Book Review V - Treasure Island

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

Character: ★★★☆☆
Setting: ★★★☆☆
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Overall: ★★☆☆☆

Summary: This novel is based around a boy, Jim Hawkins, who goes on an adventure with people, many of whom he later discovers are pirates. The book is mostly set on an island, and there is a kind or 'war' between the group of pirates and other English men who brought the pirates to the island unknowingly. In the end, they find out that the treasure is gone, and many people die. Jim, the captain and some other men finally return to England empty handed.

This book was good, however i somehow did not find it as extremely gripping as i expected. Jim was a pretty confusing character, and even though he was the protagonist, i did not sympathize with him very much. That kind of ruined my appreciation of the book, but the fighting scenes were exciting.

Book Review IV - Inkdeath

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Character: ★★★★☆
Setting: ★★★☆☆
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Overall: ★★★☆☆

Summary: This book is the third book in the Inkheart trilogy. It's about Meggie and her father who are in Inkdeath, trying to fight for freedom for the people against the Black Prince and his master.

This book was very gripping, however i found that it was much easier than i had expected because i had read the previous two books when i was around 10. I think the book is targeted more at children around 12, because i found that it had a simpler plot, characters and words as the other books i've been reading recently. Apart from that, the book was great fun and not challenging at all. I felt that there could have been more depth in some areas and the ending was a bit disappointing after the previous two books were filled with action. I prefer Inkdeath because it contained more action and was more exciting to read.

Book Review III - Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

Character: ★★★★☆
Setting: ★★★☆☆
Plot: ★★★★☆
Overall: ★★★☆☆

Summary: This is a story about an orphaned boy called Charles Dickens who had an unfair childhood but has a happy life at the end. He is raised at first in an orphanage but he runs away and he does lots of little things. He meets Fagin who teaches him how to steal. One time, he is amazed by the way Jack Dawkins stole a handkerchief, but he got caught and accused of stealing the handkerchief. The man who lots his handkerchief saves Charles and takes him in. He gets taken back by Fagin when he tries to help the man. He has to help Sikes in a burglary and gets shot. The owners of the house he tried to rob feel sorry for him and raise him up. Oliver gets reunited with the kind gentleman, Mr. Bronlow and together they find out about Oliver's dark childhood. Oliver finds out who his relatives are and Fagin gets hanged. In the end, Mr. Bronlow adopts Oliver and together with the kind people who Oliver tried to rob, they live happily together in the countryside.

I like this book a lot, but it was annoying reading about how Oliver was constantly mistreated and shunned by society. The ending was really satisfactory. I recommend this book to anyone who likes real life stories and happy endings.

Book Review II - Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Character: ★★★★★
Setting: ★★★★☆
Plot: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★

Summary: This book is also set in England and is told from the point of view of Mr. Lockwood who stays in the Grange which is in the Yorkshire moors. Sparked by curiosity, he visits his tenant's (Mr. Heathcliff) house and from that time, he gradually learns of the dark history of Wuthering Heights which is where Mr. Heathcliff lives. The story has many deaths and is tragic, but ends quite peacefully because Mr. Lockwood finds out a year later that the 'crazy' Mr. Heathcliff has died, and Hareton Earnshaw and Catherine Linton are living happily together.

I like this book a lot. The plot is extremely gripping and dark, because at least three of the main characters die. This book is aimed mostly at girls because i would expect that boys wouldn't like the crazy love scenes. There is a lot of death and tragedy though. Heathcliff annoyed me a lot, even though he was crazily in love, because it was mainly because of him that Mr and Mrs. Linton died.

Book Review I - Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Character: ★★★★★

Setting: ★★★☆☆

Plot: ★★★★☆

Overall: ★★★★☆

Brief Summary: This book set in England's countryside is written in the 1st person, and it is about the life of Jane Eyre, an orphan who was brought up by her harsh aunt. She goes to school partly due to the way she is 'shunned' by her aunt and cousins who look after her. She goes to a strict boarding school and is amazed at how sensible and obedient the students are in the way that they always listen to the teachers and do not get mad when beaten by a teacher for something they didn't necessarily do. She befriends a kind gird called Helen and slowly learns to be obedient. She is also in love with Miss Temple, the generous teacher who all of the students love. An outbreak of typhus fever causes many of the school's students to die, including Helen. The school's harsh discipline is made much better once people discover the state of the school, and Jane lives comfortably for a few more years and teaches for about 2 years. When Miss Temple marries and leaves, she feels bored at school again so she seeks a job as a governess. She gets employed very soon by Mrs. Fairfax of Thornfield Hall, and lives happily with Adele. She later finds out that the master, Mr. Rochester is going there, and she feels mystified by Edward's curious personality. As time passes, they get closer through life-death experiences, like when Mr. Rochester's bed hangings were set on fire by 'Grace Poole' and Jane saved him. However, a big party happens in Thornfield Hall and Mr. Rochester says that he is going to marry Miss Ingram. The arrangements are all made, but one twilight, while walking in an orchard, Mr. Rochester declares his love for Jane and explains how the marriage was just to make Jane jealous. On the day that they were going to get married, they can't because someone said that Mr. Rochester was already married. Jane finds out about the ghastly woman on the 3rd floor who is Mr. Rochester's wife and leaves, leaving Mr. Rochester heartbroken. After some hardships, Jane is saved by a kind family and she teaches at a poor school. She later finds out that the kind family who saved her were distant relations of Jane, and she also finds out that she is rich because her uncle died and gave money to her. She shares out the money, but then the Saint who saved her wanted to marry her so they could go together to India as missionaries. Jane refuses and goes back to Mr. Rochester and finds out that he is blind because there was a big fire at Thornfield and Mr. Rochester's wife committed suicide, but they still love each other and get married and live happily ever after.

For me, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was an excellent book, but i think it would have meant more to me if i hadn't read Wuthering Heights straight before, because i kind of got sick of romantic stories. I think this book mainly just aimed at females who like reading romantic stories.