Mandafofanda Reads Lots

There's such a sweetness and joyful innocence to this story, I couldn't help but love it. I felt that Burch captured the voice of a third-grade boy very well - it was full of youthfulness, earnestness and all the hopefulness, naivety, hurt and slight rambling that made it feel real, yet it was still enjoyable for an older reader. Keats is smart and observant, yet he doesn't always fully understand the actions and motivations of the people around him, and so the reader is given many glimpses that give us a better picture of what's going on. The characters all come to life, and it seemed like everyone had a bit of a crazy streak to them, but they always felt like real people to me.

Keats is the second-youngest in the family and the only boy to three sisters. He struggles with self-confidence, bullying, being overshadowed by his "perfect" older sister Lulu, and some general middle-child angst of always being bested and overlooked. When the Manny arrives, it's like a bit of magic gets slowly sprinkled into his life.

One point that I want to make a note of is that even at the end of the book, there exists a bit of an enigma around Manny. We constantly see his positive, humourous, and mischievous personality, yet we only get glimpses of his more serious side (one exception being a moment when he's giving advice to Lulu). We don't even find out his full name, him being referred to as "the Manny" by Keats and his siblings for the entirety of the book. I can understand this, being that The Manny Files is narrated by Keats, and we can be sure that Manny ensures that he is a constant positive role model whenever he is with the Dalinger kids, but I kind of wish that I could see more sides of him. Manny retains a slight magical aspect with his constant positive outlook and ability to make almost any situation better with a word, a joke, a game, or a piece of advice.

Overall, I loved this book. It had interesting and loveable characters, a relatable protagonist, laugh-out-loud moments, heartbreaking moments and just general put-a-smile-on-your-face-ness.

If you thought that [b:The Maze Runner|6186357|The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)|James Dashner|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369690691s/6186357.jpg|6366642] was endlessly frustrating, you haven't read this book. THERE ARE NO ANSWERS GIVEN TO ANYTHING. And that's the pull-your-hair-out-want-to-bash-something-with-a-frying-pan feeling you get when reaching the end of this book. Auughghghghhhgghhhhhh!

This better end well. And I better frickin LOVE the explanations to everything... *cracks knuckles*

And it started off so well! This book kicks off with a bit more structure to it. You're given a goal and an endgame. You think you know what's to come. Plus, some of the characters were actually starting to show personality! And then... everything is thrown into a blender, chopped to fine pieces and then dumped out and gleefully scattered into a tornado.

This book is like going through a Trial in itself. (The author's intention...? Arghh no! I refuse to give him that much credit - I'm too mad at him at this point.)

*attempts to end rant and think rationally*

I have a theory about this book - it tests your faith. There's a conversation between Thomas and Newt early on where Newt describes being part of the initial group in the maze.

"I guess back then we all just had a sense that there was obviously a purpose to us having been sent there... We’re obviously here for a buggin’ purpose. We’ll figure it out eventually."

These kids are striding on not knowing the reasoning or intention behind every horrifying or tragic occurrence. These kids are starved, dehydrated, killed off randomly, caused to turn against one another, generally mindfcked, and given the vague explanation that this all is to "save the human race." Oh, and by the way? The people doing this to you? We're the good guys. What do you do in this type of situation? What can you do?

I don't know. At this point, I'd happily drop a bomb on WICKED and dance on their grave, then welcome the Flare with open arms. Well ok, maybe not really. I still want to know the reasoning behind all of this. But like I said before... it BETTER be good.

In a kind of shocker of shockers, I really liked this book. I mean, everything from the title, to the cover, to the promise of a love triangle just screams "Clichés!.. clichés.. everywhere!" But this book brought back a lot of nostalgia for me. To add to the craziness, I liked this more than [b:Invincible Summer|8105542|Invincible Summer|Hannah Moskowitz|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1277224620s/8105542.jpg|13406654], which was written by Hannah freakin' Moskowitz, whose writing I adore. But while I wasn't really able to relate to Chase, I connected with Belly.

Belly reminds me a bit of myself at around that age or younger. She's immature and naive and overly sensitive, wishes to be treated like a young adult but constantly regresses to acting like a child. (The number of times she sticks her tongue out at people, or wants to stick her tongue out at people...) She's teased mercilessly and constantly left out of "boy fun". She crushes hard, yet hasn't gone any further than that. She sees boys as pals to hang out with, until the summer that she notices them looking at her in a different way. And that's the summer that she discovers boyfriends and being noticed and liked and non-friend kisses, and, well, feeling pretty.

I grew up with many cottage weeks and fishing trips with my sisters and cousins, and this book reminds me a lot about that too. Belly and Steven, and Conrad and Jeremiah have grown up together and have that familial bond, even without being related. They know each other's good traits and bad, have experienced high points and deeply embarrassing ones. They know how to cheer each other up, or get under each other's skin. It's that kind of bond that can't be replicated in later years.

Overall, this book captures that time when you look back later, and say, "God, I was so stupid sometimes!" but it's a phase that you went through, with all it's highs and lows, and one you don't forget.

This is one of those rare moments that I actually really did not like the protagonist. But it wasn't for one of those usual reasons, like they were too stupid or naive. I just found Evie to be really judgmental and hypocritical, while trying to convince the reader that she's the pretty but NICE and FRIENDLY popular girl.

I also hated some of the messages in this book. At the beginning, Evie says that she promised her boyfriend her virginity when she turned sixteen, but was having doubts about it as the day grew closer and doesn't know what to do. Sure, this is plausible teen girl thinking, but I didn't like that nowhere later in the book she was told that, yes, it's okay if you're not ready, you deserve someone who won't push you into having sex. Instead, we get from her best friend, "You better give it up soon, or you'll lose him! Also, dress like a slut so that he'll want you more than that other girl who dresses like a slut!" Yes! This is what we want teen girls to aspire to!

The only reason why this book got 2 stars instead of 1 was that I actually got through it (though I mostly skimmed the last couple chapters) - so, you know, it was readable, and I guess I found the whole Tarot Card thing interesting enough.

And Finn. He was great. Though maybe I just think that because he was the first character that showed up with a wicked sense of humour.

EDIT -- AFTER FINISHING SERIES
The flat characters and lack of answers at the end make this a disappointing series overall. You've been warned.

You can read my spoiler-free review of the trilogy ender The Death Cure here.

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INITIAL REVIEW

I feel really conflicted when rating this book, because so many aspects of it rated differently, in my opinion. I would give the writing 2-3 stars, and I would give the characters 2 stars, but I would give the story ideas and the fact that I NEEDED TO KNOW WHY 4 stars. I would probably give the conclusion and final reveal 3 stars.

The story has a bit of a frustrated feel to it because things are revealed at a snail's pace, and you're going crazy right along with Thomas at the lack of answers. The Gladers have a "Shut up, don't ask questions, you can't handle the truth" policy, and it's only after Thomas does something that is both very brave and very stupid that he begins to gain their trust and finally! find out what they know.

The plot reminded me of several different concepts while reading, and I kept trying to figure out in which direction Dashner would go. Is this some sort of [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)|Suzanne Collins|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775]-like sick form of entertainment? Is this a post-apocalyptic bunker in the style of [b: The City of Ember|307791|The City of Ember (Book of Ember, #1)|Jeanne DuPrau|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347778595s/307791.jpg|2285229]? Is this just a big lab experiment where you see how it is from the lab mice's point of view? Is this just a big allegory or author's thought experiment à la [b:Lord of the Flies|7624|Lord of the Flies|William Golding|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869409s/7624.jpg|2766512]?The end reminded me a lot of the video game Portal (just what I've heard about it), with the whole Big Brother/Mad Science Lab Gone Insane type of thing and [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364033163s/375802.jpg|2422333], with the whole We Must Do Bad Things to Kids So That They Can Save Our Future thing. It wasn't a crazy mind-blowing reveal, but it worked for this book.

So overall, I liked this idea and how it kept me guessing. I just wish the writing was stronger and the characters written so that I was more invested in them. I'd probably read the next book just because I'm curious to what this author will come up with next.

This book has some of the most poorly written characters I've ever read. Narration and dialogue is so awkward and unnatural-sounding. Plus, the protagonist just annoyed me. I mean, I guess Higgins was trying to paint her into a Ms. SUPER-GOODY-TWO-SHOES, but it gets to the point where I was like, "Does she have any of her own thoughts or feelings besides do this because that's what good girls do, don't do that because that's what bad girls do!" She's also one of the most naive people EVER. I mean, ignoring the paranormal aspect of this book, people like this don't EXIST. They're not REAL. Everyone has multiple interests, quirks or flaws that help define their personality, but everyone here is just so FLAT. I got up to the part where she found out she's half angel and half demon, but by that time I'm like Aghhh I can't be in this girl's head anymore!

I got up to the beginning of Chapter 8 when I began to think, "This is really feeling like a chore to read." This was after pages and pages of purely being in the protagonist's head with little action besides "I went to school, I went to classes, I stared out the window, I went home, I went to school again..." and barely any dialogue to break up her thoughts. Seriously, I started to think, "Agh! Get me out of her head!" It's not that she's particularly horrible, she's just a bit of a boring narrator (not witty or humourous, which would keep my interest) and I was usually somewhat confused by her thought processes or conclusions. The characters are also oddly developed, and not in a good way. Seraphina describes herself as a rebel because.. she cuts classes and has a purple streak in her hair! Oh the horror! The actions and descriptions of her father (who she refers to by his first name) and his girlfriend just seem to be there for you to feel sorry for Seraphina, but just make you confused to why they act that way at all. I mean, in the opening restaurant scene, they are making googly eyes at eachother and ignoring Seraphina while she get sung Happy Birthday by the waiters. Later when she faints, the girlfriend takes a picture of her while she's on the floor and Seraphina thinks, "I pray that she won't post the photo on the internet, but I know that she already has." I mean, WTF? Neither of them seem to hate Seraphina, and Ray isn't so indifferent that he will get angry and yell at her when she's done something wrong. So I can only conclude that these are just things to make you think, "Oh, she has a horrible life," but you're really thinking "WTF is up with everyone?"

This book also suffers from the horrid I-was-captured-by-his-gorgeous-eyes-syndrome. Seraphina is utterly captivated by this boy with BEAUTIFUL GREEN EYES, first in a picture, then later running into him in real life. While I know that in real life, there exist people with BEAUTIFUL GREEN EYES, if every time she sees him I have to read about these BEAUTIFUL GREEN EYES and just how BEAUTIFUL and AMAZINGLY GREEN and OCEAN-LIKE and JEWEL-LIKE they are, I start to go Aaaarrhghghghghh! I get it! Shut up!

This is approximately the part where I dropped the book.

Really disappointing, because it started out well. Schwab builds up an atmosphere of a town with no visitors surrounded by the moors, and an old fable about a witch. It's deliciously creepy. However... that's kind of the only thing it had going for it.

The story quickly grew boring and ended up utterly predictable. The title gives away the fact that it is the Near Witch that is taking the children, though no one in the town except for Lexie and the untrusted local witch sisters will believe that it isn't the new "stranger". Everyone in the story flat and one-dimensional and is either on the GOOD SIDE or the BAD SIDE or by the end, they realize that they should switch to the GOOD SIDE. The romance was underwhelming, and I didn't really see any chemistry. Lexie and Cole basically get together because... well, who else were there? Apparently there's only three teenagers in this town. I kept reading because I wanted there to be an awesome twist (like one of the main or secondary characters actually being the Near Witch! Cole is a manipulative bastard!) or just something... unexpected and exciting. Unfortunately, that never happened. Another thing that took away from the reading experience was the utter lack of humour. There are no jokes, no witty comments or observations, no banter - really, nothing to distract from the flatness of the story.

So, interesting idea, poor execution.

This book is odd for sure, and it's not an easy read. I have to agree with other reviewers that Briony has the strangeness of Merricat in [b:We Have Always Lived in the Castle|89724|We Have Always Lived in the Castle|Shirley Jackson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311400048s/89724.jpg|847007], and her narration is odd, confusing, quick-witted, entertaining, melodic and completely unlike anything else I've read. I'm avoiding the word "quirky" here because I feel that that word is given to describe something that is different, but in an "oh, that's adorable!" way, and Briony is different in an "oh, you're really really weird, but in a sharp and fascinating way."

You'll either like this book, or you won't. I started liking the strangeness, got a little meh'd in the middle when I wasn't sure where the story was going (the story mixes between being mystery-driven, romance-driven, and daily-life-driven), and then liked it when it picked up more towards the end. It's one that I have to reread soon, and I feel like once I'm not frustrated by the mystery and jumpy narrating, I can sit back and enjoy it a lot more. Briony and Rose have the best lines!

Briony's relationship with Eldric reminded me a bit of Ella and Char in [b:Ella Enchanted|24337|Ella Enchanted|Gail Carson Levine|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338459167s/24337.jpg|2485462]. They can act like such kids together, it's cute.

Overall, I liked this book on the first read, but I can see it getting better each time I revisit it.

Jordan kind of reminded me of the main character (forget her name) in [b:That Boy|11382346|That Boy (That Boy, #1)|Jillian Dodd|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1305572809s/11382346.jpg|16313871] (in which I can reread certain scenes forever, but was overall annoyed with the story), with her strong friendship with guys, as well as her naivety. A couple things that I loved in this book were her extreme passion for football, her friendships with Henry, JJ and Carter and, well, Henry could be particularly sweet and hilarious. But overall, the book was okay.

Hilarious. That's what this book is. And it's not even the snarky humour that usually gets me. Drew is just really, really frank and honest. And he's not the cocky bastard that so often frequent romance novels. He's not the cool and aloof alpha male. He's the cocky charmer. He'll grin and smirk and flash a gorgeous smile to worm his way into your heart.

This story isn't new. It's been told a hundred times. But you know why people will always go to see that new romantic comedy even when they already know 90% of the storyline going in? We want to see the spark between two love interests. We want to watch the banter in the verbal sparring. We want to laugh in surprised delight of that catchy witty one-liner we haven't heard before. And if we're really lucky, we'll also have the rug pulled out from underneath us and be taken somewhere completely unexpected.

So the unexpected parts of this book for me were:

1. How laugh-snort-cry funny this book was. Like I said, the guy's a charmer, and he has lines to make you pause your reading from not being able to keep in that giggle.

2. How strong and awesome Kate was. She's smart and she knows it. She's very capable and she knows it. And she deserves a great guy and she won't settle for anything less.

3. How much Drew endeared himself to me. I really, really liked him. He's that mix of smarts, cockiness, charm, idiocy and good heart that made him really loveable. In a way, he kind of reminded me of Tom Mackee from [b:The Piper's Son|7417780|The Piper's Son|Melina Marchetta|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333662548s/7417780.jpg|9362085] in that he's that guy you can't help but root for even when he manages to be cruel and selfish, shoot himself in the foot and do a bang-up job of screwing everything up for himself.

4. There's a fairly strong cast of characters here that aren't just the usual flamboyant gay sidekick or super slutty or super meek best friend. You have the older sister that both protects and tortures him (like any good sibling should). You have the best friends who are actually there to support and not just to brag to or compete with. You have the other best friend who's a firecracker all her own. And all these relationships feel real and genuine.

5. How the love triangle actually could have gone either way, and I would have understood. It actually scared me for a bit while I was reading because it seemed like the story could head in a direction that I didn't want it to.

6. I really believed this story. I mean, I fell, I laughed, I felt that punch to the gut. And I rooted till the very end.

And really, that ending? Who knew that renovating a friken home office would get a big romantic sigh out of me? But it was perfect.

This book is a surprise. But a really, really good one.

I spent most of the first half of the book trying to picture in my head what the Fade looked like. They're shadows! They can chameleon themselves! They're super strong and smart! No.. wait.. they have human forms! They're strong.. but then they're not! They have tentacles! No, wait they have human-ish arms! They can shapeshift! Aghhh.. what??

To add to that one mindfck, though fascinating, the world is also a bit difficult to understand at first. Eventually, the plot kept me reading, thought I never really got too invested in the characters. I thought that the "hive" notion of the Fade was pretty cool though, and reminded me of [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364033163s/375802.jpg|2422333].

Just picturing Spike in every Bones line...

For a kid's book, I was a bit surprised at how readable and engrossing I found it (I'm in my 20's). Paul is a smart kid, crazy about soccer and a bit cynical but with an open mind and a good heart. Paul is Ashlee Simpson to his older brother's Jessica Simpson, and this book is the song "Shadow" without all the angst. And that's one of the reasons I liked him so much. He's aware of his older brother getting more attention, especially from his father, and being able to get away with everything, but he doesn't wallow in too much misery over it. Paul has his own dreams, his own passions, and he knows that not only does he have his own skills in school and on the soccer field, but as he grows over the course of the book, also the character and integrity that will take him far in life. But this isn't your light-hearted middle grade book. Bloor brings up issues about race, social class and death I mean, two characters died. Died! And each one hit me over the head. Especially Luis. that I wasn't really expecting, and he gives characters a chance to really show themselves so that I grew to understand them, even if only to pity them. Is Erik really the villain of the story, or is his character due to poor parenting? Is it Paul's parents fault for heaping high praise on his football skills without also teaching him humility? I may ridicule Paul's Mom for caring so much about whether the mailboxes on the street are complimentary, but when she says something like, "Paul, I'm talking as somebody who never, ever, lived in a nice house growing up. Or even lived anywhere near a nice house. This is not a joke to me. Your house is your family's biggest investment. And you have to protect that investment." I understand where she's coming from. Life is grey and messy, full of open-minded people and ignorant people and sometimes tragedy occurs, and this book acknowledges that.

I can see why Hunter and Gabriel get on so well. They are a couple of emotional-hot-mess adrenaline junkies, aren't they? It's funny, from the previous two books, I had an image in my head of Hunter being the stoic military man, with some hippyish new-age tendancies (the rock bracelets, and all), so I kind of forgot about all the tattoos and piercings. I actually had to go back to [b:Storm|10401084|Storm (Elemental, #1)|Brigid Kemmerer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1325995724s/10401084.jpg|15305022] to find the initial description of him:

The new kid was a lot to look at. He’d certainly crossed that line from boy to young man, with a defined jaw, high cheekbones, lean, muscled arms, and not an ounce of baby fat—all pros. Sandy blond hair drifted across his forehead, broken by a clean streak of white, right in the center of his bangs.
Who dyes their hair white? she wondered.
But it didn’t stop there: One ear had piercings all the way up. The other only sported two—the same number in his left eyebrow. Green eyes matched the tee shirt he wore, staring unflinchingly at the students watching him. His black jeans hung loose, suspended by a chafed leather belt. About fifteen bracelets encircled one arm, crude loops of twine that each held a small rock of a different color. He had a few small tattoos on his forearms, and one on the side of his neck.

Whoa, I totally missed that. Anyways, in this book, Hunter has alienated himself from everyone, and feels like the world hates him. Plus, his home situation? Aghhhh, they pissed me off so bad. But this book reminded me that, well, Hunter is still pretty much a kid. He's sixteen (or something?) and even though he's independent and disciplined, he still has teenage-boy anxieties. His scenes with Michael emphasize this.

But this series just keeps getting better, and is venturing into character love territory. More for the boys of the series than the girls for now, but I think this could get better as the series goes along.

Plus, holy shit, Kemmerer actually killed off one of the narrators? Damnnn. But, poor Hunter. Let me give you a hug.

Gabriel, you're still my favourite.

This book reminded me of a really good video by Hank Green (of Nerdfighter/Vlogbrother fame), where he describes the infinite number of "shiny boxes" that human sexuality comes in: Human Sexuality is Complicated...

An eye-opener to a condition that I honestly have never really thought about or even knew for sure existed. Max is an intersexual (formerly known as a hermaphrodite) and this book describes the year that he really faces what this really means for his life and his future.

The writing is pretty good in this book, and the story could be devastatingly heartbreaking at times (mostly Max's narrations). However, the characterization was fairly weak and some never felt fully realized to me (especially the mother). Also, a lot of times the story seemed to come second to informing the reader about the issues surrounding intersex. So I while it did capture my interest, especially due to the subject matter being about something I was totally ignorant of, I hope there will be better written stories with this topic.