Book Positivity

A Court Of Silver Flames

Nesta, the eldest of the Archeron sisters, relentless, bold and stubborn. With a fiery personality and a sharp tongue that never faltered, Nesta is the perfect example of the cold and distant older sister most female protagonists have. She was forced to live a life that she hated with all her heart. Disdain came easy to Nesta, she could find a way to destroy anything and everything to save those she loved. This book depicts the wondrous change that occurs in her, and preaches that even during your worst times, you can overcome difficulties and become who you are meant to be.

Nesta had given up on herself. Wasting away and not caring about what happened to her, mainly due to the guilt of having let down everyone she cherished. She felt as though she didn’t deserve the happiness or the comfort offered to her as she simply watched quietly as her sister went into the depths of darkness and just stood by as her father’s light left the world. But, she wanted to take charge of her destiny and decided that instead of being afraid of the past, she should tread into the future with a positive mindset and that could as well make all the difference.

At first, she was lazy and unbothered, but when she understood that no one could help her if she didn't help herself, she decided to start training. In just a few days she fell in love with training and encouraged others to join her as well. Though the latter took a fair amount of time, Nesta forged friendships and love that could never be washed away.

Meditating, reading and channeling her emotions through strenuous physical exercise (trying to climb ten thousand stairs) helped her control her powers and be content instead of being scornful towards the people who genuinely cared about her. Nesta’s story tells us that even if you are stuck in the darkest moments of your life, you can still climb up and become someone you love.

“I’m the rock against which the surf crashes. Nothing can break me.”

Fault In Our Stars

How many times have we re-read this beautiful novel and bawled our eyes out? The Fault in Our Stars is a tragic yet deeply inspiring novel. Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old, who’s uncertain of her future. Cancer is eating away her lungs. In spite of this, she’s remarkably practical, believes in focusing on oneself and to love and be loved passionately. To live in the moment and be remembered by her loved ones and that her approaching oblivion is inevitable.

Her life takes a turn when she meets a boy at a support group, another victim of the dreaded cancer. He’s 17 with a leg amputation, his ideals of life were quite the contrary from that of Hazel. In love, both their takes on life are challenged as they go on a journey to survive and thrive, be it meeting her favourite book’s author or an outing at the park.

After losing a loved one unexpectedly, she realizes life is without notice, but the way we choose to deal with it makes up for the hurt or joy that is requited. We cannot escape reality. Optimism is essential but we can never overcome it unless we learn to accept that life is not a genie who grants you all your wishes.

“Pain demands to be felt”.

Wonder

Oozing reality and raw emotion, Wonder, written by R.J. Palacio, is a story about a young boy named August, “Auggie” Pullman. Auggie was born with a severe facial deformity and had to undergo several surgical procedures which left him looking far from normal. Despite his dissimilarities, Auggie maintains a positive and optimistic attitude throughout what we see of his middle school journey.

August, a decade old, is a normal boy who does normal things that other ten year olds do ; relishes ice cream, rides his bike, plays ball, owns an Xbox, oh and has had 27 surgical procedures. Auggie lives in a brutal world. He cannot walk down streets or corridors without being subject to stares and cruel looks . Things are tough for August and his family too.

So surely, middle school is the last place he could ever hope to be normal … right? WRONG. His optimism is seen on the first day he attends public school at Beecher Prep, unsure of who to sit with in the cafeteria and sits by himself, positive about someone joining him. A girl named Summer befriends him. Not even when Auggie gets beaten up, or when his hearing aids get stolen, does he let it affect his attitude. Instead he sees this as an opportunity to bond with his peers. Despite all odds, he finds a way to mingle amongst a group of ‘normal’ children. Regardless of the taunting, the whispering and sneers of distaste, he forgives, smiles and always does what he does best.

It’s rare to find a story with so much love in the family. It helps that Mr. Pullman is just the right blend of funny and sensitive and Mrs. Pullman is an intelligent, caring mom. How can we forget about Olivia, an amazingly protective and loving sister.

This is a story about empathy, familial bonds of love, a realistic look at the frankly brutal reality that is a hugely hushed topic in children’s books. Wonder is about something that we don’t like to talk about because it is so rare and quite frankly sad. Lucky for us August is a boy who can’t be hushed into silence or invisibility in this world, simply because of the way he looks. A story that is the sense of love and goodness which leaves you infused with inspiration, gratitude and appreciation of good things.

“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.”

Harry Potter

The world of Harry Potter is a universe we get lost in. J.K Rowling’s masterpiece series will never be forgotten by the world no matter how many generations pass. The characters had to go through mystifying situations and there were times and instances in which we laughed and learned to love. The most fun characters were definitely the ‘Mischief Managed’ twins, Fred and George Weasley. Their pranks and remarks were unquestionably the highlight of the series. The way they remained optimistic in the worst times, imbuing a sense of warmth when all color was drained away was truly wonderful.

Be it brewing an aging potion to get into the Triwizard tournament or opening Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes when life was nothing but darkness and death eaters, the twins have managed to deal with all their problems with a smile.

Though they got into a lot of trouble due to Professor Umbridge in ‘Order of the Phoenix’, I’m pretty sure, the only thing that kept the students from going insane was the first Weasley’s wheezes jokebox, which clicked with their peers almost instantaneously. Their iconic Weasley red-hair, comical expressions and l tendency to pretend to be each other is what I always look out for while re-reading this sacred series.

Fred and George have the ability to make anyone smile, that’s for sure, but their story also tells us that you can look for the good even in the worst of times, that light exists even in the blackest of nights.

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

Clockwork Angel

Jem Carstairs is a 17 year old half-angel, half-human warrior with one of the most real souls ever. He was infected with a disease at a young age and is living with the uncertainty of when he might die. He is kind and heart-warming and says exactly what one needs to hear. Jem hates it when people worry about him and believes that he deserves to be happy , with his soul-brother and parabatai Will, and the girl who holds everything that he believes, is the good part of him.

Jem transferred from Shanghai to London when he was eleven years old as his family had been slaughtered by the demon Yanluo. He took to training immediately, and though he was a usually shy kid with a sharp tongue, he grew exceptionally close to Will Herondale.

Shadowhunting or demon killing requires extreme physical activity and the more energy he needed, the more of the drug he had to take. But this never stopped him from pursuing the life he wanted to live. Jem believed that he would live his best life before he died. From shadowhunting through the night with his parabatai to proposing to the woman he loved, he brightened up the scene the second he entered.

Jem was a true beauty to read about. His kindness, acceptance and courage are to be greatly admired.

“Whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.” ~Jem Carstairs.