(Rotten) Reminiscent Reads (4)

Reminiscent Reads is a feature that Cait at A Life Like Mine and I started recently to showcase the books we have read before starting our blogs. From time to time we will choose a few, good/bad, related/not, and do a mini-review explaining a little bit about the plot and our overall opinions.

Today's Reminiscent Reads post is not gonna be pretty; it is one of the Rotten variety! So these carefully selected books are at the very bottom of all the books I have read thus far, that is, they rank the lowest. I know, I know, it's pretty mean, but for some reason or another, I really did not enjoy them, and I feel it is right to pass the message along for people to either listen to or debate. Either way it needs to be done. So if you disagree, just let me know. I always like hearing the other side of things :) Enjoy! (or not?)

CUM LAUDE by CECILY VON ZIEGESAR

Written by the author of two of my favourite series’ (Gossip Girl and The It Girl), Cecily Von Ziegesar astonished me when she released this stand-alone novel with a knock out cover! Well, lesson learned: Never Judge a Book by Its Cover! I absolutely hated this book. First of all, it was a ‘slice of life’ novel, and we all know my thoughts on those. Second, it just seemed to go nowhere. And fast! Hardly any of the characters interacted with each other, and when they did, it was so horribly anticlimactic. Nothing ever came to be, and the ending was horrendous! Definitely one of my least favourite books ever!

SARAH'S BOOK by SEAN STEWART

When I picked this book up, it had been on my booklist for a while, and is definitely another case in point against buying a book because of its cover. Or just overall artistic appeal, really. Which is pretty much the only thing this book has going for it. There are cute little doodles throughout, but sadly these cannot overcome the bizarre plot nor mediocre characters. There also just had to be a little Rotten cherry on top: a little bit of unrealistic, far-fetched, and completely unplausible tidbit of freakish paranormalcy that makes me cringe just thinking about! Let me just say this: even though I almost always follow through with series as a rule, I would rather eat my own eyeballs than pick up the next two installments, art and all!

ROSE OF NO MAN'S LAND by MICHELLE TEA

This is by far the worst book I have ever read. I purchased it one day in Chapters, not ever hearing of it before, just on a whim (which is pretty rare for me), and I think that the Gods of Chapters should have smited me at that moment, crying, “No Holly! Ye shalt regreteth thisuth for the resteth of your lifeth!” Not only was this book completely insanely crazy and weird, it wasn’t even interesting, and was really just creepy. Maybe I’m just not the kind of person to like it?, I don’t know... I have pondered many an excuse. Bottom Line: no book that I have read has come close to being as horrible as this one!

MY FRIEND LEONARD by JAMES FREY

After reading and really enjoying A Million Little Pieces, I thought that My Friend Leonard would be as dynamic and insightfully interesting. It was not. Marking (I think) the only book that I have never finished, My Friend Leonard did not start out well, and continued to un-woo me from then on. I do not remember that much about the book (which just reiterates my point) since it was probably about 7 years ago when I read it, but I seem to recall a death that I wasn’t too thrilled about, and really boring plot points. Overall, I think that my stance is just so ambivalent towards the book, which in my opinion is the worst feeling of all.

FABULOUS NOBODIES by LEE TULLOCH

This was one of the few books that I read in my first year of University (ahh, I can just remember lounging on my rez room bed, when I should have been in class... Just Kidding!-maybe) and I remember choosing it because the cover promised me to be ‘glued to it’ by none other than Sophie Kinsella! I mean come on, Sophie Kinsella, my Goddess of Chick Lit and favourite all-time author! I was so crushed when I read this book, and even still question my sanity for disliking a book that Sophie put her sign of approval on! The book was just really weird. It seemed like it could, maybe, possibly be good in a kind of way that is so foreign to your everyday life, so it just has to be interesting. But when all is said and done, the effect was just so strange and the main character so unrelatable, despite all of the characteristics that I shared with her. I really was just disappointed in this book, and looking back, it seems like a waste of time.

Having said all that, I do acknowledge that not every book is suited to everyone, and opinions often vary. Sometimes it just comes down to my expectations being crushed, the book that I read previously, or just the mind set going in, but I definitely do not enjoy all the books that I read! But hey, you have to have some bad ones to make the good ones really stand out, right?


What are you waiting for? Debate Me!--Cheers & Enjoy♥

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Nine of us came here.  We look like you.  We talk like you.  We live among you.  But we are not you.  We can do things you dream of doing.  We have powers you dream of having.  We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen.  We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books-but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them.  But they found us and started hunting us first.  Now all of us are running.  Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in.  We have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They Killed them all.

I am Number Four.  I am Next.                                                 -Chapters Canada


This book was pretty amazing.  I did see it a lot before I decided to read it, the movie tie-in version that is (which I loathe for any book!), as I passed by chapters, and a little bit on the Internet.  There were some factors that made me want to read it, though, as with any book.
 
First of all, I realized that it is a movie as well.  Both I had been aware of, but hadn't really put together that they were one and the same until about two weeks before the movie release.  I instantly knew I had to read it, because of course any book-to-movie fandango needs to be book then movie, in that order, and that order only.  Also, the fact that Alex Pettyfer plays the lead in the movie was pretty persuasive, as I can see that he is gonna be like THE hit new face around Hollywood for at least the next little while (you really do not even want me to elaborate on my prediction).  Thirdly, the author(s), whom are cleverly anonymiscized by the pseudonym Pittacus Lore, is made up in part by James Frey.  This intrigues me immensely, as I have of course read A Million Little Pieces (and only part of My Friend Leonard, probably the only book EVER that I have not finished) and am terribly familiar with the Oprah controversy that surrounds Frey.  I also have a certain fondness for Diana Agron (she plays the love interest in the movie) due to her being one of the stars of Glee.. and come one, I would die for Glee..

Anyway, so now you know some of the background.
Having said that, this book was marvelous, had me hooked from the beginning.  It is sci-fi, but in a very humanistic and subtle way, I found.  Kinda of dystopian as well, which made me reminiscent of The Uglies trilogy/saga by Scott Westerfeld, in the way that they mention Earth in a very allegorical way, that serves to warn us ready, subtly, of the harm we cause our planet every day, and the possible consequences.  Love that.

I also want to mention, before I get into detail, that the romantic aspect was delicious, and I hope to see it carried through the series :)


Spoiler Alert: Don't read after this point if you don't want to know specific book details!


The book starts out very intriguingly, introducing us into the novel ideas that surround John and Henri, and their planet, Lorien.  We learn quite fast that they are in danger.  John especially, since he is Number Four in line, the first three already killed.  When John gets the third tattoo on his leg, he knows that Number Three is dead.  This means that they need move again, which is all that they really know since arriving on Earth, when their planet and race were absolutely obliterated by Mogadorians.  There are many other important details that I'm not going to get into now, but I find them all interesting and new, and that is pretty important to me, as, since I've read so many books, I rarely run into book concepts that don't remind me of another book and are completely unique in themselves.

After moving to Paradise, Ohio, it doesn't take John long to fall for fair Sarah Hart.  This is really quite obvious, but still in a very obvious way.  So John is continually told by Henri (his guardian from Lorien) to keep a low profile, so that they won't be tracked by the Mogadorians, but John's Legacies (powers) are just now emerging, and he of course cannot help but to use them at various times to save Sarah.

Of course this leads to the Mogadorians arriving, right after John is forced to tell Sarah the truth about himself.  The books ends shortly after this, after an almost too good to be true fight (almost was too easy, but I guess I can let it go, just this once).  Number Six shows up, and Henri dies, which I still don't quite want to believe is the truth :(  .  The book is a series, and now I guess that John and Six are gonna meet up with the remaining four numbers, to battle it out with the Mogadorians, so they can save the Earth and return to their planet.

I just hope John comes back for Sarah.
And does not fall for Six, which was subtly foreshadowed in the novel.
Although, I may have to come back and remind myself of what I am thinking now, because we all know how easily swayed I am by a little romance :D


Wanting to continue--Cheers & Enjoy♥