Sunday, May 18, 2014

Mini-Reviews: Trouble and Delirium

Trouble
TitleTrouble
Author: Non Pratt
Genre: Contemporary
Publication Date: March 6, 2014
In this dazzling debut novel, a pregnant teen learns the meaning of friendship—from the boy who pretends to be her baby’s father.

When the entire high school finds out that Hannah Shepard is pregnant via her ex-best friend, she has a full-on meltdown in her backyard. The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who doesn’t seem to want to get into Hannah’s pants. Confused and scared, Hannah needs someone to be on her side. Wishing to make up for his own past mistakes, Aaron does the unthinkable and offers to pretend to be the father of Hannah’s unborn baby. Even more unbelievable, Hannah hears herself saying “yes.”

Told in alternating perspectives between Hannah and Aaron, Trouble is the story of two teenagers helping each other to move forward in the wake of tragedy and devastating choices. As you read about their year of loss, regret, and hope, you’ll remember your first, real best friend—and how they were like a first love. -Goodreads

Meh. That's what I thought of this book. It wasn't amazing and it wasn't terrible, just meh.

3.5 Stars

The first half of Trouble I loved! The storyline was interesting, the characters were realistic and so were their problems and then suddenly all of that seemed to change. The storyline got sort of boring, the characters started to really annoy me and the whole book seemed to be exactly like the sort of gossip you read on bathroom walls.
"Did you hear that Lisa slept with James who's dating Tina who's actually sleeping with Jordan?"

"OMG I heard that Ally is pregnant with Jordans baby!"

"I though Jordan was dating Gina and also sleeping with Tina."

"He is..."

Another problem I had was that on the back of this book it clearly stated that Hannah was smart which may have been true at some point, but all the things I read proved that she very clearly wasn't. 

exhibit a) She's 15 and pregnant. Yes, I know that mistakes happen, but with the amount of people she slept with it wasn't really surprising that it happened. Yet she was still surprised.

exhibit b) Her grades are so low that there's a high chance she will fail the year. 

exhibit c) In the weekends (and during the week) she goes out every night to drink, smoke and have sex with random people at random parties.

Reading back on my review I realised that it sounds like I hated Trouble, but I really didn't. I enjoyed some of it and I'd recommend reading it if you feel like a light gossipy read for the weekend.

11614718Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Publication Date: February 7, 2012
Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't. -Goodreads

Delirium was more than 4 stars, but it wasn't quite 4.5 stars so for the sake of this review I'm bringing in 4.25 stars.

4.25 Stars

I've heard some very mixed reviews of Delirium and before reading this based on other peoples opinions alone I really didn't think I would enjoy it at all so I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself really liking Delirium.

Why I Liked Delirium

1. It wasn't just all about the romance. A book with a concept such as this one could have easily been done in such a way that the only kind of love was the romantic kind that Lena and Alex shared, but no. Lauren Oliver touched on other kinds of love too, like the love that you share between family and friends which I think is just as important.

2. The way that Lauren Oliver wrote. Her writing style amazing. As she described the world that Lena lived in I could see it in my head. It was the kind of writing that pulls you away from this world and you become part of the book. That's how I felt with Delirium.

3. Alex. Need I say more? I don't want to give any more spoilers than I already have, but if you have read it then you'll know what I'm talking about... The ending made me fall in love with him even more!

I can't wait to read Pandemonium and other series by Lauren Oliver! I'd recommend Delirium to people who are looking for another post-apocalyptic dystopian novel to read.

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