The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m
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Starry Night - Isabel Gillies

Starry Night by Isabel Gillies
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Image result for starry night bookBlurb (on back of book): Sometimes one night can change everything. On this particular night, Wren and her three best friends are attending a black-tie party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the opening of a major exhibit curated by her father. An enormous wind blasts through the city, making everyone feel that something unexpected and perhaps wonderful will happen. And for Wren, that something wonderful is Nolan. With his root-beer-brown Michelangelo eyes, Nolan changes the way Wren's heart beats. In Isabel Gillies's Starry Night, suddenly everything is different. Nothing makes sense except for this boy. What happens to your life when everything changes, even your heart? How much do you give up? How much do you keep?

MY OPINION: *

***MAJOR MAJOR RANT***

This book had SO many problems I don't even know where to start.

I'm just gonna jump right in. There were so many times when I had to stop reading and complain/scream/die inside about something that I had just read. I had to make a list of everything that I didn't like so that I would remember it for this review.

SPOILERS (but does it matter? I wouldn't recommend really this book)

1) WREN. She's our main character.

-She's immature, she's easily peer-pressured by a random guy she's just met, she sounds like she's 3 years old half the time, her 10 y/o sister is smarter/wiser/more mature than her. Even my sister is more mature than this so-called 15 y/o.

-She's stupid on so many levels.

-She gives up her lifelong dream for an idiotic guy who honestly doesn't sound that hot/amazing/talented who ends up cheating on her with her BEST FRIEND who she still wants to be friends with after. UHHHHHHH

2) NOLAN. He's our love interest.

-He wears purple hightops, he has ROOTBEER BROWN EYES (UM WHAT IS THIS DESCRIPTION), and he's a jerk.

-He doesn't seem to care about Wren at all throughout the entire book.

-He forces her to do things that she obviously knows are wrong, he basically kidnaps her randomly from her own party and takes her to a strange party with underage drinking and creepy people.

-He MAKES HER BAD. Not the other way around (she doesn't make him any better).

-He says he's in love, but is he really? I mean, I saw NO evidence of a love relationship between these two. Maybe it's because they're 15, but either way, it was more like he's hot -- she's stupid, let's do this yay.

3) INSTALOVE. Wow, suddenly they meet and in the span of a glance, a smile, and a so-called hot bod, they're in love. "IN ONE DAY, I WAS IN LOVE." That's the exact words of Wren. UM, not really. You kinda need to get past looks and see them for who they are. Honey, this boy is no good. At all. GET WITH IT

4) FARAH AND CY DOWD. SHE IS FIFTEEN. HE IS THIRTY/FORTY-SOMETHING. UMMMMMMMMMM DOES ANYONE SEE SOMETHING WRONG HERE. That is rape. I don't care if she didn't care. Either way, that is statutory rape. And I feel like it wasn't dealt with correctly. There were no ramifications or punishments or even a harsh word towards this man who definitely knew that what he was doing was wrong, illegal, perverted, disgusting, and downright cruel. He manipulated a teenager. A young, immature, teenager. Farah had no problem with this because he's famous. But in reality, she was scared out of her mind and didn't know how to deal with it and her stupid friends didn't do anything throughout the entire book until the end to get her out of this awful situation. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM HERE

5) VATI AND OLIVER. She's been in love with him for years and years and years and since he is a math wiz, Wren thinks that her brother is supposed to be smart when it comes to girls. UHHHHHH NO. HE DIDN'T KNOW THAT VATI LOVED HIM (OR SO SHE SAYS) AND WHEN HE FINDS OUT, THEY START DATING IMMEDIATELY. Now, IDK ABOUT YOU BUT THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN IRL. If this happened, I would be the luckiest girl alive, people. This boy somehow sees the light in a span of a walk home and instantly starts dating her like 'omg, i'm in love already'

6) THE ENDING. It ended quickly. It ended badly. It ended abruptly. And nothing was concluded. Somehow, the pain that Nolan brings to Wren just goes away. Just like that. Reagen isn't punished for what she did by starting a relationship with her best friend's boyfriend. That's a problem. BROS OVER HOES. That's what it's supposed to be. And Wren and Nolan don't even end up together, something that we knew from the beginning but was beyond disappointing bc there was even less of a point to reading this book.

7) Writing. It's very rambly. There were times when I had to skim/skip through paragraphs bc I just couldn't anymore. It was long, it was slowgoing, and it made the characters sound really young and immature. I know that writing is extremely difficult to accomplish but this should have been revised so that characters sounded more like their age (which I am very close to). Every character felt flat. Like they had no personality and they all sounded the same.

8) WREN GIVES UP HER DREAM FOR NOLAN. He cheats on her. She leaves him. It was all a waste. That left me the angriest. IF YOU REALLY LOVE SOMEBODY, YOU LET THEM FOLLOW THEIR DREAM. IF YOU STILL WANT THEM AFTER, THEN IT'S LOVE. YOU DO NOT PROHIBIT SOMEBODY FROM GOING/DOING/MAKING WHAT THEY WANT AND CHEAT ON THEM IN THE END. AT LEAST BREAK UP WITH THEM BEFORE CHEATING.

9) THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I WANTED TO QUIT. I wanted to DNF this book by page 50 but I kept on bc I thought it would maybe redeem itself. But I'm sad to say it only got worse.

10) There were a couple of parts that I did like, surprisingly enough.

There is not a parent out there who can tolerate hearing their kid say, "Even though I got into the University of Success and Happiness, I'm going to defer and not go because of Mark/Madeline/David/Debbie/Troy/Una/Frank. I'm in love." 
Amen to that. I loved that and the uniqueness of the names and the way it was said. I actually laughed!

Well zen, zis boy, he is not your destiny. He is just a boy. 
This is said by some random French stranger and yet they were the best words in the entire book.

I would recommend this book to readers interested in a flightly unrealistic romance. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it..

Main Character: Wren
Sidekick(s): Nolan (sometimes), Vati (she seemed to be the only good friend), Reagen, Farah, etc
Villain(s): Nolan (sometimes), Reagen, Cy, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book could have been based on real events.

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