The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I have just finished reading The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and it is by far one of the most inspiring and touching books I have ever read. One of the reasons I loved this book because it wasn't a tearjerker until the very end. Even though the book is about cancer and it should be tear-jerking, John Green made the two main characters very interesting and humorous, when a part of the book should have been sad it was funny, most of the time. But when Augustus (one of the main characters who has cancer) broke the news to his girlfriend it was a shock, I won't tell you what the news is because that would be ruining the book, but I will tell you that from then on the mood of the book changed, even though the characters were still being funny, occasionally, it felt a lot more sombre. The thing I liked most about the two main characters was their use of language, for example "observation: standing inline is a form of oppression" or "Mrs Lancaster you are an impressively punctual person" I found that this type of speech gave the characters personality. The book is written from 16 year old Hazels point of view. Hazel has terminal lung cancer which makes it hard for her to breathe, she has been battling cancer since she was thirteen, which is my age and it makes me think about if it were myself in that situation. She has an oxygen tank attached to her via the tubes though her nose because in Hazels words "my lungs suck at being lungs", this is the kind of language which she uses a lot in the novel and I think it makes her a engrossing character, Hazels mum makes her go to a cancer children support group meeting where she encounters Augustus Waters. That’s all I want to tell about the plot. The book made me think about a lot of things, to many to recall and write down, but as cheesy as it sounds, one of the things that it did teach me and i quote "living our best life today". 

As the tide washed in, the Dutch Tulip Man faced the ocean: "conjoiner rejoinder poisoner concealer revelator. Look at it, rising up and down, taking everything with it"

"whats that?" Anna asked.

"water," the Dutchman said. "well and time"

   - Peter Van Houten, An imperial Affliction

Far Rockaway by Charlie Fletcher

Far Rockaway written by Charlie Fletcher was a great book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I found that when i was reading the book I asked myself lots of questions such as, what would i choose? Who would I trust? Why did she do that? The book got you thinking and you put yourself in the characters shoes. I found the beginning of the book very captivating as it started off with a lot of action that you needed to pay attention too, the beginning of the book surprised me which mad me want to keep reading. From Indians with clubs too a pirate with one leg, this book has some very fascinating characters, my personal favourite was a pirate named Silver who always kept me on edge because I wasn't sure whether I would trust him if I was the girl. There were a lot of parts in the novel where I couldn't put it down, I would say to myself "3 more pages and then put it down" but  I would end up reading 3 more chapters instead, although one of my favourite parts had to be when she was on an island getting chased by Indians who had returned from the dead. The book did not end as I expected, I found myself wondering about her grandfathers words and why he did what he did, it left me wondering why the two pirates gave up so much for this girl they barely knew. There were quite a few different settings in the book and each one was very different from the last, you are expecting from the start of the book for the story to  just be set in the city but she ends up climbing a cliff in the dark woods and walking up a bay of black sand and red flowers. This story did change my opinion about things, it made me think about living a life worth living. It made me think about death and what actually happens, do you just wake up somewhere else or as someone else or does everything just go black? Overall I though this was a great book and i highly recommend it! I leave you with a quote "real girls rescue themselves"