Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

So I am caught up on books already read. I happened to finish this one late last night. If you want to read along I just started Gone Girl.

Go check out, rent, buy borrow or steal this book right now, (Don't really steal that's bad). You need to stop what you are doing or reading and read this book. It is absolutely phenomenal and is such an incredible story. It is a true World War 2 story so yes it is sad, but this one isn't a holocaust story and doesn't take place in Europe, Yay. It is about Airman and Olympian Louis Zamperini and his struggle to survive as a castaway and prisoner of war in Japan. I don't know if any of you are in my boat but I had never heard much about the fighting in the pacific with Japan other than Pearl Harbor and the Dropping of the bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Apparently the Japanese were just about as bad as the Germans. While they didn't go after Jews (not a lot of Jews in Asia), they went after non Japanese. So pretty much they wanted to control and kill the rest of Asia focusing on Korea, China and the Philippians, if I understand correctly don't quote me. They also didn't follow the rules for having POWs, they didn't feed them properly, stole Red Cross rations, worked the officers and beat and tortured the prisoners. Also how inadequate our Air force was at first and how dangerous really surprised me. I guess growing up next to an Air force base clouded my judgement. This book is very well written and you learn a lot about the war and other people involved not just Louis Zamperini. Read it now before the movie is released in December. Read it now. Yes you read it.

An Abundance of Katherines John Green

Loved this book it was again more like Paper Towns and less like Looking for Alaska. I thought the idea of a child prodigy who only likes and dates Katherines was intriguing and well thought out. The journey of finding out about all his Katherines' and His new journey to move on past them was a playful tale full of humor and self discovery of both Colin and his Friend Hassam. I would suggest this to anyone who loved Paper Towns or John Green and is OK with a male narrator. Two thumbs up.

The Blind Assassin Margaret Atwood

So to be honest I didn't finish this book. I had if for 5 weeks and didn't even get half way done and I decided to not waste my time and move on. I might try it again some other day but not now. This book was really hard to follow it jumps through time and is a book within a book. Just as you get drawn into one story it ends and the other starts and you get drawn into in to have it change back. While an intriguing idea I had a hard time getting interested in either story because you would need to remember what was happening last time you read about this character. It also reads like a personal narrative with not a lot of rise in a plot it sits stagnate at the bottoms. If you happen to be a fan of Atwood then by all means read it but I would suggest spending your time reading instead of convincing yourself you need to keep reading like I did.

Looking For Alaska John Green

So I loved Fault is our Stars and Paper Towns (both read before the list). So I added this to my list. While a good book I did not like it as much as Fault in Our Stars or Paper Towns. It was again like tfios a tragic tale but like paper towns a coming of age tale. I felt like the combination was not quite right. It was still a great tale but half the time I was thinking get over it and move on. Unlike the kids in tfios or paper towns these kids were smart but did really dumb things just because they could. I felt like it wasn't the most inspiring tale but did teach you that you can never truly know a person no matter how well you think you do. One and a half thumbs up.

The Color Purple Alice Walker

So this happens to be one of my favorite movies. Whenever I need a good cry I watch The Color Purple. My favorite line is Oprah's "You tolds Harpos to beat me" speech. The book was also very moving though I didn't cry. Once you get around the speech, it is her journal. It is a moving read on the harshness dealt to African Americans after slavery both by the Whites and people of there own race. The part I find most heart wrenching is when Sophia is jailed and then forced to work for the mayors wife. They say she can visit for Christmas but she is there hardly 10 minutes before the mayor's wife makes her leave because she can't get the car to work right. It is a wonderful commentary on the harshness of life and the human spirits way of persevering. Warning it is very graphic and much was edited so the movie would not be R. For those faint of heart or looking for something a little cleaner but still uplifting try the movie or another book.

Everybody Sees the Ants A.S. King

This book was an interesting coming of age book that deals with the issue of bullying. Bullying is a big problem that often gets overlooked or goes undetected because the victims are to afraid to speak up fearing more punishment. The "hero" of this story is a 15 year old named Lucky. He is constantly bullied by the same kid, but no one will do anything because the kids father threatens to sue everyone and everything. You can see where this kid gets his mean streak. His mom removes him from the bully by taking them to visit his Aunt in Arizona for a few weeks, Lucky is schooled by his Uncle and in his dreams his Grandfather who went missing in Vietnam. I bet you can figure how it ends. It is an entreating story with some mystery and lots of lessons to learn. Two thumbs up especially good if you need to learn to stand up to a bully at any stage of life.

If I Stay Gayle Forman

So this one is now of movie which is being released today. I did not read it because of this I just got lucky that it got read near the first. It was a horribly sad book but was also very moving. I loved the perspective of the book as well as all the flash backs so you got to know everyone and see how this tragedy affected them. The movie looks like it will remain close to the story of the book which I loved. This one also happens to have a sequel but again I'll read it later when my library actually has a copy without a hundred holds on it. I hope you enjoy this one it is a very worthwhile and quick read.