Life of Pi - Yann Martel

I just finished reading Life of Pi, so I decided to review this book.

Life of Pi is about a sixteen-year-old boy called Piscine, but has the nickname 'Pi'. His parents own a zoo in India, but sold the animals when they decided to move to Canada. During the trip to Canada they make by bo
at, the ship sank. Pi, a zebra, a hyena, an orang-utan and a tiger are the only survivors. All the animals, apart from the tiger, die soon and Pi and the tiger remain as the last survivors.

The book is written in 3 parts. Before the ship sank, when the ship sank and after the ship sank. At first, the book is a bit vague. You read all these stories about Pi's life in India. During the second part, you understand why all that information was given. You read the whole story in Pi's perspective, except for the parts that are written in cursive. Later I found out that it was probably the writer himself, which I thought was funny to read, but I didn't understand those parts at first. This book is nice to read. It reads quite easy and is a good distraction. The only big disadvantage were the details. Sometimes the storyline is very detailed which resulted in parts that were a little bit boring. It's understandable that there are lots of details, because what else can you write about a boy and a tiger on the Pacific Ocean. But the story is also very interesting to read and at some parts very funny. The book is mend for teenagers, although I think some adults would also enjoy this book. So I would definitely recommend this book.

I haven't seen the movie yet (I always read the book first and then see the movie). But I'm quite interested how the makers have made this movie.

- L

Pages: 428
Genre: Fiction

Switched - Amanda Hocking

I read this book a year ago, but I think it's worth a review. Especially because this book isn't really known. At least, I don't see it often in a bookstore in my country and I haven't met people (yet) who also read this book.

Switched is about Wendy Everly who was almost killed by her mother when she was 6. Her mother claimed Wendy wasn't her daughter and was at the time pregnant with a boy. Eleven years later, she's living with her aunt Maggie and her brother Matt. She has an ordinary live, although she can do something weird. She can persuade people to do whatever she wants them to do. With help of a newcomer called Finn, she founds out why she has this magical power, who she really is and where she belongs.

I quite enjoyed this book. It starts with a prologue when she was 6 which explains what had happened at the time. You'll need this to understand why certain thing are the way they are. The book is written in Wendy's perspective and is easy to read. I had to read this book in English, because it wasn't translated in another language. I didn't mind, because I often read books in English, but the vocabulary used in the book is really easy. You can finish this book pretty quickly if you want. I don't know exactly why, but when I was reading, it reminded me a bit of the Twilight-saga. I think because of the sometimes romantic story line. Though, I liked Switched way better than Twilight, because Wendy doesn't play the victim like Bella does (which really annoyed me) and has a stronger personality.

This book is also obviously mend for girls. I can't imagine a boy reading this book. Switched is easy to read and it's amusing. I think that's the most important factor for a book, to be amusing. I finished this book really fast, because I was all the time curious to find out what would happen next. The storyline isn't a masterpiece, but it's good enough to have a nice time while reading it. So I would definitely recommend this book, if you like the Young Adult genre (and if you're a girl).

- L

Pages: 318
Genre: Fiction/Young Adult/Fantasy (I guess) 

A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

I was questioning myself which book would be a proper book to post on my blog. This is the first time I ever reviewed a book and I think this book will be a good start. Many people have read it and liked it very much, including myself.

This book is about a place where the seasons don't change every 3 months, but can last for years. The story follows the high houses, which reign or are important for the realm. All sorts of events happen, like treason, lying and hiding things. Because of those events the realm has to deal with issues between those families. So it's almost natural that there will be lots of blood and fights.

A friend gave me this book for my birthday, which I really appreciated, because I wanted to read this book for a while. The series were a great success and I was curious to find out if the books were as good as people said they were. (Note: I hadn't seen the series before I had read the book) Although I wasn't certain I would like this book (because I hadn't read much books in the same genre) I enjoyed it from the beginning until the end. The book is in many different perspectives and about quite a lot of families. So it wasn't an easy read for me. Fortunately, there is an appendix at the end where all the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms.  I was really glad there was one, because without it would be confusing to figure out who everyone is. During the first chapters you have to pay attention to make sure you know which persons are related to each other and to which House they belong. But after you figured that out, you will find yourself enjoying the story. Also the map at the beginning of the book is very helpful. It connects you more with the story and it makes the world more real.

I would highly recommend this book. It doesn't really matter if you have read more books in the same genre or if you - like me - had no clue what you could expect. You won't finish this book quickly (unless you have magical reading skills), but that is not a shame. It will take you into a whole other world from the moment you start reading and if you've finished it, you'll be glad that you read this book.

- L

Pages: 864
Genre: Fantasy