Day 11 – A book you hated

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

I do not actually hate this book. There are good books but no bad ones enough to elicit hate, even the Twilight series. There just books with poorly written plots or characters. And I consider this book as one of those.

Ann Brashares is best known for her young adult series, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I have read those books and quite enjoyed them way back. So when I saw this book, I thought to myself that it might be good. After all, it is tagged as an adult book, and the premise in the summary is interesting enough.

And that’s where I got it all wrong. From the first few chapters, it felt like another young adult book due to its overly written prose of the characters’ love and feelings. It’s just too much and I think that it would be better if the author left something for the reader’s own discernment.  In short, the writing was so detailed that it became so uninteresting. I was so bored that it’s a miracle I even finished the book.

Also, I felt that the attraction between Daniel and Lucy is too shallow. Even during their first encounter in their past life, I could not quite believe that Daniel fell in love with her the moment he saw her in the burning house. I mean, call me a non-believer of love at first sight, but I really think that it is a very superficial thing. And then there’s Lucy obsessing over Daniel without even knowing anything about the guy. I just think that their love lacks enough substance.

I also had a problem with the perspectives. The book was alternating with time elements and with Daniel and Lucy’s point of view. But then I cannot discern which voice is which. The writing style is very much similar that without the help of the names, I would have a hard time knowing whose narration it was. Daniel’s lack the masculinity and felt way more sensitive and contemplative than Lucy’s. He was so lost in his past that he could not appreciate his present life. Lucy’s perspective, on the other hand, is too shallow. She is so much engrossed with her feeling with Daniel that I wanted to skip pages so badly.

All in all, I think this should have been a young adult book for it would appeal to those who want mushy romance books. It’s like Twilight without the vampire stuff. This book would have been more appreciated by younger and more innocent readers. I would have liked it if I read it when I was a freshman or sophomore high school student. I guess, this book is just not my cup of tea. 

And so I’m back from book shopping.

And these are the books I have found. Sorry for the crappy photo quality. I used my webcam since my camera isn’t here in my dorm. Words cannot express how happy I am to find these amazing books. Some of them, I’ve been desperately looking for over a year already. And yes, I guess I am just lucky. All of these books are on my to-buy list and now, I finally have them. It just sucks that I won’t be reading any of these soon since I have my exams coming. But oh well, my heart is just so glad now that I am in possession of these great books.

Here are the titles and the price if you are interested in buying them too:

The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Php 399)

Going Bovine by Libba Bray (Php 462)

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle (Php 294)

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (Php 378)

Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel (Php 609)

My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares (Php 315)

And a grand total of:  Php 2457

I know it’s a lot but this would be my last book shopping this month. I would probably buy next month or maybe by March. And oh, I bought them all from Fully Booked. :)