The Great Gatsby

Here it is, the point where a hopelessly overwhelmed 16 year old decides it’s a great idea to try and write a review on classic literature. I’m hoping to get back to writing regular reviews, but unfortunately, I am extremely busy.

I read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald originally in March of this year. At the time I was in a huge reading slump and really did not enjoy it at all. I read it again in August for school because we were writing an essay on it and I did not want to only have a bad picture of it in my head. Reading it again was one of the best decisions I have made because I learned to appreciate it a lot more and to have a better understanding of the symbolism and characters featured in this classic work of literature.

Since the majority of people reading this review already know the summary of The Great Gatsby, I will try and make this brief. This piece of literature captures the lifestyle of the 1920’s featuring many fun parties hosted by our main character, Jay Gatsby. This story is captured through our narrator, Nick Caraway, which allows the reader to see themselves in the novel through a unique lens. The journey of the mysterious Gatsby and his fight for the love of his life will leave generations of readers fascinated by this story. Most importantly, though, the novel is not just meant to be a beautiful love story; it’s a representation of the American Dream. It shows how one can truly make a place for themselves in the world. This novel isn’t quite a pleasant ride, though, with a few dark themes underlying the main plot that a reader must be diligent in analyzing this novel for the true story. I found this book to be very clever and entertaining, leaving me infatuated with Mr. Gatsby.

This novel is considered to have beautiful writing, but quite honestly I was not a huge fan of his writing style. I can see what was pleasing about it to many of the novel’s fans, yet it just was not working for me. I also found this novel to be rich in symbolism through the variety of colors described throughout the novel and in how the readers could see themselves through both Nick and Gatsby. For example:

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther … And one fine morning —

I think this quote shows the significance of color throughout the novel. The reader themselves can determine what the colors actually mean, but it sure does provide many visuals for the reader.

I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others–young clerks in the dusk, wasting the most poignant moments of night and life.

This quote is a specific example from me of why I did not like the writing style. I felt it to be strangely choppy and forced. Without a doubt, though, this has a unique writing to it, especially because of the perspective of our narrator. I think Nick is the reason why this novel is so popular today.

Overall I gave this novel 3/5 stars. I enjoyed the plot and overarching themes it had to offer, but the writing style is really what turned me off from this story. If anyone was to ask me for recommendations of classic literature, though, I would without a doubt put this novel on my list.

If you would like to buy this book, the Book Depository has the same edition featured in the picture above and for a great price here!

Love Always,

Chelsea

The Heir

Photo Credits to stardustbooks.tumblr.com

Alas! I have been waiting for this book for a very long time and it is finally here! Sadly, due to finals week and a 10 day adventure in France I had to put my book addiction briefly on hold. On the very long 9 hour flight to France I picked up this book and was not disappointed. This series is my guilty pleasure. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that since it is a cheesy distopian version of The Bachelor with mediocre writing, but for some reason I can’t seem to put it done. Well played Kierra Cass. I do not have a review published for The Selection, The Elite, nor The One, and I doubt I will ever get there. For now we will just discuss the most recent addition.

The Heir follows the selection of America and Maxon’s daughter, Princess Eadlyn. I found this novel very interesting because Eadlyn is the first princess to ever become the heir and the first princess to ever go through the selection process. So, to the angsty feminists out there, this novel is definitely for you. The overall plot was very similar to the plot of The Selection. We see the selection process with some random plot twists thrown in every once in a while. The novel even wraps up with a HUGE plot twist that I never saw coming and got me a little emotional. The main thing I did not like about this plot, though, is that I felt like Maxon and America were totally different people. I understand that they are supposed to be older and more mature, but America didn’t have the fire inside of her anymore. I miss the original characters especially because I did not like the character of Eadlyn. I found her very whiny and enjoyed the role of America much more in the previous novels. The highlight of these books, though, is definitely to fine young men in these novels. I try to avoid giving away spoilers in these reviews, but I would just like to say that I will be very angry if Eadlyn does not end up with Kile. I’m assuming there is going to be another novel based on how it ended, but I am not sure if I am going to read it. The writing is simply just mediocre and I feel that I can devote my time to better novels. Here are some examples of the writing:

I’m not sure anyone knows what they are looking for until they find it.

Wow. Thanks for the wisdom, Eadlyn Schreave. We’re all bloody inspired.

You can be brave and still be feminine. You can lead and still love flowers. Most importantly, you can be queen and still be a bride.

And here is a lovely example of the strong female role of Eadlyn. Yes, it is nice to see a feminist protagonist, but her feminist inspiration is not very inspiring.

Overall I gave this novel 3/5 stars. There were some things I definitely was not happy about while reading it, but I’m a sucker for this series in some weird way. As  my mind begs me to stop reading it, my heart refuses because I’m still drawn in by the plot.

Lastly, I would just like to say this series has beautiful covers. While I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, that is the reason why I read this series in the first place. The princess on the cover is beautiful as always and the color schemes are always perfectly displayed. These books make a very nice addition to bookshelves and I have mine on display front and center.

Love Always,

Chelsea

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

This is me! I had to take a picture with this lovely book.

First off, I would like to introduce myself since this is my first post. I’m Chelsea and I’m a sophomore who is obsessed with books. For my first review I wanted to do one of my favorite book. This book is the wonderful young adult story called Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.  It was published in 2012 and has won many awards since, as you can tell by the cover of the book.

I gave this book 5/5 stars with absolutely no hesitation. This is one of those books that caused me to get bad grades on tests because I stayed up late the night before reading it. This is one of those books that I skipped meals for because I couldn’t put it down. This is one of those books that I curled up with in my bed and cried both tears of joy and sadness. Both Dante and Aristotle have a unique personality that the author does a brilliant job in making them seem human. Sometimes as you read books, they are painfully fictional, but the characters seem so genuine and real. They have just the right amount of flaws. In Young Adult literature, there is not enough LGBTQ+ representation, and in the circumstances where you do see them, their daily struggles are not expressed and instead romanticized. The author of this book does a wonderful job showing the struggles in teen lives as they experience the confusing feelings of same sex attraction and how they learn to cope with these feelings. They are not portrayed in a negative light either, but it does show the hardships that come with being openly gay. Another beautiful part about these characters is how it shows that teenage boys, specifically Dante, have emotions and should not be afraid of showing them. In multiple occasions when Dante cries he is not ashamed of his feelings. In my personal opinion, boys today should look and aspire to be like Dante because there should be nothing wrong with expressing your feelings. Aristotle, on the other hand, has a hard shell and is bitter and angry. While this typically gets annoying with characters, Aristotle does not get annoying because of the roots of his feelings. His brother, whom he was very close to, was arrested and no one will tell Aristotle why. This is heartbreaking to see a character like Aristotle crumble over this situation, and it really grabs the readers heart and keeps them engaged.

Another amazing touch that this book has is the memorable and inspirational quotes. The way Benjamin writes this novel allows the reader to learn a new and beautiful perspective on life. Here are some of my favorite quotes for the challenging and unique perspectives it allowed me to think about:

“I had learned to hide what I felt. No, that’s not true. There was no learning involved. I had been born knowing how to hide what I felt.”

“I wondered what that was like, to hold someone’s hand. I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.”

“To be careful with people and with words was a rare and beautiful thing.”

… Aren’t these just beautiful and thoughtful? Sometimes I just pause in the middle of my day and think about these quotes.

Many people get a little freaked out to read books in the LGBTQ+ category of the bookstore because they do not want to read a whole romance novel about two boys/girls making out. I am here to say that this book is a romance, but I think it fits better under the Young Adult/ Coming of Age category. I personally do not like romance novels, but this book is just perfect. I genuinely love it and will reread it many times in the future.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the beauty of the book’s cover. It has a brilliant design in the night sky as if revealing the secrets of the universe. The symbolic red truck is the center of attention with the breathtaking view of an empty space. It vividly describes one of the beautiful scenes in the book with accuracy.

I hope I did all right for my first review and I sincerely hope I convinced you to read this book. Everyone should experience this book at some point in their lives.

Love Always,

Chelsea Caplinger