Review – Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Genre: fiction, romance, 20-something adult fiction

Themes/Motifs: death, quadriplegic living, finding your calling, perseverance, courage, caretaker, love against all odds, acceptance, grief, autonomy

Similar Media: My Sister’s Keeper, Jason’s story on Friday Night Lights

Tone: bleak, real, heartbreaking

Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You had me laughing, crying, nodding my head, heart thumping in dread, and I loved/hated every minute of it. I truly didn’t think I would enjoy the book, but I took a leap into the deep waters. I actually started it in honor of the first Bout of Books 17.0 challenge: book to movie adaptations. It brought me out of my comfort zone.

This book was in my face right from the start. It’s so real…and it doesn’t skirt by the touchy/delicate issues of being disabled. I particularly liked Lousia’s story – I identified with many aspects of her life: 26, not sure what to do with her life, the trapped feeling, and then the feeling that if you don’t succeed at that one big thing, it means you’re a massive failure.

Me Before You deals with death by looking at life through a cynic’s eyes…and Will has every right to be cynical. I both hate and love the ending. I understand and then again, I’m infuriated by it. But one thing is for sure, if you want a book that will make you feel like dancing, and then rips your guts out, read this one.

On the Hogwarts Express

Happy September 1st! Today is the best day of the year. It marks the day students return to Hogwarts for a glorious year of magical learning, and in the Muggle world, things aren’t too bad either. Today is the beginning of fall (at least to me). When September hits, there’s a charge in the air, an electricity so vibrant, my bones sing with it. I feel new and whole and I have this inexplicable feeling that all kinds of wondrous things can happen.

Today, I celebrate by sitting down with a cuppa and traveling back to Hogwarts, my home away from home.

Now please excuse me while I meet the Weasleys, Hermione, Neville, and the three goons once again.

Review – The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins

Genre: fiction/fantasy

Themes/Motifs: Magic, Ireland, history, battle of good v. evil

Similar media: Lord of the Rings, Stardust

Tone: lyrical, nostalgic, fast-paced, intense

What a wonderful book! I didn’t want to put it down. At once lyrical and fast-paced, with its smatterings of history, fairy tale, and legend, Thompkins has created a fantasy worth reading…and then reading again.

A friend recommended this book to me, and for some reason, I actually read it, within two weeks of the suggestion. I very rarely listen to recs and actually read the books, but I’m so glad I went for this one.

Though the book, in my opinion, is plot-based, the characters and their motivations, and thus their development, is astounding. The Last Days of Magic is such a well-rounded, adventurous, must-read. (Wow. I like the hyphens today, don’t I?)

Anyway, pick up this book, whether or not you like fantasy. With its mix of the real and historical, I think it has a little something for everyone. There’s also a lot of dramatic irony – which makes for some really great suspense…something Tolkien’s works lack during those long battle scenes and war campaigns. Plus, there are demons and Patrick’s Blood Bell and exorcists. And much much more!!