Prep – Challenge Book 2

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

The blurb: A stunning novel in the great tradition of American coming-of-age novels from Catcher in the Rye to The Secret History.

Lee Fiora is a shy fourteen-year-old when she leaves small-town Indiana for a scholarship at Ault, an exclusive boarding school in Massachusetts. Her head is filled with images from the school brochure of handsome boys in sweaters leaning against old brick buildings, girls running with lacrosse sticks across pristine athletics fields, everyone singing hymns in chapel. But as she soon learns, Ault is a minefield of unstated rules and incomprehensible social rituals, and Lee must work hard to find – and maintain – her place in the pecking order.

My review: I picked Prep for my challenge because I love the cover. There’s something very old school about it. I’m not quite sure what it is, perhaps its because the girl they’ve chosen to depict Lee looks a bit like Joey Potter from Dawson’s Creek!

Prep is a lovely read, I’m way past school age now, but Curtis Sittenfeld depicts what I imagine to be US school life perfectly. It’s addictive reading. Lee has decided to go to a school based on her merits and intelligence, rather than the local comp so to speak. And its her observations as a scholarship student about the moneyed classes of a private school that are done so well.

Lee is a likeable heroine, in the wonderful tradition of Rory from the Gilmore Girls, and I really felt for her, not fitting in at home then being an outcast at school. She develops as the book progresses and there are some satisfying moments that I think will ring true for many readers. Slightly too long in places but a nice read nonetheless.

7 out of 10 stars *******

If I Stay – Challenge Book 1

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

The blurb: The last thing Mia remembers is the music.

After the accident, she can still hear it. And she can see her damaged body being taken from the wreck of her parents’ car – even though she can’t feel a thing.

All she can do is watch as doctors rush to save her life, as her friends and relatives gather outside her room, as the boy she loves struggles to be near her.

As the next twenty-four hours unfold, Mia must come to terms with what came before the crash – and what could come after. And she knows she must make the most difficult choice of all.

My review: This is not a good book to read on the tube. Or in public, anywhere! It’s a beautifully written story about a teenager called Mia and her relationships with the people in her life, her family and boyfriend, and how they form the basis of her most important decision. (This is also a really hard book to review without giving anything away!)

The beginning is pretty shocking, gruesome in places but in a very real way. Its not gratuitous – it needs to have the shock factor to offset the books poignancy. People and the way we relate are the key themes in this book and I liked the way through music, Mia expresses her individuality. (I also liked that it was quite slim – there are too many fat books these days! Although I do like a fat book if its good!)

I’m not going to lie, I cried a lot throughout this book and not just at the obvious bits! Gayle Forman knows how to tug at your heart strings! Definitely one I’d recommend.

8 out of 10 stars! ********

I’m taking part in the Transworld Dan Brown Summer Reading Challenge!

So I have decided to take part in the Transworld Summer Reading Challenge hosted on Between the Lines. This seems like such a fun idea and what with the weather being nice its time to get out in the garden! Im also hoping it will provide a lively discussion with other people in the blogsphere! So my choices are:

1. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

2. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

3. 61 Hours by Lee Child

4. Bryant & May on the Loose by Christopher Fowler

I’ve already read The Lost Symbol so its not on my list but is the Symbol of this challenge! Can’t wait to crack on and get reading! Let me know if you’re doing any of the same books as me!

100 Novels Everyone Should Read – Book Challenge

Whilst surfing the web, looking through the bit.ly twitter links I stumbled across this article in the Telegraph.

http://bit.ly/8XKqVc

Its the Telegraph’s selection of the essential fiction library and I am going to try and read them all. Or switch out the ones I don’t like and add in the ones I do and try to read 100 books before the clock strikes midnight at the end of 2010.

As most of the books on the list are slightly on the older side of chronology, I may switch out more than I keep. What opinions do people have on book challenges and classical literature. I think I may find a new book challenge and shall begin trawling the web again presently.