Across the Universe

This is one of those rare books that I'd probably classify as one of the top ten best books I've read this year. That's right. I think I'd definitely put it up there with the likes of "The Book Thief" and "Shiver".

I first learned about this book in a review by old friends of mine, the Lateiner Gang.You can see their review here. They pretty much tell you the whole story without spoiling too much.

When I heard about it, the story kind of reminded me of "Wall*E", only without the robots. Basically, it's a sci-fi story that takes place in the future, with people taking off in a big spaceship to colonize a new planet, which is 300 years away from Earth. Certain people, like scientists, military leaders, important people, get cryogenically frozen. Then you have a couple thousand other people to run the ship and help it reach it's destination. Fast-forward a few centuries, and you have a mystery-murderer unplugging certain frozens, one of them a teenage girl. Why?

The love story is okay. It's the sci-fi stuff that was really amazing. All the people who live on the spaceship, centuries after it launches, evolve into a kind of "mono-ethnic" race. Everyone has roughly the same features and traits, so no one is different. Each person has a mini-communicator embedded inside their ear, so you can talk to anyone you want on the ship with a simple vocal command. (I know someone who'd probably think this was ultra-cool. ^_~)

Amazing story. Really compelling. Will definitely leave you thinking after you've closed the book.

Shiver

This book was heavily recommended to me by my friend Amy, aka the Simple Little Bookworm (see her review of it here). Since I had read and intensely enjoyed The Book Thief, another novel Amy said I would like, I decided to give "Shiver" a try.

Getting into it, I knew right off the bat that it would remind me a lot of the Twilight Saga, because they were both paranormal teen romance novels. I only hoped that thisstory would be a better one. Trust me. It was. ^_^

Here are the few key differences that makes Shiver the better read:

~There are only werewolves. No vampires whatsoever! This was a very good thing, in my case. (I've been on Team Jacob from the start. ^_~)

~The book is written so that almost every other chapter is narrated either by the human girl, Grace, and the werewolf boy, Sam. Well,most of it is from Grace's view, but at least not all of it, as was Bella's case.

~There aren't any love triangles. So the story is ultra-simple. Grace loves Sam. Sam loves Grace. That's it. It's like what might have happened if Bella had never fallen in love with Edward, only Jacob.

Besides these things, the similarities to Twilight were pretty strong, but this book somehow seemed a lot better written. The characters seemed more like real, multi-dimensional, good-hearted people. The rules of this fictional world (some people can turn into werewolves, but only when the temperature gets cold) were acceptable, with some suspension-of-belief.

Most of all, the 2 lead characters, Grace and Sam, were characters that I truly wanted to see get together. They treated each other like equals, even though one of them obviously had super-natural powers that the other didn't. (This is unlike the relationship inTwilight, where Bella basically treats Edward like a god, and she doesn't understand why he's in love with her, because she has low self-esteem.)

I'm not sure what else I can say without giving away the story, but suffice it to say that I really liked it. I hear that this is only the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, though I believe Shiverdoes quite well, even on it's own. (Except the ending felt strangely anti-climactic. O,o) Well, perhaps I'll read the other two in the series,Linger and Forever, when the latter comes out this July.

Thanks, Amy. 2 for 2, you have steered me in the right direction of a good read. What do you have for me next? ^_~

The Book Thief

Gosh, what a reading experience... I don't think I will easily forget it. The story, the characters, the setting... it all felt so real. (Well, I expect that's because it takes place in Germany in the 1940's. Perhaps the characters are fictional, but the events that were written about, I could easily believe actually happened.)

So here's the scoop on this book: It's narrated by Death (yeah, really. And he is quite the story-teller, I can assure you). It takes place in Nazi Germany, when Hitler is gaining power and support, and Jews were hunted. (Gulp. Personal subject, since I'm a Jew myself. I remember going to Israel last summer on my Taglit trip, and going to the Holocaust memorial. Just breaks my heart... !,!)

A 10-year old girl, Liesel, is sent away to live with a foster family, because her poor mother can't take care of her anymore. It takes getting used to, but eventually she adapts to life with her new family. Her foster dad is a wonderful character; you like him right from the start. Her new mom is a more complex kind of person. She acts pretty mean, but as the story goes on, you see that she's really got a big heart. I also love the character of her best friend, Rudy Steiner, the boy next door. During the course of the book, Liesel learns to read, she begins stealing books from the mayor's library, and her family takes in an escaped Jew named Max (for complicated reasons).

It is a wonderful coming of age story. It will no doubt make my list of "Ten Best Books of 2011" at the end of the year. One of the best things about this book is that it teaches you a few interesting words in German, so it's slightly educational. Another special thing I discovered, when I was more than halfway into the book, is that... I am a fictional character! The boy Rudy has a 5-year-old sister named BETTINA! She is mentioned a few times as a very minor, throw-away character... But still!!!

So yes, I'm in a famous book!!! Only my last name is Steiner... ^_^

My 2010 Books

Sorry that I pretty much stopped posting book reviews since October this year. ~,~ This will probably be the last post you hear from Bettina's Book Club. It had a good, long, 2 year run.

This doesn't mean I'm going to stop reading, or be any less of a bibliophile than I am now. No sirree bob! All you have to do to keep up with my reading habits (and much more!) is to go to The Majik of Magenta, my home blog. Follow me, please. Cya there. And Happy New Year. ^_~

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74 In all for 2010! WOW!

January books ~ 11

February books ~ 6

March books ~ 7

April books ~ 12

May books ~ 3

June books ~ 3

July books ~ 10

August books ~ 9

September books ~ 9

October books ~ 4