Audio Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

TITLE: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

AUTHORS: John Green and David Levithan

NARRATORS: MacLeod Andrews and Nick Podehl

PUBLISHER: Brilliance Audio

PUBLICATION DATE: 4/6/2010

FORMAT: Audio book

LENGTH: 7 hours and 52 minutes

SOURCE: Bought
MY RATING:

SUMMARY (FROM AUDIBLE): One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens--both named Will Grayson--are about to cross paths. As their worlds and lives collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most fabulous high school musical.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I'm having a hard time getting on board the John Green train. Everyone seems to adore his books, and out of the four that I've read the only one that I've really enjoyed was The Fault in Our Stars. I was hoping to enjoy this one, but it was my least favorite so far. It took a little bit to get going and then about two hours into the audio, my interest was peaked, but I still never got really invested in the book. I think a lot of my dislike for this one had to do with the audio though. According to Audible, there are two narrators for this book, but when I was listening I didn't even know there was a difference. I actually remember thinking that I would have enjoyed hearing two different narrators so that I could more easily tell the two Will Graysons apart, and apparently there were two narrators all along.

There was a lot of back and forth dialog that had the names of who was speaking before every line and that was, honestly, annoying to listen to the narrator say the names over and over again. Also, the singing drove me nuts. It was so over the top and obnoxious, which I guess was part of that particular character's personality, but it just got on my nerves.

All of that being said, if you're thinking about picking this one up, I would say to check out the print version rather than the audio.

Paper Towns Review

TITLE: Paper Towns

AUTHOR: John Green

PUBLISHER: Penguin Group

PUBLICATION DATE: 10/16/2008

FORMAT: ebook

PAGES: 246

SOURCE: Bought

MY RATING: 

COYER SCAVENGER HUNT #78: READ A BOOK THAT ONE OF YOUR GOODREADS FRIENDS HAS GIVEN 4/5 STARS AND THAT ANOTHER GOODREADS FRIEND HAS GIVEN 1/2 STARS

SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS: Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life--dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues--and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I think it's safe to say that I am late to the party with this one. It seems like everyone but me has already read it, so when I found out a movie was coming out, I figured it was time I picked it up. I enjoyed the first part of the book quite a bit more than the second and third parts. I really enjoyed watching Q and Margo go on their adventure and enjoyed their interactions. The rest of the book, while still good, wasn't as fun for me. 

I flew through this book. I didn't realize I had gotten as far as I had when I was reading. It's such a fast and easy read. 

I'm not really sure how I feel about the ending. I feel like it was written the way that it was supposed to be written, but I just don't know if I really liked it or not. I would love to see a short novella from Margo's perspective. I think it would be really interesting to read about her journey.

I'm excited to see this movie when it comes out to compare it to the book, and I'm happy that I no longer have to avoid the movie trailers for fear of spoilers.

CHARACTERS: I feel like I would have connected with Margo had she been in the story more (dual perspectives maybe), but the rest of the characters that played a bigger role later on (Ben, Radar, Lacey) didn't really do anything for me. I feel like I didn't know much about them. They had potential to be great characters, but I feel like I didn't get to learn about them.

COVER: I like the cover a lot. It shows that this is going to be a road trip book, which immediately appeals to me.

The Fault in Our Stars Review

Goodreads

TITLE: The Fault in Our Stars

AUTHOR: John Green

PUBLISHER: Dutton Books

PUBLICATION DATE: 1/10/2012

PAGES: 318

MY RATING:

INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has brought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I have been wanting to read this book for a really long time. This is my first John Green book, and now I want to read all of his books. I was competely sucked in from the very first line. I love the writing style and the voice.

I enjoyed the story line of this book so much. The pacing of the story was perfect. I love how the events unfolded, particularly the part of the story that has to do with Hazel's favorite book.

CHARACTERS: The character development throughout this book was great. I felt like I knew each of the characters personally. Hazel and Gus just fit together perfectly. Isaac was a great character as well.

COVER: I am obsessed with the cover. The colors are gorgeous and I love how it looks like a chalkboard.

Book Haul #24

I have been waiting to get my hands on these book FOREVER and they are finally here! I'm currently reading Half Bad and then I'm going to jump straight into Divergent.

What did you get this week?