The Library

 - Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

I started reading this on a whim and closed the back cover 4 hours later. Thinking back, nothing really happened for the entire book (apart from the whole dying thing [not a spoiler, it’s in the title] which is incredibly underwhelming compared to most books where one of the main characters dies). Actually, even though she’s mentioned in the title and is basically the nucleus of the book, you don’t get attached or even understand Rachel past the basic concept of her. The book really isn’t about her at all, which is kind of weird but also refreshing in a cancer story. 

The narration is perfect. Like I said, there’s practically no story, so the whole novel hinges on being entertained by the voice, which kind of gives it a creative non-fiction vibe while still also being very obviously not? It’s kind of hard to explain. There were a bunch of different writing styles which definitely gave the impression of a bored teenager but not in an annoying way, just enough to keep it interesting. It definitely made me have to cover my mouth to stop snorting with laughter and waking up my housemates though (I finished it at like 2am). The narration was also a lot more honest about illness and death than basically anything else I’ve read, kind of like A Monster Calls, except Patrick Ness made that into a point, whereas MaEatDG just kinda acknowledged that there was no moral to the story.

I thought I’d really like that because I like books that don’t have sugar-coated endings, but to be honest it just left me feeling kind of ripped off. Mind you, I would have also felt ripped off if the introduction said there was no moral to the story and then tried to sneak one in.

 - Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen

This book felt very familiar because it’s essentially a mash-up of The Hunger Games, Amanda Hocking, and practically every other YA novel. I shouldn’t have liked it, but I did. In between the cliche there were some really nice ideas, and it just reads in that way that sucks you in. It’s the kind of book you pick up to read for half an hour before bed and only stop when you realise you’re going to be late for class the next day.

 - Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

“People have never had a problem disposing of the past when it gets too difficult. Flesh will burn, photos will burn, and memory, what is that? The imperfect ramblings of fools who will not see the need to forget. And if we can’t dispose of it we can alter it. The dead don’t shout. There is a certain seductiveness about what is dead. It will retain all those admirable qualities of life with none of that tiresome messiness associated with live things. Crap and complaints and the need for affection. You can auction it, museum it, collect it. It’s much safer to be a collector of curios, because if you are curious you have to sit and sit and see what happens. You have to wait on the beach until it gets cold, and you have to invest in a glass-bottomed boat, which is more expensive than a fishing rod, and puts you in the path of the elements. The curious are always in some danger. If you are curious you might never come home, like all the men who now live with mermaids at the bottom of the sea.