The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Author: Mitch Albom

Rating: 3 bookmarks

Release Date: September 2, 2005

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 208 

The title of this one really got my attention. The blurb and title mention that Eddie is an amusement park maintenance guy who dies and goes to heaven, where he meets five different people. The last line of the blurb reads "heaven is not a destination, but an answer" and I guess that was the main reason why I picked it up in the first place.

"It might seem strange to start a story with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time."  

OK, so after reading it, I was sure of one thing: this book is not really for everybody. I mean, besides the obvious fact that it clashes with all religious conceptions of heaven (I didn't mind it but I know a lot of people who refuse to read it for that reason), I found that at some point in the book, it begins to drag. A lot. Seriously, I had a hard time keeping the interest that I'd had in it until the very end.


And is it just me, or does the book get a little impossible at some point? I mean, in the story, Eddie spends almost his entire life angry and miserable (for reasons that I will not be mentioning) and then this lady comes up to him and tells him to forgive the people who are the reasons for the desolation that haunted him for as long as he can remember... and so he does.

What?

Albom, were you seriously expecting me to buy that?

Because no.

But I still think this book deserves a solid 3-bookmark rating. For starters, the idea is just ingenious. Everyone (those who believe in it, that is) considers heaven a reward - a safe haven, even - but never really an answer to our thought-of and unthought-of questions. I also loved the themes of the book. They were clear and simple and just beautiful.

AND OH MY GOD THE ROMANCE. I cannot even discuss this without spoilers I'm sorry.

"Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, that’s all... Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it.. Life has to end. Love doesn't."

Overall, it was good. The idea was creative, the quotes were wonderful, the story was (almost) believable, and the style was (for the most part) really captivating. And the main character, Eddie, isn't bad. He may not be your typical book hero, but I still learned a lot through him, and that - I believe - is what makes him unique. 

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Title: The 5th Wave 

Author: Rick Yancey

Rating: 4.5 bookmarks

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Genre: SciFi / YA

Pages: 460 

ALIENS ARE STUPID.

I'm not talking about real aliens. The Others aren't stupid. The Others are so far ahead of us, it’s like comparing the dumbest human to the smartest dog. No contest.

No, I'm talking about the aliens inside our own heads.

"Oh look! It's a post-apocalyptic sci-fi book with aliens and attractive boys who can't be trusted and a brave young woman placed in life-threatening situations, the fate of humanity in her manicured hands. That's something you don't see everyday!" said no one. ever.

And this one, this one is just the same and yet so, so different. 

So you know how in sci-fi movies about alien invasions, (Independence Day, ET, the MIB trilogy, that sorta stuff) the aliens either (a) are cute and cuddly and completely misunderstood because all they want to do is come in peace, or (b) are technologically advanced and want to take over the world (and always always always start with America, unless the show is British) but their intelligence does not surpass that of humans and so have nothing on us. And in most cases, humanity sets aside its differences and fights as one and Will Smith saves the day and we all live happily ever after.

But Yancey has different ideas. The 5th Wave tells the story of an elaborately planned game, the aim of which is the mass genocide of humanity.The alien invaders (aka "Others" in 5th Wavian) send off a series of 4 attacks, each one killing more people than the prior. The 1st Wave is an electromagnetic pulse that destroys everything and anything electronic with a single swoop. (half-a-million people die, many go to Disney Land, and everybody misses the Internet) By the end of the 4th Wave, only the unlucky survive. The real question is, is there a 5th wave? And if there is, what form will it take? The answer to is a terrifying and unexpected reveal, as the reader discovers the Others' final act in the process of human extermination.

The story revolves around Cassie (for Cassiopeia), a 17-year-old survivor of the brutal attacks who believes she's the last human on Earth and who very simply refuses to give up. (if you were the last person on the planet and you represented humanity and you knew you didn't stand a chance against the dark forces of many duplicates of a more ruthless version of Darth Vader, you too would still want to die fighting for the scraps of dignity you managed to keep). Among all the shattered hopes and thrown-away dreams and so many broken promises, she is still driven by the need to keep the one promise she made to her younger brother, Sammy, because he is now the only family she has left. And throughout the entire story, Yancey still manages to capture in Cassie the true essence of a teenage girl; in the midst of thrilling events, Cassie still has time to worry about her hair, and even finds room for poetic thoughts and a love interest.

Sometimes in my tent, late at night, I think I can hear the stars scraping against the sky.

Now, the plot twists weren't all that unpredictable -- to me, at least. Plus the one relationship in the story (it had the potential to be great and awesome and a lot like Romeo and Juliet without the dying part) seemed actually completely rushed and so out of place it gave the impression that Yancey was forced to put it in there, and I was kinda hoping for a bit more tension/ creepiness like in the prologue.  But all this was counterbalanced by the book’s awesome narrative style. While the blurb and the first part of the book suggest that the story is told from Cassie's first person view point, it’s actually an alternating point of view adventure, involving not only Cassie, but also Sammy (which I find is very interesting because not all authors can or will show you a post-apocalyptic world through a 5-year-old's eyes) and two other surprising perspectives along the way (I'm not telling).

And OK, so the book's sequel is coming out soon and it's already been titled The Infinite Sea. Now, when I finished this book I actually reached a point of complete closure and did not really find the need for a sequel (like a I did with The Clockwork Princess or Shatter Me). The story really does go beyond what is says and gives you a decent ending (not THE ending, but still) without the heart-ripping cliff hangers. 

What else can I say? I loved this book. Sank into it. And as this is the first alien-invasion book I've ever read, I'm actually surprised that it now takes its rightful place as one of my all-time top five books/trilogies. With amazing characters (RINGER), enticing plot, and heart-bursting style of writing, The 5th Wave is easily my favorite book of 2013. 

Obligatory Introduction Post

So this is were I say hello and tell you what to expect of this blog.

I've been reading book reviews for a while and I'm finally going to start writing my own. These are all purely my personal opinions, and I do encourage readers to not take anything I say for granted, because even the worst reviews can help you discover amazing books (and vice versa). As a newbie book blogger, I hope to bring to your attention some of the hundreds of thousands of new books published every year (aside from spreading the love for other well-known ones).

I'm not a paid blogger. I read because I love to and I give my opinions on books because I feel compelled to do so. Also, feel free to suggest any books you would like me to review.

Yea that's basically it for now so anyways thanks for stopping by!! (I sound like those signs they put up on the exits of supermarkets..)