Let's begin with Bursts: The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi. I was excited about this one. His first book, Linked, was extremely well reviewed so I was expecting to really enjoy Bursts. Boy was I wrong...
The book begins with a story about an artist named Hassan who has trouble getting through airport security because his travel patterns are suspicious. About one chapter of the entire book actually discusses the subtitle attempting to cover how human beings don't in fact move randomly, but in "bursts" of activity followed by long periods of nothing. The remaining 90% of the book is a story about a 3 month period in Hungarian/Transylvanian history, which, while interesting (note the sarcasm), has NOTHING to do with the topic of the book. It's as if he wanted to write a book about this war but knew that no one would buy a book about an obscure political uprising in the 1500's and decided to trick people into reading about it by hiding it in a book about human behavioral patterns. The only reason I continued reading was because I was sure at some point it was all going to connect and I'd have a moment of clarity. That never happened. Instead I was left blinking at the pages in confusion, trying to guess what he used to bribe the people who wrote the endorsement blurbs on the back cover.
This is the worst book I've read all year.
Onto better reading: Looking for Alaska by John Green. The cover art of this book is vague and without reading the back, I assumed this was a book about explorers looking for Alaska. (You know, that state way up north that looks like it should be part of Canada? What has Alaska given us anyway? Sarah Palin and a nice view of Russia? I say give let them have it.*) Well it's not.
Our story is told through the lens of Miles, affectionately nicknamed pudge because he's so skinny, who leaves his "noneventful life" as a 16-year old in Florida to attend boarding school. He immediately falls in love with our book's namesake, Alaska Young. Alaska is the epitome of what you hope your daughter never becomes. She seduces Miles into her world of drinking, smoking, sex, drugs, cutting class, and pranks. From the beginning her mood is unpredictable, her behavior reckless, and yet her adventurous spirit is lovable, maybe even cute. You want to root for her.
Adding to the mystery, the book's chapters are marked by 138 days before, 42 days before, etc... leading up to an event you know is coming, but can't quite put your finger on. If there's one thing I love in a story it's surprise, and this book definitely delivers. Just when you think you know what the tipping point is, it's not.
Overall, this is a beautiful coming of age story that will leave you thinking about it for days. The writing isn't very sophisticated, but then again neither are high-schoolers, so the voice fits even if at times it feels a touch simplistic. I'd definitely recommend this one, particularly for a younger audience.
*Just kidding! My family and I went on vacation to Alaska when I was a teen and actually it was very pretty.
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