And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Cover via Goodreads. ARC provided by Goodreads and Riverhead Books.

A brother torn from his sister by a cruel twist of fate at only seven years of age. A caretaker drawn into the life of his enigmatic employer, a recluse with a large amount of riches. A repressed daughter who dates her mother’s old flame, setting inevitable consequences into motion. In his new 400-page novel, And The Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini does not tell the story one of character, of two characters, or of three – he delves into several generations. He takes apart the threads that tie us together and examines each string, sifting through the tapestry to find our souls.

Family. Hosseini’s narrative travels around the world in And the Mountains Echoed, from Afghanistan to France to the United States to the Greek island Tinos. Despite the broad scope of the story, there’s one theme that brings it all together: family.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

Every book has its beginnings. A fresh protagonist to fall in love with, a new world to explore, a story to watch play out. By the end of the book, it’s time to say goodbye to what we’ve come to know – not only the settings that have taken root in our minds or the characters who have made their way into our hearts, but the lessons we’ve learned. With series, I find this more difficult; with several books and hundreds and hundreds of pages to entrench ourselves in, it should be more gut-wrenching, more bittersweet. But when I put Requiem down, it wasn’t as devastating as I wanted it to be… it wasn’t anything at all, really.

I Just Want People to Like Me (How to Get Likes on Facebook)

Hey guys! My exams finished up yesterday, hallelujah! My AP Biology exam was my most daunting obstacle – especially considering I found a twitching lizard on its back two days beforehand in my basement – but it’s over now. I haven’t been doing a great job of posting or responding to comments and messages, though that will change as I have more free time. My birthday is in ten days so maybe I’ll post about that later. For now, however, here’s an anti-process essay I wrote for my Advanced Composition course; as always I’d appreciate any comments or constructive criticism!

Proof. Trust me, it’s bigger than it looks…

      Unless you are above the age of 110 or you actually like to go outside, you probably know about the social networking website Facebook. Many people assume the purpose of this site is to share status updates, cute baby pictures, and other personal tidbits. Well, they’re wrong.

How Children Succeed by Paul Tough

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 5/5 stars.

As someone possibly striving to become a teacher, I appreciated How Children Succeed. Paul Tough variegates his writing style enough to keep the book entertaining without losing track of the message he puts forth – one way he does this is by including various anecdotes. He does not just share stories about kids who have suffered in the current education system, but he reveals parts of his own journey, such as when he dropped out of Columbia University.

Tough connects these tales to psychology too, by examining several pertinent ideas like character, conscientiousness, and what it truly takes to succeed in an academic environment.

Stone Him to Death, They Shout

It took me fifteen minutes to blur and upload this screenshot. Technology is not my strong point…

I took the above screenshot about three weeks ago, from a Facebook thread about suspects of the Boston bombing. The irony strikes because the comment was not directed toward the actual bomber, and thus this person’s violent sentiment was wasted (as well as the support he/she got from five other people). However, it does serve its purpose in allowing me to smoothly transition into my oh so subtle argument against a practice we all know and love: the death penalty.

We all get emotional sometimes.

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 5/5 stars.

In 23 days I’ll be 18. That’s part of the reason why I’m giving Clockwork Princess five stars, even if it may not deserve all of them.

There were definite imperfections within the finale of the Infernal Devices trilogy. Some of the plot twists could have been easily predicted ahead of time. The characters leaped out of their personalities for the sake of the plot, and there was a repetitiveness to the story structure I found irksome (how many times can you end a chapter with someone screaming?) Also, that epilogue was pure fan service – I almost found it insulting that Cassandra Clare chose to include it.

But, through pathos, the book hit all the right points.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 3/5 stars.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened acts as the autobiography of Jenny Lawson, better known as The Bloggess. She writes about various anecdotes, ranging from her experience with a talking squirrel to her social anxiety issues at parties. Written in a stream-of-consciousness style, it will most likely please fans of her blog, as well as others who want a funny book to read.

While I liked Jenny Lawson’s voice and her crazy life, I myself did not find Let’s Pretend This Never Happened funny, which was the foundation of the book.