The Small Spark

 

   I decided to read the book "Malibu Rising" by Taylor Jenkins Reid after a good friend suggested it. Reid is the author of my favorite book, "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo," so I figured it would be another great book. 

  The story follows the Riva family, who are the children of a super famous musician, Mick Riva. After being abandoned by their father and orphaned by their mother, they have made quite a name for themselves. Nina has always been the caretaker of the family while their mother suffered from alcoholism and made a name for herself modeling. Jay is a professional surfer who works beside their other adopted brother, Hud. Finally, the youngest daughter, Kit, is a spunky girl who is not afraid to speak her mind. The story also recaps the lives of their parents, Mick and June. The story starts by talking about the fire that will rage in the city of Malibu by the end o the night, and readers spend the whole story anticipating where this fire starts. 

  The story revolves around the annual Riva Party that Nina hosts at her mansion with her husband, who just cheated on her, Brandon. The story introduces several characters that attend the party and give a small glimpse into their lives. Although I thought it was fun to hear the minuscule details about these side characters' lives, I found that these snippets took away from the main storyline and felt like filler to meet a word count. I think it was a good idea to get more characters in the story, but I feel like they should have been a part of the story the whole time. As the party continues, it becomes more and more out of hand with these side characters trying to make a mark or name for themselves. 

  Towards the end of the story, Mick shows up at the party and tries to get involved in the kids' lives after not being in touch for 20 years. When Nina sees that Mick is at the party she begins to think of all the pain he put her and her mother through. When Mick gathers all of his kids and tells them that he is sorry, Nina doesn't believe it for a second. She tells him how "can't" isn't a reason not to parent. Nina calls Mick a coward, and because of his irresponsible ways, she was forced to take on the responsibility. After the rest of the family decides that there is no room for Mick, Mick leaves and they are left to sort through the pieces. All of the other siblings convince Nina to leave Malibu and live out her dreams instead of helping them with theirs. 

  The story ends with Mick leaving the house and questioning all of the choices that led him here. He decides to light a cigarette and throws it into the bushes when he is done. This is what sets off the fire that destroys Malibu. Even though this was a metaphor, I think that it was a very anti-climactic ending and kinda let me down. As the party kept getting more out of hand, we were expecting the fire to start earlier in the story.

  Overall I thought this was a good book, and looking back at it, there were a lot of hidden messages that I missed.

Rating: 4.2/5 Stars

The Spotlight of BookTok

   If you have been on TikTok or "BookTok" in the last few months, you may have heard of the book "It Ends With Us" by Colleen Hoover. Everyone has been talking about this book and how they were "unable to put it down. It is a must-read!" Proceed with caution, there are spoilers ahead. 

  The book starts with Lily meeting a mysterious man, Ryle, on the roof of a building. Like any great love story, they instantly find each other attractive. They part ways after their night and after a few months, they meet again. He is a classic "bad boy" that does not want to date and Lily knows that she will get her feelings hurt. Meanwhile, Lily reminisces about a boy from her past, Atlas, and how unique and special their relationship was. During Lily's childhood, her father was abusive and she always wondered why her mother chose to stay with him. 

  Long story short, Lily and Ryle get into a fight, and Ryle was violent with Lily. Unfortunately, like most abusive relationships, he swears that it will never happen again, but it does. Lily assumes that Ryle's actions were a one-time thing, but is hesitant about staying with him. He eventually seriously injures her and she decides to leave him and later finds out she is pregnant. 

I was very disappointed by the book and did not think it met my high expectations. I thought the storyline was believable, but it seemed to be too much. Although I can not speak about abusive relationships, I feel that Hoover was trying to force the storyline and make it tragic, but it came across more as a tragic fail. Many people love her books, and I am willing to give another one of her books a try, but I do not think the book deserves all the attention it has received. 

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

"Endgame"

 

    In my Theatre Appreciation class, we were asked to read Samuel Beckett's play, Endgame. The story takes place in the future with a demolished world, besides one family. The family ponders on the loss they have faced from this catastrophe and the pain that life ensues. Hamm, the main character, questions life and talks about all of his pain. Hamm's only concern is the pain of life. This leads the readers to question whether that is the truth. As a reader, I reflect on the ideas and concepts that we deem important in life and if they are worth the pain.

   At a point in time when there seems to be a lot of chaos and destruction in the world, it was somewhat easy to relate. There are times I feel like Hamm, there is nothing good in the world. But I know that is not completely true. Although there are many times when there seems to be no hope, there is always something to look forward to. Hamm remembers all of the pain that he has faced in life and questions if it was all worth it. He repeatedly states that the Earth is something that everyone needs a cure for, which is frankly quite depressing. 

   Towards the end of the story, Hamm's caretaker, Clove sees a young girl in the distance and debates whether he should go and help her. He feels drawn to her and believes he should leave the delirious family and save himself. If you look deeper into the meaning of the situation it is easy to relate. Should we all stay where we are because it is the only thing we know, or should we see if there is more outside?

   I think this was a great story, but it was hard at times to read. If there is some confusion over the plot it might be helpful to watch the play or movie version for a better understanding. Beckett leaves the readers with a lot of questions about how closely the story relates to us all now. 

Rating: 2.8/5 Stars

Didn't See That Coming

 

   In the heat of the pandemic, my favorite author, Rachel Hollis, produced an honest book about dealing with tragedy. She was beginning to write this book about other experiences of her life when her husband and she decided to get a divorce. In all of her past books, she speaks about not talking from open wounds. She had to reexamine her writing and adapt it to the things she was currently going through. I thought her writings were extremely raw and opened up a vulnerable part about Rachel.   At the end of each chapter, Rachel offered some tips about things that helped her through tough times. This was helpful to relate to the author and show the reader they are not alone.

    One of the common themes throughout her most recent books is the trauma that came from her brother's suicide. She opened up about the story behind that day and decided that it would be most helpful to come to terms with the trauma by talking through it. I was surprised that she finally had talked about this event. It was completely vulnerable and impressive to see her courage to share. 

  One of the biggest points that I got for her was that even though you may be going through a hard time, you need to show up for the people in your life. I think it is incredibly important to be open about your feelings, but continue to show up. I do think this was an important book to write, but I feel like it was a little too preachy. She constantly points out that grief is different for everyone, but you still need to complete your obligations. I think it was a broad statement and a bit judgmental. I think the book was very insightful but was harsh at times. 

  At the time that I read the book, I did not have any extremely troublesome situations in my life, but this would be a perfect guide to working through grief. I would encourage this book to anyone going through a tough time and needs a little extra help picking up the pieces of their life. 

Rating: 3.2/5 Stars 

Of Mice and Men and Tears

 

    This book was an excellent and quick read. Everyone has heard of John Steinbeck's book "Of Mice and Men," but not everyone has had the chance to read it. I had overheard people talking about the book and saying that they had to read it when they were in high school. That was not one of our assigned readings, but I decided to try it out. 

  I'm not quite sure what I was expecting from the book and I had no clue what it was about before I started reading it. The book begins with two men, George and Lennie, talking about their dream of owning a piece of land. Right off the bat, the language that Lennie uses alludes to the fact that he has a mental disability. George "takes care of him" and they are searching for work together. Once they reach their assigned position, they meet other members in their bunkhouse. Slim, the "manager," Candy, an older worker, Crooks, the stableman, and Curly, the boss' son. 

   Curly's wife is typically seen trying to talk to all of the workers and actively avoiding her husband. When she catches Lennie alone, she tries to cause trouble, but Lennie doesn't know any better. He accidentally is too aggressive with her and kills her. As the men try to hunt Lennie down, George finds him first and shoots him to spare him from a far worse future. Before he does this, George reminds Lennie of their dream to own a farm where Lennie can tend to the rabbits. 

  The final scene was very emotional and left readers with conflicted feelings. It was beautiful to see the bond between the two men and how much George cared for Lennie. Although it was sad that George killed his best friend, it had to be done. Lennie was not able to consciously control himself and would continue to unintentionally hurt others. George was able to give Lennie some peace and friendship during his final moments. This ending was foreshadowed when the men had to put Candy's old dog down. The dog was in too much pain to keep living and he wasn't able to do much. Although it pained Candy, it was for the best. Both Lennie and the dog lived a good life but could do nothing about their circumstances. 

   I think this is a great book for everyone to read. Not only because it is a classic, but also because of the perspective on humans. Many different people were represented in the novel and it was interesting to see how they all interacted when they weren't being closely examined. It was a beautiful and painful story.

Rating: 4/5 Stars 

Beach Read on a Plane

 

    After my best friend said that this book was a cute and light-hearted book to add to my reading list, I did just that. I added Emily Henry's novel, Beach Read, to my list. I slowly began reading it and agreed with said friend. I ultimately finished the book on an airplane to Florida, and I was a little disappointed. It was a very cute book, but I am hesitant to say it was a good book. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

    The book began with January losing her father and discovering that he had been living two separate lives with anther woman. Her dad leaves January his second house and lets her sell everything to make money. January is a published writer and now experiences severe writers block because her brain has a lot of questions that will never be answered. Once she makes it to North Bear Shores, Michigan to her fathers house, she is greeted by her college rival, Augustus Everett, whom she also had a major crush on. They discover that they are both suffering from writers block and make a bet to see if they could write a book in the other's genre. January is a romantic author, and Gus is a dreary, drama and realistic fiction author. They try to help the other by going on "research days" to fully immerse themselves in the unfamiliar drama. 

Over time, they begin to reignite the college flames and January discovers that Gus has always had a crush on her, even now. They continue on their "research days" falling for each other and find relationships bumps that they need to navigate through. 

    Now to the good stuff. I could tell that each of the the characters had tremendous growth throughout the novel. January found some closure over her father's death and managed to cope, and Gus was able to work through his communication and trust issues. However, the storyline was not my favorite. I did not find anything within the novel that set it apart from any other romance novel, There were several times that I was disgusted by the overly cheesy lines that Henry included. There was a lot of work put into the story of Gus and January, but all of the other characters seemed to serve no purpose. There was very little thought put into them and their scenes seemed very rushed. An example of this is with January's best friend, Shady, who visited her mid story and mid crisis. The encounter was very glanced over and did not show the friendship as all it was hyped up to be. 

    I think that this book is perfect for anyone who wants a quick and easy read. But if you are looking for something in-depth or thought-provoking, you should probably walk away from this one. I was very disappointed by this book and I thought it had a lot more potential with the subplots than Henry included. I'm not sure that I would recommend this book to anyone, but if I did I would make sure to emphasize the shallowness of it. 

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars 

The Thousands of Twists and Turns of Evelyn Hugo

   

    After discovering the book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, through TikTok and friends, I decided it was worth a shot. However, there should be a warning on the cover of this book, and it should read "WARNING: You will not be able to put this book down, and you probably will spend more time reading this than any other necessary and productive things you need to do." 

   The story covers the life of a famous movie star from the 50s, Evelyn Hugo, and her life, as well as what the title suggests, her seven husbands. Hugo is willing to do anything to advance her career, and when she reaches her later years, she selects Monique Grant to be the only person to know the entire story. 

  I was amazed by how powerful Reid portrays Hugo and her willingness to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. I was astonished by her demeanor and simultaneously sad to read about her life and the people around her. 

  The story contained many twists and turns that added layers to the story and gave a closer glimpse of the real Evelyn Hugo. The number of lessons she learned through the strenuous experiences aided in her character development. When she is faced with the choice between the career that she has spent so much time building and what her heart truly wants, it takes her a couple of tries to get it right. And each time it breaks your heart a little more that she chooses wrong. However, when she finally gets it right is incredibly written and provides the reader with so much happiness and closure (or maybe that's just me?).

 

   The story ends painfully when Evelyn reveals why she specifically selects Monique, an unknown writer for a magazine, to publish her life's story. It leaves the readers wanting more, but also knowing that although the ending is not what we wanted, it is exactly something that Evelyn Hugo would do. And from what we can tell from the small excerpt of the Hugo story, Monique can share with the public that Hugo finally made the right choice. 

Rating: 4.6/5 Stars 

Going Old School

  

    Over the winter break, I decided to read the well-known book "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. I was sitting poolside in Florida and thought, "what better to do with my time than catch up on books that I bought years ago?!" And so I began...

    I began to read the book and had some trouble getting used to the old and proper language. Once I got used to it, I learned that there were a lot of overly long sentences just trying to get the point across. But enough critiquing arguably the best author of the eighteenth century. The book follows the Bennet family, which consists of five daughters that need to be married off, a mother that is trying to find the perfect match, and a father that is more concerned about his paper than any festivities. 

    At the beginning of the book, I was surprised by the number of women's rights that we take advantage of. I was blindsided by Lizzy's strong sense of herself and her place in the world. She was exceptionally analytical of others and was not distracted by the objects and materials that the other girls were into. I admired her character and thought she was incredibly well-written by someone that most likely did not have the same rights. One of the most surprising parts of the book is when one of Lizzy's admirers, Mr. Collins, who was also the heir to her family's house if her father died since there were no males in the family, asked to marry her. Elizabeth quickly refused graciously and assured Mr. Collins that her opinion would not change. Lizzy's mother was appalled by her denial and tried to persuade her to take one for the team and marry him so the house would stay in the family. 

    After this, I was shocked at the number of freedoms that Elizabeth expected and questioned whether she would even marry at all. Then cue Mr. Darcy...

    Mr. Darcy had presented himself to the Bennet family as a stuck-up, handsome, arrogant, handsome, rude, handsome, and did I mention handsome man? Lizzy hated Mr. Darcy and had nothing but disgust for him until she realized that the repugnance might be covering a part of her that longs for him. Long story short, Mr. Darcy turns out to be a good guy that is just rough around the edges. 

    I enjoyed reading this book and watching the characters develop. The unexpected relationship between Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bennet was very playful and made everyone reading want to grab them both by the shoulders and scream, "JUST ADMIT YOUR FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER ALREADY!!" Austen wrote the story perfectly to keep the audience wondering if they would keep ignoring each other or which one would break first. 

    I would recommend this book to everyone to experience English life in the late 18th century and read a classic. 

Rating: 3.6/5 Stars