KJ's Book Reviews

  The Women Written by Kristin Hannah Originally published in 2024 ~480 pages Rate 5/5 Despite having watched Forest Gump at an old enough age to understand the plot of the show I didn't realize why Lutetian Dan was treated so terribly if he was a veteran. This book opened my eyes to a dark part of American history. It shouldn't be a spoiler alert to find out that America should not have been apart of the Vietnam War.  Not long after a close relative of Frankie's passes away in the War, does she enlists as an army nurse. However, since she is a woman, her parents aren't proud of her in the same way they were proud of her brother. In her parents eyes, she should be worried about getting married, serving her country in that way, not by enlisting. In short, this book is about a woman's perspective on the Vietnam War. A time where there were protests upon protests namely, the war protest, the feminist movement, the gay rights movement, the human rights movement, among o...

  Circe Written by Madeline Miller Originally published in 2018 ~390 pages Rate 5/5 This is the second book I have read that was written by Madeline Miller. I think I like Circe a little bit more than  The Song of Achilles , however, there is no need to compare; I only mention The Song of Achilles for acknowledgment sake. I had never heard of Circe or really any characters within this story apart from what I had read in The Song of Achilles . So I started reading this book with little to no context or bias and I ended up really enjoying the story and Circe herself.  Circe's narrative was astonishing; in my opinion, she lived a long and rich life. She persevered through many difficult events throughout her life and met an array of people along the way which made for an excellent story. Although some parts of the story felt like they dragged on for a little too long, she was on an island by herself for most of the story so having somethings drawn out made the story feel re...

The Song of Achilles Written by Madeline Miller Originally published in 2011 ~370 pages Rate: 4.5/5 A spin on the myth of Achilles and the Trojan war. Told from Patroclus' point of view, in this story Achilles and he live majority of their lives together and fall in love. I am aware this is a spin on the Trojan War and it's probably not accurate. I only knew some information about parts of this story before I read it. I knew about how Helen was the reason for the Trojan War and that Achilles was a demigod, but that was really it. So given my vague understanding of the existing stories, I thought this story was good. Madeline Miller did a great job depicting all of the characters. Having Patroclus as the main character made the story so much more captivating. By his peers, Patroclus was looked down upon and thought of as stupid, however, throughout the story we can see how much he grows and learns throughout his life. The way he treats the people around him despite his circumsta...

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption Written by Stephen King About 110 pages Originally published in 1982 Rate 5/5 This is the third book on the required reading list for my Themes in Literature class. Click here to read the " The Shining " review and click here to read the " Carrie " review.  Like all the previous books, I didn't know anything going into this book and I am glad I didn't because I didn't know what was going to happen. That being said, here's a brief glimpse inside the story. Though the title of the book has Rita Hayworth in it, she's not really a character, but she is important to the plot. Shawshank is a prison where the story takes place. The story is told in pieces by a friend of the main character. He doesn't ever directly say his name, so be on the look out for that. What is Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption about? Simply put, this is a story about hope and the American prison system.  My thoughts on Rita Haywor...

The Outsiders Written by: S.E. Hinton Genres : Realistic Fiction, Young-Adult Fiction, Action, and Adventure Rate: 10/10 Summary :  Ponyboy (14-year-old) and his two brothers, Sodapop (16-year-old) and Darry (20-year-old) are greasers who are orphans. Even though Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry are orphans they have each other and the Greaser community. Greasers and Socials do not get along, socials always start unnecessary fights. When Ponyboy and his friend Johnny have a run-in with a group of socials they end up killing one have to be on the lamb for a few days. Greasers always have each other's backs no matter what, but what will happen to the two of them if they come back? Will the greasers be able to help Johnny and Ponyboy? Will there always be a war between the social outcasts and the socials? My Opinion On The Book : (Some lowkey spoilers) I'd heard the phrase "Stay gold Ponyboy"(Hinton, 148) before but I didn't understand exactly what it m...