A Review Of The Books That I Have Read Thus Far This Summer

I have really enjoyed reading for fun this summer. In these reviews, I will do my best to keep spoilers to an absolute minimum.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by JK Rowling

A Simply Beautiful Book

 Yes, I have finally finished the Harry Potter series. As you can see all of the books that I have read this summer have been young adult books, but the Harry Potter books have a quality to them that the other books simply do not have. The world is so detailed and real, and everything so intricately woven together that I am simply amazed by Rowling genius. There were definitely sections that I read several times because they were so beautifully written.

[SPOILER ALERT] This is not to say that they are perfect. I was not impressed with the Epilogue, and I don’t get why Harry dropped the resurrection stone in the woods.  When I saw that in the movie, I thought that it was something that they added. Maybe I missed something, but it seems odd. Also, I thought that the romantic relationships should either have been more developed or not a part of the book. This is not to say that I want them to become the sole focus of the book though. I just thought it seemed like there wasn’t much of a relationship and then all of the sudden they were married. This might be a fault of the Epilogue and not of the books themselves. Despite these minor flaws, I thought that the books were brilliant.

I know that a lot of Christians get all up in arms over these books, but I cannot help but see the parallels. They are not as strong as say Narnia but rather more like Lord of the Rings.  The top two virtues in these books are love and sacrifice, and I believe they are also the most important tenants of Christianity. This is not to say that you can simply take everything in these books at face value. We must read everything with a critical eye, which I might suggest that some people do not do if it is labeled a Christian book. I think that there are far more dangerous thoughts that have been put into our media that Christians do not seem to have a problem with.

Love Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

What a let down after Harry Potter!

When I saw this book in the library, I thought I loved Stargirl when I was in middle school. They didn’t have the first book, but I figured that I could still enjoy this book without rereading the first one. However, if I wanted to read the diary of teenage girl pinning after her former boyfriend, I would go back and read my old journals (except that I have don’t have a former boyfriend, but you get the picture).

I think that the plot of this book has potential, but we are too close to the narrator. I remember when I was taking creative writing in college I wrote a story and my professor suggested that I switch from first person to third person because the story would be better if we could get out of the narrator’s head. I would say the same is true for this book. I will be honest I did not actually finish reading this book because I was so annoyed.

One thing that I did not remember about the first book was how many Buddhist ideas were put into this book. Once again one most read with critical eye. I know I read the first book in middle school, but I think that this is a book that should be discussed if middle schoolers are going to be reading it.

A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence

A Very Interesting Book

A boy whose mother was killed in a train accident discovers an alternate reality in which a girl version of himself lives and his mother is still alive. This book was very interesting and it made me want to keep reading. However, I thought that the author introduced too many plot points that were unresolved by the end of the book. The ending was still good, but it left me with some questions. I did not realize until I began to write this review that this is the first book in a trilogy, so maybe these questions will be resolved in the next two books.  When I finished the book, I was not looking for a sequel; I just wanted a few plot points wrapped up a bit. Now that I know there are two more books, I am not sure how I feel, and I am not sure if I will read them.

I also wanted to note this book has a decent amount of language. Most of it is British swear words (Actually, that is how I figured out that the story was taking place in the UK. Is that sad?), so I was not particularly offended by it because I have not been conditioned to do so, but I know that others might be.

Match and Crossed by Ally Condie

A typical dystopia novel

In a future perfect word, the Society picks your perfect spouse for you except somehow Cassia has two matches: one is the one the Society wants for her, and one with unmentionable secrets. The world of this book very much reminds me of The Giver. I don’t think that the world itself was unique enough or developed enough to make it interesting. Also, I don’t know why all these authors think that love triangles are in and of themselves a good premise for a book. I still enjoyed the book, but I would not go as far to say that it is “storytelling with the resonance of a classic” (as it says on the inside front cover). I think that this author attempted to be literary, but she falls short. The concept of the story is interesting, but the pacing of the story is pretty slow, and it was very obviously written to be two books. I think that this is rather lazy writing though because she cannot make the reader interested enough in the plot to want to keep reading, so she drags out the plot until there finally is conflict and ends the book. That way the reader will feel obligated to read the second book. 

The second book Crossed begins pretty exciting, but towards the middle the pacing slows down and once again it is a bit boring. Then at the end she makes it exciting and once again ends the book. I was reading other reviews on this book and one of them said this, “It's like Condie had enough material for 2 books but the publisher's wanted to squeeze out three, and Crossed resulted.” I, personally, disagree with this reviewer. I think that Condie had enough material for one book, but dragged it out into three. These books are quick reads though, and if you want fluffy books that attempt to be literary and, mostly, fail then go for it.

I feel like I have been really critical in these reviews, but I have been very grateful for the time to read for pleasure. Even if I have not loved all the books, I have enjoyed reading them.

On my reading list for the rest of the summer

The Help – I saw the movie, and I really want to read the book.

Cat’s Eye– I loved the Blind Assassin, and ever since I wanted to read another Margaret Atwood novel.

Redeeming Love – I have heard mixed reviews on this book, but those who like it, love it, so I want to come up with my own opinions.