In My Mailbox: 23/03/2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Let us know what books you've bought, borrowed or received for review!

Title: Putting Boys On the Ledge

Author: Kady Cross

Publication Date: 31 Oct 2011

*

Title: Allegiance

Author: Cayla Kluver

Expected Publication: 28 Feb 2012

*

Title: Spellcaster

Author: Cara Lynn Shultz

Expected Publication: 27 March 2012

*

Title: Goddess Interrupted

Author: Aimee Carter

Expected Publication: 27 Mar 2012

*

Title: The Hunt

Author: Andrew Fukuda

Expected Publication: 8 May 2012

*

Title: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

Author: Stephanie Rowe

Expected Publication: 29 May 2012

*

I am fumbling around in a sea of books, all messed up. 

I just received a bunch of sequels but I have not even read the first in the series. So before I can even review the book and before I can dive into its pages, first I need to get my hands on their prequels. 

HIGHLIGHT

The book that gets me really excited is The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda:

Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

Ooh, doesn't it sound like a Vampire Hunger Games?

And speaking of that, The Hunger Games is officially out in the cinemas today!

But, before I can even review The Hunger Games movie along with the book, before I can watch the film, first I need to ace my tests. 

A pat on the shoulder for me, myself and my books.

xoxo,

Sel

What Goes On Behind-the-Scenes

Behind the glowing luminescent computer screen, I hunch on my seat, clad in a mickey mouse pajamas, looking on with drowsy eyes.

There's some Subway cookie crumbs on the side of my desk and a mug of already cold milk. 

It's a messy sight, you think, as your eyes linger on the slips of paper slapped carelessly into books balancing precariously on top of each other. 

*

But the nights I spend penning down thoughts about those stories which I love and hate are worth it. 

Because right now, I have a very important announcement to make, one that is probably just staring at you right in your face:

My blog has reached 101 followers! 

You are beautiful, like a dream come alive, incredible

A centerfold miracle, lyrical

I am so happy!

And I'm really sorry for not updating as often as I would like to. I have to go for Debate Finals next week and sit for my exams in two weeks' time. 

When I get over these hard times, this blog will be flooded with reviews!

For now, have fun reading and reviewing! And silently egg me on!

Lots and lots and lots of love for every single one of you-- the one who commented and made my day, the one who tagged me and made me smile, the one who pressed the "Follow" button and made me squeal! 

In my happy daze, I wish you a Galley that you have been praying for, a "follow" that you have been counting on & a number that makes you so happy you want to jump and do a crazy wiggle. 

For me, that number is 101. 

Look to the distant horizons, hope is that thing with wings that fly.

Now, let the fireworks begin!

Review: Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro

Summary:

From the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, a moving new novel that subtly reimagines our world and time in a haunting story of friendship and love.

As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.

And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.

A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance–and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work.

Published 31 August 2010

*

Never let Me Go is a beautiful story of the fragility of life viewed through skewered lenses.

What Kathy, Ruth and Tommy really are is a dark identity that slowly reveals itself as we peel off its covers one by one.

There are enough dystopians and tales about clones *cough* that portray a flailing world without humanity. But what Ishiguro does is to portray the very beauty and ugliness of life. 

As you see them grow up in Hailsham, you see the typical social dynamics between teenagers, the pastoral and happy life all in a glow, bright dreams about the future-- a happy and carefree childhood. But when they come to terms with who they really are, the students don't rebel. 

For them, they accept this reality quickly as on a certain level, they always knew.  That even when they are at their happiest and most innocent, there are always subtle reminders that nothing in their world can be taken at face value.

I've wondered why, they never try to escape their fate throughout the novel and always accept their fate with varying degrees of calmness or dread. But then it came to me when I see them carrying out their duties with a sense of dignity. It is important to them that they do well in what the society expects of them. 

And when it comes to the end of the novel, I become suddenly unsure if their lives are really different from the lives of the people they save. As friends, places and love slowly leaves Kathy, she is left standing forlornly close to the end of her journey. Maybe she wishes to join them after death. But one thing is certain, she is human, not what society thinks she is. She feels, she loves, she hurts. 

If I say that I begin this novel horrified by their difference from us, then I end it thoughtful about their similarity to us. As Kathy loses the things she holds dear one by one, she experiences the tragedy of mortality. 

And I see myself in her place, perhaps seventy or eighty years later.

That's why Never Let Me Go breaks your heart then fills it with passion towards life. Because really, we may live longer, but we all die, no matter who we are. Kathy, Tommy and Ruth understood the most precious things to the human heart as they one by one face their imminent fate-- death on the surgical table. What does it take to have us realize that life really isn't that long?

Treasure your friends, love your family, run through the rain and chase your dreams! Don't wait until it's too late before you realize the true meaning of life-- it's to live!

Source: Purchased

xoxo,

Sel