The Ladybug Looks Back... November 2014

Here's a look back at what happened on my blog in November 2014:

I was nominated for the Liebster Award.

I participated in Top Ten Tuesday:

Books I Want To Reread
Characters You Wish Would Get Their OWN Book
Sequels I Can't Wait To Get
Book On My Winter TBR List

I participated in Booking Through Thursday:

Helpful
Better Endings
Quantity

I shared the new books I got in New to the TBR Pile.  I got 16 new books this month.

I reviewed 10 books.  2 of those were novels; 1 was a poetry collection; 7 were picture books.

Novels:

Free as a Bird by Gina McMurchy-Barber
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Poetry Collections:

Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann

Picture Books:

I Had a Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn & Julia Denos
Lulu & Pip by Nina Gruener & Stephanie Rausser
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan & Sophie Blackall
You Are Stardust by Elin Kelsey & Soyeon Kim

So that's what happened in November!
Join me next month when I look back on December!

Weekly Recap - November 23-29, 2014

Here's what I blogged about over the last seven days:

Sunday - I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Amanda of Of Spectacles and Books.  I nominated two other bloggers!

Tuesday - I participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  This week we talked about the books on our winter TBR lists.

Thursday - I took part in Booking Through Thursday.  This week the topic was how much we read.

Friday - I reviewed a really cool picture book called You Are Stardust by Elin Kelsey and illustrated by Soyeon Kim.  I gave it 4.33 ladybugs.

I also reviewed a poetry collection, Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann, and gave it 2.25 ladybugs.

Saturday - I shared the books I got this week in New to the TBR Pile.

How was your week?

New to the TBR Pile (11)

Borrowed from the library:

Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty
by Christine Heppermann

Every little girl goes through her princess phase, whether she wants to be Snow White or Cinderella, Belle or Ariel. But then we grow up. And life is not a fairy tale.

Christine Heppermann's collection of fifty poems puts the ideals of fairy tales right beside the life of the modern teenage girl. With piercing truths reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, this is a powerful and provocative book for every young woman. E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, calls it "a bloody poetic attack on the beauty myth that's caustic, funny, and heartbreaking."

Cruelties come not just from wicked stepmothers, but also from ourselves. There are expectations, pressures, judgment, and criticism. Self-doubt and self-confidence. But there are also friends, and sisters, and a whole hell of a lot of power there for the taking. In fifty poems, Christine Heppermann confronts society head on. Using fairy tale characters and tropes, Poisoned Apples explores how girls are taught to think about themselves, their bodies, and their friends. The poems range from contemporary retellings to first-person accounts set within the original tales, and from deadly funny to deadly serious. Complemented throughout with black-and-white photographs from up-and-coming artists, this is a stunning and sophisticated book to be treasured, shared, and paged through again and again.

You Are Stardust
by Elin Kelsey
illustrated by Soyeon Kim

You Are Stardust begins by introducing the idea that every tiny atom in our bodies came from a star that exploded long before we were born. From its opening pages, the book suggests that we are intimately connected to the natural world; it compares the way we learn to speak to the way baby birds learn to sing, and the growth of human bodies to the growth of forests. Award-winning author Elin Kelsey — along with a number of concerned parents and educators around the world — believes children are losing touch with nature. This innovative picture book aims to reintroduce children to their innate relationship with the world around them by sharing many of the surprising ways that we are all connected to the natural world.

Grounded in current science, this extraordinary picture book provides opportunities for children to use their imaginations and wonder about some big ideas. Soyeon Kim’s incredible diorama art enhances the poetic text, and her creative process is explored in full on the reverse side of the book’s jacket, which features comments from the artist. Young readers will want to pore over each page of this book, exploring the detailed artwork and pondering the message of the text, excited to find out just how connected to the Earth they really are.

What's new to your TBR pile this week?  Let me know in the comments!

Review - Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty

Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty
by Christine Heppermann
Date: 2014
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Reading level: YA
Book type: illustrated poetry collection
Pages: 128
Format: e-book
Source: library

Every little girl goes through her princess phase, whether she wants to be Snow White or Cinderella, Belle or Ariel. But then we grow up. And life is not a fairy tale.

Christine Heppermann's collection of fifty poems puts the ideals of fairy tales right beside the life of the modern teenage girl. With piercing truths reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, this is a powerful and provocative book for every young woman. E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, calls it "a bloody poetic attack on the beauty myth that's caustic, funny, and heartbreaking."

Cruelties come not just from wicked stepmothers, but also from ourselves. There are expectations, pressures, judgment, and criticism. Self-doubt and self-confidence. But there are also friends, and sisters, and a whole hell of a lot of power there for the taking. In fifty poems, Christine Heppermann confronts society head on. Using fairy tale characters and tropes, Poisoned Apples explores how girls are taught to think about themselves, their bodies, and their friends. The poems range from contemporary retellings to first-person accounts set within the original tales, and from deadly funny to deadly serious. Complemented throughout with black-and-white photographs from up-and-coming artists, this is a stunning and sophisticated book to be treasured, shared, and paged through again and again.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I don't quite know what to say about this one.  I just wasn't that impressed.  Based on the synopsis, I thought I'd be reading a collection of poems with an overarching theme, much like Cynthia Rylant's God Went to Beauty School, which I enjoyed.  While many of the poems in Poisoned Apples do draw from fairytales and their tropes, the overall theme is a little more broad.  I suppose it's a statement about teenage girls and the messages that society sends them.  At least, that's what the synopsis would like you to believe.  The message that I kept getting, however, was one that was unhealthily obsessed with weight.  There was a disproportionate number of poems that focused on being overweight and/or having an eating disorder.  One poem, "What She Heard the Waitress Say", strayed dangerously close to stereotyping and "skinny-shaming" (since the only character who's acknowledged as naturally skinny is portrayed as a bitch).  I was disappointed that, in a book supposedly about body image, very little thought was given to the other side: those girls who are naturally thin and/or who have trouble gaining weight, and who have to put up with a different -- though just as hurtful -- set of comments.

Still, I did enjoy a few of the poems.  "If Tampons Were for Guys" is humorous, as one might expect.  "To My Sheep, Wherever You Are" liberates Bo Peep from her ovine companions and turns her into a book lover.  "Nature Lesson" makes a very good point about dress codes and the reasons -- however ridiculous they might seem -- that they exist.  And "Bird Girl" is just lovely and poetic and fairytale-esque, and of a style that I wish I had seen more in the rest of the book.

One unique thing about this book is that it is illustrated with a number of black-and-white photographs.  Some of them are artsy, some of them are beautiful, and some of them are downright weird... but almost all of them are interesting and help to highlight the poems quite nicely.  One of my favourites accompanied "A Witch's Disenchantment".

It's a short book that I read in an afternoon, so it's not as if I invested a lot of time in it.  It might find a more appreciative audience among girls who have dealt with being overweight and/or have had eating disorders.

Quotable moment:

"Photoshopped Poem"

Some say the Before poem
had character.
This poem is much more attractive.
With the Healing Brush Tool
I took out most of the lines.
I left in a few
so it wouldn't look unnatural.

Recommended to: fans of poetry that deals with body image issues and societal expectations

Plot: n/a
Characters: n/a
Pace: n/a
Writing & Editing: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall Rating: 2.25 out of 5 ladybugs

Review - You Are Stardust

You Are Stardust
by Elin Kelsey
illustrated by Soyeon Kim
Date: 2011
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

You Are Stardust begins by introducing the idea that every tiny atom in our bodies came from a star that exploded long before we were born. From its opening pages, the book suggests that we are intimately connected to the natural world; it compares the way we learn to speak to the way baby birds learn to sing, and the growth of human bodies to the growth of forests. Award-winning author Elin Kelsey — along with a number of concerned parents and educators around the world — believes children are losing touch with nature. This innovative picture book aims to reintroduce children to their innate relationship with the world around them by sharing many of the surprising ways that we are all connected to the natural world.

Grounded in current science, this extraordinary picture book provides opportunities for children to use their imaginations and wonder about some big ideas. Soyeon Kim’s incredible diorama art enhances the poetic text, and her creative process is explored in full on the reverse side of the book’s jacket, which features comments from the artist. Young readers will want to pore over each page of this book, exploring the detailed artwork and pondering the message of the text, excited to find out just how connected to the Earth they really are.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a very, very cool book.  While it might be better appreciated by older children than toddlers, it would still be a worthwhile addition to a child's library; they'll grow into the text one day (and, in the meantime, there is plenty to look at on the pages).

The message that runs throughout the book is one of interconnectedness.  We are part of nature, and we have so much in common with the world that we live on and the creatures we share it with.  I thought it was a neat message for a kids' book, and the fact that it's all backed up by science makes the message even more powerful.

The illustrations were also like nothing I've ever seen.  It was as if the illustrator drew and built tiny little characters and then placed them into mixed-media settings... and then photographed the whole thing to give selective focus to certain areas of the illustrations.  It's a great effect and gives the book a really unique look.

I really enjoyed You Are Stardust, and I would definitely recommend it!

Quotable moment:

Salt still flows through your
veins, your sweat, and your tears.
The sea within you is as salty
as the ocean.

Recommended to: older children who are starting to become interested in the world and their place in it

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.33 out of 5

Booking Through Thursday (40)

Booking Through Thursday asks:

How much do you actually read? Few of us get as much time as we’d really LIKE for reading, but do as much as we can, so... how many books do you read? How many hours a day?

I really don't spend a lot of time reading fiction.  Maybe a couple of hours a day?  I guess that's why I don't get through very many novels these days.  In the past, I'd get through a book in a day or two; now, I'm lucky if I get through one in a week.

How much do you read?  Tell me in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR List. You know, it seems kind of silly to make a list like this, since I didn't get through all the books on my Fall TBR list... or my Summer TBR list.  I either need to stop getting sidetracked by reading other stuff, or I need to read faster so I can cross more of these books off my list!  Or I need to stop filling up my TBR list with new books.  Yeah... that last one is probably what I should do...

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard - I'm a sucker for novels in verse.  This one's subject matter looks heavy, but it looks like it might be a good story, too.

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick - Sounds like a suitable book for winter, does it not?  I thought Hush, Hush was okay, but the narrator was kind of stupid.  I've heard this book is better in that regard.

A Dream of Lights by Kerry Drewery - This looks cold and bleak, but also kind of fascinating.  Young adult novels set in North Korea are not exactly common!

The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols - Snowboarding... winter... yeah.  I don't think I want to read a book like this in the summer, do I?

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers - I've heard (mostly) good things about this book and its sequel, and people are already talking about the third book, so I really should start this series before I end up encountering spoilers.

The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer - I don't think I've read a book by this author I haven't liked.  Maybe I'll read this one if I find myself needing to take the bad taste of another book out of my mouth!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - I don't know a lot about this series, but I don't think I've heard anything bad about it.  The synopsis does sound interesting (and I know I'm way behind on this series; I need to get to it... yesterday)!

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen - I've been meaning to get to this one for a while.  I should just read it already!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - Yeah, I know.  Why haven't I read this one yet?  To be frank, I'm a bit leery of this one because it's had so much hype.  I have had bad luck with over-hyped books lately.  But I do kind of want to see what all the fuss is about.

The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston - What other time of year am I going to read a book about a winter witch?  Summer?

What's on your TBR list this winter?

Liebster Award

 

Thank you to Amanda of Of Spectacles and Books for nominating me for this award!  The Liebster Award is for bloggers with fewer than 200 followers, and its purpose is so that we in the blogging world can get to know each other better.

As part of receiving the award, you are provided 11 questions by the one who nominated you. Here are my answers to Amanda's questions:

1. What do you do outside of blogging?  Some of my other hobbies include creating custom content for my favourite computer game, The Sims 2; tracing my family tree; and reading (both fiction and non-fiction).

2. How much of the people outside the Internet realm know you blog?  My mother knows I blog.  That's about it!

3. What is your top five favorite reads of all time?  It's difficult to pick just five... and I'll probably second-guess myself afterwards.  Oh, well.  I guess I'd have to say: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith; Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver; A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb; Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones; and Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.

4. If you could meet three people in real life (living or dead) who would they be?  This is another tough question.  I think I'd like to meet Shirley Temple Black (because she had such an interesting life), Leonardo da Vinci (because he had such an interesting mind), and one of my distant ancestors (because it would be awesome to hear family stories from the people who actually lived them).

5. What is the longest book you've ever read?  I had to check Goodreads for this one.  I figured it was either Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling.  At first glance, the latter is longer... but then I realized I read the Canadian edition, which (like the UK edition) is over 100 pages shorter.  So Breaking Dawn wins.  How embarrassing.

6. In your opinion, what is the best book to film adaptation?  This is a tough one.  I'm generally not that enamoured with recent book-to-film adaptations.  Some of the best ones seem to be from classic books.  I think I'm going to go with Much Ado About Nothing (1993) because it's a fairly faithful adaptation.  Plus, it's really beautiful to look at.

7. Is there a movie that you can quote from beginning to end? What is it?  At one time, I could do that with the 1993 version of The Secret Garden.  I'm not sure if I could quote the whole thing anymore (I haven't watched it in a while).

8. If you could do anything in the world, no matter how much it cost, what would you do?  I'd probably travel... but I'd also like to have a nice, comfy house to come home to.

9. What is your biggest fear and greatest dream?  My biggest fear is getting to the end of my life and not having lived any of my dreams.  My greatest dream is to be satisfied with the life I've lived.

10. How long have you been blogging?  I've had a book blog since 2009.  But I blogged for a few years on Xanga before that, and I had a website or two through sites like Geocities.  One of those websites even helped me land a job!

11. What is the best thing about the blogging community to you?  I like the fact that, through blogging, we get to meet a diverse range of people that we might not otherwise encounter.

Now I get to nominate people who have to answer my questions!  *evil laugh*  Don't worry... I'll try to make them fun.

I nominate:

Molly of Woven Magic Books
Lina of Every Book a World

Here are my 11 questions for you:

1. Are you a writer as well as a reader?  If so, do you write just for fun, or do you hope to publish one day?
2. Is there a book or series that lots of people loved, but that you hated?  What about a book or series that lots of people hated, but that you loved?
3. Have you ever written, contemplated writing, or read fan fiction?  If so, for which book/series?
4. What were your favourite books as a child?  Were they picture books or novels?
5. Name five book characters that you wish were real so you could hang out with them.
6. Do you do anything else while you're reading (listen to music, eat, watch TV, etc.)?  Or do you need complete silence so you can concentrate?
7. What was your favourite subject in school?  Does it still interest you now?
8. Do you have a favourite reading genre?  What is it?  Do you ever read books in other genres?
9. You're going to throw a party with a theme based on your favourite book.  What games would you play?  What food and drink would you serve?  How would you decorate?
10. Would you ever name one of your children after a book character?
11. What genre of music would dominate the playlist for your life?  Or would there be a mix?

Have fun answering these questions!  I can't wait to see your answers!

Weekly Recap - November 16-22, 2014

Here's what I blogged about over the last seven days:

Monday - I reviewed The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and gave it 1.29 ladybugs.

Tuesday - I participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  This week's topic was sequels we can't wait to get.

Thursday - I participated in the Booking Through Thursday meme.  This week we talked about which book's ending we'd like to change... and how we'd change it.

Saturday - I shared the new books I got this week in New to the TBR Pile.

How was your week?

New to the TBR Pile (10)

Bought from Amazon.ca:

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #1)
by Rachel Harris

On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits... right into Renaissance Firenze.

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

A Tale of Two Centuries (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #2)
by Rachel Harris

Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

What's new to your TBR pile this week?  Let me know in the comments!

Booking Through Thursday (39)

Booking Through Thursday asks:

If you could change the ending of any book you’ve read, which would it be and how would you change it?

Ooh... this is a fun one.  Okay, let's see.  Heh... I have just the book:

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

In my rewrite, the Volturi would come to Forks and kill all the vampires because they went ahead and made a baby vampire.  No, wait... we'll have to back up, because there shouldn't even have been a baby vampire, based on the rules that Meyer laid out earlier.

Edward is supposedly like marble... so the story really should have ended on their wedding night.  Bella dies from massive hemorrhaging after having sex with the equivalent of a well-hung stone statue.  Oh, wait... vampires don't have blood flowing through their veins, so sex wouldn't even be possible in the first place.

Darn it, Meyer!  Why'd you have to make this so hard?

Okay, let's back up even further.

At the end of Twilight, Edward would realize that his presence in Bella's life only serves to put her in danger, so he gallantly bows out of the equation, leaving Bella free to fall in love with Jacob, who, without Renesmee in the picture, believes for the rest of his life that it's actually Bella he loves and imprints upon... and not just her ovary.  They end up living happily ever after, eventually marrying and having a litter of babies who all tend to smell like wet dog (because it's the Pacific Northwest and it's always wet and raining, according to Arizona-based Meyer).

Oh, wait.  If Jacob was in love with Bella's ovary, that means he might imprint on his own kid!  Darn it...

Okay.  James kills Bella in the ballet studio.  The end.  (Sorry... but that's the only logical conclusion to this series.)

What book's ending would you like to change?  Tell me in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait To Get

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait To Get.  I'm kind of having more luck with stand-alone titles at the moment; series just aren't doing it for me.  So I'm not sure I can come up with ten.  Or maybe I can...  Let's see:

End of Days by Susan Ee - Book three in the Penryn & the End of Days series!  Eek!  I have rolled my eyes through much of the first two books, and yet... I need to keep reading.  There's something about these silly angel books that's just so addicting.

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson - The Adoration of Jenna Fox is one of the most highly rated books on my blog... and yet, I still haven't sought out the sequels.  Maybe it's time to change that.

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs - If this book is anything like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, it should be really good.  I can't wait to read more about those unique children and their adventures.

The New Hunger by Isaac Marion - This is actually the prequel to Warm Bodies, but it was written after.  It would be interesting to get some backstory on how R and Julie's world ended up the way we see it in Warm Bodies.

untitled Warm Bodies sequel by Isaac Marion - Once I've read the prequel, I'll be all set to read this sequel, whenever it comes out.

Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor - I loved the three main books of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy... and yet I haven't read this companion novella yet.  Why haven't I?  Why?!

Quest by Aaron Becker - Journey has gotten my highest rating so far this year... and it's a wordless picture book!  I really want to "read" this sequel.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - I wasn't all that impressed with Cinder, but I've heard that Scarlet is actually better... so I might give it a try.  I like the premise of the whole series; I just wasn't sold on the characters and world-building in the first book.

Under the Light by Laura Whitcomb - A Certain Slant of Light is one of my favourite YA titles.  I've been meaning to read the sequel for ages, but I just can't bring myself to pay full price for the book (and the library doesn't have it... boo!).

The Untimely Deaths of Alex Wayfare by M. G. Buehrlen - The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare is a weird book for me.  I did enjoy it (though not as much as my rating reflects; it's one of the reasons I changed my rating system a bit), but that ending really made me keep thinking about the characters and story, and the book has actually grown on me since I finished it.  I'm really looking forward to the sequel now; I must know what happens!

What are some sequels that you're looking forward to?

Review - The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
Date: 2012
Publisher: Dutton Books
Reading level: YA
Book type: prose novel
Pages: 318
Format: e-book
Source: library

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Thanks to John Green, I don't even have to write a review of this book.  It's right there in the text, thrust into the mouth of Augustus Waters by his own creator:

Tell me my copy is missing the last twenty pages or something.

... tell me I have not reached the end of this book.

... OH MY GOD WHAT IS THIS

Thank you, Gus.  That about sums it up.

This must be one of the most infuriating, tiresome, exhausting, utterly pretentious pile of pages I have ever had the displeasure of reading.  Ever.  Unlike the vast majority of people who read this book, I did not enjoy it.  I did not cry, either, despite reading about the tear-jerkiness factor in other reviews.  In fact, my first reaction upon finishing TFIOS was to heave a huge sigh of relief (while simultaneously thinking, "Seriously? That's it?") and then break out in a huge smile because I had finally (finally!!!) finished.

To be fair, the story itself isn't completely awful.  Unfortunately, I hated pretty much everything else.  I've never read anything by John Green before, and I think it's safe so say that I never will again.  In fact, I'll probably go out of my way to avoid his books if this is how he writes, like someone "who says fancy things to get attention like a really precocious eleven-year-old and I feel super bad for [him]".  (Sorry... I couldn't resist.  But, really, I wasn't kidding when I said earlier that John Green basically wrote this review for me.)

Because of the writing, I pretty much hated all the characters.  Augustus Waters is a Manic Pixie Dream Boy who is way too close to a masculine version of Hazel... only a lot nicer and supposedly hot (which makes it okay for him to stare at Hazel like a stalker when they first meet; if he was ugly, I guess she would've called 911 or something).  Hazel's parents seem placed into the story only to provide a bit of conflict at the oddest moments.  Hazel's friend Kaitlyn is conspicuously absent for most of the book, appearing in only a few scenes, acting like a total poseur and being nothing more than a... actually, I'm not really sure what the point of Kaitlyn was.  Isaac, Gus's friend, is probably the only character in the whole book who didn't make me either roll my eyes, scratch my head in bewilderment, or want to scream, but he played such a relatively small role that even he couldn't salvage the book for me.  And then there's Hazel, which leads me to my main problem with this book: I absolutely hated the main character (and main character-hatred is a really difficult thing for a book to overcome).  She's rude, selfish, nihilistic, depressing, and mean (even though Gus says she isn't... but I heartily disagree; you don't tell a blind guy that it wasn't "nice" of him to have his eyes cut out of his head and retain your "not mean" status).  But the worst thing about Hazel is that she is so annoyingly pretentious.  This whole book is pretentious, continually veering off into philosophical ramblings that seem to be vomited from the characters' mouths... just because.  If I wanted to read about philosophers, I'd pick up Sophie's World again (which somehow manages to entertainingly incorporate philosophy and fiction without being so maddeningly pretentious).

I made so many notes as I was reading this book, but I'm too worn out to post them all or even try to incorporate them into this review.  Maybe I'm just too old, maybe I'm jaded, or maybe I just can't relate to a book about teenagers who speak as if they're all vying for the Nobel Prize in Really Depressing Insights on the Universe.  This book didn't elicit the sorts of emotions in me that it seems to elicit in everyone else; instead of a tear-jerker of a beautiful story, The Fault in Our Stars was, for me, just an exercise in endurance.

Now I can say I've read it.  But I can't say I'd really recommend it.

Quotable moment:

Look, let me just say it: He was hot. A nonhot boy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a hot boy... well.

Recommended to: fans of pretentious teen characters who all sound like wannabe philosophers

Plot: 1/5
Characters: 1/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: 2/5
Originality: 1/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall Rating: 1.29 out of 5 ladybugs

Weekly Recap - November 9-15, 2014

Here's what I blogged about over the last seven days:

Monday - I reviewed a picture book called Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan and Sophie Blackall and gave it 2.33 ladybugs.

I also reviewed a novel, Free as a Bird by Gina McMurchy-Barber, and gave it 4.43 ladybugs.

Tuesday - I participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  This week's topic was characters that we think should get their own books.

Saturday - I shared the new books I got this week in New to the TBR Pile.

How was your week?

New to the TBR Pile (9)

Freebie from Amazon.ca:

Aegis Rising (The Aegis League #1)
by S. S. Segran

Over a remote northern forest, a small plane carrying five teenage friends flies into a freak storm. Struck by lightning, the aircraft crashes and the passengers find themselves cast into a life-changing adventure.

In a hidden valley, a mysterious people gaze at the stormy sky as a glowing object with fiery wings disappears behind a mountain ridge. The astonishing sight reignites an ancient prophecy foretelling the arrival of five chosen ones destined to become bearers of light against a dark storm gathering on humanity's horizon.

In a distant city, a secretive organization led by a shadowy figure initiates a sequence of cataclysmic events designed to wreak havoc across the planet, beginning with a remote mining site in a northern Canada.

As the three worlds collide, unlikely heroes arise. Armed with powers entrusted to them by the ancient prophecy and the resilience of their life-long bond, the five teens take a stand against a malevolent foe.

Bought from Amazon.ca:

Everything's Eventual
by Stephen King

The first collection of stories Stephen King has published since Nightmares & Dreamscapes nine years ago, Everything's Eventual includes one O. Henry Prize winner, two other award winners, four stories published by The New Yorker, and "Riding the Bullet," King's original e-book, which attracted over half a million online readers and became the most famous short story of the decade. "Riding the Bullet," published here on paper for the first time, is the story of Alan Parker, who's hitchhiking to see his dying mother but takes the wrong ride, farther than he ever intended. In "Lunch at the Gotham Café," a sparring couple's contentious lunch turns very, very bloody when the maître d' gets out of sorts. "1408," the audio story in print for the first time, is about a successful writer whose specialty is "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Graveyards" or "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Houses," and though Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel doesn't kill him, he won't be writing about ghosts anymore. And in "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French," terror is déjà vu at 16,000 feet.

Whether writing about encounters with the dead, the near dead, or about the mundane dreads of life, from quitting smoking to yard sales, Stephen King is at the top of his form in the fourteen dark tales assembled in Everything's Eventual. Intense, eerie, and instantly compelling, they announce the stunningly fertile imagination of perhaps the greatest storyteller of our time.

Pet Sematary
by Stephen King

When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son—and now an idyllic home. As a family, they’ve got it all... right down to the friendly cat.

But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth—more terrifying than death itself... and hideously more powerful.

The Creeds are going to learn that sometimes dead is better.

What's new to your TBR pile this week?  Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Characters You Wish Would Get Their OWN Book

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Characters You Wish Would Get Their OWN Book.  I often find myself more drawn to minor or secondary characters than the main characters in the books I read.  Sometimes I wish the author had chosen to tell their story instead.  What worries me, though, is this: once they're the main character, will I lose interest?  Anyway, here are some characters that really should have their own book, because they're just as interesting as (or more interesting than) the main character:

Blue from the Alex Wayfare series by M. G. Buehrlen - I'm not holding out much hope for this particular story, as I have a feeling it would be so spoilery that it would ruin the rest of the series.  If we ever do get to read about events from his point of view, it will probably be after the main series is completed.

Decker from Megan Miranda's Fracture series - Yeah, yeah... I know he's the protagonist of the prequel novella and the sequel.  But I'm really afraid to read the latter because I'm afraid that the author will mess him up like she did with Delaney in the first book... and I'd rather remember him as the only decent character in Fracture.

Derek from The Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong - I kind of liked Derek, even in the first book.  By the time I'd finished the trilogy, I was wishing it had been written about him instead of about Chloe.  There were some interesting hints that were dropped about him in the third book, but they never went anywhere.  He's got some special powers of his own, so it's not like he doesn't have an interesting story that could be turned into a book (or three).

Erris from Magic Under Glass and Magic Under Stone by Jaclyn Dolamore - He's kind of a tragic character.  And yet, the tragedy was underutilized.  I wanted to know more about how he ended up in his predicament, and being inside his head instead of Nimira's would have helped the reader sympathize with him a bit more.  He was a far more interesting character than Nimira, and having a fairy prince as the narrator might have brought more magic into the story; for a land supposedly swimming in sorcerers, there was surprisingly little magic in the plot.

Gale from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins - I was always on Team Gale, and I really did not like his weird choices in the third book.  Had the story been written from his point of view, perhaps his actions would have made more sense.  Either that, or the author would have realized that his actions weren't all that consistent with his character.

Hazael from the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor - Forget Akiva.  If we're talking seraphim, then Haz was definitely my favourite.  I'm not sure exactly what could be written about him that wasn't already covered in the series.  Maybe we could find out what happened before his brother went off and caused so much chaos.

Po from Graceling by Kristin Cashore - I know Katsa is considered by many to be a kick-ass heroine, but I wasn't that crazy about her.  Of all the characters in that book, I found Po to be the most interesting.  I would have liked to read some of that story from his point of view.

Raffe from the Penryn & the End of Days series by Susan Ee - We did get a little bit of Raffe's POV in World After, but I would like to read more about his life.  He's been around for thousands of years, after all; it's not like there would be any shortage of things to write about!

Ty from Stolen by Lucy Christopher - Yes, he was the villain, and yes, he was screwed up.  We got some tantalizing hints as to how he got so messed up, but since the book was told from Gemma's point of view, we never really got a chance to get inside Ty's head.  He was so complex and interesting that he could easily support a story all on his own.

Ziri from Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy - I know I'm not the only one out there who feels this way, and I have a feeling he'll make a lot of people's lists today.  He's an interesting character, and there would be plenty of material to work with if the author ever decided to continue to write stories in the world she created.

What are some books that were hard for you to read?