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Friday, October 7, 2016

50/50 Friday (1): Overrated/Underrated Books



50/50 Friday is a meme hosted by Carrie @The Butterfly Reads and I and focuses on the opposite sides of books (best/worst, differing opinions, etc).  Every week will have a new topic and several advance topics will be listed in the tab labeled 50/50 Friday!

Today's Topic: Overrated/Underrated Books


Overrated:
I don't really like to label books as overrated because the people who did like it just have a different opinion than I do.  However, books that I didn't like that it seemed like other people really did are:
My rating: 2 stars
Average GR rating: 3.58 stars
See my review HERE.

Goodreads Blurb:
"Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight."

What I thought:
I just really didn't like the author's attitude in this book but a lot of other people said how they loved that he was so 'real' and 'authentic'.  To each their own, I suppose.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy
My rating: 2 stars
Average GR rating: 4.13 stars
See my review HERE.

Goodreads Blurb:
"After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother-or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up."

What I thought:
The big thing for me in this book was the romance (which was totally predictable) and Cassie (the MC's attitude).  She really annoyed me and seemed very hypocritical.  A lot of people seemed to enjoy it, though!




Underrated:
These are books that I feel like no one has read but I really enjoyed them, or, I went against the grain and really liked them while other people seemed to hate them.  There aren't many of the second time because I generally don't have strong opinions on most books but I do have comments for both sides of the argument.

My rating: 5 stars
Average GR rating: 3.53 stars
See my review HERE.

Goodreads Blurb:
"Young Albert Honig spends much of his time in solitude, his daily routine shaped by the almost mystical attention he quietly lavishes on his bees. Into his tightly repressed existence bursts a brash young neighbour, whose vivacity and boldness begin to transform his life. Yet years pass by, feelings are repressed, opportunities missed. Until one day - led by a trail of bees - Albert discovers her body and is plunged back into his memories, where he must finally confront the lies and secrets that led to their estrangement. In doing so he unearths the truth of Claire’s murder – a question not so much of who but why."

What I thought:
The thing I liked best about this book was the connection to the bees.  I thought it brought that little something extra to an otherwise generally good storyline.  I also thought it was a wonderful onion book!  Many people said there was too much about the bees that they didn't care about which made it slow at times and they couldn't connect to the characters.

My rating: 5 stars
Average GR rating: 3.74 stars
No review written at this time.

Goodreads Blurb:
"From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, hallways hum “Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. Until they are not. Leo urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her - normal."

What I thought:
I remember reading this in middle school and really loving it.  I could connect with Stargirl so much (being the outsider) and I loved the overall message for the age group it's aimed for.  A lot of people say it was just okay and there was nothing remarkable about it.


So what's your take on this topic?  Make a post and link it over on Carrie's blog HERE!

Next week's topic is: Books to the big screen/Never to the big screen (either books that should be movies/TV shows and books that should never be movies/TV shows or you can do the best and worst book adaptations)

10 comments:

  1. Well dang! I haven't read any of these! I Always seem to take the opposite side to the general opinion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha well if you ever read them, I look forward to hearing your opinions!

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  2. I haven't read any of these either, but Telling The Bees sounds like a book I would really enjoy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :-)

    Stephanie Jane @ Literary Flits

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a really good book! I hope you enjoy it if you get the chance to read it!

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  3. Yes! I agree The 5th Wave is overrated. I still enjoyed the book but I don't know why it gets all the hype it does.

    Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader

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    Replies
    1. Ugh yeah. It sounded so good and everyone told me that it was wonderful, but when I read it, I just couldn't get on board!

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  4. I definitely need to try Stargirl, and I'll probably try Me and Earl and the Dying Girl eventually.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think I read Stargirl in middle school too, but I can't recall enough about it to give it a rating. I'll have to reread it at some point. I think the only reason I remember The 5th Wave was due to the huge ad campaign that was waged when it came out.
    ~Litha Nelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha yeah, all I say on YouTube for a good 2 months were ads for the movie that was coming out!

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