A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

I read this book a while ago and since I'm reading the third book of A Song Of Ice A Fire, I thought it was time to finally review this book.

A Clash Of Kings is the second part of A Song Of Ice And Fire. It's the sequel of A Game of Thrones in which a war began, because King Robert Baratheon died and Ned Strak found out the children of Queen Cersei weren't the true children of Robert Baratheon. So there are 4 kings in the realm. Stannis Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, Rob Stark (King in the North) and King Joffrey (King on the Iron Throne). And of course there is Daenerys Targaryen, who believes she has the right to the Iron Throne, because her father was the King before King Robert took over the throne. Of course, they all want the war to end and want to be King.

In this book you read in the same perspectives as in A Game of Thrones, except and of course Ned Stark. There are also new perspectives, Davos who follows King Stannis and Theon Greyjoy, a former ward of Winterfell. I think it was a choice to bring new perspectives in the book. Otherwise, I think the book would be kinda the same as A Game of Throne. But I personally didn't like Davos much. I think it would be more interesting if the writer chose Stannis or Melisandre instead of Davos, because they have a more important role than Davos. I did enjoy the perspective of Theon. Mainly because you learn about his experiences in Winterfell.

The book is not a book that you'll finish in a couple of days. I think I read it in 2 weeks, which I thought was pretty quick. The book has also more pages than the first book, but I liked that the book was so detailed. It's not a simpel story, but George R.R. Martin has created a whole other world with its history and important people. I also read a short story which takes place about a thousand years before A Song Of Ice And Fire began, but the details in that story fitted the details A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings perfectly.

A long story short: I think everyone who has read A Game of Thrones will definitely enjoy A Clash of Kings. It's a good book with an impressive and gigantic story.

- L

Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 969 (without appendix)

Note: I highly recommend to read the books first before watching Game of Thrones. I read the books first and then saw the episodes of Game of Thrones and I liked the books way better (don't get me wrong, I liked the program too). The book and program have differences (which I personally (and I'm certainly not the only one) found annoying) and I think if you watch the program first, it will spoil the book.

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

The Fault in Our Stars is about the 16-year-old Hazel who has terminal cancer. Her parents made her do to a Support Group in order to meet other people. One day she meets Augustus Waters at one of those meetings. She falls in love with him, although she doesn't want to be.

I finished this book, very, very quickly. The main reason is because once you start reading this book, you won't stop. It's addictive to read, because you want to know what will happen next. This book has also the rare ability to make you cry and laugh at the same time. Cry, because it's a sad story and Laugh because the dialogues are very funny. Normally when I finished a book, I liked the book. But when I finished this book, I really loved it and wanted to read more. 

The Fault in Our Stars tells us the truth; life doesn't always go in the way we wanted; that life is not always a big party. It shows us to be glad with what we have. And of course, it shows us with which problems terminal cancer patients struggle when they know that they will die sooner than others. How they don't want to make many victims when they leave their loved ones behind.

I did really liked this book. So I would definitely recommend it, because this story will impress you. It will make you think about the dark side of life.

- L

Pages: 313

Genre: Young Adult/Fiction

Wonder - R.J. Palacio

Wonder is a book about a ten-year-old boy named August. August is deformed because he has this syndrome called Treacher Collins Syndrome. In the book August goes for the first time to school. This is very scary, because most people don't react well when they see him for the first time.

I just found out it was a children's book, but I actually enjoyed reading it although I'm certainly not 10 or 12 years old. I guess I thought it was a YA book, because the description was quite mysterious. The book is written in different perspectives, but August narrates most of the story. The storyline isn't really spectacular, but it will make you think about this syndrome. Everyone is staring at you when you're in public, children call you names and even some adults will say something mean behind your back. I think it's giving a great example of the everyday life of someone with this syndrome. The book is easy to read, which is absolutely logical. But I seriously think people over 12 will enjoy this book too, just like I did. Though August is an imaginary character, I had respect for the way he dealt with his syndrome. Probably real persons with this syndrome will have the same strength as August. Also it's pretty touching to see how August gain more confident when he goes to school. For example, at the beginning of the story he has long hair covering his eyes, so no one sees his deformed eyes. But at the end he has short hair. It's something he wouldn't have done when he was still home-schooled.

I think it will be good for children to read this book. They'll understand that someone with a syndrome, disability or whatever has problems to deal with a lot of everyday tasks. Probably is the book written with goal to give children more sympathy for these people.

- L

Pages: 310
Genre: Children's book/Fiction