The Girl On The Train

Independent Choice Reflection

The Girl On The Train

My most recent independent choice was Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins. This book was recommended to me by Amazon after I had finished Dark Places because it is also a thriller/mystery and is written in a similar fashion. I accepted the recommendation because I had great ratings and it's my favorite genre.  

I thought this book was really well done. The emotion in it is very powerful and raw, making it easy to connect with the characters and feel their pain, The book was intriguing from the start which I love because I hate a dull start to a book. It was very suspenseful and mysterious. I liked that Rachel couldn't remember what she had seen because she was intoxicated but knew she saw something crucial, it drove me just as crazy as it drove her that the answer was so close but seemingly unobtainable. I love the writing style of narrating it from several different character's view points, it adds great layering and insight and makes the characters feel more real and intertwined into the story. Hawkins made the characters very relateable and realistic which made the book all the more interesting and intriguing.

As for my reaction to the book, I really loved it. The ending was so well done and surprising, I loved the plot twist Hawkins made. I identified with the characters, felt like I was walking in their shoes, especially Rachel. It was everything I like best in a book, suspense, mystery, strong emotion, descriptive, and a true page turner. I loved the way everything fell into place and connected in this book and I read the whole thing in one afternoon. 

I would definitely recommend this book to someone who loves a good mystery and suspense. The book is very sad however, so if you're not one who enjoys a depressing tone in a book, this might not be for you. If you love a crazy plot twist, this book definitely has it. The book is definitely worth the read and I don't think it would disappoint, so if you're looking for a good read or a well written suspenseful mystery, this book is the right one for you. 

Butter

Butter Reaction

For our class read, our class voted for Butter by Erin Lange. I wasn't sure if I would appreciate Butter, the plot seemed somewhat outrageous and dramatic. I didn't think I would enjoy a book about an obese kid who wants to eat himself to death on live internet broadcast all because he was sick of being fat. Surprisingly, I did enjoy this book. Although it was a bit of a stretch, I can understand why Marshall (Butter) felt the way he did. I like that Erin Lange made the main character someone society tends to ignore and avoid, an obese and depressed binge eating teenager. Before this book I never really thought about what it must be like to be an obese teenager, I didn't know how hard it could be in a setting like high school. Erin Lange makes you feel Marshall's humiliation and frustration. There were times in the book where I got frustrated with Marshall's attitude, but I liked the ending. Overall I think the book was well written and fairly eye opening. 

The Books of My Life/ My Life in Books

Favorite Childhood Book:
My favorite childhood book was "Goodnight Moon." Every night my mother would read "Goodnight Moon" to me before bed. I always loved the little cozy room the book took place in. The bunny in the dress in the rocking chair always reminded me of my mom since she watched carefully over the little bunny in the little bed, my mom used to sit in the rocking chair in my room and read the book to me as I laid in bed. I always loved the moon as a little kid, it was my first word, "moon." so I loved saying goodnight to my favorite thing every night before peacefully dozing off looking at the colorful pictures. It made me feel like the day was complete and I could happily sleep. 



A Book That Made Me Cry...
Quite a few books have made me cry at the end, but I think the book that made me cry the most and made me really feel something so strong for the first real time was when I was 13 and read Lost by Jacqueline Davies. It was a book about a young girl about 15 years old in denial over her little sister's tragic death, and when she finally broke through that barrier and realized she had died, her emotion was so strong and the book was so well written I started to sob. I think it was the first book where I could feel the characters agony and I felt so much despair over the whole thing that I'll always remember that as one of the most powerful books and one of the first which truly made me cry.


Coming of Age Story:
One of my favorite books of all time that happens to be a coming of age story is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This book was given to me as a gift from a cousin of mine who knows of my love for books. The story follows a young girl growing up in Brooklyn in the 1920s in a poor, struggling, but loving family. Francie, the book loving, down to earth, smart main character, loses her father to illness at a young age and it shows how his death affects her growing up and the family life in general as they struggle to survive. It's a great down to earth book full of feeling that anyone with growing pains can relate to. I loved this book and it'll always be a classic to me. 

Character I Identify With...
I just read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn and the main character, Libby Day is a character I could relate to really well. Libby is a sarcastic, pessimistic, angry 31 year old woman. She views herself rather negatively, but still has that biting sarcastic sense of humor. I love Libby Day's character and can relate to her because I know what it's like to be angry at the world, defensive, and look at things from a pessimistic stance. Her humor throughout the novel was just my kind of humor and I feel like if I met Libby Day in real life we'd share a little understanding or bond. (this is one of the best books I have ever read by the way, it certainly is dark but so worth the read.)


Memoir I Admire
Glass Castles. What an amazing memoir. Devastatingly true and hard to put down, Jeanette Walls takes us through her life growing up with irresponsible and incompetent parents that move their family all over the country from street to house to shack to wherever they can survive for a while. I admire the bravery of Jeanette Walls and her strength to beat the cycle and make herself the life her parents always promised but never gave. I will always remember this book and I will always admire Jeanette Walls strength and power to over come all the odds and still forgive.


Favorite Book I Read for School:
I think the best book that I read for school was Angela's Ashes, a book about an Irish family in the 20th century trying to survive poverty and terrible conditions in Ireland with a drunk father and too many children to feed. It was a true story told by Frank McCourt of his child hood, growing up in New York city and then moving to Ireland with his Irish parents when money got tight only to realize Ireland was much worse than America. With his father always drinking and spending all the money at the bars with more brothers and sisters they could ever afford to feed, Frank McCourt narrates the hardships he witnessed and experienced with disease, death of many infant siblings, and his father eventually disappearing all together and somehow making it out in the end. I think this is one of the most interesting books i ever had to read for school and one of the most meaningful.


So there it is. The books that have left impacts on my life and books I will never forget and always cherish. Each one of these books is amazing and worth the read, I highly recommend reading all of them. They taught me about survival, strength, and how to be grateful for what I have and so much more.