Landline by Rainbow Rowell

As I've mentioned in a previous post, after reading Eleanor and Park, I wanted to read every single thing Rainbow Rowell had ever written. But then I saw that her other YA novel was called Fangirl, and I just really, really hate that word. (I did a blog post on Fangirl, you can check it out, so I won't ramble on about that whole thing again. But spoiler alert: I LOVED the book.) Anyways, as I've also mentioned, when I heard about Landline, I thought I probably couldn't relate to the characters, given the fact they are in a struggling marriage, and I am... well, nineteen. I am here to point out that I was utterly wrong. 

Landline was brilliant. Truly. I don't know why I ever doubted I would like this book since it was in fact written by Rainbow Rowell. No other writer has that effect on me. But she writes so inexplicably magical, that I am left speechless. I have to put down her books mid-sentence, just because I can't deal with all the feelings. Her characters are so undeniably realistic. They are real people. They are written in a way that no matter what, you can relate because they feel so genuine. I always feel this after reading a Rainbow Rowell book. I am a puddle on the floor, just trying to get over the fact that the book is over and just trying to sort out how is it possible to even feel so much for a book. This doesn't happen to me with books. I am not that person. But somehow, Rainbow Rowell takes all that is magical in this world, and puts it into words. And you just melt. 

I loved this story. I loved every single character in the book. Georgie and Neal's relationship was just brilliant. I loved them as a couple. I loved their kids. I loved how everything was right and wrong at the same time, all the time. I loved the fact that there was this almost SciFi aspect to the story, but it didn't felt misplaced. It was perfectly interwoven into this story, so seamlessly and almost casually.

Obviously, this book got a 5/5 stars on Goodreads (You can add me if you want to, that would be great). And if you are reluctant to read this, as I was at one time, just don't be. It's as every bit as magical as her other books.

***Also the Cath and Levi update thingy?!?! I was over the moon with it. It wasn't a big deal, but somehow it was. Cath and Levi are my favorite characters ever so I really enjoyed that bit. 

Franny and Zooey by J.D.Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorite books of all time. (I did a review for it!) I love it so much. I think that everyone who read it and loved it, felt inclined to read Franny and Zooey too. I didn't have high expectations for it. I didn't expect to like it as much as the Catcher in the Rye. Still, this book left me feeling really weird and unable to decide whether I like it or not. 

I cannot even give a synopsis because there is no plot here. It's a story about finding yourself and coming to terms with how the world is and who it works. And maybe also dealing with the ghosts of your siblings, dead or alive. Yeah, it seems weird. But that's how I see it. 

Zooey is very similar to Holden. That kind of personality echoes through all the male characters in the book, more or less. So, that indicates that this was in fact written by Salinger. But the writing itself, didn't seem like it was him. Or to put it better, the style of the writing had no similarities to the Catcher at all. I don't think I could've guessed that it was Salinger based on the writing alone. I didn't expect that. 

I really liked the book at the beginning. It starts out with Franny and kind of describes the challenges and troubles she's facing. And it seemed to me that I was really going to love this book. But than that whole "plot" line cuts. The whole perspective shifts in time and moves to her family house and her brother, Zooey. And this wasn't done seamlessly. It was very weird and awkward. That's the only way to describe it. 

Also, there were a lot of religious motives in the book. It kept revolving around them and I just didn't particularly enjoy it. It wasn't something I liked and I wanted to read. 

I liked this book at times a lot. Zooey's conversations with his moms and Franny were really nicely written and at those points I really loved the book and the writing and the characters. But then, it would shift again to those religious things and I was a bit put off. It seemed odd in a way.

I ended up giving this book 3/5 stars on Goodreads just because I felt really bizarre after I finished it. I don't think I would necessarily recommend this book, but I think that a lot of people would probably enjoy it. In fact, there are a lot of great reviews for it. Somehow, it just wasn't my cup of tea. 

Legend by Marie Lu

I really enjoy dystopian books, and this one was everywhere. So it was only natural for me to pick it up. I can't say I loved it. It was fun, but there were some things that I really disliked, so they affected the way I feel about this book.

Legend is a story about two very different people, with different lives and backgrounds. One of them is a boy called Day, who is an outlaw basically. There is a test that everyone must take at a certain age, and it predetermines what they are gonna do, and whether or not they would be allowed to continue to live their lives as planned. And Day failed that test. So he ran away and started doing things against the Republic, which is the "evil government" in this book. And he became the most wanted criminal.

On the other side, we have June, who is the only person in the Republic who got a maximum on that test. So she got to go to the best college in the Republic and to prepare to be a military agent of the Republic.

But their paths cross when June's brother is killed, and Day is the number one suspect. So she has to go undercover to catch him.

This was a fun book. Just a fairly entertaining read. It was nicely paced and flowed really smoothly. But I had a couple of problems with it which led to me liking the book a lot less. First of all, the story is told from both Day's and June's perspectives. And they alter. But, they seem like the exact same person. Their narrative voices are very similar. They are both perceptive, cocky and determined. At one point one of them even says they are like one person. Which I hated. It was so unnecessary and made their whole relationship really corny and stereotypical to me. That was the second problem. I didn't care for their relationship at all. It had no feelings in it. It was flat and underwhelming. And really predictable. 

Still, this was a fun and intriguing read. I was entertained by the whole dystopian aspect of the book and I am looking forward to see how it develops and what does it all mean. This was very similar to other dystopian books, which was fine, but I am still waiting to like a dystopian book as much as I liked the Hunger games or even Divergent. And this wasn't the one. Sure, it was fun enough, but for me it wasn't anything special and I wasn't blown away with it.
So I gave this book 3/5 stars on Goodreads. If you're into dystopia, you will probably enjoy it, so you can give it a go.