to produce an eye opening and gripping story of World War 1. The novel revolves around 3 interlinked families/character sets spread around the world.

Firstly, the Welsh nobility and the miners of the town of Aberowen. Housemaid Ethel Williams' fate is entangled with that of Earl Fitzherbert's through romance, as her brother, Billy Williams is sent to fight the war for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the German Front and in Russia against the Bolsheviks.

The second is a family of two brothers, whose parents have been killed by the Tsar and his nobles. Grigori and Lev are split by chasing the American Dream and Conscription, as Lev goes to America whilst his brother helps lead the Bolshevik revolution under Lenin.

The third is that of Walter Von Ulrich, son of a german count working for the Kaiser's embassy in London. He loves Fitzherbert's sister, Maud, but faces difficult choices due to the war and the British hatred for the Germans.

The book is just so packed (900 pages) with stories that I couldn't dream of summing them up on this blog, but I just have to say what a brilliant book it is. Its a fiction book that opens your eyes to the human psyche, looking at how the war was started by disgruntled aristocrats but fought by the innocent man, the racism for ones neighbor that ensues and the rich history that is built from this.

Before I read this book, I was taught history from the British perspective. Learning about their victories and losses, and thus sympathized with them. When I read in the book that the British had taken a German trench in a strategic location, killing many and moving closer to Berlin, I felt secretly happy that justice had been served, but reading this book I realize one thing. That nobody is right and nobody is wrong. When we fight wars, we don't kill enemies. We kill good people with no intention to do wrong. In the book you get an unbiased view from every perspective of the war front. I was moved to tears many times when I was reading about how once good friends, having dinner together at lavish parties were shooting at one another in the thought that they were fighting for riotousness. Even after the Germans lost, I sympathized with them. There can only be one victor, and the loser is at their mercy. The treaty of Versailles proved the true evils of the hailed "heroes" of the allies, as many innocent germans lost everything.

The same goes for the Russians. When reading about the Revolution, you even sympathize with the rich aristocrats. When angry farmers kill as many of the rich as possible, you are forced to think twice. Is the fact that they were merely connected to the Tsar enough to kill them?

Another thing I learnt about is Revolution. The Russian Revolution ousted the Tsar, but gave birth to the Soviet, whom everyone thought would save russia. But from what we know about Stalin, we can see that this is plainly not true.

I couldn't stress enough how much I recommend this book to everyone. It merely isn't another story book. Its a revelation.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Hatchet.

This book is a story about a boy called Brian Robeson. He is left in the forest where no one lives and he is alone in there. The only thing he has is his hatchet. However, he succeeds to ameliorates his harsh life, create shelter, fire, and find foods just with his hatchet. Later when he is having a harsh life in the forest, he accidentally drops his hatchet into the lake, and because he knows how crucial the hatchet is to his survival, he looks for it and finally retrieves it from the bottom of the lake. While doing that, he finds a survival pack in the plane in which he was riding, and finds a trasmitter. He used it, but didn't know how to use it, so thought it was broken; however, it actually worked, consequentially a float plane finds him and he is rescued.

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Well it is not one of my favorite books but this book is one of the most impressive books i've ever read because this book shows how human being can survive in the harsh situation. Also, while he demonstrates vulnerability, frustration, and anger at the beginning of the novel, his experiences in the forests alter his perspective forever. He learns lessons and adopts qualities that are relevant not only to wilderness survival but also to life as a whole. Patience, observation, an appreciation for the natural world, and a newfound connection between mind and body all contribute to Brian's character development. Furthermore, he matures dramatically compared to the beginning of the novel.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

This book is about an accidental couple who end up going on a journey into the infinite night of falling in and out of love. This first date was filled with music, laughter, confessions, heartache, confusion, passion, taxi driver wisdom and a jacket named Salvatore. And of course, there is the killer soundtrack of the night.

Nick watched his girlfriend who has dumped him walk in with another guy, and his basic instinct was to talk to that strange girl standing next to him to be his girlfriend for five minutes to avoid any awkwardness in his conversations with his ex-girlfriend.

Norah, on the other hand, would do anything to avoid any sort of conversation with her not-so-close-friend who has just dumped Nick, and to get over her ex-boyfriend that she couldn't really let go off. Norah decides to answer Nick's question by agreeing to be his girlfriend for that very five minutes.

Yet, with that one kiss that sent them swooned, they end up going on their very own journey of bewilderment and new love. Their night goes on as Nick and Norah wander around the mystical maze of Manhattan, their night was so perfect and so flawless; when every minute was so precious and so real.

"The wattage goes way up as two of the bright lights of contemporary writing for teens come together for an incandescent he said/she said night of storytelling. There's perfectly captured teen music-geek talk and delicious stuff about kissing and what lies beyond." - Kirkus Reviews, Starred.

I would have to say that this book is definitely one of my favorite books. It tells such a unique and very sweet love story, it is genuinely poignant; and it is a story of thrills and risks of intimacy. There were definitely many heart-stopping moments in this novel, I loved the writers' description of the characters and I would say that this is definitely a good read. This book has also been made into a successful major motion picture and I'm really compelled to watch the movie soon!

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Melinda tries hard to put her past in the past. She wants to forget all the events that occurred the night of the party, and everything that follows it. It'd be so easy, too, if everything didn't remind her of it. Since the incident, Melinda's life has spun out of control, from school to home. Her grades have only gone downhill and nobody cares enough to listen to what she has to say.

She chooses not to speak, but as it becomes harder for her to erase her memories, Melinda finds that she has no choice but to voice the truth.

***

I think the message of this book is very powerful and meaningful. The growth of Melinda is clear as she begins to open up a bit more to the people around her. The storyline is inspirational and it's not too haste, time-wise. I thought it was also interesting how the writer used a variety of sentences with different lengths to either quicken or slow down the pace of the book.

However, I found the book extremely boring at times. I found it quite hard to get into the book because Melinda, the character, is annoying. She's pessimistic and just strange and would often do the most random things at times. As the reader, I found Melinda confusing with her abrupt inner thoughts and outright stupidity. Her lack of hope and constant moaning is depressing. :( The storyline could have been more original, in my opinion, and possibly less predictable. Although I think the book conveys a meaningful message, I wouldn't want to read it again.