Tag Archives: john boyne

The Pastry Book Tag

Posted in Tags by

pastry

I was tagged for this by Lauren over at Comma Hangover! I love her blog so much, and if you don’t know who she is, you should definitely go check her blog out!

So lets start this tag!! BTW I LOVE PASTRIES SO MUCH AND OMG NOW I NEED TO GO GET SOME…

Croissant

Name a popular book or series that everyone (including you) loves

28187

Tell me you don’t like this series. I dare you!

Macaron

Name a book that was hard to get through but was worth it at the end.

39999

Vol-au-vent

Name a book that you thought would be amazing but fell flat.

27883214

Pain au Chocolat

Name a book that you thought would be one thing but turned out to be something else.

30040068

How many different ways can I say heartbreaking? Not enough to cover how much of it I felt while reading this book.

Profiterole

Name a book series that doesn’t get enough attention.

Croquembouche

Name a book or series that is extremely complex.

32320750

Napoleon

Name a movie or TV series that you liked more than the book.

248704

Empanada

Name a book that was bittersweet.

30038855

Kolompeh

Name a book or series that takes place somewhere other than your home country.

28962906

Pate a Choux

Name one food from a book or series that you would like to try.

27242803

Glitter mousse!!!!!!

And there you have it! The pastry tag!!

And if you didn’t know what half of these pastries were, don’t worry. You’re not alone. But now I’m going to go on a mission to try them all!!! Mwahahahaha

And I tag:

Thanks for reading!!

May Book Wrap Up

Posted in Book Review, Monthly Wrap Up by

may wrap up

Is it really that time already? I can’t believe how fast May went! This month was my first without school, so I went a little crazy with all the free time (read: binge-watched Grey’s Anatomy and the Harry Potter movies).

I got some good writing in with that time too. I’m writing chapter three of Candy Wrappers (progress has been a bit slow, but I’m happy with how it’s coming along), and I’m writing a story-blog with a friend called Typing Templar (it’s pretty cool, if I may say so myself. You should totally go check it out!).

I also started a podcast called Book Talk, where I share a bit about books I’m reading, new blogs and authors to check out, and some other cool stuff. I have an author interview in the making for the podcast, so I’m pretty excited about that.  And if you leave a review I will be forever grateful (no pressure or anything).

Somehow between all that jazz, I managed to read ten books! I really do amaze myself sometimes. So, without further ado, here are May’s books!

P.S. The titles are links to the original posts.

imageedit_2_9634408254

Martini Henry–

Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts: I loved this book so much. It was fresh and thoughtful and original and an amazing read!

25671152

Pale Highway–

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts: It was an okay book, but it lost me as soon as it started with the talking slugs. Other than that is was very well researched and an interesting read.

26213480

Sick–

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts: It was a pretty good book, and I definitely did not see the twist in the end coming. Sick was a little disturbed, but still a very entertaining read.

29506452

Sicker–

Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts: I liked part two of the Sick series much more than the first. It was pretty dark and twisty, but I couldn’t put it down.

51FAkJkTv6L__SX351_BO1,204,203,200_

In The Highlands–

Rating: ♥

Thoughts: There were people in my fifth grade class that wrote better poetry than this. I was very disappointed.

51jTxOXOP1L__SX322_BO1,204,203,200_

The Ascent of Feminist Poetry–

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts: This was a truly beautiful book. It used poetry as a tool to reinforce the passages in the book. I think every feminist (and non-feminist) should read this.

25731543

The Travelers–

Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts: This book was layer after layer of deception, secrets, and lies. The further I got the more it sucked me in.

41zlOSzTsuL__SX331_BO1,204,203,200_

Thirteen Reasons Why–

Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts: Wow. Just wow. Never before has a book so perfectly captured the chain reaction of a teenagers life.

39999

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas–

Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts: The book was deep and thoughtful, and the writing was absolutely beautiful. I do, however, feel that the hype surrounding the book is a little much, and I was expecting more than I got.

10429045

Shatter Me–

Rating: ♥ ♥

Thoughts: I haven’t actually posted the review for Shatter Me yet (the link is to my review on Goodreads), but I was very disappointed with this book. The writing style annoyed me, and there was way to much romance and desperation.

And there you have my reads in the month of May! What books have you read this month?

 

 

Book Review- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Posted in Book Review by

39999

 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Published by David Fickling Books on September 12, 2006
Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Pages: 224
Goodreads
Amazon

Berlin, 1942: When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move to a new house far, far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different from his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas nearly broke my heart. Bruno is young and innocent; he has no idea the truth of what is going on around him. When his family moves to “Out-With”, he is jealous of the people he sees on the other side of the fence, wearing the blue striped pajamas. He wants nothing more than someone to play with, unaware of the horror going on around him.

The writing style is beautiful. It is very easy to read and understand, as if the story is meant to be understood by a child. As Bruno discovers the horrible things going on around him, they are told through the eyes of a child; someone who doesn’t quite understand what is happening. It leaves a lot of room for imagination, a lot of space to read between the lines.

I loved the friendship between Bruno and Schmuel, the boy in the blue striped pajamas. They didn’t judge each other, or hate each other because of which side of the fence they were on. Bruno didn’t understand why they couldn’t play or crawl under the small gap in the bottom of the fence.

The ending of the book wasn’t much of a surprise to me. My only complaint is that I didn’t get emotional enough about it. I was fully prepared to bawl my eyes out, but I think the hype over the book made it less of an emotional journey for me. That being said, it was fantastic, and something that I definitely recommend to everyone.

I am going to give The Boy in the Striped Pajamas four out of five hearts.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥