The Doll People by Ann M. Martin

I decided to start interspersing some reviews of my all-time favorites in-between posts about newer books. Today, I want to talk about The Doll People by Ann M. Martin

This story is one that has been with me since, gosh, fourth or fifth grade. I still remember the day I first read it in class. I was so entranced with it immediately. I grew up playing with dolls my entire childhood. My sister and I would spends hours and hours, days on end, just playing with our dolls, completely immersed in their world. I think that's why I loved, and still love, this book so much. My sister and I even used to write numbers on the back of our dolls and toys, and set them up carefully. Then in the morning, we would check to see if they had moved during the night. We were convinced that our toys were actually living, and just hiding from us; a notion probably brought on by reading this book.

While I haven't read it recently, I still remember the story vividly, and nowadays there isn't anything a quick Google search won't solve ;) Anyways, I think what has always struck me so much about this book, is the sheer imagination of it. I can just envision (and remember myself) a little kid being so completely fascinated with the concept of living dolls, and the idea that they could be having this entire life, a whole other world, while we're not looking. I have always been fascinated with the concept of anthropomorphism, which makes sense, because it is seen a lot in children's literature, which I grew up reading. Another similar story that comes to mind is The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, which if you don't know the story, it follows the tale of a stuffed rabbit who wishes to be real, and his journey to become so. Children can so easily drift into their own imagination, creating wondrous and fantastic worlds that can only exist in dreams, not it reality.

One of the most entertaining aspects of this book, is that it is from the perspective of dolls, which live on a much smaller scale than humans. It was so fun to imagine being that small, and see things that normally wouldn't bother us at all, as huge obstacles (like a cat, for example). It is a true adventure story, with perils, obstacles, and triumphs. As an elementary schooler reading this for the first time, I found it exceptionally entertaining.

Well, that was fun to re-visit my childhood for a moment! Whatever age you are at, I think that The Doll People is an extremely fun read, and will awaken the imagination in everyone. Have you read it? Let me know in the comments! :)

Until next time,
Danielle

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

How do I even begin to explain just how much I identify with this book?!

I am an extremely happy and enthusiastic person. I get unusually excited about the oddest things. So needless to say, I was already hooked at just the title of this book, Fangirl. I am a fangirl, of many, many things. From Harry Potter, to Doctor Who, to John Green, to Jane Austen; give me something I'm interested in and I'll grab on to it and never let go. I'll spend my time obsessing over every detail of a story, buying or creating paraphernalia, and even writing my own fan fiction. When Cath tells her roommate, Reagan that she is "active in the fandom," I laughed so hard, because that is so inexplicably me.

In that sense, I completely connected with the protagonist of this novel, Cath. While I am not nearly as shy as her, I too prefer an evening in, curled up in my bed and reading or writing, to going out and partying. I have always felt a bit insecure, worried that i'm not having the traditional "college experience," but this book made me feel less alone and different.

I really appreciated how very real Rowell's characters are (which I am noticing in her other books as well). I'm pretty tired of reading about and watching characters with all these fantastic powers or special destinies. While those types of stories are entertaining, don't get me wrong (I love The Hunger Games and Divergent, and Harry Potter is my life), it is refreshing to read a story about a normal person going through real life situations. Rowell expertly captures exactly how I felt my freshman year of college, and how hard it can be to balance school work, your social life, and keeping up with your family.

Another aspect of the novel that I found fascinating was the idea of the story within the story. In writing Fangirl, Rowell essentially had to write two books, Fangirl, and Simon Snow within Fangirl. While it wasn't a completely fleshed out story, it definitely must have taken some time to come up with the World of Mages. Having the tiny snippets from Simon Snow and Cath's fan fiction Carry On Simon, kept me stimulated, and was a nice break in-between chapters.

Speaking of, I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but I am no stranger to fan fiction. Like I said before, I am extremely enthusiastic about the things that I love, so when a story ends and I didn't like the way it ended (either in general or for a certain character in particular), or I just want more, I turn to fan fiction. I've tried reading some, but I'm usually just so appalled at the grammar and formatting, that I mostly just wind up writing my own. There is just something so satisfying about taking a world or a character that you love, and shaping it to become your own. I think Cath said it perfectly when she tells Professor Piper that she would rather "pour [herself] into a world [she] love[s] and understand[s] than try to make something up out of nothing" (275). I sometimes find it hard myself to start from scratch with a story. It always has to come from somewhere; whether that's someone else's story, or a personal life experience.

I think that's the whole point of writing, though; to find something in someone else's story that sparks your own story. We all have similar experiences in life, and isn't that all we really want, to feel understood and like we belong? One of my favorite things about meeting new people, is seeing their face light up when you find out that you like the same band or TV show. They instantly feel more comfortable, excited to share something that they love with someone else who also appreciates it. This book makes you feel that tenfold.

Something I found so peculiar about this novel however, and I am so interested to find the answer to this, is why did Rowell decide to create the world of Simon Snow when she also references Harry Potter? It is so obviously a nod to Rowling's world renowned series. My only guess is that due to copyright, she was allowed to say the name Harry Potter, but not use any of its characters or story lines? I found it utterly hilarious though, with the subtle differences between the two magical worlds. It was very clever on Rowell's part, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

With all that said, I rated this novel five stars on Goodreads, and automatically added it to my "Favorites" shelf, which I don't do often (that in itself should tell you something about how much I love this book). It was a fabulous read, and I highly recommend it! Have you read Fangirl yet? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments! :)

Until next time,
Danielle

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Welcome + A Rainbow Rowell Overdose

Hello there!

My name is Danielle and I am a twenty year old senior in college at UC San Diego. Why don't we start with a little bit about me? I love cats, coffee, popcorn, fuzzy socks, writing, and of course (as the title of this blog suggests) BOOKS!

I have always been an avid reader and enjoyed writing, so I thought, why not start a blog to review and talk about all of the amazing books that I have read? So that is exactly what I am going to do right here on this blog :) This will consist of current reads, all-time favorites, and everything in-between!

I have just spent the past two months studying abroad in England, and while the majority of my time was taken up by traveling and attending classes, I did find myself with quite a bit of down time. What better way to spend that time than laying on a beach or sitting up on a hill reading?

During my stay here at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, I was asked (to my shock and amazement) to model for the cover of the Sussex International Summer School brochure for next year. I happily agreed, and as a thank you, I received two gift cards, totaling 25 pounds, to spend at the bookstore! Naturally, I was thrilled. While visiting Cardiff, Wales with my sister (to see the fabulous Doctor Who Experience), we popped into a Waterstones bookstore, and I used one of my gift cards to purchase Fangirl and Landline, both written by Rainbow Rowell.

This leads me to the next topic of this post: Rainbow Rowell. Now, I knew absolutely nothing about this author beforehand, other than the title of one of her other (very popular) books, Eleanor & Park. However, from reading the descriptions of her other books, they sounded lovely, and I picked them up. Well, I completely devoured them both in two days flat each, and I absolutely LOVED them both! So a few days later when a friend and I were wandering around downtown Brighton, we passed a Waterstones, and I couldn't resist going in and picking up Eleanor & Park!

I have not finished Eleanor & Park yet (I stupidly lent it to a friend before I had finished it, thinking I could wait to finish it on the plane home; now I am just itching to get it back!), but I am on a Rainbow Rowell kick right now (her other book, Attachments, is #1 on my Goodreads "To Read" list!), so my next few posts will be reviewing Fangirl and Landline.

I hope you enjoy the ride, and maybe find your new favorite book along the way. And if you have any book suggestions for me, feel free to leave them in the comments :)

Until next time,
Danielle

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