Atonement - Ian McEwan

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Title: Atonement
writer: Ian McEwan

On a summer in 1935, Briony Tallis, a thirteen year-old aspiring writer, accuses her elder sister’s lover and gardener of a crime he did not commit. He is sent to jail then is sent off to fight during the war, where he is separated from her sister, Cecilia.

Then the novel switches to the future, where Briony is working as a nurse instead of going to Cambridge as a sort of penance. Robbie is at the war and corresponds with Cecilia through letters.

The book tells the story of how Briony tries to atone for the unforgivable, lifelong ruin she has done to Cecilia and Robbie’s lives.

There isn’t a lot to say about Atonement; it was beautifully written. Ian McEwan has writes elegantly and the plot nurtures very smoothly.

It’s was heart-warming, good read that I highly recommend.

My rating: 9/10

Blackbird House - Alice Hoffman

Author: Alice Hoffman

I read this book because it was the only interesting one I had.

Blackbird house is a story that spans for about 200 hundred years, about the families living in a house in Massachusetts called Blackbird House.

Once Coral Hadley loses her sons and husband at sea, tragedy strikes all the next generation of inhabitants of that house. And a bird witnesses all those tragedies.

Each chapter in the book tells the story of the families living in that house. I loved the stories and thought they were very imaginative and delightful. Alice Hoffman is a very good storyteller.

I think this book is similar to One Hundred Years of Solitude, since it does not have a particular plot but it consists of many happenings. In contrast to One Hundred Years of Solitude, it is much shorter.

However, the end didn’t make any sense to me and I didn’t enjoy how it ended.

Blackbird House is a good, short read that will lighten you up.

My rating: 6/10

Click here to read what I thought about One Hundred Years of Solitude

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

Author: Jay Asher

genre:young adult novel

Although I don’t read teen novels much, I’ve always longed to read this book because according to the review everybody seemed to like it.

Thirteen Reasons Why is about Hannah Baker, a teenager who has recently committed suicide. Before she did, in a set of 7 tapes, she explained the reasons why she ended her life. The tapes should be passed on between the people who impacted on her life, causing her to kill herself; and Clay, her classmate who had a crush on her, is one of the reasons why.

You will be reading what the tapes say, which is in italic, and Clay’s thoughts, which is a normal font. This made it very confusing. After every few lines of the tape comes what was on Clay’s mind, and I often found myself reading on, still thinking it was Hannah on the tape when instead, it was what Clay was thinking.

Another thing I didn’t like about this book was that some parts were longer than necessary, and I sometimes thought of giving up on reading the book.

note: it gets more exciting near the end.

However, what was good in this book was that the idea of the tapes was unique. The book shows what high school is like: the people there and their intentions.

Although Thirteen Reasons Why has good things and bad things, I generally enjoyed reading this book. I think it was a very good story. The ending was also satisfying.

I think everyone liked this book because it was different.

I have learned from it that you should go ahead and say/do whatever in your mind before it’s too late, and that when someone impulsively does a stupid thing to a person, no matter how small, it can affect that person deeply, so you should think twice before doing anything.

If you have read this book, please tell me what you think.

visit the official website of the book

My rating: 8 / 10