Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider: The Review

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts

by 

Robyn Schneider

Title: Severed Heads, Broken Hearts

Author: Robyn Schneider

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Buy This Book: Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Ezra Faulkner believes that everyone will experience their own personal tragedy. For Ezra, the junior class president and captain of the tennis team, this comes in the form of a careless driver slamming into his car; shattering his knee, his tennis dreams and his seemingly perfect life. Ezra no longer feels like he is part of his popular crowd of friends or the life he was living before the accident. When he returns to school he finds himself falling back into a friendship with Toby Ellicott, the boy, who up until his own personal tragedy age twelve, used to be Ezra's best friend. Through his friendship with Toby, Ezra finds himself signed up to the debate team, hanging out with Toby's eccentric friends and getting to know the mysterious new girl, Cassidy Thorpe. Soon Ezra is beginning to see that maybe his accident didn't destroy his life but actually helped to really start it.

I loved this book. L.O.V.E.D it! 

To the point where I really just want to be able to scream that at people but I'm not sure that's appropriate. I was actually really excited when I received this book at work because when I had read the back I thought it sounded ridiculously interesting. So I was happy to find that this book didn't leave me disappointed and actually made me fall in love with it! 

Now I am really trying to do a review of this book that doesn't just have me screaming at you all through the blogosphere READ IT!!! Even if that is all my brain is telling me to do right now. So I shall at least try to coherently write down some of my thoughts and feelings on this book; because I really do have a lot of them. 

I have to start off by saying that thanks to this book I now have a new author to look out for. As soon as Robyn Schneider releases another book I will be buying it. So I guess I will be virtually stalking her in order to catch any mention of a new book. The cover of the book shows part of a review from Publishers Weekly that says "I couldn't help but think of John Green's novels - I think his fans will eat this up.". As a fan of John Green I do have to agree with that, I did eat it up. I loved the fact I found another author who manges to write characters that actually make me laugh out loud (even if this does get you odd looks from people on public transport).

This book had me laughing right from the beginning. The story of how Toby met his moment of tragedy was so hilarious to me that I choked on the juice I was drinking and almost spurted it out of my nose. I wish this were not true, and my poor burning nostrils at the time also really wished it wasn't true but it was. I think I was guaranteed to love Toby after that, and I did, I really did. I think that was one of the reasons I loved this so much; it gave me so many characters to love. Which is something I really adore in a book, I mean it's part of the reason I will always hold Harry Potter so dear to my heart. While we are talking about loving characters I must say:

Cassidy Thorpe, I love thee.

Cassidy Thorpe had me as a fan the minute she turned up to the debate tournament in a Hogwarts uniform. I could picture it so clearly and I adored her for it. I think the debate group as a whole was one of my favourite things about this book. I enjoyed all their back and forth, their quick witted jokes and the crazy things they got up to. I am jealous that I don't get to go to the Floating Movie Theatre, which are film screenings that are held in secret in different locations of their school. As I was reading it I was just thinking that it sounded ridiculously epic and that I wished I could go.

If I had to say one thing I didn't like about it, it would probably be the end. I saw the revelation coming and it just didn't end how I wanted it to. I guess I was left feeling dissatisfied with it. I think it's partly to do with the fact I am still reeling from the Dexter finale and I just want something, anything, to end how I want it to end!

This book had everything that I needed and the fact it didn't end the way I wanted it to didn't make me love it any less. I would highly recommend it and urge you to all go out and read it. I loved the fact the characters had me laughing from beginning to end, they all had such individual personalities which most books I have read lately have been seriously lacking. If you read or have read it I would love to hear what you thought.

4/5 Stars

P.s. I  must admit to over thinking some things way too much when reading a book. Ezra has a poodle named Cooper who he got from his aunt when he was nine and the dog was eight. Now at age sixteen the dog is still running about, chasing rabbits and this bothered me. I'm sitting there thinking that poodles average twelve years and that it is highly unlikely it would be so fit and healthy. This actually bothered me for about another three chapters and I suddenly realised: I THINK TOO MUCH!

     

Musing Mondays

This is a weekly meme hosted by shouldbereading, which is where you can post your musings of the week. Whether it be about your reading habits, what you're reading right now, a bookish rant of some sort or just a general ramble about anything to do with books. It sounds really fun so I am going to try and take part every Monday if I can!




First of all I want to share with you all the fact that I am currently reading Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider, which so far I am loving! I am not too far in to it and when I have finished I will post my full review but so far I am happy with it. It had me laughing from the first couple of pages; which is always amazing to find in a book. Let's hope it stays this good all the way through!!! Check back in a couple of days for the full review!





My main musing for Monday is actually about the wonderful world of libraries. In case you didn't know I actually work in a library as a Library Assisstant (we don't use the term librarian!) and I have noticed how many misconceptions people have on libraries and I would just like to discuss them on here. Most of these have been said to me by people who have little experience with libraries or haven't been in one in years but even so I want to show what libraries are really like.
They are not quiet. Well at least mine isn't (at times I really wish it was).We are our boroughs main library, which means we get over 1,000 visitors a day. So today I would like to share with you some library stories so that you can see what libraries can really be like. A library is a public building and as such we really have no control over who is going to be walking in on any given day. This can lead to you meeting a lot of interesting people, shall we say.

Customer S, as I shall refer to him, is a regular, a regular nut job some might argue. When he comes in you know something interesting but hopefully not too violent is about to happen (he has been known to attack staff). For example the time he demanded print outs of all the train lines in Iceland, every single one. But, alas, he was shocked to discover Iceland has no public rail system, OH NO! But this is not my favourite Mr S story, my all time favourite is about how he is going to kill Clint Eastwood. Yes the Clint Eastwood.
                   So one day he comes to the counter and without so much as a hello (as usual) he demands: "I want to know about Sondra Locke!". So I say okay and start to google her, as I have never heard the name before and am sure he is not looking for a book. But before I can even click on her Wikipedia page he has chimed in with: "I want to know if it's true Clint Eastwood made her have three abortions!" (This is shouted at the top of his lungs so all eyes are on us). I don't really know how to respond to this, other than to say "I'll just have a look." So with some searching I am able to say that yes she had two abortion and a tubal ligation (basically a permanent method of sterilisation) whilst in a relationship with Clint Eastwood. So after a few more "So she had two abortions", "Clint Eastwood made her have two abortions", "She had two abortions!" and my reiterating what I had found out, he suddenly declares (at the top of his lungs and in a library full of people no less) "Thats it then! I'm hiring a hitman to kill Clint Eastwood!!!!" and then immediately stormed out of the building. Cue confused vistors turning to me as if to say "What the hell was that about?" and me trying not to look shocked or highly amused, whilst also fighting the urge to laugh.


Now I actually love borrowers like this, they are entertaining, always have an enquiry for you and keep the day interesting. But from my experience with people, whenever I say I work in a library they usually respond with "Wow, bet that's quiet. You must get to read all day." and I want to respond with "Have you ever been in a library?!?". So I just want to be able to share a few of the funnier, more crazy times that we librarians face! Some honestly will sound too crazy to be true. For example would you believe a human being actually chose to drop their trousers and do a 'number two' in the middle of the floor. But even more crazily, in the middle of the floor just outside the public toilet that they are free to use whenever they want. This actually happened. So maybe now you can understand why sometimes I really wish you could just read all day!

But, I need to tell you, I love my job! I am surrounded by books all day and am constantly meeting other book lovers who want to talk about the books they've just read or their favourite author or just a general discussion on books! What more could I ask for in a job? Please feel free to share any interesting stories about your local libraries as I would love to hear them!!

If you have your own Musing Mondays please post a link in the comments so I can come check them out!

Every Day by David Levithan: The Review

Every Day

by 

David Levithan

 

 Title: Every Day

Author: David Levithan

Publisher: Egmont

Buy This Book: Amazon

For as long as A can remember, every morning A wakes up in a different body. A doesn't know who it will be or where it will be, A just knows that this is what will happen. So A has spent a lot of time learning to never get attached, to never form attachments to anyone; A has learned the hard way that the pain of the seperation when he wakes up somewhere else the next day is never worth it. That is until A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend Rhiannon. Rhiannon is someone A feels an almost immediate connection to. A feels like A has met someone who is worth getting to know, A feels A has met one of the only people who might accept A for what A is. Rhiannon makes A want to break every rule A has ever made. But can A really find a way for them to be together every day.

When I read the blurb to this book I knew I just had to read it. I loved this whole idea of it and really thought it was an intriguing and orginal premise. So when the book finally arrived I stopped what I was doing and immediately started reading it. I was left feeling disappointed and a bit annoyed by the end of it but I will try my best to explain why. 

What I liked about the book was also one of the things that caused so many issues for me. That was the whole idea behind it, of waking up every day as somebody else. Never having your own body, your own identity, your own family. It just sounded so intriguing, but such an unusual idea like that is bound to cause issues. Which it did, but I will get to those later. 

I need to say that I didn't completely hate this book, but I didn't completely like it either. I believe the most I can say about it was that it was at times interesting but for the most part infuriated me beyond belief. The book is crammed full of so many marginalised groups it comes off as ridiculous. One day A is a gay man, the next a girl who wants to kill herself, a drug addict, a lesbian, a transgender. Instead of coming across like the book is trying to champion these groups or highlight any important issues to do with them; it comes across as these groups of people are being used so that the author can say "Look at me! I am so tolerant of all kinds of different people." It seemed unauthentic and left me feeling kind of offended by the whole thing. 

I believe the first thing that truly wound me up about this book though, was how the blurb refers to A as he. But A is neither gender, A has no body, no voice, A is just a guest in someone each day. But as A is referred to as he in the blurb I went into the book thinking of A this way. But as I read I realised A isn't really anybody, there is nothing to even support the fact A is human nor any explanation as to what A is. This book left way too many questions unanswered and also starting to add/ make stuff up as it progressed that contradicted what had been said at the beginning.

A has no idea how it works; whatever it is that happens to A every day. And yet magically halfway through the book when one host has some memories left over; A is suddenly aware of the fact that A can leave the hosts with whatever memory A wants. Not sure how this suddenly becomes apparant but don't worry, have no fear this does not need to be explained, just accepted. Don't question anything; obviously. 

A also falls for Rhiannon straight away. She is clearly A's true love, despite having very little personality and also the fact she is kind of a doormat. Why she is the one person A has felt a connection to I will never know. And how she so readily accepts that A is something that switches from person to person everyday is also something that infuriated me. It does not ring true, it would take a little while for that to sink in but oh no one minute A is a boy and the next A is a girl and Rhiannon just deals with it and makes out with both. I felt bad for the people who A was inhabiting, being made to kiss a stranger they do not know. Seems like a gross violation, A is not these people, A is no one, A has no identity; A just steals one for a day.

This book seems to be trying to shove the idea of acceptance down our throats. "Accept people for who they are no matter what" unless of course they are fat. If the person is fat we get these charming insights into who they are: 

"his size comes from negligence and laziness, a carelessness that would be pathological if it had any meticulousness to it. While I'm sure if  I access deep enough I will find some well of humanity, all I can see on the surface is the emotional equivalent of a burp."

Charming. This actually really infuriated me, that we are having this message of acceptance rammed down our throats but then A has so little tolerance for someone just because of their weight. A wants Rhiannon to accept A no matter what, whether one day A is a boy or the next a girl and yet A is unable to accept someone because of their size. The word hypocrite springs to mind and I could no longer feel any sympathy for A or his situation. 

I also struggled to believe that if A really had switched bodies everyday since the beginning of A's existence, he would really be that normal. You grow up surrounded by the same people each day, who shape who you are as a person and teach you certain values. But A wakes up every day with different parents, siblings, guardians, teachers. Teaching conflicting ideas and values; how would A really have grown up so well rounded. 

The only redeeming part of this book was the end, and not only because of the fact it was ending (finally!). But the fact that A seemed to finally have gotten on to my wave length and realised just what A was actually doing. Was a satisfying ending to the book I must say. 

I really found this book infuriating, it wound me up beyond belief. I had already tried to read another book by David Levithan that I had also not enjoyed and so maybe it was my own fault for not learning from that disaster (The book was Invisibility)

I would never read this book again but that's not to say that I wouldn't tell anybody else to read it. I actually would  urge others to give it a try. This is one of those books that just isn't for everybody. It has had so many other glowing reviews that I really do believe it's like marmite. You either love it or you hate it. You can either ignore or get past the gaping holes in the plot or you can't. I couldn't. Maybe I think far too much about these things, but I would much rather think too much than too little. If you read and enjoyed this book I would love to know why.

2/5 Stars

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: The Review

Code Name Verity

by

Elizabeth Wein

 

Title: Code Name Verity

Author: Elizabeth Wein

Publisher: Electric Monkey 

Buy This Book: Amazon

'Verity' has been captured by the Gestapo after looking the wrong way before crossing the street, a rookie mistake for an undercover British spy in Nazi occupied France to make. She has been tortured and given the choice to write down everything she knows about the British War Effort or she will be executed. So this is what 'Verity' does, she writes down everything she knows. How she met Maddie, the girl who flew her in to France and her best friend. How she came to be a spy and how she came to be in France.

I have put off reviewing this book for quite some time for one simple reason: I hated it! But not just because I hated it but because I hated it any everybody else seemed to love it. I had tried reading this book twice before but had given up and returned it back to work. But as I was looking for books for my teenage reading group at work I had seen it on so many recommended books lists along with many books I had read and loved. So I began to think maybe I had been too hasty and maybe it takes a while to get into and maybe it's worth a read in the end. So I picked it up again, with my expectations not too high but with a slight hope that it was as amazing as all the reviews I read were saying. IT WAS NOT!

Now when I say it got amazing reviews, I mean amazing! So when I finished it feeling like I had wasted precious hours of my life on some beyond awful book, I felt that maybe there was something wrong with me and not the book. But after some digging I managed to find quite a lot of people who felt the exact same as I did - just one example. 

I want to explain why I disliked this book so much, so here goes nothing:

My main issue with this book was probably how beyond boringly dull it was. 'Verity's' life is on the line and she is talking about picnics that Maddie went on and what she ate and what she felt because they obviously had so many in depth conversations about picnics. I wanted to fall asleep and put the book down pretty much constantly and yet, like an idiot, I stuck with it. Really wish I hadn't, as it was so not worth it.

It was also unbelievable. I think this may be from the part of me that studied History at college and for GCSE. You pretty much learn about Nazi Germany every year, it's an interesting and important part of history. And everything I know about Hitler and the Nazi's made me want to scream at this book. If I was falling asleep at her confessions I am sure they were too. She put in barely any useful information and filled them full of useless drivel. I am certain that if she were really being tortured she would not be so light hearted about it. I don't believe her captors would be happy with her confessions and they would probably have killed her barely a day in to it unless she had started coughing up something substantially better. So I literally could not get past that the entire time I was reading her boring stories.

Also her friendship with Maddie, this amazing friendship that makes them want to save one another, I didn't get it. I'm sure I felt a stronger bond and better understanding of Maddie's friendship with Beryl than I did hers and Verity's. I wish we had more stories of their friendship together so that maybe I could understand what made them such great friends.

I just really can not fathom all the glowing reviews. I found it so unbelievably boring that I wanted one ofVerity's captors to shoot her in the head so that it would be over and I didn't have to keep reading it. This felt way too young for me and nowhere near adult.

1/5 Stars

I could not recommend this to anyone, unless they are hoping to die of boredom. Much too young and not enough adult in there anywhere. As I was reading this I felt like Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer: 

Please someone, anyone tell me you didn't enjoy it either! I need to know I'm not the only one!

In My Mailbox/Letterbox Love #1

In My Mailbox & Letterbox Love

IMM is something that was started on TheStorySiren so click on the link and check out her blog if you want to find out more about it and how to participate. This is basically a way for me to show what books I have received, borrowed or bought each week.

Letterbox Love was started over at NarrativelySpeaking and is a more UK based version of IMM. I kinda love both so I want to take part in both.

Working in a library can be a blessing and a curse for any book lover.You are surrounded by books all day and get to browse all the new books as they are delivered. But you do end up with so many more books than you could ever hope to read! 

Burn for Burn is the only one that I own and when I saw the sequel come in today it made me realise I better hurry up and start reading the first one. 

Have never read any of them so let me know if you have and what ones you would recommend!

Every Day - David Levithan
Tomorrow When the War Began -  John Marsden

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

Crash - Nicole Williams
Rot and Ruin - Jonathan Maberry

Burn for Burn - Jenny Han, Siobhan Vivian

Fire with Fire - Jenny Han, Siobhan Vivian

Let it Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

The Waking Dark - Robin Wasserman

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts - Robyn Schneider

The Twins - Saskia Sarginson

Here's hoping I can get through at least a few of them before the end of the month!
Let me know if you've read any and what ones you would recommend.