Follow Friday (7)

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View, meant to spotlight two blogs and allows bloggers to link up and meet other fabulous bookish friends and share the Following love!

This week's spotlight blogs are: Novel Days & Hesperia Loves Books!

And the question of the week is:

Have you ever looked at book’s cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

I'm going to be honest here: I judge a book by it's cover. There's a very good chance I won't even try to read a book if I don't like the cover; therefore, I can't really think of one that I didn't like and then read.  (I know, I feel horrible about this.)  

Any books I've read don't have covers that I think are horrible/terrible - just some annoyances.

The Duff - Kody Keplinger

As soon as I found out what "duff" stood for, I knew I'd have to read it since it hit a very personal, almost-uncomfortably close insecurity of mine. But when I saw the cover, I was immediately annoyed: first of all, I can't stand the font choice or how it's set up because I didn't see the big picture of it for a good few seconds. But mostly? That girl on the cover doesn't look very "Duffy" to me!  In any case, I got over it and read it and quite liked it (moderately...). The cover is forgivable, but definitely not something I'm crazy about.

But the real answer to the question...I adore John Green's books. I do. I'm completely on the John Green fan-train, Nerdfighteria, DFTBA, I'M SO THERE.  BUT! I really, really don't like the covers to his novels! Paper Towns sort of redeemed itself when the re-released paperback had the map with the pin on it, and I admire the creativity in the original Abundance of Katherines cover (that formula!) - but I'm still not crazy about any of them and I don't find them to reflect on the amazing content and worlds within.

Don't hate me, Nerdfighters! He's still absolutely brilliant in every way.

What covers put you off? Leave your link in the comments and I'll hop by!

And if you follow, I'd be more than happy to return it :)

(PS. Can any commenters let me know if there is a security captcha? There shouldn't be!)

Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (or, WHY?!)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Dutton (an imprint of Penguin Teen), 313 Pages
Released: January 10, 2012

Challenges: Completely Contemp Challenge


Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

(I can't tell you how hard it was for me to not just paste the ENTIRE GODDAMN NOVEL here)

"I love you present tense."

I'm starting this review not even 20 minutes after I finished reading the book, and that's probably a big mistake because my eyes are still that sort of blurry and my face is still wet and my nose is still in that awkward snotty-drying-up phase that makes me all sorts of sexy, but I'm feeling all the feels and want to type now. I'll probably do a Save Draft and come back later to make this coherent and worthy of being read by the public, for now, this'll have to do.

There were a lot of ways I wanted to start this review:
1) I wanted to say how I'd heard so many things about it already and knew it was a complete sobfest that alters your world, and that was weighing heavily at me as I began. And I even tweeted this:

And it was like 15 pages in I was laughing and falling in love with Gus already and all I could do was whimper after every laugh because I could feel that all these giggles were at the brink of something else, too.

2) I wanted to start with a series of "Why" questions, such as: WHY JOHN GREEN, WHY?! and WHY, Gus, WHY?! and Why did this end?! and Why did I do this to myself?! and Why can I not stop wanting everything from this book?!

3) With that quote that every reader immediately picked out of the first 40 pages as an Absolute Truth:

“‎Sometimes you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.  And then there are books which you can't tell other people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.”

4) or tell you how I actually did not want to read this book because I feared how much it would make me feel. I was so scared that it would reach into some of the most hidden corners of my mind and turn me inside out and make me cry and scream and yell and love so hard it would ache (which it did, but I'll get to all that later.)  In fact, the only reason I did finally read it is because I wanted to participate in Tracey's YA Book Club (thanks Jon for posting about it!) and their pick was TFIOS.

Truthfully, I, too, believe in that quote from #3, and I know I'm going to do it a disservice by talking about it. I didn't even want to call this a "review" so much as a "discussion" (perhaps even a "coveting") because sometimes there are words that are grouped and placed together in such a beautiful, special sequence that they can make a novel that speaks directly to the deepest recesses of your soul and you know that nothing will ever possibly come close to expressing how it makes you feel.  This book is an Emotion in itself.

You should really read the book. I don't want to say much more because...you just have to experience it.  And I will pitch it like this:

The Fault In Our Stars will fill your heart with love, and make you feel so privileged to get to know Hazel and Augustus, and make you laugh as you see their relationship build and what it means to their lives as Cancer Kids. And this book will make you bawl, it will tear your heart out and make you question humanity and mortality and oblivion and infinities and what it really is to be a grenade in neither the Jersey Shore nor Bruno Mars* way.  You will close the book often while reading it because it positively overwhelms you to the point you have to consciously tell yourself to breath; and then you will open the book back up just as quickly because it feels wrong to not keep going with Hazel. You will feel lucky, as though your own lifeline has expanded, to befriend Hazel and Augustus; you will be grateful to have witnessed their time together; and you will weep as you understand just how sincerely that they do not have "if"s, only "when"s.

And it is perfect.

Rating The Fault in Our Stars feels insufficient because it's so much more than stars, but because I am nothing if not consistent:

5 Stars / 5

(and thousands and thousands of constellations more)

PS. A note on the actual writing of it, John Green is a freakin' master. How he writes through the characters as though he is speaking directly to the reader is brilliant. I felt like Gus was apologizing to me for hiding it, I felt like Hazel was texting me why she couldn't hold his hand, I felt like I was listening to Van Houton spew asswad things to me. A MASTER, I tell you.

PPS. While I'm happy for John Green that this has been optioned as a movie, I am so unhappy with that. I cannot imagine this as a film because part of experiencing this story wholly was reading the descriptions and just following along with it. I feel like having the visual clues and environments will...detract from it all. But you know, I'll see it of course, and hopefully it's done in a different way that I'll also love.

*in the interest of full disclosure, I do not watch Jersey Shore, and I absolutely abhor Bruno Mars. So yeah, I'm making A LOT of fun of them. :)

What did you think of the book? Love it? Didn't like it?  What was the first line you cried at?

Happy The Fault In Our Stars Release Day!

Happy Release Day, John Green and Nerdfighters alike!

Because I am poor (unemployed), I didn't pre-order the book since I wasn't sure I'd have enough money in my account.  BUT, I did put it on hold at the library and it is currently in transit, ready for me to be picked up sometime this week :)  So hopefully no spoilers pop up online (or I can avoid them) and I will be able to join in all the inevitable gushing and praise by next week!

I intended to review most of his novels as the last day of celebrating John Green Week, but I realized that 1) I love them all, 2) how many times can I really call him brilliant/amazing/flawless/masterful/other-synonyms, and 3) I seriously have little to say about them all other than everyone needs to read his work.

So instead, I'm going to tell you why I love him, and leave you with my favourite quotes from his 4 main books!

I was actually quite late in the John Green world, partially because his novels were released in my college years and I wasn't reading for pleasure for awhile and mostly because I wasn't reading YA.  My friends don't read YA, so I'm not exposed to much of it.  However, when a trusted blog friend listed John Green's Paper Towns as one of her all time favourites, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Best. Decision. Ever.

I'm not even going to get into the argument of "grown ups" reading Young Adult novels, but let me tell you that I was 22 when I first read John Green and still find everything he's ever written to be a life lesson and applicable to me.  I'm just shy of 25 right now (eep!) and can't imagine life without John Green's writing.  I find such truth in his words, something that's real and hits all those fears and vulnerabilities we're afraid to have.  But more than that, he explores them and makes it feel as though we're not the only one's having these problems and thoughts.  He tackles the big problems, the small problems, the personal problems, the relationship problems: everything.

“When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.”- Paper Towns

Paper Towns was the perfect book for me to start with, because at the time I was struggling with my perception of home and the people around me and living in Orange County and Suburban San Diego.  If ever to live in a Paper Town with Paper People who have Paper Thoughts, Orange County is a safe bet there.

After that, I devoured all the books I could find.  Looking For Alaska.  An Abundance of Katherines.  Will Grayson, Will Grayson (a treat, since I love David Levithan too!).  Let It Snow (another treat, love Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, too).  Not a single one has let me down.

“Thomas Edison's last words were 'It's very beautiful over there'. I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful.”- Looking For Alaska

Paper Towns remains my favourite, though that may be just because it was my gateway into this fascinating and wonderful community.  Will Grayson, Will Grayson is the close-by-a-sliver second.  And it's not like I could ever defend why I love them more than the others - I just do.  I love them all, and those two just happen to have an iota of more love.

“That's who you really like. The people you can think out loud in front of.” - An Abundance of Katherines

There's really no point here. I, along with most other readers, people, and nerdfighters alike, admire John Green and what his novels do to us. They bring us together as a community, offer us advice and an outlet for our lives.  He's perhaps one of the most acclaimed authors today - and deserves every single bit of it.

“Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go. It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt because it matters.” - Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Happy Release Day!

(and no spoilers if you can help it, please!)

Speaking of John Green Week...

If you're tapped into the Book Blogging community, you've probably been seeing this banner quite a bit:

Hosted over at i.eat.words!

To celebrate the upcoming release of The Fault In Our Stars, several bloggers are dedicated this week to John Green and his brilliance!  I am linked up to it, but have quietly been honoring the amazing author by re-reading all his books. I figured I'd do one or two blog posts with all my favourites from his novels as it gets closer to the release date, but had to share this now.

Since I don't own all his books (yet!) I reserved the missing ones at my local library. When I picked up my library copy of An Abundance of Katherines, look what wonderful little note fell out!

(La Mesa is a suburb of San Diego)

How AWESOME is that note?! I love the power of nerdfighters and how amazing it is to be a part of a community bound by writing and books. I really wish I knew who this person was, because I want to hug him/her.

I might leave my own little response note when it gets returned into the book drop...

Happy John Green week everyone, and DFTBA!!