Strange title

Hey, guys!!

Just going to say this right now: I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier is a very quick read. Seriously, it only took me about two days to read it, but it probably would've only taken one. I was pretty busy the first day I started reading it, but I had most of yesterday to read it and I just blew through it. Not only is it only two hundred pages long, but it's a very compelling read.

It actually kind of reminds me of The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Not only because both Holden Caufield and Alex Farmer embark on a journey that transforms them, but also because Holden and Alex share some similarities. If any of you have read both books or just one and plan on reading the other, you'll know what I'm talking about. And if you haven't read either, why not give them a try and look out for those connections?

Oops, I think my inner English teacher was showing again. Sometimes I just can't help myself.

So, what is I Am the Cheese about? I'm glad you asked.

Alex Farmer is on a journey to find his father. He knows exactly where his father is. The problem is that his father is in Rutterburg, Vermont and Alex is in Monument, Massachusetts. And he takes his bike most (if not all) of the way. Quite a bike ride.

And between the adventures of Alex's bike ride, the reader is shown some mysterious recordings of Alex speaking with a therapist about his anxiety medication, how well he sleeps. And about his past: what he remembers of his family life and Amy (his only friend).

But the therapist already knows almost everything about Alex's past. So why grill him? Because Alex only remembers it in bits and pieces and talking it out is the only way that Alex can remember the whole picture. The reader even gets the feeling that Alex doesn't even know why he's talking to a therapist or how he ended up where he ended up.

So why is he there talking to a therapist? Why the anxiety medicine? Why can't he sleep at night? Why does he have to work so hard to remember his mother and father? And why is Alex the cheese? What does that even mean?

Read the book and all your (ahem, my) questions will be answered :)

Seriously though, I highly recommend this book. I could not put it down. And if you enjoyed reading The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, then you'll love I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier. It's interesting and it makes you think. But again, it is really short and if you love it as much as I did then you'll blow right through it.

That's it for this review. Check in tomorrow or the day after for another review (still not sure about which book though). Next on my reading list is Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. So we shall see how that will turn out.

Happy reading!!