Three Little Words- Jessica Thompson

Three Little Words- a book about love. Oh how first impressions can be deceiving. The front cover and title arise expectations of some soppy love story full of unspoken feelings and racing hearts. But this book is not at all like that. Yes, it is a book about love but ultimately it is a book about forgiveness and pain, with an ending that makes you wonder whether 'I love you' really are those three words the title hints at. Ultimately 'I forgive you' can mean more than a declaration of love.

The story is an interwoven tale of four women whose lives are all altered on one fateful night. It is a tale of their journey to forgive and set free daemons that hang over them. The story is centered around Bryony, happy in love, her life is changed beyond belief by that night. Then there is Rachel who is a thriving ballet dancer, struggling to cement her identity until she finds something out that causes her to question her entire life. There is Sara who believes she is happily married until she uncovers something that puts her marriage into uncertainty. Finally there is Tynice who is struggling to forgive her son after a dreadful incident. The reader follows the lives of these women as they struggle to come to terms with their circumstances and as they learn that their forgiveness may well be the release from it.

(Oh dear you wouldn't believe how hard that synopsis was to write without revealing any spoilers! I haven't been able to do the story line justice, I recommend you just read the book!)

At first I was overwhelmed with the number of character who attempted to take centre stage. But once I got my head around it they fell into place nicely. I was further confused by the jumping around of dates, each chapter followed a different character and the dates weren't always sequential. This was a minor issue, but on top of the long line of characters, it was just another aspect that confused me.  I felt that Sara and Toms story line did nothing for the plot and equally Rachel's had no real significance to the central story line. Although both Sara and Rachel had a brief relevance to Bryonys story line, I didn't feel like it was enough to justify their large role in the book. Part of me wishes that the book had focused on just Bryony as I would have liked to have got to know her a bit more. I also liked Tynice who I felt was a really raw character torn between loyalty, guilt and shame.

I had previously read This Is A Love Story which I now know was likened to One Day. Sadly I don't think any of Jesscia's books quite stand up to One Day, although One Day holds a special place in my heart that any other book would struggle to compete for. This was a brilliant book that fought to stay away from Chick Lit stereotype and succeeded. There was a brilliant balance of love, forgiveness as well as a hint of crime that gave the book a twist that puts it a step ahead of your average Chick Lit. I only wish someone had thought more about the cover, given it a bit of edge, it is a book I would have easily walked by and not given a second thought.

Overall I really did enjoy it! It was a quick read and there were some really good characters. I look forward to starting Paper Swans.

Eilidh

As creative as I get!

I am not the arty type, I have no flare when it comes to producing beautiful things out of abstract materials, my portraits never have a likeness and I can barely colour within the lines. Painting by numbers was always my limit. But recently I picked up some plain brown notebooks from Paperchase and Muji and I wanted to personalise them. A couple of years ago I bought a set of alphabet stamps from Paperchase and some red ink so I decided to print some lovely bookish quotes onto the front covers. Here are my attempts, I am really happy with how they look! 

I know it is nothing special and it required no skill or effort but I think it turned what is essentially a boring notebook into something a bit more interesting. 

I would love to know what you think! 

Eilidh 

Lola and the boy next door: Stephanie Perkins

Lola is a teen with ambitions of becoming a clothes designer. Every street is her catwalk and every outfit is as extravagant as the last. She is happy with boyfriend Max who her parents ardently disapprove of due to a slightly inappropriate age gap. Everything is going well for her until the Bell twins move back in next door. There is Cricket, the boy she had harboured a crush on for years and Calliope his resentful twin sister. How will Lola cope with their reappearance in her life?

What Stephanie has done is turn a typical teen romance into a not so typical teen romance. Lola and the boy next door. It sounds like it should fall into every stereotype, right? I expected Lola to be a typical all American girl, blonde hair, cheer leader, sights set on an Ivy League college. I expected Cricket to be some tall, broad, handsome jock. But they didn't fall into any of the stereotypes. Instead Lola was quirky and enigmatic, I loved her adventurous outfits which despite no visual aids, were as clear in my mind as any picture. I liked that her parents were a gay couple but they weren't camp, they were just normal guys- I felt Stephanie wrote them well and once again avoided stereotypes. I also thought Cricket was written well, this awkward, expressive boy with too long limbs and a ready smile. Maybe not the sort of guy you find girls swooning over but he was perfect to Lola and I felt that in the writing. 

I was happy to see Anna and St Clair reappear and I was glad to see they were as in love as ever. It was a brilliant follow up to Anna and the French Kiss and if a good teen romance is your kind of book then I urge you to go out and buy it! 

Eilidh

If I Stay- film review

Mia Hall has reached a crossroads in her life, will she head off to Julliard in New York to fulfil a childhood dream or will she stay at home with rocker boyfriend, Adam. But suddenly she is thrown into a whole new situation and she has one decision to make- will she stay? (Cryptic I know!) 

If you have read my book review of If I Stay then you will know that I wasn't particularly captivated by it. So I didnt go into the cinema with high hopes. Sadly I was dissapointed for a second time.

The film was actually a very true adaptation of the book. I felt as though every major point was covered and all of the characters were true to how they were in the book. In fact I can't fault the adaptation at all. For me it just wasn't exciting, it was predictable and I hate to say it, but I got a bit bored. But for me, this was no different from the book which I also felt lacked excitement. Also the film didn't get any emotional reaction from me, which is a major fault considering the premise of the story. I don't know if this was a fault in the acting or characters but I felt no emotional attachment. I felt that Moretzs reaction to her circumstance wasn't believable and therefore I found it really hard to sympathise with her. 

If there is one thing I enjoyed it would be the soundtrack. There were a brilliant selection of songs and maybe I will purchase the soundtrack but I definitely won't be buying the DVD. 

I didn't get any pleasure from disliking the book and film of If I Stay, in fact I really wanted to enjoy it, but sadly I didn't. I am sure this is an unpopular opinion and many people will have enjoyed both the film and book. Please let me know in the comments whether or not you enjoyed it!

Eilidh 

Anna and the French Kiss- Stephanie Perkins

Anna is sent to Paris to study for a year before she goes off to college- the city of lights renowned for romance and love, but Anna doesn't see it like that. Anna is resentful and angry to be leaving behind best friend Bridgette and heart throb of the moment- Toph (a ridiculous nickname for Christopher). Anna arrives in a foreign city, knowing no more that Oui and Merci, but she soon finds her place amongst a group of friends- Meredith, Josh, Rashmi and of course, Etienne St Clair- a British...French...American...oh who knows...boy who goes by his last name and manages to capture the heart of homesick Anna despite a considerable lack in the height department- a feature that is brought up many a time throughout the book.

I liked Anna from the word go, she was feisty yet innocent and everything that I would expect of a teenage girl. I liked that she had a good sense of humour and she held her own again the boys when it would have been easy to write a female character without a backbone. Sadly I felt as though she lost this in the later part of the book as her whole being came to be about her obsession with St Clair. I felt as though I lost the Anna that I had so enjoyed reading about and I didn't like how she turned from strong and feisty to weak and lovesick within a matter of pages, I don't think that it was necessary for Anna to turn in to what is arguably a stereotypical girl in love, I would have liked it if Anna could have subverted the stereotype. I also couldn't stand how she started to refer to St Clair by his first name, I understand the intention but it just made me cringe.

At first I wanted to dislike St Claire- I mean who goes by their surname? To me it came across as a bit pretentious but I warmed to him very quickly despite it. All the characters had good humour and many of them stood out in their own right. I believed that Anna loved St Clair and I believed he loved her too. The only part that fell short for me was Anna's obsession with Toph, I didn't really believe it and therefore I found it hard to sympathise when she encountered difficulties with her 'relationship' with him.

Overall I really did enjoy the book, I devoured it within a couple of hours and that is always a sign of a good book. Also despite the odd occasion where the characters made me squirm with embarrassment, I have come to the conclusion that teen life and teen love is all about embarrassing yourself and a good teen romance wouldn't be complete without a few cringe inducing moments! The book is full of angst and drama but isn't that what teen life is all about?

Eilidh

The Great Gatsby Obsession

I am not at all the sort of person who buys multiples of books, nor do I reread. I tend to give the book one read through and then it gets a place on my book shelf. Even many of my favourite books have only been read once. But for some reason The Great Gatsby was different. Not only have I read it countless times but I also can't resist picking up another copy when I see a different cover. I know that it is a very obvious book to like, but I genuinely enjoy it so much! 

As you can see, I am building up quite a collection! 

This was my first copy of The Great Gatsby which I bought when I studied it for A-Level

I love these Penguin covers- I would love to build up a collection of these! 

I found this in Selfridges- It was amongst other books with covers in a similar style

Another brilliant cover and it's in hardback! 

A beautiful cover, the metallic curves catch the light too! 

One of the less abstract covers but equally as beautiful

This for me is the original Gatsby cover and I love it! I have seen many poster versions of it and it may soon find it's way into my room! 

So that is my collection so far and I can't see myself stopping anytime soon! 

Eilidh 

Where She Went- Gayle Forman

The problem with hype is that it can really ruin a book. I read If I Stay in the run up to the release of the film. There was talk of it everywhere and I went into reading it with absolutely humongous expectations. The book unsurprisingly fell short- through no fault of its own but rather because I was expecting the world and it gave me a continent. As I said in my review, it wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, it's just I found it a bit predictable, the book tried to make you think you didn't know how it would end but I could have told you the ending after the first couple of pages. The follow up- Where She Went- is arguably just as predictable, the one difference being that it wasn't really trying to be hugely dramatic or unpredictable and therefore I didn't expect to be surprised. 

The book begins three years on from its predecessor, this time it is narrated by Adam and it follows a similar structure, alternating between past and present. I enjoyed this structure as it allowed the story to skip three years but I still felt as though I was up to date with what had gone on. Adam is at a low point, his carer as a musician means that he has hit the big time, but problems with band mates and the inability to live a 'normal' life when faced with fans and insensitive journalists means that he isn't coping. He is a shell of a human and ready to quit the band- only made worse by the fact that he is doing it without Mia, the love of his life. Enter Mia. It has been three years without a word and suddenly he is faced with her, the book follows their journey through nighttime New York as Adam learns of why she left him and whether they can make another go of it. 

The sequel to If I Stay is told through Adam, I much preferred his narrative and I really did feel a strong emotional connection with the poor boy who three years on from being left by Mia is not in a good state. I felt that the first book lacked character development and the sequel really allowed me to learn about the characters. I believed their emotions more and I was more invested in their story because of it. As with the first book I did shed a tear. It wasn't so blatently sad but just upsetting to see Adam at only 21 struggling through life.

All in all it was a much better book and I can see why it has really grabbed the book reading community. It is a quick and easy read which will send you on an emotional roller-coaster! 

Eilidh