You might of heard of this title from the movie containing Hollywood Heartthrob Zac Efron starring as the lead role. But as most people say: A good story is always best told through sheets of paper --- especially a heart warming story such as this one that will make your head burst out with a diversity of emotions.
The book narrates the life of brothers Charlie and Sam St. Cloud --- two young boys that have such a strong relationship between each other that almost seems like they are "tied" together. When their Mom leaves the kids home alone one night, Charlie has this idea of going to a baseball game in Boston along with Sam thinking there wouldn't be a possibility that something would go wrong. That was until their way back home, when Charlie was most distracted and didn't grab a clue that there was an 18-wheeler truck heading their way. Lucky for him, the ambulance rushed to rescue them from the terrible accident. That is, if there was any left of Sam of course (which there wasn't). Despite the fact that the death of his brother filled his heart with agony, tears and guilt, Charlie still was able to see and talk to Sam's spirit and they made a pact that they would never abandon each other. Five years have gone by and Charlie has been working all these years at the Marblehead Cemetery meeting up with his brother everyday at dusk. But when Charlie lays his eyes on yachtswoman Tess Carroll, his heart is stuck on the very middle. Now what? Tess or Sam?
When I finished this book, my room became a pool of tears. I learned many valuable lessons from reading this novel and one of the major ones was how I should cherish my loved ones. Charlie is an exemplary brother in my opinion. He is a kind, respectful, caring and loving human being who always wants the best for everyone (especially his brother). Although I don't live with my step brother and sister, I think that Charlie and Sam's relationship can be served as a "role model" to other brothers and sisters around the world because even if you two end up on "heated" situations now and then, you two should at least give value to one another because you never know what's coming to you in the future.
To finish up, I think you should grab A LOT of hankies while reading this. You don't necessarily plan on flooding your house now do you?
Recommended for fans of: The Last Song, My Sister's Keeper, Zac Efron
PS: What's distracting you apart from Zac's intense green eyes from buying this book right now?
Did you ever watch "The Social Network"? If so, you probably might (or might not) of heard of The Accidental Billionaires where the author Ben Mezrich (with help of Co-Founder Eduardo Savrin as his main consultant) narrates the story of Facebook from its pumped up beginning to its chaotic ending.
The story is narrated by Eduardo Saverin himself and it takes place in Harvard University where twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss alongside their friend and business partner Divya Narendra decide to launch "The Harvard Connection" --- a dating site designed exclusively for Harvard students only. However, for the project to happen, the twins need a professional for the job of programming the website and publishing it on the Internet. That is when Mark Zuckerberg, an out of this world computer genius who is struggling to fit in sociably, launches while drunk an on-campus website called "Facemash" --- where girls are ranked according to their looks. With the site's success, it grabs the attention of the twins leading them to offer Zuckerberg a job as the programmer for their future website. Inspired, Mark decides to work on a separate project with the help of the Brazilian Eduardo Saverin that is similar to Harvard Connection called "The Facebook" --- a much more advanced version of The Harvard Connection. Instantly, the site turned out to be a tremendous hit on campus. But the question is: In a scale of 1 - 10 how furious are the Winklevoss twins in terms of this topic?
One of the things that really caught my eye in this book is how it changed my views about Harvard University. Before reading this book, I honestly thought that Harvard was an all "Nerd School" filled with people that stuck to the books all the time that never stepped into a night club or came close to having a girlfriend/boyfriend. Clearly, I was completely wrong about my thoughts and by reading the book, the reader gets to learn a lot about Harvard's traditions, social life and fraternities especially. Another great thing about this book is how short the chapters really are (the longest chapter consists around 10 to 15 pages max.) so the reader can flip from chapter to chapter at more ease without cramping in the middle of bulky and boring chapters like other books.
To wrap it all up: what I think about this book? If you loved The Social Network like I did, then I don't know why your not in a bookstore buying this book right this second!
Recommended for fans of: The Social Network (Movie), The Facebook Effect, Mark Zuckerberg
Nicholas Sparks yet again got the teenage audience sobbing the Kleenex box with this astonishing story that will make girls in particular want him to create a personalized boyfriend for each and every one of them!
The story revolves around John Tyree, a once rebellious teenager that dropped out of school and without much to do with his life, enlisted himself in the Army. This major decission builds up a strong chunk of regret once he meets in his break from military duty, Savannah --- a gorgeous college student Tyree rapidly falls in love with. Both of them knew that they couldn't be together for very long as John himself was busy serving for the armed forces and Savannah studying to receive her college degree. To resolve the complicated situation, the couple decided to keep in touch through romantic love letters so they wouldn't distance from one another. However, with John feeling like it is his duty to be a part of the army and Savannah possibly falling for someone else, a broken heart could change the lives of two people forever . . .
This book is very heartwarming because Sparks describes how meeting a new person can change a person's life forever. In this case, John --- the main protagonist --- a once defiant adolescent that decided to drop off school and sign up to the Army for no apparent good reason, changes completely once he comes face to face with the girl of his dreams. Although the Army must of taught him discipline, once he met Savannah, it felt like she "awoke" the gentleman inside of him unlike what he used to feel beforehand. Another aspect that I enjoyed about this book was that the interaction between John and his father --- a person he never got along with very well --- create an interesting sub-plot. Therefore, this "extra touch" to the novel does not make the reader bored too quickly and it only motivates you to keep on reading. This is a very light reading book --- both in terms of weight and an easy plot --- if you are interested on traveling, I'd say Dear John is perfect for the occasion!
Recommended for fans of: Nights in Rodanthe, The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle
Despite the fact that I read the portuguese version for this book, I'm still going to give out my personal opinion and review in English. Anyway, in this novel, Meg Cabot who writes books well known to have a romantic theme and mostly aimed at teenagers and young adults, scores another hit alongside the famous "Princess Diaries" series where I can guarantee that you ladies won't stop reading until the very last page!
Pants on Fire tells the story of Katie Ellison: a girl from the juvenile age group that always thought that telling the truth was a very difficult challenge. Clearly, she is well aware that she should not be "hooking up" with the hottie from drama club while dating one of the major football players in her school's varsity team also as for pretending to love quahogs --- the town's favorite dish (clams) --- and to add irony, she is running for "Quahog Princess" on the festival that is held annually. It would also be comforting if she spilled the beans on whatREALLY happened that one night where "Tommy Sullivan is a freak" was spray painted in the school gymnasium in bold colors that still hasn't been washed out --- I mean, we ALL know why Tommy left 4 years ago, right? To spice up the story even better, it is no surprise to see Sullivan after 4 years from the incident back in town to welcome Katie a special surprise that might make her tell even more lies than the usual!
I have no words to say about this book but one: STUNNING! I get impressed on how addicted you become while reading this story as not only one, but sequences of information flow throughout the process of this fabulous novel that will sure make you crave to read the next pages up to the very last one! This makes the book a lot more effective as it never gets the reader tired and it only incentives you to read more and more so you won't be questioning at the end of each chapter: Now what? This is because as you keep reading, those questions eventually are answered then leading to newer questions that will keep the process going continuously.
If I were you, I wouldn't hesitate on going to the nearest bookstore or library and checking out this amazing book fulfilled with a mind blowing plot that will make you fall in love with this tremendous tale!
Recommended for fans of: All American Girl, How to be Popular, Airhead Series
In this brilliant novel, Stephen King brings up a story with a shedload of tension and buckets full of fear that will certainly make the reader sleep with the night lamp on!
In this story, it narrates the tale of Carrie White: a teenage girl who is known as a laughing stock in her high school because of her strange, religious ways, her outdated clothing and her unattractive appearance. Weak and innocent, she takes in the negative mockeries from her peers as time goes by. However, as she gradually discovers her telekinetic powers --- that is, the ability to move objects at a distance by mental power or other nonphysical means --- and her classmates reach a step too far in prom night, windows start to shut and doors start to lock as Carrie plots revenge over them.
An aspect that I really liked about this book is how King uses fictional documents to frame the story of Carrie. This is very interesting because it shows how the commotion that Carrie brought to the city of Chamberlaine (Maine) was so efficacious that not only a few, but yes, loads of reports were filed in association with this calamity including the ones from Carrie's classmate in particular, Susan "Sue" Snell that tells her side of the story. The heart stopping moments and the gobsmacking surprises will sure leave you with a shivery spine for several weeks!
Recommended for fans of: It, The Shining, Cujo
Yes folks, NY times #1 author Nicholas Sparks captured the hearts of young teenagers once again in this heart warming story about love, music, and the strong bond of a daughter and her father that was once lost and now is trying to reconnect.
Years after a drastic divorce, Veronica "Ronnie" Miller decides to distance from her parents --- her father in particular --- until her mother has the idea of Ronnie and her brother, Jonah, spend time with him in Wrightsville, North Carolina during the summer. As her Dad tries to rekindle their lost relationship, Ronnie acts in her usual bitter and rebellious attitude and BEGS to come back to New York before the end of the summertime. That is, until she lays her eyes on Will, a sweet, sensitive, handsome young man whom she never thought she would be attracted to and finds herself slowly falling for him, leading to the greatest happiness and the strongest pain that she has ever encountered.
One of the things I loved the most about this book is that the suffering that Ronnie goes through is alike the hardship that many girls worldwide can relate to. For example: the isolation from a particular family member. One other aspect that made me pour a tub full of tears after reading this fantastic novel was the heart touching end -- that of course, i am NOT going to tell you about -- where Ronnie and her Dad have a "private"moment that will sure make you reader go head over heels over this passionate love story.
Recommended for fans of: The Notebook, Dear John, A Walk to Remember
Hello bookworms,
I just wanted to drop by and say that this is now the new address for "The Book Devourer".
I'm sorry if I stopped posting on the other one, it got hacked and unfortunately, I wasn't able to recover the password for my other account.
Besides all this, I will keep on blogging and keep all of you updated on this new address with a TON of new book reviews just waiting to be written!
P.S: Don't forget to like the Facebook page:
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Keep on reading,
xxxx
