The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 1 of 5 stockings



I read it all the way through, I did not like it. I'm not going to write a formal review because I know many enjoyed this novel. I honestly do not want to start pinpointing everything I disliked in this book (because there's a lot). So I will share what I did like...

"'Lonely, Vaguely Pedophilic Swing Set Seeks the Butts of Children,'" -p123
Page 251

That is all I can honestly say not so much enjoyed but I chuckled.

Before someone tells me it's so deep, well written, and how I have no experience with cancer. I will just say first of all I just finished Flee, Fly, Flown a beautifully written novel about Alzheimer's. So to be fair I went from reading a novel with a great flow, and beautiful story, to a clunky start-stop novel. I'm also a fan of Lurlene McDaniel, so I've read my share of tear jerkers, this unfortunately was not worthy of my tears.

But in all truth I have seen many of my loved ones fight cancers and succeed, but many more fall. Currently my grandfather has been fighting cancer... I have not personally had cancer, but I have nearly died. I've experienced the "sick perks", although I was personally so out of it, it seems like another life.

... if you really want to know what is truly wrong with this novel I think Ayesha actually portrays it pretty well, so check out her review on The Fault in Our Stars.

Flee, Fly, Flown

Flee, Fly, Flown by Janet Hepburn

My rating: 4 of 5 stockings



Lillian and Audrey escape their quiet nursing home in Ottawa, to search for an adventurous vacation. Between grand theft auto, picking up a young man, and adopting a dog, this is the vacation that they were hoping for ... if only they could remember it.

Flee, Fly, Flown is an excellent written novel. Janet Hepburn, instills in the reader an understanding of what Alzheimer's is by giving us a first person perspective through Lillian. Lillian and Audrey face hardships that come hand in hand with aging, whether it's Alzheimer's disease, brittle bones, loss of sight, loss of hearing, organ failure.

A quote that really got to me was "Why do we do that? Why do we let the people we love just fade into the background like that?" (page 190).

There's two reasons why this novel falls short of 5 starts, but only one actually counts, the ending. The other reason will stay with me, in my little hometown of Cochrane.