Title: Through the Looking-GlassAuthor: Lewis Carroll
Original title: Through the Looking-Glass
Genre: Classic, fantasy
Series: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #2
Publisher: Barnes & Noble
Format: Hardback
Pages: 123
Finished: 2/11/16
Summary: Alice finds herself yet again in a topsy-turvy world full of fascinating and funny characters, moving her way around a chess board world to try and get back home.
My thoughts: Okay so I was easily convinced to read the continuation to Alice in Wonderland after loving the first book, so I did. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this quite as much, as I found less charm in this book and a lot more plot line (which would be good in most cases, but not in this). While it was still plenty random and strange, it was not as quirky and just a tad more serious. I felt like this could've been a "fake" continuation, written by someone else than Carroll. Also, even through it seemed to have been the same artist, the illustrations weren't as pretty and they were a little messy to look at sometimes. However, the story introduced some lovely characters who made this worth the read, amongst them Humpty-Dumpty and the White Knight. I'd expected to see a bit more of the Jabberwocky and the Bandersnatch, like in the movies by Tim Burton, but I've understood that his versions of Alice in Wonderland aren't as faithful as I'd first thought (nothing ill meant, of course).
To sum it up, I've thoroughly enjoyed both stories about Alice, especially the book cover. Seriously, just look at it. Totally worth the money of a poor student.
Rating: 3/5
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Author: David Levithan
Original title: Boy Meets Boy
Genre: YA,contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Knopf
Format: Paperback
Pages: 186
Finished: 29/12/16
Summary: Life as Paul is far from easy right now. His best friend Joni cut ties with him and the gang, all for that guy Chuck! And Tony, his other best friend, has been locked up inside his house by his hysterical parents to be converted. And then there's Noah. Noah, with the greenest green eyes, doesn't even want to look at him anymore after he accidentally kissed his ex, Kyle, in the school's broom shed...
My thoughts: I had high hopes for this novel, and while it was charming, it didn't live up to my expectations. Sure, it was cute, but far from extraordinary or gripping. Quite frankly, it was like any other teenage romance novel, and it didn't impress me. While the language was vibrant and beautiful, the story in itself was not. I could relate to most of the characters, while to some I could not, and I feel like there were characters who were far more interesting than Paul and Noah, who had too little time in the spotlight. I found Noah remotely enticing, Joni couldn't have been less compelling to me by the end of this book, and Paul was alright, though not very fascinating.
There are good things to be said about this book, of course. All the good characters, and the language and the mercifully short chapters (thanks Mr Levithan). It was also suitably long for a story of its kind, and I never felt like things were being dragged out. In the end, it was good, but not amazing.
Rating: 3.5/5
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Author: Sandra Beijer
Original title: Det handlar om dig
Genre: YA, contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Rabén & Sjögren
Format: Hardback
Pages: 256
Finished: 29/12/16
Summary: After a party under the summer night sky, nothing is the same anymore. Suddenly every Friday night, every dark dance floor, and every stolen beery is about him. About the three beauty spots on his cheek, about sentences in Russian on a park bench and about explosive text messages that are never answered. If he could only look a little closer, get in touch a bit more often, come a little closer. If he could only see, if only for a moment, that everything is about him.
My thoughts: Woah, if I thought Twilight was an obsessive romance novel, it has now been defeated. I could barely ever relate to the main character, who was fifteen and spent next to every night out partying, kissing guys, drinking, and smoking. And believe me, if it had been a good book, I wouldn't have a problem with that.
Firstly, after 256 pages in the main characters POV, I still barely know anything about her. She is so completely obsessed with this guy who she isn't even happy together with. She was like a shell without any personality, because everything was about him. Him here, him there. I wanted to grab her and shake her and tell her "hey he sucks, but your best friend Alice is super cute and cares a lot about you, why don't you give it a try with her, eh?".
Secondly, their relationship is destructive, yet she always wants to get back together with him, and even when she doesn't want that she still stalks him and attends parties she knows he'll be at. And I didn't like him either; he was a hypocrite and a douchebag through and through. She kind of was too, but he was worse somehow.
Ah, nope, it could still have been a good story, but in the end it only left me frustrated and in a need to strangle someone (preferably the Russian love interest who still goes without a name). The writing was pretty good, but in the end you need a good story combined with the writing to make something good. I didn't really expect to like this book, but I expected more than this.
Rating: 1.5/5
