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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Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Genre: YA Suspense

Image result for before I fall
Blurb (on back of book): Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning.

MY OPINION: **

This was a 2.5 star book, which might possibly be my worst rating yet on this blog. It's not that this book was bad, but I just didn't particularly like it in general.

This book was about a cool girl who dies and then wakes up again on the same day. Basically, the day rewinds and starts all over again. She lives through this about seven times, I believe, until it finally ends.

I didn't like the plot line, but I had to read it since it was a gift for me and I had nothing else to read.

I will start with the good parts of the book:

1. I liked the writing of this book. It had nice structure and varied sentences. It had a really professional writing in general.

2. The characters were very well-drawn. They had personalities, backgrounds, and lives that you can really understand. I like how the author gave the characters friends, families, and lives that you can relate to and really feel for them. They seemed realistic, which is unlike some books in which you really can't understand the characters at all.

3. Kent. I don't know if this counts, but he was definitely my favorite character, and though not too important, was someone who really stood out to me. I loved all of his dorkiness and nerdiness so much.

Honestly, I can't really say much as to what else I liked.

Here are the stuff I didn't like:

1. This wasn't the most age-appropriate book. I mean, there was nothing very inappropriate at all, but there were references and the dialogue and description of this book was a little bit mature, and more for adults than teens like it said. I mean, there was things that made even me feel a little uncomfortable to be reading, and let's face it: I've read lots of things.

2. This plot line was not my favorite. I mean, she dies and comes back to relive the same day over and over again. It sounds like a good plot, but once you actually read the book, it gets boring and monotonous to read the same events happening again and again seven times with only a few changes.

3. The length of this book. I mean, if it was more interesting, this would be way too short. But since it was just the same events again and again, it was super boring to read almost 500 pages of the same old stuff. I think that if she only had about three chances, that would have been enough. Four, if you want to avoid the threesome cliche.

4. The amount of description. Although I like imagining what everything looks like, there was very little dialogue in this book. At some points, there would just be five straight pages of description in those big blocky paragraphs that I talked about on iWrite. It got a bit tiresome at times.

Ok, now that that is out of the way, I don't even know if I have a lot more to talk about...

Lindsay Edgecombe. Wow. She was really a selfish, shallow girl, who picked on others to hide her own secrets. She was ashamed and embarrassed, and she always hid it by blaming someone else and making them be laughed at instead of her. She was definitely one of those popular girls who everyone thinks is perfect, but in reality, they have secrets that they cover up. In Lindsay's case, it was wetting the bed and upchucking her food.

Another character. Juliet Skyes. She was so weird as a character. She was shy, demure, and a freak at some points, and she was bold, suicidal, and angry at others. She was really a nice character, but she was made up to be a fundamental part of the story and I really don't think she played her part very well.

I think that the author could have taken out a lot of things. An example would be Anna, Bridget, and Adam (I think that was his name, correct me if I'm wrong). They weren't really needed. I guess they helped a little to show the theme, but not really. The book could have done without.

Which brings us to the ending. She ends up dead, and that was quite obvious from the start. She just had to right a few wrongs until she could 100% die.

 I almost abandoned this book and I never abandon books (except Walk On Earth a Stranger, which I am planning to finish/reread by next month). I couldn't abandon this book, though, because I still wanted to know what happened, despite it being not my favorite.

I don't plan on watching this movie or reading any more of Lauren Oliver now, but I might possibly in the future.

I won't talk about Rob because he just annoyed me too much to have a paragraph on him.

I would recommend this book to YA readers who like romance and suspense.

Main Character: Sam
Sidekick(s): Lindsay, Ally, Elody, Juliet, Kent, Rob, etc
Villain(s): Death, righting wrongs, etc
Suspense Elements: This book kept you in suspense right up to the very end.

****Wasn't that blurb so short?****
*****Sorry for any mistakes, because I am not bothering to proofread at the moment (TOO TIRED)*****

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