100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

100 YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED by Jonas Jonasson (4 stars: )

Paperback, 385 pages

Published 2012 by Allen & Unwin (first published 2009)

Summary (from Goodreads):

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he’s still in good health. A big celebration is in the works for his 100th birthday, but Allan really isn’t interested (and he’d like a bit more control over his alcohol consumption), so he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey. It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: he has not only witnessed some of the most important events of the 20th century, but actually played a key role in them. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.

My review:
The title of this book immediately drew my attention, and I started it mainly out of curiosity. A book called '100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared' isn't published everyday, and I wanted to know the story behind it. 

It turned out to be two parallel stories in the life of Allan Karlsson, one telling his past, the other his present. The book combines chapters of past and present, until his past story reaches the preset days.

His past story narrates an eventful life, where he met most of the emblematic figures of the last century. It's suprising how the author manages to make the protagonist take part in so many important events and survive close-to-death situations. This was a humorous history lesson.

As for the present story, Allan Karlsson escapes his nursing home a few minutes before his 100th birthday celebration, and lives a series of adventures from that point on. The police starts looking for him, first because they think he has been kidnapped, then because they think he's a criminal.

I liked this book and how it made me travel through the 20th century, and the ironic persecution of an old man. I think the protagonist was maybe to obsessed with alcohol and this kinds of things, but I liked how he took part on such important events without caring about them.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

PANDEMONIUM by Lauren Oliver (4 stars [3.5]: )

Hardcover, 375 pages

Published February 28th 2012 by HarperCollins Children's Books

Delirium #2

Summary (from Goodreads):

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame. 

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

My Review: (may contain spoilers :S)

I was warned not to read this until the Third Book came out. But I have to confess that the ending of Delirium caused too much pain. I seriously wanted the author to restore things. Obviously Alex isn't dead. That's what I thought. That's what I wanted to happen in book Two: Alex to come back. Did it happen? Yes, on page 375. Seriously???? I read the whole book awaiting for that LAST page! And now I'll have to wait till........ Requiem? [A message to the author: I hope you really fix things up this time. Aka: Lena stays with Alex]

Let's start with Lena. My opinions of her right now is that she is the most stupid teenager ever made up. I HATE her. It's difficult to love a book when you hate it's main character. So, I hope she gets better.
WHY I hate her: She literally tries to forget the boyfriend that sacrificed himself for her, and moves over to another boy. She just starts liking Julian because she is in need of a boyfriend and she is locked with him for a few days! I don't find their relationship reasonable.

Overall, it was surprising, as I didn't expect some things to happen. The 'now' and 'then' chapters at the book got me a little confused at first, but they worked properly to explain the whole story. IT could have been better, of course. But this is Lauren liver's story and she can tell it however she wants. I just hope Lena doesn't find another boy in Book Three and goes off with him. That would be stupid. Absolutely stupid.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver :)

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver (4stars: )

Paperback, 393 pages

Published 2011 by Hodder

Summary (from Goodreads):
Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice.


My Review:
I really expected something really good from this book before I started reading it. The thought of building a dystopian world in which 'love is a disease' fascinated me. That's the main reason why I wanted to read it.
I really went into that world when Lena started explaining, but I didn't really like her that much from the start. Maybe because I didn't find anything special within her, I thought she was 'plain' like she described herself. When she started telling about her parents... well, I didn't expect them to be both dead. Nowadays, tons of books get out with a missing parent or two that appear somewhere in the book. So, in a lot of them... they start as orphans just to end up discovering one of their parents is someone important. But I like those books, they make me want to find out stuff.
Sooo... as I was clearly waiting for the romance to kick in, I feel like the fun starts when they make eye contact for the first time -it's obvious they'll get together-. Right there comes the action, when Lena starts acting more freely...
I really enjoyed the friendship's ups and downs between Lena and Hana... it felt like a normal friendship to me. There's always bad moments in a relationship and those in the book felt real to me.
And of course, I enjoyed the forbidden romance tied to this book... (I would start giving more details about it, but I don't want to spoil the book to anyone out here)

Last of all... OMG THE END. One moment I was there, reading the fast-paced ending, and then... I was crying, unable to read the last paragraph because of my watery eyes. I think I've said too much already... but ahhhhhhh... this book hasn't left my head since I finished it. 

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