Book Review: The Girl On The Train

The Girl on the Train is a book that I've been meaning to read for a while now, as I have seen it listed on several book lists floating around on the internet. Basically, it seemed that a lot of hype was surrounding this book and I wanted to see if it lived up to what people were saying about it. Overall, I can say that this was a very thrilling book to read, and it managed to hold my interest and keep me on the edge of my seat through the entirety of the plot.
First, I'll give a brief summary of The Girl on the Train. The book begins by introducing you to the character of Rachel, a divorced and jobless woman with a drinking problem. She spends much of her time riding the commuter train between her home and London, and every day she looks out the window at the same couple who are always outside on their deck. She paints them as the "perfect couple" in her head, and even nicknames then Jason and Jess. But one day Rachel sees something shocking happening on the deck, and suddenly finds herself caught up in a massive mystery that reveals the truth behind this flawless duo and everyone involved in their life.
I will admit that when I first picked this book up to read it, I was fairly skeptical as to how good it was going to be. However, it turns out that The Girl on the Train has a lot going for it. First of all, Hawkins does a fantastic job creating a plot that very quickly engrossed me. It only took a few pages of reading before I found myself very interested in what was happening. To put it simply, this book is a real page-turner, and I found myself thinking about what might happen later on in the book when I wasn't reading it. The Girl on the Train is also written very well; I like how the commentary switches between characters (Rachel, Megan, and Anna), and the author is very deft at descriptive writing. She gets in the heads of her characters, and creates a cinematic setting where the plot unfolds.
Overall I thought that The Girl on the Train was a very entertaining and thrilling work of fiction. However, there were some things that fell short for me. The first is that every single character in this book I just wanted to slap, to be blunt. Every main character is equally unlikable, and I found myself shaking my head at their ridiculous antics throughout the book. The other negative note that I want to mention is that the last quarter of The Girl on the Train lost me a bit. The majority of the book, especially towards the begining, was masterful at pulling me into the plot and I found myself constantly wanting to know what happens next. However, towards the end when the storyline starts to become clear to the reader, it almost became too over the top and simply was too unbelievable to connect with. I felt that this book quickly deescalated from being a really good thriller to an exaggerated, overblown and almost comical novel.
Ultimately, I found myself torn on what to rate this book. I came so close to giving it 3 out of 5 stars, but in the end I opted to give it 4 simply because it's just so addictive. It's a speedy book to read; despite its over 300 pages in length, I guarantee you'll blow through it in a few days. I would highly recommend this book if you typically enjoy thrillers, and even if you don't I think it's at least worth a read.
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Mystery/thriller

Pages: 323

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Book Review: Buried

I've been really getting into reading a lot more lately, and so after finishing MacCready's book Buried I felt compelled to write a review for it.
Buried introduces you to the character of Claudine, a teenager living in Maine and suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder from living with her untidy alcoholic mother. After her mother goes missing, Claudine begins to wonder where she could have gone. Her OCD begins to spiral out of control, and she must face the harsh reality of the truth that she has always tried so hard to conceal.
Overall, I found Buried to be a very solid read. By this, I mean that it kept me engaged and interested in the characters and the storyline of the book. I will admit that it took me several chapters to really get into this book, but was pleasantly surprised with how much I was invested in it by the end.
One thing that I really liked about this book is that it's main focus is on the character of Claudine. She is the only person that you really get to know, and this makes it easier to see her bizarre obsessions involving her OCD as normal. You're not an outsider looking at her; this book gets into the mind of Claudine. I also loved the setting of this book, and feel that the author did a really good job of evoking it in my imagination. Everything, from the New England beaches and desolate coastline of Maine to the hurricane that comes ripping through Claudine's hometown just perfectly suit the feel of this book.
In terms of what I didn't like, there are a few elements that didn't work for me personally. One is that, as I mentioned before, the plot took some time to build when I first started reading the book. I had to read several chapters before I began to get invested in what was happening to the characters in Buried. The other negative that this book has is that even after I began to get into the plot, I still didn't feel completely lost in the story unfolding. It held my attention, but didn't have the magic that some other books do of really sucking me into another world unfolding in my mind. Was I interested in the story and the characters? Yes. But this doesn't mean that I lost myself to the author's written world.
Overall, I found Buried to be a great Young Adult read that delves into the mindset of what it's like living with a mental illness like OCD. It also serves as a snapshot into the life of teenagers that share a home with a loved one who is an alcoholic. It's not an A+ book in my opinion, but it is certainly worthy of your time if you typically enjoy books of a similar genre.
Author: Robin Merrow MacCready
Genre: Psychological thriller/mental illness/YA

Pages: 198

Year Published: 2006

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Book Review: A Thousand Miles To Freedom

I just recently finished reading Eunsun Kim's autobiography A Thousand Miles To Freedom. I was first introduced to this book through this National Geographic article and was compelled to read the entire book myself. Overall, I found it to be an incredibly eye-opening read that introduced me to a topic that I didn't know a lot about.
A Thousand Miles To Freedom tells the story of how author Eunsun Kim, at the young age of 11, escaped the country of North Korea with her older sister and mother. More than simply an escape, Kim's harrowing journey takes her across China and Mongolia, through many hardships and perils, and takes many years to complete.
Now getting into my review, I want to start with what I didn't like as much about this book. The two main points that I want to make is first that parts of the book I personally didn't find overly interesting to read. The story detailing Kim's escape from North Korea was quite riveting, but the occasional flash forwards detailing her recent pursuits and current life in South Korea I thought were slightly dull. The second negative about A Thousand Miles To Freedom is that some parts of it are written with little substance. By this, I simply mean that sometimes certain sentences are short, and simple descriptive words are used. I actually feel bad critiquing this part of the book because I understand that the author is not a native English speaker, and so the English writing is not going to be on a level of brilliance.
Now onto the positives, because overall A Thousand Miles To Freedom was a really good book that I actually feel bad critiquing! The biggest thing going for this book is that it tells a stunning story of a young girl's journey, a story that few have told or written about before. It provides a window into the lives of people living in North Korea, and what the people who choose to escape this country go through. In addition to the story, I also enjoyed the voice of the author. She is relatable and doesn't at all evoke a tone of superiority through her writing. You may expect someone who has endured so much hardship and survived, and gone on to write a book to be a bit cocky, but on the contrary Kim comes of as being very humble and gracious in the pages of her book.
All in all, A Thousand Miles To Freedom was a good read and told of a world completely unknown to me. Although it may not be the best book I have read, I would certainly recommend it if you enjoy nonfictional stories about people and their lives. It will certainly give you a new outlook on life, and hopefully it will help inspire all of us to make this world a better and more peaceful place.
Author: Eunsun Kim
Genre: Autobiography/memoir

Pages: 228

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Movie Review: The Gift

The new psychological thriller The Gift is certainly no gift to the world of film. Quite frankly, I found it to be very disappointing for a movie that I expected loads of suspense from. Maybe I'm just not scared easily enough, but I'm pretty certain it's just because this is a lackluster film.
So, what is The Gift even about, you may be wondering. It opens with a husband and wife, Simon and Robyn, looking for a new house to buy in the Los Angeles area. They end up buying a mid-century modern house with way too much glass. After moving in with their pet dog, they go house shopping and run into Gordo, an old childhood classmate of Simon's. In the following days Gordo becomes persistent at spending time with Simon and Robyn, leaving gifts at their doorstep, having dinner with them, and showing up to help fix things up at their house. At first they shrug off Gordo's odd behavior, but things come to a head when past events surrounding Gordo begin to surface.
Before I get into what didn't work in The Gift, I first want to address its positive elements. Although not as much as one would expect, there was a degree of suspense that this film brought to the table. I would have appreciated more, as The Gift is classified as a thriller, but there was at least enough to keep me watching. I also thought that the plot was fairly creative and fresh; I don't know of any other movies that have a similar storyline. The acting was also done well, especially on the part of Joel Edgerton who plays the creeper role pretty well.
Now it's time we move on to what didn't work about The Gift. First I should address the fact that, although creative, I just didn't find the storyline to be all that engrossing. On the contrary, I predicted a lot of what ended up happening in this film, and my head was already guessing as to what would happen later in the plot. Adding to its predictability, I also found The Gift's plot to be a bit slow; it took some time for things to really get underway and for the main twist of the storyline to be revealed. The last point I want to make is that it was also incredibly hard for me to empathize with any of the characters in this movie. Even the people that are not portrayed as "bad guys" are simply empty shells; that is, there's no backstory about them that strongly connects them to the audience. I didn't root for anyone in The Gift, because frankly I didn't have any emotional investment in their character. I just wanted to watch and see what happened out of sheer curiosity.
So, as my closing statement for this movie review I will say that The Gift is probably not worth the price of a movie ticket to go see. Although it has a few positive elements that some of you may quite enjoy, for me it just was not very impressive. Maybe I'm the one missing something here, because this movie has rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and other movie review websites. But I'm only here to tell you what my opinions are, and put simply my opinion is that The Gift is a bit of a disappointment.

Rating: R

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Run Time: 108 minutes

Release Date: August 7, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Paper Towns

The recent film Paper Towns, based on the novel by author John Green, was playing at my local theater and so I opted to go see it. Although I didn't have many expectations for this movie, I left the theater slightly disappointed about what I had just watched. I'll explain in further detail below, but first I want to give a quick summary as to what Paper Towns is about.
The film centers on the character of Quentin, who was close friends with his neighbor Margo until they enter high school and grow apart. One night while he is sleeping, Margo breaks into Quentin's bedroom and convinces him to help her go on a mission to get revenge on everyone who has wronged her. The next morning, Quentin goes to school and realizes that Margo is missing. He begins to follow clues that he finds in order to track down Margo's whereabouts, and eventually recruits a team of his friends to help in the search. Through his searching for Margo, Quentin experiences things that would normally fall outside of his comfort zone, and he begins to question his relationships and his life.
What this film did bring to the table was both a good portrayal of teenage confusion, and an interesting plot that managed to hold my interest through the entirety of the movie. I suppose John Green should be credited for this particular aspect; after all, the film is based on his book. In spite of the shortcomings that Paper Towns has, the storyline was still good enough to make me want to keep watching and see what happens in the end.
But despite these two positive elements, Paper Towns managed to underwhelm me in nearly every other aspect. First, I want to address the acting, which I thought was somewhat mediocre. Although nobody who stars in this film did a terrible job portraying their characters, nobody really shone either. I especially didn't feel much of a genuine connection between the two main characters, Margo and Quentin, played by Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff. Also, despite the unique plot, there was an element of ennui throughout the duration of Paper Towns that just never seemed to go away. I can't say I was completely bored; the plot was interesting and did hold my attention. But there is just a certain lackadaisical element that has a strong hold on this film. The bottom line is that there's just a thick enough thread of a story to pull you into Paper Towns, but hardly any impact beyond that, emotional or otherwise. I found myself not really caring what happened to the characters or how the film would end, I just wanted to see it through simply to know what happens.
So the bottom line is this: I expected more from Paper Towns and overall was disappointed with what I ended up watching. It's certainly not a terrible movie, but it really lacks the depth or character connection that transports a movie into an award-winning classic. If you're still adamant about watching Paper Towns, at least wait until you can view it somewhere cheaper than a theater.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Mystery/Drama

Run Time: 109 minutes

Release Date: July 24, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆