Book Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

By Stephen Chbosky 

Release Date: 1999

Summary: Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie is navigating through the strange worlds of love, drugs, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and dealing with the loss of a good friend and his favorite aunt.


Review: I just don't know what to say right now. Or think. Or anything. This book was like nothing I've read before, but definitely in a good way. I loved the author's style, how the whole story was told through Charlie's letters to a person he's never even met before. Charlie's letters and personality remind of The Catcher In the Rye a lot, but I'd have to say I liked this one a whole lot better. 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower deals with so many issues, starting off with a suicide and moving on to drugs, drinking, sex, and just figuring out who you are. I felt myself loving Charlie and wanting him to make it out of everything okay. He was so naive and adorable that he's that kid that's impossible not to like. I love the other characters too, like Sam, Patrick, and even Mary Elizabeth. Everyone was so quirky and accepted you for who you were with no questions. I really can't find one thing I did't like about this book. 

After finishing this (I borrowed it from a friend), I had to talk to her like five different times that same night because I couldn't wrap my mind around what happened. There was just a feeling of, I don't know...I really just don't know. This book really makes you think but not really know what to think at the same time. It's really quick, so if you have the chance, you should definitely pick this up. I think it's something everyone should experience and I really can't wait for the movie. Everyone in the cast seems perfect for the character they're playing, so hopefully the movie lives up to the book!

Book Review: Anne of Hollywood by Carol Wolper

Anne of Hollywood

By Carol Wolper

Release Date: January 24, 2012

Summary: Carol Wolper re-tells the story of Anne Boleyn set in contemporary Los Angeles. 

“I wasn’t prepared for the enemies. Had I been as gorgeous as a supermodel, or as rich as an heiress, or an actress with an Oscar to my credit, people would still not be happy that I had Henry’s attention, but they’d understand. What they resented was the king coupling with a ‘nobody.’” 

Skirts may be shorter now, and messages sent by iPhone, but passion, intrigue, and a lust for power don’t change. National bestselling author Carol Wolper spins a mesmerizing tale of a twenty-first-century Anne Boleyn. 

Wily, intelligent, and seductive, with a dark beauty that stands out among the curvy California beach blondes, Anne attracts the attention of Henry Tudor, the handsome corporate mogul who reigns in Hollywood. Every starlet, socialite, and shark wants a piece of Henry, but he only wants Anne. The question is: can she keep him? 

Welcome to a privileged world where hidden motives abound, everyone has something to sell, and safe havens don’t exist. With her older sister Mary, a pathetic example of a royal has-been, Anne schemes to win her beloved Henry in the only way that gives a promise of forever—marriage. Success will mean contending with backstabbing “friends,” Henry’s furious ex-wife, and the machinations of her own ambitious family, and staying married to a man who has more options than most and less guilt than is good for either of them will take all her skill. Anne will do anything to hold on to the man—and the lifestyle—she adores, however, even if sticking your neck out in Hollywood means risking far worse than a broken heart. With Henry’s closest confidante scheming against her, and another beautiful contender waiting in the wings, Anne is fighting for her life. Can she muster the charm and wit to pull off her very own Hollywood ending?

Review: Reading the summary, this book sounded SO good! That is probably why I was so unprepared for how boring it ended up being. The story of Anne Boleyn was so interesting and scandalous, but this book was nowhere near capturing that emotion. 

The main problem I had with this book was the writing style. Almost the entire story was made up of thoughts and descriptions with very little dialogue/action going on whatsoever. This made the story seem to drag on and I found myself skimming pages at a time because I felt like they were pointless. Because of this, there didn't seem to be a real storyline going on, so time was so jumpy and I wasn't even aware so much time had passed until something had happened that wasn't supposed to happen until months down the road. This made me confused while reading and I just didn't feel like the book was worth the effort to understand what all was going on. 

The characters were okay, but I wasn't a fan of anyone in the book. Anne got annoying, Henry was a jerk, and everyone else just hated each other, so it got annoying real fast. Anne kept on referring to Henry as "the King" even though this was supposed to be a Hollywood adaptation. I still don't really understand what Henry did and I wish it had more of a hollywood aspect to it. 

What I did love was the cover! That color is so pretty and I love how it's the royalty-like chair with a martini to mix the old story with Hollywood. But that's really the only good thing about this book. As much as I wanted to like Anne of Hollywood, it just hit the mark for me.

Follow My Book Blog Friday (27)

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

Question: What would you prefer: Reading your favorite book over and over again until you get sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why? 

Answer: Hmmmm I'd have to say reading my favorite book over and over again. Why? Well the only way I can explain it is this: 

I would rather look at this picture every single day of my life than see a bunch of mediocre actors in my favorite movies. I mean, what is life without Zac Efron!?!?!? And if I love something so much, I can never get tired of it! That's what I do with songs; I listen to them over and over again and never get tired of them! If a book is truly my favorite, I don't think I'd ever be able to not read it again. And when I read a mediocre book, I spend the time just waiting for the end. I don't think I'd be able to do that for the rest of my life. Books are my obsession, so why not aim for the best? 

Waiting on Wednesday (28)

This is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where every Wednesday bloggers highlight a book that they are eagerly anticipating the release of! 

Above

By Leah Bobet

Release Date: April 1, 2012

Summary: Matthew has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee's wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above—like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers. 

But one terrifying night, an old enemy invades Safe with an army of shadows, and only Matthew, Ariel, and a few friends escape Above. As Matthew unravels the mystery of Safe's history and the shadows' attack, he realizes he must find a way to remake his home—not just for himself, but for Ariel, who needs him more than ever before.

I am absolutely in love with this cover! I actually had no idea what this book was about until I made this post, but it's been on my TBR list for months. After reading the summary, it sounds even better! I love new, innovative stories and this ones sounds exactly like that. The story kind of reminds me of X-Men, which is just plain awesome. What I'm most excited for, though, is the love story between Matthew and Ariel. I can't wait to see what happens between them! Hopefully I can get my hands on this one as soon as it comes out :) 

Blog Tour: Anne of Hollywood by Carol Wolper

Anne Of Hollywood

By Carol Wolper

Release Date: January 24, 2012

Summary: Carol Wolper re-tells the story of Anne Boleyn set in contemporary Los Angeles. 

“I wasn’t prepared for the enemies. Had I been as gorgeous as a supermodel, or as rich as an heiress, or an actress with an Oscar to my credit, people would still not be happy that I had Henry’s attention, but they’d understand. What they resented was the king coupling with a ‘nobody.’” 

Skirts may be shorter now, and messages sent by iPhone, but passion, intrigue, and a lust for power don’t change. National bestselling author Carol Wolper spins a mesmerizing tale of a twenty-first-century Anne Boleyn. 

Wily, intelligent, and seductive, with a dark beauty that stands out among the curvy California beach blondes, Anne attracts the attention of Henry Tudor, the handsome corporate mogul who reigns in Hollywood. Every starlet, socialite, and shark wants a piece of Henry, but he only wants Anne. The question is: can she keep him? 

Welcome to a privileged world where hidden motives abound, everyone has something to sell, and safe havens don’t exist. With her older sister Mary, a pathetic example of a royal has-been, Anne schemes to win her beloved Henry in the only way that gives a promise of forever—marriage. Success will mean contending with backstabbing “friends,” Henry’s furious ex-wife, and the machinations of her own ambitious family, and staying married to a man who has more options than most and less guilt than is good for either of them will take all her skill. Anne will do anything to hold on to the man—and the lifestyle—she adores, however, even if sticking your neck out in Hollywood means risking far worse than a broken heart. With Henry’s closest confidante scheming against her, and another beautiful contender waiting in the wings, Anne is fighting for her life. Can she muster the charm and wit to pull off her very own Hollywood ending? ***Review soon to come***

Book Review: Time Slice by Kerry Downing

Time Slice

By Kerry Downing

Release Date: June 11, 2011

Summary: Newly retired workaholic Roy Washburn is not ready for a life of leisure. On a trip to the mall with his wife, he finds a small metal cylinder with odd markings. One nudge of the cylinder's triangle-shaped pointer and Roy finds himself embarking on an exciting new adventure in the Time Stream. There he meets The Traveler, a tall, gangly being who shows Roy how to use the cylinder to visit other civilizations that co-exist on "his" Earth, each occupying a different, thin Time Slice. The Traveler solicits Roy's help in recovering an object invented by his murdered father and beyond his own reach. Roy is his last hope. At first it seems that the Traveler's wish might be easily granted. But after Roy's wife Emily becomes ill and his daughter's long-held resentments rise to the surface, he can no longer "travel" at a moment's notice. He also discovers the very real physical and mental risks involved in roaming the Time Stream. Despite the dangers, Roy is determined to help the Traveler. But he can't do it alone. Fortunately he has a loving wife and a core group of loyal friends. But first he must convince them-and his daughter-that he isn't crazy ...


Review: I normally don't read straight sci-fi books, so it was nice being able to read one for a change! Time Slice is all about a guy named Roy who finds a device that allows people to travel through different slices of time. The idea of being able to travel through slices instead of time was really interesting and the author does a great job introducing his readers to this new idea. 

The characters in the book were really interesting too. Rah, the alien from another slice, was a really cool character and I liked how he became good friends with Roy, despite his freakishly tall stature and living in a completely different slice. Roy was pretty likable and I enjoyed how he wasn't perfect; his wife loved him but his daughter resented him for never being there was she was little. The book was a bit slow at times, but the originality of the story made that aspect bearable. 

There were sad parts and nail-biting parts, but in the end this book ended up being a little predictable. I think if there was more of an element of surprise or something unexpected happened, the story would have been more enjoyable. The part of the story I really enjoyed was how the story started at a certain point, went back to explain how Roy ended up where he was, then by 3/4 of the way through came back to where the book started. This gave the story an element of mystery in the beginning and kept the reader intrigued. So overall this book was a pretty enjoyable, original story. I would recommend it to those in the mood for a simple, new sci-fi book.

Blog Tour: Time Slice by Kerry Downing

Today I am excited to announce that Peace Love Books is a stop on the Time Slice blog tour! Here's a little bit about the book! 

Time Slice 

By Kerry Downing 

Release Date: June 11, 2011

Summary: Ordinary People. Extraordinary Adventures. Science Fiction with Heart.

Newly retired workaholic Roy Washburn is not ready for a life of leisure. On a trip to the mall with his wife, he finds a small metal cylinder with odd markings. One nudge of the cylinder's triangle-shaped pointer and Roy finds himself embarking on an exciting new adventure in the Time Stream.

There he meets The Traveler, a tall, gangly being who shows Roy how to use the cylinder to visit other civilizations that co-exist on "his" Earth, each occupying a different, thin Time Slice. The Traveler solicits Roy's help in recovering an object invented by his murdered father and beyond his own reach. Roy is his last hope.

At first it seems that the Traveler's wish might be easily granted. But after Roy's wife Emily becomes ill and his daughter's long-held resentments rise to the surface, he can no longer "travel" at a moment's notice. He also discovers the very real physical and mental risks involved in roaming the Time Stream.

Despite the dangers, Roy is determined to help the Traveler. But he can't do it alone. Fortunately he has a loving wife and a core group of loyal friends. But first he must convince them--and his daughter--that he isn't crazy ... ***Check back tomorrow for my review of this book***

About the author:

Kerry Downing set out to become a meteorologist, but was hooked by the world of computers instead, becoming a systems analyst and programmer. Astronomy and science fiction are his passions. He’s been gazing at the stars at all hours of the night since the age of 10, when he received his first telescope. As for science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke and his brand of “it really seems as if it could happen” has always been his favorite. In the 90s, Kerry found the third love of his life: his wife, Lucy. They live in St. Louis, Missouri, with their five children. Time Slice is Kerry’s second science-fiction novel. His self-published, debut work is The Collective.

Check here for more information on Kerry Downing and his novel: 

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Kerry Downing's Website

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Time Slice Blog Tour Site