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Review: “Illuminae” (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

~ natehopp ~ 6 Comments

I think it’s ironic how I have never heard of the authors Amie Kaufman or Jay Kristoff until I read their most recent collaborated novel ‘Illuminae’, but I find it to now be one of my most newly favorite novels of all time. Period. It has everything a space survival romp needs, and may have taken other ideas from popular films and games, but meshes them into a wonderfully addictive read.

This book is so good that even Marie Lu, one of my favorite authors and the writer of the ‘Legend’ and ‘Young Elites’ trilogies, calls it and I quote:

“A mindscape that you’ll never want to leave.”

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Why I hate the film adaptation of ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry

~ natehopp ~ Leave a comment

I’m just going to say it: I hate the 2014 film adaptation of ‘The Giver’. Good God does it feel so good to say it. Granted I don’t hate it as much as other film adaptations of other media like ‘The Last Airbender’, but I’ve been wanting to say my opinion on this for a while.

Lois Lowry’s bestselling and award-winning novel ‘The Giver’, is a childhood treasure for future fans of ‘Fahrenheit 451’ and ‘1984’ (like me). To those who’ve never read the book, it is a powerful novel set in a distant future where sameness is the rule of a Community, meaning no religion, no sex, no violence, no crime, no individuality, no risk, and even the ability to see color is gone. To do this, the Elders of the Community got rid of the Memories of humanity’s past, and giving all of them to an old man called ‘The Giver’. The main character is a young boy simply named Jonas, who is given the chosen job as The Receiver of Memory. To put it in simple terms, he is to take Giver’s place and hold the Memories, from the beauty of sledding down a snowy hill in winter to the cruel ones such as war and famine. This ultimately leads to Jonas learning the powerful message of how important suffering is to individuals and humanity as a whole. Without pain and emotions, we cannot know the true meaning and appreciation of living our lives. This rings true to adults and especially children. This novel, while not a masterpiece of writing, is a great book that introduces readers to a serious level of literature through creative writing and likeable characters.

But I digress from talking about the novel; I’m here to talk about the film made as an excuse to copy the ‘Divergent’ film trilogy. There’s the sensitive teenager that turns into a rebel (check!), an older female villain with white hair that wants to maintain the system for the sake of maintaining the system (check!), backstories that involve telling about the past as opposed to showing it in a visual medium (check!), a romantic love interest not given much screen time amid the plot (check!), and finally, CGI vehicles that look like they should be in a different movie (check!).

However, I will say that for all the things done wrong with ‘The Giver’ film, they did get the style correct, with the film slowly going from monochrome in a few ways to colorful the more memories Jonas receives. Even the rushed scenes like Jonas absorbing the memories is genuine to watch, with footage of loving families together, celebrations between groups of people, and the interactions of people with animals moving you, especially near the final scene of the film.

Second and lastly, I found the casting pretty decent. I like how Jeff Bridges does everything he can to portray a cynical but intelligent grandfatherly figure, an aging man who has all the memories involving humanity’s past. He even acts very well when it comes to the more heartbreaking scenes. Brenton Thwaites as Jonas is decent as the sensitive main character who wants to learn more than he should, and Taylor Swift as the minor role of Rosemary got her two minutes of glory, but what caught me off-guard was seeing Cameron Monaghan as one of Jonas’s friends named Asher. For a guy who’s playing the Joker in ‘Gotham’, I love seeing Monaghan portray a goofy but innocent role.

Okay, now that I got those out of the way, it’s time to talk about why I hate this movie. While decent casting and perfect visual style are important for a novel, it doesn’t excuse lacking effort.

The biggest problem with this movie involves the changes from the classic source material. In the novel, Jonas was portrayed as a naïve and sensitive twelve year-old boy, not a teenager that looks like he walked off the set of ‘I Am Number Four’. I can understand the reasons behind making Jonas and his friends older than their written counterparts, since having teenagers in a film may bring in a young adult audience.

However, the reason behind Jonas and his friends being kids in the novel is because we see them go from childhood to young adulthood. We see Jonas go through the transition of innocence in childhood to the harsh reality when he becomes the Receiver and is given memories involving atrocities committed by humanity. We see Jonas as he slowly realizes how much Sameness in his Community stole from everyone as opposed to what was gained. Jonas also matures as a young boy and breaks his barrier of ignorance to explore the world and what can be gained from the human experience. With what the film did, it’s like making a film of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ with Scout as a fourteen year-old; it destroys the character development.

Speaking of character development, the film feels less like a film adaptation of ‘The Giver’ and more like a summary of the novel with a length of an hour and a half. The film focuses on the backgrounds and setting more than they do with the interactions between characters, and it feels rushed in important scenes and is less subtle.

Last of all, the biggest problem of the entire movie can be summed up in one sentence: There is no villain in ‘The Giver’! The writers of the film thought creating a villain would be beneficial to the plot (and an excuse to get Meryl Streep casted). But in the book this film is based on, there is no bad guy for Jonas to go up against. Much like ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury, Lois Lowry wrote that everyone in the Community chose the idea of Sameness, and didn’t realize the cost of lacking individuality, memories, and emotions. To put a Big Brother-like villain in this novel removes the characters of their complexity and identifiable weaknesses along with their fear of suffering and individual choices, thus whitewashing the message being conveyed to the audience. I know that Meryl Streep is a great actress and is doing her best, but the villain in this makes the antagonist of Divergent look subtle and interesting.

So that’s it. These are the reasons why I have the film adaptation of one of my favorite novels growing up. If they wanted to make the classic read into a film, why improve on it like they did with filming the ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy, or make it timeless like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. In the future, I want to see a proper adaptation of this novel, and hopefully bring younger readers to love Loid Lowry’s novel more.

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If you have any questions or already have an opinion on the novel, feel free to leave any comments. Thanks!

Review: “Sorceress Revealed” (Clio Boru series #2) by Evan Michael Martin

~ natehopp ~ 2 Comments

It’s October, and let’s celebrate Halloween with a book about Wiccans and battles against the forces of evil. If you remember my first review on Reader’s Boulevard, I praised Evan Michael Martin for his ‘Sorceress Rising’ novel, and that I wanted to get my hands on the sequel. I ended up getting my wish with ‘Sorceress Revealed’, and even some new surprises regarding the Clio Boru series.

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Writing and Me

~ natehopp ~ Leave a comment

Writing has always been a passion for me. I love fiction most of all, especially the type of fiction that disintegrates your world and creates a new one around you. The type that erases your identity temporarily and gives you a new life and a new persona for 150+ pages. The type that turns your emotions into a roller coaster that loves to torture you to the brink of sadness, then either drag you down into tragedy, or pull you back to comedy and a happy ending.

But what I love more than fiction is writing fiction. On the side of writing reviews, I’ve also been writing short stories, and am currently working on a story series called ‘The Adventures of Peter Gray’, along with others here and there. If you like, you can go to a link below and critique me. Enjoy! 🙂

http://domus-vocis.deviantart.com/

Review: ‘Milan (A Wedding Story) by Simi K. Rao

~ natehopp ~ Leave a comment

Reading stories set in different cultures has always fascinated me as I got older, especially when it involves learning about the culture and its people. Add a romance to it and I get hooked in. ‘Milan (A Wedding Story)’ by Simi K. Rao really got me hyped up because I’ve never read a romance novel involving an arranged marriage before, especially if it involved Indian culture. The strange thing is that I did get the romance in this, but I was expecting a little more out of this. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.

Mili is a young woman in Northern India who recently got back from college to live with her elderly parents. Happy to be home, she never expected to learn that her parents have been talking to some friends and want Mili to accept the idea of an arranged marriage between her and an old acquaintance from school. That acquaintance’s name is Ahaan, and he promises her the option to choose whether or not they can be together. Reluctant, Mili decides to say yes, and begins to grow nervous every day as the wedding gets closer and her life starts changing.

To be honest, I have mixed feelings for this book. On the one hand, I love how relatable Rao made her characters. Mili to me is a very engaging main lead along with Ahaan. She’s presented as a meek young woman with dreams and passion, along with a teasing eccentricity that lead to funny moments. Ahaan is polite and calm, but can be emotional and eccentric like Mili. However, he’s more collected and can be amusing when he wants to be. He also loves Mili to death, even though she doesn’t know what to make of the whole situation. Despite not knowing each other that much, you can immediately tell they have a wonderful chemistry whenever they interact with each other. They tease each other, make mischief, and all as the wedding gets closer.

I especially love the parents in ‘Milan’. They’re presented as aging parents who cling to tradition, but know that the world is changing and don’t push issues on their daughter unless it involves society rules. In my opinion, this is what the parents in Michael Barakiva’s ‘One Man Guy’ should’ve been like. While the parents in that book seemed more like parents from a bad TV sitcom, the parents in this book feel more in-tune with their culture and fleshed out.

So what is it about ‘Milan’ that’s given me mixed feelings? Well, it’s the formatting and written style. To be fair, I love the nods like having Indian words like baat pakki (the deal is sealed) and dulhan (bride), which makes me feel like I’m actually in the culture. However, my problem is that I don’t feel like I’m in it enough.

One of the most well-known aspects of storytelling is to ‘show’ and not ‘tell’, and Rao feels like she hasn’t fully grasped it yet. Granted I haven’t read her other works, but I was expecting more syntax thrown in between the lines. One good example of this is where throughout ‘Milan’ I’m not given a full picture of the setting.

There’s a scene later in the book where Ahaan brings Mili to a hidden plateau outside the village, and he helps her climb up to see the view of where she’s lived her entire life. This could’ve been a grand, romantic moment for both of our characters. We could’ve seen the details of how small the village is in the hilly forest, how beautiful it is, and know how it looks in our main character’s eyes. Instead, it’s compacted into a small sentence and isn’t given much thought.

Again, I have really mixed feelings with this one. I love the characters and the developing young romance between Ahaan and Mili, but I could’ve been shown more of their surroundings. I wanted to know more of the landscapes in India, I wanted to discover more about the people, I wanted to know more about…well India.

What’s the final verdict? Well, I think it’s a good novel. I don’t think it’s a great novel, but it’s far from being one I regret reading. I loved listening to these people act like people, I loved our main couple, and I loved learning some of the Indian language. If you have the time, please give this book a chance and form your own opinion, because if there’s one thing ‘Milan (A Wedding Story)’ has taught me, it is that to never judge a book by its cover when it comes to love (I know it’s corny to say, but check it out!).

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If you have any questions or already have an opinion on the novel, feel free to leave any comments. Thanks!

Review: ‘Dark Places’ by Gillian Flynn

~ natehopp ~ Leave a comment

I was recommended ‘Dark Places’ a few months back regarding a friend of mine, and barely heard of Gillian Flynn outside of the book. Fans of the author called her novels well-written and very addictive for readers interested in drama. Naturally, I was curious, especially when I learned what ‘Dark Places’ was about. After I got myself the time, I decided to see if the hype for it is well-deserved. And honestly? It didn’t disappoint my expectations.

The year is 1985. The location is a farm outside a small town in Kansas. Libby Day is the youngest daughter in the Day family, a family struggling in poverty and keeping their household together. The father is estranged and drunk, the mother works her butt and sanity off to raise the four kids, and the eldest son named Ben is having darker thoughts he tends to speak more about.

Then, tragedy struck on the early morning of January 3rd, 1985, when Libby’s entire family was murdered by Ben. Satanic symbols were drawn over the walls in their blood, Libby barely escaped, and Ben was tried for manslaughter and given a life sentence. Libby was only seven.

Now, with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the murders coming up, Libby is a thirty-something woman struggling on her own since the fame of her survival died down. That is, until she’s met by a man named Lyle Wirth, a member of a group that calls themselves the ‘Kill Club’. They’re people who make their own inquiries in murders whether they’re solves or unsolved, and are led to believe Ben Day never killed his mother and sisters that night.

Understandably, Libby wants nothing to do with the Kill Club, until Lyle says he can help her with her financial issues. It isn’t long though until the reluctant survivor begins to question what did happen that night, and figure out a mystery that’s haunted her since she was seven.

The strangest thing about this novel going in is that I wasn’t thrilled at first. I found adult Libby annoying at first and found the pacing very slow in the beginning chapter. However, it’s the next chapter that really hooked me in, and made me fully realize how gripping and heart-pounding Gillian Flynn’s novels truly are.

Like I said before, I didn’t find Libby interesting at first. But over the chapters, I grew fond of how cynical she can be, and fell in love with how much the murders have scarred her for life, and know the reasons why she wants to both push the truth away and know at the same time.

Speaking of which, there’s the best part of the novel. I forgot to mention that ‘Dark Places’ switches different points-of-view throughout its pages. One chapter it’ll focus on Libby’s perspective in the present as she’s solving the mystery with Lyle, and the next it’ll switch to Patty and Ben Day’s perspective on the day of the murders, showing all the twists and depth of what led to the Day murders. The reason I bring this up is because so many mystery writers, even popular and well-loved ones like Agatha Christie, focus on how events happen more then why they happen. Don’t get me wrong: it’s important to know the events of what led to a murder, but it’s more important to know the motive and emotional stages behind the killer.

Gillian Flynn’s ‘Dark Places’ is what a great mystery should be defined as. Right next to Libby, my mind was racing a mile a minute on who could’ve committed the murders, and it all led to big reveal after big reveal that kept me at the edge of my seats.

So here’s the big question you’re all wondering: is there anything I don’t like about this book? Well…sort of. ‘Dark Places’ is sometimes advertised as a book for young adults, but there are some very disturbing moments in this book that fit more for college kids, or at the very least late high school. There’s unsettling imagery, heavy references to pedophilia, a scene involving a fifteen year-old having sex (to answer your question, it only lasts half a page), and a substantial amount of blood that can make ‘I Hunt Killers’ blush.

What am I getting at anyway? I’ve read stories with even more disturbing imagery than this anyway. As far as a best-selling novel goes, ‘Dark Places’ is such a dark delight. I loved following Libby and Lyle solve the mystery as well as seeing Ben and Patty’s perspectives on the day of the murders. If you have the time, and a lot of patience, unlock yourself a book that will take you to dark places in your memory.

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If you have any questions or already have an opinion on the novel, feel free to leave any comments. Thanks!

Review: ‘One Boy’s Shadow’ by Ross A. McCoubrey

~ natehopp ~ 1 Comment

It really surprises me how I haven’t ever heard of ‘One Boy’s Shadow’ since it was published a few years ago. Granted, it isn’t as famous as recent young adult novels on Bestsellers lists, but it really surprises me it isn’t more well-known, especially since it involves three very popular demographics: supernatural, gay, and coming-of-age literature. The author, Ross A. McCoubrey, meshes together these three topics into a novel with amazing characters, a heartfelt story of love and loss, and made me want to appreciate those who I love and love me.

So what’s the story? Caleb Mackenzie is a fifteen year-old boy whose family recently moved to a small town in Ontario, Canada. Instead of missing his old home in Halifax, he quickly makes some new friends, one of them being a boy his age named Shane. As their friendship quickly becomes more than that, Caleb learns from him that his new house has a secret.

You see, Caleb’s family’s new home is a cottage on the outskirts of town called the Wakefield House, and it has a grim past. In 1943, the Everett family owned the house, and one of the sons there, another closeted teenager named Toby, disappeared without a trace. Over the decades, various future owners of the house have reported strange noises and sighting, and it isn’t long before our main character begins hearing his name, “Caleb”, along with unknown gunshots. Wanting to know more, Caleb, his older brother Blake, Shane, and another friend of theirs named Ryley, must band together to dive into the mystery of Toby’s disappearance, learn who murdered him, and possibly lay the young ghost to rest.

Whenever I hear about romance novels involving ghosts and demons, there’s always the catch of either a sappy love triangle, misunderstanding clichés that cause the couple to break up, cheesy dialogue that stems on ‘Twilight’ bad, or even all three combined. ‘One Boy’s Shadow’ doesn’t have any of that. First of all, the characters in this are one of the most genuine people I wish were real. Almost every word, every bit of dialogue, and every action and reaction they have are what make this novel great. Our main couple in this treat each other like a real couple should, whether it be in fiction or even with a real significant other. Both are trusting, empathetic to their feeling and the feelings of others, and work off of their personal interests like bread and butter. They tease each other, go on long walks by themselves, and support each other when they’re down.

My most favorite side character would go to Caleb’s older brother named Blake. I like Ryley and how good of a companion he is for our main leads, but it’s Blake whose stood by his younger brother throughout his life. He’s the older brother that has a smart tongue and is a ladies man but McCoubrey went the extra mile and created one of the most compassionate, caring, kind-hearted brothers of a main character. If I ever wanted to have an older brother, it would definitely be Blake Mackenzie.

And then we have the ghost himself, Toby. Much like Caleb and Shane, Toby’s personality shines in every paragraph and sentence. At first we don’t know much about him at the beginning of the story save for him saying Caleb’s name and an occasional strange occurrence, but we want to know more about him as the novels continues. We later learn that he had a secret relationship with another boy when he was alive. Without giving too much away, I felt unbelievable sorrow in my stomach as I read on.

That’s what I probably like about ‘One Boy’s Shadow’ so much. The teenagers in this talk like real teenagers, the adults in this talk like real adults, and the mystery kept me reading through until I finished the final page. I wanted to know what happened to the poor boy, wanted to know if he’d find peace, and know if Caleb and Shane’s coming out would be met with welcome arms not just to Caleb’s parents, but to their school.

Ross A. McCoubrey is a Canadian author I’ve never heard of before, but after reading ‘One Boy’s Shadow’, I guarantee I’ll read his next novel. Ross, if you’re reading this, I cannot wait.

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If you have any questions or already have an opinion on the novel, feel free to leave any comments. Thanks!

Review: ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger

~ natehopp ~ 2 Comments

I can’t think of a book that divides people more than ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger. Almost everything about this book is both praised and controversial over the decades since it was published. I’m not going to go that much into the controversy of this book, especially about the bit involving John Lennon’s murder, but I will talk about the split arguments with this. This is a book that readers either love or hate. Some people call the main character a classic icon of teenage rebellion, while others despise him and his personality all together. Some call this novel a perfect look into the teenage mind while others see it as a trashy, preachy waste of paper. Some even call ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ a masterpiece of American literature, and by God, others don’t even want to mention this book exists.

So what did I think of it? Well…

‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is set in the middle of the 20th century, just after the Second World War. We follow a young sixteen year-old boy named Holden Caulfield, who isn’t upset that he’s been kicked out of Pencey Prep academy. He decides to skip staying until Christmas for his wealthy parents to find out, and runs to the nearby New York City. We follow him walking and sleeping around the city…and that’s about it. Yeah the book is basically about Holden being cynical toward everyone he meets.

Probably the biggest problem with ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is that there’s basically little to no plot in this. We follow a teenager with a cynical attitude, he roams New York, tries to find a person to hear about his ‘problems’, and it takes 250 pages for me to want to die of boredom. I wouldn’t mind so much if Holden were made more interesting and were put in more interesting environments. Yeah he does risqué things like paying a prostitute to have a conversation with, and even walking through Manhattan when it is pitch black out, but we never see his personality being affected by it. He walks down a street, calls a random person a ‘phony’ (one of many memorable terms he uses), and monologues about how shitty his life and the world is while reminiscing about his brothers and sister. Good god, I was waiting for something different to happen.

Fans of ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ say that this book is the epitome of teenage rebellion and is ahead of its time. However, some readers don’t fully understand what teenage rebellion is. Some see it as a teenager being a douchebag to everyone, but there’s more to it than that. Teenage rebellion is a phase that helps a young man or young woman grow as a person, and helps them create their own identity through breaking the mold they grew up in.

It has been presented well in other novels published recently. Margo from ‘Paper Towns’ by John Green breaks the rules because she’s lived in a suburb house that’s strictly about keeping a façade. Alek from ‘One Man Guy’ by Michael Barakiva breaks the rules because he wants to know who he is outside of being a perfect son in a traditional Armenian family. And in the end, they know their identity.

With Holden Caulfield, he doesn’t even change as a character.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about the iconic symbol of teenage rebellion shall we? To be fair, Holden does have a personality that can be likeable to some people. He’s extremely cynical to phonies, but is kind to the people he cares about. He’s smart, but doesn’t apply himself. He loves his little sister, and even makes promises he tends to keep. However, so many reviewers and readers also say that Holden is very whiny, and…yeah I have to agree that he is very annoying to listen to whenever he monologues about all the phonies and everyone he hates.

So what is it that catches people’s eyes with ‘The Catcher in the Rye’? To the novel’s credit, it has a fantastic grip on imagery. Whenever Holden isn’t being cynical, he describes New York City in a way that almost feels like a beautiful music video. I like the scene where he’s in Central Park, and you can feel the atmosphere dripping around him. Even a few characters in this seem like they have interesting pasts, but we don’t see them very long.

So what’s the verdict on ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger? I don’t regret reading it at all, and loved the style that the author gave this unique character, but teenage rebellion isn’t all about complaining for an entire novel-length book. If Holden Caulfield were put in a better story with an actual plot, it would’ve worked. For me it didn’t work, but I like to think of ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ as a Rorschach test for classic literature. While I see this novel as a misunderstood look at teenage rebellion, others may see it as a masterpiece, and I don’t have a problem with it, as long as they don’t kill anyone in the name of J.D. Salinger’s most well-known novel.

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If you have any questions or already have an opinion on the novel, feel free to leave any comments. Thanks!

Review: ‘One Man Guy’ by Michael Barakiva

~ natehopp ~ 1 Comment

After hearing about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, I thought I’d celebrate with everyone by posting my opinion on a book I read last month, but never got the chance to say my opinions on it. The book I’m talking about is a quirky gay romance novel that caught my attention with the cover and didn’t leave me disappointed. It is called ‘One Man Guy’ by Michael Barakiva.

Alek Khederian is a fourteen year-old Armenian teenager that lives in an Armenian family outside New York City. As his freshman year has come to a close, Alek’s parents want him to go to summer school in order to raise his grades up. Reluctant to give up going to tennis camp and bound by the wishes of his traditional parents, Alek expects the worst of spending three months with the same bullies and the same weird looks from other students.

However, he never expected to become friends with sophomore Ethan, the ‘cool’ kid at his school. Ethan is described by Alek as independent, confident, and very willful in his life. He hangs out with the troublemakers at school, dresses in whatever he wants, and doesn’t care about breaking rules once in a while At first, it seems as though Alek is invisible to him, until Ethan suddenly coaxes him to come with him to a Rufus Wainwright concert in New York City. From there, everything changes.

After a wonderful day with Ethan, Alek slowly starts to come out of his bubble and hang out more with his new friend, despite the fact that he reveals himself he is gay. Not only that, Alek himself may be starting to fall in love with him.

‘One Man Guy’ is the name of a song made by the actual Rufus Wainwright, and it tells not only about homosexuality, but also pertains to the loner and individual in us all. ‘One Man Guy’ is basically a book about an Armenian teenager discovering he likes boys, and starts to become more independent because of his first boyfriend’s support.

Alek and Ethan are one of the most adorable and well-written characters I’ve seen recently in YA gay literature. Alek is presented as a meek teen that respects his parents and is proud of his heritage, but wants to be accepted among his peers and be involved with what other teenagers do.

Ethan is also a very likeable as a character as well. I expected him to be just an average ‘cool kid’ with no defining personality to him like in other novels, but ‘One Man Guy’ took me by surprise and made an individual out of him. Ethan is portrayed just as Alek said he is, but also has a sense of direction and street smarts to him, which can make Alek the perfect foil for when they first meet. Bottom line, both of them make this book. Still, out of all the side characters, my favorite would have to go to Alek’s best friend named Becky, whom reminds me of a lot of teen girls I remember going to high school. She’s the kind of eccentric girl that is supportive and caring, even if she can be stubborn and selfish at times.

The only characters I have mixed feelings for have to be with the parents. Don’t get me wrong; they’re well-developed with the dynamics with their son. It is obvious Alek loves his parents, and they love him and want what they believe is best for him. However, they often feel less like characters and more like the type of strict parents you’d see on a family sitcom. In fact, Alek’s parents almost remind me of Fran Drescher’s fictional parents on ‘The Nanny’, even though it is weird considering Michael Barakiva is an Israeli/Armenian himself, and he doesn’t take this opportunity to dive more into the Armenian culture than he could’ve.

That doesn’t mean it ruins the novel, far from it. Another fun element of ‘One Man Guy’ has to go to the writing and sense of atmosphere. I love the quiet and calm moments, the moments when Alek comes out of his bubble and opens up more whenever he and Ethan go out on dates. My favorite scene that involved Ethan and Alek is when they visit New York City again, and a couple chapters are solely dedicated to them interacting with residents and shopping for a new look for Alek. There’s no bullying, no awkward moments, or no social commentary. It’s just both of them feeling freely and being themselves.

So what’s my opinion on ‘One Man Guy’? It’s a really good gay romance novel both fitting for gay and straight people. This gives a good depth into a part of the culture wars that still happen today, with Alek’s parents wanting him to keep with tradition, and Alek wanting to be a part of modern America, yet they need to find a common ground in order for him to live a full life on his own. What keeps it from being great are the few stereotypes and lack of explaining Armenian history, but there’s more than enough substance and Armenian cooking culture to pull people into the depths of its pages.

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If you have any questions or already have an opinion on the novel, feel free to leave any comments. Thanks!

Review: ‘Afterworlds’ by Scott Westerfeld

~ natehopp ~ 1 Comment

Scott Westerfeld is a genius. Once in a while I come across a novel that cleverly blends two narratives in a unique way; however, Afterworlds has taken this to a whole new level.

Our first character is Darcy Patel, a teenage girl who is excited and terrified that her first novel, coincidentally named Afterworlds, is going to be published. She quits college, and while experiencing apprehension about having her book edited and published, begins dating another writer new to the scene. I won’t tell you who, because, honestly, you won’t expect it.

Then we have our second main character, who is another teenage girl simply named Lizzie. After a near-death experience during a terrorist attack, she realizes she is what others call a “psychopomp” – a spirit guide who also acts as a grim reaper for ghosts. Enter Yamaraj, a Hindu boy who protects souls from rogue reapers and evil spirits.

What do these two narratives have in common? Lizzie is the main character of Darcy’s soon-to-be published novel.

Afterworlds is one young adult novel that all writers should read. It vividly shows the stress and fear involved in the complicated process of having a book or story published.

I also enjoyed the narrative structure. It’s like watching Suzanne Collins as she writes the first Hunger Games book, but both narratives are entertaining enough to keep you interested.

The chemistry between Yamaraj and Lizzie seems somewhat flat, mainly because they don’t see each other very much. However, you can make a constructive argument that Westerfeld wrote it that way to show how much Darcy can improve.

Either way, I never got bored. If Afterworlds sounds intriguing to you, check it out and feel what it’s like to step into the shoes of an author.

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On a side note: I had this review published in the nationwide magazine Teen Ink, which is copyrighted under my alias DomusVocis. Here’s a link to it: http://www.teenink.com/reviews/book_reviews/article/745913/Afterworlds-by-Scott-Westerfeld/

If you have any questions or already have an opinion on the novel, feel free to leave any comments. Thanks!