The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Published- 3rd January 2013
Publisher- Penguin Books
Pages- 316 pages (Paperback)



Such a moving and heart-wrenching story. The basic storyline of this novel is about cancer. Hazel Grace has terminal cancer of the lungs and Augustus Waters has osteosarcoma (cancer of the bones). The Fault in our Stars follows their romance story from when they meet at Support Group to the end of the novel. The novel has such a heart-breaking ending which made me cry.

As you could guess what was going to happen at the end of the novel it was still sad and upsetting to read. The novel was well-written and contained lots of description. You were pulled into the novel so the reader could imagine what was happening throughout the entire novel. As the book was well written all the characters were really likeable so you could really relate to them.

Augustus was a really likeable character and my favourite in the novel. He would have done anything for Hazel as he loved her so much. Hazel was a great female lead as she just wanted to be loved and do the things that other children could do. However, because of her cancer she couldn't be like other children as she had to be hooked up to an oxygen tank every day. Isaac was a good character too, but it was really sad when he went blind. The three of those characters together was god as they were best friends and really cared about each other. Hazel fell in love with Augustus in the end because of the person he was, not because of his cancer.

This is one of my favourite novels because it is such a moving story. The characters are very relate-able and it is a topic that can happen to any person in the world. However, this is the first novel I have read by John Green. Hopefully, I will read some more of his novels in the near future. This is a novel I think everyone should read soon. They will love it and cry their eyes out at the end of the novel. I gave this novel 5/5 stars. Get reading this novel book lovers.


                                  Rating 5/5
    

To Die For

To Die For by Sandra Byrd

Published- 9th August 2011
Publisher- Howard Books
Pages- 332 pages (Paperback)

This book is about Anne Boleyn's best friend Meg and their lives from before Anne became Queen up to when she died. I really enjoyed this book and it's the first historical book I've read about Kings and Queens. To Die For gave me an insight in to how Anne, Henry and Meg would have felt during the Tudor times and what it was like for other citizens living in the same area as them.

Meg was a brilliant character as she really cared about Anne. Meg would do anything for her friends and family. It was great to get an insight into her duties and how she felt about her best friend being Queen. Meg was a little shy, bold, said what was on her mind, caring and loved her friends and family. Anne was a brilliant woman who didn't, in my opinion, deserve to die by beheading. However, she was blamed for crimes she didn't commit which was the crime of cheating on the King with lots of men, including her own brother.

I learnt a lot about the duties everyone in the court had to do, such as dressing the royal members, cleaning, preparing their food, etc. It was really sad that Anne's two baby sons died in childbirth, however it was good that she had a daughter called Elizabeth. Henry could be a nice man when he wanted to be, but later in their lives he became mean, nasty and seeked other women to marry so they could produce him a male heir.

Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. If you are a fan of reading historical books about Kings and Queens then this is a definite must read. It doesn't just tell you lots of facts about the time of Henry VIII, it gives you their emotions, feelings and delves deeper into their lives. If you enjoy this book then definitely check out the second novel in the series called The Secret Keeper which is about Katherine Parr.

                                  Rating 4/5
   

Straight Outta Scotland

Straight Outta Scotland by Gavin Bain

Published- 28th April 2011
Publisher- Simon and Schuster Ltd
Pages- 274 pages (Paperback)

Straight Outta Scotland is based on the life of my awesome friend Gavin Bain. It focuses on his life in the music industry with Silibil and Brains (this being Gavin Bain). This book was written entirely by Gavin himself. This book is filled with cons, fights, girls and suicide attempts (only 1 suicide attempt I must add).

The only suicide attempt in this novel is written about at the start in the prologue. Gavin is found by his sister after having taken a mixed batch of pills. Gavin does end up in hospital a few more times after this from injuries he sustained in fights. Only one death is written about in this novel and that was of a close friend of Gavin's. The suicide attempt and the death of Gavin's close friend were the saddest parts of this novel.

Gavin and Billy (Silibil), who are both from Scotland, conned the music industry into believing they were the next big hip hop act from America. They managed to pull this con off for a couple of years aswell, until everything started to unravel for the band. Billy liked to party lots and drink a lot. Gavin liked to do the same, but he also wanted to concentrate on making new music for the band. This started to cause tension between Gavin and Billy until it all reached a head when Billy announced he was getting married and disappeared from the house they shared.

The fights written about in this novel were between Gavin, Billy and other guys from clubs. However, there were also a few fights between Gavin and Billy themselves when they started to disagree on what they wanted from life and the band. The main fight taking place between them when Billy announced he was getting married and was basically distancing himself from the band/the music. The guys loved going out on tour so they could pull as many girls as possible. They loved the ladies and the ladies loved them.

Towards the end of this novel you start to read about what happened in Gavin's life after Silibil and Brains ended. Gavin's one main passion in life was music and this is what he wanted to continue in the future of his life. From this Hopeless Heroic was created and to this day they are an awesome rock band with a twist. They are the only rock band I know to have a very talented violinist in their band.

This is a must read novel if you want to see how a talented musician duped the music industry into believing he was from America and not Scottish. Now Gavin has gone back to his natural Scottish accent. Hopeless Heroic continue to make rocking music with their best song being, in my opinion, Guinea Pig Syndrome. In my opinion this is a must read novel for any music fan. This book gets 5/5 stars as it is a brilliant novel by my awesome friend Gavin Bain.

                                  Rating 5/5