The Third Son

The Third Son
by Julie Wu

Genre:  Fiction
Pages:  320
Published:  4/30/13 by Algonquin Books
Format:  book

My rating:
3.5 out of 5 stars







 I received an early copy of this book for review from Library Thing.

The Third Son by Julie Wu is about Saburo, who is the thirdborn son in his Taiwanese family. Saburo grows up during a tumultuous time in Taiwan, first being invaded by Japan and then by Chinese Nationalists. Saburo is also the least favorite child in his family; he is wrongly blamed for the death of his brother and constantly treated poorly and unfairly. Despite all these setbacks, Saburo manages to make the most of his life and overcome the obstacles put in his path.

This was a nice story, and for the most part, I enjoyed reading it. I couldn't help but cheer for Saburo, as he seemed to draw the short end of the stick constantly throughout his life. As with most stories like this though, I couldn't help but feel it was a bit unrealistic at times. Even though he went through a lot of difficulties, Saburo always managed to come out on top, time and time again. I know the point of the book was to tell his story of overcoming obstacles and difficulty, but sometimes everything just worked out too perfectly causing this plot to seem a bit contrived and unbelievable.

I think the first half of the book was the strongest. Once Saburo arrives in America, I felt my attention begin to wane at times. But still, I wanted to keep reading and find out if/how Saburo and Yoshiko would be reunited again.

Before reading this book, I knew very little about Taiwan's history. I enjoyed learning more about the history of Taiwan and the difficulties the country faced as they were constantly invaded and controlled by other countries.

New Releases

I love to read.  But sometimes (okay, most of the time!) I find the process of picking out books to add to my to-read list more fun than actually reading the books themselves.  My to-read list currently has 225 books on it, and it is growing on a daily basis.  There are books that have been on that list for years, and they will probably remain on the list for more years and possibly forever.  Picking out books is just so much fun for me!  I will never have time to actually read all of them.

However, right now, there are two books on my to read list that I am really eager to move to my "read" list.  Both of these books will be released tomorrow.  I rarely ever spend money on brand new books.  But I am so tempted to buy both of these on their release date!  I am sitting on some Amazon gift cards that I was trying to save for something bigger and more important.  But I might just spend some of my gift card on these books.  Or I can wait patiently to get my copy on the library's waiting list.  We'll see...

Here are the books that I am so eager to read!

Life after Life by Kate Atkinson.  I have read a few books by Atkinson, and I enjoyed them.  This one looks very unique and interesting and extremely ambitious, and I have read several glowing reviews that make me super curious.  Amazon listed it as one of the best books of the month with these words of praise:  "Life After Life is an extraordinary feat of narrative ambition, an audacious genre-bender, and a work of literary genius."  All the early hype for this book may be setting me up for disappointment, but I just have to read it and find out for myself!

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight.  I hadn't heard of this one until I read this review in Entertainment Weekly yesterday.  The reviewer compares it to Gone Girl, which was one of my favorite books last year.  I'm in the mood for a book that I have to stay up all night reading because I just can't put it down...and this one looks like it could be a winner.

Book Sale!

I was browsing Barnes and Nobles website today and noticed that they are having a sale on Award-Winning books.  All books on this list are buy one, get one 50% off (through April 3).  I am in no way affiliated with Barnes and Noble; I just like books.  And I especially like books that are on sale, so I thought I would share about them here.

Here are a few books on the list that I have read and would recommend:
1.  Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
2.  The Road by Cormac McCarthy
3.  Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
4.  Atonement by Ian McEwan
5.  The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

As I was looking through this list of 1498(!) books, I realized that I have not read too many award winning books!  So here are a few books on the list that I want to read (to add to my total of award winning books read):
1.  The Round House by Louise Erdrich
2.  Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
3.  So Big by Edna Ferner
4.  Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

The Tragedy Paper

The Tragedy Paper
by Elizabeth Laban

Genre:  Young Adult
Pages:  320
Published:  1/8/13 by Random House Children's Books
Format:  ebook

My rating:
3 out of 5 stars






When Duncan arrives in his dorm room for his senior year at the Irving school, he is greeted with a gift from the room's former inhabitant, an albino named Tim Macbeth.  Tim's gift for Duncan is a set of audio CDs, on which he has recorded the story of his tragic senior year and the love of his life, Vanessa.  As Duncan attempts to write his own Tragedy Paper for his senior English class, he listens to Tim's story and learns more fully about what tragedy really means.

I found this book to be interesting at first, but I felt like it lost a lot of steam at the end.  The entire book is focused on the tragedy that happened to Tim during his senior year.  The incident is referenced constantly throughout the book.  And while the reader does have an idea as to what happened, the exact details of the event are not revealed until late in the book.  This reveal was anti-climactic, and the rest of the book went downhill quickly from there.  I think the author was trying to impart some profound thought with this story, but I didn't get it.  When the book ended, I was left thinking, "that's it?"  I was expecting something more and bigger from the ending.

I did enjoy the story from the point of view of an albino character.  I don't believe I have read a story about an albino before, and I found it to be interesting.  I also liked the relationship between Tim and Vanessa, and I was sad that it was not more fully developed.  Perhaps their unfinished story is part of the "tragedy" element of this story, but it left me unsatisfied in the end.

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green

Genre:  Young Adult
Pages:  336
Published:  1/10/12 by Penguin Group
Format:  ebook

My rating:
5 out of 5 stars







The Fault in Our Stars was my favorite book read in 2012. It is on the list for my favorite books of all time. I recently read the book again for the second time, and I was curious to see if it was still a favorite upon a second reading. And it is definitely still a favorite!

It is so hard to write a review about a book I loved so much. This is the story of Hazel and Augustus. Both are teenagers; both have cancer. They meet, fall in love, and...well, I won't spoil the ending. It is not the most original concept for a story. But the story is told in such spectacular fashion that it is original in its own sense.

One of my favorite things about John Green's writing is also one of the things that I see is most often critiqued about his writing. His teenage characters always speak with extreme wit and cleverness, and they always have impressive vocabularies. I see many people cite this as a fault in the writing, because it is not a realistic portrayal of teenagers. My response to this is twofold:
1. It seems unfair to assume that teenagers are not witty and do not have large vocabularies. I am sure that there are teenagers who exist who are capable of speaking this way. I have a feeling John Green himself may have been a teenager like that.
2. Even if it is unrealistic, it is SO FUN to read! Maybe these teens don't talk like any teenagers (or adults!) that I know, but reading their dialogue is highly enjoyable and entertaining. Not to mention I almost always learn a few new words along the way.

I think any story that is told about teenagers with cancer is bound to be sad. Yes, there are many sad moments in The Fault in Our Stars. I have heard many people describe it as depressing. But I don't think depressing is a fair term to describe this book. In fact, I think it is far from depressing. There is so much joy and happiness to be found in this story. I felt like the whole purpose of this book was to encourage us to live life fully. A short life can still be a good and worthwhile life.

If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. I feel it is one of the few books that truly lives up to all the hype surrounding it!

Wool, Omnibus Edition

Wool (Omnibus Edition)
by Hugh Howey

Genre:  Science Fiction
Pages:   550
Published:  4/6/2012 by Broad Reach Publishing
Format:  ebook

My Rating:
4 out of 5 stars




  
Wool is a five part story about a group of people living in an underground silo in a post-apocalyptic world. The members of the silo live in a society of strict rules and regulations. Those who fail to comply or who express a desire to get out of the silo are sent to "cleaning" or in other words, certain death. Yet, a few brave men and women decide to rise up against the forces that be and risk their lives to uncover the secrets of the silo.

This was a highly entertaining and readable series. I really enjoyed it, and I felt that it was very creative and interesting. There were several scenes, especially in Book #5, where I was on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down...and also looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was there!

I wish I would have written a review after each part of the book, because I am having a hard time remembering what happened in what part. I believe that Book #2 was my least favorite, as I felt like it wasn't necessary to devote a whole book to that portion of the story. It was a little slow during that part, but once Book #3 started, the story picked up and never stopped!

I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith

Genre:  Classic
Pages:   352
Published:  3/28/99 by St. Martin's Press (reprint)
Format:  paperback

My Rating:
5 out of 5 stars







I thoroughly enjoyed this charming book about a poor, eccentric English family living in a crumbling old castle.  The story is told through the journals of 17 year old Cassandra Mortmain.  Cassandra is an endearing narrator, young and witty and sometimes overly dramatic.  I found her to be very Anne Shirley-esque at times, which means I loved her!  She pulled me into her world from her very first words:  "I write this sitting in the sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining board, which I have padded with our dog's blanket and the tea-cosy."  Those words superbly set the tone for the entire novel.

I Capture the Castle is a fairly light and easy read.  It had me smiling often, mostly at the clever and funny ways that Cassandra described everything.  But I think there are some deeper themes in this book.  Several times the topic of Cassandra being "consciously naive" is brought up in the story.  I felt that was true not only about Cassandra but also about the book itself.  While on the surface it could be described as naive and innocent, this is more than just a light-hearted novel.   At its heart, his is a coming of age story, detailing the events that lead Cassandra from childhood to womanhood.  It tackles some serious topics:  love, marriage, poverty, religion.  Yet it never loses its whimsical touch and charming appeal.

I can't find much to critique about this book.  The more I think about it, the more I loved it!