Review: A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

Description: This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog’s search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog’s Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?

Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey’s search for his new life’s meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.

But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey’s journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders—will he ever find his purpose?

Language: Mild (hardly any)

Violence: Moderate

Sexual: Mild (From the dog’s view, it says that he sees a couple “wrestling” on the couch and thinks nothing of it, but the dog falls asleep after mentioning that. Also, it says something about a “new game” that the dog discovered, which he soon lost interest in after being fixed)

There is a reason this novel was on the top list of 2o1o on GoodReads! I just cannot get enough of this story, with its interesting and fresh premise and lovable dog as the narrator.

The reason I picked up this book was because I was hoping this would make me smile. You see, I find it difficult these days, with stress and drama, to find a reason to smile, especially since fairly recently one of my best friends, who had been with me since I was a baby, died (my dearest dog). I was also hoping I would get some closure. But this book did so much more than make me smile; it made me laugh, grin even, and feel close to tears a few times. People were right to say that this is a story you will not forget.

Never once have I had mixed feelings about this novel: it was all love for it. Considering I’ve never read a book with the dog as the heroine, I wasn’t exactly certain what to expect. It was a little out of my comfort zone, but I am so relieved I took the plunge and dove right into this incredible story. Although it is quite short (at roughly three hundred and twenty pages), you will fly through the pages, and I am not sure whether it is the story itself or the amusing writing style that makes it so addicting. It did not take me long at all to complete this novel.

Whether you are quite familiar with Mr. Cameron’s works or you just love dogs, I can guarantee that this will move you and leave you with a comforting and settling feeling.

Cover: I love the simplicity of it. Refreshing.

Setting: Whether it’s the Yard, the loving home, or anywhere else, this dog faces new excitement and troubles along the way.

Characters: The dog. I love that dog. The owners were unique as well.

Storyline: Several adventures from the eyes of a dog.

Writing: The loose and easy-going writing style purposely tells us that dogs truly are simple creatures.

Surprises: I was impressed that there were a few surprises in this novel.

Overall: 4.5 stars. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2013 so far, and I won’t hesitate to pick up the second book.

Recommended: I would recommend this book to all dog lovers out there, along with the loyal fans of this author.

Review: Twilite: A Parody by Sue Knott

Description: This parody skewers the best-selling novel about the sparkly undead. Whether you're a "Twilight" lover or hater*, you'll laugh out loud. The scribd preview generated over 50,000 hits, a 5-star rating and rave reviews including:
"GOLD!"
"I love Twilight. But I swear I think I almost love this even more."
"This was hilarious!"
"boi i luv this book!! amazing"

Whether you're a "Twilight" lover or hater, you will enjoy the non-stop humor and subtle commentary on that best-seller's view of the world. (If you haven't read "Twilight," you'll just say, "Hunh?" If you've seen the movie, but haven't read the book, we're not sure what you'll think...let us know!)

People ask whether it's worth reading all 498 pages of "Twilight" just to truly appreciate "TwiLITE A Parody." That's a tough question. "Twilight" is a page-turner, but you'll never get those hours back. However, if you really, really love to snicker, it's worth it. 

Do not confuse this parody with fan fiction. This is a true parody. It follows Stephenie's book non-event by non-event, exposing the ridiculous every step of the way. Its stars are Edward Sullen and Bella Swoon, and boy is she clumsy.

Because author, Sue Knott, believes Twilight's endless descriptive passages of vampire hunkieness could not possibly be rendered more absurd, only the "meat" of the original novel is mocked. That makes this parody blessedly shorter than the lengthy vampire tome it skewers...but you'll wish there were more! 

This is the perfect gift for friends who don't understand why you don't like Twilight.
Read it. Laugh. And come back to share your review. 

*Disclaimer: haters find it funnier than fans.

Language: Mild

Violence: Mild

Sexual: Mild

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, so reading a parody on it was awesome and a nice change to my reading norms. It’s not that I strongly dislike Twilight, but it is not something I generally leap at the chance to buy or read. This book is another thing I would not charge to the book store to buy, but it is one I am glad to have read. It is an interesting and rather hilarious story for me, considering it is fairly unusual for me to read parodies. But it sounded unique, and I thank First Reads for allowing me to read and review this piece.

Despite the fact that Twilite: A Parody is not the lengthiest story (at around one hundred and twenty pages), it is a funny and insightful book, making the original novel by Stephenie Meyer have a new insight on the fellas such as I whose hearts are not won by the vampire/werewolf/human love triangle. This being said, I could chuckle numerous times throughout this parody, clearly knowing before I started that I would not be offended whatsoever, but humored.

Cover: Simple, it plays off of the cover of Twilight with a funny twist.

Setting: Phoenix.

Characters: The author makes fun of the characters, changing their names to sound similar to the characters created by Stephenie Meyer but making them more amusing to the reader, and manages to make the reader laugh at their obliviousness and lack of integrity throughout this well-told parody.

Storyline: A girl moves to a small town, and thus begins the blossoming of a romance and adventure nobody in the story expected would ever happen. Unique, I know. Call me sarcastic.

Writing: I enjoyed reading the hilarious writing style as I strolled through this quick read.

Surprises: Predictable but still entertaining, this is a story that both makes fun of and brings more insight onto the original story it plays off of.

Overall: 3 stars. This is very different from anything I have ever read before, which is something that is easy for me to state because I read very few parodies, and it is a read that may annoy some readers from time-to-time. Although extremely short in size and with bigger print, this book has a longer feel to it (probably because of all the exclamation points Bella uses and incorrect grammar I could pick out quickly).

Recommended: I would recommend this to anyone who loves parodies, doesn’t prefer Twilight, and will push the offensiveness of the fans aside for an enlightening read.

Review: Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

There are six things very wrong with my life:

1. I have one of those under-the-skin spots that will never come to a head but lurk in a red way for the next two years.

2. It is on my nose

3. I have a three-year-old sister who may have peed somewhere in my room.

4. In fourteen days the summer hols will be over and then it will be back to Stalag 14 and Oberfuhrer Frau Simpson and her bunch of sadistic teachers.

5. I am very ugly and need to go into an ugly home.

6. I went to a party dressed as a stuffed olive.

In this wildly funny journal of a year in the life of Georgia Nicolson, British author Louise Rennison has perfectly captured the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager. In the spirit of Bridget Jones's Diary, this fresh, irreverent, and simply hilarious book will leave you laughing out loud. As Georgia would say, it's "Fabbity fab fab!"

Language: Mild (British slang)

Violence: Very Mild

Sexual: Mild/Moderate (descriptive kissing)

When I picked up Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, I was hoping for a light read that would make me laugh my head off. It was a light read, I can assure you, for nothing besides the “drama” of everyday life and the trials of growing up and learning that not everything will end perfectly or the way you imagined, but in other ways, it dragged on in some parts and showed the story rather than letting us see it through our imaginations.

It wasn’t that I necessarily dislike the book, but I just felt it to be very juvenile on some things and too mature on others. For instance, Georgia’s list was a bit too…much for me. It was vague, but I didn’t really appreciate it. Obviously the details in it were not vague, but it never went further than kissing. Nonetheless, most of the story was about Georgia learning how to kiss, deal with life, boys, and other things that caused all kinds of refreshing angst.

Cover: I will be honest when I say that I am not a fan of this version of the cover. Yes, it shows some of her uniform, plus the cat at the bottom is a nice touch, but it’s too cartoony for my taste. Once the cover jacket is off, however, it is a plaid design, and I do like that one much better so I shall uncharacteristically put it up on my bookshelf in that way.

Setting: UK.

Characters: I am not going to go through all of the characters in the story, because of how many there were and this is a quick review, but I will say that many of them were whiney and troublesome in their own ways. For example: all Georgia seemed to care about was herself and what she wanted and who she wanted to be with (this was the case with many of the characters). Her parents were hardly in the story at all, merely mentioned at times, but it was odd how she saw them, considering how they had the mental ability of her toddler sister, in her eyes.

Storyline: A coming-of-age story about a girl who feels the need to show the world she is grown up, and in doing so acting immature as she discovers the world of boys, kissing, real friends, and dealing with her parents and little sister who poops in the secret corners of Georgia’s bedroom.

Writing: The writing style is all right. You can definitely tell that the author is trying to write from a naïve fourteen year old’s point of view, in an amusing manner.

Surprises: There weren’t a whole lot surprises, but that was probably because I decided it was a “good idea” to watch the movie beforehand (although I watched it around two months ago). Where there weren’t many surprises, it was replaced by a lot of amusing moments.

Overall: 3 stars. Although it wasn’t the most intellectual read, it was pretty funny at times and seeing Georgia mess up and her friends be corky and amusing was pretty entertaining to read about. So whether or not you have the right sense of humor for this novel, there has to be on aspect of it you can appreciate.

Recommended: I recommend this one to all people who want a funny and entertaining read, whether you are young or just young at heart.

—“Look, I can't go out with you, because...because...because I'm a lesbian.” 

—“When uncle Eddie does his impression of 'Like a Virgin' it's like Madonna is coming out of his body!'
Christ what an image.”