The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Housseini
Genre: Fiction

In Afghanistan in the 1970s Amir and Hassan are as close as brothers.  They grew up together, played together, even nursed from the same wet maid as infants.  There is one major difference between them; Amir is a Pashtun, a member of the ruling class, mostly comprised of Sunni Muslims, contrarily, Hassan is a a member of the lower class of Hazara people, primarily Shi'a Muslims.  As a result of this difference, Hassan is the son of Amir's father's servant and never truly viewed as an equal in the eyes of his playmate.

Then, one crucial afternoon, Amir witnesses a heinous act committed against Hassan, but rather than intervene, chooses to remain passive.  He spends the next several decades haunted by the flashbulb memory of that day; tortured by the guilt of his inaction.

Years pass, The Soviets overthrow the Afghan monarchy, forcing Amir and his father to flee to America.  Amir adjusts to his new life, trying to bury the past but discovers "the past claws its way out". The Taliban takes Amir's homeland back from the Soviets.  One day, Amir, now a grown man gets a call from his father's friend, Rahim Khan in Persia.  Rahim tells him he knows what happened back in 1975, but there is a way for him "to be good again" he just needs to come back to the Middle East.

Where do I start with this novel?  I may or may not have been mildly obsessed with it during and for a while after reading it.  I really liked the way Khaled Hosseini used the political situation in Afghanistan over the past four decades as a backdrop for his story without making it the focus of the novel.  In its heart, it is a book about humanity, loyalty, and redemption.  Hosseini is a fantastic writer.  I love the way he uses anecdotes, such as the slaughter of a lamb to describe an expression during a very sensitive scene.  It is a good way to paint a picture for the reader, without sounding cliche, as well as providing a metaphor for the current situation.  The author chose a highly complex topic for the centerpiece of his story, and I feel he did it justice.

5/5

WARNING:  Topics discussed in the book include; sexual assault (not too graphic, but there is no misinterpreting what is occurring), violence (people executed in the streets, stoning, fistfights), pedophilia, and suicide.  There is very little language throughout the novel, however, there is a one-time use of the word, "c**t".

If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman
Genre: YA Fiction

Mia Hall had everything.  Loving parents, a younger brother, an adoring boyfriend, and a great shot at acceptance to Juilliard for her Cello.  Then, while driving to her grandparents house on a snowy day, Mia is in an accident that kills her parents instantly.  Now she is having an out-of-body-experience; witnessing the paramedics treat her body as a third person observer.  Mia follows the ambulance to a hospital where she discovers she is in critical condition.  The doctors do their best but, in the end, Mia is the only person who can decide whether she lives or dies.  The book is told through a series of flashbacks in which Mia recalls her childhood with her parents, her little brother, and her grandparents; she thinks about her relationship with her boyfriend, her best friend, and the rest of her non-related family as she contemplates two uncertain futures.

The premise of this novel is an intriguing concept.  The readers find themselves contemplating what choice they would make in a similar situation.  I, personally, went back and forth on whether I hoped Mia would stay or go.  I really like the use of flashbacks; Gayle Forman pieces her main character's life together bit by bit, rather than in chronological order.  The frequent real time scenes in the hospital keep the audience engaged  In showing how great her life was before the accident, Forman highlights what the protagonist has to gain by staying, and also what she has already lost and would be facing life without.  My two criticisms of the novel are: the writing style, and the profanity.  I felt the writing style was mediocre.  It was pretty simple and straightforward- probably middle school reading level.  This is probably because that age range is Forman's target audience, so perhaps I'm a little biased.  Additionally, while I don't mind profanity in books (or in real life) I felt Forman used it a bit too liberally.  Personally, I feel curse words should be used to underline a person's point or emphasize their emotion.  In If I Stay, there was quite a bit of cursing thrown around, but it was not so extreme that it distracted from the story.  Overall, the book is good, but not great.

4/5

WARNING: Strong language throughout.  Some vague, brief sexual content.

Looking For Alaska

Author: John Green
Genre: YA fiction

"How will I ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?"  That is the question at the heart of Looking For Alaska.  

Before: When Miles "Pudge" Halter leaves home for Culver Creek boarding school, his sights are set on seeking a "Great Perhaps", a feat inspired by François Rabelais' last words.  Upon arrival, he meets his roommate "The Colonel" and the beautiful, rebellious, intellectual Alaska Young.  Pudge finds camaraderie in his new friends as the trio drink, smoke, and partake in an ongoing prank war with the "weekday warriors", the rich kids who go home to their parents houses on weekends- all while evading the school's dean, "The Eagle".  Despite, or perhaps because of, her mystic, Pudge soon finds himself falling in love with Alaska; one of his closest friends whom he barely knows.

After:  Without giving away spoilers, the tone of the second part of the book differs greatly from the first.

Wow.  Fantastic book!  One of my new favorites.  I think every teenager should read this novel; the major event in the middle of the book is extremely relevant to high schoolers and college students.  The fact that Pudge falls in love with Alaska from afar is relatable to many youths who have very real feelings for crushes they've never spoken too.  That said, adults will also enjoy it; if you've read any of John Green's other works, you'll know that his books are about teenagers, yet appeal to a much larger audience.  The juniors' religion class is woven into the plot and provides a nice jumping point for discussing themes not often found in YA literature.  Themes such as: what happens after death?, how does one find forgiveness in the unforgivable?, is forgiveness necessary for closure?, and can closure be found in ambiguity?

5/5

WARNING:  Strong language throughout.  As well as teenagers drinking wine and smoking tobacco.  Many references to sexual acts, and one explicitly described scene in which Pudge receives oral sex (This scene is written to contrast with a different scene a few pages later.  Green's purpose in writing it this way is to highlight the fact that just because two people are physically intimate doesn't mean they are emotionally intimate and vice versa.  Another important theme for teenagers).

An Abundance of Katherines

Author: John Green
Genre: YA Fiction

Some guys only date girls with blonde hair, some guys only date girls who wear heels, child prodigy, Colin Singleton only dates girls named Katherine.  Not Catherine, not Kathryn; always K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E.  Just after his high school graduation, Colin is dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine.  To help pull him out of his post-dumping depression, his best friend, Hassan, suggests a road trip.  They end up in Gunshot, TN, where they meet Lindsey Lee Wells and are hired to interview all current and former employees of the Lee Wells' textile-mill-turned-tampon-string-factory.  Meanwhile, Colin lives in fear that he will only ever be a child prodigy and never become an adult genius.  He decides that if he can make a significant contribution to the world, he will become recognized as a genius and impress Katherine 19 (K-19) enough that she will she will want him back.  Colin gets the idea that if he can just figure out an algorithm for determining the fate of a relationship, his problems would be solved.

This book isn't as heavy as some of John Green's other novels.  In this story, Green focuses on themes of what it means to "matter" and what "mattering" means, the unpredictability of life and love, as well as the flaws of human memory.  It's funny and entertaining, but does take quiet a while to get into.  There are very few major events in the story until the reader gets close to the end.  It is written with the intent to zero in more on Colin's character development and self-growth rather than on action.  One way Green does this is via flashbacks; throughout the book, he tells readers short stories of Katherines past, allowing the reader to slowly put together the pieces of Colin's failed love life.

One thing I really liked about this book is the use of footnotes.  As a child prodigy, Colin uses some obscure vocabulary that the read may not be familiar with; this is explained in the footnotes.  Green also uses them as a method of briefly informing his readers of a past event or comment without the need to go into a lengthy backstory.

Fun fact for you left-brained math people: the math Colin uses in his various revisions of the relationship formula is 100% accurate.

4/5

WARNING: Some language- only one use of strong language.  Also a few brief, vague sexual allusions

Round Ireland With a Fridge

Author: Tony Hawks
Genre: Memoir

"I hereby bet Tony Hawks the sum of one hundred pounds that he cannot hitchhike round the circumference of Ireland, with a fridge, within one calendar month."  Tony wakes up from a night heavy drinking to find the preceding note signed by himself and his friend, Kevin.  This temporary lapse in judgement leads to one of the greatest adventures of his life.  Hawks, a London resident, starts his journey hitching outside of Dublin, making his way northward, counterclockwise around the country.  Along the way, he is interviewed by national radio, television, and several local newspapers.  He chronicles the escapades he (and the fridge) have in various rural Irish towns.  Hawks goes surfing (with the fridge), enters a bachelor festival, meets the poorest king on Earth, and the fridge is christened and even blessed by the Mother Superior of an Abby.

This book falls under the "it's funny cause it's true" category.  As if the concept of this memoir wasn't hilarious on it's own, Tony Hawks is a stand-up comedian by trade.  The result is a slightly wacky, laugh-out-loud, great story.  I, personally, chose to read it because I needed a break both from young adult novels and books with upsetting endings (I had just finished Veronica Roth's Divergent series, which was preceded by John Green's The Fault in Our Stars).  This one fit the bill perfectly.  It's light, intelligently-written, and will teach you lots of Irish geography as well as a few Gaelic words.

4/5

The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green
Genre: YA Fiction

Sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster is intelligent, cynical, and terminal.  Diagnosed with thyroid cancer at the age of thirteen, she was given a grim prognoses and experimental medication.  Despite endless doctors appointments and numerous radical treatments, the Lancasters have never been given false hope- Hazel's cancer can be treated, but not cured.  All science can do is delay the inevitable.  Then one day at support group Hazel meets Augustus Waters.  He is witty, straightforward, and a little pretentious.  Augustus pulls Hazel out of her monotony of support group meetings and America's Next Top Model marathons and reminds her that she is a person, not just a cancer patient.

First of all, let me start off by saying that this book is not a typical "love story" or "cancer book".  While it does incorporate both of those elements, it views them from a bigger picture perspective.  John Green portrays the illnesses mentioned in his novel very realistically, where many authors prefer to sugar coat it, or at the very least omit the unpleasant details.  The Fault in Our Stars strikes a very rare balance of portraying the terrible aspects of disease, without becoming overdramatic and focusing exclusively on the negatives.  Hazel and Augustus' relationship is very sweet and John Green doesn't try to make his story about how "true love conquers all" but rather the fact that being in love is worth the pain of knowing it won't be able to last.  This theme applies to many different relationships; romantic love, parental love, and friendship.

5/5

Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: YA Fiction/ Dystopian

Beatrice "Tris" Prior lives in dystopian Chicago where the residents of the city are divided into five factions; the selfless are sorted into "Abnegation", the brave into "Dauntless", the honest into "Candor",  the intelligent into "Erudite", and the nonviolent into "Amity".  Once a year, all the city's sixteen-year-olds attend the Choosing Ceremony where they select which factor they will pledge loyalty to for the rest of their life.  The help them prepare for such a decision, each teen is administered an aptitude test that will determine which faction they are best suited for.  The results of Tris' test are highly unusual: inconclusive.  Rather than demonstrating an aptitude for one faction, she is deemed suitable for three: Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite.  Tired of feeling like an outsider in her own faction, the Abnegation native decides to take a leap of faith and selects Dauntless.  Upon arrival at their new faction's headquarters, the new initiates are shocked to discover only ten of them will make it to initiation day; the rest will become factionless and spend their life alone and begging on the streets...

I found the novel engaging and suspenseful.  There is enough character development for the reader to become invested in the outcome.  Veronica Roth's take on the dystopian genre is very interesting.  It is an intriguing examination of human nature that is accurate enough to be frighteningly believeable. As is so often the case, the book is much better than the movie. While the film adaptation was good, it changed the order of some of the scenes and omitted a few key characters completely.  There was also quite a bit of character development lost when it was translated to the screen.  Internal dialogue is difficult to portray in film.  I suggest reading the book to fully experience this story.

Recommend for fans of dystopian fiction, particularly The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins).

5/5

WARNING: Violence throughout.  Also some mild language.