Review- I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

I'll Meet You There on Goodreads

 BOOK SUMMARY:

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

Release date: February 3rd 2015

Published by: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)

Page numbers: 388

REVIEW: 

You know you're reading a great book when you dream about it. I'll Meet You There will take you on an emotional roller coaster that very few books manage to do. You will be out of words to describe how full of amazing, beautiful and wonderful this book is. The story will kill you from the inside out, the romance will make you melt and the writing will enthral you. If that isn't enough for you to pick this up, continue reading further. 

I'll Meet You There is the story of Skylar and Josh. Sky has always wanted to escape the monotonous and boring lifestyle of her tiny town Creek View which is why she is dying to start art college in San Francisco come September. Josh got the chance to leave Creek View when he signed up as a Marine, and is now back without a leg, haunting, life changing and unforgettable memories from Afghanistan and a very deep perspective on life in general. Co-workers at the Paradise from the time before he left, the two form a friendship that gives them a reason to smile, and a reason to live. 

The main characters were simply amazing. Both Skylar and Josh were portrayed beautifully as broken people. There was so much common to them than what appeared on the surface. Josh's situation was obviously more serious, but I loved how Sky had equally important issues going on. The two of them had a wonderful chemistry that was slow, steady and simply satisfying. Trust me, they did not even kiss till the end pages, and that makes their story so much more wonderful. Romance for them wasn't about getting physical, it was about having a shoulder to support your emotional burdens on, and it was amazing. The other characters were just as beautiful and added so much depth and meaning to the already meaningful and sad story. 

The writing was so amazing. After every few chapters that go strictly from Sky's point of view in first person, you will get a small chapter from Josh's point of view where he writes in second person to his best friend from his troop. Author Heather Demetrios has written an amazing, beautiful and wonderful story that you should read. You will not just read this book, but you will live it. And that cover. You will understand it when you read the book. You can thank me later. Although if you get the significance of the title, let me know as that's the only thing I didn't quite get. 

Buy the book: AMAZON (IN)

Review- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray on Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart. 

Release date:

Published by: 

Page numbers: 

REVIEW:

Wow. I don't know what to say. Humanity seems to be such a funny word after reading Between Shades of Gray. Who even invented it? Does it even exist? I am so speechless and so contemplative. All I can come up with is one of my most favourite quotes by Albert Camus that author Ruta Sepeteys herself has used a part of in the book and that fits Between Shades of Gray perfectly: 

Between Shades of Gray is an eye opener of the part of European history that remains untold and unheard of until one reads this book. The book was so real, so raw and so true. The characters are not the only people suffering. The reader suffers with them. Half the time, I just kept asking myself, what is happening? Why is this happening? This shouldn't happen! Not to innocent people. Not to anyone. Historical fiction really teaches us what history is all about. History is not just about the socio-political scenarios. It's about feelings and emotions. It's about how the surroundings of a person affect her or him. It is devastating, and it hurts just reading about it. Imagine being a part of it... 

I really have no idea what to say. I wouldn't say that Between Shades of Gray was out of the ordinary. But it moved me and it touched me. It taught me so much. I have really learned to value life because you never know what can happen and how one can go from hundred to zero in the blink of an eye. It taught me strength. I cannot even begin to imagine myself in the place of the characters. 

I know my review is of no help, but there are plenty of reviews out there that explain how incredible this book is. The only reason I decided to put down something is to let you, my dear reader, know that Between Shades of Gray is worth it. It will modify you in the most breathtaking way. And like my friend Tanja was there for me, I will be there to hug you once you're done reading this work of art. 

Buy the book: AMAZON / FLIPKART

Review- The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas on Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Berlin 1942

When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

Release date: 2012 (first published in 2006)

Published by: Vintage Children's Classics

Page numbers: 223

REVIEW:

When my friend Ao, over at Aobibliosphere, recommended The Boy in Striped Pyjamas to me and when I read his review for the same, I knew that I had to read the book. Even though I could try to understand why the book has got many negative reviews and why it has been bashed, I really don't care, because to each her/ his own. Besides, for me, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas was somewhat like The Kite Runner meets Between Shades of Gray, and it was a very moving and touching story that had my heart shedding tears. 

Fictionalizing history is very difficult because there's always going to be something that is going to offend someone. Bridging the gap between reality and fiction by respecting both is a truly an art, and author John Boyne narrates a resplendent tale of two boys who look at each other as humans first, and don't even bother defining each other based on anything else. While their innocence could be termed as naïveté, why wouldn't nine year-olds behave like nine year-olds? There was so much of depth to Bruno and Shmuel's friendship that it made me want to get them out of the book and hug them tight. 

More than just friendship though, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is about a very difficult and violent period in history. What's told in this glorious tale is the story of two boys and two boys alone, but there's so much more to it than just that. The story is about courage, humanity and hope. Courage to cross the line and greet another as a friend. Humanity towards another human, which is what's expected. And finally hope that one day, everything will be all right. 

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas left me in tears and the two young and awe-inspiring boys taught me so much about life in less than 200 pages. John Boyne tells a lovely and heart-breaking story in a very simple manner. The author's writing was incredible, his words flowed so easily and his characterization was very realistic, with flaws and imperfections- just the way it should be. The Boy in Striped Pyjamas will take a few hours to finish, but will stay with the reader for far more than that time. 

Buy the book: AMAZON (IN) / FLIPKART

Review- The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti

Goodreads Summary:

Against a background torn from the pages of today’s headlines, The Almond Tree, by Michelle Cohen Corasanti, recasts the Palestinians in Israel and Gaza, a people frequently in the news, but often misrepresented and deeply misunderstood. This stunning debut conveys a universal story of human courage and perseverance. Comparable to Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, this novel delivers an inspirational story of unfathomable pain and an incredible perseverance. Gifted with a mind that continues to impress the elders in his village, Ahmed Hamid struggles with knowing that he can do nothing to save his friends and family. Living on occupied land, his entire village operates in fear of losing their homes, jobs, and belongings. But more importantly, they fear losing each other. On Ahmed’s twelfth birthday, that fear becomes reality. With his father imprisoned, his family’s home and possessions confiscated, and his siblings quickly succumbing to hatred in the face of conflict, Ahmed begins an inspiring journey using his intellect to save his poor and dying family. In doing so he reclaims a love for others that was lost through a childhood rife with violence and loss, and discovers a new hope for the future. The Almond Tree humanizes a culture and brings characters from a distant land to life. 

“Arguably the most important book of the year” Dream Crazy Book Reviews 

“The story is spell-binding with universal appeal and has potential of becoming an international best-seller and can do for Palestinians what The Kite Runner did for Afghanis” The Daily Star

REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti from Nimi @ The Readers Cosmos in exchange for an honest review. We thank Nimi for the book! 

This. Yes, this. This is exactly the kind of story I need to read. If I had to pick one single genre to read for the rest of my life, it would be this. 

The simple and sole reason I picked up The Almond Tree to read was because it was spoken of on par with the most incredible novel I've ever read- Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. I am not going to compare the two because that would mean being unfair to both when they are each amazing in their own way. There's nothing about The Almond Tree that I'd like to say that hasn't been said before. All those highly impressive praises given to the book by leading newspapers are so true that I doubt there still are any adjectives left to describe it's sheer amazingness. 

As a story, The Almond Tree took turns that I was hoping against hope it would take and I couldn't have been happier with the turn of events. Every death saddened me and brought tears to my eyes but in such stories, death is not just unavoidable, but much needed. Each of these deaths was followed by a slight ray of hope. 

I am not very well versed with the whole Israeli- Palestinian issue but I do read the newspaper and I have done my Majors in Politics so I like to believe that I know enough and I'm going to dig more into it now. This is the main theme of the book and I found it very interesting and intriguing to take a look at it from the protagonist Ahmed Hamid's eyes, right from when he is an innocent and curious twelve year old to the time he becomes a grey haired intelligent sixty something year old, and throughout all this, what stays constant is that he remains a family man. I didn't relate to his obsession with science but I understood it and I admired his passion for the same. What made Ahmed, Ahmed was the careful, loving and respectable upbringing done by his Mama and Baba, the latter for me was perhaps one the best book characters I've ever encountered. 

Author Michelle Cohen Corasanti's writing is so crisp, smooth and impressive. The pages flowed with wonderful words and simple teachings that I hope to apply in my life someday. The author tells the reader an amazing story in an amazing way and if this is only her debut novel, I really cannot wait to read what she writes next. She has portrayed humanity in its essence and her characters and story have managed to touch my heart. The Almond Tree did not leave me as numb as I would have liked it too. Nonetheless, it is an amazing novel that's definitely one of the most impressive debuts of 2013. It is a story that's about more than just education and politics- it's about family, faith, friendship, hope, peace and love. 

RATING:

This book review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program. To get free books log on to The Readers Cosmos.