Charlie made me read this book. (Charlie from Steven Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, that is.) In Perks, Charlie reads at least five classic novels, including The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird. After finishing Charlie's story, I really really wanted to read some of those classics, and so I found myself devouring The Catcher in the Rye about an hour later. All I could say was, "I love this character". I actually said the same thing a few days before about Charlie.
The Catcher in the Rye is a masterpiece. That's really all I can say. I so enjoyed Holden and his short journey in New York. I think the best thing was that, throughout the book, I kept thinking something shocking was going to happen, like he was going to wake up in an insane asylum or something. And then when nothing happened and the book ended, I didn't understand at first. But then I did. Because the book was sort of about nothing, but that's the whole point. During my reading of the book, I kept asking, "But what is it about? What's the deal?". In the end, I didn't feel like I had been robbed. I felt at ease.
As for my favorite part, it's definitely the carousel scene in the very end. Holden goes sort of crazy, and the reader gets a good glimpse of his relationship with Phoebe, and how well they mix together in terms of character and personality. Phoebe was also an enjoyable character, because she was made to be that way, made to be a breath of fresh air from the constant jumble of thoughts and actions that is Holden Caulfield. Overall, The Catcher in the Rye will definitely stay in my top ten favorite books.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The fault in "The Fault in Our Stars"
As always, spoilers!
To those of you who worship this book and its author: try not to hate me for what you are about to read.
As a teenage girl, I loved this book. I read it while snowed in on a Saturday with a cup of tea in hand. A few hours later I was crying all the tears and feeling all the feels. I commend you, Mr. Green, for being able to write from the perspective of a teenage girl while also being a middle-aged man. Your Hazel was wonderful, and your Augustus was on point. The message in this book was well put, and the story was very reader-friendly. One couldn't help but enjoy the tale, even up until the very, very tragic end.
As an AP Lit student, my critical mind tore this book apart. It was as if I was in a daze at first, because after I read TFIOS I couldn't stop telling everyone about how amazing it was. But a few weeks ago, the illusion was shattered when a friend of mine pointed out to me that "John Green knows how to write a story well, but did you ever notice that he really doesn't have a discernible plotline?" And the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Green writes well, I'll give him that. But where was the plot in TFIOS?
I'd like to take a moment to compare TFIOS to Looking For Alaska. First, we have the extremely likable protagonist, with a special obsession (Miles and the last words of people, and Hazel and her favorite book). Pay attention to this, folks, because this little obsession will later morph into a very important element of the book! Next, we have their respective love interests, both the ideal of what the opposite sex wants; Alaska is mysterious, adventurous, and mischievous, plus she reads books, is smart, and on top of all of that she has sex appeal. And Miles can't have her. Augustus is mysterious, adventurous, romantic, smart, funny, has sex appeal, etc. And Hazel can't have him. See a pattern here?
Fast forward to the part where both love interests become the antagonists. In both instances, it's right after the protagonist and their respective love interest get together. It goes from "Wow, they're finally getting together, hooray! Everything is going to be okay!" to, "Oh my God this is terrible, I can't believe that just happened, cry ALL the tears!", and eventually "What a great lesson learned about love and life and being a teenager!".
So, to sum it all up, everything before the shocking plot twist is sort of "fluff", because honestly, you don't know where the book is going until then. And don't get me wrong, its great fluff, it really is. But the plot doesn't really start until this shocking plot twist, and then there's tragedy, and then there are lessons learned, the end. Maybe I'm not the greatest judge of Mr. Green's writing because I've only read two of his novels. But this is just my opinion. You start reading TFIOS or Looking For Alaska and you think "Oh, this book is going to be about cancer and falling in love" or, "Oh, this book is going to be about boarding school and falling in love". And then 200 pages later John Green says "Nope, tricked you! Plot twist! Haha!"
Try your best not to hate me for this one, guys. I really did love this book, with all of its great fluff. It's a great read for a rainy day, or one of those days where you just need something to cry about. Trust me, with this one you will cry ALL the tears!
To those of you who worship this book and its author: try not to hate me for what you are about to read.
As a teenage girl, I loved this book. I read it while snowed in on a Saturday with a cup of tea in hand. A few hours later I was crying all the tears and feeling all the feels. I commend you, Mr. Green, for being able to write from the perspective of a teenage girl while also being a middle-aged man. Your Hazel was wonderful, and your Augustus was on point. The message in this book was well put, and the story was very reader-friendly. One couldn't help but enjoy the tale, even up until the very, very tragic end.
As an AP Lit student, my critical mind tore this book apart. It was as if I was in a daze at first, because after I read TFIOS I couldn't stop telling everyone about how amazing it was. But a few weeks ago, the illusion was shattered when a friend of mine pointed out to me that "John Green knows how to write a story well, but did you ever notice that he really doesn't have a discernible plotline?" And the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Green writes well, I'll give him that. But where was the plot in TFIOS?
I'd like to take a moment to compare TFIOS to Looking For Alaska. First, we have the extremely likable protagonist, with a special obsession (Miles and the last words of people, and Hazel and her favorite book). Pay attention to this, folks, because this little obsession will later morph into a very important element of the book! Next, we have their respective love interests, both the ideal of what the opposite sex wants; Alaska is mysterious, adventurous, and mischievous, plus she reads books, is smart, and on top of all of that she has sex appeal. And Miles can't have her. Augustus is mysterious, adventurous, romantic, smart, funny, has sex appeal, etc. And Hazel can't have him. See a pattern here?
Fast forward to the part where both love interests become the antagonists. In both instances, it's right after the protagonist and their respective love interest get together. It goes from "Wow, they're finally getting together, hooray! Everything is going to be okay!" to, "Oh my God this is terrible, I can't believe that just happened, cry ALL the tears!", and eventually "What a great lesson learned about love and life and being a teenager!".
So, to sum it all up, everything before the shocking plot twist is sort of "fluff", because honestly, you don't know where the book is going until then. And don't get me wrong, its great fluff, it really is. But the plot doesn't really start until this shocking plot twist, and then there's tragedy, and then there are lessons learned, the end. Maybe I'm not the greatest judge of Mr. Green's writing because I've only read two of his novels. But this is just my opinion. You start reading TFIOS or Looking For Alaska and you think "Oh, this book is going to be about cancer and falling in love" or, "Oh, this book is going to be about boarding school and falling in love". And then 200 pages later John Green says "Nope, tricked you! Plot twist! Haha!"
Try your best not to hate me for this one, guys. I really did love this book, with all of its great fluff. It's a great read for a rainy day, or one of those days where you just need something to cry about. Trust me, with this one you will cry ALL the tears!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Looking For Alaska
Major spoilers!
Want to know the way to a girl's heart? Give her books. Or maybe that's just me... But imagine my surprise and utter joy as I unwrapped my latest conquest - John Green's Looking For Alaska.
So there I was, holding in my hand a new book, and I couldn't wait to dive in. I did what any sensible person would do - I read the whole thing in one day, basically pulling an all-nighter. I found myself devouring the entire Before section. And then came the After, and it was 3 AM and I hated that book. It was 3 AM and Alaska was dead and I was about to throw the book at the wall.
My first thought, why did she have to die? And so suddenly? I couldn't believe it. I had heard much praise about this book from my friends, yet when I read it I couldn't help but hate Mr. Green himself for killing off who I thought was the most important character. I did not see that coming at all.
And then I was just frustrated and angry. I mean, you spend all this time falling in love with this person as a character and reading about that character's idiosyncrasies and hopes and dreams and adventures, only to have that character die later. For the love of God, John, why did she have to love books? I love books. You made me relate to her and then you just killed her.
But when I finished it, I realized that her death was necessary. Because it answers the question: How do we get out of this labyrinth? Alaska got out, whether her death was a suicide or an accident, she got out. Sometimes a character's death is necessary not because it is a catalyst for conflict or events, but because it brings further insight and metanoia to the other characters. Miles realizes that he must forgive himself for letting Alaska go, come to terms with the fact that he isn't to blame for her death, and learn that forgiveness is one way out of the labyrinth of suffering.
Want to know the way to a girl's heart? Give her books. Or maybe that's just me... But imagine my surprise and utter joy as I unwrapped my latest conquest - John Green's Looking For Alaska.
So there I was, holding in my hand a new book, and I couldn't wait to dive in. I did what any sensible person would do - I read the whole thing in one day, basically pulling an all-nighter. I found myself devouring the entire Before section. And then came the After, and it was 3 AM and I hated that book. It was 3 AM and Alaska was dead and I was about to throw the book at the wall.
My first thought, why did she have to die? And so suddenly? I couldn't believe it. I had heard much praise about this book from my friends, yet when I read it I couldn't help but hate Mr. Green himself for killing off who I thought was the most important character. I did not see that coming at all.
And then I was just frustrated and angry. I mean, you spend all this time falling in love with this person as a character and reading about that character's idiosyncrasies and hopes and dreams and adventures, only to have that character die later. For the love of God, John, why did she have to love books? I love books. You made me relate to her and then you just killed her.
But when I finished it, I realized that her death was necessary. Because it answers the question: How do we get out of this labyrinth? Alaska got out, whether her death was a suicide or an accident, she got out. Sometimes a character's death is necessary not because it is a catalyst for conflict or events, but because it brings further insight and metanoia to the other characters. Miles realizes that he must forgive himself for letting Alaska go, come to terms with the fact that he isn't to blame for her death, and learn that forgiveness is one way out of the labyrinth of suffering.
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