Rainbow Readathon Wrap Up

Yesterday was the last day of the Rainbow Readathon that was created by the Carpe Librum book club (see their Goodreads page). I modified the dates of the readathon to fit my schedule and instead of 7 days, I gave myself 9 days to read the 4 books of my choice, the link to my announcement is here.

I am happy to report that I have read all 4 books (1,222 pages!). Below are my reviews of these books listed in the order that I read them.

1. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Out of the four books I read for this readathon, this one is by far my favorite. The novel is advertised as an ultimate book for all book lovers. I completely agree. The novel is filled with references to various books, authors and genres. Every chapter begin with a note about a book that AJ writes to his daughter. The main character is a bookseller named A.J. Fikry. Come to think of it, now that I finished the book, I actually think the main character is the bookstore itself as all the main events occur in or around the bookstore. In fact, we continue to follow the bookstore even after A.J. exists the scene. The book is also about connections and how someone's tragedy can unexpectedly lead to someone else's happiness and joy. AJ is a lonely widower who has pretty much resolved to drink himself to death when a series of unexpected events occur that make him reconsider his decision and propel him to experience the most fulfilling days of his life. This was a very satisfying read. I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it to everyone who is searching for a good book to read.

2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

This is a companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss which I read last year and really enjoyed. Similar to Perkins' other books, Lola is about growing up and falling in love for the first time. If your favorite movies to watch are romantic comedies, you will really like this book. One thing I enjoy about the books in this series are the descriptions of the places where the stories are set. Lola's story takes place in San Francisco, and Perkins does an excellent job describing the neighborhood and the "feel" of living in this city.

3.  Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

As you can see from the title, this is the third companion novel by Stephanie Perkins. Just like in Lola, Perkins' descriptions create a very realistic atmosphere of actually visiting Paris, New York and Barcelona. I love the way she describes the settings in her books. Isla is probably my favorite of the three companion novels. It is also about falling in love but it is portrayed very realistically. When I read Anna and Lola I couldn't help but think that some things were just too perfect and clean. In Isla our characters actually do make mistakes and inflict unnecessary pain on each other, but this makes their story more real and relatable in my mind. I also liked how she brings the characters from all the three books together at the end of this novel.

4. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

This graphic novel was the most surprising book out of the four I read. I was curious about it for some time, but it wasn't what I expected it to be. The main character Anya is a teenage Russian-American girl who really struggles with her identity and fitting in at school. The usual teenage insecurities about weight, appearance and acceptance by her peers, are exacerbated for her by the fact that she is embarrassed by her mother who speaks with a weird accent and cooks strange food; and by the fact that the only other Russian kid in her school is a nerdy acquaintance from church whom she desperately tries to avoid. However, her perception of "what is cool" begins to change once she unexpectedly meet a ghost....  A great read. This is now my favorite graphic novel, and even if you don't read graphic novels, you should definitely pick this one up.