The Help, Matched, Radiance

The Help ~ 451 Pages


"Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought."


This book is sensational. I had a lot of people ask me if I liked it while I was reading it, but I don't really judge how I liked a book until I'm done with it. I'm telling you now. I loved it.


Most people recognize the book because the movie is coming out. I can honestly say that I am SO excited to see it, mostly because I think it's a book that can translate into a screen play. Not like say... The Hunger Games...


The Help is historical fiction, based in Jackson Mississippi in the early 1960s. It's told from the point of view of three different women of the time. Skeeter, a white lady who wants to be a writer, Aibileen, a black older woman who has taken care of lots of children, but leaves when they grow up, and Minny, a black woman who has a hard time controlling her temper and finds herself fired quite often.


Basically, Miss Skeeter wants to write a book about the black help in Mississippi, their stories working for the white women of the town.


I think that the movie trailer and the Wikipedia page explain it better than I just did. Sorry.


I just think that anyone who likes historical fiction should read this book.


Matched ~ 366 Pages


"The books' backs are broken; their bones, thin and delicate, fall out. The workers shove them toward the incineration tube; they step on them... my father laments the waste... But the higher officials say somethings are not worth saving. Sometimes it's faster and more efficient to destroy."


So, apparently August is romance awareness month (or something like that) at the library. They have this whole little set up where you can look at the most popular romance novels. I guess this book and post will be my celebration of that...


Matched is a dystopian novel. If you don't know what that means, I would love to copy and paste this part of the Wikipedia page to help you... 


 "Note that there is no one definition of dystopia that is agreed upon by all, as the term is usually used to refer to something much more specific than simply a nightmare world or unpleasant future." 


Helpful isn't it? (Sarcasm hand)


Well in the case of the book, the dystopia is a government that controls where you live, who you love, what your job is, and when you will die. The time is far in the future, based in Utah even. (Probably because the author is from St. George) It is centered around a young girl named Cassia, who has just been "Matched" with her best friend Xander. (Meaning they can now date and will marry when they are 21) But through a whole set of complicated events, she has now fallen in love with a different boy, Ky.


So she loves them both and has to choose between doing what the government is forcing her to do, and doing what she wants to do/what her heart tells her. It's Xander vs. Ky.


It happens a lot in books. The heroine has two perfect but very different guys that she likes, or like her, or maybe you just like them and they have nothing to do with the story... Anyway... when it comes up in conversation, it instantly becomes, who do you like more? Are you Team friend or Team mystery guy? So, I'm going to go out there right now and let you know where I stand on these controversial (but not really) issues.


Edward v. Jacob (From Twilight)
When I was reading the books, I was so Team Edward, it was disgusting. I just loved how much respect he showed her, not to mention he was quite dashing. When the movies came out, (and I realized how much I hated Edward,) I turned to Team Jacob. He's just a ton more awesome. (A certain blogger may have influenced my views as well)


Peeta v. Gale (From The Hunger Games)
Peeta. Peeta, Peeta, Peeta. Since day one and forever. This point of view will never change. Even if the movies suck like Twilight. (By the way, have I told you how UNexcited I am for those? That's a blog for another day) The things he says don't make me want to punch him in the face like Gale. 


Colonel Brandon v. Willoughby (From Sense and Sensibility)
So, John Willoughby is so freaking charming, it's hard not to love him. I mean, the man has his own Wikipedia page. But Colonel Brandon always wins my heart. He's so honorable and good, and he's charming in his own way. The scene when he first sees Marianne is my one of my favorites ever.


Will v. Jem (From Clockwork Angel)
Oh dear, where do I start? It's Jem. I guess I'll start there. Will is just too much for me. Everyone loves him because he's so unpredictable and erratic. It's for those reasons that I can't stand him. Although, this series hasn't been finished, so I might get an explanation for his behavior, but I'm pretty sure Jem will still win. (Even though I predict that he dies before the end of the series)


and how could we exclude,


Xander v. Ky (From Matched)
Xander has nothing on Ky. But I think the author wanted it that way. Wanted it to be almost obvious that Ky is the (bear with me) right guy. Xander hardly does anything charming or interesting in the whole book, but Ky does a million. So naturally, I'm going to choose Ky.


There you have it. The book is good, I was having a hard time with it at the very beginning because it came off as very shallow, but then I realized, it's part of the progression of the book. By the end Cassia sees the truth of her world, it's supposed to start shallow. The character progression is amazing (even Xander, who doesn't so much) When I was reading it, I kept thinking, "This is like Hunger Games, Twilight, and The Book Thief all mixed in one."So if your interested in how those books mix, read it. It's a fast fun read.


Radiance ~ 183 Pages


"Shaking and trembling, he struggled to consume all her pain. While I whispered to myself, over and over again, that it would all be all right. That the light always wins in the end. In all my favorite books, movies, and shows on TV - Thats just the way it always goes.
Only, this was all too real."


Once upon a time I was getting a book at the library and I saw this row of colorful books on a shelf. I liked the look of the books, so I picked up the prequel. That's how I ended up with this tiny book. 


I had never heard of the series before, even though it was a "best seller", but I put the first book of the series on hold anyway. So we'll see how that goes.


This book is about a girl who dies in a car accident. Or more so, about what happens when she gets to heaven or, "Here" as they call it. She is assigned to be a soul collector, to go out and help the ghosts who are stuck on the earth plane to find the bridge to "Here".


It was a fun little read for a few hours, but I think I would suggest it to my sister who is in 6th grade. Or someone in middle school. 


So, the coolest thing happened. When I totaled up the page count from these three books, I couldn't believe it, (I did it three times to make sure it wasn't a mistake) but they add up to a perfect 1,000 pages. So, with that down, I've got 3,701 pages to go. Will I make my deadline? Stay tuned! (Because I really don't know)


Read on,


Jamie