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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The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Image result for the fault in our starsBlurb (on back of book): Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

MY OPINION: ****

This is my second time rereading this book and I think that the first time I read it, I was just so inclined to rate it five stars because it was so hyped about. I did drop it down a star this time around but I just want to say that I loved this book. It just wasn't as good as it was made out to be.

This is not a cancer book, I don't think. As Hazel says, cancer books are not at all like this. This was just a romance story about two teens who just happen to have cancer.

I think that the book started off amazingly well. It was all very simple and blasé and we get to see a lot of what Hazel's life is like immediately. I loved the first sentence:

"Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."

From that first sentence, we can already tell that Hazel's life is more monotonous than exciting. She is also rather cynical because of everything she's been through.

"Depression is a side effect of dying."

"My lungs sucked at being lungs."

From the first three pages, we already get a large perspective on Hazel's life. I think the story was introduced very well. John Green uses descriptive language to "show-not-tell" the many things about Hazel's life and the people around her. He also uses rather blunt language to give Hazel a voice, which I liked. She instantly thinks Augustus is "hot", for example.

I loved Hazel's instant attraction to Gus. <blockquote>"His every syllable flirted."</blockquote> She was drawn to him for an unexplainable reason and even though I think it's creepy and a little sketchy to go to some random guy's house after just meeting him, she does just that and here we get to see more unusual quirks that John Green has given his characters: the "Encouragements" in Gus's house.

Hazel is obviously taken by Gus and who he is.

"I felt rather blushy."
 or
"He really was beautiful."

Gus himself was a very interesting character. He was strong even when he knew he was going to lose.
"[Cancer] is a Civil War...with a predetermined winner..."

He's also taken with Hazel instantly.

"Goddamn...Aren't you something else..."

He is also smart. I loved the way that he described things and made everything sound so beautiful. When describing his pain, he says, "...one-legged fat man wearing a stiletto heel standing on the middle of his chest..."

I think that without him, Hazel would have an incredibly awful trip in Amsterdam. He really made everything better.

One problem I had with this book was how the teenagers spoke. I can vouch for us teens that we don't randomly quote things or spout off completely memorized poetry like Hazel and Gus. We also don't use huge words to describe things and we don't sound like philosophers. I think that the dialogue wasn't realistic towards teenage dialogue but maybe it was supposed to be that because of their cynicism, they've wisened beyond their years. I don't know, teens just don't speak like that.

However, we do yell a lot and even though I don't appreciate loads of capitalized letters when I read, that was an accurate representation of human conversation. What can I say, we like to be loud.

That dad cried a LOT. Hazel's father is crying in every other scene! I understand why but at some points, it just got to be strange because you generally don't see fathers crying like that.

I loved so much of this book, even the ending. It was VERY depressing but I think it was accurate to real life. I almost nearly cried. I think that this time around, it was even sadder than before. There were so many little things about this book that made it so good and I'm glad to have gotten a chance to reread the book.

I would recommend this book to readers looking for a serious read.

Main Character: Hazel
Sidekick(s): Gus, Kaitlyn, Mom, Dad, etc
Villain(s): Cancer, death, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This was all very real to life.

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