Birthday Books!

I recently had my birthday, and these are the books I got!

* Coraline- I love the movie, and now I have the book! :) 

* The Princess Bride- I thought the movie was going to be yuck and romantic, but it was quite funny, and now I have the book! :)

*Hollow City- At last! I now have it! I have MPHFPC and Hollow City! They look so good on my bookshelf!

* The Knife of Never Letting Go- this seems very interesting. The blurb suggests it will be an action packed, mysterious book.

The Diary of Anne Frank

 Just a thing to mention before we begin:
I finished Divergent a couple of weeks ago or so . Best book I have read for a while. I absolutely loved it. Then, I read a review.

I HATE SPOILERS!!! (In fact this is a spoiler, but you know)

So I was spoiled pretty badly. Ehs seid. I can't believe it. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!
Stupid, stupid STUPID! I AM AN IDIOT! Number one rule for avoiding spoilers is to not make contact with the internet while reading a really good book or series. I ignored that, and here I am.

Stupid.

Anyway, almost finished Insurgent, and that is really good, so yeah. Let's continue.

The Diary of Anne Frank had been sitting on my shelf for a while. I was waiting for the right time to read it. I knew I wasn't quite old enough when I first spotted it at maybe 10, but then I was waiting for the right time, and early this year I thought- hey. I feel like reading this now.

Yes, I have seen the movie (2009 one) and I really, really liked it. I have watched it two or three times, in fact. So, I knew what was loosely going to be the in the book. And yes, I do know it was an actual diary, so don't sit there thinking, "OMG doesn't she even know it was a real diary?" I am not that dim.

I quite liked it. I quickly skimmed over some parts but read most of it word for word. Even though the edition I had was thin, it had many words on each page, in small print, so it took me a while to read it.

Now, I can't really talk about 'characters' because they were all real people. I can't talk about the storyline, because it is a diary, and a REAL publication of a REAL diary. And I can't talk about 'oh it was fantastic and I loved the ending' because to me, that just sounds wrong.

Let me explain why- this was a real teenage girl, hiding from the Nazis during WWII. I can't say it was fantastic, because she didn't expect it to be. It was just a diary, an interesting, witty diary, and she didn't intend it to sell millions around the world. Authors, when they write books and stories, they want their books to brilliant and emotional, and they sort of want everyone to really like it. But I can't say The Diary of Anne Frank was brilliant, because it just wasn't supposed to be.  I can't love the ending, for obvious reasons.

But it did impact me. Anne was going through the same things as I am going through now- not being inside all day every day and the middle of a war- but she was growing up and learning things, as I am.

Zobo.

Because Of Winn-Dixie

I read this book in about two days, and I quite liked the story. It was different to any story I had read. Usually, I would think that any old story about a child and a dog would be very boring. But Because of Winn-Dixie had that feel-good, just all round nice feeling book.

It explores lots of characters, all struggling in their own way....

India Opal Baloni (just known as Opal)- her mum ran away years ago and she lives in a trailer park (from memory) with the father, whom she calls 'The Preacher.' She struggles to except that her own mother ran away and left her at such a young age. She also struggles with the fact she moves into a new town. But she finds hope in a dog she finds at a supermarket, who she names Winn-Dixie, after the store where he was wreaking havoc.

The Preacher (or India Opal's father)- he still feels so sad and depressed about his wife leaving him. He's not the kindest and 'let's go to Disneyland' type of father, but he does really care about his daughter.

Otis- Otis is a man who runs the local pet shop. Opal meets him when she offers to work for him until she can pay for a new collar and lead for Winn-Dixie. Otis struggles to forget the past. He was a former prisoner in jail, and the only things that seem to comfort him are animals and playing his guitar.

Gloria Dump- this character I really liked. She's an old woman who people call a witch. She lives inside a dilapidated old house. Opal decides to find out the truth about this woman. In fact, Gloria Dump is a very kind, quirky lady with a brilliant mind. Gloria Dump struggles with her memories and the bad things she has done. But, she still faces the future. She is also blind, which makes things harder for her, but having a small friend like Opal brightens the spirits.

Amanda Wilkinson- Amanda Wilkinson is like the 'mean girl' who tends to strongly dislike Opal. But, Opal learns the truth behind Amanda's snottiness.

Miss Franny Block- Miss Franny Block is the local librarian. She tells Opal lots of stories, and introduces her to a type of candy that was famous all around, made by her grandfather (correct me if I'm wrong). Opal regularly visits Miss Franny.

Sweetie Pie Thomas- Sweetie Pie Thomas is a girl Opal meets, and she wants a dog just like Winn-Dixie. She invites Opal to her birthday party, even though she is about 5 years younger than Opal, and she is an all round friendly kid.

....Although not all of the characters have a haunting past or have interesting back stories.

A great book, basically. The only thing I wasn't particularly thrilled with was the climax. Early in the book, we learn that Winn-Dixie has a huge phobia of thunderstorms. Then, later- you guessed it- there is a thunderstrom, and Winn-Dixie runs away. A bit more creative, maybe? I don't know. I guess this is a book for children, so they couldn't make any scenes too scary or depressing. There are a lot of hidden meanings in the book that older readers will understsand though.

Zobo!