The Girl On The Train

The Girl On The TrainTitle: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Thriller
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 323
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

I was really excited to read THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN because I had heard so many good things about it, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I really liked the concept and the story, but I hated the execution.

I thought it was boring. I nearly DNFd it because I was so bored. But, I decided to give it a chance because some of the reviews said it started out slow. However, I kept wondering how people couldn’t put it down. That didn’t happen for me until the last 80 or so pages and even though the story was suspenseful at that point, most of it was due to wanting to finish the book and be done with it. Honestly, the Britishisms were my favorite part.

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Animal Farm

Animal FarmTitle: Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
Genre: Classic, Dystopian
Format: Kindle
Pages: 144
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

While I’m glad I can say that I’ve read ANIMAL FARM, I absolutely despised it. I don’t even know how to explain how much I loathed this book.

I know the book is supposed to make you angry, which it did, but I think I was angry for the wrong reasons. Or, at least, I know people are going to say I missed the point of the book. Maybe so, but I hated the fact that Orwell used animals to make his point. I’m a huge animal lover and I hate watching animals get killed by humans, animals, or natural causes. So you can only imagine how I felt while reading.

The interesting thing is that if Orwell had written ANIMAL FARM with neither animals nor as a satire, I probably would’ve liked it because I do like historical fiction and Russia’s revolutionary history is one of my favorite time periods to read about. I would’ve liked to read about a character in each class living through the revolution rather than a satire with animals. It would’ve hit the mark for me much better had it been written like that.

Having read the book, I get why it’s a classic. I also get why so many people love it. It’s a fantastic illustration of Marxism and how Marxism changed Russia. The execution was just not for me.

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Reached

ReachedTitle: Reached
Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched #3
Genre: Dystopian, Romance, Young Adult
Spice: 0.5 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 512
Reason Read: Utah Book Month
Rating:

My Thoughts

I really liked where REACHED went. I thought it was very realistic. Most dystopian books with revolution end up being so far-fetched that I don’t think they can work. Sure, there were conveniences that happened that probably weren’t as realistic, but the way the Rising and the Society were dealt with was fascinating and seemed like it could actually happen if it were real.

I loved Ally’s writing style. It’s so poetic, beautiful, descriptive, and concise. The descriptions of the setting were so vivid. There were times that I felt like I was in the midst of everything going on. Even though I wouldn’t want to live in Cassia’s world, the descriptions made me want to see the Society and the different provinces and areas.

While REACHED was told only from Cassia’s point-of-view and CROSSED was told from both hers and Ky’s,  REACHED is told from Cassia’s, Ky’s, and Xander’s. I loved being inside Xander’s head, finally, knowing what he thought and how he felt about everything. And, I loved that the three of them were in three different critical places, so we got a good overview of what was happening and not just a closed off view.

I’m really happy and satisfied with how this trilogy ended. It was a fun ride and I’m glad to have experienced it with the characters.