Welcome to AveryPages

This branch of averypages is where i keep my book reviews! I love logging the media i consume and i think that this is a wonderful way to keepe track of the books that ive read. This (so far) is the culmination of 2 school projects. I wanted to learn how coding works- so i thought it would be interesting to do it through an english project. SO make sure to have fun and enjoy the book reviews!

Book Reviews

Yeah.. here they are!

2023

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The little prince is a 'novella' which is a term i just learned when researching this bo- sorry, novella. It means small book which makes sense. Anywordle, I really enjoyed this novella. It made me reflect on how I use and portray my creativity. The first chapter talked about how dissmissive adults can be of their kids artistic vision. The author brought up an example from his childhood in which he learned about the way that snakes digest their food. He got so inerested in it that he decided to draw it. The drawing did not ~really~ look like a snake digesting a creature, but they wouldnt even hear the kid out!! The whole point of art is to portray an idea in an interesting way and then for the viewer to interpert it in a way that resonates with them. In not doing that, you show your kid that you don't care about what they make, and that is really harmful to hear from someone you look up to. Post first chapter the prince and narrator spend eight days in the desert repaiting the plane. During this time the prince recounts his whole life story. It's a SUPER interesting story with lessons of love and exploitation. Adventure and lonliness. Many alegories to real life and the trails and tribulations of everyones day to day. I would reccommend this book to anyone who is bored and uninspired. Anyone who needs a new point of view should read this book and try to be more like the little prince. Look at things with love and an imiginative lens. I loved this story.

That Time I Loved You - Carrianne Leung

AMAZING!! That Time I Loved You is a book that takes place in one singular neighborhood. Each 'chapter' is from the point of view from a different neighbor (except June, she has three) during a suicide epidemic. It tells the story of different suicides from both the perspective of the child in the family, a different kid, or sometimes from the perspective of the person actually killing themselves. It seems very morbid (and it is) but it brings out an interesting story. It dives deep into the dynamics of the kids on the sister streets of the neighborhood. The politics of children trying to hang out and live is entertaining. The little cliques that form is something i can relate to from my personal childhood. The book also dives HEAVILY into class divisions and racism. I wasn't there, of course, but it does really feel like a good look into what was really going on in 1970's surburbia. I would HIGHLY recommend reading all of the stories in order. The ending is super interesting. You can read the stories in any order (except for the last one, thats the last one) and it will still all make sense. Once you read most of the stories, you gain context for seemingly insignificent events, or things characters said in passing that actually allude to HUGE THINGS that we just don't know about yet. When you really put yourself into the mind fo the character that you are reading about, while thinking about what you know from the other stories and comparing those two narritives, an entire world and story unfolds. Complete with a huge web of intertwining motives, intentions, relationships, and struggles. TTILY is an amazing book that can be enjoyed in many different ways. It offers relatability for people from every walk of life. It provides readers with insight and new perspective into how it is to be someone else. It also has one of the scariest scenes I think I have ever read in a book before (read the chapter 'The Kiss'). In conclusion, TTILY is now one of my favorite books and i will be reading it again and again. Huge thanks to Remo for reccomending it to me :)

2022

Heartstopper volume 1/2 - Alice Oseman

Okay so i got into heartstopper in the heart of the craze. Netflix released a series based of off books 1 & 2 and people went CRAZY over them. I personally never watched the show but i did read the books. They are written in graphic novel format and that makes for a really, REALLY, quick read. You could pick up the first volume and put down the second within an hour. The page count wasnt bad, and for a graphic novel, the pacing in both were great. Specifically in the first book though, it does a great job of introducing the charecters. You know 3 main charecters right away, including the 'antogonist' type for the first bit of the story. The entire series follows Nick and Charlie as they become friends then fall in love. It's the typical romance formula, but the fact its SUCH a cute story makes up for that, and hey, if the formula works, then it works yk? Usually books portray texting really poorly, but HS managed to do it pretty accuratley. I think thats probably because the author is young and its a relativley new book. But that was pleasing to see, especally since texting was really important to the book. I feel like the book showed internalized homophobia really well. As Nick is struggling to come to terms with his feelings for Charlie, he is also struggling in his social circle (of mostly jocks). They all are quick to make assumptions. We see this is the second book very clearly when Charlie is invited to go to the movies with Nick and his friends. One starts asking really personal and lowkey homophobic questions. Once Charlie leaves though the homophobia really picks up and Nick punches this kid after he calls charlie the f slur. As you can tell the book is super super lgbtqia+ positive, even including a trans charecter and a lesbian couple :). The amount of repersentation is great. I also really liked how books 1 and 2 were kind of a contained story. Even though they were split down the middle in a cliffhanger (which was incredably annoying). The story sees a happy ending after book 2. Since i know there is a 3rd and 4th volume i am not sure whats to come. Overall these 2 books were a great read and i want to watch the show after reading them!!

The Girl From the Sea by Molly Ostertag

This was an impulsive read. I don't even own this book, i just saw it when i was done working at radical cat and decided to pick it up. I was eyeing it the whole time i was interning there and Rosie told me that the author was really good. When i judged the book by it's cover i thought it looked really cute. At first the pacing was a bit weird but i always say that about the start of like, any media. A quick synopsis of the book is that this girl (Morgan) cries by the river a lot because its one of the only spots she can be alone. One night when shes there she falls in and its really scary. She gets saved by a selkie which is this seal girl. Every 7 years she turns from a seal to a girl and gets legs. There has to be a reason for them to go on land though and she fell in love with Morgan. Her name is Keltie btw. Her purpose for going on land is that she fell in love with morgan, but she also has to save her community from this huge yacht that is en route to mess up the baby seal nursery. This boat turns out to be Morgan's friends family's boat which causes drama. It tells a really good story of family history and how friendships can be tested by relationships. I personally think it was a wonderful story. Really great art and charecter personalities. It was a pretty good length to be honest, especally for a graphic novel. I want to read more from this author because of this. She has a series called witch boy which is apparently for a younger audience but its a trilogy and it looks great! In conclusion, gay and awesome. I don't regret reading it at all and i totally reccomend it.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

I was assigned to read this book for english class and i absoutley fell in love with it. It follows the story of Chris mccandless as he goes out into the world. Living off the land and odd jobs. Seeing the entire east coast down into mexico and staying in places you didnt even know existed. He ends up dying in alaska which is not a spoiler, its a well known plot point so dont be mad!!! At first the book feels like it jumps around a lot but it eventually settles down and you know what the author is talking about. Krakauer mixes in his own experiences in the book, while accuratley depicting chris' story. I found this book to be a great example of what its really like to just, set out one day. Each chapter had its own unique story that weaved together to form the whole book. Some chapters overlaid like when they were talking about other 'explorers' and such like jack london and the like. It was also a super insightufl look into the lives that we dont normally get to see. People living in the bandlands near an abonded hot springs resort. The owner of a small town grain elevator. It's crazy all the places this guy went and all of the lives he impacted. The author himself went on as close to Chris' route as possible. Interviewing people he was close to, including his sistere and friends he met along his travels. The book as a whole is incredably well researched and shines a light on a not-so mainstream topic, exlporing the country w no place to call home. As inspiring as it is, it can also be seen as a cautionary tale. The magic (or stupidity as some like to say) of Chris' journey is the total lack of a plan. He knew at some point he wanted to go to live in the Alaskan country but other than that he just let life do its thing. If he would have studied the area he went to in alaska just a little bit more he could have easily survived which is sad and makes you think what could have been ya know? Anyway, as convoluted as this review is, i HIGHLY reccomend this book. If you already know the story of Mccandless or not i reccomend it. There is a movie which is apparently really good but i havent seen it. I would reccomend watching this video regardless though! The Video Essay Thats all :)

To Build a Fire by Jack London

Oh god. To build a fire is a story about a man hiking through the alaskan country on his way to camp with his friends. In just under a hundred pages, this story was able to instil a type of fear i didnt even know i had. The fear of the cold. The protagonist of the story who remains unnamed had his fate sealed the second he set foot on that trail alone. When i think of this book i think of the phrase; 'the steady decline'. As time goes on, little things keep happening, such as stepping through the ice into a river and getting his foot all wet and cold. He is in like negative 20 degree weather and has WATER ON HIM. He is munching on chew and when he spits it out it just freezes on his beard and forms this long yellow icesicle. He has his dog with him which is kind of important, because after both of his attempts at making a fire he considers cutting his dog open and warming himself up INSIDE OF HIS DOG. This story does an amazing job of giving short lived falso hope. You know these desperate attempts at survival are not going to work, but there is a little voice in your head that says, "maybe this will work" "maybe he will get to camp and warm up with his friends". Near the end of the story. Our MC is laying by the base of the tree thinking about what the only other charecter in the book told him. "Never be alone out here" or something like that. He thinks back to the words of the unnamed old man as hypothermia sets in and he drifts off to sleep. During this time tough he has an out of body experience where he sees his friends finding his dead body. I would really reccomend reading or listening to this story, as there is an amazing reading on youtube. It is really short so even if you hate it you only wasted like 45 mins. There is a lot that i left out and withouht reading it you will never experience the uncertanty of To Build a Fire.