Reading Challenge - 61 to 65

61 - The City & The City by China Miéville
The City & The City is the big winner this year, taking all the awards (not all, but the World Fantasy Award, the Hugo, the Locus and the Arthur C. Clarke, among others). And even if I didn’t find it mindblowing, I have to agree that all of these are well deserved.

I enjoyed reading The City & The City, and if another book is written in this universe, I'll definitely read it.

(4/5)


[Full Review]

62 - Shades of Green by Rhonda Parrish

Shades of Green is a small book, that promised to be quick – and since it was won through Goodreads I wasn't exactly sure of what to expect.

I liked this story, it was quick and to the point, and didn't really need to be any longer. And it was nice to be surprised by the ending.

(3.5/5)


[Full Review]

63 - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

This is a science fiction children's book, winner the Newbery Medal in 1963. It is also one of the most challenged books. There are plenty of reviews singing its praises. With all this in mind I was really expecting to like it. But it didn't fulfil those expectations. In this case I know exactly why that happened: I read it too late.

(3.5/5)


[Full Review]

64 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (what a big name!) is indeed a curious book. Told from the point of view of a teenager with Asperger's Syndrome, Christopher, it is extremely different from all the books I've read.

The book is quite is easy to read. The language is simple and to the point, and you want to read just one more chapter every chapter. When I reached the point where the book lost its charm, it was still easy to finish it – I just stopped loving it.

(3.5/5)


[Full Review]


65 - Tithe by Holly Black

There are a lot of books that stay on my wishlist for ages, and once I get them, they are the next book to read for an equal long time – to the point that I no longer remember what was it that made me want to read it so much. Tithe was on of those (although it didn't spend that much on my TBR list).

What I knew about it was that it was a dark fairytale. But it had a pretty cover, and was Young Adult so it thought it would be okay, and quite quick to read. And it was. And quite nice as well.

Tithe is a nice story, easy to read and like. There are two more books on the series that I want to check out – as well as other books by Holly Black.

(4/5)


[Full Review]

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (what a big name!) is indeed a curious book. Told from the point of view of a teenager with Asperger's Syndrome, Christopher, it is extremely different from all the books I've read.

It starts with Christopher discovering his neighbour's dog dead in the middle of night. And because Christopher likes detective novels, especially Sherlock Holmes, he will investigate this case to find who is the culprit.

This book was fun at first, full of quirks and things that made you think. It was amazing to see the world in such a different way, where what you say is what you mean, with no metaphors. Christopher is a wonderful character that I couldn't help to like, and with his love for science and maths, I even learnt some new things! His interactions with other people, especially strangers, were really fun to read. However I had some trouble seeing him as fifteen, I kept imagining him a bit younger.

I loved the detective part of the book, finding out all the clues to discover who killed Wellington, the dog. There were other mysteries attached to that one that we couldn't help but notice (and solve, even if Christopher couldn't). But again, there is a downside to this as well, as the the discovery of the dog killer is disappointing, because is not a result of Christopher powers of deduction, but exasperation of the guilty one that finally confesses.

And this brings me to the second part of the plot: Family Drama. After finding out who killed Wellington, Christopher's world is throw off balance, and he flees home. He will continue to investigate things, solving his own mysteries. This part was nice at start but it started to get to much drama for my tastes, especially when compared with the beginning of the book. Also, the quirks that I enjoyed at first became repetitive and lost their charm.

The book is quite is easy to read. The language is simple and to the point, and you want to read just one more chapter every chapter. When I reached the point where the book lost its charm, it was still easy to finish it – I just stopped loving it.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a nice book, that I'm glad I've read.

(3.5/5)

Other reviews: Page Turners | Reading with Tequilla