John Green - An Abundance of Katherines

Title: An Abundance of Katherines
Author: John Green
Pub. year: 2006
Pages: 229
Editor: Speak

Summary: When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is 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 [..I skip this part because it tells too much of the story IMO..] 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.

That was the last solo book from John Green I haven't read yet (that is... until he writes another one). I was in a phase where I couldn't read much, because of the work I had to do and because I was too tired and not motivated and so on. So I had to pick a book that I was sure to read fast and to enjoy. Otherwise I would have spend too much time on it and I hate that. And it worked perfectly (even if the not-in-the-mood phase is back now...).

So Colin has this awesome friend, Hassan, who takes him on a road trip to help him to get over his former girlfriend. That's a pretty good idea, if you want my opinion. But it also means that you have a lot of time to think in the car. Not that cool. But anyway, Colin end up trying to have his Eureka moment by creating The Theorem, so having time is a good starting point. What I appreciate is that even if he spends a long time mourning his relationship, he stopped just before bothering me, because Colin doesn't stay in a state of nothingness. He gets over it slowly without really realising it.

Obviously, they meet people and settle somewhere for a while, they get to do stuff that they weren't expecting to do. I really enjoyed this "we're leaving what we know for a while to somewhere where everything is different and people don't do the same stuff" aspect of the story. They get to see another point of view of the world and that makes them think about who they are and where they're going. And apparently, Colin's ability to anagram very quickly helps him doing that too.

It isn't my favorite John Green book, but I enjoyed it very much. It's funny, smart and even if some parts are predictable, you still get some surprise on the way. So, if you want to discover what happened at Gunshot in this story and how the grave of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand managed to be there instead of in Europe, you know what you'll have to do!

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Jean-Claude Mourlevat - Winter's End

Title: Winter's End
Original title: Le Combat d'hiver
Author: Jean-Claude Mourlevat
Pub. year: 2006
Pages: 415
Editor: Candlewick Press

Summary: In this award-winning story translated from the original French, four teens, determined to escape the tyranny responsible for the deaths of their parents years before, flee their prison-like boarding school and are pursued by a terrifying pack of dog-men sent to hunt them down.

I chose to take the short summary, even if it doesn't really fit, because the long one I saw everywhere tells pretty much the whole book and I hate it when summary spoil every step of a story.

I heard about Mourlevat for years now, but never had the occasion to read one of his books. This one was one of the two I heard the most about in the past couple of years, so I was really happy when a friend sent it to me as a gift a few weeks ago. It didn't take me long to read it, as you can see.

The first thing I loved about this book is that the whole story isn't about romance. I mean, sure, there's a bit of love in the book, but it's not the main subject, it's just a "side effect". When I read a dystopy, it's because I want to read about society that went wrong and about people who fight for their freedom, not so see starcrossed lovers in almost EVERY ONE OF THOSE BOOKS. I mean, I'm not saying I don't like love story or that love isn't important, it's just that love isn't the only reason why one could fight for his freedom. And lately it felt a little bit like that in the dystopian books.

Apart from a few genetic combinated creatures, Mourlevat depicts a pretty believable world where things went wrong. The Phalange took the power years ago and tained quite well its people with some barbaric practices. A quite oppressive world, as you can imagine. But obviously, the main characters aim to set the country free and walk in the path of their parents in order to live a better life.

The story being a one-shot and not a serie, the world isn't really deeply detailed but it's enough to dive into it! It's was a really page-turner book for me.

I think the only thing I didn't really enjoy about this story is that for 17yo young people, they felt like they were 14. So naive and innocent that I couldn't believe they were in their late teenage lives. In that way, I had a bit of a hard time to like them at first. Especially the girls (for the love-at-first-sight part with the first boys they saw, or the "I don't care what the consequences of my acts on other people are").

Anyway, it's a good story, very much enjoyable, that I would recommand to everybody (well maybe not to childrens, 'cause it can be a pretty violent in some parts)!

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Susan Beth Pfeffer - Life As We Knew It

Title: Life As We Knew It (The Last Survivors, book 1)
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Pub. year: 2006
Pages: 337
Editor: Graphia
Summary: Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.

As Muffin says, I don't do 'it's-the-end-of-the-world' stories. But I have this friend with whom I exchange books in a way that the other has no choice but to read what the first put in her hands. So, yeah, she lent me this one and I had to read it. And as it turns out, I'm kinda glad she did.

This book is kind of an Anne Frank's diary. In a 'lol-it-didn't-really-happen' way, here. Anne Frank had WW2, Miranda has 'the Moon is getting closer and the everything is messed up'. She writes about her day-to-day life and what is happening to her. We are following the catastrophe as it happens in her life, and their consequences on it.

What was incredible is that during the whole reading process, I was like 'Oh my gosh, do I have enough cans? I should probably buy some other blankets! I miss chocolate.' and then 'Oh wait...'. When my curtains were closed, I was wondering if there really were a blizzard outside. So yeah.. I really felt like I was living the climate changes and its consequences.

It's a quite realistic book about a possible end of the world. I mean, I don't know if scientifically it's plausible, but it could be. What's interesting is how people react when this happens. And there was this bizarre effect that made me care more about new changes in climate than about people dying in the story. I don't know how to explain that... maybe the way the author wrote about it was more nerve-racking.

Anyway, I was quite absorbed in the story 'til the end, and really enjoyed it. So if you're into apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic stuff—even if you're not, I'm the living proof of it—give it a go!


Quotes:

'I never really thought about how when I look at the moon it's the same moon as Shakespeare and Marie Antoinette and George Washington and Cleopatra looked at.'

'It wouldn't be New Year's without a resolution. I've resolved to take a moment every day for the rest of my life to appreciate what I have.'

'I have no privacy. But I feel so alone.'

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Muriel Barbery - The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Title: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Original title: L'Élégance du hérisson
Author: Muriel Barbery
Pub. year: 2006
Pages: 336
Editor: Europa
Summary: Renee is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building, home to members of the great and the good. Over the years she has maintained her carefully constructed persona as someone reliable but totally uncultivated, in keeping, she feels, with society's expectations of what a concierge should be. But beneath this facade lies the real Renee: passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her employers with their outwardly successful but emotionally void lives. Down in her lodge, apart from weekly visits by her one friend Manuela, Renee lives resigned to her lonely lot with only her cat for company. Meanwhile, several floors up, twelve-year-old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid the pampered and vacuous future laid out for her, and decides to end her life on her thirteenth birthday. But unknown to them both, the sudden death of one of their privileged neighbours will dramatically alter their lives forever.

When I started this book, I'd heard a lot about it, but I didn't know what it was about. I was curious, not knowing if I were to like it.

Truth is, I liked it a lot, but... I disliked part of it too. It was a weird feeling because I liked the plot, the characters, and some references, but I was bored with some reflections all the same. So, I ended up skipping the ones that didn't quite appeal me. I guess it depends on what you're interested in. It's not the kind of book you want to read after a rough day.

Otherwise, it's a really nice book, well written, and characters are endearing, even though I don't always share their views. I especially enjoyed the story from the moment Mr Ozu enters it. I also thought that the end was really really well chosen. Even if I quite expected it, I wasn't sure and it still moved me.
And Paloma... oh, Paloma... this smart young girl who is so delusional about life. I think she was the one who fascinated me the most. I mean, I know it's mostly about Renée, but it's easy for her to criticise and stay hidden behind her door, her head in her books (even though she gets better) but she doesn't follow through on what she thinks. Yeah, I know, it's the whole point of her career choice. But Paloma has this little something that caught my eyes. I was moved by the way she sees people, how she perceives life, by her careless parents, ...

Anyhow, I closed the book with a lump in my throat (yeah Muffin, that one's definitely for you :P), glad I read it, even if I didn't enjoy all of it. I left the book with a rather good opinion of it, so.

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