Review: The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco

Firstly, I will point out that I did not finish this book. But I will also point out that I really, really wanted to, but just couldn't. 

So, the one (and only) book I was going to read from Eco was The Name of the Rose. But as it happens, someone recommended this book and said it was really good and "psychological" so I figured I should give it a go. It started out quite good actually. It tells the story of a sixty year old man, who wakes up one day and can't remember anything about his own life. He remembers all automatic processes that his mind knew before, like how to drive a bicycle, but he has no recollection of his family and friends. He also remembers books and poems he read. At the beginning, he often uses quotes from literary works to describe something he can't really remember. 

Anyway, it seemed really interesting at first. But then he goes to the house where he grew up, to see if that surrounding will trigger his memory. And at this book just becomes plain, flat-out boring. It starts going into tiny tinsy detail in describing books, movies, magazines, comic books, even freakin' radio shows. I went through more than a third of the book, in hopes that something will get better, but it didn't and I just couldn't go through it any more, it was just so dull. 

And the worst thing is, it wasn't written badly. It was really nice in that department. But it just wasn't planned and thought out well, in my opinion. And I couldn't finish it, and that is saying something, because I went through some pretty bad books. 

In the end, I didn't finish it, so I might be wrong about this book, but I don't think it gets better. I flipped through it and there were more and more pictures of popular publications from the 30's and 40's which means that it goes in even more details.

I am sure that in between all that, there are slivers of the main characters life, different events of his life and I am sorry I won't get to that. But for me, it just isn't worth it.

Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

With all the hype around this book, I finally picked it up and read it. I actually got the audiobook version, which I really didn't like, and I don't think I'll be listening to another book anytime soon, because it's just weird for me. Anyway, I didn't like this book. I know that a lot of people did, but to me, it's just so overrated. It was so stereotypical. You have this golden boy, Ezra Faulkner, whose athletic future gets destroyed in a car accident. After that, all of a sudden, he starts questioning his life and his friends and sees the error of his ways and realizes how meaningless it all was. He finds that his jock group of friends and his popular girlfriend don't really care for him and how they are leading such profoundly pointless lives. Obviously, in light of this devastating realization, he joins the so called "nerd" group, and sees how they are all awesome people and friends. And of course, add a new, mysterious, quirky, beautiful girl and there you have it, a perfect YA story.

I expected more from this story, really. I found that I only liked the ending, which was realistic enough, but I also found that it was to show how things aren't always perfect in life, which I find a given.
Also, this book seemed to be trying too hard at times. For example, Cassidy quoting Foucault, talking about escaping the Panopticon, and how she had this secret, a tragedy that explained all of that, that damaged side of her. Like she needed a reason to think about such profound things, and like she needed a reason to be moody and just feel down sometimes.
I thought this book was going to be better when it started, and not fall under such stereotypical categories, but in the end, it did, and I just didn't liked it, even though I really wanted to. 

Review: The Staff of Serapis by Rick Riordan

There are two things I want to point out. The first one is that I am a huge fan of Riordan's books, I adore both series about Percy Jackson and I also really liked the Kane chronicles. When I first read the Percy Jackson series, I was blown away with it, because I found it to be different than anything I read before and also really funny and quite interesting. But, with all that, the second thing is that I did not like The Staff of Serapis. I wanted to like it, but I just didn't.

This is a short story in which Annabeth Chase and Sadie Kane meet, so it's a crossover between the Percy Jackson series and the Kane Chronicles. Now, I am not saying this is terrible, but I just didn't do anything to me. I read it quickly, because it was a short story, but I wasn't the least bit intrigued with it. It kind of seemed that the only reason it was written was to please fans who were crazy about a crossover happening, so the whole thing didn't really seem thought through. 

I liked the idea of a crossover, but it all seem a bit strained, like the two girls bonding instantly, and becoming fast friends. It just didn't feel very natural. And the whole story behind it, the god of Alexandria, Serapis, awakening and trying to reclaim his position as the ultimate deity was boring to me.

I wasn't even sure if I should write anything about this, since it's a short story, but I was kind of disappointed in it, and wanted to share that. I found that a lot of people did like it, but to me is just wasn't good and it was really a letdown. 

Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This was once again a book recommended on Goodreads. I did hear great things about it even before that, so I picked it up to see what it was like. It did not disappoint.

I really, really loved it. First of all, this is not an easy, happy book. It's not something that you can breeze through, without really thinking about it and it's not a book that you can relax to. I mean, that goes even without saying because it is about World War II. Still, it's an amazing book. It's about a girl called Leisel Meminger, who is traveling with her mother and brother to a foster home when her brother dies. That's the moment she steals her first book. After that, she arrives at Himmel Street, where she meets her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. As Leisel learns how to live with them, and as she starts to learn to read and starts loving books, she is also slowly getting to know people on Himmel Street, amongst whom she finds her future best friend Rudy.

And after a while, her parents start hiding a Jew in their basement, Max, and he and Leisel soon become very good friends.

I should've mentioned this before, this book is narrated by Death. I thought this brought so much to the book, and really elevated it to the next level. Because, one thing that really dominated the WW II (or any war for that matter) was Death. So, who better yo translate the feeling than the Angel of Death himself? I also liked that the book wasn't consistent chronologically. It sort of jumped through time as... well, Death tried to reconstruct the life of Liesel Meminger, the Book Thief. I really enjoyed that.

I really liked the way this book was written. It was honest and the story ran smoothly. Also, the characterization was really nicely done, because there was this wide range of characters that you hated at one moment, but liked and understood at other. 

I really loved this book and would recommend it to anyone. I think that branding this book as YA doesn't make much sense because I don't think this is age specified. I think adults can read it and enjoy it, which goes for some other YA books obviously. So, in conclusion, great read and I really thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

I think I discovered this book on Goodreads, it was one of the recommended books for me. The minute I saw the title I wanted to read it. I mean, who wouldn't? It's amazing. I also read a couple of reviews and they were all brilliant and the book seemed to have gotten a lot of awards. And it was described like a "lyrical" novel. So reading it was a no-brainer. 

It totally lived up to my expectations. It was so good. I just loved how this was written. This is a story about a boy named Ari (short of Aristotle) who is this angry kid. Really, really angry. He's mad at the world and also, he's mad at himself. He is constantly trying to find himself, to understand the world and the people around him. He lives with his dad, who fought in the Vietnam war and is dealing with the ghosts of the war which never really left him. And his mom, who is dealing with the ghost of his brother, Bernardo, who was incarcerated. Ari's parents never really talk about him which (like everything) makes Ari angry. Ari is also a loner, who doesn't really have friends, until one day he goes to the pool and meets Dante. 

And right there starts this stunning and beautiful story about a friendship. 

I really liked this book. I ended up reading it in a day because I was really enjoying it. I love books like these, where nothing actually happens and everything happens at the same time. There's not any real plot here, but everything goes kind of slowly, which gives it this realistic feel and makes it relatable. I've never read anything by this author, but I thought this was so nicely
written. I have most of the book highlighted on my Kindle, because it's just so beautiful and sad and true. I really loved it and would recommend it, especially to teenagers, because I feel that it captures that loneliness, the feeling of being out of place and not knowing who you truly are really well.