Book Review: 40 Things I Want to Tell You by Alice Kuipers

Title: 40 Things I Want To Tell You

Author: Alice Kuipers

Series/Novel: Novel

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 283

Publisher: HarperTrophyCanada

Year Published: 2012

First Line: “‘There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.’ I leaned back in my desk chair, resting the phone between my cheek and my ear, and doodled on the pad of paper by my computer.”

“Top Tip:

Some secrets are too hard to keep

Amy (a.k.a. Bird) seems to have the perfect life: loving parents, a hot boyfriend, the best friend ever. She even writes an online advice column, full of Top Tips, to help other teens take control of their lives. But after a new guy shows up at school, Bird can’t seem to follow her own wisdom.

Pete is the consummate bad boy. He’s everything Bird is not: wild, unambitious and more than a little dangerous. Although she knows Pete’s trouble, Bird can’t stay away. And the more drawn she is to him, the more cracks are revealed in her relationship with Griffin, he doting boyfriend. All it takes is one mistake, one momentary loss of control, for her entire future to be blown away.”

My Rating: 2/5

Hi ladies and gents, long time no write. It’s been to long for my liking and I am finally able to find some time to do a review again. The book I’m reviewing today, 40 Things I Want To Tell You , follows the story of Amy or, as she’s referred to throughout most of the book, Birdy throughout her 6^th form. It has some interesting aspects as Birdy also happens to be an online advice, but all in all I found this book to be extremely predictable. This book did not catch me off guard at all and in fact, it took me so long to finish as I was bored with it. The characters were not very well developed and the main character didn’t seem to be very competent. It was frustrating to see something so obvious as a reader and have to wait till the end of the book till Birdy finally realized what was going on.

One good thing I would like to mention about the book is that, it takes place in an interesting setting. I’ve never been to England and it was interesting to read with some other words and picture where Birdy lived, went to school, etc. That was an interesting aspect to this novel.

THANK YOU ALICE KUIPERS FOR LETTING ME EXPLORE A LITTLE BIT OF LONDON!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: 40 Things I Want To Tell You by Alice Kuipers

This novel was not at all what I expected. The first time I started to read this novel, I had a copy that was missing about 20 pages at the start. So the first time when read part of it I was confused and lost. I chalked all that up to the missing pages, but when I got a new book (Thanks Indigo!!!) I was sure it would be a good read. I did not enjoy it. I’m not trying to be a pessimist, but there isn’t barely anything I liked about this book. I thought that the characters were under developed and that the main character for lack of a better word was stupid. The other thing that I didn’t enjoy was the way time moved. It seemed either to be going by too slow or too quickly and I had trouble figuring which time of the year it was. The one positive thing I have to say about this book is that the setting was one which I hadn’t read about much before. I like to read about other places and explore them.

♥Character♥

♥Birdy/ Amy: I think that she was a poor choice for the main character and she was not real enough for me to enjoy reading about. The choices she made throughout the entire book were poor and had me upset. I understand being 16 years old is not easy, but you can not simply be this stupid and still have test scores to get into Oxford, that’s unrealistic. She is the definition of book smart. I think if this character existed in real life, there is a high chance I would punch her in the face. I hope she will be a better mother.

♥Cleo: I would have loved learning more about Cleo. What kind of best friend is she? How did she cope with Amy’s incidents? I was not surprised when Cleo and Griffin ended up together, it seemed like they should have been all along, Amy was just far to blind to see (it even says this in the book, with different phrasing of course).

♥Griffin: He deserved honesty from the very start. Birdy had no excuse to treat him the way she did. In the end though, he deserved Cleo. They seemed like they would go well together. I felt horrible about his mother, but I do wonder what happened to her.

♥Pete: The fact that he was still in Amy’s life surprised me. Not because I think he is a bad guy, but because of the way she treated him. She slept with him and then treated him like shit. Yes, there should have been protection that’s a no brainer. But he still stood by her through most of what was going on. Good for him!

♥Amy’s Dad: I think that Amy’s father was going through a really tough time, but he was in denial until her pregnancy brought him back to earth. Hopefully he can forgive her.

♥Amy’s Mother: Good for you, for following your dreams lady, but could you not have discussed what happened with Amy’s Dad, I hope that in the long term they are both happy.

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Final Line: “Number 40: LOVE IS WORTH THE RISK”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Series/Novel: Divergent Series (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Sci-fi

Pages: 487

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Year Published: 2011

First Line: “There is one mirror in my house.”

“One choice

Decides your friends

One choice

Defines your beliefs

One choice

Determines your loyalties- forever

One choice

Can transform you”

My Rating: 5/5

Let’s start with a summary. This book follows Beatrice/Tris through her test that will decide what life she will live. In a world that is very futuristic, there are 5 factions to live in. The factions define who you are as a person and what you value. I’ll leave it at that as I don’t want to spoil anything in the book review (spoiler below), but trust me it’s an interesting read.

This book has been on my TBR pile for quite sometime, and I finally got around to it. I’m very happy that I read this book because of how it ties in so many what ifs. It makes a reader question the future and what they believe in. That’s one of my favourite things about books like this. Not only are you transported to another world, but it makes you wonder what you would do in this world. Would you follow, or would you break free?

This book questions what followers are and helps you realize that we as humans each have our own values. It also made me question trust. Who I trust, why I trust them and what I trust them with was all put into question. I liked that, in a strange way. I liked that this book made me think.

I also feel for the characters and the scene that was painted was picture perfect in my mind. More details on that below.

THANK YOU VERONICA ROTH FOR QUESTIONING INTENTIONS!

Thank you for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Divergent by Veronic Roth

Divergent takes place in a futuristic society that is made up of 5 factions. Each faction believing that the past world ended for a different reason and so forth each faction has different values. This book made me question many things. Beginning with what are my values? What would I chose and where would I be in the world that Divergent offers? Where would I fall? Would I follow, or would I break free? Would I question my leaders, or do as I was told? All these thoughts occurred to me multiple times in the book and I enjoyed the fact that this book didn’t just take me on a journey, it made me think about who I am as a person.

Another part of this book that I truly enjoyed was the scene. The thought of a burnt out city with all the empty buildings and new faction areas was an interesting thing to imagine. Something that could be left to the reader to imagine mainly on their own with a little bit of guidance from the author.

Lastly, I enjoyed the characters. They were interesting, to say the least..

Characters:

♥Tris: I think that transformation we see in Tris is remarkable. We see her go from struggling to be who she is, to being a full fledged Divergent. She takes no from no one and fights back when the odds are against her. Something that we as humans tend to love to watch/read. I can’t wait to read more about her. I’m super excited that she ended up with Tobias, but upset that she wasn’t able to make it out of the battle with her family intact.

♥Tobias: I love him, he seems like the kind of guy that I would just hate to love. He’s sweet and takes care of Tris, but also trusts that she is capable to take care of herself. I thought he was going to die for sure when he was the one in the control room. But luckily, he lived on. I can’t wait to see him in the next books and see where love and life on the run takes these two. I hope that he keeps his distance from Marcus, because I can’t see that going anywhere good.

♥Christina: I’m sure that Jeanine will use the fact that Tris killed will to make Christina continue to do some work. I can’t see her being on the Divergent side really. Not because she’s not a nice character, just because of the circumstances.

♥Will: Well there he is. The elephant in the room. Never thought that he would die. I never really thought much about him, just that it seemed so sweet that Christina and him had found each other.

♥Jeanine: This woman is pure evil. Her quest for power reminds me of Hitler in all honesty, and I know that’s not something that should be taken lightly, and I don’t. She is greedy and wants power and will do anything she can, including mind control and murder, to get it. I’m sure she will continue to be a villain throughout the series or at least into the next book. And I say, BRING IT!

♥Eric: This didn’t shock me at all. He seemed like the sly kind of guy who would help out the main villan.

♥Al: This caught me completely off guard. I knew that he liked Tris, but to kidnap her to make her feel weak and then commit suicide to ease your own guilt afterwards, that is purely cowardly. He would have never made it in Dauntless.

♥Peter: I can’t wait to see what will happen next with him. Maybe he’ll get shot in the face.

♥Beatrice’s Parents: I think that I will put them together, because together they made the ultimate sacrifice for their daughter. Her mother, who was also Divergent saved her the first time while her father gave his life in the final stand in the Dauntless building. They were incredible characters that I would love to know more about.

♥Caleb: I wonder what will happen next for him, as he chose to be factionless. Hopefully something good, but sadly, I doubt it.

Moments to Remember:

♥Pg. 205

“Sometimes crying or laughing are the only options left, and laughing feels better right now.”

♥Pg. 290

“’And your side?’ he asks, his voice low.

 ‘Only hurts when I breathe.’

He smiles. ‘Not much you can do about that.’

 ‘Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing.’

 ‘Well,’ he says, ‘I would only go if there was cake.’”

♥Pg. 411

“’Moths,’ repeats Will. ‘You’re afraid of moths?’

 ‘Not just a cloud of moths,’ she says, ‘like… a swarm of them. Everywhere. All those wings and legs and…’ She shudders and shakes her head.

 ‘Terrifying,’ Will says with mock seriousness. ‘That’s my girl. Tough as cotton balls.’”

♥Final Line:

“I suppose that now, I must become more than either.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo