"Fallen:" pretentious angst, but make it a book... // Book Review

Hi there Rad Readers...

Not too hyped for this review for I feel as though I have wasted plenty of time in my life reading this book yet I stand by my claim that to stop reading in the middle of a story is the greatest injustice a reader can do. Thus I find it fair to say that this was the slowest novel of all time and agonizing to complete. It could not hold my attention whatsoever and so this was a long long long period of struggle.

Anyways, I suppose I will tell you what this story is about.

We follow Luce who prior to the story was involved in a tragic accident where her boyfriend dies in a fire. She wasn't able to remember any details from the incident so she is sent off to a sort of reform school called Sword & Cross. At the school she meets Daniel and for whatever reason he is extremely cold towards her without even knowing her. She on the other hand feels a whole lot of déjà vu. Everything feels achingly familiar to her even though she has never been to Sword & Cross or anything like it, and has never even had a conversation with Daniel. She feels like she already knows him. Luce is on a mission to find out the mysteries of this school, and to find out what Daniel is hiding from her... or hiding her from? Of course, "madness" then ensues.

I say "madness" because it was not that exciting or mad at all to be honest. The ending was capital L Lame! There was so much going on that it just got confusing. There were so many open holes and so much that was just redundant or simply should have been cut out for concision. It dragged on and could not hold my attention. Not every book requires three great battles in immediate succession. If the rising action doesn't fit with the rest of the novel... then hey dog... cut it out! Nobody is going to be complaining that you only had one epic showdown between angels and demons instead of three. People will instead complain that you had three absolutely mediocre, confusing and poorly developed battles.

The ending was absurd. Every character ended up being a part of the conflict at the end. I agree that each character should have a purpose in a book and should not simply exist as a vacuum for forgotten content or a person to use when the author needs to kill someone off, etc. etc. It is transparent to the reader that that is what they are meant for. On the other hand... Not every character needs to have an earth shattering role. Some characters should just be the supportive best friend or the comedic relief. It was overwhelming and confusing in the end when each character held this massive part of the inner workings of Luce's mysteries. In Fallen, a side character that was not really developed and we didn't spend much time with at all ended up making a huge contribution to the conflict in the last 30 or so pages. This is never a good technique! It is a cop out! It is far different when you think that you know a character really well and then they turn out to be different. In this case you didn't know a character really at all, but you would assume that you should considering their relevance to the greater cause... but that is just not the case in this book! And I did not appreciate it!

Here is the real kicker though, after that longggg boringggg stretched outttt ending, NO CONFLICT WAS EVER RESOLVED! Literally Luce never figured out the conflict and was just like... okay, sounds good. NO LUCE! NO! WHAT DO YOU MEAN! We get to this climax where all hell breaks loose (pun intended... Hell, you get it... because... okay sorry, not very funny) and then the book kind of just stops. I think (and this is one of by biggest pet peeves coming up so get ready) it ended the way that it did for the sake of writing a second novel. A book should have an epic ending that makes you want to read the second, it should not have a lack luster ending where you found out nothing and if you really care enough to figure it out you have to read the next book. There are too many unanswered questions for my liking.

I know I typically will do a little character analysis on each of the important characters but in the end I guess we found out that they were all important so whatever. I think this book is purposely trying to mess with my blog formula. I will simply just tell you about the main three characters that stayed relevant throughout the entire novel. I don't even have to do it individuals because the characters are so similar one analysis can truly apply to all. They are pretentious, over dramatic, angsty, absurdly complicated, and rather unintellectual kids stuck in a reform school only for the purpose of getting into more trouble it seems like. The concept of the school is ridiculously unbelievable and I know that it is a fantasy but guys, seriously, it is even too ridiculous for a fantasy. It is giving me Vampire Diaries vibes and we KNOW how unrad of a read that was. Luce is boring, annoying, whiney, conceited. I don't like Daniel. He doesn't say much, too broody, BORING. Cam was the only one I kind of liked. He was at least interesting and I didn't know what to think of him.

Fallen felt like a second book slump even though it was the first book, so I can only imagine the horror that the second book contains. Needless to say, I will never know because I will never be reading it.

Keep it rad, readers,

- C8 ;)

Five Feet Apart// A Review

Yes ladies, gentlemen, and Rad Readers alike, this is it. This might have to be my last post because my heart was just shattered into a million pieces and I do not know how I can write posts let alone live with a fractured heart. However, I will be trying my best.

I have never read a book so beautiful (excluding the Harry Potter series... and some others... I may be acting a bit dramatic) book in all of my existence, which is saying a whole lot considering the fact that I have read all but one of John Green's works. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott is a C8's Rad Reads certified banger.

A little overview: Five Feet Apart is a contemporary love story about a girl and a boy both who are patients with Cystic Fibrosis, a disease that attacks someone's lungs and immune system in general. They have never been in control of their life because of the disease and the story centers around how they help one another regain control of their life. Before they meet Stella is very regimented, a rule follower to a fault, and a stickler. Will has always and is in this story been a rule breaker, refusing, or at least trying to refuse to let his disease take control of everything in his life. When they meet and get to know each other Stella realizes that she has been living for her treatments instead of living to experience life. Will helps her realize that, but the problem is that since they are both victims of the same disease, they are absolutely lethal to one another. They can never truly get close because if their bacteria infects one another's lungs then it is almost a guaranteed death or at least near death. Thus, the two of them must stay six feet apart at all times (not 5 despite the title...).

Short and sweet would be the perfect way to describe this book. Some of it was a bit far fetched and you kind of just need to ignore it for the sake of the sweetness of the story. For example, a large portion of the story focused on them helping each other out with their medication schedules and having control over their dosages etc.-- essentially being their own doctors. I don't know a ton about hospitals and I know nothing at all about this disease but I feel like a patient, especially if that patient were a child, wouldn't have that much say over such specific things that genuinely determine life and death. If they don't take these medications they are far more likely to die. That is the simple fact of the matter. The idea that this boy Will has gone the majority of his life ignoring his medical advise is extremely unlikely. However, I can't criticize it in the least because in order for the story to continue the beautiful way in which it did, it needed to have that kind of dynamic. Yes, you need to turn your brain off a bit for a few little details but it takes nothing away from the plot or story at all!

The portrayal of, frankly, terminal illness was not glorified in this novel which I was a little worried about when I went into it. From the research I have done patients of cystic fibrosis who have read this book found it is not only respectful of what they go through in real life, but also true to their own stories, their treatment, their experiences in and out of hospitals, and their struggles. Knowing that makes this book even more powerful.

What was so impactful to me was listening to the perspective of the two characters, because everything they said hinted a bit as to what their philosophy on life was about. Stella tried to have as much control as she could of her life by following her medical treatments, crossing all the t's and dotting all the i's as rigorously as she could. Will doesn't see things the same. He doesn't see the purpose of a repetitive, safe, locked-up-in-a-hospital, lifestyle. We learn that the both of them don't have many friends, both of their family situations are difficult. Stella's sister died and then her parents divorced, Will's dad left because he couldn't handle the pain of his son being so ill and his mom could only see him for his illness, not him as a person. It is truly heartbreaking to read about all the weight these characters have to deal with.

Now, you are probably thinking that I made a typo in my synopsis in saying that they must remain six feet apart even though the book is titled five feet apart. It is in fact not a typo at all. It is a sign of rebellion, an inside joke amongst Stella and Will. If you have not read the book, then STOP READING RIGHT NOW and find out the reason of the title yourself, because it is very much worth it and it will make you cry a lot so also bring tissues with you as you near the end-ish of this book. Read on! Prevail!

SPOILER TIME

Stella recognizes after her best friend Po dies, all of the things that CF has stolen from her, that she never got to get truly close to her best friend before he died. She realizes that she never even got to give him a hug. When she sees this, as she mourns the death of Po, she elects to steal something back from CF, to steal a foot back. So, when she and Will are together they will stay five feet apart, taking something back from CF.

There is much more at the end that also made me cry but I want you to read it so I'm not even going to spoil it for you! Just know that it hit me hard and will probably do the same to you.

Okay, so I think that just about covers it. This was a rather short book and mainly written for the ugly cry and "aww" value if you will. So with that, sorry for the short review as a result of the nature of the book. I wasn't looking at it from a critical or analytical standpoint, I was kind of just enjoying it. It isn't very fast paced but it is very beautiful, so I highly HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone! Totally changes your perspective on life as well!

Enjoy crying to this novel my fellow readers,

- C8 ;)

"All the Light We Cannot See" was so good I wrote a college essay about it!// Review

Hey Rad Readers,

So, quite the lengthy title, yes. To sum it up, one of my supplemental essay questions asked me to write about a book I would recommend to an admissions officer. The maximum length I was allowed to write was 250 words, so excuse my brevity. There is much more I could write about this book but ya girl is BUSY! So, enjoy my plea to an admissions officer of why they (and you) should read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer.

One of the most highly rated reviews I've given a book in these past couple of months has been for All the Light We Cannot See. From its practically poetic writing style and all absorbing plot, it's a mesmerizing read! The story takes you through the eyes of a French girl who goes blind in the midst of World War II. Eventually she and her dad have to flee from the Nazi invasion and, as can be inferred, the suffering they undergo is unparalleled. The other point of view is from a German boy who because of his proclivity for technology is recruited for a Nazi training school. He also goes through hauntingly dark times and eventually their two paths meet. However, what's unique about this story is how all of the tragedy, all the inconceivable pain is not spoken in an extremely somber tone. The characters simply endure. They are going through hardships but they are not wallowing sadness, they are just dealing with it. The most overpowering theme is the message that we have the power to create light in the darkest times, a practice I've always tried to implement in my life. I would recommend specifically this book to others because in todays world mental health issues have been highlighted now more than ever. A potential step in the right direction would be to simply look for the lighter moments even if it is not easily apparent, even if they are tough to see.

Thanks for reading my college essay haha,

- C8 :)