Review: Remember by Eileen Cook

Remember by Eileen Cook

Publishing Date: February 24, 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 320 pages
Young Adult Contemporary Fiction

The Premise: The story follows Harper who is the daughter of the man who runs the company Neurotech. Neurotech is known primarily for their medicine Memtex, which is designed to wipe away sad memories, or to soften them so the person taking the medication won't feel as sad with those memories. Harper is used to the attention being the daughter of the man who runs this company and with her, she has her bestfriend Win and her boyfriend Josh. Everything seems to be going just perfectly in her life until one day, Harper suffers a loss she can't quite recover from. She decides that in order to cope with her loss, she wishes to go ahead and get the Memtex treatment despite her father forbidding her. The treatment does work, but soon after she experiences strange symptoms and illusions and she begins questioning her memory.

My overall thoughts and review: I am currently incredibly fascinated by the unconscious in my own research, so any book that tackles the notion of memories, dreams, the unconscious really intrigue me. When I first began this book, I really thought of one of my favorite films: The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (if you haven't seen it - what are you waiting for?) - a medication to wipe away sad memories sounds just like that film. Harper is a great protagonist to read from because she is strong-willed, intelligent and curious. I really enjoyed the dynamic between her and her bestfriend, Win. The overall pacing of the story was good until the last few chapters which I felt were a bit rushed and I wish everything didn't wrap up so quickly. All in all, I really enjoyed it. It was an interesting spin on YA contemporary fiction in general, because I felt it had a very dystopic feel to it and also a bit of sci-fi, with the medicine component. The love story or well, triangle in this case, was also interesting too. I definitely would recommend checking out this book if you are a fan of Lauren Oliver's Delirium series because I can definitely see some connections between this book and that series. This is my first read from Eileen Cook and I look forward to picking up some of her other works in the near future.

You can check out Eileen Cook's website here!

My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮ (4/5 stars) 

Now available for purchase at:
Chapters/Indigo

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Simon and Schuster Canada for consideration/review. All opinions are my own. 

Books You'd Save in a Fire | Top 5 Wednesday

Hi everyone! I know last month I wasn't really on track with the TOP 5 WEDNESDAY series, but I really want to get back into the swing of things. So starting off the month of March in the first week, we have the topic of the TOP 5 books I'd save in a fire! Here we go!

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

It is my favorite book, so how could I not save it? I have a lot of copies because I collect different editions of the book, so the hard part will be selecting which one to take with me. 

2. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

I know that it wouldn't be possible to save all the books from the HP series, so I will save my favorite one of the series. The one that really inspired the name of my blog and that features me favorite character! 

3. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

It is so hard to choose a favorite amongst Murakami's wonderful selection, but this would be the one to save in a fire. This story is just beautiful. I love it so much!

4. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

It was also hard to choose a favorite amongst the Ishiguro selection but this was the first book by him that I read and the book that really resonated with me. I adore this book! 

5. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

I couldn't forget one of my favorite authors ever. Again, it was so hard choosing but I am going to go with this one. This is the one that inspired me to write about her for my MA and this is the book that I can read over and over again and just get something new every time out of it. 

Well that is my selection for this week's topic. Let me know in the comments or link me to your post/video of your Top 5 picks for books you'd save in a fire! 

Review: Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Mosquitoland - A Novel by David Arnold

Publishing Date: March 3, 2015
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Pages: 336 pages
Young Adult Contemporary

The Premise: Before I get into the premise, I want to start off with two quotes from the book which I felt really set the pace for me (I received an ARC, so I am quoting from an uncorrected text).

"Because I am Mary Iris Malone, and I am not okay" (23).

"I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster,my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange" (41). 

This charming book follows Mary Iris Malone, or as some call her: Mim, as she travels 947 miles from Jackson, Mississippi to see her mom in Cleveland, Ohio. We learn quite early on that her mother and father have been divorced for sometime and that she has been separated from her mother. Her father has remarried another woman and one day, when she overhears a conversation that her mother is sick, she decides to grab a coffee tin of money and pack her bag (throws in a bag of potato chips while she's at it) and buys a ticket for a bus to take her to her mother. The book follows Mim on this journey that is sort of like a modern-day version of James Joyce's Ulysses, in a sense where she encounters different and strange people along the way, and on her journey, she kind of discovers her sense of self, and learns more about her family.

My overall thoughts and review:  I am going to start off by saying that I LOVED this book. It can be quite a difficult narrative at times, because it moves quickly from present time (Mim on her journey), to the past through Mim's flashbacks, or to the past through Mim's letters to Isabel in her diary. We get some new characters along the way like Walt which also can make the narrative a little difficult to follow along, but this is such a wonderful book. It handles mental illness in a really great way and is able to tackle the bigger issues, slowly, but in a way that is understandable for the reader. I think ultimately, this book encourages the reader to reflect a lot on themselves while reading it and because the text is so accessible, with a character like Mim, who you really love reading from, the reader in a sense, situates him/herself as Mim during various moments. The book also tackled some darker subject matter, taboo topics really, and I won't get into those because the risk of spoiling, but I think Arnold handled it very well. It kept me on the edge of my seat constantly and I just wanted to know more and more as I turned each page. When I got to the final page, I was quite sad to say goodbye to Mim, Walt and Beck but I really loved how Arnold concluded everything and brought everything full circle. This is not a traditional Young Adult Contemporary by any means and I really felt like it pushed boundaries and approached difficult subject matter in a way that wasn't "scary" or "offputting" to the reader. His narrative style definitely reminded me of Andrew Smith's writing who I am a big fan of! All in all, it is a lovely book and I definitely would recommend it!

My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮✮ (5/5 stars) 

Now available for purchase at:

Chapters/Indigo

You can read more about David Arnold on his website located here and his twitter located here! 

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Penguin Canada (Penguin Young Readers Group is an imprint of Penguin Group) for consideration/review. All opinions are my own. 

Review: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Publishing Date: March 3, 2015
Publisher: Knopf Canada
Pages: 352 pages
Literary Adventure Fiction

The Premise: Set in England during the time of the Saxons and Britons and where the Saxons have gained control of the East and the Britons West with some Arthurian hints, the book follows an elderly couple Axl and Beatrice. The couple are ill treated by their fellow villages and deal with problems such as not getting a candle. They are both clearly very much in love with each other and care for one another deeply and they decide to go along on an awaited journey of visiting their son. When you first meet this couple, they begin talking about memories and how there is something in the “mist” that has caused their forgetfulness. As they travel to their son, mysteries unravel and they encounter a lot of people along the way (Sir Gawain for example!) and it brings the reader to the question of, are somethings better off not remembering at all?

My overall thoughts and review: This is Ishiguro's first book in ten years and as a fan of him, I was incredibly excited to hear about his new one. This IS my most anticipated book of the year and it is finally here!! When I was at the RHC Blogger event a few weeks ago, one of the girls stated that although all his books are different in tone, they still very much have the essence of Ishiguro and this book is very much that. Ishiguro takes the reader to a completely different setting than before, but is able to tackle questions of identity and self through a different approach. I really enjoyed that the book was set in that setting and for it to contain post-Arthurian bits. I was so excited when I saw the name Gawain pop up in my book and I immediately made the connection to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (a text I read in my undergrad years and thoroughly enjoyed). I loved that there was a high level of mystery involved in the text and it kept building with each chapter and each step that Beatrice and Axl took. The mystery does kind of "unravel" itself in the final chapter and I would say it took me completely by surprise - I loved it. I can't sing my praises loud enough for this book. Not only does it have Ishiguro's hand in the beautiful passages that we know and love from his other books but I really feel that this book brings about feelings of sadness, memories, forgetfulness and really encourages the reader to kind of situate themselves in that setting and then to reevaluate those feelings onto themselves. Overall, this was a lovely book about relationships, family, memories and what we choose to remember. If you are a fan of Ishiguro, you will not be disappointed by this at all. And if this is your first time reading Ishiguro, I hope you will enjoy it and that it encourages you to pick up more Ishiguro books.

One of my favorite authors Neil Gaiman recently wrote a review for the book here for the NYTIMES which I definitely think is worth the read and if you go to Kazuo Ishiguro's facebook page here, there are quite a few videos and posts from Ishiguro himself about the book which I found incredibly insightful about the book.

My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮✮ (5/5 stars) 

Now available for purchase at:

Chapters/Indigo

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Random House Canada for consideration/review. All opinions are my own. 

Review: The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

Publishing Date: January 6, 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 368 pages
Young Adult Contemporary

The Premise: Maddy and Gabe have been neighbours for as long as they can remember. Maddy has been in love with Gabe for as long as she can remember, but their relationship is strictly platonic. They are partners, but on the ice. When their coach assigns them a new skating program, Romeo & Juliet, Maddy hopes that this is the chance she can finally show Gabe how good they could be together off-ice. But Gabe is also known for his tendencies to be with girls for only two weeks and then have Maddy help in the breaking-up process. It is a story of friendship, partnership, love and family.

My overall thoughts and review: I recently received this for review and the premise of it really intrigued me from the beginning. I grew up skating when I was little and so skating in general has a special place in my heart. This book is also listed as a "Swoon Reads," so I knew it was going to be quite Swoon-worthy. My friend Lynne also told me that it was quite cute. So basically, expectations were high and Katie Van Ark did not disappoint. This is such a lovely story about falling in love. Although Maddy has been in love with Gabe forever, this story very much is about the experience of it between both Maddy and Gabe. I really enjoyed seeing the dynamic between them on-ice and off-ice. There was also the story of their parents weaved into the narrative which I felt gave the story a lot more in terms of world-building and character-building. All in all, this was a lovely young adult contemporary read that I would highly recommend for those who enjoy the books by Stephanie Perkins and Rainbow Rowell.

My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮ (4/5 stars) 

Now available for purchase at:

Chapters/Indigo

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Raincoast Books for consideration/review. All opinions are my own. 

A Book set in a Different Country | 2015 Reading Challenge

Hi everyone! I finished another challenge recently and this time it is a book set in a different country. This book begins in New York, which is one different country, but then moves to Singapore for the majority of the book. :D

A Book set in a Different Country goes to:

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Review: here!

Have you finished any challenges for the #2015ReadingChallenge? Let me know in the comments below! You can also track my full progress here! 

A Book with Non-Human Characters | 2015 Reading Challenge

Hi everyone! I finished another challenge on the list and today it is a book with non-human characters. There are human characters in the book, but I selected this one because it features "cyborgs" and also those that come from the planet Luna, the "lunars". Any guesses yet what book it is? ;)

A Book with Non-Human Characters goes to:

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Review: here!

Have you finished any challenges for the #2015ReadingChallenge? Let me know in the comments below!