So. The Legacy. It was a good read, overall, a bit sad but not enough to cry about really (at least for me, that is), although the ending was a bit disappointing, because... well, I'm not exactly able to pinpoint precisely what didn't work for me, but something didn't. The strands were tied, true, and the mystery was solved, but it was not as satisfying as I thought it would be. Unlike Kate Morton's "The House At Riverton" (I was going to post about that AGES ago, but it kind of slipped my mind... oops), the ending didn't appease my hunger to know more, but rather increased it... or maybe I just didn't really like the ending because of the story. It happens sometimes. Well, whatever the reason, this book was not for me. It was entertaining up to the very last chapter, where I just felt like throwing the book on the floor and huffing, in an oh-come-on-are-you-serious-this-can't-be-happening way.
Also, to be honest, I cheated. There aren't many ways one can cheat whilst reading a book, but what I did was I read one half of it first and then the other half. But not like, first pages, I don't know, 120-300, and then pages 0-120, or something of the sort, which is what my friend sometimes does, but more like half way through I was too engrossed in one of the stories being told and couldn't care less about the other and so I just kind of read the first one, which was like the memories, and then the other, "real" story, where they were trying to discover something to do with the memories (I'm not going to spoil anything this time. Promise). I just found myself too engrossed in the memories that when it came to the end of the chapter, I just skipped over to the next bit of the memories. Which probably wasn't a very good idea, because whatever effect the writer wanted the order of the stories to give I didn't find out. That being said, the overall plot was good, but the ending... Ughh. It was too open, and yet it wasn't. Whatever it was about the ending, it didn't work. It just didn't. I can't seem to explain it properly, but... I don't know. Read it if you want; it's not like it was bad or anything, it was actually pretty decent up until the last chapter or so, so don't be too put off by my opinion, because it's just that- an opinion. I hope that, if you read it, you enjoy it. Have a nice weekend!
2 Comments
This was one of the most beautiful books I have EVER read. It was also one of the saddest I've ever read.
Last year, someone recommended this book to me, but I remember I just didn't feel like reading it at that time, so I just left it there, unopened. Almost a year later, I heard the movie soundtrack on the radio and realized I still hadn't read the book, which I admit is unusual for me. So I went, looked for it, found it, and started reading. And it just made me sob my head off. Literally. I honestly cried so much I was sure I would run out of tears to cry. I would probably rank it just underneath "A Monster Calls" (click here to read my review if you're interested: https://bookblog205.weebly.com/book-blog/a-monster-calls) in terms of sadness, but also in terms of beauty, for this book was beautiful. Simply beautiful. There's just no other word I can use that will convey exactly what I feel about it. It's basically about a girl who has thyroid cancer and meets a boy who had osteosarcoma at a help group for kids with cancer. Yeah, well, you can guess the story: they get to know each other and fall in love. But it's just so much more that that, except I can't actually tell you because that would be a spoiler. And as much as I like spoilers, I know a lot of people don't, and I guess it's always nice to be surprised by what you're reading. So, for once, I'll stay quiet and keep my mouth shut. Although it's really beautiful, I personally feel that it's better suited for teenagers than for adults. It just feels a bit awkward to be when I imagine adults reading it, although I'm not exactly sure why, and I'm sure many adults have read it already and will disagree, but maybe some teens out there will be able to relate with me and make me feel less guilty about feeling so. I'm going to leave it here, because I am finding myself unable to finish this review unless I tell you the ending, which I definitely don't want to do. I hope, if you do read this -or have already read it- that you liked it, because I definitely did. This is a book that left me really surprised once I'd read it, for I got bored reading this. I got bored: BORED I almost can´t believe it myself. I never feel bored when I read books: depressed, angry, ashamed, guilty, excited, relieved, intrigued and just plain old happy are common feelings, but never bored. So this really was quite a new experience. I mean, I do occasionally skip a few pages if it starts to get a bit monotonous, but not often, and I soon get hooked back into the story. But not this time; from start to finish my boredom had increased tenfold. It was just so surprising, I really am a bit speechless.
But why was I bored? I pondered that question for sometime, but I didn't actually get it until I had a talk with my mum when she finished it a few days after I did. I'd told her that I hadn't liked it at all, and she just confirmed my fears: for the first time in my life, I heard her say that the movie was better than the book. I was astounded, but after watching the trailer and comparing it to the book, the book lacked some sentiment and interest that the movie (or at least the trailer) had in abundance. The way the book was presented was similar to a script but completely different, if that makes sense. I know it probably doesn't´t, but it does to me, so her with me whilst I try and explain: The book lacked description. Though there was some every time a new character or setting was introduced, there was not much else during the course of the book. I felt like the book raised a little protective wall around itself which prevented us from connecting with the characters' feelings throughout the book. There was this one point, at the end of the book, where the level of empathy went from like a low mid-point to a big fat zero. It was one of the most important parts in the plot, and yet it was told too simply. I know short sentences can be very effective at times, but I just felt this one did not have the impact it intended to have. It went a bit like this: And then _______________________ fell over and died. And it sounds like a powerful sentence here, but put into context it really doesn't. If you haven't gotten to know each of the characters properly during the story you can't be expected to feel their death keenly - or at least in my opinion. It really was a horrible sentence. And then the end was so depressing. That was the only other thing I felt as I read on. Depression. It´s just got such a negative ending, with everyone deserting the main character (Florence) and leaving her to feel guilty and ashamed of her failure. A very nice and cheerful ending to the book, don't you think? Overall, this book is a big NO NO NO! in my opinion. If you can't meet the characters properly and are then expected to feel bad for them then I'm sorry but in my opinion what you have in your hands is a waste of paper, time and money. I'm being rather harsh and brutal but it's the truth: if you haven't met them properly, then you won't possibly learn or enjoy yourself much as you read through the next 123 pages that make up the story. Okay, so I have to admit this book left me confused. I mean, I understood it, but I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I guess I liked reading it, and it was interesting and had a lot of plot twists and had me hooked until the end, but like... It was just so sad, and pretty much had almost every single issue a teenager can face mixed up into it. When I finished, I was kind of like "Gee, thanks, I'm really looking forward to growing up now." I mean, listen: your mum dies from Huntington's, which is an incurable genetical disease that you have a fifty percent chance of inheriting, except then you find out that, actually, she isn't your mum at all, but you were actually swapped at birth with someone else's baby, so you have no chance of inheriting the disease. All that in the first, what, 30 pages maybe? Go figure. And then, on the opposite side of the globe, hey, guess what? This other eighteen-year-old girl finds out she's pregnant when barely out of childhood herself. WHAAAAT??? Don't you have enough with the first girl? Nope, apparently not, because even though she's alone in the world with already too many problems to handle, we're just going to add some more worries to her plate, for then the first girl gets drunk and gets back with her boyfriend and goes traveling, but she breaks up again cause she just "happened" to find her real family and ruin their lives. Intense.
I know I sound totally against this book, and I'm not, not really; it was interesting and I like the way the conflict was resolved, but then again there's not really much point in doing this if I'm not going to be honest, so I always make sure to write down stuff that I didn't like about it and focus on that. All I try to do is point out my personal opinion, and sometimes I will write too much about the bad parts and forget about the good bits, but if there is ever a book I absolutely detest, you will know right away, for the first words in my review will be "I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK AT ALL." And as you can see, this review has not started like that, so you've sort of got to imagine that it is not as negative as it sounds. The book is intense, and all the constant issue can get sort of tedious, but I did like it and it could be considered a good book by some. Just kind of not my style. My favourite character was, weirdly enough, little Ben (the second girl's little brother), because the simplicity of his character stood out so much against all the complicated problems in the story and all the life changing decisions some of the other characters took. Plus he was very cute ;). So, I hope you liked my review, and, more importantly, if you read this, I hope you like the book. Note that I ADORE receiving comments (emphasis on adore), especially if your opinion differs from mine, so just to let you know... comments are always welcome here! I know comments have to be approved before they're published, and that's only because I don't want to allow people to openly insult me or this site (positive feedback is always welcome though), although I have approved every single comment I have received since I started this blog two years ago, so thank you to all of you for being so nice :). Anyways, bye! I did not like this book at all. The truth is, Jacqueline Wilson is not really an author I like. When I was seven, I took a book by her from the library and decided to give it a go. It was so terrible that I didn't even bother to finish it. Years later, I decided to give Miss Wilson a second chance. She disappointed me with this book as much as she did with the previous one, which I might review soon if I remember to. I really don't see what others like about her books in general. She writes about terrible things like evil fathers and dirty, rude families. Maybe you will like her books. If so, you can leave a small comment explaining why you like it. I would really appreciate it so that I can also gve an impartial judgment about this book, so that other readers will be encouraged to read it if this is the type of books they like (though l cannot possibly think why they like them).
Lily is the oldest child in a family consisting of her mother, her twin half-siblings Bliss and Baxter, and her smallest half-sister Pixie. Then her mother falls in love with some random guy who takes her on a trip to Spain. Lily is left in charge of her house whilst her mother is away. But Lily is not old enough to take care of her siblings for a long period of time, and Lily soon finds herself burdened with problems she should not have to deal with at her young age... When I first read this book I was probably 7, 8 or 9 years old and I simply loved it. Since then, I have read it m any times, and recently I've watched the movie. I love the story, with its sweet characters. I especially love the way in which Sara stands up to Miss Minchin, it leaves Miss Minchin speechless! Sara is so brave, and Becky and Ermingarde so compassionate and kind, and Lottie so innocently sweet. Lottie is such a young little girl, but whilst other younger children would probably soon forget about Sara, Lottie is so sweet and charming and doesn't forget her "mama", even when sara lives in a small, cold and damp attic. It also quite surprised me that Miss Minchin did not realise her treatment concerning Sara is wrong, although I guess if she thinks she is right then she can't think she's wrong at the same time. I liked Miss Amelia too(even though she is rather a coward, I must say). In general I think this book was fantastic!
Sara Crewe, daughter to Captain Ralph Crewe, is sent away from her home in India to a boarding school in England, Miss Minchin's Seminary for Young Ladies. It seems Sara's father has invested a great sum of money into some diamond mines, but those mines are nothing but fiction. Sara's father cannot bear the terrible news. And Sara's world is turned upside down... This book was really, really nice. We read it in English class when l was in Year 7 and I loved it. It was such a sweet story, and Bradley was so... nice, l guess? Actually, scratch that out. he was most definitely NOT nice at the beginning, or at least he pretended not to be nice. I felt quite sorry for him, and I was so glad when he finally- "Carol! I think we agreed on NO SPOILERS! Apologize this instant!"
Sorry, I got too carried away. Anyway, as l was saying before l was interrupted so rudely by my inner self, I felt really sorry for Bradley. Especially the ending. Yes, I'll admit I cried in the middle of class, but the ending was so SAD! l couldn't help it, I felt pity for poor Bradley. At least there was a part of the end that was happy. P.S. I don't usually copy the blurb of a book, but just this once, I will, because it is all you need to start reading this book. Ar least, that's all l needed. Give me a dollar or l'll spit on you. That's Bradley Chalkers for you. He tells lies. he picks fights with girls, and the teachers say he has "serious behaviour problems". No one likes him. Except Carla. She thinks Bradley is sensitive and generous and even enjoys his far-fetched stories. Carla knows that Bradley can change, if only he weren't afraid to try. Mockingbird is a sweet, rather sad story (although no tears were spilled this time) about a young autistic girl dealing with life after her brother's death. This story made me understand some things one cannot explain with words. Suddenly, I was Caitlin, and I could understand exactly why she did such things, the book explained evrething so clearly it was easy to read between the lines. I hope you enjoy this book.
Caitlin's brother Devon just died. Her father, deep in his grief, cries all the time. Caitlin, meanwhile, is trying to find closure for her family. To find closure, she will learn many things, including some things about friendship and some woodworking, too. And, slowly, Caitlin's world of black and white starts to merge into a colourful world... This book was fun to read and had a lesson attached to it as well. It was, as all Enid Blyton books are, fabulous. Elizabeth was a really queer character, but nice and kind. This book slightly resembles ''The O'Sullivan Twins'' series, but has only one main character. I enjoyed it a lot.
Elizabeth does not want to go to school. When her parents decide to send her to Whyteleafe School, Elizabeth is furious and decides to be as naughty as she possibly can so that she will be sent back home. But what Elizabeth does not know is that Whyteleafe School operates differently to all other schools, and she is in for a shock! This is my favourite book. Not only the story is beautifully written, but Scout tells us her story so vividly I felt like I lived it myself. It was sad, sometimes, yet it gave me a feeling of understanding so deep I didn't realise what it was until a few minutes after finishing this book. I loved it. The story, the characters... Scout was easy to love, Jem too, Atticus... This book captivated my whole soul. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Scout lives in Maycomb, Alabama, with her brother Jem and her father Atticus, a lawyer. Atticus is appointed to be Tom Robinson's lawyer, a colored man accused with rape. And then there is Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbour with a strange past... |
AuthorCarolina (or Carol for short), a girl who adores to read. A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The person who never reads lives only one. Categories
All
Archives
April 2018
Feel free to comment your opinions about the books when you read them or any suggestions to read!!
For security reasons, please write only your first name when you post a comment and/or if you submit the questionnaire.
|