Hello reader,

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I read The Catcher in the Rye a couple of years back to figure out why a lot of people were going on about it. It's considered a classic, written in 1951. Last week I was looking for a new book to read and I decided to re-read it. Best. Idea. Ever.

The first time I read it, I couldn't get into it but this time I was telling myself that I missed out on so much! Granted, it won't be everyone's cup of tea but I love this book so much I just had to hop on here and write a book review about it, in hopes that you may read it too if you haven't already.

The Catcher in the Rye follows 17 year old Holden Caulfield, a rebellious teenager who practically hates everything. The book is written in Holden's point of view as if he's addressing you as the reader while he retells the events that happened to him over a three day period.

J.D Salinger writes in such a way that makes Holden seem like a great storyteller as the story seems like one long flashback but with present events being included.

The story is marvelously intriguing. At first, you'd like to hate Holden; he is not written as a likeable character but he is 'real'; Holden is a brutally honest, vulgar character with a penchant for sarcasm and exaggeration which makes for humourous reading.

As the reader, you get to get in Holden's head and consequently, his life. Though he seems to love telling stories, he isn't really telling the whole story and it's up to you, the reader, to read between the lines and figure it out for yourself and once you do, it'll hit you like a ton of bricks.

I found the book intriguing, funny and heartbreaking. Boy, it killed me. No kidding. (Ha!). There were some parts that reminded me of an equally excellent book, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallfower.

The Catcher in the Rye is not a long read and the ending (for me) was a bit disappointing in that it ended so abruptly but hey once I forgot the meagre ending I thought about the book and how it made me feel. I got over the disappointing ending really quickly.

Though The Catcher in the Rye is listed as a coming of age book, it is not meant for younger readers because of the vulgarity but it's aimed at teenagers because they are most likely to relate to it and it also offers a message of hope directed at them. I also believe young adults can still read it and relate to it. It actually causes you to examine the world in which we live in and how we're always forced to conform to fit in it.

Check this one of many quotes from the book that made laugh out loud:

"And I have one of those very loud, stupid laughs. I mean if I ever sat behind myself in a movie or something, I'd probably lean over and tell myself to please shut up."

One more that everyone would relate to:

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it."

Oh, how I definitely wish.

Have you read the book before? I'd love to know your thoughts about it. Actually, I want to invite debate because there's something really interesting I learned about the book that was instrumental in making me want to retry reading it again. I'm hesitant to write about it here because it may be regarded as a spoiler but I'll answer questions!

'Til next time,

-Bella

Book Review Tuesdays: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Hello reader,

Before reading The Book Thief, I’ve read talk about it and I decided to check out some reviews. The first one was written by a young woman who was so mad about the book. She wrote that the book made no sense and that it’s narrated by death for no reason whatsoever. This made me want to read the book even more. What literary crime did the book commit to inspire this person’s ire? And you know what? I’m so glad I read the book.

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The book follows a young Liesel Meminger, whose mother takes them into foster care because she couldn't care for them. Unfortunately, her brother dies on the way. The story is set in Germany during World War II. The very first book Liesel steals is called The Grave Digger’s Handbook, which she stole at the cemetery where her little brother was buried. The book became her only link to the past because she finds herself thrust into the care of Hans and Rosa Hubermann and her mother disappears, never to be heard from again. Liesel’s new life at the Hubermann’s becomes one of childhood innocent where Liesel befriends a boy on her street and one of veiled excitement and danger; bought on by further book stealing and the tension of the war.

One day a Jewish man from Hans Hubermann comes knocking at their door, asking to be hidden and thus began a secret friendship between Liesel and the young man by the name of Max Vandenbrug who is to have a lifelong impact on Liesel’s life.

Perhaps at this point you’re thinking that it might be similar to The Diary of Anne Frank but you’d be wrong. This book is much, much different that it immediately sucked me into its pages and I was mentally devouring it at every chance I got. What makes it brilliant is that it’s full of metaphorical connections like Liesel’s book stealing, which formed a catalyst that drives the entire story. In fact, it’s like 3 separate stories in one; Liesel’s and the world outside, Liesel’s and the world inside and Death’s. Each one is interconnected into one intense story. It's quite interesting because usually we don't hear or read about the effects the war had on innocent German children.

It’s understandable why the book is narrated by Death. It is actually clear from the very first chapter (I mean, its set during the Second World War! There’s bound to be a lot of deaths) and I was left wondering whether the person who reviewed it has even read the whole book.

As for the characters, there’s plenty to make you fall in love with (and make you wish you hadn’t). Liesel is quite a character that young girls and even young women could aspire to be like. She’s strong, highly intelligent, fearless and resilient. Props for strong female characters, yay!

Markus Zusack has truly penned a classic that I believe would be read for generations to come. His winding of metaphors and multiple storyline is done so well that it comes together like a colorful crocheted blanket and I wish I could be as profound with metaphors or similes as he is. This book can be read by adults and young adults alike because in all, it forms a perfect metaphor for life. It thick (delightful for book worms) and I wished it didn’t have to end but when it did it hit me like a sack of potatoes. I wanted more; I wanted to have some kind of closure. You know why? Because there are times when the book would take your soul and wrench it in half and times when you laugh through the tears. As much as it’s full of sorrow, the book is full of humour and above all that; it will change your life, whether you want it to or not.

The Book Thief gets 4 and a half stars, most definitely! 

Have you read the book before? What did you think of it? Let's compare notes!

'Til next review,

-Bella

Book review: The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez

Hello reader,

Welcome to my last book review for this week! I've had a lot of fun reviewing books. It wasn't easy, it was challenging but now I'm more confident in writing reviews. Yay!

My last review post is on Arthur J. Gonzalez's young adult debut book, The Photo Traveler. I read this book a year ago but it stuck with me because of how brilliant it is.

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The story is centered around 17-year-old Gavin Hillstone, who leads a pretty miserable life. His parents died in a fire when he was just 4 and he is now living with an abusive family with an alcoholic adoptive father. Being a photographer, his only escape came from taking photos. One day he accidentally discovers that he isn't alone after all; his paternal grandparents are alive and living in Washington.

Fed up with his life with an abusive foster family, he sets off to find his grandparents and learns the shocking truth about himself and his parents. He learns that he is descended from a small group of people called The Photo Travelers- people who can travel through time and space through photographs. With this discovery, Gavin's life is profoundly altered, and his very existence is threatened.

I came across this book purely by accident and after I was done reading it, I immediately went I search of Arthur J. Gonzalez and told him how awesome his book is and he was such a nice guy about it and now we're now friends (haha, not really- I wish).


Gonzalez wrote the book in a unique way, adopting an easy flow of dialogue that takes you into the story from the very first page. For a debut novel, this book is very well written and I found it pleasant to read. Should I mention the action? Yes, yes, I believe I should. It is great! Despite being set in the present, you are transported to various eras of time with the lead protagonist, Gavin. I was awed at Gonzalez's ability to fluidly transport me, the reader into the past and the present and to also feel what Gavin feels. It is exhilarating! Time traveling is probably a hard subject matter to write about and Gonzalez makes it seem so easy! The book is a very interesting read that a lot of people will enjoy, it would also make a great movie!








According to Bella, The Photo Traveler gets a rating of 4 out of 5 lovely stars and a strong recommendation for all you readers who appreciate time travel, history and just a great, well-written book.







(Dear Arthur, in the off-chance that you might have come across this review, I am still patiently anxiously waiting for the sequel, The Peace Hunter.)

Thank you dear According to Bella reader, for joining me on my book review week. Here's to more book reading!

'Til next time
-Bella

Book review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Hello reader,

Sometimes you come across a book whose subject matter forces you to open your eyes and examine your life and the people around you and one that stays with you way long after you have read it. Gayle Forman's If I Stay was one of those books. If you haven't read the book before, you might have heard of If I Stay as Chloë Grace Moretz's latest film.

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(Ignore that review on the book from USA Today that says "Will appeal to fans of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight." *scoffs*)

This book is about making choices. And we all know how some choices are very hard to make because whichever one we choose will have a profound impact on our lives. I have found myself many a time struggling to make a couple of choices in a world where everyone wants you to choose, choose, choose!

In this book 17-year-old Mia has it all; she is a budding cellist with dreams of fame and she has a very supportive family comprised of two parents and a little brother, who all possess very colorful personalities that make you fall in love with them as characters and they supply the humour in the story (which has made me laugh out loud while reading the book), she has a supportive boyfriend who shares her love for music. Mia is faced with the choice of  following her love for music and attend the prestigious prestigious Julliard or she can stay with her family and the love of her life. A hard choice to make either way.

One morning Mia goes on a drive with her family and in one instant everything changes. Mia finds herself having to make one very important choice, a choice she has been asking herself for months but one vastly different. Should she go or should she stay?

This book...this book right here, examines the very essence of what life is. By reading it, you understand that life is full of parallels that together, make what we know as life. Forman also makes use of parallels in her writing, switching between the past and the present almost simultaneously. I liked this, it offered a comprehensive look into the situation and allow you to experience it all in Mia's point of view.

I laughed, was horrified and I cried. Matter of fact, it's the kind of book that makes you turn the page and you do not notice that tears are running down our face in torrents and you're absentmindedly wiping snot away until you finish the book and close it. That being said, it is humourous, hopeful, heartwarming and most of all, heartbreaking.

You can read an excerpt of the book from Gayle Forman's website HERE.

I really recommend this book if you want to read something a little more 'real', something that will probably change your life. According to Bella (haha I love saying that) this book gets 4 out of 5 stars from me. So make the choice to read it if you haven't already haha.

There is a sequel to this book called Where She Went that I haven't read yet but will start on it soon as I have it in my eBook library. (Oooh new book! Excited to read it.) If you have read this book already, please comment and tell me how it made you feel.

'Til next time.
-Bella

Book review: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Hello reader,

Well, well, well. Here we are. [sidenote: I really love Oreo biscuits, I’m snacking on one while I’m writing this]. We have arrived at the second book of the Maze Runner series; The Scorch Trials…and I tell you, this is one scorcher of a book. Haha, see what I did there?

I don’t know how I will write this without revealing the major plot of the first book for all those who haven’t read it yet but I will try my best. Here goes, hold on to your chairs readers, it’s about to be a wild ride.

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The second book sees Thomas and friends out of the maze (no, no, no, no! I did not reveal a major plot, you will have to read the first book to see how they made it out) after having met the people who put them in the Glade in the first place; an organisation called WICKED. After everything the Gladers have been through, Thomas is determined to carry out revenge on them because yes, he hates them that much. Why you ask? Don’t you worry your little fragile heart; you will know when you read the books. But before Thomas could confront WICKED, a group of radicals rescue the Gladers from them.

This begins the first time the Gladers sees the outside world away from the Glade, it is unlike anything they have ever seen or anything they could have ever envisioned. If anything, it is much worse than life at the Glade. What happened to the outside world, why were they in the Glade surrounded by a maze and most importantly, what exactly is WICKED?

Goodness gracious. If I thought the first book was bad (bad in a good way, of course) this one is much, much worse. I wasn’t ready! If you follow me on Twitter @TheBellaMaake you may have noticed my anguish filled tweets about this very book. I even mentioned how I would very much have liked to whack James Dashner over the head with his own book.

If you guys are reading/will read The Maze Runner, once you get to the second book YOU'RE GONNA SCREAM!! You won't be ready.
— someone actually (@TheBellaMaake) August 31, 2014

I want to whack James Dashner over the head with his own book. Urgh! My feels. Never mind that, now reading the 3rd book, The Death Cure.
— someone actually (@TheBellaMaake) August 31, 2014

But despite the abuse the pages flung at me, I needed more. I NEEDED TO FIND OUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN! I couldn’t put the book down at all. It was that griping. Dashner writes in such an unique way that you feel what Thomas is feeling and the books are written in third person. Bottom line, it is a great and well-written book that takes you on a mental and emotional adventure. When I finished it, I immediately got the 3^rd book in the series, The Death Cure. 

Everything the Dashner makes you feel in the first book is doubled tripled. I recommend this book! Go and get the books if you haven’t already and read them, then comment and tell me all about how they made you feel and we can be each other’s strength.

According to Bella, this book gets 4 and a half stars out of 5 stars.

Why Dashner, why!? *poorly muffled sob*

Book review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Hello reader,

Try however hard I may, I don’t remember how I came across this book (old age I tell ya), perhaps I decided to check it out after my usual aimless browsing for a book to read on Goodreads. I however, can tell you that I started reading a preview on Wattpad a year ago, way before I knew that a movie was being made based on the book. Earlier this year, I decided to read the entire book.

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The Maze Runner is the first book in the best-selling post-apocalyptic trilogy. The story begins with Thomas, a teenage boy who wakes up to find himself in a box, surrounded by boys in a strange place he does not know and with no memory of his life, or of who he is except for his name. The boys who found him tell him that he’s at a place they call The Glade, a mysterious place surrounded by a maze made of stone with walls that move everyday and stone doors that close every night and has weird mechanical creatures that roam around it. The Gladers, as they call themselves, had all arrived in the same way as Thomas did, with no memory of their past lives other than their names and they had created a community by themselves where each person has their own job. There is a small group of boys called Runners, whose task is to run through the maze in an attempt to solve it and find a way out of The Glade. The Runners have to be out of the maze every night in order to avoid the dangerous mechanical creatures, called Grievers and yes, they are as bad as they sound. Thomas finds out that despite boys running through it every day, they have not found a way out and no one has ever spent the night in the maze after the doors closed, and lived.

The day after Thomas arrives at The Glade, the boys find yet another arrival in the box- a girl. This is strange a strange occurrence which leaves the boys surprised and scared, because no other girl has ever been delivered to The Glade before and even more startling the girl delivers a message before she falls into a coma. A message that changes everything and life at The Glade becomes even more terrifying. *suspense music*

Ahh! Fans of books like The Hunger Games and Divergent will love this book as they all share a dystopian setting. The Maze Runner starts off slow but before you know it, the book picks up and then there is a lot of action then you can expect in a single book. Other than the Glader’s vocabulary which was a bit confusing to me at times (but don’t worry, you’ll get used to I and probably might even use it in everyday conversations) I did not want to put the book down. It is haunting, thrilling and at times terrifying. Not to worry, there is a bit of light-hearted humour here and there –pft! I say this like the humour makes up for my frayed nerves. Every chapter ended with a cliff-hanger that got me turning the page because dang it! I need to know what happened!

I recommend this book (duh) but I also suggest that you brace yourself, I do not want to spoil anything here but you probably shouldn’t read it if you’ve got a weak heart and you are very quick to anger haha!

According to Bella, The Maze Runner gets 3 and a half stars out of 5 stars from me.

Tomorrow I review the second book in the series, The Scorch Trails. Ooooh!

National Book Week reviews?

Hello reader,

Today marks the first day of National Book Week here in South Africa. The National Book Week 2014 is commemorated under the theme: “Going Places”. It focuses on the power of books and how they can ‘figuratively’ and ‘literally’ take South Africans to places. Events are planned in all the provinces and will include reading in indigenous languages, storytelling and motivational talks, word-a-thons, poetry sessions and book debates. If you are a fellow book reader, you do know how books can take you to great places. Places you wouldn't otherwise have dreamed of, places where dreams have no limit and anything is possible and places where you'll discover interesting things about yourself, the world you live in and the people around you.

Since I adore reading (I'm sure you can tell by now!) I'm going to celebrate that on my blog. I am thinking of writing a book review every day until Friday. I'll be reviewing a bunch of books I have read lately and I hope you will join me in promoting a culture of reading. Pick up a book, encourage others as well to do so and lets get reading! If you're in South Africa, you can keep track of the goings-on during National Book Week by following the biggest book club in South Africa on Twitter @ReadaBookSA.

Here on According to Bella I'll be reviewing the following books:

1. The Maze Runner  by James Dashner (I'm currently reading the last book of the trilogy, The Death Cure).
2. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (sequel to the above book).
3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman.
4. The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez

I am also taking suggestions so leave a comment on this post and let me know which books you would love for me to read and review. The list above will probably change, depending on which books I feel like reviewing. Bear with me, I have only written a couple of book reviews waaaaay back in high-school so I may not be the best book reviewer out there. 

If you're an avid book-reader like me, let's see how many books we can read this whole week alone (ending next Monday).

Ready, set, go! I'm excited!

'til next time.
-Bella

Books: Physical copies vs eBooks

Hello you!

I have mentioned before that I am an avid book reader. I love books way too much, they are a great part of my life. I have read more than 30 books this year, that's how much I devour books. The library has always been one of my favorite places but now that I've moved to a new city, I do not have easy access to a library, even though I'm sure there's a library around here...somewhere. So how do I get my books?

I visited a dainty little bookshop couple of months back and bought two books with my first salary; Paulo Coehlo's Like a Flowing River and Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. (Between me and you, I'm writing this here so I won't ever forget when someone asks me what was the first thing I bought with my first cheque since I seem to be very forgetful lately haha). It's also the same bookshop were I found JK Rowling's signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and I may or may have not jumped up and down, silently screaming in excitement and happiness, haha. It feels good knowing I got to contribute to my own personal library even though I am reluctant to reread books and I much loved the idea of a library; you borrow a book, read it and return it instead of having books you are most probably not going to read again take up space in your room. Now I know that whichever book I buy, I can lend it to a friend or family member and if I have my own library my future kids can also read the books I read in my youth! I would love to have a huge library in my future home so why not begin the collection now?

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However, since the bookshop is a little out of my way and I don't have much disposable income (goodness gracious, things are so expensive these days!), I get most of my reading from an app called Wattpad. Wattpad is an eBook reader that I've been using for 6 years now after a friend introduced it to me. It's like on online library, you search for books you would like to read and sometimes Wattpad features books or recommends a couple for you to read. You then add all the books to your virtual library to read at any time and anywhere (except the shower, but perhaps it can be done) on your phone or tablet.

Let me bring up the old debate between physical books and eBooks. Which do I prefer? Well, it's no secret that in the advent of technology eBooks are much more popular than printed copies of books. on Wattpad, I can read books on my small phone which I can carry everywhere. Whether I'm commuting on a train or standing in a queue somewhere and I want something to do, I just whip out my phone and go on Wattpad. It's also convenient for me to use at night because I can read under the blankets with the lights off as long as I want which means I save on electricity, yay!

On the other hand, printed physical copies of books. The smell of books man, it's irreplaceable. I grew up surrounded by the smell of books and I don't think I could ever replace that with eBooks. I also love the page turning (Kindles, Kobos and some other eBook readers on the market come with a page turning effect but let me tell you, it is not the same!), and the mild panic I feel when I can see that I am nearing the end of a great book. Some books also come written in a non conventional way, others are written like an email conversation, others have pages of text dialogue between characters...well you get my drift. This brings me to the cons of eBooks- Wattpad to be more precise because that's the only eBook reader I know and use (other than pdf versions of books that I can only read on my PC because my old Blackberry doesn't support pdfs. Pft!)

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On Wattpad you have access to over 1 million free eBooks. What!? Heaven for bookworms! Simmer down there. That doesn't mean you will find  book you badly want to read, more often than not, finding a book you want to read is like winning the lottery. This is because other than being an online library, it is also a community for amateur authors which means the majority of eBooks you find there are written by people wannabe authors who want to get published. Rarely you'll ever find good books written by Wattpad readers and some are so horrid and horribly written that you'll wonder why the terrible short story you wrote on a whim in Grade 9 isn't a contender on Wattpad's What's Hot list. Some of them though, are really good. Original, good storyline and excellent character development. *green-eyed monster* Do not let this deter you from using Wattpad, you can find a lot of real published books here and bestselling authors use Wattpad to feature their books for free. Cory Doctorow featured his book Homeland (which is so freakin' awesome and I suggest implore you to read it together with its prequel, Little Brother), and right now I'm currently reading New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson's book, The Boy in the Smoke, which is excellent!

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Let me stop here, because I'll go on and on about every good book I've read on Wattpad and there are so many. However, if you want me to review books of my favorites, both by published authors and unpublished authors alike, I'll be more than happy to! To conclude this post, let me say that I'll take printed copies of books over eBooks any day! You don't get a first edition of an eBook, print copies are great when you want to quickly go back to the first page and let me just say, dedication pages. Enough said. This doesn't always have to be exclusive for me of course. Both are beneficial in different situations so I'll say, it's good to have a choice of the two!

Let me know in the comments whether you prefer eBooks to printed copies or vice versa, or even both! If you want me to recommend a book for you, do not be afraid to ask, I'd love to hear from you!