book review: 'Looking for Alaska'

I purchased Looking for Alaska for two reasons: One, I loved The Fault in Our Stars and really enjoyed Paper Towns (both by John Green); and two, it was on sale.

Note to self: Never fall for the book on sale. The problem I had with this one is that I don't have anything good or bad to say about it. It was totally, wholeheartedly mediocre. It brought out no emotions in me whatsoever. (Unless you count the annoyance I felt at the need to finish one book before I start another one, because I really wanted to start a new one.)

Here's the thing. John Green is a talented writer — there's no denying that. He's got a great style and impressive abilities to tell a story and get inside the mind of adolescents. He really knows what it's like to live and breathe teenage hormones, and it impresses me how in-tune he is even as an adult. But Looking for Alaska landed somewhere on the same plane as Me, Earl and the Dying Girl, albeit with more interesting and relatable characters.

This one is about Miles (aka Pudge), a high school junior who leaves his school in Florida to attend boarding school in Alabama, looking for the "Great Perhaps" in life. Pudge has a penchant for learning famous people's last words (an interesting quirk that I actually did enjoy). Up until this point, Pudge has led a normal, unexciting life that he's ready to trade for something he hopes will be better. When he gets to the new school, he meets the Colonel (another nickname) and Alaska (a real name), both of whom introduce Pudge to some much-desired drama.

Alaska is the sort of enigmatic character Pudge has been seeking, someone who has really experienced life and doesn't care to play by the rules set by someone else. She's a mystery, and he inevitably falls for her. Of course, some mysteries can't be solved, but that doesn't stop Pudge and the Colonel when Alaska presents her final mystery.

It wasn't that I couldn't relate to the characters and what they were going through, because I have been in similar situations to what Green wrote about. I just thought it moved a little slowly, and some of the events didn't seem quite as big as they were meant to be. Final thoughts: Looking for Alaska is not a bad book. If you're looking for good writing and well thought-out characters, this one is for you. If you're looking for a more gripping story, try this one.

Have you read Looking for Alaska? What are your thoughts? Am I the only one who thought it was overwhelmingly average? I'd love to hear your opinions... 

P.S. reviews of Paper Towns and Me, Earl and the Dying Girl

book review: 'The Girl With No Past'

Happy Thursday, friends! Back with another book review over here, and (surprise, surprise) it's a psychological thriller. Remember when I wrote about my recent woes in finding another thriller as good as Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl? (Because obviously Gone Girl is the bar by which all other psychological thrillers are now measured.) Well, drum roll please....

This isn't it.

Sorry, had to ;) Okay, enough with the (super hilarious) jokes. The Girl With No Past is written by Kathryn Croft, who's a good writer. I won't say great because I didn't feel it was anything special or noteworthy as far as the actual writing goes, but it definitely wasn't bad either. The story revolves around Leah Mills, a 30-something woman who lives a very solitary life. She lives alone, and the only places she goes is to the library where she works quietly every day, and to visit her mother (when she's guilted into it). The premise is that Leah has a huge secret from her past that she's been hiding from for years, for fear of what will happen if it ever gets out.

The description on Amazon says Leah lives the life of a fugitive, but that isn't true, as she's never been "on the run" and she's not actually wanted for a crime. She left her hometown and doesn't really talk to anyone, and that's about it. The majority of the first part of the book is Leah telling this side of her story, and it mostly comes off as her begging for pity without telling us why she deserves it. That part was annoying to me — however, it did leave me wondering what she could have possibly done that was so bad it forced a self-imposed shunning. With this book at least, I did feel that there was a good deal of suspense. Early on, Leah meets a man named Julian on a dating site who seems interested in her.

Naturally, she can't understand why in the world a man would like her, but the thought of "a normal life" is so appealing to her that she decides to break from her normal routine and start chatting with him. From there, Leah's quiet life is interrupted by a mysterious stalker, who sends her cryptic messages about The Event and does things to let her know that s/he is watching — all the time. The messages continue, and new characters pop up in her life that immediately struck me as suspicious, but not so much with Leah. The story flows seamlessly back and forth between the present and the months leading up to The Event, which gives us insight into Leah's personality from her teenage years. She's always been insecure and probably too trusting, and even what happened to her doesn't change that.

My problem with this novel was, again, the actual event. While it was a shock when we finally found out what happened to her at the end — and honestly disturbing enough that I still sometimes think back to it weeks later — I didn't think it warranted her solitude, or what follows with her stalker. The story did get my heart pumping, but I thought it fizzled out quickly and lost its momentum at the end. I would rate this one at 3.5 stars: much better than The Fever but nowhere near Gone Girl.

Have you read Girl With No Past? What did you think? I'd love to know your opinions!

P.S. reviews of Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive