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Stefania

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Stefania’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (85)
currently-reading‎ (3)

read‎ (729)
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classics-summer-2018‎ (13)

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Stefania is Currently Reading

Stefania is currently reading

Furthermore (Furthermore, #1)

by Tahereh Mafi

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in May 2017

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Stefania said: "
"Dear Alice," he said, reaching for her. "Why must you look like the rest of us? Why do you have to be the one to change? Change the way we see. Don't change the way you are.

This book was a rainbow of colours what swallowed me whole and made me g
"Dear Alice," he said, reaching for her. "Why must you look like the rest of us? Why do you have to be the one to change? Change the way we see. Don't change the way you are.

This book was a rainbow of colours what swallowed me whole and made me get lost in the world of Furthermore.
It was pure magic, blinking and shining in every single object.
It was the beginning of the road that leads from childhood to adulthood.
It was faith and lies, innocence and cruelty, laugh and sadness.
It was a modern Alice in Wonderland, and believe me when I say that this is not something I would normally say to anyone.

I was thinking to have in my hands a simple books for children, but since the author is Tahereh Mafi I should have expected much more (also because there is this slightly creepy atmosphere due to attempts of cannibalism - or better "magicalism"? Anyway, not the best way to make children sleep lol).

The style was so unique, though completely different from the Shatter me series. Here the narrator in rather intrusive, and her amazing, witty comments are directly intertwined with the interior monologues that perfectly describe Alice's feelings.
Alice, Alice... at the beginning she reminded me so much of Pippi Longstocking for her peculiarity (you don't meet often someone eating flowers), love for nature, innocence and sense of freedom. She was so spontaneous, exactly like children are, and I often related to the things she claimed.

She sighed. Being alive, she realized, was very tiring.

The incredible thing about her is that her moods influenced mine: when she danced happily in the middle of the forest I felt full of energy and positivity, while in the scene of the Surrender I couldn't help but feeling defeated too. It's not so usual for me to feel so much empathy towards a character, that's why I was really impressed.
And yes, as everyone of us does, she still had the need of being accepted despite her differences from the other people, craving for being like the others. But the reason why I found this book so inspiring and moving is the message that the reader discovers together with her:

It no longer mattered how the world saw her; what mattered was how Alice saw herself. Alice would choose to love herself, different and extraordinary, every day of the week.

This is something that everybody should be aware of, and reading Furthermore is the perfect way to learn it.

Aside from the important message, the setting (both Farrenwood and Furthermore) was utterly fascinating. I'm not really into descriptions, but in this case it was a pleasure to read them just to discover the peculiarities of Furthermore's villages and people and to imagine those absurd but wonderful landscapes that each day revealed a new surprise.
And last but not least, the strong friendship that was slowly built between Alice and Oliver was absolutely, completely moving. ...more "

progress:

(30%)
— Oct 17, 2023 11:11AM

May 13, 2017 06:51AM · see review

Stefania is currently reading

Blood of Elves (The Witcher, #1)

by Andrzej Sapkowski

bookshelves: currently-reading

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progress:

(page 56 of 398)
— Jul 22, 2023 09:51AM

Jul 22, 2023 09:51AM

Stefania is currently reading

Les désignés (Les Bras armés, #1)

by Enrico Orlandi

bookshelves: currently-reading

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progress:

(page 51 of 136)
— Feb 03, 2023 03:12PM

Feb 03, 2023 03:07AM

Stefania’s Quotes

“We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing in them becomes too high.”
― Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

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“I imagined it. I wrote it. But I guess I never thought I'd see it.”
― Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth

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“I spent my life folded between the pages of books.
In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me

tags: books, power-of-words, reading

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