Books + Age = ??

When did society decide that there was an age limit to how old you can be to read a certain book and for it to still be considered acceptable?

For example, who's to say that I can't pick up a Mr Men or Little Miss book and read it from cover to cover and enjoy every word of it? This is with remembering that I am 18 years old and I could probably do that in around 5 minutes. I loved reading those books when I was younger and when I think about the stories now I still smile. I loved the adventures and the characters and how I could relate the things that they did to things that happened in real life. They made the world seem simpler and a little less scary.

The reason I was thinking about this was because I was on the bus yesterday reading Peter Pan by JM Barrie and people began looking at me strangely. I understand that it is considered a "children's classic" but the story is loved by so many people, all of a variety of ages, I just happened to be the one who decided to read it on the bus. I was reading this book not because I thought it would be a good read, I knew it would be. I was reading it because I love the story of Peter Pan. I enjoy reading it and it reminds me of my childhood.

I don't understand why there needs to be an age where you have to stop reading certain books. Who says you can't pick up a book that you read when you were 10 and read it again when you are 20 and still be just as in love with it. Who made these rules?

I mean Harry Potter is one of those books that you can read at any age. Just think about it. If you were to go into a coffee shop and see an old man sitting in the corner reading the first Harry Potter book while at the opposite end of the shop was a little girl reading the same story, how would you react?

I bet most of you would begin to think about your own memories of reading the book and how you felt when Harry, Ron and Hermione first met. I bet you think about how old you were when you first picked up the book. What if I was to tell you that the little girl was reading it for the second time while it was the first time that the old man had read those words. How would you react then? Would you judge the old man or would you smile and appreciate that he was taking the time to read it?

Ok, I understand that some books need an age restriction because of the content. I understand that it would be highly inappropriate to give a 10 year old a book like 50 Shades of Grey to read. But that is a restriction, not a limit.

Isn't one of the best things about books the fact that you can go back to them again and again and still fall in love with the story? But how can you do that if you grow up and exceed the age limit? I always find a new sense of love for a story when I re-read a book, even books that I read when I was 5 or 6 years old.

A lot of adults (I don't yet consider myself to be a fully-fledged adult) I know said that they couldn't wait until their children were old enough that they could read books to them. This was just so that they had a reason to go into a book shop and go to the children's section and pick up all of the picture books they loved while they were growing up. Yep, the truth is kids, your parents had you so that it was acceptable for them to read their favourite books again... sorry to break the news to you.

I know that the limit is just how books are categorised in bookstores and how advertising companies know how to advertise the book but it is still something that people stick to. In an ideal world people wouldn't judge others but that is not the world we live in.

The stares will just have be accepted.

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Although the cover of this book gives off the impression of a cute little romance of two people who go on a road trip, which it is, it is so much more than that too.

The book starts with a series of emails and school reports followed by Amy sitting on the front steps of her house watching the world go by. This is before she meets the handsome young man that she is going to be travelling across the country with. This is before the detour and the healing.

The reason for the road trip in the first place is because Amy is moving and someone has to take her mother's car to the new house. Amy is moving because her whole family has fallen apart. Her mother has a new job, her brother is in rehab and her father died in a car accident that she blames herself for.

Though the main reason behind the book is to watch these two strangers fall in love in the most unlikely way, I felt that following Amy's journey of reconnecting with herself and forgiving herself for "the accident" was the best part of the book.

 Amy blamed herself for the accident because she was driving when she could have easily blamed her brother as it was him that they were driving to. This shows how much Amy cared about her father. He was more of her twin than her brother was and I think that is why it hit her so hard.

I could never imagine losing my father that way and him and I are not as close as Amy and her father. Losing a parent is just something that no child wants to think about, let alone try and move on from while you are alone.

I think that is why Amy had such a hard time coming to terms with her father's death. She closed herself off from the world and her mother and bother weren't ready to talk about it with her yet. I think the detour with Roger helped her to see that talking could help and that people can help you get through difficult times even if they don't know who you are.

I think that Morgan Matson was so clever with the way that she developed the romance throughout the book while also integrating Amy's life into the story. The development was so subtle that I barely noticed it until I was nearing the end. This is such a clever and insightful read for a romance book and I would highly recommend it.

A book you can finish in a day

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

"Don't Panic!" This book is a great read.

Yes, I know this book is not one that is normally read by an 18 year old who spends most of her life on a bus so normally would take longer than one day to read but let's just ignore that.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is just one crazy adventure.

There is one Earth-man left who's best friend is an alien from another planet. The two of them get thrown off of the ship which they got picked up by when the Earth got blown up before getting picked up by another ship seconds before they died in space. On this ship they come across a depressed robot and get taken to a planet that is run by mice.

Confusing, right?

Let me explain my theory on why it is written the way that it is.

I think that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is written in such a strange and complex way to give the reader a better idea as to how everything is being documented. It also helps the reader to understand how Arthur and Ford are seeing things. It gets across their emotions and views at a specific moment when something crazy is happening, such as talking to mice for example.

This book is definitely the kind of book that you would pick up when you wanted something fun to read. I wouldn't pick this book up thinking that it is an easy read because it isn't really. It's not that the language is complicated or that the story is hard to follow but the writing style can get confusing at times.

Overall I loved this story. I loved the crazy characters and the crazy world that they get to be a part of. I am most definitely going to pick up the rest of the books in the series.

A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet

City Of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

This is the final book in the Mortal Instruments series and what a great final instalment it was. It was a book that I had been wanting to read for so long, so when I was finally able to get the book and sit down to read it I was over the moon. 

I loved the story of this book but I felt that the second half was a lot more exciting and gripping than the first. I felt that the first half was just a lot of explanations and build up while the second half contained all of the action and major plot moments. I would also say that this book was too long. It took me 27 days to read this book and by the end all I wanted was for the book to end. I hated feeling like that because when I was reading it I loved the plot of it and how to characters to developed. 

Before I get into anything else I just want to write a little about Simon Lewis now. HOW COULD CASSANDRA ALMOST KILL OFF SIMON?!?! I sobbed like a little baby while I read the scene of Simon giving up his immortality and his memories of the shadow world to free them all from Edom. It honestly broke my heart to read about how all of his friends felt like there was something missing from their lives but when Simon said it I could have screamed I was so happy. I also loved that Magnus was able to fix Simon to an extent so that he could be a part of the shadow world again. 

I loved meeting all of the new characters in this book. Emma was really just a mixture of Jace and Clary. She was good and loving but also tough, closed-off and secretive. She and Jules were the perfect pairing but I think that she will realise that she doesn't want to be Jules' parabatai as she gets older and I hope that she realises it before it's too late for her to change her mind. I felt sorry for Emma when we first meet her because she loses her parents in such an unexplained way and nobody is willing to look into it or her to allow her to have some closure over what happened. I loved how she was awestruck by Jace and Clary too because of the stories had heard for the older Blackthorn children. It was almost how someone would feel if they met a celebrity, in a way Emma was meeting a celebrity. It just so happened that it was two Shadowhunter celebrities. 

I loved all of the Blackthorn children too. Helen and Mark are the two controversial children who are part Shadowhunter, part Fairie. Both feel that they have to prove themselves as Shadowhunters because of this. Then there is Julian or Jules as he is called by his family and Emma. Julian is a smart, headstrong boy who would do anything for the people he cares about and would protect those people with his life. Then there is the twins, Tiberius and Livia or Ty and Livvy. These two are inseparable and are really the only two people who fully understand each other. They really are stereotypical twins. The youngest two are Drusilla and Tavvy. These two are not really described much other than they are small and are typical Blackthorn children. 

Ok, so the whole heavenly fire thing... why could Clary not have just stabbed Sebastian in the last book? I mean, it could have saved a lot of lives and a lot of problems would have been avoided. Jace wouldn't have had to learn to control anything, Simon wouldn't have lost all of his memories because nobody would have had to go to Edom to fight Sebastian because he would already be dead, Jordan would still be alive, Emma's parents would most likely still be alive and the Blackthorn's would all still be together. Yes, Sebastian was heavily guarded and yes, it was easier for Clary to stab Jace but still! 

I could honestly sit here all day and write about this book and how amazing it was, how annoyed I am at some of it, how it toyed with my emotions the whole time and how I would happily read it again. I would happily read the whole series again and I cannot wait until the next series comes out. I'm just glad that it should be soon. 

A trilogy

The Trylle Trilogy By Amanda Hocking

The Trylle trilogy follows a 17 year old girl named Wendy when she discovers that her family are in fact not her family. Instead they are a host family that her biological mother left her with in place of their own child when she was born. Not only is Wendy not related to her family, she is also not human either. She is a troll. The three books follow Wendy coming to terms with who she really is while also going through some pretty crazy stuff. 

Wendy had a rocky relationship with her biological mother in the first two books. This is what caused most of the conflict in Wendy's life while she was trying to come to terms with being a princess. Elora was a very closed-off person that rarely let someone into her life from the fear of losing them. Elora keeps Wendy at arm's length through the majority of the trilogy but in the last book the powers that Elora has finally kill her. Before dying though her and Wendy share some sweet moments. On Wendy's 18th birthday they eat breakfast together and discuss Wendy's birth and the problems that came with Wendy being born. They also share a moment the night before Elora's death when she tells Wendy how much she really does love her and how she regrets the things she did in her life, especially the things that have happened since Wendy's return. This for me was an amazing way for things to end between the pair. They had mended their rocky relationship and become a mother and daughter who loved each other and were no longer afraid to share it. 

A large part of the trilogy follows Wendy falling in love. The main love interest in the trilogy is her tracker, Finn. Finn and Wendy know that they can never be together but Wendy wants to be with Finn no matter what it costs her. Finn however, won't let Wendy give up her life to be with him. This relationship angered me. Wendy was willing to do anything to be with Finn while Finn would not fight for her. Eventually Wendy gave up waiting for Finn to fight for her and told him that she couldn't wait around for him anymore because she knew that whatever she did, he would find a way to not be with her. Their ending was very bittersweet however. Wendy and Finn still care deeply for each other but know by the end of the last book that they are not right for each other. They are both married with children in the final part of Ascend and are very happy for each other and the way their lives have turned out but neither of them expected their lives to end up the way that they did.

Wendy also has another love interest. This love interest was from an enemy clan, kidnapped her, then let her go and then continually came after her again and again until finally he gave up and decided to stay with her people instead of his own because he could not see her get hurt. His name is Loki. I love Loki for Wendy. He wouldn't give up on wanting to be with her and made it clear that this was his intention. He always made sure that she was safe but also wouldn't stand in her way when she had set her mind to something. He loved her as much as was possible and she felt the same way for him. I was so glad that these two ended up together. I felt that their love was genuine and their son was the light of their life. 

While Wendy was falling in love with Loki and ending things with Finn though, she was married to her friend, Tove. This was an arranged marriage and they both went into it knowing that they didn't love each other romantically. They also never would love each other romantically because Tove in gay. They got their marriage annulled when Tove saw how in love Loki and Wendy were and he wanted to have a chance to be in love with someone. 

Overall I found the story of the whole trilogy very entertaining and a good read but I felt that the dialogue and some of the writing was too formal. The story was supposed to be told from a 17-18 year old who had just found out that she was a troll princess. I thought that it could have been written less formally and the story would still would have been as good. Wendy afterall was supposed to be a bit of a rebel princess... 

A book set in the future

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Love, friendship, truth, lies and adventure. Uglies has it all. 

The book is centred around a fifteen year old girl named Tally who cannot wait until her sixteenth birthday when she will become a pretty. Three months before her birthday however, she becomes friends with another girl named Shay. Shay is also an ugly and on her sixteenth birthday she too is meant to become a pretty but she has other plans. When Shay decides to run away it is Tally who is left to pick up the pieces. She cannot become pretty unless she brings back Shay but she also does not want to have to follow her friend into the unknown. As expected though, she does follow her friend and does find her but is conflicted about turning in her and the people she is staying with. When the truth about what really happens when becoming a pretty is revealed to Tally she finally makes her decision. This decision is followed by more conflict and problem that have to be solved. 

Through the story, Scott Westerfeld leaves the reader thinking a great deal about how we view others in society. When we first meet Tally she believes that there are ugly people and then there are pretty people but is conflicted when she reaches "the smoke". In the smoke all of the people are what Tally considers ugly until she falls in love with one. This is when she decides that although "Pretties" maybe beautiful, "Uglies" can be too. She works out that the ugliness that she witnessed growing up was just the awkward stage that comes with adolescence. Everyone knows this "stage" that she is talking about when nobody quite fits their body right and are all trying to work out who they really are. Tally finds all of this while in the smoke with her friends. 

The friendships that are created in Uglies are ones full of love. There may be mistrust amongst some, they may lie to one another on occasion and they may not always get along but they share a great love for one another. These are the friendships that everyone has and can relate to. That is what draws you into the story in the beginning. When Tally meets Shay she never intended in them being friends but by the time Shay was running away she didn't want her to go. Not out of being selfish and wanting her to stay (even thought that was part of the reason) but because she had come to care about her friend. She was worried about what may become of her and whether or not the two would meet again. 

When Tally also fell in love with David, it was unexpected. At first she could not admit to herself that she liked this young man who was neither ugly nor pretty but she could not help herself from falling for him. She was a girl who never believed she could love someone who looked the way he did. 

Westerfeld also shows his readers in his book how easy it is for people of authority to lie to those below them without them ever finding out. The people of the society Tally is part of have been lied to all of their lives, and with a little influence they do not question anything that they are told. They just accept what they are told as the truth instead of discovering what truly happens behind closed doors. 

Westerfeld has created a society that can be related to in some way by all of his readers. His writing both takes you to a new place while also leaving you in your own world to debate with yourself what he is telling you. 

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

Rick Yancey did another great job on this book. The imagery he uses throughout the book really does help you to become part of the world that his characters live in. I had to put this book aside for a while to concentrate on my exams but with Yancey's writing style it barely took me any time at all to fall back into the story. I truly believe that this is what makes a good writer.

The Infinite Sea is the sequel to The 5th Wave. It continues on from the ending of The 5th Wave, where we find the group hiding out in a rat-infested hotel. The majority of the book follows the group in the hotel and the dangers they face while staying there. 

A large part of the book however, follows Ringer/Marika. Ringer was one of the members of Zombie's squad. Her story begins when she is preparing to go off without the rest of the squad to find safety elsewhere for them as she felt that they had been in the same place for too long. This leads to a series of problems that she has to get herself out of while also trying to protect all of her friends. 

Throughout the story there were often references to the title of the book. The characters would subtly mention it to describe the situation that they found themselves in. These subtle references allowed me to understand why Yancey had name the book The Infinite Sea. 

A large part of the book was made up of references to "the rats". These rats turned out not to be rats at all and the group were so obsessed with them because they simbolised human beings. To the aliens who had invaded the Earth the humans were the rats, rats who they wanted to destroy from the inside out. They don't just want to kill the rats as quickly as possible though, they want them to know that they are being hunted. They want them to be scared of their hunter. 

One thing about this book that I enjoyed less than the one before is that some of the storyline drags out. I know that is to be expected when a book is set in one building for the most part but I think that it could have been made more exciting. 

If I were to rate this book I would give it a 4/5 starts. This is just down to the slow pace that some of it had but on the most part the book it a great read.