JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter can’t wait for his holidays with the dire Dursleys to end. But a small, self-punishing house-elf warns Harry of mortal danger awaiting him at Hogwarts. Returning to the castle nevertheless, Harry hears a rumour about a Chamber of Secrets, holding unknown horrors for wizards of Muggle parentage. Now someone is casting spells that turn people to stone, and a terrible warning is found painted on the wall. The chief suspect – always in the wrong place – is Harry. But something much more terrifying has yet to be unleashed.

Harry is a much stronger character in the second novel. He’s less indecisive and doesn’t doubt himself as much, and seems more driven to uncover information about Draco and the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart is a hilarious character, and I loved his interaction with Harry. I do wish more of his dialogue made it into the film – his hilarious comments about Harry wanting fame should’ve made it into the movie! I read all of these books before the films all came out, and now that I’m re-reading them, I have all of the actors in my mind. I wonder what I thought of this novel when I read it for the first time.

Some of the twists in the book were predictable (like Tom Riddle being a bad character and how Draco wasn’t the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets), but I didn’t see the twist with Ginny coming (obviously I did this time around because I’m re-reading it, but the first time I read it, that twist was a huge shock). And J.K Rowling really planned out everything so that it all made sense and it all paralleled each other in the novel. For example, you came to understand the significance of Harry being a parselmouth in this book.

J.K. Rowling also gives more information about this wizarding world. I think with fantasy, particularly children’s fantasy, there’s a tendency to dump all this information in the first book so that the reader knows absolutely everything from the start. But I love that new students and new parts of the castle are introduced to the reader in this book.

This book is only about 250 pages, so it can easily be read in an afternoon (this cannot be said for books four, five, six, and seven). Like the first one, I recommend this book to every single person, because it’s an enriching tale and the characters are three dimensional and fleshed out to the reader. Also, this book gives the reader a teaser of information about a few things to come in the later books (why Harry is a parselmouth, Horcruxes, and the prophecy).

My Score: 10/10
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An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun–but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

I really struggled with this one. It was kind of a snoozefest. A well-written snoozefest. But let me start with some positives. All of the characters seem to suffer some kind of emotional loss, which is hard for an author to write. John Green manages to write this well and with a lot of literary subtly. The chapters are short, the novel is short, and there is a fair bit of humour in the story to break up the mundane lives of the characters. Also, there’s a certain level of maths mentioned in this book, and it all seemed legit. And this is surprising, since it was all equations and formulas. It sounded like it worked perfectly, so kudos to John Green for that.

But there were many, many negatives. Firstly, the three books I’ve read so far of John Green’s (The Fault in our Stars and Looking for Alaska) ALL seem to have characters that are emotionally lost in life. It’s getting kind of boring, and this story really dragged. Colin and Hussan were supposed to go on a road trip, but the entire story is about their first stop. That’s not really a road trip. Also, the characters aren’t really relatable, and I found them quite boring. Lindsey is unrealistic, and so is the social dynamic between Colin and Hussan. The pace of this novel is too slow and the reader will constantly wonder where the novel is going.

I only recommend this novel to avid John Green fans.

My Score: 5/10
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He’s never worn a Cloak of Invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry’s room is a tiny cupboard under the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in ten years.

But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him… if Harry can survive the encounter.

Obviously this is not the first time I’ve read this book – it’s probably the 10,000th time I’ve read this book. And each time I read it, I find new things within the story that I didn’t realise before. And this book is only 200 pages (approx), so it doesn’t take long to read the book. I read it in a couple of hours and then re-read the next in the series.

J.K. redefined magic/wizards with Harry Potter, and this series got boys to read (which is extremely hard for an author to do). I love that the book was rejected by almost all publishing houses before being picked up by Bloomsbury. It makes it feel like the underdog.

The characters are relatable and lovable. We all know a Hermione from school, and the Weasley twins. Hagrid’s dialogue is spot on and his kind nature makes him a favourite among young readers. J.K. Rowling even brought out a lot of humour with Professor Snape, and the author did a great job at blindsiding the reader with that twist at the end.

J.K Rowling has created a world where everything is mapped out. For example, Hagrid mentions he was expelled from Hogwarts, but we don’t find out why until the second book, and we don’t find out why Harry survived Voldemort’s attack until a few books later. I love it when an author takes the time to really map things out so that once you’ve read the whole series and you go back, you find little clues you never knew were there the first time around.

Sorry, but I have one fault: Harry asks too many rhetorical questions to himself and doubts himself too much. I know that given his upbringing, he would be unsure of what to do in most situations, but he constantly questions himself instead of just getting along with the story. It bogs down the story a little, and might bore the reader.

This is the first book in a seven book series, and mixes fantasy with adventure. It has every child (and adult!) reader wishing that Hogwarts really existed. I recommend this book to EVERYONE, because it’s amazing.

My Score: 9/10
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The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

The Walls Around Us is a ghostly story of suspense told in two voices—one still living and one long dead. On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement. On the inside, within the walls of a girls’ juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom. Tying these two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls’ darkest mysteries.

We hear Amber’s story and Violet’s, and through them Orianna’s, first from one angle, then from another, until gradually we begin to get the whole picture—which is not necessarily the one that either Amber or Violet wants us to see.

This novel is haunting and extremely well-written. For a young adult novel, it’s provoking and unique and engaging, and Nova has done an exceptional job at crafting this story. The cover art is amazing – the colours really invite the reader in. Although, that being said, the cover art doesn’t actually give any indication on what the book is about and may put off some readers. The storyline is different, and all of the different POVs weave together towards the end to give the reader an ‘Ahhh’ moment (or many moments). There are multiple twists that the reader is blindsided by, and when the reader thinks they know what’s happened or how the three characters are connected, something happens and they doubt their reading of the book.

The best part about this novel is definitely the writing style. Nova’s writing is fluid and believable. The premise is interesting, and I feel that a novel set in a female juvenile detention centre (especially for the young adult genre) hasn’t really been done before. Well done to Nova for finding the gap in the YA market and filling it. The chapters are a good length, and they end on such a suspenseful sentence each time. I kept wanting to take a break after reading a chapter, but found myself turning the page until I’d read the whole story.

Now I have to talk about the negatives. Sometimes the storylines seem a little scattered, and the opening few pages of the novel make it seem a little dystopian. It took a couple of pages before I fully comprehended what was happening. Also, let’s not mention how CONFUSING the ending is. Was anyone else confused? I had to reread it a few times to attempt to understand it. It’s one of those endings where you think you understand it, but deep down you know you’re probably wrong. Lastly, the twist involving the murder of the two girls behind the theatre is a little predictable, and I think Nova gave away too much information about that earlier in the novel.

I’d recommend this novel for any reader, even if you don’t usually read young adult. I received an ecopy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Score: 8/10

Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe Abercrombie

I swore an oath to be avenged on the killers of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath
Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand.

The deceived will become the deceiver
Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.

The betrayed will become the betrayer
Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.

Will the usurped become the usurper?
But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and tragedy…

Finally! A fantasy book that isn’t too heavy. I love the fantasy genre, but sometimes a journey doesn’t need to take 200 pages, nor does the description of lineage. And Joe Abercrombie’s Half a King is just over 300 pages, and is fast-paced and easy to read.

When I say ‘easy to read’, I mean that the story isn’t bogged down with too much description and detail, the main character is three dimensional and therefore relatable, and the events that occur in the novel are realistic and believable. Yarvi isn’t the most handsome or skilled protagonist, and that’s what makes the reader sympathetic towards him. We (the reader) are subjected to his thoughts, doubts and his insecurities, and we keep reading the book because of it.

Joe has written the crowded scenes well – when I say ‘crowded’ I mean scenes with around ten characters in it (also known as Yarvi’s oar buddies when he’s a slave on a ship). As a writer, it’s hard to capture ten different voices and make them stand out to the reader. It’s easy to overcomplicate the exchanges and have the reader confused and desperately flicking back and forth through the pages trying to understand who is saying what. I have great respect to Joe for being able to write those scenes in an easy-to-read way.

There is one negative thing I’ll note about the book. Sometimes the point of view jumps into other heads, which is unnecessary. Although the book is written in third person, it’s mostly focused on Yarvi, so we come to understand his thoughts and feelings. However, occasionally, other characters will be focused on and a sentence or two about their feelings will be featured. This jolts the reader a little and makes them detract themselves from the book.

I’d recommend this book not just for fantasy readers, but for YA readers as well. It’s amazing, and deserves a 10/10 rating. I look forward to reading the second in the series, Half the World (coming out in February 2015).

My Score: 10/10
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